This weekend Nate, Kelly and the kids came to visit Saturday and Sunday. Jordan and I watched Tanner, Dallin, and Ashlyn while N&K went to the temple on Saturday. When they arrived that afternoon Calin was napping, and when he woke up, the boys went back with me to get him out of bed. Calin was SO happy to see them. I wish I would have got it on camera. He just couldn't stop smiling, giggling, and doing his little excited dance. He has so much fun with all his cousins and it is so much fun watching them all play together! And us parents have a lot of fun together too, so we always love getting together!
Now onto everyday life . . .
So I know I have a happy kid. We are told that all the time, and I love it. And Calin really is happy, and not too difficult. I really feel blessed with him. But it's totally give and take, just because he's almost always smiling and happy, doesn't mean he's good at listening (or sitting still. This kid has more energy than I would think possible! It must be a boy thing). We haven't quite figured out the discipline area yet. He understands what "no" means, but doesn't understand consequences (so even though we tell him not to do something, he does it over and over and over, probably just because he knows he's not supposed to). I know he will understand over time, but we need to start teaching him now. I loved the books I read when he was a newborn. They made life manageable, and helped a ton. But I only read two, I don't like to read tons of different books all with different opinions and advise. I need to read some other parenting books, more specific to raising your kids, not just soothing and sleep help, but I don't want to read a ton, I'm looking for maybe 2 GREAT books :) Any suggestions from one you read?
Even though Calin doesn't take the word "no" seriously, he never says no (unless he's shaking his head), which I'm grateful for :) And he understands things really well. This morning he brought me his blanket, and I asked him "do you want to go lay down?" He smiled at me, nodded his head, and started back toward his room. I put him in his crib, and he went to sleep without a peep - except for the kiss he blew me as I shut his door :)
I love being a mom! I'll take the temper-tantrums, hours spent everyday trying to teach correct principles and chasing him all over the place. Every smile and kiss makes every moment worth it!
Last week we left late Wednesday night and headed to Utah for Jordan's interviews at University of Utah.
We stayed with Matt and Mickie till Friday night. It was around 11pm when we got there so Ty and Calin didn't see each other, but first thing in the morning, you could hear them trying to talk to each other through the doors. It was cute! They have so much fun together and are such good kids!
Jordan had two one-on-one interviews early Thursday afternoon and a social with all the other applicants and DPT students that evening. So Mickie and I tried to get the boys down for naps, and they just were not having it, so we took them to Cabelas. They both fell asleep on the way, and Ty decided he wanted to stay asleep so Mickie pushed him around in the shopping cart while Calin ran all over the place. He was just so excited to have so much space to run! (Winter in Rexburg has deffinitely been hard on him!) (When Ty did wake up, there was still plenty of play time left!)
We were going to head to the Jump house that evening when Matt got home from work (so he could chase them instead of the prego moms, haha), but I think we were all too tired. I know I was! So when Jordan got home we watched A-Team, and headed to bed.
(We were watching Wipe Out. Pretty funny, but I don't think the kids quite got the humor of the show)
Friday Jordan had a luncheon at The U then an hour long group interview. After that he was done, and came home to spend time with all of us. Mickie made some delicious enchiladas (this is the recipe, such a good white enchilada recipe without the condensed soup! She made them without the beans, and I think it was even better that way! Oh, and she uses Herdz green salsa instead of green enchilada sauce. YUM!), and after some nice time chatting and catching up, we got in the car and headed back to Idaho. I was amazed there was no snow on the ground in Utah. Here in Rexburg, it is everywhere! Piles and Piles! I know it will melt eventually, but I'm dreading how long it will take! I am ready for warmer weather! It is way to cold here!
Oh, and for those of you wondering, the interviews went great. Jordan really prepared well for them. He LOVED the school, and especially the faculty. He was blown away by their faculty. Either way, he should find out in a couple weeks. (Mickie was so sweet to make this sign for Jordan! It was hanging up in their window when we arrived. And I know it must have been hard making a UofU being such big BYU fans! Thanks Mickie! We now have it hanging in our living room)
Last week was kind of rough. This week has been much better!
(minus the pesky cold I have this week)
Jordan started school last week (last semester before graduations!!!), but had to switch around his classes so much that he had to add every single one of them. These classes were not easy to add. They all had a min of 15 other students trying to add as well. Actually, it wasn't until yesterday that his schedule was finally set and in order. Thankfully he got all the classes he needs for grad school reqs and graduation this spring!
(he tore through an entire box of tissues before we caught him)
Calin was so whinny and fussy last week. He was constantly getting into everything he could reach that he knows he's not supposed to. It was a battle almost every day all day long with him. And he was waking up 1-3 times at night, which is not like him at all. This week I think we figured it out. He just needed another nap. He's been taking a 2-3 hour nap between 10-1, and I thought he was done with his second nap, but Monday I just couldn't handle how whinny he was being, so I told him he needed to have some quiet time and read some books in his crib. He cried for about 5 min, then he was out for over 2 hours! And he slept 13 hours straight that night. So I've been putting him down from about 3-5 each day (in addition to his long morning nap) and he's back to his cheery happy smiley self! And sleeping through the night again with no problems! Oh, and that extra afternoon nap is heaven for me!
(He LOVES to climb on anything he can. I've recently given up trying to stop him. He's a boy, that's what they do right? Jordan's still not too sure about, even though I'm sure he's the one who taught him :) His recent fav is climbing on my glider and looking out the window in his room)
Last night Jordan and I were both craving Thai food, so we out. Our favorite dishes at this local Thai restaurant are Pad Thai, and Rama Thai (chicken over steamed veggies in a peanut sauce). We were really nervous going there with Calin because of his peanut allergy, but we brought separate food for him, let him dig into the rice they gave us, and he was fine. No signs of an allergic reaction at all! So that was great! We've been told to be extra careful, and that the allergy will most likely get worse with each exposure to peanuts, but thankfully we can eat things with peanuts around him without him having a reaction (as long as he doesn't try sneaking a taste for himself!)
I had a checkup today & heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time <3 Surprisingly, I haven't gained a single pound yet. However, just like my last pregnancy (worse actually) I already look about 10 weeks further than I am! Not kidding! How my belly grows so big without gaining weight baffles me, but I guess that's just me, I get big, so I'll deal :) We also scheduled our 20 week ultrasound for February 14th!! So if all goes well, we should find out boy or girl on Valentines day! I get asked all the time what I think we're having, and honestly I have NO clue! But I'd love to hear what all of you think!
There have been so many things that have brought us tons and tons of joy to ring in the new year. Some happened before 2011, but they are still things that were so great to us, that we are still celebrating in the joy they brought. And these are just some. I could probably make a whole post about each one, but here they are, all at once.
PRAYER Calin has started clasping his hands together when it's time to say a prayer (not always, but at least 50% of the time), and is showing that he's understanding prayer more. One night in California, he was crying and refusing to go to sleep, so I went into the room and tried to talk to him. He looked up at me and folded his hands together like he wanted to say a prayer, so I asked him "do you want to say a prayer?" he nodded, stopped crying, and we said a prayer together. He whimpered for a little while longer, but finally went to sleep. I love moments like this! Is there anything greater than being a parent?!
When Calin points to a picture (any picture, even if I'm not in it), he always said "mama" or "mymama" before anything else, and once in a while will say "dada" also. But if I show him a picture of Jesus, he immediately points to it, smiles, and says "jeeees!" Lately I have been kinda hard on myself, and felt like I wasn't teaching him enough, so little things like this are so sweet and encouraging!
COUSINS Our flight from Ca to Ut was delayed and canceled two days in a row. We were so exhausted and frustrated with the whole situation, but one thing totally made it worth it. While waiting in the SFO airport, my cousin Erica came to visit us. We hadn't seen each other since my baby shower in 2009, so it was wonderful to see her, even if it was just in the airport. (I couldn't find my camera so I had to use my phone, and couldn't quite get a clear photo :)
FAMILY We got back to Rexburg on New Years Eve, and Nate, Kelly & kids came up to spend New Years with us. They had been in Oregon since November, so we've missed them a lot, and it was so fun to spend time with them again, and ring in the New Year!
INTERVIEW
Jordan has an interview with University of Utah later this month! We are so excited! They have an amazing DPT program, it would be close to family, and it starts in May which would be perfect for us. So we're praying pretty hard for this one to go well :)
BABY And we're expecting baby #2 in July! I'm sure if you didn't already know, you probably guessed with me mentioning how sick I have been. But I'm much better now (thanks to some meds), and we could not be more excited for this little one to join our family!!
I feel like I have so much to catch up on! I guess I'll start with Christmas.
We drove down to Utah Sunday morning and stayed with Matt and Mickie that night. Calin always loves playing with cousin Ty!
(This video was so long, so I sped it up, and like it even more this way! Jordan took the video, so he is the main commentator. Isn't his chipmunk voice great!)
We flew in on Monday the 20th, and stayed at my mom’s house in Turlock all week.
We canceled our Disneyland trip for multiple reasons: to spend more time with family, weather was supposed to be horrible, and I was still trying to recover from being so super sick the previous two weeks.So we spent the week before Christmas doing lots of Christmas shopping, spending lots of time with family, and trying to simplify our Christmas break and time together.
Monday night my s.i.l. Stephanie came to my mom's for dinner with her little boy Troy who is 8 months. Poor little guy was terrified of Calin! Calin would go up to Troy and say "hi!" and Troy would just start screaming! I don't think he was used to seeing other kids Calin's age, but by the end of our Trip Troy warmed up to Calin and all was good.
Wednesday night we went over to my brother Dom’s house and all the girls made and decorated cookies.Jordan took Calin out to get a pizza and ended up locking Calin in the car with the keys (he was driving my mom’s car).Opps!So my mom called AAA and my brother drove her down to meet them when AAA came.They were standing outside the car still trying to get a door open (Jordan was using a coat hanger) for about 10 min before my mom realized she had her other set of keys right in her pocket!Calin was just fine the whole time he was in the car and kept putting his arms up like he was saying “I don’t know, what's going on?”
Christmas Eve we spent at Dom & Jenna’s also with my dad and Brenda.Dom and Jenna made a delicious tri-tip dinner!
(isn't this picture of Alan and Troy cute. They both sit and eat the same way)
(and another father & son comparison with my own boys)
We exchanged gifts, ate cookies and pie, and chatted lots.
(Dom & Jenna)
That night we opened our gifts from my Nana & Papa and I couldn’t believe how perfect our girft was!I got a pasta maker attachment for my kitchen aid!I can’t wait to try out my Nana’s pasta recipe.Now I really need to get down there and learn how to make her famous Valponi raviolis!
And of course I got some of my favorite chocolates from Nelson's Candy Kitchen :) yum yum!
Calin got lots of toys, clothes, and books. He loves books! They are one of his favorite things right now.
On Christmas we had brunch at mom’s house with my brothers, their wives, grandparents,my aunt and uncle and their little boy Henry.
My little cousin Henry is so cute. He's about 2 1/2 and loves to strum away on the guitar while singing Christmas songs! He knows so many songs, and can sing the whole thing! It's amazing and one of the cutest things ever! I wish I could have gotten it on video!
Calin loves this little mini magnadoodle! And the Christmas sweater he's wearing was actually from an "ugly sweater Christmas party" we went to earlier that month, hahaha.
Stephanie, Alan, and Troy
Calin loves to trample all over messes. Whether it's wrapping paper, or toys in nursery, I think he has more fun doing that than actually playing with the toys!
We also decided to do stockings this year since we weren't do gifts (the new TV was our Christmas gift), and it was a lot of fun. I think we'll go back to doing them every year!
We did another gift exchange after brunch, then Jordan, Calin and I headed up to my dad’s in Sonora.
(Calin and Jayla)
Jayla is Brenda's oldest daughter's daughter. She's almost 1, and the two of them had so much fun together! They were so cute to watch play, and were actually really great at sharing with one another!
Brenda made prime rib for dinner that night, and it was delicious!We drove back down to my mom’s that night so we could help her get ready for another Christmas on Sunday afternoon at her house.
Sunday was the Parkinson Christmas (all of my mom’s side of the family).We were missing my two cousins in Texas, and another cousin from Santa Cruz who just had a baby a couple days before, but we still had lots of fun!We had another gift exchange and got some more great gifts!
We do the gift exchange where a gift can be stolen up to 2 times. My aunt was very unhappy when the gift she had just stolen, got stolen from her. But after stealing a crockpot from my s.i.l. she was happy again :)
After that Christmas we drove back to my dad’s and stayed with him till Tuesday.
Monday my Nana and Papa came over for dinner. Calin always has a blast playing with Nana! He loves to play peek-a-boo with her, and she taught him how to eat imaginary food from a new book he got for Christmas.
Jordan and I don't really do much to build his imagination, so I thought this was just so great! He caught on pretty quickly, and still loves to do it!
We wish we could have spent more time at my dad's, but we had a lot of fun while we were there!
We were supposed to fly back to Salt Lake on Wednesday, but our flight was canceled (after they switched our flight 3 times, and spend hours in the airport). Our flight was canceled again on Thursday, so we had a take a shuttle to the San Francisco airport and wait another 7 hours in the airport there. We finally made it to Matt and Mickie's around 11pm that night.
Our Christmas break wasn't as quiet and relaxing as we might have wanted, but it was still great to be with so much family!
