Baseball and a quick update

Above is a couple of pictures taken at some of Taylor's baseball games. He is having a good time at them. It's funny to watch boys his age play baseball- most of the time they are out there digging holes, dancing around, chewing on their gloves... ha ha. Once and a while, somebody hits a ball and the whole team runs for it. Taylor has hit one ball without the tee but most of the time, ends up using the tee. About half of the games and practices have been canceled, because of the rain. So goes sports in Washington!

The computer that we usually use crashed a couple weeks ago. All of my recent pictures are on it. So, as you can guess, the future posts will not have pictures. It crashed in the most inopportune time, for Sonny mostly. He was just about to give a powerpoint presentation at work to some of the general surgeons and residents. Yikes! So it was a rough day for him. Anyways, just know that Taylor has grown a little bit older, Jane has grown a whole lot longer, Sonny has gotten a little more tired, and I have gotten a lot more fat. I think you get the picture.

I am now 24 weeks along and feeling ok. I've been having some acid reflux, at night mostly, and am still trying to fit into my jeans. Some days it works, others, not so much. I found some cute stretch pants at Target and wear those most of the time. I get to have another ultrasound in about a month (the one and only good thing about being a high risk patient). I haven't even started getting the nursery ready- it's still the dog's room/office/weight room/library... I have a feeling I'm going to go early, like last time. I'm trying for a v-back and the doctors said that I have a good chance of succeeding, since I had the c-section as an emergency and didn't really even experience the labor process. It'll be nice to deliver in the same hospital too that Sonny will be working at. The Ob-gyn department is delivering 250 babies a month! Because of the way the deployments work, it kind of works out that way. Hopefully I won't be giving birth in some hallway somewhere in the hospital.

Taylor and I made a trip to Utah last month for my brother Kyle's graduation at BYU. My parents flew in from California and made the long drive with us. We brought Jane along too and surprisingly, she did really well. Well, not really a surprise really- in reality, she did better than I did. I hate road trips! But we made it there and back without going crazy and had a fun time visiting with lots of family there. We spent a nice easter with my aunt and uncle and cousins there. It was really great to get out of Washington for a bit. Sonny unfortunately had to stay behind and work. Bummer. But we are looking forward to heading to Boise next month for a family reunion with his side of the family. Sonny is counting down the days until he is done with his first year of residency. He has worked so hard, especially in this last general surgery rotation, and really deserves a nice vacation.

Well, that's what we've been up to the last month or so. We are looking forward to the rainy season being over and seeing some sun already! The summer's are really nice here though- just wish it would last longer than like 2 months.

BOY!

It's official... we're having another boy! We were all very surprised- we all thought for sure it was going to be a girl. But I like surprises...

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.

9 years

My husband and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary yesterday! I know everybody says this but it's crazy that it's been that long. I think once you hit 10 years than that's a biggy. Sonny and I bought ourselves some baseball equipment for our presents this year. Sonny got a new bat and I'm getting a new glove. Yay! I haven't had a new one since I started playing softball in middle school. So we're ecstatic to start playing some ball! I had a couple of doctors appointments (still trying to figure out this dang back problem!!!!!) yesterday so it seemed like just a normal day. But when I got home, we decided to hit up a new place in Tacoma. Sonny found this place called "Southern Kitchen," a restaurant that had been featured in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network and, I guess, Oprah also likes it too. Well, she was right. It was fabulous :) I had the Southern Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, corn, and candied yams. Sonny tried out the Cajun Catfish. We realized when we got there that they didn't have a kids menu so Taylor ended up eating a basket full of french fries. Aren't we great parents? Anyways, so we stuffed our faces and boy, does that food sit hard in your stomach! But we had a great time. We'll be going out to dinner, just the two of us, next tuesday night so I'm excited about that too. We are now, as I type, getting ready to leave for the Great Wolf Lodge for a night. It's like a huge indoor water park so we are stoked about it! Taylor, I'm sure, will be in heaven. So I better go and get ready!

A visit from 2 grandmas

A couple weeks ago we were lucky enough to have both of Taylor's grandmas visit. They came down to wish Taylor a happy 3rd birthday. What nice grandmas! Sonny's mom came to visit first and Taylor had a really good time with her. Taylor had a bit of a fever the first couple days she was here so we didn't get out and do much. But we did get to eat out at a couple great places. We also went to our favorite beach in Steilacoom where Taylor showed her all the neat little crabs and other sea creatures. We spent one day doing a bunch of yard work, getting a spot of land ready for the garden. But most of her visit was spent building some totally awesome storage shelves in our garage. We have been storing everything in closets and are now super excited to have some storage elsewhere. Sonny and her were hard at work for less than a day and had the whole thing built! Watch out Extreme Makeover Home Edition! Thanks so much Gini :) We really appreciate it.
Sorry, these next couple pictures are out of order. Sonny went to Virginia to attend an Oral Surgery class and Taylor and I went to our beach on a Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, we couldn't find a single crab. I must have looked under every single rock. I think the tide was too high and they were already back in the water.

When the tide comes up at night, there is this one little spot where a pool forms. It's just the right depth for Taylor to wade in and throw rocks without me having to watch him so closely.

Holding a crab. To bad it was dead :(

My mom came to visit right after Sonny's mom left. I love when she comes to visit! Taylor and I count down the days until she get here. Taylor calls her "Bami." We lived so close to her for 4 years during dental school and had a really hard time moving last June. She came just in time to celebrate Easter and what a fun time we had with her! We had an egg hunt in our backyard and did some other fun easter activities. We also worked on the yard a lot. My mom was nice enough to buy some pansis and marigolds for my garden and some other plants. My favorite part of her visit was spending a couple days doing some major decorating. Since moving into our new house 6 months ago, I have been wanting to decorating it. My mom gave me some good designing deas and tips and bought me some cool stuff for my kitchen etc.

Taylor and I planted three blueberry trees in this very area today. We are looking forward to eating fresh blueberries soon.


Some of the marigolds and pansi's in a cool looking new pot my mom got us. Love it!

This is where my little garden will be this year. It is a bit rocky (the rain does not help that situation at all!) so I bought some chicken fencing so that I could sift some out before I plant the vegetables.


My new clock

My mom and I went to Joanne's and got the grapevines to put on top the cupboards and we found most of the baskets at the Goodwill. It makes my kitchen a little more homy now :)

The Easter egg hunt in our backyard. There weren't many places to really hide the eggs well but Taylor still loved it.

I asked Taylor to make a funny face and here it is



Tay and his "Bami"

We made some easter treats, of course!


DuPont had an easter egg hunt with lots and lots of kids. He was hesitant at first but ended up getting a few eggs.

We had a good time with the two grandmas and we hope to see them again soon.

Taylor's 3 years old pictures

Here are the yearly pictures we took of Taylor, and a few of our family too. I tried to coordinate our outfits. They didn't turn out as well as I was hoping but oh well, they're just pictures I guess, right? I always have too high of expectations. It started out pretty rough with Taylor and then the lady warmed him up. She had to bring out a bunch of sports equipment for him to play with. That is why he is holding something in each picture. I guess you do what you gotta do to get some pictures taken :) Oh, and don't you just love the train that Sonny is playing with in the family picture? I asked him to put it down but he just couldn't let it go. hee hee! We ended up going to JC Penney's and buying the cd that had these poses, and a lot more too. And we had a coupon that gave us a free 8x10. We chose the one with Tay wearing the baseball glove. I wanted to buy a 16x20 of us that same day but decided that we would shop around for a better rate. Anybody know of any store or online company that has a good price? Well, enjoy!