A Day in the Life of The Manzo's

Summertime!!!

2010-07-21T16:15:00.001-07:00

So far this summer has been pretty great. We've pretty much stayed local after all of our previous travels and we are enjoying the beautiful SoCal Summer days!! We've been hanging with a bunch of our favorite family and friends so far and had some pretty awesome days together!!! Our summer so far in pictures, Enjoy!

We've had...Pool Day's with Daddy...

...Day's hanging out with friends...

...Beach Day with family and friends from out of town...

...Park Day and more friends from out of town...

...so far this summer has been GREAT!!!!

MLB All Star Game Fan Fest 2010

2010-07-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

The All-Star Game is in town this weekend!!! Mike was chosen to work as a volunteer for Fan Fest at the Anaheim Convention Center, so because of that he was given FREE tickets to Fan Fest!!! On Saturday we got up early and headed down there. I'm so excited we were able to go, because it was a baseball lovers paradise! They had really cool exhibits, baseball memorabilia, former Angel players and MLB players, and fun baseball activities. We had a great time!!! Of course the BEST part of the day was waiting (in line for 2 1/2 hours mind you) for Tim Salmon's autograph!!! Hands down my favorite Angels' baseball player of all time, right up there with Chili Davis!
I wish we could go to the All Star Game on Tuesday, but this was pretty cool! I'm just glad we got to be apart of all the festivities!

Isn't he just the cutest!!!! Love you #15!!

4th of July

2010-07-12T10:26:00.001-07:00

We celebrated the 4th of July at my Uncle Mitch and Aunt Nana's house again. We've spent the past 3 years there and always have so much fun. We started out at the Coto De Caza 4th of July fair and spent an hour or so there, it was fun but HOT! Then we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's to swim. Jude LOVES the water, he was in the water for a good 3 hours! AND he didn't want to get out when I finally took him out! After dinner we went to the park and watched the fireworks, they sort of sucked this year because it was cloudy and windy so it wasn't as good as it has in the past. But either way, we had a great day!!! I love the 4th of July, just means summer has OFFICIALLY started!

Traveling, Traveling, Traveling!!

2010-07-02T12:33:00.001-07:00

First stop...Frisco, TX (June 3rd - June 7th):

This was Jude's 1st airplane ride and he did AMAZING!!! I was REALLY nervous that he would totally be THAT kid (I know you know who and what sort of kid I'm referring to), and not that if he was THAT kid it would be a bad thing, I just felt for my own sanity it would be better if he was his chill self. And he didn't disappoint! What was really cool was that I ran into my sisters good friend Erika, she happened to be going to New York and had a layover in Dallas! PERFECT!!!! She sat next to me and helped me entertain Jude, she was a God sent! Thank you Ericka!!!

We took this trip to lovely Frisco, TX to visit The Bullard Family and celebrate with Breanne and Oliver for their baby shower! It was a lot of fun, I had a great time!! I also got to visit with The Fish Family, which I was so excited because I hadn't met Grady or Wyatt yet (who is only a few weeks old) so it was GREAT seeing them. Jude had a great time meeting Grady for the first time...can't you just tell by this picture :)

We did a lot of fun things, but it was just nice to be away for a few days and relax and visit good friends. Thank you Bullards for letting me and Jude stay with you guys, we had a blast!!!

Next stop...Phoenix, AZ (June 7th - June 10th):

I literally got off the plane from Texas and got another plane 4 hours later to go to Phoenix for work. I love my job, actually let me rephrase...I love the people I work with, who make me love my job. I seriously have the best co-workers and boss. Thankfully we've all work together off and on for the past 6 years (some longer) so it makes actually doing the work so much easier! I also got to visit with a good friend Melissa, she's the best and I miss her so much!!!

Last stop...Groveland, CA (June 12th - June 15th):

So I landed from Phoenix on Thursday got to sleep in my brand new bed for 2 days...then we (including Miss Tanner) headed out on our 7 hour drive to Groveland to visit Mike's family. This was a special trip because we got to see Mike's sister Marji and her family and then also see Mike's other sister Martha and her family who is from Chicago!! It was awesome, this was also the first time Martha and her family were meeting Jude, and of course he fell in love with them instantly.

We spent Saturday at Marji's and had a BBQ and the kids went swimming. We all headed up to Mike's parents house later that night...and passed out!!!! The next day we went to Yosemite and as always had a great time. I seriously love that place, and I can't wait until Jude can really appreciate how awesome it is. Because of all the rain/snow they had up there the falls were raging!! The following day we headed down to the lake to relax and have the kids go swimming. Jude loved playing in the lake with his new little toys Auntie Martha and the kids got him.

I'd say our summer so far has been great...next family trip planned is camping in August and Santa Barbara in Sept!!!

Jude's Dedication

2010-05-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

On May 16th we had Jude dedicated at church. Dedications are different than a baptism for Christians. In a dedication, we as parents make a commitment before the Lord to submitt our child to God's will and promise to raise our child according to God's Word and God's ways, in the hopes that Jude will take those teachings and one day commit (be baptized) to follow God on his own.

This day meant so much to Mike and I and I was so glad that our families could be a part of it. I was super emotional before getting up in front of our church family to have Jude dedicated. The whole meaning of it really hit me and then just to even think that MY son was being promised to the Lord really hit me. I don't know, I guess the emotion is a little hard to explain but I think all the mom's out there will understand what I'm saying, just a surreal moment.

I love this picture. We're all praying for Jude, including Jude!

After chruch we went to Islands for a little celebration lunch.

Jude and Grandma

Poppa & Auntie Chloe

Pop Pop and Gramma

Auntie Lauren and Dave

Gail, Auntie Holly and the Boys!

Uncle Dean & Daddy

We're so thankful for our sweet little boy and we know that the Lord has really blessed Mike and I.

We love you so much Jude, below is your life verse we choose for you. Mommy and Daddy will help you remember this special verse and it's meaning.

"But you, dear friends, build youselves up in you most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life." Jude 1:20-21
We LOVE you so much Jude!

Two Years!

2010-05-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today, two years ago, I married the most amazing man!!! I love you so much babe and I love the life we have together and the amazing little boy that we created together! I'm so blessed to have you in my life and that I get to spend the rest of my life with you!!

These last two years have been pretty crazy and we've had soooooo much stuff happen, but I just want you to know that I wouldn't take any of that craziness back because it's really helped us know exactly what those vows mean that we took two years ago!

I love you so much babe!!!!

WALKING!!!!

2010-05-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well it's finally here!!! Jude has starting walking. He isn't full on getting up and walking but he's starting to!!! I just love watching his little fat feet start moving, it's so cute!!!

Jude's 1st birthday party

2010-04-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Jude's 1st birthday party was on Sunday, April 18th at my mom's house. It was such a GREAT day!!! I of course was super crazy busy putting everything together and making sure my little vision was just right for his BIG special 1st birthday (that he won't even remember mind you). None the less it turned out great and so MANY of our wonderful family and friends came out to celebrate with us!

The Birthday Boy!!!

I found so many amazing idea's on the internet on so many other people's blogs. Seriously there are some pretty talented people out there. Lucky for me I had the help of my sister to make things for me :) She made these balls of yarn that sort of look like those big puffy trees in all the Dr. Seuss books, and we hung them from my mom's patio cover. They were in all different colors: Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, White. I actually made a few things myself!!! I printed out 4 different well known Dr. Seuss quotes and hung them around the party. I also had a TON of stuff Dr. Seuss character stuff animals that I placed along with books on each of the tables as centerpieces. I printed out the little sign "Jude I Am" and I made a little "Happy 1st Birthday Jude" banner to hang around Jude's highchair. It all turned out exactly how I wanted it to!! So colorful. I got all this stuff from funtocollect they have such great deals and a TON of Dr. Seuss stuff.

I got a lot of my ideas from this blog here, she did an awesome job!! You'll see a lot of similarities.

My sister did this AMAZING invitation too!!! It turned out great!! She's so talented!

Front

Back

She also made Jude's little shirt!! It came out sooo good!! I loved it!

For games for the older kids, I got these book marks and stickers from Michaels so that they could have a little something along with their favor bag to take home. It turned out to be a really good idea, I didn't think at first that they kids would be all that interested in making a bookmark, but they loved it!!

We also played a game called "Pin the Hat on Cat in the Hat". It was sort of cheesy but I think the kids liked it, I mean two people won a prize which is what I think they wanted anyway :)

I don't know what I was thinking when I was planning this party, I sent out 82 invitations and we had about 75 adults, 15 kids, and about 8 toddlers/babies!!!! My mom said next time we're having the party at the park!!!

This little area was the "Baby corner"

Jude's cake/cupcakes were AWESOME!!! My sister's friend Kari's aunt (whoa!!!) made them!! It was great, all Kari told her was that we were having a Dr. Seuss party and she went with it and it turned out GREAT!!!

Jude hates it when he hears a loud group singing, so as soon as we started singing Happy Birthday, he freaked!!! Sort of funny!!! LOL

Even though Jude won't remember his 1st birthday, I think the pictures will really show him that we celebrated in a BIG way!!! I'm so glad my that my Grandma Marge and Uncle Larry & Aunt Mo could come out, and that Mike's sister Marji and our neice Cammi could celebrate with us too!! It really means so much to have such a great family and amazing friends to celebrate with us our little monkey's 1st birthday!!!

P.S. I love this picture of Jude and my cousin Jen's daughter Alexia!!! So funny!!!!

His face just says it all!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Jude!!!

2010-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Jude,

Today you are 1 years old. It truly feels like yesterday that your Daddy and I found out that I was pregnant with you and now you're turning 1. We can't even begin to tell you how much we love you little monkey. You truly are the love of our lives. Your Daddy and I are so blessed to have such an amazing little boy like yourself.

I can remember like it was yesterday going and checking into the hospital at 7am (Daddy and I were a little early because we were so excited to get there and see you) and then finally having you at 10:34pm! I remember seeing you and hearing your sweet little cry and Daddy and I looked at each other and we both knew at that moment our lives had changed for the better.

1st Family photo

1st car ride home

I can already tell you're going to grow up to be such a loving little boy. You are so gentle with puppy Tanner and love giving her kisses everyday. You have the sweetest little smile (with the best dimples of course) and the sweetest little laugh. Daddy and I could listen to you laugh all day! You're such a happy little boy, and that is one of our favorite things about you. You're a little mischievous, which we love about you!!!

You love your puppy Tanner

Chillin' in the tub!

It's so awesome that you have a special relationship with both of us. You love playing with Daddy and he makes you laugh so hard sometimes. I love that every morning you and daddy have "Gabba time" then nap time shortly after. You and your Daddy have such a special bond, I hope you always treasure those special moments with him.

Daddy & Jude sleeping...very soundly

I love so much that you are a "Mommy's boy", maybe you'll hate being called that when you're older, but for now it's ok. I love snuggling with you and the way you hug me when I'm holding you. I love your big wet kisses you give me and the way you pat my shoulder when I'm rocking you to sleep. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but when you were born sweet Jude I became a mommy!

My little snuggle bug

Jude we hope you know that you are loved by so many amazing people. You are such a lucky little boy to have so many people who care and love you for you so much. We know that you are going to grow up to be an wonderful little boy and an amazing man one day.

Happy 1st birthday sweet little boy! We love you SO much!!!

Mommy & Daddy

Walk MS 2010

2010-04-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

On April 10th we participated in the Walk MS 2 mile walk at UC Irvine. It was so cool!! So many of our friends and family were able to join us to support Mike and his walk with MS. It was so awesome to see all the families there and even meet a few people living with this disease. I've done TONS of walks for different organizations and I have to saw this walk ranks in my top ten as far as activities, organization, and overall put-together-ness :)

NEXT year....we're starting a Team for Mike. He raised over $1400 this year!!!! He's so awesome! Love you babe!!!

Our Team!!! Manzo's Marchers!

Such great friends and family!!! Thank you for your love and support!

Baseball has begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

So excited...baseball season has finally started! Again one of my FAVORITE things about Spring, officially the start of baseball season.

Last night we went to the Angel with Holly and Dean for Opening Week! They played the TWINS and lost unfortunatly, but we had a blast! Can't wait for more games this season!!!

We were part of Angel history last night!

Easter/Spring

2010-04-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

I love Easter! Easter means a lot to me spiritually of course, but it also means...Spring is here! I love Spring. I love daylight savings time, I love the weather, I love the flowers that bloom, and I love love love the clothes!!! :)

We went to church on Good Friday instead of Easter Sunday because it's always sooooo packed (I know that's a horrible reason not to go, but it's the truth!!!!). Good Friday services were AMAZING, I love our church though! We went with the Rush Family and for the first time we all checked the boys into day care or Port Mariners. They all did sooooo good, Holly and I were a little scared, but when church was over we found our boys asleep!!! (Well except for crazy Caeden) See nothing to worry about!!! This was the first church service I had been to IN the church in a year, it was awesome! I will definitely be repeating this from now on.

So ON Easter we went over to my mom's house for dinner and to just hang out. It was a beautiful day, a little chilly but the sun was out, so that was nice. It was just nice to hang out and just relax with my family. I love those kinds of days.

Next to come are those great SUMMER days.....aawww can't wait!

Another birthday tribute...

2010-03-24T08:03:00.001-07:00

This time it's for one of my dear friends, Holly!

Holly and I have known each other since Jr. High, but have been really best friends since we were Seniors in high school. After high school Holly and I attended the same college and lived with each other our Sophomore year, we had a BLAST! Although, we did have a little bit of a falling out (mostly my fault), but thanks to some mutual friends (Carrie and Corrine), Holly and I reconnected and have been close ever since. Even though we missed about 2 years of each others lives, we were able to pick up and start all over again like nothing ever happened. To me that is a true testament to friendship.

I was blessed to be there when Holly married her wonderful husband Dean and become close with him and his wonderful family. Holly and Dean make a wonderful pair and compliment each other so well. They really are perfect for each other!

We were so lucky to have Holly and Dean standing by Mike and I for the beginning of our lives together, it was really awesome that both of them have become so close to Mike and could be in our wedding and be there for our special day.

I was truly honored that I got to share my pregnancy journey will Holly and be there for the birth of her TWIN boys, Caeden and Brysen. Those two boys really will know someday how lucky they are to have such a wonderful mommy like Holly. She is nothing short of amazing! She can handle EVERYTHING! I've never seen such an amazing multi-tasker :) She was also there with the rest of my family while I was delivering Jude. She really has become more than a best friend to me, she has become family. I'm so excited that our boys are only 3 months apart and that they will grow up together, and hopefully become best friends!

Holly is an amazing, strong, smart, beautiful, kind, genuine woman. She will do anything for you and expect nothing in return. No matter what time it is or what she has going on she will always make time for you. I can't even express how lucky I am to have Holly as one of my best friends and that she is in my life.

Happy 30th Birthday my beautiful friend!!! Welcome to a new chapter in your life!!! Love you!

Happy Birthday Sister!

2010-03-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

This post is a day late, but better late than never!!!

My sister Lauren is my BEST FRIEND! She turned 27 years old yesterday...so crazy that she's that old. Not that that is old, but...you know what I mean. Lauren and I have been close our whole lives. Our mom always used to say, "No matter what happens you and your sister will always have each other". Sometimes I think my mom thinks that backfired on her because she was right, we've always had each other. Lauren and I talk about EVERYTHING, EVERYDAY even. There seriously isn't a day that goes by where we don't at least text, call, or IM chat (which is really what we do all day everyday).

My sister is 2 1/2 years younger than me. My mom and dad used to tell me that I was "Laurens' mouth" for most of her younger years. She was just really quiet and shy. Probably because I was REALLY none of those things. She didn't stand a chance LOL. But she was my little Lauren.

Lauren was probably about 2 here, I was about 5. I'm bummed this is the only picture I have on hand from when we were kids, the rest are in storage!

We grew up in Brea and in this awesome neighborhood where all the kids would ride their bikes and play together in the streets. Probably like every other neighborhood back then, but we loved our street! We would play in the front yard together, on our playground in the backyard, with our barbies it was awesome. I just remember having so much fun with my sister, I probably did a little bossing around from time to time to...I know so out of character for me.

As we got older of course we had times where we couldn't stand each other, but overall we were still really close. I think every family who has sisters goes through a time in their lives where they aren't as close as they used to be...I think it's called being teenagers. But I remember when I graduated from high school and I went to college, Lauren used to come over and spend the night. We had a BLAST! Probably too much fun!

Lauren graduated from high school in 2001 and went to the Art Institute of Costa Mesa. She graduated in 2004 with a bachelors degree in Graphic Arts Design. She's super talented! Seriously I think the creativitly skipped me and went all to her! She is amazing.

Lauren is an amazing person. She is so sweet, kind, giving, beautiful, strong...sometimes a little flighty. But I love that about her. I love the fact that we can look at each other at whatever moment and know EXACTLY what the other person is thinking, and then we crack ourselves up about it. I'm so thankful that Jude has an amazing Aunt to admire and he loves her so much. I'm so glad that our parents reminded us constantly that it is a special thing to have a sibling, it's even more special to have a sister.

Happy Birthday Sister! I love you!

11 Months!

2010-03-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

11 Months! I can't even believe it...my sweet little boy is 11 months! I look at him and I know he's not a baby, but I just can't believe 11 months has come so FAST!

11 month stats:
About 23lbs
18 month clothes
7 teeth (3 on the bottom 4 on the top)...still NO hair!!!
Walking along all the furniture and just started pulling himself up and standing all by himself, I think walking is in the near future!
Jammin' up the stairs....with assistance of course.
Dances whenever he hears music, especially from Yo Gabba Gabba!
Talks all day long!!! (Just like his mommy)
He's such a GREAT eater, love strawberries and little cutie oranges! He HATES green beans though...I like to make sure and give them to him every once and awhile.
Loves the swings at the park and hanging out with Daddy!

Jude is such a sweet little boy. Every morning when he wakes up he's smiling and waiting for us to come and get him. It's such an amazing feeling that he's such a happy little boy. I love his little laugh, it makes me and Mike laugh so hard sometimes.

I can't even believe we're starting to plan Jude's 1st birthday! A friend of mine said awhile back that this will be the fastest year of my life...they were right! I can't even believe how fast Jude has grown!

National MS Awareness Week

2010-03-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

This week is National MS Awareness Week, and Mike and I are in full "celebration" mode. Everyday Mike has posted on his facebook page an informative link to the National Mutliple Sclerosis Society to educate our family and friends on this disease that Mike is living with. For most of you Manzo Blog readers you know how Mike got diagnosed. Here's a little recap and where he is today:

Mike woke up one morning, July 2nd, and saw a smudge in his eye. Thinking that it was most likely a tear in his eye he called the eye doctor and made an appointment to get it checked out that day. Once we got to the eye doctor he said looks like fluid in the eye, but you should probably go and see an Optometrist. So we called our insurance got the approval super quick and headed over to see the Optometrist. The specialist that Mike needed to see was out on vacation (for the 4th of July holiday) so he had to wait until Tuesday 7th to see him. So once he saw him that Tuesday he then referred him to a Retina Opthamologist to look deeper into the retina, since there was no present fluid in his eye. We saw the Retina Opthamologist that very next day. I remember that day that it was yesterday! Mike went up to see the doctor and I stayed in the car to finish feeding Jude (who was only 2 1/2 months) and I remember getting this texted from Mike saying, "you need to get up here, they are saying it's MS". I remember saying to him, "shutup, what is it really" and he was dead serious! So I went up there and the doctor talked to us and told us that he thinks Mike has MS and that he wanted Mike to check into the hospital right away. I'm sure the look on both of our faces were priceless but we were both in total shock.

From that point everything seems like a total blur. Mike and I learned SO much about MS and how it had particularly affected Mike personally. But a few hospital stays, treatments and 4 or 5 doctors later, we finally found some really great physicians who specialize in MS and are amazing!!!

Today Mike unfortunately is blind in his left eye. The doctors have said that he will never regain any vision in that eye, but on the positive side, his right eye looks very healthy. Mike is currently on Copaxone which is a daily injectable that he takes to stabilize his MS. Of course like any health issue Mike has good days and he has bad days, but I think overall he's doing great. I wouldn't say we are 100% on getting everything stable, but I definitely think we're on our way.

Mike has always been a super upbeat guy and has always been generally positive, but this really hit him hard and took a little while to bounce back to his normal crazy self. I really admire Mike for everything he's had to go through. I always tell him, I don't understand what you're going through but I will totally be there to support you in whatever you need. It's weird though, as a spouse or family member of someone who has MS it's hard on you too. And I've had to learn as well how to accept this lifestyle and the challenges it brings. I think the most important part and the biggest learning experience for Mike and I was communication. We of course still have times where our communication isn't the best but we really try to take a step back once and awhile and really focus on what is important.

To support MS Awareness Mike, Jude and I will be participating in the MS Walk on April 10th at UC Irvine. It's a 2 mile walk and I think it will be a great thing for Mike to participate and meet people living with this disease. If you'd like to join us we'd love for you to join us!!! Just email me!

Girls Weekend!

2010-03-08T12:03:00.001-08:00

I had a GREAT weekend this past weekend! Two of my best girlfriends came into town this weekend, Shelley from Utah and Breanne from Texas. It was like a weekend high school reunion! Here was the run down:

Friday - The Sorensen Family, Shelley, Holly and the boys, and Mike, Jude and myself headed over to Disneyland for a couple of hours. We had a great time, in the 3 short hours we were there we went on Captain EO (Jude feel asleep) and California Adventure for lunch. (I didn't take any pictures here, Shelley did though so I'll post later)

Friday Night - Girls dinner out!! Myself, Holly , Breanne, Alissa, Courtney, and Michelle went to our favorite restaurant Renaissance Bistro. It was great hanging out with these lovely ladies and just having a great dinner and good conversation and a TON of laughs.

Saturday night - Meet up at Island's in Brea with Amber, Brynn, Shelley, Breanne, Michelle, Holly, and Carrie. We had a BLAST!!! Seriously I haven't laughed that hard in a LOOONG time! It was really great seeing Amber too, I think we all figured out that we hadn't all seen her since her wedding like 8 years ago!!! I don't know how most of us live in Orange County and don't see each other on a regular basis...OH I know, we have husbands, kids, jobs, etc. :)

After dinner all of us except Amber went and saw Alice in Wonderland in 3d at 10:25 pm!!!! I can't even believe I stayed awake for it! It was a good movie but by the time it was over I was ready for BED!

I seriously had a GREAT weekend! I needed it too let me tell ya! It was great hanging out with good old friends, we promised that once a month we should go out to dinner at least just to have some sanity! I'm really going to try and make sure we all stay in contact a little better!

Miss you...

2010-03-01T08:16:00.001-08:00

Today 4 years ago our family was hit pretty hard...my step dad Rick passed away. I can't even believe I just typed that it's been 4 years!! Truthfully it seems like yesterday I received the news that my step dad Rick took his life. It was to date, the one of the hardest days of my life. Probably because it was so unexpected and also because I never got to say goodbye.

I remember our last conversation I had with him, which was a couple of days before I left for Jacksonville, FL on a business trip. He LOVED Sonic and we had always seen commercials for them and he didn't know where one was around us. I remember I was driving home from work and I saw a Sonic in Fullerton, so I called him up and said "Rick! I found one!!!"...and that was the last thing I said to him. I'll never forget the feeling I had when Mike called me to let me know the news. Like I said it was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. Probably because suicide makes you feel so helpless and ask so many unanswered questions. I remember I couldn't even get home until the next afternoon, which meant I had be by myself until the next morning. Luckily for me I work with some amazing friends. My friends Haley and Jay stayed with me most of the night and then Jay flew with me half way home so I didn't have to fly by myself. I still can not thank Jay enough for being there for me when I really needed a friend.

Rick was an AMAZING man. He was a great husband, dad and most of all to me a great stepdad. Rick looked at Lauren and I like his own daughters and loved us both so much. Rick and I shared a special bond, our love for Angels baseball. For my 22nd birthday, Rick bought Game 7 World Series tickets Angels vs. Giants (which happened to be ON my actual birthday) and as you know Angels won!!! We had such a great time and I'll never forget that day.

When Mike proposed it was my 26th birthday, he gave me this framed picture/ticket for my present.

As a family we took so many amazing family vacations. We went to Hawaii, Australia, a Cruise to the Carribean, tons of trips to the mountains. Our last family vacation was a trip to Mammoth. Of course we had a great time as we always did.

We took this cruise to celebrate Lauren's college graduation

The same year Rick passed away was the same year Mike asked me to marry him. It was super hard because I has wished so much for Rick to be there for that special day. Because to me I had two dad's, Mike had talked to Rick months before about asking to marry me and gave his blessing. I can't even express how much that meant to me that Mike had asked Rick and that Rick knew before he passed that Mike would be there to take care of me. Of course my wedding day was really really hard because I had wanted him to be there to walk me down the aisle along with my dad. But I remember when I came out of the hotel to get into the limo to take me to Muckenthaler Mansion I heard THE song that reminded me so much of Rick playing over the lobby speakers. It was "Calling All Angels" by Train. That song is played at the opening of every home Angel game and was a song we played at Ricks funeral. It's like he was there with me on my wedding day! It was sad but calming in the same sense. I had a lot of sadness about Rick not being there that day, but it was like God's way of telling me that be He and Rick were looking down on me that day.

Our wedding day. Every wedding anniversary of my mom and Rick's, Rick would give my mom white roses and then red roses with the number of years they were celebrating. We did that for the wedding to honor him.

I made a promise to myself that I would do something good dispite this terrible loss. So I found this organization called American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and they have yearly walks to raise awareness called "Out of the Darkness". I've participated with my mom in 2006 and 2007, last year I couldn't cause I was pregnant and not feeling well. But I plan to do it again this year, maybe this time with Jude.

Of course there are so many life events I wish Rick were here to be apart of. It makes me so sad that Jude will never know the person "Grandpa Rick", but I promise I will do my darnest to make sure Jude knows what a great man he was. I promise to teach him all the funny and quirky things Rick LOVED and used to do. I think about Rick a lot. Sometimes I even think I see him walking around, but what I wish the most is that I could have just hugged him and said goodbye. I know it wouldn't have made it any easier, but maybe I would have a sense of closure. Who knows. Either way, Rick was a great man and a great dad and I can't wait to see him one day again.

I love you Rick.

August 19, 1962 - March 1, 2006

Our new obession....

2010-02-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

YO GABBA GABBA!!!!

Jude LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba!!! Mike was channel surfing and you came across Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Jr. Jude instantly stopped what he was doing and was fixated on the entire show. He loves it! When the cast starts singing and dancing Jude starts dancing and laughs...it's so cute!!!

I had heard of of Yo Gabba Gabba because a few friends of mine were affiliated with the show, not to mention a friend of mine that I went to high school with her brother is one of the co-creators. It's a really great show and has such a good message! I can't wait until Jude is a little older to really understand...until then Mike and I will keep continuing to watch and sing along!!

Silence...

2010-02-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here in my office/Jude's room working on this document for work and talking with my sister on Gmail chat, listening to the gardeners buzz past my window and I notice, "It's so quite in the house right now". So I get up and open the door to our room to find Mike, Jude and Tanner are all PASSED OUT on our bed. I love moments like that. They are so sweet. It just reminds me how lucky I am to have such an amazing family...OH and to enjoy the silence! :)

This was taken awhile back, still so sweet!

*Oh and Mike would probably kill me if I put up a picture with him sleeping with his sleep apnea mask on!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2010-02-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Love Jude

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2010-02-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!!!!

(It was yesterday but didn't have a computer handy)

We love you so much!!!!

9 Months!!!

2010-01-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

I can't even believe I'm blogging that Jude is 9 months! It's just crazy to me! He's so much fun right now and I just LOVE having this time with him. I know I've said this in every post but seriously he's such a good little boy, we're so lucky to have such a great little guy!!!

9 month stats:

21 lbs 2 oz 28 inches long

12-18 month clothes

4 teeth (2 on the bottom 2 on the top)

CRAWLING EVERYWHERE!!!! We can't stop this little guy!

He's eating 3 meals a day now and we're going to start him on real food this month

Sad to say though, he's weaned himself off nursing :( So he's eating both breastmilk and formula and holding his own bottle!!!! (This makes me sad cause it really shows me how big he is now)

He's just started putting his hand over his mouth and making noises, just like daddy does with him.

He loves ALL of his toys! Especially his glow worm from Aunt Shelley!!! He falls alseep with it at night now.
He still LOVES Tanner so much...when he's tired he lays his head on her, it's so cute!!

I can't say enough how blessed we feel to have Jude in our life, we seriously don't know how we could imagine our life without him. He's brought so much joy and happiness into our already blessed home! Love you little monkey!!!

2010!!!

2010-01-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well 2009 is over! Crazy year...some good things some bad things, but one thing is for sure....it was the FASTEST year of my life! I'm ready though for 2010 for sure. I've already set some resolutions for myself that I'm REALLY going to try and stick to. I think 2010 is going to be a good year though aside for one thing that is lingering toward the end of the year...around the October timeframe. YES, I'm already worrying about my 30th birthday in OCTOBER!!! UGH! Seriously I'm not ready for that. But I am ready for Jude's 1st birthday, a good year with work, a GREAT year with Mike, more memories to be made with my family and friends.

Welcome 2010! Can't wait to see what this year brings!

Tamale Day!

2009-12-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

One of my FAVORITE things to do this time of year is Tamale Day. This has been a family tradition of my dad's family since I was little (even longer than that) and I just LOVE it! It's a lot of work but totally worth it. My cousin Michelle and I took over this tradition from our Aunts and Grandma about 5 years ago. We changed things up a bit just because it's SO much work and we put our own little spin on it. Every year we vow that this year will be different than last year, and of course it never is but that's what makes it so much fun.

I love the tradition of Tamale Day, every year we do a "pre-tamale" party to get the meat ready for the next day. We tell everyone to show up at 7am, but people don't start trickling in until around 8 or 9, then we get started. We make our secret recipe for the masa and start preparing the orders of our family. We all sit around the table and talk and have champagne and laugh, it's GREAT!

The newest cousins! Jude and Benny

Tamale Makin'

This is the FIRST time Uncle Mitch has helped prepare the masa!!!

Grandma stands over and watches everyone to make sure they are doing it right LOL

This is pretty much what Ronnie and I do every year, prepare the masa

I can't wait until the 2nd generation of cousins get into this tradition and we can pass the "Tamale" to them.

A Time to give Thanks!

2009-12-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we drove up to Mike's parent's house in Groveland, it's about 45 minutes away from Yosemite. We were a little nervous about the long drive and weren't too sure how Jude would do sitting in his car seat for that long, but he did GREAT! It was actually Tanner that didn't do so well, she was super ancy the WHOLE time!!!

Jude got to meet his cousin Cammi and Aunt Marji for the first time, he loooooooooooved Cammi! (He met his Uncle Frank and cousin Krista a couple of weeks before)

Jude loved hanging out with his Gramma and Pop-Pop! I was really glad they got to spend some one on one time with him!

We hadn't been up there since before we got married so this trip was LONG overdue! We had such a great relaxing weekend. Mike and I both love visiting up there. We were so excited to spend Jude's first Thankgiving up there!!!

The Manzo Family!

7 Months!

2009-12-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

Seriously this is going by waaaaaaaaaay to fast! I can't even keep up with the postings! Well our little man is 7 months old (at least he was on 11/20!)

7 Month Stats:

At his last appt he weighed 19lbs and 27.5 inches long, I'm sure now he weights AT LEAST 22lbs and is 28 inches if not longer. He totally had a major growth spurt in the past couple of weeks.

He's still wearing 9-12 month clothes, but he's just starting to wear 12-18 month clothes, with a little wiggle room of course!

He got his first two teeth shortly after my last post!! They are on the bottom and super cute when he smiles! I love it!

He's still not crawling yet, but he's pulling himself up and rolling around everywhere to get to his destination.

He makes a million different funny faces everyday and LOVES being around his "dadda". OH he FINALLY said "mama" I even got it on video!

This little boy brings so much light into our little home and we just love him! We are so blessed to have him in our lives, and I can't imagine life without him.

A Birthday, Disneyland, and Halloween...what could be better!!!

2009-11-02T12:13:00.001-08:00

We celebrated my birthday at Disneyland and had such a great time!! (The weekend before we had our annual Halloween party, pictures to come later!) This was also Jude's first time going, what a difference taking a little one with this time. He did great though, we even took him one Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion, he loved both of them!! I had such a great birthday at Disneyland, and I love this time of year when it's decorated for Halloween so I was so glad we got to go! Halloween we spent with Holly and the twins and we ran into a our friends the Garica's! We went to downtown Brea and they had this Kid Block party thing, it was great! FREE games for all the kids, I'm sure the boys would have loved it if they were older!! Maybe next year they will get more into it??!!

I love all the "firsts" we get to have with Jude, it's so fun!

FALL!!!

2009-10-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

I love love love love LOVE our friends Jordan and Maria Irwin. They are the best couple!! Over the past year or so we have gotten extremely close with these two people. They mean the world to us! Jordan is an AWESOME photographer and has a great style that I love! We asked him to take a new family photo for us and while we were at it, take Jude's 6 month pictures. We decided to do it at the pumpkin patch (perfect timing since I LOVE these fall holidays). Here are a few of the photos that he took for us...

Thank you so much Jordan for capturing our sweet little boy and our growing family!!! We love you both sooo much.

Jordan can be reached at jordan@takeapictureitlastslonger.com

Happy 1/2 Birthday Jude!!!

2009-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

WOW 6 months already!!! I can't even believe how fast this is going!! Seriously, in no time at all he'll be 1!!

6 Month Stats:

He weights 19lbs 4oz and is 27 1/2 inches long. He totally had a HUGE growth spurt in the past two months!! He's almost as tall as me!!! LOL

He's wearing 9-12 month clothes

STILL teething, no teeth yet!!! I think he's getting one in the bottom right hand side, I'm just waiting for that little guy to come through!

He's rolling over too!! And even starting to do a little scooting action too, I love it!!!

We're going to start on veggies in a couple of weeks and can't wait to see his reaction to that.

He's totally in love with Tanner. He watches her with whatever she does and laughs at her all the time. He LOVES petting her, he's always grabbing for her. She's being great too, she tolerates him LOL.

Jude's 1st Angel Game

2009-10-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Typically Mike and I go to at LEAST 10 Angels game a year, this season was a little different. This year we only made it to 2 games!!! Yes 2! We went to the second game of Opening Day and the LAST home game of the season!!! I guess better than nothing. :) The game was special for three reasons:

1. It was the last HOME game of the season
2. The celebration rally for the Angels clenching their division (GO WESTERN AMERICAN LEAGUE!) and...

3. It was Jude's 1st Angel game!!!!!!

We were a little hesitant about taking him only because we weren't sure how he would do with all the noise, the people, and being confined to a little space. Well.....he did GREAT! He was totally into the game, flirting with all the girls around us and making all the guys laugh! At one point he even fell asleep!! Seriously, he was an ANGEL :)

I can't wait until next season when he can go to Opening Day and start the season all over again!!

I'm so PROUD of you!!!

2009-10-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so PROUD of my dad! For the past 7 months he's been going to school full time to become a Certified Machinist for CNC programing. And believe me these past couple of months haven't the easiest of months. At one point my dad wasn't sure if the timing was right to continue this and was even contemplating putting it on hold to deal with bigger issues. I'm glad though that he decided to stay focused and continue with the schooling because it really paid off! He's graduating next week 2nd in his class!!!! The school also asked him to give a speech to his graduating class!!

I'm so proud of my dad, I'm hoping this leads to GREAT things for him! He sooooo deserves good things to happen for him.

GOOD JOB Daddy!!!!

WHAT!!!!

2009-09-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

So time has FLOWN by...Jude is 5 months!!! Where has the time gone! Well I can say that it was pretty awesome being able to be home with Jude the first 4 1/2 months along with Mike. We wouldn't trade that time for anything!!! I'm back to work now (and when I say "back to work" I mean back to working from home :) ) and Mike is Mr. Mom and doing a GREAT job at it!!! Everyday Mike and Jude go on walks and he loves it!! He loves being outside in the fresh air.

5 month stats:

We think he's pushing 18 lbs, we'll have a definite answer next month on his 6 month check up

I think he's still about the same height, 25inches, but again we'll know next month

He's growing out of his 6 month clothes and heading into his 9 month wardrobe! The 6 month onesies and footie pjs are just too short, the neckline hangs at his chest!!!

He's still teething, the past couple of days have been a little bit of a challenge, I hope that little tooth breaks through soon!!

He's sitting up on his own and LOVES to hang out with everyone!

He's recently discovered his feet...which means they go into his mouth, with just about everything else!

He's starting to recongize his name...which is pretty awesome!

We're excited to start him on solids this month!! (I'll post pictures of that messy experience!)

Over the past couple of weeks he's really started to get into playing with his toys! Along with his feet he puts these in his mouth too!!!

4 Months!!! (Well on 8/20 he was)

2009-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

I KNOW, I'm late on this one!! Seriously where has this past month gone!!!! Well Jude is 4 months, now almost 4 1/2 months but still!!!

4 month stats:

He's 16lbs 12oz!!! I can't even believe it! He wears 6-9 month clothes, isn't that crazy!!!

He's 25 1/4 inches long

He's still teething and today I felt his little tooth cutting through on the bottom!!! I can't even believe it, I almost started crying when I felt it (I know I'm sappy)

He's pulling himself up and standing (with assistance)

He's ALMOST rolling over!! I swear just a kick of the foot and he would have it!

He is totally falling in love with Tanner, he stares at her all the time and pets/grabs her ears.

So I'm convinced he says "dadda" now, he actually says it OVER and OVER and OVER!!! Anytime I say "mama" he just laughs at me.

He's totally discovered his feet and hands, he is always pulling at his toes and folding his little hands together.

I just can't say how much I LOVE this little boy!!! He is always smiling...when he wakes up, when he goes to sleep, all the time!!! I can't believe that time is flying by soooo fast!!!

Summer Time!!

2009-09-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

What a great summer!!! Seriously I felt like I was back in school, I went on maternity leave right after Jude was born and had 4 1/2 months off!!! It was great! Mike and I both had the time off and were able to hang out with Jude and have an amazing summer together. Because of everything that has been happening with Mike I didn't get a chance to really blog about it, so here is the short side of what we did this summer!!! Enjoy!

June

Glen Ivy with the girls!!

Mike's 1st Father's Day

San Diego Zoo

July

A Day at the Park!

4th of July, and Jude's first time in the pool!

Mike's 20 year reunion! We had a blast!!!

Beach Club, Jude is totally an outdoors baby, he loves it!

August

OC Fair

Maria's Bridal Shower

Bullard's Visit!!! This was the first time they got to see Jude

Concerts in the Park - RSM. We did another one of these and had a blast each time!!! Nicole and Scott were our summer buddies too!!!

Pool DAY!!!!

Depeche Mode!! Sounds of the Universe Tour! We had such a great time!!!

Gramma and Pop Pop visit

We took a trip to Arizona and met up with the Fisk Family and we got to meet little Taiylor!

Introducing The Irwins!!! We went to Scottsdale, AZ for their beautiful wedding and had a BLAST!

While in AZ, we stayed at my Aunt and Uncles and cousins! They got to meet Jude for the first time too!!! This is Gigi and Dominic

Aunt Rita and Jude

Now I'm back to work (BOO) but seriously had an amazing summer! I'm so glad I was able to spend the time with my new family. I'll cherish the time we had this past summer, this one will go down in the memory bank of one of the great ones!!!

The newest of the new...an update on Mike

2009-09-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well today Mike had another appointment with his Neurologist at USC. Like I mentioned last time she was concerned about his vision and wanted to run some tests to determine if he had a rare form of MS, well that test came back negative! Thank the Lord!!!! So now he can begin regular treatment for MS. I also mentioned last time that he may have to be admitted to the hospital for a "Plasma Exchange"...well he is getting admitted Friday! He'll be in the hospital for 5 days and basically they will be cleaning out his blood. This should help improve the vision in his eye.
As far as the treatments go, the doctor is putting him on a medication called "Copaxone". He'll have to take this medication daily through injections. Most likely within the next 2 weeks a nurse will be stopping to show us how to administer the shots. In talking with the doctor we felt that this treatment would be the best fit for Mike. This treatment has less side effects and according to the National MS Society website has a significant reduction in relapse. Obviously we'll monitor the medication to make sure it is a good fit for Mike and if needed we'll change treatment if we find it's not.
The doctor also wants Mike to start physical therapy due to the fact that his legs and feet are VERY stiff. Unfortunately for MS patients when it's hot outside their body parts tend to tighten and hurt. Obviously this heat wave we're having hasn't helped, but with the different stretches they will show it him will help loosen his legs and feet.
So what is up with our family...Well we have decided that for now Mike is going to stay home with Jude until he gets his vision back. I'll still be working from home and be driving Mike back and forth to his appointments until he can resume that function as well. This has been a big adjustment for our family, primarily cause it's still so unknown what is going to happen next. We're trying to keep positive and know that things will work out for us. Again thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Update on Mike

2009-08-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well we have another update on Mike. This past Tuesday we met with the Neurologist at USC, she was AWESOME!! Totally took time to talk with us about what MS is and how it affects us and answered all of our questions that we had, it really made us feel like a team trying to work at this together. She reviewed Mike's MRI and noticed that he has three lesions on his brain and one on his spinal cord which explains the loss of vision in his left eye and the pain and numbness he's been feeling in his arms and legs. She is a little concerned though about how slow his vision is returning, so she is having Mike test for a rare form of MS. We should get those results in a couple of weeks, once we get that Mike will be able to start the treatment needed. The doctor also mentioned possibly doing a procedure called "Plasma Exchange" which would flush out the plasma in his blood and would help in the recovery of his vision. Unfortunately he would be in the hospital for 5 to 6 days, but at this point we'll do anything to help him see!!
We've joined the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and received some good information to help us understand what we're in for. We're both really into getting as much information as possible to help us understand more and more.
As always thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers, we have so many amazing family and friends! I can't even tell you how grateful we are. So many of you have been awesome from offering to baby sit Jude to offering to bring meals over! We couldn't have asked for better support during this crazy time in our lives.

Fun with the Krochmalny's

2009-07-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

What a great summer we've had. Mike and I both have been off and it feels like when we were kids and we were on summer break. It's been awesome! Lately we've been spending a lot of time with my cousin, her fiance Scott and their son Jack. They also have had the summer off! It's been great!

Last week we went to the Beach Club in Ranch Santa Margarita. The Beach Club is this community beach/lagoon area, it's awesome! We had such a great time relaxing. Jude loved putting his feet in the sand, he just kept giggling!!!

On Sunday we met up with them to go to Concerts in the Park and heard a Motown group, it was a lot of fun and the weather was awesome. Jude loves being outside and chilling with us! He's such a good baby we love taking him places!!

Jude 3 Months!

2009-07-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Since everything has been going on with Mike I haven't had the time to blog so this post is a little late. Jude turned 3 months last Monday. I know I say this every time but seriously I cannot believe how fast time is going by. Every day he does something different. Whether it be a new face, a new noise or a funny laugh, he's changing everyday!!!

3 month stats:

He's 15lbs!!! AND he's growing out of his 3 months clothes!!!

We think he's about 24 inches (we'll know for sure at his 4 month check up)

He's teething, so that means he's drooling like crazy!!!!

He's starting to sit up on his own and likes to stand a lot, he's such a strong little boy

He LOVES the pool so much!!! Every time he's in his little floaty he falls asleep!!!

He's talking a lot...I swear he says "mama" and "dada" already (I know it's just my imagination)

He's starting to grab a lot of things and does a lot of observing!!

Mike and I are so lucky we're able to have this time with him to watch all his firsts! It truly as been a blessing for both of us!!!

Update on Mike!!!

2009-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Well we finally got some answers after a couple of weeks of waiting...we went to USC to see the Neuro Opthamologist and I'm so glad we did. He reviewed the MRI that Mike had done two weeks ago, and determined that he does indeed have MS. This doctor was AMAZING. Although he gave us news that wasn't so great, it was more than we have received in the past two weeks. He broke down exactly what has been going on and what caused it and what the next steps are to treat it. He basically told us that even though Mike has MS he will lead a very normal life with treatment. Unfortunately there is always a possibility of relapse, BUT again it's treatable.
So, where are we now...The Neuro Opthamologist has referred us to another Neurologist at USC. We'll see her and begin treating the MS/Optic Neuritis with Immunomodulatories (which basically are disease modifying drugs for MS) on August 11th. He'll have to undergo a few rounds of testing to see which type of drug fits his case. The Neuro Opthamologist is also weening him off the steroids that he's currently taking (which we're both excited about). He had another MRI yesterday, which will most likely show the same legions on the brain that indicate MS. We still have not received the test results from the Lumbar Puncture but turns out it wasn't really needed in the first place.
We're really glad that we decided to see this specific doctor. He gave us a lot of information today and made us feel better about this not so great situation. He also told us that Mike's vision will continue to improve over the next 6-8 weeks. He also said that once he starts the treatments his vision will come back to about 97%!
Even though we didn't get the best news today we know that Mike will be able to live his life, which is great news for our new family. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!! I know I have said this before, but we are so lucky to have amazing people in our lives who love us.
If you're interested in knowing a little bit more about what specifically Mike has, you can go to http://www.wikipedia.org/ and search Optic Neuritis. The author of the article is the Neuro Opthamologist we saw.

What a week!!!

2009-07-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've blogged, we've had a rough week!!! Let me explain a little...Last Thursday Mike woke up and had blurred vision in his left eye, we called the optometrist and make an appt to see him that day. He looked at his eye and thought maybe there was some swelling in his eye and referred him Opthamologist. That doctor then checked his eye more thoroughly and said there maybe possibly fluid in the retina and referred him to a retina specialist. Because of the 4th of July holiday Mike wasn't able to get an appt with them until Tuesday. So we went to the retina specialist on Tuesday, he did extensive tests for his eye (they put dye in body to see the nerves in the eye, to look for a leak) and concluded that the fluid he saw was a little concerning and wanted to get him to the ER ASAP for an MRI of the brain. We got to the hospital around 11: 30 and checked him in, he was admitted around 3pm. We talked to a Neurologist and basically he determined that Mike has Optical Neuritis. They ordered an MRI because typically Optical Neuritis is the first sign of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Which TOTALLY scared us!!! How can that even happen!!! So the MRI was done on Wednesday, took about 2 hours because he had 4 different series of tests done. We got the test results back later that evening and basically the MRI is showing spots on his brain but are inconclusive for MS. Sooooo, the neurologist is ordering him to have a Lumbar Puncture (aka Spinal Tap) to get a better look into his spinal fluid. He was released from the hospital today (thank heavens!) and will be getting the Lumbar Puncture on Monday. It will take about a week to get the test results!! HOPEFULLY by then we'll be able to put this all to rest and see what lies ahead for us! Mike has been in good spirits and really just wants to know what is going on. He'll be on steroids for his eye for the next 5 weeks and should hopefully improve his vision so he can see again! The people at St. Jude are the best!!! Really great staff and super nice! We're also so thankful to have so many amazing people in our lives. We have great family and friends!!! Mike and I want to say thank you to everyone who offered to watch Jude, and a special THANK YOU to my mom, Holly and Dean and my cousin Nicole for watching Jude for us!!! Jude is really lucky to have so many people that love him!!!

So on that note, here is what's been going on lately!!!!!

Last week we took a park day, it was beautiful outside and wanted to just soke up the sun and the awesome weather!!! Jude loved it!!! We had a little picnic and just chilled. The Rush family joined us also and we all had a great time.

Next...the 4th of July!!! We had a great day. We went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a little BBQ, pool time and fireworks! This was Jude's first time in the pool and he LOVED it!!! We had such a great day and had a great time!

We're enjoying the summer time and can't wait for more fun activities!!!!

San Diego Zoo

2009-06-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got free tickets to the San Diego Zoo from our good family friend Carmel. We had such a good time!! For Jude's first long road trip and long day out he did GREAT! We took Chloe and her friend Sarah with us too and had a blast!

We met up with my cousin Nicole and her husband Scott and their son Jack. We also met up with the Rush family for a little bit also. It was pretty HOT down there in San Diego but it was perfect weather for a trip to the zoo!!!

The Krochmalny's

The Rush FamilyI didn't realize how BIG the San Diego Zoo was, it's HUGE!!! We didn't get to make it through the whole park, but we hit the places the girls wanted and I really wanted to see the Elephant Odyssey. It's an amazing park and can't wait to go back when Jude can really see the animals.

I love Koalas!

It was the craziest thing, this Elephant came walking up to us once he/she heard Jude crying

Thanks so much Carmel for the free tickets!!! We had a great time!

2 months!

2009-06-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe that Jude is 2 months old!!! It's so crazy, he's getting so big already and time is going by so fast!! We took him to his 2 month old check up on Monday and he did great! He got 3 shots and only cried for like 2 seconds and then passed out asleep! He's such a tough little boy!!

2 month stats:

He's 13 lbs 2 oz!!!! YES 13lbs!!! What a little chuncker!!!

23.25 inches long

He's smiling and coo'ing all the time, he's quite the little talker

He's sleeping about 7 hrs a night (AWESOME!!!)

He loves cuddling with mommy and laughing at daddy and all his silly faces

He loves Tanner so much!! She gives him little kisses all the time and checks on him constantly

We think he's starting to teeth, he's a little drool machine and knaws on his hands all the time!!!

We are so blessed to have Jude, we can't imagine our lives without him now!

Mike's 1st Father's Day

2009-06-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

For Mike's 1st Father's day we went to church and then over to my sisters house to BBQ. We had such a great relaxing day. Mike totally took advantage of "father's day"...he totally relaxed and hung out with my dad, Robert and Robert's dad Danny.

I always joke with Mike that he's spoiled and gets whatever he wants, yesterday was no exception. He had been bugging me for weeks about this new Playstation game, Tiger Woods golf 10. So I finally decided to get it for him along with a little home made gift from Jude.

I really think Mike enjoyed his 1st Father's Day he loves being a daddy, and I can tell you that he is a great one!! Jude is one lucky little boy to have such a great dad!!! I love you babe!

Aaaahhhh...the Spa!

2009-06-22T16:17:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday I had an amazing relaxing day with the girls!!! Brynn, Holly and myself took a trip to Glen Ivy in Corona and enjoyed an amazing day of massages, mud baths, pedicures and relaxing by the pool. We went because Brynn is about 38 weeks pregnant and before she delivers little Liam she wanted to have a nice long pregnancy massage!!!

Like I said we had a BLAST, it was fun hanging out with these girls and laughing at all the random people that hang out at Glen Ivy, it was hilarious!!! We snapped a few photos of the crazy people!!

This guy looked like a statue!

Oh dear and this girl...enough said.

Another funny thing with this day was both Holly and I are nursing, so we had to sit in the locker room and pump. Holly and I busted out our pumps and started pumping away, covered mind you. The way people were looking at us you would have thought we had 3 heads!!! We couldn't resist snapping a photo! It was too funny!!!

We had such a great time, it was nice getting away for the day. I LOVE getting massages, I can't wait for my next one...whenever that is :) Thanks girls for such a great day!!!

1st Family Photos

2009-06-11T19:14:00.001-07:00

We're so lucky that one of our really good friends is an amazing photographer and is willing to take pictures of our family!!! We took these pictures for Jude's announcements and his 1 month pictures a couple of weeks ago and of course they came out wonderful!!! Of course our family picture wouldn't be complete without Tanner, her face is priceless!!!

Here are a few photo's:

Photos by: Jordan Iwrin www.takeapictureitlastslonger.com

Thanks so much Jordan (and Maria) for taking pictures of our growing baby boy!!!

Beach Day!!

2009-06-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged, where has the time gone!!! I'm so enjoying my time off hanging with Jude and Mike. I love that Mike is off too! It's nice to lay around and just do whatever we want when we want! I'm dreading the day he gets a job and leaves for work, I love him being home all the time. He may say something different! LOL LOL

A couple of weeks ago my really good friend Shelley came into town from Utah to meet baby Jude and hang out with a few other good friends.

All of us went to the beach and had a great time just relaxing! This was Jude first beach trip and I think he did great!!! He slept most of the time but it was nice!!!

The Rush Family

Cute Aubrey eating sand!!

Mike and Dean hanging out with Dallin

Caeden and Brysen with Jude

Carrie and Alex, he's so cute!

After the beach all of us (All 8 adults and 9 kids [4 of them being under 4 months!!!!]) went to the Old Spaghetti Factory, like the good 'ole high school days!!!! I just love these girls!!! I'm so glad that after all these years of knowing each other we can bring our families together and create new memories together!!! Love you girls!

1 Month

2009-05-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Jude will be 1 month old!!! I can't even believe that 4 weeks ago I had this amazing little boy! What I also can't believe is how much I LOVE him!!! I knew that it would happen I just didn't realize how much!

Jude -

has the sweetest smile with the cutest dimples

has the FUNNIEST personality

is a LOUD sleeper and snores like his mommy and daddy

sleeps 5 to 6 hours during the night

loves bathtime

loves to cuddle with Mommy and fall asleep on Daddy's chest

HATES being cold

rips the BIGGEST farts and has the loudest burps *(I know a little too much info, but we think it's hilarious!)

has the SWEETEST little giggle

Mother's Day

2009-05-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day, what a great day! Obviously I never really realized how awesome this day was, not being a mom until just recently :) My 1st Mother's Day was pretty low key, but I had a great day! Friday we celebrated with my mom by going to dinner with Lauren, Robert, Mike and Jude! After dinner my mom and sister came over while the boys went out, we had a good "bonding" time watching Jude sleep and cuddle with his Grandma!

Saturday we celebrated at one of our families favorite restaurants, Moreno's in Orange. The weather was perfect, a gorgeous California day! Bummer part of the day was my Grandma Emma couldn't make it cause she wasn't feeling well :(

The actual day of Mother's day Mike and I REALLY wanted to take Jude to his first Angel game, but tickets were sold out, probably a blessing anyway, not sure if he's really ready for that. So instead we went out to lunch and had a nice day with the beautiful weather! What a great day!!!

Sweet Life!

2009-04-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Jude is almost two weeks old (on Monday) and so far he's been an amazing little boy!!! He's been eating great (I was having some issues breastfeeding in the beginning and I decided to just pump and feed him off the bottle. Recently I just started breastfeeding again and he's doing GREAT! Hopefully we'll be able to keep it up!) and sleeping great! He's been sleeping about 4 to 5 hours a night, which has been awesome!!!

Mike and I are also doing great! We love being home together and enjoying this time with our little man. We are getting a little cabin fever and hope to "get out" soon to have a fun time out as a family!

Next week Jude goes to see his peditrican for the first time, that should be a fun trip! :) Here are some recent pictures of our sweet perfect boy!

Tanner watching over her brother!

Our happy little boy!
Bath Time!!!

Our cute little boy!!! Such a happy baby!

He's FINALLY here!!!!

2009-04-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Jude Michael Manzo is here!!! He was born Monday April 20th 2009 at 10:34pm, weighing 7lbs 5oz's and 19inches long. He looks EXACTLY like Daddy and has one little dimple in his right cheek like Mommy!!! He is just the sweetest little baby ever and he's all ours!!!

I was induced Monday morning around 10:00am and things quickly got rollin' before I knew it I was already dialated to a 5 and needing that epidural STAT!!! Unfortunatly I had some "issues" with the epidural and it wore off 3 times, finally when it was time to push I felt EVERYTHING!!!!! Mike was amazing!!! I was lucky to have both Mike and my mom in the room to help me, there were times were I wanted to give up...I was EXHAUSTED but they kept on pushing me to keep going!!!! It hurt but it was so worth it when Jude finally came out.

Now our little guy is a week old!!! Already time is flying by fast. I can't believe that a week ago I was in labor, seems so sureal! Here are a few pictures that we've taken over the past week of our little guy!!! We are so lucky to have him in our lives and can't imagine life without him!!! We can't wait for you all to meet him!!!!

Go Angels!!!

2009-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

So today is MLB Opening Day!!! I'm so excited for baseball season, I can't wait to spend the days/nights sitting at the baseball field watching my Anaheim Angels (I REFUSE to call them that "other" name). We're a little bummed though this year, we didn't buy tickets to Opening Day because we weren't sure whether or not Jude would be here! We're hoping maybe we can catch a game either tomorrow or Wednesday, but to tell you the truth I hope we're watching it from the hospital!!!

I can't wait to take Jude to Angels games though, he's all set to go with his Angels gear too! I know we're going to have a blast with him and hopefully he'll grow to LOVE the Angels as much as his Mom and Dad do! (I don't know if he'll have a choice though LOL)

Opening Day has always been special to me and my family. This time of year always makes me think of my step dad Rick though, we loved going to Opening Day and watch the raising of the flags (at least since 2002) that the Angels had won from the previous season. Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the Angels!

Rick being silly with a give away! Captures his personality perfectly!
I love going to the games with my Dad, he's the one who REALLY got me into baseball! My mom loves going to the games too!
Lauren and Chloe love taking pictures at the game instead of watching it!
We LOVE hanging with our friends and family at the games, makes for a GREAT time!

Obviously Carrie and Mike don't like the Angels, they like other poopy teams but they enjoy the atmosphere! :)
GO ANGELS!!!!!

Are we there yet??!!

2009-03-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

Honestly I don't know if I can go any further!!! I'm so ready to have Jude it's unbelievable. I've heard about expecting mothers just being tired of being pregnant but seriously I have never REALLY understood it until now! I'm so done. Mike and I are so ready for him to be here it's crazy, it's like I sit around and wait for my water to break or something. LOL (OK maybe it's not that bad!!) Today I'm 36 weeks...only 4 more weeks to go (that's if the doctor doesn't decide to induce me sooner. He might because of the Gestional Diabetes so we'll see) !!

On another note...this past weekend was my sister Lauren's bday! The BIG 2-6!!! I told her she is now officially hit the mark of her "late twenties" LOL WELCOME to the club sister!!! Happy birthday to you (I know it was Saturday I'm sorry) !!! Today is also the birthday of my very good friend Holly Rush!!! Happy Birthday to you too friend!!!! I love you both!!!

My cute sister!!! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Friend!!!

Dinner, a Haircut, and a Hall of Famer!!!

2009-03-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went up to Studio City to see our good friends Joel and Lydsey and Joel's awesome mom, Mama Hoffman!!! She's down from Georgia helping Joel get his place all decked out for a slick bachelor pad!!! I must say she's done a great job, his place looks sick. We went to Cheesecake Factory for some good 'ole food!!

Today we went to Rancho Santa Margarita to see my little cousin Jackson who was being honored today as a HERO by the St. Baldrick's Foundation. In 2006 Jackson was diagnosed with Leukemia, from now until then he's been an amazing little boy battling this awful disease. Jackson today is still receiving treatments (it's almost over though, only 8 more months left) but you wouldn't know it by being with him. He has such a great little personality and such a great spirit about him! My cousin Missi (his mom) says he's looking forward to his birthday so much!!! He'll be 4 in May, I can't believe how big he's getting.

The whole mission of this event is to raise awareness and funds to cure kids' cancer by supporting cancer research. At the event to raise funds for this organization, you can sign up to have you're head shaved to support kids who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Mike and my cousin Scott decided to get their head shaved in honor of Jackson! I must say I was a little nervous to see what Mike would look like with a shaved head, but as he told me it was for a good cause AND it will grow back :)

The "Before"

The "After" doesn't look too bad does it!

While we were at the event there was a surprise visitor, Hall of Famer Rod Carew!!!! Mike and I were obviously SUPER excited to go over there and get his autograph and take a picture with him.

A few things to share...

2009-03-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff going on for us Manzo's lately in preparation for Jude's big arrival! Last Saturday we took some pregnancy photos done by our good friend Jordan Irwin (check him out at http://www.myspace.com/getupclosetojordanat) they turned out AMAZING!!! Thank you Jordan so much for capturing these awesome photo's for us!

This one is probably my favorite!

Today we put the finishing touches on the nursery. I have to say it looks pretty darn good!!! Mike did an awesome job of putting everything together (even if the instructions weren't the best) and did an even better job standing patiently as I analyzed every area of the room! But I just LOVED the way it turned out and am SOOOO happy with it!!! I can't wait to bring Jude home so he can see it!

I started my non stress tests this week and so far so good!!! We also had an ultrasound today to determine the baby's weight and so far looks like he's coming in at 5 - 5 1/2 lbs. Pretty good so far!!!! Hopefully the gestional will be kept under control and he's not HUGE!!!

We're getting so excited for Jude to get here we can hardly stand it!!!!

34 weeks down and 6 more to go!!!

2009-03-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well today is 34 weeks! I can't believe that I only have such a short time left, although it feels like forever away! After seeing the 3d images of Jude this past Saturday makes me want him out and here soooooo bad!

Today starts my first day of twice weekly "non-stress tests" and then Friday I will start my weekly ultrasounds. Basically the non stress tests will measure Jude's heartbeat and how he reacts if I should have contractions (Thanks Holly for the explanation!!!). The ultrasounds will measure his weight as I progress farther and farther along to give the doctors an idea of what to expect the BIG DAY!

I'm feeling great all in all. The gestational diabetes is still there of course and we're still regulating with blood sugar tests (6 pokes to the finger each day), diet, and insulin shots (up to 3 times a day). SO of course that's an incentive for the BIG DAY to come as well!!! But Mike and I can't wait until our little man is here, we are sooo excited and can't wait until he's here and introduce him to the world!

Jude in 3D!

2009-03-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today was an awesome day...not only did we get to see Jude for the first time since 19 weeks, but we saw him in 3D!!! It was awesome!!! Of course he's adorable and so sweet looking! It's just crazy you can totally see all the details!!! Mike and I were so lucky to have both our parents there as well as my sisters. I was so excited they were able to share in this awesome moment with us.

Jude apparently is a little squished in there, he had his foot up his nose or around his face the whole time!!!! Already being a clown just like his daddy.

Such a sweet little face!! (check out his little smile)

Sticking his toe up his nose!!!!

Our cute little boy

What a weekend!

2009-03-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well what a weekend I had last weekend!!! Last Friday I was able to visit with my good friends Melissa and Larry, they moved to St. Louis a while back and they were down for a visit! We got to meet up with them at the Coffee Bean and chat for a little while! They were able to meet Mike and I was able to meet their son Brandon. It was awesome seeing them, I wish they lived closer so we could hang out more often. Hanging out with the two of them brought back sooo many "old school" memories!

The Anderson Family

Me and Melissa, I love her!

The following day was my shower!!!! YAH! I got so see sooo many friends that I haven't seen in forever. I also had two surprise visits...one was my good friend Shelley from Utah came down and the other was my Aunt Rita and cousin Gigi from Arizona! Another one of my good friends, Breanne and her boys were able to make a little vacation trip out to California from Texas!! Also my Grandma Marge and Aunt Maureen were able to travel from Las Vegas too!!! (I'm still missing some pictures) It was awesome having so many family members and good friends to celebrate with me!

My Aunt Rita and cousin Gigi and family!

Beanne and Shelley and the gang from High School

I had a great shower with many awesome needed gifts! Lots of Dr. Seuss stuff which was AWESOME...Jude is going to have an awesome room!!! Thanks so much to everyone!!!

A very special Thank YOU to my Mom, Sister, Doreen, Kristen, Holly, Nicole and Michelle!!! Thank you ladies for making my shower awesome! :)

30 weeks!!!

2009-02-10T12:35:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it...today I'm 30 weeks! At first it was going by sooooooo slow, but then the second trimester came and went and now I'm almost done! It's so crazy, little Jude will be here before we know it and I can't wait!

Last week I got my sugar test back and it came back elevated (this was my second test), so unfortunatly my doctor ruled that I have Gestional Diabetes. I was SUPER bummed about it last week, but after talking to my mom and my cousin Nicole I felt a lot better! Today I went to the doctor who specilizes in diabetes and he gave me instructions on pricking my finger to test my blood sugar and then Thursday I'll go to the dietician to make sure I'm eating the correct foods so that Jude and myself get the right amount of heathly sugars. My doctor let me know that the good thing about is, once I give birth it will be gone and I can go back to the way things were before. Which is also comforting. Before the sugar tests I had a strong feeling that I would get it, I guess because I have a long line of diabetics in my family and I figured it was bound to happen. For some reason it didn't make the news easier when they did tell me! :)

But I know that since I'll be following the diet and testing my blood sugars everyday, things will work out good for both Jude and myself. I really cannot WAIT until he gets here!!! I'm ready to see my sweet little baby boy!

Happy Birthday Mikey!!!

2009-02-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to my amazing husband! I can't believe today is his birthday, it seems this year is already flying by!!!

This past weekend we celebrated with some family at Heroes in Downtown Fullerton. Mike loves to celebrate his birthday or is it that he likes to party??? Maybe a little of both! :) Anyway...Happy Birthday babe, I love you!

It's done!!!!

2009-02-08T21:41:00.001-08:00

Well we're finally done! I should say Mike is done since he did all the work, and he did an amazing job! I couldn't be more happy with it and I can't wait to start decorating it and making it an awesome room for Jude!!! Great Job Babe!!!! :)

Nursery Time!!!

2009-02-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Well we have officially started painting the nursery and getting the room ready for Jude. I can't remember if I've mentioned it before but our theme is Dr. Seuss! We're really excited about the idea and think it would be so much fun to decorate. Our good friend Brandi awhile back painted a Cat in the Hat cut out for her sister Crystal's nursery, lucky for us Crystal and Ken still had it and they gave it to us!!! We're so excited and can't wait to put it up!

Mike has been awesome, he's had to paint with my HUGE desk in the way while I work. But he's managed to work his way around it and the first coat of paint is on the walls! Our house is in shambles everywhere, in two weeks we get new carpet throughout the house!!!! We're so excited, it's long overdue!

As of this past Tuesday I'm 29 weeks, 11 weeks to go!!! Which is CRAZY to even think about, I feel totally unprepared! Oh well I guess that's the way it goes. Tanner is going a little crazy, a little unsure of what is going on. Today she got paint on her fur from rubbing up against the walls! But overall she's been a good little puppy, just laying in her bed chillin'.

Here are a few pics of the room so far...

A weekend away!

2009-01-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Mike and I just got back from a little mini vacation in Lake Arrowhead. It was beautiful up there and cold!!! It was rainy, cold, and snow was on the ground. We had a great time getting away for the weekend. We went up there for Mike's cousin Dennis' wedding! We had a blast! It was such a fun wedding and such a beautiful setting, perfect moutain wedding. While we were there we drove around and found Mike's grandparents house, it's a little run down now which is sort of a bummer, but it was fun checking it out. We had a great time away for a few days and will cherished this time away, we know this might be the last one before little Jude gets here!!!

Mikes grandparents house

The beautiful ceremony

The new Mr. and Mrs. Manzo!!

In the lobby, the black dress hides my belly right!

The Manzo Family!!!

TWINS!!!!

2009-01-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

We're so excited to post that our very best friends Holly and Dean Rush welcomed into the world on January 18th 2009 their TWIN boys!!!! Caeden Dean Rush at 9:51pm (4lbs 13 oz, 18 inches long) and at 9:52pm Brysen Dean Rush (5lbs 3oz, 18.5 inches long). I know they are going to be the very best parents anyone could ask for! We're so excited for them and so lucky that we were able to be a part of it!

Welcome Caeden and Brysen!!!! We love you!!!

(Caeden left, Brysen right)

A new year ahead...

2008-12-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Well this year has been a year full of different and amazing events!!! I thought it would be fun to share a few of the things that happened in our life this past year!

We started out 2008 with my sister Lauren getting married to Robert Sandridge which was a beautiful wedding and we had a blast!!! I can't believe that in a few weeks it will be a year that they have been married:

January 12th 2008

In April the next big event was my bachelorette party, which was a BLAST! I have an amazing family and wonderful friends and they planned the very best party! We went to Paso Robles for wine tasting and had a great time!!! So many fun memories!

End of April was a little weird for us, Mike had his surgery, which you all know the struggles we've been having with that. Now nearing the end of 2008 looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel, whether it be good or bad, at least we know whats up.

Early May we celebrate my brother in law's 30th birthday!!!! It was a surprise party and even though I think he acted surprised he knew something was up!!! :)

May 3rd, 2008 Happy 30th Robert!

Next...OUR WEDDING! Seriously we had an amazing day! It was everything I could have imagined (minus the rain)! Mike and I were so lucky to find each other and able to share our amazing day with all of you!!! Thank you for making that day so special for us!

May 24th, 2008

Then we followed up that amazing day with an amazing honeymoon! We traveled to St. Lucia and we did NOT want to come home. It was such a beautiful place and we met so many cool people. Mike and I have already said we're going back for our 5 year anniversary, we can't wait!!

We had a great summer and had many celebrations!

In early August, my mom gave us a REALLY big scare. She unfortunatly had a stroke but recovered so well. I know it's because most of you prayed for her to get better and God was looking out for us. I can happily say that she is doing awesome!

Also in early August we found out that we were going to be starting a family of our own...our baby boy Jude Michael!

In September my Grandma Emma celebrated her 80th birthday!!! Such an amazing milestone and I'm so thankful that we were there to celebrate with her.

In November, we celebrated my best friend Holly's baby shower...TWIN boys!! There arrival is expected sometime in January, I can't wait to meet them!

As many of read the last time, December 15th my cousin Jen and her husband Richard and his son Ethan welcome baby Alexia Paige Lear!

Mike and I had a great Christmas together as husband and wife!

There were many more exciting things that happened, but these were some of the highlights. Mike and I are really excited to see what this new year brings. Our family will extend to four (counting Tanner of course) and cannot wait the arrival of Jude in April. Jude will have a few playmates next year also:

Brysen Dean and Caeden Dean Rush
Grady Steven Fish

Baby Cheshire

Baby Sorenson

2009 I think is going to be an amazing year for this Manzo family. As I look back on this past year of the great things that happened and the not so great things that happened, I think they have made us grow stronger as a family. Even though we have some trials ahead of us beginning in 2009 with Mike hitting the work trail again and trying to find a job, I think that something amazing is out there for him and us. I know that God will look out for us and won't give us anything that we can't handle. This year for has 100% been the year of family. We have grown together as a our own new family and grown so much stronger with our immediate and extended family, and we're so thankful for that!

Happy New Year to you all, we're so thankful that all of you are in our lives!!!

The Manzo Family!

Christmas Time is here...

2008-12-17T16:50:00.001-08:00

So we finally decorated our Christmas Tree, it's only been sitting her a week without decorations. For some reason we just haven't been "in" to decorating...Mike says it's because of the baby and because he thinks I'm lazy :) Which is probably both true.

It's starting to really feel like Christmas, I guess because today the weather report came in that it was about 45 degrees....in California!!! That's crazy. Maybe it will snow in Orange County, instead of just snowing at Disneyland :)

Tanner LOVES Christmas!

Here is our Christmas card this year...Mike is right...I am lazy! :)

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love The Manzo Family

What a weekend!!!

2008-12-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was full of nothing but FUN and went by WAY to fast! On Friday we were able to go to a taping of Disney's new show, "Sonny with a Chance". My good friend Holly's sister Wendy works on the show as the acting director/coach and she got us in to see a taping. I took Chloe and my cousin Taylor and they just had a GREAT time! They got to meet the whole cast and were so excited to meet Demi Lovato!!!!

Chloe and Taylor with Demi Lovato

On the set

Saturday we did our annual Tamale Day for our family and had a great time! Lot's of tamales made again this year!!!

Some updates with Mike...he went to the Pain Management Specialist and they told him his posture is horrible and that might be causing some of the pain, so he recommended he start physical therapy again to possibly correct that and started him on new meds that seem to be finally working. Today he saw the neurosurgeon and they looked at some x-rays Mike had done a couple weeks ago, we got some not so great news. One level that was operated on is healing perfectly, the other level isn't not fusing. So, the doctor recommended that he give it some time and they will check him again in April to see if the bone has fused along with the other ones, if it doesn't he'll need another surgery to correct it! It's not exactly the best news but at least it's something. For the longest time we had NO idea what was going on and at least now we have something to go on. He's feeling a lot better than he has been, he's been working out at the gym and is feeling good!

I have some other exciting news!!! My cousin Jen delivered her first baby girl, Alexia Paige Lear last night at 10:50pm. She was 6lbs and 3oz and is 19.5 inches long. She is just the cutest little girl ever!!!

We're having a BOY!!!!

2008-11-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

We are so very excited to be writing this post...we're having a BOY!!!! Both Mike and I are VERY excited!!!! Today I'm 19 weeks and he's weighing in at 9 oz!!! We saw his strong heart beat and every angle of his little body! We've already determine names and in April we will welcome.... Jude Michael Manzo!!! Here are a few shots of Jude:

Here is our BABY Boy!!!!

Here is the money shot!!

This is the one that made my heart melt and made me cry...he's looking at us! :)

Updates!

2008-11-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well here is an update on what's going on in the Manzo household...

Last week Mike had his doctors appointment to get the nerves in his neck sizzled. So it started off with Mike having to wait in the lobby for 2 hours (they were running behind by 2 hours!), and he wasn't allowed to eat from midnight the night before so of course he was STARVING and put him in a worse mood having to wait. He finally got into the "prep" area and thankfully the nurse looked at the paper work to verify the procedure and found that they had scheduled him for the wrong one! So after waiting another 30 to 45 minutes to get the correct procedure approved by our insurance Mike finally was able to get what he needed done. That took about an hour and we left the doctors office around 5pm. (Mind you he had been there since 11:30am) UGH!!! I felt so bad for him, not only was he sooo sore he was STARVING!!

So now we're just a little bit over a week since the procedure and nothing has changed! So back to the drawing board. Tuesday we go back to the doctors office and see what the next steps are and if Mike needs surgery.

So if that wasn't enough drama for you...yesterday we got bad news that Mike was laid off from Marriott Vacation Club. Unfortunatly because the economy is so bad and Marriott Vacation Club isn't making the funds they needed to, they eliminated his position. Fortunatly he gets 6 weeks of severance and hopefully that's enough time for him to find a job! Of course his severance ends the week of Christmas!

Some good news...we heard Baby Manzo's heartbeat again on Wednesday! That was exciting!!! Baby Manzo is doing good and we will soon find out what we're having!!!! We can't wait, it will be some MUCH needed good news!

Please keep Mike in your thoughts/prayers as well as our family!

Hopefully this is almost over...

2008-10-28T12:26:00.001-07:00

As many of you know Mike has been battling "issues" with his neck since April of this year. His last office visit with the doctor gave us some hope that there might be a solution to all of this, without surgery! Thursday he'll be going in to have a procedure to burn the nerves in his neck, crazy I know! But HOPEFULLY this will be the end all be all to the pain he's having. NOW, if it doesn't work, most likely he'll need surgery to remove ANOTHER disk higher in his neck.
Keep Mike in your thoughts that this goes well and he won't need the surgery!!! I'll keep you updated!

And baby makes FOUR!

2008-10-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yup...it's true! We're having a baby!!! I know what you're all thinking..."man they didn't waste anytime" and you're right, we didn't! LOL. We're really excited and we can't wait. I'm 12 weeks pregnant and expecting our new addition April 21st, 2009 (well around that date anyway). YES we are going to find out what we're having, and we should get that news probably around the end of November!
*Thanks Carrie, I should have included Tanner Bear!!!! Baby makes 4!

Baby Manzo at 7 weeks and 4 days!

Can't teach an old dog new tricks...

2008-08-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

So since Mike and I don't have any kids, of the human form at least, our kid is our puppy Tanner! Seriously, we are obsessed with her. She is SO spoiled and gets her way all the time, she really hit the jack pot when she saw us that day at the pound, she probably thought...SUCKERS! Tanner unfortunatly is a shedder! She sheds hair EVERYWHERE, and just lately it started to really bother me. There is always hair everywhere (Many of you have seen my car so you know). When we first got Tanner (a little over 3 years ago now) we didn't train her not to sleep in the bed with us. I thought it was cute and it gave me a cuddle buddy. Just recently I came up with the idea, lets train her to sleep in her bed. RIIIIGHT! Last night was our first attempt, didn't go over so well...finally she won and slept in our bed. Today I went to go and lay down and decided to try again. Here are some photos, her facial expressions say it all!

Longing for the bed...

I left the room for one second and this is how she was laying when I got back, how could I resist!

I'm going to keep trying, eventually I think I'll win. (Mike say's yah right!) Wish me luck!!!

HOLY EARTHQUAKE!

2008-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! We just had a HUGE earthquake! At least it felt huge, 5.4 earthquake centered in Chino Hills. It felt like it lasted FOREVER! Everyone is ok, I don't think many damages have been reported but I just think all of us are pretty shaken up. I grabbed Tanner and headed to the doorway and we stood there shaking together, literally! Check it out:

Yes, it's true...

2008-07-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

We finally have a blog. I've been thinking about this whole "blogging" thing for awhile now and decided after seeing that my little sister hopped on the band wagon, I figured why not! I'm sure like her, I figured this would be a great way to document the daily happenings of my life, now "our" life. So here it is: Mike and Adriane Manzo's blog! We probably won't have something to write on here everyday, just as things happen ya know. I'm excited to share and I hope you enjoy!