Sunday Morning Paper

 
 
 
Josh decided to sit down and read the comics this morning, and he just looked too funny not to take a picture! He sat there for a few minutes just "reading" the comics. I'm not sure which was his favorite!

As far as an update about my mom - the cancer has spread and been upgraded to stage IV. Not really sure why it's called an "upgrade," but it is. Chemo starts tomorrow, and Josh and I are traveling back and forth to CP every once in a while to help out. Please keep herin your thoughts and prayers!

So the first night in a big boy bed was last night. It went well. He was excited about it, and he went in it, and didn't fuss at all. In about 20 minutes, he was snoring happily in his bed. The next morning came, and we heard him, so we went in his room, and he was still in his bed waking up, and it was about 7:15 am, so a normal time. But, today for a nap, all we wanted to do was play in the bed. I decided not to force the issue. He stayed in the room (even though the gate was open), and I could see him toss Tigger and George off the bed, get down, get his "buddies" and put them back in bed with him. So he laid in bed for a little over an hour and played and sucked his thumb.

Fast forward to this evening, and he is tired, so we are just watching Sesame Street, when I notice his head on the arm of his chair.


So I head over to check on him, and he is passed out!


He's too cute sleeping like this, so I place a blanket on him, and now I am desperately trying to stop the dog from barking so he can take a little snooze!

Who doesn't love to take a cat nap in front of the TV on the weekends?? Hope you enjoyed the cute little story about Josh.

Rain Drops Keep Fallin' on my Head

So it's a rainy day, and we are desperate for entertainment. After a morning full of playing with our trains, i decided to bring out the paints and playdough. Josh had a good time with both, after he figured out it was okay to have paint on his hands. All of you who know me, know I don't like sticky things, so this was hard for me. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Earlier in the month we had visits from Paula and Erin, and Amber! It was fun seeing everyone! I didn't take as many pictures as Paula - and she has the good one where it looks like Josh is proposing to Erin.

In other news, the doctor's have decided to do chemo and then surgery for my mom. We are now waiting for the University of Chicago to send her records down to Indy so that the oncologists can select the right chemo. More on that when I know more.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

Here's our christmas card photo from this year. Big thanks to Joel and Abbie for taking the picture for us and making Josh smile! It turned out great. We went to Michigan for Christmas, and everyone was there, including Sam's fiancee' Craig. Looks like there will be a wedding next summer that we will be at! Congrats to them. Abbie and Joel were doing well, and Abbie looks great at almost 20 weeks preggers! We had a wonderful time and Mom and Dad did a great job hosting the whole week. Josh had a blast, and I don't think he was ready to come home.

We then headed to my sister's to spend a few days with them and my mom and grandmother. Unfortunately, this year's celebration was a bit difficult. my mom was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer right before Christmas, and while we celebrated Christmas, it still hung heavily on our hearts. She will be seeing a surgeon in Indy soon, and hopefully we will be on the road to recovery soon. This may be the third cancer, but it doesn't make the diagnosis any easier.

I also celebrated my 31st birthday. It passed without much fanfare - and that's fine with me!

Looking forward to a 2008 filled with recovery (for my mom and Doug) and weddings (Sam and Craig's) and births (my neice/nephew Hilgendorf!)

Oh yeah - and welcome to the world Logan Philip Armbruster!!!

TOO FUNNY

www.jibjab.com

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Indianapolis Children's Museum

The first pictures in the slideshow are of our time playing out in the snow, and Josh eating the Harry and David pears my grandmother sent us. He ate the majority of the pears!! If you click on the slideshow, it will take you to the web photo album, and there are some videos there too.

The other pictures are ones I took from today's trip to the Children's Museum. We didn't make it to the toddler area, Josh was having too much fun looking at the trains with his dad. It was a fun way to spend the morning. Unfortunately, right before the south split on I-65, we ran into a traffic jam due to a over-turned semi. It took us almost an hour to get home, which usually takes about 25!

In other Groff news - Ben starts a new job Wednesday. I know, you may be thinking "did't he start a new job in April?" And to that I would say - yes, you are right. A new consulting firm is coming into town, and this is an opportunity for Ben to help a new office get started. It was an opportunity that doesn't come around too often, so he took it! The new job is with Coleman.


Happy Holidays!

I can't stand how cute he is! We made a snowman today. Josh had fun with mom and dad out in snow since we got about 1.5 inches more snow on the ground last night. The snow was wet enough to make great snowballs (which Ben kept trying to throw at me, luckily he has bad aim) and snowmen. Josh's snowsuit and gloves were nice and wet by the time we came in. Check out the video to see him walking in the snowsuit.

Playing in the snow

So we got about 2 inches of snow last night and this morning, so after Josh's afternoon nap, I decided to bundle him up and let him play in the snow. It was so hard getting all of the snow gear on him that I wanted to go outside without my coat on to cool off! Once he figured out how to walk in the boots and snowsuit, he had a good time. He did "face plant" right into the snow, which kinda scared him and made him cry (he turned around to look at me and his face was still covered in snow). But I brushed him off, and he was ready to play again. Now I can't wait until he's old enough to enjoy hot cocoa afterwards!

Haircuts and Checkups

Josh turned 2 on November 18th, and we went to the doctor's today for our checkup. He weighs 32 lbs and is 37" tall! His height puts him above the 95th percentile for height in his age group. The doctor said "I'll just put him down in the 97th percentile in the chart." He hasn't started saying two-word phrases yet, so the doctor wants us to wait a month, and if he isn't by the end of the month, she will refer him to a speech therapist. I'm not too worried, he seems to pick up a new word or two everyday.

He got another haircut this week, and the clippers were used on him for the first time. He didn't cry, but he acted like it tickled his head. Other than that, not much else to report.

A dozen roses

So a FTD box arrives today, just as Ben got home from work. So I think to myself "awwww, Ben got me flowers." But then I notice the box is addressed to him! Who's getting HIM flowers?? He's a guy! So Ben says "oh, they have to be for you!" So we open the box up, check the card - and who are they from?? American Express thanking him for being a loyal customer!!! They should be thanking me - I spend the money!!!

One More Favorite

I always wanted to be Red.

More Muppet Fun

I so wish Jim Henson was still alive!

Sesame Street

Megan passed along this article, and it got me thinking abut the good old days of Sesame Street (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18wwln-medium-t.html). It's really where my love of the Beatles started I think!

I can't believe it! He turned 2!!! He's growing up so fast, and I feel like time is just flying by. He got his "big boy bed" for his birthday, but I'm still hesitent. I have a feeling he'll get me up really early then. But, I know it's the next step. So after Thanksgiving, we'll give it a try! He's also showing signs of wanting to potty train! He's gone a few times in the potty, but I think we'll hit it hard after we've made the transition to the big boy bed. I don' t want to do too many changes all at once.
We're getting ready to go to my sister's house for Thanksgiving. It seems like the next few weeks will be crazy busy with family. Gotta love the holidays!

I'm trying a new way to post the pictures so that they are legible. We'll see if this works.
Aren't kids in winter coats the cutest? His new thing is to say "cheese" when his picture is being taken, but he keeps closing his eyes. We'll just have to work on this one!!

Interesting

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

New hair and whatnot

Well, I got my hair cut after 6 months. My hair stylist was on maternity leave, and I waited till she got back to get my hair cut. She straightened it for me (a completely different look for me), and I thought I would share.
In other news, Josh turns 2 next week!! I cannot believe it ! The time has gone by quickly. We'll have a small birthday party with close family and friends on Saturday -but small is a joke since there is a ton of close family around. It's nice, Josh really gets to know his great aunts and uncles!
Not much else to report. Going to Crown Point for Thanksgiving, and when we get back, Josh will have his 2 year check-up. We'll report more after that.

Halloween

 
Well, we've doneour second halloween now, and it went well. Josh didn't like to have his costume on at first, but once he figured out the whole "go up to the door, stick out bucket, get candy" routine, he was fine. Here's a picture of him in his "dinosaur" costume (ok, it's a dragon, but he likes dinos).

pics

These are REALLY bad pictures of me - but I HATE pumpkin guts! and I'm letting my hair grow out, so it's a bit unruly right now.

long time, no post

So it's been almost a year since my last post. I'm not the best at the blogging, so here it goes.
Been busy this fall. Josh has been attending "preschool" at Avon for their child development class. He does alright, he's not always happy about me leaving, but always has fun.
He is supposed to be a dragon for Halloween, but he screams everytime we put the costume on. I have a coat and hat that when he wears it, Ben calls him "Elmer Fudd" so perhaps that is who he'll be.

Ben and I celebrated 7 years of marital bliss this past weekend. I can't believe we've been married that long! I can't believe we've been together over 11 years! Time has flown by.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we are going up to CP. Christmas is in Michigan this year.

Other than that, not much else is going on. Boring post, but pretty average lives right now, and I am thankful for that. Usually when we have less than average lives, that means something negative is going on.