La Vita E Bella

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Our tree is decorated (has been since the day before Thanksgiving), our stocking are hung, and carols are being played - now is time for Christmas shopping. One thing at a time :)

Our walking and talking little man.

I decided to post two videos. The first is Lucas walking to me this afternoon. Ofcourse, he fell halfway there, which he never does - but sometimes he gets so excited he loses his footing :) The second video is just a little conversation he was having with me. Too cute to resist posting. Just click on the continuation link to access the videos. Enjoy!!!

Letters to Lucas: Month 11

Dear Lucas,

I'm a week late again. I'm either on top of it, or not - can I use the excuse that we've had a busy few weeks?? With Grandma Vossler in town, Disneyland, and Thanksgiving all within a week of your 11 month birthday, I think I had much on my plate. Plus, it's not like you are docile or anything. You require much of my attention. I happen to have a few moments right now because you are sitting quietly next to me watching the "Backyardigans". I know TV isn't good for you - but I needed a little break....so I'm going to corrupt you for just a few minutes (that's all you'll likely sit for!).....see, I spoke too soon. You are already trying to attack the keyboard!

This past month was full of such exciting events. None of which I'm likely to forget. The very most important event was the wedding of Uncle Michael and Aunt Melissa. I mentioned this briefly in your last letter, but wanted to save a majority of the details for this letter this you turned 11 months just two days shy of the actual wedding celebration. It was such a grand day - and you were able to be a small part of it. I was so glad that your uncle and aunt let you be a part of the picture taking. It meant a lot to me - such important days should be documented, and I'm glad to know that your presence there was known. There will be many more weddings you'll be a part of, but I was glad that your first was for two very, very important people.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Once again, blogging has taken a back seat to the rest of life. Although my husband would argue that I should be in bed right now, my heart is saying I should stick around and update everyone on the Vossler's life the past few weeks! As most of you know, Thursday and Friday our family (Trei, Lucas, Trei's parents, my parents, and I) spent two wonderful (and exhausting) days at Disneyland for Lucas's 1st birthday. Although Lucas doesn't officially turn 1 until the 18th of December - the only time we could really manage everyones schedules (and go when it wouldn't be crowded with travelers) was this past week - and we definitely weren't disappointed! I would love to go into every second of our time, but I really can't imagine typing out every single detail - so I'll try and get all the good stuff in a concise paragraph! First, we had planned on not taking Lucas to Disneyland until he was 2 - but ofcourse, being the Disneyland fanatics we are, we just couldn't wait. So a few months ago, we began the planning. My first desire? To have each set of our parents present for our first trip. Being that they were with each of us when we first went to Disneyland, it seemed just fitting that they be with Lucas. Trei's parents made flight plans, my parents made hotel plans, and Trei and I counted down the days until showtime. We had braced ourselves that Lucas would be uninterested in Disneyland for the most part. But nothing was going to deter us from atleast pretending that he was as excited as we were. As we entered the park, my first order of business was to get Lucas some Mickey ears, complete with his name embroidered on the back - and as you can see.....Mommy got her wish. Lucas was officially a mouseketeer :) He actually wore that hat longer than anyone thought - maybe 5 minutes at a time - but he seemed so thrilled with everyones reactions that he just kept on wearing it!!! The first day was a lot of fun. We entered the park around noon and managed to hit most of the kiddie rides and a few of the adult ones too (even though pregnancy kept me from experiencing a majority of them!). That night, we had a great dinner at the Blue Bayou (ya know - the restaurant in Pirates of the Carribean) before the park closed at 8pm. At that point, we grabbed dessert at the House of Blues and ventured back to the hotel. Lucas did so well - despite not getting a nap all day! He was a little uneasy on the dark rides (Peter Pan, Snow White, Pirates of the Carribean) but we assumed it's either the darkness or the loud noises....he was such a trooper! Day #2 was much longer as our morning started at 8:30am and didn't end until midnight. Yes, we were there the ENTIRE DAY.  Since we hadn't gotten a chance to go to California Adventure the day before (and my parents had never been there before) we spent the first part of the day there. Monster's Inc, Soaring over California, and many others were experienced by all of us. Lucas napped about an hour inside that park, which made him a happy fellow the rest of the day. The second half of the day was spent at Disneyland where we rode a few more rides, watched the Christmas parade (which Lucas just loved)  and the fireworks show. Lucas was really, really good - despite being cooped up in a stroller - even though he has recently discovered that WALKING everywhere is his choice of transportation. If we allowed him to walk places, we would have needed a week to see all of Disneyland - so to his dismay, a majority of his time was spent in the god-forsaken stroller. Thankfully, while many of the "adults" were on "adult" rides - I would let Lucas out of his stroller for some walking...and walking (all alone!) is what he did. I think he liked it better than the actual rides! By the end of the day, Lucas was exhausted. He fell asleep around 7:30pm and was out for the count. He slept through the fireworks, people banging into his stroller, Fantasmic, and all the noises. We were home and in bed by midnight - and all three of us slept until 10am this morning!

A Growing Belly and a Growing Son.

Well, I'm entering my 22nd week of pregnancy. That leaves just 18 weeks until the arrival of my 2nd. SECOND child. Can you believe I'm that close to being the mother of two?  It seriously catches me by surprise every time I think about it. I don't know why - I have a growing belly with a very active baby inside which you would think would be a constant reminder of what I should expect in the very near future, but I'm still caught off guard. Either way, the changes I'm going through are definitely a testament to the little girl I'm growing inside. My stomach has grown leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. I would take pictures, but seriously, I'm not cute like I was with Lucas. I'm have big love handles, lots of stretchmarks and rolls. Nothing I would like to remember with photographs. And nothing any of you would like to see. Trust me, I have a lot of non-mothers who read my blog and I don't want to scare them away from every carrying a child. The sight of my "mom" stomach is one only a fellow mother could appreciate (unless they are the lucky ones who got away scar free!). That's off topic though. My growing belly is causing me lots of aches and pains because of stretching ligaments and extra weight in the front. On top of the aches, there are my enormous boobs, my widening back side, my lack of sleep (because baby girl likes to play between the hours of midnight and 6am), and trying to stay atop my diabetes. I'm trying really hard not to complain this early on, but I'm starting to get nervous about how I'll do in my 8th and 9th month of pregnancy. I remember being pretty miserable with Lucas since he was so big - and I have a feeling this pregnancy won't be much different - well except this time around I'll be toting around a 25 pound moving child, rather than getting to lay in bed all day. Thankfully the reward is so worth the growing misery. The thought of holding another beautiful baby - a girl at that excites me more than I can really express. So I know that eventually my home will be filled with the incredible sound of both my little babies - and that is what makes life so rich.

Food for Thought.....

"When someone prays for patience, does God give them patience, or opportunities to be patient? When someone prays for courage, does God give them courage, or opportunities to be courageous?"

When someone prays for faith and understanding, does God give them faith and understanding, or opportunities to be faithful and understanding?

I'm learning to have faith and to understand God's plan and purpose for my life.

Our First Halloween Recap....

We had a GREAT first Halloween with Lucas. It ended up being pretty cold in the Laguna area, so we dressed Lucas up in his octopus costume and hit the road for an hour of trick or treating with Jamie, Albert and Joaquin Bevia (or shall I say Chicken Little). The boys held out so well while the adults ran around begging for candy in their kids name. After our round of candy begging, the 6 of us went back to the Bevia's for a spanish meal, some yummy cake, and a round of photos and candy eating. All in all, I'd say it was a productive evening spent with wonderful friends. Here are some photos from the evening (click on "Continue Reading").....enjoy!