11 months!

They say time flies when you are having fun. Time has gone by and I have completely ignored by blog postings. I would say we have been having a lot of fun lately and probably that's why we feel like it's only been a few weeks since the last blog. If I had to describe the past two and a half months for our family in two words: sick baby.



We were sick and tired of being sick and tired and after an almost 9-week period of constant stomach and cold bugs we finally have spent the past week enjoying life like normal people do. On top of everything I decided to take one of the most important steps in my career and I switched jobs right in the middle of our sniffle battle-o-rama. Not for the faint of heart I tell you.

After 10 years of working in the investment banking world helping Oregon municipalities raise funds to build public projects, I decided to take one step closer to my dream career and join the public service. Yes, I am now a government employee. I joined the Bonneville Power Administration in the Treasury division. Less than two weeks into the new job and I can already say it was the best decision I could have made. But enough of me, you're probably here to hear about our little miss stinky pants.

Lucia has continue to grow in leaps and bounds. She's crawling and cruising on our furniture and I have a feeling he will begin walking any time now. Today, our sweet little princess turned 11 months. It seems like an eternity ago but one year ago we were really busy finishing our hospital bad list and going over the last few details for Lucia's birth. And now she's almost talking and will be walking before we know it. It is amazing how much we have also grown. I have to admit that parenthood was the hardest test our marriage has ever faced. It's so easy to have an amazing relation with your spouse when all you do is eat out, go to movies, go out with friends, go on vacations. But when all of these things go away for a while and you are stuck at home with a sick, crying baby for 3 days in a row, things can turn a little rough.

I have come to appreciate the patience that Belinda has always had with me in a huge way. I would have already kicked myself on the head a few times if I were her, but she has continued to smile as she always does even in the toughest of days (or sleepless nights).

We took Lucia to a coop pre-school two blocks away from home to see if we wanted to put her there one or two days a week starting next year. It is an amazing place with really nice teachers but after a lot of thought we decided that Belinda really wanted to spend as much time as possible with Lucia, because it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity and we'll have plenty of years to send her to school in the future. So for now, we will continue to be her teachers.... (huge responsibility).

We are really excited because as Lucia continues to grow into a little girl, the weather is starting to change and I am looking forward to enjoying the longer summer days with my little family. We are going to drop off our bikes this weekend for tuning and service and we will continue getting things ready to hot the ground running once the weather turns and the sun comes out again.