Max loves Jillie

Max is really protective over Jillian, it is very cute. He always wants to be by her or know where she is. One time I was in the shower, and Aaron was still sleeping and the baby started crying so Max started licking Aaron's face and that didn't wake him up so then he sat on his face to wake him up to get the baby.

I had to put a chair by the bassenet so Max could see the baby.

Ahh...

I love my little girl!

Grandma and Grandpa Dryden

It was so nice to have my mom come and help me with Jillian. She stayed Friday thru Monday. It's so nice to have her live close by to help out often. Thanks mom.

My dad came to visit today. I love this picture so much. Jillian was so content in his arms. Thanks mom and dad.

First Bath

Meet Jillian Marie!!

Here she is! Jillian was born 10 days early and weighed a whopping 9 lbs. 11 oz. on December 1, 2008 at 8:31 pm. Thank goodness I was able to post one photo, I have been having problems uploading any images. I hope to put a lot more on here soon. Jillian had Jaundice when she was born, which is the yellow color seen in the skin of many newborns. It happens when a chemical called bilirubin builds up in the baby's blood. Her bilirubin went really high so on Thursday, Jillian had to undergo photo therapy. She was placed in a special incubator for a day and a half with special lights on her to lower the bilirubin. She was only taken out for feedings and then put back in. The bilirubin dropped really low so finally on Friday afternoon we were able to bring her home!! We love her so much and we can't wait to have you all meet her.

Here I am- BIG and READY

Can you guess which pair of feet are mine? I know its tricky....



I wish I posed for every picture like this one...

Only 11 more days till my due date!

Only 4 more days till my last day of work!

so very soon till we can hold our little girl!

My Grandma

Aaron brought my laptop into work for me today since my work computer isn't working and I have sooooooo many pictures on here that I haven't looked at forever cause I never turn on my laptop. Anyway, Here is my cute Grandma. I love her. (and I love that my mom stopped whatever she was doing to smile at the photo)

The Alpha Male

Max and Aaron.
They are two peas in a pod. I have never seen a dog love his master as much as Max loves Aaron and I never knew how much a master can love his pup. Its adorable. I love to watch them interact. Its good that Max is a daddy's boy, because the baby will be coming soon and need my full attention and daddy's attention can be spread amongst both our babies.

Back East part 2

Here is my handsome brother with his beautiful wife and children.

Hi Eve!! I love this photo.

Look at the colors in the trees! It was absolutely beautiful in Phillidelphia and Maryland.

Faith's baptism day! What a happy day for her! Love you guys!

Trip Back East-part 1

I had so much fun last week visiting family in Baltimore and Philly! It was a blast. Here are Steve, Erica, Sara, Kate, and Tyler all ready to go trick or treating.
Here is Sara as Sharpeh (from High School Musical), Kate is minnie mouse, and Tyler is a scary dragon! This was taken at Sara's halloween parade at her school.
Tyler and I at the school waiting for Sara to come out. What a cutie!

It was so much fun seeing you guys and seeing where you live.

I will post the second part of my trip soon!

What should Max be?

A Monkey...

or a prisoner...


I am leaving for Washington D.C. tomorrow morning and will be there for Halloween with Steve and Erica and the kido's. and then off to Philly to see John and Laura and their fam, I can't wait, so I guess Max won't be dressing up for Halloween unless Aaron does it. So you all tell me which costume you like best so I can tell Aaron which one Max should wear!

It's too hard for me to decide, cause let's be honest, he makes a pretty cute prisoner and monkey.

I want you

I am dreaming, but I really think it would be fun to have this. I love it. Here is the craigslist listing for you all to look at in case your heart is telling you that you also can't live without it: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/896876390.html

Lucas' Lunch

This is Lucas, he is my nephew and since Heather my sister in law doesn't have a blog, I decided to post the latest news of Lucas. The conversation went something like this:

Lucas "Mom, I eat money."
Heather (Is he serious) "Where is the money now?"
Lucas takes his finger and runs it down his esophagus.
Heather (Alarm bells)"Is it in your belly?"
Lucas shakes his head yes.
Heather (Loud Alarm bells) 'Did it go down your throat?
Lucas shakes his head yes again.

The doctor told Heather to hold out every coin and have him point to the one he ate, low and behold he pointed to the penny and since it has copper in it the doctor told them to come in and get x-rays of the penny. Look how naughty but cute he is...



The doctor said that if it didn't pass thru, they would have to do surgery. According to what Heather said, "he withdrew his funds."



(note: this is not the penny he ate; totally different penny)

"It's a Major Award!"

We went to the city tonight with our friend Jared for some tasty Eliza's (the best Chinese food),and as we were driving home, Aaron started telling us a story about this new knee brace that he is trying out and how it is helping his leg and right then I looked out the car window into an apartment window and spotted this...



Can you see it?

Here is a better picture if you can't quite see what is shining so brightly in the window...



A leg lamp, it was pretty amazing!! Oh, and again another reason why I love the city.

SF Book

One of my close friends, Mia gave me this old book. It has old images of San Francisco. I keep it displayed on a shelf we have, I love it. I just love old books with cool hard back covers.

Paul Newman

I don't really know much about Paul Newman. But on Saturday, after the last session of General Conference, I went to get a pedicure and I started reading the People magazine they had there. They had a big article on Paul Newman and his life. I was fascinated by how much he loved his wife. He only had eyes for her. Joanne, his wife once said of him, "Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat." She too felt the same of him. This makes me happy.

Disneyland

We had alot of fun last weekend. We spent a half day at Disneyland and the next day we went to SeaWorld with our friend Amy Catale. We left Disneyland around 4, (I know lame)but my feet were hurting and I couldn't really go on the fun rides so we spent alot of time shopping in the stores. We bought baby Jillian mickey mouse ears with her name on the backside, they are so cute. We also found some old fashioned mickey and minnie dolls so we bought some of those. Max stayed at the Disney Kennel club and received a certificate saying that he had very good behavior. We think it would be funny to frame it and hang it on the wall above his doggie bed.

Surprise for me!

Aaron and I have been planning on going somewhere next weekend for quite sometime now. Originally, we were going to go to Lake Tahoe for the weekend, but now I'm not sure where we are going. I'm getting a little excited right now because Aaron has informed me that he is not telling me where we are headed. I believe this will be the first time that I have let him surprise me. I have ruined multiple surprises coming from him and I'm not about to blow it again. I don't know how I do it either, because I like to be surprised but somehow I always say to much or ask to much and ruin each surprise. I will let you all know where we go! If you want to find out ahead of time, maybe he will tell you, but whatever you do, don't tell me.

I was attacked..

Last night Aaron, Max, and I went to the city hoping for a splendid evening taking the dog for a walk and then grabbing a bite to eat. It was great up until we were walking back to the car after eating a delicious italian pastry in the park. We were heading up to our car that was parked near columbus on a side street near china town when we noticed a strange lady covering her face with her umbrella and carrying a folding chair up the same side of the sidewalk we were on. We proceeded to walk around her and while I was right beside her, she decided to wack me with her folding chair. I screamed and let Aaron take over. She was such an idiot! She started yelling at us saying, "Why you sneak up behind me!" We of course didn't, we were chatting away about something way before we approached her so she new that we were coming. It was crazy, the lady totally just wanted to be right, even when Aaron yelled back at her saying, " Why did you just hit my wife, she's pregnant, she's having a baby!!" She just kept yelling back, "So, I don't even care..." People like that make me so mad when they clearly are in the wrong but they won't admit it. We almost called the police, I wish we did, maybe it would have taught her a lesson. She even tried to fight back to Aaron shoving her umbrella at him, which was pretty funny seeing a 5'-5" chinese brod trying to fight a 6'-8" white male. It was insane. You know in her mind she was thinking we would run away and not fight back leaving her with no consequence to her actions which would then leave her in control of the situation, but she was wrong, so wrong. Good thing she was short because I do have a pretty nasty bruise on my leg, so if she were a little taller or I shorter, I would have been hit with a folding chair in the stomache.

What are we having??

I went in for my monthly checkup this morning and I told our doctor what had happened during the ultrasound. Before I even had a chance to ask him if he wouldn't mind checking for me, he was practically already bringing in the ultrasound machine. He is awesome! Unfortunately, Aaron is out of town, but we decided that if I could find out, to go ahead and do so. So I did... and we are having a BABY GIRL!!!! We are so excited! Now I can start shopping (just a little bit)!

Happy Birthday to you!

Surprise Aaron!

I got him a bike for his birthday. Now we can go on bike rides! I think he likes it...

Yah, he likes it! Yeah, I chose wisely!

Look at him go...

I love you Aaron. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Today is his big day and to top it off, we are going to go see Coldplay tonight, I can't wait!!!

The baby is a.....

A lot of you may know the news already, but I am aware that some of you do not. So yesterday was the big day to find out what we are having and so we went into the radiology department for the ultrasound. It turns out our baby is to modest. He/She kept his/her legs crossed the whole entire time. The ultrasound tech was even trying to move the baby by jiggling the ultrasound tool on my belly a few times but that didn't work. So for the whole half hour or so the baby remained in one position with the legs crossed tightly, (which is pretty funny since that is how Aaron sleeps sometimes).

So it remains a mystery. Maybe we will just keep it a surprise and wait for the baby to be born to find out. That would be fun, but I really don't think I can wait that long.

My next monthly checkup is next Tuesday with my doctor and I am sure that when I tell him that we still don't know, he will wheel the ultrasound machine into the room and try to check for me. The bad news is is that Aaron will be out of town next week, so if I do find out, he won't be there to share the moment. So maybe I will wait another month. I know Aaron won't care one way or another. I mean, he would be happy to be there but news is news to him. He probably would want me to find out even if he wasn't there.

I always had in my head this magical moment of lying there on the bed with my husband at the foot of the bed and both of us watching the ultrasound machine anticipating to find out what the baby will be. But no, that is not at all how yesterday went. First of all I got in trouble for not having a full bladder. The first thing she said to me was, "didn't anyone tell you that you need to have a full bladder?!" I mumbled back to her, "nnnooo", very softly. Then I looked at Aaron and he shook his head yes. Apparently, our doctor did tell us to do so, but I completely forgot. So as I lied there with complete silence in the room for a half hour, I prayed that she would be able to see clearly the images of our baby. Oh and please note that all along, I could not see the screen at all. So I just lied there looking back and forth at her face, Aaron's mad face, and the wall and tears started coming down my face. I started thinking what if something is wrong with the baby and that is why it is so silent. Finally, Aaron's mad look turned into a loving look and he comforted me and I mouthed to him, "Is the baby okay?" (cause I was to afraid of the tech lady to say any thing outlound." He said, "yes, everything is fine." Finally when she was done, she turned the screen to face me and she showed me our cute little modest baby moving around (except for the legs). That put a huge smile on my face. I could see the little heart beating, the spine, the nose, the hands, and then I thought to myself, "well, the baby is healthy and content and that is all that matters at this point."

So, maybe we will find out or maybe we won't.....

More pictures of Carmel

I have to thank my parents for many trips to Carmel when I was younger. I remember driving through the neighborhoods along the coast in Carmel and my dad pointing out intriguing architecture to me, for example the "Anchor house" by Frank Lloyd Wright. This is where I decided I wanted to learn more about architecture and design.


Just one of the many beautiful window displays. I love walking up and down the streets at night here. I probably would love it in the daytime too, but we never seem to go shopping during the day, maybe that is Aaron's sneaky way of having me not spend any money here since everything has a pretty large pricetag. So we just window shop...


Dell and Janet strolling along in the misty fog...


Aaron, Janet, Matt, and Dell. It looks like Matt has known Dell and Janet for awhile but in fact they met last night.


Look at this door, Don't you just want to walk into the restaurant because of this door, I do. Maybe another day.


Happy Birthday Matt!

Carmel By the Sea

I am in love with Carmel. Last night we took our friends Dell, Janet, and Matt Trip to Carmel for dinner for Matt's birthday (and Max, our baby, of course). Matt just turned 22 so we went to celebrate his birthday. His older brother Jason is one of Aaron's coaches and Matt has helped out alot with CityBeach the past two summers being an assistant coach. They are from Dallas Texas and are just great guys.

I have alot of pictures that I want to post on here, but for some reason I am having a hard time posting more than one at a time. What's up with that! I will try again after this post.

The weather was so refreshing there last night, especially coming from the inlands where we have had so many heat waves, it was so good for a change. It was foggy and misty and magical.

One day Aaron and I will live here or atleast have a beach house here. We hope.

What's it gonna be?

For all of you who are wondering what we are having, we still aren't sure. Baby bobby or baby sue will be determined on July 15th, so a couple more weeks.....We can't wait!!

Our Baby!!

I have been meaning to scan this image earlier and put it on our blog. This was taken about a month ago, so our baby is much bigger now. We are looking forward to our next visit in a week to see our doctor, we will find out what we are having!! Look at the little arms and legs and face! The baby was moving around so much during the last visit. It was very cute. Well, we will keep you all posted on the exciting news next week!

Doritos are cool....

Who loves Cool Ranch Doritos?! In Iceland they are called Cool American. I think I want to take a trip to Iceland now...

Camping on Mount Madonna

We went through a heat spell a couple of weeks ago up here. It reached 102 degrees two of the days. So we decided to go camping with some friends, Dell and Janet. Janet and I drove up later since we are working women with husbands that don't work. Just kidding. But it was so nice, because when we got up there, our tents were up, everything was set up, and dinner was ready! It was perfect!
Burnt Corn, yuck! It actually was great eating around the burnt parts.
Happy Dana, Grumpy Aaron....

Mom's Day

I know its a day late, but I had this image saved on my work computer and realy wanted to post it for Mothers Day.
I love you MOM!

Day at the Dog Park

On my day off last Friday, I took Max to a new dog park that I found in Mountain View. When we first got there, we went into the large dog area since there weren't any smaller dogs in the small dog area. So here is Max checking the place out, not sure of the whole thing...
After watching the big dogs run around for awhile, Max decided to lay down in his favorite position...
Finally Max decided to play around with the big dogs and not be shy, as soon as he saw them chasing balls, he was all over that. The big dogs all decided it was fun to chase Max...
This is Max at my work resting his chin on one of his favorite "babies"