"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.."

I know, I have been blogging like crazy this weekend! But I had so many great photo opportunities! It will be hard to head back to school tomorrow. Illinois got hit with our first big snow today! We woke up to the fluffy stuff all over the ground and still pouring out of the sky, and it has continued on and off throughout the day. We're supposed to get 3-5 more inches tonight...so like any good teacher, I am hoping for a SNOW DAY! =o) This is the first year Holden is big enough to actually walk in the snow. He LOVED it! He kept saying, "Snow!" and "COLD!" His little snowsuit from LAST year still fits him, which cracks me up. It was a bit big last year. He needs real snow boots, and he refused to keep his mittens on, but it didn't seem to deter him. We only stayed out for a little while due to his cough/ear infection, but I figured a little fresh air never hurt. Plus he was bundled up like Ralphie so if anything, he was probably hot!

My little reindeer

As you can see, I did finally find a set of tree lights that worked! Holden loves his new reindeer antlers. I think I am going to use the big picture for our Christmas card.

Family, exersize, and the manger!

I can only post 4 collages at a time (wouldn't be a problem for most people, just the camera Nazi!) so here are the leftovers from my parents' house. I set the timer and our group shot turned out great! All smiles and Mom even has her eyes open! Ha! One of my parents' presents to Holden was the Fisher Price nativity set. He really enjoys it even though he doesn't quite "get it" yet. He points out the "baby," carries the animals around, and loves to push the angel so it plays "Away in a Manger" and lights up the star. He dances every time he does it! He also loves mom's exersize machine and thinks he is really cool since he can climb on it now.

Thanksgiving #2

After a much-needed nap for Holden (I think I needed one too, but I was busy cooking for the next meal!) we headed down the street to Jay's parents' house. We had dinner with his sister, Allison, Grandma and Grandpa Schulz, and of course Memaw and Pepaw. I somehow managed to shovel in another heaping plate (okay, maybe two!) of food. I felt bad because Holden was a bit grumpy when we got there. I chalked it up to it being a big day; we found out the next day that he had bronchiolitis (not contagious but dangerous to him; fluid on the lungs) and an ear infection! Just another reason I will not be winning Mommy of the Year 2008.

The classic group shot. It cracks me up for so many reasons; Grandma's eyes are closed and she looks pained, both Pepaw and Grandpa are looking at me like I'm a moron, Allison has her "grin and bear it" smile on (I am pretty sure Jay was doing something to her since I can't see his other arm!), and of course there's the HAPPY Holden and Memaw with those big eyes and that cheesy grin on her face thinking, "Why did I get stuck holding him?" Lastly, the strategic placement of her finger makes this one so appealing. I am still laughing when I look at it!

Happy times did prevail again as Holden warmed up to his surroundings. He is in love with water bottles right now which is what Tami is giving him in her picture. Paul is a member of the clean plate club, and Jay found new ways to annoy his sister and continue their love/hate relationship. I even got one of the two of us and Jay is not making a goofy face, which doesn't happen often.

A few more fun shots of the night. Allison and Holden spent quite a bit of time in the empty bathtub and both seemed to find it pretty amusing! Thanks, Aunt Allie! The dogs were shut in their pens during dinner, and afterwards Angel (what a great name for her!) decided to see if any of the plates needed extra scraping before the dishwasher was closed. Holden had fun with the kitchen and feeding the baby, much to Jay's delight....I mean dismay....=o) And of course I got a more realistic shot of my mature husband and myself. I mean, who were we kidding with the first one?!

Macy's Parade and Thanksgiving #1

Seriously, I took so many pictures of Thanksgiving I even shocked myself. But Holden was just so much fun this year! He loved the Macy's Parade, had a blast with all of his relatives, and even ate a few things throughout the day. (Picky eaters have more variety to choose from on Thanksgiving....although he mainly resorted to popcorn chicken, crackers, and apple slices, so no different from any other day!) Here are the first round of pictures.

Watching the Macy's Parade has always been a tradition since my childhood. I had it on in the background this year and as soon as it started, Holden ran up to the TV and started pointing and dancing! Personally, I watch for the balloons, but he loved the bands, singing, and dancing. He got very giggly as you can see! Jay had to work so I tried to get some pictures of my buddy and me...I thought they turned out pretty cute!

We ate lunch at my parents' house. Jay stopped by and was able to gobble a plate down before he had an accident call to head to. My Granny was there, and so was my brother, Eric. We ate...and ate...and ate...and couldn't decide who was more entertaining; Holden's usual antics, or my dad carving the turkey!

Had to post a few pictures of the little guy and my dad. Holden just loves his "Papa!" Dad will tickle him with his beard and he giggles and giggles with the anticipation of it. They are quite the pair, and my dad loves every minute of it.

Clowning around with Uncle Eric! They were supposed to be watching football together; I don't think Eric got much viewing time in. =o) I love that Holden knows who he is now, and will point him out in pictures and get excited when he knows he's going to see him.

BAH HUMBUG!!!!!

I have loads of cute Thanksgiving pictures to peruse through and figure out how to blog. We had a great time at BOTH meals that we went to, and I was stuffed as a turkey...and still kept finding ways to cram more food in! Just had to vent tonight on my Christmas light crisis. So everyone knows that I LOVE Christmas,and can't wait to get started decorating, playing music, shopping for just the right gifts, etc. (My classroom is already fully decorated, including a tree and lights under the blackboard, as of Wednesday before I left, and I have been playing Christmas music in the van since the beginning of November.) While Holden napped today, I spent close to THREE HOURS rearranging the living room to accomodate the tree, putting up the tree, and stringing millions of white lights all over it. I did not mind because I love decorating. Even though I could have caught up on Grey's Anatomy, ER, Lipstick Jungle, and all of the other shows I am behind on. Or taken my own nap. The tree looked awesome when I was done, and Holden's face when I brought him downstairs was priceless. He was SO excited! My goal was to put the ornaments on with him tonight. WELL......after a little excursion to Toys R' Us (during which time we bought all of Holden's gifts right in front of him while he played in the aisles; love this age!) we come home and ONLY THE BOTTOM ROW of lights is working. Two cats are sitting under the tree staring at me with wide-eyed innocence. I will never know if they played a role in it or not. It took (a laughing) Jay (I didn't see the humor) and me 20 minutes to get them off. (I wrap well, people!) Then it took me another 30 minutes, complaining all the way, to get two thirds of the tree lit with backup lights I had in the basement. At that point, THE BACKUP LIGHTS WENT OUT. Jay is rolling on the couch laughing. Holden is yelling, "Yites! Yites!" And I yank them off the tree and storm out of the room. I realize this is a funny story. If you are not the one who wasted the WHOLE DAY on lights! So it's off to Walmart tomorrow to buy new ones. Next year we are getting a pre-lit tree. Mark my words.

Thanksgiving morning (EARLY!)

Someday I will sleep in again on Thanksgiving morning, all toasty in my bed. But I have a feeling not for a long, LONG time! ;o)


"No more pictures, please! People, do NOT believe what she is about to show you.
She has twisted it all around! I swear I am innocent!"

Holden had been hanging out with Jay while he got ready for work this morning. He works until 3:00 so we'll see him in time for dinner. Apparently Jay was a little busy....and so was Holden......as I discovered when I came to find out why he was so quiet!!!!!

My classroom guinea pig, Lucy, is home for Thanksgiving break since they turn the heat off at our school. Holden loves paying her nice, friendly visits during which he bangs on her cage and yells, "HI!!!" I think she will be glad to return to school.

Lastly, I give you exhibits A, B,and C, which we'll title, "plugged in." Holden is obscessed with plugging things in, as some of his favorite things (the vacuum, Pizzaz pizza maker, CD players, etc.) are all electrical. Fortunately for his life we have plugs in all of the outlets, and he hasn't really figured out that's where things get plugged in yet. He seems to think they can be plugged in just about anywhere. While I was loading the above pictures earlier, he got ahold of my straightener out of the bathroom drawer and decided to find some good plugging spots. He keeps me busy! It is only 6:45am and all this has already taken place!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I am most thankful for:

Wishing everyone a wonderful turkey day with family and friends. We love you!
Katie, Jay, and Holden

"Leaving on a jet plane..."

Or living vicariously through others that are! Jay has been doing overtime security detail at the airport on Fridays. Holden loves to go see Daddy and watch the planes take off and land, and I love that it gives us something new to do indoors now that winter has hit Illinois. In the bottom right picture of this collage, you can see holding waving to the plane. He actually yells, "BYE BYE, AIRPLANE!" (Or his version of airplane, which sounds more like "a pane." =o) Too cute!



Giving Daddy a high five through the security window.
He can come out and see him, but we can't go past the security checkpoint.

Holden loves this statue of a traveler. He actually talks to it. Such a funny kid!

Getting in a little payphone time. Can you hear him saying, "HELLO?"

These need no words

Except that it's me, so we all know there'll be at least a few! =o)

I just love this picture. It was such a pretty day, and he looks like such a little man.

Checking out some leaves.

A little hammock action.

His car, his sippy, and the great outdoors make for a happy boy. Now how am I going to get through the winter????

Fall Feature

"Peeping Tom"

Holden had the cutest little outfit to wear on Halloween. Unfortunately, after an extra long nap, Jay discovered right before heading to the school parade that Holden had wet through the entire outfit. So I put him in it the day after Halloween. It was one of the last of our really nice fall days, and I got some cute pics of him in the backyard. Oh yeah, and a few at Walmart in the "winter wonderland." Yes, that's right, day after Halloween and the Santas were out! I think it's hilarious that he's in his Halloween outfit while watching dancing Santas.

Playing in the leaves with Brady! They had so much fun. Also a few shots of his new Harley Davidson that one of Jay's coworkers gave us. (Doesn't Jay look cool on it?)

Bourke/Hobson Family Pictures 08!

My family recently got together to have our pictures taken. This was my Christmas present to my parents LAST year, and it has just taken forever to find a time that worked for my brother, Eric, to come home, and Jay to be off work at the same time as everyone else. We finally got it coordinated! Here are a few of my favorites:

I just love Holden's little pose here! My mom was tickling him with this feather duster prop they had, and this was the outcome.

My "baby brother" and me! (The curtain is not showing in the ones we bought; they must have forgotten to edit it out of my CD) =o)

Eric thought it was "lame" that he had to have shots taken by himself, but I think they turned out great! I know I'm a biased big sis, but I think he's a cutie. He is successful and single, ladies...

Mom and Dad have not had pictures taken together in forever. I love this one of the two of them.

The whole group! My mom is using this one for her Christmas cards this year. I was amazed they got all of us smiling with our eyes open. (For those of you that don't know Mom, she has a HUGE issue with always having her eyes closed in pictures! It has become a running joke!)

New hat

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been behind in postings. Please check out the Halloween posts below. We had a great time! I'm sure missing the warm weather already. There were snow flurries today when Holden and I were out shopping! I had to post a shot of him in his new tassle hat. He cracks me up in it!!! At first he hated it, but after being out at the stores today, everyone kept commenting on it so then he got a big head. By the time we headed to the parking lot, he was waving to people and yelling, "MY HAT! MY HAT!" Hey, works for me since I want him to wear it. (Annie, as you can see the back of the cart idea worked! Thanks!) ;o)

Morning After Blues...

"But Mommy, WHY can't I have Halloween candy for breakfast????"

Trick or treat!

Happy Halloween Parts 2...3...and 4!


Our evening continued with some fun visitors! Grammy and Papa stopped by to see our monkey and give him some treats. Bridget brought Natalie the butterfly over to see her boyfriend. =o) We also stopped off down the street to see Brady the dragon, 'lil pumpkin Kylie, and Isabella the flower. Everyone looked so cute!

Then it was down to the business of trick or treating. Holden had an idea of what to do since we had gone to Downtown Normal the night before. He remembered the candy! We went down the street to Memaw and Pepaw's house and saw Aunt Allie and Cousin Chelsey. Then we were off! Holden's favorite parts of the night were all of the lawn decorations (especially anything lit up!), and there were many detours as he moseyed off into various lawns to take his own little "tour." He also loved eating candy out of his bucket. Our neighborhood goes all out...as you can see, some people even dressed up their pets!

The Saturday after Halloween, Memaw babysat Holden so Mommy and Daddy could go to a Halloween party hosted by one of my coworkers, Stephanie. She and her husband were Wayne and Garth from Wayne's world. Hilarious! Jay went as me and I went as him. Do you like my cop pig nose? I also had a tail but I don't think anyone needs to see shots of my rear end! Annie and her whole family of Incredibles were there. We had a great time and as you can see, everyone dressed for the occasion!

Halloween at Mommy's school!

This is the first of several (overdue!) Halloween postings to come. I finally got a moment to sit down and load all my pictures. Holden's Halloween festivities started on Friday afternoon when Daddy brought him to Mommy's classroom so he could join in the parade and party with us! The kids loved seeing him, and it was soooo different compared to last year when he didn't know what was going on. He was waving to people on the parade route and pointing out spooky costumes, saying, "OOOH!" The kid had no fear in this dept: the scarier they were, the more he would laugh! He's goofy. He thought he was hot stuff in the classroom since he got lots of attention. It was in the 70's....can you believe it?? The prettiest Halloween I've ever seen. Holden was actually HOT in his nice warm costume, so I stripped it off as soon as the parade was over.

Posing with the class....there were literally 20 parents taking pictures, and as you can see the kids were sick of them! Ha! (My new student teacher is to the left. She was an 80's girl which we had to explain to the kids. They just thought she was dressed weird!) =o)

Party collage! My good friend, Annie, also a first grade teacher, was Mrs. Incredible. I will be Minnie Mouse until I retire because the costume cost so much I had to promise Jay I would reuse it! =o) Our school librarian's grandson was also a monkey. They boys looked so cute together! I find the devil ears to be very fitting on Jay. And check out Holden's "pimp" picture with the girls...he wasn't feeling it but I told him in a few years he will know how lucky he was!