It's Been Too Long

Ethan now has seven teeth with the eighth one coming in VERY soon. He's growing up so fast. It's makes me sad, but then it also makes me excited for the growing relationship that we have together. He's just my best little bud and I so enjoy spending all of my time with him.

Oh yeah, I also gave Ethan a haircut. I didn't mean to, but we ended up liking it a lot. I'm torn between growing it back out and keeping it short. We'll see how we feel as it gets longer. He's so cute either way to us! :)

I cannot believe how quickly time can pass when I say I'm going to keep up with this blog. I think I mentioned it before, but I seriously need to schedule a day to do my blog every week. I always have the best of intentions and then time just flies by.

This blog post will not be very long, but I just wanted to write something to anyone out there that may be reading this. I will write a longer post this weekend about Ethan's first Christmas and an update on his progress of his knee contractures. Little hint - His first Christmas was wonderful and his knees are doing great!

I cannot believe that he is close to 11 months and will be a year next month already. I seriously just cannot believe it. Where did my tiny little newborn go? Either way, he's sweet as pie and I have truly enjoyed everything about him since day one. I have no complaints and am more thankful for him as the days go by. He is just truly a wonderful little boy with SO much love. He is so happy all of the time and is just so content with his perfect little life. He definitely has an abundance of love surrounding him and I feel that coming back to us. Looking at him smile every single day really makes me feel like I do a great job as a mom and that Josh does a great job at being a dad. I can't imagine Ethan would be as happy if we weren't doing something right. Ahh, I just love him SO much.

Okay, this blog post is getting longer than anticipated so I will stop here and just end with a few recent pictures of this little ham.

God Bless.

Bryana

The Cutest Little Monster

I absolutely LOVE Fall and Halloween. The crisp air, crunchy leaves, pumpkin carving, cool temperatures and decorations are all the best parts.

Every Halloween is always my favorite, but this one definitely was my MOST favorite. I'm sure you can all guess why. Yes, it's because we got to spend Halloween with the cutest little Monster around. I searched and searched for a costume for Ethan and just couldn't find anything I liked. I did happen to find one that was SUPER cute, but it was way too expensive for him to wear for just one night. I ended up finding the one he wore for $13.00 on sale at Toys R Us! Talk about a deal and it was a really well made costume, too! It kept him nice and warm when we went to visit our favorite people from Holmen, Onalaska and La Crescent.

We didn't take him Trick-or-Treating, but we did take him to see Josh's parents, my parents and two kids that I babysit. He seemed to enjoy wearing his costume and didn't fuss once. He's such a content little boy.

Earlier this month we went over to our friends, Katie and Tyler's house to carve pumpkins (we do this every year) and I carved one of Ethan! I think it turned out pretty good. I will definitely be doing that every year for him. I also plan on carving his name into a pumpkin and the year for every Halloween so we can always look back and see how he grew. Ahh, I just love Halloween. I'm already thinking about what he could be for next year since he'll be walking! :)

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as much as we did!

Until next time, God Bless.

Bryana

Eight Months!!

Wow! Our little guy is seeming less and less like a baby. He turned eight months old yesterday. I cannot believe how quickly the time just flies by. I'm assuming it's because we're counting months instead of years, but I just wish it would slow down a bit. It makes me sad that he'll be a year very shortly! I guess I am kind-of excited to plan his birthday party though.

We had a really fun day yesterday while Daddy was at work. We read books, played with toys, sang songs and he even got to watch TWO episodes of Dinosaur Train. We also did a cute project where I painted the bottom of his feed and hands and pressed them onto a piece of paper. It was neat to see how big his little feet have gotten since he was born. I also did this same project when he was four months so we were able to look back at that, too, to compare. They have definitely gotten bigger! He was laughing as I painted his little feet because I'm sure it tickled. I'm glad we did this though because I think it will be something so special to look back on later. We are going to do another one when he turns one year.

He has learned SO many new things since my last blog post! Here are some of the fun things Ethan can do:

• Laughs, a lot! He is the HAPPIEST baby I've ever met.
• Claps his hands. He learned this from his Memaw and Papaw.
• Sticks out his tongue. He just started doing this and it's really cute.
• Sits up unassisted. He's been doing this for a while, but we're still so proud.
• Does push-ups. He is starting to push up on his arms, which we all know means he will be crawling very shortly.
• Puts balls in his Dinosaur Popper. He learned this VERY quickly. He is able to pick up the small balls and place them in the Dinosaur. He does this over and over, which is really neat to watch. He definitely understands that he has to do this to make the popper work.
• Stands against furniture. His little legs have come SO far and he is able to put ALL of his weight on them and he stands very well with little help.
• Plays Peek-A-Boo. He loves this game and it usually gets him giggling pretty good.
• TALKS! He is no longer just babbling because he says, "Mama, Dada, Yaya, Rara and Nana." He obviously doesn't correlate these words with anything, but he will and soon! It's so fun talking with him. He really lights up.
• Swings at the park. We just started taking him to the park and he really loves it. He can sit in one of those baby swings and really enjoys himself. It's a fun family activity that we started doing every week.
• He has TWO teeth! How could I have forgotten that he got those TWO cute, adorable and jagged teeth. They are SO incredibly sweet. When he smiles it just melts my heart.

Those are just some of the fun things he has learned and has done lately. I'm sure as the time goes by, quickly I'm sure, I will have more fun things to report. He is just a continued joy in our lives and we are so blessed with how wonderful he truly is. He is a good sleeper and eater and has such a wonderfully calm personality.

We also took him to his appointment for his legs last month and Dr. Wintersteen was VERY pleased with his progress. He has about 5 degrees to go on his "worse" leg and then they will be straight. I'm sure by the time he walks they will be good to go! We're so happy that God has watched over this situation and helped us through it. We've prayed so much for his little legs and we're very thankful that our prayers have been answered. He will be up and running in to time! Yikes. We better get to baby proofing.

Ethan has had lots of play dates lately, too! He has three little friends that are all within three weeks of his age. Amelia, Daven and Henry are his best little friends. It really is fun to have play-dates with these little guys because they are all doing the same things. It's fun to watch them learn and play together. I've also known Amelia and Daven's mommies for a VERY long time. I believe I've known them both since 5th grade. Wow. That's a LONG time ago. He also gets to have play dates with his big cousin, Lyla Jane. She really enjoys when he's over and Ethan loves to try and get her glasses and hair!

Well, I will try not to make the next blog post so far away from this one. I'll be back next week, promise.

Bryana

Mommy Loves Ethan

Oh my goodness. I cannot even begin to explain to people how much I love my little boy. Our lives completely revolve around him and I wouldn't want it any other way.

When I put him to bed at night and give him those three little kisses and whisper, "I love you," in his ear, I honestly look forward to him waking up the next morning so I can sing my good morning song to him and get that big heart-warming smile that makes my entire day. He is just the biggest blessing Josh and I could have ever imagined. I really need to thank God for putting the idea in my mind to have our wedding in May instead of our original date of October, because if we hadn't switched the date we wouldn't have Ethan. I can't imagine where we would be without him; he's our pride and joy and Momma's baby boy.

He recently had his follow-up appointment with Dr. Wintersteen for his knee contractures and it went okay. She was happy with the progress he had made, but realized he still wasn't at full extension. She decided to put little elbow braces on his knees (they are little blue, velco braces) to try and keep him straightened out for a few hours a day. I'm hopeful that these will work, but if not we will see her in another six weeks and he would be fitted for custom braces. I really ask for prayers that Ethan's legs will be where they should be by the time he should be taking his first steps. I'm starting to get worried again that there is an underlying problem that she's not diagnosing until she's exhausted all other options. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but it's hard when we've gone to a few follow-up appointments and though we've made progress, we still aren't to where we need to be. It's just stressful and sad for me to see my little boy having these problems, even though they haven't affected him as of yet. In more positive news, he is standing on his own and baring his full weight on his legs. They obviously aren't straight or locked out, but he does it and it's such an awesome accomplishment. I wasn't sure when he would be able to do that! He looks so proud of himself and it just warms my heart. He's so sweet.

I'm getting very sleepy and need to head to bed, but tomorrow I will post about his other accomplishment - Ethan started eating VEGETABLES this month.

Here are just a few pictures from this month...

Crazy Nap Hair!!

My Braces!

At Riverside with Mommy and Steph - First Time Feeling Grass

Just a Cute Little Smile <3

At Daddy's Work Picnic, Cooling Off in the Car

Until Tomorrow, God Bless.

Bryana

"I sing for joy at the works of Your hands." - Psalm 92:4

Five Months! Where Does the Time Go?

Wow. Time is such an interesting phenomenon. Five months can either seem like a really long time or such a quick and rapid time lapse. When I was in college the semester seemed to last forever; less than five months. The days would drag on and I would find myself always saying, "Ugh. It is ONLY Tuesday," or "Ugh. We still have three months left of these semester. Gross." Time seemed to stand still at times, like when I would have to take a test that I had crammed for the night before. The clock stood still as I sat and stared at questions that I was surely guessing the answers to.

Skip ahead almost two years and time has figuratively flown by. It almost makes me sad to think that five months have come and gone so quickly. Poof. My baby was born five months ago. My life changed in the most beautiful way five months ago. My life started five months ago. Our lives were blessed with the greatest gift five months ago. Ethan Thomas Alameida entered the world with two loving people waiting to get their hands all over him to love on him and kiss him until his skin chaffed. Honestly, I'm not so sure he has Eczema, but that he might just have worn out skin from all the smooches he gets from me. Okay, so it's probably Eczema, but there is seriously no shortage of kisses going to that boy. Not in the least.

It is crazy to think that five months can feel like two totally different pieces of time, even though they are exactly the same. He has literally grown up in front of our eyes so quickly, but I've managed to capture and keep every moment because I've got over 2,700 pictures of him. I know, ridiculous, but I love taking photos and when you've got the best possible muse why waste it? He has been the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. He is honestly the most calm, content and happy little boy I've ever encountered. I like to think it is because of all the love he gets, but deep down I know he is the way he is because that is the way God created him. I can only speak for myself when I say this, but I honestly thank God every single night in my prayers for Ethan. He makes me smile from within and I can't imagine how I lived without him or how I ever would. My days revolve around him and his nap and feeding schedule and I wouldn't have it any other way. Things in life have drastically changed and it doesn't bother me in the least.

I am living my dream by taking care of this precious gift and loving on him so he never has to ask what love is. He will grow to understand it fully because he is surrounded by it. Being a mother is the most wonderful thing in the world and I'm very thankful that I have such a wonderful mother that set a loving example for me. I never had to doubt the love from my parents and to this day, I know I say it a lot, but they are my best friends. They also love Ethan to pieces and it must be such a rewarding gift to see your own children have children. It must be so neat to see your child experiencing the love that you've known since the day they were born. I pray for that for Ethan, that he can experience the love Josh and I have for him some day when he has his own children.

Although it is sad how quickly these past five months have gone, they have been the best five months of our lives. I can't say it's been hard because Ethan is such a sweet baby. I can't even remember the sleepless nights in a negative light because if I wasn't sleeping in the middle of the night, I was holding Ethan and how can I not be happy about that?

It's been amazing to watch him grow these past five months. Here is just a small sampling of the sweet little things we got to watch him do:

Smile

Laugh

Coo

Reach for Toys

Babble

Scream with Joy

Roll Over

Smile...Oh, did I mention that? :)

Put Weight on His Legs

Play in His Jumperoo

Pet Nalah and NOT get scratched...she LOVES him. Crazy, we know.

There are so many more things, but those are the very memorable ones as I'm sitting here typing this at 1:30 in the morning in between my two boys.

I have so enjoyed these last five months, but I surely hope that the next five don't seem to go as fast. Although I have to admit that I am surely looking forward to them because I know he will be growing into such a cute little guy and his personality will come out more and more. Priceless.

I realize I've again written a short novel, but I can't help it. I type incredibly fast and honestly about as fast as I can think, I can type. It is a good and bad thing. :)

Happy Five-Month Birthday, Ethan. Daddy and I love you very much. Sweet dreams, Mister Mister. <3

Until next time, God Bless.

Bryana

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1

Still Sad...

Wanted to just add another quick blog post about Patches because I'm still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she is no longer with us here on Earth. It saddens me to no end. I know this will get easier, but I'm still struggling with the sadness that a companion and friend I had for twenty years is gone.

I keep thinking about all the things I remember and loved about Patches. I loved her cute white tip at the end of her tail. We always called her Target Tail. I loved the fact that I taught her how to give kisses when we first got her and she never forgot how her entire life. It was probably annoying to her to learn how to do this because she relentlessly heard, "Give me a kiss and I'll let you go." I constantly told her that until she actually would lick my face, once she learned it I would ask for a kiss and she would do it. I loved her cute patterns on her fur that reminded us of a little cow. Believe it or not, she used to resemble one. She was fairly plump throughout her life. We loved her the same though, thick or thin. I remember when we used to have a very long hallway in our home and she would run down it so fast it would sound like a galloping horse. We would always just smile and laugh when she would take off out of no where. I loved that she could suck the water and color right out of watermelon. It was her favorite! We would leave it out on the counter and she would lick it until it was white, but she would never eat the actual fruit. She also loved anything made by Chef Boyardee, even though my mom would get mad when I would give her some. She loved milk and ice cream VERY much. My dad and the rest of us would be upstairs and he would pour a glass of milk and even when Patches got hard of hearing in her old age, she some how KNEW he had poured that milk (probably because she smelled it) and she would come racing upstairs hoping to tip that glass over to just get a little lick. Thankfully, my parents knew her time was coming and they were a little more lenient towards the end and would let her have a little ice cream, milk and other goodies here and there. I loved that whenever something was bothering me it seemed as though she knew. If I was outwardly upset she was right by my side. I always found that comforting. She was a wonderful and loyal little girl. I loved that she would demand your attention at times. If she wanted you to pet her she would walk on top of you and nudge her head right into your hand as if to say, "Uh, hello?! Do you NOT realize I want a little head rub." If you tried to ignore the first few times she would eventually climb up towards your face and kind-of smack you. It never hurt, but it was so funny. She had such a funny little personality. We really knew her so well after spending so many years with her. I was telling my mom yesterday that I actually am having a hard time remembering life before her. I can definitely do it, but most of my memories were after we brought her home. I will never forget that day and I will never forget all the wonderful times we had with her. I truly believe she is up in Heaven getting all the head rubs she wants and is looking over us. Lately I've been struggling with the fact that we ultimately ended her life, but my family knows she probably wouldn't have made it through the night and if we had waited she would have left this Earth suffering. My mom has had to constantly remind me that what we did was out of love and was the best thing for her. I think deep down I do know that, but it still hurts. The only thing that makes me feel better about this is the fact that we were by her side until the very end. Until the very last breath. I did that for her out of love because I know she would have done the same for me. If I were on my death bed, she would have been on it right next to me.

I will never forget her and I don't think any other pet we have will ever live up to her. I love Nalah and Calvin, but Patches will always have a huge part of my heart. It will never need to be filled because although she is gone that piece of my heart remains with her. I find that writing this blog is helping me deal with my feelings as silly as some people may think they are. I do not find them funny or odd or over the top at all. These are MY feelings. I understand some people don't love their pets like my family does. I'm happy to admit that we love them like family. We always said she was my sister and there was not ONE holiday, birthday, graduation or other important event that went by where I didn't have a gift or card from the cats. They truly were family. God knows this about me because that is the way He created me. I wouldn't have it any other way. I find comfort in the fact that He knows I am struggling with this and He will help me get through this, along with my family. I know my mom and dad are also sad about this, so I know I can always talk to them when I am feeling down. Each day will get easier, but it will take time. I find it completely normal that this may take a while because it was, in fact, twenty years! That is longer than I have known any of my friends and her love was COMPLETELY unconditional. That is what I love so much about pets. They love you no matter what.

I do have to say that being with Ethan during the day definitely helps me. His little smile just lights up my life. He always enjoyed looking at Patches because of her intense black and white pattern of her fur. I hope he can love Nalah like I love Patches. I think he might, I have a feeling he is going to be a sweet little boy with a big heart for animals...just like his momma.

Here are a few pictures I found on my phone and old computer. I still find it hard to look at her pictures because her death is so fresh in my mind. I hope one day I can look at them and be happy and remember those memories in those pictures.

<3 Bryana

Those of you who read this entire thing, thanks. I know some of you may not understand the love and hurt I feel for her, but just understand that it's who I am. These feelings are real.

Forever Loved, Never Forgotten

Patches Lee Goodman

July 1991 - June 2011

Loved; Forever and Always

Rest in Peace, Princess Patchy

Today was a very sad day for my family; Patches passed away after almost twenty wonderful years. I always knew this day would come, and in the back of my mind, knew that it was getting closer and closer. At the same time, I kind-of thought it might not come because she had been with us for so long. She seems to encompass the ability to live forever. Unfortunately, as stupid as it sounds, I learned the hard way that no one lives forever.

I remember the day we got Patches. We drove to a little house on a farm where she was waiting for us. She was so cute with her little pink nose. I fell in love immediately. We brought her home in a little cardboard box and I will always remember her peeking her little nose out of it the entire drive back to our house. She was so tiny.

If I had to describe her in one word it would be "sweet" because that is exactly what she was. She was such a sweet little girl. She was feisty when she was a kitten, but grew sweeter and sweeter with age. She just had the ability to make you smile and feel loved. I will miss that about her. I will truly miss that.

My parents and I loved her dearly. Below are just a few of the fond memories or quirks I loved about our sweet baby girl...

Patches loved to drink water out of the shower. She would meow loudly until you would turn the water on to a slow drip so she could get a nice, fresh drink of water.

She was definitely known for throwing up, a lot. My family and I always found it so funny because she always seemed to put it in the funniest places. The funniest, on my dad's putting green. He has one set up in the basement of their home and she would always seem to find that and puke on it as if to say, "Hey, quit all this golfing and feed us."

Patches was a little fire cracker in her day and we will never forget the time she beat up our neighbors dog, Crackers. He would run over onto our deck and taunt her because he knew that she couldn't get outside. It seriously drove her nuts, but one day she happened to get out and where did she go? Straight over to our neighbors house and she definitely got Crackers back. She was up on her hind legs slapping Crackers faster than you could even count. I think she was pretty proud of herself when she came back home.

As she grew older she seemed to always be hungry. She never gained any weight, but could eat as if she were a 20 pound cat. The funniest part of this is that she would situate herself in front of my dad so that he would have to look at her with those piercing green eyes of hers. She wouldn't go away until he fed her. I love the fact that my dad had such a soft heart for her. He would always make jokes about how she drove him crazy when she wanted to be fed all the time, but what would he do? He would get up everytime and say, "Okay Little Patchy Cat, I'll feed you ONE more time." This went on until the day she passed. He loved that little cat with his whole heart. I love that about him.

She was a VERY smart cat as well. She could pull open doors with her little paw and outsmart my parents at times. I love the story of when her and Calvin, my parents other cat, would team up together to try and get my parents out of bed around 3:00 in the morning to bed fed. My parents obviously didn't want to get woken up this early so they would try and ignore the fact that they were jumping on the bed, walking over their faces, scratching at the doors and doing anything else in their power to get them up. Well, one morning my mom got so annoyed that she starting tossing pillows from the bed at them to get them to stop scratching at the door. Patches, being the smarty pants that she was, decided that she would then go to the OTHER side of the door to do this. This way, when my mom through pillows, they couldn't hit her. I think my parents eventually got up because she was just too cute.

I could go on forever and ever with memories of this sweet little girl. She will forever and always be my favorite pet. She knew me almost my entire life, up until now, and that definitely counts for something in my book. She was there for me through thick and thin. She always knew when something was bothering me because when I would cry or be upset she was always right by my side. Through every break up, bad day and beyond.

"Patches, today was one of the hardest days of our lives. Watching you slowly drift off was something I never wanted to see but I did it for you. I didn't want you to be alone when you went to Heaven because I knew you deserved so much more. I kissed your until your last breath and mom gave you a little head rub like you always loved. I imagine that was the best way for you to go, you loved your head rubs. We will never forget you, Patches, and I know you will be waiting for us in Heaven when we get there. I love you and I hope this sadness will pass soon so I can just remember the happy times. As these tears roll down my face, realize that you made such an impact on our lives. You are, and always will be, the best little cat in the world."

If anyone is reading this, I just ask for your prayers that this gets easier for me. I know the pain will never fully go away, but I have a very big heart for animals and especially my own. I'm grieving as though I've lost a human family member and this is not easy.

Bryana