2 Months

So I actually wrote this back in July but our computer took a tank, and by the time we got it up and running again, I was back to work...so here it is a month and a half late...

Time is flying by and Aiden is already 2 months old! Can you believe it?! I know I can't!

Our little man has mastered tracking, batting at objects, holding his head up and smiling, and will smile as soon as he sees Mommy or Daddy. He also responds back with a smile if you smile at him. He "talks" to us with coos and other adorable noises, and is beginning to squeal. He is becoming a drooler, blows drool bubbles and plays almost non-stop with his tongue. He loves his playmat and swing, looking at fans and lights, and listening to music (especially Disney songs and 80's music!). He also recently discovered his thumb and tries to suck on it. Sometimes it ends up being his whole fist, but it doesn't keep him from trying to find just his thumb. He consistently sleeps 4.5 hours at night (yes...only 1 nighttime feeding! Hooray!), and has even teased us with a few 5-6 hour nights...a very welcome treat!

Aiden just had his 2 month appointment and the doctor says he continues to look great. Everything is right on track developmentally! Our poor little bubba had to get 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He has started making tears, and when he looked up at me with those watery eyes I teared up with him. Good thing my mom was there for moral support!

Here are his 2 month stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 1 ounce (38th percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (95th percentile)

Head circumference: 15.75 inches (72nd percentile)

I guess we grow them long and lean! He is already outgrowing some of his 3 month clothes because he is so long, and we just had to move up his car seat straps to the next level. The other night I heard a weird noise coming from his sleeper and I couldn't figure out what it was. He was kicking his legs and his heels were hitting the edge of the Pack N Play! Guess it's time to get serious about moving him to his crib!

We continue to have lots of visitors here at the Dake Family B & B. Shortly after the Stephens Family and Grandma and Papa Mike left, we were visited by Cousin Mark and Yesenia and their family. They were finishing up a roadtrip to Seattle. The babies loved to stare at each other!

We also got a visit from the "greats"...Gigi, Great Grandpa, and Great Aunt Lainie and Uncle Ed (whose promotion from "Great" to "Fantastic" is pending).

 

Then Aiden finally got to meet his Auntie Tori who is home for a week from the Central Africa Republic. They both fell in love with each other, and it was great getting to spend time with her during her trip home to the states!

And then he got a quick visit from his Great Aunt Cindy, who stopped by on her way to Yosemite.

He's making a good dent on meeting all his relatives! There's still a little time for people to come visit before I head back to work in August!

And somewhere in the middle of all our visitors, Jeff and I had our 3rd anniversary! We didn't really do anything to celebrate. In fact, Jeff bbq'd hamburgers and I made brownies. Talk about living large! But he did pick up some flowers, kettle corn and Cowboy Cookies from the SLO Farmer's Market...my favorite treats! It is hard for me to believe it has already been 3 years since our wedding. Life really does just fly by, and I'm trying to make a point to enjoy the little things in life. I love the adventures that Jeff and I have already embarked on, and I so look forward to where our life is headed, especially as our new little family of 3. I know there are good things in store for us!

1 year...

1 year ago today I woke up excited and nervous.

I had a million thoughts running through my mind and was feeling a million emotions at the same time. Would everything go as I had spent 2 1/2 years planning? Would I mess up my vows? Would I trip and fall in front of everybody? Would I pass out in the heat? Would my dress fit? Would everyone notice all the small details that I agonized over? Would I even notice all the details? How would the food taste? Would Jeff smash the cake in my face or behave and not mess up my makeup like I had asked him? Would the dance floor be hopping or empty as a ghost town? Would the day fly by? Would I remember the day forever?

And then I decided to just calm down, and try and enjoy every single moment of the day.

And I'm so glad I did...

The day was magical...

It was a day I had counted down til for 2 1/2 years. And it was worth the wait. We were so lucky to be surrounded by so many people who loved and supported us. I can vividly remember every emotion I was feeling throughout the day. I know this will fade with time, but I know I will never forget how truly happy I felt standing in front of everyone with Jeff by my side.

Thank you to all who made our special day just that...special. We cannot thank you enough.

It was the best day of our lives.

To my loving husband...

Thank you for being my better half. Thank you for being patient with me, even when I am not at my finest. Thank you for understanding that sometimes all I need is a hug. Thank you for cooking dinner every night so we don't have to eat at 9:00. Thank you for helping me realize that perfection is not reality, and that imperfection can still be perfect. Thank you for making me feel safe, for making me smile, making me laugh, making me happy.

I am so lucky to have found you.

Here is to many more years of happiness... together.

A Late Valentine's Day...

This past weekend, Jeff and I drove down to my parents' house/LA for a late Valentine's Day celebration. Yep, that's how we roll...Valentine's Day at the end of March. A designated day for celebrating with the rest of society isn't our style, especially with the schedules we've both had lately. We've both been busy with work, and what little free time we have seems to get gobbled up by wedding stuff.


For my V-day present, Jeff got us tickets to Beauty & the Beast at the Pantages Theater. We drove down to T.O. late Friday night, something that will be repeated several times in the next few months, and spent the night at my parents' house. Saturday we went into LA for lunch and the play, which was wonderfully done. There were tons of kids, with little girls dressed up like princesses. Adorable. And one of the highlights was a little girl shouting out during a quiet part..."I have to go pee-pee!" Classic. And the whole audience burst out laughing.

That night we had an early birthday dinner for my grandpa, since Judy, Kirk & Megan were in town for 1 more night. It was great seeing everyone, and there was delicious Nothing Bundt Cake for dessert. Yummy!

Another morning of sleeping in on Sunday, with lunch at The Counter. Delish! And we watched my March Madness bracket fall apart, and Jeff's come together. With the right wins in the remaining games, we could potentially win $375 between our two companies. Sweet! And then the long drive back up after another weekend gone by too quickly.

Wedding updates:

-All the bridesmaid dresses are ordered...good job girls!
-The cake has been ordered after a scare of losing our baker after waiting too long to book...she is booked for 6 weddings that weekend already, but squeezed us in since I talked to her so long ago! PHEW!
-The tuxes have been figured out...info to be sent out soon
-The showers seem to be taken care of...thanks hostesses!
-The rehearsal dinner sounds like its details are falling into place...good job Mike & Becky!

If you have not yet booked your hotel room and are planning to book under our group, there are only 5 rooms left. Not that I'm anticipating them booking quickly, since most of the people I expected to book them have already done so. But I also know a few people who have not yet booked who I want to make sure get the discounted rate.

I feel like I'm in a constant push and pull of checking things off my to-do list and adding more things on. It never stops! And I feel like there are so many things I'm over-looking. What if there's something big I'm forgetting about?! What if people don't like the decisions I make? What if things fall apart at the last minute? Oh wedding woes...I'll get over it, hopefully.

The next few weeks we'll be busy with visitors and working on more wedding stuff. Hope the beginning of spring is treating you well. Enjoy the sunshine!

Griffith Observatory...

So I know this happened a while ago, and I wanted to blog on it back in December when we went but alas, had no time. Now that I have the time, I'll actually write about it...


Way back in December, during the time of gorgeous weather, Jeff and I went with my parents to the Griffith Observatory. While we (my parents and I) had always talked about making this trip, we had never found the time. So now that it's back open again, and the weather was gorgeous, we decided it was time to make the trip.




For those of you who don't know, the Observatory is free, and has some pretty awesome exhibits. You can pay to watch the shows in the planetarium, but it was too crowded and we decided to wander around the free part of it instead.



You can also hike up to near the Hollywood sign, but we decided to just take pictures from the Observatory.



Word of advice...get there early. This is a popular place, even during the daytime, and there is not a ton of parking. As it was, we had to hike up the hill, and we got there probably at least 30 minutes before it even opened. All in all a great experience, and one I highly suggest you do if you live in the area.

25 Birthday Celebrations...

Ok, maybe there were technically only 3 parties, but there sure was a lot of celebrating over the last few weeks. Let's start with the triple b-day celebration...


My grandpa was nice enough to share his b-day celebration with my mom and I, so we partied down x3. Thanks for sharing your party with us Papa!

On the 27th, 20 of my classmates (including me) headed down to downtown LA for a taping of the Price is Right. We had talked about doing this since our 1st year, and well...we were kind of running out of time. One guy from our class made it up on stage, but didn't win his prize. In fact, nobody won any of the prizes. Not even the showcases! Of course, I could have easily won 5 of the 6 prizes as I guessed the correct price/box/item. But did they pick me? Noooooo. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun, and you should set your DVR to record the show on the 24th. We're the big sea of red in the middle...and I'm pretty sure I got a lot of camera time!

My mom and I made a quick trip to Disneyland last Friday to celebrate our birthdays early. It was kind of weird because a lot of things were closed and boarded up as they are getting ready for the summer madness. But we still had fun...we always do. It was a short trip, as we had to leave early to be home for Jeff. He came down from SLO last weekend for a little birthday celebrating (here comes party #2).

Jeff and I went hiking on the trails that I have spent a lot of my childhood on in Wildwood Park. We didn't do anything too ambitious as we weren't sure how his knee would handle it. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was nice to soak in some sunshine. We also went out to dinner at Wood Ranch...who can resist those mashed potatoes?! Sunday we had birthday party #2, and opened up presents and enjoyed my traditional FunFetti cake.


One of Jeff's presents was this...


I'm so excited! I can't wait to cook some of these recipes...they look delicious!

Then Jeff headed back up to SLO on Sunday evening. He would have stayed for my actual birthday if I didn't have to go to class. But I did. But my friends brought me flowers, cupcakes from Dots (do they know me well, or what?!), and other goodies and cards. Monday night we had Firestone's tri-tip sandwiches that my dad had brought home from SLO (yes, he and Jeff had swapped places for the weekend), and my mom got me two Bundlets from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Mmmm...their red velvet is devine!


Thanks everyone for the cards, phone calls, emails, and well wishes. It's kind of surreal being 25. I feel like now I'm officially an adult. Why I wasn't an adult at 24, I'm not sure. Maybe because now I can rent cars? Maybe because I'm no longer in my early 20's? Well, I embrace reaching a quarter century, and am hoping to avoid any quarter life crises. Thanks again for making my birthday so special!

Life as a 3rd Year...

...isn't all it's cracked up to be. Well, it is but it isn't at the same time. I'll start off by saying that our schedule is pretty amazing compared to terms in the past.

Monday: Administration 1:00-3:00
Tuesday: Wellness & Nutrition: 1:30-6:30
Wednesday: We only have to meet if we're working on our research projects
Thursday: Administration 1:00-3:00, Clinical Case Studies 3:00-8:00

So Thursdays are pretty long, but other than that, we really only have class 3 days a week and it never starts before 1:00, which for us commuters means we don't sit in morning traffic. Although the schedule may be nice, they are making up for it by piling on the busy work. I'm talking projects galore! We don't have any tests, which is nice, but at least I know about how long studying will take me. Projects are always a complete unknown as far as time management. At least we're already into week 3, and it's a short term, so it's only 6 weeks!

Last week we took our class pictures. Each year we have taken new pictures that get sent out with our paperwork to whatever clinics we're going to. 1st year they take it during orientation, 2nd year you wear your scrubs, and 3rd year you wear professional attire. They also take a picture of the entire class together the 3rd year that will later hang in the hall after we graduate. Meet the APU DPT Class of 2010!


Hard to believe that we're getting so close to being finished. We all thought this day would never come! We keep telling the 1st and 2nd years that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. They don't quite believe us, but hey...we were there too!

This past weekend I headed up to SLO to hang out with Jeff. We went out Friday night with some of his work friends to Black Sheep, which is a bar downtown with amazing mac & cheese. I'm salivating just writing about it. Saturday night we had dinner with his aunt and cousin, D and Angela, who were in town wedding dress shopping for Angela and Mike's upcoming wedding in November. It was great to see them, since I really can't remember the last time I've seen them both. We exchanged wedding updates and vendor names. Oh wedding talk!

Speaking of weddings, I know I have whined about how far away the wedding is, but right now I am very thankful for it. (I can hear Jeff saying "SEE! I told you so!" as I write this) There are 4 girls in my class who are engaged and getting married by the end of this year, 3 of whom got engaged while we were out on our rotations. Let me tell you, they are freaking out about planning everything and meeting with vendors all while trying to get everything finished for school. Meanwhile, I have more planned than a couple of them and I don't have to worry about getting wedding things done right now. In fact, one girl is getting married Sept. 4th and just bought her dress this past weekend. And the only other thing she has booked is the location. Yikes. No thanks.

Guess that's it. Happy March everybody! Lots of b-day's this month, so happy birthday to all you special people! Stay dry, warm, and healthy!

Updates...

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. Sorry folks. Let me catch you all up to speed.

-Valentine's day weekend. I headed up to SLO to take care of my gimpy Jeff. (He had hurt his knee just before that). We saw "Valentine's Day", watched some of the Olympics, got Jeff some food (he hadn't been to the grocery store in a week and a half), and thoroughly enjoyed each others' company. We both are feeling the distance and separation a little more now after having been together for 3 months. Fortunately, the end is close(er).


-Hawaii. No, I didn't go to Hawaii, but Jeff and I finally booked our tickets for June. Bring on the surf, sand, sunshine and shave ice! ALOHA!

-Disneyland. My mom and I decided to take advantage of my close proximity to Disneyland before I moved out and ran away on a Wednesday. We didn't go on a ton of rides, but instead enjoyed relaxing and spending the day together. Besides, who doesn't want to run away to the happiest place on earth mid-week?!

-End of rotation #3. Yep, my 3rd rotation is officially over. The last few weeks were hectic to say the least. Due to budget cuts by the state, each of the therapists at the center were being forced to take a day off each week. We got Wednesdays, which is why I was able to go to Disneyland. Then, for my final week we were forced outside due to the discovery of toxic mold throughout the building. Mind you, we had no heads up on this, and showed up to a scene that looked like it was straight from E.T. Plastic tunnels everywhere, giant fans and dehumidifiers and filters, weird smelling dust (where was my mask??). So we called the week "Outdoor Adventure" and had to get creative. Thank goodness this was at the end. They are now at another church for the next 3 weeks, where they'll have to pack everything up every day because they won't allow them to leave things overnight. Better than outside, I guess. The parents were sad to see us go, and kept telling me I should work with kids because I was really good at it. We'll see. Maybe combine peds and ortho?

-Moving. I have moved back home to my parents' house. 5th time moving since August. Ethan was sad to see me go and kept trying to distract me from packing. He cried when he saw me pack my car. It just about broke my heart. Now I'm trying to unpack and sort through things. I have way too much stuff, but I hesitate to get rid of things due to all the "what if's" in life. Ugh. I hate decisions.

-Bridal shower. My mom and I attended a family friend's bridal shower on Sunday. Very nicely done. Made me start thinking about how close(r) our wedding is getting. It'll be here before we know it!

-All things wedding. So Jeff and I have chosen a location and a date. I have the contract and it's ready to be mailed tomorrow with the deposit. I'm not going to reveal where/when it is until we hear back that it's officially ours because I don't want to jinx it. Let me tell you though...when I saw it say "Mason-Dake Wedding" on the front, I just about peed my pants I was freaking out. In a good way. It suddenly made it real. Why it didn't feel real when I bought the dress, I don't know. But suddenly it hit me that this was MY wedding and MY big day. And I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for hours. Finally this is happening, and I can't wait. :)

-Back to school. Today was the 1st day of class after 7 months in the clinic. Which means I'm officially a 3rd year! Woohoo! Can't believe I've survived this long and am finally on the tail end of this madness called grad school. I am carpooling to Azusa with 2 classmates from Moorpark. It was exciting to see everyone again, but not too much fun to have to sit in class. Course, we only have class for 2 hours on Mondays, and he let us out an hour early. We spent more time in the car than we did in class. Oh well.

That's about it. Will try to do better at keeping this more current. Guess I got caught up in the whirlwind of life. Oops.

Christmas' galore and #100..

Christmas has come and gone. All four Christmas' to be exact. Our first celebration was with Jeff's extended family on the Sunday before Christmas. Lots of people and good food, and for an added bonus...the Chargers won! We had a sleepover with the Mitas family, and went out to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. I strongly recommend you go there if you ever get the chance. It was amazing! Be sure to bring your appetite though...the portions are definitely not on the skimpy side.

Then on Tuesday we headed down to Melissa & Derek's for an early Christmas celebration with them. Yay presents!



Then we went to the San Diego Zoo for Jungle Bells, where they light up the zoo with Christmas lights. It was freezing! Even the animals shivered under their heat lamps for warmth!


But it was still fun to see some of the animals and the pretty lights even though we were there for just a few hours.




Then we headed back to T.O. for even more Christmas celebrations! We even snuck in a visit with Jeff's grandparents and Uncle Larry! We spent Christmas Eve at my Oma's house for a yummy dinner of tamales and yet more presents. (No pictures on my camera of this one!)

Christmas day was spent at my parents' house, and the rest of the relatives came to us. We got to talk to my sister in the morning and hear about their celebrations. Good to hear from you Tori...we miss and love you! Then we opened stockings, ate yummy Kringle (we would have loved some of those Kolaches to go with it Melissa!), opened more presents (including my new camera which I still haven't used yet...oops!), stuffed ourselves with turkey, and opened the nativity that my Gam painted many many years ago. And guess who got the Baby Jesus?! Congrats Jeff! No pictures of this day on my camera either...get them from my mom!

Then Sunday Jeff and I parted ways again. He headed back up to SLO to attempt to meet his deadlines for the end of the year, and I am currently in Tustin and have started my 3rd rotation. The clinic I am working at is in Cypress by Knott's Berry Farm and is about a 15-20 minute drive from where I'm living. I'm about 5-10 minutes from Disneyland, and you can hear the fireworks every night! I am only 2 days into this rotation, but I can tell it's going to be very different from my other ones. On Mondays we do home visits or individual sessions, so yesterday we were at a park and only had 1 appointment...meaning I only had to work for 1 hour on my first day! Today we were at the actual center, and did group sessions since both our individual sessions cancelled for today...meaning I was done before noon! Woohoo! I know it won't be like this every day, but my CI doesn't work past 3:30 now that she has a daughter. Not a bad way to end my rotations! :)

And believe it or not, this is my 100th post! I can't believe I've written that many times! Thanks everyone for reading this and making it worth my while. I hope I've made it worth your effort to read it. You know I love all your comments! Here's to 100 more!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a fun, but safe, New Year! See you in 2010!