What a crazy, busy, and FUN year
it has been in the California Bayer household!! Every year it seems like a
rollercoaster with its up, downs, twists and turns. It never ceases to amaze us on how fast it
goes. At the end of each year we write
this letter and have time to reflect on how absolutely wonderful the time is
together and how much we love and appreciate each and every one of you. Thank
you for being part of our lives.
Ariella: This year we saw our
little baby turn 2 (October)! We just can’t believe it, it seems like yesterday
we brought her home from the hospital. Ari is just a fun little girl, very
outgoing and friendly, hasn’t ever met a stranger and likes to pass out hugs
and “lovings” wherever she goes. In this last year we’ve seen a language explosion,
from just a few words to stories that begin with “once upon a time” and usually
end with some rendition of the Wonder Pets theme song (she’s a HUGE fan). She
loves to sing, and even makes up some of her own songs like “Pumpkin Man” sung
to the melody of “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” She loves spending time with her
little friends, her “super daddy,” and cooking with Mommy. Thankfully this year
has been pretty uneventful health wise for her, we were so happy to have no
hospital visits this year! Yay! They continue to monitor her Urinary Reflux and
will probably have the Deflux procedure to fix it early 2012.
Michelle: I’ve been pretty busy as
a stay at home mom, and think that the phrase should change because this is one
Mom who doesn’t stay at home very often! Ari and I love go to the zoo, Sea
World, swimming lessons, Mommy & Me Preschool, Bible Study Fellowship
(BSF), MOPS, and lots of play dates with
friend . I continue to organize a mommies group, exercise a little, bake, and have
lots of fun taking pictures of family and friends. In mu very little free time
I love spending time doing some of my favorite hobbies, blogging, baking, and
lately have a fascination with making cake pops for just about any occasion. Ariella
is one of the biggest joys in my life and I can say she is the best employer I’ve
ever had.
Brett: In March, Brett transitioned
to the Navy Selected Reserves and serves as the Admin Department Head for a
Submarine Support Detachment at Point Loma Submarine base in San Diego. He drills one weekend a month and two weeks a
year, it’s a nice chance for him to reconnect with the submarine community.
Thankfully this year he was not on the deployment list so we are safe for a
year of no deployments, each year there’s a chance he will be selected. Brett just
finished an 18 month training program to get his Senior Reactor Operator
license at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. This is a VERY exciting
event, he’s been working very hard for this and we are so proud of him. He is
excited to be in charge of a nuclear reactor for his twelve hour shift, and
finally get to do what he’s been training for.
Family: We had a whirlwind summer
this year with a visit from Auntie Cheryl (one of my best friends), Grammy and
Paca Bing (Brett’s parents) followed by a vacation. We decided to take our
first “real” family vacation this summer to Cancun Mexico, where we learned
LOTS of lessons on parenting. It was beautiful, but we know now that Mexico and
toddlers are probably not the best mix. Right after we returned we moved. Our
neighbors next door moved away so we decided to rent their townhome from them,
it was a pretty smooth transition since it’s the exact same layout as our
former townhome, that and we had about 20 friends show up to help out. God has really blessed us with amazing
friends- we are so very very thankful for them. Papi (my Dad) got a chance to visit us for Ari’s
2nd birthday in October and we got to go to Colorado for
Thanksgiving, and Kansas/Missouri for Christmas so the travels continue!
From our house to yours we wish
you a very very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
And always- Please COME VISIT! We
would love to see you all in 2012!
Love,
Brett, Michelle and Ariella Bayer
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