Just another Sunday morning

Aubrey Telling Mommy "No"

Aubrey walking!!

Tyler and daddy playing baseball

An Interview With Tyler

Click here for...Tyler's Interview!

Some Pictures and Updates

Wow! My baby girl is 7 months already! She's the happiest girl! She has been crawling everywhere for the past month and a half and she also pulls herself up to standing and walks along furniture! One other thing, she's a complete mommy's girl - as soon as I walk in the room, she is all about me! Not a bad thing though! She's also still completely enamored with her brother...she loves watching Tyler. Even when Tyler does something mean to her, she smiles at him with pure admiration. I love watching the love between them!! Here's a picture from her 7 month birthday!!

In the beginning of December, all three families got together. Here is a picture of us with Papou, Nana, and Uncle Brian.
It was so nice to see Alan's mom, Cheri. She hadn't been up for a visit in about 6 months, and the kids really enjoyed spending the weekend with her. Here's a picture of us, Uncle Brian, and Grandmommy!
This picture is a little older...from Thanksgiving. Auntie Mel came home for the extended weekend. This was also the last family picture taken at my parents house - they have finally moved into my grandma's house after a complete remodel. It looks amazing and it is so nice not to have to schlep up the three flights like we used to have to at their condo. Auntie Mel comes back tomorrow for another week visit!
The picture at the top of the blog was our holiday card picture this year. It came out pretty good considering we had to get two kids to look at the camera at the same time and "somewhat" smile. It was all worth it though as these are priceless memories! The picture below is of Tyler and Aubrey. Tyler wore his "work shirt" - he calls it that because Alan wears button down shirts when he goes to work. Tyler's love for Alan is too cute - anything Alan does, Tyler tries to emulate. Tyler helps Alan take out "Daddy's garbage from Daddy's backyard!" Just as well, I hate the garbage and any work that involves the backyard anyway! He says the funniest sentences - and I mean sentences. The things he says are too cute and so advanced! Tyler continues to be a great big brother as he just turned 2.5. He also is still swimming weekly in lessons and is doing superb. Aubrey has also started and she is a little fish - loving the water!

Looking forward to a healthy, happy 2011! Here's to a great year!!

Catching Up!!

So it's been about 4 months since I wrote...

July - My grandma died July 4th. We all miss her very much. Tyler talks about his "Great Bubbie" a lot and how now she is in heaven. He really has no idea what this means, other than that the reason she isn't at her house whenever we go there (my parents are in the process of buying it to live there) that is the reason he gives. We were very close to my grandma and we miss calling her to tell her all of the kids milestones or anytime one of them is sick as she loved hearing about them! We will certainly miss all of the hats she knitted, although both kids have enough and enough sizes to last them another year!

August - My parents took us on a family trip to San Diego, including Auntie Mel. We had a blast! Alan unfortunately couldn't come because of work (he took 2.5 weeks when Aubrey was born, then he was on a jury for a week). Tyler loved the airplane (airpane) rides, but the highlight was meeting Elmo at Sea World! We went to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, and downtown San Diego. We even fit in a trip to see Alan's grandma and cousins in San Diego. Going back to work in mid-August and trying to get back into the routine of things with a newborn and a 2 year old took some getting used to! It was very hard to go to work and leave them. Tyler was used to me being home since May and the thought of leaving Aubrey all day made for a hard first couple of weeks of work. Getting out the door in the morning was VERY hard logistically. Alan and I had to figure out who was going to pack the lunches, who was going to clean and get the pump and supplies ready for me for work, who was going to shower and when, etc. And...that's with leaving both kids at home since our parents come to our house to watch the kids. I can't imagine getting both of them out the door and us! We've slid into a routine now and we are like a well oiled machine these days - though at least once a week my mom will see the car turn around and one of us walk back in the house forgetting a lunch or a pump!

September and October - Aubrey, my mom, and I went to visit Melanie in LA and check out her new condo she bought and where she works. We stayed the night at her hotel - The Marriott at LA Live - it was fabulous! We also took a trip to Monterey and the aquarium which was a nice weekend getaway! Trips to the Discovery Museum and the pumpkin patch were highlights! Also see below for Alan's big 3-0 birthday weekend!

Catching up with Tyler:

Tyler keeps us laughing and on our toes at all times! He is a sweet 2 year old who loves his baby sister to no end. Each morning he wakes up and asks "Where's my baby sister?" He loves to sit with her in his lap and "pet" her and tell her "Aubrey so cute!" These are the times that melt our hearts, especially since the love is mutual. On the other hand, Tyler doesn't like that Aubrey now can pick up toys and eat them as he thinks she shouldn't have them. It's a battle trying to get him to sometimes just leave her alone, though we know it's only because he loves her. There are the times where we see him being a little too rough with her, which we know he is doing purposefully because he misses the one on one attention. Overall, though he's a great big brother! Tyler recognizes all the letters of the alphabet and if he sees letters he instantly tells you what letter it is. We'd like to attribute it to Sesame Street and Super Why, but Grandpa also works with him during the days...He knows his birthday: my birthday june 9th. Speaking of which, Tyler says the funniest things:

• I have idea, how bout I get my big hammer.
• Mommy: You can't use the airplane because it needs batteries. Tyler: Daddy needs to use his flathead screwdriver, not the Phillips one mommy.
• As mommy is carrying Tyler down the stairs from his room in the morning: Be careful with me mommy on the stairs.
• And soooo many more I can't even remember them!
  

Catching up with Aubrey:

Aubrey is growing and changing so fast, it makes me sad. I say that as I am about to put away her Bumbo, her infant playmat, and take out all of her 9 month clothes as her 6 month ones are too small. I remember when I couldn't even imagine her in 9 months as I sorted her clothes when she was a newborn. Then I stop myself and think she'll never be as small as she is today, so just enjoy the time today! She's 5 months and is super advanced - so we like to think. She loves to eat her food! Rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, apples, pears, everything! She has been sitting up for the past two weeks. She scooches clear across the room - almost crawling as she gets up on all fours. She can go from scooching to sitting all by herself! Her favorite thing to do by far, is to watch her big brother. She follows him around with her eyes, and he puts a smile on her face just by hearing his voice in the room. I can tell they are going to be best of friends!

Catching up with Alan and Candace:

Last weekend we celebrated Alan's 30th birthday. For the past couple of years he has said he wanted to go to Vegas with all of his friends. So...we went! We left the kids behind with the grandparents for the 36 hours we went and had an amazing time with our friends, Emily, Mike, David, Brad, Nigel, and his brother, Brian. We stayed at the brand new Planet Hollywood Towers and got upgraded to an amazing two bedroom suite. We had a kitchen, dining room, projection screen to watch tv (the Giants playoff games), a hot tub in our room, and a view of the strip. We went to see the Amazing Johnathan (which wasn't my type of show) but Alan had a fabulous time! He also won $1700 gambling!! Not too bad!! Even better, it was his idea to put it into our savings account!

Tyler Turns Two & Aubrey's Baby Naming

This past Sunday, 6/13, we had two special events in our backyard. We were lucky enough to have both family and friends to share in our children's special day with them. Tyler had an "Elmo" birthday party which he thoroughly enjoyed. He especially loved the squirt guns, water buckets, and water balloon toss. Do you get a sense yet how much Tyler loves water?? We can't believe our little boy is already two! Where does the time go?

After Tyler's 2nd birthday party, we took off the Elmo tablecloths and put out the pink. It was time for Aubrey's baby naming. We shared with our friends and family how we chose Aubrey Delilah's name. Here is what we shared:

Aubrey – (Read by Alan Droutsas) – We have chosen to honor my grandfather, my mom’s father Adrian Adams, by naming Aubrey after him. My grandfather had many wonderful traits that we hope to see in Aubrey as she grows and matures. He was at heart a man who loved and highly valued family, and was an ardent supporter of the local community and public school system. He demonstrated hard work and dedication by graduating law school, working briefly as an FBI agent, working as an intelligence office in the army in WWII, practicing law and later becoming a superior court judge in LA county. He instilled in my mother, and through her to me, a love of reading and learning that I plan on passing on to Aubrey and encouraging her to pursue throughout her life. And of course for those who knew and loved my grandfather, we cannot forget his sense of humor and love of life.

Delilah – (Read by Sandy Backman) – Candace and Alan chose their daughter’s middle name, Delilah, after my grandmother, Doris Sarver. Doris would be Aubrey’s great, great grandmother. Candace’s great grandmother, whom she called "Grannanny" was truly the strongest person I have ever met. She suffered more than anyone should ever have to. She lost her husband, Sam, when he was in his early 40's, her first daughter, Idalene, when Idalene was in her late 20's and her only other daughter, my mother, Beverly, died when she was 45 years old. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to lose your spouse and your kids and still be able to move on with life and live another 13 years, and still make the world better each day she lived. She was a fighter with a capital F. She was also a very loving and emotional person. It would not take much for her to shed some tears about anything that was either beautiful or sad. I think Candace and I have definitely inherited this trait. She was a very spiritual person. She loved Judaism and lived a clean, honest life in a very positive way. I am thrilled that you have chosen to honor Doris by naming your daughter after her. I know Aubrey Delilah will possess many of the wonderful traits that my grandmother had. She will be strong, giving, loyal, spiritual, and someone who is loved by everyone she touches.

Eliana – (read by Candace Droutsas) - In Hebrew, Eliana starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, just as Aubrey starts with the letter A. We chose Aubrey’s Hebrew name, based on the meaning. Eliana means “God has answered.” God definitely answered our prayers by blessing us with the daughter we always dreamed of having. She is healthy and beautiful and has already brought much joy to us both.

We are truly honored to be Aubrey’s parents and can’t wait to watch her grow up and possess the many amazing qualities of the people she was carefully named for.

Below is a picture of two of my work friends with Aubrey and I. We all had our oldest children two years ago and they were all boys. We now all had baby girls recently. Hilary had Penelope (on the left) on May 25th and Jenni had Summer in April. It's so nice to be experiencing the same thing with people I see everyday, especially since we all have 2 yr old boys and infant girls!

Aubrey Delilah Droutsas

On Wednesday, May 19th, Aubrey Delilah was born at 3:04 am. She is 6lbs 7oz and 19 inches long. Aubrey decided that she wasn't going to wait until 9am for her scheduled c-section, but instead wanted her mommy to experience true labor with contractions and all before going in for the c-section.

During the c-section the doctor discovered I had a ton of scar tissue and it was connected to my uterus and bladder. During the surgery they needed to cut it out and cauterize the tissue. They say that with every c-section scar tissue gets worse, however this was a lot for someone who had only had one child. The doctor worked on the scar tissue and separating the uterus/bladder for an extra 45 minutes. The next four days there was complications with my bladder and uterus working on their own again. There was just so much damage inside there that it is going to take weeks to heal. On Sunday, our fifth day in the hospital, we were discharged from the hospital. Having a third child would mean that the surgery would be very complicated, somewhat risky, and the recovery even more so...we'll see what the future holds...

We are enjoying our time at home being a family of four. Alan has the next two weeks off and is an amazing father and husband. With my recovery taking so long, he is watching both kids, taking amazing care of me, and doing a lot of things around the house, along with my mom. I don't know how I could ever do it without help!

Last week before our little girl comes!

Friday was my last day of work! I'm now 38 weeks pregnant and it was time to stop working. I was making the principal very nervous that I was still working and every time I saw him or asked him something, he'd start off with "You're not in labor are you?" My students and their parents threw the other fourth grade teacher (who is also my friend and due the same time as me) a little shower. It was very cute. On Friday, the kids were all so excited for me and made me promise them to email all of them "right when I have the baby with pictures and her name." They are really cute and so excited - their name suggestions are even more hilarious, since they all want her named after them, of course! I'm really looking forward to this week off before the baby comes next week - it will be nice to spend this time with Tyler before the baby comes and is a part of his life. Today we had gymnastics class, but since it requires parent involvement, Da (grandpa) joined us as I watched from a chair!

The baby is growing perfectly this time, thus the reason I will have a full term baby and not a preemie, like Tyler. 2 weeks ago she already weighed 5lbs 7oz, which is a pound more than Tyler weighed when we brought him home from the hospital! My scheduled c-section is Wednesday, May 19th. I'm hoping she'll come earlier though. I'm quite uncomfortable, can't sleep (yes, I know I won't be sleeping when the baby comes home either!), and feel huge! Every movement is a huge chore! Alan's been an amazing dad and husband, pretty much doing everything! Here's a cute video of Tyler and daddy taking out the trash!

My baby is no longer a baby, but a big boy with a huge vocabulary who sleeps in a big boy bed, who's going to be 2 next month. And now I'm having another baby, who Tyler is very excited about at this point! We can't wait for next week to meet our baby girl and start another chapter in our lives. We are so very lucky for all we have and truly are blessed!