Just Tired

Well, if the first days of 2010 are any indication it is going to be a really sleepless year for me. I know that is a totally wild prediction what with me being 22 weeks pregnant and already uncomfortable and then having a newborn in May and all of the sleep deprivation that comes with that.

Mac is giving me fits with his sleeping schedule. He usually goes to sleep between 8 and 9 and then is up and in our bed at 4 or 5. Luckily he has started going back to sleep so that is nice but the moment Anikka's alarm goes off at 6 he is out of bed to spend some quality one on one time with his sister. Mac has also decided to name his new little brother, Kookaburra. That is a brand of licorice that I like and received as a present for Christmas. Mac is very cute in the way he talks to the new baby. He is so much more interested in the baby in my belly than his siblings were. The other two didn't care too much about their impending siblings until they were here and they could hold them.

Ben is being 5 and a little wild. He seems to be in the middle of every fight and it is never his fault. He is a lot of fun to play Wii games with. We love Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones.

After months of begging I let Anikka get bangs. She looks like a whole different kid. She is happy with it so I guess that what matters.

So we are looking at boy names and here are four that we like lately and probably in this order.

1. Xander

2. Cooper

3. Thomas

4. James

I would love opinions on these and other suggestions along those lines.

I am getting very excited for Ryan's new job. I think he is as well. He is so excited about being able to do so many things. He gets to plan, start, do, and complete every new project that is needed. He gets to go on a work trip to a trade show at the end of January and He was thrilled to be included. This new job feels like such a blessing in our lives and it should continue to be such an amazing thing in the future. We are grateful for this good opportunity and for this fun year that we have ahead for us.

It's a Boy!

Just a quick post to say that we are having another boy. I haven't even looked at boy names because I wanted a girl, so now I must start the search for a good boy name. I am a little worried for three boys that will wrestle the house to rubble and for the teenage years of always needing to keep the house stocked with food. It will be a good thing to have another boy and I am very grateful for the one girl that I did get. It is nice to KNOW that our family is now complete and that we have everyone here.

Christmas Card 2009

It now appears that we are not going to get a Christmas card out again this year. So I will do a run down of our year. We have had a busy year.

Ryan:

Ryan finished up his MBA and graduated in May. We are very proud of him. We bought a house in Lehi and moved in July. He continued to work for Moog throughout the year but He was offered a new job at a company called KS Marketing and he will start working for this new company in January. He will have a much better commute and I am sure that the environment will be much better and he will be much happier at the new company. He will also be able to use all of his talents and skills to a greater level and be a benefit to this company. We are very excited for this new opportunity.

Brooke:

I am doing fine. Earlier this year (on Mother's Day) I was given a feeling that we were not done having children. So we agreed to have one more baby. The baby is due in May. We will find out what we are having later this year. I am enjoying being a stay at home mom and I enjoy laughing daily at the things the kids say and do.

Anikka:

Anikka turned 8 this year and was baptized by her father. She has adjusted well to the move and is enjoying 3rd grade. We love that she is on the A track and goes to school from 8 am to 2:30 pm. She has discovered that she likes to wake up early and read for her daily 30 minute homework and then be done for the rest of the day. She is still an amazing big sister and very helpful to her brothers.

Bennett:

Ben is so funny and wound so tight. He introduces himself as Bennett but he will answer to either name and is mostly Ben at home. Ben turned 5 in July and since his birthday was so late in the year we decided to do another year of preschool and start kindergarten next year. I am so happy with this decision. Ben is doing really well at preschool and has started picking up on sight words. He does like to let every other child know that he is the oldest often. He is usually very pleasant until something unpredictable happens like when Mac touches something that he shouldn't.

Mac:

Mac is such a handful. He speaks very well and I am amazed by the stuff he comes up with to say. Like a phrase that he came up with on his own and says often, "Open the Light!" Ryan really loves that because a direct traslation of turn on the light in Vietnamese in open the light. Mac turned 2 in April and I think he will always keep us on our toes. He likes anything that Ben likes and is Ben's constant shadow. He is still a little bit of a Mama's boy and loves to cuddle. I hope he is kind to the new baby and is fine sharing his Mom.

We have had a great year and have been so blessed. We are grateful for the Church and the Gospel in our lives. We are grateful for the new events that will happen in the next year.

The Car

I love going for drives, road trips and I love just being in the car. So if any one wants to invites us anyplace we will be very happy to go. Our kids are also very good in the car. I think I have trained them very well to enjoy going places like me. Another reason I love being in the car is that we get to overhear what the kids are saying to one another.

Ben said to Anikka "I 'member' lots of things, I remember things for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. I have a good memory. I remember things good."

Anikka said " Oh yeah, What happened yesterday?"

Ben replied "I remember, but I am not going to tell you."

Kids are just great and a treasure trove of good laughs.

We had a good Thanksgiving the only problem was that it was just too short. I need another week of everyone being home and not having any thing else to do. Hopefully Christmas will get here quickly so we can have nearly two weeks of no work and no school.

Vacation and Sleepwalking

I know that I have a boring pictureless blog but I don't like to put up pictures. I will make myself do it on occasion but mostly I just don't. Sorry.

On Saturday November 7th I left to go on a vacation with my Sister and our Parents. We went to southern Utah and visited Zion's and Bryce Canyon. It was one of the better vacations we have had. I think it was that my Dad went this time so Tawnya had someone to go with her on the harder hikes, and so we did not have to spend too much time together. It was a good time except they made me go on a three mile hike that was called "The World's Best Three-Mile Hike." It was really beautiful and wonderful except for the last .5 miles which was stunning and really hard. I am pregnant. We returned really tired on Wednesday the 11th. I don't think that my kids missed me at all. Well, maybe Mac missed me a little bit. They do have so much fun with Ryan. He made them all secret agent badges and he is just fun. I often feel that he is the better parent.

A few nights ago I was in bed watching TV and I see a dark shadow walk by my room and then I see the shadow go to the office chair and begin to sit in it. I jump up and say "Anikka the is not the bathroom, what are you doing?" She just stumbled into the bathroom and I then notice what she is wearing. She is fully clothed including her boots. I ask her why she is wearing her school clothes and her boots and she just stared at me. I remind her that she is done and that we need to go change in her clothes and get into her jammies. She then walks into my room and sits on my bed and I say "What are you doing?" and she starts getting a little bit upset and starts saying " I, uh, I can't find it." I asked"what?" She says "it, what I am looking for." " So what are you looking for?" I said. By now she is pretty upset with tears starting to brim her eyes and she says with a deep breath " the sandwich." So I am trying so hard not to laugh and I say okay as I guide her back to her room and get her changed into her jammies. When I tried to get her to help me in putting on her jammies she would only lift her legs one at a time so I could get her dressed. The next morning she woke up very confused that she was wearing jammies because she went to sleep wearing the clothes she wanted to wear to school that day. Then I told her about her adventures that night and she just laughed and laughed because she could not remember a thing. We also asked her not to wear her clothes to bed again, and to definatly not wear her boots to bed.