Ten Years Together

Happy 10th Anniversary!

It all started with just some chance encounters and a few people in common and we finally had a chance to talk we just spent all our time together until we just knew it was right. It was fast and crazy but it was right and it was worth it. Then 10 year ago today, December 27, 1997, Doug and I were sealed together for time and all eternity in the San Diego temple. It was a beautiful day and the beginning of forever together. The years have gone by so quickly and yet at the same time, it all seems so long ago! So much has happened in these ten years and we're still here, still in love and making a life together. Everything changes so much everyday, it's a constant challenge to bend and mold ourselves to make it all fit together. We've had our ups and downs but through it all we continue to realize we are truly stronger together than not. If we stick to each other's side, we can make it through anything.

We have 3 beautiful boys who we adore even when they are driving us completely mad! We live for our family! Each member bringing their own special charm and love to our home. We've learned much about ourselves, both emotionally and physically. In ten years' time, we have learned about Fragile X and more about genetics than I think either of us ever thought would be necessary but we have learned to see it all as a blessing. We wouldn't change David or Nathan or Jonathan no matter what. They are who they are and we love them each individually and equally. David with his "catch phrases" that are always changing and evolving. We have watched him grow and learn and develop in so many ways, some things we never thought would be possible and he has proved us wrong many times. Nathan is such a sweet brother. He takes care of his big and little brothers better than anyone else could. He is truly their guardian angel! Jonathan has shown us that Fragile X doesn't have to be so scary. He is such a blessing, a miracle to us. I have watched each of us respond to him in a way that I've not seen before. David adores him and is constantly wanting to help in any way he can. He will stop whatever he is doing if it means he can spend time with Jonathan. Nathan is a great big brother and he loves to teach Jonathan games and make him laugh. Doug and I have been touched by his sweet spirit as well. We really believe he is our miracle baby. He was meant to be ours and we have embraced that completely. He has brought us closer in many ways. Doug has been so much more involved in the everyday things with Jonathan than he ever has been before. I think Jonathan is just too precious for anyone to resist spending time with him, even if it is changing his diaper or feeding him a bottle in the middle of the night!

As for Doug and I, we've both experienced our ups and downs physically and emotionally but we've learned so much about ourselves and about each other and we continue to learn new things all the time. I have no doubt that Doug and I were meant to be together forever and we will be. He is my strength and my rock and my best friend. No matter what happens, I always know I have him by my side. He has supported me in many various endeavors from new hobbies to a local Fragile X conference, spreading Fragile X awareness, to picking me up when I've been down and just being there, holding me when I needed someone to love me. I know I can always be myself, totally and completely, free of judgement, with Doug. He loves me completely even with all my faults and quirks, he loves me unconditionally and that is why I love him so much. He loves me in spite of all my craziness and ups and downs and his love is always there. He is a wonderful father and I see my boys eyes light up when they get to spend time with him, wrestling or going to the park or playing ball or just watching tv or a movie and sharing a bowl of his special parmesan popcorn. That makes me love him even more to know that he is such a wonderful dad to our boys and that he makes a point to spend special time with them. He loves them and he loves me. What more could a girl ask for?

We Love Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was Jonathan's first so that was special plus Nathan and David were really into the whole Santa thing. Nathan made sure we did everything right, right down to the cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer.

For Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house for dinner. While everyone else started eating, I fed Jonathan his baby food and everyone got to enjoy his "Mmmm!" with each and every bite. It's very cute. Dinner was wonderful! Thanks Mom! Then we all chatted for a while and just enjoyed being together. After a while it was time for the Nativity. Now, growing up, us kids all used to dress up as the people in the nativity story and "act" out the scene but that' s a bit difficult now because we didnt' have any little girls to play Mary! We thought about dressing up David, Nathan and Jonathan as the 3 wise men but in the end I just decided they wouldn't be too thrilled about it. So instead, Nathan was given the job of putting the people and animals into the Little People Nativity set as Grandpa read the story to us from the scriptures. He did a wonderful job! After all of this, the kids were rewarded with their traditional Christmas eve gift of new Christmas pajamas and I also gave them each a new Christmas book. They loved their books and their pjs! The looked adorable too! We then took them home and put Jonathan to bed and then David and Nathan and I made sugar cookies for Santa to have a treat when he came to our house. The boys had a very hard time going to sleep that night but eventually they did and Santa was able to come and complete the task of setting out all their Christmas goodies.

This was the first year that David and Nathan actually did what we told them and came straight to our bedroom when they woke up instead of going to the living room first to see what they got! This was a huge accomplishment for them! And then they had to wait for little Jonathan to drink his bottle before we could proceed with the Christmas morning festivities! Such a hard wait it was! They were finally allowed to see their gifts and they were so excited! Santa brought David a handheld video game player with 50 different games one it and Battleship Torpedo Attack. He also got some new clothes, a DVD (The Wonder Pets Save the Reindeer). Santa brought Nathan a set of Legos in a box so he can built all sorts of cool things and a handheld video game player like David's. He also got some clothes and a DVD (My Friends Tigger and Pooh: A Super Sleuth Christmas Movie). Of course, 5 minutes later they were ready to open all their other presents but it was all ok. We let them open presents and they eventually settled down to play with only one or two things at a time! From Grandma & Grandpa they got the Ultimate Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and Megatron Transformers which they love but have not learned to transform by themselves yet which means Mom and Dad have to do it and we're not that great at it either! From Nana, David got a Power Rangers toy and Nathan got the new Spidermand 3 web blaster! They also got some clothes and a computer arts and crafts program that looks really so as soon as we can get them a computer monitor we will set that up for them! They love everything! Jonathan was not interested in opening any presents. He really only paid any attention to 2 of his new toys and then he just sat on the floor in the middle of it all and ignored it all! I think he might have been a tad bit overwhelmed by all the activity! I finally let him play in his exersaucer and he was a happy little boy once again!



Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Mandy came over for breakfast and to see what the kids had gotten for Christmas. I made french toast for everyone. It was yummy! We all ate up and even David had some! Then they headed home to relax until dinner time. Soon it was naptime for Jonathan and me and David and Nathan just played with their toys all day. We stayed in our pj's until it was time to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and then we put them right back on when we got home! Again, dinner was delicious!

All in all it was a very fun and relaxing day once all of the morning chaos subsided. Doug was able to be with us for Christmas eve and Christmas morning but then he had to work Christmas night but he was here for all the best parts so that was a huge blessing. We miss him when he can't be here for those holidays and special times. Merry Christmas!

Nathan is DEFINITELY his father's son!

So I got a package in the mail today and I opened it, emptied it and set it aside. We asked David to go set it by the trast can so we would remember to recycle it later. A little while later, we went into the kitchen and we found Nathan's in the midst of a creative endeavor. He was making a boat, using the afore mentioned cardboard box, paper, pencils, tape, saudering wire stuff! When we asked him how he cut the wire, he showed us a pair of wire cutters that were in the back of the junk drawer with some pliers, etc. Here's some pics for you to see his masterpiece. Oh yeah! And he used the wire to attach a tape measure to the "boat" as an anchor.

Jonathan Splish Splashin'

Last night I put Jonathan in the big boy bath tub. We have been trying to teach him to splash for months now and he just wasn't into it. He did not play in the water. So last night I used baby shampoo to make a bubble bath and he splashed for the first time ever! I was so excited! Here's a cute video!

Update: Sorry the link for the video didn't work. :( I'm working on a new one. We'll see if I can get it to work this time.

Elf Yourself!!!!

You gotta check this out! It is so funny! Watch mine and then you can make your own too! ENJOY!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1430452985

TAGGED!!!!

I've actually been tagged by two people at the same time but I'm only doing this once! I really wish I had more interesting things to say but here I go.

1. I really don't worry about Doug when he's at work that much. Everyone always wants to know how I manage to not go insane with worry. I've learned not to think about the "what ifs" because if I spent every night thinking about all the scary things that could happen while he is on duty then I would have to be committed to a mental institution. I choose to be supportive of him and his chosen career and to be proud of him for the things that he has accomplished as a police officer. I love to hear his stories and his impersonations of people he comes in contact with. Police officers have this whole different language that I've begun to learn but every once in a while I have to ask him what the heck he's talking about! LOL! Recently he arrested a man who had committed several rapes in the area. Doug received a letter of commendation for making that arrest. It makes me so proud of him to know that he is good at what he does and that he's out there making things safer every time he goes to work.

2. I want to go to culinary school and become a pastry chef and open a bakery some day! I've always been fascinated with cake decorating and various patries and desserts and I have just wanted to learn all of those things. Plus Visalia really needs a good bakery! Maybe I'll get there some day. I'm in love with the show "Ace of Cakes" on food network and I also love to see the cake decorating competitions they show sometimes! It amazes me the things that they can do with cake and icing and fondant and gum paste and sugar!

3. Fragile X info cards saved many people from being verbally assaulted for their comments about David in the past 5 years. I used to get so angry at some of the things that people would say about David. It's not as bad as it used to be because he is more in control due to more maturity and the right meds but we still get comments. I just hate the dirty looks and the nasty, snide remarks about how he behaved or how he talked or that he was crying or whatever, they were just jabs at him and at me as a mother and I resented every single one of them. I still do. There are still some incidents that stick in my mind that if I remember it for some reason one day I still get pretty upset by them. David's big for his age so people always assume he's at least a year older than he is if not 2 years older. He also doesn't look "different" so they don't know there's a reason for the way he is. I've learned so much from being his mom. I know that before I had kids I would judge other people for the way their kids were behaving and now I just realize that you never know what is going on with a child. You never know if that child might be autistic or have some other "issue" like Fragile X or something else that makes life harder for them than for the rest of us. I have learned that you can't judge anyone because you just never know. People judge me and they judge David and it hurts. He is the sweetest little boy I've ever met and those people who can't see through the crying and the tantrums and see the real David are missing out because he is super special to me. So back to the cards, when I found them I was at my boiling point with people in general so I got them and I learned to carry them with me everywhere and if someone made a comment or gave a dirty look or if someone was extra nice to David, I gave them a card. Some people are surprised and say they had no idea. Some apologize. Some are snooty and just walk away. Some are still rude. But at least I know I did my part to spread the word about Fragile X that day and hopefully someday the world will be more accepting of David and Jonathan and all the other kids who are different all over the world.

4. I love to cross stitch! I am picky about the projects I'll do because I am not going to do it just to do it. I have to be motivated to finish it so I can give it away or put it up in my house, which I have never actually finished one that I've started for myself. I have 3 in progress right now for myself but I just haven't finished them. One was started 9 years ago, another was started about 6 years ago and the most recent one I started about a month ago. For some reason I just keep giving them away and I never finish the ones for myself. I am determined to finish at least one of them in the coming year though!

5. I like those teeny bopper kids shows on Disney and Nichelodeon, like Hannah Montana, Drake & Josh, and that one with Jamie Lynn Spears on it. Can't think of the name of it right now! I only watch them if the kids are watching them but I secretly like watching them. I think they are clever and funny and yet still clean!

6. I'm addicted to those Variety Puzzle books that you get at the grocery store. They have lots of different kinds of games in them and I go through and do the ones I like and then get new ones! I am always looking for the new ones to come out cause I've gone through the ones I have so fast that I don't have any more to do until the new books are on the shelves! I like the word puzzles mostly but I also like the sudoku puzzles and the logic puzzles although I almost never get the logic puzzles right and I end up giving up on them cause I can't figure them out.


Ok... Now I am tagging Melissa Dixon, Aisha Fish, Jamie Pace, Mom, Meagan and Nicki(guess you better start a blog if you haven't yet)!

The Big 3-0!!!!

Well, Doug and I finally turned 30 this year. We didn't get a chance to do anything for Doug's birthday back in October so we decided to have a party for both of us right after my birthday. We invited family and friends and had a great time! We even had a cake! Baskin Robbins chocolate cake with mint chip ice cream! We had dinner, pot luck style, and then we ate birthday cake and then we talked and played Cranium! It was a blast! Thank you to those who were able to come and join our celebration!

The Amazing Developments of the Great Jonathan Wright

Our little Mr. Jonathan is growing like leaps and bounds and progressing more and more every day! He's so amazing and he makes everyone around him smile. Just one month ago he was barely learning to sit up unassisted and since then he has progressed even more. After he learned to sit up alone, he learned to change from sitting to any other position and back again. Then he started crawling which is amazing! He crawled before even 10 months old! Then he started pulling himself up to standing in his crib and then he started doing it on other furniture too. Now he's started to cruise along the sides of his crib and around his exersaucer. He still loves to sit in his exersaucer but he doesn't just sit there anymore or simply spin around to look at and play with all the different things. Nope. Now he JUMPS! He jumps in there and rocks the thing back and forth so hard that I swear he could tip it over if it didnt' have the little feet on it to keep it stable! He just thinks it's so much fun! He also has started talking a little bit. He says "mama", "dada", "do(g)" and "nana". We think we heard him say "no" once but he hasn't really said it since. He also loves the dog and cats now. He will sneak up on Aden and climb all over him and he loves it. He ends up with fistfulls of fur when he's done but we just wash his hands and he's all good!
He is also learning to play games. He and Nathan play this game when Jonathan is in his crib. Jonathan pulls up and stands at the side and then Nathan gives him a book. Jonathan holds the book for a few seconds and then he drops it. Nathan stars laughing and then Jonathan starts laughing and lets go and falls down in the crib! Then they do it all over again. It's hilarious to watch them. He laughs so hard.

He is a complete joy to our entire family! David and Nathan adore him and are constantly competing for time to play with him. They are starting to learn to share him but it's hard for them! His smile spreads across his whole face and his eyes light up and you can't help but adore him!

A Mexican Getaway!

The resort was beautiful and it was wonderful to get away with Doug, without the kids and just have a good time with the family. Doug and I hit the ground running when we got there. Mom, Dad, Mike, Melissa, Beckham, Meagan, Nathan and Mandy picked us up at the airport and we went straight to Xel-Ha to swim with the dolphins. I'll post pics of that when I get copies of them but it was an incredible experience. We were able to get them to do tricks, and then just sit there in the water while they swam around us. We got to pet them and then they had us all do a "foot push" where they come up and push you through the water with their noses! It was so awesome! After that we went back to the resort to clean up and crash for the night. Wish we could have spent more time at Xel-Ha because there was so much more to do there but maybe we can do that next time! Here's the view from our balcony at the resort.

The next day was Sunday so we just relaxed around the resort. I spent a lot of my time on our "relax" days, painting ceramics. It was very relaxing to me and I knew if I spent too much time in the sun I would get burned and I really didn't want that. I painted way more than anyone else and they all teased me for it but that's ok. It was fun and relaxing to me! Everyone else spent the day napping, laying by the pool or swimming. That night we went out to dinner and had a great time. Lots of virgin Margaritas, Pina Coladas and Daquiris!

Monday we went to Chichen Itza and saw the amazing Mayan ruins there! It was a amazing to me to see where an ancient civilization lived and worked and to walk in that same place! The structures were amazing and the things we learned from our guide were fascinating. They said there are 2000 columns in the Thousand Columns Group (center pictures) which is right next to the Temple of the Warriors. It was a little strange to see all the vendors lining all the walkways selling all kinds of different things. Doug and I bought a chess set made of stone that is really pretty. Doug's gonna teach me to play chess now.

Tuesday was a relax day again. Wednesday we went to Tulum and saw more Mayan ruins. They were very interesting too and in a very different setting than Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is in a jungle and Tulum is right on a cliff overlooking the ocean! It was beautiful! I loved there that you could see the stone bases of where their homes used to be. It was amazing.

We went home on Friday. I think we were all ready to go home by then. Ready to sleep in our own beds. Doug and I were really missing the kids by then. We were glad to get home but it was hard to get back into the swing of things again, all the daily routines. It was good to see the kids again though!