out with the old, in with the new...part 1

Growing up I remember getting Christmas cards every now and then that had a family's "Year in Review" included. I always liked that. So, before Tad and I totally forget all that went into 2010 we decided to sit down and write our own! This might take a while, so hunker down =) Guess we should start in the beginning...

January- Thinking back this far is tough...so we went to our pictures to see what we thought were memorable moments at the time. The first pics of the year are of one my worst decisions to date. (well, probably not really...but i still roll my eyes at myself everytime I think of this) A big package came in the mail from my mom. In it were a few gifts, and a WHOLE lot of styrofoam peanuts. Boys: "MOM! Can we jump in the box and make it look like it's snowing in the living room?!" I think to myself...I feel like I am always telling them "no". I need to relax and let them be kids...sure, it'll make a mess...but what a fun thing to let them do...Emmily: "Sure! Go ahead!" What ensued was a chaotic mess of static electricity that took Tad and I over 5 hours and cost us one shop vac motor to clean up. I cried at least 2 times. Glad I have the pictures ( and now the text ) to remind myself of such a wonderful night...Ya'll should have seen Tad's face when he came home...that was actually funny.

Other than that, we took the boys to their first Monster Truck Show and we watched the Saints win their playoff game sending them to the Super Bowl!

February- Of course the biggest news out of New Orleans in February of 2010 was the Saints win in the 44th Superbowl! We spent the night down the street at the home of the Porche's with some of our amazing neighbors...it was SUCH a fun night! Next up was Mardi Gras...we met up with Arnold's for the truck parades in Metairie. This turned out to be such a fun and relaxing day...we will hopefully be doing more of the same in years to come. Now, the biggest news out of the Patella household this February was Tad turning 30! He has accomplished so much in his first 30 years...I can't wait to see what he does for his next. To celebrate we had a room at the W Hotel downtown...which we rode to in a stretch limo! It was such a fun way to start off the celebration. (Of course it did cost a pretty penny, so we took a cab back home =) ) We ate dinner and then Josh and Jackie and our friends Jon and Leslie met us for drinks and fun in the hotel's posh lounge. Breakfast at Mother's and then back to reality.

March- Mimi (my mom) came in for a visit! The boys always look forward to being tourists in thier own town when she comes in. (They also look forward to the animal cookies she brings them!) This visit we went to the zoo and took the boys to their first Imagination Movers concert at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Fun times! During my mom's visit we received Elijah's letter that he had been accepted into Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies...I can't believe my first baby boy is going to be in Kindergarten...so proud of him!

April- We started the month of with a little getaway to Jellystone Park in Robert, LA. We took our time on the way up, and stopped at an awesome playground in Covington. The accomodations were not what we expected...Tad described the room as a cross between a hospital and a motel. (Needless to say, Joel was not allowed on the floor and spent all indoor time in the pack and play...aka "cage".) Besides the funky sleeping arrangements, the boys enjoyed nature walks, putt putt, and fishing with Daddy.

April is one of our big birthday months! First, Dominic turned 3! To celebrate I picked he and Elijah up from school along with his best friend, Nathan and Nathan's 2 brothers Micah and Jonah. Back at home the boys made personal pizzas, got tattoos, picnicked in the backyard, and ate ice cream sandwiches. Tad came home for lunch to add to the fun. That night Pops, Granny, Katie and Gigi came over for a special birthday dinner and cake...we got him big legos.

One thing that starts in spring is baseball season, and our two big boys joined the ranks of the Harahan Playground Dodgers Tball team! The team was a little unorganized, and somehow Tad and I became coaches...right. Games = Practice, and both boys on the same team...definitely not going to be this easy in the coming years.

The end of the month brought another big birthday...our baby turned 1!!! Holy cow! We had his party at the house, with inflatable bounce houses, cupcakes, a photographer...the works =) Joel has such a sweet demeanor, and has definitely been our "easiest" baby yet. (writing this he is now almost two, and boy has his personality exploded since his first birthday!)

May- Bring on the beginning of summer in the South! The end of preschool is a big deal...if you didn't know. Elijah ended his year of being a Snoopy...he learned to read! Dominic graduated from the Winnie the Pooh class...we love, love, love his teachers and will miss them next year. The big boys each had end of year programs in which they sang in front of the whole school. Elijah was definitely one of the loudest performers, and Dominic singing "You Are My Sunshine" has made it one of my favorite songs to sing to my boys.

With the arrival of the warm weather....the Patella boys begin to spend as much time outside as they can. The Guttuso's gave us a slip n slide for Dominic's birthday, and we used it every chance we got! Don't have any pictures of Tad, but he had just as much fun on it as the boys.

June- We're pregnant! Although I already knew in my heart that #4 was on the way, we got blue line conformation a week before Father's Day. I was going to try and surprise Tad in a Father's Day card, but keeping something like that inside was more than I could handle. After the boys had gone done one night, Tad and I were sitting in the living room relaxing. I had sent him a text earlier in the day that said "guess what?"...to which he replied "chicken butt". (Yes, we are this cheesy). He mentions that when he had gotten that text earlier, he really thought I was about to tell him I was pregnant. (Insert nervous laugh.) So, from across the living room I send him another text that says "guess what?". Now Tad has some big beautiful blue eyes...they were the size of saucers. I had to convince him I was for real! Here we go again!!!

For the last two years we have taken swimming lessons with Mrs. Kelly. This year Dominic got involved too! By the end of their 2 weeks Elijah could swim from one end of the pool to the other, and Dominic was getting comfortable putting his face in. Unfortunately, we don't go to a pool very often, so we had to continue practicing our skills in the bathtub.

If there is one thing I have learned about Tad since having 3 boys, it's that he is still such a kid at heart! While Mommy might not always be up for a marathon session of wrestling, tackle football, and bug searches...chances are Daddy is just as excited to dig in as they are. Summers in New Orleans are usually pretty wet...and if you've ever met our boys you know that staying inside from morning til night doesn't tend to end well. On rainy days, sometimes you just have to go out there and find something to do in the rain...

The end of June brought the close to our first year of Tball...and an impromptu awards ceremony (Did I mention it was a little unorganized!?). The boys thought that getting a trophy was pretty much the coolest thing ever, and we kept them displayed in their room for the rest of the year. At this rate, we'll need a trophy room for 4 kids worth of childhood sports...sigh. Not sure if we'll do it again next season, although we'll have more than enough kids to cover the outfield by then.

stay tuned for more...