2009

Ok so I can’t remember exactly everything that went on last year, but here a pretty good summary of most of what I can remember. After taking about 4 months off of work to take care of Owen and recovery from back surgery, I returned to work in February; which meant that Owen was to start attending daycare. That was pretty hard for me because I just love taking care of him and watching him grow and learn new things, so the thought of someone else getting to see all that just breaks my heart! (Even a year later, my heart still breaks every time I take him…but I know he’s in good hands with great people, so that makes it easier. Plus he loves being with his friends.) Anyway, in April we visited Sean’s family in Idaho. That was fun and it was really good to see everyone again. We miss his family a lot and really wish they were closer.

April we also moved to a new apartment. It’s actually the same complex we lived in when we first got married, just a different unit. I love it. The old townhouse we lived in was great, but all the memories of my infection and recovery just made me really not like living there. Plus it was more expensive than the place we’re in now. In July Sean started the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center…the Police Academy. Sean worked his butt off for almost 6 months! He had physical training, written tests, pepper spray/mace, tear gas, sustain resistance training, shooting stuff, driving tests and more! I was so proud to see him just stick with it and push himself.
In July, my mom's family had a reunion. Everyone was able to make it except for my brother Johnathan and my mom's fiance Jairo. But as you can see from the pictures, my mom's side isn't that large. It was so great to see my cousins again...lol, i only have 2 on that side. But I hadn't seen them for over 10 years! It was just so wonderful to spend time together and be a family. We took so many picutres (i only posted a few) but as you can see, the boys are way more photogenic than us girlies! It was fun though.

In August, Owen and I took a trip to Utah for Jason and Christine’s wedding. We also stopped and visited Lisa, Dan and Jaxon!! It was so much fun! Jason and Christine’s wedding was beautiful. It was also really nice to see old friends that I haven’t seen and catch up with them.

I got to stay with Lisa and her family. I was so excited to see her again! My phone died about 10-15 minutes from her house and I can’t believe this, but I remembered how to get there!! It was such a relief. Lisa recently had a baby boy…Jaxon. It was so great to finally meet him! He’s so cute. Owen was at an age where he didn’t really care about other babies yet, but it was cute to see them together. Lisa and I got to spend a day together just hanging out. It was nice to have a little taste of what life would be like if we lived close and got to hang out regularly…I could get used to that!
Anyway, Owen and I eventually had to go home. It was sad to say goodbye, but great to be home with Sean again. I miss him when he’s not with me. Well, October was Owen’s 1st birthday. That was a lot of fun. Family and friends came to the park to celebrate. He got so many gifts and had lots of fun! He actually had a total of 3 parties over the week. We had a big family and friends party at the park, he had a party at daycare, and then Sean and I just celebrated with him. It was fun. He seemed to enjoy all the attention.

Also in October was Sean’s birthday. My wonderful husband celebrated his 25th year of life! I got him tickets to see Metallica and some candy and stuff. Owen got him Finding Nemo! Then a few days later I had a surprise party for him! That was fun…I don’t think he knew. He had fun just hanging out with all his good friends.

Halloween was fun this year...last year I was in the hospital, so anything would be better than that! But this year Owen was a turtle...we actually all dressed up as a turtle family! It was fun. He loved getting candy. We let him have a few pieces of chocolate.

November was Thanksgiving of course. We just spent it at my mom’s house. It was a nice, quiet and relaxing day. Then, the busiest month of all, December took place. We started the month off with Sean taking his last and final tests at the academy. Then week two was his academy graduation!!! FINALLY! His family came down to attend. It was great to see everyone. I am so proud of him for finishing and for all his hard work. He looked great in his graduation uniform too. (He’s not a police officer yet, but soon will be.)

That weekend was also time to visit with Sean’s family, since we hadn’t seen then since April and October. It was great just to have everyone over and with us. Owen loved the attention and loved that everyone was pretty much there for him. It was nice for Sean and I to have a little quiet time too…the in-laws were always so willing to baby sit. We got to go to our Metallica concert, and that was so much fun! Metallica is great live, and I recommend everyone see them at least once.
The morning that the family was going home was great. We woke up and made a big breakfast and had a Breakfast Bash! Everyone was in their pajamas and just hung out and had a good time before they departed back to Idaho. It was such a good visit, and I can’t wait for the next one to come!

After everyone left, Sean and I spent the afternoon cleaning up the apartment and packing for our anniversary trip to San Francisco! My mom so graciously agreed to watch Owen for a few days while we were gone. In SF, we just relaxed, ate lots of yummy food, walked the piers, and went to a 49er game (and they won!).

Our last day was cut a little short. We were planning on walking around for a little, maybe ice skating and getting some lunch. But daycare called us and said that Owen had a fever, so we left right away. SF is only about an hour away, so we were able to get him quickly. When we got home, we tired soothing him and tried things to make him feel better, but his fever wasn’t going down. So we took him to the hospital. He ended up having an ear infection. I was relieved that it wasn’t anything worse. He felt much better once he started on his antibiotics and ear numbing drops. December’s not over yet! Christmas is of course what’s next. We had Christmas morning at our place first. Sean, Owen and I had our gift exchange. Owen had so many presents that were sent in from family. He opened the first two and then got bored. But he got plenty of toys, some books and lots of clothes! Sean and I had our gift exchange. I got him Guitar Hero Metallica and two guitars to go with it. He seemed happy to get them. He got me a new water purifier, something from VS, and diamond earrings!! After that early morning Christmas, we got ready and headed off to my mom’s house for more gift exchange. This Christmas, we were truly blessed. Family is the greatest gift and I honestly couldn’t ask for a better one than I have. This past year was a financial struggle for Sean and me. He had to quit his job to go into the academy and we ended up taking out a student loan to help pay for day care. Now that the academy is over, we not longer have that loan to help us. So January daycare payment was something we did not have and did not know where we were going to get it from. Thanks to our family this Christmas, we were able to have enough day care to get us through February! I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am for our family and for their selflessness. This Christmas really reminded me that it’s not about the gifts under the tree, or how much money you spend on someone, but on the time we spend together and the service we do for each other and the love we have for one another. This was a great Christmas. I dressed up as an elf, a tradition I started for myself back in 2003. I try to wear the same elf costume every year, 2005 was an exception since I spent the holidays in Ecuador. But Owen was Santa and Sean was Christmas Spirit!
And next was New Years! We spent New Years Eve with Jason and Christine and Jason’s family. They were in town to visit and invited to their family party. It was great to see them again and hear how their new marriage is going. Ahh…love. I just love love. After spending some time at their place, we ended up driving home to spend the last hour of 2009 together as a family. Also so we could put Owen to bed after the ball dropped. 2009 was an adventurous year for the Mattson family. It was one full of triumphs and trials, but we made it and are ready to embark on our new journey in 2010.