G's Productive Weekend

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm weekend so we took advantage by doing some yard work. Okay, G did yard work, Alli played and I enjoyed relaxing and supervising :) On Saturday, while Alli napped, G started planting trees on the side of our house and I went to Gene Juarez for a relaxing afternoon of pampering as I got my hair done and had a mani and pedi ~ pure bliss!

We were in for a great surprise when we went to the nursery to get a few trees and found out they were having a sale on all trees! Instead of the four we planned to get, we wound up with 10, thanks in part to my brother who kindly offered to take G there in his truck. It is starting to look great and providing some much needed privacy on the side of the house. Can't wait to see what it looks like when we finish!

Last night, we went to my folks to celebrate my dad's birthday and had a wonderful time with the family. Alli definitely has gotten over any shyness with the family and had fun entertaining everyone :) She was chatting up a storm and even led everyone in singing Happy Birthday to my dad ~ very cute! Below are some pictures of our weekend . . .

Here are four of the eight trees G planted over the weekend. I think we have three more to plant before we start sprinkling in the plants and then adding bark. He worked very hard and just "loved" having me sit and supervise ;-)

Our veggie garden is doing very well, we just hope it continues and we get to enjoy some yummy veggies later in the summer!Miss Alli playing with Playdoh after lunch.

And for all those who have been requesting "belly shots" ~ which I have tried to avoid like the plague ~ here is one on me at 35 weeks 4 days. We figured we should probably get a shot this weekend since we don't know how much longer the blue fish will stay in the tummy :)

We will keep you posted on the blue fish!

Making Progress at Playgroup :)

As many of you know, Alli can be painfully shy when she is around other children. She wants so badly to play with them and interact ~ begging to go see friends ~ but once she is around them, she gets nervous and has a tough time interacting. We are working on this a lot and practice saying hi to her friends when we drive or walk by their houses, hoping that it will help her work up the nerve to say it to them when she sees them. Yesterday, we had our monthly neighborhood playgroup at her friend's house across the street. Fortunately, last Monday, when we went to storytime at the library, we ran into this friend and the two of them played together (in their own 2 year old way!) at the park afterwards so all week I was talking up how we would be going to her house on Friday for playgroup. It seemed to help, Alli was very excited yesterday morning and kept asking to go to her friend's house to play! We were the first ones to arrive (I try to get there a little before others to help her get comfortable) and Alli actually spoke up a bit and responded to questions from the other Mommys! This may not sound like much but it is a HUGE improvement! She remembered that this friend had a pink doll with a binky, and if you know Alli, you know how much she LOVES to play babies :) The plan was to let the kids play with Playdoh, which Alli enjoyed for a bit before going back to playing babies. Here is where the day became AWESOME and I was soooooo proud of our peanut . . .

Alli was happily playing with a number of babies and blankets and bottles when another little one, who is not shy, decided she wanted to take some of the babies. Ordinarily, Alli just lets this happen and looks at me like "what just happened?" Not yesterday, she let the other child take most of the dolls and the blanket but when she reached for the special pink doll with the binky, Alli held on pretty tightly. I told her it was okay to say "no, I'm playing with her now." Guess what???? She did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She even said it more than once! I was bursting with joy that she finally realized it was okay to talk and stand up for herself (politely of course!) I helped the other little one pick out another perfect doll to play with and all was great :)

Okay, so we had a minor meltdown after snack time when an older little girl was playing with the pink doll. I had to remind Alli about taking turns. It took a few hugs and reminders, but Alli did pretty well and even helped the older one take care of the baby by giving her a bottle to give to the doll ~ too cute! That child left a few minutes before we did so Alli was able to give the doll a proper goodbye and snuggle before putting it away. All in all, I would have to say it was a huge success! As we left, Alli even said bye to her friend who hosted and thank you! It was a proud day for Mommy!

I hope for her sake, we can continue to have minor breakthroughs like this so she becomes more comfortable.

Blue Fish could be here sooner than expected . . .

We had our 35 week appointment yesterday and learned that things are progressing and our doc thinks he could be here within the next week or two ~ YIKES!!! Obviously, we want him to stay put as long as possible (or at least the next four weeks). She said the only way we are going to get him to stay in is to stop having contractions, which is unlikely since I am having them all the time and they are really starting to hurt ~ OUCH! That said, although I was previously given permission to take Alli for walks, that has come to an end and I'm pretty much stuck on the couch again. Not strict bed rest but definitely needing to take it easy and have my feet up as much as possible. Thank goodness my folks just returned from vacation and they offered to play with Alli today ~ she loves spending time with them and it gives her a chance to run around and play :) My doc said that if he hasn't arrived yet and I want to take a walk in two weeks, I have her blessing. Seeing as how we want him to stay in as long as possible, I think I will pass on that but boy will it be hard!

It's a bit funny because Tuesday night I had a mini breakdown about having both a newborn and a toddler, wondering how I could possibly do it and stressing about getting everything done before he arrives. Garrett found this extremely amusing, assuring me that we had plenty of time to finish all we need to do and that it will be a piece of cake. He was more than a little surprised to get my call yesterday to let him know that we likely do not have as much time as we thought!

Please pray that this little guy stays put for at least two more weeks, if not longer, to give him the best chance for a healthy entry into this world!!! We'll keep you posted and promise to post pictures of the finished nursery soon :)

Happy Father's Day!!!

We would like to say Happy Dad's Day to our wonderful Dads ~ we love you both and appreciate all that you have done for us!

Alli and I did our best to pamper Garrett today :) There was lots of playing hide and seek (Alli's new favorite game) and snuggling. After church, we went to Clear Creek Nursery to pick out some new trees and plants for our yard. Alli and Garrett had lots of fun feeding the Coi fish, even after the fish got so excited that they splashed Miss Alli. Sadly, this afternoon I needed to work but this allowed Alli and Garrett to have some wonderful Daddy ~ Daugther time alone and based on all of the giggles I heard, they had a blast. This evening, we went to dinner at the Fishers and had a nice time visiting with everyone.

Here are some photos of my two favorite people . . .

Smooches from Daddy

Smooches from Alli

Feeding the Coi fish

Helping Daddy push the trees

Happy Dad's Day to all of the Dads and Dads-to-be out there!!!

8 Years & Going Strong :)

Eight years ago today, we said our vows and today we celebrated our continuing love :) While we are the first to admit that marriage is not always easy, I think it is safe to say we are more in love today than we were when we said "I do." Garrett was able to take the day off and we enjoyed spending the day with Alli, who took us out to breakfast to celebrate ;-) Our niece Ashlie came over to play with Alli this evening so the two of us could go out to dinner ~ Alli wasn't too sure about this and kept asking to go out to dinner with us but eventually gave in to staying home. What a wonderful anniversary!!!

Here we were right after our ceremony . . . guess we were a little excited :)

Us now . . . (okay so it's tough to get a great pic when you take it yourselves!)

Another Adjustment

So when I went for my 33 week OB appointment last Thursday, the doc decided it was time to pull me out of work completely. She thinks the stress and hours (even working from home) are too much and we need to keep this little guy in and comfy for a few more weeks. I know this is what is best and I can honestly say that there were many moments I prayed for this to happen, but now that it has, I'm struggling! I know, there is no making me happy huh??? ;-) The partners I work with are so fabulous and understanding that they want me to just focus on me and the baby to the point that I feel completely cut off. I realize they are trying to be helpful but I feel so left out all of a sudden and not needed. I'm sure this sounds crazy but oh well, we'll blame it on the pregnancy hormones. G thinks that it will take me a couple of weeks to get used to this but that eventually I will be happy about it. I'm sure he's right but at the moment, my ego is bruised realizing they can get along just fine without me . . . guess I'm not as indispensable as I thought :) Alli of course thinks this is a great turn of events!

Some Nursery Shots . . .

Although it is not completed, since we have received requests, here are a couple of pictures . . .

We're hoping to finish it this weekend but we'll see :) The plan is to complete it before our 'lil blue fish arrives! We bought a navy rocker that we will move into the room once G finishes the trim. Hopefully, the blue fish likes it!

The Dreaded Question . . .

Last night while Alli and I were sitting at the table enjoying dinner (G was still at work), Alli started looking around then turned to me and asked "Mommy, where Salem?" My heart dropped and it was all I could do not to cry (I still feel so guilty). The truth is we don't know where Salem is so I told her what we thought "Salem went to play with Jesus." She seemed to accept that answer but doesn't grasp what it means so a few minutes later I hear "When Salem come home?" Again, all I can do to keep a smile and explain that Salem probably is not coming home anymore ~ what a horrible thing to have to say. That seemed to satisfy her, for now at least. After she went to bed, G and I sat and talked about Salem. We both wish he would come back if only for 5 minutes so we could give him one last snuggle and tell him how much we love him! I know it's hard for anyone losing a pet but the lack of closure really hurts.

Wonderful News . . .

We learned today that our dear friends, Jon and Michelle, finally have their baby girl in their arms! The absolutely beautiful little Lauren Alexis was born on May 31, 2009. We could not be happier for them. God bless all three of you!!! What a wonderful adventure on which the three of you are embarking. Thank you for letting us share in this joy with you!

Saying Goodbye to Salem :(

With their qualities of cleanliness, discretion, affection, patience, dignity, and courage, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats?

Fernand Mery, Her Majesty the Cat

******************

SALEM GUAPO FISHER

July 2, 2001 - May 30, 2009

Not long after we were married, Garrett and I decided we would get a cat. I was lonely having just moved to MA and Garrett grew up with cats. Labor Day weekend, we had a BBQ at our home on Hanscom AFB with some of our neighbors, one of whom worked at a Vet Clinic. Turns out they had an entire litter of kittens that had been abandoned and she brought them home until they could find homes for all of them. We all went across the street to meet these kittens. They were all adorable and it was hard to choose, until that is, we saw Salem. I was holding another kitty that I put down the moment I saw Salem. Garrett was just as captivated by him. Unlike his brothers and sisters, Salem had spunk. He was tackling his siblings and two very large dogs and trying to scale a large wooden bear. We instantly knew he was the cat for us and he seemed to like us as well! For six years, Salem was our "baby." His life changed quite a bit after Alli was born but he was still very loved. The move to WA seemed like a dream come true for him as he could go outside as much as he wanted and there was always someone around to give him attention even when we were focused on Alli. He was not always the easiest cat to love as he could be quite fiesty with anyone other than us but he truly loved us and we loved him.

Prior to moving to WA, we never let him outside at night but we loosened up a bit here. Friday night (technically Saturday morning) a little after midnight he was driving us bonkers trying to get out the back door. Finally, I relented, letting him out but telling him he was out for the night since we were going to bed. I had no idea that would be the last time we would ever see him. He never came back and Salem always comes back. He is never gone for more than a couple of hours. The guilt I feel is horrible, especially because we were so caught up in our lives on Saturday that we didn't even notice that he was missing until my mom casually asked where he was. Suddenly it hit us like a ton of bricks. We searched for him but found nothing. Now we are left with an overwhelming sense of guilt and sadness as we see his food and water dishes that have not been touched in days but we cannot bring ourselves to put them away yet.

So far, Alli has not noticed that her kitty is missing and we have decided not to bring it to her attention. If she asks, we'll tell her but why bring it up now? Every noise I hear I keep thinking is Salem at the door but we know he's not coming back this time. We would like to share some pictures of our furry friend as we mourn this loss.

Salem's first Christmas & his personalized stocking

About as close as he wanted to be to Alli when she was an infant,
they were actually becoming pretty good pals lately

He was a real trooper taking his picture with our nephew Kyle's "Flat Stanley"

He loved playing with bags :)

He was always great for snuggling with us.

We miss you Salem!!!