Andrea Bocelli sings Elmo to sleep

This is my absolute favorite! :)

Snow for Ethan's Birthday!

That's Me!

It is so great when the kids start getting a real sense of self. Ava has learned, "me" and I love it. She also chases me around the house yelling "Cheese" when I get out the camera. It is such a crack up. Such a great age! Yes, we have hit the stage where shirts are not the in thing! At least she keeps her pants on... Lauren would not stay in her clothing if her life depended on it.

Home Again, Home again!

What a crazy packed couple of days! I returned home today to absolute chaos- my children have been sick with the stomach flu and Roy got hit last night. He was been down for the count since about 5am this morning. I managed to develop a head cold and cough Friday night and have a not very cool sounding case of Laryngitis. As all of you who read this know, I have talked to no one in the last few days. SORRY! I was truly on the go. Update wise, I had an incredible day at Merrill Lynch and was offered the job of my dreams. I found a home for my family that if we have the opportunity to purchase, would be surreal. If we can work out the sticky financing details for a cross country move, our hope is to relocate within a month or two! Nothing is final yet, but we are truly optimistic and cannot believe how blessed we are. Sadly, due to illness, we were not able to celebrate Ethan's first birthday (which is tomorrow). We had a party planned and Roy worked late last night on his cake. Our poor little buddy! When he was born last year, Ava had the croup and Roy was not able to stay at the hospital with us. NOW, his first birthday party is messed up because of flu. We will make it up to him, of course! We also, could not be more pleased that our little man is ONE! He can walk and is advancing so much everyday. We can't wait to celebrate his big day. Here are a couple of pictures of the cake Roy worked on... Sorry to all of you for being so MIA. It has been an insane couple of days for the Lutz Family!

I see travel in my future...

SO ANYWAY, (love ya, chey)... It looks as though I get to travel back East for the biggest interview of my life this coming week! Yikes! I am so excited but equally as nervous. I will give more details as they emerge but for now I will focus on how much I LOVE to travel!! I am so in love with the City of Cincinnati- like the big city, amazing food, great shopping, tons of entertainment options, FAMILY! I can't wait. I love the buzz of an airport and the sound of a fully loaded plane preparing for take-off. The clicks of the overhead compartments being closed brings a smile to my face. If you are lucky enough to fly at night... it's beautiful. I am ready to go! Plus, I have my outfit ready to roll for the big day... I need all your positive thoughts pointed my way this coming Friday! Thanks for your love and support!

We will call him Frankie!

Crystal was over yesterday to spend time with me (and help make my birthday fantastic) and managed to catch Ethan in action! He walks like Frankenstein which absolutely cracks me up. Whenever he goes to walk, he "assumes the position" with his arms straight out and off he goes. He is so much fun and manages to crack up laughing whether his walking was successful or not. Such a great little boy! He has an amazing attitude. Good Job, buddy! Thanks for the pics, Crystal!

Our Little Man walks now!

Ethan took his first steps on Jan 14 and officially became a walker yesterday, Jan 15! We are so pleased.... his sisters both walked on their first birthdays. He has been behind them developmentally by about three weeks, I was wondering what was going to happen with him. BUT-- just under two weeks before his birthday he is walking! Unfortunately, I have only had the camera handy to catch his FALLING... but I will keep snapping away and update the page when I catch him in action!

"Enchanted Movie"

I went with Crystal to see the Movie "Enchanted" last night.... My birthday is next week so we used that as an excuse to have a Girl's night out! SUPER CUTE movie. I had a stupid grin on my face for just over an hour and a half. With the exception of a scene or two, what a great movie for families! In fact, I am taking Roy and Lauren back today. I can't tell you the last time I wanted to see a movie again, so soon! I just know both of them would like it as much as I did! :)

Thanks for a GREAT night out, Crystal! You are a blast to hang with!

Almost One Year Old!

Ethan will be one on Jan. 28 and he is ready to walk! He cruises on anything and everything. Just like Ava, he is a furniture mover- all of our kitchen chairs get shuffled around on a regular basis. We joke that he orbits us- he grabs onto our backs or knees and walks in circles around us or the ottoman or his boucny chair. He is ready to go! It will be interesting to see if he walks on his first birthday like the other two did!

Playtime!

I absolutely love this age... Lauren and Ava are starting to play together so well! This morning they built a fort and Lauren wanted me to take a picture. It is so cute.. as soon as I grab the camera Ava says, "Cheese!" Just don't ask Ava to say "Frog", it most certainly does NOT sound like frog. :) OH! If I forget to write it down anywhere else I at least have to record it here... Whenever Ava calls from Lauren she yells, "Laurie, Laurie!" It will be interesting to see if Ava will finally work out the N sound or if she will always call her big sister, Laurie. Can't wait to watch them grow up together!

New Hats!

A friend of ours who lives just around the corner made new winter hats for the girls for Christmas. I put Ava's on her to see how it fit so Lauren grabbed hers and I took a couple of shots. We woke to a light dusting of snow this morning! It melted off quickly with the help of a rain shower but it was still great to see!

This picture makes me feel like I have a clean slate...Love that!

Happy New Year!

Just a couple of pictures from our evening! We were lucky enough to have our niece, Courtney and her family over along with Roy's sister! Courtney's friend Shiri brought her beautiful baby and two of our best friends dropped by for a bit. Great evening! Hope you all had a safe New Year's Eve and we hope all of your wishes for 2008 become your reality!