I'm back....

So...it's only been over two years since my last post and I figure better late than never, right? So much has happened and I hope to go back and highlight everything eventually, but for tonight I'll just post some recent pictures. Considering I couldn't even remember my login at first, I figure I'm doing good to get this far!

SCHOOL CARNIVAL ~ Sydney's school held their annual carnival, "Spike's Spooktacular," last month. This picture is of Sydney, Drew, and our friend's daughter, Izzy, riding the swing.

DENVER DOWNS ~ The weekend before Halloween we took the kids to Denver Downs in Anderson. They had a GREAT time on the hayride, picking out pumpkins, playing horseshoes, petting the animals, swinging on the ropes and everything else that had to do there. We will definitely be going back next year!

Here's Sydney on the cow/train thing. She thought it was a little babyish for her (she's going on 15 - more on that later).

...and last but not least - here's Drew running through the maze (he's changed a little since the previous post).

That's all for now. More to come...someday...soon...!

2 weeks old...

It's hard to believe that Drew is already two weeks old. He is growing like a weed and has already outgrown his newborn clothes and diapers. He still eats every 2-3 hours so we aren't getting much sleep, but that comes with the territory. He's awake more and more each day and loves all of the attention from his big sister. While having two is much more challenging than we anticipated, we wouldn't change it for the world. We are so blessed to have them both and are excited to watch them grow up together!

Here's a couple new pictures! I'm off to bed...

Andrew Carter Thompson...

Andrew "Drew" Carter Thompson came into this world last Thursday, September 4th at 5:29 p.m. He weighed 9 pounds (yes, 9 pounds) and was 21-1/2 inches long. We were discharged from the hospital Saturday morning and are happy to be home as a family of FOUR!

FINALLY!

It's been about a month since I've posted anything and I thought this was probably a good time to do it! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and since I am 4 days overdue already, they have decided to induce me. Jesse and I have to be at the hospital in about an hour and a half to get admitted, etc... They'll administer the Cervadil tonight and then the Pitocin tomorrow morning. HOPEFULLY we'll have a baby by tomorrow afternoon or evening.

We are very excited and relieved to finally meet Drew and Sydney is so ready to be a big sister she can hardly stand it. She'll be spending the night with my mom tonight and then hanging out with her tomorrow. We will definitely keep everyone posted!

Here's a couple pics of Sydney over the last couple of weeks - her last as an only child :)

SURPRISE!

This past Thursday my co-workers surprised me with a Baby Shower at work! They went all out - had lunch brought in from Two Chefs, ordered a cake to match the rug in Drew's bedroom, and gave me all sorts of great gifts - gift cards, clothes, blankets, and much more! I really do work with great people and am so appreciative of everything they have done. Here's some pics...

Proud...

Most of the entries I've written have been either about Sydney or the upcoming birth of Drew, but today's blog is all about Jesse. A recipe he's created for chili (Smoked tomato and chorizo chili with zamorano-polenta croutons) was just published in the July/August 2008 issue of Plate, a national industry publication. A photo of his creation served as the cover shot for the article and he is also quoted within the article. YAY JESSE!

I've always admired Jesse's passion for cooking - how he can come home from a 12-hour day and head straight for the cookbooks to come up with his next new dish or how he can spend hours on the internet researching new cooking techniques, etc... - but it's things like this that make the long, crazy hours all worth while.

Here's the left hand side of the first two-page spread. You can only see a small part of the actual dish in this shot. The small caption under the bowl is where Jesse's name is first mentioned. I've blown it up in the next picture... This is the right hand side of the two-page spread where you can really see what the finished dish looks like. YUM! Below is the page that Jesse is quoted on. I've blown up the actual quote in the next image...

I did not scan in a copy of the actual recipe because it was broken out on a couple different pages, but if anyone wants it, just let me know....

PUZZLES!

Sydney's new favorite past time is putting together puzzles. Not the chunky wooden ones, but small jigsaw puzzles. She would do the same one over and over for an hour if you would let her. She gets just as excited when she finishes one (even if it's for the 20th time) as she did the very first time! Very cute.