Dreycin updates

Ive been meaning to do this for a while, but time just dont allow me to sometimes. LAtely Dreycin is into everything, he climbs on anything he can get his leg over, toys couch cushions, you name it....he's a little monkey. We have to watch him like a hawk now, and he's taken a few falls but has never really cried too bad. He is such a fast crawler and if i blink he's right behind me. We've started using his "crazy clown" walker and he will walk from the living room to our bedroom back and forth back and forth really until we get tired of following him and turninghim around! He is eating anything that can be mashed, but mainly still on breastmilk 5-6feedings a day. THis morning I sat him on the scale and he weighs 22.2 lbs! He's still in a size 4 diaper. Still no teethies, and still doesnt sleep through the night. On a rare occastion he will sleep until 2am or 3am, wakes up and ill feed him and he'll go back to sleep. But like last Tuesday night, he went down around 9pm, woke up around 1030, 1am, and stayed up from 2am-5am? I tried everything, then finally figured some ibuprofen @ 445am would do the trick if maybe he was teething and he was out by 5am. Needless to say that day I should have probably called in, but I just went in a little bit later than usual but since then have struggled to get in enough sleep! Derek is able to help on the weekends, and made the effort to take him on thursday and friday night this week which let me get ehh, 5hrs of sleep straight. He is back to online college, and is now taking 1302 so WE i mean he, will be pretty busy writing essays and stuff. I was definitely itching for this weekend. I tried measuring Dreycin with a measuring tape the other day and i think it was 29 or 30in! We have our 9month checkup and shots coming up so it might be around those numbers? We are still going to swim and gymboree classes! Dreycin is really into music, sometimes will even move his hands, legs, and shoulders to the music. He started clapping the day before we left for Panama and now is doing it everyday, especially when you praise him! He is the joy of my life and will light up my day anyday with his sweet smile! He of course now notices, when someone leaves the room and if it is out a door will whimper and crawl to door. And he has the shy-thing going on sometimes with people he doesnt know! Its hard to believe in just a little over 3months he will be a 1 year old.

8months TODAY!

Today Dreycin is 8mos old and started saying MAmum, MA, Mum.....its so sweet and I just love it (even though he probably doesnt know he is saying MOM). Notice the drool, we still have NO teeth yet! Derek and I are still recovering from vacation, we both worked the day after coming back from miami. Fortunately Derek is off, but im working 5days in a row....wish I would have spent more time with my growing boy today but mama toook a much needed 2hr nap! here are a few pics of daddy and dreycin!

July 9, 2002

I usually don’t write or even talk about my past but today, due to things that have come up this year, I feel it is time. I am a very honest person, and will only speak the truth. I am one who forgives, but never forgets for fear of being hurt.

8 years ago, wow it seems like yesterday but at the same time I feel like so much has happened to me (for the good). If you know me, you know that I was a mere 17years old, working full time at Toni & Guy, had already been enrolled full time courses at Richland college for 1year and living with my roommate Jeff. 8 years ago today, Jeff took his own life and left me & many friends and family asking why? I lived with a lot of guilt after that, I had to begin searching for meaning in my own life, starting completely over. I lost alot friends, kept the true ones, and gained some wrong ones. It was the hardest thing I have ever pulled through. And it was greatly due to persistent encouragement from my parents, no matter how bad I was messing up. I decided that January 1st 2003 I would move to Austin. In Austin I had a wonderful family away from home at the Aveda salon I worked at, and a lot of healing happened during that time. I also partied pretty hard though….. In 2003 while living in Austin, I decided I wanted to be a social worker “healer” after taking an intro to social work class. I returned to Dallas, having earned few credits went back to Richland and living with my parents. In 2004 after 2 years on anti-depressants and therapy I realized that no matter what people said, Jeff’s suicide wasn’t my fault. I was only the “icing on the cake” of a bomb that had been ticking for a very long time. I no longer ask “Why,” but over the years have drawn my own conclusions and had speculations about Jeff having taken accutane for two years. That same year the congressional committee released this (http://www.rense.com/general32/scu.htm)
That fall 2004 I started at UNT, and graduated with my Bachelor’s in Social Work in the fall of 2006. It is hard to believe all the good things that have happened to me since then, after such a horrible time in my life. I am at such peace in my life about my past, and having moved forward, with few minor bumbs in the road, I am so happy today with the way things have turned out. I feel sorry for those that make assumptions about my life, my past because for me it is easy to decide that they will not be involved in my family’s future.

From the wise words of Dr. D, “In thinking of my own life I have grown to realize that life is such a fast moving train and have no regrets for what I have done. Maybe for what I have not seen coming and those that will be left behind….but not for what I have done.
Healers heal….this is what we do. And when our time has come to an end we move on and do what comes naturally “heal” again. The beauty is in healing others we can heal ourselves….but sometimes we need a little help from our friends.”

Panama Pics

PANAMA :)

Our trip to Panama was amazing, there was no greater feeling than seeing my grandparents meet my son and spend quality loving time with him. Mi Abuela Belermina is 79 years old, and mi Abuelo Don Che is 88 years old. My mom’s sister Damaris was able to go to Panama from Canada, where she has lived for about 20years. And we were able to spend time with my mom’s brother Jose’s family a lot of the time too. We had so much fun at Playa Blanca Resort, and with my family in Panama City. On the other hand, traveling internationally with an 8mos old is crazy. I am still undecided if I were to do it again! We lugged around car seat, stroller, playard, 3 suitcases, 3 carry on’s, passport, $, and Dreycin in a Baby Bjorn. Do you know how many times we were like “Ok, do we have everything.” We made it all the way to Miami without losing anything, and then we lost the car seat base. But its ok that was a used set we had bought specifically for our last Dallas trip with the stroller & playard for about $90. Thank goodness we have 2 other car seats anyways. So for the first night it was HOT, and when I say hot, I mean humid sticky hot. You have to remember that in Panama, most people including my grandparents do not have air conditioning or even fans. Until this year they didn’t even have hot water, but let me tell ya that those cold showers work wonders in that heat so Derek and I didn’t even use the hot water! The very next day we were off to Playa Blanca for 5nights, and at least had air in our rooms, as well as meals three times a day without having to cook! Derek and I both got burnt the first day out in the sun. I simply forgot to put sunscreen on my back and only got sunburnt there. But my dear husband refused to put sunscreen on anywhere besides his face, and that was from much persistent from me egging on that he would be 30 later this year and didn’t want his face to look too old due to sun damage! Derek was burnt so bad he blistered on both shoulders, then peeled until we got to Miami on Tuesday. It was nice to have someone come in make your bed every day, clean up after you, and stock the rooms with clean towels. The only thing that was a little frustrating to deal with was Dreycin not being able to crawl around on the floor. All the homes/buildings are made with cement, and then have tile floors. We did our best to line the floors with blankets, but had to watch Dreycin like a hawk to make sure he didn’t bust his head open on those hard floors. So im pretty sure Dreycin got use to always being held by someone while on our trip! He was such a happy boy the whole time, and did AMAZING! He took long naps, and some nights even slept all the way through in his play yard! (No my son does not sleep through the night, I believe this is because he is still being breastfed?) It was an amazing trip, not sure if I would call it a vacation because we always had somewhere to be or something to do but definitely worth the time and money we spent!!!! Derek and I are even talking about building a house on my aunt’s land there for retirement, someday, one day soon. FYI Panama is one of the countries you can afford to live off of your Social Security income after retirement! After two days of being back, Derek and I are already back down to the weight we were before we left, thanks to all the natural/non processed foods we were eating while in Panama! I’ll post a few of my favorite pics because there is no way Im posting 250 pictures!
Pictures can tell a 1000 words!