So Thankful

Every day I think to myself how lucky I am to have such an amazing little boy in my life. I honestly cannot imagine my life without him. He brings me so much joy and happiness. He makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me think, and he challenges me.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hearing stories about families who have been struck by horrible tragedies and each one of them break my heart and remind me just how lucky I am to have my life- even on the days when things are extra tough and seem unfair- I am lucky because AJ and I, along with the rest of my family, are healthy.
There’s a story of a family in Orange County who in May 2007, lost all 3 of their children in a car accident. Reading that story back then was absolutely devastating. I followed it online for months just wondering how something so horrible could happen to these people. Yesterday, the family- along with their 2 year old triplets- were on Oprah and as sad and devastated as they were- they were surviving. It really showed me that if they can get through that horrible time, anything is possible.
Then, there’s another story of this little boy- a little younger than AJ- who has had an aggressive form of cancer since he was an infant.Click here to read his story He has spent most of his life getting pricked by needles, at doctor’s appointments, in hospitals, and laying in a bed with a feeding tube. He’s not even 2! Being a parent, I don’t know how I could possibly watch all of this happen to my son. I guess when you have no choice, you do what you have to do. I know when AJ gets a black eye or has to get a shot, it breaks my heart, so I can’t even fathom how they handle this.

There have been many times over the past year when I didn’t think I could handle what was going on. HOW could I survive being a single mother? HOW could I possibly work full time and not be home with AJ 24/7 like we were used to? HOW could I move out of the house that Jason and I bought 4 years ago? HOW could I go days without seeing AJ because he’s with his dad? But now, since I have been able to do all of those things, I realize that all these things weren’t nearly as bad as I imagined they would be. AJ and I are happy and healthy and going strong. I see good things in our future and I’m so incredibly thankful that I’m his mom.

We Carved...

I'm going to be really honest here...I wasn't quite sure I wanted to carve pumpkins alone...with a 2 year old...who's favorite words are "I DO IT!!" It felt stressful and not fun to me. But, on the other hand, how do I NOT carve pumpkins with AJ days before Halloween??? So, tonight I decided to go for it. I put on my "patience hat" and we did it. And of course, it was fun and not stressful at all! AJ didn't really get it, which was ok, but he had fun helping me clean out the insides of the pumpkin and I even let him use a real knife- well, the kind that come in a pumpkin carving kit- still totally sharp, but he did well. We decided on the shapes of the eyes and nose and ears together and then I cut them out. It was a ton of fun! Here are a few pictures from our evening:

Working hard!

Cleaning it out...

Cheese!!!

 The finished products!

The pumpkin AJ made at art class with Mamna today :)

Pumpkin Patchin'!

Yesterday Mamna, Papa, AJ and I went back to Anderson Farms Pumpkin Patch. It was a lot of fun! It's so pretty and so well put together there. This time AJ was lucky enough to go on TWO pony rides! He just loved being a "cowboy". Here are a few pictures:

I Knew It..

AJ's been asking "Where Pop and Grammy Cory go?" I've gotten a few things out of the closet in the guest room where they stayed and AJ, for some reason, has been in there with me. Each time he asks about them. It's bittersweet actually. It makes me so happy that he thinks about them and remembers them, but sad that they had to go home. We miss Pop and Grammy Cory. :)

Visit with Pop & Grammy

This weekend we had visitors! Pop and Grammy Cory came for a quick trip and we LOVED seeing them. Sadly, Grammy Cory got a stomach bug and wasn't feeling great, but we made the best of it.

Friday night we picked them up at the airport and came back the house. We laid low and just caught up on each others lives. Then, Saturday morning we all hung around the house, watched some Caillou and had breakfast. AJ truly remembers both Pop & Grammy and would ask for both of them each time they weren't in the room. "Where Pop go? Where Gammy Cory go?" It was great. It didn't take any time for them to get reacquainted.

That afternoon we headed to this little harvest festival not too far from the house. We went on a tractor ride, saw some horses, sheep, cows and other animals and then AJ got to go thru a kid-sized maize. He had a lot of fun!

Sunday we didn't do a whole lot, but we still had fun. Pop & AJ watched football together- which I think they both enjoyed- and then we did some early Christmas shopping for AJ.

Today we had to say goodbye again, and it was sad. I know tomorrow AJ's going to ask where Pop and Grammy Cory are... I am just so happy that we got to see them and AJ loved giving them both big hugs and kisses before they left.

Pop and AJ throwing parachutes off the landing

p.s. as you can see, AJ's not too thrilled by the camera these days- he doesn't like to look at it. 

Email from Mamna

I got this email last night from Mamna, telling me about the day that she and AJ had together. It made my heart smile, so I had to post it :)

His art work was great again and he is becoming the “most popular” kid in the class!!! Everyone wants to sit by him, and he’s the teacher’s pet as well – this kid really has personality, and he lets his creative juices go with his art. He’s the only one who completely does his own thing in class – and loves to share in front of the class. Also, he was so cute while cutting today – he was so careful when I was holding the paper and we didn’t even talk about “not cutting Mamna” – he just knew to be careful (he’s so smart!!).

I love this kid!

Anderson Farms 2010

What a FUN day!!! AJ and I headed back to Anderson Farms- something that will be an annual event, for sure- with the Pick and Zambrano families and it was absolutely awesome! I love how each year these things just get more and more fun because AJ gets older and can really enjoy himself. He went on barrel cars with Samantha, "drove" many tractors, fed goats, picked two pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, ran thru a maze, and just got to have fun being a two year old. On top of that, he got to hang with some of his favorite friends, Samantha and Joe, Ashlyn, Kellyn and Braylon.

Here are some pics:

All the kids!

 One of AJ's highlights!

Learning how to milk a cow... AJ said, "Mom...the cow pooped!" hah!

Going on the barrel cars with Sam and Ashlyn

Race cars!

Yet, another tractor

AJ and Sam...his BFF!

With Mama!

He's exhausted...

He has problems... :)