Last Year At This Time...

Last year at this time I was counting down the days until we said "I do" on a beautiful sandy beach in Maui.  My life was extremely busy between spending my days with Dayne, my nights at Cal State Fullerton, and somewhere in between there trying to plan my wedding from hundreds of miles away. To add to my stress, 4 weeks before our wedding I fractured my pelvis in 2 places snowboarding and was told I might not be able to physically walk down the isle AND i could no longer go to the gym for at least 8 weeks (not what a bride wants to hear just weeks before her wedding day!) So, as you can imagine, I was filled with a ton of different emotions from excitement, stress, happiness, frustration and all things in between.

This year, things are a little different. The only emotion i am feeling right now is pure bliss. Synonyms for bliss are: Happiness, joy, euphoria, heavenly, paradise, and blessedness. Those are EXACTLY how i feel!

I cannot explain how incredibly blessed I feel these days. I am married to not only my best friend, but a man who is more than i ever dreamed of. I never knew I could love and respect a man as much as I love and respect my husband. He does more than just treat me like a princess... He loves me unconditionally, and lets me know that every day. There's never a moment in my day when I doubt his love for me. He understands me. He can just look at me and know if there's something on my mind that's bothering me. He believes in me, and is my biggest fan. I know without a doubt that he will always be there for me, always be on my side, and always encourage me whenever I need it. He takes care of me. John works his butt off so that I can be home with our son and soon-to-be daughter, and not miss a single moment with them. He works day shifts, night shifts, wayyyyyy too long of hours, and even picks up extra shifts so that he can support his family. In the last year, he has bought us a beautiful home and on his days off spends his time fixing it up so it can be exactly what we want. He is so much more than just these things, and one of his best qualities is that He is a wonderful father! The joy on his face when he comes home and Dayne yells "Daddy's home!" puts a smile on my face from ear to ear. The way Dayne looks up to him and tries to be like him is so adorable, and shows what kind of a dad he is. He is always teaching him the things you would want your husband to teach his son, things like: How to fix things, how to use tools, not to walk in the street without holding someones hand, how to ride a bike, how to play baseball, etc. He is such a great role model to Dayne in showing him how to be a respectable man, how to treat a woman, how to love your parents, and how to take responsibility for your mistakes and apologize for them. 

This year he has given me the ultimate gift... a baby girl. I wanted a little girl so badly and after trying for only a month, God blessed us with another child. When we found out we were having a girl, I was beyond excited and could hardly believe it! This is exactly what I dreamed of when I was little, and it's all coming true and unfolding in front of me. An amazing husband, a house that has become "our home" in which we can make a lifetime of memories in, and a wonderful family with 2 beautiful children... what more could I ever ask for?!?!

These past few months have been wonderful. I took some time off of school so I could focus on enjoying our last months with Dayne as an only child and doing as many fun things with him as possible, as well as enjoying my pregnancy. We have gone so many places: beaches, the zoo, Knott's Berry Farm, parks, petting  zoos, bounce houses, and many more. It's so nice to not have any stresses of schoolwork, tests, etc and just focus on having fun with my 2 year old.

I feel blessed beyond words that God has given me this life, and am forever grateful. So as last year we were counting down the days til our wedding, this year we are counting down the days until we meet our beautiful baby girl, Miss Avery Grace!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our Maternity/Family Session from a few weeks ago!
 ( www.valerienichole.com     www.fancyandfreshbylaura.com )

Oh, the funny things he says!!!

Dayne is seriously hilarious. It seems like everyday he is saying and doing new things he's never done before. Over the past few weeks, here are a few of my favorite moments!

1)   I was doing dishes in the kitchen one night, when I noticed behind me that Dayne was in the pantry browsing around. I didn't say a word and just stood in awe watching him reach as high as he could, grab the box of poptarts, open them up, take one out, put the box back, and go back into the family room and continue watching Monsters Inc. and eating his pop tart. My jaw was dropped as I watched him do this! It was hilarious, since he didn't say a word or even seem to notice that I was watching him. It was also a little bittersweet knowing that he was now old enough to go get himself a snack when he's hungry! He's only 2.... slow down buddy!!!

2) As all little clumsy 2 year olds do, Dayne tends to slip and fall a few times a day depending what he's doing. A week or so ago, he was running into the kitchen when he slipped and fell on the ground and I could hear his little elbow smack hard on the marble floor. I could tell it was hurt and by the look on his face I knew it did, but when I ran over to him and asked if he was okay, he told me "Yeah, I'm okay... I need chocolate" hahahah I couldn't help but crack up and of course, had to get him a piece of chocolate so he'd feel better =)

3) Since we're expecting Avery this June, we've been working on Dayne sleeping in his own bed throughout the night. He is SUCH a great sleeper, once he's asleep. Unfortunately, I have to go to sleep with him everynight and then climb out once he's sleeping. (i only say unfortunately bc he has a toddler bed and being 6 months pregnant and sharing a crib sized mattress with a 40lb 2 year old isn't what you call comfortable) Once he's asleep, he sleeps the entire night in his bed and comes in our room for morning cuddles usually around 8am. Well, one morning he wasn't up when I was, so I went to go check on him and found him in the family room, laying sound asleep on Rocky's dog bed and poor little rocky was on the floor next to him! Here's a pic.

4) Dayne has become my little backseat driver and is getting quite good with directions. He knows which way we need to go to get to Grandma's house, and which way to Knott's Berry Farm. Whenever and wherever we are driving now, he now tells us from the back seat which way we need to turn and when we need to hurry.

5) A few weeks ago, Dayne was asking for ice cream while i was in the middle of making him a healthy dinner (spinach and kale stuffed baked chicken - i have to HIDE all veggies from him) I told him after dinner, and he thought I didn't understand what he was saying. He told me: "No, momma, Ice-cream! I need the ice cream!" I once again told him he could have some after dinner. He still thought I didn't understand, so he went to the freezer, OPENED the door (such a strong boy), grabbed the ice cream, went to the drawer and got a spoon, and went in and sat down on the couch next to John and asked him to open it. He sure knows what he wants!!

6) Every time he bonks himself or gets an owie, he seems to think he's broken. It's so funny because he always tells us he broke his leg, his toe, his arm, his head, his face, etc. Well last night, he wasn't paying attention and bonked his head on a chair as he was running past it. He put his hand on his head and told us "I broke my head. I need to see a Doctor" LOL

7) I can't help but crack up every time i go to button his pants, because he sucks in his belly to give me enough room to button them! LOL i don't know where he learns this stuff!

8) My husband likes to watch all those typical boring man shows, whether it's auctions, classic cars, shooting guns, pawn shops, or the repo guys... it's not what I consider "good television". But, as I do with some of Dayne's tv shows, I sit there with him and watch and pretend to seem interested. Well, Dayne is not as polite as me. When John had gotten home from work and was watching tv, Dayne tells him, "Daddy, this show is boring" hahhahahahaha such a wise kid!

9) My little monster sure knows how to get his way with me. After Valentine's Day, he knew there was a big box of chocolates sitting on the counter just out of his reach. He would get one chocolate after his lunch was eaten, and one chocolate after dinner was finished. It was about 9:30pm and he came up to me, crawled on my lap, and gave me a big hug and then a few sweet smooches. I was so happy and just looked into his eyes and smiled at him as he smiled back at me. Such a sweet moment. Then, of course, he said those little words. "Love you momma" awwwww, my heart melted and I felt so much love at that moment. Then these little words came out of his mouth "Chaw-co-late please?" Now how could i resist? He could've asked for anything at that moment and I would have given it to him, so a piece of chocolate late at night was not such a bad trade off =D

10) My son has ALWAYS loved being naked. I know that's normal as a child, but he seems to be a little more obsessed than usual for his age. He for some reason thinks he can't go swimming if he's wearing boardshorts, so he wants to be naked. Which is okay when it's just us, but not so good when we're around a bunch of other kids! Anyway, so for a long time now we have called Dayne a nudist. If he's able to be naked, he will be. And the second he gets naked, the smile on his face is HUGE! I'm talkin ear to ear grin and the happiest child you've ever seen in your life! Well, now that he's learned how to take off his clothes completely, we are having quite the hard time keeping them on him.

I had just gotten out of the shower the other day, and I walked around the corner to see Dayne completely naked and wearing his fireman boots! hahahah I almost fell over laughing. My little innocent baby boy looked like one of those pin up calendar guys! I'm just glad we were at our house and not in public! I guess it's time to start buying him belts!

11) Dayne has been dancing to music since he was 3 months old. Recently though, he's started singing parts of songs on the radio  in the car, or the intro songs to his favorite cartoons ("wow wow wubsy, wubsy wubsy wow wow", etc) Well one of the cutest songs he has started singing is the one he made up about my mom. After spending a weekend at her house and going to the zoo, the park, the beach, the train station, and the ice cream store all in one day, he was not so excited the next day that he had to go home. Well the next morning, he started telling me he wanted to go to Momma Linda's house. I told him he had to wait til the weekend, and within minutes he had made up a song for her. This is how it goes (and he has sang it several times now)

"Mama Linda    Mama Linda  Mawwww mawwwww Liiiiiiiinnnnnndddddaaaaa
Going to mamaw linda's house. I want to go to mama linda's house.
Mawwwww mawwwww Liiiiinnnnnnndddaaaaa"


*Being a mother has been the most amazing and wonderful experience in my life. I feel so lucky and blessed to have had such a healthy, happy, beautiful, perfect little boy and I thank God every day for him. Watching him grow up and learn new things is what makes each and every day so special and unique.*

Busy Month

I haven't blogged in a while, and I need to start doing this more. Things have been so busy and exciting over the past month, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things!

This New Years Eve was fun. We went to our close friends house who live less than a mile away and enjoyed food, drinks, and fun times with friends. However, I definitely felt like the oldest one there (which is funny because I'm actually the youngest of our friends by about 5 years!) But, since we're parents of an energetic 2 year old AND I'm pregnant, when it was 10 o'clock... we were ready to go home! We barely made it to the midnight countdown and as soon as it was over, we said our goodbyes and went straight to bed! Looking back at how I used to celebrate NYE 3 years ago, compared to now, is quite a HUGE difference!!

Only days later  we found out the wonderful news that we were expecting a baby GIRL!!!!!  I would've been happy either way but a girl was definitely what I have been wanting! Couldn't be happier!!!

We got Knott's Berry Farm passes as a gift from John's parents, and since it's only a mile away, it has been so fun & convenient for us to take Dayne. Seeing the joy and excitement on his face makes me happy beyond explanation! Here are a few pictures from our Knott's visits so far:

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here! Usually I love the winter, since it's snowboard season, but since I can't snowboard this year, I'm all about the sun! Having 70-75 degree days in January allows us to go so many places that we can't usually if it's cold and rainy. One of the reasons I took time off of school this semester was so I could spend more time with Dayne while he is still my only child. I made a vow to myself to take him to as many fun places that I can in the next few months. Here's a few of the places we've been going:

The Saari Family Christmas, 2011

Christmas was so much fun this year. We were very blessed to have my brother and sister-in-law in town and got to spend a few days with them. We went to Naples in Long Beach & walked around the canals and checked out all the gorgeous light displays on the houses. The church service we went to on Christmas Eve was absolutely perfect & I can't even explain how happy I was to get to spend the whole evening with them!

Christmas Day was pretty wonderful too! We started the day with Santa's presents at our house and Dayne really enjoyed it!

Then, we headed to John's parents to open presents and have breakfast. I think my favorite part was either Dayne ripping off wrapping paper and shouting with excitement, "A Box!! A Box!" hahaha Another favorite was when his great grandparents gave him a music set with drums, a flute, maracas, a bell, a whislte, etc... He passed the instruments out to everyone and we had a little 'Live band jam session'!!! The music was obviously terrible but absolutely hilarious and the smile on his face was priceless!

Next, we headed home to get ready to host our first Christmas dinner in our new home. We had 26 people attending so it was a little bit of a shuffle to find room but it actually turned out perfect! It was so nice to have both sides of the family all together on this special day and not to mention the weather was absolutely gorgeous (75 degrees and sunshine). We had the patio doors open and everyone had such a great time mingling, eating, and opening gifts. We had a fiesta this year instead of a traditional dinner and it was delicious! Tacos, Tamales & Enchiladas... Who's going to complain about that? =)