Here is his loose tooth:
And his new smile (if you call that a smile):
Monday, March 14, 2011
Aidan's new smile
Aidan lost his first tooth! Here is his old smile:
Here is his loose tooth:
And his new smile (if you call that a smile):
His new tooth is already coming in! The other night, at bedtime, he asked Brett if the tooth fairy just knew when he looses a tooth. Brett said yes, and Aidan then pulled an empty tooth treasure chest out from under his pillow and said he thought he could trick her. He told him it had been there for the last 2 nights- funny boy.
Here is his loose tooth:
And his new smile (if you call that a smile):
February
I know. It's March. I'm behind (again). These past couple months have been a blur. February started out great. I found a great deal on airline tickets a while ago so I jumped on the chance to get to spend some time with my sister. It worked perfect because her birthday was at the beginning of the month, so Chloe and I flew up there and got to be there for a few days to celebrate! We had so much fun shopping, and EATING, and playing with the kids and relaxing. I love any time I can spend with her and she always takes such good care of us when we come.
Brett and I decided to celebrate Valentines the weekend before since it was on a school night and I'm so glad we did. We enjoyed a nice night out having dinner and shopping for the kids for Valentines Day. Ethan had been fighting his asthma over the weekend so Monday morning I took him into the doctor and his lungs were so closed up it took 3 breathing treatments to open him up. They sent us home with an oral steroid and we just went about life as usual (we are getting to be pros at this...it doesn't really phase us anymore). We made a "red" dinner for Valentines: spaghetti, red jello, and dipped strawberries and marshmallows in chocolate for dessert. The kids thought it was fun to be surprised with a new toy and it was a really fun night!
By Wednesday, I really wasn't feeling good about Ethan's health. He didn't seem to be responding to the medication and the breathing treatments weren't helping so I took him back in. The doctor did another 3 treatments to try to open up his lungs again and each time his oxygen levels just kept getting worse. After two hours of trying to make it better, he finally had him admitted into the hospital. He had a full case of RSV and bronchiolitis. We were in the hospital for a day and a half (which is a pretty easy stay for him) and were able to go home after he was able to go a full 4 hours in between treatments. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of our adventure. All three kids ended up getting full respiratory infections. Ethan got worse again after being out of the hospital and was almost admitted again over the weekend (luckily his oxygen stayed high enough to keep him out), Chloe got RSV which also turned into bronchiolitis and Aidan got the same cold which closed up his lungs. All 3 kids were on breathing treatments and oral steroids and I took one or more kids to the doctor everyday for 7 days straight. Over the weekend, I worried that Ethan and Chloe were going to both be admitted and was so grateful they weren't. I had to take a week off work, and Brett worked at home for the week as it was a full time job just staying on top of all the medications, doctor visits and sad babies! It took about 2 weeks for everyone to be recover fully and about a week past that for me to get caught up on life again. Poor little lungs! Can I just say how much I do not enjoy RSV season- every year (with the exception of last year) seems to bring trouble during those months.
Here is a picture of our cute Valentine before the sickness hit. Valentines Day was warm and beautiful and I loved getting Chloe out of her winter clothes!
Brett and I decided to celebrate Valentines the weekend before since it was on a school night and I'm so glad we did. We enjoyed a nice night out having dinner and shopping for the kids for Valentines Day. Ethan had been fighting his asthma over the weekend so Monday morning I took him into the doctor and his lungs were so closed up it took 3 breathing treatments to open him up. They sent us home with an oral steroid and we just went about life as usual (we are getting to be pros at this...it doesn't really phase us anymore). We made a "red" dinner for Valentines: spaghetti, red jello, and dipped strawberries and marshmallows in chocolate for dessert. The kids thought it was fun to be surprised with a new toy and it was a really fun night!
By Wednesday, I really wasn't feeling good about Ethan's health. He didn't seem to be responding to the medication and the breathing treatments weren't helping so I took him back in. The doctor did another 3 treatments to try to open up his lungs again and each time his oxygen levels just kept getting worse. After two hours of trying to make it better, he finally had him admitted into the hospital. He had a full case of RSV and bronchiolitis. We were in the hospital for a day and a half (which is a pretty easy stay for him) and were able to go home after he was able to go a full 4 hours in between treatments. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of our adventure. All three kids ended up getting full respiratory infections. Ethan got worse again after being out of the hospital and was almost admitted again over the weekend (luckily his oxygen stayed high enough to keep him out), Chloe got RSV which also turned into bronchiolitis and Aidan got the same cold which closed up his lungs. All 3 kids were on breathing treatments and oral steroids and I took one or more kids to the doctor everyday for 7 days straight. Over the weekend, I worried that Ethan and Chloe were going to both be admitted and was so grateful they weren't. I had to take a week off work, and Brett worked at home for the week as it was a full time job just staying on top of all the medications, doctor visits and sad babies! It took about 2 weeks for everyone to be recover fully and about a week past that for me to get caught up on life again. Poor little lungs! Can I just say how much I do not enjoy RSV season- every year (with the exception of last year) seems to bring trouble during those months.
Here is a picture of our cute Valentine before the sickness hit. Valentines Day was warm and beautiful and I loved getting Chloe out of her winter clothes!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Brothers
Ethan ADORES Aidan. Aidan truly loves Ethan, and they are great friends, he just is the older child and doesn't obsess about being and doing everything like him. Ethan started primary this month and is excited to be in Sunbeams. When the teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied:
"SIX. So I can be like my brother."
I love that. He couldn't have said it more perfectly.
"SIX. So I can be like my brother."
2010 Recap
I had wanted to put together a Christmas letter this year but didn't ever get the chance, so I thought I would do a recap of the year on the blog, starting from where I left off back in March. WARNING: Its virtually impossible for me to tell a short story...I won't be offended if you just want to skip over this post because you have better things to do like watch t.v. or wash your hair.
April: We started off the month by taking the boys on a "staycation" up to Salt Lake for Easter weekend. We had a great time going to the Children's Museum, saw "How to Train a Dragon", had lunch at Tucanos, swimming at the hotel, ordering pizza and just hanging out together. We came home on Easter Sunday and found that the Easter bunny had remembered to bring the boys their baskets and gifts and finished the day with a nice dinner at my parents house. The next day was Brett's birthday where we celebrated with dinner at Goodwood BBQ and had cake and ice cream after. That week was spring break so we enjoyed the time at home relaxing and not teaching piano or going to school! Brett also traveled to Washington and Nebraska for work in April.
May: This was an eventful month! On May 1st Brett and I celebrated our 11th anniversary but we saved our date for later in the month (more to come). Instead I was able to attend a baby shower for my sister in law Juli, followed by shopping with the girls and dinner with the family- still a really fun day! Brett spent a week in Las Vegas for work and then Aidan graduated from preschool the following week. We loved his preschool and were so impressed with his reading skills and all that he had learned by the time he was done. The following week was a real treat (this is where the anniversary comes in)...
Brett had to go to the Bahamas for work (isn't his job rough?) so I got to go with him! It was quite the adventure getting there as we didn't really know up until the week before if we were actually going to go, but I'm so glad that it worked out. We flew my sister, Jordan, and her two kids out for the week so they could stay with the boys. She was the real hero- we couldn't have done it without her and are still so grateful for all that HARD work. I was 8 months pregnant when we left, which is not exactly how I envisioned my first tropical trip, but it was what it was and I'm still glad I got to go. The first 3 days Brett didn't even have to work so we bussed into town (we were in Nassau) and explored the local markets (shopping!!), restaurants, and buildings. When Brett had to actually work, the real vacation came for me. By then I had relaxed and let go of my anxiety of being away from the kids (so far, so long) and spent 4 blissful days sleeping in, having breakfast, and then laying by the pool (which was on the beach) for a few hours. I read (The Hunger Games- so good!), slept, swam, had yummy frozen drinks and just RELAXED. That was usually followed by me going back to the room and taking another nap (did I mention I was 8 months pregnant?) and then Brett would come home from work and we'd head out for dinner and walks on the beach. We had such a wonderful time and I was so grateful for the opportunity to relax and spend some real quality time with Brett, especially before Chloe was born. I'm thinking I could use another one of those trips right about now, especially as my heater is blowing like crazy and I'm looking outside at all the frozen snow.
June: Two weeks after we returned home from the Bahamas, we hopped in the car (did I mention we bought a new mini van in March? We LOVE it!!) and drove to Nebraska. We hadn't been there since Aidan was 9 months old and felt that it would be hard to go out after Chloe was born, so we made the trek. The doctor insisted that we stop every hour and let me walk around and spend the night at the half way point- its not really ideal to travel anywhere when you are 34 weeks pregnant. We did have a nice time, though, and will be making the effort to go more often to be with Brett's family. We stayed with his brother Dan and Nikki and their family and they took great care of us. Nikki is a labor and delivery nurse which was comforting to me, that late in the pregnancy. We went to a new children's museum, a fabulous new park, bowling, and just relaxed. We got home just in time for the birth of my nephew Mason and I'm so glad we didn't miss it!
July: We started out the month by heading down to Meadow where Juli's family has a house. Its in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and we love it. Its just so quiet and relaxing. We usually take a big trip to the Oregon Coast with my family each year, but with Juli just having Mason and me about to have the baby, it wasn't a good year to travel. We were able to spend 4 fun days down there and come back in time to help bless baby Mason with all the family there, as well as the 4th of July the following day. July is always a crazy month for us and it was even more so this year. We had celebrated my brother Joseph's birthday in Meadow, my mom's and niece Lauren's a few days later, followed by my mom and I going out for lunch and pedicure's on her actual birthday. The next week we celebrated Ethan's 3rd birthday at Salem Pond with family and friends followed by going to see "Toy Story 3" and out to Brick Oven later in the week. We took the boys to the Fiesta Days carnival, had 2 girls nights out to celebrate my birthday, and had a fun Fiesta Days (although I was severely disappointed that the baby hadn't come yet). Thankfully (or not?) we were able to get through all those birthday celebrations as Chloe arrived just two days after my birthday.
Chloe's birth: Just wanted to get down a few notes about her birth. I had been having mild contractions since the middle of June and we all felt pretty strongly that Chloe was going to come before her August 1st due date. I really wanted to let her come on her own, since both the boys had been induced, but just got to the point where I was too miserable and HOT to wait any longer so we went ahead and scheduled her to be induced on July 29th. We left the boys with my good friend, and neighbor across the street Carly, and headed over to the hospital by 6:15 in the morning. I had Ethan in 5 hours so the doctor was convinced it would only take about 3 hours to have her but I didn't really believe it could happen that fast. By the time we got checked in and got everything started it was about 9 am., which is around when my parents showed up. They messed up on my epidural and had to do it twice (which is the part I dread the MOST!) but other than that everything went so smoothly and sure enough, she was born just under 3 hours later at 11:39 am. I pushed once and as I was getting ready to push again, the doctor yelled at me to stop pushing (I wasn't) and she all but fell out. She was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 18 inches long with a head full of dark curly hair. I felt so good after and really felt like we had escaped some of the problems that I had with the boys. Unfortunately that didn't last long. I started to shake really bad after (like I always do) and it lasted for almost 2 hours which made me pretty nauseous and gave me a bad headache. The headache wouldn't release as the day went on and the pain felt as bad as a migraine, yet it didn't have the same symptoms as a migraine. Over the next couple days, while in the hospital, they tried everything from the normal pain killers to migraine medicine to muscle relaxers and nothing would touch it. It only helped to lie flat on my back and then the pain would almost completely go away. That symptom is similar to a spinal headache, which is a symptom they warned me about before the epidural, yet no one believed that is what it was because of how it came on. I was so glad I had arranged for the boys to go to my best friend, An'Jalee's, that second day so my mom could be in the hospital with me. Finally after being in excruciating pain for 4 days, the doctor finally diagnosed it as a spinal headache caused by the epidural. When I was having my epidural done, I had some fluid return which is why they had to do it again...turns out they punctured the area around my spine which drains the fluid around your brain causing the headache. I was released from the hospital on a Saturday and by Monday we were back in the emergency room having another epidural done so they could do a blood patch and fix the hole. I felt much better within a couple days, but unfortunately between that and the hormones, a couple days later I started having horrible migraines that piggy backed on each other and ended up having 6 in one week. The first two weeks of Chloe being here was mostly spent with me in bed trying to sleep through the pain. I was so grateful for Brett and my mom and my sister being here to take care of all the kids and me for those two weeks, as I was completely useless. It was extremely frustrating and upsetting and enough to make me think hard about ever having an epidural again. I guess on a good note, I was on so many pain killers that I never felt any pain recovering from the birth...I was just so grateful to see that first month end and get back to normal.
August: Besides everything I just wrote about Chloe's birth, we helped my brother Joseph, and his family move to Logan to start school up there, Aidan started playing soccer with Brett as the coach and the biggest event was Aidan starting kindergarten. He is in the afternoon kindergarten with Mrs. Kariuki as his teacher. Since he missed the deadline by two weeks the year before, it felt like a long time coming but I was so glad that we were able to have him home for an extra year. He has loved school and is learning so much and doing really well. Brett and I are anxious to hear about all he is doing and encountering as he is starting this life away from our home. He is such a sweet boy who feels things so deeply, I don't know how my heart will ever survive all of my children's ups and downs. Thankfully school is mostly just a great time for him and I'm enjoying the little bit of quiet I get each day while he is gone and the other two nap.
September: This month was mostly just spent adjusting to life with three children. Its definitely been an adjustment. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling grateful that everyone is doing so much better. For a few months it felt like someone was always upset with me for not having their needs met...its been a lesson in patience for all of us. I took August and September off from teaching piano and really enjoyed just being home and having down time with all my children. Aidan turned 6 on September 16th and he celebrated by having 3 of his friends come over for a pizza and movie party. Chloe learned to sleep better through the night, smiled at us and by the end of the month she weighed 10 lbs 3 oz and was almost 23 inches long. Brett finished the month by spending 3 days in Portland for work, which was the most stressful work trip for me since I had yet to be alone with the kids. Thankfully I had great help from my mom and sister-in-law, Julia each night at dinner and bed time.
October: We started the month off with our fun annual family trip to St. George to watch my dad run the marathon. The day after we got back, I started back to teaching my piano studio. I was pretty anxious to return to work, wondering how to balance all of my life but thankfully I had cut my studio down to nearly half the students I had last year. I've slowly added on a few more as the year has gone on, but was so grateful to have a slow start. I have also cut my teaching hours back so that I'm done working by the time Brett gets home which has allowed us to have dinner, work on homework, and do bedtime rituals as a family. I feel like it has made all the difference in the flow of our evenings. Over fall break I was able to have a fun Park City shopping day with my friend, Carly, and then Jordan and her family made an unexpected visit and we took the kids to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point for a fun fall day. Sadly, our Rodeo bit the dust again, only this time we decided to let it die for good which has put us down to one car for a while. Thankfully it is a car with low miles and under warranty. We were hoping to have a little more time with that Rodeo since we had paid it off, and were sad to see it go.
November: Most of the month was spent helping my parents work on the studio addition to their house, in an effort to help them complete the work before their deadline and Thanksgiving. It has turned out beautifully and we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in the new studio with all our family. Brett's mom came out for Thanksgiving week and we were excited for her to meet Chloe as well as spend time with the boys and us.
December: This month was busy as usual with all the holiday festivities. I was anxious to get all our Christmas shopping done early because Brett's work flew him, Chloe, and I out for their Christmas party in Vancouver, Washington where their office is. It was really fun to get to meet all the people he works with and explore the area there. One of the days, while he was working, they took all the wives to a beautiful, old historical home in Portland that they had decorated for Christmas, for a tour and then out to lunch. I was anxious to go since I didn't know anyone but had such a fun day with these women and look forward to getting to see them again next year. We have been so blessed to be able to work for a company that he enjoys so much and who are genuinely glad to have him there. He has spent the whole year working on developing a training product to take into these different agencies and now that it is selling and getting a good response, it has been really rewarding. I am proud of all the hard work he is doing and grateful for the flexibility that this job has given us.
We were also in charge of our ward Christmas party, which was a lot of work and glad to have over. My cousin Kaitlyn got married and we were so glad they did it here so we could participate in the wedding shower, endowments, temple ceremony and luncheon. It was so good to have my Uncle Brent and Aunt Lynn here from Wisconsin and my cousin Daniel back from Russia. We miss having them all live close by and enjoyed the long visit from all of them. We were able to have dinner with our friends Cheyenne and Meredith, here from Virginia for a visit, and have our annual Christmas party with our best friends the Burningham's and Gleaves. Jordan and Danny and their children stayed with us for the Christmas break, which was a bit crazy but wonderful at the same time. I miss my sister more than anyone else and am always so grateful for any time I can spend with her and her family. I have such an affection for her daughter, Lauren (who is 2), and really enjoyed time talking and playing with her. It makes me excited for Chloe to be that age. My whole family was here for the holidays and we loved being able to hang out most of the days and also spend New Years Eve all sleeping at my parents. I love my family and my siblings so much and even though there are a lot of us and it gets loud and crazy, I enjoy any chance I can to spend time with them.
The boys had a great Christmas and were the most excited about getting a Wii, which we have all actually enjoyed a lot. My favorite is Just Dance 2- its great exercise and just really fun! Chloe loved eating the paper and all the bows, Brett got a few days off that we didn't expect, and overall it was a really wonderful month.
This year has been so good to our family, especially with the birth of our sweet Chloe. Our family feels so wonderful with her in it and I'm so grateful for all the blessings and lessons that we have learned this year and look forward to what is to come!
April: We started off the month by taking the boys on a "staycation" up to Salt Lake for Easter weekend. We had a great time going to the Children's Museum, saw "How to Train a Dragon", had lunch at Tucanos, swimming at the hotel, ordering pizza and just hanging out together. We came home on Easter Sunday and found that the Easter bunny had remembered to bring the boys their baskets and gifts and finished the day with a nice dinner at my parents house. The next day was Brett's birthday where we celebrated with dinner at Goodwood BBQ and had cake and ice cream after. That week was spring break so we enjoyed the time at home relaxing and not teaching piano or going to school! Brett also traveled to Washington and Nebraska for work in April.
May: This was an eventful month! On May 1st Brett and I celebrated our 11th anniversary but we saved our date for later in the month (more to come). Instead I was able to attend a baby shower for my sister in law Juli, followed by shopping with the girls and dinner with the family- still a really fun day! Brett spent a week in Las Vegas for work and then Aidan graduated from preschool the following week. We loved his preschool and were so impressed with his reading skills and all that he had learned by the time he was done. The following week was a real treat (this is where the anniversary comes in)...
Brett had to go to the Bahamas for work (isn't his job rough?) so I got to go with him! It was quite the adventure getting there as we didn't really know up until the week before if we were actually going to go, but I'm so glad that it worked out. We flew my sister, Jordan, and her two kids out for the week so they could stay with the boys. She was the real hero- we couldn't have done it without her and are still so grateful for all that HARD work. I was 8 months pregnant when we left, which is not exactly how I envisioned my first tropical trip, but it was what it was and I'm still glad I got to go. The first 3 days Brett didn't even have to work so we bussed into town (we were in Nassau) and explored the local markets (shopping!!), restaurants, and buildings. When Brett had to actually work, the real vacation came for me. By then I had relaxed and let go of my anxiety of being away from the kids (so far, so long) and spent 4 blissful days sleeping in, having breakfast, and then laying by the pool (which was on the beach) for a few hours. I read (The Hunger Games- so good!), slept, swam, had yummy frozen drinks and just RELAXED. That was usually followed by me going back to the room and taking another nap (did I mention I was 8 months pregnant?) and then Brett would come home from work and we'd head out for dinner and walks on the beach. We had such a wonderful time and I was so grateful for the opportunity to relax and spend some real quality time with Brett, especially before Chloe was born. I'm thinking I could use another one of those trips right about now, especially as my heater is blowing like crazy and I'm looking outside at all the frozen snow.
June: Two weeks after we returned home from the Bahamas, we hopped in the car (did I mention we bought a new mini van in March? We LOVE it!!) and drove to Nebraska. We hadn't been there since Aidan was 9 months old and felt that it would be hard to go out after Chloe was born, so we made the trek. The doctor insisted that we stop every hour and let me walk around and spend the night at the half way point- its not really ideal to travel anywhere when you are 34 weeks pregnant. We did have a nice time, though, and will be making the effort to go more often to be with Brett's family. We stayed with his brother Dan and Nikki and their family and they took great care of us. Nikki is a labor and delivery nurse which was comforting to me, that late in the pregnancy. We went to a new children's museum, a fabulous new park, bowling, and just relaxed. We got home just in time for the birth of my nephew Mason and I'm so glad we didn't miss it!
July: We started out the month by heading down to Meadow where Juli's family has a house. Its in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and we love it. Its just so quiet and relaxing. We usually take a big trip to the Oregon Coast with my family each year, but with Juli just having Mason and me about to have the baby, it wasn't a good year to travel. We were able to spend 4 fun days down there and come back in time to help bless baby Mason with all the family there, as well as the 4th of July the following day. July is always a crazy month for us and it was even more so this year. We had celebrated my brother Joseph's birthday in Meadow, my mom's and niece Lauren's a few days later, followed by my mom and I going out for lunch and pedicure's on her actual birthday. The next week we celebrated Ethan's 3rd birthday at Salem Pond with family and friends followed by going to see "Toy Story 3" and out to Brick Oven later in the week. We took the boys to the Fiesta Days carnival, had 2 girls nights out to celebrate my birthday, and had a fun Fiesta Days (although I was severely disappointed that the baby hadn't come yet). Thankfully (or not?) we were able to get through all those birthday celebrations as Chloe arrived just two days after my birthday.
Chloe's birth: Just wanted to get down a few notes about her birth. I had been having mild contractions since the middle of June and we all felt pretty strongly that Chloe was going to come before her August 1st due date. I really wanted to let her come on her own, since both the boys had been induced, but just got to the point where I was too miserable and HOT to wait any longer so we went ahead and scheduled her to be induced on July 29th. We left the boys with my good friend, and neighbor across the street Carly, and headed over to the hospital by 6:15 in the morning. I had Ethan in 5 hours so the doctor was convinced it would only take about 3 hours to have her but I didn't really believe it could happen that fast. By the time we got checked in and got everything started it was about 9 am., which is around when my parents showed up. They messed up on my epidural and had to do it twice (which is the part I dread the MOST!) but other than that everything went so smoothly and sure enough, she was born just under 3 hours later at 11:39 am. I pushed once and as I was getting ready to push again, the doctor yelled at me to stop pushing (I wasn't) and she all but fell out. She was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 18 inches long with a head full of dark curly hair. I felt so good after and really felt like we had escaped some of the problems that I had with the boys. Unfortunately that didn't last long. I started to shake really bad after (like I always do) and it lasted for almost 2 hours which made me pretty nauseous and gave me a bad headache. The headache wouldn't release as the day went on and the pain felt as bad as a migraine, yet it didn't have the same symptoms as a migraine. Over the next couple days, while in the hospital, they tried everything from the normal pain killers to migraine medicine to muscle relaxers and nothing would touch it. It only helped to lie flat on my back and then the pain would almost completely go away. That symptom is similar to a spinal headache, which is a symptom they warned me about before the epidural, yet no one believed that is what it was because of how it came on. I was so glad I had arranged for the boys to go to my best friend, An'Jalee's, that second day so my mom could be in the hospital with me. Finally after being in excruciating pain for 4 days, the doctor finally diagnosed it as a spinal headache caused by the epidural. When I was having my epidural done, I had some fluid return which is why they had to do it again...turns out they punctured the area around my spine which drains the fluid around your brain causing the headache. I was released from the hospital on a Saturday and by Monday we were back in the emergency room having another epidural done so they could do a blood patch and fix the hole. I felt much better within a couple days, but unfortunately between that and the hormones, a couple days later I started having horrible migraines that piggy backed on each other and ended up having 6 in one week. The first two weeks of Chloe being here was mostly spent with me in bed trying to sleep through the pain. I was so grateful for Brett and my mom and my sister being here to take care of all the kids and me for those two weeks, as I was completely useless. It was extremely frustrating and upsetting and enough to make me think hard about ever having an epidural again. I guess on a good note, I was on so many pain killers that I never felt any pain recovering from the birth...I was just so grateful to see that first month end and get back to normal.
August: Besides everything I just wrote about Chloe's birth, we helped my brother Joseph, and his family move to Logan to start school up there, Aidan started playing soccer with Brett as the coach and the biggest event was Aidan starting kindergarten. He is in the afternoon kindergarten with Mrs. Kariuki as his teacher. Since he missed the deadline by two weeks the year before, it felt like a long time coming but I was so glad that we were able to have him home for an extra year. He has loved school and is learning so much and doing really well. Brett and I are anxious to hear about all he is doing and encountering as he is starting this life away from our home. He is such a sweet boy who feels things so deeply, I don't know how my heart will ever survive all of my children's ups and downs. Thankfully school is mostly just a great time for him and I'm enjoying the little bit of quiet I get each day while he is gone and the other two nap.
September: This month was mostly just spent adjusting to life with three children. Its definitely been an adjustment. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling grateful that everyone is doing so much better. For a few months it felt like someone was always upset with me for not having their needs met...its been a lesson in patience for all of us. I took August and September off from teaching piano and really enjoyed just being home and having down time with all my children. Aidan turned 6 on September 16th and he celebrated by having 3 of his friends come over for a pizza and movie party. Chloe learned to sleep better through the night, smiled at us and by the end of the month she weighed 10 lbs 3 oz and was almost 23 inches long. Brett finished the month by spending 3 days in Portland for work, which was the most stressful work trip for me since I had yet to be alone with the kids. Thankfully I had great help from my mom and sister-in-law, Julia each night at dinner and bed time.
October: We started the month off with our fun annual family trip to St. George to watch my dad run the marathon. The day after we got back, I started back to teaching my piano studio. I was pretty anxious to return to work, wondering how to balance all of my life but thankfully I had cut my studio down to nearly half the students I had last year. I've slowly added on a few more as the year has gone on, but was so grateful to have a slow start. I have also cut my teaching hours back so that I'm done working by the time Brett gets home which has allowed us to have dinner, work on homework, and do bedtime rituals as a family. I feel like it has made all the difference in the flow of our evenings. Over fall break I was able to have a fun Park City shopping day with my friend, Carly, and then Jordan and her family made an unexpected visit and we took the kids to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point for a fun fall day. Sadly, our Rodeo bit the dust again, only this time we decided to let it die for good which has put us down to one car for a while. Thankfully it is a car with low miles and under warranty. We were hoping to have a little more time with that Rodeo since we had paid it off, and were sad to see it go.
November: Most of the month was spent helping my parents work on the studio addition to their house, in an effort to help them complete the work before their deadline and Thanksgiving. It has turned out beautifully and we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in the new studio with all our family. Brett's mom came out for Thanksgiving week and we were excited for her to meet Chloe as well as spend time with the boys and us.
December: This month was busy as usual with all the holiday festivities. I was anxious to get all our Christmas shopping done early because Brett's work flew him, Chloe, and I out for their Christmas party in Vancouver, Washington where their office is. It was really fun to get to meet all the people he works with and explore the area there. One of the days, while he was working, they took all the wives to a beautiful, old historical home in Portland that they had decorated for Christmas, for a tour and then out to lunch. I was anxious to go since I didn't know anyone but had such a fun day with these women and look forward to getting to see them again next year. We have been so blessed to be able to work for a company that he enjoys so much and who are genuinely glad to have him there. He has spent the whole year working on developing a training product to take into these different agencies and now that it is selling and getting a good response, it has been really rewarding. I am proud of all the hard work he is doing and grateful for the flexibility that this job has given us.
We were also in charge of our ward Christmas party, which was a lot of work and glad to have over. My cousin Kaitlyn got married and we were so glad they did it here so we could participate in the wedding shower, endowments, temple ceremony and luncheon. It was so good to have my Uncle Brent and Aunt Lynn here from Wisconsin and my cousin Daniel back from Russia. We miss having them all live close by and enjoyed the long visit from all of them. We were able to have dinner with our friends Cheyenne and Meredith, here from Virginia for a visit, and have our annual Christmas party with our best friends the Burningham's and Gleaves. Jordan and Danny and their children stayed with us for the Christmas break, which was a bit crazy but wonderful at the same time. I miss my sister more than anyone else and am always so grateful for any time I can spend with her and her family. I have such an affection for her daughter, Lauren (who is 2), and really enjoyed time talking and playing with her. It makes me excited for Chloe to be that age. My whole family was here for the holidays and we loved being able to hang out most of the days and also spend New Years Eve all sleeping at my parents. I love my family and my siblings so much and even though there are a lot of us and it gets loud and crazy, I enjoy any chance I can to spend time with them.
The boys had a great Christmas and were the most excited about getting a Wii, which we have all actually enjoyed a lot. My favorite is Just Dance 2- its great exercise and just really fun! Chloe loved eating the paper and all the bows, Brett got a few days off that we didn't expect, and overall it was a really wonderful month.
This year has been so good to our family, especially with the birth of our sweet Chloe. Our family feels so wonderful with her in it and I'm so grateful for all the blessings and lessons that we have learned this year and look forward to what is to come!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
This is for you Meredith...
Well, its been a while, and as our good friends pointed out the complete absence of our blog this last year I decided it was time to jump back on the wagon. So here we are, back in business, new design and all. Thank you for the encouragement! I'm looking forward to a new year and another chance at journaling our life as a family. I am grateful for these sweet children of mine every day and just wanted to post a picture of them in their Christmas clothes. I just LOVE Chole's dress! How much fun am I having dressing this girl?! We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed having Jordan and her family stay with us, as well as all the time we spent at my parents with all of my siblings.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Breaking the trend...
I'm officially not going to be so outnumbered! We went in for our ultrasound last night and found out we're having a baby girl! We are thrilled beyond words and can't wait to have a girl in our family. I don't have a cute ultrasound picture because her head was facing down and she was covering it with her arm and hand. Because of this, the Dr. wasn't able to look at her upper lip so we need to do another quick ultrasound next month... hopefully we'll get a better picture then. Other than that, everything looks great and we are very excited- especially Aidan. He was wanting a sister so much and is just giddy at the thought of it. We can't agree on any girl names so we have some work cut out for us but other than that the fun part begins. Shopping! As luck would have it, I'm flying out tonight to spend a few days (without the kids or Brett) with Jordan and can do some fun shopping with her. I can't wait for the break and what a fun way to celebrate!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Not much (or TOO much!) going on!
I can't believe I've let another month go by without posting... actually I can. Not much exciting has been happening here...I feel like we're all just exisiting and trying to get through the month! March is my busiest month with piano- we have festival, the recital and group class all in one month on top of regular lessons. Trying to get these wonderful students of mine prepared to perform and be confident in that is always such a tedious and emotional battle but we usually make it out with smiles in the end! I've had enough kids crying at the piano the last few weeks, frustrated in how difficult it is to make it all come together, that I'm starting to think I need to invest in the big packages of Kleenex at Costco. Luckily we made it through Festival this weekend, now we just need to get through this week to the rectial next Monday and then we can all take a deep breath. It's always interesting to me that even though the physical schedule of teaching doesn't change during the months of February and March, the emotional side of it really wears us all out. I'm always so glad that we only do it once a year!
To top it off we've had sick kids... Ethan started with 4 days of a high fever, then as he finished that Aidan got the stomach flu, then when that finished Ethan's cold turned bad and his asthma flaired up enough to make me fairly nervous and to top it off he woke up at 4:00 this morning throwing up. Looks like round 2 of the stomach flu is underway! I'm exhausted... The good news is there are breaks in sight! I'm finishing my week early next week and flying out to Jordan's BY MYSELF for 4 blissful days of peace and quiet. I can't wait. Then I come home teach group class for 2 days and then I'm off for the next week and a half for spring break! I'm so excited to have a bit of rest and spend some time with my children and work on some projects before this baby comes.
Speaking of baby, I'm 20 weeks along- half way there! I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be half way done, but I'm for sure ready to be half way done with the pregnancy. We find out a week from tomorrow what the baby is and we are all on pins and needles. We're trying to just not talk about it because the pressure is on for that baby girl. We'll see...
One fun thing we did this weekend is take out the window in our dining room and put an outside door in its place, which is the perfect place to let the kids out into the yard! My wonderful brother Joseph, a freind of his from work (who made it a piece of cake!), and Brett worked hard all day and it looks great! Now I just want to get the deck built that will eventually come off of that door...who knows when that will come though. We just need to touch up the paint and paint the door and it will look great. My camera is broken, so I don't have pictures to post but I will get some on here soon.
I'm happy the snow has melted from the storm this weekend and it looks nice outside! Maybe spring is on its way!
To top it off we've had sick kids... Ethan started with 4 days of a high fever, then as he finished that Aidan got the stomach flu, then when that finished Ethan's cold turned bad and his asthma flaired up enough to make me fairly nervous and to top it off he woke up at 4:00 this morning throwing up. Looks like round 2 of the stomach flu is underway! I'm exhausted... The good news is there are breaks in sight! I'm finishing my week early next week and flying out to Jordan's BY MYSELF for 4 blissful days of peace and quiet. I can't wait. Then I come home teach group class for 2 days and then I'm off for the next week and a half for spring break! I'm so excited to have a bit of rest and spend some time with my children and work on some projects before this baby comes.
Speaking of baby, I'm 20 weeks along- half way there! I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be half way done, but I'm for sure ready to be half way done with the pregnancy. We find out a week from tomorrow what the baby is and we are all on pins and needles. We're trying to just not talk about it because the pressure is on for that baby girl. We'll see...
One fun thing we did this weekend is take out the window in our dining room and put an outside door in its place, which is the perfect place to let the kids out into the yard! My wonderful brother Joseph, a freind of his from work (who made it a piece of cake!), and Brett worked hard all day and it looks great! Now I just want to get the deck built that will eventually come off of that door...who knows when that will come though. We just need to touch up the paint and paint the door and it will look great. My camera is broken, so I don't have pictures to post but I will get some on here soon.
I'm happy the snow has melted from the storm this weekend and it looks nice outside! Maybe spring is on its way!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Isn't the reason we have kids is to live vicariously through them? Since my hair is already short, and the pregnant thing to do is to cut your hair shorter, I decided to go for Ethan's. Ok, it nearly killed me to do it. These pictures don't do it justice- it was just beautiful and I loved it. BUT, we were so tired of it constantly being in his eyes and in the way and now that it's done I'm so in love with being able to see ALL of his face and be able to kiss even more of it! He looks like such a big boy now!
BEFORE
His Joe Dirt Mullet
AFTER
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Family Updates
I wanted to update the blog on what everyone has been doing since its been so long and we're starting a new year. We've had lots of exciting changes lately and are enjoying where we are in life.
Brett started a new job a couple weeks ago and we couldn't be happier. He is working for a consulting firm located in Vancouver, Washington but they have been wonderful enough to take Brett on and allow us to stay and work from here (for now...we'll see what the future has in store). This company actually did consulting work for his past company (they do a lot of product development and training for collection agencies all over the country), which is how he had the contact, and he approached them about 6 months ago about a job opportunity. It's been kind of a slow work in progress, but once November hit and they decided they had a position open for him everything just fell into place. We feel really good about this company and the arrangement they have made with Brett. There is a lot of opportunity for growth and he is excited to take his knowledge of the industry and apply it to more product development and the effectiveness of how a company runs, rather than the day to day grind of running an agency. He's been traveling quite a bit these last couple weeks, but it hasn't been to bad and should slow down soon. They have expressed how happy they are to have him, which has only made it better. I have seen a change in him already- it's amazing how important it is to enjoy what you!
Besides the pregnancy, I continue to stay busy just trying to make life run and function smoothly- it's a good day if I can accomplish it! I have 24 students that I am teaching right now, and while it feels very busy and I don't really feel like I'm a stay at home mom, I truly enjoy my students and teaching and interacting with them. They bring me a lot of joy and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do something I love, while still being at home. I have a great arrangement worked out with my neighbor and she takes the boys 3 afternoons a week, while I teach, in exchange for 2 of her children's lessons. I even have a teenage student trading lessons and she comes to clean my house once a week! It's worked out really great and both of these trades have made it all possible. I am trying to get more healthy with this pregnancy, so we did the cliche thing and bought an elliptical the day after New Years (hey, we got a great deal on it because of the timing). I'm really enjoying being able to work out from home and not having to get up and have it done before Brett leaves for work. Now I just have to work harder to overcome the incredible sweet tooth (CANDY!) that this baby has.
Aidan is a true blue 5 year old, with all the emotions of a 15 year old. Maybe that's just the definition of being 5. Either way, its an adventure and a lesson in patience, but we so enjoy him everyday. He is full of stories of adventure and his imagination is in constant overdrive. He goes to preschool 3 mornings a week and is learning so much. The other night he even came down and sounded out a word for Brett and I that he read. It is so exciting to see him applying what he is learning and asking questions to keep learning more. He constantly talks about going to the big kid school next year and is looking forward to really being in school. He has great neighbor friends across the street that he loves to be with, but the thing I have most enjoyed is watching him and Ethan develop a great friendship. Not to say that they aren't fighting and yelling as much as they are loving, but when the 2 of them decide to play and have fun together I couldn't ask for anything more. He is a great older brother and is extremely excited to have another sibling on the way. Aidan loves to play outside, play the Wii with his friends (he keeps telling me how much we NEED a Wii), read educational books (not stories- he wants to learn about things. He borrows my mom's Smithsonian magazine every week and Brett and him read it at night), and just be social!
I still refer to Ethan as my baby boy...even though he's 2 1/2. Where does the time go? He is such a sweet, sweet child and I just want to munch on him all the time. We're experiencing a bit of the terrible two's right now. He has a constant desire to do everything himself and has developed a very feisty, stubborn side to his personality that has taken me by surprise. Aidan came out with that part of him, but Ethan has never really had it so it's been a bit hard to take. Not to mention that we have finally gotten rid of the bink and my once wonderful sleeper is having to be sleep trained all over again. We are a bit at odds with each other...then I just have to really look at him and he melts my heart and all is forgiven. I'm not ashamed to admit he has me wrapped around his chubby little finger. He wants to do everything like Aidan and the big kids, which is a constant frustration to him, but he keeps up well with them and enjoys being a part of the group. He also just likes to come and sit quietly on my lap and color or keep the beat with me while I teach piano. He is talking up a storm and we are loving getting to visit with him. We always laugh when we can't understand what he is saying... after asking him "What?" he always talks slower and louder. When I tell him that I can hear him, I just don't understand what he is saying, he comes in real close and wraps his arms around my neck and whispers it in my ear. I still don't know what he said but I sure enjoy the hug. Knock on wood as I say this but he has had such a healthy winter and we are so, so grateful! I am especially glad since I have been sick and don't know how I would've handled it with both of us. We had a trip to the ER last week after he broke into our medicine cabinet and took 15 laxitives, and then almost had to admit him in the hospital the next day after being dehydrated but that has been the most drama we have had. We are praying that the spring will continue to be well and while we are not getting too excited and jumping to any conclusions, we feel so blessed that he has been well and has been able to have a break after everything he went through last year. He loves to read books, build his trains, put together puzzles (which he is really good at), build his blocks and watch Zaboomafoo.
After that marathon post that pretty much catches up what is happening in our day to day lives! It's important to me to get this all written down...I am hoping to get this blog published into a book before the baby comes. I don't do any other journaling and feel like even though I'm not super consistent, I want to keep writing what is going on with us. I so enjoy reading what other people are doing- it's been such a wonderful way to keep in touch with all of you... I just need to spend less time doing it and be better about updating my own. :) Holiday pictures coming soon!
Brett started a new job a couple weeks ago and we couldn't be happier. He is working for a consulting firm located in Vancouver, Washington but they have been wonderful enough to take Brett on and allow us to stay and work from here (for now...we'll see what the future has in store). This company actually did consulting work for his past company (they do a lot of product development and training for collection agencies all over the country), which is how he had the contact, and he approached them about 6 months ago about a job opportunity. It's been kind of a slow work in progress, but once November hit and they decided they had a position open for him everything just fell into place. We feel really good about this company and the arrangement they have made with Brett. There is a lot of opportunity for growth and he is excited to take his knowledge of the industry and apply it to more product development and the effectiveness of how a company runs, rather than the day to day grind of running an agency. He's been traveling quite a bit these last couple weeks, but it hasn't been to bad and should slow down soon. They have expressed how happy they are to have him, which has only made it better. I have seen a change in him already- it's amazing how important it is to enjoy what you!
Besides the pregnancy, I continue to stay busy just trying to make life run and function smoothly- it's a good day if I can accomplish it! I have 24 students that I am teaching right now, and while it feels very busy and I don't really feel like I'm a stay at home mom, I truly enjoy my students and teaching and interacting with them. They bring me a lot of joy and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do something I love, while still being at home. I have a great arrangement worked out with my neighbor and she takes the boys 3 afternoons a week, while I teach, in exchange for 2 of her children's lessons. I even have a teenage student trading lessons and she comes to clean my house once a week! It's worked out really great and both of these trades have made it all possible. I am trying to get more healthy with this pregnancy, so we did the cliche thing and bought an elliptical the day after New Years (hey, we got a great deal on it because of the timing). I'm really enjoying being able to work out from home and not having to get up and have it done before Brett leaves for work. Now I just have to work harder to overcome the incredible sweet tooth (CANDY!) that this baby has.
Aidan is a true blue 5 year old, with all the emotions of a 15 year old. Maybe that's just the definition of being 5. Either way, its an adventure and a lesson in patience, but we so enjoy him everyday. He is full of stories of adventure and his imagination is in constant overdrive. He goes to preschool 3 mornings a week and is learning so much. The other night he even came down and sounded out a word for Brett and I that he read. It is so exciting to see him applying what he is learning and asking questions to keep learning more. He constantly talks about going to the big kid school next year and is looking forward to really being in school. He has great neighbor friends across the street that he loves to be with, but the thing I have most enjoyed is watching him and Ethan develop a great friendship. Not to say that they aren't fighting and yelling as much as they are loving, but when the 2 of them decide to play and have fun together I couldn't ask for anything more. He is a great older brother and is extremely excited to have another sibling on the way. Aidan loves to play outside, play the Wii with his friends (he keeps telling me how much we NEED a Wii), read educational books (not stories- he wants to learn about things. He borrows my mom's Smithsonian magazine every week and Brett and him read it at night), and just be social!
I still refer to Ethan as my baby boy...even though he's 2 1/2. Where does the time go? He is such a sweet, sweet child and I just want to munch on him all the time. We're experiencing a bit of the terrible two's right now. He has a constant desire to do everything himself and has developed a very feisty, stubborn side to his personality that has taken me by surprise. Aidan came out with that part of him, but Ethan has never really had it so it's been a bit hard to take. Not to mention that we have finally gotten rid of the bink and my once wonderful sleeper is having to be sleep trained all over again. We are a bit at odds with each other...then I just have to really look at him and he melts my heart and all is forgiven. I'm not ashamed to admit he has me wrapped around his chubby little finger. He wants to do everything like Aidan and the big kids, which is a constant frustration to him, but he keeps up well with them and enjoys being a part of the group. He also just likes to come and sit quietly on my lap and color or keep the beat with me while I teach piano. He is talking up a storm and we are loving getting to visit with him. We always laugh when we can't understand what he is saying... after asking him "What?" he always talks slower and louder. When I tell him that I can hear him, I just don't understand what he is saying, he comes in real close and wraps his arms around my neck and whispers it in my ear. I still don't know what he said but I sure enjoy the hug. Knock on wood as I say this but he has had such a healthy winter and we are so, so grateful! I am especially glad since I have been sick and don't know how I would've handled it with both of us. We had a trip to the ER last week after he broke into our medicine cabinet and took 15 laxitives, and then almost had to admit him in the hospital the next day after being dehydrated but that has been the most drama we have had. We are praying that the spring will continue to be well and while we are not getting too excited and jumping to any conclusions, we feel so blessed that he has been well and has been able to have a break after everything he went through last year. He loves to read books, build his trains, put together puzzles (which he is really good at), build his blocks and watch Zaboomafoo.
After that marathon post that pretty much catches up what is happening in our day to day lives! It's important to me to get this all written down...I am hoping to get this blog published into a book before the baby comes. I don't do any other journaling and feel like even though I'm not super consistent, I want to keep writing what is going on with us. I so enjoy reading what other people are doing- it's been such a wonderful way to keep in touch with all of you... I just need to spend less time doing it and be better about updating my own. :) Holiday pictures coming soon!
Where I've been...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Aidan at school
One of the perks about Aidan's preschool is that his teacher's sister, Jocelin (who I went to high school with), is a fabulous photographer which makes for really awesome school pictures. You can visit her site here: http://www.photographybyjocelin.com/ . I love these pictures because most of the time he can't sit still long enough to get a good picture (along with the fact that he refuses to make eye contact) and she still got some good ones!
The whole class
I just love this picture. This boy is so full of life and laughter and I am so happy she caught that.
This picture made me laugh a little because it so reminded me of this next picture, which was taken by my friend Amanda- another fantastic photographer (http://www.amandaalexanderphotography.com/ ) when he was 2. Same serious face.
Happy Halloween!
We celebrated Halloween with a fun few days in Las Vegas first. We had a couple of free hotel nights that had to be used by November so we took the boys and had a fun vacation with just the four of us. Unfortunately our camera broke the first day we were there so I don't have any pictures to document the occasion, but we had fun going to the M&M factory (have you tried the new coconut M&M's? They are SO good!), Coke factory, Hard Rock Cafe, Shark Reef, saw the movie "Where the Wild Things Are," amongst seeing a few of the hotels and eating yummy food! The highlight was actually the night we went out to see the volcano at the Mirage and the fountains at the Bellagio. The boys just loved that- except Ethan was scared of the volcano. We went down last Tuesday and came back Friday night, just in time to escape the crazy's arriving for Halloween weekend!
For Halloween this year, the boys dressed up as matching vampires. I have a really cute monkey costume, that was Aidan's, for Ethan to wear but couldn't pass up him being a vampire with his long hair. My parents and Anson and Julia came over before for chili and then we all went out trick or treating. The boys had a great time- it was especially fun to see Ethan get into the spirit of it. Between the vacation and Halloween they've been tired and cranky for a few days but we're starting to come down from all of it and get back on a normal schedule again.
We're looking forward to a visit from Brett's mom for Thanksgiving, so we're busy working on the house to finish up some projects before she gets here. We're painting and decorating the boy's rooms, possibly building a new shoe shelf/bench to go under the coats, and trying to get the yard/garage/shed cleaned up and ready for winter. Lots to do! I'll post pictures as we finish things.
Friday, October 23, 2009
This week...
Just trying to keep up with my blogging duties and write a little about the week. The most fun we had was last night! Brett and I were able to get discounted tickets to the Odyssey Dance Theater's production of "Thriller." I was so excited to go- I have wanted to go to this for years and was thrilled to be able to go. We had such great seats and the dancing was fantastic! Every time a see a dance show like this, my heart aches a little. I enjoyed all my dance training growing up so much and really miss it. I feel like somewhere inside of me I was meant to be that back up dancer for Janet Jackson. Ha. Ha. Maybe I shouldn't admit that out loud. Well, now I know I just need to go see more productions like last night and live vicariously through those awesome dancers. I know for sure that we won't miss another year of going to this!
Much to the disgruntlement (is that a word?) of my lungs, I went run/walking with my mom, a couple times this week, and really enjoyed it. I need to go more often so I can work on running more and walking less but it was nice to be outside early in the morning (5:30 am!) and get to talk to my mom before the day started. I'm fighting a cold/sore throat that is dying to get out but I think exercising and the vast amounts of ImmunoShield and Emergency C that I'm taking is holding it off. I just don't have time to be sick.
Ethan has started fall with a bang and has been fighting his usual cold/asthma that comes with this colder weather. We had such a nice, healthy summer and I'm hoping that this fall/winter/spring won't be like last year. When I took him in for his follow up appointment(from spending last Sunday afternoon at the dr) he was keeping his lungs clear and his tonsils have gone back down to an average size so that's encouraging. I was grateful to get both him and Aidan vaccinated against H1N1 and am hoping that it will work. Ethan is in a high risk category if he gets this flu, due to the complications with his asthma, and I'm feeling anxious about it but just trying to keep us all clean from germs and as healthy as possible. If you come to our house this winter, don't be surprised when you see the giant bottle of hand sanitizer! He is such a sweet boy as always and I'm really enjoying our alone time together while Aidan is at preschool. He always makes me feel loved and I just can't get enough of him.
Aidan is really enjoying school,except for being out the door by 8:30 am. Not that he isn't up, he just likes to take his time in the morning- but he's doing better. Cute story- early this week we got ready to have family prayer before bedtime and Aidan wanted to say it. I reminded him that we are praying for our family and to pray for things the family needs. Here is what followed: "Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless... We need Milk. Amen" Can't say I blame him- we were out of milk.
I'm out of time to post pictures but I'll get more up soon!
Much to the disgruntlement (is that a word?) of my lungs, I went run/walking with my mom, a couple times this week, and really enjoyed it. I need to go more often so I can work on running more and walking less but it was nice to be outside early in the morning (5:30 am!) and get to talk to my mom before the day started. I'm fighting a cold/sore throat that is dying to get out but I think exercising and the vast amounts of ImmunoShield and Emergency C that I'm taking is holding it off. I just don't have time to be sick.
Ethan has started fall with a bang and has been fighting his usual cold/asthma that comes with this colder weather. We had such a nice, healthy summer and I'm hoping that this fall/winter/spring won't be like last year. When I took him in for his follow up appointment(from spending last Sunday afternoon at the dr) he was keeping his lungs clear and his tonsils have gone back down to an average size so that's encouraging. I was grateful to get both him and Aidan vaccinated against H1N1 and am hoping that it will work. Ethan is in a high risk category if he gets this flu, due to the complications with his asthma, and I'm feeling anxious about it but just trying to keep us all clean from germs and as healthy as possible. If you come to our house this winter, don't be surprised when you see the giant bottle of hand sanitizer! He is such a sweet boy as always and I'm really enjoying our alone time together while Aidan is at preschool. He always makes me feel loved and I just can't get enough of him.
Aidan is really enjoying school,except for being out the door by 8:30 am. Not that he isn't up, he just likes to take his time in the morning- but he's doing better. Cute story- early this week we got ready to have family prayer before bedtime and Aidan wanted to say it. I reminded him that we are praying for our family and to pray for things the family needs. Here is what followed: "Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless... We need Milk. Amen" Can't say I blame him- we were out of milk.
I'm out of time to post pictures but I'll get more up soon!
Friday, October 9, 2009
St. George Marathon
One of the oldest traditions my family has is going down to St. George the first weekend in October to watch my dad run the marathon. We've been doing this since I was 5- so this year made for a special year because it was his 25th year! Almost our whole family was able to make it down this year (we missed Jordan's husband, Danny) and we had such a fun time! We were able to get a great hook up with a condo down there (thanks Julia!) and it was so fun to be able to stay there with the rest of my siblings and have some good times together. It's always a short weekend, but I look forward to it every year and am always so proud of my dad and all the work and commitment he puts into this.
At the half way point, up Snow Canyon. I think this is such a cute picture of the boys (all 4 of them).
Running in at the finish line
My mom made us all cute shirts to surprise my dad- they look like the sign Joseph and Juli are holding on the end
The back of the shirts
This is about the best that can be expected when trying to get a picture of 4 kids under the age of 5.
At the half way point, up Snow Canyon. I think this is such a cute picture of the boys (all 4 of them).
Running in at the finish line
My mom made us all cute shirts to surprise my dad- they look like the sign Joseph and Juli are holding on the end
The back of the shirts
This is about the best that can be expected when trying to get a picture of 4 kids under the age of 5.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Happy 5th Birthday Aidan!
I'm always emotional on the kids birthdays- the time goes by so fast! I'm especially emotional today because 5 seems like such a milestone to me. I'm so grateful for this sweet child of mine. He brings so much laughter and love and ENERGY into our home. He fills my days with so much conversation and learning. He is such a good big brother and we are so blessed to have him. Some of Aidan's favorites right now are: FOOD (doesn't matter what- I'm starting to see that raising boys is going to bring a big grocery bill), playing with his animals and jungle set- he loves any kind of African or exotic animal, playing with his sweet friends across the street, riding his bike, spending time with dad (has always been a daddy's boy), reading Grandma's Smithsonian magazine or any other learning books he can get his hands on, and being with all his family and friends. This boy is our social bug! Happy Birthday Aidan! We love you so much!
Newborn
1 Year Old
2 Years Old
3 Years Old
4 Years Old
This Year- First day of school pictures
Newborn
1 Year Old
2 Years Old
3 Years Old
4 Years Old
This Year- First day of school pictures
I'm really back this time...
I have a new goal to be much better about this. My problem is that I get so far behind I feel like I can't post again until I'm caught up, but I'm changing my thinking. I'm just going to make a fresh start. Even though we're half way through September, I didn't post much this summer so he is a quick recap: It flew by way too fast, but we started out in May with Brett and my ten year (!!!) anniversary (and a quick 3 day trip to St. George), and a week of fun swimming lessons in June (Ethan and I did Mommy and me and Aidan was in his own class). July brought a week on the Oregon Coast (the highlight of the summer), with my family; Ethan's 2nd birthday, my 30th birthday (and fun BBQ party that Brett threw for me), Aidan's summer preschool camp where he learned all about bugs, my sister and her family staying with us for a week, and a fun weekend of camping with my family. In August we had a fun day at Lagoon with Brett's work, I ran my piano camp with my students (best year yet), and a couple last minute trips to the swimming pool before the summer ended (we didn't go nearly enough this year), mixed in with the boys playing all day long outside with the neighbor kids. Sounds like a lot when you put it all together, but we actually relaxed a lot and are finally starting to get back to our regular routine.
I'm teaching more students than I've ever had, which is keeping me really busy, but surprisingly the boys are transitioning back into it really well. It helps that I have a couple neighbors helping me out and they get to go play with friends most of the week while I teach. Aidan started a new preschool this year and is really enjoying it. Since he missed the deadline for kindergarten by 2 weeks, we tried to find a preschool that would step it up a notch from last year. He goes 3 days a week for 3 hours and is having a great time! Ethan continues to do well, even though my heart is starting to beat faster with anxiety now that fall is here. We keep praying that he will have a better fall/winter/spring then we've had in the past. I think that about sums it up! Here's to hoping that I can stick with my goal!
I'm teaching more students than I've ever had, which is keeping me really busy, but surprisingly the boys are transitioning back into it really well. It helps that I have a couple neighbors helping me out and they get to go play with friends most of the week while I teach. Aidan started a new preschool this year and is really enjoying it. Since he missed the deadline for kindergarten by 2 weeks, we tried to find a preschool that would step it up a notch from last year. He goes 3 days a week for 3 hours and is having a great time! Ethan continues to do well, even though my heart is starting to beat faster with anxiety now that fall is here. We keep praying that he will have a better fall/winter/spring then we've had in the past. I think that about sums it up! Here's to hoping that I can stick with my goal!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
More Birthday Pictures
We had a fun day celebrating Ethan's birthday with my family and the Burningham's and Gleaves. We had initially planned to have a pizza party at our house and then go swimming, but Ethan's been fighting a cold the past few days and woke up much worse that morning so we didn't feel good about taking him in the pool (btw- this means we got through 2 months of him being healthy! I'm sure its our longest stretch yet!), not to mention it was threatening rain. So we still had a fun pizza party and then we all went over to Provo and saw Ice Age. It was a fun day, the boys had a great time, and we're enjoying how occupied they are with all of Ethan's new toys! By the way- if you can't tell from the pictures, the ball from Aunt Jordan's family was the biggest hit of the afternoon. That boy loves to play with balls!
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