Finally Some Good News

Things have been pretty crappy at our house lately, but we finally have some good news!

After working on it for several months, Alyssa has finally learned how to go down the stairs the right way! Woo hoo! No more falling (though she's only done that a couple of times)! She decided last week that she wanted to go down the stairs herself, so she tried it several ways and finally came to the conclusion that it was best to go down backwards. Now she has full reign of the house whenever she wants. Is this a good thing? Maybe.

In other good news, we took a family road trip last weekend. We trudged through L.A. traffic up to Carpinteria (near Santa Barbara) for Mike's cousin Thom's 40th birthday party. We had a blast. We hadn't seen that side of the family in several years, so it was really good to see them and catch up. The birthday party was so much fun (Thom has the funniest and nicest friends), the hotel was really nice, and we had a great morning and lunch catching up with Thom and his mom. Besides the traffic, the trip was perfect. We'll have to do another road trip soon (though next time we'll try to avoid the L.A. traffic).

I've started my PACT (Performance Assessment for California Teachers), which is basically another thesis. This means I'm nearing the end of the Intern program, and I'm so excited to get my Thursday nights back (I've spent one LONG night each week in class for the last two years) and get my official teaching credential. The PACT is due May 5, so I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm shooting to be done by spring break, so it may even be sooner than that. Unfortunately, there is a LOT of work to do between here and there. Mike has been home on disability for a while, since he hurt his ankle. He's been an amazing Mr. Mom through this ridiculous amount of work I'm doing. I couldn't do it without him.

We're nearing the end of the adoption. The papers were signed this weekend and Alyssa has officially been placed with us! I know, it's been a long time, but this adoption has hit road block after road block. We've pushed through and are now finishing it all up. The final reports should be filed by early next week, and then we should be able to schedule a court date to finalize. We're anxious to have this over with and have Alyssa be officially ours!!!

Post-Holiday Craziness

Things have been pretty crazy around our house the last few weeks. Here's the short version:

- Grandma came home on New Year's Eve, with hospice support

- Alyssa started in a new daycare center on January 4

- Grandma passed away on January 7

- Alyssa was sick FOREVER (ok, maybe 2 weeks), working through all of the fun new germs she picked up at daycare

- Mike and I are trying to figure out how to be a family again without grandma; we've been living with and caring with her for 5 years, so it's going to take some time to figure out what our new normal is

- Grandma's funeral was January 14, where I sang a solo (she had asked me to sing at her funeral way back in high school)

- Last week, Mike and I finally picked up the worst of Alyssa's bugs and had a horrible stomach flu

- I spent Saturday night in the ER with what I thought was appendicitis; turns out I have a 40mm (that's almost 2 inches!!!) hemorragic cyst on my right ovary

When it rains, it pours. All I'm asking for is a sunny forecast. Bring on the sun!!!

Holiday Travels

During our Christmas break, we took a trip to Utah to visit family and friends. Here are some highlights of our trip:

- Alyssa had her first (and second) plane ride; thanks to Benadryl, it was a success
- One or more of us was sick the ENTIRE trip, so we ended up mostly staying home and resting

- Because we were sick, we didn't get to see the majority of the people we went up to see

- Mike's brother got married to an awesome woman and now, between the two families, they have 7 kids (Russ has 3 and Kat has 4 - holy mackerel!)

- We found a REALLY good Japanese restaurant in Park City (and it was really cold up there too)

- Right before we left, there was a HUGE blizzard (the normally 40-minute drive to the airport took over 2 hours)

- Because of the blizzard, Mike got stuck in Utah an extra three days and missed New Year's Eve at home

Maybe our next trip will be more successful. Oh well, it was fun anyway and we enjoyed the time to relax. Now back to real life...

Merry Christmas from the Brimleys

Merry Christmas from the Brimley Family

We have had a busy year: Alyssa turned 1, Jenny started teaching full-time, and Mike started working a second job as a Realtor. We are thoroughly enjoying our Christmas vacation in Utah (though it's too cold!) and are looking forward to being home for New Year's. We wish you the best that Christmas and the New Year has to offer. Happy Holidays!

Happy First Birthday, Alyssa!!!

Alyssa is now officially one year old!!! And man, has it been a whirlwind year.

Alyssa is now walking (and usually running), has 16 teeth, and is 1 going on 16. She's got quite the spunky personality and is a barrel of laughs. She loves playing with older kids and trying to keep up with them. She'll be going to preschool starting in January, and we're sure she's going to love that.

We celebrated with family and a few friends and had a whale of a time! Here's a little taste of the fun...

Hanging out with Grandma...

Opening presents...

Oh wonderful cake...

"Alyssa, you want some cake?"

"Yes, I think I'll have some of cousin David's."

And he wasn't too happy about it.

She ate her WHOLE piece of cake all by herself.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing.

Happy Halloween!

Love,

The Pumpking Patch Family (aka the Brimleys)

Playing With Daddy