September!

September is generally a busy month for us. But, this year we added a new item to the calendar. 1st day of school.

Our little dude starts preschool today. I've got a bunch of mixed feelings. I'm excited for him to meet new people, learn new things and to grow more independent (if that's even possible for this little guy). But, damn, it's hard. I've always known, trusted and loved whoever he was being watched by. I know who he hangs out with. The people also know me, they know our house runs a bit differently than most and they don't judge us, try to change us, or punish my kids for being themselves. That is what I'm struggling with. I believe children must have manners and show respect and not be little asshats throwing fits. We also embrace our kids personalities, and enjoy the funny things they say and do. I'm certain some of these things will not go over well in school, and it's just something we'll learn to adapt to. We don't lie to our children, and we are ourselves all the time. We do not believe in hiding that we enjoy having wine and beer, and we don't censor our language. This is the way we are, I want my children knowing me, not an uptight, hidden version of me. So, sending him somewhere that's generally not acceptable will be interesting to say the least. We've met his teacher Miss Debbie, she seems pretty cool and loves her job. I'm going to keep an optimistic outlook and hope she can see the beauty in my child the way we do.

Happy 1st day of school my awesome little guy. Don't let anyone ever dull your light, you're a beautiful person inside and out and I wouldn't change anything about you!

Shit, I hope there's a bottle of vino chilling in the fridge!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!!!

Ok, ok... So, it's almost Rex's birthday and I'm now just getting around to writing about Alison's birthday.

Starting to wish I was better at the scrapbooking stuff so at least you kids would have something to look back on. But, it is what it is!

I knew Alison was going to have a great 1st birthday. I also knew that this party was more for me than it was for her, since she wont remember it! We threw a nice party for Rex's first as well and knew this had to be just as good! And it was. Her birthday way AMAZING! All the important people in her life were able to attend, she was happy and of course spoiled!

I had gotten a dress while in SLC when I was still pregnant. I had decided that would be her 1st birthday dress. So, then I needed a theme. The dress has a Parisian scene on the bottom so Paris was chosen as the theme. I started shopping and planning early. Like usual! And as usual, I probably went a little overboard. But Daddy was so nice just letting be do whatever. Rex helped a lot and was excited when packages were delivered for "My baby girls birthday" (that is what he calls her now, it's so sweet)

We are so thankful to have our little "Chuggy" she's so full of personality! She's very smart, stubborn, LOUD, silly and of course loving. She babbles a lot, but is able to stay a few words. She still only had 2 teeth! Which sort of sucks, because she wants to eat whatever we are having and it's not always an option with only 2 little teeth. Her brother is her favorite person. I think he always will be, they have a heartwarming bond that makes me thankful and happy every single day.

Love my babies so much. What a great life!

Here's a few photos of the party Becky took before the party started!

Testing... Testing... Is this still on??

Ok. So before when I said I was really slacking, yeah, now I reallllly have missed a bunch of time. It's been 6 months since Grandpa Don passed away and this is the first time in 2014 that I'm blogging. Wow. Sorry about that kiddos.

I really do feel bad I haven't kept up with this as much as I want to. Jadon's first year is much  better documented than Alison's. I feel guilty for that. I don't know if this will make sense to anyone besides me, and that's ok....with Jadon, we didn't think we'd ever have a child and held strongly to every 1st and waited anxiously for each new milestone. With Alison, my cheery on top, again, we thought we'd never have another child and here we are with another beautiful person. How truly blessed are we?!? This time, I know she is my last child and I KNOW how fast everything goes and just how fast babies grow, learn, and gain independence. I love watching my kids grow and learn, it's really amazing. But, I know it all goes so damn fast. And I just wanna keep her little, a little longer. With Rex we always encouraged him to crawl, walk, do whatever as soon as possible. And now we know, they will grow, they will learn, they will crawl, they will walk, they will talk all in their own time and there's no reason to rush it along. It already goes by way too damn fast. It makes me a little sad. Sad that I rushed my boy along to all of his 1st's as an infant and sad that I haven't documented Alison's because I am in some sort of denial that she's no longer a tiny baby that needs her mommy constantly.

Our baby Alison will be 1 next month. This past year has been one of the most challenging in some aspects, but also the happiest. Seeing my babies smile, love and interact warms my heart and soothes my soul of whatever ails it. My favorite thing right now is to say to Rex "I love you!" because I know right after he will say in a voice of love and sincerity that I hope to always remember "I love you too Mom" When his baby Alison cries he is right there to sooth her, or offer ideas as to what he thinks she wants or needs "I think Alison needs her baba" Alison loves her brother so much. She calls for him, she can actually almost say "brother" so if he or her daddy are not within eyesight of her you'll be hearing her call out for them. And as soon as she see's them her little face lights up with joy. It's simply amazing.

I don't want to get into any of the not so awesome parts of the year, not that I don't acknowledge them, but I do not feel like writing about it right now. Right now I'm counting my blessings and I know the trials have made me appreciate them.

If you haven't gathered, I am a little sad my baby's first year is almost here. She will no longer be considered a "baby" (well, that is to anyone except me, my children will always be my babies). So, to take the sting away we will be having an awesome Parisian themed party for her. I love my children's birthday's. I really do. I like to plan them and make invitations and enjoy the friends and family who get to celebrate with us. So much fun. That's what I'm getting to do now. I have already started planning, the invitations have been made and are in the process of being delivered. The location has been selected and booked. Her outfit is chosen, Carrie has even made her a custom bow to match. Now, it'll be time to put all the plans in action. Only 1 month left until the party!!

Hope everyone is doing well! Love you all!
D

Grandpa Don

So, I have been putting off writing on here for a couple months. I've thought about it several times, but hadn't been able to bring myself to actually do it.

Grandma and Grandpa Survis moved in with us about a year ago. Shortly after Grandpa had a heart attack. It was getting harder for Grandma to take care of him and since neither of them drove Dad had been taking them everywhere they needed to go anyhow and we were bringing them dinners on a somewhat regular basis. Also, we didn't know how much time Grandpa had left and Grandma Sharon didn't ever want to live alone. So we decided it was time that we all just live together. That was October 2012 - a couple weeks before we found out I was pregnant with Alison.

It's really made things work out a lot better. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it's been a little rough. But all in all it's one of the best decisions we've ever made. Rex loved to go downstairs and visit Grandpa. He called him Ox-y Man because he was on oxygen. Rex would go down in the morning and help grandpa eat his cinnamon toast with peanut butter on it.He'd help grandpa all the time by making sure he had his oxygen on and would carry the line around for him and help him up and down the stairs. It's really heartwarming to see such kindness in a child. Grandpa loved baby Alison too, he would always talk to her and say she's so beautiful and such a good baby.

Grandpa did really well for the first about 10 months. But the last couple months his mind was really slipping and he wasn't able to get around as much and just was having a hard time in general. Around the 1st part of November he had some back pain and wasn't feeling well so Dad took him to the hospital. They said he had a kidney infection and sent him home with meds but also on hospice since it was increasingly harder for grandma to care for him. So they nurses would come over a few times a day to help him shower and give him meds and make sure he was doing ok.

On November 18th we came home from work and grandma said that grandpa had a small stroke so he wasn't really able to talk or to get out of bed. We had dinner and then daddy went and checked on him and he was peacefully sleeping. The next morning grandma came upstairs and asked dad to come check on grandpa again. He was still peaceful, but no longer with us. He had passed away sometime during the night. The days after are so much of a blur.  Trying to tell our 3 year old that his grandpa ox-y man wasn't with us anymore was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It took a few days for Rex to really "get" it. We were all able to say goodbye & Rex told him he loved him lots. We had a really nice party to celebrate his life and for people to talk and share stories about was a great guy he was. I hope Rex, being so young, will have a few memories of his Grandpa Ox-y Man.

This is what daddy had to say about his dad...
"Yesterday, I lost someone in my life that I greatly respected and loved. While we may have never done what many would consider normal father/son activities, he was one of the greatest influences of my life, and am grateful for everything that he has done for me and taught me. His personality was magnetic, I have never met another person that people gravitated towards more so than my father. He had a charm about him that people loved, and would genuinely be happy to see and talk to. I know many of my friends growing up considered him a second father and I know he will be missed by them a great deal. I'm very glad that he was able spend time laughing and playing with my son and daughter over this past year and I know they will miss him very much. One of the most important things instilled in me while growing up was the importance of a family sitting around the dinner table sharing a meal together. I will truly miss sitting around the dinner table laughing, joking and discussing how the day had went. I love you and will miss you so very much you will always be in my thoughts and heart." - Chad 
  Also here is the obituary...
Donald William Survis 8/6/26 - 11/19/2013
Don Survis, 87, passed away Tuesday, November 19 comfortably in his sleep at his residence. He was the first of seven children born to Charles and Mildred Survis of West Bend, WI.

Don joined the Air Force and became a pilot in World War II. He loved planes and told great stories about his time in the service. After he was honorably discharged, he married Darlene and together they had six children; Bruce, Cynthia, Karen, Trudy, Michelle, and Mary.

In May of 1979, he married the love of his life Sharon in Las Vegas, NV. They have two sons; Cody and Chad. He enjoyed his family, painting, watching football, and spending time at the casinos.

He is survived by his loving wife Sharon, sons; Cody and Chad, and grandchildren; Jordyn, Jadon, Aspyn, and Alison. He is preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, one sister, and one daughter.

---

I'm sorry this post is rambling, and just a mess... but I just knew it was time to write about him now that we've made it through the holidays. I will post about those soon. 

Love you Don! Thank you for raising the amazing man I'm proud to call my husband and father to my children.

Lots of love,

D

My thoughts...

First of all I need to say we have a new member of the family!! Michael and Simi's daughter Mersadie was born Oct 25th! She's adorable and we're so excited for them and I can't wait to get my hands on her and give her lots of love. It's fun that she and Alison are only 4 month apart! I'm happy with the decisions we've made, life isn't easy. Being able to be a part of Simi & Mersadie's lives confirms that and I'm glad I followed my heart by sticking by Simi when she choose to follow her own heart. I love Simi very much, and Michael and his whole family have been nothing but wonderful to us. I wish them all a lifetime of happiness.

This brings me to my next point. It's Halloween today, which means it's the start of the holiday season. It's such a conflicting time for me. There is so much about this time of year that I love but other parts of it just don't feel right to me. I love the weather changing, the smell and feel of a brisk morning. The fresh smell of rain on a winter day. Wearing comfy, warm sweaters. Cuddling close with loved ones. Spending lots of time and making memories with family and friends. Eating amazing meals and treats thoughtfully made by people close to us. Enjoying drinks, fun and laughter with everyone! It really is fun! Thanksgiving is my favorite, we all know that! After that it gets a bit tricky for me...

I do not look forward to the materialistic part of the holidays. I hate thinking we don't have enough money to buy things for everyone or that we can't buy enough "stuff" and really, why is it so damn materialistic?!? Also we are not religious so my views on Jesus and whatnot are totally different than the way Christmas is celebrated. I don't think Jesus would want us all pretending there is a Santa who gives all the rich kids everything they want but the poor children get very little or get whatever is donated. Such bullshit. And now there's this elf of the shelf who watches your kids and tells Santa if you're being good? Umm no... I can't bring myself to participate in it. I place a very high value on telling my children the truth, even if it's hard sometimes. So, we will not be having Santa or the stupid Elf thing either. My mom finds this appalling, she says we're taking the fun out of it. I say we're just going to celebrate in our own way. But we haven't came up with exactly how yet. I want our children to know the value of helping others in need. For several years we have participated in the Angel Tree program as a way to give to those in need. So I think if we explain to our kids that Christmas is about a really cool guy named Jesus who always wanted to do good things for people they will be ok with that. Maybe they can pick a tag off the tree and pick out things for the kids who don't have warm jackets or toys. And to be grateful for whatever anyone has given them no matter what the cost. I hug and a smile is a wonderful gift and doesn't cost anything. I want them to celebrate family, friends, happiness and love. Not an Xbox or whatever fancy new overpriced toy is out. I don't think this will screw them up or take the fun out of the holidays. At least I hope not. I hope my children will respect the choice we made and know it wasn't the easy way. By the way, this goes for the Easter bunny too... but that's for a different time!

Those are my thoughts! :-) I have a lot to catch up on, like our vacation! Woohoo!! And how fast my babies are growing baby chugalug is 4 months old already!! Ahh... ok maybe I can post that all soon with some Halloween photos!

Lots of love
D

Happy Birthday Rex!!!!

Rex knows his birthday is "September 6th" - he really probably has no idea what that means but it's cute he knows. And he knew he wanted a Micky Mouse birthday party. So when I was prepping things for Simi's Baby shower which was Minnie Mouse he would keep asking me "for my Micky Mouse birthday party?!" it was really funny.

Grandma and Grandpa Brogan had bought him his really cool big boy car bed a couple months ago as an early birthday gift. He LOVES his new bed, it's pretty cool! They still ended up spoiling him at his birthday party with a few little gifts and a couple outfits too.

We had the party at the Bunkerville park and splash pad again this year. All the kids love to be able to run and play in the water. It was pretty windy though so everything kept trying to blow away! Rex had a blast though and got totally spoiled! He loved playing with all his friends and eating fruit and cookies and then opening gifts.

Happy birthday to our big boy!! We love you so very, very much. You are an amazing person and we are so lucky to have you as our son. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives!

Oh the day before we went to the Dr to get both kiddos shots (Rex did amazing and didn't even cry!) so after the Dr we went to Olive Garden for lunch and they sang him happy birthday. It was really cute!

Happy Birthday Baby Alison!!

Dr Ofori had told me week ago that he's seen cases like mine go full term, so much so that they ended up inducing. We sort of laughed, we didn't think I would make it to term after all these weeks of contractions. But at my 38 week visit he stripped my membranes and streatched my cervix from 3cm to 4cm and we all thought we'd be meeting Alison soon! Then we waited, and waited and timed contractions (as I had done so very often) and did kick counts and I bounced on a yoga ball and tried to go for walks... NOTHING! Another week went by and I was 39 weeks 2 days pregnant and my appointment 6/25/2013. After my non-stress test Dr checked me and I was still at 4cm but baby was still high up and he asked me what I wanted to do. I said "I want to have this baby!" after so many weeks of bed rest, non-stress tests, Dr & hospital visits  and endless worry this momma was sooo done being pregnant. So to our surprise he called over to the hospital and then said "Ok, head on over. I'll see you in a few hours!"

I was happy I had Chad put the hospital bag in the car before we left that day. So we got over to the hospital and checked in and went upstairs to L&D at about 10:30am. It was weird just walking in there and not feeling like I was in labor like I had all the other times! This also marked the 10th hospital visit for this pregnancy! I changed into my "pretty-pusher" gown that I had bought. It was super comfy and I was so happy to have it. I just wish I had ordered it sooner and could've worn it during other visits instead of their terrible gowns! Anyhow - it was about 11am when I got all settled in and they had my all hooked up to monitors and the IV of fluids and started the Pitocin. The contractions started up pretty quick, they were not too painful for a while. Our nurse Sally (total sweetheart!!) kept asking if I was OK or if I was ready for the Epidural. I waited it out for a few hours and they kept turning up the Pitocin. Eventually at about 2pm I decided it was time for the Epidural as the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. The Epi ended up in my veins on the 1st try so they had to redo it. Then it worked and I was a happy person. Sally checked me again at about 3pm and I was still at 4cm almost a 5. We figured it was going to be a long day. Then about an hour later (4pm) I was feeling a lot of pressure and my contractions were going off the chart so Sally checked again and to everyone's surprise I was complete at 10cm! She called Dr & I texted our photographer who was waiting for me to get to about 6 or 7cm before heading to the hospital. She told me there was no way she could make it in time. Dr said he was going to finish up seeing the patients and then be over to deliver.

At this point even with the Epidural I was getting somewhat uncomfy and was ready to push. But we had to wait for Dr. I asked Sally to call him again and tell him to hurry!! He came over right about 5pm. I was SOOO happy to see him. I knew we were very close to meeting this baby! My mom and Chad were ready to help me push. I was really concerned with Alison's heartbeat kept dipping and I was getting stressed. It was time to push and get her out and meet her. I pushed for about 15 min and at 5:17pm there she was, healthy, crying and beautiful. Dr put her on my chest and Chad cut her cord. She cried and even had tears in her beautiful blue eyes. The nurses took her away to be checked out and washed up. She weighed 6lbs 2oz and 19inches long. Happy birthday to you baby Alison! Welcome to the family!!