2008

I know, it's a few days into 2009, and I've not posted about 2008 yet, but I'm here.

2008 was a hell of a year in my world...

January:
We met with Dr. Jarrett, and began on the path to possibly having another child. I was told to lose 30 pounds, and we would see him again in March to talk about the next steps. I found Dr. Jarrett abrasive and didn't really know what was in store when we would see him again.
Ché really started talking in sentences. 2-4 words, but nonetheless it made communication so much easier.
January was also the month where Ché disassembled a diaper in his bed depositing white "diaper fluff" all over the room.

February:
Continued with the weight loss. I feel that I did pretty well with it all, considering the lack of eating support at home! If you know Mike, you know healthy eating isn't his (nor my) forte!
We found Ché in his crib with inside/out PJ's thus starting the trend of bedtime mischief, as well as a new found quickness in clothes removal. February must have been quite boring, because that's all I can remember.

March:
I turned 26, which means I'm still younger that Mike! :-)
We spent the previous weekend with Mike's parents in Chicago celebrating his Dad's birthday, which meant me too! It was a great time and the longest we had been away from from Ché together ever. I never finished the meme that Liz tagged me for...

April:
My Dad started going down hill a lot faster this month. His trips were shorter, and things got harder, but we all held out hope. We celebrated his 56th birthday at Bruno's pizza and it was great. We didn't know it would be his last birthday, but I think we all figured it would be.
Ché had a good time with Easter, but didn't quite understand the whole concept. I'm sure this year will be easier for him to understand. We did our first round of fertility meds and while I was optimistic, Mike held back hope. Mike also got his new tattoo in April.
We were all in the throws of the democratic race and for the 1st time since the 60's Indiana mattered.

May:
My Dad died on May 18th at 3:00 in the morning.

June:
Celebrating Father's day was a different experience this year. We got yet another negative pregnancy test in June. I believe that was the 3rd of the year. Even though you get a negative at home, you still have to do a blood test, so there was more prodding involved. By this time though I was beginning to get used to needle sticks. I still don't like them, but it' s not as hard.

July:
Mike turned 30! We celebrated with a surprise party, which was actually a surprise, although I don't think he would fess up if it wasn't. I participated in the MDA Lock Up, raising over $600 for sending kids with MS to camps and to fund research.
My parents 37th anniversary was in July, but there was no celebration, just a thinking of you card. We were again faced with a cycle that didn't work, and were faced with some decisions regarding continuing or trying adoption again.

August:
August found us making a lot of decisions on the fertility front so I didn't post much on my blog. I'm sure it was quite boring for anyone that actually reads this thing.
We decided that I would have surgery in September, hoping for a "reset" that would fix things.

September:
I had surgery the first weekend of September, and for the first time in years did not go to the Blueberry Festival.
The surgery was fine, I was sore for a while, but of course it went away. It made Mike optimistic for the next set of instructions, and made us both ready to keep going.
Mike and I went to our first Bears game, and even though they lost had a great time. If we could afford to, I'm sure we'd go much more often.

October:
Ché was Plex for Halloween, in a home-made costume. He went to 5 houses and then was more than happy to hand out treats.
We started what would be one of our last cycles, before big decisions had to be made.
I interviewed for a job, more because there's always room to improve, and to work on interviewing since I'm not great in that area.
Mike and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary, by going to Bonefish, and having Ché go to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night.

November:
Thanksgiving. The first major holiday without Dad. It was hard. Really hard, but we made it through and it was nice, different, but nice.
I attended a conference for work near the end of the month, leaving Mike home with Ché overnight alone. It was definitely in interesting experience for all involved.
Mike began participating in mustaches for kids, and by the end of the it, received the award for "Best 'stach"
And of course, we elected Barack Obama into the office of President.

December:
The first Christmas without my Dad, and the first Christmas that Ché truly got it. He understood Baby Jesus, and Santa. He was very excited about visiting Santa and even wrote him a letter.
Christmas was strange without my Dad around, I didn't have anyone to shop with (he loved to shop) and no extra presents to wrap. There was no buying of Star Wars paraphernalia, or bubble bath. It was strange.
Mom made a wonderful dinner the Saturday afterwards, and we all got through it, but that didn't make it easier.
We met with Dr. Jarrett on the 18th, and got advice that I'm not ready to share yet, but obviously if it was exciting news I would have shared.
We also met Graham for the first time and Ché had a great time visiting with him, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Emily.

So in all 2008 was a difficult year. I'm hoping that 2009 brings good news for our family.
Happy New Year to all of you too!