winter fun

At Botanic Gardens

Avs Game

Buzz Lightyear outside of Avs game

Last winter, Bryce wasn't very excited about the snow.  He didn't like the whole get-up of snowpants, boots, jacket....but this year is a whole different story.  Bryce even gets excited to drive out of the driveway because we get to "drive on snow".   He wakes up in the morning looking for snow and is so precious.  He really is growing up fast.  He also went to his first hockey game the other night.  We are part of a group called Game Time Memories that allows specials needs kids to attend professional sporting events and have a night out.  We had a great time watching the Avs with our new friend Erik.  Bryce also enjoyed all the music played between plays and wasn't too sure about the craziness when the Avs scored!  :)  We are enjoying this holiday season as everything is decorated beautifully and the wonderment in Bryce's eyes!  To see Christmas in the eyes of a child, makes Christmas so much better!  We are excited for next Christmas as well as we will have 2 little boys with eyes full of wonderment!

All bundled up for the snow

The issue of pain

Three years ago today, I came home from school with a pounding headache scared to even drive and went to bed promptly at 4:30.  To this day, that headache has never left.  Now I realize that there are so many greater ailments than headaches.  I know people that have suffered for years with pain that has debilitated them so they can't work, can't walk, can't drive, can't function....the list goes on and my heart goes out to them!  I understand their pain in going to doctor after doctor to only arrive at nothing.  I understand the frustration of realizing the life you had pre-pain is different.  I understand the struggles to understand God's sovereignty in all of this.  But I also understand realizing that pain is pain and life must go on! I realize how blessed I am that I can still function in my everyday life. I realize that maybe someday they will go away and I hold onto the hope that there may be that day.  But for now I realize that this is how my life is- with headaches.  I am thankful for doctors that have helped me identify some triggers to those big headaches and how to deal when they come.  Three years has been a long time, but I've come so far in understand the brain and diet and health and coping with everyday pain, and though the journey has been time consuming and difficult at times, I feel like I have learned so much.
A song that I always go to when I am feeling overwhelmed is the song by Laura Story called "Blessings" that was written after she found out her husband had brain tumors.  This is a song that I hold on to- though I don't understand why I was allowed to have this pain for three years, I know that in the midst of this God is teaching me and walking me through every step of the way and I need to find those blessings!

Laura Story's Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Another profession checked off the list

So as Danny and I have been remodeling this house, we are constantly checking off jobs we would not want to change our profession to such as being a tiler, dry wall hanger, vanity builder, the list goes on and on.  This weekend we checked off 2!  One is shed building in general. We bought a shed from Home Depot that said it was an easy project.  A lady online boasted she and her son had put in together in a day and since Danny and I feel we are handy (well mostly Danny) we decided we could do it!  Well  2 weekends later and countless aches and pains, we have finally completed the shed.  It is a nice shed and looks good- it still needs a little paint job before I post pics but it's pretty much done.  We never realized that it was going to be such a project to take on.  The last step we had to was roofing.  We have now had our roof done twice and I have seen those guys easily shimmy up there and nail on those shingles.  We found out that those guys have quite a talent. It is a hot and difficult job and doesn't really help that Danny is afraid of heights.  It took us FOREVER but it is finally done!  So we are able to check of home/shed builders and roofer off of things we could change our careers to :)

A little man

Bryce has always been such a chatty kid but now he's a little chatty boy.  He says phrases like "more milk please mom" and "help me please".  He loves to talk and is getting very good at expressing what he wants.  Granted some of the times means whining but we're working on it!  Recently he was taught "no way" and it was super cute until it became the only was he says no.  He doesn't understand how sassy it is but it drive me crazy when I ask him to finish eating his food and he replies, "No way".  We're working on "no thank you" now.  We have also observed that Bryce is very perceptive about a situation.  He is not the kiddo that jumps into something new but monitors the situation and evaluates what he should do next.  It's very cute to watch him with other kiddos and he will watch and think for a while before he joins in playing with them!  He also is at the stage of mimicking everything we do whether that be sneezing or sitting or reading.  If he sees Danny or myself do it, then he has to try as well.  

His dog is eating the bush

Family Family Family

In the past few weeks, we have seen more family members this summer than most.  Danny's sister's family came out, my parents, sister and cousins came out, and Danny's uncle and family came out.  We have absolutely loved seeing everyone.
Ashley and John came out with Kaden and Kolter.  Kolter is only 5 weeks younger than Bryce is it is hilarious to see them together!  Bryce would copy Kolter, and then Kolter would do what Bryce is doing until one got bored and then they would copy each other again.  Toddlers are hilarious together.  Bryce also had a good time playing with his older cousin Kaden who is one of the most advanced readers at his age.

We also had a short notice family reunion in the Black Forest with the Staffords.  We had a great picnic and then playing horseshoes, watched the cows, played/witnessed the longest game of frisbee and just had a good time hanging out!  Usually we only get to see each once a year or so but this was great to spend the day together!  

We took segregated pics of boys and girls!  :)

Loved singing and playing the piano with Aunti Jen

Then we had the Illinois Miller family come out.  Carson and Cailyn have never been to CO so it was fun to show them around.  We went on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park to Alberta Falls.  It was an easy hike and so much fun!  The falls were beautiful and Bryce loved looking for chipmunks and squirrels.  

Miller Family

Alberta Falls

I still can't believe that it is August and our summer is coming to a close.  Now we celebrate Danny and my birthday next week!

Adventures of Summer

Our summer has been busy with trips and events but realistically that's the way we like.  We went to a Rockies game with my aunt and uncle who were hosting a suite for the Children's Hospital.  We met a fabulous family who has a 5 year old kiddo named Jacob who has been in and out of the Children's Hospital all his life but what a sweet family!  Bryce's highlight was Dinger the Dino.  We have found out that Bryce has pretty keen eyesight as anywhere around the stadium he could find the lovable purple dinosaur.  Now when this dino came into the suite to say hello to the kiddos, Bryce freaked out.  He didn't want to go near Dinger.  Everyone had there pictures taken with Dinger and Bryce even timidly gave Dinger a pounder!  It was precious.  Then the rest of the game he continued to search for his favorite friend as long as he was tiny and in the distance!

Danny and I also took our first child free trip!  We went to Vail to celebrate our 5th anniversary while Aunt Sarah and Uncle Chris graciously took care of Bryce.  We happened to be in Vail during the BBQ festival with tons of fun street vendors- completely unplanned but wonderful!  We also took a hike and felt like true Coloradans!   

We also bought a push bike for Bryce.  We haven't quite made it around the block yet with pedaling but it's still fun!  We also spend our afternoons in the kiddie pool on our patio!  Oh summer fun!

5th year anniversary

Last weekend on May 27th, Danny and I celebrated being married 5 years together!  I remember when we first got married so many people said, "wait until 5 years then....."  and truly to this day I can't say that after 5 years is worse than day 1!  I think that 5 years is better than day 1 and I didn't think that was possible. I absolutely love being married to Danny and our lives have been wonderful since we met!  Here is just a condensed list of the things that have happened during the last 5 years ( in random order):

• Moved to St. Louis from Colorado Springs
• Moved from St. Louis to Denver
• Danny went to grad school at Wash U
• Danny went to grad school at CCU
• Rented a town home
• Bought a house
• remodeled almost the entire house
• Got a dog- Ike
• had to give the dog away :(
• Got a new dog- Benton
• Had a wonderful little boy *a highlight to our 5 years!
• witnessed Bryce growing up before our eyes into a little toddler now!
• Honeymooned in Jamaica
• Traveled to CA twice
• Traveled to KY, MO, WI, IL, KS and states to and from those places
• Had 4 cars- Jeep Liberty, Saturn, Altima, Jeep Cherokee
• Had 10 jobs amongst the 2 of us!  
• Been part of 3 churches
• Had more fun meals with friends and family that I can count
• Countless birthday parties, graduation parties, holidays, weddings, funerals, births.....the list goes on
• Have been blessed with a love that is beyond my dreams- Danny is the perfect husband for me and we make a wonderful team!  I thank God everyday for what a blessing my husband has been to me and how marvelous it is to have our little family together!

Bryce Jammin' Out

Bryce just recently started "singing".  He is rather a serious singer and mostly sings the blues. This is a video of him singing us some songs.  After each little song, he stops and  requests applause only to start another song again.

This is what happened when Bryce found the guitars for the wii.  The funny thing is that he knew exactly what to do with the guitar strap and every thing.  He is such a precious little boy!

Road Trip 2011

We went on our first road trip this March/April from Colorado to California to Arizona to New Mexico.  Danny had a bunch of alumni and donors from CCU that he needed to see so Bryce and I got to tag along!  We met up with Danny in Vegas, Bryce did excellent on the flight with me due to a bunch on Mickey Mouse stickers he could put all over!  We then drove to California to visit my sister.  Danny took a few vacations day and we went to San Diego and Sea World.  The minute we arrived in CA it was cold and rainy....of course.  The morning of Sea World was chilly and rainy but we brought the gear and the attitude to bear it all.  The best part was that about an hour in Sea World the rain stopped and it became an awesome day.  We watched the shows and rode the rides.  The best part that Bryce enjoyed were the pigeons.  We're sitting at the Shamu show watching the most spectacular show as a giant orca leaps into the air and Bryce is talking about a bird!

We also saw Big Bird and Elmo and rode some rides.  Bryce wasn't so sure about it all but we loved it!

We also spent some time at the beach.  Bryce loved all the sand and the sand pipers and sea gulls.  It was so much fun with Aunti Deb to play at Cornado Island.  We strolled around the island and played at a cute park.

Then we went to Disneyland.  Aunti Deb has a season pass so Danny and I were able to ride all the rides we wanted while Aunti Deb got quality time with Bryce.  Bryce loved running around but was just too young for the rides and cried or got scared on most!  :)  Even the silly little caterpillar one in Bug's Life made for kiddos!

If you do go to Disneyland with a tiny kiddo that can't ride the rides make sure you do the child swap passes. Two people are able to go on the ride while one person waits outside and you ask for a child swap card.  Once the first two people are done with the ride then you take the child swap card and get to go with the person who didn't go the first time. It's a fantastic idea for Disney!

  

Note the scared face...he burst into tears moments later

We sadly said good bye to Aunti Deb then drove to Arizona where Danny had some CCU work to do and then onto New Mexico.  In New Mexico, we ate the best BBQ at Rudy's and stayed at a great hotel shaped like a pyramid.  They had a mariachi band that played in the evening and Bryce was legitimately upset when he had to go to bed and couldn't watch them anymore!

It was a fantastic vacation and Bryce did wonderfully in the car!  I was impressed by his "road warrior" skills.  It was also nice to get some sun and see my sister!  

An update

Wow!  Time has flown and I can't believe that we are coming up on April already!

An update on the ever precious Bryce

• He is now running.  He would love to run all the time and tries figure out ways to get there faster than his little legs know how to move.
• He is hilarious.  He will do anything for a smile.  Make a funny face - our newest face is Bunny face.  He also loves to make animal noises upon request.
• He loves to give "high fives" and "pounders".  After every pounding of the knuckles, he says "boom" and causes us to laugh so hard!  He has also been seen on occasion giving himself a pounder.
• He can throw quite a tantrum.  He has become more and more attached to his monkey blanket but we are trying to limit it going everywhere with us.  When he can't take it in a store or restaurant, we get the screaming and hollering.  It only lasts a short time but the child has quite a set of lungs! 
• He loves stickers.  We only allow him to decorate people and paper but he loves it!  We were at the doctor the other day and she asked if he wanted a sticker.  He replied with an enthusiastic, "Yeah yeah yeah."
• He loves to talk on the phone and on skype.  People are becoming more important to him and he recognizes people in pictures when asked.
• He loves look and finds and in a series of Sesame Street books he can find the little black puppy before I can on most pages.  He also love to find Woody and Buzz from Toy Story in his other books.
• He loves to answer yes and no questions.  He answers yes to most questions but the mannerism in which he answers makes us want to believe his answers!
• He chats more with saying words like mon for monkey, ber for bird, yes, no and chattering along with the basic signs we taught him before he talked.  
• He is quite observant.  It actually is quite scary to how much he mimics Danny and myself.  He loves to do all the things Danny does in the morning and truly wants to be like his dad!
• He is the apple of our eye!  I never realized how much a child can bring life and joy into our lives.  He makes our lives so rich and always brings a huge smile to our faces!

Here are a few precious pics of our little guy.

such a reader

hanging out with his buddy Benton

Back in order

After a crazy, busy month of framing, drywalling, texturing, painting....the list continues our project is done!  We set out doing this project with our goal of being able to be done by Valentine's day and we met that goal!  This was by far our biggest undertaking of projects.  We were chatting last night about how we have both learned the most from this project and how the learning curve was quite high each day.  I now look at walls, ceilings and floors differently knowing the inner workings of how they went up!
Bryce loves his Nemo playroom and we love it as well as our house stays more organized with toys being confined to one room.  I have a desk in there to get all my work done and Danny has his desk in the basement.  We also now have a fun pantry and the washer and dryer closed off.  It is so nice! Here are just some finished product pictures!

before the drywall

drywall and paint

entertainment room and Danny's desk

to laundry room and pantry

my desk and playroom

Nemo on the walls

2 weeks down

The remodel job on our basement is going surprisingly well (knock on wood).  I have never really done a project like this, Danny has, but I never actually realized everything that goes into making a wall flat.  We have decided that is is crazy to think that our walls are just one piece of drywall!  We are now to the painting, installing trim and doors and the carpet comes on Tuesday!  YAY!  We are also very excited once the basement is done that we can make a playroom for Bryce.  He needs his own space and we can't wait.  Here are just some pics of the project so far

Remodeling

As most of you know, we bought a "fixer upper" house.  When we decided to buy this house 2 1/2 years ago, I don't really think we knew what we were getting into!  :)  We have remodeled both bathrooms, painted every wall, painted the ceilings, repainted walls, installed windows and fans, remodeled the kitchen, plumbing, putting in outlets, put in hardwood floors...the list continues.  Now I say this as "we" but we all know that it is Danny the handy man that does this all and I am his apprentice!  I am completely blessed to have a handy husband!  Now the saga continues with remodeling the basement.  We had a dear friend come help with the framing and now we are putting up the dry wall.  The other projects have been huge but this one is like starting from scratch and doing it all.  It also is a little more difficult this time having a mobile toddler who would like to help at all times but we're doing ok.  The drywall is going up and it's nice to see the progress daily.  Once we get done we will have a nice entertainment room in the basement and playroom for Bryce which will be so nice to have toys confined in ONE area....instead of taking over the house!  :)

Not so sure about the snow

We also are enjoying the warm days followed by snow days in CO.  Bryce isn't too sure about snow and doesn't like to be cold so playing in the snow is not his favorite thing yet.  He is getting so big and it's crazy how much he is learning.  His new thing is putting toys on tables in a line.  His reach is just at the top of the dining table and his toys usually end up there.  He's so funny with his toddler antics and we are constantly smiling at what joy he brings us.  He still only talks in jibberish with a mama, dada, this, that, and ack thrown in but he always has a lot to say!

lining up the toys

The holidays

Deavilles

Reading his Christmas story with Granny

We hope that everyone had a very blessed holiday this year!  We sure did!  We were able to see so many people this Christmas season as we had the Westermann crew up at our house on Christmas day and then the Deaville/Stafford crew up a few days later, only to end the holiday season with a trip to Missouri to see all the extended family!  This was our first big trip and Bryce's first flight.  I have to admit I was rather nervous about flying with Bryce and not being that family that has the screaming baby.  He did pretty well and we had nothing to be nervous about!  It was wonderful to see all of our family this Christmas and we are so blessed to have such great families.  Missouri was wonderful as we celebrated the wedding of Danny's cousin Kristin and Bryce was able to meet all his extended family. We got to share the weekend with Danny's sister Ashley who has two boys, one 3 and the other 5 weeks younger than Bryce.  Seeing Bryce and his cousins play together was priceless.  We were also able to catch up with some old friends the few days that we were in St. Louis and took Bryce to our old stomping grounds!  A piece of our hearts will always be in St. Louis!
We hope that you are finding 2011 a wonderful year!

Bryce's first wedding

Westermanns with Great Aunt Helen