Haven't Forgotten!

I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten about the blog. School has started again so life has been a little crazy. I promise I will get better at posting. Look forward to some more posts later in the week! In the mean time, here is a random picture of us from a recent wedding we attended...

Dinnertime!

Ever wonder what dinner at the Donohoe house looks like? Here's a little sneak peak:

It seems like Nolan is eating EVERYTHING these days. Well, everything but vegetables that is. I try to give him a balanced diet, but for some reason he just refuses to eat vegetables most of the time. Anyone have any ideas on how to sneak those veggies in?  

This was dinner the other night... we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and some sauteed squash/zucchini. You can see I tried sprinkling the vegetables with cheese to get Nolan to eat them, but he wasn't fooled! He mostly enjoyed eating the mashed potatoes. I'm not sure if he got more in his mouth or on his face though! Also notice in the picture above how Boomer is trying to sneak in there and catch everything that Nolan drops.

Close up of the tater-face :)

The clean-up crew:

11!

Happy 11 Month Birthday to my sweet, silly baby boy! :)

1 more month and we will be celebrating a full year!

Sad News

There's not really any eloquent way to say this, so I'll just come out with it. Yesterday my grandmother ("Grandmommie") passed away. She was 89 years old. Grandmommie was a wonderful lady. I think anyone that ever met her would agree with that statement. I don't think I ever saw her get mad or frustrated with anyone (something she passed on to my dad). She was patient and kind and loving, and she brought great joy to our lives. When we were little she would push us around on this little trike thing she had, and whip up a batch of "pancake soup". If we fell or bumped our head on the table or something she would smack it and say "Bad table!" And she had the most genuine, infectious laugh. I'll always treasure my school days when I use to get on and off the bus at her house. In the afternoon she would make a snack of "instant fudge" (yum!) or a bowl of applesauce with a cottage cheese smiley face on top (which I still eat to this day) or a cream cheese and nut sandwich (which sounds gross, but try it sometime - it's really good) or an open-face sandwich (just bread toasted with cheese on top), or a simple peanut butter cup (her favorite!). I could always count on Grandmommie for one of those. And they were always delicious. In her later years she developed Alzheimers. This was particularly painful because she was always in great shape physically, but started to go mentally. There's nothing more painful than being with someone you love so much, but has no clue who you are. I wish I visited her more. Throughout it all though she maintained her bubbly personality. She loved being outside - she was a master gardener and flower arranger; she was great at sewing - I hope one day to make her proud in this area. But most of all, she loved being with family. And we loved being with her.

Weekly Update

This is my last week of summer vacation. Can you believe that? I certainly can't. But alas, the time has come to exchange the beach bag for the school bag. I went in to school a few days this week for a professional development course. It sort of got my mind in school mode, but I'm not 100% there yet. Ready or not though, full time work starts again on Monday! In other news, here are some highlights from our week so far:

Paul Velander came to visit!  Paul was one of the groomsmen in our wedding. Unfortunately he lives in Nebraska so we haven't gotten a chance to see him since then. He came with his brother Chris and girlfriend Bri and stayed with us Tuesday night. We had a good time catching up and seeing the sights of Fredericksburg. As you can see Nolan wore his Nebraska Cornhuskers shirt for the occasion :)

This is what Nolan did the entire time Jack was cutting grass.

Sometimes Nolan enjoys doing things that I just can't explain... like carrying this plastic ring around in his mouth all afternoon, or pushing a chair around the kitchen, etc. etc.

Enjoying a nice lazy Saturday afternoon!

Easily Amused

Nolan has found a new toy... What is that, you ask? It's the leg off of my bedside table. I have no idea how he got ahold of it, but he really likes it. For some reason seeing him carrying that around gives me an irresistible urge to call him "Peg-Leg".

Not to worry... he still likes to share with Boomer. Luckily Boomer hasn't seemed too interested in this one...

Seriously, this child is easily entertained. I don't think I'll ever buy him any real toys. Why spend the money when he is perfectly content to play with DVD cases, pots, and table legs? On the other hand, maybe if I got him some real toys he wouldn't rip the legs off of things... food for thought I suppose!

Surprise!

Aren't surprises the best? They are fun to get, but even more fun to give! On Wed. night Nolan and I decided to drive down to Blacksburg to surprise Nina (Pat and others have been in on this for a while). Nina has been working so hard packing up and moving the BMS library. She has sacrificially given up the majority of her summer, without pay, to make sure the library is in tip top shape for school to start. The amazing part is that she has done this without whining and complaining (as I know I probably would). Unfortunately there wasn't much we could do to help living in Fredericksburg. Thus, the surprise trip to Blacksburg! Nolan's job was to give Nina a morale boost (which, you can see from the picture, I think he was successful in doing) and my job was to help Nina finish packing up the books in the library (with Kim Hill's help of babysitting Nolan). I think both of our objectives were a success. We did as much work in the library as we could (until next week when the movers come), and Nolan and I both had a great time hanging out with "Nini" and "Poppa". Our trip was suppose to be a treat for them, but I think they did a better job of treating us - wining and dining us as usual. We went out to lunch, went shopping, watched a movie at The Lyric, and even had sewing lessons - watch out world, I am a master bobbin-threader now! :) All in all, it was a great trip for everyone. Now we are back and trying to make the most out of the few days I have left of summer vacation. Seriously, where does the time go!?