SUER BOWL...

Wow, words can not describe what I experienced this past week! I feel truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing organization. Thursday morning, I woke up excited, sad, and nervous. Thursday night was going to be my first night away from Maddox. I knew she would do great, (she was staying with my mom) it was me who wasn't! haha. I finished packing trying not to forget anything important...(I forgot my toothbrush!) That would be something important. I loaded the car, got Maddox ready, and we were on our way to the airport. I was pretty excited at this point. When we pulled up to the sidewalk I got everything out, I said goodbye to Maddox (quickly) and headed inside...leaving my cell phone in the car! (crap) Thank you to the man who let me call my mom real quick who turned around and brought it to me. Okay I am headed in for good now.

I met up with coworkers, and the fun begins. We check in, get our boarding passes and head to the bar! After a drink we headed to the plane, where we enjoyed a meal and more drinks. We did a lot of drinking on this trip...

Once we landed in NOLA the excitement really set in...We had a police escort!

We got to our hotel and started getting ready. The welcome party started shortly after we arrived at our hotel. The welcome party was for players, coaches, staff, and players families. It was beautiful, there was food, drinks, and a band! After the welcome party we went to Pat O'Briens, it was a lot of fun.

The next day I was helping hand out the gifts! Each day we received a different gift from the Ravens. When we arrived in our hotel we had a sweatshirt, hat and t-shirt waiting on our beds. The second day was the most exciting...We delivered iPads to all the staff! After delivering the gifts we got oysters from Dragos...FANTASTIC! I would love to go back just to at them! 

After lunch I went and met Bryan (the other designer I work with) his girlfriend, and his friends. I walked around with them the rest of the afternoon then got ready to go out. I went to dinner with Elizabeth her sister and her friends, who were amazing! I even met some people my mom works with, such a small world! After dinner we decided to hit up Bourbon street. We traveled in and out of Bars on Bourbon street and ended up a pat o'briens. 

Saturday- Time to play santa again...This time we delivered OGIO book bags with BEATS speakers. Equally as cool as the iPad. After this, I met up with Justin, Katie, and Katie's family. we went to the Carousel Bar, it is a bar on a carousel that actually spins, (very slow). While we were there, Ryan also arrived! It was nice to hang out with people from home. After this I went back to the hotel and got ready for the night. I met Elizabeth and her friends back at the carousel and then we went to bourbon street. We went to the cowboy bar and stayed there the rest of the night.

Today is the big day...We started our day off with a tailgate sponsored by the Ravens. Delicious food, drinks and screens set up to watch the pre game! At 2:30 there was a parade to get us to the stadium...GAME TIME! We marched through the streets in our purple showing our support, chanting O, Oh, Oh, O...(Something like that). The closer we got the more exciting it was. It was a lot of fun walking into the Super Dome, I have never been in a dome before, it was a lot different than the Ravens or Redskins Stadium. The most noticeable difference was you could hear the announcer. I made it to my seats. I was seated at the 49ers end zone. But not for long...Elizabeth had an extra seat in her section! I moved over to sit with them and it was amazing! Beyonce, was unbelievable! I don't have much to say about the game because most of you probably watched it ;)

However, I was able to go on the field after the Ravens won! It was so exciting being down there, I can't even describe it. I took lots of pictures down there but they are on my actual camera, not my phone. 

I didn't stay long on the field because it was supposed to be family and friends of the players so I felt a little out of place. So I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the after party! I will also post pictures once I have my camera. 

The after party was awesome, Mary J performed for us, all the players were there, Michael Phelps was there, and...Jay Z and Beyonce came too! We had a lot of fun, it was an incredible night! 

I will post more pictures soon.

:) 

First 3 weeks in January

This has been a really exciting month! Maddox has started to really get around the house, no where is safe! She has taken a few steps, prefers to crawl though. She LOVES Fisher, and he actually seems to really like her. He will get on my lap when I am holding her and even comes up to her when they are on the floor. I have caught him occasionally "batting" his paw at her but he doesn't use his claws. They are a lot of fun to watch together. She has a total of four teeth, 2 on the bottom, and two (fangs) on top. Over all she has been handling teething pretty well, we have had a few nights that have been rough but not terrible. She is a pretty tough cookie! 

On the 17th of this month she turned 10 months, and for those 10 months I have never been away from her over night...until now. Since the Ravens beat New England on Sunday it has been a mix of emotions for me. I am ECSTATIC to have the opportunity to be part of a team that will be traveling to New Orleans to compete in the Super Bowl! But am a little sad that I won't see my munchkin for 3 full days! Yikes...We have been working on FaceTiming. At least I can say the first time I left her was for the Super Bowl :)

I will be sure to post pictures when I get back  :)

Go Ravens! ;)

Christmas

We started our christmas on Christmas eve as usual. We went to mom mom and pop pop Carey's to celebrate with the Carey side of the family. Then we packed up and headed to Jen's to celebrate with the Bruce's. There was a surprise weather event, that we LOVED, it made everything so pretty! When we got to Jen's we had dinner and visited then opened gifts. Maddox had a little practice opening gifts, Sarah, and Lindsey gave her gifts earlier. By christmas eve she was starting to get to it, very slow but getting it. We decided to have Christmas morning at our house, it made things SO much easier! My mom, Donnie, Erika, Tyler, Aunt Connie, Tom, Sue, Richard, Zach, and Alex all came over for breakfast! It was a lot of fun to spend the morning with everyone. We had a delicious breakfast, and opened gifts. Maddox was very excited to see everyone and play with her new toys.

Once the morning was over we headed to Nanny's (My Grandmother) to celebrate with my dad, aunt Susan, Uncle Paul, Rachael, Amanda, Chris, Meagan, and Trey. We ate a delicious dinner then opened gifts. Maddox was really starting to understand this process now. She would pull the tissue paper out...then try to eat it. She would rip small pieces of wrapping paper...then try to eat it! Maybe by her year birthday she won't try to eat the paper?

Yike can't believe Maddox will be a year in 2 months! 

We had a fun filled new years eve celebrating with Riley on his 12th birthday! Maddox ate, and ate, and ate a lot more?! She chased Jango and Laya around and played with everyone. We had a lot of fun, but then we decided to head home to watch the ball drop with Fisher. (we didn't make it to the ball drop) haha.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! :)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving...was a really long day for Maddox, there was so much excitement she didn't want to nap. AHHHH...She fell asleep for like a half hour the whole day! We started the day at home then went to my moms where we celebrated a little early 1:00 per my request. (Thanks guys!) We were able to see Aunt Connie, the Carey side of the family plus the Loper's who joined us this year! It was so fun! I like having Maddox, everyone wants to see her so that means I get to see everyone ;)

Once we had our first "dinner" and dessert at my moms then we headed to Jon's grandmothers and saw the other side of the family, the Bruce's, Mabe's and Davis's. It was so fun to watch Maddox and Carly play together, they are finally both moving around now. Carly is exactly a month younger than Maddox and is Jon's cousin Julene's daughter. We hung out there with family and then we even went back to my house and had an impromptu girls night! Alex came up from Delaware and Lindsey and Julene came over, can't wait to do it again! Thanks Lee! ;)

The day after thanksgiving we had our annual Friday turkey fry event at Sue and Richards! This year we were missing many. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Russ moved to Hawaii, so their boys made the trip to see them...just a little jealous, we miss you! The turkey was still good and the frying competition was great! The girls stayed inside and fried multiple things in the "Fry-Daddy" while the boys used the turkey fryer. Girls Won! It's my blog so of course they did. ;) but in all seriousness the boys stuff was much prettier, and quite delicious!

It was a great time spending this hard week with family and friends. Now time to start with christmas stuff!Ahh...

A few more pictures of Maddox...

After bath time, I decided to blow dry Maddox's hair STRAIGHT back! Haha this is what it looked like. AWESOME! :)

Maddox's favorit time of day...BATH TIME! Can you tell she enjoyed her dinner...

Just watching TV :)

GO REDSKINS! I Love this hoodie on her :)

Maddox's new favorite "toy"

"What? I am just trying to help!"

 

Sitting in her big girl chair.

"Please come play with me Fisher...?"

Cool Girl...Will not leave them on her head :(

One of our Pictures for our Christmas card.

This is what I get to wake up to!

Very happy in the bath!

Still here...Jon's Anniversary

I have not forgotten about you guys, Maddox and I made it through Jon's year anniversary with the help of family and friends. The people I work with are wonderful and are completely understanding. Since this was the first anniversary I wasn't sure what the day would bring. Once it was here, sure I thought a lot about Jon, but I always do! However that day did not make me miss him more than I did the day before or the next day. Everyday I miss him, and I don't think that will ever change. I am just thankful to have the love and support that help me everyday.

With my day off, Maddox and I spent the day at home together. We started our morning by watching cartoons in bed, as Maddox watched Cat in the hat I perused Facebook. It was such a wonderful surprise to see that Jon had taken over my Facebook newsfeed!! Many of our friends and family changed their profile pictures to them with Jon or even just Jon, it was awesome! Thank you for all the wonderful posts and messages about Jon they were very nice to read. While I was feeding Maddox breakfast, we had another surprise, flower bouquets were delivered from some really amazing people that remembered what the day was for us. (Thank you Aunt Lauren, Uncle Russ, Granny, and Ms. Nancy) It was a really nice surprise that made me feel loved. I also received emails from coworkers that made me feel blessed to be working with such caring people. Sue, Jen and Zach came over during the day and we hung out, we played with Maddox, and played Just Dance 4, zwe looked at pictures, we laughed, we even made some really cute photo canvases of Jon. To continue my day I got a pedicure with Jen, my mom and Erika. It really turned out to be a good day :)

That night, was Thanksgiving eve and like many years the place to go was cobblestone, I decided to go out with friends and enjoy the night. Ben, Angie, Pat, Dave, Jen, Riley, and even Alex (Jon's Brother) came to my house before we went out! We hung out then we headed to Cobblestone. It was fun, I got to be out and enjoy a night with friends.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving :)

Here is an updated picture of my munckin! As of today, 1/11/13 she has 3 teeth, and has taken as, many as 4 steps on her own! Yikes...She is really good at climbing stairs.

I have included a few of my favorite photos of Maddox...

Maddox Hanging out with her friends.

 

Purple Friday.

Getting dressed to go to Oma's

"Look mom, I got a Radio Flyer!"

Touch Down!

Maddox checking out the turf.

She loves her Cozy Coupe

Maddox playing a little ball on the 50 yard line.

"Please keep pushing me mom, stop taking my picture"

This was taken by me outside my house, I was loading the car Thanksgiving day. Maddox was just making sure she could watch.

One Year

A week from today will be one year...I know many people have thought about and yes I have too. I have taken the day off because I am not sure what that day will be like for me. I might be fine or I might be emotional. who knows... Only time will tell. I feel like being with my munchkin will make it a little easier.

I actually have a lot of updates! and some info. :)

First, I know everyone wants to hear about Maddox! She is a pretty amazing kid! She will be 8 Months on Saturday. She has 1 tooth, and I think another coming in soon. She is getting really good at waving (the correct way! told you she is amazing) She likes to do "so big" and she will lift her hand up above her head, and she can high five! Along with all of these "tricks" she is also crawling...most of the time she starts out on her knees then realizes she is quicker when it's an army crawl. She is not wasting anytime, she has started to pull herself up on any, and everything! Once she realized her legs could support her she also figured out she can make them move while being supported. She has started to move around things but not very well, and with the help of someone can take steps. She really thinks she is a lot bigger than she is! 

Here is a picture from Maddox's first Halloween! She was a Zebra!

Just like last year and probably every year to come, I will be purchasing ornaments from the Dove house in honor of Jon. Below is a link to order ornaments if you are interested in getting one or two ;)  I love helping the Dove House any way I can. I still have a few from last year that were never picked up. Please let me know if you never got your Jon Bruce ornament. If you did pick up your ornament last year, and you put it on your tree please look at it carefully and if it reads "Jon Bruce!!!" please email me anneliesebruce@gmail.com. The one with 3 exclamation points belongs to one of Jon's best friends, and someone picked it up by mistake.

Purchase Ornaments Here

I am also in the process of setting up 2 scholarships in Jon's name, I am really excited to be giving back in a way that Jon would be proud. :) Once everything is set up I will post more information.

Talk to you soon! :)

Happiness

I am happy...it has been a while since I have been able to say that and mean it whole heartedly. I LOVE being a mom, I love my job, and just feel really blessed. I know this would make Jon extremely happy, the only worry he expressed to his mom before he passed was to make sure Maddox and I were taken care of. I can say that our family and friends have done an amazing job taking care of Maddox and I and we are both happy.

Maddox is now 7 months and 1 week old. WOW! She has a tooth coming in, and has started to scoot, rock, and army crawl. She is so much fun. She has MANY expressions, which I am sure you can imagine how funny they are with my expressive eyebrows and Jon's silly faces. She enjoys going for walks around the neighborhood and swinging at the playground. We have been enjoying being M&M (Maddox and Mom) I wish I would have thought about that before I got her Halloween costume. Maddox is going to be a Zebra this year! I will post pictures after halloween.

Just a heads up I will probably be changing the name of the blog to "Our Journey" if I can figure out how to do it ;)

Hope everyone is enjoying fall! Here are some photos from our recent trip to the pumpkin patch!

Anne

First Day

My first day was great! I work with 2 other designers that are really nice, and easy going. Since it was a Friday the office was pretty quiet, some people choose to work at the stadium on fridays. When I got there my boss, Ken showed me to my cubical, where I had a brand new Mac Pro with a 27" monitor waiting for me! My computer is amazing :)

I worked with Ken for a little while learning about the servers and  files, and other company things. After he showed me where everything was he gave me my first job, it was edits to a Ravens Rookie flyer. The edits were pretty simple and only took me a few minutes. Then I received another job, this one was updating an ad for the Festival of Trees. After that I put my time in and then it was time to leave. I was so excited to see my munchkin, she was REALLY excited to see me too, she was all smiles :D

Sunday night isn't so bad, I am really looking forward to going to work tomorrow. I am going to enjoy my job! :)

I am sitting here watching this ridiculous game, the regular refs need to come back. Lets hope for a Ravens win! (did I just say that?!) I even bought purple chucks on Friday! Jon would be so proud :)