January Happenings

January has been a pretty busy month!

We started of the new year by throwing our annual New Years Eve Party at our house. We had about 25 or so people over to play for the title of Beer Pong champion and, yet again, Matt and I were shut out the very first round. We thought we'd change it up a bit and make it a prom-themed party. We asked people to find the most ridiculous dresses and suits. Some found some hideous stuff and others found some more traditional outfits.

The weather has been very pleasant this year allowing teaching lessons to be very tolerable. Matt has been traveling up north to Greeley (2.5 hours away) for work and has been pretty tired. Can't blame the poor guy. Unfortunately, this week he decided to start staying in a hotel room to save himself the drive. The weather decided to turn ugly beginning with a snow storm and sub-zero weather. As bad timing would have it, he picked the wrong week to stay. This past Monday, after I had played an indoor soccer game with friends, I was driving home in the snow and Roman was asleep in his car seat. He awoke with a frightful screech and I reach around to wake him up (thinking he was having a nightmare). I looked at him in the rear view mirror and realized that he was having a SEIZURE! I have seen seizures before with my old dog but seeing a 2 year old child having a seizure, YOUR 2 year old child, was a whole other story! I pulled the car over and pulled him out of the car seat and called 911. The ambulance was there in under 2 minutes. By the time they got there, he had stopped seizing and had fallen asleep again. The medic took him from me and put him in the ambulance while I parked my car. On the ride to the hospital, Roman was awake and crying. I was riding in the front so there was more room for the medic to work. Roman was in an unfamiliar place being stared at, poked and worked on by 2 total strangers. It was a very helpless feeling. The medic came to the conclusion that Roman was having a FEBRILE SEIZURE. This kind of seizure is the body's reaction to a rapid spike in temperature. Roman's temp was 101.9 at the time the ambulance got there. His body didn't have time to adjust so the seizure allows the body to "reset" the internal thermostat. This type of thing affects only 2-5% of children ages 6 months to 5 years. I encourage those of you with children to do some research and be very careful if your child feels like they are developing a fever. Between the ER doc and the medic, they didn't seem too worried about the diagnosis but warned us that since he has done it before, it could happen again. He also said that I wouldn't have to call 911 if another seizure occurred but rather lay him on his side and wait for the seizure to pass. Watching it the first time was enough for me. Seeing those empty eyes and his whole body shaking was a scary and helpless feeling.

Since then, Roman has been back to the normal happy, healthy kid he was before with no side effects. Unfortunately, we have both been stuck in the house due to sub-zero weather and snow. The last 3 days has given us a HIGH temp of 3 degrees and record lows around the -15 degree range. So it seems that winter is getting some revenge on the pleasant weather we have all been enjoying.

It's been a fast paced start to the new year. Can't wait to see what February brings.

Oregon Coast

Matt, Roman and I spent 4 days up on the Oregon coast over Halloween weekend. We went up with his family to enjoy some time on the beach. Even though the water was way too cold and rough to swim in, we were able to wade around in the water and watch some beautiful sunsets. Here are some pictures courtesy of my sister-in-law.


This is Roman and his cousin Josiah playing in the sand....a lot of sand came home with us :)



Beautiful sunset



Harbor seals taking a sun bath


We went crabbing and caught lots!


Family picture time!





Roman loved playing in the ocean and making sand castles with his cousin. We hope we can spend many more vacations on the beach in the future.

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend we spent Sunday getting the boat ready for its Maiden 2010 voyage. Turns out, after 30 years of wear and tear, the outside of the boat needs quite a few coats of wax and the teak wood can really drink up the oil!! After a few coats of each, the boat is looking very nice! There is a nice shine on the hull and the wood looks very flashy! We also get to put brand new ID numbers on the boat and I'm thinking we may put a name on the boat as well. Since it has been in the family for over 30 years, I am open to suggestions. I'm kinda thinking of "Family Values" but please give me your input!



Roman was practicing his driving skills!


Then he climbed up onto the bow to be the lookout :)

He has also been practicing walking around in his life jacket. The first few times in the jacket, he was stone stiff and would just fall over but as his walking improves, he gets much better at adjusting himself in the jacket (which is still bigger than his upper body)

Monday we went up to Boulder to a BBQ after the Bolder Boulder race. We spent the evening with Matt's parents and had a nice dinner with his whole family. I hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day!

May Life

It is amazing to me how fast Roman picks up on things. He was taking his first steps on his birthday and now he is a pro. He can walk around and carry stuff and even drink standing up too. He watched very closely and wants to try everything we do. The other day I was filling up the tires on his jogging stroller and after watching me, he picked up the air hose and was touching it to the rim of the tire just like I was! Although he doesn't have the coordination, he knows that his socks and shoes go on his feet and tries so hard to put his socks on by himself. He can also help dress himself in his shirts and put his arms through.

He is doing great in his daycare and moved up to the toddler room a few weeks ago. They get to play outside and have much more "sophisticated" toys. He never cares when I drop him off. He just joins right in with the kids and has a great time.

Matt and I started playing on Cliff's soccer indoor soccer team and boy, are we outta shape! We sweat like crazy and have a good ol' time. Our team is undefeated (3-0) and they are a hoot to play with. With every week we play, our stamina gets better and the ball-handling skills get better too. We also started a Monday night movie night with several married couples and friends we know. It is nice to have a night alone with friends and be able to get back into the entertainment part of society. So far we have seen Alice in Wonderland in 3D, which I would highly recommend if you have good sense of imagination, and we have also seen MacGruber. If you are familiar with the SNL skits of MacGruber, this movie might be disappointing. The characters are played with the same idiocy but there is way too much cursing throughout the whole movie. I can appreciate a well placed cuss word but this movie takes it too far. Other than that, the movie was hilariously retarded.

And lastly, we have finally gotten around to landscaping our backyard. With 2 St Bernards, it is very difficult to maintain a lawn. When we moved in, we didn't really have mich lawn to start and the dogs just finished the job. Over the last 3 weeks, we built a dog run and laid sod. The yard looks amazing! It is so nice to have a color other than dirt brown! Now Roman can have a good ol' time playing in his own back yard :)

8 Months Later

So turns out that I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog. I am much better at posting things on Facebook. Here is a wrapup of the past 8 months.

Since my last post (in August!) we have been through Halloween, Christmas, New Years and Easter. I was kind of a lazy mom in Halloween and didn't dress Roman up as anything. Even Matt and I went to a party and we made very last minute costume decisions.

Christmas was much more thought out. We had a Christmas Eve dinner at our house with my family and and Matt's family. Matt's family came back over for Christmas day and we had a big brunch and we opened presents around our very tall fresh cut tree!

The day after Christmas we went over to my parents house to celebrate Christmas with my family. We went out for a quick sledding trip with Jenny, Joe, Ben and Maddie. After a little whitewashing episode, we ate dinner and played some Wii sports and air hockey.

We hosted a New Year's Eve party at our house just like we did last year. We had a great turn out and were able to put together a Beer Pong Tournament. We were very greatful that Matt's parents volunteered to watch Roman over night.

March 23rd was Roman's 1st birthday! We had several friends and family come to celebrate with us. Roman got lots of toys and clothes and was really diggin' his cake. He was very timid about his cake at first but eventually dug in.

Jenny and Joe and the kids came out the weekend after Easter. We got pictures taken with all the kids. They turned out great! I will try to get some of them up soon.

At the beginning of February, I decided to make a change in my job. For the last 3 years, I worked for the riding school at the barn close to my parents house (where I actually learned to ride when I was a kid). After a few years, I decided to go partially "independent" which means that I worked for myself with my own clients and insurance. At that time I also worked for the school and when students were ready to "graduate" the program, I took them under my personal instruction. By doing that, I was able to make more money and make my own decisions. Well after 3 years and a few co-worker changes, I decided that I had had enough of taking orders from other people who had been there years less than I had. I went fully independent and I'm now my own boss. I was able to take all my students with me which means I wasn't losing income. Actually, I doubled it. Before, I was only making 40% of the profit the school was making, even though I was doing all the work. Now I make 100% of what the clients pay (minus Uncle Sam's portion) but even after all that, it is a much better move. Being my own boss rocks and the relationships I have with my clients are more personal and I don't have to worry about anyone leaving. If someone is unhappy, I will know it right awa and be able to fix it. It is very liberating and the stress has left.

Matt is still enjoying his job with GE Johnson. He was working 3 hours away in the mountains for about 4 months which means he stayed in a hotel 3 nights a week. That time was very stressful and lonely for both of us but that is over. He is now home every night and hanging out with Roman. We have witnessed his first crawling steps, his first walking steps and maybe sometime soon, his first words.

New Video!

Here is a video taken yesterday of Roman sitting up and playing by himself!! He sat up for a couple minutes!!

From Newborn to 5 months old!

I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep you updated on Roman. My computer has been broken.

Since the last post (June 1st), Roman has been through so many changes!! He has really blossomed into a little man and his personality is really shining through! I have to say that Matt and I hit the jackpot with him. He is such a great baby!!!! He is so happy and a joy to be around. He loves to be held by anyone and yet can be by himself in his bouncer, carseat or playpen. He is also infatuated with our Saint Bernards. Whenever they come around him, he reaches out and grabs their floppy lips and tries to eat their nose! They return the favor by licking his face and cleaning up any leftover milk or food off his face or belly.

He has created his own schedule and sticks to it almost to the minute. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 12 weeks old. Hets up every day at 5:30 and is patient while his bottle gets ready. He is up for 2 1/2 hours and then it's time for a nap. He usually sleeps 2 hours and is a happy-go-lucky kid when he wakes up. Then it's playing and smiling until I have to take him to the barn at 4. He goes to bed between 7 and 8 at night. We couldn't be luckier! He only cries when his tummy hurts and is hardly ever fussy.

He started holding his own bottle at 4 months old, eating baby cereal at 4 1/2 months, and we started giving him his first "solid food" around that same time. So far, he likes strawberries, bananas, pears, green beans, peas and even prunes. The only food tha doesn't seem t agree with him is peaches. He eats them but they don't stay down long.

He was rolling over about 3 weeks ago and is now working on sitting up. The side-to-side balance is the hardest for him but every day is better. He tries so hard to laugh but everytime he does, he instantly gets the hiccups!

I will try to get some pictures up soon!!