Sunday, February 10, 2013
Sharice's Hair
Derek's Hair
I am so upset that I let myself get behind with December posting. We already ordered our 2012 blog book, so this is going in our 2013. Oh well, I'm just glad I am remembering these things now.
Derek finally cut his hair right before he started his pediatric rotation. I miss it. It was long. I always dreamed about marrying a guy with long hair. I got my fantasy. It's pretty difficult to have long hair in medicine. Having to fully gown up and things was always messing it up. He wore a pony tail almost all the time. I just wanted a picture to remind us how long it actually got! He will have to really chop his hair this summer when he does his air force rotation and we were trying to make it last until then to see how long it could get, but it became unrealistic. It sure was fun though while it lasted! :) Love my handsome hubby and his long locks!
Derek's 3rd year Medical School Update
So, I want to update with medical school life. It's been a while.
3rd year has been fun, but very difficult and different. No more regular scheduled class time. The hardest part of adjusting to 3rd year is constantly being in a different environment every 3 weeks, being evaluated (grade-wise) non-stop all day long, and then also having to fit in study time even with the extra long hours.
Let's recap from the beginning of 3rd year.
July: Internal medicine
Derek did cardiology first. It was crazy! The doctor's worked non-stop 24-7 on call night and day. Everything was an emergency and it was a huge jump for Derek to dive head first into first year. He loved cardiology even though the rotation was crazy busy. He really liked the fact that the heart patients would come in in horrible condition, almost dead, and then after three or four days of treatment they'd be able to walk out of the hospital doing really well. He said for the people they could help it was super satisfying to see the results. He also enjoyed going to the cath lab where he could watch the interventional cardiologists place stents. The last 3 weeks were regular internal med wards, where he took care of people who had huge problem lists and he was gone really long hours. He thought it was all very interesting but definitely felt overwhelmed with it all, but felt he learned a lot.
August-September: Surgery
Surgery wasn't as scary as we thought it would be. Mostly I think we got lucky where Derek picked to go for the two 3 week blocks. He started at the VA and then went to the trauma team at the U. He really loved the "hands-on" procedures and being in the OR. Seeing people totally cut open was pretty crazy, and he felt really comfortable helping do the laproscopic procedures. He liked the VA because he was given more autonomy and was able to try his hand at lots of suturing and doing biopsies. He didn't feel he really connected with any of the surgeons though and he had a hard time with some real jerk residents that he was stuck with. It was busy, especially when we were having problems with getting Elara here. We were not ready for her yet and surgery was crazy. It was also the first time Derek had to work overnights, which was a weird adjustment.
October: Psychiatry
Elara was born right at the beginning of this rotation. Answer to our prayers. Derek was able to have really nice hours and come home to help with Elara. He actually liked the work and doctors, and it was a fun rotation. He also got really great feedback from the attendings which was needed. He was feeling that no matter how hard he worked nobody was going to notice it. He had lots of "crazy" stories from this rotation.
November-December: OB/Gyn
Derek worked super hard on this rotation! Which is funny because he has told me from day one he never wants to do OB/GYN mostly because they are on-call a lot and he doesn't want to work such unpredictable hours. He started with the GYN part and they did a lot of surgery. He definitely felt more comfortable in the OR at this point and was able to do some "first assists", which means he worked as the resident and got to do most of the surgery under the direction of the attending. He enjoyed the doctors and they must have enjoyed him because he ended up getting a letter of recommendation from one of the doctors! This particular doc was an Admiral in the Navy and liked Derek enough to ask him to come over to another hospital to help him out with some c-sections. He also got along really well with a couple of the anesthesiologists in the OR so they let him do several of the intubations while he was there, which he loves doing. The OB portion went well and he ended up delivering tons of babies and sewing up lots of tears. He hated the hours because they started rounding at 5AM so he would have to leave at 4:20AM to get to IMC on time. They also had the really long 5 overnight shifts of being there at 5AM, working all day and through the night, and then going home around 9-10AM the next day. That was always rough. He also had a hard time with the passive aggressive residents he had to work with. Overall he ended up doing really great though.
December brought a much needed, welcomed break!
January: Pediatrics
We prepped for the worst, but hoped for the best. We knew we'd probably get sick for this rotation, but what we didn't expect was that the kids would be sick before we started it. January as usual seemed like a long month. It snowed a lot and the kids were sick a lot, but we made it! Derek didn't think he would like pediatrics very much because in the past every time he sees a sick kid he pictures one of our kids sick and it just breaks his heart. This rotation was one of the hardest time wise, but probably his favorite yet. Derek, in my opinion would be an amazing pediatric doctor. He gets kids to love him, and helps the parents a ton! The attendings he worked with all wanted him to do peds and kept telling him that he was already working at the level of an intern and that they'd all recommend him to get into PCMC's program. Time wise he worked a ton! He did something called Q4 which means every 4th night he would work. So, he worked about 6 am to 7 pm for 3 days then on the 4th day he would start at 6 am and work about 30 hours straight until 11 am the next day. He then slept from 11 to 3 then played with the kids, and then went to bed at 8 pm to be at work the next day by 6 am. He did this for 3 weeks. The next week he was on hematology/oncology peds. He saw lots of sick sick sick kids with cancer and other problems. This was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. He liked this week though because he felt he was able to really connect with some families and feel like he was helping out. The other reason why he loved it was because they also let him do lumbar punctures and bone marrow aspirates, which he thought were super cool. This last week he was on well baby nursery. He said this was a lot like OB because they saw lots of new babies born and checked up on all the new babies. Tomorrow he starts outpatient clinic and will take two big tests on Friday.
Also, on this rotation another doctor offered to give him a letter of recommendation, whether or not he ended up going into peds. Yay!
February-March: Neurology
Derek will start neurology in about a week and this will last for 4 weeks. I'm not sure the schedule, but I know he gets 1 day in 7 off. When that happens he usually chooses Sunday to help me at church.
March: 2 weeks Anesthesia
Usually Derek's class gets the last two weeks of neurology off, but Derek chose to do a rotation in anesthesia to help prep him.
April: 2 weeks Opthamology
April-May: 4 weeks Family Medicine
We will be going to St. George and doing this rotation at the Callahan Clinic. This should be fun because we will be staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the month and the kids will get lots of attention. :)
May-June: 6 weeks Internal Medicine
After internal medicine this will be the end of 3rd year. Wahoo!
However, it's not really an end because Derek will start studying for step 2. There are 2 parts to step 2. A written test and an oral test. The oral test is in California and he will fly out in June, then study the whole month of July and take the written part at the end of July. This will be just in time to get ready to leave for his first 4th year rotation. He is planning on starting 4th year by doing his away rotation for the air force in San Antonio. We are still waiting to hear if he is allowed to do the rotation there. We are planning out 4th year as we speak and should have a good lay out hopefully by the end of March. It is very exciting to be planning out the last year and we even have a graduation date set (MAY 24, 2014)!!! The end is in sight.
Half way through 3rd year and looking back this journey has been amazing. We have learned so much. We have met so many amazing people. And my goodness we are excited for the next 17 months here in Salt Lake City. We are enjoying life and are so happy to be where we are learning what we are learning.
3rd year has been fun, but very difficult and different. No more regular scheduled class time. The hardest part of adjusting to 3rd year is constantly being in a different environment every 3 weeks, being evaluated (grade-wise) non-stop all day long, and then also having to fit in study time even with the extra long hours.
Let's recap from the beginning of 3rd year.
July: Internal medicine
Derek did cardiology first. It was crazy! The doctor's worked non-stop 24-7 on call night and day. Everything was an emergency and it was a huge jump for Derek to dive head first into first year. He loved cardiology even though the rotation was crazy busy. He really liked the fact that the heart patients would come in in horrible condition, almost dead, and then after three or four days of treatment they'd be able to walk out of the hospital doing really well. He said for the people they could help it was super satisfying to see the results. He also enjoyed going to the cath lab where he could watch the interventional cardiologists place stents. The last 3 weeks were regular internal med wards, where he took care of people who had huge problem lists and he was gone really long hours. He thought it was all very interesting but definitely felt overwhelmed with it all, but felt he learned a lot.
August-September: Surgery
Surgery wasn't as scary as we thought it would be. Mostly I think we got lucky where Derek picked to go for the two 3 week blocks. He started at the VA and then went to the trauma team at the U. He really loved the "hands-on" procedures and being in the OR. Seeing people totally cut open was pretty crazy, and he felt really comfortable helping do the laproscopic procedures. He liked the VA because he was given more autonomy and was able to try his hand at lots of suturing and doing biopsies. He didn't feel he really connected with any of the surgeons though and he had a hard time with some real jerk residents that he was stuck with. It was busy, especially when we were having problems with getting Elara here. We were not ready for her yet and surgery was crazy. It was also the first time Derek had to work overnights, which was a weird adjustment.
October: Psychiatry
Elara was born right at the beginning of this rotation. Answer to our prayers. Derek was able to have really nice hours and come home to help with Elara. He actually liked the work and doctors, and it was a fun rotation. He also got really great feedback from the attendings which was needed. He was feeling that no matter how hard he worked nobody was going to notice it. He had lots of "crazy" stories from this rotation.
November-December: OB/Gyn
Derek worked super hard on this rotation! Which is funny because he has told me from day one he never wants to do OB/GYN mostly because they are on-call a lot and he doesn't want to work such unpredictable hours. He started with the GYN part and they did a lot of surgery. He definitely felt more comfortable in the OR at this point and was able to do some "first assists", which means he worked as the resident and got to do most of the surgery under the direction of the attending. He enjoyed the doctors and they must have enjoyed him because he ended up getting a letter of recommendation from one of the doctors! This particular doc was an Admiral in the Navy and liked Derek enough to ask him to come over to another hospital to help him out with some c-sections. He also got along really well with a couple of the anesthesiologists in the OR so they let him do several of the intubations while he was there, which he loves doing. The OB portion went well and he ended up delivering tons of babies and sewing up lots of tears. He hated the hours because they started rounding at 5AM so he would have to leave at 4:20AM to get to IMC on time. They also had the really long 5 overnight shifts of being there at 5AM, working all day and through the night, and then going home around 9-10AM the next day. That was always rough. He also had a hard time with the passive aggressive residents he had to work with. Overall he ended up doing really great though.
December brought a much needed, welcomed break!
January: Pediatrics
We prepped for the worst, but hoped for the best. We knew we'd probably get sick for this rotation, but what we didn't expect was that the kids would be sick before we started it. January as usual seemed like a long month. It snowed a lot and the kids were sick a lot, but we made it! Derek didn't think he would like pediatrics very much because in the past every time he sees a sick kid he pictures one of our kids sick and it just breaks his heart. This rotation was one of the hardest time wise, but probably his favorite yet. Derek, in my opinion would be an amazing pediatric doctor. He gets kids to love him, and helps the parents a ton! The attendings he worked with all wanted him to do peds and kept telling him that he was already working at the level of an intern and that they'd all recommend him to get into PCMC's program. Time wise he worked a ton! He did something called Q4 which means every 4th night he would work. So, he worked about 6 am to 7 pm for 3 days then on the 4th day he would start at 6 am and work about 30 hours straight until 11 am the next day. He then slept from 11 to 3 then played with the kids, and then went to bed at 8 pm to be at work the next day by 6 am. He did this for 3 weeks. The next week he was on hematology/oncology peds. He saw lots of sick sick sick kids with cancer and other problems. This was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. He liked this week though because he felt he was able to really connect with some families and feel like he was helping out. The other reason why he loved it was because they also let him do lumbar punctures and bone marrow aspirates, which he thought were super cool. This last week he was on well baby nursery. He said this was a lot like OB because they saw lots of new babies born and checked up on all the new babies. Tomorrow he starts outpatient clinic and will take two big tests on Friday.
Also, on this rotation another doctor offered to give him a letter of recommendation, whether or not he ended up going into peds. Yay!
February-March: Neurology
Derek will start neurology in about a week and this will last for 4 weeks. I'm not sure the schedule, but I know he gets 1 day in 7 off. When that happens he usually chooses Sunday to help me at church.
March: 2 weeks Anesthesia
Usually Derek's class gets the last two weeks of neurology off, but Derek chose to do a rotation in anesthesia to help prep him.
April: 2 weeks Opthamology
April-May: 4 weeks Family Medicine
We will be going to St. George and doing this rotation at the Callahan Clinic. This should be fun because we will be staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the month and the kids will get lots of attention. :)
May-June: 6 weeks Internal Medicine
After internal medicine this will be the end of 3rd year. Wahoo!
However, it's not really an end because Derek will start studying for step 2. There are 2 parts to step 2. A written test and an oral test. The oral test is in California and he will fly out in June, then study the whole month of July and take the written part at the end of July. This will be just in time to get ready to leave for his first 4th year rotation. He is planning on starting 4th year by doing his away rotation for the air force in San Antonio. We are still waiting to hear if he is allowed to do the rotation there. We are planning out 4th year as we speak and should have a good lay out hopefully by the end of March. It is very exciting to be planning out the last year and we even have a graduation date set (MAY 24, 2014)!!! The end is in sight.
Half way through 3rd year and looking back this journey has been amazing. We have learned so much. We have met so many amazing people. And my goodness we are excited for the next 17 months here in Salt Lake City. We are enjoying life and are so happy to be where we are learning what we are learning.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Salt Lake City Bucket List
Things we want to do before we leave Salt Lake City. Not all of them are in Salt Lake City, but before we move away for residency in about 17 months! If anyone has some ideas of must do's in SLC let us know. :)
Salt Lake City Bucket List:
Take the kids camping
Go to Seven Peaks
Go to baseball game
Go to a U of U football game
Go skiing or snowboarding
Take kids fishing
Go to Disneyland
Watch Kael play soccer
Volunteer at Kael’s school
Go to Hurricane splash pad
Visit Pinkston’s
Keep a budget
Save money (52 week money challenge) ($1378)
Go to Zoo
Go to this is the place
Go to discovery gateway
Take kids on TRAX
60 days straight primal
Go to Phoenix to visit family
Read BOM & D&C
Preschool stuff for Kael & Eden
Hike Timpanogus Cave
Eat tacos from a Taco Cart on 800 South!
Attend General Conference!!!
Attend General Conference!!!
New Year, New Resolutions
Last years goals:
2012
Turn 27 (check)
Get pregnant (check)
Potty train Eden (check)
Exercise in a routine schedule and enjoy it (eh, kind of, not really)
Eat healthy (Primal) (2 months out of 12...)
Have a natural labor (Might happen in 2013, but I can dream right?) (Not check.)
Read my scriptures daily (Blah, I'm terrible...)
Pray daily (Blah, I'm terrible...)
Read fun books (Check, finished Wheel of Time series, all 13 books)
See all the crazy awesome movies coming out in the summer and enjoy it (CHECK)
Strengthen my relationship with my kids and hubster (Check)
Deep clean my apartment at least once (Check)
Learn a new talent (I taught Gospel Doctrine, I'm saying check!)
Play my cello again (Not check.. Boo.)
laugh A LOT (Check for about 50%)
enjoy being where I'm at (Check!)
Go to DISNEYLAND (Check!)
Get a new cell phone (Um, I think I did, but I can't remember)
Love on my family some more (CHECK!)
Be more grateful (CHECK!)
I honestly think that having Elara as a C-section helped me to accomplish a lot of the goals. Weird, but yes. I exercised better, tried to eat healthier because I was pregnant most of the year, I didn't get my natural labor, but I did do something hard by having a C-section. I did read and pray, just not like I hoped. My relationships with friends and family are definitely stronger because of Elara. And I am definitely grateful for modern medicine, my family, all the service I received. I'm grateful for trials because they make us stronger, so I'm glad I had these goals, and fun activities.
This year (I know it's Feb. but who cares, I'm trying to improve my life and if I fail I'll try again the next year because that's why we are here) here are my goals:
2013
Turn 28
Play my cello (March 10th)
Teach my children education, spiritual, and physical things.
Go to Disneyland again, because I love it!
Deep clean my apartment at least once again. :)
Do more service for those around me.
Tell more people about my religious beliefs.
Do something I feel is hard. (Not another c-section, I hope I learned enough from that!)
Read 4 different fun books series.
Eat Healthy!
Get my body fit, so I can play with my kids and enjoy it not feel like passing out.
Read more with my kids.
Become more calm.
Laugh more.
Go on 12 dates with my hubby this year.
Save a little money. (This year is gonna be expensive with interviews coming at the end of the year, but a good goal!)
Fulfill my Salt Lake City bucket list! It's awesome I think I'll post that next!
That seems like a good start for the year. To a NEW YEAR and trying to improve my life!
2012
Turn 27 (check)
Get pregnant (check)
Potty train Eden (check)
Exercise in a routine schedule and enjoy it (eh, kind of, not really)
Eat healthy (Primal) (2 months out of 12...)
Have a natural labor (Might happen in 2013, but I can dream right?) (Not check.)
Read my scriptures daily (Blah, I'm terrible...)
Pray daily (Blah, I'm terrible...)
Read fun books (Check, finished Wheel of Time series, all 13 books)
See all the crazy awesome movies coming out in the summer and enjoy it (CHECK)
Strengthen my relationship with my kids and hubster (Check)
Deep clean my apartment at least once (Check)
Learn a new talent (I taught Gospel Doctrine, I'm saying check!)
Play my cello again (Not check.. Boo.)
laugh A LOT (Check for about 50%)
enjoy being where I'm at (Check!)
Go to DISNEYLAND (Check!)
Get a new cell phone (Um, I think I did, but I can't remember)
Love on my family some more (CHECK!)
Be more grateful (CHECK!)
I honestly think that having Elara as a C-section helped me to accomplish a lot of the goals. Weird, but yes. I exercised better, tried to eat healthier because I was pregnant most of the year, I didn't get my natural labor, but I did do something hard by having a C-section. I did read and pray, just not like I hoped. My relationships with friends and family are definitely stronger because of Elara. And I am definitely grateful for modern medicine, my family, all the service I received. I'm grateful for trials because they make us stronger, so I'm glad I had these goals, and fun activities.
This year (I know it's Feb. but who cares, I'm trying to improve my life and if I fail I'll try again the next year because that's why we are here) here are my goals:
2013
Turn 28
Play my cello (March 10th)
Teach my children education, spiritual, and physical things.
Go to Disneyland again, because I love it!
Deep clean my apartment at least once again. :)
Do more service for those around me.
Tell more people about my religious beliefs.
Do something I feel is hard. (Not another c-section, I hope I learned enough from that!)
Read 4 different fun books series.
Eat Healthy!
Get my body fit, so I can play with my kids and enjoy it not feel like passing out.
Read more with my kids.
Become more calm.
Laugh more.
Go on 12 dates with my hubby this year.
Save a little money. (This year is gonna be expensive with interviews coming at the end of the year, but a good goal!)
Fulfill my Salt Lake City bucket list! It's awesome I think I'll post that next!
That seems like a good start for the year. To a NEW YEAR and trying to improve my life!
Monday, February 04, 2013
Oh, what do we do in the winter time, when all the world has SNOW!?!
January seemed like such a long month. We had to try to find ways to keep ourselves entertained a lot...
Back in December when we visited Grandma and Grandpa, Kael dug for worms in the garden, and surprisingly found a few. We reluctantly let him bring them home and kept them in the fridge in some dirt. I totally forgot about them for a while until I opened the sour cream container thinking it was sour cream and what did I find?.... Yup... Kael never forgot and has been asking to play with his worms a lot.
About 5 or 6 times in January those worms have come in useful and kept Kael occupied in the bathtub for about an hour at a time. Somehow, I don't know how, the worms lived through this ordeal. Until recently. The last time he got them out I'm pretty for certain they are dead now. I can't say how grateful I am I let him keep them. He sure loves his worms... And, it was a great way to keep the kids entertained for a while.
Oh worms.......
Elara is 4 months!
Seriously, I am a slacker! I took these photos right around the 4 month mark. I had high hopes for getting pictures right on the 25th, and then it turned out to be a miserable day, so it just didn't happen. But, I got her smiling and I'm happy with them. These pictures really show Elara's personality I think. She is so happy like Kael was at this age. She is always doing the huge open mouth smiles, and just being happy! The poor girl has eczema all over her tummy, neck, and arms. It makes me feel horrible! No baby this happy should have to put up with that crud!
Things to remember about our little Elara princess.
She SLEEPS at night! I can feed her around 6 to 8 and she will sleep anywhere until 3 to 6 am... She has gone 11 hours once, but mostly close to 8 hours on average. She does have about one bad night a week where she will get up at 2ish or so, but I don't mind because for the most part she sleeps. I struggled with Kael and Eden to get them to sleep at night forever, and I feel so blessed by this angel baby!
Elara is genuinely happy! She wakes up in the morning cooing. I go in and she looks up at me and starts cooing, smiling, laughing, and just loves life. It is an incredible feeling, and is a great way to start my day. It puts a smile on my face every morning!
She is in 3-6 month clothes right around the 4 month mark, but I maybe waited too long because they are already seeming kind of small. She is definitely out of the 0-3 month. Sad day...
She is in size 2 diapers.
She can roll over from tummy to back, but only when she chooses to. Some days I can't get her to roll over at all, and others I walk in and she has just flipped. It's random.
Elara doesn't get the whole pacifier thing. Sometimes I try and get her to suck on one and she just chomps on it, then goes for her fingers instead.
She laughs when Kael and Eden try to entertain her. It makes me smile every time.
I feed her about every 3 hours during the day.
She likes to be held, but puts up with being neglected because she is #3. She is such a good baby though, so I try to hold her when I can just because she will smile for me and snuggle me.
Her laugh is the cutest thing ever. She is ticklish on her neck and tummy. Derek is a lot better at tickling her than I am though. She LOVES her Daddy and smiles when he walks in the door.
4 month stats from the doctor:
weight: 13 lbs 1 oz (26%)
height: 24.4 inch (45%)
Head circumference: 16.5 inch (85%)
Weight percentage is about the same, but length wise she has grown a lot, like 3 inches in 2 months! And, she still has a big head, that is just getting bigger. :)
She screamed so loud when she got her shots and was so mad. I felt horrible. You could tell she didn't feel well for the next couple of days, but she still tried to smile and be a pleasant baby.
Love this little girl so much! She has added so much joy to our family. Almost every day Kael goes right up to her face and says, "Oh Elara Jane, I love you so much!" "I like you, I like you". Then, Eden tells me all the time, "Mom Elara's my best friend, we are sisters, I love her!"
Then Eden tells me, "Mom, I'm a big sister, you are a little sister like Elara". I had to explain that I was a little sister and Aunt Shelly and Aunt Shannon were my big sisters just like Eden is Elara's big sister. She seemed to really like that.
We love you Elara! You are one amazing girl! Thanks for your smiles and being who you are!
Love,
Mom
Bumbo Time
I finally pulled out the bumbo. I have been such a slacker with everything for Elara. I just don't want her to grow up too fast, and then just forget that she is big enough for certain things... She played so well, she just fell asleep right in her chair. It was the cutest thing ever and made me feel horrible for not finding her like this sooner.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
3 1/2 Months and Because She's So Stinkin Cute
I realized I have a gazillion pictures of Kael and Eden as babies just to try to remember their facial expressions as babies. I haven't taken that many of Elara. This is the first time I went crazy to town with her. The big kids were napping, so we had a fun Mommy pesters Elara photo session. She laughed and giggled, and smiled a ton, just not in front of the camera. :)
Seriously, she is that cute!
"Seriously, Mom that flash is annoying me now..."
"Say whaaaaat?!"
I'm really getting annoyed at that flash mom....
But, I guess I can laugh this once.
I would tickle her neck and she would giggle so much, but by the time I got the camera she stopped. This is the one big smile I got out of many she gave me.
Her I'm happy and content smile.
Elara always has her hands in her mouth. She doesn't favor any fingers over any she just sticks them all in there and goes to town. She refuses a pacifier still. It is weird not using a pacifier, but she is so much better at self soothing than Kael and Eden were. I totally love it. She is such a good baby. I wanted a picture with her fingers in her mouth to remember how much she has them in there.
No really I was done about 50 pictures ago Mom....
But her cry is too stinkin cute so I wanted to remember that too...
Hey there look at me. I'm a cutie!
Whatcha lookin at?
Seriously!!!
LOVE THIS GIRL!
Snow Snow Snow Our 3rd Winter in SLC, UT
We were finally home for a big snow storm and it was a BIG snow storm. I got the kids all bundled up and ready to go outside and Elara spit up EVERYWHERE. It soaked all 3 layers of clothes she had on. So, I unbundled her, changed her, and put her to bed. Thank goodness I didn't have to bring her out. She took a nap in the house instead of out in the cold snow.
All three kids bundled and ready to go out. It took me 45 minutes to get all 3 kids and myself ready. It would have been less if I didn't have to change Elara and keep her inside, but that is life, plan for the unexpected and plan for your plans to change.
Eden was super happy and excited when we first started out. I pulled both kids around on the big sled. There was just so much snow it kept piling up on them and they laughed and laughed. When we got to the hill to sled the snow was just too deep and too soft and the sled wouldn't go down the hill. It needed a couple days to solidify first, which now a week later it would probably work great. Hmmm idea for an activity tomorrow while Derek sleeps....
Kael is my snow lover. He played the longest. Eden lasted until we got to the snow hill and then she was done. Kael wanted to keep playing so I sent Eden in the apartment and I played with Kael. We went down slides and dug in the snow and then all of a sudden he was just dieing ready to go inside. He was super happy and then hysterical crying of how cold he was. It was comical. His cheeks were purple though so it was time. It was still snowing while we were out there. I always forget how much fun it is to play with the kids in the snow. I never forget how much work it is though.
Hiking to the hill there were parts that were so deep that Kael sunk to his hips! He was such a trooper and plowed through it though. He is amazing!
Hiking to the hill there were parts that were so deep that Kael sunk to his hips! He was such a trooper and plowed through it though. He is amazing!
And Eden is ready to go inside.
We LOVE Salt Lake City and our four seasons.
Angry Birds
I think Kael is trying to get her started young because Eden doesn't play Angry Birds with him very much... ;)
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Elara
Today January 12, 2013 a Saturday, little Miss Elara decided she wanted to start consistently rolling over from her stomach to her back. She is only 3 1/2 months old. Slow down kid, seriously!
In other news, Eden thinks she is dieing from an ear infection and Derek has a 30 hour shift that starts at 6 am. Ugh.
(1/17/2013)
Turns out Eden was having a hard time with a double ear infection, urine infection, on top of congestion, cough, cold.... Oops. Sorry kiddo. I did take her to the doctor and she got on an antibiotic... We survived and now she is feeling better, but yet again, Derek is on his 30 hour shift...
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Kids
Kael has a certain phrase he is loving saying lately.
Tonight I was cutting up an apple for the kids and a seed fell out. I gave it to Kael and asked him if we planted this seed do you know what would grow? He responded, "A tree". That's my smart little boy. Then, I said, Yes, but what kind of tree? To which he said, "a red one", hmmmmm. No an apple tree kid. So, I tell him no silly, an apple tree and looks up at me and said "THE PHRASE: Whaaaaaaat?! That's soooo CRAZY!". Yup, that's my kid. He says that all the time.
Then,
tonight Eden was eating dinner and yelled, I gotta go poop! So, she ran to the bathroom and then yelled, Mom I pooped. Which means come wipe my bum please... I get in there and I see Eden sitting on the toilet with her pants down and a HUGE log standing upward right next to the toilet. Me gasp. "Eden, what happened?"
Eden: "My poop just fell out Mom!"
Why yes, yes it did. I cleaned it up and she then proceeded to poop some more. Thankfully on the toilet.
Speaking of toilets. Last night the girl insisted on NOT wearing a diaper to bed. I gave in and finally let her try. Low and behold she stayed dry all night long and then peed on the toilet in the morning. I think the only reason she pees her diapers at night is because she can't get it off.
Needless to say, it made me one proud Mama today.
Little Miss Elara caught Kael's bug. I'm pretty sure it's probably RSV. She has the saddest cough and is super congested, but looks up at me with the biggest cutest smile and still tries to be happy. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. It makes my heart break seeing her so sick. She really is happy through it all though.
Derek is on his pediatrics rotation. He is starting Q4 which means on call all day then night long every 4th night averaging a 30 hour shift. Tonight is his first call night. I braved the store with 3 sick kids because we haven't been since they got sick. Needed the essentials and I promised the kids Orange Juice. Well we go shopping and are having a great time, get through the check out and of course when I look in my wallet the food stamps card is missing. UGH. Derek must have it in his wallet from shopping for me twice in one day about a week ago the last time we braved shopping. I almost cried right there. I thought/hoped it might be at home, so I drove home and searched to no avail. With Derek on call I can't call him to find out if he does indeed have the card. So, I drive back to the store and just buy eggs and the orange juice and leave the rest of it at the store... Tears were shed. By this time Elara started coughing and crying and the kids were upset, so we went to the bank to make a deposit and of course got suckers and life was better. For the kids. I didn't get a sucker. Or my spinach I wanted to saute tonight. Oh well.
That's it tonight.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Ice Skating
We started the new year off right by going ice skating with Grammy and Grampster. I think I loved it more than the kids this year. Kael kept saying Mom, I need to practice ice skating. He got better and better, and Eden went around the rink twice and then was done. Elara slept in the corner like a good baby. We sure had a great time. I think it needs to be another yearly tradition!
Eden was playing on the bleachers and had a hard time getting back down.
New Years Eve
Don't mind the red eyes. I haven't found a free photo editor that I like yet, so I'm having to be ok with red eyes, so you need to be ok with it too. Grammy and Grampster brought silly string and hats for New Years Eve. That was the extent of our partying. We really don't stay up late anymore... Kael and Eden had a blast. I think this is going to have to be a tradition.
Christmas 2012
Wow. The photos came out worse than I thought they would... Let's just say I didn't check the camera the night before to make sure the batteries were charged and everything was functioning working properly. It lasted a whole 5 minutes maybe and none of the videos worked. It was more fun playing with the kids than taking photos anyway. This Christmas was a little frustrating for us parents. I'm sooo not going to use internet deals to save a little money next year. We bought stuff a month in advance and it didn't ship in time. In fact we are still waiting on 2 items to get here. Ticked off. YES! Santa brought Kael 2 remote control fish. He specifically asked for the shark. Santa gave him both though because his other Santa present didn't show up. Santa is STILL working on getting it here. He asked for a remote control helicopter also, but those elves need to get busy. He got over not getting the helicopter pretty quick because he had so many other awesome things. He also asked for transformers from Mom and Dad. The ones we bought ended up being junk! So we returned them and he got new rescue bots that he LOVES. He totally thought it was worth the wait too. He is such a good kid and is growing up so fast! Eden asked for a kitchen (and another doll) from Santa Claus and boy howdy did he deliver! Mom and Dad got her a new doll and Santa brought back all her baby dolls she had thrown away from having potty accidents. She stayed dry almost a whole week before Christmas. Santa coming was a great incentive. She has had one accident since Christmas and that was during nap time. She made the whole trip to grandma and grandpa heaton's without ANY accidents. She has been working hard and we are so proud of her. She also got her first barbie doll from mom and dad. Elara got a cute little butterfly toy from Santa and Mom and Dad thought she was too little for presents and that was plenty for her. The kids got new PJ's on Christmas Eve and loved putting them on. Derek spoiled me rotten with gift cards, new boots, new regular shoes, new family photos on my walls, favorite foods, and a whistle key finder! I'm excited for that one to finally get here. Once again ordered it in Nov and still not here.
I am terrible at gifts and let Derek pick whatever he wanted. With some discounts we got he was able to get the new kindle fire HD. With the last Wheel of Time Book coming out that should be fun. :) Christmas gets better and better each year. We sat down this year and thought out how we want to teach the kids about the Savior and His birth and how we want to implement it for future years. We talked a lot about it before bed the nights leading up to Christmas, but they aren't quite grasping it yet. Kael still tells me about how Jesus was born, died and went to Heaven to get medicine for Fishy the Fish... Working on it people. Anyway, love these kiddos so much! I also got my dream of a white Christmas!!! I was so excited to wake up to fresh snow. The kids usually beg for me to take them outside to play in the snow. However, with all of their new toys to play with on Christmas day they had no interest at all going outside to play. They were happy and content to play with their toys all day inside! It was hilarious. Derek has taken them sledding since and the snow hasn't left the ground yet. Seriously, I think Christmas is the best time of the year!
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