Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone and I have to say in my deep pondering and reflection of its passing that it was a HUGE one for Tyler and I.

It started with me getting a new little sister, who just started walking, by the way. It's adorable, she totters around like a little drunkard.

Then we had our own little peanut, Maddox, on July 30th. Still the joy and light of our lives (as if we thought he wouldn't be at this point).

Then Tyler started Medical School, we moved a couple times, we had lots of family come visit, we went on trips and celebrated birthdays and holidays, visited grandparents, made friends, lost friends, ate way too much, loved way to much, fought a little too much, made up enough, spent too much money... I guess I could keep going and going. But, in retrospect, I'm glad for another year lived and that I lived it to the best of my abilities. I'm content with the fact that another year has gone by and I am another year older (although I'm not quite to come to terms with the fact that 2007 means I turn 25). I'm content with my home, my family, my son, my husband, my happiness. Not to say that my life isn't full of chaos, I'm just content enough that it is; that I have a life to live.

Now, to steal some resolutions from my good friend Jojo (no, not the singer):

Family – I will be more appreciative of my family and the loving advice and words of wisdom they have for me.

Education – I will learn something new this year.

Religion – I will more often look for opportunities to have open discussion of religion in my home, encouraging learning and growing through each others' testimonies and questions.

Health – I will strive to be active but will not be upset over how much weight I will gain this year, instead I will concentrate on a chubby and healthy baby boy.

Service – I will seek out an opportunity to get involved in a good cause that I feel strongly about.

I think these are perfect resolutions. Thanks Joanie!

GO BEARS!!!!!!!!

Tyler and I had tickets to the Holiday Bowl this year to watch our wonderful Golden Bears beat the pants off of Texas A&M. My step dad got us corporate level seats and we even had special passes to the huge official tailgate party before hand. But, alas, the disgusting Christmas bug prevented us all from going. Maddox was just too sick. And it was a good thing we didn't go because that was the night that Tyler fell horribly ill as well. We had to watch the game while pausing it every five minutes for Tyler to go throw up. I wanted to just record the rest and watch it in the morning, but the loyal die-hard fan that he is would not let me. Thank goodness we won!! Or the whole night would have been a bust.

Despite not being able to go, Tyler and Maddox dressed up in their gear anyway (including the fabulous new hat Max got from his San Francisco treats). Aren't they just adorable?

The Flu is totally LAME

So before I post about our Christmas at Tyler's family's house (which was wonderful despite the events and circumstances), I wanted to tell you all that when your little peanut (or in our case -- since using food analogies as nicknames works for us -- our little Fatburger) gets sick with the flu, it's dreadful!!

Maddox is sick and it is so sad and pathetic. He woke up this morning and I went in to get him and bring him in to bed with us as usual and he went to sleep again for over an hour. When he woke up he didn't want to eat. I tried giving him his usual breakfast of oatmeal cereal with applesauce and he was incredibly fussy and wouldn't eat. Clue number two that he wasn't feeling good was that he wouldn't even take a bottle. Now we don't call Max Fatburger for nothing. This kid loves his bottle. So for him to go so long (about 5 hours) without wanting one is a definite sign he's sick. Clue number three was that he wanted to take a nap about an hour after he woke up, usually he goes about two hours almost on the dot. So I put him down for his nap and when he woke up there was what looked like baby barf on his blanket in his crib. Tyler said it was just spit up so we cleaned him off and tried to feed him again. He, of course, refused. Then he would just cry and whine and then sit limply in my arms.

And then, the mother of all diarrhea diapers exploded all over him. If this blog thing had smell-technology I would put a scratch-n-sniff right here in the middle of this sentence. The smell was unbelievable. We had to crack a window despite the Santa-Ana hurricane force winds blowing around outside.

Then Clue number five hit me like, well, like vomit. I was holding him with his head resting on my shoulder and he was going in and out of sleep so I took him into his room to rock him a little before putting him in his bed when out of nowhere, with no warning, I was drenched in baby vomit. Now just because babies are cute and sweet and smell good does not mean their vomit is cute and sweet and smells good. In fact it is quite opposite. Needless to say my clothes and his clothes and everything in the close vicinity is soaking in the bath tub.

So our baby has the stomach flu. His poor little cousin Jessica had it on Christmas (more about that in my Christmas post) and it was so so sad. Anyway, he hasn't thrown up since about ten this morning and he's kept down a lot of Pedialyte and rice cereal and bananas.

Let's hope we make it through the night without any more barf or diarrhea or any kind of extra bodily fluids (except maybe drool).

An As-Merry-As-It-Could-Be Christmas

Well, that's not entirely true. Christmas was wonderful. Tyler's mom worked very hard and we were so happy to be with everyone together (minus Cory). We had great food and we all got some wonderful gifts. We tried to get a picture of Maddox and Jessica together at WalMart but it didn't really work out. These are still pretty cute anyway though!

But it kind of went downhill from there. First, on Christmas Eve Day, Jessica woke up vomiting horribly. That poor little baby was so so sick. It was really sad. She's old enough now (almost 19 months) that she talks really well so when she was about to throw up, all she said was "no, no, no". I wanted to just cry for her it was so sad. Needless to say her Christmas was not very merry. She wasn't all that interested in her toys and still felt pretty lousy. I felt really bad for Molly who put so much work into making her Christmas special only to be disappointed by some stupid virus. Tyler was also a little under the weather and went to bed early on Christmas Eve (we did get a short Christmas program in and some Christmas carol singing).

Christmas day was fun for us though. We got some great gifts, including a membership to Costco that was very much needed, some new clothes and some great toys for Maddox (including a hammer that he won't stop playing with). I also got a fabulous cookbook from Tyler's grandmother called The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, complete with recipes like She-Crab Soup and the Tipsy Squire (a wonderful dessert). Maddox had fun opening his presents, too.

Tyler's parents LOVED the calendar that we made of the kids. I think they were pretty excited and touched to get such a thoughtful present.

Andrea also had a pretty good Christmas. I think the pictures say it all.













Later that afternoon, Tyler, Kevin, Sally, Maddox, Andrea and Molly all went for a hike at Natural Bridges. I didn't take any pictures because by the time we got down there it was pretty dark, but still really beautiful. It was nice to get some fresh air, too. There was one incident (can you even call it that) where two of our group took a wrong turn and got a little lost (not really) but one of them got a little nervous and screamed for Tyler to come rescue them where-in Tyler handed off Max to me and ran down to lead them out because their flashlight had died. Some will claim that they were not lost and did not need help, others will argue that they almost died. I'm pretty sure we'll never know the truth.

It was later that night after we got home from the hike that things took another turn for the worse. Andrea and Nick both came down with the dreaded virus and were sick all night. So Tyler and I decided to come home the very next day instead of staying until the 27th like we had originally planned. It's a good thing we did, too, because the next day Maddox and Tyler were both came down with the same thing.

So Christmas was as good as it could be this year despite the setbacks and sicknesses. The important things were all there -- family, food and the spirit of the season. It will for sure be a Christmas we will never forget, not to mention that it was Maddox's first Christmas, too!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus... and Fatburger

We took Maddox's picture with Santa in Sonora. Very cute!

I left my heart in San Francisco...

When we were up in the Bay Area for Christmas, Maddox and I were very lucky to be able to go spend a little time with some old friends (old as in we've known each other a while, not old old). First we took the long three hour drive from Sonora to Oakland to visit Lauren and Nathan Kitchen and baby Karen. It was SO nice to visit with them and reminisce and learn about all the fascinating gossip (news really) and to meet Karen. Baby Karen is SO SO adorable! But, I'm a complete idiot-bonehead because I did not take a single picture while I was there... I know!! Not even of the babies together! But really, I am sad I didn't take any pictures. I think I was too overcome with the aroma of freshly baked cookies (that I consumed way too many of on the ride home in the car -- thanks Lauren!) to remember to take out my camera.

After that lovely visit, Max and I headed over to San Francisco to have some lunch with Alice, Shirley, Julie, Cuong and Nicole.

It was seriously so nice to see everyone again. I miss San Francisco so much! Max and I got there a little early and so I drove around the city a little bit. Even just driving over the bridge from the East Bay tugged at my heart strings.

Anyway, we ate at this great restaurant called Kokkari (picked by Alice -- great job). Maddox was a little fussy because he was tired, but it was a great time all the same.

Cuong has become the unofficial Max-Daddy (you'd make a great father Cuong!) and it was great to hang out with the girls again. I miss them SO SO SOOOO much!! The food was fabulous and the company even better. We will definitely have to do it again soon. Here are some more pictures from that day!

Don't they make a cute couple!

Aww... Auntie Alice

Shirley we'll work on it...

Festival of Lights -- Christmas Style (Is that offensive?)

This year at the Mesa Apartments they are holding a holiday balcony decorating contest. They are giving 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in the form of rent credits. So, when I heard there would be a chance for me to show off my Christmas light decorating skills I of course jumped all over it. I may have gone a little overboard, but it's like looking at a Christmas miracle! I have about 2,200 lights up on the balcony. It's so bright you can see it from the main road. When you come around the corner it is truly a sight to behold. Have you ever seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? It's like their house in that movie in terms of shock value. The pictures don't really do it justice. I really hope I win this year!!

Pictures with Santa

So we wanted to take Maddox to get his picture taken with Santa at the mall. When we arrived at the booth where Santa was seated under this elaborately decorated fake Christmas tree we saw that in order to get pictures with Santa you had to buy a whole photo package. Well the cheapest package was $30!! I know!! What happened to the $5 polaroid you used to get? Needless to say Maddox did not get his picture taken with the mall Santa.

Instead, we had my step-dad Bob dress up like Santa and had the kids take pictures of them. While Bob played an extremely convincing Santa and did an excellent job of "Ho Ho Ho"-ing throughout the house, the kids were a little freaked by the whole thing -- Mattie more than Maddox.

I think this will be so fun every year to have Bob dress like Santa and take pictures (until they stop believing of course -- although, do we ever really stop believing??)

First Christmas Presents

We went to my parents' house this weekend to open Christmas gifts since we will be with Tyler's family for the actual holiday. Maddox got to open his first Christmas presents! He did a fabulous job ripping the paper off.

Mattie got to open her first Christmas presents, too. Can you believe she's going to be a year old already at the end of this year? My beautiful little baby sister is growing up so fast!

We all got lots of fun gifts. Tyler got a new razor, a giant jar of Nutella and some gift certificates. He also got a new Yale t-shirt from my cousin Tami because he says I ruined his other one. I got some new boots, a new bag, a sweater and a cashmere headband. I also got a gift certificate to one of my fave stores, Sur La Table. Maddox got tons of new toys that he adores and some we'll try out on our trip up to Sonora.

Maddox also gave me his present for me. It was a gift card for iTunes so that I could by some music for the drive. The package was all wrapped up on the outside it said "To Mom, From Fatburger (what we affectionately call him)." It was adorable.

Temple Lights, Mary, Merry Christmas and Motherhood

The other night Tyler, Max and I went to the San Diego Temple to see the beautiful lights and nativity they put up. We walked around the Temple grounds and it was so beautiful.



It's nice to be reminded of what really matters this time of year. It's not the presents and the wrapping paper and the "oh no are we going to have enough money for a Christmas tree" and the crowds and the traffic and the lights. While those things are all nice and make for a festive good time, the real reason we celebrate is to remember the birth of baby Jesus. Sometimes through all the hustle and bustle of the season we forget that we are celebrating the magical wonderful sweet birthday of an amazing little baby.

After having a little boy of my own, this holiday seems to take on a whole new meaning. When I look down at the sleeping baby boy in my arms I don't think that maybe someday he will walk on water, or heal the sick or perform miracles. I don't know what Mary thought when she looked down at her sleeping baby Jesus or when she held him in her arms for the first time. But it was probably what all mothers think when they first hold their newborns -- I love you, you are mine and I will forever keep you safe and loved and well, sleep sweetly my baby and I will protect you and love you.

I'm sure Mary had no idea, just as most mothers, of what her son would do for the world. But that moment when he was born, the whole world was changed. Just like the moment Maddox was born, our whole world changed. And although he probably won't be a savior or a even a martyr, he might do great things, or he might have a family and lots of babies or become a soldier and defend our wonderful nation or be a stock broker or just a janitor. Really he could do anything. But I'd like to think that on Christmas night as we open our gifts and eat our turkeys and hams and play in the snow, I'd like to think that Mary and I and all the mothers in the whole world had the same overwhelming feelings of motherhood, gratitude, pride, joy, fright, solitude, peacefulness, love and hope. I'd like to think that Mary was just another mother trying to do the best she could for her sweet extraordinary little boy. I'd like to hold my own sweet little boy and gaze at his bluer than blue eyes and think that Mary and Joseph did the same thing. I hope I never forget that Mary and me and millions of other women around the world are connected in one of the most sacred ways possible -- motherhood.

Christmas has a new meaning for me this year. Christmas is about motherhood and babies and sweetness, something I can now embrace and wrap around myself like a sweater. Merry Christmas everyone!

The menu gets longer...

So we found two, almost three, new foods Max likes. He likes peas, sweet potatoes and he's starting to like pears. (I'm pushing the pears because they have a lot of fiber and he really needs it... if you know what I mean). Anyway, the stinker loves vegetables. He hates fruit, still can't stand the cereal, but he lunges for the vegetables.

He's the best kid in the whole wide world!

P.S. I know, his hair is ridiculously long, but I love him anyway!

Success!!

SO... I think we finally found a food Maddox likes! I have been trying applesauce, bananas, rice cereal, oatmeal cereal... all to no avail. He will have none of those nasty grain things and he will not be tempted by those sugary fruits that will probably go straight to his hips. Nope! Maddox's favorite food... CARROTS.

Yes, he LOVES LOVES carrots. He ate the whole entire jar this afternoon!! I was shocked! He kept lunging forward to get more off the spoon and he actually opened his mouth when the spoon came at him instead of me waiting until he was crying with his mouth open to shove the food in or just prying his little lips open with the tip of the spoon. He liked carrots so much that he was even licking his bib clean!

Maybe my son is really a rabbit in disguise. It might explain the hair standing straight up... maybe it's hiding his rabbit ears.

Anyway... I'm always happy when people eat (especially when it's something I make -- or in this case, I feed) so I had to post this because it made my day!!

Plagio Update

Here are some picture of his head. We have to do them in the bath so that his hair is wet because when it is dry, it sticks up all over the place so much that you can't see it very well. It's really sad. I was looking at some websites and his head looks much worse than the ones in the pictures. It's kind of hard to see in these pictures because he was so wiggly, too. But it'll give you an idea.
As I was doing some research on the Internet about Plagio (as the world of Plagiocephalites call it) I am realizing it's a little more serious than we thought (or that the pediatrician let on). It can cause facial asymmetry and weird funky stuff. There is a lot of debate about helmeting and not helmeting. I'm all for it... wouldn't you have been mad if your parents could have fixed your oddly shaped head and asymmetrical ears if they could have but didn't? I'd be real mad, real real mad. Anyway, Maddox has no asymmetry

as far as I can tell and the only thing that is slightly noticeable is that his ear on the more flat side (his right side) sticks out a little bit.

I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions but I'm a little worried for my baby! I'm afraid he has the more serious form of Plagio called Craniosynostosis. His pediatrician didn't seem to think he had it, but his flattening is so severe, I just don't know... all a mother can do is worry!

Mmm... food...

So Max had his first taste of real food. Well, as real as it can get for him right now. He had some rice cereal and some applesauce. He wasn't too keen on it, I think, last night. He made the classic Max I-don't-get-it face and kind of smacked his lips a little bit. The best way to get it into his mouth was to let him fuss a little and start to cry, then cram the spoon into his mouth. It startled him a bit to say the least, but it was pretty funny.


He was much happier this morning when trying to eat. We just gave him cereal. He is just starting to figure out that he has to open his mouth when the spoon comes at him. It'll take a little while for that to happen. But I can tell this kid is gonna love food. I mean just look at his face!! Is that not the look of "I WANT CAKE" or what?

Four Month Check-Up

So Maddox had his four month check up yesterday. It came complete with shots and everything. We found out that he is in the 50% for height and weight (so pretty much perfect). He's 14lbs 11oz. He feels a lot fatter to me, but whatever, I guess the scale doesn't lie. We also got the go ahead for solid foods. Yay!! I'm so excited!! I'm hoping with the introduction of the solids there will also come the introduction of the sleeping through the night. I'll keep you posted. The doctor also said he's growing and thriving and looks wonderful which is good news for a mother to hear.

We also got some not so great news. The doctor reevaluated Max's head and said that it hadn't improved as much as he would have liked. It's still pretty flat on one side and he has what is called Plagiocephaly. We have an appointment next Friday to find out what kind of treatment he needs. He might have to wear one of those helmets. How sad!! His poor little head.

Also, the doctors said that he may have an abnormal closure of his spinal tube at the base of his spine. There is (now don't laugh) a little hairy spot above his butt crack and apparently that can be a sign of some underlying problem with the spinal cord. (Believe me, I had the hardest time not cracking up in the doctor's office as Dr. _____ was saying "Hmm... that hairy butt spot is a little area of concern...") Anyway, he has to go in for an MRI in January to make sure everything is okay. I'm sure it is. They are concerned about his growth in the future and how it would affect the nerves in his lower extremities if there is a problem. I'm not that worried. I think he just comes from a long line of hairy butts (I'll let you guess which side of the family).

Also, our pediatrician kept calling his little peenie weenie a "willy". I found that slightly inappropriate but highly hilarious (and again, I had to bite my tongue so as not to bust up laughing in the office which could have led to me wetting my pants which is NEVER good).

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the results of his head consultation and the MRI.

In Memory of Amber Infante

My cousin's wife Amber died suddenly on Thanksgiving Day. She was only 27 years old and they had only been married a year longer than Tyler and I. I feel so horrible for my cousin. They were living in New Mexico but he is going back to CT because he has no family in NM. Here is the obituary I found on the Internet that her family must have placed. It's just such a tragedy. I have a few random not so great pictures of them from their wedding.

They aren't sure what caused her death. My dad said that that morning Anthony had taken her in to the hospital because she had a terrible headache and was short of breath. The doctors sent her home because they could find nothing wrong. Later that night she couldn't breathe so they sent her back in. She died that night at the hospital. They think it was a brain aneurysm but they are waiting for the autospy results (which takes weeks).

It happened to fast. No one knew it was coming, it's not as if she had a long illness. She was so young, too. My dad said she had just recieved her Master's in special education and was getting ready for a new job. And for it to happen on Thanksgiving... it's just so shocking. And it's not like I was particularly close to them (unfortunatly). It was just so sudden.

It's just such a horrible thing to have happen. My heart aches for my poor cousin who I'm sure believed he had met his companion for life. I can't imagine waking up each day and not seeing my sweet Tyler next to me. I can't imagine what he is going through. I hate to be so cliche, but it's times like this and things like this that force you to see how precious life is. I look at my beautiful little baby boy and my beautiful little baby sister and I am in awe of how precious and sweet and wonderful their lives are. I wish I could say that from now on I won't take a single minute of my life for granted, but I can't promise that. No one can really.

Our prayers are with you Amber and Anthony.

Mattie's First Thanksgiving

Well Mattie and Max both had their first Thanksgivings. Max slept through most of it and Mattie had her first tastes of Turkey and all the fixings. As you can see, she really enjoyed it.


She ate sooo much turkey I thought her little tummy was going to burst open. She's really cute and getting very sassy, too. I can't believe she's almost a year old now!! It's crazy how fast that year went. I feel like she's my baby, too, since I help take care of her so much. I love her like my own even though she's just my little baby sister. She's really smart, too. Here are a list of some of her tricks. She can:

stick out her tongue (and she means it too)
blow bubbles
snap her fingers
she knows where her nose, piggy toes, tummy, eyes and teeth are
she waves goodbye
she blows kisses
she screams and talks A LOT
she pulls herself up and walks around holding on

The list could go on and on. AND... on Thanksgiving Day she took her first real steps!! She wasn't holding on to anything and she kind of just let go and walked about three or four steps to Tyler. It was the cutest thing ever. But she only does it when she's not really thinking about it. When you try to get her to do it, she refuses. Anyway, she's getting so big and I love her and she's adorable.

As for Maddox, I didn't take a single picture of him on his first Thanksgiving. Oh well, there weren't any pictures of the pilgrims and Indians on their first Thanksgiving either. Here's one of him in his bath.

His new thing is that he LOVES to talk up a storm. He will coo and gurgle and squeal your ear off if you let him. He's getting big, too. He's been eating like a pig, it's unbelievable. I think he's ready for solid foods.

Anyway, hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Crazy Hair

So Maddox has always had crazy hair. I thought I'd do a little photo montage to show you all just how crazy it's gotten over the past four months. That first one is of him a few weeks ago. Look at that 'do!! I swear I can't get it to go down. It's kind of started to fall down by itself in the front. But the back is like a peacock. Some people have suggested to me that I should use baby oil or hair gel... but come on, he's just a little baby! Why should I start to put all that product in his super fine silky hair? I love him just the way he is!! Enjoy the montage!!

Newborn faux-hawk


6-week hair (Go Bears!)


Check out how far it grows up!


You might think it's just bed hair, but it's not!!


The hilarity never ceases!


And one taken just last week...

His hair is getting so long now that I'm afraid he looks like a girl (see above picture). Also, he wiggles around so much in his crib at night trying to roll over that he wakes up with little dread-lock-like knots in his hair that are impossible to get out. And I kid you not, that is his real, natural, hair. I do nothing to it. I have witnesses!

So... riddle me this Batman... when is it okay to give a baby his first hair cut??