Ringing in the New Year

Out with the Old in With the New

Welcome 2012

May you bring us all Health, Love and Happiness

#69

December 27, 2011

Dear Aj

Merry Christmas! I love the holidays and am so excited to be able to share it with you. This whole week we have been going out Christmas light hunting. I love hearing you in the back seat letting out a low "wow" when we pass by a house that is light up to the extreme. I think it is even more exciting for us to come home and for you to see our Christmas tree, we will sit in front of the tree looking at the lights and you will point to the ornaments. When you get older I can tell you all the stories about were we got them. I know that will love to hear all the adventure that we have have been through through out the years

Christmas Morning playing with your new toys

The best part about the holidays is the time we get to spend with family! Mommy's family always celebrates on Christmas Eve. This year the whole family got together, that means all the Aunties, Uncles and 7 cousins where together, we even had some extras friends join us this year. You played well with Baby Lauren, you kept giving her kisses. All of the girl cousines wanted to hold your hands and kept trying to pick you up. Your boy cousins were a little more gentle with you but still very protective over you. They would hold you hand as you walked down the hall. At one point during the night Dylan was so excited because he was able to give you a bottle.

The next morning we woke up and Santa had been to our house. He stuffed your stocking and put presents under the tree. You loved the push toy that Santa left for you and in your stocking Santa left you a ball "bubble" some big boy water bottles, forks and flash cards.

Friends and Family came over later that morning for breakfast. Your Grandma-ma and Grandpa-pa gave you your rocking horse the night before, but Grandma and Grandpa brought you their present on Christmas morning. They brought you a bran new red rider push wagon! The look on your face when they put it down in front of you was priceless. Your eyes light up and a smile spread across your lips, I swore I could also see some mischievous brewing in there too. You spent the morning hoping from the horse, to the waggon to your push toy from Santa.

Merry Christmas Baby,
Mommy

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning came so quick. Santa came the night before and filled our stocking and left special treats for us all

Look at those presents

You can do it Aj, open your presents

Whats that Aj? Did you get a new "Bubble"

Annie Got new toys too!

Ride them Cow Boy

T'waus The Night Before Christmas

From near and far all our family came together to celebrate this special night. It is not about the gifts or presents, we come together to make memories. That is what we want to take away, the memories and the stories that fuel our lives.

"Lets get ready for some Football"

 

There is no Bond Like a cousins Bond

 I love this photo of Aj and Dylan.

Dylan is the first Grandson / Grandchild and was so excited when he found out that another little boy would be joining the cousin clan ( Dylan was out numbered by 4 other little girl cousins) He has always had a soft spot for Aj and with every visit I can see that bond grow stronger. Aj is loved by all of his cousin's and he loves all of his cousin's but these 2 boys will always look out for each other.

More Cousin Love.

 

Cute little Cuddle Bug

 

20 Years ago Tristan got what I loving called the "Flinstone Car" he would ride in that car for hours. Tristan got older and the car was put into storage. 

Until now... the "Flinstone Car" is out an back at its full glory 

Go Brookie...Go

Aj's turn to push Brookie Around

Look at the Big smile

That is what I call a Kids Table

#68

December 20, 2011

To my Strong and Brave Baby Boy

I promise Santa really is a good guy

Life keeps giving you lemons and we will keep making lemonades together. Who has ever heard of a fifteen month old little boy having arthritis symptoms? I for sure haven't but there you were walking and acting like a little old man with arthritic knees. You could barley bend your knees to walk over the door jam, and crawling was out of the question because it brought way to much pain. You were in so much pain that you would not even want to move you legs. Your poor ears were bothering you earlier in the night so I had given you some pain medicine which must have made you feel better after a little while because you wanted to play. We were in the kitchen, I was sitting on the floor and you would bring me you farm animal magnets off of the fridge. One by one, stiff legged you would waddle over to me  and drop off another animal. You were smiling and laughing the whole time, until you would drop one. You were in so much pain you could not figure out how to bend down and pick your animal magnets up. Oh my poor baby, it is not fair that you have to go through all of this. I know deep in my heart though that you are strong and will be a better person because of everything that you have had to go through in your short little life. I know that I will be here to love you and support you through these times. I wish I could take your pain away but I can not, so no matter what I will be here to love and cuddle you. This Septic arthritis will go away and you will feel better. We have all been very lucky that everything that you have gone through, no matter how sad and tragic will go away and  you will recover. We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and I will not take your health for granite. Ever.

With all that is going on around us, we have not lost site of the upcoming holidays. Santa will be coming soon and you still needed to let him know what you wanted for Christmas. We were in Luck, Santa was going to come early and visit the children of our neighborhood. You got all dressed up and off we went. We walked into the house and Santa Let out a ho ho ho and you let out a cry. We stayed and watched for awhile as other kids came in to say hi and tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. You never warmed up, Santa got a ear full of screams from you. Don't worry I am sure he still got the jest of what you wanted.

Maybe next year you can tell him what you wanted.

Love
Mommy

Lets go & Meet Santa Clause

Tonight is the night that you get to go and see Santa Clause

You got all dressed up  to make a good impression

"Oh... Pretty lights"

Maybe next year you will be a little bit more happy to Santa Clause

#67

Tuesday December 13, 2011

Dear Aj,

You're finally on the mend. We have had a rough couple of weeks, but you will get better. We all will get better. Your daddy has started to feel better and together we have all started to celebrate the holidays.

You have this infatuation with anything round. Whether it is a balloon, a ball or a pumpkin, to you they are all a "bubble". Oh and when the the true bubble's come out you loose it! Your hands start clapping and you start laughing, you barely can wait for the bubbles to start falling down around your head. You and Annie both enjoy bubble time, part of the fun for you is to watch your crazy dog jump around after the bubbles.

As you have gotten older you and Annie have started to play more together. This week you have started to play catch. You throw the ball, she will run to get it and bring the ball  aka "bubble" back to you. The game only last a couple of minutes, but still really funny.

So far you have been pretty lucky about not getting hurt. But the other night luck was not with you. For the last couple of nights you have started to walk all by your-self from the car up the path to the front door. This night was like no other, you walked your-self up the path, but got distracted with all the leaves that were on the front porch. The leaves were covering the mat and the door landing, so you missed your step and went forehead first into the corner of the door. It left a nasty bruise and bump. You wore your war wound well though!

Christmas Lights have started popping up through out the neighborhood. We have one neighbor who's whole house is covered in amazing lights and decoration. Must nights you are fast asleep when we drive by the house. One night you were wide awake and I slowed down so you could see the house. You LOVED the lights and let out a low "wow" as we drove by. You were so interested in the lights we decided to make a trip to the Oakland zoo to see all the Christmas lights that covered the zoo. You absolutely loved it, every where we turned there was more lights to see. They had red lights, blue lights and yellow lights. They had talking alligators and a Big Santa of course. You even had your first train ride around the park. It was a wonderful night for the whole family

You had a fabulous week and I hope we have many more to come
Love you very happy Mommy

#66

Tuesday December 6

To My Strong Healthy Baby Boy,

Starting to feel better and play again!

What a week we had, you went from bad to worse after your last letter. By Wednesday night you were so weak you could barely take a step without needing to lay down and rest. You would snuggle in our arms like a rag doll and when we would put you down you would just lay your head on the coffee table. It truly was a scary site to see and that is why we decide to take you into the ER on Wednesday night. There they told us you were dehydrated and were having trouble breathing and need to be admitted. By 4am Thursday morning we finally made it into your room on the pediatrics floor. You were hooked up to an IV and monitors as well as given oxygen. I felt so much better knowing that you were safe and being looked after, I knew that if anything were to go wrong that the wonderful doctors and nurses would be able to help you.

As the week went on you started to feel better and quickly won the hearts of all your nursers. Their was even talk on the floor about how cute you were (no matter where you go, you seem to melt peoples hearts) On Friday night I knew you were ready to go home, for the last 2 day and nights you laid in your crib not caring about the wires and tubes.  Friday night was a completely different story! Just like I would have at home, I feed you dinner, gave you a bath and read you a night time story and put you to bed at 8pm. By 11pm you still were up, you were playing with your red glowing toe, the oxygen tube, and all the wires and stickies. I even found you one time with the wires wrapped around you neck because you were rolling around so much. You throw all your toys out of the crib, you were playing with the pile of diapers and whips that I had been keeping at the end of the crib. Finally after we had give you Tylenol for any pain you may have, tried changing and feeding you for the ump tenth time your very tired mom asked "could we try just taking EVERYTHING off of him?"  thankfully the answer was "yes"  because you literally feel asleep the minute you were free! By Saturday afternoon you were home and causing trouble and by Monday you were back to school. If you were to look at you today you would never even know how sick you had been for the last week. The only ruminates that you have been in the hospital are the little bruises were they drew blood and had the IV. Other than that you are back to you crazy self and I swear you are starting to move even faster!

The good great news is that today when you went in to have your ears checked we did find out that your AFP has finally dropped to 4.5 which is well in the normal range! You have no idea what a sigh of release this was for everyone in the family. We all celebrated a little when we heard the news.

Stay Strong and Healthy Little Boy, I love you more than life itself

Love your very proud Mamma

#65

Tuesday November 29, 2011

Dear Aaron,

Every week I feel like my letters to you start out the same, I say something along the lines about how big you're getting or how fast you're growing. I can almost laugh at myself how repetitive I sound but it is so true. You grow and change way too quick, I feel like I can barley keep up with you. My new thing is listening to your babble gibberish. I have no idea what you are saying but you will recite these monologues  and only you can understand these wonderful cute words that flow from your mouth. You have also started to experiment with new ways of communicating with us. We can ask you a question, for example "Aj, do you want a snack?" and you shake not only your head, but you whole body yes.  

 I wish I could report that you have been on the mend this week and are feeling ten times better, but you're not. In fact we have to been to the doctors so much this month, I think we have read all the book that they have in the waiting room. I have been really sick all week :-( I thought I caught what ever cold you had but in fact what I have must be something new. On Sunday night you came home from your little friends birthday party feeling just fine. When I went to check on you later that night after we put you to sleep you felt a little warm, after I went to bed your daddy woke me to let me know that you had a temperature of 103! The next morning we took you to the doctors and she was not happy with how you were breathing, she sent us straight to the hospital to get a chest x-ray. Because you are so little they had to put you into this scary looking plastic contraption that kept your arms over your head and you completely still. I held your hands and song you songs, but you cried the whole time. It broke me heart to see you like that but I knew that we had to get this done. Later that day we found out that you had Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Pneumonia. As you can imagine I was worried about you and watched you very carefully. The next day I noticed that your breathing seemed a little funny so we went to go see the doctor again. Your breathing was fine but you had a new double ear infection. Oh Brother, no wonder you don't feel well. So much going on and yet through it all you still find time to smile. I think you inherited your Grandpa-pa's strength, cause every time you get sick I am always amazed at how what a little trooper you are

Love your very amazed mother. 

Thanksgiving

This was the first Thanksgiving that Aaron and I hosted at our own house. I have been looking forward to this day for as long as I could remember. The wedding china was washed and would be used for the first time, new linans and placements were purchases and the menu was planned. Everything was set EXCEPT I got sick. I was so Thankful for the help that my amazing husband and mother gave to me on this day. They both completly stepped up and took over all the cooking. I don't know what I would have done with out them. 

I am thankful for many things

1. My family who will always be there when I need them
2.  My son who can bring a smile to my face now matter what mood I am in
3. The wonderful Friends that I have in my life who are my support system, my entertainment as well as what helps me get through the day
4. I am so thankful for everything and everyone in our lives, we truly are blessed.

2011 Thanksgiving

Menu

Apple Cider

Mini Quiches

Backed Brie

Crackers

Red Grapes

Pumpkin Fudge & for Dessert

Butternut Squash Soup

Turkey

Sage Sausage and Apple Dressing

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potatoes & Apples in Caramel Sauce

Mashed Potato

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Vanilla Ice Cream

 Some of our new favorite recipes 

Sage, Sausage and Apple Dressing

Recipe courtesy Food Network Kitchens

Ingredients

    16-ounce bag stuffing cubes

    6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping

    1 pound fresh sage sausage, casing removed

    1 medium onion, chopped

    2 cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped

    1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped

    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

    3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

    1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

    1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (See Note)

    2 eggs, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack the dressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkey pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.

Tony's Chocolate Pecan Pie

Recipe courtesy The Neelys, 2008

Ingredients

    3 tablespoons butter, melted

    3 eggs, beaten

    3/4 cup brown sugar

    2 tablespoons flour

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    3/4 cup dark corn syrup

    3 tablespoons bourbon liquor

    1 1/2 cups pecan halves

    1/2 cup mini milk chocolate morsels

    1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

    Homemade whipped cream, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. While butter is melting, add beaten eggs to a medium sized bowl. Stir in brown sugar, flour, vanilla extract, corn syrup and bourbon until combined. Add butter when just melted.

Mix in the pecans and chocolate morsels. Mix all together. Pour mixture into pie shell.

Place on a sheet tray and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

When ready to serve top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Homemade Whipped Cream:

    1 cup heavy cream

    4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip with an electric mixer for a few minutes, until it becomes thick. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Fold in vanilla extract.

#64

Tuesday November 22

I don't feel well

My Poor Little Monkey

I am so sorry, last week I threaten to return you because you were being a little devil. I feel so bad, I had no idea you had another ear infection and a double ear infection at that. No wonder you were such a crabby monkey, you just were not feeling well. You have no idea how bad I feel, I never want to see you in pain. We spent Wednesday sitting on the couch cuddling and watching 24. You are not a big fan of cartoons, you will watch only a handful of children's shows for some reason they just do not interest you. When you hear the theme song for the T.V. show 24 comes on your little ears perk up and a smirk spreads across your face. What can I say even at this young age you are into the good guys saving the day and watching him blow up some things along the way. What Can I say you are a boy.

Feel Better My Little Prince
Mommy

#63

Tuesday November 15, 2011

Dear Aj,
 I love you, will always love you but I swear this weekend I felt like I could return you! You started to throw full blown tantrums, these tantrums included throwing your self on the ground, kicking your legs and screaming. At first it was kind of cute and then funny but in the end it just got plan old. I took you shopping with me, you are always a gem when you go shopping. Normally you sit in the cart and observer the people and the objects that we pass by, you are always the happiest when we are out running errands so I thought that going out would be something you enjoyed. This weekend however you fussed and fussed, you actually became the kid that cried when you could not have something. Like I said you were close to being returned. Then the night time would roll around and you would crawl into my arms with your bottle and we would cuddle. I love it when you cuddle with me, these are the moments that I look forward to, the ones that I will cherish. I don't think you can every become to big to cuddle.

I love you Baby Boy
Mommy

What are you Planning Little Boy?

#62

Tuesday November 8, 2011

Aj,
I look at this photo and think professional head shoot :-) This gets me thinking about who are you going to be when you grow up? I have never sat down and dreamed about who or what you will become. It does not matter to me if you are the president of the United States, a doctor or a contractor, I just want you to be happy and fulfilled in what ever path that you take. If I had to take a guess at what you will be interested in when you get older I would have to say my top 3 choices would be
1. Musician - you are constantly drawn to the toys that you can make music out of. A drum set is your favorite toy right now
2. Baseball - you have quite an arm on you! I will put you in your playpen to switch over a load of laundry and by the time come back in the room you would have thrown all of your toy out! Your target is always the sleeping dog.
3. Building - Blocks are another favorite of yours and you love to build them high
Only time will tell the man that you will become, together we will travel that path. There will be times when I guide you on how to become a better person and believe it or not there will be times when I will be learning from you. Together we will learn and grow. Together we will find your dreams and make them come true
Love your
Mommy

Our First Family Vacation

The Arboretum 

At the Universty of California Santa Cruz

We  spent our family day exploring the grounds of the Arboretum. Even in the late fall months we were still able to find some amazing flowers. Later that day we stopped in Half Moon Bay at an amazing English Pub for some Fish and Chips

Shea's Bday

 Happy Birthday Sweet Little Girl. I have had the wonderful expirence of getting to know you over the last 7 years. Keep staying sweet, keep learning everything you can and most importantly keep being true to yourself. You are perfect just the way you are!

Happy Birthday 

Butterfly themed Party

Watching the big Kids play

Shea, Lanie, and Tatie

Party!

Crazy for Ballons