The Oprea's

Skating Rink

2012-01-26T11:53:00.003-06:00

For our weekly play date yesterday we (Charise and I) decided to take Dayton and "his girls" to go roller skating. Skate Land (I think that's what it is called anyway) reserves an hour and a half every Wednesday morning for toddler skating. I wasn't sure if this would be really fun or a huge disaster, but Dayton loved it! He was also a dancing machine! He fell down a few times, and hit his head pretty hard once, but we managed to come home with no broken bones. We are definitely going to have to go back!

Pics:

This is not a pic of him falling, he is rolling around on the ground for some reason. He thought he was pretty funny.

Taking a break!

Serious skater!

Rollin'

About to head out, not sure what to think!

OK so I know these pictures kinda suck- Dayton hates when I take his picture, which is too bad because he is one handsome and photogenic little man!

Big Ship, Bad Toys

2012-01-23T11:33:00.003-06:00

So one of the things I love most about watching my son grow up is to see where his imagination will take him. It is amazing and so hilarious what he comes up with each and every day, not to mention what comes out of his mouth (and if we are being honest, it isn't always appropriate, and for that I blame Josh).

The other night we were laying in my bed watching cartoons and I look over to see that Dayton had taken the comforter and turned it into a "boat". From there he proceeded to build Josh and I both a boat to protect us from the sharks and dinosaurs (he's really into the whole dinosaur thing since visiting the T-Rex restaurant).

So the next night we were downstairs in the living room getting ready for movie night, and much to our surprise we went from being comfy on the couch to cold and blanket-less. There were now boats (blankets) built all over the living room floor and we were all supposed to jump aboard in order to save ourselves (he wasn't buying the whole "my couch is a boat and I am perfectly safe here, so give me back my blanket").

Being the genius that I am, I pulled out our queen sized air mattress, and before you know it we had ourselves a ship big enough for the whole family, except the dogs- they were sharks. Movie night couldn't have gone more wrong either- now we were so excited we were on a big ship searching for dinosaurs and keeping the sharks off that we could not pay attention to anything else, let alone sit still to watch a movie.

From there, a mission was formed to save some stuffed animals and a box of Toy Story toys from the sharks (and dinosaurs). Once everyone was safe and sound on our "Big Ship" the toys, of course, were not getting along. Fights broke out, and before you know it I hear Dayton yelling angrily "Buzz, are you kidding me? Go to time out and don't come out until you apologize!" A short time later, Buzz was joined in time out by the other rescue toys.

The ship finally came down this morning after a long weekend of shark and dinosaur hunting, fighting toys, and a bossy three year old captain. The toys, however, are still in time out.

December- Adios 2011, Happy to see ya go!

2012-01-21T15:55:00.004-06:00

So basically it looks as though my blog has really just turned into a monthly journal summarizing the exciting events that have taken place in this crazy Oprea house. Where do I start??

I guess we'll start with where I left off. We had our first encounter with snow at the beginning of December- super exciting, but no fun to drive in. Really it was hardly any snow, but more than this former Houstonian has ever seen. I got up early and immediately checked the news to see if the whole entire city had shut down, much to my surprise it had not.

It's soooooo Snowy!!!

Our neighborhood is pretty awesome when it come to getting in to the spirit of any Holiday. This year (and maybe every year, but this is our first Christmas here, obviously) they held a breakfast with Santa at the Elementary School. It was cute, and of course Dayton was excited... until he sat on Santa's lap. He did good though, was sure to make it clear he was in the market for some toys, and he had definitely been a good boy this year (clearly we differ on what the definition of "good" is.)

December 15, my little booger turned 3!! I can hardly believe it! I have honestly treasured every last second of these three years with him, and I look forward to many, many more wonderful memories to come. He is the light of my life and I don't know who I would have become had he not blessed us with his presence. I LOVE YOU DAYTON LEE OPREA!

Happy Birthday to my Favorite lil Man!

DLO also had his Christmas party at school on his special day, which meant I had the opportunity to sit through half of his class to celebrate. Fun stuff!

That night, after presents and cake, we headed out for an all-nighter to H-Town for our Christmas vacation, and DLO's birthday party!

We held Dayton's party at Gramp's house and had a great time. Birthday Spidey was spoiled as usual and of course could not get his gifts open fast enough.

Jarshua celebrated the big 3-1 on the 23rd, and then Christmas weekend began.

Happy Birthday Jarshua, and Merry Christmas from the Oprea's

Christmas turned out great, filled with tons of presents and family time. I Loved getting to see all my awesome nieces and nephews throughout the week and finally got to meet miss Lila Claire Namisnak who is just as cute (if not cuter) in person!!

We headed back to Kansas on the 26th, with Mom following us (Thank goodness she did, all our Christmas presents took up two cars) and was able to ring in the new year with her as well!

So farewell 2011, with the exception of adding two new babies to the Hemmen clan, and one to the Oprea, you were a pretty crappy year. I'm gladly raising a glass to 2012 in hopes of happiness, health, wealth, and an overall better year. Cheers!

Aaaaaand with that being said, we are now 21 days into the new year and we have already had a few obstacles to overcome. The scariest being Dayton's first visit to the Emergency Room a couple weeks ago. What started off as a normal Saturday morning turned into an extremely scary evening. Out of nowhere Dayton went from all over the place to extremely lethargic, with a temperature that was rapidly increasing. Once it hit 105.9 we were hauling ass to the hospital. It turned out to be some random viral infection and he was fine by the time we left, with no fever at all by Monday. Weird, and so scary.

Just got home from the hospital, doped up and feeling good! (Just DLO, not me)

So 2012, looks like we got off on the wrong foot, but it is still early. Let's make it the best year yet!!

And yes, we are still LOVING it here in Kansas!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-13T10:46:00.003-06:00

So it seems as though time is just FLYING by... Where did November go??

We decided to stay in Kansas for Thanksgiving, so we can spend more time in H-Town for the X-Mas Holiday. It was the first Thanksgiving we have ever spent away from our parents, but it looks as though a new tradition has been started. Josh did a WANDERFUL job on the Turkey and overall it was a nice relaxing day.

We ventured out on Black Friday to do a little shopping and came back with an early Christmas present for me- A NEW CAR!!!!! I LOVE it and was beyond excited to get rid of the Exploder.

We are heading out to H-Town this Friday, one day after my little MAN turns 3!!! Where have these last three years gone?? I swear it feels like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! I remember the days when he was so tiny and sweet, and I could not stand to put him down. Now I get woken up to him yelling, "Mommy, look at my butt-crack!" Haha, boys will be boys!!

And a VERY EXCITING Announcement- We have another adorable little lady to add to the ever-growing Hemmen population, my newest niece, Lila Claire Namisnak. I cannot wait to meet that pretty little princess!!

Kansas

2011-10-27T10:05:00.003-05:00

So after talking to my sister Sarah earlier, I was reminded that I still have a blog. The last time I updated this thing I was a mess in the midst of moving chaos. I am happy to report that we are all moved in and LOVING it here in Kansas. Of course not all the boxes are unpacked, but significant progress has been made.

I am sure the couple of people (if that) who read this are probably DYING to find out what we have been up to...

We moved into our new house mid September. Our stuff arrived only a couple days later which was awesome. My mom and I drove separately and took the longest route ever to get from Houston to Kansas. We turned what should have been a 10 hour trip into 15 and experienced the BFE of Arkansas. Needless to say we will find a new route next time we decide to drive to Houston.

Our new house, and Josh's new car "The Charger"

The patio :)

DLO's play room

DLO and I try to get out at least once a day to "get lost" which we are pretty good at. It took no time, however, to find my two favorite places- Super Target and Starbucks which happen to be in the same place. We also discovered a mall (which was the creepiest place I have EVER been), a lake, a bunch of good stores, and some good restaurants. I am still a little intimidated to venture as far as KC, but all in good time.

Lake Olathe

We did one weekend find a pumpkin patch, which, I am not going to lie, was kind of lame. It has nothing on the pumpkin patch in Spring, but you live and learn.

So continental has been running some crazy specials for round trip tickets to Houston. Not being one to pass up a deal, DLO had his first plane ride to Houston. Unfortunately Jarshua could not join us as someone needs to bring home the bacon. It was a fun trip and fun to see the kids playing together again. Poor D has no one besides myself to play with during the day which I am sure is not to exciting for him. However, he does start preschool next week, which I am hoping he will love as much as he loved Redd School.

First time on an airplane!

**More H-Town pics to follow**

A random story that happened shortly before we left for H-Town. I'll go ahead and say the moral of the story is, if your kid repeats everything you say, as funny as it can be, watch your mouth. Anyway, DLO and I were setting out on another adventure (ok it was to the liquor store, don't judge) and my car would not start. I tried 5-6 times to get the piece of sh*t started and it was not budging. Maybe it was trying to tell me something?? Well my frustration got the better of me and before you know it, Dayton and I were in the driveway kicking my car and calling it stupid. Questionable parenting? Maybe. It gets better. So I called AAA to come out and see if they could get it started, which of course, it started right up. As we are sitting outside while the technician is scratching his head wondering why he is wasting his time looking at my car, Dayton points in his direction and said "it's stupid." I know he was talking about my car, but the tech looked a little shocked. OOps.

And Lastly, we are SUPER excited about the upcoming visit of the Jaime and Ryan!!

In a perfect world...

2011-09-01T13:30:00.002-05:00

In a perfect world there would be no stress, my house would always be clean as well as my laundry, moving would be easy, and I would have a billion dollars.

If you saw my house right now you would probably think I should be on an episode of "Hoarders" it is covered in boxes, crap and a total mess. Laundry is piling up and I can't get to it fast enough- however when it gets done it goes in boxes. If you see me basically wearing the same thing everyday it's not because I haven't showered (although don't put it past me) its because my other clothes are packed. Moving sucks. Like really sucks. I mean I know there isn't a single person out there that thinks it is easy but I mean I have turned into a raging ball of stress and anxiety. Partly because I have a ton of things to do but mostly due to the anxiety of leaving behind friends and family- especially my nieces and nephews. We finally hired a mover and set a move out date. The biggest problem now is not knowing when they will be arriving to our new house. There is about an 8 day window from the day they load until arriving to the new house. That adds the stress of not knowing when to head there, and my Mom not knowing when to take off work or purchase a plane ticket back. Clearly there is still so much we won't know til we know (Biggie Smalls just popped into my head.. and if ya don't know, now ya know..)

July/August - New Niece, New Job, New Home

2011-08-30T14:11:00.007-05:00

So basically to sum up the past two months we had two especially significant events happen to our family.

First, the birth of this precious baby on 7/29:

Gracie Louise Kalina

We are so very excited to have another beautiful niece to add to the family! She is so cuddly and so cute.

And second, Just want to give Jarshua a big congrats on landing his dream job with Enerfab! Josh started a couple weeks ago and is absolutely loving it! DLO, the pups and I will be joining him in the next couple weeks and we are super excited about our new house in Olathe, KS (Josh's office is in KC). I don't know much about Kansas City and the surrounding areas but what I saw when I flew in to go house hunting was very pretty. This should be an interesting adventure. We are sad to leave family behind in Texas, but so excited to see what the future has in store for us. Go Chiefs!

Some other happenings in July/August:

Oprea Family Galveston Beach trip:
(I did not take many pictures but here are a few)

DLO LOVES the beach :)

He's getting WAY to big!!

Me and D at the Rainforest Cafe

Just a Random..

Cheese!!

My attempt at a photoshoot in Austin..

He wasn't having it.

Big Boy out grew his wife beater!

But he is still a cutie!

3 Years ago today, I married my best friend. Thank you Jarshua for being a great husband and father to our little man. I wish we were all celebrating together!

June

2011-07-09T15:12:00.004-05:00

So you would think with all this extra time on my hands I would be better at updating my blog. I guess since I am not sitting around bored silly like I was at work it doesn't cross my mind as often.

With that being said we had a big, awesome month of June. Our highlight of the month: The Outerbanx of North Carolina. We headed out June 16th for a 2 night, 3 day adventure in an RV to get us to our destination- Corolla, NC. The RV ride was an interesting one; the trip there was definitely easier than the one coming home. Our house in NC was AMAZING!! 3 stories, 7 bedrooms, private pool and hot tub, and only about a 5 minute walk to the beautiful beach. It was a very nice, family oriented place and we had such a blast. We saw family we don't see often enough and just about every night we all got together to play Mexican Train dominoes, which of course I "dominated" at. Get it? Not funny? Anyways, I am lying I only won once and came in last or close to last the other nights. Whatever. Anyways, the days were spent either at the pool, beach or hitting up the local shops and restaurants. Overall, I could not have asked for a better first vacation for my little man and hope there are many many more to come. A few pics:

Maya!

Fun in the sand and sun!

Bella!

Meddaugh's

Mason!

Stud!

Me and my Baby!

And the Dynamic Duo..

Father's day fell on the second day we were there, but we celebrated before we left so Jarshua could utilize some of his presents (a book) on our journey in the RV. I would like to say thank you to Jarshua for being such a great dad and role model to Dayton. We are so lucky to have you! I would also like to give a shout out to my dad, I know you are watching over us at all times.. I love you, I miss you, and there is not one single day that goes by that I don't think about you.

We arrived back in Tomball on the 27th which just so happens to be a very special day- My Birthday!! After showering and getting cleaned up we met my in-laws for dinner at Shogun to celebrate my last year in my twenties. Yikes!!

Soooooo.........

2011-05-31T09:55:00.003-05:00

I have no excuse for not updating my blog.

Here is what we have been up to:

Mother's Day 5/8/11

I have no pictures to show for this, but it was a good day. Dayton cleaned out his piggy bank and bought me a gift card to Lowes. I guess for Fathers Day, Jarshua might be getting a gift card to Victoria Secret or Coach. Anyways, Dayton and I spent the day picking out flowers and planting a fancy new garden in the front yard. Believe it or not ALL of my flowers are still alive :)

That night we went over to the Birkelbach's to celebrate my Mom, who is my best friend and the best mother in the world- we are so lucky to have her!!!

Galveston 5/17/11- 5/20/11

Josh had an epiphany (seriously that's what he told me) to head down to Galveston for a couple of days. Dayton loves the beach so we never get tired of going down there, especially since it is so close. The first day we were there my car died at the hotel. Luckily Gramps was there to give us a jump start, and the couple hours following that were spent at Firestone getting a new battery. So needless to say we did not make it to the beach the first day.

Pure Drama

At Tortugas after getting my car fixed- much happier!

Gimme a kiss!!

Day two was beach day. It was not nearly as hot as it was last time we went to the beach and a little cloudy. This time around I made sure that I did not get burnt to the point of swelling and misery. Beach day was fun. That night we went to the Rain Forest Cafe which is always a big hit for Dayton (and me).

Day three we decided last minute to stay another night. We spent the afternoon cruising the strand and hitting up a couple different places to grab a drink and chill out. It was a nice relaxing day and overall a great trip.

Austin 5/26/11- 5/28/11

We headed to Austin this past Thursday because Sarah and Jaime were hosting a joint Pickled Lily and Stella and Dot party. It was really just an excuse to go to Austin. My budget doesn't allow for expensive jewelery and I am not preggo or have a child small enough for Pickled Lily. But it was fun to spend time with my BFF and my family- especially my adorable little niece and nephew!

On our way!

Chinny and DLO

Memorial Day Weekend 5/28/11- 5/30/11

So we headed back early Saturday morning for a neighborhood crawfish boil. I don't eat crawfish, but I am assuming all went well.

Sunday we basically chilled. Danielle and Kynzie came over for a visit. Kynz kept DLO entertained while Danielle and I had a chance to catch up.

Monday was BBQ day at gramps and a little playtime for the dynamic duo at Kacki's. Bella missed out on the fun- she slept the whole time Dayton and I were there.

So aside from all the excitement we have been having I would like to mention something unrelated and that I think is not only weird but a little creepy. When I logged into my blog this morning I clicked on the comments button. I noticed that some "anonymous" bloggers were arguing about my Vacations to go blog. With that being said, I have two questions:
1) Why do you post stuff on people's blog that you obviously don't know?
2) Do you think because you choose to remain "anonymous" that it makes your stupid comments true?

Anyways, I stand by what I said in that blog about a crappy company who fires its employees for no good reason. Agree or disagree- I really don't care. Your opinions mean nothing to me.

Life as we know it...

2011-04-30T23:16:00.004-05:00

So life never seems to go according to plan; if it did, wouldn't that make it boring? With every new obstacle opens a new door for opportunity. Finding out what exactly that opportunity is can be both emotionally distressful and frustrating.

I am one of those people that strongly believes that everything happens for a reason. My greatest example would be my son. I consider my son to be my hero. When we first found out we were expecting, we were scared (terrified). The out-pouring of love and support we received from our families and friends truly made us realize that what we had was a blessing. Unfortunately, shortly after we began planning our wedding...my dad passed away unexpectedly.

Had I not been pregnant I can honestly say I don't know how I would have reacted. I knew I had to be strong for my baby and that alone saved me. I have the utmost respect for my siblings and how strong they were during that heart-breaking experience as I do not know how I would have handled the situation if I were not looking out for the best interest of my son. June marks the three year anniversary of my father's death and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about him and miss him like crazy.

Like I said, I believe everything happens for a reason. My Dad's time had come and I was sent an angel to watch over me, my son, and he has unknowingly been my inspiration and my strength.

So on a brighter note (if you want to call it that) I lost my job about a month ago. I liked my job, I really did, but I have enjoyed the extra time with my little man. We have had the opportunity to spend lots more time together. I think the biggest struggle for me out of the whole situation was taking him away from his preschool. He loved school, and had friends and amazing teachers there. I felt bad for a long time about taking him out, and I occasionally still do, but part of me wonders why the hell do I feel bad about getting to spend more time with my kid?? He's mine. The answer is simple. He loved school, his friends, and his teachers. I will forever be grateful for the amount of time, love and compassion they showed him and how much he was able to learn from them.

With all of our extra time we have managed to have a little bit of fun :)

We went to the Home opening Astros game (4/8/2011), where Dayton had a taste of his first ball park dog:

and no game is complete without cotton candy..

Bouncing Bears on 4/11/11

D Climbing up the big slide all on his own:

Disney on Ice (4/16/11):

Dayton LOVED LOVED LOVED Disney on ice. I mean REALLY loved it. He was so into it he now runs around the house acting like he is flying. Toy Story is absolutely one of his favorite movies and he knows every single character on the show. It is so cute.

Unfortunately I could not get a great picture, he was way more interested in the show:

The following week D-LO and I went to visit the A-Town (B-Team)crowd. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures (WTF?) but it was fun to see them none the less. Chinny continuously looks like he ate the old Henry every time I see him and Stella just keeps getting more social and very talkative..and BIGGER! Her and Dayton played so cute together! Won't be long before Chinny is joining in on all the fun!

Easter (4/24/11):

So Easter was fun this year. The bunny came to visit Dayton (because OBVIOUSLY he was a good boy) and he raked in lots of candy, clothes and candy, candy and more candy.... He pretty much only wants to eat candy now. He did his very first Easter egg hunt at Gramps' house and it turned out to be a success! Once he figured out he was looking for eggs he was all about it:

6 Month ENT Visit (4/26/11):

Dayton had is 6 month visit to the ENT this past Tuesday (4/26/11) and everything is looking pretty good. His right ear tube seems to be almost out and his left ear is working its way out. Her main concern was the fact that he snores like and adult. She thinks his adenoids might have grown back and we go back in 3 months to have another check up. Right now he is supposed to be on nose drops daily which kind of freaks me out considering I've heard nose spray can be addicting... Let's hope for the best!

Other than that we have been hanging low and seeing Dayton's gal pals Audrey and Bella as often as possible. The dynamic duo can't go to long from seeing each other after all..

Galveston

2011-03-30T12:03:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we decided to splurge and head out to the beach. I love the beach, but I don't think anyone could have enjoyed themselves more than my little man. He was all over the place, and Gramps was his favorite person to explore with. He was so cute and so excited to be there. Looks like we might need to make another trip sometime soon.

Unfortunately I forgot the SD card for my camera, shocking I know, so the few pictures I have I took with my phone before it died. Enjoy!

DLO and Gramps

Hand prints in the sand..

Footprints in the sand..

On a mission!

C-YA!!!

Three generations of sleeping Oprea's

After the beach we headed out to the pool at the Sunspree for a brief swim (it was really cold) and then headed up to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Rain Forest Cafe. I was a little unsure as to whether Dayton was going to be excited or terrified, but we were in luck- He loved it!

The next day was a huge wake-up call as to how very important sunscreen is. I was and still am fried. So bad that my legs and feet are still swollen. Sunday and Monday (especially Monday) it literally took me hours for the pain in my lags to subside so I could walk. Who knew a sunburn can cause internal pain as well as the external discomfort you usually face. I definitely learned my lesson!

After I was up and walking Sunday we headed for the strand before our journey back to H-Town. A little window shopping and restaurant bopping was a perfect ending to a great weekend!

No more "Mommy"- it's just "Mom"

2011-03-25T10:12:00.002-05:00

D-LO is growing up waaaaay to fast :( He doesn't call me Mommy very often, it's just Mom. It sounds so grown up and makes me feel so old. Is that weird? Should I not feel that way? A few of his favorite things to say (and you can substitute "Daddy" or "Josh" in place of "Mom"):

C'mon Mom
Love you too Mom :)
Mom, Milk!
Get it Mom!
Mom, don't do that!
Mom, eat eat eat
and most often said- STOP IT MOM!

Do ya think he's a tad on the BOSSY side?? Well in case your answer is no, let me reassure you- he is VERY bossy. He thinks he runs the house. It's funny because anywhere else outside our house he is an absolute angel.

He has also hit a major growth spur. He can't fit into some of his clothes that were baggy on him only a couple weeks ago. My 2 year old is now in size 4 clothing!! Not to mention eating us out of house and home!!

Lately...

2011-03-21T11:11:00.004-05:00

We attended the Rodeo Carnival and Livestock show on 3/6/11:

Dayton favored the "Piggies"

A wedding on 3/11/11:

Mr. and Mrs. Goshorn

Such a stud!

A parade on 3/13/11:

Gimme some beads!

Cotton Candy!

My little tired guy..

Cheeeese

And spent some quality time with family this past weekend..

Stella!

Chinny and his FAVORITE aunt!

DLO feeling left out..

The out-of-towners

Audrey!

Maya and her crazy Mama

Chin and his drool

Bella- obviously she hates the camera

And of course, the Dynamic Duo is at it again..

And the winner is....

2011-03-02T10:53:00.004-06:00

This picture was taken on "Go Texan Day" at Dayton's school (The Redd School) and submitted to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo "Go Texan Day" photo contest....AND WON!!!!! I think it had a little something to do with that handsome cowboy in the plaid shirt and cowboy hat, but maybe I am just being bias.

Happy Birthday Audrey!!

This past weekend we celebrated Audrey's (aka Oggy) second birthday at the Birkelbach house. A few in attendance were:

The Birthday Girl (Obviously)

The Birthday Girl's Big Sis Bella (singing everyone a little song)

Chinry

Date

Tommy

But nothing could separate the "Dynamic Duo"

No party is complete without a melt-down

The "Terrible Two's"

The "terrible two's" are here and in full force. Dayton thinks he is the boss and the word "No" means absolutely nothing to him. It is frustrating and a little overwhelming at times, but I know it is something that every child goes through. It is hard to stay mad at a little boy as precious as he is, with his innocent eyes and a smile that will melt your heart. He sure knows how to use it to his advantage.

Wild Child!

For Dayton's birthday, he was given this motorized "Lightening McQueen" car. It freaked him out at first that he could push a button and take off, but now I can't decide if he is the next Evil Knievel or future cast member of "Jack Ass". The kid is fearless. He tries to ride standing, sitting, feet on the ground (to make it go faster), and runs into and over everything- including the dogs. If it could make it off-roading (which he has tried several times) he would be tearing up the yard. I love that he isn't afraid, just scared that he is going to hurt himself.

Yee-Haw!

And last but not least, since inheriting Mason's cowboy hat, Dayton has become obsessed with wearing it.... and not wearing clothes... whatever, it's cute and makes him happy.

Risky Business..

2011-02-24T08:06:00.002-06:00

So Tuesday night Dayton's school put on a performance- the theme was some sort of awards show. The Toddler class was the opening act and their performance was to re-create Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Not only was it hilarious, but all the kiddos looked so darn cute in their button up shirts and diapers. Dayton had no clue what was going on, but he rolled with it. Not quite the dancing machine he was at the Christmas Show, but he certainly didn't hold back. His teacher's are such good sports and have a lot of patience for the kids.

Before the show pre-gaming with his class mates and two of his teachers.

BIG BOY!!

2011-02-17T10:20:00.003-06:00

OK so how many blogs can I write about potty training before it's annoying?? I don't know and I don't care. All I can say is this experience is new and exciting. My little man is getting so big and HE POOPED IN HIS POTTY LAST NIGHT!!!!

I haven't been encouraging this or pushing him a whole bunch. I have heard from numerous people with children, as well as his doctor, that when he is ready he will let us know. Well last night he wasn't playing around. Maybe it was just a coincidence since he has asked quite a few other times to sit on the pot, but the fact of the matter is he did it. We are so proud, and he was so excited. The expression on his face was priceless- so adorable.

Today he is pooping on the pot, tomorrow he'll be going off to college.

Man Panties!!!!

2011-02-16T16:12:00.003-06:00

So a little girl (Brynna)in Dayton's class, who has been there since he started, just recently started potty training and wearing her big girl panties. Dayton's teacher sent me a text telling me how Dayton has already asked twice to use the potty since seeing Brynna do it, but he never actually went. Then she put him in some little man panties. Apparently Dayton was so excited to wear his man panties that he went around the classroom holding up his shirt and not wearing any pants showing them off and laughing.

Guess we'll try a little harder on the whole potty training thing since apparently he feels left out. Gotta love that kid!

The Boy Who Cried Poop

2011-02-14T08:17:00.003-06:00

So I am thinking that potty training might be somewhere in our future...

Dayton has this new thing where he likes to grab his butt and tell you he pooped. 98% of the time he has not pooped and isn't even wet. A couple of times he has even sat on the potty convinced he had to poop, but he was bored after about 30 seconds. He is a funny little guy, you never quite know what is going to come out of his mouth.

So the past couple weeks have been pretty interesting. The weather has been playing games with us- and on the plus side it got me out of 1 1/2 days of work. On the down side, it gave my little man an outrageous fever and Jarshua the flu. Everyone is healthy again for now thank goodness.

One more thing- HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

My little entertainer

2011-02-01T09:11:00.002-06:00

So I think there is nothing Dayton loves more (besides his Mommy, of course) then watching himself do goofy things. I'll start with the new computer we got that has a built in web-cam; Dayton is OBSESSED with taking pictures of himself- seriously, he poses. Not only is it hilarious, but the kid takes some pretty cute pictures. Then once the photo session is over he likes to look through the pictures and make the same faces he was making in the photos.

Which brings me to my next example- the flip cam. I LOVE my flip cam! I honestly don't know what I would do without it. I have uploaded about 4 videos on YouTube of Dayton being goofy, singing, and dancing. Well last night we were watching his videos and every single one he watched he wanted to re-create. He didn't understand why the dogs wouldn't follow him to the kitchen for the "Ra-Ra" video, or why he couldn't go to the garage for the "Bees", so he resorted to his "na-na" re-enactment- including a fake fall, about 50 times over. The smile never faded from his face and it never got old. He is such a happy little goofball and I love it!

Web cam fun!

A big hug and a big kiiiiss

2011-01-19T08:34:00.003-06:00

There are days when I struggle with my sanity dealing with my two year old and his tantrums, and then there are days like today where it makes it all worth while. I love, love, LOVE it when Dayton wakes up smiling and super sweet!

This morning he did not fight me to get dressed or putting him in his car seat, he talked to me the whole way to school, and the best part of the morning was when HE asked ME for a big hug and a big kiiiss. So cute, and so sweet. I love you buddy!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and cheers to 2011!!

2011-01-05T16:09:00.004-06:00

Soooo needless to say we've been busy, very busy. Christmas came and went and Santa was so good to us. This was our very first Christmas in our own home!! Dayton really got into the spirit of it all too- he loved the idea of Santa and all the people wearing santa hats, decorating (and a lot of un-decorating) the Christmas tree, Christmas music, and of course, Christmas lights. It was fun to see him get so excited about it all.

Moving on to New Years, Josh, myself and the rest of the Oprea clan headed out Hollywood style in a limo to eat at America's for dinner. After much wining and dining we headed back to the limo just in time to ring in the new year. After that we headed home. Low key night, but that's just how we roll.

2010 was a stressful but fun year. We have come to be on a first name basis with Dayton's pediatrician, learned everything about ear infections, asthma, tubes, and even had Dayton's first allergic reaction to medication- that was scary. Josh lost his job that he was at for quite some time, but now has one he enjoys; we moved out of Mom's house, and as much as I miss it, I love ours; we went to NYC for the first time; welcomed a niece and a nephew into the world, and a new puppy into our home; Dayton had his first haircut, learned to walk, run, sing dance along with many other mile-stones, and he officially reached "toddler" status (way to fast!), and Josh turned the big 3-0, officially an old man. :)

I am looking forward to what 2011 will bring us. I am hoping for less visits to the doctor, and more time to spend doing stuff we enjoy. Most importantly just keeping the ones we love close to us.

Must be Santa....

2010-12-20T10:47:00.003-06:00

So Dayton's preschool put on a Christmas Show Friday and it was probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen. The whole preschool came out singing Feliz Navidad and dancing (sort of), then the big kids left and Dayton's class sang "Must be Santa." It was so stinking cute. My little fame-seeker was of course front and center, and once he saw me being the paparazzi he became super excited.

Then Saturday we decided to go see Santa Claus at Vintage Park. Dayton was so excited he couldn't figure out why we could not bust through the lines and get ahead of the rest of the crowd. Poor guy. When it was his turn it was a different story. He was shy at first and looked a little miserable but was quick to warm up.

Dayton telling Santa what he wants for Christmas

Not so sure about the big guy

We love Santa!

I Remember...

2010-12-15T14:04:00.003-06:00

Two years ago today:
-I remember getting up, packed and ready to go at 5 am, only to find out we dont need to be at the hospital unitl 7.
- I remember sitting in the waiting area for what felt like FOREVER before we got our room.
- I remember the really sweet nurse who made our settling in so easy and comfortable.
- I remember the mean nurse who replaced her.
- I remember your Daddy spending the day in the bathroom dry-heaving (said it was a virus, I know better)
- I remember feeling so much excitement and curiousity, wondering what you would look like, how big you would be, and how much our world was about to completely turn upside-down.
- I remember Dr. Behne telling me we were going to have to have a C-Section, and I wasn't scared, I was excited because I knew I was that much closer to meeting you.
- I remember the first time I saw you, and I could not wait to hold you. You were born at 5:31 pm, and it was the greatest moment in my life.
- I remember how nervous your Daddy was walking back to the room with you in his arms, he was protective of you from the minute you were born, and that will never change.
- I remember holding you for the first time, and I never knew it was possible to love someone so much.

The past two years have been the best two years of my life beacuse you were a part of them. Our world changed when you were born, and I would not trade it for anything in the world. Happy 2nd Birthday to the most amazing, loving and adorable little boy I am so proud to call my son, Dayton!!!!

December 15, 2008

December 15, 2010

Surprise!!!

2010-12-06T09:06:00.002-06:00

So I had been keeping a little secret from Josh for the past couple months... His surprise party! His 30th birthday is on the 23rd, a since it is such a mile-stone of a birthday I wanted to make sure it was extra special. Given that is birthday is 2 days before Christmas, and so close to Dayton's birthday, this might also be the last one we celebrate until his 40th. :)

Anyways, our plan played out pretty well, and Josh was totally shocked. The expression on his face was priceless. We rented the room out at Fox and the Hound and there was a pretty large group there by the time we arrived. Thank you to everyone that was able to make it, I know it meant a lot to Josh! Unfortunately Josh did not last that long, we left the bar at 9:30. Guess he really is getting old...

Thankful

2010-12-03T08:22:00.002-06:00

It seems that I have a lot to be thankful for these days. To name a few:

-My son is growing up to be a happy, healthy (usually), and definately LOVED little MAN, AND he turns two in 12 days!
-Josh starts his new job Monday!
-Although work has been a little stressful, I am still employed
-My family is awesome, my friends are ok too :)
-I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the world
-I still love my dogs even though they whine all the time
-This is our first Christmas together in our very own house!! Hope Santa comes!

Our lives have been a little chaotic and stressful lately and I have a feeling that is all going to change soon. Well, let's get through Christmas first. Thanksgiving was a success and as always it was great to see family that we don't get to see often enough.

It has been so awesome these past couple years to see our family continue to grow with each new baby born. It is adorable watching all the little ones play together like brothers and sisters (which some of them are). Dayton asks about all of his cousins daily (even the ones he doesn't know very well, we look at pictures) and his face lights up everytime they are around. It is so cute!

Slap Happy

2010-11-15T13:50:00.002-06:00

So my sweet little man and I hit a bit of a rough patch this last weekend. Apparently slapping me across the face is really amusing, well atleast to Dayton it was. Not only did he think that was funny, but he was also thoroughly amused at me telling him no, slapping his hand, and getting spanked was hilarious. Time-out seemed to be the only effective method of punishment and I think it was more torture for me to put him there and listen to him cry.

Dayton is 23 months old today! I cannot believe that he is almost 2, time has really flown by and I have treasured every second with my little man (yes, even we we are fighting).

Love him :)

My Little Monkey..

Copy Cat

2010-11-11T11:32:00.003-06:00

I think we have definately entered the "terrible two's" full force. I can't describe to you how much D dislikes the word "NO" but not scared to shoot it right back at you. We fight daily.. hourly.. sometimes by the minute.

His favorite things now consist of: the games on my cell phone (don't know what I would do without it), Spike (but only when he is still), pumpkins, Cars (Ka-Chow), Batman, singing, being outside, his new wagon, his Mommy of course....ok, Daddy too.. Puppy, Ra-Ra, and being a huge Copy Cat! Sometimes it can be really funny, and sometime I realize just how much I need to watch my mouth (which is a little funny too)

The other morning, we went to Rico's and sat outside like we usually do. The worst thing about that is the Bees- they are everywhere. Since I have no idea if either D or myself are allergic, I get really crazy when they come near. So while we were waiting on Jarsh to show up sure enough one of our little buzzing buddies came in for a visit. As I am sitting at the table looking like a fool trying to shoo away the bee with my napkin, Dayton is copying my every move screaming "No Bee, NO!" and waiving his napkin around and hitting the table. I am sure we looked really cool, especially since the patio was full. Anyways, later that day we were chilling in Josh's Man-rage and D picked up the fly-swatter in an attempt to re-create our fun bee experience from Rico's... Here ya go!

Twick or Tweeth :)

2010-11-02T13:18:00.005-05:00

Our little Batman was so cute Trick-or-Treating on Sunday! We spent our Halloween afternoon having brunch and carving pumpkins, and trick or treating with friends that night. Dayton really took it in more that I had anticipated...........until we went to the scary house. He was pretty much over trick or treating after that. However, he did enjoy the candy afterwards!

Dayton is seriously growing up WAY too fast. While we were at the Ashmore's on Sunday, Lindsey (Ashmore) asked us what our favorite stage of parenthood was so far- no doubt, it's right now! It's just keeps getting better and better and I can't wait to see what the future has in store.

Bruce Wayne in the bat mobile

Batman!

Lets go Twick or Tweeting!

From Batman to Candyman!

Do I have anything on my face?

Just one more bite!

Today is picture day at school. Take a look at my little PIMP!

And last but not least, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY STELLA KAT!! We love you and miss you!!

Henry, Pumpkin Patch II, and Stella Kat!

2010-10-25T13:27:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys, this might be a long one..

Since I last left off (I am getting bad at staying updated, I will work on that), we welcomed the arrival of the newest member of the Hemmen family, my nephew, Henry Alexander Wickham! Henry was born on Oct. 6 and is the cutest little thing. Kim and Mad are very excited and are loving every second of parenthood. Who wouldn't? It's awesome!

Henry!

Then, in the middle of the month Scott, Sonya and Molly paid us a visit. It was fun to see them as we do not get together very often. We had a couple of family dinner nights and one afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch. This time we were joined not only by Scott, Sonya and Molly, but the Birkelbach's, Sarah, Stella and Mom. It was fun, but got hot very quickly. Not to mention my little Stewy wanting to do everything I told him not to trying to show Audrey (Stewy #2) who the real boss is.

Me and D, he saw me leaning so he decided to also.

A turkey on a turkey...

2 little pumpkins...

He LOVED the Choo-choo

Oggy was laughing because she got D to grab the cord and get in trouble

Bella!

Mom came along!

The following weekend we celebrated Stella Kat's 1st birthday in Austin! (Her actual B-Day is Nov. 3) The party had a good turn-out and Miss Stella got a bunch of cool presents and a TON of new clothes. It was fun to have all the Hemmen sisters together again with all our little ones. Laura and Maya were in town to help Kim with the baby. The kiddo's looked ADORABLE in their costumes too. AND I finally got to meet Henry! He is even cuter in person! He is Batmans' Robin!

Batman and Robin

The kiddos at the party- we had a stand-in for Oggy

Maya!

Henry!

D thinks it's funny to say "Stella Kat!"

Hemmen sisters and their babies

Happy Birthday Stella!

Lastly, as some of you might already know, Josh was recently let go from his job where he has worked for more than 3 years. He is a hard working man who takes pride in everything that he does whether it be working, being a father, husband, or son. He has made me very proud as his wife in all that he has accomplished. He has kept his head up when most would sit around a feel sorry for themselves, no matter the circumstances. It seems as though our luck has run a little dry lately, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that will change really soon. I would just like to thank those of you who have given Josh and myself engouragement and positivity during this discouraging time. And to the people out there who have worked hard to upset my husband and bring him down, give up. While your sitting in your office wondering what move to make next to make his life a living hell keep this in mind- what goes around comes around and your day will come. Josh and I will get through this as a family because that is what families do, not waste our time being miserable, vindictive, heartless people such as yourselves.

And on a lighter note, here is a random picture DLO's teacher sent me.. too cute!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-04T09:49:00.003-05:00

Fall is here!! And if you get up early enough it's actually nice outside! Last weekend the pumpkin patch opened and of course, we couldn't resist going. Dayton had been battling a stomach bug, and I wanted him to get out of the house and do something fun. As luck would have it, we ended up at the patch after lunch and right around nap time. We managed to get a couple rides in before my little pumpkin fell asleep. The next time around will be much more fun- Stella, Oggy and Bella will all be joining us! Yay!

Josh insisted..

So Strong

My lil Pumpkin

Sleepy..

Being Goofy..

I love him!

Haaaaay

Just because Daddy did.

BAAAAHHH

Been busy to say the least....

2010-09-27T13:44:00.003-05:00

Well where did I leave off last? Dayton has been in good health (knocking on wood right now) we visited the allergist and go back to her on Thursday for a dreaded skin test. HOPEFULLY we can stop torturing this kid and figure out what is triggering his allergies.

Since my last post, we celebrated Labor Day weekend in Kemah with Gramps where we had so much fun the first night that we made a spur of the moment decision to stay an extra night. Kemah has an awesome little splash zone for the kids and Dayton loved it. I couldn't get his bathing suit on fast enough. Day 2 of Kemah was Houston Texans day where some football players and cheerleaders from the Houston Texans came out to sign autographs.

A Couple Players

Practicing my "cheese" smile

Sweetest little fan ever..

The following weekend was Bella's 3rd Birthday party. We celebrated her Birthday at Monkey Bizness followed by present opening and swimming at the Birkelbachs.

Stella and D waiting patiently on the Birthday girl to wake up

Happy Birthday Bella!

The next weekend was Mason's birthday which we enjoyed celebrating at Itz- DLO probably would've probably ejoyed it more had it not been nap time, and had he been a little older. But still, it was fun. Sunday Funday ended up being more of a close call to almost burning the house down day, but thankfully Gramps was there to put out the fire. Sadly, our poor oven/stove may not have survived... we shall see..

This brings me to this last weekend. After a stressful week, Josh and I decided to have some quality family time at home. Sometimes those are the best weekends. We are so fortunate to have our AWESOME little family and I can only look forward for what the future has in store for us. Josh is an amazing husband, father, and role model to our son. DLO and I are so fortunate that he is the person he is because we would not be the same without him. Thank you Jarsh for always putting our needs before your own and loving us with all your heart. We love you!

I love my Daddy!

Back to the Grind

2010-09-03T09:56:00.003-05:00

I am happy to report that my little Camper is on his way to recovery! The hives are about 98% gone, he went back to school yesterday and we are looking forward to a long weekend!! He is still on antibiotics and breathing treatments (which we can do less often, just as a preventative precaution)but he is coming back around to his handsome (although that never changed)and happy self. This is such a huge relief, hopefully we can get this kiddo to stay healthy. We are meeting with an allergy and asthma specialist next week that will hopefully help us to determine what triggers him to be sick all the time. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can come up with a solution.

Hives

2010-08-31T09:22:00.002-05:00

This makes me really sad.

This is the allergic reaction from Augmentin that Dayton is currently dealing with. We are now on our third round of antibiotics and continuing with the breathing treatments and steroids. He has now been sick for over a month, hopefully we will get him up and running again soon! Keep your fingers crossed!

2 Years and Counting

2010-08-30T10:00:00.005-05:00

Today marks mine and Jarshua's 2 year anniversary! Yay! Time has flown by! I am a lucky girl to have such an amazing husband and father to our AWESOME little man!

We celebrated our Anniversary with family in Austin this past weekend and had a blast. Friday night we went to Hula Hut and headed over to the Kalina's afterwards so the babies could play and their parents could drank! Stellita and Dayton were so cute! Stella was nice to share her kitchen with Dayton (gotta get the man version of it because Dayton loved it)as well as all her other toys with no drama. She also confirmed the fact that I am indeed, her FAVORITE auntie (which comes as no surprise).

Saturday morning we had our family photo shoot with Jackson Wright Photography. After the photo session with the Kalina's, we all (including Jen and Cory) headed to brunch where we made the executive decision to stay another night in Austin. It didn't take much arm twisting, especially when we decided to visit a couple of vineyards in the Hill Country. Our first stop was Duchman Vineyards (formerly known as Mandola's, and also where Kim and Mad had their rehearsal dinner), then to Driftwood Vineyards, where we spent the majority of our day. A beautiful view, great company, and delicious wine made for a FANTASTIC anniversary weekend!

View at Driftwood Vineyards

It's to hot for shirts!

Being Goofy

CHEEEEEZE

Sarah and Puppy

Fun Times!

On a not-so-happy note, Friday we visited the ENT, she gave us instructions as to how to unblock the blood in Dayton's left ear tube, which is causing it to serve no purpose, but she didn't really give us any reassurance as to why he is still sick all the time. She said that by removing his adenoids, she had hoped that it would prevent him from being sick so often, but obviously that wasn't enough- no kidding. To top it all off, yesterday Dayton woke up from his nap with a HORRIBLE case of hives. Yes, I know, it is always one thing after another. After lots of tears of frustration (coming from me) and panic, I called the 24 hour nurse line which was absolutely no help. However, after getting ahold of his doctor this morning, (we are pretty much on a first-name basis at this point) she seems to think it was a reaction to the antibiotic that he is on. Yipee! Here goes anther round of antibiotics followed by benadryl. Let's see how much more we can put this poor kid through. Ugh.

Astros and Babies and Beer, Oh My!

2010-08-23T10:55:00.005-05:00

***Warning- Picture overload*****

Baby Maya (and her parents) came in town for a visit this past weekend. She has gotten so big since the last time I saw her and is such a sweet baby! Stellita got her buddy back and it was fun having all the little cousins playing together. We went to the Astros game on Thursday night and dinner at the Birkelbach's Friday night. Saturday we said our goodbyes :( to everyone and relaxed (sort of) on Sunday.

Now in my last post I mentioned how we had been to the doc 3 times in a week and hopefully the 3rd time was the charm. Well, I have officially gotten my hopes up. DLO is STILL sick and home from school today. He had his last dose of antibiotics on Saturday, after a long day of coughing and a runny nose, only to get worse yesterday and all last night. We will be making our 4th trip to the doc today to see what has now developed, and hopefully get this poor child well! Last night he broke my heart when he looked at me and said "Mama, Ni-night" in a horribly sad voice- he could not sleep due to his cough, and that is all he wanted to do.

Pics from the game- Go Stros!!

So there was this couple that was sitting in front of us at the game (who clearly did not have kids) that were not only rude, but Sarah overheard the lady say "Oh my God, they have Babies and they are drinking beer!" Whatever Lady, wait until you have kids and see if you still feel the same.

Here are some more randoms from the weekend:

Bath time!

Best Buddies

Cooking up some trouble..

Scheming up something..

3rd time's the charm... hopefully!

2010-08-12T15:55:00.003-05:00

So today mark's the third doctor visit in less than a week to finally figure out why Dayton can't seem to shake what was originally thought to be a respiratory infection. Why does it take 3 different doctors, with three completely different views as to what is going on, to figure out what the real issue is?? I'll tell you why- because the first two doctors were idiots. Now I am no genius, but I believe that if a normally happy 20 month old child is coughing so hard it not only makes him cry, but keeps him (and me) up at night, has a runny nose as well as being horribly congested, a fever off and on, constantly wants to be held, very lethargic, and the newest development- dehydration, for over a week now are fairly obvious signs that the little booger isn't feeling well.

Doc #1 said he had a respiratory infection and advised us to give him Robitussin for adults, and Motrin. Come to find out from Doc #3, keeping a child on adult cough syrup for a prolonged period of time may result in pneumonia. Awesome. After a few days with no change and an uneasiness of giving a toddler medicine intended for adults, we went back. After finding out that D's PCP was out yet again we settled for Doc #2. I knew I remembered the name for some reason- I should have trusted my instinct, because she was no help. She said he had post nasal drip, and since he had not been sick for 7 days (this was day 6) she would not prescribe anything. That was 2 days ago. After Dayton's teacher called this morning and said he was really out of it, dehydrated, and fell asleep while they were making his lunch, I started to panic. That brings us to Doc #3- Dayton's PCP, and the one we should have seen to begin with.

So once we were FINALLY able to see Dayton's PCP, she figured out right off the bat that he had a sinus infection. Not only that, but in his left ear there was some blood crusted up (no infection, thank goodness) which either means one of two things- first, his tube may have fallen out (dislike) second, even if his tube has not yet fallen out, it is basically serving no purpose because it is clogged with blood (also dislike). We have a follow up scheduled with his ENT on the 27th so hopefully it won't get worse before then. I am also hoping that in the future, we will be seeing less and less of his doctor, who by the way, is the only doctor we will be seeing moving forward outside of a specialist.

Never to big for a bumbo! Feel better little D, we LOVE you!!

Kim's Baby Shower

2010-08-09T09:24:00.006-05:00

Baby Henry will be here soon and I am soooo excited! Finally another boy!!!!

We traveled to Austin for the day on Saturday for Kim's baby shower. Dayton gets along really well with his little cousins Audrey (Oggy) and Bella, so we hitched a ride with Kate and the girls. They were all so good on the drive up there- what would we do without DVD players in the car???

Anyways, Kim's baby shower was held at her mother in law's house, and had a pretty good turn out. Henry raked in the presents. There were pools set up outside for the kiddo's (awesome idea) which kept them pretty entertained and definately helped out with the heat. I think the heat index was like 110 degrees on Saturday- yowzers!

We stayed in Austin for a couple hours after the shower to hang out- me and Stella are now BFF's, and headed back to H-town around 7. Dayton decided to play copy cat- and he chose the grumpy kid (Oggy) to copy. When she whined, he whined. When she wanted milk, he wanted milk. When she was done with her happy meal, he was done with his (you catch my drift) They are funny- best buddies. They were holding hands almost the whole way home, so cute!

One crazy Prego..

little cheese ball

They were only supposed to get their feet wet...

But someone wasn't listening.

I LOVE THIS KID!!

Hey, who wants to see my belly??

Three amigos

Having a ball!

Not related to the baby shower, Dayton has picked up a couple habits in the past week. One thing, since he is bigger now and has a lot more success at it, is climbing. He is literally climbing on everything. Yesterday (and this relates to the next thing he has picked up) I was standing on one of our kitchen chairs hanging up some pictures and shelves, and that little turkey dragged a chair over (and they are NOT light) and climbed on top and stood on the chair just like Mommy. The second thing is copying. Whether its repeating a toy, movie, or person he is a little copy cat, and it's usually pretty darn funny (except when he was copying Oggy's whining). He has a toy car (Lightening) from the movie Cars, and it says "I'm faster than fast!", Dayton translates it as "I'm Fat!" Hahaha

Oh, and one more thing.. today is D's first day in the big kid class! Yay!

Happy Birthday Gramps!

2010-08-04T11:32:00.002-05:00

Dayton's 2nd Astros game!

2010-08-02T10:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we took little D to his second Astros game and it turned out to be a success! I think it was a little overwhelming for him at first, but he warmed up quickly. He lasted until the 7th inning- longer than I anticipated. The highlights for me would have to be Dayton high-fiving the crowd surrounding us, his LOVE for cotton candy, and how every time the crowd cheered he looked scared at first, then clapped his hands with a huge smile screaming YAY!!!

I'm #1

Checking out the crowd

Mom, save me!

I Love You D! Such a sweetheart!

UH OH!

Daddy and Dayton

Mommy and Dayton

CHEEEEESE!

So Innocent...

Wiped out...

Mama! Dada! Puppy! Ra-Ra!

2010-07-26T11:33:00.003-05:00

So Dayton's new thing is listing off names in the car- so cute! Usually he adds the name of the person we are going to visit after he lists (and in no particular order) Mama, Dada, Puppy and Ra-Ra. We also get a lot of Kackie, Melmo (Elmo), Shoes, Josh (personally I think that is REALLY funny), and if were lucky- some singing. He definitely inherited his mother's singing voice- he sounds like an angel.

D is going through a shy phase right now- who would of thought, normally he has a lot to say. He only shies away from people he doesn't know very well or in big crowds and normally can warm up pretty quickly. When there are other kids around (especially his BFF/cousin Oggy) his shyness goes away a lot quicker. The weird thing is, he only acts like that sometimes, but it has become more frequent.

We had a pretty busy weekend this past weekend. Todd and Esther came in Saturday so we got to visit them briefly after an exhausting day of furniture shopping (which was successful- new living room set Woo Hoo!)and before we took off to Paw-Paw's (Gramp's dad) 84th Birthday Party. The party was fun- the whole "shyness" thing I mentioned earlier came into effect, so most of my night was spent catering to my 19 month old instead of socializing.

The Austin crew (aka B-team)came and left Sunday so we got a chance to visit with everyone except The Kalina's, who came in Saturday night and decided to leave at the crack of dawn on Sunday.... sorry Stellita- I did not know that your parents were going to be SOOOOOOO crazy and not let you see your favorite Aunt. I can't wait to see you in two weeks!! I am sure your mommy will be leaving me a nice comment after she reads this one....

Here are a few pics from this weekend..

Dayton being shy and trying to hide

Mommy, save me!

Alright! Back to the happy guy!

Sad. Tired. Frustrated.

2010-07-21T10:35:00.002-05:00

We had yet another rough night last night followed by a rough morning. Dayton was up from about two to four extremely upset and I could tell he was in pain and he was grabbing at his ear. This is seriously heart- breaking. I called his PCP today and the nurse advised me to contact his ENT. We will be paying Texas Children's another visit on Friday to make sure everything is ok. We did however end up going to Dayton's pediatrician today anyway. Apparently the nurse at TX Children's, or whoever I talked to, didn't seem to think my child screaming out in pain all night (for the past few nights) and every few hours was reason enough to get in right away. Lucky for us it looks like it was not a HUGE emergency. Dayton's pediatrician took a look at him and she didn't see any signs of a sore throat, or nasal issues, but she did see some blood in his left ear- the one he has been tugging at. She also suggested we wean him off of his pain meds because that could potentially be another reason he cries. I REALLY wish he could tell me what was wrong, if he is hurting and where he is hurting. Hopefully the ENT can give us the answers. This kid needs a break already.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-20T09:06:00.002-05:00

So pretty funny story...

I was reading People magazine (or atleast trying to while Dayton was trying to rip it out of my hands) and there was an article about Celine Dion being pregnant with twins at 42. I looked at D and asked him if he wants his Mama to still be having babies at 42 and he smiled and said ALRIGHT!! So then I responded with- so you want to be a big brother then huh (Don't get the wrong idea, not having another one any time soon) and he ran to the front door crying, rolling around on the ground and screaming NOOOOO... Seriously this went on for about 20 minutes.... Then I told him he was NOT going to be a big brother right now and then came along my cuddle bug...

Now I know he had no idea what I was saying or meant by anything but his reaction was priceless...

Dayton has been doing fairly well after his surgery. I wish he could tell me how he was feeling so I don't just assume that he is fine. We have had a few rough nights, the hardest times are when he wakes up- whether it be in the middle of the night or from a nap. Other than that he has been his usual goofy self. He wants to take a "ba" (bath) every other second, and does not take no for an answer. His new favorite words are "eat", "hot", "mo", (milk), the dreaded "NO!", and my personal favorite "ALRIGHT!" which is always said with a smile :)

Dayton in his new "man panties" and "wife beater"

Good-bye adenoids, hello tubes!

2010-07-16T11:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was surgery day for my poor baby. He took it like a champ- I think I cried more than he did. We arrived at Texas Children's around 8:30, surgery was scheduled for 10:30, but he didn't go in until about noon. We anticipated about an hour to an hour and half for the surgery so we were pleasantly surprised when our buzzer went off after about 45 minutes- just enough time to grab a bite to eat and shop.. The doctor said he did an awesome job, and that his ears were looking pretty bad. She said there was actually an infection in one of them and both were filled with some thick liquid and puss.. Yuck! When we went into the recovery room we saw our little soldier just waking up- very grumpy of course and very out of it. What a relief it was that this dreaded surgery was over!!! After about 30 minutes in the recovery room, we were released to go home! Yay! Yesterday was pretty rough once we got home. Lots of crying, tantrums, confusion, and a very BIG appetite. Today has been MUCH better- you would never know he had surgery. He is back to his usual crazy self and for that I am very grateful.

Yesterday was an extremely tough day for us and very stressful, but I would just like to say one thing- we are lucky, EXTREMELY lucky that Dayton is in good health and this surgery was so minor. As tough as it was on us, there was never any question whether or not he would come out of this and be ok. Looking around the hospital and seeing so many kids that are so ill was heart-breaking and made me appreciate how lucky we are that our child is healthy and only there for minor surgery. I cannot imagine what those parents and children go through, and I pray that I never have to.

On our way home! Way to go D! You are so big!

Resting at Kackie's while Dad picks up my medicine

Watching Elmo! Check out my new slippers!

I am a working mom and PROUD of it!!!!

2010-07-12T14:19:00.004-05:00

Watch out Blog world, two blogs in one day... I've gone CRAZY!!

So a little birdie just told me that someone in my circle of family members (only related by marriage) has been running their mouth yet again about working moms who "leave" their children everyday. How could someone be so heartless as to "leave" their child with complete strangers to go to work??? Well I just want to say this- can you imagine working??? Seriously!!! I do not "choose" to leave my child to go to work, it is something that I do in order to provide a better life for my child and his future. Like I have stated in previous blogs, going back to work was an extremely tough decision and had we someone reliable to watch over him when I "leave him" maybe, just maybe, he would not be in day care. Yes, if I had a million dollars to go blow on shopping and unecessary luxeries I would be a stay at home mom, and I promise you I would love every second of it. Since we are not millionaires, I CHOOSE to work. Could we get by on one income?? Sure we could, but we want more out of life than one income can offer. I have a career that I have enjoyed and have worked at for the past 9 months, yet I am still defending the decision that I made to come back to work. Is it ever going to end?

When I am not working I CHOOSE to spend time with my family, atleast the ones that appreciate me and the sacrifaces I have put forth to better a life for our son and ourselves.

AND just in case ANYONE was wondering, Josh and I are perfectly capable of taking care of OUR son before and after his surgery on Thursday. We do not need any help and Dayton does NOT need an audience at the hospital. It will ONLY be Josh and I there when he goes in and it will only be Josh and I there when he comes out.

Dreading Thursday...

2010-07-12T12:24:00.002-05:00

So Thursday is when Dayton is scheduled to have his surgery and I am absolutely dreading it. I know it is minor, but I just can't help but feel HORRIBLE. He is a tough little guy and I know he will be fine, I just need to convince myself of that.....

Bad News, Bad Parents, and Bad Kids

2010-07-10T08:11:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we had a pretty interesting day. I left work around 11 to take D to the med center for a consultation with an ENT. Surprisingly we did not get lost and only circled around twice before finding a valet. We checked in a little over an hour early and headed downstairs to grab a bite to eat (they give you a buzzer that works anywhere in the hospital in case they are ready for you early). After lunch we headed back to the waiting room...

So now here is where I bring my title into play...There were two girls running around all over the place playing hide and seek... (That doesn't sound to bad right??) Please note that I did not put the word "little" in front of girls. If I had to guess I would probably say they were around 11 or 12, and all the while their parents just sitting there watching them- even holding the girls' shoes so they could run easier... In the mean time my 18 month old can't even get into the play area without getting trampled by these undisciplined girls. Bad parents (in my opinion), bad kids.

So we finally get called into the room (and of course I said absolutely NOTHING about how excited I was to get away from all the annoying kids in the waiting room on our way in..) and then we wait..and wait..and wait..all the while Dayton's usual happy self slowly becoming more and more tired resulting in him becoming more and more grumpy. After a little over an hour the doctor finally decides to grace us with her presence. UGH finally! After about a 20 minute consultation she gave us the bad news. Dayton needs tubes in his ears and his adnoids removed. Now that may not seem so bad to some people, but Dayton is my only child and hearing that he has to have surgery is completely heart-breaking. I know that in the long run it will be good for him, but I am still dreading it.

So leaving the hospital (and doing more waiting for the idiots working valet to figure out where they parked my car) we begin our journey home in AWESOME I-45 traffic. By this point my frustration is building..

We stopped by Lupe Tortillas on the way home to meet Jarshua and Larry for an early dinner and to sit out 5 o'clock traffic. I like that place- good food and a playground for Dayton to play in (which he loves). So Dayton is playing in the sand and picks up a shovel that was not being used, but just so happened to be in the sand next to another kid. Well here is another example of bad kids- the little brat just ripped it out of Dayton's hands, not to play with it, just to set it down right next to him. Now once again, this was not a little kid. If I had to guess I would say 7 or 8, old enough to know better, but even worse his "queen of the trailor park" mother is sitting at the table right by the kid not saying a word. So I got up, picked up the shovel, and handed it to Dayton.

I turn my back for one second and this kids brother trips Dayton and he falls in the middle of this little cirlce of kids (not one under the age of 5). I hear one of the kids say "I don't like him" and before I can get there these kids are throwing sand at my baby and ripped the shovel out of his hand. Do you think I was mad???? I scoop up D, yelled at the kids (since apparently their own mother wasn't going to do so) and turn around only to see these horrible boys' father laughing at the situation. Of course Josh was in the bathroom when all this went down..ughhhhhh..... We left (my father in law insisted we do so) and had Josh gone back in there I would not be able to write this blog right now, I would be bailing him out of jail... anyways, bad parenting, bad kids, and if it happens again it will be a bad black eye for someone- kid or parent..

How can you be mean to this little cutie??

Happy 4th of July!!

2010-07-06T11:51:00.003-05:00

Well for once we did not plan anything for this weekend. The weather was bad, my little mister was feeling bad, and we thought it would be nice to do nothing.

I got off early on Friday and headed over to Mom's to spend time with my nieces and my little brother Kim (and DLO too, of course) before we had to go to the doctor. They girls and D play so cute together! I am so glad that they are so close in age!

Saturday was a lazy day- I got to sleep in for once! Thank you Jarshua! Although I was still very exhausted! D and I got out of the house for a little while to do a little shopping and later met up with Josh and Gramps for lunch. After that we headed home to get out of the nasty weather and get my moody little man home (the meds he is on make him a little crazier than usual and very grumpy at times).

Now on to Sunday Funday. We did the usual BBQ and D and I did a little shopping. The highlight of the day- my new vacuum cleaner. My how times have changed. We did not go anywhere to watch fire works- lucky for us we didn't need to. The big party down the street did a mini fire-works show and that was all we needed. Dayton loved it! He loved it so much that he wore himself out (and me) trying to run towards the people shooting them off.

My little fire cracker chowing down on some ribs

Then on to Monday. We started off our Monday-Funday with a hair cut for D, followed by lunch at Rico's and then on to Northshore Park. Needless to say D was a little tired after that. I have a bunch of cute pictures from the park that I have not down loaded yet, but I will post some as soon as I do.

On my way to get my hair cut! Can't you tell I am excited??

Lunch at Rico's showing off my new hair cut!

Croup or Asthma? I'll take neither....

2010-07-03T10:24:00.002-05:00

So I took Dayton back to the doctor yesterday because his cough and wheezing has not gone away yet. So he was originally diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and now she believes it can be one of two things- croup or asthma. I guess if I had to choose I would pick croup. Unfortunately for Dayton, Josh has bad asthma and the doc said there is a possibility of it getting passed down to him. I guess we'll find out if this wheezing continues to come back :(

I just want this kid to feel good for once. We go to the ENT this friday for a consulation regarding his 8 million ear infections.

Happy Baptism Stellita... and Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2010-06-29T15:42:00.003-05:00

We had a pretty action packed weekend I'll say that much.

We got up bright and early Saturday morning to head to ATX to see my little Stella get baptized. I think lil D thought it was the Dayton show because he was making sure everyone knew he was there to party! Crazy little man.. Afterwards, we did a little shopping, had lunch at my brother Sarah's house, and then we were right back on the road to Tomball.

I'm getting Baptized! Yay!

When we got home I had a few surprises waiting for me. A chair full of presents and decorated kitchen- streamers, a sign and all. Very nice gesture from my mother in law! We continued the evening with a BBQ with my father in law and a couple friends, and called it a night fairly early.

I woke up Sunday morning to a very hyper little monster torturing Masey in her kennel. Atleast he gave Rowdy (aka Ra-Ra) a break for a change.

I'm really crazy!

After I was able to pry myself out of bed and shower, we headed out to meet Sharon and Tim for a birthday brunch at Peli-Peli. About 100 bottomless mimosas later, we left there, stopped to pick up a few things at the store and headed home for some relaxation Tomball style. I spent the next few hours (while Dayton was taking an unusually long nap) in my back yard laying out in his blow up pool with a cooler right beside me. Classy I know. What can I say- it was my birthday and I can be WT if I want to.

Painting With A Twist... and one CRAZY monster..

2010-06-25T10:47:00.002-05:00

So last night I went to a painting class with a couple girlfriends at a place called "Painting with a Twist." Much to my amazement, I actually had a lot of fun. I don't think I will be hanging my masterpiece up anywhere that people can actually see it, but we had a great time making it. The fact that you can bring your own wine made it that much more fun.

Now on to my little monster Dayton (and also my FAVORITE topic). Dayton is sick right now (yes, again) with a respiratory infection and the doctor also found a couple ulcers in the back of his throat. I would have never known he was this sick, I guess the kid is used to not feeling well, but the cough is what sent us back to the doc. He is back on the nebulizer with what I believe (and I am no doc) is a stronger dose of albuterol. Last time Dayton was on the neb. he acted completely normal, sometimes even falling asleep while he was given his treatments. This time around, he is a maniac. He has spent the past few days on a mission to ride Rowdy. Now before Dayton was born, Rowdy was not a big fan of kids. I think these last few days has reminded him as to why he felt the way he did before. He literally runs and avoids Dayton at all costs. Why D won't go for the puppy who would love to play, and go for the grump who wants to be left alone is beyond me, but very entertaining none the less.

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-22T08:35:00.002-05:00

Life never goes according to plan. If someone would have told me five years ago that by the age of 27 (ok almost 28) I would be married, a mother to the most AMAZING little boy in the world, and working at a job that I actually enjoy, I might have believed them. If they were to tell me that while in the midst of my life turning out to be just as I had always dreamed, I would lose my father, I would have said they were crazy; He is invincible. Two years have gone by since my dad passed away, but I would still like to say Happy (belated) Father's Day Pops! I love you and miss you very much!

I would also like to say Happy (belated) Father's Day Jarshua! We have been so blessed to have such an awesome little guy who has given us the opportunity to call ourselves parents! He truly does admire and look up to you. (And he sort of looks like you too). He is lucky to have a father that loves and adores him as much as you do.

Happy Father's Day!

Three generations of Oprea's

Gramps and DLO

Little Guy Oprea :)

A few randoms...

18 Months and SO BIG!!!!

2010-06-17T08:27:00.002-05:00

Dayton had is 18 month visit with the doctor yesterday and man that boy is getting so big (not that it wasn't obvious or anything). His weight hasn't changed much, but still kept him in the 80th percentile at 28.10 pounds. His height has grown about 2.5 inches putting him in the 70th percentile at 33 inches, and that big head of his got him in the 97th percentile (sadly that did not change from the last visit). What can I say he gets it from his mama.

2 Years

2010-06-16T09:11:00.002-05:00

Two years ago today I figured out the hard way what it really felt like to have a broken heart, I said good bye to my father. He was an amazing man, a wonderful listener, encourager and friend. I am so very fortunate to have had him in my life for almost 26 years and so very proud to call him my dad. Dad, I love you and miss you everyday. I feel comfort in knowing that you are in Heaven watching over us.

Today is a sad day for someone else too, one of my best friends in the world, Danielle. Today Danielle is saying good bye to her father. It saddens me to know the pain that she is going through as I know it all to well. Her father passed away only a few days ago, and if you are reading this, please pray for her and her family during these tough times.

NYC

2010-06-15T09:32:00.002-05:00

Wow what a weekend!! Still recovering actually. Could use about a week of rest but all worth it none the less.

Let's see where do I start. Well we left Thursday in a rush to get to the airport with absolutely nothing going according to plan all morning. Once on the flight (after I honestly thought we were going to miss it) we ended up getting re-routed to Philly due to a rainstorm and a shortage of gas. After Josh nearly getting kicked off the plane, and a seven hour flight, we finally arrived in The Big Apple. Woo Hoo!!! Let the fun begin.

After checking into our hotel and meeting up with the rest of the gang, off we went went to do some sight seeing, and lots of drinking..

Friday morning, up at the crack of dawn, and missing the Today Show, we got ready, and Josh, Larry and I went to visit where the Today show gets filmed, Rockefeller Plaza and a few other tourist spots before meeting up with Jake and Melanie. From there we went to the Japanese restaurant where the happy couple was engaged (since we missed the engagement) and then to Yankee Stadium to watch the Astros lose. From there we continued to drink and do a little bar hopping.

Saturday morning I felt like I was reliving the movie "The Hangover" trying to retrace where we had gone the night before looking for a lost bag of souvenir's we had purchased at Yankee Stadium. Luckily they did not end up being lost and all was good. The rest of Saturday was mostly spent shopping, and trust me we did plenty of it.

Sunday we said good bye to NYC, and I was happy to do so. As much fun as we had, I REALLY REALLY REALLY missed Dayton.

At a bar called "Down the Hatch"

Rockefeller Rink Bar

Planet Hollywood

Sardi's

This one is for you, Dayton!

Dosh! Dosh!

2010-06-07T10:14:00.004-05:00

SOOOOOOO Stinkin funny... So Dayton being the early bird he is on the weekends woke up at 6:3o yesterday morning. Still half asleep I went to the kitchen, got him some milk and layed him back down in between Josh and I. Then I had to use the restroom. So I reached over to Josh, said his name a few time while giving him a couple nudges until he woke up ( I was paranoid D might fall off the bed if not being held on to) Well it must have been my lucky day because in no time Dayton was right back to being sound asleep. A couple hours later I wake up to D nudging his dad and yelling Dosh! Dosh! HAHAHA it was the cutest thing ever!!! I just love that little guy!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Pump it up in The Woodlands to celebrate Jayden's 3rd birthday. I really didn't think that Dayton would be that into moonwalks, so I figured I was safe wearing a dress. Silly me. He loved it, and loved me getting in there with him. I learned my lesson- never wear a dress to a child's birthday party again. Aside from that Dayton had a lot of fun (with the exception of the 8 million temper tantrums he threw while we were there) I'm not sure if it is coming with his age, being tired, teething or maybe a combination of everything but he is getting out of control with these tantrums!

So Dayton is officially a "mini Josh" now with his cute little buzz cut. I love it, by far my favorite hair cut yet.

Memorial Day Madness

2010-06-01T09:34:00.003-05:00

Gotta love those 3 day weekends!!!

I think I needed more like a 4 day weekend, with the last day being a recovery day because I am exhausted! Our fun filled weekend turned out to be a success for the most part. We did some shopping on Saturday, and Beach on Sunday!!

We have not been to Galveston since last summer and it was a big hit for Dayton! Well maybe just at the beginning. Before I could even get his little swimmers on he had already taken a mad dash for the ocean. Unfortunately the excitement of the beach wore off fairly quickly after too much sand in the eyes made for one unhappy little guy. You couldn't help but feel bad for him he could barely open his eyes. As miserable as he was, it was still nice to hang out with family and friends.

Since D was feeling a little under the weather for the majority of the day on Saturday, I do not have but a couple pictures.. I will post soon.

Here is one I stole from Stacy- Trenton and Dayton playing at the beach...

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

2010-05-10T11:50:00.002-05:00

Mother's day is a very special day. I am blessed not only to be a mother myself, but to have the most amazing Mom in the world. Mom in case you ever read this (which I doubt you will) but thank you for being you. You are my hero and I don't know what we would do without you!

We kicked off our AWESOME weekend with a relaxing Friday night, followed by a pool party at the Birkelbach's on Saturday. Stella K, Sarah, D and Uncle PP all came in from ATX to celebrate as well as an appearance by the Kartalis family. Finally a boy for DLO to play with! Thomas is only 10 days older than Dayton and they played so cute together! Wish I hadn't broken my camera :( We had a blast though- always fun seeing the little ones play together. Stella is getting so big and developing such a cute personality!

Sunday we had lunch with Dede and Pop (Josh's mom and step dad) Julia, her boyfriend Charlie, and Jon. The food was not great for a place that has had such rave reviews. After lunch we went back to our house for a BBQ with Gramps and some much needed relaxation for me :) I loved watching Jarshua chasing Dayton around while I sat there and drank for a change. (Although I do not love the way I am feeling today)

I think I can speak on behalf of Josh when I say the last 17 (almost 17) months have been amazing. We never knew what joy and happiness a child would bring, but Dayton has brought so much more than that. He is an angel and the love of our lives. We have cherished every second with him and look forward the rest of our lives as his parents. Thank you Dayton for coming into this world and spoiling us with your unconditional love. You make each day a great day just by being you. Daddy and I are so proud to call you our son.

The road goes on forever and the DRAMA never ends....

2010-04-30T08:54:00.002-05:00

I just need to vent for a minute...

I understand there are people out there that only see things one sided- the way they want to see them. That doesn't work for me- ESPECIALLY when it makes me look bad. I am not a bad person. AND I definitely don't think it's necessary to spread MY business all over Facebook- especially when my son is involved. Who knew that wanting to pick my own child up from day care would be such an issue? That does not mean that we don't want anyone to come visit him, it means I WANT TO PICK UP MY SON FROM DAY CARE!!!!!!!!

GEEEEEZZZZ... The decisions that are made in regards to Dayton are the decisions we think are best for him. Either respect it or don't but talking shit about us only reassures us that we are making the right ones. No decisions we make are a strike at anyone, if you want to feel as though they are, that is your business so KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.

Hair Cut #2

2010-04-29T11:29:00.003-05:00

After a week and a half of him being sick, I decided to finally take the little monster out into the real world for a much needed hair cut and some quality time with his Mama. The haircut went surprisingly well- no tears this time. He sat in his fire truck, watched Elmo on TV and cooperated like a big boy. I just love that kid so much!!!

On a side note, this week has gone relatively well. Dayton is now in day care full time and I just absolutely love seeing his face light up when I get there. I didn't know what I was missing all these months not being the one that picks him up everyday, I was stuck being the one to watch him cry when I left. It is the most amazing feeling in the world and I look forward to it everyday. He is growing up so fast and I have cherished every second of it.

Sick and Tired of being SICK AND TIRED... and STRESSED

2010-04-23T10:38:00.002-05:00

The past couple weeks have been sucky. We took D to the doc about a week and a half ago (on a Wed.) with a bad cough (thinking it was probably just a cold) and it turned out he had a little fluid in his left lung as well as an ear infection in his right ear :( Poor guy! By Thursday morning he was throwing up- which lasted until Friday morning, which led us back to the doc. The doc said his lungs were actually sounding pretty good-we could even cut the breathing treatments back from every 4 hours to every 6 hours, and the vomiting was probably from the mucus that was built up making him sick. Good news I guess. By Monday, he had developed a new cough- one that sounded like it should not be coming from a 16 month old child, so Tuesday we were back to the doc. Third time's the charm right? Well the doc took another listen to his chest and heard something in there that she hadn't heard the past two visits. Great. So we took Lil D to get his very first X-Ray, and an hour later we got the good news- it wasn't pneumonia! Bad news- the stuff in his chest had caused some irritation and inflammation. Nothing a little steroid can't cure.. hopefully. We will see after this weekend.

Now here is something I need to get off my chest-

Since I have gone back to work, there have been criticisms and back talking about the decisions that Josh and I have made regarding OUR son. First, our decision to put him in day care- which still pops up as an issue for some people. Going back to work was a tough decision for me, but a necessary one. I have been talked down to, judged and left feeling like a bad parent since I have gone back to work-mostly due to our decision to put in him day care. In an ideal world I wouldn't have to work and I would be staying home with Dayton full time. In reality that is unrealistic. Having to work while our child is sick is absolutely heart breaking, and when I can I stay home. I thought we had the resources to help us out when needed, but for some people it only poses as an excuse to criticize, judge and make me feel less as a mother. I am tired of the stress, I am tired of the drama, and frankly I have had it with all the BS that we have been putting up with lately. It is unnecessary, unwelcomed and unwarranted.

Second, Dayton belongs to Josh and I- he is OUR son, nobody else's. Therefore we make the decisions in regards to his well being. I have held back in the past in order to spare other's feelings only to have it back fire on me. I am not sparing any one's feelings anymore when it comes to the well- being of OUR child.

Third and lastly, I am not the mediator, middle man, or the voice of reason in the midst of drama that doesn't involve me. If I have to choose sides, it will ALWAYS be my husbands, even knowing that he has a tendency to be out of line. I shouldn't be put in that position. It isn't fair to me, but most importantly it isn't fair to Dayton. He should not have to be brought up in a world surrounded by drama, and I am going to do my best from here on out to make sure that he isn't. Like I said earlier- without sparing any one's feelings. If that makes me a bad parent then so be it. Nobody is perfect.

Bunnies, Baseball and Masey

2010-04-07T09:43:00.002-05:00

Last year my friend Brandi told me about a place at the mall that takes kids Easter pics with actual live bunnies- How could I resist?? Since it was such a hit with my then 4 month old, I decided to take him again this year since he has become a pretty big animal lover. I will have to say for a kid who was extremely grumpy all day he takes some ridiculously cute pics. Maybe I am just being bias but here are a few:

Since we were already at the studio getting Easter photos done, we thought it was about time to update Dayton's pictures as well since we haven't had them done since he was 9 months old. In honor of it officially being baseball season, here are a few pictures of our future Houston Astro!

And last but not least, the Easter bunny brough us a very special gift this year- Our newest member of the Oprea Clan, Masey. Masey was an abandoned dog we, I mean the Easter Bunny, rescued from S.A.F.E. House. She is a 6-7 month old German Shepherd mix and an absolute sweet heart. Rowdy was a little unsure of her at first, but they are quickly becoming best friends. We are very happy to welcome her to the family, but cannot wait for her to be potty trained :)Here are a couple pics of Masey:

Hemmen Baby Photo shoot

2010-03-23T16:12:00.003-05:00

Well its been a while since my last update, lately we have had hardly enough time to breath let alone blog. I don't even know where to begin... Within the last few weeks, we've had bachelor/bachelorette parties to attend for Danielle and Josh, moving the following weekend, more moving during the week, Danielle and Josh's wedding, family in town and MORE MOVING. Geez I feel like we are never going to be completely settled. On a side note baby Maya and Laura came to visit this past weekend!!!! Yay! Maya is such a sweet precious little thing-just like her cousins.

We got all the babies together on Saturday for a little photo shoot. In a perfect world, everybody would look at the camera, smile and do as they are told. This was not the case. However, it could have quite possibly been the funniest thing I have seen in a LOOONG time. They littlest ones (Stella and Maya) were angels- but they aren't at the tantrum throwing age yet; My (not so sweet that day) little angel Dayton was throwing fits right alongside his crazy cousin Oggy; and then there is Bella. This kid was made for the camera. She sat there and smiled and tried to play the mom to all her younger cousins and sister. The whole thing was histerical and I can't wait to show these guys once they get older, and torture them with it.

Here are a few pics of the chaos and a few of the well behaved ones. You'll notice that Audrey and Dayton are not in alot of these- they were fired early on.

DLO's first hair cut pics!

2010-02-25T10:29:00.003-06:00

TA DA!

DLO's very first haircut!!!

2010-02-17T14:37:00.002-06:00

So Jarshua has been fighting me for the longest time on getting Dayton's haircut. I finally woke him up this past Saturday after D and I were up and ready to walk out the door, and told him if he would like to see his son's first hair cut it would be in his best interest to get out of bed and get ready. I left no room for argument- and Jarshua got out of bed and came with. It was a pretty interesting experience. We took him to Cool Cuts for Kids, where they sat him in a race car and put on Elmo to distract him while he was getting his hair did. The first thing Tammy-the hair lady said, was "Woah Mullet" so needless to say we cut the mullet. He looks like a completely different child- a big boy! And still very handsome of course. I will upload the pics some time in the near future, but here is one from my phone-post hair cut.

Moving on up!

2010-02-10T14:43:00.002-06:00

Josh and I have recently been on the prowl for a new house. As luck would have it we found one we absolutely love on the very first day we were looking. We will be moving in a few weeks and we couldn't be more excited!!! Our new home is located in Tomball about 10 minutes from The Woodlands. Yay!! Finally!!

Now on to my favorite topic-Dayton! I hate to report my little D-LO is still feeling under the weather. Poor thing, it just seems like it is one thing after another. Hopefully he stears clear of any more miserable ear infections.. Right now it is just a miserable cold.. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Other than that he is still a little angel.. most of the time. He is walking and talking and growing up so fast!! Slow down D, mommy can't keep up!

Mommy's lil Cracka!!

What a week!!!

2010-01-29T15:15:00.002-06:00

What a week is right! And I am not saying that in a good way!! It is FINALLY Friday and I never thought it was going to get here!!!! This week, I discovered what it was like to have pink eye, got moved to the front cube (next to my boss) at work, and said good bye to an old friend who lost his battle with cancer. Needless to say I am ready for the weekend and a cocktail!

On a much brighter note, Dayton has finally began to walk and it is so stinkin cute! He gets really excited when he takes a few steps, gets a little carried away with himself, and usually falls. Fear not though, he sticks his adorable little head up, smiles, claps, and tries again. I can't get enough!!

Here is a couple cute pics from the past week :)

Dayton actually liking school???

2010-01-22T09:34:00.002-06:00

I had the misfortune of being subpoenaed and spent the morning in court yesterday. My frustration had built up in the few hours I was there and decided to take the rest of the day off. A much needed breathe of fresh air! Sort of..

After I left the court house, I met up with my gal pal Andi and we went to visit our friend Josh, who is rapidly losing his battle with brain cancer. After sharing stories and remembering much happier times with his sister (and my good friend) Barbie, we said good bye and headed out for a late lunch..

So now I am getting to the part where I explain my title. Josh (my hubby) got off work early and met us out for lunch; from there, went to pick up our little ANGEL together. This is a rare occurrence that either of us gets to pick him up, let alone together (Dede usually picks him up while we are at work). I was so excited and couldn't wait to see the expression on his face! When we got there all the kiddos were playing outside, and I spotted my sweet, SWEET little Dayton playing with one of his friends. He gave me one glance, turned back to the toy, and continued playing with his buddy. Ouch.

The car ride wasn't much fun either. Dayton has been spoiled riding in my fun car because he can watch Elmo, but we took daddy's car and no Elmo=no fun for ANYONE! Not to mention he was still pissed about us taking him away from playing with his friends. Next time I will come prepared with Elmo and Cheetos.

Still Sick :(

2010-01-20T12:12:00.003-06:00

Dayton is now on his FOURTH round of antibiotics trying to kick this double ear infection he's had for about two months now. Poor baby!! That hasn't stopped big boy from putting on some weight though! Last doc visit he had gained a pound in a week. It was probably his heavy shoes :)

I am planning on getting a new lap top soon, so once I do I can start posting pictures again.

In the mean time, here are some sort of recent pics of the little monster..

Happy (belated) New Years!

2010-01-11T16:14:00.003-06:00

Ok so I am still working on this whole updating my blog thing. I'll get it one day, and maybe I'll even start posting pictures again!

So we had a pretty chill NYE. We had a fantastic dinner with Gramps and then rang in the New Year with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest. We are some crazy party animals. I am surprised I lasted until midnight! Anyways, life has been boring since... Back to long work weeks and a set schedule.. BOOOOO

Anyways, my little mister is becoming my not-so-little mister. Our last doc visit he was weighing in at a whopping 26.5 pounds. He has come to LOVE Elmo videos and now loves riding in the car because that is where Elmo is usually playing. A personal favorite-Elmo in Grouchland. Can't get enough of it. He is still learning to love school (which he DOES NOT love at the moment) and has taken his first few steps. Its only a matter of time before I will be pulling my hair out chasing him all over the place. I can't wait! I seriously don't understand how we were blessed with such a perfect little man, but we are so grateful for him. I Love you D!

DLO's SECOND Christmas!!!!

2009-12-29T14:13:00.003-06:00

I can't believe this was Dayton's 2nd Christmas!! Yes, he was only a week old last year, but whatever. Time has just flown by! He is officially stocked up on toys, clothes and anything else he could possibly want! Next year he will have even more cousins to play with! Yay! Well, atleast one more and if I'm guessing right it will be a boy by the name of Jacob Namisnak.... We shall see here in the next couple weeks...I can't wait!

Christmas was awesome, it is always so much fun to get the family together! Unfortunately for my side of the family we were missing a few, but maybe next year we will all be able to celebrate together. Way to go Todd for surprising mom and coming in on the 26th. We were all very excited to see you, but next time bring the girls!!! :)

On the Oprea side of the family, this year was a big year! Every other year everyone from all over the country travels to Texas and this was a year everyone came. It was a blast and very nice to meet family that I have not yet met. There was even Santa! (Dayton is NOT a fan of Santa!)

I ended my AWESOME four day weekend with news of an engagement! Congrats Danielle and Josh! I am VERY excited for the both of you and I look forward to all the upcoming events!

We survived another wedding...

2009-12-21T13:57:00.002-06:00

Another one joins the Oprea pact and now I am officially not the newest "Mrs. Oprea." Congrats Jake and Melanie Oprea!

Unfortunately for my sweet little one-year old this weekend wasn't as exciting for him as it was for many others. He is STILL sick! Poor guy was running a fever all weekend and very unhappy, not to mention a little confused as to what was going on. Needless to say he was mommy's boy all weekend, and that part I LOVED! Except when I was trying to get ready as he was tring to crawl up my leg crying, and I burned the crap out of the side of my head... I did NOT love that.

Another short work week, with my lunch breaks being used to do some much needed, last minute Christmas shopping, and birthday shopping for old man Jarsh. I am looking forward to Christmas and finally being able to relax after a very, very hectic December.

Its birthday party day!

2009-12-14T14:47:00.002-06:00

Well thats what we woke up singing Saturday morning before all the craziness! Ok thats what I woke up singing, Dayton hasn't really grasped the significance of a birthday just yet.. I mean it is his FIRST birthday! Yay!

Here's how the day of chaos went down..

We (Dayton and I) slept in until 8, which NEVER happens..got up, showered and dressed for the big day. Around 11, we met Dede and headed off to Sams Club to pick up the cakes and few other items; We arrived at Gramp's house of madness around 12:30to decorate and set everything up.. Guests started arriving around 2 and things started getting crazy.

Notice NOWHERE in that paragraph did I mention a nap?

Once I started noticing my little angel becoming a not so little angel I decided it was time to step it up.. Lets bring on the cake! After smashing the cake in my sons face, as he was unsure what to do with it, it was on to presents.

Opening presents didn't exactly go as planned either. He threw a HUGE fit and we decided to cut the present-opening short and move on to something else.. like a nap.

Needless to say our first birthday experience was a little traumatizing for Dayton, but it was fun (for me atleast) to be around family and friends and celebrate the birth of my little man. A big THANKS to everyone that was able to make it, it meant a lot to Josh and I. I will post pictures soon...

I've been slacking to say the least...

2009-12-08T15:48:00.002-06:00

I am sorry I have been a tad bit behind on keeping my blog updated, but I am going to try to keep it updated since I just discovered I can access my blog at work :). Anyways.. We have had quite a few exciting events occur in our family since the last post....Kim and Mad-Dogs wedding in Austin, the birth of baby Stella Kalina, and news of baby Namisnak on the way, due in January... Very exciting stuff to say the least!

Looking forward, we are SUPER excited to celebrate Dayton's very first birthday this weekend.. We'll let you know how everything turns out!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-07-15T07:47:00.004-05:00

I have not been able to update lately we have been super busy! It has been fun but nice to be home and relaxing! Let's see since the last post I celebrated my 27th birthday, then headed to napa/san fran. We got home and decided to take the little man to his first beach trip, and finally to San Antonio to show him the riverwalk... here's a few pics from our adventures, more to come!

Happy First Father's Day Jarshua!!!

2009-06-22T08:10:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Josh's first fathers day over the weekend. Unfortunately I have no idea where I put my camera :( We had a good time, got to spend some time with the Oprea's Saturday night and Sunday we spent the day with grandpa (Larry). Happy Father's Day Josh we love you!

Aunt Jeanne also came to visit us this weekend! It was great to see her and I am glad Dayton finally got to meet his great aunt! Yay!

Dayton and his gal pals

2009-06-17T20:48:00.002-05:00

Dayton and I spent the day with his gal pal cousins, Bella and Oggy. Here are a few pics. Enjoy!

:(

2009-06-16T14:38:00.003-05:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of the WORST day of my life.. RIP Pops, I miss you more and more everyday! I wish you could've met Dayton and the rest of your grandkids that were born/on the way! I love you and I know you are watching over us!

In loving memory of my Dad, Ronald Lee Hemmen, December 18,1945-June 16, 2008

On a happier note, Dayton started Veggies today. How can this not make you smile?

6 months old!

2009-06-15T10:07:00.002-05:00

Dayton had his six month doc visit this morning. The little chunky weighed in at 17lbs 10oz which put him in the 50th percentile ( I would've thought higher with those thighs), he was 26 in tall, which put him in the 55th percentile...Yay! I can no longer say he is short and fat! And he was blessed with his mommy's big head, which was in the 75th percentile. He had a bunch of shots :( and was not a very happy camper at the end of the visit, poor thing! Anyways he must have been exhausted because he fell asleep in his high chair while he was eating his cereal.

On a side note, Josh and I started the P90x yesterday. They aren't lying when they say the "x" is for X-treme! I'm sore and today is supposed to be the hardest one yet! Mark and Kate you are going DOWN!!!!

My first Blog

2009-03-02T15:34:00.000-06:00

Well since our babysite ran out of room with all the pictures I have posted, I have decided to start a blog so we can keep updating pictures of our little man for those that don't get to see him very often.. Bare with me I havent quite figured out how to work this thing just yet...