30 Days of Giving Thanks: Day 1

I'm participating in the 30 Days of Giving Thanks Challenge over at Blessed Beyond Words for the month of November.  I try to really be thankful each day, but I know I am not perfect.  I hope that putting one thing in writing every day I will truly remember to be more appreciative in my daily life and prayers.

Today I am very thankful for my little boys!  They constantly amaze me with the new things they learn and do (both good and bad, tee hee).

Just tonight I took both of them to Mass by myself (Matt had to work late) and on the way there Jack declares "I'm going to be good at church"... and sure enough he was great!  They were both great and I feel like it was the first time in a very long time that I felt like I was really able to participate in [most of] Mass.

This morning Christopher woke up late, which wasn't that great from the perspective of needing to get to work, but it was SO nice to not have my little alarm clock waking up at 5:30 am.  After he finally woke up, he reached for me and I held him while he just hugged me and laid his head on my shoulder while I got ready for work.  Love that he is a mama's boy!

I am so very blessed to be their mom!

Summer Swim Lessons

Summer means swimming and pool time to me!  Growing up we always did swim lessons during the summer... I can remember taking classes up until middle school/junior high time frame.  I am very fortunate to have a pool at my company's park that is open ever summer.  It is free for employees and they offer 3 sessions of [dirt cheap priced] swim lessons!  We did them last year with Jack and he screamed and resisted the whole time.  Man, I was hoping for a better time this year!

This year we did the second session of classes.  The first week was a replay of last year... ugh.  The second week he did slightly better but was still pretty resistant most of the time.  He did so well with one of his teachers that I asked her if she would do private lessons with him.  We just did 3 days of lessons this week... it has made a HUGE difference I think!  He still started the lesson kind of resistant to participating but his teacher always got him engaged within minutes!

Just wanted to share a few pictures of him in swim lessons this week:

Blowing bubbles, kicking and doing his "ice cream scoops" with Miss Abby.

Using the big noodle to practice his kicks!

Trying on his new goggles.  I think these have helped with him getting all flustered if he got water in his eye or sun in his eyes while practicing back floats.

Within three days of private lessons she almost had him swim by himself... so close!  He was just acting a bit hesitant and kept putting his feet down!

Hopefully we'll be able to get him swimming before we know it!

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

So, today wasn't just National Ice Cream Day... it was the day on which I braved the grocery store alone with two children for more than just a gallon of milk.  I must say, the boys did excellent!  Jack did have a minor freak out at the fact that there were NO car shopping carts.  The only way we made it into the store was by me carrying a 33 lb. 3 year old while pushing the cart with the 8 month old... ah, I was a site to see.

And of course, I couldn't go to the grocery store without getting ice cream to celebrate!  Here's Jack enjoying the treat after dinner:

And we can't leave Christopher out:

Playing with Daddy's Arnold Palmer while I cooked dinner!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!

On this Father's day, we're also celebrating the very person who made my husband a father.  Jack turns 3 today!

June 17, 2009

With Mommy & Daddy at his 1st birthday party!

Jack's first day of school!  (September 15, 2011)

Dear Jack,

My sweet baby boy, I can not believe how big you have gotten this past year!  I don't mean big in the physical sense but you have become such a big boy in your personality this year.  This year you became a big brother and oh, you are the BEST big brother I could ask for your little brother.  You were so sweet to your baby brother from the moment he was born.  I love to see how good you are to him, encouraging him to do new things (like crawl) by cheering "you can do it Chrisfer!"

You finished up your first year of school going to Seton Preschool at Grandma's church this past year.  You cried on your first day and it broke my heart, but ever since that first day you LOVED going to school to see Miss Anna and Miss Kathy.  You made some adorable new friends and learned so much in class.  It makes me so proud to think of how much you have accomplished this year!  A year ago you were in diapers 24/7, now you use the "big potty".  You now love to sing the ABC's over and over again instead of Mommy or Daddy singing songs to you.  We had to get you a new bike helmet this year because your head grew so much!

You [still] love to be outside all.the.time.  Now you're riding your bike by yourself, playing lacrosse in the back yard with Daddy and catching bugs.  You really are all boy!  We want to have a backyard campout this summer because I think you will love sleeping outside!

You are so very full of personality as evident in your 3 year old pictures!  You're funny and crazy, but stubborn just like your mommy.  I love continuing to watch you grow up in to such an amazing big boy!

Love you little man!

Mommy

You were cracking up so hard at something silly Daddy said that you covered your face!  So dramatic!

Looking like such a big boy!

Opening a present at your birthday party yesterday (June 16, 2012)

My Almost 3 Year Old

Jack: I don't want to be 3 on my birthday!

Me: What do you want to be? Jack?

Jack: I want to be 4!

Oh baby boy, don't try to grow up too fast!

The "Chrisfer" Song

Brought to you by one very silly big brother (complete with carseat dance)!

You can see my younger sister behind Jack joining in on the dance!

"Mower Grass"

This morning Matt had to go into work pretty early and had left by 6:30 am.  Jack woke up closer to 7:30 am (thank goodness for that) and came in to wake me up.  Here is what transpired between us:

Jack:  Daddy go?

Me: Daddy had to go to work, he'll be back later.

Jack (picks up Matt's old glasses off of his nightstand): Daddy's glasses mower grass
*Matt wears his older glasses when cutting the grass just in case things are flying

Me: Yup, those are Daddy's old glasses.

Jack (picks up a ball cap of Matt's, puts it on and attempts to put on Matt's old glasses):  Daddy's hat, Daddy's glasses... mower grass!

All I could do was snap this picture with my cell phone:

He is such a Daddy's boy!

Jack & Mommy Day!

I took my last vacation day today (we have a use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy at work and all of our vacation must be used by Friday) which was much needed after this weekend!  Saturday, we were able to witness the vows of a friend from college and his high school sweetheart!  Beautiful ceremony and a fun reception... Jack loved to dance!  Jack kept pointing up front during the ceremony saying "Princess" when referring to the bride... yup, I'm a proud mama of my sweet, sweet boy!  Sunday we went to my sister-in-law's baby shower (she's due 4 days after me).  We can't wait to meet the little guy!

I had all big intentions of making today a big mother-son bonding day... It is a month away from my due date and I am really trying to get some extra time with the little guy.  Well, considering somebody decided to nap for 4 hours we didn't do a ton but we did get to enjoy each other!

Started out by getting breakfast at Krispy Kreme... I have a huge soft spot for fresh Krispy Kreme donuts and our timing couldn't have been more perfect!  My husband was able to come with us too!  We let Jack pick out which donut he wanted to have:

He called it "donut cake" because it has sprinkles on it!

Then we headed across town so I could get my hair cut (for the last time before the baby comes).  My mom and brother met us at the salon so they could entertain Jack for the 30-45 minutes I was getting my hair done.  They walked down the shopping center to a pet store where Jack got to see chinchillas, fish, and turtles!  What more could a boy want?

I had wanted to take Jack to see a "big movie" but I couldn't find any movies running that would be appropriate for his age.  I know Lion King is out, but only in 3D and I thought that would be a bit much on such a big screen with some of the intense scenes.  We took him to see Cars 2 for his first theatre movie and the only other one I could think of was the Pooh movie (definitely going to have to be a mother-son event since Pooh is the one children's series my husband can't stand, ha ha), but I couldn't find it playing anymore.  I need to figure out the local discount/late running movie theatres around here!

Well, that pretty much wrapped up our "big day" together... Lame, I know!  Jack did get a 4 hour nap, I napped 2 hours of that and right now have laundry going... I had to throw in some productivity!  Not sure what we're going to do for dinner, but I suppose I could cook....

Stay tuned for an update this week on how baby #2 is doing... I start going to the doctor weekly this week!  We're getting so close!

Try again!

This morning we were having donut holes (well, Jack was) and it was an assorted sampling for his palate.  He ate one or two that looked relatively plain, then went for the one covered in powdered sugar...

He took one or two bites and then some gelatinous sweet stuff started coming out of the middle.

Jack (giving us a disgusted look): Whaddat?

Me:  Its jelly... yummy!

Jack threw the half eaten donut hole back into the box.

Jack: Try again!

He proceeded to find a donut hole without the offending sticky filling to enjoy...

First Day of Preschool

Jack's first day of preschool was today!  It was bittersweet for me, but I am really excited for him to enjoy this new adventure in his life.  Here are some of the photos from today:

First day of school breakfast - pancakes (that he hardly ate)!

A pretty traditional 1st day of school picture (at least in my family) of Jack wearing his backpack and holding his lunch box.  I think he looks so grown up in this picture!

Jack being silly with Daddy!

I took a vacation day today so I could drop him off with Matt and then pick him up.  It was definitely back-to-school weather with a chilly 50-55 degrees this morning (or as my husband says, football weather)!

Impatiently waiting outside his classroom for his teachers to open the door... he tried to open the door at least 3 times in 10 minutes.  He's in the Caterpillar classroom!

He barely let us help him take his backpack, lunch & sweatshirt off before he was playing!

We picked up this month's newsletter, this week was all about Apples.  HeWhen we said good-bye that morning he gave us both hugs and I told him I'd be back to pick him up after school.  He gave us hugs (probably realized that we at least I needed it more then him) and we said good-bye, no tears from anyone.  Well, when I picked him up I noticed his eyelashes looked a little stuck together and when I asked how he did his teachers admitted he cried a few times asking for Mommy & Daddy.  That pretty much broke my heart, but he still told me he had fun and all about his day.  Let's hope next week goes better... Matt gets to drop him off and my mom will be picking him up.  (That will be the school routine when I'm not on maternity leave.)

In other exciting news, my little brother is back from Germany!!  He spent a year in Munich studying and came back to fill out his paperwork to graduate.  Matt and I got to visit him last January.  I think he misses Europe already, but we're excited to have him back while he's looking for a job.  Who knows?  Maybe he'll end up there in a more permanent situation and we'd have more excuses to visit Europe!

Sharing Science with Our Little Guy!

As a chemist who works a full-time job away from my child, I really want to teach him (them) about what Mommy does when she's away, of course the big picture of science.  I am also the local section chair-elect (will be chair in 2012) of the American Chemical Society.

It is scary for me to think of the current state of the science and math education children are receiving... this is not knocking any teachers out there by any means, I am good friends with many amazing teachers.  (You can view the posts of my math teacher friend providing new ways to teach math here and their YouTube channel is here).  I am of the opinion that overall the amount of science offered is simply not enough, and the content tends to be incorrectly focused, leading to a decline in the interest our children have in pursuing further education and careers in science.  These are just some of the reasons why I will provide extra encouragement my children to learn, understand and most importantly, enjoy science.

We recently received free passes to our local science museum called COSI from my work... Matt and I had both been there as kids, but it had moved a number of years ago to its current location.  Here are some adorable picture of Jack enjoying the day:

A little bit about the power of flowing water!

Playing a piano of which the keys played sounds the human body makes... I'm sure in a few years we'll have to avoid this due to the silliness it will bring out in my little boy.

A giant water table with pieces he could mix and match to direct the flow of water as it moved downstream.

Jack the builder... the boy could hammer and build all day!  Future engineer?

I simply love this picture... when I was in junior high I volunteered at a natural history museum where volunteers were known as "Lab Rats".  It was an amazing experience that really took me out of my comfort zone when I got to go spelunking (caving) multiple times and it helped spark my love of science!

I was pleasantly reminded by a coworker that Mole Day (October 23rd) is only 3 days before baby #2's due date... and yes, I am so nerdy that I am hoping that he or she will make their entrance into this world that day!

You can view some of my previous posts on chemistry here, one of the first posts I wrote included some kid-friendly activities.

What are some of the ways that you see science daily and share it with your children?

Someone Thinks He's Big Stuff

Today we found out Jack will get to start preschool next month!  We had put him on the waiting list for the toddler class, which is one day a week for 4 hours, at my parents' parish and got the call today that someone decided to pull their child and Jack gets a spot!  I'm so excited for him to get that interaction with other children his age and get that exposure to having to follow rules set by someone else... all of those good things about growing up.  I can't believe that my baby is going to go to school though... it is definitely bittersweet for this hormonal mommy!  Next steps:  paperwork, figuring out if he can wear his cloth diapers, parent meeting and "meet the teacher"... (Am I really old enough to go to "Meet the Teacher" as a parent?!)

Today was also a crazy day at work for both Matt and I, so we decided to order pizza for dinner.  I suppose we were kind of celebrating too.  Jack was VERY excited about pizza... which he usually will be excited about a meal in theory but it is a crap-shoot on whether or not he will actual eat (excluding something yummy like ice cream).  Here is a play-by-play of what transpired starting with the pizza delivery man:

(Pizza delivery car pulls into the driveway)

Matt (walking to the door): Pizza's here!

Jack (standing on our couch looking out our front window, waving):  Pizza! Hi!  Hi!

(Matt opens the door to sign and get the pizza, Jack hops down off the couch and runs between Matt's legs)

Jack:  Hi!  Pizza!  Dank yous! (Yes, that is "thank you")

Pizza guy: Hi.

Jack (as the door is closing): Dank yous!!

Pizza guy: Ha ha, you're welcome!

Jack runs into the kitchen following Matt, yelling "pizza!"

He proceeds to start to pitch a fit, complete with waterworks, because he wanted pizza now.

Matt: Jack, I'm putting some on a plate to cut up.

Jack: No!!  This!  (pointing to the pizza)

Matt: Yes, we're putting pizza on your plate.

Jack: Up!

Matt lifts him up, Jack keeps pointing at the pizza saying "this"... Matt hands him a slice of pizza (it was cut party-style).

We finally end up coercing him to sit at the kitchen table with his whole piece of pizza after refusing to let us cut up the pizza.  Watching him attempt to take bites out of the pepperoni was quite entertaining throughout dinner.  He kept taking a bite out of his pizza while not quite cutting through the whole piece of pepperoni and not sure what to do when he pulled it off the pizza between his teeth.  He proceeded to open his mouth to let the too-large pepperoni fall down his front.

Matt (after watching this occur several times):  Jack, I just washed the floor last night!

Jack (looking down glumly, almost muttering): Seeet  (You can imagine what 4-letter word we thought he said that started with "s" and ends in "t")

I immediately start dying laughing... giggles to the point of tears.

Matt (remaining somewhat calm but still chuckling): What, Jack?  Seat?

Jack (pointing down between his legs): Seeet!

My giggles were uncontrollable at this point, I had to take off my glasses to wipe my eyes.  Jack had joined me in my giggle fest and was cracking up at my hysterics!  (Honestly, I tend to get giggly towards the end of my pregnancy... I remember Matt's stares at my ridiculous giggles when I was pregnant with Jack).

I can't believe my son is old enough to be going to preschool, use his manners with the pizza delivery man, eat his pizza without it being cut up and using 4-letter words (even if they're not really the word his ridiculous mother thinks they are!).

Quite the Personality

Matt and Jack were playing around after dinner this evening.  This is the events that transpired:

(Jack puts his fireman's hat on Matt's head)

Jack (yelling): NICE HAT!

Matt (turns to me laughing): Did our son just mock me?

(Jack turns the fireman's hat to be backwards on Matt's head)

Jack (giggling): Nice hat!

Me: Yes, yes he is...

Afterwards, I texted the event to my mom & her response was "Its only the beginning."  Oh the personalities of little ones!

Just Keep Swimming...

I grew up going to the pool in the summer, and doing swim lessons ever summer until middle school/junior high age.  I partially grew up in Texas, where you can swim nearly 5 months out of the year... let's be honest it was hot enough that it is necessary to go to the pool.

One of the best parts of my job are the benefits; we actually have a park and pool on-site free for employees to use during the summer!  A number of the lifeguards are certified Red Cross swim instructors, so they also offer 3-2 week sessions of swim lessons.  We missed the first session because of vacation (and I pretty much forgot to sign-up), but we participated in the 2nd session, which just ended! 

This was during the first lesson... I didn't really have to hold on to him because he had such a tight grip on me!  It felt like being a tree frog's mom because he just stuck to me!

It got better slowly!  He actually let himself be taken by his teacher to work on kicking during the lessons!

His favorite "game" is the mat races... he just finished showing Daddy how fast he could go!

There's my big boy, enjoying the 2' section walking around without any fear!  He is holding onto the wall here, but he has no qualms walking around and even getting his head wet isn't a big deal!  He's even gone off the diving board (being caught by his teacher, of course) a handful of times!

It has been quite a roller coaster so far and Jack has definitely improved, but he still has his moments!  We start the next session this evening, so I'm hoping he continues to improve and get more comfortable in the water!

Adventures in the Big Boy Bed (Part 2)

(This series is kind of a selfish one of mine because I really want to remember how this goes for our future children; you can read the first post here.)

Day/Night 4 (June 22):

Jack did end up sleeping the remainder of the night in our bed, but had no qualms about taking a nap in his bed today!  Matt was off work today and said he had to cuddle him a little bit, but that he was willing to go to bed.  Jack is so funny during the day about climbing in and out of his bed.  He still has a pacifier and we really try to limit it naps and night time, but they sit on his bed when he's awake.  He will go into his room and climb into bed suck on his pacifier for a few seconds, spit it out and climb out of bed... usually running into the hallway laughing or saying "good job" to himself!  It really is quite hilarious!

Jack went to bed just fine with Matt snuggling him/falling asleep with him.  We've been putting the gate up in the hallway so he can make it to our room but not wander the house.  Well, last night we got our first night time visitor!  Matt woke up to Jack standing next to our bed (around 2 am again)... he took him back to bed and ended up falling asleep there.  I remember waking up and realizing that Matt wasn't in bed, but didn't say anything until the next morning.

Day/Night 5 (June 23rd):

My mom said he napped just fine, about 3 hours!

We went over to some friends' house for pizza and to visit some friends who were in town from Florida.  Well, that resulted in Jack and I not getting home until nearly 10 p.m. (there goes our goal of 8:30 pm bedtime, oh well), but he was so cooperative for bedtime!  He came in the house and went straight for his pacifiers, but came out so I could change his diaper and put on PJs.  I went to snuggle him up in bed and I quickly realized that he was not going to notice me being there or not, so I slowly backed out of the room and he didn't even notice. (Can I admit I'm a little disappointed since he always wants his Daddy to snuggle him at night before bed?  Ah, to be the mother of a Daddy's boy!)  Jack ended up falling out of bed once, and waking up crying twice after that.  I was already in bed but Matt was still up so he comforted him and got him back to sleep in his bed.

Day/Night 6 (June 24th):

Great nap after he wore himself out playing around lunchtime at the McDonald's play place!

Evening went about the same as it has been... Jack work up two or three times, but Matt got up and ended up sleeping in bed with him for a couple of hours.  We've noticed that he has woke up around 2 a.m. every night... we really need to get him a music box or white noise maker that he can turn on when he wakes up.  He has had one in his crib that he would turn on in the middle of the night (or day for naps), so he must really need something like that.  Stay tuned for what I find... I've got to read some reviews before we make a purchase!

Day/Night 7 (June 25th):

Jack fought going down for a nap for me a little bit... finally he let me scoop him up and carry him into bed.  He "made" me lay down with him and he was asleep within 10-15 minutes.  He woke up twice during his nap, once I had to comfort him but the second time he fell back asleep on his own (clearly not ready for the nap to end).  Once he woke up he was his usual "happy Jack" self!

Jack went down pretty quickly this evening, but we again wore him out at a summer cook-out before bed!  Imagine that... 2 am and he's awake by our bedside again!  Luckily he's still sleepy so he goes back to his big boy bed with Daddy following for some snuggles!

Day/Night 8 (June 26th):

So this was a bad day for the big boy bed... we had a baptism (and party) to go to that landed smack in the middle of nap time.  It would've been nice if Jack would've decided to sleep in, but alas, he did not!  Needless to say, his nap fell around 4:30 p.m. in the car and finished up around 5:30 after being home (and in his bed) for about 30-45 minutes.  We pretty much expected what came next...

Jack wound up in our bed sleeping the rest of the night.  The worst part?  Neither of us honestly remember when he came in, but only the fact that we woke up with him in between us... taking up the majority of the bed by laying perpendicular between us!  Ahh, parenthood!

Adventures in the Big Boy Bed

I wanted to keep a log of Jack's transition to his new big boy room.  I know the process won't be that easy or even always progress, but it is such a big step for our little man!

Day/Night 1 (June 19th):

We actually had the mattresses the night before, but I don't think Mommy & Daddy were brave enough to try to put him into the new bed.  Also, we wanted him to introduce him to the beds before asking him to sleep there.  Well, on with it.  It was the day of his birthday party, we actually let him take a nap in "Mommy Daddy room" (as he calls it) to avoid any serious meltdowns before his party. 

That evening we decided to try putting him down in his big boy bed.  He had such a fun day wearing himself out and loved showing his friends and family his new room that he seemed pretty comfortable with the idea.  Of course he wanted some snuggles (and he got them of course) and fell asleep easily around 9:30 p.m.  He woke up at 2 a.m. and Matt just brought him to bed with us... we weren't brave enough to push the issue!

Day/Night 2 (June 20th):

Grandma was at our house during the day, and he was good & worn out when he willingly went down for a nap in his big boy bed.  He slept there for over 3 hours, only waking up once in the middle.  She said she easily calmed him down by rubbing his back and shushing him.  When she went in to check on him around the 3 hour mark, he was laying in bed awake.  He asked her to get him out of bed.

After I got home from work that evening, I made sure to help teach Jack how to climb in and out of his bed by himself.  I would never want my child to feel like he can't get out of his own bed, even if that does mean him running into our room at night (plus, we've got a baby gate blocking our bedrooms' hallway from the rest of the house).  That night Matt got home around 8:30 p.m.; we used that time as a little bit of visiting with Matt and then we put him in bed.  He seemed to really need some Daddy time and was really upset when Matt tried to leave.  So, again Matt snuggled him to sleep in his big boy bed.  Low and behold at 2 a.m. (actually more like 1:50 because I remember looking at my phone) Jack woke up again!  This time Matt was able to cuddle him back to sleep, but I had fallen asleep when I noticed Matt coming back to bed... I'm pretty sure he had fallen asleep too, ha ha!

Day/Night 3 (June 21st):

Grandma got him to nap successfully again!  It was a shorter nap but he was in a great mood afterwards, so quality over quantity!

This evening resulted in lots of tears at bedtime (around 8:30 which is our goal), but Matt snuggled with him (seeing the Daddy's boy theme, yet?) and he eventually calmed down and fell asleep.  Since then he had already fallen out of bed twice (all before midnight).  We have chosen not to use a temporary rail, because he's in a twin bed which the mattress is only sitting on a board (not higher on a box spring) and many people I've talked to swear that kids might fall out a couple of times, but they move past it quickly!  We have a full length body pillow laying right next to his bed to cushion any fall and every time he cries out in the night we check on him.  Both times he fell out the crying was relatively short-lived after we cuddled him & put him back in his bed and he fell back asleep in his bed quickly with some shushing and back rubbing.  The second time he had fallen out of bed it looked to me like maybe his feet had gotten caught in the sheets and he got a little more discombobulated when he fell.  When I put him back in I ensured he didn't have any covers on... our house is warm enough anyway!

He's woken for a third time tonight and called for Daddy... he keeps asking to go in Mommy & Daddy's room so the falls might have made him nervous.  We're going to take him to bed with us for the rest of the night, but we'll keep trying to encourage him that his new big boy bed is a very comfortable and safe place for him to sleep! 

There's always tomorrow!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Boy!

Today is your 2nd birthday, Jack!  I'm so lucky to get to be your mom every single day, even though it seems as you're getting into the "terrible twos" more and more.  Today you're actually sick with strep throat and you've got a terrible cough to go with it.  It breaks my heart every time you cough and are in pain, but you seem to smile and act goofy through it all!

We're having a Mickey Mouse birthday party for you this weekend (on Father's Day) because you love to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning with Daddy (and any other time you ask us to put in the DVD).  You're almost starting to outgrow Mickey Mouse, in favor or "bigger" and "better" things like Toy Story (Woody & Buzz) and [race] Cars (Mater is your favorite), but you're just showing your strong personality!  That's ok I suppose, even if that means your personality is growing up a little bit...

You are all boy!  Your favorite toys are planes, trains & automobiles... basically anything with wheels or that "goes"!  You are especially fond of construction trucks, because somehow you already know they are louder than other vehicles.  You loved riding on the airplane this past week to go to Texas, and you were quite the awesome traveler!  You made Mommy very proud, even when yelling "Blast off" over & over as our 6:30 am flight was taking off!  Another way you are "all boy", Grandma took you to McDonald's earlier this spring and you saw a baby in an infant car seat... at first you were sweet and introducing yourself to the baby, then you started to growl at the baby!  You're so silly... you must get it from your Daddy!

Mommy and Daddy love you very much big boy!  I can't wait to watch you grow up for many many years to come!