Hike

Last Friday, I was ready for some "adventure". So, my friend Maria and I packed a picnic a went on a little hike.

It was just what we needed!

New Year's Goal

Gain Some Weight

* about 20 pounds or so...

Why gain weight... because I am pregnant! 16 weeks and 3 days to be exact. This next little one is due to arrive on June 25th.

We are all very excited.

Ryan is adamant that it is a girl. He went to my last ultra sound and kept saying " baby sisa"! We will find out for real in 2 weeks. I think it is a boy. I have felt just the same as I did with Ryan, although it is not nearly as stinky here as it was in New York - which is nice!

It is such an interesting experience with the 2nd one coming. It is exciting, but it is hard to imagine having another baby - I already have one. Although he is growing up way too fast. I am sure when this next little one comes along, we will fall in love and wonder how we ever lived without him or her.

Can't wait!

Haircut

Ryan got his first short haircut! I miss his mop, but he looks like such a handsome little man! It was quite a workout for me to try to get him to hold still enough to cut his hair like that! My friend, Morgan, is a champ for doing it!

A Little Bit of Christmas

Every Christmas Eve, the " Sleepy Elf" comes to our house. Ryan's PJs are very fitting for his current state! He also got Elmo slippers which were hilarious to see him try to walk in. He was a little nervous about walking with gi-normous Elmo heads on his slippers!Christmas is just so magical with a little one. Ryan was so excited about his presents - especially about this " Woody Hat'. He galloped around with a huge smile the whole morning!

My new PJs We had such a wonderful holiday! I can't believe that it is already over! The very best part was spending time with our family. We got to talk to Tyler in the West Indies, which was so fun! Looking forward to next year already!

House sneak peek

After much delay, here are a few shots of our little house. What we naively thought would be a quick 3 week job turned into a 9 week job. many thanks to my parents for the patience... although I think they knew we were crazy for thinking it would only take 3 weeks! We ripped out floors, baseboards, scraped and re-textured ceilings, painted, put in new floors, plumbing, lights, and a whole new kitchen. Brett installed the toilet himself - I am so proud of him! ( insert at his request - he did much more than just that...) We still need to fix up the garage, paint the outside, get a new garage door, put in a fence AND a yard.

Mucho work-o.

But, we own a house and hopefully, after all is said and done, it will be a good investment. That is what brett and I have to remind ourselves when we feel ready to pack up and move back into an apartment :)!

Here is a BEFORE shot of the front room - not very great, but all we have.

AFTER

BEFORE of the bathroom. Disgusting with a capital D-I-S!AFTER. Still a little work to do as you can see, but it is coming along. We are going to put shelves in that open space in the wall.The BEFORE kitchen. Also GROSS!
The AFTER. I wish you could see the ugly lowered ceiling and florescent lights in the before version. We love that we knocked those down! We are happy with the kitchen, but it sure was drama trying to figure it out!

The rooms are still a mess, so those will be forthcoming. I am looking forward to decorating and giving it a homey feel. It is a blank canvas waiting to be worked on... please feel free to come do it for me!
Thanks to our wonderful family and friends, we have successfully gutted and renovated a house. We could not have done it with all your help... you know who you are!

St. Nick Day

Brett wanted to start the German tradition of St. Nicholas Day in our family. Ryan totally loved the idea.

Chocolate in shoes + 7 am = a great way to start the day.

Brett assured me that there is more to this tradition than giving kids candy... but he couldn't remember. Ryan wouldn't have cared about anything but the chocolate anyway!

There is always next year!

Two Years Old

Our little baby is now our little man! How blessed we have been to have him in our lives. Ryan is Mister Sunshine and is always making us smile and laugh. He is "spirited" and sweet as can be.

We had a fun celebrating his big day.

The morning started with balloons and presents.Breakfast in his new Woody Bowl ( this kid LOVES toy story)! New trains!
Dad took the day off and we went to the Orange County Zoo.He didn't really like the goats - I don't blame him. I didn't want to touch them either!

We couldn't be luckier to be little Ry's parents.

Actually, according to the doctor's stats : Weight 90%, Height 75% and Head-Off the charts,

little isn't really what people think of when they see him.

But he will always be my baby!

Halloween 2009

Potty Training

You know you're a mom when you begin to use the word " underwear" in your prayers. I did that for my first time the other night - the night before I started to potty train Ryan. I used the boot camp method which consists of staying home for THREE days straight. He ran around in underwear all day and I siad " Tell mommy if you need to go" and "are you Dry?" about 100 million times! After three long days Ryan is potty trained and will sleep through the night and stay dry!

Veteran's Day

When I flew to Denver last month, I saw an army guy ( for lack of what else to call him) staring in my direction. I noticed that he was actually staring at Ryan - staring at him like he was thinking about his little boy at home. Then I saw the army guys' friend - other army guy - sit next to him. He was young and wore a wedding ring. Then third army guy joined them an they all smiled at Ryan.

I started thinking about how much they were missing at home. How much their wives and children must miss them. How much I couldn't bear to have Brett be gone from Ryan and I for a year or more. And how much their hearts must miss their families. I thought that I should tell them thanks for their sacrifice, but I felt dumb.

I saw them again as we passed through security. I thought about their sacrifice again and couldn't hold back my feelings any more. So, I walked right up to them and said " I don't know how to say this... but thanks... for all you do." And then I started balling. Right in front of them.

The big army guy said" Hey, why you crying... stop crying... you are making me all sensitive..."

They others guys just said you are welcome and looked at me like I was a freak.

I just couldn't help it. The reality of what they give up to protect our country hit me like a ton of bricks. So I cried, and I felt stupid, but I am really grateful for those army guys who leave their families to help keep my family safe.

Thanks army guys past and present!

( that includes navy, air force, and all other forces!)