Joy from the simplest things

It always amazes me how much joy Jenna can find in the littlest things. I wish we could keep that joy as adults. Jenna loved playing with her diaper box as if it was the greatest toy ever! She would sit on it, climb in it, take stuff out and put stuff back in.

Jenna never ceases to surprise us with the cute things she does. She LOVES the Wiggles and can even somewhat say the word "Wiggles" or at least enough that you know what she is talking about. With this love we have purchased 4 DVDs so that she can see them at all times of the day. She is also working on saying different words from pears, nose, Wiggles, and shoe. She is having fun throwing balls with her dad (while mommy isn't thrilled that they are doing this in the house). So life is always busy, but we are trying to love every minute of it.

Things I have realized so far in 2008:

1. This year has GOT to get better since so far it has been the pits! Started out the year getting over my surgery for removing my gall bladder. In the midst of that, Josh got food poisoning. Then Jenna had to get tubes put in her ears and while in the hospital for less than 1 hour she contracted a GI bug. This bug led to her vomiting and then having diarrhea for 2 days then back to vomiting before giving me the bug. NOW Jenna has mucousy eyes. Things have just got to get better!!!

2. I have one of the greatest husbands in the world. I have been thinking this for some time as he works hard to support our family financially. Here lately though he has had to pull double duty with taking care of Jenna since I wasn't able to physically do it. What wins him the husband of the year award was he cleaned up after me when I was sick even when he told me to my face he wasn't going to (I won't go into detail, but it was disgusting). Not having to clean up helped my recovery more than he will ever know.

3. Having parents near by to help is very nice. When Josh had to fly out on Sunday for a business meeting with both Jenna and me sick, my parent drove up to get Jenna and me, brought us back to their house, and have been taking care of us. I wouldn't have been able to take care of myself and Jenna at the same time. So a BIG thank you to them.

4. Sometimes the simplest things can make the best bath toys. Tonight I bathed Jenna in my childhood bathtub and she got the biggest kick out of playing with the water spout, drain pull, shower hose, and the best toy was...a clear plastic toothbrush holder with painted fish on it. She filled it with water, poured the water out, took the lid off, and put the lid back on. She had the BEST time!

Happy Belated Birthday

I just realized that I didn't wish my Grandpa Ed Happy Birthday on December 30th. (I was in recovery from my surgery). So I wanted to take this special moment to send him my love all the way to Grants Pass, Oregon. My grandparents also celebrated their wedding anniversary on December 25th. Don't they look so cute together! I love you both so much.

Shift in attention

Recovery from my surgery is going well, but has been a struggle for Jenna. She doesn't really understand why mommy cannot pick her up, cuddle, and rough house with her. Usually we do it all of the time and I can't for now as I am not allowed to pick her up for another week. I cannot cuddle since she wiggles so much and it rubs the incisions and stitches on my stomach. I tried to play some last night with much caution, but then after Jenna went to bed I was in a lot of pain. So I need to hold off a little longer and allow my body to heal properly. So as a result Josh has had to pick up the slack. He's the one who picks Jenna up, cuddles, and puts her to bed. This has resulted in a shift in attention. Daddy is now Jenna's favorite. She goes to him first since she knows mommy cannot do anything for her. I think daddy likes being the favorite, but it is taking its toll on him as he doesn't get much time for himself. She wants all of his attention so whenever he is home he doesn't really get to relax. I should be gracious and not let this shift in favorites bother me. It's only fair that Jenna want Josh more as I have had that for almost 16 months, but I have to admit it hurts a little. I miss her cuddles and cannot wait to get that interaction back.

Happy New Year!!!

Well, we sent 2007 out with a bang, but it didn't go the way we first thought it would. We went to Ohio for Christmas and then came back on the 26th. We were suppose to fly out the morning of the 28th for Las Vegas to support our good friend Keith Polidoro as he got married. Then fly back on the red eye the night of the 29th since we had friends coming into town for New Year's. Little did I expect that Thursday night at 9:45 I would have the WORST gallbladder attack I had ever had. I took one of Josh's pain meds left over from his broken nose and it didn't even touch the pain. I decided to try to go to bed thinking that if I could just get to sleep then the pain would go away. At midnight the pain was even worse, so I took 4 Advil and that didn't touch the pain. At 12:15 am Josh found me sitting on the bedroom floor with my head between my knees feeling like I would pass out or throw up (it was an even battle). After pondering for a few minutes if I should go to the ER, I admitted that I needed to. The doctors drew blood and did an ultrasound on my abdominal area. After 2 hours of waiting and 2 morphine shots, I was informed that I had gall bladder disease, gallbladder stones, and that one of the stones was lodged in the duct leading to my gallbladder. The only solution was to have my gallbladder removed to prevent infection. So at 2 pm they prepped me for surgery and by 7 pm I was home in pain and on meds. My parents deserve a huge thank you. My mom drove up at 2 am and picked up Jenna to take her home. Then they came up on Friday to help Josh with Jenna so he could care for me. I am not allowed to pick her up for 2 weeks.

We still planned on having all of our friends come for New Year's. So Josh worked like a pro and got everything ready in addition to caring for Jenna since I couldn't do anything. He deserves a HUGE thank you for being such a great husband and father. We had 6 couples over, 5 stayed the night and 4 of them had kids with them. It was a full house, but we had a blast. I also have the greatest friends ever as everyone contributed to the work load and I didn't stress or have to do anything. Lori Beth made Chili and Sloan and Elizabeth made baked potatoes for dinner. Cary and Jackie made pancakes for breakfast. We had leftovers for lunch. Cameron and Paul picked up all the food for the celebration that night in addition to stuff that Sloan and Elizabeth got. Then Lori Beth made breakfast for everyone before they headed out. So I didn't even have to cook! It was so nice being able to hang out with my friend and ring in 2008. It was just hard to spend it on the couch siting down. Not being part of the action or at least the better parts was challenging, but that's okay though because the friends were here. Amazing that we are all still close after almost 8 years after college.


Here's a picture of the next generation in their Tarheel gear.
They don't look that thrilled in this picture, but it was so cute. I'll post a better one later.