My First Power Tool!

Okay, don't laugh. I know there are people out there snickering. Don't!

Last night, we loaded up the kids to go to Home Depot with the intention of buying paint and a power tool.

This is my first power tool. Since marrying Todd, most tools we own came with him. But then again, I didn't really care because I don't ever use tools. Ever.

I'm not what you'd call handy or crafty. So lately I've determined that it's time for me to stop being scared to try simple home improvement/decorating projects and I'd start by sanding and refinishing a sofa table we have in the basement.

So, my first power tool purchase was an electric sander! Yeah me! I must admit that Todd actually picked it out, that neither of us did any research on the sander we should buy, and that I probably wouldn't know a good electric sander if it hit me in the face.

But that's beside the point. I am now the proud owner of an electric sander!

Once we got home I couldn't wait to get the kids in bed so I could try out my new toy. By 8:00 I was downstairs getting ready to sand my first piece of furniture but first I had to figure out how to put it all together and make it work. Todd said it was mine and it was up to me to put it together and get the job done.

So I did.

I set it all up, put the sand paper on, plugged it in and got to work. Two hours later I had a sanded, painted sofa table. Not perfect, but hey, it was my first attempt. I'm bound to get better.

Not a bad choice for my first power tool if I do say so myself..

My Interview

Whit found this fun interview and I decided I'd give it a shot. Sorry Whit, it's taken a while to get this up here.

The rules: Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.” I will respond by emailing you or leaving a comment with five questions. I get to pick the questions. If you don’t have a valid email address on your blog, please provide one. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


1) What is the biggest mistake you have made as a mom?

I only get to choose one? I feel like I make mistakes daily with my kids, but I try to learn from them and not do it again. Both kids are such happy, low-maintenance children. They always have been. I think what I regret most or what I'm trying to change is how easy it is to just forget about them. Doesn't that sound awful? Not really forget about them, but not give them the attention they deserve. Both of them play so well independantly it allows me to do other things and I don't spend the quality time with them that I should. Again though, I'm trying to change that.


2) With all the celebrity news on Brit (nudity, giving her sons alcohol, keeping them up late), do you think she should keep custody of her kids? When do you think a mom/dad should lose custody?

To be honest, I really haven't heard that much about Brit. I know there is a custody battle, but beyond that, I don't know any details. I think it's beneficial for kids to have both parents in their lives. Of course there are circumstances when that shouldn't be the case, but to me, that should be only when there is some sort of physical or sexual abuse.


3) You have 4 sisters. Growing up did you want to have a big family of your own? How has that changed (or not) since having kids.

I definitely didn't want a big family growing up. I don't think the size of my family ever played a role in that though. I just knew that if I had kids, I'd only want a couple. As I got older I always said I'd like to have three or four kids. Todd always wanted two or three so we thought three was a great number. Now that we have Dylan and Isaac and they are so close in age, we are pretty happy with two. We aren't ruling out the possibility of a third one yet, but we're close.


4) What kind of grown-up did you want to be as a child, and are you the person you thought you would be?

It's funny, growing up I always wanted to live and work in NYC. Always. My mom thought I should be a lawyer because of my strong opinions and my argumentative nature, but when I went off to college I was so sure I would major in International Business and minor in Spanish. Oh, how things change! I just wanted to live in a big city and in a fast-paced world, instead I'm living in Arizona, married and a stay-at-home mom of two. I love my life now, but it's nothing like I hoped it would be when I was younger.


5) What is your favorite cartoon character and why?

My favorite cartoon character? This question is such a change of pace from the last ones! I have always loved Rafiki from The Lion King. I think it was his colorful bottom and his wacky way with words. Does he count as a cartoon character?

A Long Night... (Updated)

Means a long day.

I should start by saying, I had a splitting headache all day yesterday. One of those headaches that don't go away and always get worse. One that hurts whether you sit up or lie down, take aspirin, drink caffeine or put pressure to the spot that hurts. It hurt so much I had a rough time falling asleep last night, but I finally did...at 10:30. (This being after I got in bed at 8:30.)

Then it all started at 12:21 am. I heard Dylan calling my name. I first thought (strike that, hoped) it was just her calling out in her sleep like she sometimes does, but when I heard her calling my name a few times, I knew she was awake. I got up and opened her door to find her standing there in her crib and she had thrown up everywhere. What a mess. And she was worried about her dirty diaper.

I changed her diaper and pajamas and took her in to lay with Todd while I cleaned up the mess. We then attempted to have Dylan sleep with us because I didn't have any more sheets or mattress pads for the crib. How can that be you ask? I have two kids in cribs you say. This is true, but Isaac had his stomach issues yesterday, except with him his mess was coming from the opposite end. Poor kid. Needless to say, there was nothing clean.

So after Dylan spent a long half hour with us I decided a towel was going down on the crib and we'd put her back to bed. She fell asleep without a hitch.

Fast forward to about 30 minutes ago. Todd kissed me goodbye on his way to work and I asked him to turn off Dylan's ceiling fan so she wouldn't get too cold. (I left her window open to air out the room.) I listen for Todd's car to leave like I always do, then decided it was time to go back to sleep. That's when I heard Dylan a second time. Not calling my name, but coughing and throwing up again. I got to her room fast and was able to keep most of the mess contained, and again, Dylan wasn't worried about what had just happened, she just wanted me to hold her and rock in the rocking chair.

So now we are camping on the floor in the front room. Dylan on a blanket, me on the floor and a blanket over us. She doesn't want to go back to her room, and who could blame her?

I'm sure this means I'm in for a long day. Here's to hoping both my kids feel better soon.

UPDATE:

About ten minutes after posting this Isaac woke up. He had gone through another diaper. As I was changing him (and listening to his gut-wrenching screams) I heard Dylan in the front room, throwing up again. So, it was just after 5 am, everyone was awake and we turned on some Baby Einstein to keep us all calm.

Luckily I put both the kids back to bed at about 7:15 and got a little more sleep myself. We'll see how it goes from here.

The Happiest Place on Earth??

I'm not convinced Dylan agrees.

On Thursday my parents took our family to Disneyland as part of our Oceanside vacation package. We got to the park right as it opened and went straight back to It's a Small World. Since three other families had already enjoyed the park, my parents knew the ins and outs and the order in which we should do things.

I've worried about Dylan's first Disneyland experience for quite some time, and worried even more after the way our week started with boo-boos and dentist's trips. Listening to Bryn and Jamie's advice regarding rides, character meet and greets, and the overall experience was so helpful. My mom chose to stay behind with Isaac (who was supposed to go to sleep) so Todd, Dylan, my dad and I could all enjoy that wonderful boat ride and the incessantly happy song. Dylan sat beside me in the boat and was just overwhelmed with all of the dolls and everything that was going on around her. Not once did she smile or show any sort of excitement, BUT, she didn't cry either. I figured that was a good sign to start the day.

We then moved on to Toon Town and Dylan ran around and enjoyed walking through Minnie's house and sitting in the cars along the streets. Then we ran into Pluto.

Not good. Dylan was okay with him from afar, but as soon as we started walking toward him she was up in my arms burying her face in my neck. This turned out to be a very bad omen.

We walked through Mickey's house and when it was time to meet Mickey, again she was buried in my neck. After walking back outside, Minnie was signing autographs too. Dylan pointed her out and said her name, but when it was time to meet her, Dylan wanted none of it. Again with my neck and again she wouldn't look at Minnie.

But not to worry, we got some great shots of her and I with the characters!

After leaving Toon Town we got some lunch and decided it was time to try some rides. We rode on Dumbo and the Teacups and Dylan did okay, but she certainly didn't smile or show any excitement. But again, no crying.

As Todd and I snapped some pictures of Isaac pulling out the sword in the stone, Grandpa decided to take Dylan on the carousel. We thought for sure this would be okay. Bryn and Jamie told us their kids loved the carousel. What kid wouldn't love the carousel? That would be ours.

Earlier in the week we had visited the Wild Animal Park and my mom took Dylan on the carousel there and she hated it. Cried the entire time. In fact, all of the pictures have my mom laughing and smiling and Dylan wailing. Poor thing. I thought for sure it had to do with the scary animals.

Grandma and Dylan

Grandpa and Dylan

Apparenly my dad thought that was the case as well. Off they went to ride and Dylan was doing great, until my dad pointed to me so she could say hello. That's when the tears started to flow. She cried and reached for me during the entire ride. I even tried to hide so she wouldn't see me, but it was too late. She just continued to cry. Just like before, all of the pictures show my dad smiling and Dylan in tears. I felt just awful.

My favorite ride at Disneyland has always been Peter Pan. For as long as I can remember that was the ride I had to go on. There was no way I could leave the park without flying over London. Todd knows this about me and told me he'd be happy to ride with me. Even though the twins mentioned that Peter Pan wasn't a good one for the kids because of the dark, we decided to risk it with Dylan. She loves the movie and is constantly asking to watch "Pan." As we wove around in line she kept pointing out the mermaids and Peter Pan and Captain Hook. When we loaded into our pirate ship for our flight, she held on and called out Peter's name whenever he passed. Not a tear, but not a smile either. At least with this ride there was some animation out of her though.

We went back to It's a Small World and Grandma went on this one with Dylan, Isaac and I. Dylan was a little more animated this time around and started looking around more and pointing at the dolls. Isaac was Mr. Antsy Pants the entire ride, but I think he enjoyed it also.

Our last foray for the day was to meet Ariel. I thought if anything would bring smiles, it would be meeting Mermaid. Wrong. Dylan nestled into my neck once again as we got her autograph but we were finally able to get her to look at the camera for a picture, and I think we even snapped one of Dylan looking at Ariel. That's progress.

Even though there wasn't the smiles and excitement I hoped for from Dylan, I still think her first trip to Disneyland was successful. She's still so young and it's not surprising she was overwhelmed by all she saw. Hopefully we'll continue to make the trip so Dylan and Isaac will have happy memories of the Happiest Place on Earth.

All I want for Christmas

"Is her two front teeth, her two front teeth, yes her two front teeth."

By "her", I mean Dylan.

The four of us left on Friday to start our 8 days in Southern California. We spent 3 days with Todd's dad and stepmom (and had the most fun!) and left early Sunday morning to drive to Oceanside to start our week with my parents at the beach. We arrived on Sunday early enough to see my younger sisters and their families before they left to head home. It was so nice to see Jamie and Joe and their girls and spend some time with them before they headed back to Seattle since we don't get to see them nearly enough.

After Austin, Bryn and Dax left to start their drive back to Arizona, we spent our last few minutes inside playing and catching up. Dylan and Jamie's oldest daughter (Gabriella) were playing with my mom and Jamie and running around having so much fun. That is, until Dylan took a spill. She was having such a good time and unfortunately she tripped on a rug and took a header into the wood on the bottom of my mom's chair. I noticed immediately that it was her mouth that hit the wood.

The teeth marks.

Of course, Dylan was screaming and in so much pain and as I was looking her over, I noticed the blood.

Lots of blood.

Thank goodness there was a doctor in the house. Joe was beside me immediately trying to check her out and Todd was off to find some ice. My poor baby. We couldn't figure out where the blood was stemming from and it took Todd and I holding her down for Joe to get a good look in her mouth. We were able to find out that it was her two front teeth that had been hit. Her front right was loose and had been jammed up into her gums. I felt just sick! I'm so grateful to Joe for jumping in to take a look at our little girl and assess the damage without us even needing to look his way. It showed me that this is his calling and that he has the compassion to treat others. Thank you, Joe!

I sat on the couch and it took Dylan more than an hour to finally calm down. Unfortunately, this was the way Jamie and Joe's girls had to remember Dylan. I found out later that even Gabriella was crying because Dylan was so upset. It took quite some time before Dylan finally uttered a word. I just kept waiting for her to answer me and say something. Anything.

I looked over at Todd as I was holding Dylan and he had tears in his eyes. He just looked at me and said, "My little girls hurt." It just broke my heart. I was sick to my stomach but knew I needed to show a brave face. I'm so happy with the way I handled things, especially since this was the first time Dylan had even drawn blood. I always wondered how I'd react, and I'm happy to say that I think I did rather well. It broke my heart to hold her down, but I'm glad I was able to step up when my daughter needed me. I'm also greatful I had Todd right there next to me.

After giving Dylan a few doses of medicine (Dr. Joe said it was okay if we alternated every two hours) Dylan was starting to seem like her old self. An old, reserved self. My mom took her outside and she even opened her mouth and let my mom feel around without flinching. She also ate some cookies, said a few things, and after a few tries drank from her sippy cup without a problem. By the time the night was over she was running around like her old self. But her smile would never be the same to me. Her teeth were just so different and the smile wasn't the same, but it was still the cutest smile.

Some blood and the smile.

Dylan awoke this morning and you'd never know she was hurt the day before, until you looked at her mouth. The teeth were signifincantly different, but she was happy and talkative and ate two pancakes without a problem. We called a pediatric dentist and were able to get her seen today at 1:30. We got there, and it was a traumatic experience all over again. At least for me.

The dentist's office.

First we needed to take x-rays of Dylan's front teeth. She didn't want to sit in the chair so I sat down with her on my lap. I was asked to use one arm to keep her arms down and use my other hand to hold her forehead still and against my chest. What an awful feeling. I was basically strapping my daughter still as she's screaming because there is this awful machine in front of her to take a picture of her teeth.

And it only got worse after that.

Next it was time to see the dentist and Dylan didn't want to sit with Todd, so it was up to me again. Yuck! I had to sit her on my lap facing me, then force her head back so she was laying on my lap with her head in the dentist's lap. She fought and screamed and it was terrible.

Again, it only got worse.

I looked in her mouth. Her gums were black and purple everywhere, her teeth were uneven, and there was blood still visible. Not the sight you want to have when looking at your two-year-old daughter. Luckily the dentist was fast and was in and out in no time. Even though it felt like forever. I just held and hugged Dylan when it was all over until she was calm enough to go back out and play.

The news from the dentist was pretty good. We were told that both her front teeth were loose but the right one was really loose. We needed to put her on a soft diet for two weeks and there was a 90% chance the teeth would tighten up and drop back into place on their own. We needed to keep an eye on the gums just in case the teeth needed to be pulled (I sure hope not!), and we were told the discoloring in the gums would be gone in two weeks as well. There's still a chance there could be some discoloring in her teeth that could show up in a week, a month or even a year from now. He also told us that because the tooth was shoved up into the gums, there's a chance damage could have been done to the permanent tooth, but he was optimistic because he couldn't even see her permanent tooth on the x-ray which meant it was still high in the gums. Now we just have to wait and see.

After the dentist Todd and I took Dylan to get all sorts of soft foods she might like, and straws so she could drink without using the hard, plastic sippy cups. We came home and she was so happy. She played in the yard while mom and I watched and she had a great time. It seems as though the worst is over and although Todd and I grimace every time Dylan runs too fast or stumbles even a little, it looks like she's still our happy little girl.

The new smile.

Even if her smile has changed all I want for Christmas are her two front teeth.

Celebrate, Celebrate

And that's just what we did!

Dylan enjoyed a full day of celebration for her birthday. She started her day with a birthday song as she got out of bed, and her first of many little gifts throughout the day. Since Dylan is a Mermaid fan lately, I decided she needed all things Mermaid. At least all things Mermaid that the Dollar Store had in stock!

After getting changed she got a purple ball (how lucky was that??) with Mermaid stickers on it. She thought this was about the greatest thing. Little did she know what else was in store for her this day!

Cupcakes for breakfast!

And Dylan had two. She loved the idea of cupcakes first thing in the morning. She licked off all the frosting before asking for another cupcake, but I was a good mom and made her eat the cake portion of the cupcake first! You can't just eat frosting for breakfast, even with a nice cup of milk.

After breakfast I asked what Dylan wanted to do, and she quickly responded that she wanted to watch Mermaid. Big surprise there, but since we were staying home I figured it was the least I could do on her special day. We watched Mermaid again and again as we played with Isaac and read stories. During this time she got her next special gift. This time it was an Ursula figurine. I don't think Dylan quite knew how to react. There was a "whoa" and a "karry."

Dylan ate lunch and reluctantly went to bed. Not to worry though, there were no cupcakes with this meal. I considered it, but decided I didn't want a 2 year old with a tummy ache sometime in the night.

After her nap things got really fun. Dylan got her next toy (an Ariel figurine) and played until Todd fed her dinner. Afterward, family started to show up.

First it was Grandma and Grandpa Dwyer and Dylan that this was great. Then Aunt Shanen and the kids showed up, and before we could even shut the door, Aunt Jennifer and her kids arrived. Finally our neighbors showed up with their little girl and we all trekked downstairs where Dylan found her next surprise.

A slide!

Dylan has been down the slides at the park, with Todd and my help, but I don't believe she's ever gone down a slide on her own. We bought Jenn and Dwain's old slide that their kids have grown out of and put it in the basement. This was the most fun for all the kids. They all got in line and down they went. Dylan was a little hesitant at first, and wanted a helping hand, but it didn't take long for her to be sliding down with the rest of the kids laughing the whole way.

We decided it was time to open presents and Dylan thought this was the greatest thing. She first opened her pretty, pink, princess chair from Aunt Jennifer and family and that was her throne for the rest of presents.

Dylan loved each present she opened, and always tried to go play with the current gift before coming back to open the next. Finally Todd and I gave her our gift and rolled out a brand new tricycle. Dylan didn't hesitate and jumped right on the seat to be pushed around on her bike. I'm so glad she liked it!

We convinced (or, forced) Dylan off her bike and to her table so we could sing "Happy Birthday" (throughout which she cried) and let her blow out the candles. She did a pretty good job, in theory, but Todd helped her get them out. She then proceeded to dig in to her cake, face first.

Everyone ate their cake and ice cream and we had a great evening. We are so glad everyone could come over and celebrate Dylan's birthday, even though there was a lot of family missing. Luckily we'll get to see most of those missing in just a few days!

Just a final thought...Dylan cried for 5 minutes after having to leave her bike downstairs, then another 10 once everyone went home. We definitely have a party girl on our hands!

Happy Birthday Dylan!

We have a two year old. Now, when people ask how old my kids are, I can say, "I have a two year old and a 10 month old." That sounds so much better than a 20 month old and a 6 month old. Finally, I don't have to count Dylan's age in months. She's two. When people ask, she's two. That's going to make things so much easier.

I thought I would write a few things I remember about my labor and delivery two years ago.

• I remember hearing, more than feeling, my water break after having dinner at Jenn and Dwains house. Jenn had to tell Todd to get up to take me home.
• My contractions were about 3 minutes apart and about 45 seconds long at this point.
• On our way to the hospital, I had to tell Todd (twice!) to pull over because I had to throw up. (try doing so while 9 months pregnant, and holding on to the car handle so you miss the car completely. Not easy.)
• I went into labor two days before I was scheduled to be induced, which also happened to be September 11. All throughout my pregnancy, I said I didn't want this baby born on September 11th. I knew that she wouldn't be once I went into labor so late in the evening.
• I got my epidural immediately upon arriving in my room.
• I slept most of the night, but woke up at about 11 and wondered why Todd was on the phone. Apparently he was watching some Sunday evening sports talk show and called in to try and win something. I heard him giving out his name and address because he did win. Hello, did he forget his wife was in labor with their first child??? By the way, he won a Johnny Unitas figurine that sits on Dylan's shelf.
• At about 4:45 am I was feeling a little bit of pressure and discomfort, so Todd said to take another hit of my epidural. I misunderstood and called for my nurse. Good thing because I was about ready to push.
• My parents arrive within 25 minutes of getting the phone call from Todd that it was time (they live about 20 minutes away from the hospital) and they came in and talked to us for a few minutes before we were ready to go.
• My doctor didn't start his work day until 6, so we tried to wait for him.
• He walked in the door at 6:15, I pushed through two contractions, and Dylan was born at 6:20am, September 12th at an even 8 pounds and 20 inches long.

What a relief it was to finally have gone through all of that. I was a little nervous about childbirth because I refused to read anything about what to expect. I didn't want to be more nervous than I was and I'm so glad I chose to know nothing, as opposed to too much.

Dylan has been nothing but fun since arriving in our house. She was a great baby (sleeping through the night at 5 weeks, eating without problems, happy) and she's a wonderful toddler. She loves her brother and it's so fun to watch them play with each other every day.

Dylan is 2!

• Two loving
• Two sweet
• Two funny
• Two happy
• Two exciting
• Two talkative
• Two fun
• Two energetic
• Two adorable
• Two exasperating
• Two incredible
• Two entertaining
• Two enjoyable
• and Two cute for words

Our First Time

Tonight was our first time in almost two years. I was a little nervous at first, but everything went so well. I can't believe how easy it was and I can't wait until we do it again.

Todd and I hired a babysitter for the very first time tonight. In almost two years we've never had to pay for a babysitter. I know that's one of the perks for living so close to grandparents. Whenever we've wanted or needed to go out, a grandparent has always been available for us. We are so lucky for that.

We knew the time would come when we'd need to find an actual babysitter. Tonight was that night. I must confess that I held off as long as I could. I didn't want to call anyone. I was so nervous. I realized I wasn't nervous about leaving my children with someone outside of family, I was nervous that our kids would be difficult and the babysitter would spread the word that this was not the family to babysit for. Our family always tells us how good the kids are and how easy it is to babysit them, but come on, families lie. =) Especially grandparents. Of course they are going to say the kids were good. I'm hoping a hired sitter won't do that.

All week long I procrastinated making the call. And in the end, I never had to. I went to a church event on Thursday and there were a couple of girls there taking care of kids for the evening so the moms could enjoy the night. I asked one of the girls if she was available, and luckily she was. Before Dylan was born I taught a primary class full of 10, 11 and 12 year old girls so I knew quite a few prospective sitters (including the girls who were here helping out). Now these girls are close to 14 and Todd felt more comfortable with a 14 year old as opposed to a 12 year old. I can't blame him for that so I guess we lucked out that we were able to hold out for as long as we could.

I picked up the sitter tonight at 6 and her evening was going to be a pretty simple one. At least I hoped so. Todd and I fed the kids so all she would have to do was play with them downstairs, give Isaac his bottle, change two diapers and put them both to bed by 8 or so. Not too tough. But I was still nervous. What if Dylan cried all night? What if Isaac swallowed something he wasn't supposed to? Would a 14 year old girl really be able to handle my two kids??

As Todd and I watched a pathetic display of football at the ASU game I didn't give the kids a second thought. Except for the fact that I held my cell phone in my hand the whole time to make sure I didn't miss a frantic phone call from home. And, I kept looking at the clock on my phone to make sure A) it still had battery juice, and B) we would leave early enough to be home on time. Since the game started later than we thought, and the team was playing so poorly, we left at halftime to get home by 10.

Once home all was well. The house was quiet and the sitter was downstairs watching a movie. I couldn't have been more relieved. Until I was told that Isaac spit up all over the floor and she tried to clean it as best she could (not a big deal as this is an everyday occurrence with Isaac) and that Dylan cried for over an hour once she was put to bed. She was checked on once and Dylan whined and said she wanted mama. (I love that girl!) But after being told I would be home soon, Dylan quickly fell asleep.

All in all, not a bad night. Todd and I got out for a few hours, we got our first time under our belts, and our sitter said she would be happy to babysit again.

I figure that was $20 well spent.

Color Blind???

As Dylan nears her second birthday I'm always surprised at the things she has learned. She is just a sponge! We drive down the street and I hear her telling me all the things she can see out her window, and she has flashcards that she will sit with and go through as we drive as well. She pulls a card out, looks at the picture and proceeds to show me the card and tell me what it is. When did she learn the difference between a bug and an ant? And a sheep and a goat? I can't guarantee I can make the distinction half the time.

Since our little sponge is learning so much so fast, Todd and I have been working on her colors with her. She pronounces each color pretty well (except for orange, but come on, that's a tough one. I'm sure my pronunciation of the word doesn't help her much. Is it one syllable or two?) Todd walks through the store pointing at things and saying the color of it and she repeats it back to him. I go through the colors in her books and blocks and she does pretty well.

One morning as I was changing her diaper we were going through our morning ritual of looking out the window for cars, trees, birds and dada, when I started asking her where different things in her room were. She knew the floor and the ceiling and walls, the ceiling fan and the chimes hanging in her room. I then asked what color her pajamas were and she quickly responded, "purple."

Oh my gosh! She's got it. All of our hard work was paying off and she can finally recognize her colors. Her pajamas are in fact purple. I was so proud of her. I couldn't believe it.

Apparently, I shouldn't have. Take a look.

For those of you that don't have sound, I am saying the color of each block as Dylan repeats the color to me. (Notice, all the blocks are RED!!) On two different occasions I ask her what color the next block is. Can you guess what she says??

It just cracks me up (actually it frustrates me to no end!) that regardless of how often she hears the color of something, when asked, it's purple. If I ask for a red block, she'll hand me a red block, but if you ask her the color of it, it's purple. Why purple? It's not even the easiest color to say. But purple it is.

Dylan must live in her own purple world and for the time being, I'm just fine with that.

The more things change...

The more things change.

I know, it's supposed to be "the more they stay the same," but I promise, with our family, that's just not true!

When Todd and I first met, we spent plenty of time seeing each other after I got off work in the evenings. That was great for me, but for him, it meant a total lack of sleep. He was an instructor out at the police academy and had early morning runs most days of the week. As a few weeks when by, he decided we needed to have an early morning date.

He picked me up at about 6am one Saturday morning, only telling me to wear shorts and tennis shoes. We drove for about 45 minutes out to Canyon Lake and I was so excited thinking we were going to the lake. Oh, I was wrong. Remember the tennis shoes?

Todd drove right past the lake and we ended up parking on the side of the road next to a power pole. He then took out this little handheld GPS and said, "Let's go."

Huh?

Following the directions on the GPS we hiked up this small mountain to find a geocache. What's a geocache? I wondered the same thing.

Basically geocaching is a treasure hunt using a GPS. Geocachers hide small containers with objects in them all over the world, and mark the location of these caches so others can use those coordinates and find the hidden treasure later.

Alright, so off we go, up this mountain looking for a geocache. It was actually quite fun to do. Once we made it to the top we sat on a rock and took one of our very first pictures together. This cache overlooked the lake and gave us a beautiful, early morning scene.

Geocaching became a pasttime for us while dating. Whenever we went someplace new, we would take a few coordinates with us so we could find caches along the way.

After our first hike back to the car, we drove back to the lake and had breakfast at the lakeside restaurant. Not the best food, but certainly a nice view.

Todd and I decided we needed to make this hike each year and take a picture from then on. I don't think we made that decision that day (after all, we'd only been dating for a few weeks), but after we were married 6 months later, we knew our traditional hike would continue.

It's been fun to look back at our pictures each year. First it was Todd and I dating, then Todd and I married, then Todd and I pregnant, the Todd, Dylan and I, and this year, Todd, Dylan Isaac and I.

Just imagine what it was like hiking up this mountain with a toddler and an infant??? Wow.

Todd and I 2003

Todd and I 2004

Todd and I 2005 (pregnant)

Todd, Dylan and I 2006

Todd, Dylan, Isaac and I 2007