Where Have We Been?

Geographically? In Los Angeles. In the blogosphere world? Absent. Excuses? None.

We all know the real reason is because I didn't want to boot Brian's extremely thoughtful post out of the limelight. But, yet, life goes on and we must blog!

We have been up to a whole lot of nothing and everything all at the same time. I feel like the past few months have been fast forwarded with nothing but doctor appointments and grocery shopping in the blur of my memories. This is not complaining, it is simply what my life has been all about lately. Braden has had 3 ear infections since Christmas and we were in and out of doctors' offices getting antibiotics after antibiotics, then going to the ear, nose and thoat doctor, and an audiologist to come to this conclusion: our dear little Braden has to have ear tube surgery.

Also going on at the same time are eye appointments. The one with the retina specialist being especially exciting. Braden fell asleep in the middle of the appointment and the doctor was able to examine him while he slept! I was extremely impressed. The conclusion to this appointment: Braden's peripheral vision isn't the best, and his eyes don't dilate correctly in darkened rooms. This leads to the possibility of a rod (as in cones and rods) dysfunction. The only way to confirm is the blasted ERG test that Braden already tried to take, with no success. We left the appointment with intentions to do the ERG when Braden is older and can actually do it (instead of doing it under anesthesia).

Now back to the surgery. Since Braden is going under anesthesia for the surgery anyway, we are trying to coordinate the surgery with the ERG so that we can do both at once. Thank you doctors! Hopefully this will work out. I'll keep you posted.

Throughout this doctoral mess, we have enjoyed a fun visit from Braden's Nana (my mom), where she played with him on the swings, went with him to the beach, picnic'd with him, and snuggled with him and shared popcorn with him:

We have also enjoyed lots of sunshine. We went to the zoo:

We went swimming at the pool:

Braden is such a happy boy and we enjoy having him in our lives. He is such a blessing to us. He is very social and loves to play with anyone and everyone! He loves to share his pacifier (gross!) with us. He loves to walk along the furniture. He loves to bang on my keyboard while I try to type. He loves to help me sort and fold laundry (or rather unsort what I have sorted and unfold what I have folded). And, he LOVES his daddy, especially when he comes home in the evening. He REALLY LOVES it when his daddy chases him on hands and knees. I have to admit, I love that too....

22 Things I Love about Jen

Hello everyone, Jen usually posts on our blog, but I decided to do a post of my own, copying the Stratton's idea to write 22 things I love about my wife. Happy 22nd birthday!

1. I love that Jen laughs so easily. I especially love how every once in awhile she’ll snort a little when she’s laughing really hard.
2. I love that she talks to me everyday on the phone while I am at work and always tries to convince me to take a day off or come home early to spend time with her.
3. I love that she’s willing to listen to me tell her about what I did at work even if it involves describing a gory murder scene (I’m externing at the DA’s office doing murder cases). I think in general she probably listens to me too much because sometimes she’ll begin to take on my isms.
4. I love that she’s chosen to sacrifice a career, better social life, time, etc, for our son and future children by staying at home with them every day.
5. I love that she always insists on having a Friday night date when we can get out of the house and try a new or favorite restaurant. Braden especially loves getting out of the house and seeing new scenery and maybe trying a little bit of our dinner.
6. I love that she is very concerned with how healthy Braden is and is always reading, researching, and asking questions about his nystagmus.
7. I love that she chose to forgo any medications during her long labor and delivery of Braden because she wanted him to be the healthiest he could be.
8. I love that she is always concerned with how pretty she looks for me and always asks my opinion of outfits even though she knows I have zero fashion sense and can’t even wearing matching clothes myself.
9. I love that she is very concerned with our finances and is always looking for ways to save money. Right now, for example, Jen is clipping coupons and going to 5 or 6 different stores a week to nab fantastic deals on groceries.
10. I love how she always wants us to be closer to God and reminds me to do family home evening, family prayer, and scripture study when I forget.
11. I love that she loves my family and looks forward to talking to them every week on the phone and visiting them.
12. I love her beautiful thick hair that always looks good whether its straight, curly, short, or long, or even messy after she wakes up in the morning.
13. I love that she’s willing to listen to my crazy political ideas and discuss politics with me even when she’s sick of it.
14. I love how she loves surprises, but can’t stand waiting to find out what they are if she knows they are coming. Every year, Jen can’t stand to wait to find out what I’m getting her for her birthday/Christmas/anniversary, but at the same time she never wants me to tell her what I’m getting her because she loves surprises too much.
15. I love that she loves the outdoors and is always game to go on a hike, camp, or spend time at the beach.
16. I think it’s so cute that she’s deathly afraid of bees (always screaming and running whenever she sees anything small and flying), and sharks (always afraid that I’ll be eaten up when surfing and always afraid she’s going to encounter one while swimming at the beach).
17. I love her big round blue eyes.
18. She’s great at mothering me when I need it, like not letting me go outside when it’s cold and raining without a jacket even when I try and convince her that I can handle it because, “I’m from Seattle,” and not letting me kick corn off the cornstalks when we go to a corn maze.
19. I love that she loves spontaneity and dropping everything on a whim to go do something fun.
20. I love watching movies with her because even if she’s seen it before, she can’t ever remember what happens or how it ends, so it’s exciting every time.
21. I love the fantastic back massages she gives me when my back is hurting.
22. I love that she’s my wife. We’ve been married now for 2 ½ years and it’s been the best 2 ½ years of my life. I love you so much Jen, thank you for choosing to spend your life with me.

We Moved!

This post will not have accompanying pictures, as they would reveal what a mess our new apartment is right now! We moved last weekend from our teeny cramped one-bedroom apartment, to a two-bedroom just a couple buildings down. We had so much help on Saturday morning (thanks to all of you!), and then Brian and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning our old apartment. We left exhausted, and a little sad to be leaving the home we brought Braden home to.

But, we are loving having the extra space! Braden is getting used to having his own room to play, nap, and sleep in. I am dreaming about how to organize all of our stuff (we actually have less storage room, now, since we were blessed with a big garage before, and now have a really small one).

Ah, the Joys of Southern California!

We had the absolute best weather last week. It was in the 80s all week long. I know this is hard for those of you who live in the bitter cold to hear, but we had so much fun on the long weekend with this beautiful weather. On Saturday we went hiking at Griffith Park, which is up by the Hollywood sign. Here is a picture someone took for us with the Hollywood sign in the background:

And, here is little Braden, because he is just adorable, as I am sure you will agree:

Then, on Monday (MLK Jr. Day) we went to the beach and basked in the sun! Brian went boogie boarding in his wetsuit, and Braden and I played on the beach. What a fabulous weekend!