Bitter Sweet

One thing that Ty looks forward to every night is reading "Huggle Buggle Bear" before he goes to bed. Dan and I take turns every night reading to him because its so much fun and neither of us want to miss out on it. Well, last night was my turn ...
... but I didn't get a turn. Ty was crying so hard when I took him from his dad to read to him in his room. The second Dan walked in he stopped crying and ran to him. That was the bitter part for me, seeing that Ty wanted his dad to read to him, not me. I had to laugh at myself when I realized I was feeling hurt by a 19 month old. I know he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings, he is just growing up and is starting to have his own opinion of what or who he wants. The sweet part was peeking in the room and seeing how happy he was sitting in his dads lap listening to his favorite story. It definitely was a bitter/sweet moment for me.

2011

A quick recap of 2011:

The year started off with some problems in my pregnancy and thinking we lost the baby. A miracle happened and we found out everything was ok. The next few months were a little crazy with dealing with pregnancy sickness and a 6 month old. But I tried to enjoy every second I could with Ty since I knew he wouldn't be the only child for long.

This is the only picture I got being pregnant that you can see my stomach.

In May Dan left for about a month to try the alarm selling thing. Ty and I had to stay back since I was working. It was a long few weeks without him but we were so glad when he came back home!

May 31 my baby turned one! He was still so serious back then, no smiles.

Less than a month later our little Gabe decided he couldn't wait any longer to come to earth. He scared us with how early he came, but questions were answered when I delivered the placenta with a huge tear in it. We are very grateful he came early.

4lbs 6 oz and 16.5 inches long

The next month and a half was a difficult time for our family. Having Gabe in the NICU and Ty not being old enough to come was heartbreaking. I am so thankful for our family so willing to take care of Ty and help when needed.

Watching Gabe progress day to day is what kept me going, I tried to remind myself how blessed we were that he was alive and getting better each day.

Ty and Gabe meeting for the first time is something I will never forget. Ty was too young to understand anything, but he was such a champ through everything.

Finally the day came that we took our precious baby home and were together as a family. Gabe scared us that night when his apnea monitor went off because he wasn't breathing. We called 911 but had him in recovery by the time the fire department came. A couple of weeks later the same thing happened and we took him to the emergency room. Luckily nothing major was wrong, he was diagnosed with reflux so we needed to keep a close watch on him.

Somewhere in the craziness of it all we were able to take a break and head to Nevada to spend the weekend with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Bob. They spoiled us with food, boating, games and entertainment. It was a much needed mini vacation for us!

Ty thought that Gabe was a toy when we brought him home, he though it was funny when he cried so he would find ways to make it happen. Teaching Ty to "be gentle" to Gabe was quite the process, but we got through it and he is doing so much better!

It will never be forgotten that Dan walked into a handicap sign and sliced his ear open. It was our third trip to the ER for the year and thankfully our last. It only took nine stitches to sew that baby up.

In October we blessed Gabe. I remember feeling very thankful that Dan was able to bless him and to hear all the many things that are in store for this little miracle.

Our annual Lagoon trip with no kids!

Halloween with kids :)

Ty discovered how much he loved candy and became a terrible eater because of it.

Dan finished his BFA show and graduated from UVU.

Gabe learned to smile and roll over from stomach to back.

Christmas morning with these little dudes and being able to spend the rest of our holidays with our families. We are so lucky to live close to both sides!

2011 definitely had its ups and downs, but I wouldn't take anything back if I had the chance. This has been a year of learning and growing for me and my family. I am so grateful for my husband who is my rock and is always pushing me to be a better person. Being a mom is the greatest joy I know and I am so thankful to have Ty and Gabe in my life. I am very thankful for the gospel and the knowledge that I have of why we are all here on this earth. That is how I got through this year and was able to learn from every experience. I am exited for 2012 and hope we are ready for the good and challenging times it will bring us.

Happy New Year!