The Last Days are Here

...of 2007 at least. I cannot believe that another year has gone by already. I figured, even sans camera, I should make one final post before the year is out. The Holidays were spent in California with my family this year. We have a blast cramming 11 people into 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Love the closeness :)
A few things about this Christmas that made it extra special; Brother Ben was home from Estonia and packing up for college. This sweet boy always gets shoved out of his room when we are all home so the young kids can have rooms to nap in. He gets a gold star for being so patient. My genius brother starts school at BYU in less than a week. He will be on full tuition scholarship and I couldn't be more proud. He is a great brother, amazing person, and kind soul. I just hope he doesn't get snatched up too soon in the Provo meat market! Jordana is official 18 and working on his 238 job of the year. He's working at Ralphs, a grocery store and trying to figure out life. I loved talking with him because he is so real. I wish we could talk more often. He is a great kid with a lot of life ahead of him still. I just hope that he will listen to Heather and I and learn from our mistakes (but who ever really listens to advice before going through an event themselves?!). Grandma Anita (great-grandma) was around to be with the great-grand kids. It was fun to have extended family around and realize how blessed we are to have someone extra to love each one of us. Mom and Dad actually gave us ideas for gifts this year so they were actually excited about what they got. Maybe not surprised...but excited. It is always fun to give a good gift and see the person's face. We had Christmas Eve at the Jones' home because Grandma and Grandpa are gone...again! They left to serve mission #2 in Hawaii just a few weeks before. They were missed but we got to talk to them on the phone and video chat once or twice. What an amazing example they are. Not only do they serve, but now they have blessed two young couples as they have let Ryan and I rent their home during their first mission and another young family is renting it this time around. We were so blessed to have that opportunity for Ry to finish school and I could work three great jobs. We also got to attend the "Rosenthal sisters family Christmas" which is basically Ryan's whole stinkin extended family. I thought the guy was crazy when he kept introducing me to cousin after cousin...but it turns out it was actually Grandma's sisters and their kids. We are blessed, yet again, to be so close to so many people. It was really exciting to see the family, especially since we've moved. We also had our newly engaged cousin Kathleen and her fiance, Drew at the party. It was fun to get to know more about the newest addition. Saving the best for last...it was amazing to be a mom at Christmas. Tyler is my life. I can hardly remember life before our little boy. It was fun to be a "good mom" and get him some books to help him learn ;) Or at least to tear the pages out of for now. He was spoiled rotten by his grandparents on both sides. It was so fun to see him open his gifts (with help from daddy). This Christmas his favorite part was definitely all the paper. He enjoyed the toys once he figured out they were there. Tyler was a tired little boy and made it through about half of Christmas gifts then he went down for his morning nap. It was fun regardless. We had our traditional Eggs Benedict made by papa Ricardo. He is a great cook and had to break in his new egg poacher from his favorite daughters.
Christmas was amazing, being with family was better, and having daddy around for the whole thing was best! We have been missing Ryan with his insanely hectic schedule at work. It was so amazing to have him with us for days in a row. We really are a blessed family and it didn't end there. We drove home after Christmas dinner to meet Granny, Grandpa and Uncle Kyle at our house in Henderson. We were able to see both sides in one week. We walked the strip, did some shopping and Tyler was doted upon like any first grandchild would be. We loved having yet another whole family experience. Although Ryan had to work more than we had planned, it was special to have his family here all the way from Sacramento. We had movie nights, ate too much ice cream, and fell in love with Uncle Kyle's humor!
Life has most definitely had it's ups and downs in the last 12 months. But at years end all I can think of is how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband, an adorable son, and the greatest extended family that anyone could ask for. I am going to expound on the husband comment for a brief moment because I never get the time to write about how blessed I am. I found this crazy, 25-year-old, non-college-student just over three years ago in Provo, Utah. I doubted that he was interested in me, made him be patient, put him through the ringer, and somehow still convinced him to marry me. We lived a fantastic life pre-Tyler. We got to go to Cancun together, he got to go to Hawaii with his popa, we spent many family vacations together. Ryan has worked hard at school with great success and now he works hard at work with equally good success. He is a very kind person. He likes to do things for others. He cleans house better than I ever could. He details cars like pro (because his is a pro) Ryan can vacuum faster and better than I can. He pays close attention to detail. He lets me bundle up on my half of the bed and even cuddles with me to make sure I'm warm before he turns on the cyclone fan. Ryan's greatest desire is that he can go to work and know that his son is safe at home. He is so humble and amazed that his income is what is keeping us going. I love it when he has moments that he realizes that we're doing it. We are living on his income. He works so hard. He deserves so much! I wish that I could have given him more for Christmas...maybe next year. I love my little family and I look forward to what the next year brings. Hopefully one of the many things that comes in the new year will be a full nights' sleep for mom and son! Here's to wishing :) Happy New Year!!

Breaking News!!

Tyler cut his first tooth yesterday!!! What a big boy :) We are so relieved that he is getting his first tooth. Not only is it an achievement, but it explains why he has been so irritable the past few days. Oddly enough, we doped him up (legally) for his shots and he became his pleasant self. When that started to wear off I gave him my finger to chew on and...ouch! There it is...his first tooth. We are so proud of our big boy.

6 month stats are in...

Tyler saw his new pediatrician for the first time yesterday. While the experience itself was less than impressive(over an hour wait for a Dr. with no manners)...my little guy is always impressive.

Tyler is 17lbs. 8oz., 27.5 in.

That puts him in the 50th percentile in weight and 75-90th percentile in height. It is exciting to have irrefutable evidence that the little guy is growing. He is doing great and this was the best shot experience yet. He only had to have 2 shots since the HIB vaccine was recalled (at least in NV) he cried at first from the poke, but he had a little drink from his water bottle, took his pacifier and decided he was ok. It was great! To celebrate we got mommy some free Golden Spoon on the way home. I'll be sure to post some pictures once we get our camera working again- it died on us and we're praying that it will come back from the dead so we don't have to buy a new one.

The BIG 1/2 yr celebration!!

Alright, so that's kind of a tease. Tyler celebrated his 6 month "birthday" this past week on Thursday. He didn't say his first words or walk, but he did something equally impressive in my book. We were at Aunt Heather's for dinner and he usually spends his dinner time in the walker so he is entertained. Well, we were cleaning up and start to hear the most adorable little voice just cracking up. Tyler has laughed before but only if he's tickled... so I walk over on the other side of the Christmas Tree and there here is with a little leap frog drum in his hands in the walker just laughing away. Even more hilarious is that he continued to laugh even with the audience of 5 for about five more minutes. It is so sweet to hear his little voice laugh like that...especially when the first 12 weeks of his life were spend crying...and I do mean 12 weeks solid! I know his weighs more, measures longer, and almost crawl, but it is really the those little moments-like laughing- that make my heart warm as I realize how much my sweet boy is growing up. We have been so blessed to have Tyler in our lives for 6 months already. We look forward to the weeks, months, and years to come. It is such a blessing to have a baby around during the Christmas season. Tyler has been a great reminder of Christlike love, patience, and innocence. We look forward to posting the short video we have of the cutest laughing spell ever...once I figure out how to post videos on this thing. Until then just hold your breath!

My Cutie Pie!

Just wanted to share the cuteness with everyone. This is my adorable son, Tyler. My brother Ben took this perfect picture when he and my mom were out visiting last weekend. We loved having them around and Tyler loved having all the attention he could handle. He's almost six months now...just wait for more cuteness that is sure to follow.

We're joining in on the fun!!

Truth be told, I've been browsing other's blogs for awhile now. I figured, if their life is interesting to me...maybe my life will be interesting to them. It's also a good way to keep random friends updated on the day to day life of my adorable little family. Brief beginnings- we've recently moved to Henderson,NV. Ryan is a hard working man and I'm a stay at home mom. Tyler and I hang out all the time and we get to celebrate his 6 month "birthday" this week. I hope that I will be able to keep this updated and use it as a journal of sorts for our family since I stink at pen and paper journaling. Here we go! You're welcome to come along for the ride.