Here is my continuing list of my most happy days. These do not have too much order.
5. The day we met Mac. I went in for a regular check-up on April 30 (his due date was May 10) and I told the Dr. that day would be a really good day to have the baby and asked if we could try to make that happen. He laughed and stripped the membranes and I started labor. It was my second most difficult delivery. Mac also had the cord wrapped around his neck tightly which caused his heart rate to drop a little bit, but no one seemed to be too concerned and we held off the delivery a few minutes for Ryan to get there. Mac was born at 10:03 pm. When we first saw Mac we were blown away by his long blond hair. It was so amazing. The first thing that Ryan said when he saw him was "he looks like Jeff!" He really is such a joy!
4. The day we met Ben. Ben was my easiest delivery. On July 19 I went to a regular Dr. appointment and the Dr. said wow I think you are going to have a baby today and I said "That can't happen, I have another week." Ben's due date was the 21st and I planned on going over it. I went home to see if I would start contracting and called Ryan and told him to go home and pack for us, because I hadn't packed yet because I had another week. I was so excited to meet him and the whole thing seemed very laid-back. Ben was born at 9:57 pm. The next day when we took him home from the hospital we got stuck in a cloudburst that was so scary. But we made it home just fine and have a great memory from the second day of Ben's life.
3. When we had an ultrasound with Anikka we were very excited to find out if she was a boy or a girl. The tech couldn't tell and said if she had to guess she would say 70% for a girl. It was not great odds so we bought all of our 0-3 month clothes in neutral colors which has been so great with her two brothers. Anikka was a week late and I went in for a regular check-up and the Dr. stripped the membranes and that sent me into labor. She was my hardest delivery because I was dialated to a 7 before I recieved my epidural. When she was born the Dr. said "wow she's big. She's big like a boy, Oh Wait" That really confused me and I had to ask Ryan if she was really a girl. Anikka was born at 7:13 pm. We had been prepared with two names to name her if she was a girl. She would have been Elijah if she had been a boy. So Ryan turned to me and said "what should we name her, Anikka or Allyse?" I said "I don't know, What do you think?" He said he didn't know and we then turned to my Mom who was holding Anikka and she said "She is not an Ally, She is such an Anikka!" Ryan and I both said that it sounded good to us and that is how she got her name.
I will finish the next two happy days in my life on another day.
January 29, 2009
January 24, 2009
Something That Stuck
In our house we really try to stress taking care of one another. Anikka is in charge of taking care of Ben and Mac and helping them with what they need. Ben is in charge of taking care of Mac and helping him with his needs. They are siblings and really need to learn to love each other. Last night I was helping Anikka wash her hair, Mac was standing by me watching, and we got some shampoo in her eyes and she starts screaming. We immediately start rinsing out her eyes and then Mac arrived with a towel that he got out of the closet and starts giving it to Anikka. He seemed very concerned and kept saying "Ah, Ah" which is what he calls her. It appears that some of what we are trying to teach is sticking. It also proves the old addage of "what goes around, comes around." It is nice to see that first hand. I sure love to see all children care for their siblings. They all do it so uniquely. It sure puts Eternal Families into perspective. I really know why our Heavenly Father created the family unit. There is nothing more special than families.
January 23, 2009
Chasing Happiness
I have been reading a pretty interesting psychology book called "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life". In it the author tells you to write down in great detail 10 of your happiest memories. Since this is my journal I thought I would write them down here. These are in some particular order but not much.
10. When I was a kid my family always struggled with having enough money. One year it was particularly bad so my Dad got a second job on top of the 10-12 hour days he was already working. His second job was a paper route really early in the morning. I remember that I got to go with him one morning. I thought it was so much fun to just spend time with him and drop off news papers at doorsteps. After we were done he took me to get doughnuts for breakfast.
9. In 4th grade we were living in Lakewood Colorado. I remember being friendly with most kids but not really having a good friend until later that year. My teacher Mrs. DeGuire must have noticed that or something because she chose me for a little program that they had started at the school. They started a program called young Ichthyologist's basically we were able to go to the library before school and feed the fish and learn a little bit about them. It was just nice to be chosen for something.
8. My senior year in high school I was able to go on a trip to Virginia and New York with my Mom, Grandma, 2 aunts and some cousins. We went to see Les Miserables. It was just nice to spend a long time with two of my favorite family members.
7. I remember the two years of living in Payson to be some of the happiest times in my life. We lived there during my 7th and 8th grades. I had two best friends named Shelby and Janet. I also met other amazing and wonderful people there. We always had so much fun together. Looking back I worry that Janet didn't have as much fun as Shelby and I did. Some of the fun was at Janet's expense. We had so many fun sleepovers. My life those two years was pretty carefree. I loved living in Payson and still love Shelby and Janet for all the great memories that we have.
6. Ryan and I got married in June and I got a job at K-Mart. It was not very fun but a worthy life experience. I had to work long hours around Christmas and was feeling pretty sad about it. On Christmas Eve I worked until 9:00 that evening and Ryan picked me up after work. When we got home the, Christmas tree was lit and had all of our sweet home made ornaments on it and underneath the tree were a lot of presents that hadn't been there before. Ryan had gone shopping several times while I was at work and bought me presents. He very specifically got me nice comfortable shoes that I could wear to work. He was so thoughtful and that year I learned how much he loves Christmas. It was really one of the best Christmas' ever.
I will stop now and save the other five for next time
10. When I was a kid my family always struggled with having enough money. One year it was particularly bad so my Dad got a second job on top of the 10-12 hour days he was already working. His second job was a paper route really early in the morning. I remember that I got to go with him one morning. I thought it was so much fun to just spend time with him and drop off news papers at doorsteps. After we were done he took me to get doughnuts for breakfast.
9. In 4th grade we were living in Lakewood Colorado. I remember being friendly with most kids but not really having a good friend until later that year. My teacher Mrs. DeGuire must have noticed that or something because she chose me for a little program that they had started at the school. They started a program called young Ichthyologist's basically we were able to go to the library before school and feed the fish and learn a little bit about them. It was just nice to be chosen for something.
8. My senior year in high school I was able to go on a trip to Virginia and New York with my Mom, Grandma, 2 aunts and some cousins. We went to see Les Miserables. It was just nice to spend a long time with two of my favorite family members.
7. I remember the two years of living in Payson to be some of the happiest times in my life. We lived there during my 7th and 8th grades. I had two best friends named Shelby and Janet. I also met other amazing and wonderful people there. We always had so much fun together. Looking back I worry that Janet didn't have as much fun as Shelby and I did. Some of the fun was at Janet's expense. We had so many fun sleepovers. My life those two years was pretty carefree. I loved living in Payson and still love Shelby and Janet for all the great memories that we have.
6. Ryan and I got married in June and I got a job at K-Mart. It was not very fun but a worthy life experience. I had to work long hours around Christmas and was feeling pretty sad about it. On Christmas Eve I worked until 9:00 that evening and Ryan picked me up after work. When we got home the, Christmas tree was lit and had all of our sweet home made ornaments on it and underneath the tree were a lot of presents that hadn't been there before. Ryan had gone shopping several times while I was at work and bought me presents. He very specifically got me nice comfortable shoes that I could wear to work. He was so thoughtful and that year I learned how much he loves Christmas. It was really one of the best Christmas' ever.
I will stop now and save the other five for next time
January 22, 2009
My, Oh My!
I haven't posted pictures in a while so I thought I would post some to show what we have been doing this past month.
This is the kids in their Christmas clothes on Sunday Dec. 22nd. We opened these presents that morning mostly because I really wanted to see them in their cute clothes. I think I can be pretty impatient at times with waiting for presents. For an example, just ask Ryan why we got engaged on Feb. 7 instead of Feb. 14 like he was planning.
So these pictures are of Ben and his big bump. He was spinning in the living room and crashed into the corner of the TV. It is the biggest bump we have yet encountered in our 7 1/2 years of child rearing.
This is Mac posing for the camera. He loves to have his picture taken and then to run and look at himself on the back of the camera.
Here is Mac looking into the camera trying to figure it all out.
After contemplating when to get Anikka's ears pierced for a while now. We just went and got them done. On Monday we went to the mall in Orem and waited until it was Anikka's turn. She picked out the June birthstone earrings and she had to try not to cry and she succeeded, Although we did have to tell her to breathe. The last two days she has been feeling pretty sick and has a fever today. Her cheeks always flush so red when she has a fever. But she is still pretty happy about her earrings.
When I went to the closet to get out the thermometer, I was startled by Ben. He was sitting in the dark closet playing Anikka's Nintendo DS. He has quickly became obsessed with video games. It is now all he talks about. I hear at least every hour "Mom, can I play the Wii." I am pretty close to packing it away in a closet for a few years. If only Ryan didn't like it so much. I do have to be honest that it is pretty fun to play.
This is the kids in their Christmas clothes on Sunday Dec. 22nd. We opened these presents that morning mostly because I really wanted to see them in their cute clothes. I think I can be pretty impatient at times with waiting for presents. For an example, just ask Ryan why we got engaged on Feb. 7 instead of Feb. 14 like he was planning.
So these pictures are of Ben and his big bump. He was spinning in the living room and crashed into the corner of the TV. It is the biggest bump we have yet encountered in our 7 1/2 years of child rearing.
This is Mac posing for the camera. He loves to have his picture taken and then to run and look at himself on the back of the camera.
Here is Mac looking into the camera trying to figure it all out.
After contemplating when to get Anikka's ears pierced for a while now. We just went and got them done. On Monday we went to the mall in Orem and waited until it was Anikka's turn. She picked out the June birthstone earrings and she had to try not to cry and she succeeded, Although we did have to tell her to breathe. The last two days she has been feeling pretty sick and has a fever today. Her cheeks always flush so red when she has a fever. But she is still pretty happy about her earrings.
When I went to the closet to get out the thermometer, I was startled by Ben. He was sitting in the dark closet playing Anikka's Nintendo DS. He has quickly became obsessed with video games. It is now all he talks about. I hear at least every hour "Mom, can I play the Wii." I am pretty close to packing it away in a closet for a few years. If only Ryan didn't like it so much. I do have to be honest that it is pretty fun to play.
Life is good even with the bumps!
January 9, 2009
Spectacular Ryan
On Tuesday I felt the need to parent (tell my children what I want them to do) Anikka. I told her I needed to stress something of great importance to her. She asked what that meant and I told her that I needed to tell her something very important. I said "Anikka when you get bigger and start looking for a man to marry I want you to find someone who is spectacular, special, and one of a kind to marry." She turned to me with a sad look on her face and said "But Dad is already married." We told her that we were sure there would be at least one guy out there near her age that will fill the criteria for her, then she will be able to marry him. I love that Ryan is such an amazing Dad to our children that Anikka isn't quite sure if there is another man out there that is as cool as her Dad.
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