I haven't much to say lately. I haven't been taking many pictures other than with my phone and life has settled into a routine loop of sameness. Nothing new really happens and if we were talking in real life I am afraid I don't have much to talk about other than the kids, and even that is repetitive.
I have been meaning to post some follow-ups regarding said children though, namely with Rhett's ears and Kate's potty training, or lack thereof. Ahem.
Rhett finished his month long course of Zyrtec to dry up the fluid in his ears. This was recommended to us by his ENT as an option to ear tubes. I am so glad we tried it because his ears cleared wonderfully and (fingers crossed!) he has not had an ear infection yet. If we can make it through this cold/flu season unscathed I will feel even better about his prospects.
On the potty training front. Gosh, that seems ages ago but shortly after I declared our success in self mastery of bodily functions Kate had a relapse. Perhaps it was because I started curtailing the lavish praise and reward system. I mean, how many sticker charts and m&m's does a girl need?! Or maybe Kate wasn't quite mature enough to pay attention to the potty cues. I don't know but after she peed on Phil's lap we were done with it. She was having so many accidents and we told her that if she kept doing them she would go back in diapers. The pee in the lap was the final straw and we have put the princess panties back in the drawer. And there they wait until we are both ready for round two. I am thinking we will try again in March. I am getting so tired of changing diapers for her and I feel she is ready. I hope. She seems more aware and uncomfortable with a wet diaper, wanting me to change her after she goes just one time. But then on the other hand she can play with a very wet diaper or even a stinky bum and she doesn't seem to mind. Everyone says to wait until she is ready but when is that?
We have been about one week since my no nap declaration for Max and Kate. And I am reinstating naps tomorrow. Life just goes more smoothly and the kids (and myself!) are more pleasant to be around. Since it is all me all the time around here, I need the mental break from them and they need the physical/mental rest that a nap provides. We all win and I guess who cares that they don't actually fall asleep til 10pm?
I have gone back to work one day a week with my old office. It has been lovely to get out of the house and remember that I have a valuable and useful skill, to interact on a professional level and just talk to other adults! We have a fabulous babysitter that comes to our house to watch the kids and that takes away all the stress of being away from my kids, knowing that they are in the best hands. I am grateful that I have a skill that enables me to contribute to our family, albeit in a very small way with me only working one day a week. But it is enough to put away for the upcoming costs of Phil's residency applications, interviews and the unknown ahead of us.
Phil is nearing the end of his third year of medical school. He is still undecided on a specialty but the options are narrowing. It is difficult for him. We went into this thinking that he would do a subspecialty of pediatrics; neonatology. With the way his third year has played out, he hasn't yet rotated in pediatrics, he will have three months of peds this spring. So he will either love it or hate it! Not an ideal situation to have it all bundled at the end but we will figure things out. This summer is when one should have a clear direction of specialty so that residency applications can start being compiled and his fourth year is generally geared towards the chosen specialty. He feels the pressure of all this and together we are working towards making everything work out. And it will work out, we just can't see it all yet.
On a personal front I am constantly trying to be a better mother and wife. And a better Heather. She is often forgotten. I want to lose 15-20 pounds by my birthday in June. I want to be more diligent in reading my scriptures and saying my prayers. I want to read more books. I want to find more fulfillment in my life right now; in my children, my mothering, in my husband and our current phase of life.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Rhett: 15 Months
Rhett went in for his check-up after the holidays and so I can finally blog his 15 month post since I have his stats. This little one is so much fun. Phil said that if we could guarantee another Rhett then we could have five more children. Ha! I am not sure about that but it is a testament to how much we love him. Especially if Phil is the one suggesting more babies at this stage in our crazy parenting career.
Rhett's 15 Month Stats:
Weight: 21 pounds, 6th%
Height: 32 inches, 72%
Size 12 months, size 4 shoe, size 4 diaper.
Rhett is smart and funny. He knows how to hold his own with Max and Kate and is mastering the fine art of teasing his siblings. I can definitely see the benefit of having older children around in regards to his social and verbal development. He is talking so much and mimics everything and everyone. Even pitch and tone, as in, if Kate is shrieking, Rhett will join in perfectly. His talking is what we can understand since we are around him all day but his words are definitely present. His latest thing is to walk around hollering "mama! mama!" until I answer him.
He is helpful and understands direction. He is so enamored with his blankie. When it is missing I carry him around the house and ask "where's your blankie?", he responds with one hand raised questioningly in the air, "where is it?". And when we find it his face lights up and he exclaims "there it is!". It never gets old.
He loves to be outside! Loves it. He cries and gets upset when it is time to come in. He knows that shoes mean we are going somewhere and he is always willing to sit in your lap so you can lace him up.
Rhett sleeps well; 11 hours at night and still takes 2 naps. He self feeds and will refuse food if he cannot do it himself. Don't even think about spoon feeding him, thankyouverymuch!
His favorite thing to do at the park is swing and go down the slide.
When we take self-portraits with my phone his tongue usually comes out.
He has crazy hair that grows straight down his forehead, and since I have trimmed the back I am afraid that the curls are gone. :(
He gets jealous when I hold other babies. He knows his status and is very happy being the baby.
If you sit down at the computer he pretty much demands to be in your lap so you can do "letters" with him, aka Starfall.com.
He sings and it is the sweetest, cutest thing.
Good grief, we just love this boy!
Rhett's 15 Month Stats:
Weight: 21 pounds, 6th%
Height: 32 inches, 72%
Size 12 months, size 4 shoe, size 4 diaper.
Rhett is smart and funny. He knows how to hold his own with Max and Kate and is mastering the fine art of teasing his siblings. I can definitely see the benefit of having older children around in regards to his social and verbal development. He is talking so much and mimics everything and everyone. Even pitch and tone, as in, if Kate is shrieking, Rhett will join in perfectly. His talking is what we can understand since we are around him all day but his words are definitely present. His latest thing is to walk around hollering "mama! mama!" until I answer him.
He is helpful and understands direction. He is so enamored with his blankie. When it is missing I carry him around the house and ask "where's your blankie?", he responds with one hand raised questioningly in the air, "where is it?". And when we find it his face lights up and he exclaims "there it is!". It never gets old.
He loves to be outside! Loves it. He cries and gets upset when it is time to come in. He knows that shoes mean we are going somewhere and he is always willing to sit in your lap so you can lace him up.
Rhett sleeps well; 11 hours at night and still takes 2 naps. He self feeds and will refuse food if he cannot do it himself. Don't even think about spoon feeding him, thankyouverymuch!
His favorite thing to do at the park is swing and go down the slide.
When we take self-portraits with my phone his tongue usually comes out.
He has crazy hair that grows straight down his forehead, and since I have trimmed the back I am afraid that the curls are gone. :(
He gets jealous when I hold other babies. He knows his status and is very happy being the baby.
If you sit down at the computer he pretty much demands to be in your lap so you can do "letters" with him, aka Starfall.com.
He sings and it is the sweetest, cutest thing.
Good grief, we just love this boy!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
January 2013: 10 on 10
One photo, every hour, for 10 hours, on the 10th day of the month.
Today preschool was at our house. We have been on winter break the past two weeks and the kids were very excited to have school today. We learned about the letter "R" and make rainbow bracelets, rainbow "r" and rock friends. They had a great time and it was a fun way to pass our morning.
Caught these two playing footsies while eating lunch. :)
There were too many cute 11 o'clock shots so I included my favorites.
This is the play house the kids got for Christmas. Phil nestled it in the corner of our back yard behind the pomegranate tree and other bushes. Gives it a fun woodsy feel and the kids love it! We had Byron and Nora over earlier this week and I overheard them call it "the clubhouse". So cute. Today all five of them were crammed in there. And a bit later I heard Byron say "Max, let's go to the clubhouse!", and they ran off to do boy things.
Our final product. My kids call all rocks "tweasures" (treasures).
After our friends left we rested with some Curious George and cars.
I made a quick decision to run to Hobby Lobby to buy some fabric for Max and Kate's room. It was quick and yet it was still a bit hairy. Too many grabby hands, the cart is way too small and the store is full of breakables. And today it was swarming with blue hairs. Oy!
(How funny is this that it looks like Rhett has a rockin' mullet? Haha! Rest assured it is Kate behind him.) Good for a laugh though. :) If I ever let that happen, someone slap me.
We hurried home and Rhett took his second nap. Max and Kate have been night owls the past few nights, staying up until 10:30pm when they take an afternoon nap! So today we did a trial run of no nap for them so I could put them to bed early. It is now 8pm as I type this and there is silence. Oh happy day! Kate gets irrational and emotional without a nap but we did our best, stayed busy and hopefully it works in our favor.
I played around with the self-timer on my camera. Why I haven't utilized this before I don't know but I am enjoying being able to be in pictures with my kids when I am the only adult around. Plus it kept us all entertained for a good 10 minutes as I ran back and forth adjusting settings and focus trying to get this shot. The kids loved it.
After our mini session I wanted to document the end of naps by putting away the pack n' play that has been living in our closet for months. This is where Kate would nap because they horsed around too much when they are both in their bedroom. Clearly Kate was pleased with my taking her picture. In the first one she is upset that her bear fell down and the second shows her enthusiasm with me shooting while she is throwing a tantrum.
Rhett woke not long after the closet tantrum and we all did Starfall on the computer for 30 minutes while dinner cooked.
Bath time!
I got the kids diapered, lotioned, dressed in jammies, blow-dryed Kate's hair, brushed 48 little teeth and then we read some stories to wind down. This shot isn't as idyllic as it looks. Picture me running back and forth to the camera, hollering at Rhett to stay away from my favorite toy as it sits right at his level on one of the kids' chair, thus hurting his feelings and making him cry, hard. Yeah, one big happy family over here!
Long day but a good day. And it is now 8:11pm and everyone is asleep. Now it is time for some me time.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Happy Eleven
December 2012
Phil and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary on January 5th. I knew that he was going to be out of town on an away rotation on our actual day so I planned something during his Christmas break. It was rather impromptu but so fun! We have been awful about going out on dates since school and kids have ruled our world.
On a whim I bought tickets to see The Piano Guys and then we went out for sushi. The concert was so good and we both really enjoyed their music. Such incredible talent! It was my first time eating sushi too. We ordered two sushi plates and then a small plate of coconut shrimp. It was delicious but I really had to not think about the texture and what I was eating. Ha! And me using chopsticks was ridiculous.
I have no pictures of our evening out since we left my cell phone with the babysitter, as we have no land line. Hauling around my big camera was also not conducive to our date. Did you catch that? A BABYSITTER!! Pretty sure my resolution this year is to quit being penny pinching fuddy-duddies and get out more. We hired a girl in our ward and she is perfect. She is quite young, not yet 12 and we were actually her first gig. I was a little nervous about that but since there were no bedtimes, bath times or cooking dinner involved with her stay I figured they would all do fine. They had sandwiches for dinner, played and watched a movie. The kids loved her and she even picked up all the toys. We have a keeper!
Phil had to come home this past weekend to fix a flat tire. He was planning on being away the entire month in northern AZ. The distracted guy actually forgot it was our anniversary but I wasn't upset since we had technically celebrated already. On our actual anniversary we had an impromptu dinner date with our neighbors, Kendra and Dusty. We ate chicken alfredo, that awesome pear salad, Phil made his bread and we drank Italian sodas. For dessert we had chocolate lava cakes à la mode. The kids played and we had a wonderful evening. Why we haven't been doing dinner dates at home with friends is beyond me!
So here we are, 11 years later. Older, hopefully wiser and Phil is sporting some gray hairs. We have four children, are in the thick of our eternal quest with this medical education, we stress, learn and grow. We have a good life. And I wouldn't want to do it without this man by my side.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Christmas 2012
We started December off with temple lights. We met our friends the Merrill's for dinner and then took our crew to see the lights. It is always so busy at the temple and it seems like walking around the grounds takes less than 15 minutes and you are done. But the kids had fun running around in the grass afterwards.
Phil was actually on call that night for his OB rotation. He had already had two deliveries that day and thought he would be in the clear. We made it through almost the entire evening when he noted that he had missed a call, even though he had his phone in his pocket. Naturally, it was the hospital telling him there was a c-section scheduled. The nurse didn't leave any information though. We packed up the kids and booked it home. All the while Phil was stressing about how he missed the surgery and what the doctor was going to do/say to him. We reasoned that given the very short amount of notice he had received he would have missed the surgery anyway. I encouraged him to call the hospital, ask for the doctor and face the music. The doctor was very upset with him and lectured him on professionalism and what it means to be "on call". Phil was glad he called and put this experience in the books and we both agreed it was good to have this happen as a medical student versus a resident.
We had our ward party where the kids got to meet Santa. They did great, no one cried or even seemed nervous about the whole deal. We only stayed for dinner and then bailed when our kids were being too naughty. Too many people and the kids were hard to manage; Rhett wanted to run around everywhere and was going to get trampled, Max was whining, crying and tantruming because he wanted more dessert and I can't remember if Kate had any shining moments. Awesome public forum to display our stellar parenting skills and well-mannered children. Ahem.
The rest of the month carried on and I admit I wasn't feeling too festive. I wasn't in the mood to create handmade gifts, the baking bug didn't strike and I was just sort of cruising along. We did go on a few walks in the wagon to see neighborhood lights and drove to one particularly festive street nearby. We watched plenty of Grinch, Frosty the Snowman and Charlie Brown's Christmas. I hope to do better next year in creating fun memories and magic for the kids. I think it will be a bit easier since everyone will be older. As it is I was just trying to stay afloat with mothering.
We did decorate "gingerbread" houses one evening but I forgot to buy frosting and didn't want to make a bunch. I did however have a tub of lemon frosting leftover from a Young Women activity. Yellow snow anyone?
Decorating requires intense concentration. Max always sticks out his tongue when he is working hard.
Christmas morning was wonderful and fast paced. I sadly did not take one picture but we did get video of the kids opening their presents. Phil wanted me to make popovers for breakfast. We did that and yogurt parfaits. But between prepping breakfast and opening presents I kept running back and forth from the kitchen to the family room. Too much crazy. Next year I will figure out something different for breakfast that allows me to be fully present, and camera ready!
The kids loved their gifts and we felt it was the perfect amount. I am going to stick to the 3 gift rule so it doesn't get out of hand. And then when you throw in gifts from grandparents it is more than enough. Our sweet neighbors the Whittaker's also shared gifts with us. So much generosity.
The kids got a little playhouse for the back yard from Santa. (Thank you to my cousin who was getting rid of it!). Rhett got a ball, Max got a Toy Story puzzle and jammies, Kate got a pretend make-up kit that I made out of nail polish and old containers. Add in stockings, the gifts from grandparents and Kendra and they were thrilled with their presents. And I like that we can still keep things simple around here.
One tradition that remains true is Phil and I preparing a wonderful German meal and sharing it with our family on Christmas Day. This year my parents and the Rapier grandparents joined us in our feasting. It was delicious, and so much work. Ha! But it is wonderful to serve our loved ones in this regard and we do enjoy it. Every year we make rouladen, rotkohl, mashed potatoes and gravy from the rouladen, and roasted asparagus. I added a wonderful green salad that had pear, feta, bacon, pecans and cranberries in it. Phil made us fresh crusty bread and I made a pomegranate cheesecake for dessert.
This is at the end of the day and Phil and I are so tired. I look trashed but insisted we take a family picture since we didn't get anything the rest of the day. It was such a good Christmas and I am so thankful for our family and dear friends.
Phil was actually on call that night for his OB rotation. He had already had two deliveries that day and thought he would be in the clear. We made it through almost the entire evening when he noted that he had missed a call, even though he had his phone in his pocket. Naturally, it was the hospital telling him there was a c-section scheduled. The nurse didn't leave any information though. We packed up the kids and booked it home. All the while Phil was stressing about how he missed the surgery and what the doctor was going to do/say to him. We reasoned that given the very short amount of notice he had received he would have missed the surgery anyway. I encouraged him to call the hospital, ask for the doctor and face the music. The doctor was very upset with him and lectured him on professionalism and what it means to be "on call". Phil was glad he called and put this experience in the books and we both agreed it was good to have this happen as a medical student versus a resident.
We had our ward party where the kids got to meet Santa. They did great, no one cried or even seemed nervous about the whole deal. We only stayed for dinner and then bailed when our kids were being too naughty. Too many people and the kids were hard to manage; Rhett wanted to run around everywhere and was going to get trampled, Max was whining, crying and tantruming because he wanted more dessert and I can't remember if Kate had any shining moments. Awesome public forum to display our stellar parenting skills and well-mannered children. Ahem.
The rest of the month carried on and I admit I wasn't feeling too festive. I wasn't in the mood to create handmade gifts, the baking bug didn't strike and I was just sort of cruising along. We did go on a few walks in the wagon to see neighborhood lights and drove to one particularly festive street nearby. We watched plenty of Grinch, Frosty the Snowman and Charlie Brown's Christmas. I hope to do better next year in creating fun memories and magic for the kids. I think it will be a bit easier since everyone will be older. As it is I was just trying to stay afloat with mothering.
We did decorate "gingerbread" houses one evening but I forgot to buy frosting and didn't want to make a bunch. I did however have a tub of lemon frosting leftover from a Young Women activity. Yellow snow anyone?
Decorating requires intense concentration. Max always sticks out his tongue when he is working hard.
Christmas morning was wonderful and fast paced. I sadly did not take one picture but we did get video of the kids opening their presents. Phil wanted me to make popovers for breakfast. We did that and yogurt parfaits. But between prepping breakfast and opening presents I kept running back and forth from the kitchen to the family room. Too much crazy. Next year I will figure out something different for breakfast that allows me to be fully present, and camera ready!
The kids loved their gifts and we felt it was the perfect amount. I am going to stick to the 3 gift rule so it doesn't get out of hand. And then when you throw in gifts from grandparents it is more than enough. Our sweet neighbors the Whittaker's also shared gifts with us. So much generosity.
The kids got a little playhouse for the back yard from Santa. (Thank you to my cousin who was getting rid of it!). Rhett got a ball, Max got a Toy Story puzzle and jammies, Kate got a pretend make-up kit that I made out of nail polish and old containers. Add in stockings, the gifts from grandparents and Kendra and they were thrilled with their presents. And I like that we can still keep things simple around here.
One tradition that remains true is Phil and I preparing a wonderful German meal and sharing it with our family on Christmas Day. This year my parents and the Rapier grandparents joined us in our feasting. It was delicious, and so much work. Ha! But it is wonderful to serve our loved ones in this regard and we do enjoy it. Every year we make rouladen, rotkohl, mashed potatoes and gravy from the rouladen, and roasted asparagus. I added a wonderful green salad that had pear, feta, bacon, pecans and cranberries in it. Phil made us fresh crusty bread and I made a pomegranate cheesecake for dessert.
This is at the end of the day and Phil and I are so tired. I look trashed but insisted we take a family picture since we didn't get anything the rest of the day. It was such a good Christmas and I am so thankful for our family and dear friends.
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