Happy Anniversary!

This is only three weeks late, but here's a pic of me and Rob on our third wedding anniversary. Seriously, is it only the third?? It feels like we've been married forever! Our anniversary was on August 20 and it was the day before I had to return to work. Cody and I had one last lake trip with my mom and sister. Rob had to work kind of late so we just hung out close to home and went to dinner at the Red Lobster. It's a funny story because Red Lobster is not one of the restaurants that we visit often, but this was the second time in three weeks that we went to RL! While we were on vacation in Ohio we also went to RL. I picked Rob up at the airport in Cleveland only to find that although he made it to Cleveland, his bags and golf clubs had not. So we stayed relatively close to the airport (thank God I knew my way around) and we ended up at RL. We ate dinner at the bar, watched the Indians game on TV and had a great conversation with another couple also eating dinner at the bar. Anyway, we liked what we had for dinner in Ohio so much that we were looking forward to the same dinner! Both times we were out without the Code-man! Thanks Spleeve and Steph for watching him so we could have a couple hours without him. It was definitely an anniversary to be thankful for since it was only four days after his wreck. We had so much to be thankful for and a lot of things to talk about.

My life has changed so much in the last six years because of Rob and I am so thankful for all of it. I've never felt so free to be myself with anyone else and that is probably the one thing that I love the most. Many of you who know me well know that I'm a total dork and let me tell you, I think I have gotten worse! I never feel that he is going to judge me because I jump up at a commercial and start to bust out a cheer routine from high school because the song on the commercial was one that we used to have a routine to! Or on any given Saturday, Sunday, or any other random day, when I'm yelling at the TV during the Notre Dame or Cleveland Browns football game, or during an Indians playoff game (that was last year, we have no hope this year) when you can usually hear me out in the yard! And the other thing that I love most is that he is just as big a dork as I am. I can't tell you some of the silly stuff he has done because it would forever ruin his reputation, but it makes me love him even more.

Another reason I love him so much is because he is such a great dad. I know, I know, everyone says their husband is a great dad, but Rob REALLY is great! Let's just say that I really LOVE my sleep. My husband has gotten up with Cody in the middle of the night easily more than I have. I think I have learned to tune out Cody's nightime fussing through the monitor, but that's because I know that Dada will take care of him.

One last reason that love him so much is that he is not ever afraid to be himself. He is that same person no matter who he is around and he never apologizes for being who he is. I really wish that I were more like him. I think that sometimes I care WAY TOO much what someone else is going to think about me and I forget to just have fun. I'm trying to learn from him!

One more thing that I love (okay this really is the last) is that nobody ever tells him no. He is never afraid to do anything, even if I am! I am such a rule follower and am always afraid of getting in trouble and it is so much fun to go places with him because he will do anything! Did I tell you that we went to the Nascar race in Fontana and got to the infield without having any tickets? Okay, that's a story for the next post. I also still have to post Ohio pics, I know!

Anyway, Robbie, I love you so much! I am so thankful for you and Cody and the life we share! Happy third anniversary!

First Day Back!

Well, since he's not in school yet, we can't call it "first day of school". Cody and I took this pic on August 25, which was my first day back to school with the kids. I figured I should take a pic of Cody so that we have something to look back upon and compare to when he starts school!

He does great with Debe at daycare. He loves all of the kids there. We include them in our prayers every night! He is especially happy these days since we are carpooling with one of my co-workers whose daughter also goes to Debe's house. Every morning Cody is SO excited to see Natalia and especially Augie!

Also, I just wanted to mention that Rob is doing better after his wreck. He had some short-term memory loss for a while. I think he "lost" his wallet four times in two days! He still has a nagging, on-going headache and is powering through the ibuprofen! Everytime the word "racecar" is mentioned, Cody is sure to point out, "Dada crash!" I know that Rob will race again. Believe it or not, I want him to race again. It's something that he loves; he gets to spend time with his friends and especially his dad, and it's something that he is good at! I think we're both still a little afraid since his wreck, but I know that he's fiercely competitive and I know that he won't be satisfied until he has gotten back in that car. And I will be there when he gets back on the track! I might be hyperventilating, but I'll be there! :)

Thanks be to God!

This isn't really the post that I thought would be the first after vacation. Yes, I'm definitely slacking on that one, but I will get to it.

Rob had a race last night and thirty laps into the fifty lap race, as he was running in either 4th or 5th place, he had the most horrific accident that I've ever seen in person. He came out of turn 4, on the inside of another race car. The other driver essentially turned left on him and Rob's right front tire caught the other car's left front tire. This caused Rob's car to be launched over the top of the other car and it started to barrel roll. He hit the wall on the front stretch, bounced off (still rolling) and continued to roll as he slid across the asphalt into the infield in the center of the track. His car was still moving forward and then it finally stopped. It was crushed and Rob didn't put his door net down to indicate that he was okay. I saw the whole thing and as he was launched into the air and until he got out of the car, all I could do was scream, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" I know that my God heard my anguished scream because Rob did get out of the car on his own. He is okay, but we went to the hospital last night to make sure he got checked out because he blacked out and did not remember parts of the crash. I want to thank our friends who were there with me and took care of Cody when all I could do was pray that my husband wouldn't be killed. I've never been so scared before when he was in a wreck. I am thankful that he and his crew spend so much time and effort making sure that the car is in the best shape it can be in. Yes, the car is totalled, but all of the safety features did their job. The halo, or roll cage, has a crack in it so I know that it hit hard. I also want to thank Spleeve and Steph for watching Cody when we went to the hospital. It is such a blessing to have friends who will drop everything to come to our rescue. Spleeve came over to our house so that Cody could go to sleep in his own bed. Thank you!

Before we went to the hospital (because it wasn't life threatening), Rob came home to take a shower and I put Cody to bed. Before he got in the shower he was telling me what happened as I hadn't had a chance to talk with him one on one yet. He went through the story and said that while he was rolling over he saw a blinding flash of white light and at that point, he thought he was going to die. So I say, thank you God for not taking my husband and Cody's father yet. I guess He just knew that I wouldn't be able to go on without him. If you pray, please thank God again for me and my family. I would appreciate it. Peace to you all!

Goin' on Vacation!

Yea! Cody and I leave for Ohio in the morning. By the way, it's 11:24 pm and I'm not done packing , but I'm blogging! Did I mention that we leave the house at 5:30 am? What is wrong with me? I know, I know, I am the Queen of Procrastinators! We'll see you next week with lots of pics... we'll have chili dogs at Netty's, hang out in Lake Eric, do our annual bar crawl at Put-in-Bay... see you soon!!!

Cody's new game

So my son has finally figured out just how much fun it is to dump all of the toys out of his little toy basket all over the floor! And he realized he's still small enough that he can sit in the basket! I didn't get a picture of him trying to stand on his head in the basket- I was laughing too hard!

Fun at Shauna's house!

On Tuesday night, Cody and I were lucky enough to be able to get together with two of my best friends, Jenni and Shauna, and Shauna's adorable daughter, Makayla. We had such a great time catching up! The best part was that since we were at Shauna's house, the kids could run around and play and we got to sit and chat with minimal interuptions. Okay, I had to put Cody in time out like three times! It was really great because we don't get a chance to get together all that often and it was so much fun watching Cody and Makayla play together. He is such a boy and she is all girl! She wants to hug on him and hold his hand and he wants nothing to do with that! However, he does love Makayla's doll stroller! He loves pushing that thing around! I guess he figures that since it has four wheels it must be some kind of car! I actually remembered to take some of Cody's toys and apparently he thinks that he's supposed to put his truck in the stroller!

What can I say?
Here's Jenni with both of the kids. I tend to think of two crazy toddlers as being the ultimate form of birth control, but Jenni loved it! She put up with Cody running and dive bombing her, trying to tickle her, jumping all over her and more! And this was at the end of the night! Jen, you're going to be such an awesome mom one day! Thanks for putting up with my out of control son! He is pretty hysterical though! "Hey bebe!" Shauna (and Omar), thanks for having us over! Dinner was delicious and, as usual, Cody and I had a blast! When are we doing this again? P.S. Happy Belated Birthday Pick! Lots of love! <>

Oh so "Wicked"!

This past weekend, I finally did what so many of you have already done... I finally saw "Wicked" in LA at the Pantages Theatre. It was awesome! I've never really been into "The Wizard of Oz", in fact, I've never seen the movie, but I loved the show! Stephanie was good enough to take me as her date, although she still can't believe Spleeve (her husband) didn't want to go! We had a great time!

We had a crazy adventure at the McDonald's on Hollywood Blvd. It's on the corner of Hollywood and Highland and it's nearly impossible to find parking on a Saturday. So, I just jumped out, crossed the street (as Steph drove off down the street to try and find somewhere to turn around), went in to Mickey D's and placed our order in the busiest McDonald's I've ever been in! It was out of control! They were very quick and in about 10 minutes (waiting in line AND getting food) I was out the door into Steph's car which was waiting (parked illegally) ever so close! We were still early to the show so that Steph had time to shop for "Wicked" merchandise... and did she ever! :) I had a wonderful time and can't wait for the next show!

Big Bear Lake

This week my parents were at their timeshare in Big Bear Lake. Cody and I went up Thursday morning. The drive was fine, although I was a little nervous driving the mountain roads by myself. Cal-Trans was working on the road so they had traffic stopped several times because they had only one lane in use. That took a little while. Cody decided that he needed to just scream for no apparent reason for about half of the hour long trip and that just added to my headache.

So we made it to the resort, found parking, and found my parents and off we went. Marty was in her waterski vest, just waiting for us to get there. She skied and somehow my dad convinced me that I was going to ski, although the water was well below what I consider to be an acceptable "water-skiing temperature." After watching my mom jump in and yell and holler because the water was so cold, I was not planning on going anywhere near the water. I don't know what happened, but before I knew it, I had my vest on, my ski on, my gloves on and I was getting in the water (I don't jump in, I stand on my ski and it, very slowly and gently, sinks me in). Yes, it was very, very, VERY cold! I think it was the coldest water that I've ever skied in! I know, Big Bear in July, I am so spoiled! Anyway, I skied a little, then decided to give it up and get back in the boat. Then my mom skied again and by this time it was time for Cody's nap so we went back to their condo. We had lunch, Cody took a nap, and out we went again. This time I didn't go near the water. Okay, once when Cody said he wanted to go in the water. I held him and dunked his legs in up to his knees. He didn't like that too much! He did have a ton of fun pointing out all the boats and repeating "Nana boat. Nana boat." He also loved playing with my dad! They are always trying to tickle each other's buttons! That's your belly-button! Cody also loved the location of the condo as we were right above the playground and had a great view of the lake. Cody stood out on the balcony and talked to everyone that walked by! He was also talking to the people out on other balconies! I think my kid talks more than me! Anyway, we stayed the night. My parents and I watched "Knocked Up" last night and had big bowls of mint & chip ice cream and this morning was checkout! Thanks Mom and Dad! We had a great time!

Cody feeding the ducks! They loved the Baked Lays!

Driving with Nana

Playing around with Pa

I thought this was hilarious! A port-a-potty on water! Cody called it a house!

A sunset view from the condo

Cody scoping out the playground and beyond.

More lake view!

Cody & Momma!

Does Cody ever wear clothes?

Looking back over my recent posts I have noticed that Cody is wearing one of two outfits: 1) swim trunks 2) a life jacket. I can't imagine what you think! It looks like he doesn't ever wear clothes! I swear he does! Here's proof! This pic of Cody was taken a few days before his birthday while we were staying with my parents at their time share in Newport Coast. Cody is standing in front of the koi pond with the ocean in the background. I know, you can't really tell that the ocean is out there, but trust me, it was. The morning was still a little overcast. I'll post some more pics from that week a little later. I just wanted to prove that Cody does wear clothes!

Summer Obsession

Many of you know my mom, Marty. Only some of you may realize her summer obsession with boating. Now that Caryn and I are out of school for the summer, we have to make sure to plan one day a week to go to Lake Perris. The phone call comes on Sunday night, "What day do you want to go to the lake?" She will then coordinate between me and Caryn (or someone else if one of us is unavailable) what day works for us all. I'm sure if Caryn and I would agree to it, my mom would be happy to go to the lake every day of the week. The other thing that is important to note is how fabulous my mother looks while skiing. No, I'm not talking about her stylish bikini or her top of the line lifejacket (although she once skiied without her lifejacket!) I'm talking about the noseplugs and dual (but different) knee braces! Watch out girls! Marty is looking hot! Sorry I don't have a picture of this, but Caryn has those pics. I'll try to get one so you can see what I'm talking about! Now, don't get me wrong, we definitely love having this "problem." We are very lucky that our jobs allow us the time to spend with our family and that mom is still waterskiing at 63 years old. I love my mom dearly and it is some of the best quality time that we get to spend together. Caryn and I just love to tease our mom! :) We love you Martha!!

Cody has been going since last summer when he was one. He's a lot better with the lifejacket this year, but doesn't love swimming in the lake as much. Heck, swimming period is not his favorite this summer. Once his feet are off the ground, he cries, "Nonononononononono!" It's not too loud though! That is not to say that he doesn't LOVE the pool! There is definitely a difference! Anyway, he loves the boat and if we tell him that we're going to the lake, I hear "Nana's boat" until we're there! And while we're there. And when we get home. Okay, he loves "Nana's boat" as much as Nana does!

Here's Cody's best Nana impersonation!

Uncle Caryn teaching Cody how to be a professional flag holder!

Self-portrait of Cody and me!

Happy Birthday SLZ!

Happy Birthday SLZ!

(Stephen Lucas Zermeno)

Cody calls him "Sleeze" for short. See, that's the sound his initials make! His dad and his grandpa are both "Stephen" too, so it gets a little confusing! According to Rob, during college there were too many "Steve"s in the fraternity so nicknames were made up. Steve became "Spleeve" (I don't really know if that's the correct spelling or not, but that's how I spell it!). Therefore, it's only fitting that Spleeve's son is "Sleeze." He is Cody's best friend and when we go to their house (which is often-did I mention that they are super awesome and let us swim in their pool???), Cody says "Sleeze house. Pool." My kid knows!

Anyway SLZ's birthday is tomorrow, July 14. He and Cody are two weeks and one day apart. In case you are wondering, Cody was late and SLZ was early. They were due to be five weeks apart. We celebrated with him yesterday at his house for a pool party! It was a lot of fun! The weather was super weird. Totally Ohio like! Humid, sticky, some thunder and lightning! We got rain in parts of So Cal, but not during the party! Thanks for inviting us to the party! We are so happy to be friends!!

Best Buds

Makayla and the sidewalk chalk. I love her outfit!!

Makayla and Cody (he's putting the moves on her!)

Waaaayyy Behind, but I'm Back!!

So since it's been a zillion years (as usual, what did you expect??), I have a lot of stuff to post. Don't worry though, I'll make it as short as possible. I know, S.V. (short version, as my hubby says). Anyway, here we go...

Most recently, we (along with the rest of the USA) celebrated the 4th of July. We had a BBQ with our friends, Loren and Debbie and their kids Lindsay and Alyssa, at their house in Ontario. Loren's parents were also there as well as Terry and his daughter, Cassidy. We spent the afternoon swimming and eating.

Lindsay, Cody, and Cassidy

After we had spent hours in the pool, we packed up and headed to Irwindale Speedway for an evening of racing and fireworks. Rob, Loren, and Terry had already gone to the track to save us seats. It was the CHP 200 and the CHP put on a pretty cool demonstration with their cars on the racetrack. Cody loved the racing and when the fireworks started he grabbed on to Rob for dear life, but he had a great time. He also loved the bounce house during a break from the racing. I was trying to figure out how I was going to fit into the very small opening to get him out since I didn't think he would come out on his own. It took a while, but I snagged him and didn't have to go in! Yea! I think that his favorite part was the flags that were handed out when we came in. He was waving them and then letting them go flying! I know he got at least one person. I tried to save another one from taking flight and I got it in the eye!

Lindsay, Debbie, Cody, and Loren

Me and my little guy

Watching the fireworks with Dada

How many flags can I hold at once??

God bless America!

Moving on! Actually, it's moving back! Last Sunday was Codeman's second birthday! WOW! I was super excited for his birthday this year! He was practicing saying "I am two!" so that he would be prepared when someone asked him how old he was. He's still working on that one!

We had a small family birthday party at Steve and Stephanie's house. They were so awesome to let us have Cody's party there so we could have a pool party! This is a new concept for me and Rob since both of our birthdays are in February! I know I always wanted to have a pool party when I was young...but I digress!

Anyway, we had both families there including Nana & Pa (Colleen's parents), Uncle Caryn and Mikey-Ike (Colleen's sister and boyfriend-ask me about that one later), Grammy (Rob's mom), Papa (Rob's dad), Aunt Rachelle and Rylee (Rob's sister and niece), Lisa and Little Ryan (Rob's nephew and his mom), and a few of Cody's friends, Stephen Lucas, aka SLZ and his parents, Steve and Stephanie (did I mention how cool it was that they let us use the pool??), and Makayla and her parents, Shauna and Omar (Colleen's sorority sister and husband). We played in the pool, had some food, sang "Happy Birthday" to the Birthday Boy and then played in the pool some more. In fact, I have pictures of all of the other kids eating cupcakes, but Cody blew out the candles on his cake, tried the frosting, and headed back to the pool! Today is my 2nd birthday!!

Uncle Caryn & Cody

Dada in the basketball hoop

Cody pretending (I promise) to drink Dada's "juice"

Stephen Lucas (a.k.a. SLZ)

Miss Rylee ("the boss lady")

Cousin Ryan

Shauna, Omar and Makayla

Pa and Nana

Papa, Grammy, and Aunt Rachelle

Dada & Cody

Cody,

I can't believe that two years have flown by so quickly! You were soooo worth the 36 hours of labor. When I went to bed on Friday night I was remembering when my labor started and I can't believe how long that I was in labor! Daddy and I love you so much! We have having so much fun with you! You are such a joy to be around! You keep us laughing all of the time! You are such a sweet boy and you talk so much! I love when you throw something at me, but then turn around and sweetly say, "sowwy mama, sowwy" because you know you're going to go to time out! We are so excited that you love sports so much and we can't wait to see you in action. I always wanted to have a son and I can't wait to go to your games, races, matches, whatever they may be. I know that you'll do well! Daddy and I will always be there rooting you on!

Son, I hope you know how much you are loved. I always wanted to be a mom and I am so blessed to have found your father and then had you. You are truly the miracle that I prayed for and so much more! I love you more than I can ever explain with words! I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I know that I had a great day wth you!

Love always and forever,
Mama

26 April 2008

Let's go racing!

So racing season is back in full swing. This is Cody in Rob's car after the race on April 26. Last year Cody didn't want to be put in the car for any reason and now he just loves "driving" the racecar. Rob will shake the car so that Cody thinks he's moving!

19 April 2008

On February 13 the Eta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi at Cal State Univ San Bernardino celebrated its 20th Anniversary! I tend to think that I'm pretty special because that is also my birthday! :) Anyway, we had a great celebration on April 19 at the Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside. It was great to see so many sisters that I haven't seen in years and it was also great to meet sisters that I had never met. Three of our chapter's founders were there and that was pretty cool too!

5 April 2008

Alright, I figured it's time for my monthly post!

The first one is Cody's favorite new distraction anytime we go to a restaurant- LEMONS! This was one of the first times we gave him the lemon from my water (or was it iced tea?). I love the face so you all get to laugh along with us! Now, whenever we go out, we order Cody a water with lemon. The servers always look at us like it's a crazy request because they don't realize that the lemon is the entertainment for the meal!

It's PINK!

Even though I have a son, I've found a way to work in the pink! Ahhhh, that just makes me happy!
And I'm sure you are wondering how I've found the time to play with my blog-well, my son, the angel that he is, is with my parents today! I will be meeting them at the racetrack later this evening to pick him up and take him to see Dada's first race of the season! Rob's been working like crazy on his racecar this week, so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Shots!

The day after Easter was finally time for Cody's 18-month shots. Yes, I know that he's 21-months, but Kaiser isn't the best at scheduling timely appointments. Then we have to work around my work schedule and the doctor's schedule so we're a little behind!

This time Cody was pretty excited about the little hospital gowns. Okay, Momma really thought that they were cute! I didn't know that they made them so small! He did pretty well until it was time for the shots. Of course he screamed his lungs out! I was just excited that he finally got weighed and measured again. He's 36" tall and 28 1/2 lbs now! I can't believe how big he's gotten!

Easter!

Easter! What a long day it was! We started off going to breakfast with Rob's family at 9 am. Rob had the camera in the other car, so there are no pics! Breakfast started to wind down about 10:30 and then it was time to head home and get Cody down for a nap. I realized then that if I wanted to make it to church, I was going to be going by myself. I headed off to an 11 am Mass at a nearby church, instead of the church that I usually go to in Riverside. As I walked in the door after church, at about 12:15 pm, guess who woke up from his nap? We decided to join Rob's sister Rachelle and his niece Rylee with their in-laws at Sylvan Park in Redlands. We spent a couple of hours there and Cody had a great time playing with his cousin Rylee and the other kids.

Say "cheese"!

From the park, we headed over to my parents' house for dinner and a small hunt for Cody's Easter basket. He didn't really understand what he was doing or why he was looking for something, but when he found the basket, he thought it was pretty cool! Thanks Nana and Pa! We were also thrilled to see Uncle Caryn and Mikey Ike and happy that Aunt Carol and Herman were able to join us for dinner!
I think we finally made it home by 8 pm, which definitely is a long day! I hope that you all had a very happy Easter with your families!