The End of a Decade.

I sit here on New Years Eve 2009 awaiting 2010. Gwen has just been diagnosed with RSV so our plans have come to a halt. Like last year, I am guessing I will be in bed before the clock strikes midnight. This is a huge change from the beginning of the decade where Carter, Sueanne, Lindsay, and I were partying it up, at a rave, in Montreal. It was an amazing time, but I wouldn't trade my current life for anything. I am too much in love with my daughter and husband!

I thought I would take a moment to look back on this decade and how "The Jurbala Family" came to be.......

2000: I graduated from Hartwick College and moved to Endicott, NY, where I worked for IBM, my first job out of college. I would soon be transferred to the Boulder plant.

2001: I packed up my entire life and moved out to Colorado on June 8th. I had never been west of the Mississippi. The first time I came to Colorado was to find a place to live. I am not one for taking risks, but this one paid off. It led me to Michael, who had moved to Colorado in February. Michael and I started dating in October of this year.

2002: The first time I told Michael that I loved him was in January. We had gone to see an Aves hockey game. We barely watched the game. Instead we talked. It was like we were the only 2 people in the arena. I realized at that moment that he would be the one I would spend my life with.

2003: Michael and I moved into our first apartment together.

2004: On February 15th Michael proposed. We went snow shoeing, for the first time, at El Dora. The day was absolutely beautiful. He got down on 1 knee and asked if I would marry him. My first inclination was to throw up, but of course I said yes!! We also purchased our first house in October. It was small, but perfect for us.

2005: June 4, 2005 was the day I married the love of my life. We followed up an AMAZING wedding with a wonderful honeymoon in St. Lucia.

2006: Not much happened this year as I was in the process of getting my MBA. We did take an amazing Caribbean cruise.

2007: I graduated with my MBA. Mike and I took a hot air balloon ride in Breckenridge and toured the wineries in Sonoma.

2008: On February 6th I found out I was pregnant with my first child. It came as a HUGE surprise as we were planning a trip to Italy for fall 2008. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised since we were playing Russian roulette :-) This positive pregnancy test came 4 days prior to a trip to Mexico for my 30th birthday with another couple. The trip didn't turn out as planned, but neither did 2008. On October 13th I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.........Gwendolyn Maren.

2009: The year started with me being unemployed (I was laid off a week after Gwen was born) and enjoying it with Gwen. I was nervous about finding a new job since the economy was so bad that I started looking earlier than I had wanted. Turns out I found an amazing opportunity with my current company, CaridianBCT. I started part time in February and full time in March. I love my job and am able to work a flex schedule of 4 days, so that I have Fridays with Gwen. Little did we know how much stuff a baby comes with, so we quickly outgrew our old house. In July we moved into a new home, which is significantly larger and very much in suburbia. Suburbia has many opportunities for Gwen and she took swimming lessons and tumbling classes. In October our baby celebrated her first birthday and we took our first family vacation to Mexico. It was a great and very busy year, for us!

2010: Looking forward, I have high hopes for the New Year. Michael and I will be traveling somewhere amazing for our 5 Year Anniversary. The location is pending my bonus and our tax situation. Right now we are praying for Athens and Italy. Grandma J will be babysitting Gwen. There may also be a beach vacation with the extended Jurbala family. We will also be spending the holidays at home. It will be the first year, since I came to Colorado that I will not have to travel for Christmas.

I am off to finish drinking a bottle of Prosecco and Michael made a pizza with prosciutto. Gwen has been asleep for the past 2 hours. Not a bad final night to 2009......................

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We traveled to NY for the holidays this year.  It was great being able to have Gwen spend so much time with my family.  She got quality time with her grandparents, cousins, aunt/uncle.  She was even fantastic on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, around the extended family, that she doesn't really know. It didn't take her too long to warm up to everyone.

There isn't much to tell since all we did was lay around, eating our weight in food, drinking far too much beer and wine, and watching movies (some bad, some good), for an entire week.  Gwen seriously slept 12-13 hours a night and took 2X 2-3 hour naps.  Even she enjoyed relaxing!!

Here are some pictures.  More can be found in my albums.  Enjoy!!

Christmas Eve (she left the headband on the entire night)

Trying Egg Nog for the first time

Opening gifts from Santa

Excited about the holidays in her cute outfit from Grandma J

3 Little Zombies in front of the TV (Grace, Gwen, and Olivia)

Another Friend Was Born

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Colleen & Scott Opalka on the birth of their GORGEOUS daughter Rachel Sophie!  She was born on 12/10/2009 in Athens, Greece. 

I have known Colleen my entire life (seriously, 31 years) and could not be happier for her.  I hope that Rachel and Gwendolyn have the amazing friendship that their moms do.  Miles have always separated us, but that didn't matter.  I am looking forward to snuggling with Rachel when Mike and I are in Athens in May 2010!!

2 Cute Babies!!

First and foremost here is the cutest baby in the world.


Next in line is Madilyn Bray, who was born on Friday December 4th. I got to hold her when she was only 1 day old. I forget how little newborns are since they grow up so fast. Madi is little, and Amanda loves chubby babies, so to get her there we will use Gwen's statistics as a guide :-). Congrats to Amanda & Chris!!!

First Haircut...........FAIL!!

It was finally time to get rid of Gwen's mullet, so today we took her for her first haircut. We took her to LolliPops, which is a kid only hair salon. It's super cute inside and even has a mani/pedi area. We sat her in the chair and she was a bit unsure of her surroundings. Right before the first snip a little boy started crying and it completely set Gwen off. She cried the entire time. The hair dresser said that she did fine, but I disagree. You'd think what we were doing to her!! Here are some pics from the big event.

Unsure of her surroundings (notice the mullet)


Getting ready for the first snip


The pain & agony of it all


Always the supermodel.......post hair cut!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had Mike's family out for our first Thanksgiving in the new house. It was great having everyone together (Joe even flew in) and I enjoyed having the holiday here. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to a little less chaos after my 2 weeks of family visits and knee surgery :-) Mike made a fantastic dinner. Gwen was in much better spirits than last year's Thanksgiving debacle and was her adorable self! She tasted everything and only made a couple faces while eating cranberries. She even had a great time shopping on Black Friday (for the record I shopped way too long and my knee is now killing me).

Enjoy some pics from our weekend!

Notice her cute turkey top


Gwen playing with her Grandpa


Gwen, her uncles, and daddy


The Jurbala clan

Tumbling

We signed Gwen up for tumbling classes and she loves them! Thought I would share some pictures. Enjoy!

P.S. No real new Gwen news to share. She still isn't walking (which I know she can, just doesn't want to) and she still isn't saying "mama" or many other words. Oh well. I bet she can eat better than any other 13 month old (she eats everything, including fish, pickles, and lemons, and spits nothing out).

On the trampoline


Climbing through the tunnel

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween was a bit of a bust this year. The flu hit me extremely hard over the past few days so there were no real festivities. We did dress up Gwen as a pink bunny and she hung out at the house, in costume. She also had her first Reece's Peanut Butter Cup, which she of course loved. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

PICTURES FROM MEXICO

As promised............

The Real World: Cabo San Lucas

We survived our first family vacation..........just barely. The night before we left for Cabo, we were woken up at 2:00 am to Gwen screaming. We went to see what was wrong and she had thrown up and rolled all in it and spread it everywhere. We were then up at 4:30 for our 3 hour flight to Cabo. As we were approaching Cabo so was Hurricane Rick. It seemed as though the US TV portrayed it worse than in Mexico, because down there you heard nothing of it. Luckily it missed us and we only dealt with 2.5 days of rain. Gwen has been hit with Montezuma Revenge and is now on day 4. She seems happy so it can't be all bad. She also has a strange rash. Seems like everything that hits normal people on their first trip to Mexico has hit her. I'll be calling the doctor tomorrow :-)

I normally define "vacation" as an escape from reality. We would sleep late and fry ourselves in the sun all while drinking far too much. We would nap when we want and eat when we want. Pretty much be free from all schedules. That doesn't quite happen with a 1 year old. We lived our normal life, only in paradise. She would nap 2x per day so only one of us would lay by the pool at a time, she would abruptly end our fabulous dinners, and our lives revolved around where we could take her and when. We decided it is in our best interests to start vacationing with the grandparents :-)

All in all it was a wonderful time. The resort was right on the ocean and the pools were fantastic. It was a ways away from the airport, but walking distance to the main Cabo area/marina. We spent some time by the beach playing in the sand (Gwen loved it and only tried eating the sand twice) and in the pool (Gwen would lounge in her float reading her water book), since we couldn't swim in the ocean. We would walk to the marina and have beers/pina coladas at happy hour or head out to a nice authentic Mexican dinner. We even ate at The Office where the tide hit our feet as we ate. Gwen found this funny, but lost her cell phone in the water. Gwen tried quesadillas, roasted poblanos stuffed with plantains, chips & guac, tres leches cake, and fundito (cheese).........hmm, now why am I wondering why she has diarrhea??

We learned some things about our daughter on the trip too:
1. She loves to give kisses and to blow kisses
2. She loves to pull herself up and is starting to cruise along furniture
3. Watching TV with her is a pain because she keeps turning it on and off
4. She waves at everyone and will sometimes do all of her tricks for them
5. She doesn't like to be held on airplanes
6. She will only sleep well in cribs, even a very small/unstable crib, in the bathroom
7. She loves elevators
8. Clowns scare her (don't ask)
9. She loves to be the center of attention and was the hit at the resort. Everyone just loved her (how could they not??)

Now we are back to reality in Denver. I start my 4 day work week this week. I am excited but nervous about not seeing her as much on weekdays. Gwen starts her new daycare too. A lot of excitement in this month of October. Next up........Halloween!!!

Then & Now

Then (October 13, 2008)

Now (October 10, 2009)

What a difference a year makes! Happy Birthday my sweet angel!

Happy Birthday Gwendolyn!

Congratulations! You have survived an entire year with me as your mother. Despite being in the care of two people who had no idea what they were doing, you appear to be a happy, healthy, and very chubby child. You also seem to be very good at playing by yourself with your toys. This is a trait that blends well with our parenting style, which is to let you entertain yourself for as long as possible while mommy & daddy watch TV or play on the computer. You eat anything we put in front of you, have been sleeping through the night since month #2, and love being out in public either shopping or in restaurants. These are also very great traits considering mommy & daddy LOVE eating, sleeping, and shopping (well mommy loves to shop, daddy not so much).

In all seriousness, I wanted to write you a long letter expressing how much you mean to me and how much I love you. I wanted to explain to you how much joy & light you have brought to my life in 1 short year. I spent so much time thinking about what I would say. When it came time to put these thoughts into words I realized that I couldn't. There are no words for true love. All that I know is when I see you or think about you, I lose my breath. When I am away from you, I long to see you and to hold you. You are amazing, you are my world, and I love you. The truth is, the day you were born, was hands down, the best day of my life.

Happy 1st Birthday!

I love you!

Mom

Birthday Cake

Gwen was exhausted by cake time so this video is pretty anti-climatic. She didn't really eat much of the cake, just played with it. She took a BIG nap after this. I do know that she likes sweets because she danced while eating tiramisu at my mother's birthday dinner. Maybe she just has fancier taste :-)

Gwen's First Birthday Party!!

We had Gwen's First Birthday party yesterday. It turned out to be a blast (even though the weather was freezing and snowy). We were so blessed to have so many friends join us in celebrating with Gwen. Even more amazing was that my parents were there too. We are just so lucky!!

Here are some pictures from the party. More can be found in my albums. Enjoy!

Getting ready to party, in dress #1 (we had to change her since she couldn't crawl in this one)


The birthday cake


"Smashing the cake"


She got really excited while opening her presents

1 Year Doctor's Appointment

On Wednesday October 7th we took Gwen in for her 1 year doctor's appointment. We went to a new doctor whom I love. She looked at Gwen and mentioned how she could tell that Gwen wasn't walking yet, by her physique. She's still pretty chubby but is definitely slowing down.

Since the 9 month appointment Gwen gained less than a pound but grew 2.5 inches. Her new stats:

Height: 29.75" (75th percentile (she was 49th percentile))
Weight: 23.3 lbs (77th percentile (she was 92nd percentile))
Head: still holding steady at 97th percentile

Gwen can now eat anything. We've already introduced whole milk and only have 1 can of formula left so once that is gone, that is it. Our doctor would like Gwen off the bottle by 15 months. She only gets 2 bottles a day now (morning and night) and sippy cups during the day. Mike will also be moving her car seat forward facing. Now we need a new car seat for his car. Do the expenses ever end???

Big Girl Swing

Yesterday I took Gwen to the park after work. She rode the big girl swing for the first time and loved it. I also let her slide down the slide (while I was holding her of course). We had the best time and I can't wait until I have my Fridays all alone with her!!

The countdown is on

until Gwen's first birthday! I can't believe my baby will be 1 in 3 weeks from today. Some changes are starting to happen in her life:

• I found a new daycare. I am so excited. It is in-home and half the price of my other daycare. The ratio will be 3:1 which will be great. I feel like she is in a "baby factory" now.
• Tonight was day 1 of whole milk at dinner, in a sippy cup, with no formula bottle before bed. Over the next 3 weeks I will be transitioning her from formula to organic whole milk, and from the bottle to a sippy cup. I think I will keep her morning bottle for a while since I like cuddling with her in the morning while she drinks it.
• She pulled herself up today on her dinosaur toy. I look back and she is standing. I have a feeling that walking won't be too far away!
• She only has a couple words dada, dog (she calls both cats "dog"), and uh-oh. She knows the sign to dog and I am teaching her the sign to "more". I am hoping mama will join her list of words soon :-)

I had a lot of ambitions for her first year. One of which was to put together a kick ass baby book. Well that didn't happen. I had been very upset with myself for not documenting anything. The truth is, I have been, in this blog. I actually found a website (the one that I use for my blog layouts) that will put all my posts (with pictures) into a bound book. I started to cry with excitement. I can even choose my date ranges so every year I can print a new book.
I wish I had pictures to share, but I don't. I have been slacking. We get our professional family photos/her 1 year photos done on Saturday at Wash Park. We have a lot of events coming up (my parents visit, her big birthday party, Mexico..........plus the holidays) so there will be many pictures coming soon.................

Mommy Update

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my knee. I had an MRI and the results weren't all that great. There are 3 major things wrong:
1. I have a flap of cartilage that is peeled away like and orange peel
2. I have bruising on my patella bone
3. I have severe arthritis. There are parts of the joint where there is barely any cartilage. I have never felt old until my doctor told me that.

I have to have my knee scoped. This will give the doctor an idea of the severity of the damage as well as the opportunity to fix the flap of cartilage. I have scheduled the surgery for November 19th, which is the Thursday before Thanksgiving. It is a 2 week recovery (not bad) but I won't be able to drive since it is my right knee. I figure piggy-backing Thanksgiving will give me added time off and a reason to just lay on my butt for the holiday and have everyone do the cooking :-) My parents may fly out and help out with Gwen while I am laid up, and then Mike's family will be here for Thanksgiving. Should be an interesting time!

I'll keep everyone posted.

Children's Museum

We took Gwen to the Children's Museum today, but first we had brunch at Lola (our favorite brunch in Denver). Mike and I decided that we needed a couple cocktails before hanging out with other people's screaming kids.

Gwen had a great time at brunch. She had avocado, eggs benedict with waffles and braised pork belly, and some breakfast chimichanga with buffalo, cheese, potatoes, and refried beans. I have to say I am frightened for her next diaper :-)

Gwen and Mommy at brunch

The Children's Museum was fun for Gwen. She crawled around and played with some toys and other kids. Even though she had fun, I think she will enjoy it a ton more in a few years. She was passed out before we got out of the parking lot.

Crawling through a log

The future chef

Nice socks dad

As Promised..............Gwen Crawling

As promised here is the video of Gwen crawling. Take notice of her pug-like breathing while she crawls and the lovely clicking noise that is her grinding her teeth. At the end of the video she claps, says "eyes" and "uh-oh". Enjoy!

Officially a Crawler................

We were told yesterday by Gwen's daycare that she is officially a crawler. She crawls all over the place. This morning she crawled straight for Kaiser. She LOVES pulling on his tail. The cats are constantly running from her. I am thinking we will need to baby proof this weekend. I am so happy that it is an actual crawl, not the army crawl. Her butt looks so cute!! We will capture her crawling on video and post it this weekend.

Gwen still has a cold. We thought she had pink eye, but luckily she didn't. We took her to the doctor on Monday and she weighed in at 18 lbs. What is weird is that 3 weeks ago at her 9 month appointment she weighed 22 lbs...........on the same scale. Mike weighed her yesterday and our home scale said 18 lbs. 4 lbs is a lot to lose in 3 weeks. She is eating fine, she is happy........maybe all the crawling is making her svelte.

Other than that I got over a sinus infection and Mike now has strep. It's like the never ending sickness here!!

Well I am off to go shopping. The movers lost all my winter clothes. As a slap in the face they lost the good stuff but not my sweats, socks, pajamas..........etc. I am not very happy!!

p.s. MY MANAGER APPROVED THE 4 DAY WORK WEEK!!! I start in January!!

So many firsts............

Gwen turned 10 months last week and she has had many firsts around the same time! She is still sleeping great at night and even takes 2 naps during the day. After a couple mishaps at daycare (smacked head and fat lip) things have settled down. She really loves her new daycare.

• She is finally crawling towards stuff she wants. She doesn't go too far yet, but she is starting to get it!
• She said "eye". She was poking me in the eye and I kept saying "eye, eye, eye". She repeated it numerous time. I am hoping "mama" will be coming soon, but whenever I say it she yells and/or laughs.
• With a little help from me (her foot was stuck), she pulled herself up on the ottoman.
• She has been trying so many new foods.........duck fat fries, tofu, pancakes, nectarines, plums, vanilla ice cream.......... This morning I had made her pancakes for the first time. She ate them just fine. Well I put some maple syrup on a piece and fed it to her. The look on her face was priceless. She started eating and then got the BIGGEST smile on her face. She loved it!!

Wish me luck. Tomorrow I go and ask my boss for a flexible work schedule where I work 4 days a week (10 hour days). That would give me Fridays to be "girls day"..........just Gwen and I.

Please see below post for pictures. More can be found in the Summer 2009 Album.

Summertime Fun!

I can't believe we are half-way through August already. The summer is winding down and soon enough Gwen will be 1. I just wanted to share pictures of Gwen enjoying her summer!

Wheel. Of. Fortune


Texting with Miss Jen


Lounging at the pool


First time in the pool

Peek-A-Boo with Gwen

This is the first time that Gwen used a blanket to play peek-a-boo with us. She did it for so long that I had a chance to find the Flip Mino and record it. It makes me laugh so hard. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

The Jurbala Visit

We moved into our new home a little over 2 weeks ago and we have already had a visit from the Jurbala clan. Denise came and watched Gwen for 2 weeks. It was wonderful having her. She thought I was joking when I told her she should stay until August............I wasn't. It was extremely helpful to us, having her here. We can't thank her enough! Tim and Bill came last Wednesday. They got some quality time in golfing, helping us around the house, and playing with Gwen. Gwen just loves her grandparents and uncle. As much as we love family, we are ready to get back to a routine and to slow down. It has been a crazy 2+ weeks!!!

Gwen is great. She is so close to crawling. She needs to have a routine again as she is up at 5:45 every morning...........including weekends. I can't complain too much because she does go to bed at 8:00 and sleeps through the night. She begins her new daycare tomorrow and I have been holding back tears. I know I have to work, but I hate that I don't get much time with her during the week. I really hope someday I can move to the 4 day work week and have a "girls day", just her and I.

Nothing much to report. Here are some pics from the Jurbala visit!

Her first swing that Grandma J bought.

Surfing the net with daddy

Happiest Baby on the Block

Here are some photos. You can find more in my "Summer 2009 Album". Enjoy!

Gwen with her daddy on Father's Day

Gwen's final "hot tub night" in the sink

Gwen's first "hot tub night" in the big girl tub

Gwen on 07/10 playing with Grandma J & Daddy

It's been over a month since I have posted last and I know my readers (all 4 of you......haha) are anxiously awaiting pictures and updates, so here it is:

We have moved. We are now suburbanites. The move went really well and Gwen has adjusted amazingly. I couldn't be happier with my new home. It is extremely expensive to furnish a house that is 3X (no exaggeration) our old one, so there goes any money we made on our old dump........um, I mean house. I will be sending out postcards with our new address and home phone.

Gwen now has 4 teeth and will be 9 months old next week. She is getting so big and can't believe in a few short months she will be 1. I find myself feeling really sad, but loving her more than anything in this world. She is really the happiest/laid back baby. She makes me not want to have #2 since I know I would have the worst labor (mine was very easy) and would give birth to Lucifer....haha

Denise (my MIL) is visiting us now and watching Gwen for 2 weeks. We really appreciate the help and Gwen just loves her grandma.

Other than all of that, nothing more going on. I am looking forward to my parents visit in October and then our big trip to Cabo!!

Spring is Here!

Well it has been almost a month since I have written. I had high hopes to keep this updated more often but working, taking care of an almost 8 month old, and selling our house has taken up all my time.

The spring has treated us well so far. We sold our house and purchased a new one. We move July 2nd. I am so excited to start shopping since our new house is 3 times the size of our current one. There are also rec centers with pools so I am excited to take Gwen into the pool.........but more importantly plop my butt on a chair and get some sun!

Gwen is amazing. She now has 2 teeth and is sitting up without support. She is eating a ton of different foods and I am enjoying watching her try new things. We even have a sippy cup for her too. She just loves to drink water. Daycare says she is quite the "talker". She is constantly making noises and blowing bubbles. I have to say there is nothing in the world like her laugh. She's had fun meeting/visiting her new friends (Gordon 02/2009, Kayla 04/2009, and Nico 05/2008). She is looking forward to the birth of more friends to come!

Here are some pictures. There are more in my Spring 2009 Album. Enjoy!!

Fun at the park


Gwen's new car seat (it's huge and looks like a throne)

The loves of my life!!