Grace

Tonight I was sitting in my son’s room watching my husband play his guitar and sing Christmas songs to the little boy while I hear the rain falling out side and I can’t help but think about how God has always provided for us. There are so many people, in all walks of life, who don’t have a warm dry place to go on a night like this and my heart just breaks for them. However, more than that my heart breaks for the millions of people who do not know God’s grace. You see a few years ago our little family was very unstable financially and through the love of friends and family God showed us his wonderful grace and now we are to show love to EVERYONE else because He first loved us. 

Oops!

So far today has been all about the wrong decisions

Bad decision #1: This morning I got a text from my husband with some husband/wife humor in it, so thinking I would be witty I sent him a message back. 10 minutes latter he sends me another text saying that I sent the message to HIS MOM instead of him. Oops. (thanks Michele for being so cool about it)

Bad decision #2: After breakfast the boy and I were hanging out in the family room and he started to grunt and turn red, then I took a whiff of the air and just as I suspected he pooped. So being the good mom that I am I waited a little while to make sure that he was finished and then took him into the bedroom to get a diaper change. When I opened his pj’s I could tell that it was going to be a messy one. I began the unpleasant process only to have my efforts stunted by my squirmy little boy, so I grabbed the first thing I saw that he could hold and keep his attention while I finished. When I was about half way done I looked up to see a pink liquid covering my boy chest and face. I had grabbed my sons Motrin that was sitting on his changing table and he had managed to open the child-proof cap and spill it all over. I finished cleaning off his little bottom then moved on to the Motrin which he was now painting his body with. After all was clean I went to put a dry diaper on him and he peed on me!

I hope this is not an indication of how my Friday will be.

Fohawk, Fotos, Friends, Fans

We forgot to advise the world that Nick finally got a haircut. Back in August, while visiting Roseville during my month off, we went to this cool little place called "Jack and Jillybeans" in Roseville. Not too expensive, super professional, great atmosphere. I have to admit I wasn't too fond off the place until I saw the chair my son could sit in:

They also had all these other cool chairs. The kids that came in seemed to fight the most over the fighter jet one, but whatever.

Nick's before shot

He did really well and was mostly distracted so long as he got to steer the wheel on his patrol vehicle. I know the lady looks a bit creepy in this picture, but she was really nice and really fast which in hindsight you have to be with little heads moving like lightning and you're carrying a really sharp object.

His first locks of hair

Nick's after shot

Once he got his little "fohawk," we perused on over to Target where they just happened to have a photography studio. Some readers may scoff at how lightly I use the phrase "photography," but hey, maybe we like paying for overpriced pictures in a familiar photo shoot setting, so back off! Anyway, here's a slideshow with the pictures. You can see the whole album here.



And what trip to Roseville would be complete without a get together with the gang?! Unfortunately, we have no pictures of merit from the event because were having too much fun to stop and shoot! Or we just forgot. The former sounds much better so let's stick with that!

We finished off the trip with a visit to good ol' new AT&T Park to watch the Giants get killed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. I organized the trip and didn't realize how far back our seats were. Granted they were lower level, just lower level last row back about 15 rows under the overhang so that you couldn't even see the big plasma screen with all the cool gimmicky games they run on it throughout the game. Nonetheless, good times, plus, Nick (and Katy) were finally able to go to a Giants game. My cousin Chris and his girlfriend Jen, my folks, and my brother Jon and sister-in-law Natalie were all able to go too. Even though there aren't any pictures of them here, they did go. I was in a bit of a pissy mood that day which I'd like to say was because the Giants were sucking but I'm pretty sure I was just pissy. Because of said pissy mood, I neglected to take but a few pics. So, just imagine them in the shots.

Chris loving up on Jen

Katy and Nick with a sweatshirt courtesy of my dad

Showing off my great mood

Our view of the field from the seats...notice the low overhang and lack of viewable scoreboard

Having His Cake and Eating it Too!

At the beginning of this month we posted on how Nick turned one. On a side note, I never know what to say. "He's one year old" or "he's one years old." The plural form seems to flow easier off my tongue, but I'm pretty sure since he only has one year to his name, you can't pluralize it and must stick with the singular form. You'd think I'd know this being that I'm an English major. But I don't because I sucked at English, I just like to use it as a power play every now and again. So, back to Nick's birthday. We threw, and by we I mean almost 98% Katy, a party for him at our neighborhood park. Some family and friends were able to come. Standard one year(s?) old's party. BBQ, messy cake, a true birthday suit, etc., etc. I know we all enjoyed watching him partake and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it just as much.

One is not the loneliest number...

Today our son turns one! Well, he actually does at 1:51pm, but still. It's amazing how fast the time has flown by. We love you buddy! Here's a montage with a picture for each month of his life. Happy birthday Nick!

Month 1: Our little red man!

Month 2: Looking handsome with a little help from Andre

Month 3: Getting ready for Farmer's Market in SLO

Month 4: This shirt still rings true

Month 5: Vegas baby!

Month 6: Zonked in his carrier with a monkey who no longer exists thanks to Lucy

Month 7: Still one of our all-time favorites, enjoying a bouncer

Month 8: Serious friends being serious (Happy belated birthday Sammy!)

Month 9: Happy as a clam watching the tube in a barcalounger

Month 10: Poolside enjoying the sun

Month 11: Freezing cold and crying or so happy he can't breathe?

Month 12: A little mousy influence

Can't wait for the next year Nick!

Travelling Friends and Birthday Fun

My childhood best friend Adam, seen above with me in high school (don't ask), got into the Army ROTC in college and is currently in the Army National Guard. He serves our country in D.C. but he and his wife Michelle, who coincidentally also went to high school with us, live in Woodbridge, VA. I wish they didn't live so far away but since they do time with them is precious. Both their families live here in California so they were kind enough to pay us a visit on their way up to the bay area from LA.

A little flashback to the past, Adam and I in 1999 on our senior trip to Hawaii

Adam spent a year at Santa Barbara City College while I was at Cal Poly. This was one of our frequent hook-ups for a meal.

Ad and I at my bachelor party. No comment.

And back to the present. Maybe Adam and Nick are kindred spirits as they kept trading off with closing their eyes for pictures.

Adam again.

Nick again.

And Nick halfway, probably the best shot out of 20.

Michelle, Adam, and Nick if you can find him.

It just so happened to be Michelle's birthday on Wednesday so Katy made her a cake. Happy birthday Michelle!

The big 2-8!

Almost There

Nick is super close to walking. Because of this fact, we wanted to make sure we caught as close to the actual moment on video as we could. Unfortunately, our video camera we bought three years ago crapped out. So, in a spontaneous moment, we purchased a new one, much smaller, but just enough to get the job done. To christen the purchase, here's a video clip of our son laughing. Make sure you watch the whole thing, the end is the best part...trust me. As my buddy Noah put it, try not to smile while watching and listening to this!

Dinneylan!

If you follow Katy or I on Facebook, you were probably well aware that last week we took Nick to Disneyland, or as my dad likes to call it, "Dinneylan!" My folks did come with us which was a huge blessing in that it allowed us to go on rides together while they watched Nick and vice versa. With two families there it brought a lot of pictures, so I'll try and just include some highlights. First let me say, living in So Cal has its drawbacks, namely all LA sports, but it definitely has its perks too. For example, we got a 3 day park hopper ticket between Disneyland and California Adventure for just $99 when a normal 1 day park hopper is $97! Then, we upgraded to an annual pass for just $45 more dollars. We definitely plan on abusing that annual pass so if you have one too and are itching to get back to the Magic Kingdom, let us know! And for all you moochers, our passes have our pictures on the back so we can't share...sorry! Here's the link to all the pics, separated by days: day 1, day 2, day 3.

Here's the whole family right inside the gate for the classic Mickey flowers pose

My dad absolutely abhors the "It's a Small World" ride. But he indulged us by coming too, much to his chagrin.

Nick, unfortunately or fortunately, you decide, loved the ride. He nursed and just stared at all the crazy animatronic children. Funny how some are still not very politically correct. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see a guy chowing on a corn dog behind us. Classic.

One of the few happy moments on Dumbo...not the best ride to wait for as it doesn't have much shade and quickly makes an 11 month old cranky.

I know this looks like child torture, but I promise you, once Nick gets ahold of a lemon, he won't let go until it is scraped clean...I will get this on video one day.

One thing that can be a bit irritating about Disneyland is all the parades. For some, it may be enjoyable, but when you're trying to hustle over to get a fastpass so you can get back in line again, it becomes tiresome, quickly. One of the parades featured this lovely sign, which is cut off by a flashlight wand by an attendant, but reads, "In Everything You Do, Celebrate You!" Oh Disney. How I wish your land was saved and didn't buy in to what the rest of the world longs to hear but desperately does not need any more self image or reliance inflation.

As in every hotel room bathroom, they discreetly hang the toilet paper rolls under the sink as well as exposing all of the pipes for little crusiers to find. This is just some of the mayhem that Nick got into at the hotel room. To read about the real "crap," click here and read my personal blog and an episode you won't want to miss.

Enjoying Thunder Mountain and posing.

Nick in awe on the Monster's Inc. ride.

A toy I won my family by scoping out the water gun carnival game and taking the average of which gun was the quickest based on the previous five games. Best toy I've ever won for five bucks.

Somehow, back at the hotel, Nick managed to army crawl his way underneath the pack-n-play in an attempt to mess with his stroller. Fortunately, he did not get stuck, and weasled his way backwards and out. Crazy.

This next sequence is of the ride "California Screamin'," a "real" roller coaster in California Adventure that Katy, my dad, and I loved. My mom's not so keen on the "real" coasters and would rather stick to ones where you aren't pressed against your seat and go weightless a few times.

So here we are posing as we get ready to launch. I'm right behind Katy. It was worth the extra two minutes to get in the front car.

Here Katy and my dad are in launch. I apparently got cropped out.

And all of us obviously still enjoying the ride for our "complimentary with a $15 charge" picture. Good times!

Nick wondering why he has to ride a blue fish and not the "real" coaster...or maybe just trying to find out where his parents are who are calling him. On a positive note, he has learned to "hi-five," wave, and clap almost on command now. We're getting him trained real well!


At the beginning of day 3, we immediately saw Goofy with a fairly short line. The previous two days we saw numerous characters but the lines were ridiculous, especially since Nick had no idea who these characters were. But this one was worth it.

Later he got to meet Eeyore too. This time it was a bit sad, in typical Eeyore fashion. There was no worker standing by with Eeyore, and no line for a picture. The donkey was just standing there all by himself. Kinda eerie Eeyore.

And what's Disneyland without some Mickey ears!

More Mickey ears shots and looking a bit mousy too!


Nick getting pretty into the psychedelic Winne the Pooh ride. I guess I will have to drug test him sooner than I thought...

Enjoying the Buzz Lightyear ride and messing up the grandparents score by tugging on that red joystick that sent them into a jet wash...way to go son! Our plan worked!

My mom and I after we got the shaft from my dad. He was supposed to take an awesome picture of us on Thunder Mountain, but as we passed by, we saw him holding and playing with Nick instead. Sell out!

And finally, the three of us in front of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves little grotto...pretty tired I must say, but well worth it!