"Sledding" & other Pre-Josh tidbits...

OK, so here are a few tidbits from the Borich world. I figured I had better get something up prior to the upcoming birth of Josh. The slide show above is from a day where the kids wanted to go outside with Daddy while he was shoveling snow. The interesting twist is that Mykah wanted to do the shoveling and Max was dying to ride his new tricycle. My extremely creative hubby came up with the following solution... Turn Maxie's tricycle into a "sled" and have Mykah shovel paths for him. As you can see, it worked and we all spent the day extremely amused. You may have also noticed the snowball fight between the 2 "older kids" (that's Mykah & Joe, in case you're wondering!)


What's the perfect way to warm up after an afternoon in the snow? HOT TUB!!!!

We were thrilled when Mykah told us she wanted to participate in basketball this year and Dryden has the perfect program for her. For 6 weeks worth of Saturday mornings, she learns basketball skills and she is doing a Great Job!!! We're pretty sure she wouldn't have been comfortable with joining a program where they dive right in and play other teams, so this one is perfect! We're having so much fun watching her explore something new.

"Good form!"

This is Mykah's "I got this one in the bag" stance & smirk...

Although I'm quite sure none of you want to see this monstrous belly, I posted it because it shows how sweet my hubby is... As with Max, Josh will know his Daddy the minute he sees/hears/feels him when he's born because Joe spends so much time bonding- Josh knows it's him every time he touches my belly because he starts moving like crazy. We're getting so anxious to meet our new little one!!!!!

And here's what will most likely be Joe & my last evening out before Josh is born... Joe's end of the year banquet was last night, so I found clothes to fit a whale and accompanied him. Does my big hair take the focus off my belly?!

As of 1-30-09, I'm dialated to a 1 & 1/2 and am 50% effaced!! Officially, I have 3 weeks to go, but the midwives I'm seeing have offered to induce anytime on or after the 16th. We'll see how it goes and keep you all updated...

2008: A year in review

As I think about the exciting changes coming to our home in 2009, I can't help but to reflect on what a great year 2008 was at the Borich home. Call it nostalgia or call it hormones, I want to share my favorite things about our children from this past year. Let's call it the alternative to a Christmas letter!

Mykah Brookelynn is 8 years old. My mom's greatest wish as I was growing up was that someday, I would have a daughter just like me. Her wish came true... In spite of this, Mykah at 8 is my favorite Mykah so far. She is really discovering who she is and the kind of person she wants to be. She has such a big heart and all those around her are blessed with love that freely flows from it.

Mykah loves music-all kinds. There aren't 2 minutes throughout the day when she isn't singing, humming or trying to play one of her musical instruments (guitar, keyboard, recorder-someday, we'll get lessons so it isn't just noise!) She starts 3rd grade Chorus in 2 days and is so excited! Inspired by, or because of her love for music, she knows the lyrics to every commercial on TV. This isn't because she watches TV all the time, but because she picks up music & lyrics very quickly. She can also sing the theme songs to all our favorite TV shows and does, every time they're on! Keep in mind that every song comes with self-choreographed actions-see karaoke video on Christmas post... Her musical imagination goes even further. There are many times we've caught her playing Bodie, our wiener dog, like a guitar. The poor dog just lays there, belly up like a baby, and lets her strum his side and sing her little heart out like a rock star!

Mykah loves to cook, especially with Joe. Her favorite rule is the chef has to taste everything before it's served. She & Joe are such a cute picture in the kitchen, adding this & that until she decides whatever they're cooking is perfect. Thanks to a very easy recipe (Thanks, MB!), Mykah recently made her first batch of cookies from start to finish, entirely on her own. She was so proud of herself, she could've burst!

Mykah is a fantastic student. Her teachers love her because she is so eager to learn. She loves to read. Her favorite books right now are anything fantasy-inspired, mainly stories about mermaids, dragons, etc.

She loves all animals, from her huge Littlest Pet Shop collection to the real ones, like Bodie and dolphins. She loves to watch Animal Planet and gets very distraught over commercials about abused animals or animals in danger, like polar bears. We may have to watch her later to make sure she doesn't start bringing home strays. She doesn't even seem to mind the snake under our hot tub! I see ASPCA in her future...

Mykah is "Daddy's girl." She will do anything as long as it's with Joe. She'll pick him over me when it comes to helping her with homework, cooking, playing games, you name it. She also goes to work with him on days she doesn't have school. She does crafts for the other coaches while Joe is in meetings and then glows from all their attention. Joe makes her feel so special and his patience is endless.

Max Joe is 2 years old in every sense. He is currently testing every inch of our patience as he figures out who he is and how he can express that. In spite of the "Terrible 2s", here are my favorite things about Max. BTW, Mykah at 3 was far more trying than she was at 2, so I don't anticipate the next year being much better for Max, unless there's some magical Borich gene that hasn't kicked in yet!

Max refers to himself using 3rd person, and it's "Maxie", not Max. He thinks many things are "boo-tiful"- Christmas or other lights, snow, cows... He gets us to stop & appreciate ordinary things that he considers extraordinary.

He asks questions that he wants us to ask back. His favorite is, "Whatsa matto, Maxie?" when he gets hurt or is sad and he'll ask us until we ask the question back.

Maxie inherited my Grandpa Clem's circle hair- It's hard to describe, but you know where the top of your head turns into the back of your head? The hair in that spot grows clockwise on Max, creating a circle. This is why we keep his hair very short!

Max says, "God bess (not a type-O) you" after anyone sneezes. Awwww, such good manners- he also says it after anyone burps, including himself, then giggles hysterically and says, "Maxie silly!"

He's very active & already obsessed with football. He runs in place, arms pumping, yelling "Go, go, go" before he runs a couple of steps & slides, yelling "Suchdown" (also not a type-O) or he runs into something with his shoulder, usually the big screen, causing Joe a small heart attack. He loves all other sports, too, and we've had to buy him toys as he discovers a new sport. When we took him to a hockey game, that was his obsession and we had to get him hockey gear. When he discovered Mykah's golf clubs, he had to get some of his own (Thanks, Nana & Papa) and the list goes on. During this process, we discovered that Max swings hockey sticks, baseball bats & golf clubs left-handed, even though he's right-handed! He doesn't throw as a leftie, but his QB coach dad will change that if he can!

Max is a true "Mama's boy." He can be like my little shadow sometimes, which can be very interesting right now, as I can't see anything below my monstrous belly! I've been asked when I'm going to cut the apron strings, but I'm in no hurry. He'll do it on his own someday and I'll only have this post and my memories to remember when his world centered around Mama.

There's my 2008 recap. Mom & B, dry your eyes... you're coming soon (right?!) and you can experience all this for yourself. The rest of you reading this- you're always welcome, too. We love sharing and creating memories...

Christmas 2008

This year, the Borich family had many new memories to create. Our Christmas story begins with Christmas Eve. We dressed up (as much as the Borich fam does) and set out to find a church service to remember what the season is really for. Ice chips falling from the sky and half-inch thick ice on our car not lucky enough to be in the garage prompted us to stay local, instead of drive the 35 miles to our normal church in Ithaca. We attended the local Methodist church for their "family-friendly" Christmas Eve service. Because Joe & I work so much in Ithaca, we don't know many people in Dryden. Therefore, our jaunt to this church led us to absolutely no one familiar. Oh, what a blessing that turned out to be...

We sat in a pew in the back, even though the Reverend invited all of us in the back to move closer. Not even 10 minutes into the service, we were contentedly singing "Jingle Bells" with the guitar and banjo-toting couple leading the music, enjoying the festive mood and being together as a family in church remembering the REAL spirit of the season. Maxie, being 2 and very vocal, hasn't mastered the "inside voice" yet. When the song was over, he cried out, "YAY, do it again!". The congregation roared with laughter. The Reverend asked, "What did he say?", so several people told him. His response was, "I think that's a great idea, let's sing it again!" So, we did... Mykah would've traded all her upcoming Christmas presents for the opportunity to fall through the floor at that point. Max embarrasses her most of the time these days! The next thing Max did (please keep in mind, the entire service was only 30 minutes long), involved the story of how Santa came to be. The Reverend introduced a man who looks exactly like Santa, but he wasn't even in costume. Max didn't care, recalling the memory of Mama, Daddy & Mykah wanting him to sit on Santa's lap, and burst out with "Maxie no LIKE Santa." Needless to say, we slunk out of the service quickly after it was over! Memories, right?!

Mykah got her game face on for some serious present opening on Christmas morning, starting at 6:05am. We told her she couldn't go downstairs or wake us until 6, she graciously waited until 6:05! Max, on the other hand, wouldn't get out of his bed for the first half hour, so we let Mykah open some of her presents first. When Max finally came downstairs, we tried to get him interested in his presents, but all he wanted to do was "watch 'Credibles." (his latest movie obsession is The Incredibles) So we lost him again, this time to the basement. Mykah got all of our attention and I'm pretty sure she was okay with it! These are some of the cuter pix of opening presents. The pure joy on her face made our hearts soar with love & gratitude for this string of new memories...

We don't know how many more Christmases we'll get to enjoy with her believing in SC, so this one was definately etched in our hearts and minds forever.

When Max finally joined us, he couldn't care less for the small mountain of presents that were left by Santa, unwrapped and in plain sight. We put Mykah on "opening Max's presents duty" for the presents under the tree and wouldn't you know it, we finally got one that he got excited over. He got new Thomas the Train shoes that light up when he walks or in the case above, stomps his feet. Score for us!

Then he got a magic drawing board exactly like the one that he loved at the doctor's office (go figure), and felt he had to yank it from Dad before it was completely out of the box. While we managed to interest him in a couple of other things he got, none compared to the new shoes. He refused to take them off, so they remained on his feet the entire day, even through his nap!

Mykah loves to sing, and she loves to perform. She asked for a microphone from Santa, but he gave her something she discovered she liked even better, a karaoke machine. He even left an add'l microphone so she & Daddy can sing duets (I feel a future post coming on!)

This is Maxie's version of karaoke...

We had a fantastic day. It was hard for me to not feel like it was the end of Christmas as I had always known it. I never in a million years anticipated that I wouldn't be with my extended family on this day, but I let the excitement of new beginnings take over. We truly made a wonderful day for our kids and we have never felt more blessed as a family. Thank goodness for speaker phones, text messaging and email to keep us somewhat connected to the others we love. I never thought the noise of my parent's house would be so comforting...

We missed you all, but we were immersed in love for each other and we'll never forget our first Christmas "away from home". We pray that God blessed you as He blessed us, for that is the true joy of the season.

Family Photos

Here are all the pictures we had taken 2 weeks ago...I realize they are ones you now have seen if you've been on our blog recently, but since they're bigger, you can see better. I also will use any opportunity to show off my family! By now, you probably all know we aren't coming home for Christmas. We are looking forward to continuing to create our own special memories, but we'll miss you all and pray that we'll see you soon.

We wish you all the happiest of all holiday seasons!!