Dan's 30th birthday

Dan turned 30 on the 5th, so this post is a little late, but here are some pictures from his surprise party (Friday night) and his actual birthday (a very laid-back Sunday).

We had the party at a park close to the hospital (where Dan really lives). I had been stressing about every detail for over a month: where to have it, what day, what time of day, am I inviting everyone that Dan would want, will I be able to talk him into leaving the hospital to come be surprised, etc. Well - it turned out that everything was great, everyone had a good time, and Dan was surprised. We missed those who couldn't make it (on-call/away rotations/working late), but such is life I guess. The kids had fun, the adults had fun, the food was great (pot-luck), and Dan was happy. Yay! Thanks everyone!

At the Party
This is everyone before Dan came:

An action shot of Elena:

The only picture I took with Dan in it. Oops! :)

On His Birthday
Here he is "trying on" a new shirt.

Elena got to help me by licking the card in order to seal it, so when Dan was about to open it, she thought she would help him by licking it some more.

Dan's birthday pie (chocolate chip):

Getting Caught Up

I am so far behind in my posts - it's ridiculous. I'm just going to caption these pictures (in no particular order) and then click on the publish button. Here we go:

Elena is helping Dan to sharpen the lawn mower blade. She loves to help and Dan is so patient with her. I love it!
The ward (congregation) that we were in before we started attending the Spanish branch did their annual luau. As always, Jonno and Tonya did an awesome job! We will be so sad when they are not here to be MCs/dance teachers/performers next year. Jonno will most likely be doing his residency elsewhere. That's him in the middle below.
Elena had a lot of fun watching - in this pic - and dancing (my batteries died before that).
She enjoyed getting to sit in the fire truck after the "Buddy Walk" (more about that later). She LOVES trucks, tractors, buses, etc right now.
Elena and cutie-pie Aiden. Aiden's mom invited Elena and I to do the local "Buddy Walk" a couple of weeks ago. Their neighbor has a child with Down syndrome. The purpose of the walk was to raise money in order to "benefit national education, research and advocacy initiatives, as well as local programs. These funds enable NDSS and local groups to offer services that support and enhance the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome and their families." I pasted that info at this site. We had a lot of fun eventhough it rained and we enjoyed all the free food and entertainment (an awesome and inspiring talent show).
She loved wearing her "Buddy Walk" t shirt and didn't want to take it off. She now wears it as pajamas (with the sleeves rolled up a bit).
Elena's cute friend Sadie really enjoyed watching the luau:
I love this picture because I am so happy that Elena is old enough this winter (not crawling) that she can wear cute tights and have them last more than one day:
Thanks for checking up on what we've been up to. Stay tuned for a belated birthday post for Dan and pictures and videos of Elena's first trip to the fair!

The Past Week

It has been a pretty laid-back week here at the Dison house. I thought I would post some pictures of what we do when we get bored.

Elena makes a pretty convincing little piggy: "Oink!"

Last year's costume still fits:Dan and Elena having fun:

Caleb and E. playing with bubbles on the front porch:

Grandparents' Day

Elena is grateful that she has

the most awesome grandparents ever!

Here is a picture of both sets on her blessing day:
She doesn't get to spend as much time with them as she would like, but she loves them a lot, so she wanted to say:
We also took a video of her saying hi. Unfortunately, we waited until Sunday afternoon and - as all church-going parents know - Sundays are hard on little ones. The video is cute, but she did need redirecting a couple of times. :) Enjoy, Abuelita and Abuelo, Granny and Grandad!

"Knocking" Down Blocks

This is a just quick video that I thought was cute:

La Oreja

Elena has had a cold for almost a week now, but she's on the mend. This morning, we went on a walk with Emily and her baby Sadie and we played with Caleb and Ella Joy at the park. She was having a pretty good day. After her nap, she was being super fussy and whiny and I was trying to figure out what was going on when she grabbed her ear and said, "Ear hurt." After asking if she was sure a couple of times, I called the pediatrician and we were able to get an appointment right then. Turns out, Elena has an ear infection like she said!

I am so grateful that she can express herself now. It must be empowering for her. I'm also really glad that we started her on the antibiotic before bed tonight because she just woke up crying when the ibuprofen wore off. We got to cuddle and watch Curious George while we waited for more to kick in and she's asleep again. Soon she'll feel better without being medicated. :)

California trip

I can't believe I started this post two weeks ago. Unfortunately, it is going to be a much more boring post than I thought because I only have "hanging out" pics, my mom has all of the "sightseeing" ones on her camera. Maybe I'll post more when they are emailed to me.

Summary: It was wonderful to go to California and introduce Elena to so many people in Dan's family and in my extended family. I went to California for the family reunion of my dad and his siblings. Happy 60th birthday, Uncle Ken! Since most of my aunts and uncles live in the Bay Area, we reunited there. My wonderful parents bought me a ticket (with only a little bit of arm twisting) and we were able to be there for 10 days. Dan, of course, couldn't come because of school.

In no particular order, here is a quick list of events:

• We went to the beach and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk
  
• church with Uncle Norman's family in Vacaville
  
• the Monterrey Bay Aquarium
  
• the Exploratorium
  
• Pier 39
  
• the Oakland temple
  
• the Gilroy Outlets
  
• the hospital in Santa Clara to visit Dan's brother-in-law Kevin
  
• the pool
• a family talent show
  
• Kathryn and Michael's house
  
• Uncle James and Aunt Lori's house
  
• a family picnic in a park
  
• watching a lot of the Olympics
  
• kickin it with Aunt Mary's family
  

I'm sure we did more too that I just can't remember at this moment. It was a very full trip. I wish that we could go back soon. It was just as fun being there as I remember it being when I would visit as a teenager. We (Dan and I) both have such amazing and generous families - they pulled out all the stops to help Elena and I feel comfortable and well fed. :)

My cousin Michael and his wife Kathryn have two cute girls: Ambyr and McKenna. I wish that we could live closer to them - without having to pay CA rent. :) Elena had a great time playing with them. Although she's pretty ticked in this picture - it was late at night. We had a lot of late nights and she was a trooper, but this was the last straw.

Me with my cousins Rebekkah and Jennifer and two of R's kids.

From left to right (not counting me and E): Kathie (Dan's sister), Kevin (Dan's brother-in-law) and Barbie (Dan's sister), Caitlin (niece), Lydia (Dan's Mom). We had a great time together and we must have been good luck charms - jk - because Kevin's surgery went great.

Elena and cousin Caitlin:

I have an obsession with taking pictures of Elena sleeping. I have probably taken a pic at least once a month - if not more - her whole life. She was so dead asleep this particular night that after she fell asleep in the car, I was able to change her into her pajamas without her even moving.

This is who we were lucky to be able to stay with: Brian, Uncle Brent, Aunt Mary, David, and Jeffrey. The house was big enough so that Elena's sleep protests didn't bother anyone and the food was fabulous. Especially the salsa. The boys were really good with Elena too. She was a big fan of all of them by the time we left.

My cousin Kendall and Elena coming home from the pool. I love my Aunt Lori's neighborhood. I think it would be so perfect to have a pool and a park right across the street!

Lena, Ambyr, Shelby, and McKenna at the Seabright beach. Shelby does a great job looking out for and playing with all of the little ones.

I'm Back!

I feel like I have been gone the whole summer, when in reality I have only been out of town about 25 % of the time. When you are constantly either adjusting to being home or getting ready for the next trip, it tends to all just sort of run together.
It has been fun to be able to take off and help out with the Young Women (from church) or to go visit family, but it will be nice to stay here for a while. Now that the school year has started, I have responsibilities that require that we stay put. And that's a good thing. I am excited to be tutoring again (today was my first day for the 08-09 school year) and to watch sweet Caleb this semester. I'll post a photo of him soon. He's a cutie!

Here is a picture that someone took at a birthday party just a few days before Elena and I left on our trip to California. We rarely have a photo with all three of us together, so I am excited to post it.

I have already started an entry about our trip, but there is no way that I am finishing it tonight, so I thought I would publish really quickly to prove that we are alive and well. :)