Here's a Taste of Things to Come, Mom...

Here's a sampling of the pictures I took of Gary to send to my mom (Poopoo!) for the special b-day present she has up her sleeve for Gary. I took the first four on our deck.

Stinker!
Goober!
Cutie!
Silly!
Here's the sprayground that we've been playing at. I think we'll be spending alot of time here this summer. It's free, and Gary gets to play with alot of kids!!!!

Gabbin' on the Phone...

We got to talk to Grammy Kay tonight. The battery on our cordless phone gave out again, so we were forced to talk on the old phone I have in our bedroom for emergencies. I snapped this pic of Gary talking to Grammy cause he just looked so silly sacked out on our bed while talking. Joel said he looked like something out of a "Gidget" movie! HA!

Soggy Day Fun

Gary and I tried out his new rain boots today. They are a hit! They are also HUGE! I couldn't find any smaller sizes. But he'll probably get to wear them again next spring!!!!

Pictures from Rigoletto

As pictured from left to right: Steven Jepson as Marullo, James Valenti as the Duke, Joel as Count Ceprano, and Dan Stein as Borsa.
Dan and Joel in costume! (Aren't they cute?)
Close up of Joel.
Joel masked as he is when he and the other noblemen kidnap Gilda.

Joel had a wonderful time working for Opera Carolina in their production of Rigoletto. Recently, Joel (and Dan's wife, Stephanie) was fully accepted to Winthrop University to study with John Fowler. We are still waiting to hear on the financial aspects, but if all goes well, Joel will work on his Masters in Vocal Performance, to be completed in two years. Everybody, PLEASE PRAY FOR FINANCIAL AID!!!!

Our Visitors to Charlotte

We've had several wonderful visits from family members since December. Here's some pics! Papa Tom and Gary hanging out in the park during his stay in early December.
Gary veggin' with Papa Tom.Auntie "Timmie" and Uncle Mike enjoying the warm end of March weather. We luckily got to host them on the way to and from their honeymoon cruise!
Joel, Kim, Mike playing with G's new wiffle ball set. G decided dirt was more interesting!
Mike helping Gary get a "dwink of waadder."

We also enjoyed a great visit from Auntie Megan in January, but I realized that I took pictures of her visit on my 35mm after accidentally leaving my digital camera back in Ohio over Christmas. I will post those as soon as I get them developed (sorry, Megan!). We are also looking forward to a visit from Grammy Kay in May and another visit from Auntie Abby and Auntie Kimmie in June. Then we get to see everybody in Ohio around G's birthday in July!! We're so excited!!!!

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!

Hi everybody! Our computer hard drive problem has been fixed (thanks Jon Vega!), so I can easily keep everyone up to date again. The picture below is from Easter Sunday, and as you can see, the Easter Bunny, Grammy "E," Papa Tom and Nana Mary, and Papa and Poopoo K were all very generous. Thanks to you all!
Here's Gary giving me a very tired "cheeeeeeezzzzeee" after he found the bike that the Easter Bunny left him. Next time we're out with it, I'll try to grab a picture of him riding it!
These pictures are from today. We are having very nice weather here, so we have as many meals as we can out on the deck. Here's Gary hamming it up while playing with the free bike Joel found to fix up.
And here is little Alligator, or Alli-Cat, as I call her. She belongs to our friend Andrea, but we get to enjoy her company while Andrea is in Florida for the week. She's such a sweet lap cat. She behaves and looks like Snickers, too! She lets Gary pet her (shocking), and isn't afraid of him until he starts laughing maniacally and chasing her!

Have Patience!

You may have noticed that we haven't posted for a while. Hang in there! We have to get a new hard drive for our PC. It's in the works.We're just itchin' to post more pics of G!!!

A Beautiful Sunday in Charlotte

Yesterday was sunny and seventy here in the Queen City, so Joel and I took Gary to a park near St. Patrick's after mass. Gary had a wonderful time playing with the other kids and climbing all over the playground. Then we took a walk along the stream that runs through the park. As we strolled, Joel saw a crayfish and caught it to show G. Gary was afraid of it at first, but he settled down when Joel told him it was like Sebastian the Crab from "The Little Mermaid." When Joel let the crayfish go, G took off running. Then he tripped and fell face first into the only mud puddle within fifty miles. Needless to say, this cut our park excursion short! We made our way back to the car, stripped him down, cleaned him up the best we could with baby wipes, and dressed him in my sweater. Thank God it was so warm! After all this excitment, Gary fell asleep during the car ride home! Gary's muddy clothes. Surprisingly, all the stains came out!
Gary passed out in my sweater.
Later, we met Abby for some shopping and met some of Mike's relatives. Karen, Lisa, and Chelsea were very nice. Gary warmed up to all those girls pretty fast...he even pretended to do their hair while we sat outside one of the shops!
Here is Gary swinging between Chelsea and Abby on the way to another shop.

Gary said a tearful good-bye to Abby when we were done shopping. Have a safe trip home, Auntie Abby!

Welcome, Abby and Mike!

Abby and Mike got to come visit us today!!! We were so happy to see them. Mike's brother lives in Matthews (about ten minutes from where we live), so they were down from Ohio to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with Mike's family. Hopefully we'll get to have some more hanging out time before they have to leave again!

Mike, Auntie Abby, and Gary.
Gary hugging on his Auntie Abby. When Abby and Mike had to go, Gary pouted, "No go away." He really misses all of our Ohio family (we ALL do).

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day, and got as stuffed as we did! Joel, Gary, and I travelled to Greensboro, NC, to have Thanksgiving dinner at Dan and Stephanie Stein's place. They also invited two more of their friends, Matt and Shayna. The food was EXCELLENT! I think I'm still stuffed today. Thanks to Dan and Stephanie for their wonderful hospitality!

As soon as we stepped into Dan and Stephanie's, Gary saw the piano. He was in heaven, and he played with it for the rest of the afternoon. Here he is singing with Stephanie.
Chef Dan making some "good eats."
The Phone Bandit strikes again...
...and again! I think Gary played with everybody's phone! He even knows how to take pictures!!!

A Good Day

Today was a good day. Joel snapped this picture while Gary kept popping in and out of his "friends."

Afterwards, we got a package from "EE," a.k.a. Grammy Kay. It had the most delightful toy for Gary inside. This Curious George rocks back and forth on his rocking horse to the music of the "William Tell Overture." Here's Gary watching his new toy slowly rock off the coffee table.
Here's Gary putting Curious George back on the table while still giggling about his previous fall!
And here's Gary jumping up and down and clapping to the "William Tell Overture."
This Toy is a big hit!! Thanks Grammy Kay! Gary also loves the tape of you reading the Curious George stories. He settled down and listened to the first two on the tape today. When you would ask a question on the tape like, "Isn't that wonderful?" Gary would answer you! It was so cute! Thanks again, Grammy Kay!

Dubie's New Shirt

Gary got a new shirt from Granny Poopoo today. It's sooooo cool!!! And Gary just giggled when he opened up the package it came in because he he knew who was on it!!! Thanks Granny Poopoo!!Gary wearing his Beatles shirt while I try to tie his shoe. Mommy and Gary in their Beatles shirts!
Swinging with Daddy on this "cold" late fall day.

Yeah, Baby!!!!!!

Michigan 39

OHIO STATE 42!!!!!

The Vega Family and Friends root for the Buckeyes from Charlotte.

(Could ya hear us in Ohio?)

The big fans pose before the feast!

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and Buckeyes (sorry everyone, we ate them all!).

Joel, Stephanie, and Dan cheer on the Buckeyes.

Jesse and Andrea playing with Gary.

Our friend Kate watching the game.

Gary loves Brutus Buckeye!

Gary drinking and pantless: a true young fan!

(Don't worry, it's apple juice in a clean beer bottle!)

Enjoy Your Steak!

Happy 32 Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

May you have many more together!

Spaghetti!!!

Yum!! Check out these hands!

"CHEEEEEESSSSSEEE!!!!!"

As requested by Granny Poopoo, here is a picture of Gary in his Elmo shirt. Gary LOVES this shirt. He gets so excited when I pull it out of the dresser! Sorry the picture's a little fuzzy. It's hard trying to get this kid to pose three seconds for a snapshot!

And here is the newest addition to our humble abode. We had our new-to-us Whirlpool washer and dryer delivered last night! They seem to work well; I've already done three loads this morning! It's sooooooo nice to be able to do a couple loads while I'm still in PJs! And the coin laundry was really getting expensive, so I hope this will save us a little money in the long run.