Different Homecomings

Robby's soccer team comes to Clearwater to play. We all went out to cheer them on and see Robby. He played in his first Ave soccer game :)

Then we went to Ave to see him in another soccer game! This time he played for 20 minutes ;)We also got to see Joe and Nicolette and stay overnight in their new place! So fun! We also got to hear Vanessa sing at the president's inauguration the next morning ;)

First homecoming for Vanessa and Robby after we dropped them off at Ave in August. We were so excited !!!

Cheers! Here's looking at you, kid ;)

Vanessa's 21st Birthday

Vanessa wanted pink champagne :) Dad didn't object, of course, and he added to the celebration with smoked salmon, brie, crackers, and goat cheese. We spent the afternoon in the backyard enjoying the weather and the family! More pictures to follow. Love to all, mom and dad

Happy Birthday!

For your big day today, I thought I'd post an old picture of you and Jack. It's one of my favorites of you two. :) Such a cute couple!

I hope that you have a wonderful day, that your husband spoils you, that your sweet little daughters are well behaved for you, and that you eat a BIG piece of cake in my honor. :) Happy birthday Christina! With love from the VA Tompkins family.

Happy Birthday Christina

We love you very much, Christina! Many blessings and prayers :)

Love, Mom, Dad, Angela, and Teresa

Cute Videos

So one evening I was cooking dinner and things were very quiet... this is what I find :) it was such a sweet moment!

Veronica will sit in the bumbo on the bathroom counter while we get ready - now she keeps herself busy :)

So sweet :) best friends already!

During dinner, Veronica randomly giggles at her little ducks. She loved it when I jiggled them. I wish I could post the entire video of her giggling. It went on for over 5 minutes!

Florida Fun

It has been a busy couple months for the St. Pete Tompkins. We went to the zoo, Veronica's ears were pierced, we celebrated my Dad, Elizabeth and Andrew's birthday's (all within one week of each other), and wrapped it up with a vicious virus! Thankfully, Isabella's blood work numbers are getting better (she was poked seven times in one week!) and Veronica's blisters/sores are almost gone.

Isabella has really grown up and is looking more and more like a little girl! She is such a sweetheart. She amazed me with how brave she was with all that happened over the past week. She loves Veronica so much! The two of them are so sweet with each other. She loves to mimic me in all that I do. Her new thing is unscrewing EVERY bottle/container (no matter what is inside... which has been lots of fun) and turning on and off light switches. Also a little update: her next hearing test will be November 9th and depending on the results, speech therapy will soon follow.

Veronica is changing and learning every day! She is rolling around all over the place and her balance for sitting is getting better! She loves to get her hands on everything and play in her exersaucer. Jack and I get a kick out of her bouncing in it. She loves to talk, squeal, smile and laugh. She is a very happy baby! We can't wait for all the cousins to play together!

Jack & I are doing well. We both agree last week was probably the most difficult week of our entire marriage. We were so strong and supportive to one another, but we definitely felt like we were not going to survive. We're almost 100% back to normal :). Our lawsuit is still ticking away. We have to wait until January before we even discuss a trial date (ridiculous). We don't know how long the typical wait is for trial once we have this conference. One thing is for sure... we're getting good at waiting :). As my Grandma Bauer always says... "Offer it up". Might as well make some good out of it! We love you all! Enjoy the pictures!

Amazing!

Birthday recap and Spiderman video

Here is my birthday recap slideshow. It was a great weekend-long celebration, and I really appreciated all of the phone calls, texts, and facebook messages. I felt very loved. Thank you to all of you!

Now for another little video of Ryan Jr. taken tonight. A little boring at first, but just be patient and watch until the end. :)

Cecilia is 2!

Just wanted to share our pictures documenting Cecilia's big day today. She was incredibly happy the entire day today, from the minute she woke up and found her birthday decorations downstairs, until her party tonight with her cousins, and then seeing Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Teresa and Aunt Angela on the webcam was the icing on the cake. We could tell that she felt very special and loved. She is our sweet girl! Thank you everyone for you phonecalls, messages, gifts, blog posts, and well wishes. Cecilia appreciated every single one and you all made her 2nd birthday very, very special.

Happy Birthday, Cecilia!

Here's a birthday kiss from Isabella :)

We love you!!!

Big News

TWINS!

(Just kidding!)

Hello dear family! Here is a little update as to what's been going on with the Naples Tompkins family. I've included some photos of Ave Maria's first football game and then some pregnant lady (and man) pictures hehe. Joe has been working hard at law school during the week and during most of the weekends too. But we still find time for a movie and the Bucs game on the weekend as we rest up before the next week. I have been working, sleeping, and counting down the weeks until I will (hopefully) be free of this pregnancy sickness. Last week I got to see Mom, Dad, Angela, and Teresa twice! I had to make a work trip up to Tampa for meetings on Monday and then they all came to visit on Thursday/Friday. It was too short of a visit, but we were excited to host our first guests in our new apartment... hopefully they will come to visit again soon! We love to see our family. :) We're really looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Baby had it's first check up yesterday and it's already 9 weeks old! (So that means possibly only 3 more weeks of sickness? YES!!) We chose a doctor at the recommendation of Krista Henley (AMU alumni) and I really like her so far. Plus, the clinic and hospital are right down the road so I don't have to miss much work for appointments. At this first check up, I was able to hear the baby's strong and fast heart beat, as well capture Baby's first photos. The baby seemed more than happy to have it's picture taken and wiggled it's little arms! Based off this first ultrasound, the doctor believes that May 12th is Baby's ETA... we're hoping it wants to stay cozy for a few days longer because Joe's law school finals are set to go through May 12th! So far, Baby's favorite foods are turkey/cheese sandwiches and saltine crackers... lots of saltine crackers! My sister, Carissa, has been huge help these past few weeks. She has done the weekly grocery shopping and even cooks dinner once a week for us. Joe has been extra helpful with the household chores, even though he has very little free time!

P.S. To echo Mary's request, could you all please email some family photos to me, too? I have none whatsoever and think Mary's photo wall is a great idea! poschnic00@hotmail.com

Now for some photos! Here is a photo of the Ave Maria cheerleaders and football team on the sidelines. We think the new green and blue colors look really nice.

First pregnant lady photo! 8 weeks along here.

And we'll end with the first pregnant man photo? He's having a celebratory drink at least!

The Ave Maria Victory March

Well, here we go...I'm starting a rebellion again....Mr. Monaghan has refused to listen to the cries of the people. After winning the fight song competition, he has again tried to insert the Valdres March (aka The March of the Penguins) as the school fight song by playing it at sporting events. We all know that I won this contest fair and square. So, unfortunately, I'm now running out of time b/c football season is underway and traditions are being made. I need to get the word out about the true fight song, but I first need a title. For example, Notre Dame's fight song is called the "Notre Dame Victory March" and Michigan's fight song is called "Hail to the Victors". So, to give you some ideas, here are the lyrics:

Rally Sons of AMU
Cheering Loud with voices true
Lift high her name
For our game will bring her fame.

Cheer loud and Cheer Proud
Gyrenes will make them flee.
Send high the battle cry
We fight til victory.

Fight, Fight, Gold and Tanzanite.

All sing and give her hail
With her we’ll never fail
We’ll pray Ave, Ave, Ave
Til they have given way.

Ave, Ave, Ave, Ave, Ave
Ave, Ave.
Ave, Ave, Ave, Ave,
Ave Maria.

“Ave Maria”… FIGHT!


So far, I am leaning towards: The Ave Maria Victory March. I know, I know...it is the same as Notre Dame's, but there's no copyright on the words, "Victory March". lol If nothing beats that, I'm going to go with it. Also, you can listen to the first rough draft of my song by listening to it here. Stay tuned for there's more to come!!!

Love you all,

The Rebel Scum

Picture request

Hello family,

Instead of sending out a group e-mail I figured it might be easier to simply blog this instead. I have been meaning to make a picture wall along the staircase in our house of pictures of our immediate family. I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much trouble for you all to send me a recent picture of your families? It doesn't have to be a formal picture or anything, just a recent photo that includes all the parents and kids. :) I'd really like to have each sibling represented on the wall, as well as our nieces. Jack and Christina, Marisa and David: would you mind sending me a picture of just your girls as well? Depending on what kind of frames I end up getting, I may be able to include a picture of the girls alongside your family photo. Mom and Dad, is there a recent picture of you all that could be e-mailed to me? You can send the pictures to mebs1586@yahoo.com.

Thanks in advance. I'm really excited to get started on this project so that we can have more pictures of you guys in our house.

A funny video

Just thought I'd share this video of  Ryan Jr.taken tonight after dinner. He kept trying to grab the ice cubes out of my cup but would close his eyes and gasp at the coldness when he actually did touch them! We were laughing and laughing but unfortunately this video was taken towards the end of his silliness, when he was starting to tone the gasping down a bit. I wish you could've seen it, it was so darn cute!

To make you smile...

...or laugh :)