A Little About Eden

She is SO stubborn! Lately she is so persistent that she needs to stand or walk and refuses to sit down or to crawl. She really doesn't have that great of balance, but she is determined. I have learned that Eden will NOT do something unless she is ready. She took so long to sit up, to crawl, etc. However, once she decided she wanted to do it, (sit, crawl) she took off in a matter of days.

This being said, today Eden stood by herself without holding on to anything for the first time. She has been whining all day, but she did it! She is persistent, stubborn, and determined. I am so in love with this little girl, and she shows me who is boss every day!

I'm so grateful for her because she teaches me so much. I love that she is persistent, stubborn, and determined. She is also the sweetest, most loving girl. I hope she keeps these attributes throughout her life. She amazes me every day and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I LOVE YOU EDEN!

Christmas Videos

Eden got a car/walker from Santa. I think Santa wanted to help her learn how to walk so her poor knees won't be so bruised from our hard cement floors. She was super cute and loved it at first sight.

Kael's Santa present was a trampoline. He has LOVED jumping on it every day. I also think Santa was hoping it would help him burn some extra energy off during the winter months to help his mom out. He got some cars in his stocking, a ball, and some candy (dots). He LOVES candy.

Christmas 2010

December as usual is a crazy month. Derek's finals were intense, and December 17th at 5 pm was a joyous occasion to be finished with the first portion of year 1 of medical school. Derek flew to California the next morning bright and early to visit with his cousin Andrew who just got off his mission from Hungary. The kids and I made another ginger bread house because they are just too fun, and Kael loves eating the candy. :)

We spent the next week enjoying having Derek with us and getting ready for Christmas. We did lots of cooking and cleaning, and watching movies at home. Lots of Garfield's Christmas, and Claymation Christmas, Kael's favorite Christmas shows.

Christmas morning was absolutely amazing. I loved seeing the kids enjoy the day and the surprise and excitement! Derek's Mom and Sister's family came over for a couple hours in the afternoon and it was so much fun to see everyone. We ate TONS of yummy food, and Kael went around hugging everyone about 100 times each. It got to the point it was almost embarrassing. He is such a sweet spirit and loves everyone so much. We are only now getting around to getting our Christmas letter done, and we got a family picture taken on Christmas day, so our update should be coming soon.

We love and miss you all and hope you all had a fabulous Christmas just like us and were spoiled as much as we were!

United States Air Force

On December 21, 2010, Derek was commissioned as an officer in the Air Force. This was a big day for us. He has worked really hard to get to this point, and now we have so many more years of hard work ahead of us. Derek will have his first choice of residencies as an air force residency, which we will more than likely do, and then he will have 4 years of active duty and 4 years of inactive duty. This all begins when he is done with medical school.

On May 31, 2011 he will go for officer's training in Alabama for 5 weeks. This will be the longest he will be away and the first of many experiences of having him away from us. I know this is what Heavenly Father wants for our family. I'm so full of emotions. I'm so grateful to Derek for wanting to serve our country. Grateful he is doing this for our family so we won't have as much "financial" debt from medical school. So nervous to have him away for so long. And just happy that we have reached another huge point in our lives. I am excited to see where this brings our family, and I know with Heavenly Father guiding us that we are doing what we are suppose to, so we will be taken care of.

She's 9 Months

9 Month Appointment:

Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz = 25%

Length: 26.7 inch = 45%

Head Circumference: 44.5 cm =70%

Eden at 9 months:

SHE CRAWLS.

Yay! And Oh Crap! She can get around to anywhere she wants now. It's a little scary. Her absolute favorite place to crawl to?

Kael's room.

His room has SO many toys and she thinks they are all hers. It has been fun seeing her get into all kinds of trouble. She also loves to crawl into the bathroom when I leave the door open, which is totally gross. My bathroom is clean, but I have no idea about the floors. Yikes! Ew, I know I know, I'll shut the door.

Words: She is really starting to babble now. It is so stinking cute. She can say MaMa when she is mad, and sometimes even when she is just really talkative. It is the sweetest! She can say DaDa every once in a while too. Her favorite sound is just plain old ba ba ba ba ba. I love it and it makes me laugh.

She loves to clap her hands and give high fives! It's pretty amazing. ;)

She SITS great now. This took her so long to get stable with.

She can pull herself up in her crib to stand. Oh this got scary. I was hoping I could wait until Derek was done with finals to lower her crib to the bottom because she kept sitting and kneeling in her crib, but finally she stood and made me a nervous wreck, so I had to stop Derek's hard core studying to lower the crib that day.

She loves to KNEEL. Her poor knees are bruised from our cement floors. Our carpet is junk. I feel so bad, but hopefully she'll learn to walk quickly because of this. It is so cute seeing her kneel and bounce her bum.

She is learning so much every day and brings us so much joy.

She LOVES her brother. She is his tag along. Poor Kael is doing pretty good putting up with it. Where ever Kael is you can be sure Eden is a few feet behind crawling as fast as she can to keep up. They are finally fighting over toys already, but Kael is learning quickly and he is so sweet to share with her.

Kael loves having Eden in his crib with her. It has become a nightly routine to have her in his crib where he can tuck her in and say night night. She loves it and usually gets squished and tickled.

Eden is still a picky eater. The only vegetable I can get her to eat is sweet potatoes and not very much when I try. As long as she is growing, Oh Well. She still refuses to use a sippy cup or bottle or anything, and I offically have 3 months before I want her good at a cup of some sort. Any ideas??? Kael could drink from a regular cup when he was 4 months old!

She sleeps at night for the most part now! HOORAY! Oh this is the best stress reliever in my life! Sleep is vital to my good mood I think. I don't mind getting up with my kids, (which I still do A LOT), but to not have to feed her two or three times at night has become awesome. She still cries out at least once a night, but I can usually put her pacifier in her mouth and comfort her for a while and she either cries for 15 minutes or just goes back to bed. She eats at 7 and then goes to bed great, and usually wakes up at 6 or 6:30 to eat again.

Eden, we love you! Slow down growing up! You are such a joy to our family. I'm glad you came when you did! Keep learning, and exploring, and being you! You are so opinionated, but in such a good way as well! Love you little lady bug!

She Crawls

The Big Man

I have to say I was impressed with how this event turned out. The University Student Apartments hosted an activity for each village to see Santa. I think the whole process took about 40 minutes. Perfect for my little wiggle kids. They had donuts, coloring pages, and Frosty the Snowman movie playing to entertain the kids while they waited their turn. Kael however was not interested in any of it. He was so excited to be in a room full of people he just started going crazy with excitement and standing by a bunch of older boys.

Kael was more interested in the candy cane they gave him than looking at Santa. He wouldn't look at him at all! I think he was a bit nervous, and the candy cane helped him out a bit.

Eden wanted nothing to do with Santa at all. She took one look at him and screamed. And Kael just wanted the candy cane still.

Eden: "Get me away from this hairy guy!" ;)

First Tooth

Just want to write the Eden FINALLY has a tooth that popped through. Really and truly this time. It wasn't there last night as I put oragel on her gums last night from her screaming most of the night, but I felt it after church today. No pictures because it wouldn't show up, but I felt it, and I'm so grateful for ONE down and many more to go. Way to go Eden!

Family Home Evening Gingerbread House

Kael loved decorating as much as he loved he loved eating the candy. Eden enjoyed the gingerbread tree. We sure had fun, and it only took about 20 minutes total. We do everything SUPER fast around here.

What we do for fun when Dad is Home.

The video of them driving around the house is so cute. I think I'll put it on You Tube.

The Tree

Here is our REAL christmas tree. It smells so good! It has been a lot of work with vacuming up all the needles, but so worth it for the smell!

And, Kael's stocking ornament from Grandma and Grandpa Heaton. Eden's is up too, I just don't have a picture. Kael helped me hang his.

Sledding and more Snow

The HUGE sled. We can all go as a family on that thing!

Kael making me climb in a tunnel with him. We really got stuck good, so I took a picture.

We are coming to love the snow here. It is finally melting a bit and I can honestly say I'd be ok with another snow storm soon. I probably won't be ready for one in Feb. or March though. :) We bought a sled for Kael, and Derek said the description was a 2 person one and when we actually saw it, it is a 3 person Big Man sled.

Kael's Tower

Kael loves his legos lately, and this is what he likes to do with them.

Uncle Brian Visits

Thanksgiving Meal

Kael and his cuteness!

The Big Snow Storm

The Sleep Study

A no good very BAD night.

Before

After

Tubes shoved up his nose and there were cords all over his chest, arms, and legs. He has welts all over his body and face from all the tape and cords...

The study went terrible. The poor kid slept maybe 2 hours the entire time he was there. Could you blame him?! I wouldn't be able to sleep either. The technician said they should get some results, but I'm certain even if they did it won't give us what we need. I will NOT do this again if they ask to. No matter what. Poor Derek couldn't sleep at all. Overall, bad experience.

2010 Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving this year has been a lot of fun! I have so much to be grateful for and I really am! I am loving the weather. Yes, it is snowy and cold and I am stuck inside with the kids, but it has been so different from St. George weather and we have made the best out of it. Kael loves playing in the snow and so do I it turns out. Derek went to school on Tuesday, but he came back after a half hour because it was a blizzard warning and the school shut down. Sweet! We "almost" got to have 2 extra days of vacation, but school went on as normal the next day. Turns out, it wasn't a blizzard, but we had fun thinking about being in one anyway. We even went to the store and stocked up on extra water just in case. ;) I really need to finish my food storage supply... Really we could only survive a couple days with the stock we have...

On Wednesday Kael and I played in the snow. It was so deep that it went to his knees! It was so fun! With the wind chill it was in the negatives though so it was really cold.

That night we went to Jerris' house and dropped the kids off and Derek took me on a date to see Harry Potter 7. It was AWESOME. We ate dinner without having to shovel food into our kids mouths, keep them in high chairs, clean diapers or ANYTHING! It was so fun. Thanks Jer and Jill! We then spent the night at their house so we wouldn't have to do a ton of driving with the kids. The kids made it a really long night. Kael had a hard time sleeping and cried from about 11 to 2:30 during the night. He kept waking Eden up and half the time I had them both up at the same time. He went through 3 sippee cups of milk and locking him in the closet before he finally fell asleep! The next morning we watched the Macy's Day parade on tv and then headed to eat our Thanksgiving feast at Mimi's cafe with Derek's family. We wore our pilgrim hats and all. ;) Eden of course had to have a blow out diaper, which is becoming a habit for her when we are in public...

We came home around 1 and had a good nap.

Today was a blast! We bundled the kids and ourselves up and went with Derek's family to the zoo. It was our own personal zoo trip. Best way to go to the zoo, make sure it is black friday and only 14 degrees outside. The animals were all VERY active. We went everywhere you can't take a stroller because the park was completely empty. We then had hot chocolate at the car, which was so good. Then we went to the pizza factory where Eden proceeded to have another blow out diaper... And once again were able to come home for a great nap. Kael did awesome on this trip and I am so proud of him. He is getting so big and behaving better every once in a while.

Now for another date with my hubby tonight. We are going to watch a movie and cuddle on the couch. IBC rootbeer here I come!

And I didn't take any pictures. Oh well.

Tomorrow night is Kael's sleep study. I'm hoping it goes well, but we will see shortly.

I'm so grateful for family. Especially Kael, Eden, and Derek. They are my world! I love you so much and I love being your mom/wife! Thank you for another AMAZING year!

Good night!

27 months and a speech evaluation

Yesterday Kael had his speech evaluation. It went really well. Kael loved it. There were 4 people who came to our house and they played with HIM. He was quite the show off and did things and said things to these people that he has never done for me. His speech is getting better slowly. They said that right now his receptive language and expressive language are at 18 months. That is better than what I thought. Only 9 months behind. He qualified for the speech therapy and they will come to our house about once a week I think to make goals and help Kael. I think it will be good for the kid because he is a people pleaser. He LOVES to get praise. "Who doesn't?" ;)

Tonight Kael threw the football to Derek and he got it to spiral throwing it with either hand. He is so talented. He LOVES basketball. I think right now this is his favorite sport. He is always trying to run to another courtyard that has a small basketball hoop so he can throw his ball in the hoop. He just overall loves any kind of ball.

Kael also loves music! He is trying so hard to sing head, shoulders, knees and toes. He gets some of the right sounds in. His favorite church song is Book of Mormon stories. He loves the actions and we have to sing this song almost every night. He is saying prayers with us every night too. It is so cute. He counts one, two, three, then says prayer time in a whisper and folds his arms. He is even now starting to jibber jabber a bit. I love seeing this kid progress.

The kid loves to dance too. It's hilarious. Eden will sit and bob her head, and Kael does his funky little dance.

He is getting really good at naming body parts. He can say part of the words now, and can point to most. He is starting to pick things up fast.

He still has a hard time coming inside from playing outside and he is starting to run out of the courtyard and into the parking lot. It is scaring me to death!

His big accomplishment this month was learning how to open our front door and run outside. Yes, it is child proof. No it is not Kael proof. It has a cover over the knob for crying out loud! He just LOVES outside. The weather has been crummy, but it doesn't stop this kid.

His sleeping isn't getting any better. We had 3 nights in a row where we didn't hear anything after I scheduled his sleep study. I thought, YES maybe I'm just crazy and he is sleeping better, but the last week hasn't been so great. Kael did pass his hearing test perfectly. It is just nice knowing that is working. Kael's sleep study is scheduled for Nov. 27th and Derek has to spend the night with him there. Then, we go back to his primary care doctor on Dec. 7th for Eden's 9 month appointment and to let them know results from everything. Then, Kael has a sleep clinic appointment Dec. 16th. Between well child checks, sick kids, and trying to get Kael speaking, I'm getting really sick of these appointments. I am so glad he isn't in school yet because that is going to be crazy driving kids to sports, concerts, school, friends... Whew.

Kael we love you! You are an amazing little person! We love watching you grow every day before our eyes. Thank you for loving your sister and helping and trying to be a good person. You are the friendliest, happiest person I know and I am so grateful to be your mom! Take it easy on the girls right now. You have lots of time. You don't have to hug them all and hold all of their hands. Although it is really cute! Love you kiddo! Love, MOM and DAD

8 months

She crawls. It's adorable. She started on 11-18. Exactly 8 months.

She is finally sleeping a little better. Instead of waking up every 1.5 to 2 hours screaming at me it is 3 to 4. And every couple of nights she gives me 5-6 hours, and I'd be happy if that was consistant. She finally seems to not be sick since the end of August, probably just jinxed myself by saying that.

She can sit up on her own.

She is a picky eater. She now will eat sweet potatoes and apple sauce, and only a quarter of a jar of anything else before she clamps her mouth shut, but I'm still trying to get her to eat more.

She is an angel during the day!

She doesn't take very good naps. I'm lucky to get 2 one hour naps... She is still an angel even when she doesn't sleep well.

She says da da. I think it melts Derek's heart. ;)

Love you Eden. Slow down growing up though because it's going too fast. Thank you for being my little lady bug!

Playdate

Kael and BrynneKael is the sweetest little boy. He can make friends with just about anyone. He loves being with people. A couple months ago Brynne moved into our courtyard. She is the same age as Kael and is the sweetest little girl. They are so cute together. They love to play on the play ground together. Brynne invited Kael over for a play date about a week ago, and he had so much fun! I didn't know what to do with myself. Kael was out of the house for over an hour and Eden slept... It was awesome! We met them outside and Kael and Brynne hugged. It was too cute. Kael loves to give hugs. Then they held hands all the way to Brynne's house. I'm afraid he will be quite the little romancer. ;)
Kael had so much fun we decided to have Brynne over to our house for a little while. It is amazing how much better he plays when he has a friend! Once again they hugged when they met, and had to hold hands all the way to our house. I made some vanilla pudding and dyed it so the kids could try out finger painting. Kael had a blast playing in the pudding and eating it. Brynne was a little skeptical about sticking her fingers in food. It is so fun to see their little personalities and how different kids are, yet they play so well together!
Kael's Painting

Brynne's Painting

Don't Fall Asleep on the Couch

This is what happens when I am too lazy in the morning and fall asleep with my blanket over my head with both kids at 7 am... I don't blame the kid at all. Flour is so fun to throw everywhere. All over mom. All over Eden. All over the kitchen. All over the living room. Yes, it was EVERYWHERE! The kitchen was just as bad as the living room except it wasn't ground into the carpet. I'm going to have to clean my vacuum really good. I was up and cleaning after this. He knows how to get mom off the couch. I am hoping to look bad 20 years from now and laugh my head off. Right now I'll just sigh and call it a night. You can see on his face he knew he wasn't suppose to touch the flour, yet he just couldn't help himself.

Halloween and End of October. Hope You Enjoy. :)

So here we are on Halloween. We celebrated on Saturday night. Eden was a Fairy Princess and Kael was her pet dragon. We made up some chili and corn bread for our apartment complex parade and ended up leaving a little early and went trick or treating in Draper with cousins. It was too cold for me and Eden, so Derek took Kael and they had a blast! The weather wasn't very fun, but oh well. Ignore the crazy picture of me, it was the best we could do with two crazy kids. The Dragon. We lost the glow stick within 5 minutes. It was the thought that counts right?.
Kael playing in the snow. We decided to play in the leaves and it was a lot of fun!

Kael loved jumping in the pile.

And throwing leaves in the air.

We got a picture of Kael doing this exact pose with the same hat on last year. Too funny that it looks the exact same. What a silly kid.

Eden and all her cuteness.

My photo editer is gone since my computer got cleaned so no more red eye removal for a while.

This is Kael being like Eden. Eden LOVES crawling under the couch.

Kael and Eden playing together. I love it when they can actually play together it is so fun.

Eden with her fairy wings.

We had a fun Halloween, and now I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mostly I'm ready for Derek to have a break from school.

Our internet has been down for a week, and I haven't worked. No internet is no fun, but I have enjoyed so much more time with the kids. Back to work tomorrow.