Long Awaited Update

Alright! So I promised this update a long time ago. We've been very busy around here, so I haven't found any time to update until now. However, this busyness also means that I have a lot more news to share.

Let's see... where to start..? We took our trip to Utah as I mentioned in my last blog. It was so nice to visit with Mike's family again. It was especially great to show off Emily since none of his family had met her before. We also got to see Angie's new baby who we'd never seen before. What a cutie! I could hardly believe how grown up Jeni's kids were. The thought of Caryssa getting ready for college just blows my mind!

Mike's mom was good enough to watch our kids for us while we stayed in the hotel Mike's boss provided. Boy was it a dump! Our floor reeked of onion rings, (Mike thought it smelled like curry) There was a crazy lady living down the hall from us, our front door didn't seal correctly, the lock wouldn't lock, the air conditioner and heater worked part-time, the bed was unfathomably hard, the lights flickered, and the bathroom door wouldn't latch. If we weren't staying for free, we would have complained.

I got to visit with Juliet, an old college friend, while Mike was in class for his certification. She brought her son Lincoln to the hotel to pick me up on Tuesday. First, we drove out to Kearns to visit my kids and have a picnic. However, when we got to Mike's mom's house, we realized we didn't have the car seat capacity to take all the kids and us to a park. We weren't horribly disappointed since it was quite freezing anyhow. After a great lunch provided to us by Mike's mom and dad, Juliet took me out to her cute house and we visited some more while Lincoln napped.

Wednesday was Halloween. Juliet and Lincoln met me at the mall across from the hotel. Lincoln was all dressed up for trick-or-treating. He made a very unintimidating ninja. Somehow the glasses and the un-ninja like smiles weren't too convincing. Still, the store clerks were glad to dump all the tootsie-rolls he wanted into his bucket, and lucky for Juliet, Lincoln didn't like tootsie-rolls! Mike and I were supposed to meet up with Juliet that night for their ward's trunk-or-treat, but Mike didn't get out of class until much later than he had anticipated. By the time we picked up the kids and got them in costume, trunk-or-treat was over. Instead, we took the kids around Mike's old neighborhood. Hyrum really enjoyed it at first, and Emily loved riding around in her stroller. The fun ended when, after only about a dozen houses, Hyrum tripped and skinned his knees and we had to go back. He got mostly gum. Gum, and a lot of Mexican candy.
- Mike: "What's 'Sabor Platano.. Goma de mascar'?"
- Me: "I think it's banana flavored gum."
- Mike: "Ah." *nods*
You're all going to have to wait a bit for the answer to the last poll. I was dumb and forgot to take pictures on Halloween, so I need to dress the kids up again so I can post one. Needless to say, they looked very cute. I'm sure you'll agree when you see them for yourselves.

Mike took the test on Thursday and said it was really hard. (We just found out last week that he passed!) I sat outside the classroom for over 2 hours with nothing to do but play on the internet on Mike's phone. Yay for wi-fi! Juliet met us again in the parking lot after the test and gave us some pumpkins and squash she had just picked up and we said goodbye to her. Then we picked up two very tired and cranky kids and headed home. Both kids slept like bricks over the next couple of days. They had a lot of fun getting to know their Grandma and Grandpa Aitken.

Emily met with a physical and developmental therapist earlier in November. We were concerned that she still wasn't crawling and figure she fell behind when she lost all that weight. They told us not to expect her to walk until she's 15-18 months. They said that's still average.. the slower side of average, but nothing to worry about. The rest of her development is adequate or above average for her age, so that was good news. Emily's development really wasn't far enough behind for her to qualify for the Infant Toddler Program through Health and Welfare, but the physical therapist is going to stop by now and then between her other appointments just to check in on us and suggest more exercises for us to do with Emily. Right now, we're supposed to brush the bottoms of her feet with a stiff brush. Apparently, the rest of her body developed while her feet didn't and the brush is suppose to stimulate some growth reflex in them. Her pediatrician didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with her at all, and told us not to let a physical therapist scare us. Since our meeting with the therapist, she has started getting around quite well. She still isn't exactly crawling, but she pulls herself along with her arms, and sometimes inches along like an inchworm. She is now up to about the 25th percentile for both height and weight. That's better than Hyrum's 20th percentile height and 10th weight. Yay, Emily! She has become quite a chubby little baby.

Hyrum started school this month! I'm so incredibly excited, and so is he! He absolutely loves school, and riding the bus is such a treat for him. He goes from 9-11 on Monday-Thursday. The extra half hour before and after for the bus ride brings the total to 3 Hyrum free hours for me! Now I get to do laundry without him kicking over the piles! Actually, I have yet to really enjoy his being gone. It's still so new to me that I sit by the window waiting for him to return. I've already seen some progress in his communication, and he's learning new things about shapes and animals. The teacher says he gets along great with the other kids and already has friends. Here's a couple of pictures of him on his first day.




Hyrum's 4th birthday was Saturday the 17th. We had been playing games at Spencer and Megan's house until really late the night before, and I wasn't feeling very well, so we didn't do anything that day except watch movies. But I did make him an apple crisp. He enjoyed it. He got to open his presents Sunday morning. I added subtitles for those of you who don't understand Hyrum speak.

No, Hyrum isn't crazy. He was meowing at his orange stuffed kitty who you can see sitting on the couch where he put his present. The backpack was from Hyrum's Grandma and Grandpa Crooks. Grandma and Grandpa Aitken gave him shoes while he was in Utah. The Moon Sand was from us. For those of you who don't know what Moon Sand is, it's similar to Playdough... kind of. It's almost like brown sugar in that you can crumble it to sand or pack and mold it. Thankfully, it isn't sticky like brown sugar! It also doesn't stain and vacuums up better than Playdough if it falls in the carpet. This is especially important to note when you remember that we don't have room for a table in our apartment. It's bound to get messy!

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving followed by a seemingly endless trip home with a very whiny Hyrum in the back seat. We got in late, and Hyrum crashed immediately only to have us wake him early the next morning. Our friends Spencer and Megan invited us out to their parents' house for a family get together to play some games, eat leftovers, and have birthday cake for several of the kids who had birthdays that month. They even had a cake for Hyrum! We knew their parents from our old ward in Meridian. Hyrum got to ride a horse for the first time. I wish I had remembered to take a picture. He was so excited for his turn while watching all the other kids go. But when his turn came up, he ran out to the horse only to realize when he got up closer, just how big the thing was! Bro. Pond lifted him up onto it's bare back and Hyrum flattened himself against the horse's neck and grasped a handful of mane. The horse shifted its weight, and Hyrum panicked and asked to get down before it could even take one step. Still, I thought he was very brave.

We left somewhat early because Hyrum, although he loved playing with the many other kids, was still very cranky from the day before. When we got him home, he continued to cry. We sent him to his room to play, but later found him curled up on his bedroom floor sobbing. Mike lifted him to his feet to give him a hug, and in the process realized that he was burning up. We've all been sick ever since. I'm really hoping that we're better by this weekend. My sister, Julie invited us out for Thanksgiving, but we already had plans. My niece, Shae is in town. I haven't seen her since she was about 6, and she's 21 now. We're hoping to go visit on Sunday.

That's about it for now. I'll try to take pictures of the kids in costume and post them sometime tomorrow.

PB & S

Remember peanut butter and syrup sandwiches? Yum!! We ran out of bread yesterday so I made all of us waffles. Seeing as myson's only lunch to date ever was PB/J sandwiches, I slapped some peanut butter on his waffles then drenched them in syrup. That brought back the nostalgia. I had forgotten how my brothers and would toast bread, spread on peanut butter and soak in syrup. The syrup would have to drip over the edges of the toast to get on the plate. Then you could put the toast on top of the syrup and have it soak in through the bottom.

Of course I don't have any cavities!!

Another thought: I love my new jeans that either wife or her mom gave me. I put them on the morning without a belt and I had a hard time keeping them on. It made me feel I didn't have any hips or read end to hold them up. When you get older, that's a pretty good feeling -- even for gawky me.

That's my random thoughts for today. I'll see you all later this week after we get back from Utah. After that, I'll be able to visit your local playground and spot all the dangers that lie within. MWA HA HA HA! (wife's going to be so bored when I subject her to conversations of that nature)

Short(er) Blog

This will be a somewhat shorter blog to be followed up by a longer blog with pictures and videos next week. You'll just have to wait till then. ;)

The reason I'm not posting a longer blog till next week is that Mike is going to Utah for some work related training. We leave on Monday afternoon, when Mike gets off of work, and come home Thursday evening. Our kids will be staying with their Grandma and Grandpa Aitken. Emily has become very clingy and needy lately. I wish them all the luck in the world in dealing with her. But, rather than tell you all our plans, I'll just tell you what happened when we get back.

Emily is doing a little bit better with her motor skills, although she still isn't crawling. We met with a case worker for the Infant Toddler Program who is trying to get us set up with a physical therapist who will come out to our house once a week to work with Emily. Until then, Mike and I are just trying to do all we can to encourage her to use her legs. She can drag herself with her arms and propel herself forward a little by pushing off with her toes. She can get around to wherever she wants to go, but it still isn't quite crawling. Lately though, she has been jumping in her Exersaucer (bouncy saucer toy thing) which I think has been helping her to build some much needed leg muscles. I don't think it'll be much longer before she really does crawl.

Emily is also starting to talk more. Currently, her vocabulary consists of Dad, Mom (pronounced "Bob"), brother, DeeDee (the cat's name), kitty, duck, bath, and hooray (as she lifts her arm into the air). She's so adorable!

Good news for Hyrum! He got accepted into the early intervention preschool we've been trying to get him into. We have a meeting with his teacher and the rest of the staff on November 13th. He'll start some time after that, attending 4 days a week, 2 hours a day. We are SO anxious for him to start talking. He turns 4 on November 17th, and still can't successfully communicate with us.

We got a good scare the other day. Mike let Hyrum outside to play for a little while, but he didn't expect him to go very far because it was raining. After less than 5 min, I asked Mike where he was. Mike told me he was right outside the door, but he wasn't. Mike stuck his head out and called for him, but no answer. A quick walk up and down the row of condos set us into a panic. Hyrum wasn't anywhere! Mike walked around several blocks before he came home and got the car to help him look better. I bundled Emily up and strapped her in her stroller and went out on foot. We looked everywhere. I was about to call the police and Mike was about to check the major road near our house to see if he had gone to watch the trucks or tried to walk to Jack-in-the-Box. He loves their french toast sticks. As Mike headed off to search some more, he passed by the alley that our house sits in. There in the driveway, perched atop a pink and purple tricycle, was Hyrum. We tried to ask Hyrum where the tricycle went.. told him to put it away, but he only tried to park it in our garage. Mike took him around to some of the neighbors who we know have young kids, but we never found the owner. To this day, I still have no idea where Hyrum went. It couldn't have been any of our nearby neighbors, because we checked with all of them. We parked the tricycle next to the road hoping someone would recognize it and pick it up. It sat there for half a week before it finally disappeared. I guess we need to get Hyrum one of his own so he doesn't do that again.

I was lazy this year for Halloween. I usually make the kids' costumes, but this year, I bought them. Yay for eBay! They won't be as cute or of as good a quality as when I make them myself, but it's so much easier this way! I'll probably go back to making them again next year. I've updated the poll for you to guess what they will be. The question will be answered in the form of pictures when we get home. Those of you who already know the answer, feel free to vote, but don't spoil it for everyone else!

Haddorkus

Cristtin's blog entry a few days ago was just too good to not link to it.

http://haddorkus.blogspot.com/2007/10/danisms.html

My then silent office was interrupted by my peircing laugh... Boss gave me a perplexed look. He understood after I sent him the link, so I still have my job :)

New Family Number!

Woohoo!

I just signed up with GrandCentral and got a new phone number that will reach me at all of my existing phones.

Now you can reach me everywhere (cell, work, home) with a single number. And if I move, switch jobs, or buy a new phone...this number never changes. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

For obvious privacy reasons, I'm not listing my number here, but you can use the button below or on the sidebar to have GrandCentral call you, after which it will call me! Just one thing, don't use all my minutes! :P

We're Expecting!!!

--just not a baby. We're expecting a lot of other things, though. I'm expecting Friday to come tomorrow. I'm also expecting bills to come in the mail. I'm expecting a Tax Refund next year, but then expecting it to go straight to pay off my Commerce and Labor debt. I'm also expecting to be debt free (excluding student loans... and something else) by March next year!!

Yes, I did have news before, but it fell through. We may have that news next Spring, but we won't know for sure until then.

On with other things!!

Family First. We're all doing much better now that we're out of the watchful eye of the evil landlord. We still haven't unpacked everything, but I'm not sure we ever will until we move again. This place is much too small to be able to fit everything.

Myson is scheduled for his screening today for speech therapy. He has a deficiency in motor and comprehension skills as well, but they believe it's from the lack of communication. For example, they would ask him to bring them the Red bear out of a few colored bears and he wouldn't do anything, but when they asked him, "What color is this bear?" He would respond with the color. We know he has a huge imagination and is intelligent, but not being able to communicate with him causes a lot of hindrance in him being able to learn and obey, which in turn leads to tantrums because hes not very patient with us. But the boy is dang-cute! He loves his mom and goes to her for comfort all the time, and goes to dad for a tickle victim and wacky fun ("Ok, son. When that car comes closer, walk out in front of it and Daddy will get a nice big paycheck!")

Thegirl is cute as ever! She's still happy most all the time, but not as much as her first several months of life. The veil definitely thinned. She's gained teeth -- I finally saw them! Jessica told me a few weeks ago she had them but when she'd try to show them she just wanted to hang her tongue out for me to see and blow raspberries. The most she's crawled was about 3 inches, the rest of the time she just goes in circles.

In other news... My CEO may fold the portion of the company I work for. It is still a long way off before he decides, and he's investing $ in my to get trained in Utah, so I'm not too concerned yet. However, it would be stupid of me not to have alternate plans as well. My backup plan is to move to Utah and take over sales in that area. We plan to buy the house from mom and find a place nearby where she can visit us everyday.

-- That, my family, was a joke --

Utah is for crazy drivers, and now I am a slow Idahoan. I enjoy the happiness of waving nicely to someone who allows me to merge in front of them on the freeway. I also enjoy reading the speed limit and not adding an additional 30 mph. We would, however, LOVE living close to mo-tab and the music environment of the Salt Lake Valley.

Moment of Inspiration!!
So, as some of you know from hearing me whine in my e-mails, I worked a lot last week... a lot. A very, very, lotted lot. 40 hours M-F on my daytime job and 45 hours Sun-Sun on my nighttime/weekend job. It was a pain not seeing my family. But beautiful Jay (adjective added for mum) in her wisdom and for her sanity would bring the kids by EatFreshway to see dad. It was soooo good seeing them. Emily would see me and say "DuD!" then push her face in Jay's shoulder being the shy girl she is. Anyway, that all sucked very much. I was able to see the kids and spend a bit of time with them Saturday morning, but it wasn't enough after finally being able to sleep in and then go back to work at 3.00pm. So, after slaving away all week, I was finally able to have Monday night off with my family.

I tell you, family is where it is at. It only took 10 mins of playing playing with myson to realize how much I missed him. I was overcome with a great feeling of peace, happiness, joy, etc. I couldn't exactly describe what it was, but I knew that I was doing the right thing by being with my family. It wasn't until later that night we had a knock on our door. I opened it to find 2 young men dressed in suits standing in front of me. They asked if they could talk with us about having our family be "together forever." I had never really thought that much about family after we get old and they my progeny going to college, so we invited them in. They told me a story about a 14-year old boy who went out to pray in the woods to find out which church was tru--

Can you guess where I started fibbing? Needless to say, I LOVE MY FAMILY! I even told Jay I loved her -- Crap! Did I just type that out loud?
-- Moment over --

Oh, you all know by now, but we won't be going to Utah this weekend. Earlier I told Jen, "We can't afford to go to Utah, but we also can't afford not to go." That statement would probably be profound if it wasn't so minimalistic. It simply means we have not the $ to go to Utah, but it's more important to forsake fiances finances and be with family, especially since we won't be seeing Dave/Karen/mini-DKs for a very long time. In the end, we crunched our numbers and just couldn't make it happen. Part of the reason being we need to save up $ to go to Utah the following month.

Which leads me to discuss this trip. I'll be going down to Utah on business from Sunday to Thursday/Friday, October 28th-November 1st-ish. I would love to meet up with my family one of those evenings. We'd like to have dinner at a restaurant or mum's with as many people as can make it. I'd like to say we can do other things on other nights, but this trip is for business -- and a break for Jay and I from... everything. I'll also be studying most nights for my exam on Thursday. I'm not sure if we're driving back to Idaho on Thursday night or Friday morning. The boss drives back the morning after on his trips to Utah, but -- you know -- he's the boss.

So... fake news, family, work... what's next?

Oh! I have officially quit FFXI. I don't have the time to do it + it was just taking too much time from the important things in my life: like my family and BSU football. I will miss my friends online, but the close ones I still intend to keep in contact via other means. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, read this section this way: "Mike's a geek. Mike's a geek. Mike's a geek. Mike's a geek."

Summarizing: I love you all, I'm lovin' life! My family is everything to me and I doubt I'd survive without them.