Happy Feast Day, Elizabeth!

In the Catholic church, patron saints are holy people that have gone before us who give us an example of ways to live our lives and who can intercede for us. In Poland (as well as several countries in Europe), it is common to celebrate Name Day which typically aligns with the feast day celebration. November 17th is Elizabeth's feast day - the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. To make it a special day, we had a family outing to Ritter's for chocolate ice cream. Elizabeth had a wonderful time - we think she's going to be pretty into the feast day thing!

Sunday Night Football

Grandma and Grandpa Downing bought Elizabeth a Colts outfit for her birthday and she had to wear it to support the home team on the night of the Colts-Patriots game. AnnCatherine still prefers her in Green and Gold (Go Pack Go!), but I don't think there's much debate that she looks adorable regardless.

Look! I can walk!!!

Right around the time of her first birthday, Elizabeth started walking. Now, she is zooming around and challenging us to rearrange things already. Watch out, world!

Happy Halloween!!!

This year, we were indoctrinated into the Halloween festivities in our new neighborhood, Sylvan Ridge. Our friends, the Poulakidas's, joined us so Maria and Elizabeth could trick-or-treat together. We joined in the neighborhood picnic and then witnessed the craziest trick-or-treating ever. We had hundreds of kids at our house! 500 pieces of candy - gone. Our favorite parts included the neighbors who hand out jello shots and the man in the green pick up truck who drives around with beer for the adults walking the kids from house to house. No kidding! But the best part was Elizabeth in the adorable flapper costume her Grandma Ruth made for her having a blast! She and Maria had a great time playing even after the outdoor festivities had ended. We hope you all had a Happy Halloween, too!

A first birthday party

We enjoyed having friends and family over for Elizabeth's first birthday party on the day after her birthday. Elizabeth must have sensed the excitement and observed all of the preparations because she would not take a nap all day, even though the party didn't start until late in the afternoon. We were very afraid there would be a major meltdown, but our little party animal enjoyed being the center of attention too much to rest. We watched her first year memory video, ate dinner, opened presents and had chocolate cake. Thank you to those who were able to join us to celebrate this special day...

Happy First Birthday, Elizabeth!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, ELIZABETH!

October 23rd, 2009. Elizabeth's first birthday. Its amazing to think of what we were doing a year ago... Thankfully, tonight we had a spaghetti dinner at home. Think Elizabeth enjoyed it?

We count our blessings for this amazing, healthy, special (and extremely active) little girl everyday.

Jarod & AnnCatherine take London

Jarod had a business trip to the UK, so we decided to make a mommy-daddy vacation out of it and we hung out in London for 5 days. We saw Billy Elliott on the West End, we went to Notting Hill to the Portobello Road market, walked the banks of and took a boatride on the Thames, took a double decker bus tour, visited St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, went to the London Silver Vaults, shopped (of course) and toured the Tower of London. It was a whirlwind trip, but, as always, we fit in as much as we could.

Thanks to Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dave for giving Elizabeth a vacation in WI while we were away! And thanks to Grandpa Doug and Grandma Mary for watching Roamy, too...

Libby's first year memory video - and an early birthday party!

While we were in Wisconsin for the Ludwig wedding, we had a little early first birthday party with AnnCatherine's family. Elizabeth loved the lemon cupcakes that Great Grandma Mary made and everyone enjoyed the Carl's pizza - a real Kenosha tradition. The highlight of the party, in addition to the fun toys of course!, was the video Uncle Mike and Aunt Lisa made of Elizabeth's first year. If you'd like to watch, please click on the link below. What a wonderful way to capture memories of our little girl.

Please click on the link below to see the video. For PC users, you may need to download the free quicktime plug in. Enjoy!


http://gallery.me.com/mltennis/100030

Wedding Fun!

AnnCatherine and Jarod were honored to stand up in her cousin Adrien's wedding to her high school friend, Toni Drissel. It was a beautiful affair - a very traditional ceremony followed by a big party. They even had fireworks! Elizabeth joined for the ceremony... what a wonderful family event!

Bath Time!!!

Jarod is the ultimate Daddy when it comes to bathtime. And no one loves bathtime (or any water for that matter) more than Elizabeth. We are convinced she thinks the whirlpool jets were added just for her amusement - more toys! And that there is a 'water god' that magically turns on the faucet. Who knew bathtime could be such fun...

Elizabeth's first high school football game

Our good friend Kyle is now the head coach of Anderson High School's varsity football team and we made a family outing to watch the Indians play. It was Elizabeth's first live high school football game and we all really enjoyed ourselves despite the home team losing. Jarod had a bit of difficulty cheering for Anderson since they are an old rival of Pendleton Heights, but friendship prevailed.

And yes - in case you weren't sure - Elizabeth is wearing her Packers jersey to commemorate the occasion. (Thanks, Grandma Ruth!)

I love my family!

I'm spoiled and loved! Can you tell?

We're finally back... The posts continue

Dear friends,
Well, I offer my sincere apologies that it has been so long since there has been a blog post. With moving to our new home, we've had quite a bit going on. But now the computer is hooked up, the boxes have at least been relegated to the basement and its starting to feel like home. So now its time to catch up on posts. I'll be backdating some updates from July onward, so please go back and check for new posts that might seem old! :)

Thanks for your patience - and please drop us a line when you can...

Love,
Jarod, AnnCatherine, Elizabeth and Roamy

Our first dinner in the new dining room

We were so excited that AnnCatherine's Great Grandma Mary made the trip to Indianapolis from Kenosha to see our new home and spend time with our family. We had a great visit! It was the perfect occasion for the first meal in our new dining room, on Great Grandma's heirloom china, of course!

Blessing of the House

Well, now that we've been in our new house for a few weeks, we wanted to take advantage of the wonderful Catholic custom of house blessings. Our pastor, Fr. Tony, kindly agreed to come and bless our home and we had some of our Catholic friends and family over to celebrate with us. Fr. Tony said a few beautiful prayers and blessed a bowl of Holy Water. Each guest then walked through the house and made the Sign of the Cross on a part of each room with the Holy Water. What a wonderful way to start making new memories here! Thank you so much to all who joined us for the celebration...

A special treat...

Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dave said that a little girl needs a special treat after getting her ears pierced, so Elizabeth got to try her first popsicle. It was definitely a hit and made quite a mess. We had to finally take the stick away and just let her eat the icy part after it melted too far, but Libby didn't seem to mind too much. Looking at the picture, do you think she enjoyed it?

This Baby's Got Bling!

Being that she is AnnCatherine's daughter, jewelry is of course an important consideration for Elizabeth. So, since we love jewelry (and to reduce the number of people who think she is a boy even if she's wearing pink), we decided to have her ears pierced. We found a doctor in our network who would pierce them for us and - lickedy split - they were done. Elizabeth was a trooper! If she could talk, I'm sure she'd say it was easier than shots. So now her ears are ready to be accessorized! Diamond studs anyone? :)

SWING!!!

Thanks to Libby's cousin Connor, she has a spiffy swing in a tree outside our new house. While we have to wipe it down each time we use it since she loves to eat the front bar, it is great fun! Even our new neighbor friend Ellie comes over to push Elizabeth in her swing. Thanks, Connor! We love it...

My Grandpa's Car

We had heard it many times - kids don't need expensive toys to be happy. Well, we can guarantee that to be true. One of Elizabeth's true favorites stemmed from our recent move and her Grandpa Dave's ability to generate great noises. She seemed absolutely enamored by our empty boxes and Grandpa Dave started to play with her in it. This has now resulted in Elizabeth's "car". It is a copier box with a long string looped through it that Grandpa pulls her around the house in. Giggles abound!!! Of course it wouldn't be the same without the 'zoom zooms', screeching breaks and idling noises Grandpa Dave makes which would lead you to believe the 'car' needs new shocks. But - no matter if maintenance is needed - Elizabeth couldn't be happier in it.

Umm... pickles!

As we have crossed the 9 month mark, we are starting to share more and more 'big people' foods with Elizabeth. On the patio the other evening, she had her first pickle which we had to pry from her hands when it got too small to be safe. Of course they were Milwaukee's Midget dill pickles which are undoubtedly the best, but I think she has a new favorite.

Mr. and Mrs. Patterson - and a 102 degree fever!

AnnCatherine's cousin Carmaine was married this past weekend on the Minnesota - Wisconsin border and the setting was just beautiful. We were very excited to welcome her husband Troy to the family and we have to say he has the most unique groom's cake ever (camouflage with a mallard on top!)

Because it was a 10 hour drive from Indianapolis, it was clear that Elizabeth could not make the drive, so Jarod and Elizabeth stayed in Indy for some daddy and daughter time. Grandma Mary watched her one day, too! AnnCatherine experienced quite a bit of guilt about being away but Jarod just kept assuring me that all was well during my many calls home. The myth was quickly disspelled as soon as I arrived home on Sunday night... Elizabeth clearly had a fever and had one all weekend! So while I understand the little white lie, now I'll never completely believe Jarod again when he tells me all is well! I'm sure there is a lesson from God in all of this, but I still haven't exactly figured out what that is.

Troy and Carmaine, best wishes for a lifetime of love and happiness...

WE'RE FINALLY MOVING!!!

Well, after over a year of waiting and countless prayers, we sold our house on Delaware Street and are moving on to our new home on Haverhill Drive. We were homeless for only a short time - we sold the house at 1pm and then bought our new home at 3pm. We are so excited to finally start this new chapter of our lives and can't wait to have you all over. We moved a few boxes tonight and had a chance to sit on our new front porch. Welcome home!!!

Happy First Father's Day, Jarod!

Well, now that we have a new reason to celebrate Father's Day, I wanted the first one to be really special for Jarod. And - as luck would have it - several things timed out to help that occur. Our 8 year wedding anniversary, the Van Lone family reunion and Father's Day all turned out to be the same weekend. So we spent part of the weekend in WI with our family and then headed down to Chicago for our first night without our little punkin. I surprised Jarod with tickets to see Topol is his worldwide farewell tour of Fiddler on the Roof (For those who don't know, you'll hear Jarod quote Tevye quite often) and we stayed at the Hyatt downtown. It was so nice to get to spend some time together - thanks for babysitting, Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dave!

The BIG Pool

Elizabeth LOVES the water! Whether its the bathtub or her infant pool, she has a great time splashing and kicking. During our recent visit to Michigan, the hotel had an indoor pool and this was her first time in the big person pool! As you can see, she had a great time... I finally had to pull her out when her fingers looked like prunes. :) I think we have a future scuba diver on our hands...

Heading to the Norths

Happy Memorial Day! We spent the weekend in Holt, MI - just outside Lansing - visiting our good friends, the North Family - Colin, Ellie, Simone, Cecily and Felicity. Simone (age 4) is our Goddaughter and this was Elizabeth's first chance to meet her Godsister. The visit was a great time as always and Libby fit in very well with the three absolutely adorable sisters. She also was in awe of the number of toys in the house - and her mom was, too! They are moving to New Jersey in the coming weeks, so our next trip will require a plane ride. But that's okay by us!

Updated Pics from our First Family Vacation

Click on the following link to view the pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jdowning782/FirstFamilyVacation?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2Eyr_ly9-RIw#

Our First Family Vacation

Well, we had to get the first stamp in Elizabeth's passport! And, though AnnCatherine wasn't nearly ready for a bathing suit, we jetted off to Grand Cayman. Elizabeth is definitely in the right family - she did great on the plane! She loved her new swimsuit and inflatable pool and doing her first limbo contest with Daddy. She felt the ocean waves for the first time and loved taking her naps with Grandpa Dave on the patio in the shade. And, on April 23rd, she turned 6 months old!!! We went to Libby's first cultural event - a local Cayman storytelling contest called Gimistory. It was definitely mostly locals which we love, but our lack of knowledge of Caribbean dialects made it a little different to follow at times. There were small craft warnings out several of the days which prevented the dive boats from leaving on our side of the island, but at least Jarod and AnnCatherine got to dive together one day. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Downing for sharing the timeshare week....

There are too many good pictures that just have to be shared, so Jarod is going to post a blog link to Picasa very soon. But enjoy the preview pix above...

Diggin' the veggies

Thanks to the Easter Bunny, Elizabeth had her first veggies this weekend. Yum! Squash!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Happy Easter from the Downings (though this post is woefully late!)

The Easter Bunny found his way to our house and, this year, three baskets were filled! :) Elizabeth had no problem figuring out what to do, either.... The Bunny brought a book, shoes, applesauce and sunglasses for Libby.

But you must notice the baskets. My mom and Aunt Barb starting taking basketweaving lessons several years ago (and my mom actually did win a Blue Ribbon in the county fair, too!). When we knew our family was expanding, I asked my mom if she would made family Easter baskets for us. Aren't they great?! All are designed exactly the same but the colors are different. And, of course, Jarod's is blue! :) Thanks, Grandma Ruth!

Swieconka (Blessing of the Food)

Yeah! Lent is over.... For as long as I can remember, Easter Saturday morning has been my favorite time to go to church. Being Polish, (AC is 50% and Elizabeth is 25% and we love Jarod despite the fact that he isn't) we celebrate Swieconka or Blessing of the Food. This wasn't typically something celebrated in the Indianapolis area since there isn't a big Eastern European population. But, 4 years ago, we happened upon our Pastor during dinner at Fazoli's. We asked him if he would start the tradition at our parish and it has consistently grown every year. Each family brings a basket with a small meal to be shared on Easter morning... Homemade sausage (thanks, Grandma!) eggs, bread, butter, salt and candy are typical contents. And this year, our basket had some rice cereal and butternut squash, too! We're so excited to keep this tradition going....

Leaning to the right...

When Elizabeth sits in the chair that her cousin Connor passed down to her every night for dinner, she tends to lean to the right. Grandpa Dave tries to straighten her up, but Daddy liks to leave her that way in hopes that she's actually displaying her political preference for social and financial conservatism. (We love him anyway!)

Good friends...

My mama and daddy are blessed with good friends and I've had the chance to meet some of them recently. Marly and Daddy grew up together and have been good friends for a long time. Hong and Daddy met while they were getting their MBAs - which mama and Lan both say does NOT stand for 'Married But Available'! Evidently that is a common phrase in China where Hong, Lan and their son Alex live. Good thing we're Hoosiers!

Kids these days...

We've heard elder folk say, 'it seems like kids are born knowing how to use computers nowadays'... Well, Elizabeth is proving that to be true! Since she loves anything shiny or bright, the laptop screen is just too much fun. Besides that, we've been experimenting with our webcam to send and stream videos to our family and friends far and wide, so she thinks the computer is all about her! She did sit and type her first letter in Word the other day and managed to open functions and menus that we didn't know existed. Guess she's pretty tech-savvy after all...

Sorry we've been away...

Hi there! Just a note to apologize for the delay in updating our blog! Much is going on here in Indy with busy times at work, the house back on the market and time with family and friends. But thanks for continuing to check up on us... all is well, just crazy busy!

Love lots,
The Downings

Fondue Fun

We enjoyed spending Valentine's Day night with our good friends, the Schwingendorfs, making a fondue dinner. Elizabeth and her good friends Sadie (12 months) and Piper (5 weeks) got to play while their moms and daddys hung out. Are they cute or what?

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Elizabeth celebrated her first Valentine's Day with a party at her 'school'. Moms and Dads came and we all had treats and exchanged Valentines. Libby made a Valentines decoration by feeling all different textures - flower petals, fuzzy balls, paper - and putting them inside a heart. Our first craft for the refrigerator door. :) We hope you have a very happy heart day, too!