Alberts Family

Sled Riding- Brave Boy

2012-01-15T12:58:00.001-08:00

Today marked our first sled ride of the new year! Yep! We actually got enough snow over the weekend to have some fun in the snow. And my boys did just that! I ,of course, went along to take pictures but deep down inside was wishing I could go down the hill too!

My boys making their way to the hill.
The first two times down the hill were a little shaky so the little man decided to go check out the river with daddy.

Third time down the hill was a charm.

And the fourth.

And after the little man got wet snow in his face and shed a couple of tears, he got brave and decided to go down the hill by himself.

From then on his bravery turned into fun because he went down the hill by himself many many times (we created a sled riding monster)! We were so proud of him.

A Christmas for the Record Books (2011)

2011-12-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

I have so many wonderful childhood memories of Christmas and how special my parents and grandparents would make it for me. As a mother, it is now my turn to do the same for my child (soon to be children). And this year was the perfect year from me to do just that. Our traditions started with making Christmas cookies together, hiding our elf Lego each night, and reading Christmas stories such as the Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We decorated the house and tree together and we listen to Christmas music (Eddie was not a fan of the music???). And each night before we fell asleep, I tried talking to Eddie about what Christmas really means. I made sure to tell him that it was about giving and being around family. Although, I did have to throw Santa in the mix since he is only three and told him that all good boys get visited by Santa too! I wasn't quiet sure if Eddie understood our talks about Christmas until I had the privilege to host the most important Christmas tradition, dinner. YES!! I had the privilege to have both sides of the family over for Christmas this year. On Christmas day we had prime rib roast, shrimp, salad, cheese, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole etc... and desert. Most importantly, some of the Mueller family came to our house. Eddie truly enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. And then the day after Christmas the Alberts family came over. We had wings, shrimp, cocktail weenies, chips and dip, and fruit! And once again our little man enjoy spending time with his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. At the end of the each evening he did not want them to go and since then has asked when they are coming back to his house. Here are some pictures that captured our Christmas holiday!
Eddie with Mema on Christmas Eve:Opening one Christmas present from mommy and daddy on Christmas Eve:And of course, leaving out milk and cookies for Santa: The priceless look on Christmas morning:

And even more priceless look:Hanging with cousins Haley and Heather:

Hanging with cousin PJ: Some of the Mueller girls:

Wrestling with Peepaw:

Daddy sporting his new hunting overalls:Hanging with cousins Mark and Jason:

As you can see from the pictures, we will have many great memories of this Christmas. And since I am not quite sure how soon we will have the opportunity to host Christmas dinner again, this Christmas definitely is one for the record books.

Dinner with Santa 2011

2011-12-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Each year the school district I work for puts on a dinner with Santa for the kids of the employees. It truly is a wonderful and magical event for the kids. They all sit at their tables, somewhat eating their dinner, waiting to hear the bells jingle as Santa approaches. The look on all of their faces is priceless but of course no look is more precious then your own child's. And although our evening started out a bit rough from a very busy very long non sleeping weekend, the even turned out just right. As Santa sat in his chair and called out the names of the many kids awaiting their present, Eddie sat their patiently waiting for his present with his friends.

Here is Eddie with Santa: And here is the priceless look on his face when he open his present, a giant harvester!!!!

Country Lights 2011

2011-12-12T10:51:00.001-08:00

Sunday 12-11-2011 we took our little man to our annual Country Lights outing at a local park near our home. At Country Lights, our little man got to make a toy in Santa's workshop with an elf and then decorate it with paint and glitter before we went on our wagon ride around the park to see all of the beautiful Christmas lights. Once again, we had an absolute awesome time together. Eddie really enjoys the activities and seeing the Christmas lights. This year as he looked around the lobby he was able to identify the different characters we have watched in movies and have read in books. He pointed out Rudolph, took a picture with little Cindy Lou Who from "How the Grinch stole Christmas", and also took a picture with the Grinch!

Here are a few pictures of our evening together:

Putting some glitter on our tractor with daddy: Painting the tractor with daddy:

Making the tractor with mommy and the elf:

Hanging out in the lobby with mommy and daddy:

The Grinch:

Little Cindy Lou Who (or at least that's who we thought it was):

Santa and Our Elf- Lego

2011-12-08T04:57:00.001-08:00

As usual, the day before Thanksgiving we took our little man to get his picture taken with Santa. We decided that this year we would make it our Christmas card since come April it will no longer be just the three of us. Yes! There will be four of us and our picture with Santa will no longer just be our little man. The next time we go to take our picture with Santa, it will be Eddie with his baby sister. We are all very excited for the new addition to our family!!! However, there are times that I sit here an think.... WOW! There is going to be four of us. It's no longer going to be just the three of us!!! And although I am very happy, part of me feels a tiny bit sad. So, I wanted to capture this moment with my little man and with Santa as just the three of us!

And since the holiday season and festivities have begun, this year we added our elf Lego to our Christmas traditions. At first, Eddie didn't really understand the magic of Lego but then when he started to show up in strange places throughout the house, the magic set in. Every morning Eddie wakes up he either tries to find Lego right away or one of us will say, "have you seen Lego?" And then the search begins. When Eddie finds him he will run to one of us and say, "look, look I found the elf." Once he has found Lego he usually stands there with his mouth open and pointing for us to see while letting out a kind of silent laugh. Daddy has really come up with some creative places to hang Lego and I think that even makes it more fun and special for Eddie. Meanwhile, Eddie's behavior has been terrific because he now knows that Lego reports to Santa each night. I know one little boy that will definitely be getting a visit from Santa this Christmas.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween festivities this year started with a daytime trick or treat at our city's downtown shopping strip. We went last year and had so much fun that we decided to go back this year. This year was extra special because Eddie's cousin's and his Papa and Mema Alberts came with us! Hopefully, Eddie and his cousin's will be able to do this for a few more years together.
The boys with Papa Alberts:
My Buzz Light Year and his older cousins:

Halloween night started off a little rough. My little Buzz came down with a fever at daycare around three o'clock. When we got home I gave him so motrin and once it kicked in there was no stopping him. Peepaw and Grandma Mueller came over for a Sloppy Joe and Mac n Cheese dinner and then off we went with the neighborhood kids.

My Buzz and hippy girl Cassidy:

My handsome little Buzz and I:

Buzz with Cat Grandma and Cowboy Peepaw Mueller:

Buzz and Cowboy Peepaw Mueller:

We had a wonderful evening together despite the fever. However, lesson learned for this mom... when your child has a fever keep them in no matter what, even if it is Halloween. Buzz was home from school the next two days.

A Few Firsts and then some.....

2011-10-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

Where does time go? Seriously, I have so many memories to share just from September and October and it seems like I never have enough time to share them. The last few months have been wonderful. We have again spent many weekends with each other and family. Our little man has also done a few things that he has never done before like the circus, Halloween Hay ride, and a professional baseball game! He has also done a few things that he has done before like going to the zoo and making the newspaper!

Here we are at the circus:

Pony ride at the Halloween Hay ride:

Halloween Hay ride with dad:

First professional baseball game with Peepaw and mommy:

And here comes the then some part....

Here is our little man making the local newspaper! The first time he made the paper he was hunting for Easter Eggs, this time his Mema Alberts sent this photo into the newspaper. Looks like Papa and the little man made the cut!

Nana came to visit at the end of August-beginning of September. We spent some quality time together and even had a chance to go to the zoo together! We loved seeing you Nana and we already miss you so much!

Idlewild Park

2011-08-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

August 8th and 9th we took our first family trip. We couldn't have picked a better first place for a family trip. Idlewild Park was everything I hoped it would be and was completely and totally toddler friendly. As a matter of fact, Eddie could go on most of the rides and even tried one of the adult slides in the water park section. He also went in the WAVE pool, which he absolutely loved. Thank god I brought his life vest because he charged right at the waves without an ounce of fear. I was more of a bystander and caretaker on the trip but that was okay because my two guys had so much fun together! We played games, rode roller coasters, swam, climbed up big giant spider nets, jumped in balls, walked through storybook forest and we all enjoyed each other.
Here is a picture of my two guys riding the coaster:

After our first day at the park, we went back to the hotel to get some well needed rest. It was Eddie's first stay in hotel so you can imagine how excited he was. He check over the room very thoroughly to make sure everything was good to go. He kept checking every nook and crannie until it was time for bed. He was so cute! We will definitely be going back for some more fun next summer!

Here are a few more pictures of our trip:

My personal favorite:

Yes! Eddie went down this water slide with daddy!

Eddie made it around the whole track using just his arms:

Bumper cars. Need I say more?

Hanging with dad:

Jumping monkey!

My what big teeth you have!

Jack and the Bean Stalk:

Daddy as the Little Engine that Could: "I think I can!"

Favorite Family Moments of Summer 2011 so far.....

2011-07-31T15:53:00.001-07:00

The summer weather has been so hot and humid that there are only two places the little man and I have wanted to be and that is with family or in the water! Eddie has had so much fun in the water that I even bought a pass to the city pool even though we have are very own pool in our backyard (he has more fun in water he can stand in!). Anyway, below are a few of my favorite family moments of summer 2011 so far......

At the water park with Peepaw and Grandma Mueller~ We had so much fun. Eddie was not afraid to swim and even went under the water with Peepaw!

Fishing at Peepaw Mueller's house-- Now when we go out to Peepaw's we have to ride the tractor and fish!

Me and all of my Mueller cousins- We had a Mueller family reunion this summer. It was great to see all of my cousins. We had a blast in the sun and Eddie loved playing with all of his cousins and is beginning to understand that all family is special and important!

Eddie is fishing with cousin PJ and Zack:

Playing with cousin PJ in the pool~ Eddie definitely bounded with cousin PJ to the point where this mommy actually got to sit down and visit with the rest of the family~

Fourth of July weekend: Eddie"s first time fishing in Peepaw's pond with Daddy!

The three of us being silly at the Fourth of July fireworks~

One of my favorite pictures of the summer:

Cruising around in the paddle boat with dad!

And Yes! My parent's (Peepaw and Grandma Mueller's) house has been the place to be this summer when it comes to spending time with family! And what a great time we have had! There is only one person who we have missed dearly this summer and that is Nana. Nana Dresp moved to N.C. in early May so it has been a couple of months since we have seen her. She will be coming to visit at the end of August and I know there will be a couple more pictures to add to my favorite family moments of summer 2011 so far......

BBA (Bad Blogger Anonymous)

2011-06-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

Hi, My name is Danielle and it's been almost two months since my last post. I am writing today because I cannot believe I let that much time go by without even posting a simple picture of my beautiful three year old son! I could probably come up with thousand and one reasons why I haven't been able to update this page but I am not going to. For some reason, I just haven't been motivated. I am here today to change that motivation problem.
So much has happened in the last two months including scary and sad moments. My hubby (insert scary moments here) went through two surgeries. One hernia surgery and then a neck surgery to remove some strange infection that there was no explanation for. He was down, as far as physical labor goes and being able to lift anything, for the entire month of May. Since the surgeries he has recovered without issue and is now healthy and back to his usual self! In between my hubby's surgeries, my mom went through a tough time of her own and had to move out of her house. I went over to her house to help her pack and move stuff when I could. Needless to say, the month of May was busy and tough for this mommy. My mom ended up moving to North Carolina right after the little man's third birthday party and in between my hubby's surgeries. We did get to spend mother's day together which was wonderful but sad at the same time because it was super tough to say goodbye. We miss you Nana!
As for the little man and I, well we tried to help daddy out during the month of May, finished up our year at school and daycare, and have been having a blast so far this summer together. We have gone to birthday parties of friends and cousins. We all went up to the cabin in the mountains and our little man even caught his first fish at peepaw Mueller's house. The little man is tearing up his new bike, catching tadpoles like crazy, and just enjoying life and being three. He is such a bright little boy and has so much personality. At the age of three he already knows his mommy's phone number, can count to at least 12 without mistakes, and can sing his ABC's when he wants to share that he does in fact know how to sing the song!Sho.... I am glad I finally got motivated to update this page! No more BBA for me!

Zero Gravity Birthday Party

2011-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Zero Gravity birthday party was a success! There were a few bumped heads and a couple of tears but overall the kids had a fantastic time jumping around in the bounce houses. They also enjoyed pizza, cake, and watching Eddie open his presents too! Eddie is so blessed to have so many family members and friends that love him so much. Thank you everyone for making his day so special!

Here are a few pictures of the group:
Our baby (okay big boy) getting ready to blow out his candles and make a wish!Blowing out his birthday candles. The look on his face before, during, and after blowing out his candles were absolutely precious!

Happy Third Birthday!

2011-04-29T02:47:00.000-07:00

How can you be three already? It seems like just yesterday you were born. You have brought so much joy to mommy and daddy's lives. You are the most amazing little boy, so smart, so determined, so strong, and so loving. We have had so much fun together this third year of your life. We have gone to live shows like the Wiggles, Barney, and Disney on ICE. You have learned how to play soccer and swim (well sort of). You have climbed to the top of bounce houses all on your own and fly down the driveway on your tricycle like a mad man. On nights that it is nice out, your daddy takes you for wheeler rides which is by far one of your favorite things to do! And we have spent many nights just watching movies and playing at home together as a family. We love you so much and are so very proud of you. When you look back at these pictures just know that mommy and daddy cherished each moment with you and will always hold these moments close to our hearts. Happy Birthday! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Palm Sunday

2011-04-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

Every year its tradition that the Alberts side of the family gets together for East dinner on Palm Sunday. And we did, but only on Saturday this year because two out of the three (boys) grandchildren have an important Boy Scout event to attend today. Good luck at the car derby boys!!! Anyway, our get together yesterday was very enjoyable. Eddie is now at the age where he can play with his cousins and actually have a lot of fun. He is also able to run around the house to find Easter eggs just as well as his cousins (with some help)! We eat some great allergy friendly food (one of the cousins has many food allergies), enjoyed each others company, hunted for eggs, opened Easter baskets (AND CANDY- Eddies favorite) and even played outside for a little while.

We also took a group photo that has been a long time coming.

Here is the normal bunch:

Here is the goofy bunch:

Easter Bunny

2011-04-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here is our Eddie with the Easter Bunny:

With Easter only a week away, let the festivities begin! We are off to Mema and Papa Alberts today for an Easter celebration with the Alberts side of the family, Easter morning brunch with Nana and then off to Peepaw and Grandma Mueller's Easter afternoon. We are looking forward to coloring eggs, egg hunts and Easter baskets galore!

Spring Break

2011-04-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Spring break has come and gone once again. This year it was just Eddie and I for the whole week. All grandparents were either working or out of town and Eddie's cousins and friends had school because their spring breaks fall on different weeks then ours this year. So, Eddie and I took advantage of our time together this week. Each day we did something fun (and exhausting)! On Monday we had a breakfast play date with Eddie's buddy Anothony that turned into a lunch date as well. We ended our date at McDonald's play land.

Eddie and Anthony at McD's:

On Tuesday, Eddie and I went to the Natural History Museum. We walked the museum to view the many exhibits from dinosaurs to the extreme animals and then finished our tour in the discovery zone for kids. Eddie discovered the same fossil for an hour and loved every minute of it. When he was not discovering the dinosaur fossil he was holding turtle shells and petting the furs of a coyote, beaver, and possum. Here are a few pictures of our day:

On Wednesday, I took Eddie for a birthday haircut. Or at least that's what I kept calling it. And I think calling it a birthday haircut worked because he actually sat in the chair and let the stylist cut his hair.

After Eddie got his haircut we went to the mall to buy his Easter outfit and had a lunch date. We were having such a good time and such a good day that we decided (Eddie) Chucky Cheese should be our last stop of the day. So, of to Chucky Cheese we went. 60 tokens later we were back in the car and on our way home.

Thursday we went to the zoo with our friends Amy and Chloe. At first, Eddie was not thrilled about going to the zoo but eventually he warmed up and ended up having so much fun with Chloe! Here they are together:

We finished our spring break activities on Friday at a bounce house. Eddie conquered the mountain and the big boy slide all by himself. He was so proud and so excited that I could barely get him out of the establishment to come home with me. The minute we got in the car I heard, "Mom. Please we go again?" I said, "Of course we will honey but not right now. Mommy is tired." And I was after our full week together but I wouldn't have wanted our spring break to be anything other than what it was. We had a terrific week together.

Birthday Month

2011-03-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

The month of March can definitely be called Birthday Month around here! Luckily, I am the baby and the last one to celebrate a birthday this month (the 30th). My father, on the other hand, is the oldest and he celebrates his birthday on March 12th. My mother is stuck in the middle, celebrating her birthday on March 22nd. The best thing about all of us celebrating our birthdays this month is that Eddie got to sing happy birthday and blow out candles three different times. His face just lights up with excitement when he is singing. And he is so cute when he keeps saying, "Happy birthday Peepaw, Happy birthday Nana, Happy birthday Mommy." He enjoyed being able to help all of us open our presents too! I keep telling him that he is just getting extra practice for when it is his birthday on April 29th. He knows when his birthday is and he knows what it means to celebrate a birthday. He knows he is having a party and he knows that he wants a blue cake ( I hope I can make that one happen). Stay tuned for the results of Eddie party! For now, here are some pictures of our birthdays!!!

Helping Peepaw open his presents and eating cake:

Giving Nana a big kiss on her birthday:

Helping Mommy blow out birthday candles:

MOM. Press Pause Please!

2011-03-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

These are the words that I often hear from my son when he is watching one of his movies and has to go to the bathroom or wants to stop it so that he can play for a while. Every time I hear him say these words I think to myself.... Wouldn't it be nice if I could really press pause? I wish I could press pause right now in real life to slow things down a bit because little son you are growing up way to fast. I think to myself.... when did the constant conversation back and forth begin. When did you start problem solving because son you are quiet the problem solver. When did you start going to the bathroom all by yourself? When did you start laughing at parts of movies you think are funny? When did you start telling us that you love us too? It seems like everything you have learned happened overnight. You are so smart. You are so kind. You are so beautiful and loving. Daddy and I just want to hold you and cuddle with you and read books with you and play with you. We know that you are going to grow and there is nothing we can do to stop it, we just want you to know how much we love you and that we will/would do anything for you. "Press Pause Please!" No problem. Anything for you babe!

Monster Jam

2011-02-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Going to the Monster Jam was like a dream date for our little man. He absolutely loves trucks or anything with wheels which includes: monster trucks, pick-up trucks, four wheelers (which he sometimes will call a truck or tractor), tractors, scooters, and tricycles. Our day began with an up close visit of the Monster trucks at 10:30a.m. The fun favorite party pass allowed us to walk down into the arena on the mud to get an up close look at the trucks. Eddie palled around with his daddy oohing and awing over the size of the tires and trucks. I think Eddie kind of enjoyed kicking the loss dirt around too, but then again he is three, a boy, and loves trucks so why not mud too? The up close tour ended around 12pm and the show did not start until 2pm. Luckily, we were able to find a table to sit and have lunch at while we waited for the show to start. And then after our half an hour lunch was over, we found time to buy a toy truck and a puff Grave Digger. For being an almost three year old, I couldn't have asked for our little man to behave any better than he did. He was such a good boy and waited for the show so patiently. Once the show started both of my boys attention was held for the remainder of the day while mommy held bags, snack, drinks, ear muffs, and coats. I knew I was needed!!!!! Although I was just the keeper of all the goods, I wouldn't have missed watching our sons face light up every time he saw the different Monster Trucks performing their jumps and races.
Here are some pictures our our day:

Times to Remember

2011-02-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

The past month has been filled, yet again, with many fun times with each other and family. Eddie is growing like a weed, smarter than ever (and slicker), stubborn, yet personable, caring, and loving. He may not remember all that we did together at the young age of 2 (almost 3) but one day will be able to read this post to remember the fun times we had with each other and with family.

Here is a summary of the past month in words and pictures!

February 5th we went to my sister-in-laws house to celebrate our nephews birthday. Our little man is so lucky to two cousins that love him so much and play with him so nicely. We enjoyed singing happy birthday to the birthday boy, watching the kids play, great food, and each other.

The birthday boy:The boys:

Grandma Alberts with two of her boys:

Cousins:

January 30th we took Eddie sled riding for the first time. We had so much fun. Daddy was a real champ carrying Eddie up the hill every time. I only went up twice and could have gone a couple of more times but I was nervous about my little man getting to cold. So, we headed home only to listen to Eddie saying, "MOM, I want to go sledding again!" Eddie would have stayed there all day as long as someone carried him up the hill. Needless to say, sledding was a success and we will be going again soon!

January 29th we all went to buddy Kyle's 2nd Bday party at a nature and science center. Our little man quickly got hip to who was bringing out the animals. He made friends with the two ladies and worked his way into the back behind the scenes where the two ladies gave him his own tour and showed him all the different animals that none of the other kids got to see. He had so much fun, even when dad threatened to throw him in with the turtles. He laughed about those turtles for days!

Here he is holding a guinea pig:The birthday boy with his mommy and daddy:

The Turtles :

Eddie and Daddy:

Petting the snake: The birthday boy, Eddie and a few other kids looking at the fish:

January 25th we had a dinner play date with buddy Anthony, baby Jimmy and their mommy Allison. We had a great dinner, good conversation, the kids played, and then we made cookies together!

Here are the little guys making cookies with Ms. Allison: Here are the little guys enjoying their tasty treat!

January 24th I was determined to get Eddie's haircut. Getting a haircut has been challenging task in the past but I was not going to let his hair grow another day. I took him to really cute place that is geared up especially for kids. The haircut was not as bad as I expected and although it was a very mobile and very long haircut, we got it done. And after, he wanted to keep looking in the mirror and didn't want to go home because he want to play. He even told me that he thought it would be a good idea to back there for another haircut!!!! So, mission accomplished!

The final product:Mobile haircut:

Actually getting in the seat before he knew what was about to happen:

January 15th Peepaw, Grandma Mueller, Eddie and I went to see my cousin Hannah play basketball. I was so glad that we could catch one of her games. It has been a while since I have see her, Ashley, Zack and my uncle Matt. I enjoyed catching up with them and was proud to be able to show some support. All of my cousins, aunts and uncles supported my basketball career throughout the years and it meant a lot to me to be able to do the same. I wish I could have made it to more games but none the less we had a great time while we were there!

Here are a few pictures of our day together:

Cousin Hanna

Uncle Matt, cousin Ashley, Peepaw, me and Eddie

Uncle Matt and Peepaw
The Mueller Family

Disney On Ice - Toy Story 3

2011-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we went to Disney on Ice-Toy Story 3. Our little man had such a good time. He knew all of the characters and would shout out in excitement as each one skated out onto the ice. And then, after a while, if he didn't see Bullseye or Buzz he would say, "Dad, where is Buzz?" "Dad, where is Bullseye?" And when Buzz or Bullseye or any character for that matter would return to the ice the shouts of excitement would come back. He did this throughout the whole show. I think I can speak for all of us when I say this event was extra special because it was the first ICE show for all of us!

Here are some pictures of our day:

Happy New Year

2011-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

THE NOON YEARS EVE BALL p.s. It was like being at Time Square!

We kind of cheated on celebrating New Years Eve this year. We (Eddie, hubby, Cassidy, and I) went to our local zoo for their NOON YEARS EVE event. The event is all about kids and gives them a chance to celebrate New Years Eve kiddie style. Each kid was given a green Noon Years Eve cup, complimentary juice (to cheers with of course) and chips, and were also given the option to make a maraca out of an empty pop bottle and some bird seed if they wanted to. We made a maraca. And yes we made noise with it!

Eddie and Cassidy:

Eddie, Hubby, and Cassidy petting a chinchilla:

The weather was absolutely beautiful. I believe it was 60 degrees, which is like unheard of around here on December 31st, and sunny. Halfway through our walk around the zoo, we all took our coats off. It was so nice to let the kids run after being coped up in the house because of cold weather. Anyway, we saw lots and lots of animals and then we went to watch the ball drop. Eddie was so cute. When everyone counted down and the ball dropped he cheersed us all and said, "Happy New Year!" And then he wanted to keep cheersing. We had a great time. Noon Years Eve at the zoo was a great event and we will definitely be going back next year.

On New Year's Day we went to Grandma and Grandpa Mueller's house to bring in the new year. The kids played, the adults talked and visited, we all ate great food (the sweat sauerkraut was the best), and then a few of us danced to the new dance central game on the xbox 360 connect! We all have a great time.

Here I am with my two men on New Year's Day!

Me and my little man:
Grandma Mueller, Eddie, Bella, and Ariana:

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T15:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas break flew by this year. I swear the time off keeps getting shorter and shorter each year but then again I guess any time at all off with my family is a blessing. As you may have read we were really busy up to Christmas doing Christmasy things. And as you can imagine the business didn't stop there. On Christmas Eve Nana Dresp and Uncle Bob came over to our house to celebrate, have dinner, and of course to spoil Eddie.

Here are a few pictures:

And then after the party broke up we had to leave milk and cookies for Santa!Christmas morning was absolutely magical. Eddie woke up not even really thinking about Christmas and Santa. He woke up asking for his computer (Mobigo) that he got on Christmas Eve from nana. I gave him his computer and then went downstairs to get my coffee. When I returned to the room he was sitting there on my bed looking so cute in his Christmas jammies playing his computer when I asked him, "Who do you think came last night?" And he said, "SAANTAA!!!!!" He immediately wanted to go downstairs to see if the milk and cookies were gone and to see if Santa left him any presents. When he finally saw what awaited him he said, "Mom! oh boy! oh my gosh! look mom, look dad!" and then he started opening his presents. With each present we got an oh my gosh, oh boy, oh mom, oh dad.... it was so stinking cute! He was so excited and so exhausted from the excitement that half way through his presents he said, "okay. I all done now. I save the rest for later." So, he took a break and came back to finish opening his presents a half hour or so later (note to self: do not let Santa bring as much next year!).

Here are a few pictures of Christmas morning:

After opening presents all morning we went to Aunt Janeen's for Christmas dinner. Eddie had a blast playing with his cousins and getting to spend the afternoon with family. We all had great company, great food, and an overall great day together.

Here are a few pictures from our afternoon:

Uncle Ed and his oldest nephew jamming in the basement:

Eddie opening his big wheel:The day after Christmas Grandma and Peepaw Mueller came over to celebrate the Christmas holiday with us. And again our spaghetti man was spoiled. We enjoyed each others company and had a great dinner. The hubby and I were spoiled too by all grandmas and grandpas. Thank you all for making our holiday so special. We love you.
Here are a few pictures of Christmas, that day after:

Christmas Lights

2010-12-28T16:37:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday the hubby and I took Eddie to see Christmas Lights at a farm near our home with some of our neighbor friends. The minute we drove into the farm Eddie was hooked by all of the beautiful lights. Little did he, or we for that matter, know that the best part of the night would be making a toy in Santa's workshop with elves that like to dance and sing. Eddie was extremely attentive and focused on making his toy with the elf. He listen to every direction and even handed the right tools to the elf when she asked for them. After he was done making his toy with daddy, I was in charge of helping him paint his toy. And let me just tell you, the toy is still tightly wrapped and in the back of my car. We put some much paint and glitter on that toy it was ridiculous and I just know that I would be finding paint years later if I brought it into the house. Anyway, we all thoroughly enjoy making his tractor. After the making and painting of the tractor, we took a tractor ride through the farm to see all of the Christmas lights and then stopped at the horse stable to watch a horse show. Pony rides were offered at the horse stable as well. Much to my surprise after a few minutes of watching the big horses gallop and jump, Eddie want to ride a horse. So, a pony ride it was. He was so happy sitting on top of that pony. And we were so happy because he was so happy! We ended the night eating a hot dog and a bag of chips at the snack shop while getting to watch model trains chug along their tracks. Going to the farm to see the lights was a great night!

The toy making and painting:

The pony ride:

Holiday Festivities

2010-12-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

The month of December has been filled with Holiday Festivities. Eddie has truly been Santa'd to death this year and has had many opportunities to celebrate the Christmas Holiday. We participated in my schools breakfast with Santa and dinner with Santa. We went to Mr. Kringle's Inventionasium where we made a puppet, snow, toys, and built blocks with Santa's elves. We rode Christmas trains, built ginger bread houses, and even helped mommy decorate the Christmas tree. Eddie understands, at the age of 2 and 1/2, who Santa is and what Santa brings on Christmas day. He understands that many people in the world put up Christmas decorations inside their homes and out and he understands that people say, "Merry Christmas" in passing during this time of the year and he too has told many people, "Merry Christmas." We are very thankful to have been able to participate in so many wonderful holiday festivities together.

Here are some pictures of all that fun we have been having!!!

And stay tuned for more because the holiday festivities are to be continued with pictures of Country Lights, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day!!!

Lil Kickers

2010-12-08T17:14:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we took Eddie (aka: our little guy) to his first Lil Kickers class. The class works on listening skills, being able to follow directions, agility, hand eye coordination, and speed. And did I mention the kids even get to kick around a soccer ball? AND they got to be spun around on the giant parachute by their parents. Needless to say, Eddie had a blast!!! And so did mommy and daddy. Eddie has got plenty of speed and agility and energy. The other skills are there and we see them from time to time but they need a little work! Hopefully, by the end of the class Eddie will be a Lil Kickers all-star!

Here is Eddie in action:

Santa 2010

2010-11-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday November 24th, Mema and Papa Alberts and I took the little man to see Santa. He did so well this year and even waited in line as patiently as he could. He sat on Santa's lap cheesing for his pictures and then told Santa what he wanted for Christmas. He is getting way to big way to fast (and I know that I've said that a thousand times but I can't help it.... the time is going by way to fast).

We arrived to the mall a little early so I decided it would be a good idea for my little man to build his first bear! He made a bee line to, yep, the brightest blue bear (THE PEACE BEAR). He was a little unsure about making the bear, especially when it was time to stuff the bear. The noise from the stuffing machine scared him a bit, but he quickly got over the scared and went back to making his bear. He even gave his bear a bath. And then after bath we made his bear a birth certificate and named his bear BLUE!

Here they are together with Santa:
Here is our little man making his bear:

The Very Sad of Fall 2010

2010-11-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

On October 30, 2010, My aunt Denise Marie Afanador die at the age of 52. Loving wife to my Uncle Louie, mother to my cousins Greg and Steven, grandmother to Izabella and Alejandro, and sister to (my mom) Renee Schilling Mueller and Dave Schilling. It is so hard to believe that almost a month has past by without her here. I'm sitting here looking forward to a Thanksgiving Feast with my family but yet am not feeling as happy as I should. And it's because my Aunt Denise will not be there with us tomorrow enjoying her husband, children, grandchildren, sister and brother, niece and nephew. And enjoying the great food and drinks that we always have. Her presence will be missed greatly and so will her sense of humor and her love. We will all be thinking of you tomorrow Aunt Denise, we love you.

Our family has gone through so much in the last year and a half. My grandfather past in August of 09, my grandmother in December of 09, and now my aunt. Hopefully, 2011 will bring more joy to our family than sadness.

On another sad note, but not nearly as sad as losing family. I made the decision to put down my dog of ten years. Her name was "KOA." She was loyal and protective and probably the best dog I will ever have in my entire adult life. She was one of those dogs you could just let outside with you and she wouldn't go anywhere. She was a porch dog. She was the best. I took her everywhere with me before I got married. She loved the beach. She absolutely loved swimming. And she loved to go running with me. But then when my son was born, I made some bad decisions. I separated all of our dogs from our child, which of course we all know that is exactly what your not supposed to do. I couldn't help it. At the time, we had three dogs. I was so afraid of coming home with a new born baby and three dogs running around my ankles. I kept thinking.... I'm going to fall and trip with the baby.... One of the dogs is going to bite the baby when I'm not looking.....I am going to step on one of the dogs etc.... So anyway.... turns out, out of three dogs she was the last one standing. And after a while she became lonely. And then she started limping. And then she stop going outside to the bathroom. And then I made a very tough decision. And now she is not here. And I miss her. And I think about her all the time. But I know I made the right decision. I know you are at peace and happy now KOA. I love you.

Halloween & Such 2010

2010-11-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a bit of a challenge this year. Our little man would not wear a costume. He liked all three of the costumes I bought and would carry them around the house like dolls but just wouldn't wear them. I finally, after seeing his little buddy Anthony dressed up as a farmer, decided that he would be a hunter! My husband and Papa Ed both hunt so I figured since they both have all the hunting gear and our little man has seen all of it, there would be no problem. I was wrong. The first time I put the camouflage overalls on my little man he rolled on the floor screaming, "take these off of me." Eventually, with enough distractions, he got over wearing the hunting overalls and went with the flow!
A week or so prior to Halloween we painted "baby pumpkins" together, participated in the Halloween story time at the library, went to Boo at the Zoo with Nana Dresp, and did some trick or treating in the downtown area of were we live! And although wearing a costume was a bit of a challenge, Halloween turned out to be a great night. We went to Papa and Mema Alberts house for dinner and trick or treating. Our little man was pooped after 15 or so houses so daddy took him back to Papa and mema's to pass out candy to the kids! He had a blast. And we all had a blast watching him.

Fall 2010

2010-11-06T06:36:00.001-07:00

Fall of 2010 has been filled with yet more great memories made together and with family and friends. Our little man is not so little anymore. And he is developing the best personality. He is smart, strong, kind, caring, and at times a little stinker! He is learning at a mile a minute and does not forget a thing. He is loved by many people and has had some great experiences thus far in his life. We to have had great experiences since he has come into our lives. It is hard to image life without him. We laugh, play, run, jump, climb, sing, watch movies together, and my favorite- cuddle. We go to the parks, festivals, the zoo,fairs,story time and holiday activities to make sure he is well rounded and learns about everything and anything. Fall of 2010 has been filled with fun and love.

Here is a slide show of our times together and with friends and family:

P.S. Slide show of Halloween to come!!!!

Family Photos

2010-10-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

This fall I decided that since our son is already 2 and 1/2 years old it would be a good idea to take some family photos. Originally, I planned to hire a photographer but when she was not available on the dates that worked for us my husband decided he would take the photos. Our pictures turn out beautifully. And each day we decided to take pictures with my side of the family and his, we had great weather.For only being 2 and 1/2, our little man was pretty patience while taking pictures. And I think he even had a little fun. And I know that he loved seeing all of his grandparents.

Here is our family photo with Nana Dresp, and GG (great grandma Lavern):

Here is a picture of just the three of us:Here is our family photo with Peepaw and Grandma Mueller:And here is our family photo with Mema and Papa Alberts:

Play Dates--- The End of Summer

2010-10-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

Our little man is so fortunate to have so many friends that love him so much. We finished out our summer with a bang. We had play dates with Anthony, Kyle, Lucas, Madilyn and of course Cassidy! Our little man swam in the lake for the first time this summer, went to his first movie at the movie theater, hung at the zoo, went to kiddie park with his best buddy Anthony, and got to hang out with mommy all summer. We finished out our summer with the Wiggles concert which I just posted. Better late than never!!! Now I just have to get caught up on all our Fall festivities.

The Wiggles Concert

2010-08-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

We're going to the WIGGLES!!!!! That is what my son told all of his friends the entire week of August 23rd. The concert was on a Thursday and my husband decided we should tell him we were going the Saturday before. All week, I heard "Mommy, I need to give Dorothy a hug!!!" And thank goodness that there is a Wiggles God because he was the only kid in the audience that actually did hug her!!!!
Here is a slide show of the concert! We had a blast!

May 23rd-July 4th (Just Keep Reading, Just Keep Reading, Reading, Reading, Reading)

2010-07-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

The last month and a half has been filled with so much love and joy among family and friends. And at times, tears too.

May 23rd was a day filled with both heart ache and joy. The hubby and I planned to take our little man to Thomas the Tank Engine Train ride that day. To make things easy, I always try to have everything ready to go so that we can just jump in the car and enjoy our day without any "drama". Well this particular morning, I had to move cars.... a few of them.... one of which included my husband Ford 250 Truck. And prior to leaving for our fun filled day we had a terrible accident. Speagle Beagle (my husband's dog of 15 years) was tragically injured by me while moving the truck and she did not make it ( there was hysterical crying by all). It was one of the most terrible mornings ever.
Speagle Beagle- You are thought about often and we will never forget you R.I.P.

After all that, we had these train tickets that we had told our son about. So he knew that he was going to ride Thomas that day. We couldn't take that away from him. He didn't do anything wrong. So, we still went to Thomas and tried to make the best out of our day at Thomas. And I'm glad that we did and I think my husband is glad that we did and I know our son was glad that we did because he had a blast. The train ride itself was not all that great but seeing the big Thomas come down that tracks was awesome. Our son just loved seeing Thomas and he really loved jumping in all the Thomas blow up bounce houses, playing with the red bouncy balls, and getting a few tattoos.
Here is my man, daddy, and Thomas:

I think our little man might be a toy hoarder..... If he could have collect all the balls he would have!
Applying tattoos at home:May 30th we went to Peepaw and Grandma Mueller's for a Memorial Day cookout. We were only there for about three hours and in that three hours I think our little man almost cut all sixteen acres of grass. He just wanted to run, run, run and look at the horses. We tried to get him in the pool but he did not want to "wim" as he would say. He definitely enjoyed his tractor ride with Peepaw and if he could have rode that tractor all day, he would have been in tractor heaven!
Here are some pictures:

On June 5th my daycare provider posted a sign on her door that said, "Does anyone want a cat? There is a stray cat in my backyard that needs a home." So, what do I do? I go home and tell my husband about it and he says, "Our little man just asked for a cat. Why don't you bring it home, if it's cute." And this is what I got myself into to!!!!! I have to admit.... she's a cutie and a keeper and our little man loves her. He named her KIKI. On June 7th I took our little man to have his first and last lunch with Peepaw Mueller at Perry High School. I was fortunate enough to work in the same school district as my father for the past three years. Unfortunately, he is moving to a new school district come August. My lunch is typically a half hour lunch which was never enough time to take our little man for lunch with Peepaw but this day was a bit different. Most of the sixth grade class was gone so I had a little wiggle room in my lunch schedule and I thought that I better squeeze this lunch in because we will never have the opportunity to have lunch together again. Our little man enjoyed lunch with his Peepaw!!!! And here is a picture of the daycare crew.... This was taken on June 8th, second to last day at daycare. They had parties all week! Our little man just loves going to Ms. Celeste and he loves his friends that he has made there! On June 11th my husband took our little man to a hot air balloon show at a local winery near our house while I went to a baseball game with my mom. And can you believe out of hundreds of people he ran into his best friend from day care. Here they are: June 14th we began going to the local library for story time. Story time always begins with a little marching song, then a short story, a puppet show, a longer story, some songs, and then ends with twinkle, twinkle little star with the lights out and glowing stars for the kids to hold. Our little man absolutely loves going to story time. Our first trip was a learning experience. As you can imagine, he was so excited and curious.... sitting the first time there was not really an option but now we go and he will sit on his little carpet listening attentively to Ms. Eason!!!! He is so cute, sometimes at night before going to bed he will say, "Mom, Ms. Eason???" and I say, "Yes honey, we will see her on Monday at story time!"

Here are a few pictures at story time:

The first time we went, Cassidy (our neighbor who I watch once a week) was with us. We actually made the Tye Dye t-shirts together the week before. Aren't they cute??June 16th we began going to gymnastics class. It's not really a structured class but they do have a balance beam, swing, and rings. Our little man can almost walk on the small balance beam by his self, jump on the trampoline, roll, attempts to do summer salts (he still needs help with this), attempts to get on the swing (still needs to learn to pump his legs- we are working on this), and of course can jump off of any mat. June 18th we went to the Strawberry Festival. Our little man loved the car ride..... but only when it was not moving!!! Luckily, it broke down and he got to sit in the purple car while the ride was being fixed!June 20th Peepaw and Grandma Mueller came over for Father's Day. We had a nice relaxing afternoon, a great dinner, and enjoyed each others company. When our little man woke up from his nap he wanted to go for a tractor ride, so of course daddy took him! And what did they find after they started up the tractor? A family of mice!!! A mama and some babies!

Here is one of the babies!Here is grandma Mueller pushing little man in his swing! And Peepaw opening his Father's Day present!June 27th we celebrated cousin Jason's birthday. His party was at a bounce house!!! Once our little man got warmed up there was not stopping him. He had so much fun!!! I have a feeling we will definitely be having a birthday party at a bounce house in the future.

Here's our man having fun with his uncle Mark: Here's my cutie pie:Being held by the birthday boy, Jason:After the bounce house party, we went to cousin Bella's first birthday party! Our little man danced his butt of with all the cutie little girls and stole Bella's birthday car for a good part of the party. WARNING: Our little man loves cars, trucks, tractors, and four wheelers... if you bring one to a party, park, gym class, your house or ours he will most likely take it some how some way!!!!

Here he is with Peepaw, Bella, and Uncle Louie!Fourth of July weekend was very eventful!!! As you can see from my pictures below..... we found another little friend. OMG..... I now have two cats!!!!! Long story short, the hubby was taking our little man for a tractor ride when all of a sudden they saw 8-10 kittens running through the backyard. We ended up catching the black and white one and yes for some strange reason I was apart of the wild goose chase??? She was found on Friday July 2nd and she has been named PUPPY CAT .... our little man has named both cats. I don't know how or when he became a cat lover but he is and he just loves them. July 3rd Grandma and Papa Alberts came over for a cookout and July 4th we went to Grandma and Peepaw Mueller's house. Here is a picture of the three of us sitting by Peepaw's pool!
Our summer has been a blast so far!!! Our little man is growing by the minute and has developed the best personality ever. He is kind, gentle, smart, curious, loving, adventurous, and ours!!!! He melts our hearts each and every day.

FYI- Title was inspired by Finding Nemo! Our son is loving his movies right now. His favorites are Cars, Toy Story, and Nemo!!!!

2nd Birthday Party

2010-06-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

This years birthday theme was Thomas the Tank Engine. Our toddler was so excited to see all of the Thomas characters up around the house and couldn't wait to get a hold of his Thomas cake. He celebrated his second birthday in style and enjoyed the company of family and friends despite the nasty weather we had that day. We had his party two weeks after his actual birthday in hopes that the weather would be with us but not so much! But like I said, our little man had a great time and his party was a success. One thing I really enjoyed about having his party two weeks after his birthday, was listening to him sing happy birthday to himself every day in the car ride home from work. And then on the actual day of the party he joined us in singing. And then two weeks after his party was over, he was still singing happy birthday to himself. I think his birthday lasted for at least a month but that's okay because he's our baby and only turns two once!

Here are a few collages I put together of pictures from the party!

My two boys:

My little man and his grandmas:
My little man and his grandpas:It only took me three weeks to make this post. I really hope to be able to post more about our life together and the development of our TWO YEAR OLD love bug!

Happy Second Birthday

2010-04-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our baby. We love you so very much. Here is the second year of your life in pictures. There are no words that can describe the joy you have brought us. You ARE the love of our lives. Love Mommy and DADDY!

My Lil Man's Birthday Week

2010-04-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

A year ago Thursday, this is the slide show I posted to celebrate the first year of our son's life.

It's hard to believe that in a few days, I will be sharing memories of another year to celebrate our son. My baby is two years old this Thursday, April 29th. He has grown so much this year and has developed the best and cutest personality ever. He is walking and talking and learning so quickly. He's intelligent, loving, kind, strong-willed, beautiful (handsome), and funny. He is the love of our lives!!!

March Events/ Easter 2010

2010-04-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Three birthday's later and March has come to an end. My father, mother, and I all have birthday's in March. So needless to say, March is usually a pretty busy month. Then, add in working full time, taking care of a toddler and a house, not to mention all the fun activities we try to do with our son.... and voila, the month is over. We've had three birthday dinners, lots and lots of cupcakes (which our little man just absolutely loves), went to see the Easter bunny, rode the train next to the Easter Bunny, went to Chucky Cheese (aka: "Chuy Cheez") for the first time, had Palm Sunday dinner with the Alberts family and have gone on about what seems like 40 tractor rides. Our little man looooves... "TRWACKTOR RIIIDESS." He goes on tractor rides (four wheeler) with his daddy around the yard and tractor rides with PeePaw Mueller on the kabota when we go over for visits.

Today has also been a full day. We woke up first thing this morning to look for a giant stuffed bunny and Easter basket that the Easter Bunny brought to our home last night. Our little one was so excited. He really, really liked his bunny, as well as, his candy and a couple of other toys the Easter Bunny (Mommy) brought him. Grandma Dresp came over for an early dinner and to be apart of our first annual Easter Egg Hunt. After going for yet another "TRWACKTOR RIIIDE" with daddy, our little one still had it in him to hunt for eggs. He was so stinking cute. Every time he found an egg he would let out a squeal of delight!

Here are lots and lots of pictures of more memories:

Our Local Community Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we took our little man to our local Easter egg hunt. There was a lot "Wows" (because of the Easter bunny)and "Look Dad, Look Mom" from our little one but once the hunt started it was game on. It didn't take our little man long to catch on. While we were looking for eggs, the news reporter took a few photos and asked us for our names! Yes. We made the paper!!! Here is our little man's first debut.

Easter egg hunt really all it's cracked up to be - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

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I YA YOU

2010-02-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

Our son has the best personality ever. He does and says the cutest things. My favorite is, of course, "I LOVE YOU" which comes out as "I YA YOU!" He also says, "What's that?" which sounds more like "Whazzat" and "I need it!" He's talking more and more and we can understand him now! He's not even two and he is already such a smart little boy. He can count to 10 and sometimes 11, 12, and 13 (he's only shared his counting abilities with us on one occasion, he would rather count at school, little stinker). He knows how to say the days of the week, the abc's (maybe not totally in the right order), can make the sounds of many animals, and can point to all of his body parts. Did I tell you that he's not even two?
The month of February has flown by like all the rest. We've kept busy spending time with grandparents and each other.
For some reason, Blogger does not like my videos so here are some pictures of February!

January Events

2010-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe the last time I posted was a month ago at the end of December!!! Where did that month go? I can't even remember half of the things that we've done in the last month. I do, however, remember my son swimming around in his bath tub and blowing bubbles for the first time, and I remember him wanting to cuddle and hug mom and dad before bed time, and I remember him blowing kisses and just being so stinking cute all together!!! It seems like all of a sudden he's walking, talking (we understand him), developing a great personality, and becoming a little boy. He's almost at the stage where he's no longer a baby. He's growing up so quickly.

Anyway, here are few pictures from January:

First and only time out in the snow, so far!

Grandma Mueller came over for dinner!

Breakfast with Grandpa:

Cousin Pj's wrestling tournament:
Kyle's First Birthday Party:
Cousin Amy's baby shower:

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Where do I begin? Christmas, Christmas, Christmas... was so magical this year. We are blessed with a crazy little boy who was so unbelievably cute Christmas morning trying to hand us his presents. He can say Santa, he can tell us what Santa says (insert HO HO HO here), but I'm not totally sure he really understood "Christmas" this year. However, once I showed him how to open his presents the train left the station and didn't stop until he opened his presents and anyone else's that were under the tree!

Once all of his presents were open, he quickly learned how to operate them. Did I tell you that he is one smart cookie? And he plays hard... there's no stopping him when he want to play. This past Sunday night he literally pushed one of his new tractors on my bed, while his head bobbed up and down like he was bobbing for apples, until he feel asleep. Our boy is definitely determined! He's growing up so fast. He's starting to repeat everything we say and he's beginning to understand emotion. He's been walking or should I say running and he doesn't sit still for a second. But we love him. We love him so much it hurts. I can only speak for myself when I say, our son has really helped me to understand how important family really is and how you really can't love them enough.

We tried to love on most of our immediate family the weekend before Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and the Sunday after. So, like many of you, we were busy. Really busy. It's not like I was slaving in the kitchen making cookies or anything like that ( don't worry, I eat plenty of cookies)... it was the working, trying to shop, and the keeping up with a 20 month old while trying to prepare for company/going for visits that kept me busy. And SWOOSH! Just like that, Christmas has already come and gone. And even though I am tired, so tired.... I am already looking forward to next Christmas and memories that will be made.

Lots and lots and lots of Christmas pictures:

Now, onto the New Year. I hope to spend more time with family and I hope to change some habits, like my eating! lol... So, I have once again joined a weight loss challenge to help me hold myself accountable.
Click here Sisterhood for details about the challenge and leave a comment if you want to join.

In Memory of My Grandmother

2009-12-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

BARBARA SCHILLING (Sandoval)

SCHILLING BARBARA SCHILLING (nee Sandoval), age 72, left us December 19, 2009 to be with the Lord in her heavenly home for Christmas and reunited with the love of her live for 53 years, the late David G. Schilling, Sr. Beloved mother of David, Jr. (Jeanne O'Malley-Schilling), Denise (Luis) Afanador, and Renee (Joseph) Mueller. Dearest grandmother of Greg, Steven, Christopher, Robert and Danielle. Great-grandmother of Eddie, Izabella and Arianna. Dear sister of Marylou Dallas and Frank Sandoval. Retired Operations Manager, Food Service Division, Cleveland Board of Education.

My grandmother was strong, brave, courageous, and ever loving to all. She helped to mold me into the woman I am today. She supported me in all my endeavours and treating me like one of her own.
I will never forget you grandma! I pray that you are resting in peace next to grandpa. I love you.

The Holiday Festivities are Full Steam Ahead!

2009-12-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

We've been nonstop over here at the Alberts household since the day before Thanksgiving. Like last year, I took our little man to get his picture done with Santa the day before Thanksgiving. We met grandma and grandpa Mueller for breakfast and then off we went for our second visit with Santa. This year was unlike last year in that our little man cried when I put him on Santa's lap. Amazingly, we were able to get him out of his funk. Even Santa couldn't believe he bounced back!
Thanksgiving day was spent at grandpa and grandma Mueller's house with family. Our little man finally got meet baby Bella- his second cousin once removed by marriage I think! Anyway, she is adorable and our little man enjoyed giving her a kiss!

Here's proof:

My hubby left for hunting the day after thanksgiving, which left me and little man home to spend some quality time together. We pretty much just stayed home over the weekend and got some rest. Monday we went to grandma Alberts for dinner and then Tuesday we went to grandma and grandpa Mueller's for dinner. Wednesday we came straight home after work and Thursday we did dinner with Santa at the school district that grandpa Mueller and I work for, which was so super cute. We are looking forward to dinner with Santa next year for sure! The hubby came home Thursday night and Friday we just hung out! Saturday we through a surprise 40th birthday party for my husband's sister and Sunday we went on a Christmas train ride with grandma and grandpa Alberts. The 40th birthday party was a success. The birthday girl had a great time and our little man had an even better time, running around with 8 other kids and eating cookies until his little hearts content. The train ride on Sunday was also a success as long as the train was moving. Our little man might have still been to small for that one but I really think he did enjoy it, especially when the horn blew and when Santa came in to give all the kids their goodies.

Here is a slide show of the snapshot of events I just rambled off!!! I had much more detail to share about all the gatherings/activities we have been doing but after working a full day and coming home to take care of our little man.... I was just to tired! Thank you everyone for making our last couple of weeks together so memorable!!!!

Natural Gas

2009-11-21T05:19:00.001-08:00

How would you like to be woken up out of a deep sleep by your husband saying, "shhhh, there's a ton of natural gas in the house open up all the windows!" Um... hello!!! "What did you just say?" I frantically jumped out of bed and right away wanted to call the fire department instead of opening all the windows. I just kept thinking forget about the windows... we need to get out of here. And we did just that. I grabbed the baby and took him over to my in-laws house. Thank god they live right around the corner. Meanwhile, my husband stayed behind to fumigate the house. He called about two hours later and said, "come home, the house is all cleared out there's no more gas." Reluctantly, I put the baby back in the car and drove home. We all slept together last night and thanks to the hubby our house was a safe place once again. Needless to say, we are on our way to babies r us today to get child proof knobs for the stove. I'm not even sure if it was our little man that turned the knob or my big ole butt bumping into it... all I know is that nothing happened to us because the hubby/daddy saved us!

Happy Birthday

2009-11-17T13:17:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my da da's birthday!!! Don't worry da da mommy didn't forget about you, I've just been keeping her really busy these days.

I thoroughly enjoyed blowing out your birthday candles with you. I love you.

LOVE: YOUR MINI ME!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

I took our little Frankenmonster out trick or treating into our desolate neighborhood last night. Poor little guy didn't get to see any other kids in their costumes. I think we had a total of three trick or treaters that came to our house :( All the neighborhood kids decided to hit the other neighborhoods where the houses are a little bit closer together. BOO BOO!!! I have decided that future Halloweens will be spent at Grandma and Grandpa Alberts or Grandma Dresp's house... most likely the Alberts since their five minutes away and to many drunks are out on Halloween!!! Anyway, we enjoyed our evening with our little Frankenmonster. He looked so cute!!!

Boo at the Zoo

2009-10-24T04:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the hubs and I took our little man to meet grandma and grandpa Mueller for Boo at the Zoo. Our little Frankenmonster was in awe of all the kids in costumes, activities, and animals, now that he can see them and point to them saying, "I touch." He especially enjoyed the petting the big stuff puppy with daddy that was station near the Zoo entrance, walking through the maze with grandpa Mueller, and the dinosaur exhibit. The weather was actually perfect for adults but a little on the chilly side for an 18 month old. We will definitely be going back in the future when our little man can run around on his own!

Patterson Fruit Farm

2009-10-11T04:41:00.000-07:00

As we drove to the Patterson Fruit Farm yesterday, I realized how much I appreciate the change of seasons. And also, how much I am just like my parents. I found myself saying the exact things I would hear my parents (more so my dad) saying when I used to sit in the back seat as a child. I made reference to the changing color of the leaves many times and by the third time I just had to chuckle because I thought OMG... I'm just like my parents!!! Anyway, we took our little guy to the fruit farm for a wagon ride, pony ride, the muddy corn maze, and much more. There were so many things for our little one to do and he pretty much tried all of them with the help of mom, dad, and grandma Dresp. We will definitely be going back next year and I will make sure we are geared up in play/mud boots/ heavy duty coat type clothing!!! And that goes for all of us.

Here is a slide show of our day:

Pumpkinville

2009-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we took our little man to the pumpkin patch for the very first time. He picked out his own pumpkins, ran up and down the aisle of pumpkins, and went for a short wagon ride with his pumpkins. We also bought apple cider while we were at pumpkinville and tested it out once we arrived back home. The cider got a thumbs up in this house hold!

Here are some pics:

Today we celebrated one of our little man's girlfriend's birthday. We looked forward to going to her party ever since we recieved the invitation. However, right before we were about to leave I checked our babies temp and what did it say?? 101.7??? It's never been that high before. So, I called my girlfriend and told her we were not going to come and she said it was up to me and that sometimes when Madilyn wakes up from a nap she is really warm and has had a fever like temperature. Do kids wake up with fever like temperatures after taking a nap? Someone please answer that question. So anyway, then I went back to the barn to talk it over with the hubby and he said that our little one looked fine and that he was probably just cutting a tooth again. I preceded to go back and forth, and back and forth because he's just never had a fever that high. Then, I checked his temp again and it had gone down some.... so off we went to the birthday celebration. We were there for about an hour and a half, which was plenty because I just knew my baby wasn't feeling good. We gave Madilyn her presents, had a little to eat, talked with our friends and out the door we went to get home and into our pj's. When we arrived back home I checked our little man's temp again and this time it read 100.4, which means that it went down a whole degree. So What? It was probably just the Tylenol kicking in.... any how he crashed earlier then usual and is sleeping peacefully. I just hope we wake up tomorrow fever free and pray that it is just his teeth and not an ear infection. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not the teeth and that he's getting sick. Poor baby.

The birthday girl:

My little man absolutely loved this ELMO poster. He kept trying to kiss it!
And he enjoyed pushing Madilyn' s baby around.

OUR SON IS.......

2009-09-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

Brief But Fun Visit

2009-09-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Today was way to nice of a day to sit around the house. And since both the baby and I have been feeling better, we decided to make the best of our day together. We went to watch the cousins soccer games!!! Our little man had so much fun trying to run on the field and kick the soccer balls. I can tell already that he's got athleticism running through the genes. He really looked liked one of the kids on the soccer field when he was dribbling one of the balls. He also enjoyed hanging out with his cousins!!!

Here are a few pictures of our brief but fun visit:

Happy Grandparents Day

2009-09-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? The weeks are a blur, my son is growing like a weed, I can't remember one day from the next, and although we are always together I feel like I just can't get enough of my son, of my husband and of my family!!!
Since the school year has started we've been back into a really good routine. One thing I really enjoy is being around family and we've done just that. Our last three weekends have been spent with family. Three weeks or so ago, I took our son to my school districts home opener football game where we ate cookout type food with grandpa Mueller. Our son really enjoyed the marching band and I have a feeling he will like going to football games on Friday nights. The Friday at that I took our man to the kiddie park, with grandma Dresp, and then we went out to eat at Applebee's. This past weekend (LABOR DAY) we took our little man up to my husband's families cabin on the mountain tops of P.A.! It was our fist trip as a family together and we all enjoyed our time thoroughly... even though I was sick most of the trip. Our son loved pushing his mower up and down the mountain and my husband and I enjoyed riding our dirt bikes. It was also nice to spend time with grandma and grandpa Alberts!!! And then that leaves this weekend. With all the craziness and running around, I 've come down with a cold. And then I gave my cold to our son. It started last weekend when we were up at the cabin and it just hasn't gone away. So needless to say, we've bunkered down this weekend in hopes of getting rid of this nasty cold. And wouldn't you know? It just so happens to be Grandparents Day. We hope all grandparents are having a terrific day! And we wanted you all to know that we love you and have enjoyed speding time with you!!!!

Football game with Grandpa Mueller:

Kiddie Park with Grandma Dresp:

Hanging out on the mountain tops of P.A. with grandpa and grandma Alberts:

Shrink for Good

2009-08-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Sisterhood is starting up a new challenge and it begins today!!! I am pumped!!! I have been so unmotivated to do... well anything really and this is just what I need to get back on track. I actually gained weight this summer. Can you believe that? And now, it's time to take that weight back off. Click here for details about the challenge!!! And let's start shrinking for good!!!!

First Haircut

2009-08-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I took my baby for his first haircut on July 30th.... We had a great time. My little man had so much fun that he kissed his hair dresser when she was finished cutting his hair. Part of me was so sad to see those cute little curls get cut off, but it was time. Now, he really looks like a big boy. He went from my little baby to a toddler in one cut. I guess I can't keep him small forever..... even though I would just love to. He's getting to big to fast!!!

BEFORE - THE FRONT VIEW

BEFORE- THE BACK VIEW
DURING- (These girls new what they were doing... they had plenty to keep him busy).
DURING
AFTER
THERE'S MY BIG BOY!

Is July Really Over?

2009-07-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

How could July already be over? Where did the time go? I feel like the summer is almost over even though we still have the whole month of August. And I feel like we really didn't get to do much, even though the little man and I have been on the go go go!!! And even on a rainy day like today... we were on the go go go!!! Today, grandma Mueller and I took the little man to the children's museum. We tried to show him the water table, the house that had a kitchen, nursery, and bedroom, and the barn all of which had signs teaching children what the rooms were for and how to take care of things such as cooking and babies etc.... However, he is at the age were he just wants to go go go. Hopefully, he got something out of the experience!!!

Here are some pics of us at the museum:

Grandma Mueller and my little man!

Crawling through the tunnel:

Me and my man:

My man in the barn room:

July has been packed with fun! Yesterday we had one of the best play dates ever with two friends of mine and their children. We went to the sprinkler park and then came back to our house for pizza and more play time!

Here is a picture of the three cuties at the sprinkler park playing with all the other kids toys:

Back at our house:

We have also visited with family during the month of July. We went to the zoo with grandma Dresp. We've gone over to grandma and grandpa Alberts to visit with the little man's cousins. And have visited grandma and grandpa Mueller.

Here is a pic of Grandma Dresp at the zoo with the little man:

Hanging out with his cousins at the Alberts!
Celebrating my cousins birthday at a play gym:

Another Couple of Weeks Gone...

2009-07-11T04:25:00.000-07:00

Is there some rule or law that says, once you have children, time flies by at the speed of light? I was just wondering because I swear time has never gone by this fast in my life.

The little man and I have been very very busy the past few weeks. Last Sunday we went to Kiddie Park with daddy to ride roller coasters. And yes, there are actually roller coasters for babies at this park. We had so much fun and will definitely be making a few more trips back before the end of the summer.

Tuesday the little man and I went to a church service for my grand parents 53rd wedding anniversary. A while back I made a post about my grandpa and the unfortunate news of his sickness, you can click here, http://alberts-family.blogspot.com/2008/12/pain-is-word-for-week.html ,to read my previous post. The whole family attended the church service (which was beautiful and heart breaking all at once) at the hospice center and then we visited in my grandpa's room for a while afterwards. Like I said in my post, I am so grateful and have been so fortunate to have been married into such a wonderful, kind, and loving family. I love you grandma and grandpa!!! I have and will continue to say a little pray for both of you every day.

Grandpa with the newest addition to the family.

Grandma and Grandpa listening to their HAPPY ANNIVERSARY song.

Thursday the little man and I went to the sprinkler park with one of my coworkers and her daughter. My coworker was a little leery at first, but it turned out that her daughter had a little bit more fun then my little man. To his defense, he is cutting eye teeth right now. Overall, we all had a great time and will go a few more times this summer!

And at 14 Months, we walk!!!

2009-06-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

This video is from yesterday! I had my neighbor's daughter play with our little man's toys to get him to walk!!! Look at him go! And today when he was at Grandma Pat's and Papa Ed's house, he walked up a storm. Go baby Go!

I am so excited!!!! I have been waiting for what seems like forever for the walking stage. And don't worry you won't have to warn me and say," you'll wish he was crawling when he starts to walk", because believe me... I've been warned... and I am ready!!! Bring on the walking!!!

Other than trying to get our son to walk this summer, we've just been hanging out together. I took the first two weeks off of work to get things (clutter) cleaned out of my house and had a garage sale. The garage sale was not as successful as I would have liked it to be, but some money is better then no money for things that I donated to the Good Will anyway. I also took our son to the zoo, the park, the sprinkler park ( which is like the secret stay at home mom sprinkler park that I think only stay at home moms knew about... but I'm in on their secret now!!!), bought him a swing for our backyard, and we started swim lessons. Let me just tell you that our son absolutely loves his swim lessons. He grinned so hard during the first lesson that he didn't even move his arms and legs. The second session we still had a major grin from ear to ear but we remember to move our arms and legs!!! We are looking forward to the rest of the summer together. It's already flying by.

Beautiful Baby

2009-06-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

I have entered our little love bug into the Fox 8 news beautiful baby contest! Click on the following link to send in your vote http://gapc-vote.com/?p=1517656&a=2. I will let you all know if my beautiful baby wins. The picture below is the picture I entered for the contest!! Now that you have seen for yourself how darn cute he is, go on up there and click the link to vote!!!

I've been in a SLUMP!

2009-06-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've been in a major SLUMP when it comes to.... well EVERYTHING!!! I haven't been blogging, reading, eating healthy, and pushing myself to workout just a little bit harder. I'm not even sure why I have been in this SLUMP?? Maybe I just needed a break from it all. And now that my son is on the move (no, not walking yet but close) I guess I've been spending every moment I have chasing him around the house, playing with him, and loving him up! And then I'm tired and I just want to get my shower, turn on the boob-tube and watch some t.v.!
During my bloggy break we took out first trip to the zoo and swung on the swings at the park for the first time. Our baby is now saying baby which sounds like BAY-BAY, out, up, and bye. And he's still cuter than ever!!!! I couldn't tell you how many times a night my husband and I look at each other and say "he's just so beautiful."

Here are some pictures of the zoo:
And then there's the swing.... he would have swung forever!!!And how could I forget the tunnel?

Shrink into Summer

2009-05-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

No good news this week. I am up 2 pounds. I am not sure how because I have started the "30 Day Shred" program by Jillian Michaels and it's a killer. Hopefully, the weight gain is muscle mass. I haven't lifted weights in quiet a while and that's what the 30 Day Shred is all about! There is some cardio and ab workout in Level 1 but not really enough for me. However, I will try to stick to the 30 day workout in hopes that I am gaining lean muscle mass.

Here is what I did this week:

Thursday: OFF
Friday: 30 min. on elliptical with 5lb dumbbells.
Saturday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Sunday: OFF
Monday: Day 1 of the 30 Day Shred
Tuesday: Day 2 of the 30 Day Shred and 20 min. on the elliptical.
Wednesday: Day 3 of the 30 Day Shred and 20 min. on the elliptical.

And of course I have to give you all a baby update:

Our little man is now couch walking, wall walking, and taking chances by turning to grab onto another object to walk. He tries to stand when he crawls but it usual turns into a bear crawl. He said MOM very clearly three times on Mother's Day, how appropriate was that? And he tries to call for the dogs!!! He absolutely loves playing in the tunnel we have for him and loves his wagons. He is eating more solid foods these days and has thrown less food at me!!!! He is definitely going through the separation anxiety stage. When I drop him off at daycare or leave him with dad in the morning to take my work things out to the car, he screams his little head off but only for a short while! And he hugs and kisses me when I pick him up from daycare. I have a feeling our little man will be walking very soon!!!!

Shrink into Summer

2009-05-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

And I am right back to where I began. Last week, I did not make a post about my 4lb. loss because I was to busy getting ready for my son's first birthday party. And good thing that I didn't because the 4lbs that I reported as a loss are back! I did get my workouts in this week but it's been cake and ice cream every night for the last four nights... oops!!! You only get to celebrate your son's first birthday once :) And you only get to eat first birthday cake until it's all gone once :)
Anyway, here is what I did this week:

Thursday: 30 min. on elliptical with 5lb. dumbbells.
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 25 min. Pilates workout.
Sunday: 3 mile walk with son.
Monday 30 min. on elliptical with 5lb. dumbbells.
Tuesday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Wednesday: 30 min. on elliptical with 5lb. dumbbells.

And it was a great First Birthday Party!!!!

2009-05-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

We wanted to thank everyone that came to our home on Saturday to celebrate our baby's first birthday!! A HUGE thank you to all the grandma's and grandpa's for helping to make our son's day so special! We had an absolutely awesome day and our little one had a blast. He clapped to the very end ( I think he might have been clapping in his sleep last night lol...) We couldn't have asked for better weather or better company!

Here are pictures from our son's big day:

Our Baby is One

2009-04-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that one year ago today our baby boy was born. One year ago today I tried to deliver him naturally (okay... I took the epidural!!) and ended up having a c-section. I remember other moms telling me their stories of when they had their children and being scared to death of the pain. But now, one year later.... I can't even remember the pain. I was told that once my little bundle of joy came into this world I wouldn't remember and I don't!!! But what I do remember is watching my little baby grow. I remember nursing and rocking him to sleep in the early months before he developed a little mind of his own. I remember having to take him to the doctors for coughs, colds, and ear infections. I remember him only wanting Mommy. I remember his first tooth. I remember his first laugh. I remember my first kiss. And I remember the day he decided to crawl and then after that stand for the first time on his own. And all I can think about is.... I remember nothing but the best things and that he is best thing that has happened to me. Happy or sad, healthy or sick, and good or bad he is and will always be my little love. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!!

Here is our year together!!!

The Best Sunday Morning Yet!!!

2009-04-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

I woke up headache free for the first time all week. And wanted to make the best out of our day, especially since it has been 80 and sunny all weekend. First, the little man and I did our usual morning routine- ba ba while watching the sunny side up show on sprout. Then we played with all of our toys and even crawled through our new tunnel with daddy. After crawling through the tunnel we decided to go for a walk in the park before it got to HOT and busy. So, we packed everything up and off we went. At the park, we saw a groundhog, deer, and a few turkey. Our little man slid down the big boy slide for the first time (I swear he was smiling so hard that he almost bit through his cute little lip) and even got to put his cute little toes in the river!!!! We had an absolutely awesome morning together!!!

Here is a slide show of our day!!!!

"Shrink into Summer" AND a busy MOM

2009-04-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Easter has not ended for me. I don't know what is wrong with me.... it seems like the only foods I have been eating are sweets!!!! Here's just a few that I have been stuffing into my mouth for about three weeks now: chocolate (any kind), ice cream (any kind), any desert type dish one of our educational associates keeps putting in the staff lounge, and cookies!!!! The plus side to my binge eating of said sweets is that I have not gained any weight or at least it hasn't caught up to me yet. The down side of stuffing said sweets into my mouth is that I have not lost any weight either. So, in effort to eat healthier my husband and I were busy this past weekend planting what seems like a gazillion seeds for our garden. We planted: broccoli, corn, green beans, cauliflower, squash, banana peppers, green peppers, red peppers, lettuce (a variety), tomatoes, and cucumbers. I don't know how I forgot to mention this before?? Probably because I was way to busy eating JUNK FOOD!!! I say move over junk food because healthier options are on their way!!!!

Here is a picture of what looks like a whole bunch of tin pans filled with dirt:

I assure you that there are plants growing and that I will be eating healthier once again. See? we already have broccoli sprouting!!!
And to add to my switch back to eating healthier, I will continue my workouts. Here is what I did this week:

Thursday: 33 min. on elliptical with 5lb dumbbells.

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 45 minute Pilates workout, with my little monkey of a son holding on for the ride!

Sunday: OFF

Monday: 33 min. on elliptical with 5lb dumbbells.

Tuesday: Played basketball

Wednesday: 28 min. on elliptical with 5lb dumbbells and sit-ups!

I am also in the process of getting ready for my son's 1st BIRTHDAY party. My baby is going to be 1 next Wednesday April 29th. I can't believe it!!! I have been gathering tables and chairs, decorations, drinks, and food items to prepare for the big event which is on May 2nd!!! I have also been making a few of the decorations.

Here is one of the birthday decorations that I am in the process of finishing! It's an Elmo first birthday sign!!!

It's been a beautiful day!

2009-04-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

I got so much accomplished today. I washed all the clothes. I washed my bed sheets. I tried to organize for my son first birthday party. I played with my son. I squeezed in my Pilates workout. And I even gave my son his first haircut!!! Giving my son his first haircut was so much fun. I brainstormed for a while on how I was going to tackle this difficult task and I came up with, what I thought would be, the perfect plan. It was so beautiful outside today that I decided to take my son outside for his haircut so that the dogs would keep him occupied. At first, I thought maybe this isn't such a good idea because my son's head was swiveling back forth as he watched the dogs, but then when they started licking him I executed my plan of attack and it worked like a charm.

Here is a picture of my handsome boys (check out the new look!!!):

Me and my boy:

Is that the door?

2009-04-18T03:39:00.000-07:00

When I pick up my son from daycare, I usually chit chat with my daycare provider (Ms. Celeste) for a couple of minutes each day. Yesterday was no different EXCEPT for the fact that my son said his first word. Ms. Celeste saw my son's head swiveling back and forth every time another parent came through the door to pick up their child, so she asked him, "Is that the door?" And what do you know..... he said YES!!!! We were so excited that we proceeded to ask him, "Is that the door?" for about five more minutes. There were no more yeses after the first but there was one YES and that's all that counts!!! My baby is growing up so fast. The last month has been like March Madness (even though its April) around here. My son is now pulling himself up on everything to stand, standing (and screaming at me) in his crib when he does not want to go to bed, and identifying different objects by pointing to them. His first birthday is 11 days away, 11 days. I can't even believe it!!!!! There's so much to do and so little time.

Shrink into Summer

2009-04-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

In my last post for the "Shrink into Summer" challenge I told you all that I had not weighed myself. I have since then and the scale currently says that I weigh 158lbs. My goal during this challenge is to lose 5 more lbs. However, if I maintian my current weight I will be just as happy! If you would like to join the challenge click here Sisterhood Of The Shrinking Jeans.

Here is what I did this week:

Thursday: 45 min. Pilates workout.
Friday: OFF
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: 45 min. Pilates workout.
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 33 min. on elliptical with 5lb dumbbells.
Wednesday: 45 min. Pilates workout.

This week was not a typical workout week for me. I was on spring break and eat Easter food and Easter candy like it was going out of style. Needless to say, I did not lose any weight this week.

Wordless Wednesday (Now I'm ready for some camping!!)

2009-04-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Easter Week 09

2009-04-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Shrink into Summer

2009-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have finally found another group to join that holds me accountable for my workouts and what I put into my mouth!!! Christie turned me onto this challenge/contest/motivational group so to speak last week. And even though I am not sure if I've been excepted, I've begun the shrinking. The Shrink into Summer challenge, click here Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans , is in the second week of posting which means I am a week behind. I did not weigh myself when I began this quest, but will do so weekly on Wednesdays from here on out!

Here is what I did the last two weeks:

Monday: 45min. Pilates workout
Tuesday: 33min. elliptical workout with 5lb dumbbells
Wednesday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Thursday: 33min. elliptical workout with 8lb dumbbells
Friday: OFF
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
Monday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Tuesday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Wednesday: 45 min. Pilates workout

My goal is to lose 5 more pounds!!!

Play Date

2009-04-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

I took our little man to meet baby KJ today. KJ is the beautiful son of high school friends of mine. He was born on January 29th, so needless to say our meeting has been well over due. Now that the weather is starting to get better I have a feeling KJ will be over to swim this summer with his mommy and daddy or we will meet up them at the zoo!!! We enjoyed our visit and look forward to more play dates with KJ.

Here is a picture of baby KJ and his mommy:

Here is a picture of me holding my little monkey and baby KJ:
It's hard to believe that almost a year ago my little baby was that small. Where did that time go?I miss rocking and cuddling my little baby and even though I still rock and cuddle him now, it's different. When there that small they just let you hold, kiss, and rock them. Once they get mobile they push away from you or climb on you like a little monkey (this is were we are now). And even though I love that my son has a mind of his own.... I miss those days.

Our Trip to see the Easter Bunny!

2009-04-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today we went to see the Easter Bunny at our local mall. Our son was so stinking cute!!! First of all he loves when we take him to the mall, second of all he loves when we let him sit on a giant stuff animal Bunny, third of all he loves getting to spend time with mommy and daddy, and fourth of all he absolutely loved getting to ride in the train (now that he's a big boy and everything)!!! Here he is loving him some Easter Bunny and taking a train ride with mommy!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-01T17:31:00.001-07:00

Birthday Weekend!

2009-03-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my birthday!!! And since it's on a Monday, we celebrated all weekend with both sides of the family. Friday evening we went to my in-laws house for pizza and birthday cake. Here is a picture of me and our my little man blowing out candles. He got such a kick out of helping!!! Plus he needs the practice because his birthday is right around the corner!!!

Then on Saturday grandma and grandpa Alberts brought over some surprise guests!!! Yes, our little one got to play with his cousins!!! The last time they were all together was Christmas... and times have changed now that our little one is crawling. I am pretty sure the boys enjoyed their visit. And I know our little one did! Here are all three handsome little devils!!!

Today we went to grandma and grandpa Mueller's for prime rib dinner and triple chocolate cake (thank god I'm not posting workouts and weight losses right now... it's not looking pretty). And guess what I got for my birthday? A FAMILY PASS TO THE ZOO!!! Heehaw!!! We will all be enjoying this gift. Our pass will be coming in the mail this week. We can't wait for the weather to break so that we can take our first outing. And the pass is good for up to five people which means grandmas and grandpas get to go to the zoo with us when they want to!!!

We enjoyed spending our time with family this weekend. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and beautiful gifts!!!! We love you all!!!

Wordless Wednesday (My happy baby)

2009-03-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Dresp

2009-03-22T16:21:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated grandma Dresp's birthday. Grandma came over to spend the day with us and have a birthday dinner. We played all day and even went for a walk. Our little man was so tired that he went to bed at 7pm for the first time in quiet a while. He enjoyed his day with grandma and wanted to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you grandma!!!!

Out walking with grandma!

Just hanging out!

My mommy is soooooo funny!!!

The moment we've all been waiting for!!!

2009-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

And at 10 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days we CRAWL!

2009-03-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

When I walked into my daycare yesterday to pick up my son, I was swarmed by kids yelling, "watch this Miss Danielle, watch this!" I watched, as one of the younger girls rolled a car past my son in an attempt to get him to crawl, my son crawl right to me!!! YEAH!!! I thought for sure he was going to go for the car but he was so excited when I walked in, that he chose to crawl to MOMMY!!!! I took video of him crawling yesterday and today to share with all of you but apparently Blogger is having issues up loading videos.

Last week I told you I would share a picture of Grandpa Mueller and my little man celebrating Grandpa's birthday. Here it is:

Aren't they just so cute?

Poor baby had an ear infection that day.... mommy just didn't know :( He had fun riding his motorcycle anyway!!!!

On a totally different note: I wanted to thank my in-laws Mr. and Mrs. Alberts for bringing over all the goodies this week!!! It was greatly appreciated!!!

Under The Weather

2009-03-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Our little one has not been feeling well this past week or should I for the past two weeks when the eye gunk started flowing. We thought we had the eye gunk under control but then last Sunday it came back. The doctor prescribed us the eye drops since I called and explained that I didn't think the eye ointment worked. I told him that it was difficult for me to get the ointment in his eye and he said that if I got it onto his lids it melted into his eye and he was sure that most of the ointment got into the eye but prescribed me the drops anyway. Sheesh... So we did the eye drop thing and it worked but then our little one still wasn't acting right or eating for that matter. He got a fever on Wednesday night, of this past week, but it was gone Thursday and he seemed his chipper little self Thursday morning. But then this past Friday morning he woke up with some nasty green drainage coming out of his cute little nose. And so, we made a trip to the doctor's Friday afternoon and turns out he has a double ear infection (I hate you green eye gunk for making your way to my baby's ears) and some bronchial issues. I started him on the antibiotics and inhaler doses last night before bed. He managed to sleep through the night and I thought for sure when he woke up he would be starving (and I'm sure he was) but because of the double ear infection, he only drank 3 ounces of his formula. As the day progressed, I monitored him closely and noticed that in a five hour time span he did not urinate. So, I called the doctor again and the recommendation was to take him to the emergency room if he did not urinate in the next 3 hours. The other recommendation was to feed him with a medicine dropper and to try to pump fluids into him every 15-20 minutes, this was the recommendation that saved us from going to the ER. We were able to get about 16 ounces a fluid in him today, 10 cheerios, 3 bites of banana's, a half a yogurt, and whole container of prunes (the last one took me the entire day). After using the medicine dropper for fluids, we had urination 3 to be specific and he made one big messy diaper that resulted in an early bath. After taking his bath, he felt much better and actually talked and played like his usual little self! Hopefully tomorrow he will feel even better. My husband and I felt terrible all day to see our little one suffering. We tried our best to make him as happy and comfortable as he could be. Mommy and daddy love you baby!!!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mueller

2009-03-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

This evening the little man and I went to Granpa Mueller's to celebrate his birthday!!! We had a very nice evening together!!! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera (which I never do :( ) so I do not have any pictures. But Grandma took some and they will be coming soon!!!

We love you Grandpa!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Wordless Wednesday (The things I get to do when I hang out with daddy!)

2009-03-11T17:32:00.001-07:00

Well... it's Friday

2009-03-06T16:22:00.001-08:00

I am at a loss!!! There are no challenges or quests going on at the moment and I just can't believe that I do not have to report my workouts!!! But because I need to stay focused on maintaining a healthy life style, I am going to post my workouts for this week anyway. This may be the last workout report, unless that is until Christie would be so kind as to head up another challenge or quest!

Here is what I did this week:

Monday: 30 min. Pilates workout

Tuesday: 33 min. on elliptical (16min. with the dumbbells) and 1 mile walk.

Wednesday: 50 min. Pilates workout

Thursday: 28 min. on elliptical (16min. with the dumbbells) and 1 mile walk.

Friday: OFF

My workouts were slightly less this week. Probably because I didn't have a goal to meet or a report to make... but I did something. And something is better than nothing. I think I actually lost a couple of pounds in our last quest, but like I have said I never really kept track. My clothes are fitting much better these days and I am feeling great! And in case you were wondering why I never talk about my diet, it's because I'm on the see food diet. You know you see it, then eat it!!! Unfortunately, I have been on that diet my whole life and to be honest with you I never see it changing lol....

Baby Note: Because you know I always have to keep you updated on the latest with my little one!

The pink eye or whatever type of eye infection it actually was, is for the most part gone. He got outside this week quiet a bit with his daycare friends and love every minute of it. He has been moving more and more each day, and talking more and more each day. He says MAMA quiet clearly now and give kisses on demand (that's my favorite!!!). He's been doing some off these things for a while but not consistently... and now they are consistent! He loves his early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa Alberts (leap frog learning table, Thank you!) and has been using it every night to develop his gross motor and mobility skills.

Here's a picture of him in action with daddy and Dot (from bugs life)!

Giving kisses to Dot, he love her!

Wordless Wednesday (Crazy little boy!)

2009-03-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Gunk, Love, and Prize

2009-03-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

A while back I asked Grandma and Grandpa Mueller if they would like to have a sleepover with out little one for Saturday. And over the last week, I decided I might as well just sleepover to so that we could have one big slumber party. Our weekend did not turn out as planned. On Saturday morning I noticed some nasty green gunk coming out of my babies eyes. At first, I thought maybe it was just some extra sleepy crust, but then as the day went on it just kept pouring out. Around noon on Saturday I called the doctor to tell him what I was seeing and he instructed me to remove the gunk with a clean warm or cold compress (wet cotton balls) for each eye each time I wiped the gunk away. I followed his instructions and it seemed to keep the gunk from accumulating in my babies eyes but it didn't make him look better by any means. I called Grandpa and Grandma Mueller to inform them that we would not be coming over to spend the night because I wanted my baby to be comfortable sleeping in his own bed and that we had a doctor's appointment in the morning.

Sunday I woke up to find my son in good spirits even with crusted shut eyes. We went to the doctors and pretty much confirmed what I thought was a case of pink eye. The doctor said that it was a mild case and that he seemed to be on the mend all on his own but gave me a prescription for an eye ointment anyway for precautionary measures. Let me just tell you applying the ointment is not easy!!!! But it seems to be flushing the nasty gunk out so I will go with it!

Here is the gunk, YUCK! And yes, he's still smiling! This is one tough little cookie!
So, my little love bug and I decided to make up for our sleepover and took gunk and all over to grandpa and grandma's for a visit today!

We had a great day today! Grandma and Grandpa Mueller had a couple of Valentine surprises waiting to be played with and that he did!

Gunk and all, the weekend turned out better than expected. Like I said, my son is one tough little cookie. Saturday he was clingy and just wanted mommy and mommy just wanted to be with him too! And Sunday was a day spent with family, which we both thoroughly enjoyed!!!

I have to back track to Friday for a minute here. After I put the baby to bed Friday evening. I did my usual Friday routine.... shower, dinner, and of course check my email and blog. I know, exciting right? But wait this time it was exciting because when I logged in to see what has been going on I noticed that I had a message from Christie saying that I was the winner of this weeks prize giveaway for our "Quest for Greatness" challenge. You want to know what I won? Take a look at this beauty!!!

It's a Sigg water bottle. It's aluminum, lightweight, and it will save me from using plastic water bottles that I throw away. I would like to thank Christie again for always motivating me to life a more healthy life style!!! And thanks for drawing my name this week. I can't wait to put this beauty to use!!!!

FTF "Quest for Greatness"

2009-02-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

I didn't exactly conquer my goal on this quest. I did however, manage to stay on the elliptical for 50 minutes yesterday in my good faith effort to try to last as long as I could at least once!!!! I was able to get four workouts in this week!

Here is what I did:

Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
Monday: 45 min. Pilates workout
Tuesday: 33 min. on elliptical (16 mins. with 5 lb dumbbells)
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: 50 min. on elliptical, one mile walk.
Friday: 45 min. Pilates workout!!!

I would like to thank Christie for leading us in another great challenge that motivates me daily to live a more healthy life style.

Wordless Wednesday (Banging cabinets with daddy. I'm a natural already!!!)

2009-02-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

FTF "Quest for Greatness"

2009-02-20T16:52:00.001-08:00

I feel like I have been living in a twilight zone!!! I can't believe it is already FRIDAY.... it seems like last Friday was yesterday. Anyway, I was able to get five work outs in this week. I have not lost any weight but I haven't gained any either. At this point, I am happy with maintaining.

Here is what I did this week:

Sunday: 30 min Pilates work out.

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 33 minutes on the elliptical with 5lb. dumbbells (16 mins. with those!!!)

Wednesday: 33 minutes on the elliptical with 5lb. dumbbells (16 mins. with those!!!)

Thursday: 50 min Pilates work out.

Friday: 50 min Pilates work out.

And of course I have to add a baby update:

As you may have watch (video--from my last post), I took our little man to my girlfriend's house on Monday for a play date with Madilyn ( 15 months old) and AJ (8 months old). We had such a nice time. Our little man loved playing with his friends. He told me on the ride home that he is looking forward to seeing them again and can't wait until he gets to play with all of Madilyn's toys. He absolutely loved the rocking motorcycle, which by the way right after we left we stopped at Wall Mart and bought the rock-in-go pony!!!! And lets just say he's been a rockin ever since!!!! I have a feeling these three little adorable people will be good friends, especially when the weather breaks and we can take weekly trips to the zoo!

No crawling yet but we are making progress. He has also been trying more new foods like mac-n-cheese, little pieces of chicken (he kind of gagged with this one, is that normal?), and bitter biscuits that he bites big chunks out of because he has eight teeth. He is developing the best personality and is almost always happy as a little clam. He is so loved by so many people and I know he loves all of us too!!!!

Here is a couple of pictures with his friends. I thought we was going to get into a battle over the talking ELMO doll. I will definitely be getting him that one for his birthday!!!!

Um.... I am playing with your ELMO thank you very much!

And, NO you can not have your pillow either.

Okay, you can have your pillow but ELMO is mine!!!
Your not going to get your motorcycle back either lol!!!Thanks for having me over. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with all of your toys!!!!

Wordless Wednesday (President's Day Play Date)

2009-02-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Mommy, I love this motorcycle!!!!! And I love all of Madilyn's toys!!!!!

FTF "Quest for Greatness"

2009-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

I did not report out last week because FACE BOOK has taken over....lol... but I am back! I worked out five days last week and three days this week. I have been sticking to the Pilates/Elliptical with weights workouts and they are paying off. I have not lost any weight but I have lost inches.
Another reason I have not posted in a while is due to the change in my sons sleeping habits. For most of his short life he has been on a schedule like clockwork, going to bed around 6:30ish and waking up at 5:00ish, however this last week he has decided to protest sleep. It's not a drastic change but not the normal if you know what I mean. I am happy that he is staying up later because mommy and daddy get to spend more time with him and if that means I don't get to talk to all of you (no offense), I'll take it!
Our son is well on his way to becoming his own little person! He can now get up into a crawling position on his own (when he feels like it) and rocks back and forth. He has been trying new foods such as: noodles, cottage cheese (loves it), cheese, cooked peas (only one, didn't like it so much), and cheerios. Cheerios are by far his favorite. Last Sunday was my husband's turn to get up in the morning so that I could sleep in and when I finally woke up to join my two love bugs, I found daddy feeding our baby lots and lots of Cheerios. Twenty-five to be exact and they weren't even soften up with milk!!!! Our little one would eat Cheerios until he turn into one if we let him!!! He also loves going to the grocery store with us now that he can ride big boy style in the cart and he especially loves when daddy races up and down the isles (while mommy is secretly having a heart attack) and squeals out with joy!

Happy Valentines Day: We hope your weekend is filled with love and joy!!!

Wordless Wednesday (Crawling Practice--- not much of that going on! And me sounding silly!!!

2009-02-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Out to Lunch

2009-02-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day since our son has been born that we went to lunch as a family!!! And then we even went to the mall together afterwards. We have been out as a whole to do our usual grocery shopping and to visit family but we have never been out just the three of us for enjoyment. Our son is such a good baby and so easy to take anywhere! We had a wonderful day and I think after venturing out and seeing how much our son loves to be around people and see new things, family outings will happen more often.

Here are my boys at lunch!!!

Wordless Wednesday (Super Bowl)

2009-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

FTF "Quest for Greatness"

2009-01-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

For the first time in a long time, I feel good about my workouts. I added 5lb. dumbbells to all of my elliptical workouts this week and it seems like the results are instant! I can hold the dumbbells for 14 minutes, which is about half of my workout. My new goal is to be able to hold them the entire workout, which is 28-35 minutes long. By adding the weights to my workout I am toning the areas that need toned!!! Not only are the weights toning my arms, they are helping me get ride of my baby pouch!!!

Here's my workout summary for the week:

Saturday: OFF
Sunday: 30 min. Pilates workout.
Monday: 28 minutes on the elliptical (14 min. with 5lb. dumbbells), 1 mile walk.
Tuesday: 33 minutes on the elliptical (14 min. with 5lb. dumbbells), 1 mile walk.
Wednesday: 30 min. Pilates workout.
Thursday: 28 minutes on the elliptical (14 min. with 5lb. dumbbells), 1 mile walk.
Friday: 30 min. Pilates workout.

Side Note: MY BABY TURNED 9 MONTHS OLD YESTERDAY!!!! HOW COULD I FORGET TO TELL YOU? HE'S GETTING SO BIG! MOMMY LOVES YOU BABY!!!

High School Snow Shovelers and Time Home with my Baby-----PRICELESS

2009-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Yep! We had a snow day today! And once again, I took full advantage of the time home with my baby. We did our usual..... practiced crawling, kissed each other to death, laughed, ate fruit puffs, played with all our toys, and snuggled to stay warm on this cold and snowy day. While we were eating our cheerios (yes, we've graduated to cheerios but only two at a time), when some high school boys knocked on our front door and asked if they could shovel my driveway. I asked how much and when they said $20 bucks, I thought that it was worth the time it would be saving my husband and told them to go for it!

You go boys!They did such a good job, they even got up our leaves from fall (oops, double thanks!!!).

Thank god mommy had the high school boys shovel because when daddy got home, we got to play!!!! I LOVE MY DADDY!!!!
And he even sang me a goodnight song!!! I love when he sings to me! And did you notice, that I am totally ROCKING the Rock-a-Billy look?

Wordless Wednesday (Sleep over with Grandpa Mueller)

2009-01-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

FTF "Quest for Greatness"

2009-01-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

The "Quest for Greatness" is not going all that great. I have completely changed my workout routine, from which I am seeing great results, to more muscle toning. However, I am nowhere near reaching my goal of being able to stay on the elliptical for an hour three days a week. In fact, I'm not so sure that I have even begun trying to reach it. I have decided that I really like the results I am seeing with my new workout routine and therefore will continue this venture as a means of staying motivated to be healthy!!!!

Here is what I did this week:

Saturday: 30 min. Pilates workout, played with my son the rest of the day.

Sunday: 25 min. walk on treadmill with son in tow.

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 45 min. Pilates workout.

Wednesday: 22 min. on elliptical with 5lb. dumbbell weights in each hand.

Thursday: 5 min. on bike at level 6 for 1 mile, 22 minutes on elliptical for 2 miles.

Friday: OFF

And now I am OFF for a ladies night!!! It has been a while since I have had a night out with the ladies! I will let you know how much fun I had tomorrow (hopefully).

Wordless Wednesday (Riding big boy style at the grocery store!)

2009-01-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

FTF "Snow Day Edition"

2009-01-16T08:59:00.001-08:00

What have you been doing on this bitter cold day? We have been playing!!! I have been taking full advantage of this extra day home with my son. We have sung songs, practiced crawling (this is work in progress), and have eaten some fruit puffs (me too!! He will eat one if I do!).

SEE: Me and my handsome son!

As for my workouts this week, again I feel like they weren't all that great. I am having a really hard time with this no running thing. My doctor said that I could try to run, I guess technically he cleared me, but I have to look to the future. Do I want to have a total knee replacement like my mom at the age of 53? Um, no thanks. So, I have been doing the Pilates/elliptical/strap the son to me walking thing. The good thing about doing these types of activities are: I have not gained any weight! The bad thing is, I haven't lost any! I am okay with not losing any weight but at the same time I am not okay with feeling like I did not get a good workout. I am one of those people that like to break a really good sweat and I haven't done that in some time now. Anyway, here is what I did this week.

Saturday: 30 minute Pilates workout.

Sunday: 25 minute walk with son in tow, 30 minute Pilates workout.

Monday:OFF

Tuesday: 9.5 miles on the bike. All the ellipticals were taken (me frowning).

Wednesday: 45 minute Pilates workout.

Thursday: 27 minute walk with son in tow.

Friday: 30 minute walk with son in tow.

Do you see something wrong here? I do. I am never going to reach my goal if I don't get my butt back on that elliptical!!!!!

Happy Fat Ticker Friday and (for all you teachers out there) Snow Day too!!!!

Did you say MAMA?

2009-01-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to jump the gun by telling you that my son said, "MAMA" over the weekend until I was absolutely positive that is what he said!!! And guess what? He did say it and I have plenty of back up so don't go and rain on my MAMA parade! He said it again when he was at grandma and grandpa Alberts on Monday and then again Tuesday evening. I am so EXCITED!!! He's been saying dada, goo goo, and gee gee. In addition to saying MAMA ( I love that I can say that!!!), he also said ba ba. He isn't directly linking dada to daddy and mama to mommy yet but I just know it will happen soon. It's been a while since I have given you a full update on his developments and I'm not quit sure what I have told you and what I haven't so here is the list again:

He can sit up, drink from a sippy cup (he loves water), eat little puffed foods (this is new), he is starting to pull on things (which I am hoping means that he will be able to pull himself up to his sitting position, not there yet?), and he attempts to get his knees underneath him to move. He is not crawling yet because that would require using his hands and most time his hands are in his mouth (STILL). I think he is starting to recognize that if he didn't have his hands in his mouth he'd be able to maneuver around a bit better but he's just not ready to give that up (he loves sucking on his thumb). He claps his hands we when say Yeah and he claps he hands when we don't but that's okay, he clapping and loves to do it! He will wave hi and bye but does not do it consistently at this point in time. He now has sixth teeth and for his sake I hope he gets a break in the teething area. He has developed somewhat of a temper when he doesn't want something or does want to play with a specific toy. And he pushes us away when he wants to do his own thing (who would have thought wanting to do your own thing starts at such a young age?).

Other than that, he is a happy little camper and the love of my life!!!! It's hard to believe that in a little over three months he will be a year old. Time is going by way to fast around here!