"Dis is just what I always wanted!"

Ok, so I am a little slow on the posting this week.  What can I say, it's been a crazy week!  Christmas was fabulous!  The only thing that could have made it any better was having Dan here with us.  We got the next best thing though... Dan was able to skype with us on Christmas morning and even watched Tyler open a few presents.  He was quite jealous that we were having a white Christmas without him.  

I cherished watching Tyler enjoy the spirit of Christmas.  It is such a magical times of year and  I am always so sad to see it go.  We are looking forward to al that 2009 has in store for us...

• a new baby brother
  
• Daddy coming home
  
• A Law School Graduation!
• and much more, I am sure!

On the baby front, we are all getting excited for the addition to the family.  Tyler will sit with me, rub my tummy and say "my cute little baby brother" frequently.  I think he is really going to like this big brother stuff!  I know that May will be here before we know it.

One sad note... my childhood dog, Heidi, passed away the day after Christmas.  We are all going to miss her!

Tyler's phrase of the day, "I always wanted this!"

Nana, Boppa and the Grandkids (minus Aislinn, Kyle and Kevin)

In reminding Tyler the true meaning of Christmas he came up with a wonderful question, "why dose baby Jesus not get a birthday cake?".  So, we baked Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas... and sang him happy birthday.  I don't know, maybe it will be a new Bugbee family tradition.

Heidi Bear

The snow can't stop us!

Thank goodness for Subaru's!  I don't know what I would do if I had been housebound for the last 4 days.  I have been the official snow chauffeur with our trusty AWD wagon.  From driving mom to work in Bellevue to Dad shopping downtown we have stayed on the move.  I think Tyler appreciates it as much as I do.  I love the snow... as long as we can get around in it.  Now that the temperature has gotten out of the 20's Tyler has admitted that he loves the snow.  He wasn't such a fan when it was so cold.  We are taking full advantage of the snow fun though, because this isn't something you see very often in Seattle.  We are hoping that it at least sticks around for a white Christmas.

On the Dan front we talk to him frequently.  He is staying strong, as are we.  I have to say that this is one of the hard parts to get through as we all love the holiday's.  We all are looking forward to next year when we can all be together again.  We miss him a lot!  

Here are some pictures from the snow days...

    

Tyler ad Claire making "snow chili"

Even the snow can't stop Bella and I.  We made it out for a quick run!

Tyler and Boppa warming up after hours of sledding.

Getting warmed up by the fire.

"Let's go mom!"

Dance, dance, dance!

 Who said white boys can't dance?

So I was sure that Tyler growing up was purely a figment of my imagination until this conversation we had while riding in the car...

Tyler:  Uh oh mom.  I starting to get hair on my legs.

Me:  Really?

Tyler:  Yeah, look, right here.

Me:  What does that mean?

Tyler:  It means I getting to be a big boy now.

The insight these little ones have is amazing!

Things I love about this time of year...

My Christmas Tree.

Hot Chocolate!

Christmas jammies on my favorite little guy!

SNOW!!

No, Elf yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bed bugs and stuff...

Funny story...  So while in California Tyler learned the saying "don't let the bed bugs bite."  He was rather perplexed at first and couldn't quite comprehend why someone would say that.  After much explanation he finally said "ok" and went to sleep.  He hasn't really mentioned much about it since that night.  Well, tonight I went to put him to bed and he says to me "mommy, goodnight.  Don't... um.  How you say that again?"  I told him and he says to me "don't let the bug beds bite!"  What a freaking cutie I have.  I love him!!

Here are a few pics from our photo shoot.  Can't say that I look that great, but man, my child is cute!

My Crazy Family!

Oh, how I miss these days.  

Daddy, we are so ready for you to come home now!

It is a...

BOY!

I am Thankful for my blessed life.

I am thankful for...
my dedicated and loving husband
my beautiful child (and the one growing in side me)
my family
my friends
my job (I love being a nurse!)
my faith
all that I have
everyday that I get to wake up and see the smiling face of my healthy child!
an so much more!!

Thanksgiving was spent with the Bugbee/Byrne family. What a thanksgiving it was. We spent 5 days there riding horses, feeding animals, riding tractors, enjoying our time with family and relaxing. Tyler even got treated to a movie with Grandpa Jan! Lucky little guy. We had so much fun, the pictures are better than words...

Cousins

Tyler and mommy posing for a picture

Tyler disappeared for awhile and we found him in the barn "feeding the cats".

My favorite little boy in the world!

Playing football with uncle Eric

He loves his uncle!

Tyler riding his horse!  Look at that smile!

Sweet baby Maddie

Playing the Wii with Uncle Eric

Big news all around!

The biggest of all the news is that my baby is officially no longer a baby.  My little boy now wears his big boy pants morning AND night.  We switched over from pull-ups to underwear about a week ago and he hasn't looked back since.  I am shocked!  And sad... he really is no longer my little buy, but rather my big stud as he likes to remind me.  He has grown, both physically and emotionally, so much in the past month.  The things he says to me takes me by surprise.  For instance...  I was dropping him off at my sister yesterday so that I could go get a much needed massage.  I told him that I was in a hurry and he would have to go up to the door by him self.  He promptly jumped out of the car, closed the door and then turned around to say to me "goodbye mommy.  Have a very good day at work today.  I love you so much!"  I guess he just assumed I was of to work again.  Where does he come from?

The next big news is that we have scheduled our BIG ultrasound for December 1st.  I am very anxious, not only to find out what it is but also to make sure that everything is okay.  This pregnancy has been filled with so much more fear than the first one.  I guess it's the fact that I know so much more this time around.  In my profession it amazes me that these little guys ever come out perfect.  I thank God every day for my healthy child.  As for finding out what the baby is we have devised a plan so that Dan can be involved.  Or rather, Dan has devised a plan.  I am not be allowed to see what it is during the ultrasound.  The sex will be written down and put in an envelope.  Then an "impartial third party" will first inform Dan.  He will them call me and let me in on the big news.  I know, sounds like a process, but I am excited to have Dan involved in it!

Here are a few pics from today.  Let me remind you that it is only 9 in the morning and, yes, he is already outside in the 40 degree weather.  He is all boy!

Yes!  I did pull out the Christmas Decorations already.  K-Warm is playing 24 hour Christmas music, so i can have my decorations out!

Almost forgot...

Tyler has some new moves to show everyone.  And one for daddy!  Enjoy!

He is safe and sound!

On the Dan front... he has arrived in Balad safe and sound.  I talked to him this morning and he seems to be keeping very busy getting things set up.  The conversation was quick but he promised me communication would be better now that he was at his base.  I will keep updating as I get information although, most of our phone conversations seem to center around what Tyler has and has not done rather than what he is up to.  Can't let him feel like he is missing out on the joys of raising a 3 year old boy you know!

On the home front...  Tyler and I just returned from a weekend in Lake Chelan with Lolo and Jeff.  I can't say it was the most relaxing weekend as Tyler didn't sleep well while we were there and it showed in everything we did.  A minor break down on my part saturday night was the highlight of the trip.  We had a fun movie night planned with brownies and all when Tyler chose, for the millionth time that day, not to listen.  Following through with discipline is no fun when all you want to do is have a fun night with your child.  Needless to say, Tyler was sent to bed and missed out on movie night with the adults.  I hate being the bad guy all the time!

Despite the many ups and downs of the weekend we were in the company of great friends and that made it great.  Thanks Lauren and Jeff for putting up with us for the weekend!

Doing the big puzzle with Jeff in Lake Chelan

Tyler playing with his Army guys

"To infinity and beyond!"

Sorry it's been so long since an update.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks.  Unfortunately, I am not feeling well and had to call in sick to work.  Fortunately though, it did give me some time to do the little things (like update our blog) that I haven't gotten to in awhile.  

The good news is that we made it through Halloween!  We had more festivities than I thought possible for a holiday like Halloween.  It started out with a trip to the pumpkin patch, then to the zoo for the pumpkin prowl.  I have to admit, that was really fun.  Next was the school festival at Assumption then a get together with our PEPS friends.  I can't believe how much they have grown and changed in the 3 years that we have been getting together!  It was great to see everyone since our school schedules have prevented us from our weekly meetings like we used to have.  Last was trick-or-treating.  Even with much coaching Tyler continued to say "Happy Halloween" every time someone opened the door.  I guess it's a little more polite than the traditional "trick-or-treat".  We made it around the block with Migel and that was enough for us!  Somehow all the candy has mysteriously disappeared?!!  

Two peas in a pod.  Tyler and Migel before heading out for trick-or-treating.  

The PEPS group + Alexa

Colin and Tyler played trains for the whole 2 hours we were there!

At the Pumpkin Prowl with Claire and Migel

They couldn't get there fast enough!

A beautiful day...

...for some photos!  

Much to Tyler's chagrin, we headed to greenlake to take some fall pictures.  It was such a beautiful day I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

  

I love my in-laws!

I know, how many people really can say that they love their in-laws.  But, it's the truth.  I couldn't have asked for better grandparents for my children.  I love them especially for how they are with Tyler.  Tyler talks about Grandma Jill and Grandpa Jan constantly.  He talks about his horse, the chickens, helping Grandpa feed all the animals, playing games and reading books with grandma.  The greatest thing is that even though we only get to see them a few times a year, everytime we do he starts right where he left off.  There is no shyness or anxiety, just fun!

Grandma Jill came from California to spend the weekend in Seattle with Tyler while I worked.  What a blessing.  Tyler couldn't even get through all the fun stuff that they did this weekend.  I am still hearing about little activities that he and grandma did.  From coloring, to puzzles, to park outings, they did it all.  He was so upset when it was time to say goodbye.  But we got through it and started a count down to our trip to California in November.   Thank you so much Jill, I appreciate it more than you know!

Another day at the Pumpkin Patch

What a beautiful day for the pumpkin patch!  Tracy, Mark, Migel, Nana, Tyler and I headed north to the pumpkin patch in hopes of finding the "perfect pumpkin".  Tyler and Migel had so much fun playing in the hay, finding their way through maze and rolling around in the corn pit.  Okay, so maybe Tracy and I joined in the fun too!  Who could resist diving into a pit of raw corn kernels?

Then we packed on a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch.  I have to say we were a little disappointed with the selection this year.  Tyler was very upset that there were no BIG pumpkins.  Despite the frustration he was able to find one that would suffice.  All in all it was a successful trip to the pumpkin patch.

So, for the last 2 days I have been battling with 2 different government agencies.  Yes, I will admit that there is great benefits to be had with the military, but getting them is another story altogether.  After 3 phone calls and 2 hours on the phone and internet yesterday I finally got my health care figured out.  Today was another battle with the childcare agency/fund that we are going through.  Tyler school administration has actually taken on most of this burden, thank the lord!  I had to meet with them today to figure out how we were going to make this work and in true government fashion, we couldn't get any one to answer our phone calls or e-mails.  Boy, do these people like paperwork!!!

We are eagerly awaiting Grandma's arrival tomorrow.  Tyler has been talking about it for weeks now.  Apparently he is getting a little bored of me.  So while Tyler and Grandma are having fun, I will be hard at work all weekend.  Hope you enjoy the pictures of the patch outing.  

"This is a nice one!"

Portrait in the Corn

The 2 peas in a pod, and their mom's

We miss our daddy!

Showing Nana how to drive a tractor

Our perfect pumpkins