Merry Christmas from our family to yours! May you have a blessed 2011!

Winter Park Colorado

We just got home from Colorado and we had an AMAZING time. I really needed this vacation and enjoyed spending time with the family and children. I had a chance to bond with Madison even more over this past week. It makes me so happy yet so sad to think that I have to go back to the real world tomorrow. This month and year has gone by so fast! We went to Winter Park this past Tuesday and had the best time. We stayed at Trademark. I definitely recommend this condo as we stayed in the most beautiful condo with everything we could possibly need and then some. Here is a link to their website: http://www.accesswinterpark.net/

We spent 2 fabulous days skiing and enjoyed delicious food prepared by Brad. We got to go on a sleigh ride as a family and enjoyed hot chocolate around the camp fire. We spent the last night at a cajun restaurant and celebrated Brad and his dad's birthday. The kids could not have been better sports. We have decided to nickname Maddie "Trooper" because she was always so good and easy going even through some of the coldest conditions. Everything could not have been better. It was definitely an experience that we will never forget and I feel so very blessed that we were able to take this vacation together. Here are some pictures from our wonderful trip.

God's amazing creation:

The Holidays are here!

Thanksgiving was so much fun and I am so blessed to have such an amazing family. We enjoyed our time together and look forward to the Christmas holidays! We have decided to go to Winter Park this holiday season with the kids and family to see some real snow. We are so excited to get away and cannot wait to help Brayden make his first snowman! Pictures to follow.

Speaking of holidays, I LOVE this Holiday Guide from TomKat Studios: http://issuu.com/tomkatstudio/docs/tomkatstudiogiftguide?utm_source=Project+Nursery+Newsletter&utm_campaign=73d47b3de5-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

There are so many great ideas of cool gifts to buy your loved ones this holiday season.

My Photo Book Nov 01 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

Love That Chicken Fried

As a family, we enjoy listening to music. Lately country has been our preference and we usually will have it on while we are eating or just hanging out with the kids. Last night we were listening to "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band and all of a sudden we hear Brayden singing along to the words..."Love that Chicken fried...cold beer on a friday night!" Then he proceeds to ask Brad if when he gets older if he can drink beer! He sounded so innocent and sweet, it made us laugh so hard.

Maddie is growing more and more each day. She is trying to pull herself up to sit and wants to crawl away during tummy time. She laughs and laughs and makes me grin from ear to ear. I try to make sure to spend as much time with her as possible and sometimes it is hard with her 7:30pm bedtime. Juggling it all has been hard some days, but Brad has been so helpful with the kids and I appreciate him so much.

I took on the new task of teaching Brayden to read. He is still 3 but is turning 4 in September. He is doing really, really well. We are using the book "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons," and I give him a sticker for each lesson he completes. After about every 10 lessons or so, he gets to pick out a toy. He likes being rewarded and it helps keep committed so, I am all for it.


I have been looking at a lot of products for babies lately and I have decided that after Maddie already having had 2 colds at 3 months of age, that I am going to order the NoseFrida. Bray has come home from school sick at least once a month. The NoseFrida has had raving reviews and I would do anything to help my baby not have a stuffy nose. She sounds so miserable. It is a rather interesting method for mucous removal, but it is definitely worth a shot. I will let you know how it works.



So excited about tomorrow. Brad and I are going on a date! They have been few and far between lately, so I am really excited to spend some time together. Not sure where we will go, but in the mood for some really good food!

First week back to work-1 Me-0

So I knew that this week was going to be rough. I had tried preparing myself the entire 3rd month that I was off on maternity leave. I had no idea that it would be this rough. I leave before Madison wakes up every morning and although we get to see each other briefly because I nurse her before I leave, it is just not the same. I was so used to spending every waking moment with her and watching her change and grow from day to day. Now I can't help but feel like I am letting her down by being away at work all day. We are so blessed to have my father in-law take care of Maddie everyday and I do not question whether she is in good hands, but I just wish that I was the one that could be with her each day.

On Thursday I decided that I was going to get my hair highlighted because it had been almost 5 months since I had gotten it done. Boy did it look bad. I knew it would take some time and so I went straight after work at 5 and did not get home until 7:45pm and by the time I had gotten home, Brad had already put Madison down. I was so happy that he was able to get her to sleep. We had just started a more structured sleep routine the week prior to me going back to work. I recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth if you are every trying to accomplish a sleep schedule. That book has helped us so much in such a short amount of time. Even though I was happy that Brad was able to get Maddie to sleep, I was also so sad inside. I had just missed an entire day of her life!! I know that I needed to do this for myself. As a mother, it is important to take some time to focus on yourself, but I still felt so guilty for missing out on her smiles, tears and laughter for that day.

As the week went on, I realized that I will survive and make it through this time away, just as I did with Brayden. It does not mean though that it is any easier and I promise to cherish and enjoy every moment that I am given to spend with my children. I am so blessed and I pray that they will be happy and healthy and never doubt how much I love them.

Reality is sinking in

Today I took Madison to my work to meet all of my wonderful co-workers. It was very strange to be there but at the same time somewhat comforting. Quickly I realized that I only have 2 1/2 more weeks at home with my beautiful children and it is just tearing me up inside. A very big part of me wishes that I could stay home and take in every precious moment as they grow. Another part of me really enjoys working and I undertand that we do not have unlimited resources and need the additional income. I I honestly do not know how I went back to work after only 6 weeks with Brayden, but I did and he turned out to be such an amazing little boy. I could not have done it withouth the help of our amazing family and I feel so very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

On a sad note, somehow, I have misplaced my camera and I am devastated. Thankfully, the majority of the pictures were uploaded to my computer but I am so sad that I can not capture some of the happiest moments in our life and so I am now on a search for a new camera. I will make sure to upload lots of pictures of the children for you all to enjoy throughout this blog.

Our children light up our lives

Today Brad came to me and suggested that we start a blog documenting some of what we expereience each day with our children. Every day is a new adventure and parenthood has by far been the most rewarding, challenging, and magical journey we could have ever encountered. Our children light up our lives and there is no better responsibility and we wanted to share some of our journey with our family and friends and hope that you all enjoy!

We have an almost 4 year old named Brayden. This age is so much fun. Each day I am so amazed by how much this little boy knows. He is like a sponge and it is such a joy to hear him speak and ask questions about how the world works. He is the most loving and caring little boy and we are so very blessed and honored to call him our son.

On April 29, 2010 our family of three became 4, and we had a beautiful baby girl named Madison Nicole Ramirez. She was 7 lbs. 5 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Brayden is so very excited to have a little sister. He is so very loving towards her and has been such a helpful big brother and we are so excited to watch them grow up together.

Interpretations of a 3 yr old

After explaining to Bray that a fever was his way way his body was fighting off infection, his reply was "my body is not fighting....it does not have a sword!"