Time Flies - Happy Holidays!

They say that time flies when you are having fun so I guess we must have had a lot of fun this year as it is already the first week of December and I am just getting around to writing our annual holiday letter.  So,  this year has completely flown by for us.

Happy Holidays!

All and all 2011 was a good year for us which was filled with many happy memories and great adventures.  The year did begin with a trip to Philadelphia Children's Hospital (CHOP) for Daniel but what else is new.  Despite crossing our fingers that Daniel's G-Tube spot would close completely on its own and not require any medical intervention it wasn't the case.  So in January we spent a fun-filled day at CHOP and Daniel underwent surgery to close the pinhole opening that remained.  We were very fortunate and had a fabulous surgeon who was great with Daniel and totally got our "craziness."  Well maybe just mine.   In true Daniel's fashion, he totally called out his doctor and asked him what took him so long to see him on surgery day.  And if that was not enough to embarrass us, he told the recovery room nurses that he LOVED soda when they asked him what kind of icy drink he wanted.  How he loves soda is beyond me as he does not drink it in this house.  In the end it was worth the trip as his G-Tube site looks fabulous now.... 

Speaking of medical visits, this year also brought our annual trip to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for Daniel's check-up.  The visit went extremely well and everyone involved in his case was extremely impressed by his progress and development.  So much so that they told us that we did not have to see them for TWO WHOLE YEARS!  Yes, two years!! What are we going to do next year?? Maybe go on a fun vacation or actually write this letter on time??

This year the little man turned FOUR-years-old much to our surprise.  

   

And he totally got how awesome birthdays are.  How does that happen?? Anyway, he celebrated in style with a visit from Nana and a birthday dinner filled with friends and ice cream cake.

The summer, as always, brought exciting adventures and annual traditions.  One being our friend's annual "white trash" party to kick-off the summer.  Our contribution to the party has been securing about 60 pounds of crawfish and cooking them.  As traditions go, each year Daniel gets to rescue one crawfish for our fish tank.  It amazes me that he has no fear in this area and just reaches in and grabs one.  He was pretty happy with his pick this year... 

  

Unfortunately "Mr. Crawfish" made his departure much too soon for us.  Maybe it still had some "BP" in its system.  

The summer also brought a visit from Mike's family from Colorado; a trip to the Jersey Shore, as well as two camping trips for Mike and Daniel to a friend's cabin in upstate New York.    Both trips were great fun and allowed our little boy to be just that - A BOY.....

   

The Fall brought the arrival of school and off to Pre-K we all went in true amazement of how far we have all come.  And yes, that is a black eye for the first day of school.  Yet another proud moment...

No longer are there tears in the classroom doorway and no longer is there a "Bye Mom." Just off and running. Guess it is just a precursor of days to come.  How next year brings a new school and Kindergarten I haven't got a clue.

And believe it or not, Mike and I successfully made it to our 10th wedding anniversary.  Talk about time flying by.  

We were able to get away for a couple of days to celebrate thanks to my sister and the wedding celebration of a very dear friend in Palm Springs, Calif.  Though the trip was a world wind, it was awesome on many fronts.  In true Mike fashion he somehow convinced me to take the Palm Springs Ariel Tram to the top of the mountain. 

 

Small spaces, extreme heights - I think Mike is trying to tell me something after all these years.  All and all it was an amazing trip up and a fabulous way to celebrate our milestone.

Both of our families are doing well.  Somehow our niece and our nephew are in high school while the other two are in their last year of elementary school and one is in middle school.  Again, time flies!

All and all, we are doing well too.  Mike continues to work for Cablevision and is rounding out his 17th year and I am still doing some freelance work and am in the process of finding full-time work.  Daniel, as you can tell, continues to be a happy and funny little boy and continues to amaze (and drive us crazy) each day.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that we are raising a nice human being.  I guess time will tell on that front too.    As always, we hope your past year was filled with many adventures and happy memories as our was. We wish you peace, love and joy this holiday season and may 2012 bring you even more! 

Happy Holidays!!!