January 2012

Good Evening Family!
The new year is upon us, which also means time for some lifestyle changes!
The past few months our little family has gotten into some bad eating habits with the hectic times and poor health, which makes fast food unfortunately, convenient.
It is now time to get healthy again! And hopeful lose some unwanted pounds. I took some time to put together and low fat high protein eating plan that we will follow for the next few months while also adding more activities into our lives that get us up and moving! We spend way too much time in front of the the tele, not very healthy.
Wish us luck! I am down 23 pounds from October which is not too bad for hitting a little snag there in December, and Bryant is down 7 pounds in a little over a week and a half.

I am almost two weeks recovered from my surgery and feeling pretty good. No longer taking pain meds, and only a little bit sore at certain times. I have a check up in about a week and a half and we will know all the results of everything from that day. (They may have told me at the hospital but I barely remember getting dressed and leaving.) Will keep you updated.

Bryant and I started seeing and Christian Marriage and Family counselor, mainly for help with our career directions but also with so marital spats that have creep-ed up on us during these stressful times. Our first meeting was Thursday. He was a very nice older man who seems to be very wise and experienced. He spent 31 years in the Military, (14 of which were as a Chaplin) has three Masters Degrees and lots of awards on what he likes to call his "I Love Me" wall. I look forward to working with him more and hopefully this will help both Bryant and I with our questions of the future.

Our favorite little baby is 9 months old this month, and to think her 1st Birthday is right around the corner is unbelievable. She is crawling EVERYWHERE, standing up (with and without help) and will walk if holding on to the furniture or your fingers. She is unbelievable smart. She can wave Hi and Bye, say "all done" with her hands and ask for more of whatever she is trying to steal from you when eating. She is starting to understand the what Mama, Dada and Baba means, and we may have taught her BunBun the other day at a friends house who has a bunny. It comes out more like "bubu" though.
For those who didn't receive the E-cite or Facebook save the date, Annabelle's Birthday Party will be April 21st, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm most likely at a park in Irvine (in the middle of families for local SOCALers) and not as far of a drive for those coming down from Fresno. I will update everyone as I know where and all of that too (hopefully by the end of February at the latest)

That is all for now! I will post Annabelle's 9 month picture on the side bar, and I look forward to the next time I chat with all of you!

-Rachel, Bryant, and Annabelle

December 2011/January 2012

Sorry this post is coming late, as most of you know, the holidays are crazy!

Annabelle is growing like you wouldn't believe! She started crawling the day after Thanksgiving and not long after pulled herself to stand. Now she is cruising along the furniture! I almost can't keep up! She is also SO smart! She understands so much more than you would expect from an 8 month old!
For the family far away we are planning to have Annabelle's 1st Birthday party on April 21st, so you can plan!

Bryant is getting the ball rolling for getting out of the Marines and finding a job, starting school and planning for our future. He is spending a lot of time focusing on this.

I am still dealing with my medical issues. Diagnosed as a dermoid cyst, my new doctor is not so convinced. We are still waiting for blood results, and my surgery is scheduled for January 12th, they will biopsy the "cyst" and we will then know for sure.