Last Minute Daddy

 Paul came home from work one day and while I was about to start cooking dinner, he took it upon himself to load up the kayaks and told us to skip dinner because we are headed to the beach to go kayaking. There were no arguments there! We all dressed in our suites and hopped in the car and headed to Belmont Shores.

 The boys did a loop around Naples, while the girls listened to Pamdora on the beach and played in the sand. Andrew was very helpful and decided he was big enough to row with the paddles. Paul said that every 2 strokes their paddles would hit and it took him twice a long to go, but it was worth it.

 Then it was the girls turn to go out for a lap around the island. Allison talked the entire time. But since she was in front and with the wind I could barely hear her! That didn't stop her from rambling on and on about everything her little 3 year old brain could think of. I enjoyed every moment of our girl time on the water together.

 Ashley Marie was content to sit this boat ride out. She did manage to entertain herself by rolling over in her car seat a few times. Her eyes look so blue in her bathing suit and white sun hat.

Andrew Clark Demboski Graduates

Well he has proved a lot of doctors wrong. This little dude, this little awesome dude has graduated from preschool. He came into this world not breathing and silent. We were told he would be in a vegetative state and have little to no cognitive function.  Now this kid is full of life, intelligent, thoughtful and such a sweet young boy. He has brought so much laughter and love into everyone's lives. He lights up a room when he walks in, he melts your heart when he squeezes you and he breaks your heart when we cries. Andrew Clark Demboski is an old soul. He is much more receptive of others and their feelings than most adults I know. He listens, truly listens and provides awesome feedback and engages in such great conversation.
But not only is he wise beyond his years, he is also a goofy, free-spirited 4  1/2 year old who knows how to play hard and get dirty. His imagination is limitelss. Most afternoons he is found transforming himself into Optimus Prime and fighting the decepticons, and then he quickly transforms into a pirate and is making a treasure map, then he is a baby crying obnoxiously so that his mommy AKA Allison can take care of him. He will go on to pretent that Liberty is a monster and builds a fort in the living room to hide from her. He loves to help me cook in the kitchen and ride his scooter (and fall on purpose, just so his knee pads and elbow pads can protect him),  but this little boy never wants to take a bath and let me tell you,  he can get pretty stinky!
I am so proud of how Andrew has done in prechool. He has made some great friends that I am hoping will be life long friendships. He has learned so much and has come so far from the little boy that I dropped off that week in September  2010. He is able to say his ABCs, and all the letter sounds, count to 60 (except he always skips 7, 17, 27, 37, 47, and 57... I have to idea why), spell his name, print about 50% of his letters from memory, utilize and create patterns, give presentations (ok I am going overboard here, but he can get up in front of the class and share when it is his turn). I can go on and on with all of the skills he has learned, but then this post would never end.
Next year he is off to start Transitional Kindergarten, it will be a big change for all of us, but I am confident that he will continue to grow, learn and shine as he always does.

Ashley Marie's Baby dedication

Today  we dedicated Miss Ashley Marie. Her Godparents are John and Becky. It was a beautiful morning. I had made amazing french toast casserole the night before, the fruit was all cut up, the coffee was brewing, and my house looked perfect. I asked Paul to put the table cloth on the table in the backyard, and then we were ready to go. Well, Paul decided to move the table and umbrella. I don't know how he did it, but the entire top glass part of the table slammed to the floor and shattered the glass into thousands of pieces.  I was speechless when I saw the mess. If it wasn't so funny, I would have cried. Paul managed to almost completely clean it all up by the time everyone showed up. That was the only slip-up of the entire day. The whole gang showed up and we made the short walk to Parkcrest Church. We dropped off Andrew, Allison, Natalie and Lexie at the children's room and then we all enjoyed a wonderful message by Pastor Mike. Right before it was our turn on stage, Paul and Adrienne went and got the kids. Our little family was called up to the front of the church and  Pastor Mike said the sweetest things about our family and our promise to God.  Ashley was a sweet heart and didn't cry a bit. Once the little ceremony was complete we all walked back to our home and the party started. The day was flawless, we had great food, great company, and fantastic weather. Everything went so smoothly and Ashley was a true angel.