Change...THANK YOU Mom and Staci!!!

August...Declan meeting his cousins for the first time....Best Friends Forever

Lunch with Cyn Cyn....

Christmas with The WORLD'S best aunt and grandmother....

Halloween with Cyn Cyn...

September...One happy Aunt!

January... LOVES playing with Harley! Definitely his favorite dog!

August...Kara began sharing her Mama with Declan....

First Doctor's appointment with Super Cyn Cyn

Holding Declan for the first time...

Holding Declan for the first time...

This is Declan's last week staying with my sister and my mom. We start in-home daycare next week. I am having a lot of mixed emotions about this change. I know it is the best decision for our family, but I am still having a hard time with the change.

Declan has loved staying with family and I have loved getting to see my family on pretty much a daily basis. Declan (and Jason and I) have been so fortunate to have my family take care of him and love him the past 10 months. What a blessing. I guess we will just have to make the extra effort to see each other now. I just appreciate and love my family so much. They took Declan to doctor's appointments, did all of the physical therapy exercises with him multiple times a day, took him to the pool, he went to bday parties, school to see his cousins, the YMCA, gymnastics, swim team the park and play dates. They always kept him as long as I needed without hesitation if I needed to work later. He got to eat ice cream and try a lot of other things that I'm sure I don't know about:-) That's what Aunts and Grandmothers do! What a LUCKY boy!!! BUT most importantly he was with my family who I trust more than anyone on the planet and did not worry about him for one second when he was with them. I am hoping since they won't have him during the week now that they will keep him sometimes on the weekends! Woo Hoo...that would mean date nights for me and Jace...Ha Ha!

I know Declan will be happy with Ms. Jeannie, but it is just not like leaving him with family. I think I will definitely be the one who has the most difficult time with this transition. Declan goes with the flow and I am sure he will love Ms. Jeannie and his new friends, and definitely will be happy to not ride in the car for sometimes 2 1/2 hours a day!

Thank you Staci, for loving Declan like he was your own. You two will definitely have a special bond forever. Thank you to Gavin, Owen, and Kara for sharing your mom with Declan! He loves you guys more than you know!

Mom...thank you for taking time out of your day to help Staci whenever she needed it and taking care of Declan. I have never seen a child so happy to see someone like Declan is when he sees his Cyn Cyn!

Physical Therapy Update

Declan now only has to go to physical therapy every other week! Yay! We are so proud of him...and us:-) We have to continue the stretches, exercises and prompting at home, but we will now only have to go to Scottish Rite every other week. He has made so much progress and our PT is SO proud of him! He likes to result back in the torticollis position every now and then, but he corrects it with a physical prompt. He has worked very hard, but has quite the personality now and will actually pull you hand off of his neck when you do it. What can I say...I would do the same thing. He has also really enjoyed biting lately...well, only me. Not sure what that is about. For those of you who know what I do, I get bitten and scratched enough at work. Don't need it from my little man at home :-) I think he is already learning that it is not a good idea and has backed off a bit. Here are some pictures from Father's Day. My camera died, so the paparazzi could only take a few. Ha ha!

I started ESY this week. My mom and my sister are keeping Declan while I'm at work. I am the site manager for our site and I am also teaching a class. It is a lot of work, but I LOVE

it! I had missed my kids and being in the classroom. Yes...I am crazy! I also am working with a home based student. The hours are great though, and we are still home early and no school on Friday! That means more time with Declan :-)

Jason's First Father's Day and My Dad's 34th :-)

It is Jason's first Father's Day! We started the day off with breakfast as a family made by me and relaxed around the house. We are going to my parent's house later to celebrate with a cookout.

I knew Jason would be a great dad, but I had no idea he would be this great at it! I truly am in awe of what an amazing father he is to Declan. They have such a strong bond and I love watching them when they are together. Jason works so hard to provide for us and loves us both unconditionally. It is so nice to have him home after working out of town for the first 7 months of Declan's life. I know how much it bothered him being away from both of us, but he had to do it...for us. Now that he is home it is wonderful and we can be a little family. He is so involved in Declan's life and doesn't want to miss a thing. I did not marry Jason because I thought he would be a good dad. I married him because I was (and still am) madly in love with him. The amazing dad part is just an added bonus. Being such a loving father is just another one of his outstanding qualities and why I love him so much. Thanks for loving us, Jace and for all you do for us. Declan and I are both very lucky to have you. "Don't ever leave me...I'll find you." :-)

Now on to my dad...

Wow...I could go on for days about what an incredible father I have. My dad works harder than any man I have ever met in my life (besides my husband...how ironic).

I have learned my life's greatest lessons from my dad. Such as...

Go to college. Dad used to drive me around DC when I was little and we would see homeless people and he would say..."if you don't go to college...that will be you." Now this was coming from a man that was making close to a million dollars without a college degree (he DID get it later) but that is all he had to say. I truly believed that would be me if I didn't go. I went!

Don't do drugs. "Stefani, if you try cocaine one time your heart will explode and you will die. It only takes one time and that's it." I think I was maybe in middle school. Never tried it.

Follow your dreams. I wanted to be an actress and follow in my dad's shoes. I went to acting school, had head shots taken, was in commercials, and tried out for a lot of different things. Liked it for awhile then gave it up. Played the piano, drums and trombone...gave them up. Played tennis, did swim team, played softball and soccer. Pretty much anything I wanted to do he made it happen. When I started college it was a really hard time financially for my family. My dad said wherever I wanted to go...and he would make it happen...he did. Never told me that there wasn't anything I couldn't do.

Compassion. My dad is where I get my huge heart from. When dad was on the radio he was very involved with many charities. I was blessed enough to go to many charity events with him. We helped the elderly, abused children and women, Children's Hospital, Special Olympics... just to name a few. I would see my father interact with all of these individuals and make them laugh and happy. He was so genuine when he was with these people. I have always known I wanted to work with people and help people...now you know why. This is exactly why I became a special education teacher. Thank you for opening my eyes to all of this at such an early age and teaching me that even though people may be different...they should all be treated the same way.

Work hard and you will be rewarded. When we made all A's dad would take us to the toy store and let us pick anything in the store we wanted. As we got older...we made A's for us. How did he instill that in us? I graduated with a 3.8 and my sister a 4.0.

Be humble. My dad went from everything to essentially nothing...monetarily. It is funny when your dad is making large amounts of money and is famous and than loses it...you find out who your friends are. Who would have thought my dad's profession would have cost me and my family some friendships. It was a humbling experience for all of us. He has worked so hard and continues to daily.

Favorite quotes from Dad. "What goes around comes around." "All you need is health, family, and friends." "You will never no true love until you have a child." He is so right with all 3.

Dad, I love you so much. Thank you for being an incredible father and loving me! You are hilarious, kind, loving,....I could go on for days.... Happy Father's Day!

Schedule

Mmmm...not so bad

What the heck is this?

I finally have Declan on a schedule. I know that might shock some of you :-) Don't get too excited...we are not afraid to get off schedule...not even a little bit. This boy goes with the flow, it is unreal how laid back he is! We have started introducing different foods. This boy wants to try everything and we pretty much let him within reason of course. Don't worry I know what NOT to give him :-) He is so funny too...if there is something he doesn't want he closes his eyes and turns away. Hilarious.

The schedule looks something like this...

7:00 Formula (6-7 oz.)

8:30 Breakfast (Oatmeal/Fruit or YoBaby Yogurt)

9:00-11:00 Nap

11:00 Formula (6-7 oz.) (In a sippy cup...finally found one he likes) and Snack (Cheerios, crackers, mum mum, cheese, puffs)

12:30 or 1:00 Lunch (fruit or veggie/jar food)

1:30 Nap

3:00 Formula (6-7 oz.) and Snack (same as above)

5:00 Dinner (meat and veggie dinner, avocado, banana, veggies)

6:15 Start bedtime routine

7:00 Formula (7 oz.)

He sleeps through the night and is usually up between 6:30 and 7:00. If I need some extra sleep I can give him a bottle and he will go back to sleep until 8:00. But...I am okay with 7:00. It is way better than 5:00 like it was during the school year.

Classic

Don't we all have a picture of us doing this?

I'll help you, Mom!

He is loving sticking his tongue out these days! Cute now...not sure how cute it will be later. Ha ha!

So stinkin' cute!

Camo boy!

Big Decision

Declan and I have SO enjoyed spending time together since I have been off for summer. I love his little personality and he is so much fun! I start ESY on Monday, so my sister will keep him M,W, and Th and my mom will keep him on Tuesday (No school on Fridays). I am so thankful they will have him and he will get some time with him, because we have found someone to keep him starting in July. We found an AWESOME lady who has an in-home daycare near my school. Declan and I both LOVED her. She keeps 4-5 children and only keeps them until the age of 2. I am going to start him in July because I am not working full days so it will help transition him for when I go back full time in August. I felt very at home at her house, the kids were happy and Declan fit right in. It is such a hard decision choosing someone or a place that is going to be watching your child. Declan is our world and I want to make sure that he is safe, healthy, and happy where he is. I just got that good feeling at Ms. Jeannie's house and with her. I am a pretty damn good judge of character too. I am not looking forward to dropping him off his first day, but I know he will be in good hands :-)

I am sad that Declan will not be with my sister and his cousins everyday and I think he will be too. I am so thankful for my mom and sister and how much they helped us by watching and caring for Declan. We could not have made it through these past 10 months without them! My sister's house is just too far away. I want to spend time playing with D boy rather than driving. It is the best decision for us.

Linds :-)

I love playing at the Shaw's house!

Declan and Baby Jack

He is very lucky that I did not eat his cheeks! Such a sweet baby!

Charlie being silly in the Bumbo! Love him!!!

Beautiful Linds and the boys :-)

Declan and I finally got up to see Lindsay and her boys! They are absolutely precious! I was so happy to finally see one of my best friends in the entire world and to catch up! I also got to see Charlie and finally meet Baby Jack. Declan had fun playing with the boys. It was fun to see them all together! Lindsay is such an amazing mom! If I decide to have two I want her mommy handbook! She makes it look so easy :-) LOVE YOU, Linds!

Happy Bday, Kendra!

Kim and Casey :-)

Ramsey and Andy!

Zac and Jason!

Jason and Bryan !

Jenna, Kendra, Me, and Bibby !

The boys!

Ramsey, Brandon, Jason, Andy, Phil, and Bryan

The birthday girl and us!

Jenna, Kendra, Kim, Me and Bibby

Sari and Bibby :-) Pretty girls!

My best friend in the world turned 30 today! Kendra and I have been BFFs since we were 9 years old! I cannot believe that we are 30 (well...I'm almost there) and both have babies now! Crazy how fast time flies! My parents kept Declan and we were able to go out and celebrate Kendra with the best of friends! Jace and I have only been out 4 times without Declan since he was born. We definitely needed a night out together, but I was so happy to see his face this morning. I am officially obsessed with our little boy. At least I can admit it, right? He is definitely my world...and his dad too :-) THANK YOU MOM and DAD for keeping him! You are the world's BEST grandparents (and parents)!!!

Happy bday to my beautiful and wonderful best friend! I LOVE YOU and so glad we could celebrate with you!

Grandmama

Without going into too much detail...my Grandmother was diagnosed this week with moderate Alzheimer's Disease. It is a very sad and stressful time for my family. Thank God for my mom, dad, aunts, and uncle. They have all come together to formulate a plan to do what is BEST for my Grandmama. We have an amazing strong, and very close family. There is nothing more important in the world.

I guess I am blogging about this because any prayers would be very much appreciated for not only my grandmother, but also for the rest of my family as they make some very hard decisions during a very difficult time.

Thank you!

10 Months Old!

Oooh...I'm 10 months old!

Getting a little harder to hold up our sign...he would of course rather eat it.

I know mom, I can't believe I'm 10 months old either.

D boy is in double digits! Ha ha! Our little boy is 10 months old today and we can't believe it. We fall more in love with this little boy and thank God for him every single day.

He has his two bottom teeth and is crawling all over the place on his knees now. He wants to try everything we are eating...and we basically let him. He is really into "real" food now and getting tired of the baby food. He is eating a ton too! He still loves books and is pulling himself up on everything he can. He has the best expressions! He is also very sweet and loving and pretty much likes everyone. He just has the best personality. I also think he already has a very big heart already. Can you tell how much I love this little boy? It isn't obvious at all is it? We have gotten very close since I have been home this summer and he is now saying "Ma Ma." Yay!!! We have had a great time seeing friends and family. One more week and it is back to work :-( My wonderful sister and mom will help us through the summer, but we are still looking into childcare for August

Physical therapy is still going well! We are now working on which foot he pulls himself up on to make sure he is not using his left side each time and if he is we have to prompt him to use his right. We also have to work on when he is standing to turn to the left with just his neck and head and not entire body. And...we are still doing the stretches. It is so amazing to see the progress he has made!