Hello March!

Goodbye February! Not the greatest month I have ever had, so I am happy to see it go. A few reasons why: 1. Gabe got RSV. Of course he did, this little baby has gone through more in his 8 months of life than I have in my 26 years! He is such a fighter! 2. I kept getting impressions that I needed to quit my job. I didn't say I "wanted" to quit, I said I "felt" like I needed to. I love to work, so it was a hard thing to say goodbye to. 3. I decided to be the most negative person in the entire world all month long! Seriously, its a weakness that I have always struggled with, but obviously let it get the best of me for 29 days. I think #3 is what made my month so terrible, in fact I know it did. It's embarrassing to admit all of this, but I am glad that I at least figured out that I was making life harder than it had to be. Hopefully I will catch it sooner before another 29 days come and go.

Now that we are into March life seems to be going a lot better. Gabe got over the RSV and is healthy and happy again. I am trying to be more positive especially with not working anymore. I am realizing that it truly is a blessing that I can be at home with my beautiful boys every single day. Ty and Gabe both bring me so much joy (especially lately) and to see them interact even for a second is the sweetest thing ever! It's all about how I look at my life.

And life is good. :)

January 25

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I never post about my birthday. I think mainly because the last two years I have been pregnant and very sick so there was nothing really to post about. This year I turned 26 and was feeling pretty depressed about the number part. 25 just sounds so much younger! Anyways, during the day I was home taking care of my two favorite babies just like most normal days. I am sure that is how it is for most adults on their birthday as well. For some reason though every year I feel like it needs to be celebrated All. Day. Long. I have my mom to thank for this one because thats exactly what she did for us. Birthdays were a very big deal growing up, and I want to make it that way for our kids as well. (I just need to remember that I am not the kid anymore)

Dan took me out to dinner and all night was saying he was gonna take me to some show. I was trying to act happy but I couldn't think of any fun shows that were here and I knew the Jazz were playing and I am in love with them and well I really wanted to go! ... he got me good. He surprised me with tickets to the Jazz game and then we just laughed about how upset I was and how I can never hide it. Maybe that should be a goal for my 26th year of life.

Spending time with just Dan was really the best present. When we go out it feels like there are no responsibilities and nothing to worry about, and thats really just what I need. I love little breaks from normal life. )

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!

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful weekend! Christmas morning was my favorite, I loved that it was just us. Ty caught on really quick how to open his gifts and the reaction to every present was absolutely priceless! He couldn't open his gifts fast enough, it was so much fun! We also got to talk/skype my twin sisters and little brother that are all serving missions right now, it's always special to here a missionary's testimony, it makes me want to be a better person.

We were also able to spend time with both sides of the family which makes things really nice for both of us. There is nothing better than being with your family during this time of year. I have been feeling blessed in a lot of areas in my life, lately I have been feeling especially grateful for my healthy little family. It's still crazy to me that we have two boys, but I am so thankful we do because I couldn't imagine my life without either of them.

Happy Holidays!

18 months

Ty becoming 18 months old has been such a wonderful thing, and for many reasons. One of the best changes is he can go to Nursery! I don't know how we did it for 5 months having both babies the full block, especially Ty, he is so busy! The first time we took him, I went in with him and he didn't even look back to see if I was still there. He is one independent dude, I love it! Another thing is how quickly he is learning. If I say "ready, set" he says "go!" Or I say "one, two" and he says "three!" He is learning what different animals say; cow "moo", doggy "huff huff" and monkey "oooh oooh." He is also getting better with words, he can say; "mom, dad, go, three, hi, bye, ball, yah, shoe, up please (pup peas), wow" His main way of communicating is shaking his head up and down really slowly and saying "yaaah" It is the cutest thing! Ty understands almost anything I say to him. He hates to go into "time out" but its been pretty effective discipline wise. He loves to get his shoes when I say lets go bye bye, he will get diapers, my phone and remotes for me when I ask, he loves to read books but only if he can turn the pages and read all by himself!

He has finally started being nice to his little brother! When Gabe cries he will run over and rub his head or tummy and say "shh", which is a lot better than him laughing at him or hitting like before! He loves to gives kisses, especially to Gabe. He will smack his lips twice and then kiss him. Another big change is I got rid of his binky, on accident. I was boiling his binkies in hot water one morning to sanitize but I forgot about them so they melted to the pot. He did really good the first few days but then for a couple of weeks he had a really hard time. He still looks for it when I lay him down, but he is getting better at not throwing fits anymore. Ty has the most contagious laugh, he makes me smile so many times during the day. I haven't been able to work out that much lately, but chasing him around and cleaning up his messes all day should be able to count for something! He makes life exciting and I love being his mom.

Oh I lost his exact stats but it went something like this:

Weight: 15%

Height: 15%

Head: 80%

... a real life bobble head!! ... and the cutest one ever!

BFA Show

This is a long overdue shout-out to my amazing husband for putting on his BFA (Bachelor in Fine Arts) Show! He is basically graduated, just needs to finish his website, and I am still trying to talk him into walking in the Spring. Tens of thousands of years going to UVU (really 8 years on and off, but still) and changing your major five times calls for a big celebration! This needs to happen!

At his Art Show he displayed 6 caricatures and 6 portraits. This is a caricature of my Uncle Craig who started Gandolfos, this was one of my favorites! The detail in the background and props are a lot of fun, especially the dead Yankee player that he is stepping on, GO METS! :)

I am so proud of Dan for finally getting here! It has been amazing to watch him grow and improve with every picture he has drawn and painted. Just when I think he can't get any better he does! I am also happy that I don't have to deal with having an art studio in my front living room anymore, but I am more happy that all his hard work is paying off and that he was able to share this wonderful talent with family and friends.