Coming Out of Hiding

OK, I haven't actually been in hiding, but I've certainly been overloaded by everything over the past 6 weeks or so.

Obviously, I was a miserable failure when it came to blogging daily for 30 days. I was doing fine until our Thanksgiving house guests arrived early that week. I totally fell off the wagon at that point and gave up. Every day since has been filled with plenty of bloggable moments, but all things blogging fell to the bottom of my list. So sad.

Even the start of Winter Break didn't bring any peace. We left immediately after school dismissal on the last day to drive to California where we celebrated an early Christmas with Brian's family. We came home late on the 21st, had the 22nd to unpack and clean up, Andy's surgery was on the 23rd, we celebrated Christmas on the 24th, 25th, 26th with various local family, visiting family, and house guests. Our guests left on the 29th, and I've been recovering ever since.

Take a look at this slide show to see some of the highlights of the past month . . .

Personalize your own picture slideshow

Wishing you all a very happy, Happy New Year!

The Best Laid Plans

It was pretty easy to decide what costume Andy would wear this year. Actually, there wasn't much deciding involved. A couple of years ago my friend gave me a fluffy giraffe costume that he son had worn. My nephew Ryan wore it that year, and finally this year Andy fit into it.

However, Arizona being a desert instead of almost anywhere else . . . it's still too hot for such a costume! No worries though . . . we had a back up. But, life being what it is, Andy spiked a fever on Thursday night after having had a cough for about a week. We spent the rest of the evening at pediatric urgent care finding out that Andy has double ear infections again. I stayed home with him on Friday and he seemed to be feeling better.

I took him to his daycare for about an hour so that he could celebrate a little bit with his friends. He arrived wearing his giraffe costume, but had already switched to Charlie Brown by the time this picture was taken.
These are some of his little art projects that he made. Andy loves doing this stuff!
The one hour playing with his friends wiped him out. I was treated to Andy taking a 4 hour nap! When he woke up I got ready to go to my school's Boo Bash since I had volunteered to help. When Andy saw me in my costume he wanted to put his on again.
On Saturday I made rice krispy treats and cut them into ghosts and pumpkins. Andy helped to decorate them with frosting and sprinkles.
Here are the finished treats!
Andy thought they were quite tasty!
Later I stripped him down so that he could decorate his pumpkin. This poor punkin! It's been dropped and rolled around the house for the past 3 weeks. My ever delightful bloggin' buddy Farah shared the lovely idea of fingerpainting a pumpkin, so we went for it. It was our first experience here with fingerpaints, and Andy loved every minute of it. I really can't even complain about the mess because there really wasn't any. I'd be perfectly willing to haul out the fingerpaints with him again.
We then got to the business of gutting the bigger pumpkins. Andy was completely fascinated by the inside of the pumpkin.
Fascinated as he was, Andy wasn't quite willing to stick his hand into the goopy mess.
To end our day of Halloween festivities Andy relaxed in front of the TV while enjoying a bowl of ghost poo-poos. OK, they were really mini marshmallows, but he enjoyed them anyway!
The pumpkin on the left is Brian's, and the one on the right is mine.
Andy's pumpkin is the little fingerpainted one. When he wasn't looking tonight I threw it away. It was really getting soft from being tossed around so much and the paint was starting to flake off.
As if we needed more examples of life being life, I woke up really sick today and Andy has been running a fever again. We didn't do much Halloween-ing today. We took Andy to my parent's house and Brian's grandparents house to deliver treats. I took Andy trick-or-treating to one house. Only one house. This is the only picture I took of Andy today. So, in spite of the oodles of pictures I've taken of everything leading up to Halloween, the only picture I got of him today was of his backside.
Sometimes life is just life.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Family Day 2010

This weekend we will be celebrating Family Day. What? You don't know about this holiday? It comes around every year on October 25th. We celebrate by being together as a family (Wait, Brian is on-call this weekend. Come to think of it, he was on-call last year too.), something fun, and a fancy cake. Really, it's lots of fun and I look forward to it, even though I tend to get a little mushy and sappy. OK, I'll admit it . . . I sort of made up this holiday. But, I had a really good reason.

On October 25, 2010 we had Andy's adoption finalization hearing. All of these people

were in court to celebrate with us. Later more people joined us for a luncheon party (and yes, we had cake). And thus was born our first Family Day. Andy was just 3 months old and weighed in at a hefty 11 pounds.

Last year we celebrated quietly at home. My dad joined us, but my mom was out of town. Brian kept getting called in to work, but we did have cake.

This year the 25th falls on Monday, but that won't be a good day to celebrate at all. First of all, I have to return to school that day. I tutor after school, so I won't be leaving until 5:30. Then, I will be spending the evening leading the Resolve Peer Led Support Group for our side of the Valley. Hence, we will need to celebrate on Sunday. Of course we will have cake, but I wanted to do something else as well. I had thought about taking Andy to Build A Bear and letting him make a special toy. However, I just read that our mall has a new Lego store opening this weekend so it will be a complete zoo. Any ideas for me?

Oh, and on the 26th we celebrate Andy's second baptism birthday. Wasn't he a cute little peanut? I'll need to go to the Christian book store to pick out a little something for him.

So, any thoughts yet? Should I still try Build A Bear, or do you have a better idea?

Festive 4th

In lieu of a real post I thought I would share some of my sweet boy's sweetness. We are celebrating a pretty low key 4th of July around here. Brian is on-call for the weekend, so our adventures are limited. We had a wonderful visit today with Andrew's birth family, but I'll share more about that later. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of my boy all decked out for the 4th.



I hope you and your families enjoy a wonderful 4th celebrating our nation's birth!

Jumbled Father's Day Thoughts

Brian's Father's Day celebration actually began last week when I gave him some bacon chocolate bars. I forget now why I gave them to him early, but it made sense at the time. You see, Brian is a huge fan of all things bacon. And I was right, this was a huge hit.

Also, last week Lindsay posted of their experience making bacon pancakes and when I told Brian about it he was incredibly jealous. Thus, bacon pancakes made it onto our morning menu for today. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised then when Brian wanted chocolate chips added to his pancake. Personally, I passed on the chocolate chips, but the bacon pancakes were delicious nonetheless.
I then spent some time decorating this yummy chocolate monkey cake. Sadly for Brian, no bacon was involved. And really, there was no real point to the monkey cake other than the fact that I got a new cake pan for my birthday and I wanted to practice before Andy's birthday next month. And, you know, cake is a great reason to have people come over.
My parents joined us in the afternoon for cake and Andy time and we had a very nice visit. Considering all that has happened with my dad in recent years we are very lucky to be able to continue celebrating Father's Day with him.

While I am able to think about all of the ways that Brian is an awesome dad, from the way he calls Andy "my boy" to the way he chooses outfits for him and gets up with him at night, it's a little different. I say different because while I am honoring Brian for being a great dad to MY boy, and all the dads and grandpas in our lives, I am also thinking of a mom. Andy's birthmom. And I know it's an odd day to think of a mom, but stay with me. She is the one who made it possible for the love of my life to even BE a dad. And she is the one who has made it possible for me to see this whole other side of Brian. And so today I have deep and sincere gratitude to her for allowing us to love and parent this wonderful little boy who we love so dearly.

And on the other side of my gratitude is a teeny bit of jealousy. You see, she was able to do what I tried so hard to do but couldn't. She made my Brian a daddy.

Mother's Day Done Right

Actually, our little family of 3 celebrated Mother's Day a day early, just because we could. We all got up early on Saturday morning. The day promised to be rather warm, so we decided to head for cooler ground. We drove north to Prescott to enjoy a change of scenery, 20 degree cooler temperatures, an art festival, and a little adventure.

We couldn't have asked for a better day. Andy was completely agreeable for the drive and was a babbling fool. He really enjoyed the walk around the outdoor art festival because there were tons of dogs being walked around by their owners. We let him run around for a bit and he couldn't have been happier. Andy had his first experience with ladybugs, and thought they were great fun when Brian showed them to him.

We walked around downtown and found a fun place for lunch where the 3 of us shared a hamburger and some sweet potato fries. Yummy! Afterward, we walked around some more before deciding to head home.

Now, on the drive up we saw awful traffic heading south, so we decided to look for a different route home. I knew there was one, because I had driven it before with a friend. However, our friend Magellan had a different plan.

This route began with narrow, curvy mountain roads. This is a well-known recipe for car sickness for me. So, this part of the drive wasn't a lot of fun for me, though it was scenic. This return route was also longer than the original route. However, our destination (home) was still the same, and we did eventually get there.

While on the drive home I couldn't help but think of how it mirrored our journey to parenthood. We were forced to take a different route when the regular road didn't work out. The road we did take was full of twists and turns and literally made me sick. But, there were nice things about this route. Brian was with me, right by my side. The scenery was pretty and we had an adventure. Most importantly, we did arrive at our destination, even if it did take a little longer. And now we have a nice story to tell about it.

Mother's Day Ups and Downs

I feel so incredibly blessed to be celebrating Mother's Day this weekend that I can hardly stand it! I have Brian and Andrew, and my mom, too. We are all healthy and happy, the weather is gorgeous and none of us have work to do this weekend.

But, it's complicated. I feel so many other things as well, and it makes my brain a very busy place trying to figure it all out.

5 years ago I didn't really give much thought to Mother's Day, other than to celebrate with my mom. I figured that one day I would also get to celebrate it, but it really didn't give me much pause for thought.

4 years ago I started to get impatient and anxious, and began to worry it would never happen.

3 years ago I was excited for Mother's Day as it approached because I was finally pregnant. However, 3 years ago, on May 9th, I had my surgery because of my miscarriage #1.

2 years ago I was waiting, and trying to be patient.

1 year ago I was blissfully happy with my 10 month old beautiful baby boy! But the joy was tempered just a bit (OK, maybe a lot) by guilt. I thought it would go away.

It hasn't. It's still here.

I still feel so badly for those who are still longing to be a mom, and for those who have their babies in heaven instead of here on Earth. I know this pain and wish that nobody would ever have to know it.

And now this year my joy still continues, but I also remember my losses, and those of my friends.

So, if you are still waiting, my prayers are with you. And if you are celebrating, please remember your friends and family who may be still longing for motherhood or missing their babies. I know I am.

Happy Easter

Last week during Spring Break, Andy and I made the trek to the mall to check out the sights. And who did we run into? The Easter Bunny, that's who! Andy was really excited, clapping and yelling and waving. We decided to stop for a visit. Andy was all about sitting on the Bunny's lap, and continued to look at him and chatter away. However, a pesky teenager with a camera kept calling to Andy and distracting him from his conversation with the Bunny. Here's the result:

What a difference from last year, when my little snuggle bunny was more than happy to smile at anyone with a camera!
I hope you all have a wonderful and beautiful Easter. We are due to have beautiful weather. We will be staying home, but having my parent's over for brunch. We are skipping church this time because of the "stage" that Andy is in, not wanting to ruin it for anyone else. I'm hoping to teach him how to hunt for Easter Eggs.

Spring Fever

Each year here in the Valley of the Sun we can expect a major outbreak of Spring Fever just as March begins. It's the weird place where ice hockey and baseball collide, along with sun and spring rains. It's the best time of year here. It's the time of year when the longest quarter of the school year is winding down and there's the rush of completing report cards and conducting parent conferences. It's the time of year when Spring Break is in the air! It's also the time of year when our house is flooded with houseguests, and this year is no exception.

And let's throw in another illness for Andy. He started getting sick again last week as Brian was getting over his upper respiratory infection. The poor kid (and us, by default) didn't get much sleep Wednesday or Thursday night. I stayed home from school on Friday to take him to the doctor. My sweet boy had yet another ear infection and a bad cough, bordering on a real problem, and causing us to have to give him albuterol on the nebulizer a few times a day again.

Brian's sister, brother-in-law, and nephews arrived on Friday afternoon. Since they live in Alaska we don't see them often and they've only seen Andy one other time. Later that evening Brian's parents arrived from California as well. Andy and I had an easy Saturday while everyone enjoyed a special tour at the ballpark and a spring training game. After a little downtime in the afternoon we left to try to get some dinner and take in a hockey game. The whole dinner thing didn't work out because the entire area is inundated with tourists and spring training fans right now. Andy did well for the first period of the hockey game, but he and I left during the second because he was just done.

Sunday brought rain, and plenty of it. Everyone was tired from all the activity on Saturday, so it was a hang around the house sort of day with everyone. Later in the afternoon my parents joined us and by early evening everyone was on their way home. I'm so thankful that our home can easily accommodate so many houseguests at one time! It just filled my heart to see Andy fussed over so much and to see everyone delight in our boy, even when he wasn't in the best of moods.

Andy was still coughing like crazy last night, and pretty wheezy sounding too. I was pretty sure I was going to be taking him back to the doctor again today, so I stayed home from school with him. However, he slept for 13 hours straight last night and took a long nap this morning and seems well on the road to recovery. We didn't even have to break out the nebulizer today!

In other news, I have just 4 more days of school this week until our 2 week Spring Break starts. I am so excited about it that I can barely contain myself! This school year has flown by, but I'm still ready for a break. Next week Eric, Kari and the kids come out for a visit. However, we will only see them for a day before we head back to California for a couple of days. We have Andy's first trip to Disneyland on the agenda!

So what are you doing now that spring is in the air?

Ahhhh, Peace at Last

Well, we have survived rounds 2 and 3 of Christmas, and boy was it fun! Everything didn't work out according to plan, but that's OK. Most notably, we had to skip our church plans for Christmas Eve because Brian was stuck at the hospital. We still had my parents over for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and watched Andy open a few gifts. Andy was really excited, and had to run to take one more look at things while we were getting him ready for bed.
Santa brought Andy a kitchen set and it was a big hit. My boy LOVES his kitchen set and just can't get enough of it.
After a relaxing morning at home we cleaned up and got ready for Brian's parents and grandma who were driving out from California. My parents came over too and we had a nice dinner before Brian got called back to the hospital.
The day ended as it began, with Andy playing with his kitchen set.
Poor Molly had just way too much excitement and finally just crashed out under the Christmas tree, but inside the train tracks. It was the only place she was safe from Andy!
Saturday morning was a repeat of Christmas morning, only this time Brian's parents and grandma were with us. We made abelskivers for breakfast and they were simply delish! After that we opened even more gifts. I swear, there are enough toys around here for 4 toddlers.

Andy has worked hard for days now keeping all of the grandparents entertained. I don't know who has been more disappointed when his naptime has rolled around: Andy or the grandparents!

Everyone left this morning, and Brian is back at work. Andy and I have had a relaxing stay at home sort of day and it is wonderful. I hope that all of you had a blessed holiday as well, and that you are now looking back with fondness, and forward with hope.

Christmas, round 1

We were very fortunate to have Eric, Kari, Ashley and Ryan drive out from California to spend the weekend with us for an early Christmas. After the boys woke up from their afternoon naps we were ready to get the show on the road.

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but to me it is completely precious just because we have all three kids together to celebrate.
Andy was quite impressed with the little monkey popping out of the box.
Ryan is impressed with all things "Thomas".

Ashley was showing off her new dress with Papa.

Andy provided the musical entertainment for the evening with his take on Christmas carols.

I just love these pudgy little fingers on the keys!

Later we went to our neighborhood block party and Andy visited with Santa, however briefly.

It was all so much fun, but we had to say our goodbyes to everyone yesterday so they could drive home. I'm looking forward to doing this all again later this week!

Making Memories

Andy is so into our Christmas tree. Every morning when we head down the stairs he waves as the tree and says, "Ohhhhh". It's so cute! He loves to walk around it and he'll touch the branches, lights and ornaments with just one finger.
My family always had a tradition of my dad putting his Lionel train around the tree. As the years went on the arrangement would always get a little more intricate as he bought new components (well, OLD parts, but new to him) and tried new arrangements. In recent years he would spend days getting it all set up. I mean, this was serious business, usually involving charts and sketches. My dad's biggest thrill was running the train for visitors. Really special folks would even be able to run the train themselves.

Since my dad's accident my parent's haven't bothered with a Christmas tree, plus my dad really doesn't have the strength or dexterity in his hands, so the trains have remained packed away. Last week when we were setting up our tree we tried a different arrangement in our living room and a plan was hatched. I asked my dad if he would come over with his trains so that he could supervise Brian setting up the train around our tree. Yesterday Brian went over to their house and helped my dad select everything that we would need for today.

My parents came over this afternoon the the train building began. It was a really nice, relaxing and pleasant day. Andy was sleeping when the building was finished, so we all watched Christmas Vacation. We had pizza for dinner, and afterwards it was time to introduce Andy to the train. I just knew he would be thrilled. I think everyone else knew it too, and we were all looking forward to his joyful reaction.

Let's just say we didn't get the reaction we were looking for.

It turns out that he was scared to death! He cried and cried, but did settle down when Brian held him on his lap. I think it also helped to run the train a little slower. After a few rounds Andy got much braver and pretty soon he was loading and unloading the barrel car and giggling like mad.

All in all it was a great night for everyone and we built some wonderful family memories. Now we are looking forward to next weekend when Eric, Kari and the kids come out. It will be so fun to see all three kids joyfully playing with the train. And fun to see my dad enjoying the kids with his beloved trains.

The Snoopy Dance

Andy has really been enjoying the little animated musical toys that we have for the holidays. He has learned to push the buttons to get them started, and then look out, because Andy gets started too!



This might also help to explain why I never manage to get anything done. We are just having too much fun!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I like balls. I want a ball for Christmas. Ball. Ball. Ball.

Love,

Andy-Pants

Dear Santa,

I like balls. I want a ball for Christmas. Ball. Ball. Ball.

Love,

Molly-Pie

Dear Santa,

I like babies. I want a baby for Christmas. Just like Andy. Pretty please?

Love,

Chris

Trick-or-Treat!

Andrew had been carting his orange pumpkin bucket around the house for days before Halloween ever arrived. He's at the stage where he loves putting his toys in things and moving them all over the house. Here he is as we were getting ready to leave the house.
We visited my parent's house first, and Andrew was all business. My mom didn't give him candy. She gave him a banana. Which he promptly began to eat, peel and all.

Next we went to our friend's house, and Andrew just tried to push his way in the door.

Once inside, he didn't want candy, or even to play with his friend Ryann. He just wanted to play with a plastic pumpkin.

Andrew practiced at our front door while he waited to visit the neighbors.

We passed out candy from the comfort of our patio chairs on the driveway (complete with pizza and adult beverages as well). Andrew was visited by lots of friends in the neighborhood.

All in all, it was a great night, and probably my personal best ever for the most fun on Halloween night. It's been a long time coming . . .