Cruz's Baptism and St. Patrick's Day

Last Saturday my nephew, Cruz, was baptized. It was a great day and full of fun. We woke up early-or should I say early for a Saturday but normal for a weekday. We drove down to Vacaville for the baptism and went out to a great lunch with all the family after wards. Cruz was so proud to be the center of attention on his very special day. I made Cruz cookies and brownies upon his request for everyone who attended. I also made him a slide show of pictures of him from a baby until present day to play while he was changing his clothes after his baptism. The slide show turned out so cute and I think made many of us teary eyed.
Yesterday was Saint Patrick's Day. It's one of my favorite holidays--actually I love all holidays. It gives me an excuse to have a party. I woke up a few minutes early to surprise Dawson with green pancakes. He thought they were pretty cool but tried to say that I just added food coloring to the batter and leprachon's had nothing to do with it. So while he was at school I ran to the dollar store to get some supplies to decorate the house with. I had streamers everywhere. I had gold balloons and yellow candies on the table (I couldn't find gold-guess that's what I get for waiting until the last minute.) He thought it was so awesome when he got home. Seeing his face light up over a little decorating is what motherhood is all about. To end the day we celebrated with another nephew, Seth, his 5th birthday. He sure is a lucky kid to have his birthday on St. Patty's Day.

Don't forget to say "I love you"

My thoughts and prayers are with a family friend today. He lost his oldest son less than a month ago and lost his wife yesterday. I can't imagine the heartbreak he or his other son are feeling and what they must be going through.
It has made me appreciate my family even more than I already do. You never know when your last hug or chance to say that you love them will be. Make every moment count and cherish all the big and small moments.
I am thankful that I believe that his wife and son are together in Heaven now. I know that this is God's plan and one day we might understand why they were both taken when they were.
My dear friends and family-please know that I love each of you and am so glad that our lives have crossed paths. Please make sure to tell your dear ones how much you love them and how much they mean to you.

Valentine's, Parties, and Babies

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day. We woke up and exchanged gifts. Brad got me this red water pitcher I really wanted filled with chocolate. It's Le Creuset and I got an e-mail offer from a local store who had it on sale and gave a $10 coupon off that price so we could get it for $15 rather than $45. I kindly forwarded the e-mail to him as a hint. We gave Dawson a couple Lego toys he had been wanting along with a small box of chocolate. He was SO excited. The picture I have of him with the toy isn't the greatest though. Brad got a box of recess chocolates from me. Since Jane is just a baby we didn't do anything for her other than dress her up as a very cute Valentine.
This past weekend Mary, her daughters, Dawson, Jane, and I went down to Vacaville. We celebrated 2 of our nephew's birthdays. Cruz turned 8 (on Valentine's Day) and Josh will be 3 in a couple of days. They had a super hero party and Jillian did an awesome job planning it. The kids all had a blast running around with their super hero capes. After the birthday party we put on a baby shower for my cousin Danielle. She is due with her first baby in mid April. It was a really nice shower. After her shower we headed over to my Aunt Suzi's house for some scrapbooking. It was so nice to get started on Jane's baby album. I didn't get as much done as I wanted since I had Jane with me but I did get a few pages done. It was a very busy day and I was exhausted!
For more family news Lori has officially announced that she is pregnant with baby #2! We are so thrilled for another baby in the family. It is so much fun watching the kids all play together. Hopefully as they get older we can take them all camping and on vacations so that they are all close. Brad's sister Jill just found out that she is having a baby girl (due on my birthday in June.) It's hard to believe that I will have 16 nieces and nephews by the end of summer.

Just Some Pictures

All about Jane

Jane is 10 weeks old now! Time sure is flying by. Yesterday I put away the last of her newborn clothing. It was a bit sad but she still has so many new cute things to wear. I just wonder if I will ever have another daughter that can wear the clothes again since we are storing them away. I took Jane in for her 2 month check up and her first set of shots. She did a great job and wasn't too fussy at all. She weighed 9lbs 10oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. She has gained 3lbs since birth. I looked up how big Dawson was at his 2 month appointment and he was the same length but a little over a pound less so I think Jane just might be a little bigger than him. Jane does not have the same eating issues that Dawson did (thank goodness!) I couldn't handle another puking baby. Jane can hold her head up now and loves to look around. She enjoys "talking" to people and showing off her absolutely adorable smile that would melt anyone's heart. She enjoys hanging out in her swing or laying on her play mat. She has a mirror on it so she can see herself and she gets all excited. She also LOVES her brother and cousins. She gets so happy when she sees them (and her Aunt Mary!) So far she seems to definitely be a momma's girl...which I really enjoy for the most part unless I want to get something done. The best part of all is that she sleeps almost all through the night now. If she does wake up it's only once. I am enjoying my sleep again. I am not a huge fan of waking up every 1 1/2-2 hours and being awake for an hour at a time. The picture of Jane and I wearing hats is at my Grandmother's 80th birthday party. She hosted a tea party for her friends and family (girls only.) It was so much fun!

What a busy month!

My brother and his family have moved back to California. It has been awesome getting to see them a few times already since they've been back. I am hopeful that he will find a job soon.
Christmas was held at our house again this year. It was a fun filled day! We love hosting everyone at our home. Jane stayed awake for the opening of her presents. This year we had Dawson on Christmas Eve so we did presents that morning, went out to brunch, then went to a Christmas Eve dinner with my brother-in-laws family. Dawson got to open up Santa gifts, other family gifts and his stocking the day after Christmas. New Year's was rather uneventful. We stayed at home and watched the ball drop. Jane decided to stay up until 2am-she was the party animal that night! We were begging her to fall asleep.
Last Monday I finally had my gall bladder surgery. My recovery is going as quickly as possible. It's hard to get a lot of rest when I'm up during the night a few times with the baby and can't get a great nap during the day. I hope within the next week I'm feeling much better. I am thankful to have it over with and to not have to have that type of pain again.
Jane also had her baby blessing a week ago. Brad did an awesome job on her blessing. It was very touching. I was so happy that my family (minus Crissy) were able to be there. Jane looked absolutely beautiful.

So Much to Blog About...

Jane is 3 weeks and 1 day old today. How times flies! I took her in for a 2 week check up last week and she weighed 7lb 3oz. She gained 1lb 3oz in just 2 weeks! I was impressed. It means she's getting plenty to eat. We are working on getting into a routine now. My biggest worry was being able to wake up and get Dawson to school on time. His school starts at 7:45 which makes for us being up rather early. Jane is usually asleep during this time so getting Dawson up and ready and to school has not been a problem. I have been able to get out of the house a few times which is nice. I haven't been able to spend as much time with Mary's kids but hopefully now that Jane is a little bigger I will get back to seeing them more. Cora loves baby Jane. Asher has only really noticed her once and wanted to play with her feet and was laughing. It was pretty sweet.
Brad and I took the kids into Sears to have their pictures taken together and seperate. While we were at the mall we also decided to take them to see Santa. It was perfect going during the week. There was no line at all to see Santa and Santa really enjoyed holding Jane. Their pictures all turned out so cute and I had a hard time choosing my favorite ones.
Brad has officially passed his last Master's class and is a graduate now! I'm so proud of him. He had his winter concert last week and has nothing to worry about for school for a couple of months. I've already noticed a huge difference and we have gotten to spend a lot more time together. It was almost strange to be able to sit and watch TV together knowing he didn't have to get up to go back and do homework or work on musical music.
We had a great Thanksgiving. Jane was 5 days old and was an angel. She did decide to wake up as soon as it was time for us to eat as did Mary's son Asher. Gotta love the babies though! Brad and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house (although we didn't do all the work....every time I got up my mom told me to go sit back down.) It was really nice to have my family here and I am thankful they were willing to travel here. For the past 10 years we have always gone to my Aunt's house and before that my Grandparents house. I just knew I wouldn't be able to travel yet.
We are looking forward to having Christmas dinner at our house again this year. Our home is all decorated now and we are definitely in the Christmas Spirit. We love this time of year. We have so much to be thankful for. My brother and his family are moving back to CA this week! I can't wait to have them close by and to get to be around their kids more. I hope he is able to find a job here in Redding (or near by) so that we can get together a lot. We are also excited that Brad's sister is having another baby. She is due on my birthday (June 21st.) She just told us last week-although I've had a feeling since mid October that she was. It will be nice for Jane to have another little cousin. We are hoping they have another girl since they have 3 boys.