The Fogarty Family Adventures

The Best Part of My Day

2012-02-07T08:26:00.002-06:00

Grace and I have developed a tradition. Every day when I pick her up from school, I ask, "What was the best part of your day?" Without fail, she replies, "When you picked me up." It makes my heart smile. She's the best :-)

Grace is loving Pre-K and is learning so much! Lately, she's been pretending to be her teacher at home. She even started calling Colin by her teacher's son's name. Each week they learn about a different letter, and she excitedly tells me about all of the things that start with that letter. I love seeing how much she loves to learn!

Quote of the Day

2012-02-03T21:06:00.001-06:00

As we were driving home from school today, I was pointing out all kinds of things to Grace. Airplanes. School Buses. Trucks. Numbers on signs.

Then, I pointed out a HUGE American flag blowing in the wind.

Grace excitedly replied, "That's my Pledge of Allegiance one!"

"What kind of flag is it?" I asked.

"It's an American flag, silly."

Cake Rules

2012-02-01T21:16:00.001-06:00

Colin is officially a 2 year old! He enjoyed his cookie monster tremendously :) Even more he enjoyed the icing war that ensued after I put some icing on my nose. Then Colin and Grace proceeded to paint their faces with icing, cracking themselves up and making a HUGE mess! It was good fun! Love these kiddos so much!

If everyday is a day that's borrowed...

2012-02-01T06:41:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite songs right now says this:

"If everyday is a day that's borrowed, why am I waiting for tomorrow?"

Food for thought. We always think we have more time. I'll get around to it later. I'll call her later. I'll start eating healthier later. I'll spend quality time with my family later. I'll apologize later.

The truth is, we're all on borrowed time. Our level of awareness of this reality varies. Those who have medical conditions know and feel this weight of this reality, while those who are perfectly healthy often buy into the idea that they have unlimited time. I've been guilty of this often...and sometimes still am.

Life is short. Let's live every single day with a focus on what matters most. Let's strive to be all that God is calling us to be. Let's say "I love you" and "I'm sorry" without hesitation. Let's soak up every moment and recognize the gift of THIS DAY.

Let's do this.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Colin!

2012-01-31T07:31:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Colin!
Happy Birthday to you!

Today Colin turns 2 years old! How is that possible? It seems like yesterday that he was born, a big 8 lb, 14 oz bundle of joy :-)

Here's his blog introduction, complete with an adorable picture of him on his birthday: http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/introducing-colin-james-fogarty.html

Happy Birthday, Little Man! You light up our lives, keep us laughing, and make our hearts burst with love!

Just A-Swingin'

2012-01-12T06:48:00.002-06:00

Yesterday as I was pushing Grace on a swing at the park, I was thinking about how grown up she is. I mean, how can she really be 4.5 (going on 15) already?! I was remembering painting her room with Martin, wondering if we would be blessed with a son or daughter. Sitting in the rocking chair with my big pregnant belly trying to envision what it would be like to be rocking a baby in that chair. Driving to the hospital a month early, thinking it couldn't possibly be time for our little one to arrive. Being in complete shock as they wheeled me into the emergency C-section. Hearing her cry for the first time. Breathing a sigh of relief as they told us that she was perfectly healthy. Laying eyes on that tiny beautiful little girl and knowing that Grace was the perfect name for our daughter. Bringing her home and rocking her for hours on end, never wanting to put her down. Spending hours staring at her, in complete awe of the miracle we'd created.

It's amazing how the simplest moment, like pushing your kiddo on a swing, can bring about a tidal wave of memories. Grace Calleigh, you are such an awesome little girl. I look forward to continuing this journey as your Mommy :-) Let's just slow down a bit though...I'm not ready for you to be grown up just yet. Deal?

My Cousins Live in the Computer

2012-01-09T09:24:00.002-06:00

Our kids have three cousins on my side of the family and five cousins on Martin's side. Of their eight cousins, seven live far away -- two in Pennsylvania and the other five in Ireland. This always makes me sad because I have great memories of playing with my cousins during my younger years in PA. On the flip side, it makes for an adventure when the cousins do get to see each other!

As we were preparing to say goodbye to Martin's Mam last week, I told Grace that we would visit Nanny and Grandad in Ireland soon. I then mentioned that we would also get to see all of her Irish cousins - Liam, Melissa, Michelle, Conor, and Sam - while we are there. Grace got a really confused look on her face and replied, "They don't live in Ireland."

Then I was confused. "What do you mean they don't like in Ireland? They all live close to Nanny and Grandad."

Grace wrinkled her nose and said, "No, they don't. They live in the computer."

It took all of my willpower not to crack up. Since we Skype with the Irish fam, Grace now believes they all live inside the computer. Hilarious!

Riding into the Sunset

2012-01-07T20:57:00.002-06:00

It's January in Texas, and it feels like April. I'll take it. I love this weather! We took advantage of the 70 degree weather with a trip to the park. Grace and one of her pals rode their scooters into the sunset. I adore this picture (Grace on the left). Grace got her scooter for Christmas and has mastered it already. She loved getting out to ride it! It's officially broken in now!

Colin had a blast today too! He must have gone down the slide 50 times. He's becoming so independent! I wonder where my kids get that from...

One of his new favorite things to say is, "No, sir." After hearing me say this enough times, he's making it his own. Now when I change his diaper, he tells me, "No, sir" and when I try to feed him something he doesn't want to eat, he says, "No, sir." I've explained to him that I'm a ma'am, but he doesn't seem to care at the moment. He just wants to put his foot down and express himself boldly. Love him!

2012 is Going to be EPIC!

2012-01-02T21:59:00.002-06:00

Get ready, people. 2012 is going to be your best year ever! Don't believe me? You should! And if you want to make sure of it, start planning for it now. I'm well on my way to planning out an EPIC 2012. This year is gonna rock!

I'm SO fired up about the year to come! Awesome things are happening in our lives...Grace will turn five this May, and Colin will turn two at the end of this month! Our babies are growing up, and I want to capture all of the memories we're making as a family. I wasn't the greatest blogger in 2011. I'm recommitting myself to the blog in 2012 and plan to blog at least 3 times a week to capture all of the Team Fogarty fun! That's a promise.

In other VERY exciting news, Martin and I both turn 33 this year. Why is this a big deal? Well, Martin was born and raised in Ireland and has the most adorable accent ever. My favorite thing to hear him say is 33 - tirty tree. I have no doubt this year will be a blast because I'll ask him often how old we are. I'm sure it'll annoy him, but I'll be entertained ;-)

Other fun goals for this year include committing myself to reading at least one book each month, committing to an AMAZING nonprofit organization as a Board Member, completing the Austin 10/20 in April (a 10 mile race), biking in the Livestrong Challenge as a part of Team Ruben in October, and working on photo albums and scrapbooks to preserve memories of this precious time in our lives.

What are you most excited about in 2012? Here's to making this year one to remember!

Stay tuned, my friends! Sending lots of love from our home to yours.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T17:33:00.007-06:00

From our home to yours, Happy New Year! May 2012 bring you happiness and peace :-)

We rang in 2012 at home with Martin' parents who are visiting from Ireland. It was an awesome way to ring in the new year, and we're so thankful for the special time we've had with them. Bring it on, 2012. Team Fogarty is ready for a year to remember!

A Visit with Santa

2011-12-19T12:47:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday Grace, Colin, Nanny, and I set out to meet Santa Claus. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, especially from Colin. Grace was a bit shy, but warmed up to Santa pretty quickly. She filled him in on everything she hopes he'll bring her for Christmas this year. She explained that she's been a good girl and is definitely not on the "Naughty List."

Colin sat on Santa's nap for less than a minute, but thankfully the photographer snapped the picture quickly. Colin liked looking at Santa, saying his name, and smiling at him...but all from afar. He was over the whole "sitting on his lap scene" pretty quickly.

We had a fun day...visiting Santa, having lunch at the now mostly deserted Highland Mall, riding the choo-choo train, and getting excited about every Christmas tree and decoration in our path :-) 8 days 'til Christmas, and we are definitely in the holiday spirit!!!

What Easter's All About

2011-04-21T14:37:00.008-05:00

There are A LOT of topics that are not easy to explain to your kids - death, homelessness, natural disasters, war, etc. But, as parents, it's our duty to help our kids understand things that we may struggle to understand ourselves. With Easter approaching, I wanted to help Grace, my almost four year old, to understand what we're celebrating. I wanted her to know that it's not just about Easter egg hunts, coloring eggs, and a visit from the Easter Bunny. As I set out to teach her about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, I realized that explaining these events so that she could understand them would be a huge challenge.

I got a storybook that I thought would help, and it did, although I had to answer questions along the way about things she saw and heard in the story. Here are a few examples of our interactions the last few weeks:

When looking at a picture of Jesus with a crown of thorns on his head, "Mommy, that looks like it hurts."

When we read about Simon helping Jesus carry the cross, Grace responded, "Simon? Like the Chipmunk?"

After finishing the story, as I was asking questions about what we celebrate on Easter to see if she understood, Grace answered, "Jesus died on the cross." I replied, "Very good. And what happened next?" Grace's answer: "He didn't have a shirt on, and I could see his nipples."

All in all, although she had some silly responses, I think she's starting to understand what Easter is all about. I will keep praying for the right words to explain what will happen in the days to come and why we sing ALLELUIA on Easter morning with such joy! Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Colin says YES!!!

2011-03-25T11:49:00.000-06:00

Colin really likes to nod his head YES! He does it with such enthusiasm :-) It's SO much better than when he says no with his full-body temper tantrums!

Big, Big Giant Booty

2011-02-23T07:52:00.002-06:00

Sometimes your kids say things that are so funny that you forget to tell them they're not nice things to say. Last night my parents stayed at our house because they had an early flight to PA this morning. Grace was so excited to have Nana and Pop-Pop sleep over. She helped me make their bed, complete with a Tinkerbell bedspread that she knew they would love. As we were all hanging out together, Nana told Grace that she wanted to sit in her Winnie the Pooh chair. This chair is a hot commodity at our house lately, as Colin loves to climb up and sit on it. This often doesn't go over well with Grace who likes to remind Colin that it's "her chair." Grace was not impressed with Nana's desire to sit in her chair and told her she couldn't sit there. I asked Grace why Nana couldn't sit there, and she replied:

"She won't fit."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she has a big, big giant booty!" Grace answered.

We all laughed hysterically, and I'm not sure we ever got around to explaining to Grace that she needs to be nice and not talk about people's booties. And Nana, you're booty's not giant :-)

We Don't Like the Cowboys

2011-02-20T20:05:00.002-06:00

You have to be careful what you teach your kids, right? We all know that. Well, as die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fans, we recognize our duty to teach our kids right (cheering for the Eagles) from wrong (cheering for the Cowboys). During this past football season, Grace got pretty into football, and she loved cheering along with us. We taught her the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and the "Fly Eagles Fly" song that we sing every time they score a touchdown.

We also began explaining to her that we don't like the Dallas Cowboys. This was, in part, because several of our devious friends tried to get her to say "Go Cowboys" and "I love the Cowboys" to irritate us. So in our explanations we told her that the Cowboys stink and that we love the Eagles! No harm done, right?

Yesterday we were shopping at Sam's and two genuine cowboys walked past us. They were fully decked out in 10-gallon hats, boots, and jeans and looked like they just came from a ranch. As they walked by, Grace blurted out, "The Cowboys stink. We don't like the Cowboys." Oops...I guess she's confusing the Dallas Cowboys with real life Cowboys. We'll need to work on that ;-)

Thankfully, these real life cowboys laughed, as I tried to explain to Grace that they are nice cowboys.

Another Classic Grace Quote

2011-02-18T08:55:00.002-06:00

Last night I took the kids for a walk right after we got home. Colin was in his stroller, and Grace decided to push her baby in a stroller. This is a risky move because you never know when Grace will decide that she can't walk anymore because "her legs are broken." Those of you who spend a lot of time with her know that her legs tend to be broken fairly often.

So we walked to the neighborhood playground and were having a great time. Colin enjoyed the swing, while Grace went down the slide at least a dozen times. All was well with the world...UNTIL I announced that it was time to head home to make dinner. Grace refused to walk home. This time there was a twist on her usual broken legs excuse. She informed me that she couldn't walk because she was thirsty and her "legs weren't filled with milk." :-)

Gotta love our little drama queen!!!

Unicorns at the Zoo

2011-02-16T22:11:00.002-06:00

Tonight Grace and I were doing "learning time," working on writing letters and numbers. We got to the letter U, and there was a picture of a unicorn. Grace excitedly told me that she LOVES unicorns. We went to the zoo a few weeks ago, and she's been talking non-stop about it. After she saw the unicorn, she said, "Mommy, can we go to the zoo next week to see if there's a unicorn there? Because I love unicorns!"

So. Darn. Cute.

Grace's Valentine's Dance Performance

2011-02-12T20:34:00.001-06:00

We are so proud of our little dancer! Grace's dance class had a special Valentine's Day performance today, and it was so adorable :-) We love our sweet, silly, always full of laughter girl! Grace, you are AWESOME!!!

Party in the USA, Performed by Grace Calleigh

2011-02-08T12:06:00.002-06:00

Is Grace the next American Idol? She certainly sings with conviction :-) Enjoy her rendition of "Party in the USA." :-)

Grace's Quote of the Month - January 2011

2011-02-01T12:08:00.001-06:00

Grace says a lot of funny things...she keeps us entertained, no doubt about it! In January, she was her usual hilarious self, but one quote has kept me laughing.

Grace, Colin, and I were shopping at Wal-Mart with Nanny (Martin's Mam). We were looking for "fuzzy socks" for Grace, as we prepared for some cold weather. Grace wanted warm, fuzzy socks, "just like Mommy and Nanny have." As we searched for the socks, we entered the training bra section. Grace pointed at one of the bras and said, "Mom - I want to buy boobs."

She was very upset when we didn't buy her a bra...she said she needs them to cover her boobies. Just imagine her as a teenager...

Colin Dancing to the 2.5 Men Theme Song

2011-01-12T22:38:00.003-06:00

Colin absolutely loves the theme song for 2.5 Men! Every time he hears it, he starts doing his adorable little dance :-) He even sings the last note of the song. (Excuse our giggling in the background...we couldn't help ourselves.) Enjoy!!!

Rhyming Words

2011-01-04T19:42:00.002-06:00

I've started teaching Grace about rhyming words. Of course, we're working on the simple ones like boat rhymes with float, shoes rhymes with two, car rhymes with star, etc. We were laughing and having a good time, and I thought to myself, "She's really getting the hang of this!" And then she proved that she understood rhyming words when she said with a HUGE smile on her face:

"MARTIN RHYMES WITH FARTIN'!"

I tried to keep my game face on, but couldn't...we laughed and laughed. Grace was clearly proud of herself! Gotta love her :-)

Happy New Year! Bring on 2011 :-)

2011-01-01T21:47:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year from Team Fogarty!

Here's to making 2011 your best year ever! We had a wonderful time ringing in the new year with dear friends last night. Grace was especially excited to have four of her friends come over to hang out and two of them spend the night (her very first sleepover!).

We hung out with friends all day today, and it was the perfect way to start the year. 2010 was really awesome, especially because we added Colin to our family, and we're eager to see what's in store for us this year! We wish you happiness and peace this year. Choose to make 2011 FABULOUS!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

2010-12-25T19:54:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

With Love
from Martin, Colin, Santa, Grace, & Amber

Grace taught Colin to scream...LOUD!

2010-12-22T22:03:00.000-06:00

Grace and Colin have so much fun together! This whole scene cracked us up. They literally did this for an hour. We adore these kiddos :-)

Grace's 1st Dance Performance

2010-12-05T15:11:00.000-06:00

Grace had her first dance performance today! She started taking a ballet & tap class in September and LOVES it. Today her dance studio hosted a Holiday Open House, and her 3/4 year old class performed to "Here Comes Susie Snowflake." It was literally the sweetest thing I've ever seen. As I'm sure you can imagine, I cried as I watched our big girl dancing.

Grace, we are so proud of you! Mommy & Daddy love you SO MUCH! You continue to bring such joy to our lives. We will always be in the audience supporting you, whether you're dancing, acting, playing sports, or singing! Your first dance performance was AWESOME!

Grace's Quote of the Day

2010-07-02T20:47:00.002-05:00

I'm always thinking ahead. Grace loves playing with Colin's toys. When we're in his room, she loves rummaging through his toy box and checking out his stuff. In preparation for the future when neither of them will want to share anything with each other, I've been having Grace ask Colin to borrow any of his toys she wants to play with. She's very sweet about it. "Brother, may I borrow this frog?" I always answer and tell her that Colin is happy to share his toys with her (knowing full well that someday in the not too distant future, this won't be the case).

This morning Grace had a new request:

"Mom, can I borrow Brother's whole room?"

I couldn't help but laugh. What a smart little girl! She figured out that if she just borrowed his whole room, she wouldn't have to keep asking for the various toys that are in the room. Yep, sometimes Grace is too clever for her own good. She likes to try to outsmart Mommy and Daddy...and from time to time, she succeeds.

Who's that handsome little devil?

2010-06-30T21:38:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that our handsome little guy is 5 months old! Where has the time gone? He's growing up so fast. In fact, I took Colin to the doctor last week for a follow-up visit from his sinus infection and ear infection he had in early June. From June 7th to June 24th, he gained an entired pound! He is now 15 lbs, 12.8 ounces. It's hard to believe how quickly they can put the pounds on. I guess the cereal, which Colin is LOVING, is doing the trick!

Colin loves to smile and wants to touch everything! He always needs to have a toy in his hands, otherwise hair is fair game. He's gotten my hair and Grace's into a death grip...needless to say, Mommy handles this better than Grace. She is not impressed when Colin grabs her hair. Other than that, she loves her little brother and is constantly looking out for him. She makes sure he was his toys to play with and gives him plenty of kisses. I love listening to her talk to him. She uses the sweetest, most loving voice, and when she touches him, she's so gentle. My heart melts whenever they interact with each other. Colin watches Grace's every move and is clearly in awe of his big sister :-)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T22:18:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrate fathers. To all the Dads out there, Happy Father's Day! Thank you for the role you play in your families and for being there for your kids. It makes such a huge difference in their lives.

To Martin, the love of my life and father of my two beautiful children: I love you with all my heart. I love being your wife and being Mommy to our kiddos. Nothing brings me greater joy than raising our family together. Even in the midst of chaos and sleepless nights, I realize how blessed I am that our paths crossed 5 years ago and that I get to spend the rest of my life with you.

You are such an incredible Dad! I love watching you play with the kids, especially when you're making them laugh. The laughter in our home is one of the things I value most in my life. You always know how to make me and the kids smile! Thank you for all that you are, Martin...you complete me.

To my Dad, a.k.a. Daddy-O: Thank you for providing us with such a positive example of what it means to be a parent. If I am half the parent that you and Mom have been to us, then I will have succeeded in raising my kids well. I love you and am so grateful for all the ways you've made a difference in my life. In your professional life, you've always worked to "develop leaders that make a difference" and you've succeeded in doing the same at home, raising four leaders who are making the world a better place, each in our own unique way. We love you so much!

Colin's First Baseball Game

2010-06-19T12:03:00.005-05:00

Last night we took Colin to his first baseball game to see our local minor league team, the Round Rock Express. As you can tell, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. It doesn't get much cuter than that. Such a smiley little boy :-)

It was a wonderful evening with dear friends. We introduced Colin to the awesome game of baseball surrounded by people we love dearly. Grace had a blast as well, playing on the playground and dancing to the music in between innings. She was decked out in her Phillies shirt (thanks Kate and Shawn!) and made the experience authentic by whacking down an entire hot dog. Grace and Uncle Billy had fun hanging out, as we you can see from the adorable picture!

Grace wasn't a fan of the post-game fireworks, but Colin was totally intrigued by them. He watched in awe, while Grace cuddled into her Mommy. Grace kept asking me when the fireworks would be over and telling me that they were too loud!

A good time was had by all, and hopefully we'll make it back to the ballpark at least once more this summer. Family outings to baseball games rarely disappoint...I have wonderful memories of going to see baseball games when I was a kid, especially the Reading Phillies with my Pop-Pop, brother, and cousins. I want Grace and Colin to grow up with special memories. And hopefully this blog will help to commemorate the best times we've had as a family!

Introducing Colin James Fogarty!

2010-01-31T21:59:00.004-06:00

We are thrilled to introduce the newest member of our family...our son, Colin James Fogarty!!!

Colin arrived this morning at 7:38 am and is a perfect little miracle :-)

Happy Birthday, Colin James!!
January 31, 2010
8 lbs, 14 oz
20.5 inches

Stay tuned for more on our bundle of joy and his awesome big sister, Grace!!!

From our home to yours...

2009-12-25T17:42:00.006-06:00

Merry Christmas!

It's a BOY!

2009-09-25T21:53:00.003-05:00

Today was our big ultrasound, and we were thrilled to find out that we're having a BOY!!! Grace will have a little brother sometime in early 2010 :-) We couldn't be happier to add a son to our family, and we know Grace will be an awesome big sister!

Miss Bossy and Full of Sass

2009-08-22T17:26:00.003-05:00

Grace is becoming quite a sassy young lady lately. There's no doubt that the Terrible Two's have arrived, although one minute she's telling me I'm mean and the next she's telling me I'm her best friend. I see a lot of parallels between Grace and myself as a kid. I was known for being sassy and incredibly stubborn, not to mention very bossy!

Grace loves to boss people around - from her Mommy and Daddy to her Uncle Billy to the other kids she spends her day with to our bassett hounds. When we're playing at home, she tells Martin and I exactly what she wants us to do.

Sit down, Mommy. On the ground, next to me. Have a tea party.
Daddy, play in my playhouse. Sit there.
HUSH, Fred and Phoebe (which she tells them every time she hears them barking)

We get our orders very clearly from our toddler. She even asks me, "Do you want timeout, Mommy?" I thought I was the one who gave timeouts...Grace doesn't think so.

Clearly, we have our hands full, but in the best possible way. She's full of life, keeps us on our toes, and showers us with love :-) This is the life I always dreamed of.

Falling down on the job...

2009-08-21T09:28:00.004-05:00

Remember when I promised that I'd do better at keeping up with my blogging. Well, clearly I've not been a woman of my word. Life has been a whirlwind this summer! I honestly can't believe we're quickly approaching September. Where did the summer go?

Alas, here we are! We survived my two weeks away at grad school in Minnesota. It was rough on all of us. I cried a LOT and missed Martin and Grace like crazy. Thank God for Skype video chat, which allowed me to see and talk to my wonderful family everyday. We all made it through, and I am even more convinced that Martin is the best Daddy in the world. He handled two weeks of single parenthood like a pro :-) So now I'm two papers and one online class away from completing my 2nd Master's degree, this one in Philanthropy and Development. Woohoo!!!

In other news, we had an AWESOME visit with Martin's friend, Ollie, from England in early June. You'll find some great pics from his visit in our June online photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/TheFogartyFamilyJune2009#. You can also scope out You Tube videos from one of his living room concerts at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejbyzg88zQQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTtfXi11uUU. Good times! We took a fun day trip to San Antonio, and Grace loved the boat ride on the Riverwalk.

All in all, it's been quite a summer! The heat has been unreal...we're just a few 100+ days away from this being the HOTTEST summer EVER in Austin! Needless to say, we're ready for the beautiful fall weather :-)

That's all for now, friends! Stay tuned, and I'll try to do better about blogging in the months to come.

Happy Baptismal Anniversary, Grace!

2009-08-18T21:51:00.004-05:00

Today is the 2nd Anniversary of Grace's Baptism! It also marks the anniversary of the day Martin and I had our marriage blessed by the Catholic Church. It's a day that will always be special to our family. We were surrounded by the people we love the most and shared our incredible, unconditional love, now as a family of three, in the presence of God, our family, and dear friends.

This is one of my favorite pictures from that day, our sleeping beauty who managed to sleep through the entire Mass, even when Fr. Rick poured the holy water on her head!

I especially want to thank Grace's godparents - my brother, Billy, and Martin's sister, Caroline - who have made a lifetime commitment to Grace and our family :-) We're so thankful for all they do for our sweet girl (and for us too)!

Relive the memories with us:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/GraceSBaptismOurMarriageBlessing#

Sharing the joy...

2009-07-08T22:54:00.002-05:00

Tonight we got to share in the joy of our dear friends, Adria and Michael, who just adopted sweet little Christian :-) We were thrilled to meet Christian and congratulate the new parents! We love you all and couldn't be happier for you.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

Happy Independence Day, One and All! We spent last night and most of today in Waco :-) We had a nice visit with the family. Grace's favorite part was jumping on the bed with Nana and Pop-Pop.

As you can see, she was having a blast :-) We got home in time to watch the big Austin fireworks show on TV and to catch a few smaller fireworks in the sky near our house. Grace isn't so sure about the fireworks...she mostly just says that they're loud. It was a great day! Now time for bed...

Potty Training is in full force...

2009-06-23T21:41:00.004-05:00

Grace is slowly, but surely, mastering the art of going to the potty! We've been really impressed by how quickly she's caught on. And, of course, we're looking forward to buying less diapers!

There's a great potty video with Elmo and friends that Grace loves. We've watched that DVD a LOT, so much that we pretty much know it by heart. Martin and I can sing along with the songs, which makes Grace giggle :-)

My one beef with the Elmo DVD is when it goes through all of the ways you can talk about going #1 and #2. In the #2 section, most of the names are pretty harmless. Then a little kid comes on the screen and announces, "I call it dookie." And guess what word Grace has latched on to? Yep, you guessed it. Dookie :-)

More fun at the Austin Children's Museum

2009-06-20T17:05:00.005-05:00

Grace and I have definitely been getting our money's worth at the Austin Children's Museum. We bought a membership awhile back and have visited quite a bit. Grace loves it, and so do I! There's so much to do and see. Today's trip was especially fun :-)

Grace loves the new slide!

My personal favorite, the big cow! MOO :-)Little hard hat girl :-)

I love making these special memories with my sweet girl. Being a Mom is such a gift!

A Message from Grace Calleigh

2009-06-16T22:55:00.000-05:00

Hello, my name is Grace. I'm a one person human tornado. I can manage to wreak havoc on any room I enter in 2 seconds flat. My Mom tries to get me to play the "clean up game." How do I help her understand that cleaning up is not a game? It's SOOOOO not fun. I prefer making the messes. Please give her this very important message. Thank you!

The Whirlwind of 2009

2009-06-01T21:42:00.002-05:00

Is it really June already?!? The last five months have flown by. The Fogarty Family has had a wonderful first five months of 2009; it's been quite a whirlwind.

The Highlights So Far (in no particular order):

Grace turning 2 years old! (http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-2nd-birthday-grace.html)
Amber (me) turning the big 3-0!!! (http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-turning-30.html)
The Fogarty Birthday Luau (http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2009/05/fogarty-birthday-luau.html)
Traveling to Phoenix in January with Martin to visit family and reunite with my volunteer community and visit the place where our Love Story started
Celebrating Mother's Day in Waco with the fam
All of the holidays - Easter (especially the Easter Play Date with Grace's new pals), Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day
Joining the Austin Children's Musuem and spending quality time there with Grace
Grace's first trip to the Austin Zoo
Watching Grace grow and learn :-)

Life is good. Yep.

The Fogarty Birthday Luau

2009-05-31T18:17:00.013-05:00

The Fogarty Birthday Luau was AWESOME! Last night we celebrated Grace's 2nd Birthday and my 30th Birthday with family and friends. You can see all of the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/FogartyBirthdayLuau# or see a few of the highlights below.

Martin and Amber, ready to Luau!

Mom (Nana) and Anna, my niece

Kirinda and Grace

Isn't this cake awesome? It was made by my sister-in-law, Jen!! She's so talented. Thanks, Jen!

Blowing out the candles...

Jen, Dad, Anna, and Brian

Even Fred and Phoebe got in the spirit of the Luau!

Mom, Christie, Billy, and Martin

Ollie entertained us with his fantastic music! Check him out at www.myspace.com/oliverchilds

The best of the best!
Good lookin' people!

Thanks to all who made it a perfect Luau, especially my Mom, Keila, and Jo who all brought food. You guys rock!

All in all, a good time was had with wonderful family and friends - a great way to celebrate being born and giving birth to the most amazing little girl in the world :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Grace!

2009-05-26T07:07:00.002-05:00

Today our sweet girl turns 2 years old! It's hard to believe how quickly the time has gone.

Martin and I got up early this morning and remembered the exact moment we welcomed Grace into the world - 6:09 am. It is a moment that is frozen in time, a moment we will never forget. That moment is imprinted on our hearts.

Relive the moment with us:
http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2007/08/graces-birth-story.html
http://thefogartyfamily.blogspot.com/2007/05/introducing-grace-calleigh-fogarty.html

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

~Charles R. Swindoll, The Strong Family

We sincerely hope that Grace’s memory bank is filling up with wonderful memories. Her first two years have brought us countless blessings. Our life is more complete because of the joy she brings to us each and every day.

My Blog by Wordle

2009-05-20T16:47:00.004-05:00

I discovered an awesome online tool that creates "word clouds." So here's a word cloud of The Fogarty Family Blog!

Image attributed to http://www.wordle.net/.

You can visit http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/869449/AF-Blog to see a larger version of this word cloud (and create your own)!

My Sweet Grace!

2009-05-12T10:25:00.004-05:00

Here's a glimpse of my sweet Grace, who is 2 weeks away from turning 2 years old! This is a picture taken after Mass on Mother's Day. Grace is, by far, the best Mother's Day and birthday gift I could ever ask for! Isn't she adorable?

On my own birthday, I'm all reflective about everything, and I've come to this realization. Of all the things I've accomplished during the last thirty years, I'm most proud of my little Grace. Being her Mom has been the BEST experience of my life, and I'm so thankful for the blessing that she is every day (even during the increasingly frequent "terrible two moments")! My love for her is beyond measure.

On Turning 30

2009-05-12T09:12:00.002-05:00

Today is my 30th Birthday! Many people have mixed emotions about turning 30. Not me! I'm excited to start a new decade of my life. Here's my perspective on the big 3-0:

My 20s have been an amazing decade! Filled with lots of great memories, some adventures (and misadventures), and discovering the type of woman I want to be, the last decade brought so much joy. I started my 20s much like everyone else...graduating from college with great anticipation for my future. I landed my first job doing marketing for a software company and worked myself to the bone. I started my MBA and pushed myself throughout the three and a half years it took me to finish. By 25, I had my MBA in hand, and I promptly quit my corporate job and embarked on the journey of a lifetime.

I started a year long volunteer program called Holy Cross Associates, which took me to Phoenix, Arizona, where I came face-to-face, for the first time, with the heart-wrenching realities of poverty and homelessness. That year was, by far, the most formative year of my life. I found myself during my volunteer year, but that’s not all I found. I got to know God in a way I never had before. I came to understand the importance of my personal relationship with Him. I learned to value my family and friends more intensely. I discovered depths of pain I never knew existed and the enormity of human need. I became more deeply conscious of the dignity of every life. I began to crystallize my priorities and how I wanted to life my life. I found my vocation, my life’s work.

And toward the end of that formative year, on June 3, 2005, I found the love of my life. A night out to celebrate a friend's birthday party at my favorite Irish pub led to meeting my soulmate. I will always remember the early days of our romance with a smile...we fell madly in love and knew that we were meant to be together, in spite of living in different countries with the odds stacked against us. Now, here we are, almost four years later - we've built a life together and are raising an awesome little girl who brings us such joy.

I couldn't dream of a better decade, but I will. I start my 30s with hope and anticipation of what's to come. I look forward to enjoying what I worked so hard for - the love of my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter, strong relationships with the best family and friends a girl could ask for, a vocation that I love, and an eternal optimism that helps me to see the best in all things and all people. It rocks to be me :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T22:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!

I'm so thankful to be a Mother and to have such a wonderful Mother and Mother-in-Law!

It's been far too long...

2009-03-16T14:04:00.002-06:00

Remember me? I'm the Mommy blogger who has totally slacked off on her blogging duties! I promise I'll catch up soon. Hopefully this week since it's Spring Break, and I don't have to teach on Tuesday and Thursday evenings :-)

To bring you up to speed, life in the Fogarty household has been busy but blissful the last few months! I started a new job at the beginning of February, which I LOVE, and I'm also finishing up my Capstone (thesis) paper for grad school, while teaching a Business Communication course at St. Edward's University, my alma mater. Yes, busy as a bee, but seriously loving life! I see the light at the end of the tunnel, as I hope to have a final draft of my Capstone submitted by the end of March, and the class I'm teaching ends at the end of April.

On the homefront, Martin and I are trying to keep up with our very energetic toddler :-) Grace constantly entertains us these days with her non-stop talking and active imagination. She loves to sing and dance, and we love watching her face light up when she hears a song she recognizes. Her favorites are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," the ABCs, "Elmo's Song," and "If You're Happy and You Know It."

Grace has started to talk in complete sentences. Most often we hear, "It's dark in here," when she walks into a dark room, and "I want to take a walk," when she gets into her stroller and lets us know that she's ready for a walk. She can be quite the bossy young lady, and I can't for the life of me figure out where she gets that from ;-) LOL...clearly, she didn't inherit that trait from her mother. She did get her independence from me though. She's a little girl who always seems to take charge, and she clearly knows what she wants. Watching her personality develop has brought us great joy!

That's all for now...stay tuned though! I'm recommitting myself to blogging and am now dabbling with Twitter. Come follow me there (search afogarty2005)! Thanks for visiting!

Grace and Her Baby

2009-01-02T20:27:00.002-06:00

Here's a picture of Grace on New Year's Day with her swaddled baby. She got the baby from her Nana and Pop-Pop for Christmas, and she's been carrying her around non-stop. My baby and her baby...too cute for words!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:06:00.004-06:00

Welcome to 2009! We're excited to begin another year and to see what's in store. We expect nothing but the best - building memories with those we love and watching our dear Grace grow up. We rang in 2009 in the company of some of our nearest and dearest. It was a fabulous night!

Grace's First Parade

2008-11-29T21:41:00.003-06:00

This morning Grace and I went to the Chuy's Children Giving to Children Christmas parade in downtown Austin. I think it'll be a new tradition! Grace seemed to enjoy her first parade, and I had a great time too. Her favorite part ~ the HUGE Hello Kitty balloon, followed closely by seeing Santa! My favorite part was seeing loads of kids so excited about giving toys to kids in need. We were standing near a little boy who asked his Mom at least a dozen times when he could "give the toys away." I'll admit I got teary when they stopped the parade, and kids flooded the street to donate toys. What a beautiful sight and a great way to teach kids about sharing their gifts with others! A built-in stewardship lesson for families in and around Austin! I love it :-) Rumor has it that they collected 30,000+ toys today...awesome!

After the parade, Grace and I paid a visit to the hospital to give our best wishes to Grace's wonderful caregiver, who had an emergency c-section on Wednesday. She gave birth to a beautiful, but tiny, little girl named Avery, who is still in the NICU. Please keep her in your prayers!

We closed out our day at home with naps, followed by football, and of course, more Thanksgiving leftovers! It was a wonderful Saturday!

Christmas Trees Galore!

2008-11-28T21:57:00.004-06:00

This picture sums up Grace's reaction to each of the three Christmas trees I put up last night while she was spending the night with Nana and Pop-Pop in Waco. Her joy was so heart-warming. Words can't begin to describe how fun it was to watch Grace discover each tree! I've been smiling non-stop since we got home a few hours ago.

I've always loved Christmas, and this has always been my favorite time of year. This year my excitement and anticipation are at a whole new level, knowing that Grace's 2nd Christmas will bring many smiles, much laughter, and memories that will last a lifetime.

By the way, this picture is my new desktop image on my laptop. It makes my day every time I see it. Grace has that effect on me daily.

From our home to yours...

2008-11-27T09:44:00.002-06:00

We wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving! Be sure to take time to reflect on all you have to be thankful for...it will do your heart good. And tell your family and friends how much they mean to you. It's the perfect day to surround yourself with the love and happiness that only family can bring!

On this day, we are particularly grateful for our wonderful family, great friends, and a life that often feels like a fairytale. We are abundantly blessed, and we are thankful today and every day.

Grace is 18 months old today!

2008-11-26T22:08:00.005-06:00

A year and a half old already? Seriously? The last 18 months have gone by far too quickly! We cherish our beautiful daughter and all the joy she brings to us on a daily basis!

She has her 18 month check-up on Monday, so we'll fill you in how much she's grown then. For now, here's a list of some of the words and phrases Grace likes to say these days:

Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada, Nana, Pop-Pop, Uncle, Billy, Anna, Chanel (her caregiver), Kayla (Chanel's daughter), Aidan (her 2 year old pal from day care), NO (her favorite word), ball, "Ewww, poo poo," sippy, cup, sit down, come on, here you go, up, on, one, two, moon, sun, dog, puppy, woof woof, cow, moo, kitty, Santa, "Ho Ho Ho," doll, apple, potty, get down, baby, nose, shoes, socks, toes, belly

Right before our very eyes, our newborn became an infant. Then our infant grew into a toddler. Grace Calleigh, slow down and stop growing up so fast! Happy 18 Month Birthday, sweet girl :-) We love you.

Booster Seat Time!

2008-11-23T22:23:00.003-06:00

Today Grace officially graduated from her high chair to a booster seat! This picture shows her having her first meal, Spaghetti-O's, in her new booster seat. We've also moved past the days of us feeding anything to Grace. She wants to do most things herself these days. My little girl seems to have her mother's strong desire for independence. She's in a rush to grow up just as I was...now I know how my parents felt when I tried to hurry through my childhood years. I find it fascinating how we're in such a rush to grow up; then we reach a time in life when we want to be young again. Ahh, the circle of life :-) I'm feeling very reflective these days. With the holidays on the horizon, that's no surprise.

Speaking of the holidays, today Martin and I accomplished more Christmas shopping. We're on a roll! I hope to have most of our shopping finished before December begins. I'm getting so excited for Grace's 2nd Christmas! You can be assured that the decorating will begin this Friday. After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm finally starting to recover after being under the weather for most of last week. Whatever I had really took its toll on me. I'm glad to be back in the land of the living. Being sick and having a toddler do not go hand in hand; I'm happy Grace managed to stay healthy. Even my sweet husband, who's rarely ever sick, didn't feel well for a few days.

That's all for now. Three cheers for our big girl & her new booster seat :-)

Laundry Basket Ride -- Whee!!!

2008-11-22T21:52:00.004-06:00

Grace loves to be a helper...one of her favorite things to help Mommy with, "folding" laundry. She spreads the clean clothes all over the house and even tries on our clothes. She's not impressed when Mommy actually gets all the clothes folded and back into the basket. She knows that then her fun is over.

Tonight we found a new use for the laundry basket, and Grace liked it even more than helping to fold clothes. Martin, Uncle Billy, and I each took turns racing Grace around the house in the basket, which brought hysterical laughter from Grace and shortness of breath for the three of us :-) Neverless, fun was had by all.

Getting so smart!

2008-11-19T21:42:00.001-06:00

Our little girl is getting more and more clever by the day! Tonight she spent quite awhile with her Old McDonald book. In this picture, I asked her, "Where's the kitty cat?" And she pointed to the kitty cat. I then asked her to find the cow, and she did. It's thrilling to watch her learn about the world around her.

I'm sure it's not shocking to anyone that Grace is talking up a storm! I've lost count of the number of words she can say now. She's great at repeating, so we're constantly trying to teach her.

My favorite word she's repeated so far...CHAMPIONSHIP! Daddy said it, and Grace repeated it! How cool is that?

As I'm sure you can tell, we are SO proud of our sweet girl!

Hello, Anna!

2008-11-15T16:24:00.007-06:00

Today Martin, Grace, and I visited Uncle Brian, Aunt Jen, and baby Anna at their home in La Vernia. It was so amazing holding my niece again...this time Grace let me hold her for a bit longer before having a tantrum. I savored the moment!

Anna had her eyes open a lot during our visit, and she seemed curious about her relatives who had come to see her. As she grows up, she'll come to understand how incredibly loved she is!

Grace was pretty curious about her cousin. She watched her for a bit while she had tummy time. I know Grace will shower her cousin with hugs and kisses in the years to come. It will be fun to watch them play together as they grow up!

This afternoon Grace and I went out shopping and had a good time. I couldn't believe how many people were out and about today! The holidays are coming, and folks in Austin seem to be getting prepared. Martin and I are getting really excited about Grace's second Christmas!

Tonight we're looking forward to having our friends, Keila and Brandon, over for dinner. We'll be making steak and salmon on the grill. Yummy yum yum! Can't wait!

Introducing Anna Marie Moyer!

2008-11-12T20:39:00.004-06:00

At 12:56 pm today, my brother, Brian, and sister-in-law, Jen, welcomed their daughter, Anna Marie, into the world! She's a perfect angel, weighing in at 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19.5 inches long. We are thrilled to welcome Anna to our family!

My Mom (the proud Nana), Grace, and I went to San Antonio this afternoon to meet Anna and congratulate the new Mom and Dad. There's something magical about witnessing the first hours of a child's life. A friend of mine put it best, "A newborn child is proof of God's undying faith in us."

Grace did a lot of playing at the hospital, but she had quite the temper tantrum when I held Anna. I guess Grace isn't ready to share her Mommy just yet! She recovered awhile later and kept repeating Anna's name for us. This had us all giggling! I'm so glad Grace now has a cousin close by to grow up with...some of my best childhood memories involve hanging out with my cousins in PA.

Welcome to the world, Anna Marie, and more importantly, welcome to the family! You can be assured of our unconditional love today and always.

Ring Around the Rosie!

2008-11-08T18:19:00.004-06:00

During a visit from Nana & Pop-Pop today, Grace learned one of Nana's favorite grandkid activities
~ RING AROUND THE ROSIE!

Grace's favorite part is when "we all fall down." It makes her laugh every time! This picture captures Daddy, Nana, and Grace having a blast doing Ring Around the Rosie together :-) Another wonderful family memory!

We have a new President!

2008-11-04T23:09:00.002-06:00

This evening the United States of America elected a new President, Barack Obama!

This was the first election of Grace's life, and Martin's first election living in the U.S. We watched as the results rolled in, and Grace clapped every time she saw people clapping on TV. Unfortunately, she wasn't awake by the time the new President was announced.

This picture shows Grace during President-Elect Obama's acceptance speech.

It's been a year...

2008-10-10T09:21:00.005-05:00

It seems hard to believe that Dawn's been gone a year. Many of you will remember my blog posts last year about my friend, Dawn, who died unexpectedly at the age of 33. It was one year ago today.

I'll never forget receiving that phone call; hearing the news knocked the wind out of me. In the last year, I've struggled to accept the reality of the death of a young wife and mother. Someone like me. Someone experiencing the same joys in her life. Her daughter, Hannah, was just 15 months old when she lost her Mom. Dawn and Robert had been married for four years. It was too soon.

In the midst of my own struggle to come to terms with losing Dawn, I pray daily for Robert and Hannah, for Dawn's parents, her sister, her brothers. I ask you to pray for them today as well. And pray for Dawn as she watches over us. My friend, Kathryn, said it best, "Dawn, we hope you're making heaven laugh today."

Grace is 16 Months Old!

2008-09-26T21:28:00.003-05:00

I'm sure it's not possible. Where has the time gone? 16 months have passed since Grace was born...I just can't believe it. Today we pause to give thanks for our daughter who has brought such abundant joy to our lives. We love you, Grace Calleigh!

This adorable picture is of Grace playing her bodhrán (Irish drum) earlier this week. She digs it!

Today is also my nephew's 6th birthday! Happy Birthday, Josh :-) We love you and hope you have an awesome birthday!

Last, but certainly not least, it's my Aunt Barbie's birthday today too. She's also my Godmother, and I love her to bits! Birthday wishes all around :-)

Ike has come and gone...

2008-09-13T12:38:00.003-05:00

...and we were spared. Other than a bit of a breeze, we completely dodged Ike's bullet here in Austin, and we're thankful! We didn't even get any rain. I was up off and on during the night checking on the status of the storm. At 5:30 am, I brought the dogs into the garage because the wind was really picking up, but it became clear within a few hours that we weren't going to be in the danger zone.

So we're spending the day watching the coverage of the storm and the havoc it wreaked on Galveston, the Houston area, and the Gulf Coast. Please keep everyone who has been affected by the storm in your thoughts and prayers in the days to come.

Awaiting Ike...

2008-09-12T19:16:00.003-05:00

The eyes of Texas are on Hurricane Ike, as we await landfall within the next 5-6 hours. We've been tracking the storm all week, and the path has changed significantly. There was a time when Austin was directly in the path of the storm; now we're on the fringes. They are saying we should only get 1-2 inches of rain and winds of up to 50 mph. In comparison to early projections, this is welcome news. We plan on spending the day at home, and we'll surely be paying close attention to the weather reports.

The news, on the other hand, for those along the Gulf Coast is not good. This storm could bring widespread devastation, so please take a moment to pray for all who are in the storm's path. Pray for safety and protection and that God will watch over us all.

A fun Saturday :-)

2008-09-06T22:51:00.001-05:00

Grace and I started our day with a nice walk and a visit to the playground. Grace had a great time playing, especially picking up and throwing the wood chips that surround the swingset and jungle gym. She also liked climbing the steps of the jungle gym, although she didn't want my help walking back down the steps. She wants to be completely independent and isn't impressed when we try to help her do anything. In fact, when I try to take her hand to help her, she looks up and "yells" at me. I can only imagine how sassy she'll be when she starts to talk more!

I took Grace to get professional pictures taken in the afternoon. It's the first time she's gotten professional pics taken since she started walking. It was quite the adventure! I dressed her in her Philadelphia Eagles cheerleading uniform, and as you can see, she looked adorable! The photographer and I had a great time, as we tried to get Grace to 1) stay in one place long enough to take her picture, and 2) show her pretty smile. I'm pleased to report that we were successful! We got some wonderful pictures of our little cheerleader :-) I can't wait until they arrive in a couple weeks!

This evening Grace and I took a road trip to Bastrop to visit my friend's grave. Grace napped all the way there and back, and I used the drive as a time for reflection. I still think about my friend, Dawn, and her family everyday. In October, it'll be a year since she passed away unexpectedly. It has made me realize just how short life is and has reminded me, time and again, of the importance of living each day to its fullest. On the way home, I pulled over to snap the picture on the right. I thought Dawn was reminding me that she's watching over all of us.

Grace is 15 Months Old!

2008-08-26T19:06:00.002-05:00

As hard as it is for us to believe, Grace is 15 months old today! Where has the time gone? It seems as though every month goes by faster than the one before. As I'm feeling that ironic combination of happiness and sadness today that only parents understand, I've been thinking about something someone said to me this summer that has stuck with me.

"You only get one chance with your kids."

That's one of the most profound things anyone has said to me in awhile. It's such a short sentence, yet it packs a punch. I've repeated those words to myself many times lately, reminding myself that each and every day of Grace's life is a precious gift, and I need to cherish each moment with her.

As I've been reflecting on what it means to only have one chance to be a good Mom, a new song came out on the Christian radio station that brought me into a deeper understanding of that powerful statement. The song is called "One Life to Love," and the chorus goes like this:

"You only get just one time around. You only get one shot at this, one chance to find out the one thing that you don't want to miss. One day when it's all said and done, I hope you see that it was enough, this one ride, one try, one life to love."

What an awesome way to restate the old cliche of living everyday to the fullest! Let's all strive to love this one life we have and to be thankful daily for all the ways we've been blessed.

Home Sweet Home!

2008-08-25T21:46:00.009-05:00

It was with heavy hearts that we arrived in Austin this evening after our wonderful journey to Ireland. Saying goodbye is the worst part of any trip to see family, but particularly in our case. The distance between us is so great that saying goodbye hurts even more.

We flew from Shannon to Newark (7 hours), then Newark to Austin (3.5 hours). Grace slept quite a bit on both flights, but not enough to please those sitting around us. She had moments on both flights when she cried uncontrollably. We think it may have been the change in altitude affecting her ears. Regardless of what made her unhappy, the journey home was rough on all three of us. Nineteen hours of traveling with an almost 15-month old isn't easy. In fact, it's downright exhausting. Martin and I agreed, though, that it was worth it. Our time in Ireland was so special, and we wouldn't trade it for anything, not even a carefree international flight!

The two highlights of the trip home both happened in the Newark airport. First, Grace had her first Happy Meal. She enjoyed her first taste of fast food, although we warned her that we'll be keeping the Happy Meals to a minimum, even though McD's has come out with healthier options (including milk instead of soda...YAY)! The second highlight was Grace's discovery of the moving walkway. She thoroughly enjoyed it, under our very close supervision :-)

Grace's Nana and Pop-Pop picked us up at the airport, and she was thrilled to see them and her Uncle Billy! Even though she was worn out, she still had plenty of energy to play and reacquaint herself with all her toys at home. We're all winding down now and looking forward to (hopefully) a good night's sleep. But then I'm up at 4:30 AM to take Mom, Dad, and Billy to the airport for their trip to Philly. Good night, one and all!

Friday and Saturday in Ireland

2008-08-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

Well, it's Sunday, and our trip is winding down. We've had such a nice time and aren't looking forward to saying goodbye. The week flew by, and it's hard to believe it's nearly time to return to the States. We really wish we could've stayed longer...maybe someday the U.S. will come around and give employees more time off every year. Here's to hoping!

Friday was a very chill day for us...we did a tour of the graveyards where various family members are buried and paid our respects. We had a delicious lunch with Mam and Dad while we were out and about and were so pleased to have that quality time with them. Grace is lucky to have fantastic grandparents in Ireland and in the U.S. Every child should be so lucky :-)

We returned to Caroline and Willie's for "bun burgers and homemade chips," a.k.a. hamburgers and fries. I realize that much of my blogging is about eating -- we did a lot of that on this trip, and all the food was awesome! We had an evening of family time with cider and beers. Grace was in bed by 10 PM for the first time on our trip, which gave Martin and I more time with Mam and Dad at home. The moments with the family have been the most cherished times of our trip. Everyday we've been blessed with moments to remember.

On Saturday, we went to the wedding of Martin's cousin, Sean. It was my first time to experience an Irish wedding, although I missed most of it since Grace was in no mood for sitting quietly. Luckily, there was a side chapel in the church, and we spent the majority of the ceremony in there. Martin got a lot of pics so I feel like I was there.

The wedding started around 2 PM, and we were at the reception until 1:45 AM...just imagine the day we had with Grace! After the wedding ceremony, everyone hung out in the bar at the hotel until the meal was served at 6 PM. The band started playing around 9:00ish and that went on until around midnight. Then the disco started, and the dancing continued. I've never seen anything like it. It was unreal! Apparently, it was a typical Irish wedding. I was impressed!

I'll admit it was a very long day. Grace wasn't very cooperative, not that I blame her. After all, she's a one year old little girl who was surrounded by loads of people, loud music, and disco lights for the first time in her life. She had her shining moments though, particularly when she got out on the dance floor and showed us her moves!

My other Grace highlights for the day included her tight squeeze hugs and kisses and watching her dance with her Daddy. During the last week, Grace has started to hug you back when you're holding her, and it is the sweetest thing. The first time she did it, it brought tears to my eyes. She's such an affectionate little girl. Sometimes, she'll just walk over and give me or Martin a kiss out of the blue. I'm so proud of her I could just burst!

Today is our last day here, and it's been low-key so far. We took Grace on a walk and hung out with the family. This evening we'll be having dinner together and enjoying our last evening with the fam. So that's all for now, and my next post will be from our home base in Austin, Texas.

How Do I Love Thee?

2008-08-24T08:15:00.002-05:00

There are moments in every marriage when you fall in love all over the again. For some couples, those moments are few and far between. I feel exceedingly lucky that I experience those moments incredibly often. Our time in Ireland has been packed with those moments. I'm certainly not eloquent enough to put into words the depths of my love for my husband. I wish I could. I really do.

One of my favorite quotes is, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Since the day I met Martin in Rosie McCaffery's Irish Pub in Phoenix, my life has been filled with moments that have taken my breath away. What a life we have built for ourselves in the last three years --- I'm in awe of what has grown since that fateful night when I spotted the love of my life for the very first time.

During this trip, it has been so special to watch Martin introduce his daughter to his relatives. It was special to watch Martin dance with his Nanny and spend time with his uncles, aunts, and cousins at the wedding. It was special to see him make his newest niece, Melissa, smile and to watch him playing with Michelle, Liam, and Conor. It was special to watch as he joked with his sisters. And twas special to see the bond that clearly exists between Martin and his parents. He's a family man who I respect and admire beyond belief.

As our trip sadly comes to an end, I pause for a moment to give thanks for my AMAZING husband, our daughter, and our incredible family here in Ireland. God has blessed us abundantly, and we are truly thankful.

Thursday in Ireland

2008-08-22T10:25:00.005-05:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it was another wonderful day in Ireland! This trip has been perfect from the moment we arrived. Our Thursday was especially spectacular :-) Martin, Grace, and I took a nice walk around Clogheen. I love hearing about memories from Martin's childhood and seeing the look on his face as he reminisces. We spent a few hours hanging out with Sharon, Tom, Michelle, and Conor. Grace is a big fan of her cousins and had a great time checking out all of their toys. Grace was particularly entertained by a megaphone toy they had. I'll post the video of her playing with it when we get home; it's hysterical :-)

We got home in time for another amazing home-cooked meal, complete with steaks, mashed potatoes, and veg! Mam and Dad are such gracious hosts, and we never go hungry when we're here. After dinner, we took a walk to a pub in Clogheen for a drink with Martin's cousin and her fiance and Caroline. Grace came along, but slept in her stroller (a.k.a. buggy) the whole time we were there.

After that, it was time for one of the things I was most excited about on this trip - seeing Michelle do her Irish dancing in the show at the community hall. The show is called Draíocht na Faille Deirge and is a show full of Irish dance and music. Words cannot even begin to describe the experience! I was blown away by the beauty of the music and talent of the dancers. It was definitely a highlight of the trip! Michelle, our niece, was the STAR of the show, and we were so proud of her! It was truly an honor to be there to see her dance. Rest assured that I'll post several videos of the show in the days to come, along with pictures of our beautiful and talented niece, Michelle!

They served scones at the show, and Grace thought the world of them. She was very entertained by the music and dancing through most of the show. I loved watching her sweet face as she looked in awe at the dancers. She literally devoured an entire scone herself, which was quite the spectacle :-) Perhaps Grace will grow up to be an Irish dancer like her cousin!

Wednesday in Ireland

2008-08-21T06:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was another awesome day in Ireland! We went to Cahir, a town close to Clogheen for lunch and to do some souvenir shopping. Cahir is the home of Cahir Castle, which was constructed in the 13th Century and was used to film the movie, Excalibur. It's a spectacular castle!

The streets of Cahir were alive with activity, as a movie was being filmed at Cahir Castle and there were lots of interesting costumed characters on the streets. Also, it was the day of the "deb's ball," which is Ireland's version of Prom. We saw a bunch of teenagers all dressed up and preparing for their big night out.

We went to a pub for some soup and met up with Neil, one of Martin's buddies from his days in Oxford, and his girlfriend, Rachel. We made plans to meet up with them again in the evening and headed to the souvenir shop. They had ice cream there, and Martin shared a cone with Grace. Grace ended up with it all over her face, but she enjoyed every bite!

We headed back to Clogheen, and Grace and I had a nice nap. We awoke to the most amazing smell...Mam's famous pork dinner! We had a truly delicious meal together with Mam, Dad, Caroline, Willie, Liam, and Melissa. Martin was in heaven since his Mother's pork dinner is "his favorite meal ever." I must admit that it knocked my socks off too, and Grace was thoroughly impressed as well.

After dinner, we had a visit with Sharon, Martin's sister, her husband, Tom, and Conor and Michelle. We gave them their gifts and hung out for a bit before heading out for the night. Grace stayed home with her Aunt Caroline, cousin Liam, and grandparents and had a great evening playing with them. Meanwhile, Martin and I met up with Neil and Rachel in Cahir for beers. Later, Eamon, another of Martin's good friends, met up with us, along with his daughter, Tara, who I befriended on Facebook awhile back and finally had the pleasure of meeting. We did a pub crawl to three of Cahir's pubs, enjoying beer and cider at each. We had a really wonderful time hanging out with good friends and experiencing Ireland's nightlife.

My favorite thing about pubs in Ireland is that people can stay and drink past closing time. The pubs closed at 11 PM last night, but we were there until 1 AM. You arrive outside a pub, and it looks deserted from the outside, but once you're inside, you see that the party is still rocking on :-) No nasty bouncers throwing you out at closing time like in the States...gotta love that!

All in all, it was yet another brilliant day! That's all for the moment :-) TTFN!

We're in Ireland!

2008-08-20T06:51:00.006-05:00

Hello to all, and greetings from Clogheen, Ireland - the home of Martin's family! Clogheen is in County Tipperary and is a lovely town. I marvel at the beauty of this country each time I visit. This is my third time here, and I am still in awe. As a matter of fact, three years ago I visited Ireland for the first time (in August 2005), met Martin's family, and said yes to his marriage proposal. I hold all of those memories so near to my heart. It's hard to believe that three years later, we're traveling here as a family with our beautiful daughter, Grace Calleigh. What a spectacular three years it has been for us!

We arrived on Sunday morning, August 17th. It was about 7:30 AM Irish time, but just 1:30 AM Texas time. Needless to say, the three of us were worn out from our journey. We flew from Austin to Newark, and Grace was great on that three and a half hour flight. She slept for about two hours and played nicely the rest of the time. The first half of our trip was great! In Newark, we had dinner and tried to wear Grace out. She ran all around the airport; she loves having big, wide open spaces to run free. When we boarded the plane bound for Shannon, Ireland, we had high hopes that Grace would sleep much of the trip. No such luck :-) We ended up sitting on the plane for an hour and a half before taking off, and Grace was really not impressed. All she wanted was to run around the plane, which of course she couldn't do. We managed to keep her somewhat tame, but then we had 6 hours of flying to get through. I'll spare you all the details, but suffice it to say that 2 nasty poops and several "baby meltdowns" later, we arrived at the Shannon airport. In spite of being worn out, we were thrilled to land on Irish soil!

Grace got to use her Irish passport for the first time, and she and Martin sped through the EU line, while I waited in the long American line. Grace had fallen asleep toward the end of our journey (FINALLY) and slept through our arrival, getting our bags, and walking through the doors to her anxiously waiting grandparents! She finally woke when I changed her diaper in the airport and gave lots of cuddles to her Nana as we walked to the car. We drove back to Clogheen and had an awesome Irish breakfast waiting for us. It hit the spot! We met up with Martin's sister, Sharon, and her two kids, Michelle and Conor, plus Martin's nephew and Godson, Liam. It was a great way to start the day!

After breakfast, we headed to Martin's parents house to get ourselves showered and dressed for Melissa's Baptism. The Baptism was beautiful, definitely the most unique one I've ever witnessed. It concluded with the priest singing to Melissa, who smiled away at him. After the Baptism, the party got rolling at Martin's sister and brother-in-law's house (Caroline and Willie). The party raged on all day long and was fabulous. Loads of family and friends came to celebrate Melissa's Baptism and Liam's 8th birthday. The day was complete with typical Irish weather...in other words, it rained all day long! That didn't stop Liam and all his friends from playing on the bouncy castle though :-)

When we finally got to bed at midnight, all three of us were exhausted! But guess what? We slept in until Noon the next day and felt a world better! Monday was a day of relaxation and hanging out with the fam. Grace got comfortable in her new surroundings and had a blast playing with her cousin, Liam. I got my long-overdue cuddle time with my new niece, Melissa, and fell in love with her! Grace was really sweet to her and gave her lots of kisses!

Tuesday was the long-awaited trip to the Cliffs of Moher! I've wanted to go there ever since seeing my brother, Billy's amazing pictures from his trip a couple years ago. Martin has never been there either, which still blows my mind. The Cliffs are about 100 miles from Clogheen, and we all set off for the journey. We arrived JUST IN TIME to see the Cliffs...as we were snapping our photos, we watched a huge cloud roll in from over the Atlantic and sure enough, it started to dump rain on us about 20 minutes after we arrived. NOTE: This pic is not from our visit to the Cliffs...I'll post ours later, but the backdrop wasn't nearly so clear. Alas, such is life! It was quite the adventure, as we tried to keep Melissa and Grace dry and warm. It was certainly worth the trip because the Cliffs are absolutely breathtaking and the scenery on the drive was equally as magnificent! I saw my fair share of "fields of green and fences made of stone."

We made it back to Clogeen around 8 PM and got Chinese food for dinner. We just chilled out, ate dinner, and relaxed after our long day. It was another great day in Ireland! That's all for now; keep checking back for more about our time here! Love to all back home :-)

Ireland, Here We Come!

2008-08-15T18:45:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow morning the Fogarty family will set off for our journey to Ireland! It will be Grace's first trip to her Daddy's home, and we couldn't be more excited! We've been counting the days for months, and the time has nearly come. We can't wait for Grace to meet her Irish family, especially her new cousin, Melissa, who was born in May :-) It's going to be such a special time for all of us. Rest assured that we'll take hundreds of pictures to commemorate the experience, and I'll blog all about it.

I believe Garth Brooks says it best:

"Ireland, I am coming home. I can see the rolling fields of green and fences made of stone. I am reaching out; won't you take my hand? I am coming home, Ireland!"

Home Sweet Home!

2008-08-03T20:54:00.002-05:00

After three very long weeks in Minnesota, I am home at last! I listened to the Daughtry song "Home" a lot while I was away..."I'm goin' home to the place where I belong, where your love has always been enough for me." It is so good to be home. Truly, this is the place where I belong. Martin and I have spent much more time away from each other than we would have liked during the early days of our relationship - that's what happens when you fall in love with someone who lives in another country. We endured a lot back then, and those times were tough, but not nearly as tough as the last three weeks. We are a family, and it pained us to be apart. It especially pained me to miss out on three weeks of Grace's life, although I saw her almost every day on web cam.

When I saw her today, I couldn't believe how much she changed while I was gone. She's grown up so much! She has four teeth on the top now that are almost fully in...when I left, there were three just coming through! She is starting to talk a lot more, and Daddy taught her lots of new words while I was gone. The cutest one is "cheese," which is her favorite thing to eat :-)

Now tomorrow it's back to work for two weeks before we head to Ireland. We are SO excited about Grace's first trip there! Introducing her to the rest of the fam is going to be a blast and seeing her play with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents will be the BEST!

In countdown mode...

2008-07-26T12:32:00.004-05:00

I've been in Winona, MN for 13 days now, but guess what? Only one week to go! I'm getting myself into countdown mode. I'm so anxious to get home to Martin and Grace. Being away has been even harder than I expected.

My grad school experience has been really positive though. I've been learning a lot and have met some wonderful people, in addition to the awesome group I already knew in this program. It's just the homesickness that has made it a rough few weeks.

I've watched Grace on the web cam quite a bit, and that's been so great! She is learning all kinds of new things. She showed me her belly button the other day, and that cracked me up. I'm so proud of her and how clever she is :-) When they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, they aren't kidding. I love and appreciate my family even more after this time away. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to get to share my life with Martin and Grace.

Now I need these next 7 days to fly by so I can get home...because that's where my heart is!

p.s. Happy 2nd Birthday to my niece, Madison :-) We love you and wish we were there to celebrate with you!

Saying goodbye stinks...

2008-07-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

I am sitting in the Chicago-O'Hare airport, still teary from saying goodbye to Martin and Grace a few hours ago at the Austin airport. I am off for 3 weeks of grad school in Winona, Minnesota. That's right, 3 weeks away from my sweet husband and precious little girl! I'm not sure how I'm going to cope, especially since I've never been away from Grace for more than three nights!

Hopefully, the time will go by fast so I can get home to the 2 most important people in my life. Thank God for phones and web cams! I'm sure we will make good use of them over the next 3 weeks!

The Gigglebox Top 10 List

2008-07-12T12:18:00.003-05:00

Grace has become quite the gigglebox lately. (Side note: I love the word gigglebox. I remember my Mom calling me that when I was a little girl, and it always made me giggle even more.) I've been keeping a mental list of all the things that have made Grace giggle this week. Here's the top 10 and a few Honorable Mentions:

1) Seeing me for the first time when I arrived to pick her up
2) Seeing Daddy when he arrived home from work
3) Seeing Uncle Billy when he arrived at our house on Thursday evening
4) Seeing Nana and Pop-Pop when they got here to look after her on Friday evening (so I could take Martin on a birthday date)
5) Every time I asked her if she wanted "CHEESE PLEASE"
6) Hearing the opening music of "Around the Horn" on ESPN, which Martin watches every night
7) Watching the hound dogs through the window and knocking on the window to try to get their attention
8) Playing the "uh oh game" where she throws a toy out of her crib and I hand it back to her
9) The hundreds of bubbles coming out the bubble machine
10) Singing "Happy Birthday" to her Daddy (every time she hears that song, she thinks it's for her)

Honorable Mention:
- Every time anyone sneezed in her presence (sneezes are hilarious to her)
- When I handed her a cup filled with ice (this is one of her new favorite toys -- playing with ice entertains her for longer than most other things right now)
- When her piano toy played music and the monkey on top danced in circles
- When she turned off the light about 10 times in a row while I was trying to comb her hair and brush her teeth
- Each time she ate a grape (those are funny too!)
- Splashing Daddy during bath time

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2008-07-11T08:00:00.004-05:00

Today is Martin's 29th birthday :-) Grace and I would like to say Happy Birthday to the number one man in our lives! Here's a little top ten list about my wonderful husband and the father of my beautiful child:

1) He's always there for us and is, hands down, the best husband and father in the world!
2) He's completely a family man and his prioirities are always in the right place.
3) He knows how to comfort Grace and me when we cry.
4) He's always the life of the party.
5) Next year he'll be "tirty." And in four years, he'll be "tirty-tree."
6) He keeps us laughing all the time with his antics.
7) He rocks at Sports Bets on Facebook.
8) He's adamant about not liking lettuce, yet he loves lettuce wraps at PF Chang's (where we're going for his birthday lunch today).
9) He loves "mug of scald" (a.k.a. hot tea) and drinks at least one mug every day.
10) He believed in a girl he met at an Irish pub in Phoenix, in spite of a mountain of obstacles, married her, and made her the happiest woman in the world :-)

Here's to Martin...Happy Birthday, My Dear :-)

13 Months and Counting...

2008-06-26T22:54:00.003-05:00

Today Grace is 13 months old! The days keep flying by, and our little girl gets less little everyday. Grace is becoming quite the character. I can see her testing the limits and seeing what she can and can't get away with. I wonder if she'll ever take us seriously when we discipline her. Right now when we tell her "No," she just laughs. Apparently, we're hilarious :-)

I'm glad the weekend is approaching. I have less than three weeks 'til I head to grad school in Minnesota, and I'm trying to finish up all of my assignments. With that, work, a handful of a 13-month old, and taking care of stuff at home, I've got my hands full.

It's been a HOT month in Texas! I think we officially passed the record for the hottest June ever. It's hit 100 degrees or higher 19 days this month! HOT HOT HOT! Needless to say, we're not hanging out outside very much! I dread our electric bill this month, but thank God for air conditioning!

Grace & Her New Tricks

2008-06-22T20:25:00.003-05:00

Grace has completely mastered walking, and it is so much fun watching her walk all over the house! She cracks us up all the time with her antics. She's learned so many new things lately:

- She nows waves "Bye Bye."
- She gives big hugs and kisses when you ask (most of the time).
- She blows kisses.
- She's learned how to turn the TV on and off, which she thinks is absolutely hilarious!
- Grace turns the pages in books and acts like she's reading.
- She loves getting her teeth brushed.
- She talks A LOT! Words in her vocabulary include: Dada (all the time and way more than any other words), Mom or Mama, Baby, Ba (for ball), Bi (for Uncle Billy), and Oh. There are lots of other things she says that sound like jibberish, but will soon make sense :-)

In other news, Grace has a new tooth coming in on the top! Teething has made her particularly moody, but we're rolling with it. All in all, she's a good girl, and we love her to bits!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2008-06-15T21:33:00.003-05:00

Today is all about honoring Fathers :-) It was a good weekend in our house. Yesterday we had a Father's Day lunch at our house to honor my dear Dad and my husband, the two AWESOME fathers in my life :-) As always, it was special time together.

Today we started the day with Mass. Grace is getting to be more a handful at church now that she can walk. She's not at all interested in being held these days; she just wants to explore her surroundings. She was quite entertaining at church today, as she befriended all of the people sitting around us with her sweet smile and non-stop giggling. She had her little rubber ducky with her and kept offering it to her new friends. Our girl is such a sweetheart!

We got breakfast tacos for a Father's Day treat. Martin has come to love one of the great things Texas has to offer! We had a nice quiet day at home, enjoying each other's company and watching Grace trot around the house. Now's the weekend is coming to an end, and I'm thankful for another fantastic weekend :-)

p.s. I took this adorable picture of Grace this morning before we left for church! Isn't she precious?

Blogging on the road...

2008-06-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

Three cheers for technology...I am blogging on my Blackberry while riding down I-35 on the way to Dallas for work.We are down-wind from a truck full of cows. Gotta love Texas road trips!

I wanted to share a cute story from last night. When I got home from work, Martin and Grace were already home. They were playing on the floor, having a good time. Martin was laying down on the floor, and I came to sit next to him. Grace noticed that Martin was dozing off, so she crawled over and gave him a kiss! It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

We taught Grace to give kisses awhile back. Up until last night, she only gave kisses, usually with her mouth slightly open, when we asked for a kiss.

Later in the evening, when Martin was laying on the couch, Grace crawled over, pulled herself up, and planted another kiss on his lips. That's my sweet girl!

Grace Takes Her First Steps!!!

2008-06-03T07:45:00.002-05:00

Last night our sweet little girl took her very first steps! Just one week after her first birthday, Grace took two tentative steps from her Mommy to her Daddy.

Martin and I have known for awhile now that the first steps would happen any day. Grace has been cruising around the house like a pro and had worked up the courage to let go and stand on her own. More and more often over the last couple of weeks, she would stand proudly by herself, almost always with a huge smile on her face.

Last night we were trying to encourage her to take that first step. For the last few days, she's been lifting her foot and then going to the floor. I can only imagine what she must be thinking as she learns this new skill! But last night she went for it! Our house lit up with pride, lots of smiles, and even a tear or two. We are SO proud of daughter :-) What an unforgettable moment!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, GRACE CALLEIGH!!!

2008-05-26T11:51:00.002-05:00

As hard as it is for us to believe, today our baby girl is one year old! It truly seems like yesterday that we welcomed her into the world. Our lives have been abundantly blessed since that wonderful day a year ago! We are incredibly thankful for our beautiful daughter :-)

Grace's First Haircut

2008-05-18T22:55:00.005-05:00

Today Grace got her first haircut! She was not impressed. Here she is before the scissors even appeared:

She started crying the minute I put her in the car and cried through the entire experience. We even had to take a break so I could hold her for awhile. Then the woman who was cutting her hair finished the haircut with me holding her. Overall, Grace was not too impressed with this milestone, but she sure looks cute, and I bet she'll appreciate not having her hair in her eyes all the time.

We're wrapping up a nice weekend. We had a wonderful visit with our friends, Holly and Trent, on Friday. Grace liked them a lot. She was in such a trance watching Trent that she stood for about two minutes on her own, without realizing she wasn't holding on to me anymore. We were all so excited!

They spent the night here on Friday, along with our buddy, Matt, and we managed to stay up until 2 AM. We played a great game called "Pass the Pigs." I highly recommend it. It was good fun, and it was awesome catching up with our friends from my days in Phoenix.

On Saturday, I went to the ordination of five guys who became transitional deacons. They will become priests after a year of ministry as deacons. It was neat since I've never attended an ordination. In the afternoon, the three of us went to a friend's baby shower. Grace only lasted about 45 minutes there before she was grumpy and in desparate need of a nap. We headed home, and she got some zzzzzz's. We had a quiet evening at home, complete with playing, playing, and more playing. I even managed to get some reading done for grad school. I have a TON of work to do before heading to Minnesota for three weeks in mid-July.

Today has been a good day...the haircut was an adventure, and Grace entertained us with her antics as usual. Grace and I went to the mall together this afternoon, and she was such a good girl. Now she's in bed, and I'm ready for some sleep as well. Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite.

The Tale of the Tiny Diaper

2008-05-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

It was a normal night in the Fogarty home. We fed Grace, ate dinner, and enjoyed each other's company. Grace was busy crawling and cruising (using the furniture to help her walk around the living room) and even testing out her ability to stand on her own. She tentatively let go of the couch and stood all by herself, then slowly sat down as if the standing had worn her out. Martin and I were engaging in our usual, "look at her" and "check out what she's doing now," as we do every evening. We are constantly in awe, as Grace learns new things, tests her limits, and explores the world around her.

In the midst of all this, we were also trying to clean the house since we have friends staying with us tomorrow night. As I was cleaning the dining room, I found Grace's travel diaper changer, which I keep in the basket under the jogging stroller. I haven't used it in ages and thought I should get it out for our trip to Philly next week. When I opened it, I got all teary when I found two newborn diapers inside. When I showed them to Martin, we both got pretty emotional as we remembered when Grace was small enough to fit into them.

In that moment, a flood of memories came back to me, and I remembered how big the newborn diapers were on Grace at the beginning. We actually had to get her premie diapers for the first few weeks! Now here we are...less than two weeks away from her first birthday, and she's wearing size 4 diapers, pulling up, and learning to stand on her own. This time is precious, and it is flying by right before our very eyes.

Our Little Irish Girl

2008-05-14T22:21:00.004-05:00

Grace's Irish passport arrived today! We were SO excited to get it :-)

Our little Irish girl is the BEST!!!

I’m glad you were born!

2008-05-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

Today I celebrate my own birthday! I’ve always loved having a May birthday, especially on a day that always falls on or close to Mother’s Day. Now that I’m a Mom myself, my own birthday is even more special. I’ve never been a huge birthday person, except when I was a kid and had awesome slumber parties with my best girl friends! For the last ten years or so, I’ve been rather anti-birthday. But this year my birthday has taken on a whole new meaning.

I’ve been thinking about how special birthdays are for parents. The day your child is born remains forever imprinted on your mind and in your heart. Grace’s birthday was the best day of my life, followed closely by the day I met my husband. So today I’m not as indifferent about getting a year older. I realize what a miracle every life is, and I’m thankful that my parents loved each other enough to bring me into the world.

I’m the big 2-9 now…I embark on my final year of my twenties! It’s been one heckofa decade. I marvel at all that’s happened in my life during these years. The last three years have been the most wonderful…from meeting Martin on that fateful day, June 3, 2005, to now. When I take time to slow down and look back, all I can say is, “WOW!” I’ve found a level of happiness I never knew existed. I’m living my own fairytale.

During my time in Phoenix, I met one of the coolest chicks I know. Now when my birthday rolls around, I know I’ll hear from her, and she’ll say one of my favorite things. Today around lunchtime I got that call and heard, “I’m glad you were born.” And she followed it up with, “and I bet Martin and Grace are glad you were born too.” Today I rejoice because I was born. I AM glad I was born, and I’m glad my husband and beautiful daughter were born too. Happy Birthday to Me!!!

What a Day!

2008-05-11T21:35:00.004-05:00

I'm wrapping up Mother's Day 2008 with a huge smile on my face! What a perfect day!

Martin and I began our day with Mass, complete with a special Mother's Day blessing. We then came home to have some serious playtime with Grace and make some family phone calls. Today is also Martin's Dad's birthday -- Happy Birthday, Dad! Wish we were there to celebrate with you, but we're there in spirit!

My one Mother's Day request was to have a picnic. I absolutely LOVE picnics, which I picked up from own Mom who has taken us on many a picnic over the years! So Martin, Grace, and I had a fantastic picnic in front of the Main Building at St. Ed's. You can see the Austin skyline perfectly from there, and the grass is nice and soft. Grace has never crawled in the grass before so it was fun watching her check it out. She even tasted some :-)

The weather was absolutely perfect and so was our picnic! What a gift it is to be a Mother! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there :-) May God bless you on your special day!

Happy Mother's Day to My Mom!

2008-05-11T12:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere! What an awesome day to honor the women who gave us life and then proceed to give so much of themselves for their families!

To honor my own Mom, who is the most amazing woman I know, here's a top ten list of my favorite Mom moments:

1. The day she met Grace. I will never forget that first moment, sharing my own beautiful daughter with my Mom.

2. The first few weeks Mom spent with us after Grace was born. As a first time Mom, I was so thankful to have a pro with me during those early weeks of Grace's life. She took exceptional care of me when I had some post C-section sickness, all the while loving on her new grandbaby and making us both feel like the world revolved around us. Mom has a way of making everyone feel that way. It's a gift.

3. The sweet signs and cards she's made for Grace during the last year. She's not only the perfect Mom, she's also the perfect Nana. From the "Happy Birthday" signs for each month to the cards for every first holiday, Mom thinks of everything.

4. The notes Mom used to put in my lunch everyday. Mom was always famous among my friends for the wonderful lunches she always made for me. Her sandwiches are the BEST, and I got lots of trade offers, but never would give up Mom's yummy food! To add a special touch to every lunch, she always put a note in my lunchbox with her trademark smiley face :-) Those notes made my day, even during those brutal teenage years, when I caused my parents so many headaches!

5. When Mom helped me put on my pantyhose for Prom. I got my nails done for the first time, and being the tomboy that I was, I was helpless with those stupid nails. Mom helped me put on my pantyhose so I wouldn't tear them and only teased me a little bit about it later ;-)

6. Writing essays when my behavior warranted such a punishment. I know it's shocking, but I wasn't the easiest kid to raise, especially during my teenage years. But Mom loved me through it all and used her favorite punishment often. I wrote quite a few essays about lessons I learned the hard way. At the time, I hated writing those essays, but I realize now that those essays forced me to really think about what I'd done wrong, which is something I doubt I would have done with just traditional punishment like getting grounded.

7. Speaking of getting grounded...no wait, that's not on my top ten list of favorite Mom moments. That's a different list ;-) Seriously, #7 is those early years when Mom served as my Girl Scout Troop leader. We had a lot of good times, selling cookies, working toward badges, and singing silly songs! Mom was the best troop leader, and all the girls agreed!

8. When Mom would say she felt sorry for the other team after a big softball win for my team! I got my competitive nature from my Dad, but Mom taught me compassion and humility in victory. Back then I used to laugh at those statements, but I came to understand her point of view in times of defeat.

9. Sharing my birthday with Mom during many Mother's Day/Birthday weekend celebrations. I was born the day before Mother's Day, so Mom and I always share our special weekend. This year it means even more, as I celebrate Mother's Day with a daughter of my own.

10. The many life lessons Mom has taught me during the last (almost) 29 years. I learned more than my share of lessons the hard way, but Mom was always there to help me pick up the pieces and learn valuable lessons. I know that I'm able to be the Mother I am today because I've had the most fantastic example of motherhood from my own Mom. Not everyone is so lucky, and I realize how incredibly blessed I am. Of all the lessons I've learned from Mom, I know the most important is to be a woman of faith. Our faith has helped us both to weather many storms and to be thankful for all the good things in our lives. Life is good, and Mom has taught me to approach everyday with faith, hope, love, and a hearty sense of humor!

Here's to you, Mom! Thanks for everything :-) I love you so much!

Will the real Grace Calleigh please stand up?

2008-05-08T22:35:00.002-05:00

It seems like every chance she gets, Grace is pulling herself up. She digs standing! She's testing her chubby little legs more and more everyday. I'm amazed at how brave she's getting, and I try to stay calm as she wobbles with the tile floor looming below her.

This morning as I was cleaning up the kitchen before leaving for the day, I cracked up when Grace crawled into the kitchen, pulled herself up, and began banging on the door of the refrigerator. It was like she was begging for some breakfast! She is certainly learning how to tell us what she wants, even without being able to talk.

Speaking of being able to talk, today Grace was all DADADADA! I took a few videos of her cute chit chat, which you can find on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/amberfogarty2005. I've been trying to teach her some other words, but she just looks at me, smiles, and continues on with DADADADA!

It's been a long week! I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. I had to work Monday and Tuesday nights, which I always find tough. I hate missing out on my evenings with Grace. That is sacred time!

We're looking forward to heading to Waco tomorrow evening after work to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom. Grace loves sleepovers at Nana and Pop-Pop's house! Only a little over an hour until I can truly say TGIF! I'll be asleep before then though...night night!!

Uncle Billy Graduated!!!

2008-05-04T17:23:00.008-05:00

You know you're getting old when your baby brother graduates from college! Billy is seven years younger than me, and I'm feeling pretty nostalgic about his graduation. It's just hard to believe that he's all grown up.

It's been an awesome weekend! On Friday night, there was a Baccalaureate Mass for the St. Edward's Class of 2008. It was a beautiful Mass with a homily that I thought was incredible. We had a nice family evening at our house afterwards, complete with pizza and lots of laughs.

Yesterday morning was the graduation ceremony. I was pretty teary through a lot of it, especially when Billy walked across the stage to get his diploma. I'm so proud of him! You can see videos from the graduation ceremony on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/amberfogarty2005. The ceremony lasted two and a half hours, and Grace was such a good girl through the whole thing. After graduation, we took a ton of pictures (as always, available online at http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty), then headed home for a day of partying!

The party, in honor of Billy and his best friend, Shane, was a blast! It started around 2 and lasted until almost 10 PM. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, with great food, a drink or two, and the sharing of many memories that brought both smiles and tears. Billy and I made a slideshow that turned out AWESOME! It showed Billy and Shane through the years, including some great shots of them in gradeschool and high school. Their friendship has stood the test of time, and Shane has become part of our family over the years and Billy a part of Shane's family.

Today has been a day of R&R! We've been resting and relaxing with the best of 'em ;-)

Congratulations, Billy! Martin, Grace, and I love you and are VERY proud of you! We're so anxious to see what God has in store for you in the years to come.

Mommy's Little Helper!!

2008-04-27T17:50:00.005-05:00

The last few weekends Grace has decided to be my laundry helper! Just like my nephew, Josh, she has a fascination with the socks! Once again today she had a ball for nearly an hour throwing the socks up in the air and squealing with delight! It was hilarious :-) It took much longer to get the clothes folded, but was well worth it. We did lots of giggling!

Grace and I also had a very fun game of peek-a-boo this afternoon! She's been in a fantastic mood all day, and once again she was a very good girl at Mass. The older she gets, the more I worry about loud outbursts at inopportune times. But so far, we've been in the clear. Today she used her sweet innocent voice at a few of the most quiet moments, but her "dadadada" just made everyone around us smile. And Martin and I spent the entire Mass smiling. Our girl seems to have that effect on us!

11 Months Old!

2008-04-26T23:09:00.002-05:00

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Grace! I can't believe we're closing in on the one-year mark. It truly seems like yesterday that we brought our little miracle home from the hospital.

For the last few months, I've been slacking on the blog, but I've at least kept up with taking and uploading hundreds of pictures to capture nearly every moment of Grace's first 11 months. I've also started uploading videos to our very own YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/amberfogarty2005), which has added another level of fun for our friends and family, both near and far!

I've been quite reflective the last few weeks about Grace's upcoming first birthday. The time has flown by. There's a relatively new country song I just heard on the radio the other day that rings true as I think about the past year. It's called "You're Gonna Miss This." Google it and read the lyrics, or better yet, download it! It's a great song. The chorus goes like this:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast.
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Here's the thing...I know I'm gonna miss this. The last 11 months have been an incredibly special time in my life. Martin and I have embarked on this journey of parenthood together. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and we certainly had no clue what we were doing. But each and every day, we walk together and do our best to raise our daughter. By far, it's been the most amazing experience of my life. I've learned a ton in the process and have felt emotions at depths I never had before. It's been one heck of a ride. And the best thing about it is that it just keeps getting better everyday!

So, yes, today marks 11 wonderful months since Grace's birth! And oh how she's changed! I still remember holding her in my arms for the first time, marveling at the beauty Martin and I created! I still marvel at her on a daily basis. She's at such a fun age, and each day brings a new adventure.

Grace has entered super-speed-crawling mode, and she literally disappears in a matter of seconds. I spend my time chasing her around, which has become a fun game that brings about lots of giggles :-) She's also pulling herself up at every opportunity and testing her legs. You can tell she's giving some thought to the idea of taking a few steps, but I think that'll be a few months away. Right now, she stands up and every so often gets the courage to let go of whatever she's holding on to. She usually falls down right away with a thud, then proceeds to pull herself back up.

I love watching her personality grow and change. I constantly see glimmers of myself in her...her sassiness, her determination, her excited gestures, her enthusiasm about life. And I see Martin in her SO much, as does the rest of the world. Virtually everytime we're out, someone comments on how much "she looks like her Daddy."

On that note, Grace is totally into her Daddy. She is definitely Daddy's little girl. In fact, she digs all boys. I think we have a handful on our hands, especially when she reaches her teenage years... Grace is especially fond of Uncle Billy. When he walks into a room, her face absolutely lights up. Even at her grumpiest moments, Uncle Billy can always bring a smile to her face!

In other recent developments, Grace now has two teeth and is trying many new foods. She LOVES cheese! When I say, "cheese please," Grace does her excited hands and often lets out a squeal to let me know she's ready for some cheese. We're also experimenting with her feeding herself, which is interesting to say the least. The other day I gave her a spoon and a bowl of applesauce. She gave the spoon a try, but decided quickly that using the spoon was way too much work. So she put the spoon down and proceeded to pick the applesauce up with her hands and put it in her mouth. I have a great video of that on YouTube. It was one of those classic moments!

We are also seeing Grace push the limits to see what she can get away with. She already seems to know when she's doing something bad or getting into something she shouldn't. In these moments, she always looks to see if we're watching. If she catches our eyes, she'll usually flash us a devilish grin before diving into whatever she knows she shouldn't do. Like I said, she's a handful already...and she's not walking yet. I can only imagine what's in store in the months to come :-)

Martin and I have both been super busy lately, and we play the dual-working parents ever present juggling game, trying our best to keep our priorities straight. We know that we will miss these days, and we need to cherish this time in our lives! That's easier said than done sometimes, but we just keep on trying.

When Daddy Feeds Grace...

2008-04-23T21:39:00.001-05:00

...this is what she looks like:

Grace had one of her little "temper moments" while Martin was feeding her tonight. She threw her head forward right into the spoon of sweet potatoes. She's Miss Potato Head, an appropriate name for our little Irish gal :-)

An Awesome Weekend

2008-04-13T21:59:00.004-05:00

Sunday night is always my least favorite time of the week. I don't enjoy saying goodbye to the weekend, knowing that I have to go to work all week and spend time away from Grace and Martin. This weekend I want to end even less than usual. It was one of the best weekends we've had in awhile. Our time with Brendan, Shital, and Roisin was absolutely the best! I've been racking my brain all night trying to figure out how to get them to move here. That would make us SO happy!!

Grace and Roisin had a blast together! They're like sisters :-) Watching them play was really amazing! It brought back a flood of memories from my own childhood. I remember many special times with my cousins. I hope Grace has the same opportunities for closeness with her own cousins, although it'll be tough since three (soon four) live in Ireland and two live in PA. But in November Grace will have a cousin closeby when Uncle Brian and Aunt Jen welcome their new little one to the family! We're all super excited about that!

Anyway, the weekend was packed with activities, so we're worn out. Check out the photo site for a play-by-play: http://picasaweb.google.com/amberfogarty/BrendanShitalRoisinSVisitToTexas. One of the highlights was taking Roisin and Grace to JC Penney to get photos taken of them together. Shital and I had to work hard to get our two active little girls to sit still long enough for the photographer to snap their picture! That was a challenge! But somehow we did it, and the pictures turned out amazing!

We also had a fun time at the State Capitol. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed showing off our hometown. Martin and I truly love Austin...we're hoping Brendan and Shital loved it enough to think about moving here. Fingers crossed!

That's all for now, folks! I'm off to bed!

Mommy's Turn for Pink Eye

2008-04-10T18:46:00.004-05:00

I woke up today with my own case of pink eye. A big thanks to Grace for that gift! I was especially bummed about catching pink eye because tonight Martin's uncle, aunt, and cousin arrive to visit us from Phoenix. So I got up, went to the office and got all the work I needed to do today, then went to the doctor to confirm the diagnosis and get my prescription eye drops, then picked up said eye drops, then came home to work the day away.

I was shocked to realize how much pink eye hurts. It made me even more sad that Grace had it too! Although, she's already gotten over it. I hope I'm as resilient as her :-)

Now we just play the waiting game until Brendan, Shital, and Roisin arrive. Their flight arrives around 11 PM, so just a few hours to go. We couldn't be more excited about their visit, especially seeing Grace and Roisin (who is 14 months old) play together! It's gonna be a great few days :-)

Boo for pink eye!

2008-04-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

Grace woke up today with a nasty case of pink eye. Her little eye was swollen shut! She couldn't get it open this morning. It made me so sad! She looked like she had been in a boxing match. Poor little Rocky!

Thankfully, her pink eye didn't affect her mood too much. She was in a good mood most of the day in spite of her pink eye. She even allowed me to work throughout the day, as she played independently. She's the BEST!