It has been a long time. I will update with the bigger events by month so that it is a little easier for me. Then I am going to try to do this more...I know, another promise, hopefully I will be able to live up to my word on this. I don't have pictures from the first part because they are all on the other computer-sorry.

August: the 1st weekend in August, Matt's family (mom, dad, sister and her 3 kids-Nicholas, Idalia and Alyssa) all drove up to Sacramento for Matt's cousin's wedding. They were married at the beautiful Lyon's Gate hotel. We all shared a 4 bedroom bunk house, which was the most amazing house. The hotel used to be for the air force or something along that line and most of the rooms at the hotel were for the people in the academy (if that's what it is called). The rooms (which we stayed in a few years ago to watch them get their black belts and celebrate with them after their accomplishments) were for 2 people to bunk in and they were pretty small, but very nostalgic. This house we were in was where the captain and his family lived and were huge and just amazing. The wedding was very nice, outside in the garden and the reception was just amazing. Did I mention that this was my first same sex wedding? Yea, and it was one of the coolest ones I have been to. Everything was unique and they did a great job. Congrats Laura, Rica and their two children, Jacob and Reyna.

Sept: (9/10) Matt and I celebrated our 4th anniversary and had a nice dinner (just the 2 of us) at Claim Jumper. It was nice to not have to worry about Katie for a few hours. (9/20) Matt's birthday. We went to Kubuki with my parents and had a great dinner. We also went (different night) to dinner with his parents and again, had a wonderful time.

October: 10/10 - 10/17) We went on a 7 day Mexican Riviera Cruise, stopping in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. We brought Katie, who was amazing by the way. And Matt's friend Wally went as well. Katie and I hung out in the kiddy area for a while and Matt and I would switch off during nap time. The entire cruise was a great experience and we were so happy that Katie was such a good girl. We rented a jeep and went to the jungle in Puerto Vallarta (it had a car seat!) it was very difficult to watch Katie where we were because there was a stream/river running through it and I didn't want her to fall in. Wally did the canopy tour and said that it was fun. It was kind of expensive, so Matt and I passed on it. Mazatlan was really nice. Matt and I went to a time share thing and got a taxi ride to the hotel/beach for all of us. It took about an hour or so, but they comped us $90 US to eat at their restaurant, which included beer and alcohol. All Katie really wanted was a cake, so we got her a cup cake and she was happy. We then hung out in the pool and then played on the beach a little. The water was warm, but not very clean. In Cabo, it was hotter and more humid than we expected. The ship has a tender and we had to take it to the land. We hung out on the beach the entire time there and Katie was just so happy. The water was perfect. On the walk back to the cruise ship, Katie said "I had so much fun at the beach daddy!". I think she just wanted to play in the sand, and she finally was able to for a few hours. The dinners each night were splendid and amazingly Katie behaved the majority of the time. Our waiter Vicente and assistant waitress Natalia were so accommodating. I know most of the time (at finer restaurants especially) toddlers are some what of a burden. They make messes, don't finish all their food, are loud and wiggly. I can't even tell you how many people came up to us and wanted to know our secret on "keeping a almost-two-year-old" still for dinner. Our secret? Matt's i-phone. We uploaded some Dora and Mickey movies to it and she would play with it before and after dinner. It was simply amazing. Her bed time changed from 8:30pm to about 11pm each night and that was fine with us. At home, she adjusted back to her regular time with no problem-thank God.

(10/17) As we returned home from the cruise we were scheduled to do a walk (Light the Night) for Nicole's daughter Allison. We met our friends at Bridgeport Park and hung out and then did the walk. Upon returning back to the start/finish line, we received news that Allison had lost her battle with cancer. I truly believe that with all the support and prayers for her that night, she was free and ready to be an angel. God sure has a good one!

10/26 Katie turned 2. We had a small (my parents, Melanie and Daniel and Matt's parents, Karena and Andy and Nicholas, Idalia and Alyssa) party for her. She absolutely LOVED the attention. One thing I can say is that she was loving it up as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. More than the presents and almost as much as the cup cakes. She looked at each person in the eye as they were singing to her and smiled. It was amazing how much it meant to her. She was given so many gifts (or presents as she would say) and was so happy for them all.

10/31 Halloween, we went to the mall and Katie was dressed up like a lady bug. She originally wanted to be Batgirl (is she my child or what???) but then was 'scared' of her costume. Thank goodness I got a pic of her the one time she would wear it. I took it back and found this lady bug dress and wings at my moms (thank Melanie). We then went to dinner at La Cocina and then to a few houses by my mom and dads house. She was really alert with the scary part of Halloween and there were a few things she would not go near.

November (11/4) We celebrated Matt's dad's birthday with him and Matt's mom, dinner was so nice as always. Katie was not really being cooperative at California Pizza Kitchen, but we dealt with her.

(11/20ish) we went to Cindy's 30th Birthday party sans Katie. It was so nice to go out and be an adult and not worry about her. She stayed with my mom and dad.

Thanksgiving was at my mom and dad's house. My cousins Amber and her girls came and Katie had so much fun with them. My mom got a huge playhouse for them to decorate and play with, it kept them busy for a long time.

December (12/5) My birthday we went to City Walk for dinner with Andrew, Claudia, Sal, Cindy, Melanie, Alex, Dan, and his friend Wally, later with my cousin Robyn and Jarrod. It was so much fun. We had dinner at a brew house (even though I don't like beer) and danced, hung out at Howl at the Moon. It was a great evening with great friends and family.

(12/25) Christmas was a little disappointing. Katie and I were kind of sick or had really bad allergies. Either way, we made sure the Kleenex company did well in this economy with our never ceasing running noses. We missed going to Matt's family because we didn't want to get anyone else sick and also because they all had the stomach flu. Katie and Matt missed Christmas Eve at my grandpa's because Katie was really bad that night. Christmas Day, she was feeling better, but still not 100%. We opened presents in the morning and after one present, she was done. Not herself, kind of sad. I am glad I didn't go all out, I would have been so sad....My parents and Melanie and Dan came over and we had a nice brunch and opened their gifts.

12/31 I won 4 tickets to Disneyland or California Adventure. We chose Cali Adv because 1. it was not so busy 2. We had more fun there previously and 3. Matt's parents hadn't been there before. Good choice, as Disneyland was sold out (though our tickets guaranteed us admission if we wanted). We wandered around and watched the Pixar Parade and the Electrical Parade, which were Katie's favorite things. She was so excited as all the character walked down and danced and did their little things. We were home by 11:30 and in bed in time to watch the ball drop in New York.

January (1/2) We took Katie to the snow for the first time. If we knew what a hard time it was to get there, we may not have even attempted to go. The road to the top of Big Bear was backed up before the climb. We were not about to sit in that traffic with Katie for however long it ended up taking. We turned around and were debating on going to Mt. Baldy or Lake Arrowhead. We chose Lake Arrowhead, and there was no snow. We then took the rim of the world road 26 miles to Big Bear to find that there was absolutely no parking anywhere and the Adventure Passes that we needed were sold out everywhere. After driving aimlessly for about 45 minutes we found a parking lot where someone was leaving and parked there. We walked to some field where 200 (maybe I am exaggerating a little, or not) other people were sledding and playing and played/sledded for about an hour. We then decided to get something to eat, Jack-in-the-Box was closest and everyone in Big Bear was there trying to eat too. There was standing room only, I don't think you could even move in there....pass. We ended up at some grill named Blondie's and after about a 30 minute wait were seated and had linner or dunch what ever you want to call it. We took the back way home (Thank God) and all in all, had a fantastic day.

The 4th and Camping with friends and family

We spent the 4th of July at my parents house enjoying the heat and the pool, eating as much as we could stuff. It was a very relaxing day and I can't wait until next year when Katie will be able to see more than just the 5 fireworks that were shot into the sky behind my parents house.

Katie has been in swimming lessons, 6 classes total for 2 weeks. She is kicking and relaxing a little more in the water, however, the highlight was being able to play at the park after. Silly girl. She blew bubbles the first time, but that was pretty much it. She loves to jump into the pool at my mom's and dad's but refused to do so at the Valencia Glen Pool.

This past weekend we went camping at El Capitan State Beach, which is where I spent many, many summers as a child. I am glad to say Katie seems to be enjoying it as much as I did. She slept in a tent for the first time and did very well. Matt didn't....Katie decided she was going to push him off the blanket and sleep on his neck-just like she did when I slept with her in the trailer last time. The weather was perfect-seriously, I could not have asked for better weather. Clear day and night and warm. Sometimes it is so over cast that it is too cool to go into the water and forget about getting any sun! We played on the beach and my sister and I went boogie boarding, we dug a hole and Katie played in it. She played in the water and all in all, had a really good time. My parents are going up again in 2 weeks and I would like to join them, but we will see if that happens. We also went to Jocko's....a hole-in-the-wall place with the best darn steaks ever! It was a 2+ hour wait (fun with a one and a half year old and 3 other kids!) but the kids were so well behaved. If you are going to ever stop by Nipomo call and make reservations early! It is worth it, as long as you don't have to wait so long.

My brother got back last night from his trip and I can't wait to see his pictures and hear all about it.

Katie is seriously the funniest little girl I have ever seen. She keeps me entertained for hours. She loves to sing and can pretty much say Humpty Dumpty in it's entirety. Not too bad for such a little thing. She knows a lot of colors and can count like crazy, she loves to count everything. Doesn't matter what it is.

Seriously, what happened to me?

I try to be so good and update this as much as I can, but I fail. Humph! The past few weeks have been very emotional and just plain crazy.

First, the daughter of a friend who I "met" on-line while we were both planning our own weddings was diagnosed with Leukemia. She just celebrated her 1 year birthday. My other friend (who I met the same way) texted me with the devastating news. My heart just broke into a million different pieces. This little girl does not deserve this, no one does-it is not fair. I get so filled with every emotion there is, proud that she is a fighter, angry that she has to be dealing with this, awe for her parents who are so strong and sadness for the entire situation. I am also astonished at our little clique of friends. These are amazing people and I could not imagine life with out them. I ask that if you have the ability and the heart to PLEASE consider donating blood or signing up for the "Be The Match" bone marrow registry. Here is the link:

http://join.marrow.org/friends2allison

This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I just haven't. But I am expecting my kit in the mail within the next few days to I can swab and send it back. I hope I match someone-anyone. There is nothing like being able to give someone a chance at life again. Here is her blog if you are interested in reading about their journey:

http://teamallisonz.blogspot.com/

Second, and on a little lighter of a note. My brother Dan is in Costa Rica. He went to Nicargua and Panama and will be returning home in just over a week. I can't wait to see pictures and hear all about his trip. I am very envious and want to someday take a trip like that.

Third, I don't know.....there are a lot of things that are on my mind...my cousin Leslie got to bring her little babies home, Layton and Marilyn. They were born at 29 weeks, but are doing really well considering. Yay!

I am really tired and wanted to go on a little more, but I can't keep my eyes open. Matt still is not home from work, so I have been with the best little girl all day. We went swimming and poor little thing burnt the bottom of her feet. :( I feel like a bad mom. Matt's project at work should be over soon and I can't wait for things to return to normal here, well at least as close to normal as it can get!

Happy Year and a half to Katie

This little girl of mine is such an amazing, wonderful little whirl wind of life. She has made Matt and I some thing no one else ever has before....a mother and a father. We have loved more than we could ever believe possible and each day with this girl is a blessing. She is such a quick learner and has seriously the most amazing vocab I have seen for a 1 1/2 year old. She puts two and two together so quickly and really seems to have an understanding of abstract concepts. Things that I don't even think about, she is pointing them out to me. At the park the other day, we were playing on a teeter-toter when she stopped and said "Mama, water" I had no idea what she was taking about, but in the next second as I went down and she went up, I heard it "Swish" there was water in the middle making noise....amazing to know what water sounds like when she can't even see it, she knew it was there. Just today I was getting dressed and I put my black and white animal print shirt on the bed and she looks at it and says "zebra"...well it was more like "ebra" but I knew exactly what she was taking about. I just love her so much and I don't know how much I was going to love her before I had her.

Yesterday was an amazing day....my cousin Leslie had her own little angels...Marilyn and Layton. They were about 10 weeks early (or about 2 1/2 months early. Little-itty bitty miracles. I can't wait to meet them!

I have been working very hard in my yard, back and front to make it look decent. We have really neglected this part of house owning and I am going to make up for it within the next few weeks.

I know I am so bad and I always say I am going to update more frequently and well, I just haven't. I am sorry. BUT, is there anyone out there who does read this or am I just making a journal? I think the journal is more likely. The past few months have been pretty fun-for the most part. Matt has been working a lot and has been showing signs of being very stressed lately. I wish that he could relax a little and not have to worry. If it is not one thing, it is another, work, sheriff's, money, house, spending time with Katie and I, maintaining things around the house, being able to buy groceries and on and on. He does not think that I worry or even think about these things, but I do. I guess I just don't show it as much as I should. Maybe I should make a note and stick it on my forehead telling him what I am thinking. He is such a perfectionist and is very critical and I know that what ever decision I make, there is always the "right" one that he would have made...oh well. Life is a b!tch, right?

At the end of February, Katie had her first visit to the ER, which I am certain now was a waste of time and money. I was changing her diaper and she had her Elmo barrette. She put the barrette in her mouth and at the same time, I went to grab it out of her mouth. She turned her head and my finger pushed the barrette further into her mouth and into her throat. She started to gag and was not making any sounds, but was trying to breathe, unsuccessfully. I made the mistake of trying to do a finger swap and each time I did that, I pushed it back into her throat. I finally held her in my arms face down and patted her on the back. Sure enough after a few pats, the barrette fell out and Katie gasped for air. She started crying and spitting. There was blood and it got on her shirt, my shirt and arms. I was not sure how much damage the barrette did or how far it really went into her mouth, but figured it would be safest to have a Dr look. I took her to Urgent Care and walked out right when I got there. It was packed and who knew why the people where there. Katie was not sick and I did not want her to catch anything. I took her to jamba juice and then back home where I met Matt. Katie was still not swallowing and instead she was spitting. Matt told her to swallow and she started to cry. She then started to gag and then threw up...blood. :( At this point, Matt grabbed her and we were off to the ER. We waited there for about 3 hours and then finally saw a Dr who said that he could not do anything, but recommend having a scope put into her throat to see if there was damage further down. Meaning she would have to have anastesia and I was not up for that. We went home and had a sleep over in her room and by the morning, she was fine....Thank GOD!

We also went to California Adventure and this was a much better trip than the Disneyland trip. Katie loved the Bugs Land and all the rides there. We took her on the Monsters Inc ride and she did not like it and also on the Toy Story ride and she cried-hated it. I don't blame here, it was really strange if you don't know what is going on. It was really cool for the adults though.

We also went to the Santa Barbara Zoo and that was so much fun. We saw a lot of animals and even got to feed the giraffe.

Katie's first Disneyland trip

On Sunday, Matt and I took Katie to Disneyland for her first trip. It was interesting. First of all, it was raining when we were about half way there. It continued to rain until we got into the park and then it finally cleared up and was not raining, but everything was wet.



There were 4 rides that I wanted to take her on: Dumbo, Small World, Tea Cups and Alice in Wonderland. We went on none of them. Instead, we took her to see a hippo get shot on the jungle cruise and to see a twisted version of Pinocchio-that ride is whacked by the way! Poor Katie had the look of "why did you bring me here????" on the ride and finally started crying about half way through.



We then headed to Toon Town and went into Mickey's house, Minnie's house and Goofy's house. The kids there were very pushy and pretty much made Matt and I carry Katie and she was not happy about that. She did get to meet Mickey, Goofy, Minnie and Pluto. Of all the mentioned, she LOVED Pluto the most. She had exactly 3.4 seconds to pose for a picture with him before the other park partons were pushing us out of the way to get their kids up there.







The picture below is Katie after she was kicked out of the way trying to say hi to Pluto.



At this time, Katie was ready for a nap-that was not going to happen. She wanted to run around and a wet, tourist infested amusement park was not the place. Matt and I tried to go to DownTown Disney for some late lunch/early dinner (hitting places at an off time (3pm) tends to work a little better for the little ones. Katie refused to sit in (or even get into) her stroller and we were stuck pushing it and chasing her. She refused to be held and wanted to only go in the opposite direction we were trying to get her to go into. We fed her and changed her diaper and found that she was pretty cold, her feet were frozen and her legs were 1 degree warmer. I think she must have gotten her shoes and pants a little damp.

Matt and I finally decided to try to go back into the park and see if we could get on any more rides. The shortest line was about 20 minutes-which Katie was not going to wait for. I tried Dumbo one more time. Nope, she made it to about 3 minutes total in line before she was having a melt down. Small World was just redone, so it was about an hour and a half wait-which we did not even try. Alice and the Tea Cups were still "Closed due to incliment weather." The rain stopped about 2 hours before, so who knew when they were going to open again. We decided to leave.

We got to the tram and Katie finally knocked out. Hard. She did not wake up until we were almost home and then she finally got up and it was pretty much an hour and a half before her bed time and she was not going to go to sleep any time soon. Ugh! All in all, it was an interesting time, but Katie just did not have fun. The most fun she had was climbing the planters at the front of the park. up. down. up. down. about 40 times. Well, I guess if it was the highlight of her day-whatever!

So, we are going to do what any person in their right minds would do after having such an adventerous time. We are going to take her to California's Adventure Park in two weeks. haa haa. hopefully this time will be a little more fun for her.

Last week (on Monday) Katie had her 15 month appointment and it went very well. She is 24lbs 4ozs and is 32" tall. 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight....she is slowly moving into the average weight for her age. She is talking so much and is my little motor mouth. She talks all the time, when she is going to sleep, playing, in the car, eating-I have never seen anything like it. On and on and on her mouth keeps going. Just like her daddy! She is starting to interact a little more with the other children at the park and is not eating the sand like she was....now it is the flowers and plants. She also loves to pick the flowers and smell them-I mean really smell them.

This weekend, we took her to the beach and she LOVED it. She kept trying to get deeper and deeper into the water. Matt and I took turns holding her while she got her feet wet.



We are planning (weather permitting) to go to Disneyland on Saturday. It is my sisters birthday and that was her request, so we were happy to go with her. My mom and dad are also going to go, so it will be really nice to have some help. I found tickets for $61 at my dads work, so more than likely we will get those ones. I hope it is not too wet or crowded. I can't wait to see the look on her face.

Matt is working so much lately. He has a huge project at work that is taking a lot of his time and I can't wait for him to be finished, but it is nice to have a little extra money to help with the bills.