Merry Christmas To All!!!

It has taken me quite a while to be inspired to write on this blog...much longer than I would have liked to take, but here I am!

I have been so fortunate these past few years of my life...there have been many blessings given to me and my family...some asked for...some not. As the end of this year rapidly approaches, I reflect back on our many adventures, the growth we've experienced as individuals and as a family and am eternally grateful for being alive and healthy to make more memories and just soak in all that life has to give.

This year ended in a big bang for me...I had my very first surgery this past Monday...okay, so my first official surgery was a c-section. If child birth doesn't really count, having my gall bladder removed wins for my first surgery. I was silently afraid that I wouldn't wake up from the general anesthesia, but I didn't want to dwell too much on it and just trusted in the Lord to do what was in His grand scheme for my life. I prayed for my son to be taken care of and my hubby to make sure he knew how much I loved him.

Everything happened very quickly. From the moment I checked into the hospital, I was whisked into my recovery room to prep for surgery. I had a fabulous nurse who did a great job taking care of me. My doctor and the anesthesiologist came by to answer any questions I had and to assure me that they would do everything they could to make me comfortable. I was finally rolled into the very bright operating room. In less than 2 minutes, my eye lids became extremely heavy. I was given some oxygen, and the next thing I am aware of is waking up to the sound of a nurses soothing voice encouraging me to throw up that disgusting neon green dye they injected into me to ensure all my ducts were clear of any lingering gall stones. I could hardly keep my eyes open as the drugs they gave me were still having a strong affect on me. I asked them to wait about 10-15 minutes before bringing in my family...I didn't want my son to see me groggy, but I didn't know that it was just my husband there to pick me up. The Love Bug was comfortable enough to stay home and play with my dad. I didn't ask, but was pleasantly surprised when my dad said he was coming up at 5 am to stay with the Love Bug so hubby could be with me at the hospital.

I'll spare you a play-by-play of the rest of my surgery adventure. I'm recuperating well and have minimal pain. I'll take this any day to the horrible pain I endured pre-surgery. I lost some excess weight that needed to come off...perhaps not this way, but it's gone nonetheless. ;)

This year we'll be spending Christmas day with my siblings, their families, and my dad...something we haven't done in years. I'm looking forward to celebrating together and eating something more substantial than low-fat soup!

From our hearts to yours, Merry Christmas! May the New Year bring you many blessings!

Where Oh Where Has Your Author Gone???

Most of my posts are documenting and sharing our adventure with our Love Bug...this blog is also an outlet for me to have more conversation opportunities than I would normally have on a daily basis. Life has kept me pretty busy with the routine that I have created and lived for the past 14 months. But I must admit that in the past couple months, I've been contemplating going back to working outside the home more and more. Part of me feels horribly selfish for even considering putting my toddler in daycare when I have the ability to stay home. The bigger part of me wants to start bringing in some financial support because we can't do some things I want to do as a family fast enough. There are also some rather large purchases that we need and want to invest in but have put off indefinitely. I am not a very patient person...

Time is running short...everyday I pray that my grandparents stay healthy...again for another selfish reason. I want very much to go back "home" and introduce my son to my grandparents who were a very important part of my life growing up. They influenced me in so many ways...hopefully for the best. If I continue to stay home to care for our son, a trip home will never happen.

I'm dusting off the old resume...life is too short to have regrets...but that part of me to maintain control of the attention and nurturing my son now gets on a daily basis is weighing heavily on me...what to do, what to do???

Hats & Headphones

The Love Bug has taken to hats and headphones with a vengeance this past month. He absolutely LOVES to sit on his daddy's lap and listen to music...Here's what he looks like when daddy puts the headphones on.

This is what he looks like when he tries to put them on himself...hehehe They are kinda bulky and heavy for a guy his size to handle. ;)

He has fallen asleep a couple times listening to "Kokomo". On this particular night, he woke up the couple times hubby tried to remove the headphones and fell back to sleep when it was put back on. It still makes me chuckle thinking about it.

Love Bug used to only tolerate wearing hats if we were outside and the sun was shining too much for his eyes to handle...otherwise, he would pull them off.

Then one day last month, he started running around the house with squeals as he was successful in putting his daddy's hat on and taking it off himself repeatedly. From then on, he's been crazy about wearing any kind of hat. We've noticed that his favorite way to wear them is "hat to the back"...you'll notice that theme going in these pics to follow.

Look at my little big boy...even though there's no smile in this shot, I had to share it with you as he looks all grown up here. =(

He was finally brave enough to wear little "A's" Darth Vader mask...wish we had a good shot of him with the mask on...it's pretty cute.

I don't know why, but this pic somehow rings military cadet in my brain...

This last pic was too cute in my humble opinion to not include...we were on our way back home from our second trip clam digging this year. The weather was a crazy downpour, yet we toughed it out and still went. This cutie patootie attempted to put his fisherman style hat on while sitting in his carseat. Although he can put it on right, this time he failed miserably but was still happy as a clam that it landed somewhere close to his head.

Special Guest

We've been super busy these past couple weeks. We had a very special guest visiting from afar - my hubby's sister and only sibling. I hate that there never seems enough time to spend with each other when she's here for a visit. If we're fortunate enough in the next couple years, we will plan a trip to her end of the world. :)

I love this pic of my in-laws with Love Bug...he looks so comfy and happy. His smiles makes my heart smile.

I took this close-up while giving him a break from his stroller at Snoqualmie Falls. Poor guy had spent several hours in his car seat in the span of a few days...something he's definitely not used to. He was having too much fun walking around the concrete pad with no shoes or socks - YUCK! I wanted to chase him around with a clorox wipe! LOL Anyhow, I felt like a horrible mother because this shot was taken the day after we spent a day at the beach on a gorgeous blue-sky day. We put sunblock on his face and ears, but I think we missed his eyebrows and a small patch of skin under his right eye...poor guy looked like he got punched when he woke up the next morning! The whites of his eyes were bloodshot and the skin under his eyebrows along with that small patch under his eye were sunburned. :( Yet even after all this discomfort, he manages this handsome smile for us...how blessed we are.

Hubby with the Love Bug and his beautiful sis.

This is one side of the view from the falls observation tower. We waited to take our turn of photo taking with the falls in site, but it just wasn't meant to be...there were sooooo many people there! More than I'd ever seen at my couple visits to the falls.

Check out how huge these rootbeer and raspberry lemonade mugs are! We stopped to lunch at this hamburger place that some of my friends and co-workers had raved about - Triple XXX Rootbeer in Issaquah right off I-90. It's definitely worth a visit. I devoured my chicken teriyaki burger...I want to go back so soon it was that good. Hubby had a foot-long hot dog, and our sis had a burger that was okay for her...She's a Dick's fan! :)

Aww...My two loves enjoying a stroll on the beach last weekend. It's always a bit chilly at the ocean, but we were spoiled with blue skies. Gorgeous!

I love this pic of my niece MN with two of her siblings in the background...she looks so grown up and already has the poise of Ms. Universe and the spunk any pageant queen should have.

This reminds me of a beautiful piece of art that one would proudly hang on their wall.

This cutie patootie finally warmed up to the sand, walking on it, playing in it, and eating a sand dollar...thank goodness I managed to pull it out of his mouth before he choked on it! What a terrifying moment for me...

Yay! Pics of the Love Bug and I are few and far between...hope you enjoyed sharing in our adventures with our family this past week. What a fabulous time! Now it's time to catch up on chores and sleep!

Trekin' in the Northwest

Wow, I didn't expect the picture above to turn out as great as it did. As I upload today's pics onto the computer, I'm pleasantly surprised at the memories we'll preserve of Love Bug's and my very first visit to NW Trek. I initially wanted to take him to the zoo not far from where we live, however, one of our friends suggested going to NW Trek. I have always wanted to go, but it's a bit of drive for us and nobody else showed half as much interest in going. With less than two days planning, we committed to going...

I took a chance and called my brother to see if he was interested in having his family join us since they live minutes away from this fabulous place...they are always busy living, and I thought for sure they had other plans. I'm soooooo glad I called anyway! With less than a day's notice, they were going to join us!

What a fabulous time I had with everyone...we took our time visiting all the animals. I felt we were at the perfect pace the entire time. The tram ride was amazing! We witnessed a moose chasing after a large group of rams, saw almost the entire herd of bison very close to our path, all three of the white goats (thanks to the sharp eyes of my SIL), some deer, and many elk. The stroller was so easy to push through the walking tour and there weren't too many or too few animals to see. If we lived closer, this is definitely a place I'd love to frequent with family and friends.

We would like to thank our friends for suggesting this place as an outing together, for great company, and an extra thank you for talking my hubby into going! ;) Thank you to my bro's family for coming with, guiding us through the park, and making our trip extra special. Thank you very much to Spot on Cedar Pond for taking the time to meet us and get us all in with your "VIP pass"!!! =)

This view was incredible...'S' captured this for us while we were on the tram tour.

Herd of bison!

Resting elks.

One of the three white goats we saw...sorry it's a bit blurry...difficult to get clear pics on a moving tram. ;)

Rams.

Moose.

Before he got a bit restless on the tram.

Bald Eagles looked much better in person...they are much larger than I thought they would be. This pic is quite dark...it didn't look this dark when we were there!

These bears look cute and scary to me at the same time.