A Month of Updates on the D's

Our family adventures over the past few weeks have resulted in a delay in our blogging. Fortunately, chronicling our time as a family is easily done by way of quick typing and posting of fun photos. Here are some of the latest and greatest moments since our post in December:

Christmas was a remarkable time for Mike, Brody, and me. Each year, we alternate spending Christmas with Mike's family and mine, seeing that we do not live in the same city as both sets of parents. This year, we celebrated Christmas early with Mike's family here in Phoenix. After a fun dinner to celebrate Pop's (Rich's) birthday at Monti's in Tempe, we heading to Mario and Kerry's house to exchange Christmas presents and eat some of Papa's birthday cake. It was a sweet time of joyfully seeing one side of our family, knowing they are always acknowledging of one another and of Christ!



















Mike, Brody, and I headed to Big Bear for a second Christmas celebration a couple of weeks later. Big Bear was expecting their biggest snow storm and coldest weather in 35 years, so we headed out a day early. Fortunately, we only needed our tire chains (which were perfectly put on by Mike D.) once arriving in Big Bear and when coming home off the mountain. Our time in Big Bear was full of unexpected circumstances. In a nutshell, my granddad had quite a few medical difficulties (Bronchitis, breathing difficulties associated with Emphysema and the altitude in Big Bear, high blood pressure, and even a possible heart attack while flying). My dad ended up taking him to the Big Bear hospital on Christmas Eve, resulting in him being taken by ambulance to the hospital in Palm Springs for more tests. When Travis heard about this, he headed straight form San Diego to Palm Springs. My dad asked Mike and I to stay at their house for the extended family's arrival, while he and my mom also headed to Palm Springs. That night, Mike, Brody, and I enjoyed our quiet time as a family. We reflected on Christmas truly being about Christ alone and how although it was sad not to be with our family, all that mattered was it would soon be Christ's day. We read Matthew and Luke's account of Christ's birth that night, to continue on our family's tradition. This really helped put everything in perspective. The next morning, extended family arrived and made a tremendous breakfast for everyone! (Thanks a million Jose, Michelle, and Lloyd!) By the early afternoon, my mom and Travis arrived at the house. My dad needed to still be with my granddad to await further test results. We spent the night missing my dad and granddad, but realizing they were where they needed to be. We ate a delicious dinner prepared by Mom, Michelle, Jose, and Lloyd and then opened presents. How fun it was to see Connor, all grown up and adorable! He is such a good boy! Our family awarded this year's P.O.O.P. (Person Of Outstanding Performance) to my dad for all of his dedication and love for us, and especially for Granddad!) The next day, we headed to Palm Springs to see Granddad on our drive home. It was so nice to see my dad, knowing we had missed him so much over the past few days. Dad did an incredible job taking care of his dad! So...all in all, we were grateful to have visited my family. Even with the change of plans while there, it was still sweet to experience Christmas as a family!





















A few days after arriving home, we headed to Eric, Becca, and Kylie's house for an early New Year's Eve celebration - BRILLIANT idea on Becca's part...celebrate the East coast's new year at 9pm! Ah...we were in bed at a wonderful time after having a BLast with friends!!! We are especially grateful that God has given us a family of friends like these to always be ourselves with. Our friends' lives reflect such Godly qualities of love, joy, and peace! We so look forward to Brody growing up around them all!

















Brody and I have an official special place we love to visit...a greenbelt in the neighborhood next to our neighborhood. Enjoy these photos of our time one day at the greenbelt for a glimpse into our time there! SO FUN!!! (You can see Brody pointing at his favorite thing right now...airplanes!!! We did not even teach him to do that!)























Brody and I had a playdate with some of my high school girlfriends, Wendy and Kelly, with our kiddos recently! It is truly special to still have these friends in my life!





We are officially looking forward to a HEALTHY 2009! This past year, we have endured four colds, milk intolerance, and one lovely ear infection. While we attempt as best we can to keep the Brodster clear of the ickies, we now realize this is just part of Brody growing up. We are loving our little guy, understanding that his illnesses have been rather minor and temporary. Here's to another great year as a family!

Here are some of Brody's latest and greatest happenings (much of which I just want documented for our memories):
Brody...
1. has 4 more teeth!
2. got his first pair of Converse shoes (picked out especially by Daddy!).
3. says "Night, night" and "Ma, ma" when he is ready for bed.
4. blows kisses
5. constantly points in the air and says, "Plane," when he hears them overhead.
6. Wipes his face with a baby wipe after eating.
7. Turns on his crib's music player after sleeping, letting us know he is awake.
8. loves walking and running...especially outside during walks and while at the park.
9. signs "more" when we eats, asking for some of our food.
10. pretends to talk on the phone.
11. puts toilet paper in his potty. Hilarious to watch!
12. points to Sassy and says something to refer to her, which we do not understand.
13. touches our eyelashes when we are close to him with his index finger.
14. seems to love country music.
15. throws sports balls with Daddy every night.
16. turns on his CD players and humidifier...or attempts to.
17. loves to looks out the house windows.
18. got his third hair cut!
19. tries to talk to little kids when he sees them.
20. 1oves to climb everything!!!
21. loves to sit on the couch and climb back down.
22. loves sweets, like cake, ice cream, and jelly!