Minivan Mom? Say It Ain't So!!

The lease on our Jetta is coming to an end and, with as much as I love that sporty little car, it just isn't equipped to run even a small family like ours around town. It is just too small. To that end, Jeremy has been trying to convince me to get a minivan for about the last six months. I have been strongly resisting because I am just not the minivan kind of gal. We had decided to get a Toyota Sienna because it is all-wheel drive, but I could never fully get used to the idea. It just looks too "minivan" for my taste.

Last weekend I was watching t.v. and a VW commercial came on. I'm sure you have probably seen the one... Brooke Shields talking about how all over the world people are having babies simply for German engineering and to be able to justify getting VW's new minivan. I finally paid attention to that ad and that new minivan looked sweet! It does not look like your typical minivan. So this weekend Jeremy and I went car shopping. We weren't going to pick one up, but just look at them and get an idea of what they were all about.

Well... we ended up signing a lease on a new VW Routan and brought it home on Saturday! Our sales person said we are the first to pick one up in Colorado Springs and possibly the first in Colorado! It is such a cool car with so many cool features. For safety, we are going to put snow tires on it.

Bye-bye sporty...
Hello soccer mom!

While mom and dad were out getting a new car, Marissa had a fun time hangin' out with Auntie Chelle and Uncle Nate.

Looks like they had a great time, huh?

Pardon Me, Is There A Walker In The House?

Ready...

Set...

GO!!!

By the way, she turns 20 months old today.  Yay Yay Yay!!

Important: Please Read

This is going to be a long post by way of a couple of other blogs.  Please stick with this to the end as there is a very important message to be shared.  

The material you will read in the following links has been written by two very special mommies.   I will not elaborate on what they have written.  They have done a much more adequate and eloquent job addressing these issues than I ever could. 

I have been reading the blog of a wonderful little boy named Alex for several months now.  I checked on him yesterday evening and was taken aback by what I read.  Please go to Alex's mommy Jessica's blog, A New Kind Of Normal  to read what she had to say.  Within her post is a link to another special mommy Tamara's blog.  Please go there by clicking on the gray text within the second paragraph of Jessica's post.  This is where the whole story started.  I know this is a lot of linking, but I would not ask you to do this if it weren't so important.   

We need to put a stop to the ignorance, intolerance and hatred that is thrown at people who are "different".  After all, that kind of hateful attitude toward those who were "different" is where the atrocities of the Holocaust came from.

Thank you.

 

Saving the Best For Last

Lots of Pics and Vids to get through and if you all are patient, there is a big reward at the end.  Don't cheat and skip to the end first though!

Aren't sleeping babies the cutest things on earth??

She was starting to catch a cold on this day and I was able to take her trach mask and pulse-ox probe off without her waking up.  I thought for sure the pulse-ox probe coming off would wake her up because it is wrapped around her very ticklish toe!  She didn't want to wake up for anything.  Poor baby!

Today is the third day and fortunately her cold is still not very bad.  I attribute this to the fact that we are giving her Pulmicort nebulizers 2x a day.  Thanks Dr M!

Poor baby just wanted to keep sleeping and instead, she has to deal with her insane mommy!  Just look at her tired little eyes.  I am sure that if she could talk, she would say "It sure is a good thing none of my friends are here because I would be SOOOO embarrassed right now!!"

We call this one "Nurse Rissa"

She's seen us do it a billion times so why can't she do it herself, huh?

And finally, The One, The Only... The Incredible Walking Marissa!!

Isn't that great?!?  She has taken up to 8 steps between us, and we know she can do more.

We've known for about 2 1/2 months that she COULD walk, she has just CHOSEN not to!  When we have tried this before, most of the time she stands there for a second and then throws herself down with an exasperated yelp as if to say "I am not your little grind organ monkey!  I will not perform for you anytime you feel like it!".  She does this with the talking thing too.  I tell ya, this toddler attitude just might be the death of us.

So there you have it.  How many of you cheated and watched the walking video first?  Come on now, tell the truth.  Santa is watching!!

Blog Background Election Results

UPDATE:

THE CULPRIT

For those who were wondering who hijacked my vote and wrote Hillary's name on the ballot... I give you... my brother Brian!!! Mama's sweet baby boy. Look at that guilty face. BUSTED!!!!

The polls are closed and the people have spoken...

Old background - 2 votes


New background - 3 votes


Hillary Clinton - 3 votes




Unfortunately for Hillary, I didn't include her on my ballot and I think Marissa's blog might look a little strange with her as a background. ;)

So the people demand... The NEW background!!! (Sorry Mom and Michelle, you fought valiantly, but alas, you still lost)

Take heart Hillary. As the saying goes, "It is an honor just to be nominated".

A Different Kind of Election

On this, the most important election day of our lifetime, I ask that you take a moment away from watching history unfold before your eyes and help me with another kind of vote.  Or, I will settle for responses tomorrow if you really can't tear yourselves away from the real election today.   :)    This is much more lighthearted than what is going on in our nation today and I hope you play along.

I am in a quandary at the moment.  I need help deciding what the look of this blog should be.  As you have probably noticed by now, I changed the background a couple of days ago.  

Now, I loved the old rainbow picture.  It was very beautiful but the one thing I did not like about it was that it made my pictures transparent.  Of course this problem could be solved by just clicking on the picture and it could be seen clearer and bigger. 

I like the new background because the pictures are clear but I also like the simplicity of it.

So, I need your help.  Please vote for either the rainbow background or the new background.  I will tally the votes and whichever one gets the most will be the permanent background.

Rock the Vote!!!

Thank you      :)

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time getting together with friends last night and trick-or-treating. Here are a few pictures...

There were many great yard decorations but we thought this one was the coolest!


How precious is this?


Our good friend Brandi and her beautiful kids Grace and Tommy.   Ben... sorry, didn't mean to leave you out (husband to Brandi and Daddy to Grace and Tommy)... You were taking pictures too, so we never got you in the photo... O0ps!

The "Gang"

Jeremy was in costume too.
He was a Computer Geek, of course!!!