Recent thoughts and happenings

This time of the year in Washington is REALLY rainy. Even though we've lived here for almost 2 years (in June), I am still not even near getting used to it. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever will. It's your fault California but I love you for it. Ya, the rain still bothers me... A LOT! And now that we have a dog, I think I notice it even more. Having to dry down Jane with a towel every 10 minutes can get taxing, especially with an ever increasing belly. But I gotta admit, walking a dog in the rain isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm getting pretty good with holding a leash, an umbrella, treats, and Taylor's hand all at once! And the daily walks have done me good as well- some much needed exercise. So along with the rain, Taylor has started Baseball- following in his fathers footsteps- ha ha. Just you wait babe, he's doing piano lessons next! No- I'm glad he is doing sports. He really enjoyed his gymnastics class so I knew he would like this as well. He is the youngest one on his team but has so much fun with it. He looks so cute in his cleats and glove running out there with his teammates. I think he's going to be a master at defense- at least he takes after me in something :) He also celebrated his 4th birthday on the 19th. We had a Lego Star Wars party for him. He is crazy about Lego's right now and could spend all day playing them. I've spent many an hour on his floor, looking at instructions books, attempting to put space ships together for his Storm troopers, Clone troopers, Hoth Rebel Troopers... ya, that's right, I'm now a Star Wars expert. I know all the dudes names. We had fun junking out on pizza, cheetos, and candy at his party and I even tried to make a lego shaped cake. Looked retarded but tasted awesome. Jane is now 15 weeks and has started obedience classes at Petsmart. After one class, she already knows "sit" and the "watch me" commands. She is pretty good at fetching too. I am anxious and excited to see what this class does for her. I'm hoping it'll help with her biting problem too. But I am starting to enjoy her more now- those first couple weeks were rough. But that's what I've heard from every puppy owner. I think she's finally starting to fit into our family. We are going through treats and bones like crazy! Now to get all her vaccinations finished up and our bank account not so dry- ha ha. I am now 18 weeks pregnant and am beginning to feel the weight of it. My back has gotten a lot worse with the weight and I am just trying to tolerate it. Let me add that my buttox is all bruised from my lovenox injections. Awesome eh? Yep, tons of fun. I'm hoping to get my ultrasound soon and find out what it is! I'm on a waiting list at Madigan Hospital (the military hospital) to get it done and I'm going crazy waiting for them to call me to schedule it. The hospital is so busy! We're still all hoping for a girl. I am still trying to finish my Charles Dicken's book from like 6 months ago- crazy I know! And I'm excited to watch PBS the next couple months to watch my Masterpiece Classic shows. For the most part, Taylor and the dog are keeping me busy. I don't know how people with 4 kids or something do it. Here are a couple of recent pictures :

I'm back baby!!!!!!!!

Hello there friends, family, and strangers who read my blog! Guess what? I have decided to start up my blog again. I took a year hiatus. Not sure why really. Well, you know how you get out of mood to do something or just plain get sick of it? That's what happened to me. But now lucky for you all, I'm back :)

It's pretty much impossible to update you all on what we have been doing since last April, but here is a list of big things I could think of:

1. Sonny started his Oral Surgery residency June of last year. The first year consists of rotating through different departments in the hospital. Some of the departments he has done so far are ICU, CCU and Anesthesia. His hours haven't been too bad at all. But I'm sure I'll be eating those words very soon; He's doing General Surgery next...

2. Taylor turned 4 last saturday. He had a Star Wars themed party. He is such a sweet boy. I will talk more about what he has been doing in a minute.

3. We bought a 2nd car, a 2006 Toyota Sequoia. I am really loving it.

4. We've taken several trips to Utah, California, and Idaho.

5. We've added a new addition to our family- a 3 month old golden retriever named Jane. She is quite the puppy, to say the least. She is such a beautiful dog but is the queen of biting and has already experienced a brutal spurt of roundworm. total yuckness.

6. One of my favorite people in the whole world passed away, my Grandma Rosa. She was one of the most classy, brightest, and funniest people I know and I think about her and miss her every day.

7. Man, I can't think of anymore but I know we have been doing stuff. Oh, one last thing... I am pregnant and due with baby #2 the end of August! We are all very excited.

So I've decided to put my back problems on hold for a while and am trying really hard to remain faithful and still believe that someday it will get better. But most of the time, it is more difficult than you can imagine. Somedays I don't even want to get out of bed. But I was sick of putting off having another baby. So we decided to pursue that instead, even though it meant 9 months worth of lovenox injections (a blood thinner- I had a kidney clot in 2003 and whenever I am pregnant, I have to be on them) and progressively worse back pain. But to me, it's worth it. I am also enjoying decorating our house (especially when my mom comes to visit and buys me a ton of stuff!). We have been exploring the Pacific Northwest a little more together as a family as well. We are trying our best to tolerate the rainy weather- we are in the middle of it right now. Good thing I got a pair of rain boots a while back :) Gotta have those in Washington. We make frequent hiking trips and drives to the ocean with Tay and the dog as well. Taylor is really enjoying the dog.

Now about Taylor :) He is growing up so fast and is such a big boy now. This age he is at is my favorite so far. He is fun to play with. I make sure to make time to play with him everyday, just one on one time, no dog etc. I was a little worried at first about the 4 1/2 year gap there will be between him and the next baby. But I think it will turn out great and I think deciding to get a dog at the time we did was good for him too, to warm him up to not having all the attention all the time. But he is hoping for a little girl, as are Sonny and I. Taylor just started playing baseball in a city league here. He is so cute to watch and is really having lots of fun. His favorite thing right now is Legos, in particular Star Wars legos. His best friend lives 2 doors down from us so they play daily and have lots of fun together. He is such a big help around the house and likes to help me clean the bathrooms! right on! I look forward to blogging about him a lot in the future. I love him so much.

Here are some recent pictures: I tried to make a Vietnamese noodle soup (my obsession right now) but it turned out like crap. I'll just stick with the restaurant stuff.

Taylor took a gymnastics class for about a month a while back. That's him on the balance beam above. He was quite good.