Saturday, January 28, 2012

First Haircuts

Last week at Abby's dance class I overheard two girls talking to each other and trying to decide if George was a girl or a boy. Well, I interpreted that as Gods way of telling me it was time to get George's hair cut.

So we did.

And everyone survived. Even the lady who cut his hair!

Abby has never had her hair cut either. So she and George shared this 'first'.

Before:

We went to a fun kids place to make the most of the experience.

(Yes, George is holding my old iPhone. He LOVES it! And it can't call Florida, so that's good!)

After:

Then we went shopping since we were at the mall. George finally has boy socks instead of hand me down girl socks :). And Abby found some princess stuff on sale and was thrilled.

Thanks for reading!

Until next post,
~The Ascencio's~

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can't believe it is 2012... I'll be turning 34 this year.
It's very hard for me to realize I'm in my thirties... I seriously don't feel like I'm a day out of highschool!!

More shocking... my baby sister will turn 29!  
Wow...  I'm getting a little teary eyed thinking about how fast my life seems to be moving.

It's been a while since I made a post.
We've been pretty busy and had a wonderful holiday season.
Abby and George were happy to find out that Santa stopped at our house on Christmas Eve.

Abby and I baked a birthday cake for Baby Jesus.

I'm hoping this becomes a tradition for us. 
I think that the kids will really enjoy it as they get older.  Abby cracked all three eggs for the batter, but the icing was left up to mom (atleast for this year).  

George surprised me when he helped decorate our Gingerbread house...  
he was very careful and precise to place the candy on the icing.  
He didn't like to get his fingers dirty with icing... 
that helped Mom have fun too!

This year was our first year with a Christmas Program to attend.
Abby was our little angel and did a great, great job!
If you want to see the 10 minute program, search 'darleneascencio' in youtube.
(Abby is in the top row all the way to the right.)


On Christmas Day we received one of those dreaded phone calls.
My Grandmother, my Mom's mother, passed away.
It was very unexpected.  VERY unexpected.
Grandma went out to a very nice dinner with my Aunt Patty on Christmas Eve.  
She even had a drink to celebrate the holiday.
But what she didn't know, is that God had more dinner plans for her the next day... 
A Christmas Dinner with my Grandpa up in Heaven.
I like to imagine that my Mom was a third-wheel on their Christmas Dinner Date.

My Grandmother was an amazing woman.  For starters, she had
10 children.
29 grand-children.
20+ great-grand-children and counting.

She knew everyone's birthday, activities, current status in life...
If asked about any one of her family members, she could answer without hesitation 
and was ALWAYS correct with her answer.

Even though I was one of 29 grand-children, she always made me feel like I was the only one.
She and Grandpa created an amazing family and the world feels right now that they are together for eternity.

Grandpa passed away when I was 8 months pregnant with George.
Grandma missed him, of course, but she didn't slow down for a second.
Even though she had both her knees and both her hips replaced years ago
and had rheumatoid arthritis, she was strong and never complained.

She was always the center of attention because she was loved by all.

Here is a picture of the last time we saw her at Valerie's wedding in April 2011.

Grandma and her daughters.
(Patty, Nancy, Mary Jane, Anne, Debbie)

Grandma tailgating at the Royal's game in April 2011.

Grandma and Darlene

Grandma, Abby, Karen & Maxine

After Grandma's funeral, 8 of her children.
Jimmy, Gary, Anne, Nancy, Patty, Mary Jane, Bob, Eddie
(Debbie was at home with a broken ankle :( )

We miss her.  
But it is also wonderful to know that anytime my Mom wants, 
she has someone to share a Diet Dr. Pepper, Cheeseburger and chocolate shake with.  
That is at least what I like to think :)

Wishing you all the ability to live life like my Grandma lived hers... completely.

~The Ascencio's~

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy Birthday to our Baby Boy!

George is the perfect addition to our family.
He is the only macho mamma's boy I know!
He is comfortable only if Daddy, Abby or I am with him.
He likes to throw his arms around Abby and hug her.
He likes to play anything and everything with Dad.
And, he likes to snuggle and love Mom.

He gives the sweetest kisses EVER!
Please Lord, don't let him grow out of those...

2 years ago, our life changed forever...

1 year ago we celebrated...

Today, we thank God for our healthy, beautiful baby boy.
Happy Birthday, George!
We love you more than you will ever know,
~Daddy, Mommy and Abby~

A visit to Northfork Outback in Webberville, MI

Our family of 4 spent a few Saturday's ago in Webberville, MI participating in some fall fun activities!

Northfork Outback is a Horse Farm they transformed into a playland for kids (and dads).

There was a pumpkin patch.

George picked out his very own pumpkin, carried it to me and then threw it at me... ahh, what a sweetie!

There were midget pony rides.  Is that the politically correct term for this horse?  Little pony?


Abby tried out her bucking bronco skills.

And Tommy practiced his lasso'ing 
(I'm city folk, so I'm not sure what that is called ;-))

Both George and Abby LOVED the petting zoo.
Dad?  Not so much.
Good thing we carry LOTS of wipes and anti-bacterial foam..hehe.



There was a very bumpy train ride that made Abby roar with laughter.

And, a wagon ride that didn't make George very happy :(

Growing up, Tommy's cousin Robbie would hold his little brother Joey on his lap with his arms wrapped around him.  Joey would cry to get out and Robbie would just say 'Shhhhh, Shhhhh, Shhhh' and everyone would laugh.  So, when George starts to have a fit, Tommy does the same to him and the memory of Robbie and Joey makes him smile.  That is what Tommy is doing to George in this picture!

George didn't like Daddy too much that day, but Abby sure did...

Abby would do anything for her Daddy... anything!

While we were there, a headless horseman appeared!  They gave Abby a smooth black rock and told her that if she rubbed it the evil spirits would go away.

She rubbed it for a very long time after the headless horseman rode away.

It was a fun day.   
We had beautiful weather and it was a very family friendly place.
Couldn't ask for more!
Until  next post,
~The Ascencio's~

Halloween with the Ascencio's

Halloween is quite the event when you have kids...
School parties, Dance parties, Family parties and don't forget the actual Day of Halloween!

Abby dressed up as Snow White.
She hasn't seen the movie, but loves the dress so she was in heaven each time she put her costume on!
George was Superman.
A costume strategically picked because there is nothing to put on his head, which would have just been a big fight between him and us.

This year my favorite part was watching Snow White do her pumpkin dance at her dance lesson...

The next day, Snow White had a Halloween Party at her school.
Here she is with both her teachers... Mrs. Cofield and Mrs. Donohue.

Daddy went to the party and brought her a magic wand which absolutely made her day!

George's class had a Halloween Party, too!
He did great... because he didn't know he was wearing a costume!

Daddy was there to participate (and take pictures for mom).
Here are my boys... my heart.

The Annual Pumpkin Carving party at Grandma's house was a hit!

Daddy carved pumpkins while mommy didn't!
Tommy brought home a Star Wars carving kit and Abby said that was okay for Daddy and Georgie, but that she and Mommy  needed a Princess carving kit.
Of course, Daddy bought it for her...xoxo

And George went with Star Wars...

The day of Halloween we went trick-or-treating at our house for the first time!
Abby had a ton of fun and George enjoyed the ride..

And Halloween was made complete with a surprise visit from Uncle Jeff.

Enjoy your candy.  Ours is slowly disappearing, the problem is... I'm the only one eating it :(
I may have a date with the treadmill soon.

Happy Belated Halloween,
~The Ascencio's~

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Tommy turns the big 4-0!

It feels like yesterday that we were celebrating Tommy's 30th birthday...
I was working in Switzerland and Tommy was visiting me.
We flew to Amsterdam for the weekend.
I had a tight timeline at work, so it was a quick weekend trip.
We've wanted to go back since we left.
Unfortunately, we haven't made it back yet.
However, we have been busy...

We went to China,

Taiwan,

Steamboat Springs,

Altamonte Springs,

St. Thomas,

a few Star Wars conventions (don't tell anyone..shhhh!),

New York City,




 the hospital a few times,





Ann Arbor,

and of course.... DETROIT!!!

It's been 10 years since Amsterdam.

10 wonderful years.

Thank you for sharing them with us,
~ Love Mommy, Abby and George ~