Changes: Part 2 of 2

 

Toby

Feb 2004-June 2012

The title of this (and the previous) post is "Changes," because we've had them aplenty recently. Mostly good: CJ and Ava growing and changing, Mike's wedding, and something else I will address in a moment. The low point in all of this was having to put our sweet 8-year-old cat, Toby, to sleep after he went into renal (kidney) failure. He's been losing weight for almost a year but otherwise been healthy (in hindsight, he was drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot, but he seemed fine), and then when we returned from FL he just fell apart. I took him to the vet, they were very honest and straightforward and didn't try to guilt me into forcing him to stay alive while his body was shutting down, and I held him and talked to him while they put him to sleep. It was horrible but for the best. Jack, our other cat, seems to have adjusted to being without his "brother"...I think he knew Toby was sick and as such didn't freak out when he suddenly wasn't there anymore. When Jack dies, I'm done with pets...I think I'll volunteer at an animal shelter to get my cat fix, but no more in the house. In addition to not wanting my heart to break every time a pet dies, in his last few days Toby peed down two of our heating ducts downstairs, probably so he wouldn't make a mess on the floor. Sweet, dumb cat. :-\ Luckily we have a dual system so the upstairs isn't affected whatsoever, and you can't smell anything if the air is off, but we're going to need the a/c on downstairs very soon...summer in NC is no joke. We've been trying to clean it out ourselves, but I'm about to call in the pros. So frustrating.

ANYHOW....

To end this update on a positive note, the biggest change yet is that I am going back to work next month. Originally, our plan was for me to leisurely start looking again when Ava headed off to kindergarten next year, but--in keeping with the theme--there were a lot of changes around here that have made it necessary for me to go back a lot earlier than planned. We had to buy a new car, the cost of health care for our family went up, and Craig was given a great new position at work that took him from commission to a salary + bonus. The bad news is that this resulted in significantly lower paychecks each month, and we're taking a lot out of savings to cover monthly expenses. The good news is that he'll most likely make it all back and then some with the bonus, but we aren't willing to count on money that isn't guaranteed: it won't pay out until the end of the year. Although I was very upset about having to take Ava out of her preschool, it would be much worse to put our family in a bad financial situation. I'm going to put her in the day care/pre-k she was in previously that we loved (I told her yesterday and she said she's excited to see her old teachers and show them how grown up she is now! ;o), and CJ will go with our neighbor for a year or two before I put him in day care. Between both kids sleeping fine now and Craig working from home more, it's doable. And the best news? A position opened up at the school I just left, so I will be back with a lot of my former coworkers in a system with which I'm already familiar. Good stuff...although not the ideal situation we would have liked, we are very fortunate...my prayers were answered better than I could have hoped for!

That's it for now, and I think that's plenty. Goodnight.

Changes: Part 1 of 2

There's been a lot going on around here lately: sometimes it seems like so much is happening, I don't get a chance to post, sometimes so little is happening, I don't bother. On May 21st, CJ turned one year old! I can't get over how fast it has gone by. For awhile I was very sad and actually contemplated not ruling out a third child, but I got over it. I'm thankful I took the time to really enjoy CJ's time as an infant, and am looking forward to his time as a toddler. :) His birthday party was a small gathering...we didn't even do gifts (family members are constantly giving him clothes, and between Ava's old baby toys and new ones he's received, he has plenty...he's ONE, he doesn't need much), we just celebrated with food and cake. I took a stab at creating a fondant cake with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, and if I do say so myself, it was pretty awesome... ;o)

Anyhow, CJ is in the 20th percentile for height (I don't remember the exact number) and in the 25th percentile for weight (a little over 20 lbs) so he's a peanut, at least compared to his sister. ;o) He's been walking since about 10 1/2 months and gets around like a pro, and fearlessly climbs on everything. He's very vocal but none of those vocalizations even remotely resemble words, so no early talking for this one. He's mostly happy and loves to laugh, especially at Ava, although I have seen signs of a temper...I hope it'll just be typical 2-year-old stuff, because I don't think I can take another strong-willed child!

 The cake I made...not bad!

 Mom and big sister with the birthday boy

 Daddy and CJ

 CAKE!!! There was no hesitation...he just grabbed handfuls and started stuffing his face. He's officially my kid.

 Yeahhh...when you buy a giant "1" balloon and attach it to the mailbox with a bunch of other ballons, and all but two of the other balloons pop and the two remaining wrap themselves around the "1" until they're right up next to it, IT DOES NOT LOOK GOOD.


A few days later, we headed to Miami for my brother Mike's wedding. I think this car trip was the final step in my getting over temporarily considering another baby, haha! It'll be so nice when the kids are older and can entertain themselves on car trips...or better yet, we aren't carting a ton of baby junk around and can FLY. Ava and I were both in the wedding and it was a lot of fun...Craig left the reception early with CJ, and Ava and I stayed...the second the music started, that kid hit the dance floor like nobody's business. It was AWESOME. Following the wedding, we spent a few days at a resort on the beach and got to enjoy the ocean and quality time with my family, including a family party for CJ's birthday. We even got in a couple of dates before making the long journey home. I'm including about thirty pictures below of our trip, and that doesn't even begin to cover it! ;o) All pics on this blog were taken on the iPhone, so they aren't spectacular.

 Guess who hates road trips...

 Saved by the DVD player!

 

 Papa and CJ before the rehearsal dinner

My parents...aren't they cute?

 Me and Mom

 The only family picture from the wedding...not great, but here it is!

 Ava, bustin' a move on the dance floor with Uncle Mike

 Kid totally passed out during the reception and didn't wake up until we got back to the hotel. She partied like a rock star.

 Ava with Uncle Mike and Uncle Billy

 My dad and brothers

 Here comes the beautiful bride!

 Ava and the other little flower girl, Bella

 

 Craig LOVES having his picture taken ;o)

 

 Ava with cousin Payton...we got to have lunch with Craig's stepbrother and his family on our trip... they are the one part of FL we truly miss!

 

 The girls

 

 The guys

 Ethan, CJ, Payton, and Ava

 My grandparents and Billy and Lauren, with a Kelli Ranch Dressing photobomb...haha!

 Us

 The Goat Girls! Kelli joined us for the family gatherings...she counts as family without the pesky issue of having to share our DNA. ;o)

 Ava and Mimi at the pool

 CJ exploring at the resort

 Date night!

 Mimi and Ava on the beach

 Gorgeous sunrise, as seen from our balcony

 Chillin' on the balcony

 Ava and I at the beach

 Checking out the view from his room at the resort

 Living room/dining room of our suite...I think it was bigger and nicer than apartments I've lived in!

 View from our balcony

 Ava at the pool

 Ava having fun at the beach with my brothers

 CJ and his great-grandpa...I feel bad that I don't have a picture of my grandparents with Ava, but she went through my phone yesterday and arbitrarily started deleting my photos. Ask me how happy I am about that.