Reflections..

As it closes in on the end of the year. I have been reflecting on the many events that have happened this year. Our family had been given many blessings and has faced many challenges in 2010. We have started a new life in Washington state. Which in itself has been the greatest of blessings and the biggest of challenges of all! We have hit some bumps along the way as we have started our new life up here. One of them being Ryan parting ways with his brother in law and finding a new job with Real Carriage Doors. He is happy at his new job and I love that he comes home in a good mood at night.

I have found some good friends not only up here but have reconnected with some dear friends of mine from high school (thanks Facebook). I am blessed to have been able to make the connections I have with the girls up here. It is nice to have friends with children and have our little playgroup. I have also been blessed to have been able to stay home for the last year and finish my degree. My husband has truly given me a gift that is unmeasurable. I am not sure if he understands how much it means to me that he has busted his butt so much to allow me to stay at home and take care of our boy and finish school.

God has blessed us in so many ways this last year and I am grateful for everything He has given us. I know that 2011 holds many new blessings and challenges and I can't wait to see what they are.

Christmas pictures :)

There are many pictures that we took from this morning but way too many to post! Here are just a few of the tree, our full stockings and Vance at his tool bench. Enjoy! If you are on Facebook I will make an album with all the pictures taken today. :)

Merry Christmas!!

From our family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the new year! We have had an eventful morning already. We had to sort of booby trap the hallway upstairs because our son is a ninja and can sneak downstairs without anyone knowing. So last night we placed our card table on its side in the hallway just outside of his door. That way we would hear him if he tried to sneak downstairs. I awoke bright and early at 6 am and there wasn't a sound to be heard in the house. So I laid in bed and awaited sounds from Vance to fill the air. Around 6:50 this morning I heard the squeak of his door. I patted Ryan on the back and said "He's up!" Suddenly you hear Vance from the hallway say "Hey! What is this table doing here? I can't get out!! Mom, can you come move this table please?" It was great! So up we sprung from bed and put robes on and contacts in (all the while vance is still trapped, lol). I came downstairs and grabbed the video camera, put some coffee on, and grabbed the camera and awaited the boys arrival downstairs. Vance was soooo excited to see that Santa had come and brought him tools. We were truly blessed this year by our family and feel extremely loved by all the amazing gifts we received. Thank you to each and every one of you!!! You have all made this Christmas very special and memorable.

We have the house cleaned up already, vaccumed, and toys placed neatly in Vance's playroom. Little smokies are in the crock pot so we can have some munchies throughout the day. Later I will be putting our Christmas ham in the oven, peeling potatoes for mashed potatoes, and making a vegetable casserole. Our first Christmas in Washington is turning out to be a very blessed and wonderful day! Many memories have already been made and I am sure more are to come. We love and miss our families very much, but are comforted knowing they are with us in our hearts as I am sure we are with them in their hearts. We will see you all soon.

Random Christmas pictures

New Bed

So a few months ago Vance decided that his bed was too small for him. At the time he was in a toddler bed and we unfortunately didn't have the money to go out and buy a new bed right away. So to improvise we blew up our queen size air matress and he has been sleeping on that for a while now. Of course boys will be boys and he jumped on it a lot causing a slow leak somewhere. Thankfully we found a place that does lay-away and we put a bed aside for him for Christmas. It came in early so we decided to go ahead and have it delivered so he could sleep in it instead of the air mattress. Here are a few pictures of when he first saw it.

This one of him on the bed is blurry because he is jumping up and down on it LOL!! Good thing we went with a sturdy bed! We bought him Spiderman sheets and a comforter for Christmas can't wait until he gets to open those packages and we put them on the bed. Those pictures coming soon!!

O' Christmas Tree con.

Our beautiful 8 ft. Douglas fir (which we think we stole for $35) has filled the air with the wonderful aroma of pine. This is a wonderful new memory to be making after years of a fake tree a real one is a treat! It stayed undecorated for a few days but in the interim Vance decided he would decorate it with a few things take a look

Yes those would be a toy dragon from the movie "How to Train a Dragon", Optimus Prime from "Transformers", a few books and various other transformers. When he was done putting them in the tree he stepped back and said "Mom, is it boo-tafull?" God I love that little man!

Eventually the tree did get decorated and I LOVE it! It is full of many bulbs and ornaments that have special meanings and memories associated with them. We have a few bulbs that are "baby's first Christmas", one that is "Our first Christmas", Ryan's "Jeff Gordon" ornament, a special Christopher Radko (sp?) ornament, An ornament that was Ryan's Uncle David's (may he rest in peace) and various bulbs and ornaments that were on my tree as a child growing up that momma passed down to me when I moved out. Including MY baby's 1st Christmas ornament. Check out our finished product.....

O' Christmas Tree

I am a little behind in getting these posts on here but better late than never. We went and bought a Christmas tree this year (a REAL one!!). We were so excited to get it home and put it up. It is an 8 ft. tree which barely fit in our little townhome (see how the top touches the ceiling, we had to trim a little off) but we think it is perfect. Here is a picture of our tree after we got it in the house.

Christmas packages

This time of year is so exciting! Since we are not going to be home with our family we are being blessed with many packages coming to our home. Yesterday we were blessed with a great present from my Aunt Christine and Uncle Chris. A wonderful fruit box with amazing looking pears (my favorite) and manadarin oranges. Vance has already enjoyed two of the oranges. Ryan and I were going to share a pear last night before dinner but they are not quite ripe just yet. I can't wait to bite into one of them in a few days!!! Thank you Christine and Christopher for our wonderful fruit box!!! We love you guys and miss you!

Nice suprise

Today when I checked the mail there was a tiny box in it from a friend of mine I worked with at SBS. It was addressed to Ryan and I so I opened it and found inside a nice Christmas card and a bag of her homemade caramel popcorn. It was a nice surprise! Her caramel popcorn is delicious and melts in your mouth like butta!! LOL

Thanks Kelli!

Anxiously awaiting

I am waiting for my final grade in my last class. I feel like I am sitting on pins and needles awaiting the outcome of this class. It was over on the 1st and the teacher has until the 20th to get grades in. Seems unfair we have to wait til then just because this particular class finished 2 weeks earlier than the quarter ended!!! I really want to know my grade because my final GPA is depending on it!!! UGHHH the waiting is killing me :(

Making new Christmas memories

As I was decking the halls the other day, I realized that we don't have family stockings. So today we went to the store and bought new Christmas stockings. They are adorable and I LOVE them!!! I have hung them by the chimney with care and also decorated the windows in order to fill the house with Christmas spirit :) Here are a few pictures to share. Hope you enjoy!!

A box marked XMAS

A funny story accompanies me decking the halls today. I had two boxes marked Christmas or XMAS. In which I thought were decorations. They had both been full of decorations in the past so I had no reason to think other wise. I got the smaller of the two boxes out of the closet and opened it. Much to my surprise, it was full of bathroom stuff from our master bath in Vegas. For a year this box has sat in the top of a closet. Both Ryan and I have looked for things that are in this box many times and we chalked it up to the stuff being "lost in the move". Guess they werent lost after all just temporarily misplaced....

Deck the halls

I decided today was the day to "deck the halls" given it is the first of December and because it always puts me in a good mood. This is the first year that we won't be with family for Christmas. I am filled with a mix of emotions. I am excited to start our own family traditions such as cutting down a fresh tree. One of my friends told me about a tradition in their family called the Elf on the Shelf. It is a cute little elf that shows up at the house and watches over the children to ensure they are behaving and every night it returns to the North Pole to report to Santa. We are going to implement the same tradition into our house. I am excited to see how Vance does with it.

With my excitement there is also sadness. I know that I am an adult but this is the first year that I have ever been away from my mother on Christmas. Granted I have not been in the same house as her on Christmas morning for years, however, I have never not been able to get in the car and drive to see her. I know that she too feels sadness about us not being home for Christmas. I have to find strength in the fact that we will be together next year and in that I am starting traditions with my amazing husband and wonderful little boy.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Saturday was Ryan's birthday. We celebrated with my first attempt at his favorite pie (chocolate). I am not sure if it was as good as the one his oldest sister Danielle has made for him all these years, but he didn't complain. We also enjoyed a nice dinner and some good family time. On Thurdsday we celebrated turkey day with Amber and Travis and they gave Ryan a gift card for his birthday so we went shopping!!!

My husband is the sweetest man EVER!!! I say this because as we were looking around Wal-Mart and he put some things in the cart for him, I had glanced at a sweater. He noticed that I admired the sweater and put it in the cart. I am very blessed (and spoiled) to have a husband who is so giving he used part of HIS birthday present to buy me a sweater. I protested and his response was "I got some things, besides it makes me happy to see you happy and I know you wanted it."

SO BLESSED!!!!!! I love him :)

A Thanksgiving story

We have our first Thanksgiving story for 2010. This morning around 4 am I heard Vance downstairs calling my name. At first I thought I was dreaming but then realized it really was him calling "mommmmmmmaaaaa" So I got up (begrudgingly) and went downstairs to find him sitting on the floor in the living room with the cherry pie on his little tv tray and the pumpkin pie on the floor in front of him. In his hand..... a spoon in which he was dipping into the pumpkin pie taking little nibbles. When he saw me he said "mom, wanna share with me? It's really good!!" I love making memories........ (just wish it could have been a little later in the morning)

Snow flurries

Well today was our first taste of snow. Although they were just light flurries and nothing really stuck to the ground, it was still cool to see the flakes falling. The news is calling for snow to fall overnight and tomorrow. We will see if we wake up to a blanket of white. Some of the surrounding cities that they have shown on the news have received at least an inch of snow already. Here are a few pics from today. The snow is a little hard to see unless you make the pictures big! :) I will keep you posted as to whether or not we wake up to snow!!

Blessings from God

Ryan went on his interview yesterday and it went well. Before the end of the day he received a call and was offered the job. He starts tomorrow!! God is smiling upon us.

Great Oppotunities on the Horizon

Today Ryan checked his email and found a response from a company that he had contacted two weeks ago in regards to employment. They were asking him to fill out an application and then stated they would be interviewing soon. I of course filled out the application for him (I am better on a computer than he is, lol). Then we researched the company online and found that it is or could possibly be an amazing opportunity. It is located about 20 minutes or so from our house and is a door company that has been in business for years. They are a full service shop with a 16,000 sq. ft. shop where they manufacture the doors.

This could possibly be an amazing opportunity for him if he were to get an offer from them. Prayers that things go our way would be appreciated.

My interview went well I think. They sent me an assessment via email which I filled out and returned the same day. Now I am just waiting to see what the outcome is. Fingers crossed and God willling. There are potentially GREAT things happening for us.......

Job interview

Tomorrow I have a phone interview with a company called Coblat Group. It is an internet advertising company. They specialize in automotive marketing. I have done the research and they seem to be a great company. They have even been voted "The top 100 best companies to work for in Seattle" I am nervous because I have been out of the game for a year and a half now. I will post and let you all know how it went and if I move on to the next stage of interviews. Wish me luck!!!

Vance's B-day

We had an awesome time celebrating Vance's 3rd birthday with family and friends at McDonald's. The kids had a blast playing in the play place and Vance was so blessed with many new toys. We had a Batman (cup)cake. There was a total of 8 children including Vance and everything went smooth. WE are truly blessed with amazing friends and family. Thanks to all of you for helping us celebrate Vance's special day!! :)

Halloween party

Yesterday we had a Halloween party at our house for the playgroup! It was so cool!! We decorated the house and had pizza and snacks. My friend Carla made an amazing pinata that the kids LOVED hitting and getting all the candy. Vance keeps saying that he had a fun birthday with his friends. Poor baby doesn't realize that yesterday was not his birthday party. I will post some pics soon to show all costumes and fun :)

One year later

Sunday was Ryan's and mine one year anniversary. Our friends Jenn and Aaron were so nice and watched Vance for a bit so we could go to dinner. Ryan took me to the Olive Garden (our fave). We had a nice meal and then went to pick Vance back up. It was a nice night.

Funniest part of the evening was I knew we wouldn't be gone that long so I didn't leave any pull ups with Jenn. Murphy's law little man did his duty and Jenn had to use one of her daughter's diapers for him LMAO!!! When we picked him up he says to me "Mom, Mrs. Jenn put me in a diaper!" It was priceless!!!!

How fast they grow!!

Vance is getting so big!! We measured him the other day and he is 38 and a half inches tall. That is 3 feet 2 1/2 inches. He is rapidly closing in on 3 years old. He is so stinking cute he has been talking about his birthday for days now. Telling me we have to go the store and buy him a birthday cake so that we can put fire on it and he can blow it out :) then he blows out air from his mouth simulating blowing out candles. His birthday should be so much fun, I can't wait!!!

Random pics from the last few months

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"My bed's too small"

So Vance has been sneaking into our bedroom at night after we put him to bed in his room. When we go upstairs to go to sleep he is cuddled up and fast asleep on Dadduy's side of the bed. Yesterday he refused to take a nap and I asked him what was wrong and he told me "Mom, my bed is too small!!" So now we are on a hunt for a new bed for him. In the meantime (until we get the money) we have blown up our air mattress for him. We thought this is perfect it is a queen size and he should love it!! Where do you think we found him last night when we went up to bed? Yup in our bed fast asleep!!! Oh what to do now........

Potty Watch!!!

We bought Vance a potty watch from Babies R Us. It is working really good for us so far!! It is programable to go off every 30, 60, or 90 minutes. For now I have it set to go off every 30 minutes. It sings to him and had lights that flash when it is time to potty. He goes in and does his thing!! The only problem is that he still has a problem with poop in the potty :( I know that it is a process but goodness I wish there was a magic trick that could be used cause cleaning up dirty "big boy undies" is not fun!! :)

Last class!!

Today marks the start of my Portfolio class. It is the absolute last class of my degree program. I filled out my graduation application yesterday and I think that I am going to be graduating with honors :) I am so excited that this journey is coming to an end. Can't wait to see what the future holds for me now!!! Ten weeks and I am officially a COLLEGE GRAD!!! :)

The light at the end of the tunnel

I just finished my last core class in my degree program. Although, I am thrilled that my final grade has been reported and that it is an A, I am slightly irritated because I got a perfect score in the course. I guess I was expecting a little more feedback from the professor in regards to my final term paper. I am far from being "perfect" and wish that I would have been given some feedback.

But... that aside I am glad that the class is over and I am on the verge of finishing my degree. My next class starts on Thursday and it is my portfolio class. I will take the term papers I have written in the five core courses and compile them into a portfolio (of course revamping them and I believe we have to write a final paper on our experience) and then I will GRADUATE!!!!!! Ten more weeks and I will have accomplished on of my goals in life!!! SO EXCITED :)

Lost keys and eggs

So yesterday we went to the grocery store after we cleaned the truck and ran some other errands. It was getting late in the day and Vance was a little fussy so I gave him my house key to keep him occupied and content. I asked Ryan to keep his eye on him and make sure he doesn't lose it. Well we get home and guess what no key!! So Ryan goes back to the grocery store and looks for the key he goes in and asks if anything was turned in and NOTHING!! So luckily he went to the property management company and gets a spare key so we can get in. We unload the groceries and as I am doin this guess what I find in the bag of eggs? The house key!!!!

Well I continue to take out the eggs and the carton sort of bends and an egg falls out. Me being the genius that I am (ha ha) think oh just push your tummy to the end of the counter so it doesn't fall off the counter. Yeah right!! The egg got to the end of the counter begore I did and squish!!!! Egg everywhere all down the front of me :)

Rewind

Well it seems as if I am slacking when it comes to my blog. So let's play a little catch up. My mom visited us at the end of May! It was a lot of fun. We did a day trip to Seattle and wore mom out! :) I will post pictures in a separate post.

My birthday was awesome. Many well wishes from friends and an intimate BBQ with friends and family. Father's day we ended up in Vegas due to my dad being hospitalized. We were there for nine days. It was a bitter sweet visit, but everything turned out good and dad is doing well. I was glad to return to WA though, because DANG!! is it hot in Vegas. I don't miss the outrageous heat.

Danny (Ryan's dad) came to visit at the end of June and was here for three weeks. It was an awesome visit that consisted of Travis' birthday and a fantastic trip to Mineral, WA to stay in a cabin for some fishing and R & R. Danny thoroughly enjoyed his visit (I think) we had a great fourth of July. The men (Danny, Ryan and Travis) visited the reservation and purchased an aresenal to set off. They had so much fun. It was great watching Vance's reaction to the fireworks. He wasn't too scared only on the really loud ones. We also enjoyed a trip to the miniature golf course while Danny was here. It was a blast!!! Although I am no Tiger Woods LOL not even close I came in last place :) (pictures of Vance to follow)

Well that pretty much catches things up for now. I will try to be more efficient with maintaining this blog for all of my followers ;)

Proud mommy

My little man is getting so big!! I woke up the other morning and he was on the potty all by himself. He is so cute because lately when he is on the potty he wants us to leave the bathroom. He says "go away" and once we leave the room he goes potty. Thanks to what we call "Papa candy" (thank you grandpa) he is more willing to go in the toilet because that is his reward. Now we just need to get him to go number two in the potty :)

New friends

Had a playdate today with my new friend Jenn and her two children. Vance gets along with them both so well which is great!!! He refers to her son as "my Jacob" too cute!! Jacob is 4 and Samantha is 2. It was nice to have some adult interaction today. I am looking forward to many more playdates with Jacob and Sam :)

ONE DAY!!!

So excited my mom will be here on Thursday morning :) Vance has been asking for his Oma for the last few days because he knows she is coming. He is excited for her to come in a BIG airplane :) It should be a wonderful Memorial Day weekend :)

Mother's day pictures

Here are a few pictures from Illahee State Park that we took on Mother's day. It was a beautiful day

Playgroup

Today I hosted my first in home playgroup and it was AWESOME!!! I was scared at first thinking no one was going to show up, but then the door bell rang and the moms that were signed up all came. Vance LOVED it!! He was so excited to have friends over and they all played together so well. Plus, I met a new friend. We have a lot in common and it sounds like our husbands do to. We have already talked about getting together for a BBQ. SOOOO EXCITED :)

Look at my lips

This post is slightly delayed as far as when this actually happened, but it is worth the wait. On Mother's day we went to a state park out here called Illahee. Very pretty park right on the water. We had to stop and get gas before we went, and as we were driving there Vance asked for his hat (it was on the floor in front of him). So I reached back there and handed it to him. It is his toy hard hat, and as I handed it to him I heard something rolling around in it but didn't pay any attention figuring it was just another one of his toys. So we proceed to the gas station Ryan gets out to get us some waters and I hear Vance say "Mommy, look at my lips"

So I turn around to look at him and this is what I saw




Apparently, my purse had tipped over and my lipstick was what was inside his hat :)

Little monkey

I have always called Vance my little monkey, and today he definitely proved that he deserves this nickname. He was out back playing while I was starting my homework. I heard him say "hey mommy get your shoes on, come outside" So I got up and put them on and went into the backyard. I didn't see him right away and paniced slightly. My little monkey had somehow climbed the fence and was on the concrete ledge that separates the property next to us and our yard (the neighbors are a higher elevation than we are). That is only the beginning he had walked along this ledge and was on the OTHER side of the fence on the side of our yard!!!!! My heart was in my stomach, thank God I had put my shoes on and went out there!

Weight loss journey

In an attempt to get healthy so I can dance at Vance's wedding one day, I have joined forces with some friends across the country. Here is the ticker to help track my progress. Wish me luck!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Demolition derby

We were lucky enough to go to the demolition derby with Amber and Travis the other night. Vance had a good time and was such a trooper. He didn't even seem to be bothered by how loud the cars were. After we were there for a bit Amber found some earphones at a stand and brought them to us. Here is a picture of Vance towards the end of the night almost asleep on his daddy's arm :)

Dirty little boy

Vance LOVES to play in the dirt!!! He has been enjoying his dirt pile as we call it very much. Here is a picture of him playing in his dirt pile with the bucket and shovel that Oma sent him for Easter :)

The flower garden

The flower garden

The sandbox has been transformed into the flower garden! It has been a little difficult keeping Vance out of it but not too bad. Ryan cleared a section on the other side of the stairs out back for him to be able to play in. We also planted two flowers on his side for him to take care of (more like trample on). He has been doing good only playing in the dirt on his side :) I will upload a picture as soon as I can.

The Sandbox

So we have a dirt patch in the backyard it is a separate section that is lined with pretty bricks and would make an awesome flower garden. Ryan and I have worked to make it weed free and we are going (hopefully this weekend) to pick out flowers to put in it.

The problem is that Vance has seen us working in it and he has decided that it is his new sandbox!!! He is loving it. The problem now lies in the fact of what happens when I turn it into my beautiful flower garden? How am I going to keep my sweet baby boy out of it :)

As I sit here attempting to finish my accounting paper, I can't help but smile uncontrollably. You see Vance is watching Toy Story 2 and is enjoying it immensely. It amazes me how intelligent a two year old can be. He watches intently and then suddenly is reapeating certain phrases the characters have just said. I wish you all could hear how cute it is when he says "To infinity and beyond". Days like today keep me humble and remind me how blessed I am in life :) He is a complete joy to have and even as I sit here and stress over my paper, there is a part of me that is calm as I take little moments to smile and enjoy the mind of a two year old.

Random picture of the day

Vance at the playground. He is in one of those tunnels. When he pressed his little face out the hole it was too cute and we were able to get it on film :)

Our first visitors

We finally had our first visitors. Ryan's mom, Cindy and her husband Frank came to see us. It was a good visit. We actually got out and explored a little of Washington :) We found some great places to go hiking. We walked through downtown Seattle, visited the space needle (next time we need to go up in it) and had fun just hanging out and relaxing. Vance loved it!!! He would wake up in the mornings and come into our room (waking me up) and ask "you know where my grandma is?" So I would send him downstairs to get her because they were already awake.

He isn't as broken as I though he would be after they left. He occasionally looks around and asks "where'd my drandma go?" or "my papa is on airplane" (that's one heck of an airplane ride) All in all though he has handled it really well. Can't wait to see who our next visitor is going to be??? You are all welcome :)

It's been a while since my last post. No excuses, just lazy. LOL things in Washington are good. The weather is unpredictable two days ago it was a beautiful sunshine filled day. Yesterday and today it is overcast, cold, and rainy. Welcome to the great northwest!!!

Big boy bed

Tonight is the first night that Vance is sleeping in a toddler bed. We converted his crib into the toddler bed today. He was so excited about it when we did it, but now he is not so sure. He is having a little trouble falling asleep tonight, more than usual. I guess time will make it easier there is always an adjustment period when something new comes into play. More to come.....

Poop in the tub

I guess there is a first time for everything. Today during bath time Vance decided it was time to poop. I had left the room to get his towel (right after we drew the bath) and the next thing I knew I heard him saying "mommy poopy" Yes, that's right my son pooped in the tub!!!!! Oh the joys of being a mom :)

Picture of the day

Saying goodbye to daddy. He is off to work with a little help from Vance and of course pooh bear :)

potty training

Vance has been pretty much potty training himself since the other day. He has gone pee pee in the potty everyday at least once sometimes more :) He gets so excited that he did it, it is really cute :)

A momentous occasion

Today was a momentous occasion!!!! Vance looked at me and said momma pee pee potty. (Yes we are starting to potty train) So I took him into the bathroom and set him on the potty and low and behold...... He went pee pee in the potty!!!!!!! Oh happy day!! This is the start of a (fingers crossed) easy potty training mission.

:)

more pics

Master bath

Vance's room view one

view two

view three

Kitchen

The house

Kitchen

Half bath

Living room

Here are pictures of the house, decorated and lived in :) This is the majority of the house with the exception of our room because it is not put together yet. LOL we need dressers and things like that.

I had someone tell me that I needed to put more pictures on my blog ;) So here is a cute one of our little man in daddy's beanie. It is a beautiful day today, Vance is watching a movie and being such a good boy for me today.