Derek, Emily, and Elliot

Cooking

2012-01-23T13:14:00.001-08:00

It took me about 24 years to become a decent cook.

Growing up, i was spoiled with delicious cuisine that my dad would make us (my mom is a good cook too, but my dad is the real chef in the family)

However, my dad is not a recipe kind of guy. It's like he feels the ingredients in his bones and knows how much to add.

Here's a typlical conversation with my dad
Me "Dad, how do you make ******"
Dad "Add some water and then some paprika with a little bit of garlic and then simmer until it looks done."

Im sorry, but every time i follow his directions, whatever i make turns out too dry, to watery, too gross!

Now i read recipes and follow them. I also have a better feel of how long things cook for, and what temperature, and how to get the most out of my meals.

The secret to chicken is brining,

the secret to perfectly cooked meat while frying is not turning it over 50 times in the pan.

The secret to dinner is to make dinner every night even if you aren't a good cook. It might take you five years of marraige, but you will learn from your mistakes (and the internet) :)

Baby at the Dunes- Anniversary Trip Part Two

2012-01-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

On our drive home from San Diego, we met up with Derek's Family at the Sand Dunes.
I was a little nervous about taking Elliot because he loves to eat rocks and anything else he shouldn't put in his mouth. And he did try to eat many, many rocks, and lots of sand, but he learned to stop putting them in his mouth towards the end of the trip. It takes a day and a half in a large sand box for a baby to realize that most things on the ground are not meant to be eaten.
I should have labeled this post, "Best day of Elliot's Life" because he had so much fun digging in the dirt with his cousins, and climbing up on the "baby quads." Derek and I also had a lot of fun riding, can't wait to go again!

Five years!

2012-01-09T09:21:00.000-08:00

For our five year anniversary, we dicided to be spontaneous and drive to San Diego and stay a couple of nights at the "Bahia" near mission beach. We forgot about our vow to never take Elliot on a trip again, and loaded him up in his new forward facing car seat.
We got to our hotel around four and drove to Coronado Island. The beach was beautiful and it was fun to experience Elliot's first time at the beach. We walked around the island and ate at a taco shop. Walking back to our car the sun was setting on the beach. So beautiful.

Driving home we were rear ended by a large lifted dodge truck. The other driver turned out to be a nice guy and admitted fault. We will be taking the car in for repairs soon. It wasn't a terrible accident but i was still pretty shaken up. We were also on the side of the freeway after the accident, and i hated the feel of the cars whizzing past us. I had never been in an accident before, I'm so glad Elliot was ok, he slept through it!

On our second day in San Diego, we went to old Town San Diego. First we visited the new Mormon Battalion Museum. They have a fun multi-media presentation that the sister missionaries (dressed in pioneer clothes) give you. They take you different rooms and play interacitve videos to tell the story of the trek the mormon batallion made from Nauvoo to San Diego. They take your picture and give you a free copy. Then they take you to a courtyard and they have lots of fun activities for families like panning for Gold, brick making (not really), and stick horses. They also have a tower you can take up and you can see all of old town with binoculars. Way cool.
There are a lot of cool free things you can do in Old Town. We went to some historical houses and shops and then ate some more mexican food, our favorite!

We went to mission beach after we got back from Old Town, and then ate at olive garden with a gift card we got for Christmas.
Sharing an anniversary with a baby is not too bad, we had a lot of fun with him! He also slept really good on this trip. Hopefully he will continue to get better as time goes on. Usually he crys for hours and hours.
Happy five years to us!

Goodbye bottles, for real this time!

2011-12-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, Elliot even holds it sometimes, and doesn't scream around feeding time. I love this cup!
I had to share this find, because if you have a difficult little one like me, you may find hope with this post! :)

First Zoo Outing

2011-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

We love getting things for free. If you are an asu student you can check out culture passes at the library! We decided to go to the Zoo. Derek and I hadn't been since elementary school, and we wanted Elliot to see all the animals.
We think Elliot had a great time! His favorite part was petting the goats and seeing the monkeys and orangutans. We are trying to teach him that not everything is a dog. When he sees any type of animal or stuffed animal he says, "Gog!" and then pants like a dog. This is my own fault. "Dog" is the only baby sign language sign i taught him consistently, so it's the only one i am going to get i guess!
Enjoy the pictures!

2011-12-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

Elliot's First Haircut!

He was getting a really scraggly mullet in the back. When he was born he had a little dark brown fringe in the back of his head, we called him "Friar Tuck". Then he lost it, but it grew back in blonde, and has been so cute until recently.

after his haircut

And even though Elliot is still not walking, he knows how to get around! Don't you love how we dress him?

2011-12-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

My baby is 27 today! I have never called Derek anything other than Derek but today he is gone and i miss him a lot. OK, this is a sappy post already, and i haven't even started!

At 27 years old Derek is a third year law student with a promising career as a tax attorney at an establishment which shall not be named, because it's his birthday and i don't want you to hate him!

He is a father to a one year old

A husband of almost five years.

An avid BMX rider

And he is very loved by all who know him.

He really is the best thing that has happened to me.

I hope his birthday has been great today. He is at the dunes kicking off his winter break after a few stressful weeks of finals.

Love you Derek!

This was Derek at age 26 :)

2011-12-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

Do you know that i love my baby boy Elliot? He looks sort of like me. He is such a sweetheart!
He has the most beautiful blue eyes, and he melts my heart when he chooses to rest his head on my shoulder for a split second. He is always on the go, and can't be stopped to cuddle his mom or dad, but that's what makes that split second even more precious.
He loves dogs and knows the sign for dog (in baby sign language)
He has such a hearty laugh, it is the best sound in the world.
Yep, I sure love this boy, and am so lucky to have him.

Bye-Bye bottles........(yeah right im such a pushover)

2011-12-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

Elliot has never held his own bottle before. He would starve if i didn't hold it for him. I would also be a zombie because he would never sleep and just snack all day on his bottle.

Now i have to take away the bottle and give him a sippy cup (which i don't think is any different from a bottle by the way!)

How can a baby who doesn't have the motor skills to hold a bottle (im a little concerned...but he is developing great in every other way, he feeds himself finger foods, crawls is taking steps etc...) transition to a cup?

I really would just like to have him keep using the bottle and then transition to an ACTUAL cup when he has the coordination to drink from it.
What is so different about a sippy cup? If anyone knows please tell me. A sippy cup still promotes suckling amd tooth decay right?

He will drink water from a sippy cup, but absolutely no milk. So i have given up on feeding him milk from a sippy cup, and would rather go to dreamland seamlessly then fight him on this and have him wake up and snack all night and all day.

Elliot's Birthday Party

2011-11-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

My little baby is now one! On his birthday Derek and I kept thinking back to a year ago when we had no idea what we were in store for with this little beast!

Anyways, we had a birthday party on Saturday, and all the people who loved Elliot were there to spoil him rotten!
I picked a monster theme for his birthday.

My mom made this cute monster cake, she always does such a fantastic job!

I made his birthday banner

he really liked his ball

sorry, we took the ball away so you could open more presents!

He wasn't sure at first what to do with his cake

Kicking it works just fine!

I love my Elliot!

Im thankful for....

2011-11-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

Every year on thanksgiving since Derek and i have been married we tell each other what we are thankful for in the morning.
Unfortunately, my first thanksgiving i woke up in a terrible mood.
When Derek asked me to be grateful i told him, "I am grateful for HATE!"
It's been a joke between us for the last five years, and I've always been jokingly grateful for hate on thanksgiving.

I think we can all learn something from this story. What that is, i don't know. I just think it's funny.

This thanksgiving, i am also grateful for Elliot to be in our lives. This is his first thanksgiving and he makes us so happy!

LOVE,
Emily

2011-11-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween with the Duke side this year.
Derek didn't get out of school until 7 so he joined us a little later.
I am really appreciative that Derek went along with my costume scheme. I was really into Halloween this year because it's Elliot's first, and i was in the homemaking spirit, so i made my own costume, put together Derek's and had fantasy's about how cute we were going to look. I think we looked pretty good!
It was wonderful to have Ashleigh, Alex, and thier boys in town, we have some great Halloween memories with all the siblings together. :)

I taught on Friday, and the staff and students at my school dressed up in their costumes. I had so much fun that day! Surprisingly a lot of the the kids didn't know who i was....one innocent little third grade girl asked me if i was a hooker. I will never forget that!

Pumpkin!

2011-10-24T07:56:00.001-07:00

Here is some of our Halloween fun so far!

And here is a preview of Elliot's Halloween costume. He is so adorable in it :)

Drinking Problem

2011-10-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

My baby has a drinking problem.

It started when he was about 2 months old. He had been drinking bottles for awhile and couldn't get enough milk.

Then he started to get really fussy around feeding time, crying and trying to get away from the bottle.

We tried different bottles, different formula and different approaches to feeding him. I searched the internet, talked to my doctor and even called a hotline!

We thought he might have acid reflux so his doctor had him use some medication. We were so frustrated because he wasn't drinking enough milk and was so miserable.

I think the medicine helped but he has been off of it for awhile (because he stopped puking 10 times after every bottle) and it has pretty much stayed the same, which was never very good to begin with.

I am really sure he doesn't have acid reflux, but he STILL desperately avoids the bottle and cries bloody murder.

He doesn't do it all the time but probably every other bottle. And if we are somewhere else, you can forget feeding him altogether.

If there is noise, it there is anything in the room different to distract him, if someone is talking, if someone moves, if i move, if he moves, he will not eat anymore.

I know he's thirsty, if i pin his arms down and put him in a headlock (gently) he eventually drinks through his screams and doesn't take one break until it's done. He will wait 10 hours before feeding sometimes, and often skips his nighttime bottle.

Has anyone known if any other baby like this? We have tried so many things, and i just hope that when he switches to sippy cups (he will not drink from one now, but i still offer it to him everyday) he will get what he needs and not be crazy.

Favorite Thing

2011-10-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Elliot is crazy about his bath.

2011-10-11T14:19:00.001-07:00

We spent the last weekend in Duck creek Utah with Derek's family at their cabin. There was a little bit of snow and the weather was cold, but not freezing. We were able to chill at Zion National Park, where i am very sad to say Elliot lost his brand new shoe :( We also went to duck creek pond and played in the snow. I tried to make a snowman but i didn't have any gloves, so i didn't get to far. Don't you just love the snow?

2011-10-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Elliot is 10 months old now, and has quite the little personality. Right now he enjoys blowing raspberries and clicking his tongue. He can stand up by himself and walks along the furniture. He loves trash and i have to put our tall trash can on the kitchen table so he doesn't eat what is inside. He is a good baby, and im so happy to be his mom!
Just some random pictures

Nicknames for baby

2011-09-19T09:17:00.001-07:00

Elliot doesn't know what his name is. I did a test yesterday. He was sitting down facing the other direction. I called , 'Elliot, Elliot!'. He didn't turn or stop what he was doing. Then i said 'Stinky', and he turned around and smiled.

Please don't call CPS on us. We are trying to stop calling him that but it's hard.

Ready for some tmi?

2011-08-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

TMI TMI! IF YOU ARE A SQUEAMISH MAN STOP NOW

I was inspired by my friend Brianne to write Elliot's birth story. I didn't really have enough energy to ever write it after he was born because i was dealing with a lot of 'stuff;. I will go into farther detail after the story :)

My due date was November 19th, and when that day passed, another week passed. On November 26th i asked my Dr. if they could help speed things along. Both of my sisters had gotten a gel treatment with their babies, and it worked for them, so i decided to give it a try.
The gel treatment is not induction, it softens your cervix and will put you in to labor if your body is ready. They always schedule women to come into the hospital late at night to do this treatment. so...

Going to the hospital!

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

9 p.m. hospital monitored me for an hour

10 p.m. inserted first round of gels, and made me lie on my side for a half hour while hooked up to a monitor.

10:30 p.m.walked around the hospital for a half hour, went back and waited for an hour for them to do the second set.

11:30 p.m. inserted second round of gels, and i laid on side for half hour

12 a.m. walked around hospital for a half hour, came back and waited for them to insert third round for who knows how long.... i wanted to cry at this point because was so uncomfortable and tired and ready to have this baby out!!!!

1 a.m. inserted third round and i laid on side for a half hour

1:30 a.m. walked around hospital, and came back to see if i was ready to be admitted into hospital!

So they checked me around two o'clock and they said I was only at a two and my cervix was only 75 percent effaced. They told me to go home even though I was in agony because I was getting VERY painful contractions. I asked them how I was not in labor when my contractions were so close and so painful. They told me that the gel can give you painful contractions that are fake if you are not ready.
I was in tears as we were driving home. Derek stopped at a gas station and bought me Tylenol p.m. so that i could sleep through the contractions. The Tylenol was amazing, i slept on our couch because i was uncomfortable in our bed. I woke up crying in the night, so Derek got a blanket and a pillow and slept on the floor next to me.

The contractions just got worse, and by 1 p.m. the next day i realized that this MIGHT be the real thing. I didn't want to go in again and be sent home, but i knew it was worth the risk. So they hooked me up and checked me out. Im was 4 cent. and 100 percent effaced! The gel worked, but at a price. My contractions were way worse then they normally would have been.
4 p.m. I got admitted and got my epidural when i was 7 centimeters

5 p.m. they gave me a birthing ball and them i heared a WHOOSH! My water broke and there was meconium in the water. Gross..

7 p.m. I was super comfortable, the epidural was amazing! Doctor came in and told me to push.
Every time i pushed the heart rate of the baby got lower. The dr. was very tense and after about an hour and a half of pushing he told me we might have to do a C-section. But i didn't even comprehend what he said, and I'm glad i didn't!

9:30 p.m. I had Elliot and didn't have to have a C-section! I started crying from so many hormones!

He was perfectly healthy, crying, and got an apgar score of 9!

I wanted to hold him so badly but there were about 10 people in the room making sure the meconium didn't get into his lungs. So after about a half hour, they gave him to Derek who was right next to the nurses the whole time. Then Derek gave him to me and right away he didn't want to be cuddled. He supported his neck and looked right at me (ok, not right at me, but close enough)
I just started to cry.

The next three days were great, except that my nipple was bleeding because a nurse put on a nipple guard wrong. The look on her face when it happened was priceless, i didn't see her again!!
First day home from the hospital

I went through four weeks of breast feeding hell, saw different lactation consultants, Elliot vomited blood, went to the emergency room. I pumped every time i fed him, and felt overwhelming depression and anxiety. The anxiety kept me awake, i didn't sleep for a whole week straight. And i mean that literally, NO SLEEP!
Then i realized that i probably had a breast infection, so i went to the doc and they sent me home with antibiotics. It got worse after three days, i called the doc and they told me it was normal. I looked at my chest and thought, 'This is not normal!'

On Christmas eve five days after i had been taking the antibiotics, my breast was bright red, incredibly large (for once in my life), and i couldn't pump anything from it. It felt like it was going to explode. We went to the urgent care (because it wasChristmas eve, and we DIDN'T want to go to the Er!). They told us they will just give me stronger anti-biotics. I FLIPped out. I had never been so mean to doctors before!
I said, 'There is obviously an abscess, no ones breast should look this big or red!!!!' So they called someone who knew more then them and told me to go to the ER. Idiots

11:30 p.m. I went into emergency surgery, the surgeon told me i had a staph infection that turned toxic and that it was a very good thing i came into the ER when i did. He told me that there were multiple pockets of puss in my right breast. I had to get them removed and then be on a wound vac to suck out the puss and speed of the healing process of the wound. (on an even grosser note, and just in case you wanted to know, the abscess was as large as a a grapefruit.)

I spent the next three days in the hospital hooked up to a wound vac. I got to go home and see my baby again, and had home health care 'install' a portable wound vac that they changed three times a week. This brings up good memories and sad memories. Anyone who has had a wound vac knows how painful and annoying they are. But they are worth it because they cut the healing process in two, and make it so you don't have to change your wound bandages three times a day. It keeps you safe from infection and that is worth a lot.

I was able to get my wound vac off after 5 weeks and it took about three months after that to scar. I have a three inch reminder everyday of what i went through to breast feed. In my opinion it was not worth it. I should have stopped breast feeding when Elliot was vomiting blood from the cracked nipple, that's how i got the infection. I was pressured by many people to not give up, and that formula was the worst thing i could give my baby. I'm never going to let other people decide for me what is best for my emotional and physical health. Elliot needs a healthy mom more than breast milk. I also am more aware of depression. I have secretly judged people who take something for depression. But having gone through postpartum depression, i know how it feels. Luckily, i didn't have to take anti-depressants, because once i stopped breast feeding it slowly went away. I became a new women!
Things are great now, and i just love my little guy. He is nine months old now and brings me so much joy.

A few things that are on my mind

2011-08-06T20:54:00.001-07:00

Here's what i've been thinking about all alone while Derek has been out of town for 3 days. Those of you that have spent any time with me know that i space out and go into a world of my own, and people think that i must be thinking extremely deep thoughts, but as you will see, i don't.

The very last thing i do before bed is check on Elliot to make sure he has not suffocated himself with his little blankie or stuffed animal. It's pretty morbid, but as a first time mom i am always aware that anything can happen.

I just bought this shirt on target.com and bought some daipers to make it go above the 50 limit so i could get free shipping. This shirt.....ahhh. I tried it on in the store in June around my birthday. But it was 22 dollars. I was very tempted to buy it with my birthday money, but i only had 50 dollars to spend and i didn't have any shorts or capris because now i am too fat to wear my pre-pregnancy ones (smiley face). So i did the responsible thing, but i've been thinking about that shirt for weeks and it was on sale online! Here is a picture, it is better in person. It is so me!

Im using an offbrand whitening kit. I hope i don't lose my teeth, or lose my enamal or something like that! I don't even know if it works, but it's cheap and i've always wanted whiter teeth.

Derek got a job offer for 2012! It is one that we really wanted, and feel extremely lucky to get a law job in this market. This news has made my year!

2011-07-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

I've been obsessing about decorating my house lately and im trying to reinvent my decorating style but i am having a very hard time. I know when i absolutley love something but i can't make it work with what is 'going on' in my own living space. Out of habit and familiarity i am attracted to shabby chic. That is what i grew up with and i have loved it for such a long time, but my style is becoming a little more modern but still old fashioned.

Here is a lovely shabby chic room that i can't help but love, but im tired of pastels and floral prints.

Take a look at this living room that i can't help but drool over. It's a little weird for me, but i love the contrast between the couch and the white paneled walls

I think my style can be summed up with this arm chair. It's modern, it's chic, it has a touch of the olden days. What am i even saying?

The trouble is with all this, i have no money to experiment with my inner interier designer so i just look at images on the internet. oh well, can't complain because here's a picture of what my living room looks like right now

Oh i wish.
That's what's on my mind, i will get over it in probably a week! Hope you enjoy the pics, and also what is your dream style if money were no option?

Summer

2011-07-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are happy to say that we have moved out of our apartment into Derek's uncle's rental house. We absolutely love it, and hope we are done with apartments forever.
Derek has been able to spend a lot more time with us this summer because he is working full time and not going to school. Fall is always such a shock, no more staying up late and going places on the weekend, but it will be over in a year.
Elliot is crawling all over the place and getting into things. I think it is so fun to watch him grow. He is a really good baby, i hope all our kids are like him, but people when they see how good Elliot is say 'You will get yours!' I hope not!

All the girls on my mom's side of the family (who live in Arizona) went to sedona and stayed in this super nice 'chalet'. So thanks to my aunt for hooking us up! I want to go again with Derek, it is absolutely breathtaking up there.

This was one of the first times that he crawled. He decided to start crawling when we were moving.

I just love that he is spooning his stuffed animal.

So cute.

2011-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here's Elliot in the exersaucer at my sister Ashleighs house. he is loving it!

J and J

2011-05-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

Derek's sister Jenna got married to John Dobbins on Saturday May 21st. I have to admit the whole day i was wondering if they would make it to the reception (if being the beginning of the end of the world and all :) They make a very cute couple. They are happy and are best friends, what more could you ask for?

He actually gave me the keys to the car when i asked. Good for him we just filled it with balloons!

Vaction cont.

2011-05-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

While in salt lake we got to enjoy the 'great' weather. It was cold and rainy the whole time we were there except for Monday. We got to enjoy some of the outdoors at a cool park that my nephews call the Jungle Park. Utah is amazing. It is such a beautiful desert! If i wasn't such an Arizona girl i would move there if my whole family could come with me.

Ian and Elliot, Wow, my baby is big!

After a few days in Utah we went home and drove through a snow storm with a broken heater. We were pretty cold but Elliot was bundled up.
We stopped in Vegas on the way home and stayed a night in the Excalibur. we do this every year. I think it's fun to walk around and then eat at a buffet even though i never get my moneys worth.

We had a great time and now Derek is at chief counsel doing his first PAID legal work. Graduation is right around the corner....

Pictures of Smelly

2011-05-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

Derek, Elliot and I visited my sister and her family up in Utah last week. We had a great time hanging out with them, we always love to go up there.
Ashleigh took these pictures of Elliot. im so glad to have her in the family (even though Duke Photography is at my disposal) she can document Elliots life for me!

smartypants

2011-05-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Elliot is already reading the tax code!

Christmas

2011-04-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

I wish it was Christmas already. That is my absolute favorite holiday. I also love love love Disneyland, just a side note. I guess i love magical occasions, and Christmas is magical to me.
I feel like this last Christmas was so coldly taken from me and I didn't get to enjoy it at all. in fact, i was in agony in the hospital and thinking about how long it was going to take for my wound to heal. It still is not completely healed. It's not like the movies kids.
I think this year we are going to buy a fresh tree and Im totally going to spoil Derek. Elliot will get something, but he'll only be one and he will have just had his birthday.
It's going to be amazing!

Emily

2011-04-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to!

And...

he's cut two teeth already and is working on a tooth in the back. I know becuase he sticks his teething toy all the way to the back and almost gags himself. It's also kind of swollen back there.

We also got some pictures taken by my sister Ashleigh. i don't know why they are so small....

I am still enjoying being a full time stay at home and very part time music teacher. I really like the school I teach at and the kids are great.
We are excited for Derek to be finished with his second year of law school and then he will have an internship in the summer.
We also might be moving to Chandler. It's not a sure thing but if it does happen, we are going to be really excited!

Spring Cabin Trip

2011-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky that Derek's family has a beautiful cabin in Duck Creek Utah that we can visit from time to time.
This visit there was a lot of snow in Duck Creek, but in other parts of the area the temperature was in the 70's.
The highlight of the trip for me was visiting Zion National Park. They have this fun little hike to the top of a mountain, so we strapped in Elliot and we all went up.
It was a relaxing trip and we got to spend time with the family.
Can't wait to go again!

Feb 15th

2011-03-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

We decided to celebrate Valentines day on the 15th because Derek wouldn't have been home from school on the 14th until eight or so.
I made a Valentines day breakfast as usual and then Derek surprised me by taking me to the Suns vs. the Jazz game. It was a great game, and the Suns won!

Roll over

2011-03-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Eliot hasnt rolled over since last week but I can't help being a proud mama. Please ignore my annoying voice. That s how I talk to Elliot everyday.
Things are good here!

picture day!

2011-02-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of easy E.
We got these taken a few days ago. He was not very smiley at the time, but she managed to get soe pretty good shots!

Elliot's Blessing

2011-01-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from Elliot's Blessing which was on January 16th, 2011

It was a great day with great food! My dad made a complete turkey dinner.

Catch up

2011-01-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

Im back to blogging! Im pretty sure that most of the people that still have the link to my blog have not checked it in a long time because i deleted it a while ago.

We have an Elliot now, and i get to stay home with him! I love spending time with him! He is eight weeks old now and starting to notice more things, including me for the first time it seems. He likes other poeple a lot more than he likes Derek and I, and since he doesn't see Derek a ton, he smiles at Derek a lot more. So Derek has a big head and believes he's the favorite. But today, he would not stop staring at me while i was feeding him. I love being a mom.

Our Christmas never happened. My whole family has had it rough, with houses burning to the ground, illness, and my Grandma Curtis in the hospital. Christmas eve at about 11:50 p.m. I had emergency surgery. That night Derek went back to the apartment and was Santa Claus to our family. I got to open all of my presents in the hospital, and i came out pretty well. Derek pretty much spoiled me, and he says he's glad he did because it actually sucked being in the hospital on Christmas day. I also missed out on Elliot's first Christmas. It's ok though, next year im going to make sure Christmas is the most spectacular event for Derek, Elliot, and I.
I took this about week ago, because i felt so gypped that i never got to dress him in it on Christmas eve. (poor me)

Derek and I celebrated our fourth anniversary on January 5th. We were able to drop him off with Grandma and go out to eat. When we got home elliot would not stop crying. I was trying to remember what our anniversaries were like before, and they didn't involve a crying baby. I still loved it and Derek promised Elliot that on his anniversary night that at 10:00 p.m., exactly, he would call his house.

I will be teaching one day a week at a school in tempe and am excited about that because i can keep up my craft.

Derek is in his 3 semester of law school. We are enjoying life right now, but feel like we are stuck in limbo. Still in an apartment, still driving a crappy car, and living so close to the bone that i feel bad about using toilet paper. i hope it pays off. I know we are blessed, and i feel incredibly grateful that i get to stay home with Mr. E.

More to come!

Emily

And this is just too cute!