Mother's Day 2008

I went off like a bandit with all my presents yesterday! I got presents from everyone in my family, but the most memorable present of all was a handmade card and some fridge art from Julianna. She had made them at school on Friday and had kept them in her backpack until it was time for her to give it to me yesterday. She was so proud of herself and I was sooo proud of her. She makes being a mommy a very special blessing indeed.

My loot!

A closer look at Julianna's card

She also made the little butterfly fridge magnet and the ladybug picture frame

Endless Ocean Wii game and cK One Summer from my Hunny

MarioKart from Loraine

Dress from my sister

My flowers

Thanks to everyone who remembered me on Mother's day!

Part 3: Day Out With Thomas 2008

Our second day in Chattanooga was spent at the Tennessee Valley Railroad where the annual Day Out with Thomas was being held. It was a rainy day but this was not enough to dampen the spirits of the little engineers who wanted to catch a glimpse and ride onboard their favorite engine, Thomas. Julianna had a lot of the fun at the Imagination Station and of course, she enjoyed our 25 minute train ride a lot.

Here are some of our pictures:

A very excited Julianna...

Having fun at the Imagination Station

Jeff and Julianna

With Thomas the Tank Engine

On board Car Number 5

Our little engineer had the time of her life that day. We hope to take her to another Day Out with Thomas again next year!

Part 2: Creative Discovery Museum

Our next stop was the Creative Discovery Museum. This was right next door to our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. Unfortunately, we had so much fun at the Aquarium that we made it back to the hotel at 3 pm. We had a late lunch and then headed on to the Museum next door. When we purchased our tickets, the lady informed us that they were closing in 45 minutes... =p The museum wasn't big though, and really you could see all the exhibits in about an hour. Julianna would have loved to play longer though, but we decided to spend 35 minutes playing, and the last 10 minutes at the gift shop. She really enjoyed their Riverplay and the Rooftop Fun Factory. All in all it was a wonderful visit for her. We definitely will be coming back again next time we are in Chattanooga.

Julianna's Fish of the Day!

RiverPlay Exhibit

Exploring the Moneyville Exhibit

Rooftop Fun Factory

Bubble Fun!

Spring Vacation 2008 Part 1: Tennessee Aquarium

Every now and then we try to take a "mini-vacation" just to prevent ourselves from getting burned out from our daily routines. This time we decided to go to Chattanooga for a short weekend getaway. We really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and activities their downtown area had to offer. Best of all, we were able to take Julianna to see and ride Thomas the Train! It was her first Day Out with Thomas ever, and for this one special day, our little princess put away her tiara and gown and became a junior engineer for Thomas. I will be sharing this wonderful weekend in 3 different parts, just because I am not sure I will have enough time tonight to finish writing about our short but fruitful weekend.

We're here! Just arrived in Chattanooga!
Very Happy and Excited Julianna!!!
Julianna at the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn
On the way to our hotel room

Part 1: Tennessee Aquarium (April 26, 2008)


This was our second time to visit the Tennessee Aquarium but we enjoyed it more than we ever did the last time. We came in the Fall the last time we were here, and didn't really enjoy the riverfront like we did yesterday. The Ocean Journey building also had a new exhibit. They had penguins on exhibit for the first time. The penguins were so much fun to watch. Julianna also just had to go back to their butterfly exhibit. She absolutely loves being with the butterflies.

Jeff and Julianna at the Butterfly Exhibit

Julianna's pretty butterfly

Mommy and Baby goofing off at the Penguin Exhibit

It was very hard to take decent pictures of the penguins as the flash would reflect off of the glass and make the pictures either dark or blurry. I took mostly short video clips of the penguins. Below is a precious one of Julianna and a very friendly penguin...

Julianna also had fun playing outside the Aquarium. They had fountains and a water play area for the children. We also stopped by a nearby Ben and Jerry's and enjoyed the beautiful downtown and riverfront scenery while enjoying our ice cream. It was a truly a wonderful retreat from busy Nashville!

With Monica and Yigo outside of the Aquarium

Having fun at the water play area outside the Aquarium

Nona, Julianna and Alex at the riverfront

Coming up soon will be our adventures at the Creative Discovery Museum (Part 2) and Day Out with Thomas (Part 3)...I hope to be able to post an entry tomorrow, but if not it will definitely be online before this coming weekend.

Autism Awareness on CNN.com

CNN is doing a month-long special on Autism for the month of April. They will feature stories of families who are dealing with autism and updates about the fight for this disorder. I am glad that they are doing this to promote autism awareness. I think that a lot of people need to learn about what it is and understand what families like mine are going through...CNN on TV will also talk about autism all day long tomorrow, April 2.

Now that there are more people involved in the fight for autism, I believe that we are at least finally getting somewhere. This story about the mom who was able to pass a law to make insurance companies pay for autism services in her home state is very promising. I know that someday, more services will be available to help parents out there who find themselves facing a diagnosis of autism for their kids. Hopefully soon, we will be able to figure out what is causing this epidemic which is affects 1 in every 125 children and put an end to it. I know I don't have that many readers, but for those of you who stumble upon this blog, I am hoping that I am helping in my own little way, to raise awareness for autism through this. I believe that if everyone helped in every little way they can, there is hope for children like Julianna to be able to live a life where autism no longer exists...

Life's little miracles...

When I first joined the Molecular ID lab in September last year, there were 3 pregnant women in this department and 2 others who were just coming back from maternity leave. This has made everyone very nervous about drinking the water in the lab... =)

Anna gave birth to little baby David Winslow Raymer one snowy day on February 26. Below are some pictures of Baby David:

A very pregnant Jennifer, Sue, MaryBeth, new mommy Anna, me, very pregnant Melinda and Jessica

David Winslow Raymer at 1 day old

I'm very proud to share the Diaper cake that MaryBeth and I made for Anna's baby shower... isn't it cute? =)

Hmmm, I wonder who will be the next one to get pregnant?

Daddy's Girl

This was such a sweet picture of Jeff and Julianna that I just had to share it. This was taken last weekend when the whole family had lunch at Omikoshi Japanese Restaurant (Julianna loves their fried rice!). Hope you like it...