7/12ths and NYE

What a year it has been.

I have spent most the last week reflecting on the past year. There have been many great joys and sorrows, tears of happiness, just plain tears, vacations, adventures, and growth. I have been able to reconnect with old wonderful friends, in spite of my new side kick, something I am so grateful for. I have spent the majority of the year with friends and family, the people who know me better than I know myself sometimes. I am so thankful for all of these experiences.

I feel as though I have been given everything I could have asked for. I was pregnant for the first half of the year. Although some of those days seemed never ending, at the end, we were given this beautiful perfect little boy. I didn't anticipate it at the time, but that little boy would insist on nightly (at least once) dates with me until just this last week. I was unable to let him 'cry it out,' I just couldn't stand to see him sad, in fact, I still cant. I may be creating a monster by spoiling him with my time and attention, but I just cant get enough of him. By having Sullivan, I made Dave a father at the ripe young age of 50. Although I cannot believe he is 50, I can. He has a level of maturity that I don't even have. He is so good with Sullivan, he loves him so much, and Sully has no idea what kind of brightness he has brought to his daddy's life. Dave has dealt with a lot of loss and sadness in his years, and I feel like Sullivan's personality holds just the opposite amount of joy and happiness. It is like Dave has turned the corner, and all that is left for him are good things. I love Dave so much, and I am so thankful for a great man and a great marriage. I have such a feeling of peace.

We were lucky enough to take a few vacations before and after Sullivan's arrival. I was able to get a few girls weekends out of the year with a little help from Maggie and Lauren...I owe them a million thank yous. It was nice to get away and to spend time with the friends who mean so much to me, but it is so great to get home, too. I enjoyed a quick, but very fulfilling weekend to Minneapolis with Maggie and my mom, something that I will cherish for years to come (cherish your mother, says the woman in Hawaii, remember, mom?!) Well, I do just that. With the passing of her mother in November, we were quickly reminded of just how fragile and valuable our relationship is. She is quite the woman and we are lucky to have her in such good health, and such a short drive away.

Most of our days are spent with the Olivers. Although Sullivan's arrival has made it a bit harder to get up and go, he has not put a damper on my relationship with Isaac and Anna (and their mama), my favorite little 4 and 2 year old in the world. Isaac is so good to Sully, sitting him up in his lap and letting him watch him play the DS, dancing around him, or just snuggling him. Anna has not been quite as easy to transition, but she has definitely come around. She and Sullivan facetime most mornings. Sullivan always gets the biggest grin on his face when he sees Isaac and Anna. We are so lucky for these relationships. Having a twin (sister) is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

I only have a couple of resolutions for the New Year, although they are not huge, I hope they are life changing. I will nurture and treasure my relationships with my friends and family, I will do my best to not take them for granted. And, I will make more time for my nuclear family. Dave and I spent Saturday night eating take out sushi and watching a movie. That was the best night we had in weeks, I plan to schedule one of those in at least biweekly (hope he is on board)!

Last, but not least, Sullivan is 7 months old today. Below is a picture of him, right now as he naps. Kenzie, close by like usual.

Life at the Munce's

Happy New Year, everyone, I hope this year is just as good as the last (maybe even better)!

Sullivan's Apartment

A good friend of mine who lives in St Louis was remodeling her basement around the same time we were doing ours (2 winters ago), she had an 18 month old at the time. When I had gone to visit she showed me what I thought was the coolest little idea. She built her daughter, Sam, an apartment under their stairs. We had a similar layout, so I knew this would work for us as well when time time came around.

Needless to say, the time has come. We are challenged with a space issue in our house. This house is perfect right now, but as the toys increase, Sully becomes more mobile, and we eventually start talking about number 2, we are going to run into big time space problems. With that said, we love it here. As the Christmas toys started coming, I remembered my friend, Stacy's, apartment idea. It was perfect. What great way to store all of those toys and books! So, I went to work, finding just the right things to make it homey and a perfect space for Sullivan. Although he is a bit small now, I know he will grow to love it.

Hopefully Sam and her little brother, Tommy can come to see your apartment someday, Sullivan :).

Welcome to your new home, Sully!

Sully's address (same as ours, except "Suite #2").

Sully's foyer.

Sully's coat hanger.

Sullivan's things, a view from above. 

Sullivan in his apartment with his assets.  

Daddy could hardly wait to hang out in Sully's apartment
According to Dave, the only thing missing is surround sound. 

Munce Christmas Greetings

As previously promised, here is our Christmas photo and letter for 2012.

Thanks to Melissa McClure, our favorite San Diego photographer for the fabulous photo, to Maggie Oliver, (one of) our favorite sisters for doing the excellent graphics on the photo, and to Dave Munce, my favorite husband for writing the thoughtful letter.

Another year down, many more to go.

Christmas 2012

Wow! What a week. We had so many celebrations and gatherings, it is hard to recollect all of them, but one thing that stands out the most is that we are very fortunate and blessed to be surrounded by so many family and friends. We received so many cards and well wishes for Sullivan's first Christmas, we are so grateful for all of them.

We kicked off the week with our Connelly family Christmas at Maggie and Jeff's on Saturday evening. Maggie and I made Sharon Mulligan's spaghetti and meatballs. We overdid it, like usual in order to have plenty to freeze. I think we ended up with 80 meatballs! Sullivan was able to open his first Christmas gifts from my family and he seemed to know exactly what to do with the paper and proceeded to put the scraps right into his mouth, like everything else at this stage in the game. In true Connelly form, there was lots of chaos and activity.

We went to Church on Christmas Eve. The service was beautiful, lots of music and people. After that we went to Alex and Mandy's for appetizers and a glass of wine before heading home for our own family Christmas. Sullivan and Dave opened a few gifts before Sully went to bed. Dave and I had been stewing over what to do for our own Christmas Eve dinner and after realizing how late it would be before we got home, we decided to keep it easy and do homemade nachos navidad. It was easy and fun, and delicious.

We celebrated on Christmas day with lunch at the Schock's followed by a homemade pizza party here with Sully's Schock cousins. After dinner, Sullivan went to bed and the rest of us engaged in a really fun game.

Overall, it was a great few days and we are exhausted. Sully received many excellent gifts, I'd say among his favorite gifts were his two front teeth. Finally! They have been wreaking havoc for about a month, lots of restless nights and runny noses, but there are here and he loves to show them off.

We are settling back into our routines, it was great to hear from so many of you and I hope you all had wonderful Christmas' as well.

Prepping at Maggie's.

Sullivan's first gift (from the Olivers).

Sully getting a little help from Isaac and Daddy.

Sullivan's Santa gift.

Gift opening with Mommy.

Sully with Sulley, his other Santa gift.
Good job, daddy :).

Dave and Sarah with one of the pizzas.

Our apple had a worm!

We learned that Dave would have some extra vacation time in September. We immediately started brainstorming about what we could do with the week since Sullivan would be just over 6 months and still immobile. We thought we would take advantage of the time and go somewhere. We chose New York City, why not? It would be fun to celebrate the season with a view of The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, a few shows, etc. We immediately contacted our nieces, Lauren and Sarah to see if they were up for a quick weekend get away and to help with Sully so we could take in a couple of shows (they could take turns coming along). They were more than willing and very excited to come. We booked an apartment in The East Village via VRBO, booked play tickets and we were set...off to NYC! It would go smooth as silk, just like the previous adventures with Sullivan. Boy was I wrong...

Upon landing at La Guardia I received an e mail from the man we worked (Chris) with saying "the apartment you had booked had a plumbing issue and we are working on relocating you for the night." I kept my cool, assuming everything would work out ok and called him to find out the status. He informed me that he had booked us a room at the Holiday Inn. I reminded him that our group consisted of four adults and a baby and that I hoped the room was an adequate size. He reassured me that it would be up to snuff. This was hardly the truth. The room was tiny, and there is no way a pack and play would fit, so I called him to inform him of this. Fortunately, he had good news for me. Another apartment became available for us for the night. So, we packed everything back up and headed to the street to hail a cab, with no luck. It was rainy and cold, we had all of our luggage and poor Sully in the car seat (being an absolute trooper). While working on the taxi situation, he called me again to say the new apartment was occupied and he would call us soon with an update. I then lost my cool and informed him that we were running around with all of our belongings and a six month old and it was unacceptable. He told me to find a coffee shop and he would connect soon. In fear that we would end up without a place to stay, we took matters in to our own hands and booked a room in Times Square for the night, which nearly costed us an arm and a leg. We took the subway, lugging all of our belongings and ran 6 blocks in the rain before settling into our room. Chris finally called back (an hour and a half later) saying he had no options for us. The phone call was less than pleasant as he told me he didn't want us staying in Times Square as the rooms are top dollar (and he knew he would be responsible for paying). I told him our hands were tied as we had play tickets for that night and time was becoming an issue. They were able to get us into an apartment the following morning, by this time Sully had come down with a cold and seemed to be teething. He compensated us by providing us a free night, which was ultimately a wash considering how much the hotel room had been the night before. Ugh. What a pain. But, we were settled and had a warm apartment and plenty of beds to sleep in. 

We let Sully nap and then went out for some excellent pizza and ventured to Rockefeller Center where we fought what felt like was thousands of people. I have never encountered a walking jam. It was worse than a car jam as we had Sully. I felt extreme guilt as we lugged him around the city like a sack of potatoes. We returned to the apartment after a few photos and enjoyed a bit of peace and quiet (as much as you can expect in a city of that size on the second floor). I couldn't believe the noise level everywhere we went.

Lauren and Sarah returned on Sunday and Dave and I were able to meet a good friend of mine who was visiting from Boston for lunch. After lunch we took Sully back for a nap and Dave watched some football. We dedicated the entire afternoon to Sullivan and his need for sleep. Upon his awakening, we went to Macy's and waited in line for over an hour so he could meet Santa. He was such a good boy and I look forward to telling him the story of his first Santa encounter when he is older. 

Monday was a much better day. Sullivan slept like a rock star on Sunday evening, so we were all feeling a lightness in our step by the time we left the apartment. We fulfilled one of Dave's requests by going to the Museum of Natural History where he and Sullivan walked around wide eyed. Dave has a specific memory of visiting the Whale Exhibit with his father when he was young, so that was our first stop. Unfortunately, the exhibit was closed! We didn't let that stop us, we found a really helpful employee who was able to sneak us in for a quick photo op. After that we took our 3rd annual walk through Central Park, the weather couldn't have been more gloomy, however, it was not raining and it was extremely mild (60 degrees). We talked and walked for nearly an hour. It was peaceful and just what we needed on our final day. We found ourselves at FAO Schwartz where we purchased some sox for Sullivan and then walked him down 5th Avenue so he could see the lights. He was all eyes, and loved looking around at all of the twinkling lights. 

Although there was a lot of frustration over the weekend, we enjoyed some good take out and two great shows (Newsies and Chicago). Lauren and Sarah were ultimate travel companions and were great with Sully. This was our last big family trip as Sullivan will soon be mobile and a lot more difficult to travel with. I think it is safe to say we may have bit off more than we could chew. We were so happy to get home to our quiet house on our quiet street in our quiet city, and I am happy to be home for awhile.

 

Newsies with Lauren.

Chicago with Sarah.

Pizza! 

Sully ordering for himself (no one had the heart to tell
him his menu was upside down ;)).

Rockefeller Center

Dino exhibit at The Museum of Natural History.

Sully and daddy. 

Sully and Santa.

Central Park

The flight home, my peaceful Sully.

Christmas card stuffing, 2012.

Dave and I started the Christmas card and letter tradition the first year we were married, and although it is a lot of work, I really look forward to the project each year. Fortunately, Dave is a really good sport about writing the letter and revamping it a million times until I am happy. We had photos taken when we were in San Diego in September, so we were able to use on of those images, and lucky for me, Maggie is still good about dabbling with graphic design, so she helped me to complete the card.

Dave, Sullivan and I spent yesterday afternoon printing the letter, cutting the letter down, folding, stuffing, licking, and sticking (ok...refocus here, we are still talking about the Christmas letter ;)). We worked until about 11pm and went through at least a bottle of wine. It was actually kind of fun, we had a fire going and Christmas music playing. We got lots of chatting in and completed the project, mostly. We have a few more to do, some addresses to update, and some labels to print. We are hoping to get them in the mail by the end of next week. (Ill update the blog with a photo after they have been put in the mail :)).

For me, the most rewarding part is putting the photo in a frame (with the letter behind it) and putting the completed project on our mantle. It has been fun to watch the collection gradually grow. Thanks babe, for another great letter, great photo, and great year together!

Stuffing and sticking (and sucking down wine). 

Completed envelopes. 

Three Christmas cards on the mantle, starting to run short on room :).

I have a six month old?!

Sullivan had his six month check up this week, and everything went great...except those shots. He actually bounced back quite quickly this time, only crying for maybe 30 seconds until I was able to nurse him. Dave was unable to come along to this appointment due to work, but Sully and I did fine on our own, although I would prefer Dave's presence.

Sully is right on track for his milestones. Some of his favorite things currently are cooing, sitting (for very short periods of time before toppling over), laying on his tummy while "swimming" with his arms and legs, pulling hair, blowing bubbles, jumping in his johnny jumper, and sticking his tongue out. He has that little thing out all of the time! His favorite activity is still playing with mommy or daddy. He is so funny. As soon as he wakes up in the morning, he will make eye contact and the biggest smile will spread across his face. We are so lucky to have such a happy, healthy baby. We love him to pieces.

Sullivan is 16 lbs, 11 oz and 26 inches long. Both are in the 31st percentile.

Sullivan in his johnny jumper. 

Post tubby smiles for mama.

Shop, eat, and repeat.

Maggie had suggested several weeks ago that we restart the Connelly girls shopping weekend tradition we used to have when we were teenagers. I thought the idea was great, and fortunately, we have husbands who were accommodating (thanks, Dave and Jeff!). With a little coordination and planning ahead, my mom, Maggie, and I hit the road last Friday for a quick get-away to Minneapolis. Liz was supposed to join, but due to some circumstances, she was unable to, no worries, there is always next year, the year after, and the year after, etc.

We arrived at about 6pm and hit up Ikea and Nordstrom's in order to get those two high traffic stops out of the way before Saturday. It was very strategic, both places were very quiet and we were able to zip through and head to The Galleria in time for a late dinner, then checked in to the hotel room. Because I am breast feeding, I had to pump before I went to bed and something came disconnected so I asked Maggie to reconnect it since she had two hands, and whoops! She broke one of the pumpers! I nearly had an anxiety attack, but managed to get through, in twice the amount of time. The pump I had been using was Maggie's old one, so we got lots of good use out of it before it was retired. Maggie got up bright and early for me and ran to Baby's R Us to get a new one (I might add that it is very compact and nice, actually something I have wanted for quite some time).

We shopped all day on Saturday, hitting up all of our favorite spots. Leanne, one of my favorite college friends was even able to meet for some jean shopping. We went for lunch at a great new spot, and dinner at Bar La Grassa in downtown Minneapolis. I had made the reservation about 6 weeks ago and was really excited to return. Our Aunt Patty was able to join us for dinner. All in all, it was a pretty great day.

We woke up early on Sunday and went for brunch before shopping some more and hitting the road home at about 2pm, an hour ahead of schedule. No need to fear, we were able to use up that hour by stopping for mexican food at a small dive restaurant in Worthington, MN. I think my mouth is still on fire from the hot hot hot salsa.

What a great weekend. Lots of laughs, tears, and stories over delicious food, beautiful clothing, artsy glass frames (my mom's main item on her list), and shoes! Oh, the amount of shoes we tried on is ridiculous, but fabulous. I had a such a nice weekend away with you ladies, and I cant wait for our weekend next year :)

Shopping...

Eating...

Shopping...and repeat! 

Catching up on Photos

I have a plethora a photos from recent days that I cant let slip into the memory card world before I do something with them, so please enjoy a few of them.

Sullivan will be 6 months on Saturday, I cannot believe how time is flying.

Sweet Sullivan

Showing off his teeth.

Enthralled with the elephants.

We cant get enough of each other.

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year, Ill mention a few of the big ones. We are thankful for Sullivan, for each other, for our health, for a happy and healthy marriage, for our nuclear and extended families, for our warm home and fulfilling jobs. We are especially thankful when Sullivan sleeps his rare 8 hour stretches. We are even thankful when he only pulls off 4 hours in a row.

Maggie hosted Thanksgiving this year, and did a great job as it was her first time. She ended up with about 30 people, my mom did most of the cooking, but let Maggie worry about all of the house prep. The layout works perfectly, it was almost like the house soaked us all up, lots of room to mingle, and lots of toys for the kids to occupy themselves with. I especially like that I can put Sully in to Anna's crib when ever he falls asleep. It was a nice day, many of Dave's family members were there, lots of my family, as well as many extended family members. We had the traditional feast and the celebration lasted from about 2pm until 7pm. I was exhausted by the end of it.

We had a small gathering here on Sunday in order to celebrate with Dave's mom. She has Alzheimer's and she does much better in a small group and a familiar place. There were 11 of us (not counting two babies), it was fun. We plopped Helen right in the middle of the commotion so she was able to soak it all in. We had brunch and a fire in the fireplace, so it was really cozy and homey. This really is a wonderful time of year.

The Munce Family on Thanksgiving.

Mama with her little turkey :).

Dave, Sullivan, and Grandma Helen.

Resting Peacefully

My Grandma took her last breaths on Tuesday, November 13th. My mom was in Mitchell along with all of her siblings. Their whole family was able to get to the hospital within about 5 minutes of her passing to pray around her body and support one another. The end had finally arrived, and although it was expected, it was still quite sad, nonetheless.

Sullivan and I went on Thursday morning and had the 'simple' assignment of making a photo board for the Memorial Service. Simple is an understatement. My Grandpa is an avid photographer, he always has a camera tucked into his pocket, ready for a photo op, he even has a printer set up and on 24-7 to print off the favorite photos he takes, or that we e mail to him (yes...he is internet savvy, has an ipad and a facebook account at the age of 97!). Sullivan, my mom, Grandpa, Aunt Janet, and I spent Thursday going through photo albums, if I would need a specific person in a photo, I would put my grandpa on the task, he was usually able to come up with a handful of options for me. I cant think of a better way to spend my time...talk about bonding. My mom quickly became Sully's favorite, she rocked and sung him to sleep for most of his naps.

Dave joined us on Friday in time for the memorial in Mitchell, we then traveled the short road to Mt Vernon for the funeral and burial on Saturday morning. I was able to get up and say a few things on Friday, which I will include below. My Grandma baked the best home made cookies and sent them home with us in ice cream buckets every time we saw her. Because of this, many of the grandchildren or their spouses baked cookies, we had the Great Grandkids distribute them in ice cream buckets at the Memorial Service. The guests loved the personal touch. Everything was done so well, and with such heart, just how my Grandma would have wanted it.

Memorial for my Grandma

Great Grandpa Wally and Sully

Status Quo

Not a lot has changed since my last entry. My grandma remains hospitalized and they are keeping her comfortable. It seems one moment things are looking up, and the next, she is struggling to breathe. Sullivan and I went over for the day on Tuesday. I was quite anxious about traveling alone, and had a little conversation with Sully. I asked him to be good, and fortunately, he was just that. He slept the entire drive there and back. My grandma was less alert on Tuesday than she was on Saturday but she managed to smile at Sullivan. She is still so pleasant. My brother Alex came while I was there and it was sweet to watch them exchange words and to hear Alex tell her how much she means to his entire family.

My grandma has been hanging on and it really is a blessing that she has. My mom and her siblings and my grandpa have constantly been at her bedside. There is no better way to showcase the love she has given others than through the devotion they have to her in her final days. I have watched my mom spend hour upon hour in the hospital room, her eyes bloodshot from tears and lack of sleep. She walks over to my grandma from time to time and tells her how much she loves her, chokes back a few tears before giving up and letting them flow. She has been so loyal and such a leader, setting a priceless example to me. My grandpa sits by her side, enjoying the conversations and company, but sad that the end is near. My mom has told us of things my grandpa has said to her, like that he gets on his knees to pray each night that she gets to come home, and that he is ok with her going home (to heaven). When she asks if he will go with her, he says that he is not ready yet but tells her he is excited for her to greet him when he joins her there. It is a sad time, but a peaceful time. Most of the people who want to say goodbye have been able to, a gift many people would give anything for.

I continue to pray for peace and comfort to my grandma, grandpa, mom, and all of her siblings.
 

Life is "grand."

We received the call last week that my Grandma Scott had been admitted to the hospital once again. She has struggled with congestive heart failure for years and it has been a constant battle to keep her fluid levels adequate (one week she is dehydrated, the next she is struggling to breathe and in need of lasix, etc). This hospitalization has unfortunately been a bit more involved.

My mom went to the hospital to check in on her on Friday morning and found her unresponsive and gasping for air. It appeared the end was near. My mom called her siblings and they were praying around her when she started to come around. Fortunately is was not her time. My mom has continued to sit by her side through this journey and slept in the hospital room next to her that Friday night, giving the term pillow talk a whole new meaning.

Maggie, Sullivan and I went over to Mitchell on Saturday to visit and spend some time with grandma, because, unfortunately, we know our days are numbered. My grandma was quite sleepy for the first half of the day, but would arouse when the nurse told her that she had a great grandbaby there visiting. I would hold Sully up and they would study and smile at each other. I then started thinking about the word "grand." The room was full of "grand" people, grandmas, grandpas, grandaunts granduncles,  grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Grand is defined as magnificent and imposing in appearance, size or style. This pretty much wraps up my feelings for every person in the room. Our feeling of love for my grandma was what we all had in common, and it is quite magnificent.

My grandma had perked up significantly before we left, which was very nice to see. They plan to move her to a nursing home tomorrow and will proceed according to her progress. My grandma has had a wonderful 89 years on this earth, sharing 70 of them with my grandpa. I know she is ready to go, but my heart is not ready to see my mother and grandfather endure the pain of her loss.

Sullivan and Grandma studying each other.

Dr. Sullivan

Sullivan had his first successful Halloween. I had received a baby doctor's outfit from a friend of mine as a gift and it just so happened to be sized right for Halloween (ok, it was a smidgen small). I was so excited to get him in his little scrubs and hat, he was adorable.

We spent the evening at my brother's house (Alex and Mandy) where all of the cousins, lots of neighbors, my parents, and many of my siblings were. We had dinner and took a few photos. Unfortunately Sullivan fell asleep before the trick or treating took place, which was just fine. I am sure next year will be a whole new ball game as he will be mobile.

We got home in time for Sullivan's bedtime and passed out some candy to our neighbors. Dave was also able to get in a horror movie (one of his favorite past times, which he is rarely able to enjoy in our current state of life ;)). All in all, Id say it was a successful day.

Dr Sullivan, ready to make a few house calls :).

Anna, Hudson, Grandma, Capri, Sullivan, Sophia, Owen, Grandpa, Isaac

Part of Dave's ambiance while watching movies...
skeleton candle glasses.

Cashing in on Mother's Day

I was about 36 weeks pregnant on Mother's Day this year, Dave was thoughtful enough to get me a gift, even though Sullivan was not yet born. They had given me a weekend away to a Frank Lloyd Wright lake cottage in Wisconsin. I was excited about it, but it was so far off, and we had so much going on in the mean time, that it was kind of pushed to the back of my mind. I was finally able to cash in on the trip this past weekend, it was the most perfect first Mother's Day gift I could ever imagine. We made the six hour drive in about six and a half hours. Sully did great; we stopped twice each way to feed and do a diaper change, otherwise, he pretty much snoozed and played while he was awake.

The cottage was really amazing. It was very peaceful, no TV, no internet, just nature, puzzles, books, and a ginormous fireplace. It was R & R at its finest. We spent the day on Saturday working on a puzzle, reading, eating, and exploring the grounds around the cabin which is located on top of a hill near Mirror Lake. The cottage and lake are actually in a State Park, so, as you can imagine, there wasn't much activity going on, which is what we were going for. We spent Sunday walking on nearby trails in Dells, and in the State Park. We had perfect weather to get out with jackets on. 

Dave is a really great trip planner and gift giver...I love it when he combines his two great talents.

Many thanks to my boys for a great weekend away!

The cottage included my own personal bell boy :).

Thoughtful Sully, remembering to order flowers
for our arrival.

A view from inside the cabin.

Mama and Sullivan getting ready for a hike.

Family photo on the cabin patio.

Mirror Lake State Park hike.