Funny things said by my 3 year old....

"I not talking you" - when he's mad at us

"Thank you your 'pinion" - in adult.. thank you for your opinion

DIdn't want to forget these gems :)

Loving backhoe loaders, airplanes, trains, and the POOL

a little conversation:

"Noni, we go you pool?"

"Well bud, the pool isn't open yet. There is no water in it."

- taking his watering can (12oz), "That okay - I fill it"

Yep buddy, if you start now, you'll have the pool ready by September

2 Years Old

Adrian turned 2 on Feb 10th and I wanted to write down some of the things he says and does so we don't forget. In looking through pics to add since I last posted, there are a ton! I won't include them all :)

Elmo Birthday Cake - Thanks Gaga!

We had his 2 year doc appointment and kiddo is 24.4lbs (9%)  for weight and 34 inches tall (61%). Assuming that you double your height at 2, then Adrian will be approximately 5'10". I suspect he'll be taller than that, but we'll see.

We're at the stage that I can't get a non-blurry pic

Since my last posting, Adrian has taken off in terms of activity and development. He has 2 speeds, running and sleeping. It's rare to catch him in between those 2.

First haircut - 8/25/2013

Adrian:
- has all his teeth!
- can count to 20 (with some help)
- loves the number 8
- knows all his ABC's and points them out. Right now W is a favorite
- knows many shapes: square, triangle, circle, oval, star, heart
- loves Elmo and Callou (tv shows)

Feeding Khan

Favorite books:
- Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom (aka Boom Boom)
- I'll love you forever (aka Grew)
- Oh Baby, Go Baby (aka Baby)
- On the night you were born (aka Bears)

 With Nana

Playing Piano with Aunt Kim

Some of the things he says (so I remember how he said them):
- You me (excuse me)
- Taunk oo (Thank you)
- Nana (banana)

Taking the train this past summer                       Petting Zoo at Broomfield Days

He has started out to be a true 2 year old. We hear almost daily, "No, Mine!" He wants to do everything himself, but he also wants to play with us. The other night, we were playing and Richard changed it up and Adrian told him "No, Look" and pointed to where Daddy was supposed to look.

Pic with Mommy

Allergy testing (round 1) - he was such a champ!

In November, Adrian had an allergic reaction to peanut butter at daycare causing a trip to urgent care. He was fine after some medicine, but it resulted in a trip to the allergist. As we assumed, he is allergic to milk, peanuts, all tree nuts, seasame oil/seeds, cats, and dogs. Poor kiddo - but he did great. They finished the testing and once we got home, I realized they didn't test for the evironmental items, so we had to go back the next day for round 2, again, he did great. We got to watch Elmo while we waited, so Adrian was a happy kid. Since then, we have discovered Sunflower butter as a substitute for peanut/almond butter and we have to read all the ingredient listings on everything! There have been a few times that we've messed this up and caused a minor reaction. Luckily, it's not life threatening if he only has a little bit, but we still have an epi-pen with us all this time.

Adrian is 16 Months

Well, we goofed as parents and missed Adrian's 15th month doc appointment, so we had a 16 month appointment instead.

We DAILY say that we cannot believe how much Adrian has grown and changed. He is all toddler and such a joy. We're reminding ourselves, that parenting is a daily thing and we need to be consistent with it. We're fortunate that our little man is really pretty easy. On Sat June 15, he had his first temper tantrum... my my, I could hardly hold in my laugh. Adrian pointed his finger at me and yelled "No, No, No!" and stomped his feet. He was mad at me because I would not let him turn my mom's printer on and off a million times and closed him out of the office. We grabbed his hand a led him to the living room to play with something else and he was fine.

He's learning how to communicate with us and loves to go to the playground.

We've been working on sign language with him and it's been great to have that communication tool. Currently, Adrian signs (it seems like he signs more than this, but I can't come up with more):
- please
- thank you
- apple
- keys
- corn
- all done
- eat / hungry
- more
- water

 His vocabulary is starting to take-off as well. He says:
- Momma
- Dadda
- Nandi (Sandi)
- Nana (for Nana, Nanasita, and Banana)
- Bye-bye
- Ca(t)
- Khan
- Quack
- Moo
- Gree (Hungry)
- No
- Woof
- Roar

16 Month Stats:
Weight = 20lbs, 6 oz (11%)
Height = 32 inches (61%)

We love our little man!!

Fathers' Day 2013

Happy 2nd Fathers' Day to Richard!

We had a fun-filled weekend where I feel like we packed 5 days into 2 days. We have Adrian back in swim lessons and he LOVES the pool.... the problem is that the lessons are during nap time so this week, Adrian just about fell asleep on my shoulder in the pool. We talked to our instructor about this and he was able to pull some stings for us to get into the 9am class! Thank you, thank you, Harrison!

Uncle K's bday was on the 12th, so we followed swim (and nap) with a BBQ at my mom's to celebrate. We ended up staying until 7pm with her and even hit up her pool after Adrian's afternoon nap! Both Richard and I were exhausted, so we went home, put A to bed, and took a 20 nap ourselves. We still had lots to do to prep for the next day, so we couldn't just go to bed.

Fathers' Day! We had a great breakfast with Grand-Nana and Nanasita in Boulder. Adrian was so well behaved, we could hardly believe it! Adrian insisted on getting Richard some tools for Father's day, and Dada was happy to get them. Adrian colored a picture and got him some nuts... b/c "I'm Nuts about you Dad" (haha) Thanks Daycare!

Richard and I then sent Adrian home with Nanasita for naps while we headed up to Estes Park for our valentine's day gift of horseback riding. We made a full day out of it and stopped at our wedding venue to walk around and reminisce. We went to some of our favorite Estes locations then hit up the ranch for the ride. We both really enjoyed it and want to take Adrian up. I think he would love the horses and experience.

To finish off the weekend, my Dad came into town for a work meeting, so we grabbed dinner with him. Overall, it was a great weekend to celebrate our Dada!

Also, happy 4 year anniversary Love!

Mother's Day 2013

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures with Adrian! We did take some video, though, but nothing with me and my boy.

On Saturday morning, we headed up to Boulder to take a little hike - just the 3 of us. Adrian loved being outside, but he wanted to walk rather than be in the backpack on my back. We let me down twice to walk around and explore a bit and he loved it. We hope to re-arrange the yard work schedule, so we can spend Saturday mornings having family time - so many more hikes to come.

After church on Sunday, we went to Nana's to celebrate all the moms: Nana, my Mom, and me. We all pitched in to have a great pot roast meal complete with Angel food cake. Nana requested that we plant flowers for her for Mother's day, so we did just that and her yard looked great when we were done. Adrian played with the puppy and kept Nana busy while we were planting, so it was a success.

Happy Mother's Day!

A Reminder to Live Well

I started this 2 months ago, but haven't taken the time to finish it until now.

My Boo (grandfather) unexpected passed away on Feb 15 and I've been reminded on how precious the little moments in life are. We've been spending extra time as a family and not worrying as much about the tidiness of our house. We've had extra family in town and have been trying to figure out what the future looks like.


Boo slipped and hit his head in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Feb 7 causing a severe head injury. He and Nana were set to fly home the next day after waiting for some official forms from the Mexican government. We had a weekend full of celebration planned (Adrian's birthday) and could not wait to see them. My mom flew down as soon as she heard that he fell and together with my Nana, they made a plan to fly him back to Colorado, via air ambulance. We are incredibly fortunate to have friends in the medical field, who assisted in getting everything set-up, reviewed CAT scans, and provided the insight needed. Once back in Colorado, they took him off the sedatives to determine what the damage was - and it wasn't good. Within 18 hours, they told us that the expected level of brain activity wasn't there and he was brain-dead. Nana made the hardest decision in the world to take him off life-support, but that was his wish - he didn't want to be a vegetable. So on Friday, Feb 15th life support was removed and my Boo passed away shortly after. We were by his side the whole time, loving him to the end.

My Nana and Boo spent 56 years together and were truly each other's best friend. I had the amazing opportunity to grow up in the same town as them and spent every holiday and special event with them. I can't remember any special event that they were not apart of. I have the unique opportunity to know them not just as grandparents, but as great friends. Richard and I have sought them out for opinions and advice, gone to dinner with them just to enjoy their company, and spent many hours playing cards together. We treasured any time that we got to spend with them and the time that Adrian got to spend with Boo. 

My Nana and Boo did marriage right. I'm sure they had their troubles, but they deeply cared for one another. We would see them occasionally pick at each other, but it was always in a playful, loving manner. In the last few moments of Boo's life, I witnessed my Nana's heart break. He was taken off life support and once his heart rate was 0, my Nana leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Boo's heart rate jumped-up again, for just a few moments, but I think he knew that the love of his life was talking to him.

My Boo was a trouble-maker and the life of the party. He was a music teacher for many years and retired in the early 90's. He played in and with many bands and even some big name musicians. He instilled a love a music in his daughters and grand-children. Below is his obituary (edited for privacy):

Charles Ray D was born February 25, 1935 in Ponca City, Oklahoma to the late Edward C. and Sarah (Andrew) D. The nickname "Toby" was given to him as a child by his beloved uncle, Walt Andrew, and it served him well all his life. 

Toby attended Ponca City schools where his love of music was nurtured. He played his first dance job while in high school. Attending Phillips University in Enid, OK, he continued his study of and performance of music, graduating in 1957.

Toby taught music at all levels from Kindergarten through 12 during his career, starting in Oklahoma and Kansas. The family relocated to Broomfield, Colorado in 1964, where he was employed by Adams County School District #14 until his retirement in 1990. Throughout his teaching career he nurtured and inspired a love for music to countless students, including his own daughters.

In Denver, he discovered a large fraternity of professional musicians who became wonderful friends and remained very important to him throughout his life. Toby played in jazz combos and large dance bands on trombone and bass. He was an excellent singer of big band ballads and loved doing it. Classical music was also a favorite and a huge highlight for him was attending a live Pavarotti concert. 

After retiring, Toby enjoyed traveling with his wife, Marilyn, and spent winter months with a community of close friends in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

Toby passed away Friday, February 15, 2013, in Boulder after suffering a severe head injury. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Marilyn; three daughters: Joy C of NV; Joni B of CO; and Kimberly M of OR; son-in-law Reginald M; seven grandchildren: Zachary C of Germany; Nathan and Caitlin C of NV; Rachel M of OR; R.J. M of CA; Sara B and Grace D of CO; three great grandsons; brother, Donald D of Ponca City, OK; aunt Wilma A; a multitude of nieces and nephews; and his treasured Yorkie, Mikey. He also leaves to mourn a multitude of neighbors and dear friends, both here and in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 22, at 10:00 am at the Christian Church of Broomfield, 12601 Sheridan Blvd, Broomfield CO. A Celebration of Life will be held following the services at The Chateaux at Fox Meadows, 13600 Xavier Lane, Broomfield, CO, from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm. 

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests any memorial contributions be directed to the Boulder Humane Society or the Salvation Army.

Shaken Baby Syndrome

I read an article today about a 7 month old baby boy who passed away this week from injuries consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. Investigations are underway, but initially everything points to the unlicensed daycare provider. Out of respect for copyright - I did not include his picture, but he's one cute kiddo!

Before becoming a mom, an article like this would have touched my heart and made me sad for a few moments. That sounds terrible but now, being a mom, this article has stopped me in my tracks, my chest literally hurts, and tears coming streaming from my eyes. This is heart-breaking.

I cannot imagine what Leyton's parents are going through and honestly, I don't want to imagine it. Leaving your heathly, happy baby boy with someone you should be able to trust so you can go to work is hard enough. But then having this happen, getting that phone call telling you to go to the hospital. I don't know what that day looked like for his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles - did they get to interact with Leyton, tell him they loved him, hold and cuddle him. And then, being told your baby is brain dead and having to make the choice to take him off life support. It would kill me.

I recently had to live through taking a loved one off life-support. I haven't shared it here, I've started a post, but haven't finished it. The pertinent information here, is that my Boo slipped and hit his head which ultimately resulted in him being brain-dead. My Nana did the hardest thing in the world (and the right thing) to choose to take him off life support. I was there. My family was there. My Nana, aunt, mom, sister, and I never left his side. We sang to him, talked to him, and loved him. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Once we took him off life-support, it took 2 hours for him to pass. The hardest 2 hours ever. We were assured that he felt nothing and there was no pain, but it didn't sound that way. It sounded like every breath was hard. In reading this article, I have the comfort knowing that Boo lived a full, happy life.

According to the article, Leyton survived for a week without machines before passing.

A week! A week of the unimaginable. A week knowing that your babies current breath could be his last. A week thinking of all the moments you'll never get and all the moments that you didn't hold dear enough. He didn't get that full life that Boo did, but I hope and imagine that it was a happy life. From the pictures included in the article, he sure looks happy.

I don't know his family, but I want to wrap my arms around you and love you. So consider this a virtual hug. I know that no words will comfort you and any words will just sound trivial. So, I am crying with you and for you. I'm praying for you. The next few minutes, hours, days, months, and years will be hard - lean on those who love you and take life moment by moment. Even if it is just to remember to breath in, then tell yourself to breath out.