Sat outside with my boys and ate ice cream together, after having fun playing at the park. Such a wonderful day!

May fun...

Here are some pictures of William and our family through various activities and daily fun time. We had Mat's aunt come into town, Ashlee's College Graduation BBQ, an tid bits here and there. Enjoy.

What I Didn't See...

Being a parent has never been said to be easy. I really have always wanted to be a mommy. Anyone who has known me has known this about me. With being a nanny off and on for 14 years, honestly, I thought being a parent for me would be a breeze. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't totally naive to the idea that it would have its trying times, but I had NO idea it would be this tough.

William is the sweetest, loving, and most hilarious child. He really is a precious child. I count my blessings that I could even have and that we have the honor of raising him. I know God has blessed us. However, there are certainly times when I feel like the worst mom in the world and get so frustrated with and myself. It is obvious he is trying to tell me something and explain to me what's going on and I just don't 'get it'.  His incredibly loving and playful heart gets taken over by this fiercely frustrated child that begins to hit and bite because you're not getting what he's trying to say. It is, essentially, heart-breaking. I would love for him to instantly understand that I'm TRYING to understand him.  I would love for him to be able to instantly be able to communicate in a way we both understand. Life isn't that simple. I'm am really grateful for Mat's aunt who has reminded me that Will isn't going through 'terrible two's' he is simply trying to communicate his pain (from teething) and trying to explain what HE would like to be doing. It's not always easy for a child to just "go with the flow". When you really think about it, we all have things WE would rather be doing. As adults we, for the most part, just understand we have obligations and responsibilities. Will is not there yet. He is learning about his environment and trying to the learn the language. William is starting out, and is only 17 1/2 months old. We can't expect him to already understand the 'rules'.

God gives us daily joys with our boy. We're eternally grateful to laugh, play, tickle, read, sing, and teach him new things. We have chosen to take the tantrums with a grain of salt and realize there are lessons for him and lessons for us in each moment. We love him for who God has made Him to be and know that in retrospect these moments are shaping Him into He is going to be. Life is hard, but we can have fun and laughs through it all.

I say this with complete joy "Will is growing ME". As a person and as a parent, our son is stretching my character. He is teaching me to be more patient, flexible, and contentious of everything. I am proud to be his mom. As he grows and develops I see his potential and I see his purpose. Thank you God, for giving me a little boy to help grow into a character that YOU designed.

Cherishing the Moments

This life that keeps going, whether we stop or not, I refuse to let pass by without cherishing the moments. Will is growing up so fast, as all children seem to do. Mat's and my love continues to blossom. We just sit back and realize...we have a home, a child, and each other. I laugh because it doesn't take long for Will to just do the silliest things. He chases me around the house, 'getsing me' as we call it. He loves to play ball outdoors. He is discovering the world. I often find myself just stopping and taking a deep breath in experiencing his discovery. It might just be the way the dirt feels through his fingers, or a picture in a book, tasting something new, or how he gets ecstatic to eat a piece of chocolate. I want to savor each and every moment.
For Example:
Yesterday he and I were sitting at the table. I had white capris. Why do we even wear white, honestly? Anyway, he was eating some blueberry Kashi cereal, and of course his independent self wants to feed himself. Blue milk inevitably landed on my pants. I chose to laugh and take in the fact that he is learning, interested and happy. What more could I want? I laughed and told him how big and good he was. He even drank milk from the bowl, and loved it, I might add. It was so unmistakably adorable.

I will always cherish these moments, though small, that I get to share with my boys. With tears welled up in my eyes, I can honestly say the joy overwhelms and overflows. I'm beyond happy that my life has such incredible moments. God is wonderful.

The next 30 years

When shifted...I mean reallly shifted, life takes on a whole new meeting. Me and my co-workers went a retreat to Mammoth Lake to honor someone in our office that is retiring. We went to the Charthouse on Friday and today we went to a Spa. We drove to June Lake's Double Eagle. I had the luxury of doing Thai Chi and swimming. It was so much fun to admire the waterfalls and really taking in the environment. I have not had such an amazing time. We were able to truly relax.
Will and Mathew had a Father/Son weekend. They went to the Fish Hatchery. He had a great time going to McDonalds too. They had such a great time.

I am so in love! Thanking God for His unconditional love and how He takes care of me and our family every single day. I am reminded daily how fortunate we are!

Big 30th Birthday Celebration

When birthdays come and go as you get older, they seem to feel less important. My 30th birthday I couldn't decide if I was excited about it or dreading it. Well, as the day approached I got excited. I knew Mathew had some things up his sleeve.

Thursday Mathew kidnapped me from work at 3 pm. We headed home, packed, and then went south. Later we met up with his parents near Pearsonville. They kidnapped Will. At this point, honestly I was clueless. We arrived in Palm Springs, and my excitement rose significantly. This was where we had stayed for our honeymoon. I love this place. We first checked in, and then headed to the street fair. Afterwards, we headed to the grocery store. We rented "New Moon".  We had some wine, some ice cream, and watched the movie. Friday came and we got up slowly. We ate some cereal and went for a surprising Horseback Riding adventure in the desert of Palm Springs. We rode for an hour and then galavanted over to get a pedicure. It was Mat's first time. We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We headed back to the condo where we had lunch, and more ice cream. I rested for a while so Mathew could get some work done. After some showers and dinner we headed to the outlet malls. We had a great time. Saturday we met up with Mat's mom in Ontario to pick up our son. While we waited, we got Starbucks. We both had Caramel Macchiatos and I had a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting....yuuuuummmm. We meandered over to Target and then Best Buy. We actually shopped for a washer and dryer. It was kind of fun. We ate at Applebee's when we met up with Mathew's mom....then headed to DISNEYLAND. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, right behind Disneyland with my mom & Vicky. Upon arriving to our hotel my mom & Vicky brought the most vibrant roses from their garden. They smelled up the whole room.Mmmmm. After checking in we headed to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner. Dinner was had at the wonderful RAINFOREST CAFE. It was yummmmmy. Mia, Mats sister, came to visit us at the hotel too. We had early birthday cake...which I'll never reject. It was a nice visit. Saturday night Will decided he was going to keep us up all night with his screams. I'm nowhere near exaggerating. We woke up Sunday, exhausted.  We ended up ok, once we had breakfast and coffee.  We ate breakfast in Disneyland. It was quite tasty. Will slept nearly the entire time. It was a great day of rides and character greetings. We did more shopping too. If I'm with my mom, we're shopping. We also went to California Adventure to do Wine Tasting. Mat and I rode a roller coaster and Will slept. Somehow, though, everytime my mom and Will were left alone together he ended up with something new. A grandma's calling is to spoil. I see it more and more every day. Monday we woke up, had Tiramasu cake, opened presents (a purse, clothes, shampoo & conditioner, a 2 mug travel coffee maker, and so many other goodies), and headed back to Disneyland.

We ate at Rainforest Cafe for breakfast. We enjoyed a Mimosa and I ate these amazing Breakfast Sliders. Will slept 3.5 hours that morning. We had a great time with him until his scream fits immerged right before we were leaving. I don't know if it was so much "teething" as his protest/payback to us being away from him. We headed home, got Starbucks, and did some grocery shopping. It was nice to be home. Tuesday, though not my birthday any more, we celebrated with Mathew's family by going to Seasons. It was great to see them. They got me these beautiful flowers and amazing bracelet. Great-Grandma got me some yummy lotion. Everyone was soooo thoughtful. Overall it was the best birthday ever!!

**Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts. I feel so blessed.

Had such an amazing birthday. I can't believe I am 30. Time flies! Disneyland was a blast! Can't wait to look at the pictures.