Hello 2012

The house is quiet... I hear only the hum of the dryer going (because that chore never stops) and Toby's quiet gnawing on a toy near my feet.  Okay... maybe I can also hear my husband snoring across the house, but the former, alone, sounded so dreamy!

The house is fairly dark... just the warm lights of the Christmas tree and my laptop illuminate the family room.

We spent the evening with friends, eating delicious food, chatting away and policing children as they darted excitedly around the house.  It was a great way to spend the last evening of 2011.  Now, only Toby and I are awake; everyone else is tucked in and will officially welcome the New Year when they rise in the morning... John sooner than anyone, since he has to get up at 4:30 for work.  (The baby is also awake - - busy as can be - - training either for the UFC or an elite gymnastics career, I can't really tell for sure. I only know he is wild and, as of late, has been sending my body into fairly regular contractions each evening.)

This night is always a reflective one for me.  I think of the highs and lows of the past year... and remain grateful for both.  The highs are (obviously) easy to be thankful for and the lows always teach perspective and allow more appreciation for the highs (and, quite frankly, allow me to see more things in each day as a miracle rather than just a moment).   

The last nine days have been a whirlwind of celebration, starting with the arrival of Nana and Papa from Pennsylvania, to an amazingly thoughtful surprise baby shower last Friday night that left me in tears on numerous occasions throughout the evening, to a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration with dear friends and their extended family, to Christmas Day itself (when Preston sang, unprompted, "Happy Birthday" to Jesus upon waking), to our family celebration of Christmas (Santa came, of course) on Monday, to dinner out on Tuesday with great friends (our second dinner date since moving here three years ago... thanks for watching the kids Nana and Papa!), to tonight's New Year's Eve dinner with friends and neighbors.  I am reeling from it all, both giddy and exhausted... and so very grateful. 

I am grateful for the many blessings of this year... Gracie's stable health during the last four+ months (knock on wood), the surprise (yet longed for) news of our little TieBreaker and our newest, four-legged family member, Toby.  I am grateful (now... not necessarily in the moment!) for the many challenges we faced during the year.  I know they've left us better equipped to handle future hurdles and have added to the perspective that gets us through the day-to-day challenges that can sometimes feel so heavy as they are happening.  I look back at the beginning of  2011 and see how much Gracie and Preston have grown and changed, and though it makes me wistful, it also warms my heart.  I am grateful that we've ended this year in such a better place than we started it and look so very forward to the many exciting changes (and, undoubtedly, challenges) that 2012 will bring.

As is tradition for me, I wish you A Happy New Year... Happy New Day.

Fa-La-La-La-La-ing

At the beginning of the month, we decked our halls and visited with Santa.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have continued to be full of holiday cheer and it's safe to say there has been a lot of "fa-la-la-ing" going on around here!

There were school performances for both kids...

Gracie's class signed, "A Groovy Christmas" and the whole Deaf and Hard of Hearing program (bottom picture in the collage) signed "The Magic of Christmas Day."

Love the smiling faces in Gracie's class! 
And, I LOVE how Christopher has his hand on Gracie's leg!  So sweet!

These pics were taken by the mom of one of Preston's friends.  They are, in a word, adorable.
There is so much to say about this night, but aside from the absolute precious preschoolers ages 2-5 performing in front of over 300 people, the best part of the evening was that the director of Preston's school set aside seats for us in the front row of the theater so that Gracie would be able to see.  She had an absolute blast watching the kids (they also signed a song!), feeling the music and seeing the lights that bordered the stage. 

We thoroughly enjoyed a visit from my brother, Uncle Brian, who delivered hand-me-downs and hand-me-backs for TieBreaker, and who, despite missing his own family so very much, stayed an extra day to attend Preston's performance. (It's all Preston talked about for days leading up to his arrival. He literally ran around the house chanting, "Un-cle Bri-an" over and over!)

We wrapped a lot of presents. A lot. Well, I wrapped a lot and had a very cute helper!

The kids each received a very special mail.

We spent considerable time in the kitchen giving our beloved red mixer a serious workout.

As is our tradition, the kids make a sheet of cookie cutter sugar cookies and get free reign to decorate as they wish.

  The evening we did this, I just didn't have the patience (or stamina!) for making frosting and then cleaning up (both the kids and the kitchen!), so sprinkles galore was the name of the game.  
This process is hilarious to me... it is much less about decorating by "sprinkling" and more of a "dump-the-bottle" and move on to the next cookie!

Meet "Tree-na"



December 2002 - 5 months pregnant with Gracie

This is "Tree-na," aptly named as "her body" is a small, artificial Christmas Tree. 
Where did she come from, you ask?  Well, that would be courtesy of my very creative husband!   Treena was born from a fun contest that was being held at my work Christmas party.  Each staff member received a small, artificial tree and had to decorate it and bring it to our party.  We were free to do anything with the tree... and people did.  There were some amazingly innovative ideas displayed that night, but none (at least in my opinion) as sweet and creative as John's work "birthing" Treena!

I had done nothing with my tree... nothing.  The morning of the party, I asked him (since he was off work that day), if he'd grab some decorations and make something somewhat respectable of the tree so that I could save face at work.  I got home with barely enough time to change, pick John up and head out to the party.  What I found, sitting on the kitchen counter all ready to go, was this amazing "tree" turned baby - - diapered, bibbed, wearing scratch mittens and booties sitting in her cozy, blanket-lined basket... and complete with working lights! 

And, yes... my husband ROCKS!

This is the third Christmas (2002, 2006 and now) that Treena has been a part of our holiday decor. 
It will be a little bittersweet to put her away this year, knowing that she'll likely never be out again
(at least not because I am pregnant!).

A visit with Jolly Ole Saint Nick

In keeping with tradition, we went with our friends to see Santa Claus.  Unlike last year and our amazing timing, we waited in an hour-long line.  Preston and Addison were playing and a little nuts at first, but in all, they handled the long line quite well.  And, once the line moved to where they could see inside Santa's Village and the big man, himself, they were quite content.  (It didn't hurt that Santa came over and talked to them and boogied a bit as he waited for the next kids to walk up.)

Waiting and so very excited to be next!

Waiting... patiently... and not so excited! 

Preston, Addison and Gracelyn with Santa Claus
(Because of the wait, Gracie was not inclined - - understandably - - to smile for any of the pictures.)

The little Swanns with Santa
(It's hard to imagine there will be another baby Swann in next year's picture!)

Gracie's lack of smile did not, however, mean that she didn't thoroughly enjoy herself.  In fact, she was quite content in Santa's lap - -  not wanting up and hugging onto him.  And, just like last year, Santa wasn't inclined to let her go!

He clearly remembered her, down to her tutu last year and the summer months in the hospital that we had told him about.  John wasn't with us last year, so he was completely taken aback by Santa's compassion and attention to our daughter.  He couldn't believe how emotional Santa was as he sat with Gracie.  So, even without her smile, it was a wonderful trip to see Saint Nick!

A sweet, emotional Santa loving on Gracie

Gracie with Santa last year... still one of my most favorite pictures ever!

Decking Our Halls

Until we start decorating each year, I forget just how much excitement it creates in the house. As I unpacked boxes of decorations at the end of November and piled them everywhere, Preston was oohing and ahhing at everything, saying how beautiful it all was. (Until he exuded all that excitement, all I was seeing was a mess and a project to tackle!). Just like Preston, Miss Gracie gets so excited when she sees the lights on the tree, the lights outside and all things related to this festive time of year. It makes the project so worthwhile to see the joy in their faces... and once we're done, John and I both love it, too! There really is nothing like the warm glow that the lights and glistening decorations create in our home.

This year was extra special because Gracie was so involved in decorating the tree. Yes, she did her typical rounds underneath the tree, excitedly signing, "color" "lights" "tree," all of which makes us so happy, knowing that she remembers what we do every year. We never imagined, though, how completely involved she'd be in decorating the tree! It was so fun to see her choosing ornaments to hang, hanging them and delighting in her accomplishment.

Here are (so many!) pictures of our time decking the halls...

On November 27th, the kids awoke to "The Elf on the Shelf" sitting on our entertainment center along with the book.

Named by Preston (despite my efforts to encourage a more creative name!), "Elfie's" adventures in our home will be chronicled later!

On November 29th, Preston helped John put up the lights on the house.

Finally, on December 1st, I finished decorating the house and, that evening, we decorated our tree.

It's finally time for the angel... Preston was so excited!

John held him up, over and over, but Preston was so nervous (Daddy definitely had him... he wasn't going to fall!), that he couldn't get the angel up on the tree. 

What transpired next was a massive meltdown from Preston about not liking our tree, being mad that John put the angel on (after four very long attempts at holding him up over his head!) and stomping off, screaming, to his room for a timeout.  Oh the joys of the season!  So much excitement... and a little out of control.

He yelled from his room for about ten minutes... because there was no reasoning with him, we just ignored him! John said, "He's going to fall asleep."  To which I replied, "No way... he's still screaming!"  No sooner did I say that, there was a pause in the rants from our four and a half year-old and when I peeked in his door, this is what I found. While it was sort of a sad way to end a wonderful evening, it was also kind of funny... and I'd be lying if I said John and I weren't both relieved that he gave in to his exhaustion. ;)

Thankfully, he was back to himself by morning and he does, indeed, love our tree!

O Christmas Tree!

On December 3rd, Gracie "undecorating" the tree!

On December 4th, Gracie climbed up onto the couch to look out the window and see the lights outside... all by herself!

Next on our agenda... a visit to Santa and a special request for him to come on the 26th since Daddy works the 22nd through the 25th.  Hopefully, no matter how tired they are, Santa, his reindeer and his elves can make that happen for us! 

If you give a boy a dog...

Loosely modeled after the popular book (and subsequent series) by Laura Numeroff,"If you Give a Mouse a Cookie."


If you give a boy a dog...
he might gain a new best friend.

That best friend might get really comfortable and break a rule (and look really cute doing it)...

To get his dog (the offender) off the couch, you call him down. He might not (likely won't) go for you.

But if the boy calls his dog down, he might (definitely) want to go outside and play together.

The boy might ask for some bubbles. You decide to give him just the mini "party favor" size bottle, thinking the bubble blowing won't last long.

The boy starts to blow bubbles to chase and pop (because that's the fun of bubbles)...

They might chase the bubbles together... 

His dog just might (most definitely) like to try and pop them, too...

And jump... really, really high... with his mouth open really, really wide!

They might look thoughtfully at the ground wondering how the bubbles all popped before they got any of them...

The boy might ask for more bubbles, after all, you only gave him the mini bottle to play with.

His dog might wait patiently for the boy to open another bottle...

And the boy will blow some more bubbles...

The boy might giggle... a lot.

They might try to catch (eat) the bubbles...

And they might, just maybe, start to look more like brothers than a boy and his dog...
(Do you see the similarities in their mannerisms and expressions?!)

When the boy is tired of blowing bubbles, he might ask you to blow some.

You'll say yes.

And, because you can blow more bubbles a lot faster than the boy, you might see the boy and his dog go absolutely crazy!

You will giggle (a lot), the boy will giggle (a lot) and the dog, if he could, would giggle, too!

Finally, the boy and his dog get tired and the boy asks to go back inside...

Our new son... 4-legged son, that is!!!

Meet our newest family member, Tobias ~ "Toby"
Christmas came a bit early in our household!
This handsome 10 month-old German Shepherd is our big family gift!

We adopted him on Monday, November 28th and, because everyone in our home has a lot of nicknames, he is already being lovingly called Tobster, TobyBoy and BigBoy. (BigBoy is fitting... he is going to be huge when he fills out!) He has also already earned a very special place in the hearts of our entire family.

He was a surprise to the kids - - neither of them had any idea that John and I had met him the week before. They had no idea we were even considering getting another dog... and we hadn't been until late October when, on duty, John rescued a female shepherd on the freeway. That event sparked a lot of dialogue between us about whether we were emotionally ready to get another dog (we lost Sophie nine months ago) and whether we wanted that responsibility with a baby joining our family in less than three months. We all miss Sophie terribly - - she is often the first thing Preston talks about in the mornings. And, while we will always miss her, we also have never lived without a family dog and that void was starting to feel ready to fill.

Some might think we are crazy getting a dog right before we are about to have a baby. Maybe we are. But, for us, it makes a lot more sense to get into a good routine with a dog now and bring our baby boy home to a pet than to try and get one later on.   I'd rather do the work now than with a newborn or toddler running around.   Granted, we didn't necessarily plan on a puppy, but we didn't plan on Tobias either.

At the point we started seriously talking about getting a dog for our family, I searched the Internet for the right type of rescue shelter that would be able to find us a good match (Sophie was a rescue dog, too).  When I found Westside German Shepherd Rescue, I couldn't have anticipated how great of a job they'd do.   I completed the application and let them know about a few females we were interested in, as that's all we were considering. (John and I have only had female dogs and had no interest in getting a male.)   When one of their foster families called about a young female we were interested in, she told me about a few of their dogs, asked me some questions and answered mine. Then she mentioned a male nine month-old pup that they had who, in her opinion, sounded like a great match for our family. I explained we were interested in getting a female.

Two weeks later (after one failed attempt to their home due to horrendous traffic) John and I met the foster family (nicest people... a wonderful family) and several of the dogs they were fostering. Midway through introducing us to the females they had, the foster "mom" asked if we'd like to meet Tobias, the male she mentioned to me on the phone. (I had told John about our conversation and we had looked him up on the shelter's site, but still were not into the idea of a male.) We met him... and instantly clicked, despite our hesitation.   They brought out the rest of the females and, before we left, we saw Tobias one more time. He was sweet, smart, easy on the leash, gently took the ball from John's hand multiple times, sat for us, laid down, played and all signs, including the instant bond we felt, pointed to him being a great fit... but we still weren't sure about having a boy. 

The drive home was quiet, we were both deep in thought and felt silly for not being certain just because of his gender.   (Those of you who we texted, called and emailed about this subject matter... thank you for your input!)  By that evening, we knew we wanted to bring him home, but we needed to wait until John had a few days off in a row in order to help him acclimate to our family as a unit. So, on Monday, unbeknownst to either of the kids, we went to pick up our four-legged son.

This is Preston, in the car, not yet knowing what we are doing other than "running errands."

The sound isn't great on here, but his reaction is clear and priceless!
And, as I anticipated, he was super happy that the boys will now be taking a 4-2 lead!

When we got Toby in the car, he was nervous... and so were we.  There are no guarantees in this process.  But we were also excited and so happy.  About halfway home, he scratched at his crate door and let us know he needed us to stop so he could go potty.  Such a good boy!

The boys... playing ball and bonding.

Gracie's first encounter with Toby. 
She was so happy to see him and was laughing and signing "dog."
We had hoped to surprise both kids together, but it just didn't work out with school schedules.  
Preston was sweet during the car ride, at one point saying that he was sad Gracie couldn't be with us to pick him up. (Considering it was close to three hours  total in the car, it worked out better for her!) 

A welcome gift from our sweet next door neighbors... well, from their one year-old lab!

John bonding with Tobias on his first full day with us!

There are no words to describe how happy this made us.
This was Toby's second night home and Gracie laid with him for about 45 minutes.  She was so happy to cuddle up to him (and invade his space multiple times!).  He was such a good sport and just took it!  Toby clearly senses how special Gracie is and that only made us realize how special he is, too.
Such a good boy.

We are, at this point, just shy of four days with Toby and are still very much in the "getting to know each other" stage. He definitely has some puppy behaviours - - he loves getting paper towels out of the trash can and he likes to sneak shoes that aren't in the baskets or certain toys from either of the kids' rooms (so far only in the mornings!). The good news is, he is easily redirected when we correct him and give him one of his own toys. He likes to explore, so he definitely cannot be trusted off leash in the front yard. He is smart, gentle natured yet protective, great with the kids, house trained, crate trained, a great sleeper at night and getting more and more cuddly and affectionate with us each day. John and I are so happy we made this decision for our growing family.