Nicholas is 2 months old

Nicholas had his 2 months check up.

He's up to 11 lbs 4 oz and 23.5 inches long! Lean and tall- just the way we like them :) He's a whole inch taller than Alex was at the same age and just a little lighter.
He's starting to look just like his brother, sometimes I get confused and call him Alex, LOL! Nicholas loves his big brother very much (and vice versa) and talks to him all the time.
He has adorable chubby cheeks and the best double chin I have ever seen!
Nicholas holds his head very well and actually likes tummy time a lot better than Alex ever did. He loves to talk and makes all sorts of sounds (like гы, гых). He always smiles at me when I come in the room. It melts my heart :)
He's mostly a very good baby and we love him very much!

"Boring" January

The month of January has traditionally been boring and depressing due to cold weather, illnesses, and spring still being so far away. Well, this year the month of January has been anything but boring.

It started with a first smile (January 3rd).Good, long naps.
Playing with babulya.
Playing on favorite play mat.
Mama's Hawaiian hibiscus and christmas cactus flowering.
Alex falling on his face on some ice during a recess at school.
Being a #1 Utes fan.
Nana, Pa, and grandma great visiting.



Then going to visit Nana and Pa.
Nicholas loving riding in a car in his car seat.
Sandy and Bessie starting each day with a wrestling match.
They may look like they're hugging but no, they're actually wrestling. A sight to see, that's for sure!
Me chilling with my two boys.
Holding head high in fascination during tummy time.
Getting tired and just staring at toys, shadows, and a ceiling fan.
Being protected by Bessie while playing on the play mat.
And Sandy being silly old self.
This is our January in a nut shell. And no, we didn't manage to stay away from illnesses this month but we're hanging in there and looking forward to spring!!!

The end of 2009

As the 2009 came to a close and the 2010 has started, I want to take a few minutes to reflect on the events of 2009 and what made it a special year for us.

I have to say that 2009 was finally a great year for our family, especially after 3 challenging years before. The most important and cherished event of the year is the birth of our second son, Nicholas. He is such a wanted and long-awaited baby that he brought so much joy and content to our family. Alex is a very proud big brother and he couldn't be any happier or any more helpful! It was amazing for me to see how Alex "grew up" overnight and took his responsibilities as a big brother very seriously.

2009 was also a big year for me as I graduated with my Master's degree from the U, passed the Nurse Practitioner boards, and became a board-certified Acute Care NP. This is a big accomplishment for me and I am proud that I was able to accomplish this goal of mine. I am so grateful to my family for being supportive of me furthering my education for the past 2.5 years. It took a lot of sacrifice and long hours of studying and not being able to spend as much time with my family as I wanted to (it makes it that much sweeter now to stay home and spend much of my time with my loving family)! I am looking forward to finding a job in my new career when I'm ready.
2009 did not start well for Dave. He lost his job of 10 years at Fidelity Investments as the recession set in. It was a major disappointment and a huge financial scare for our family. However, as most things seem to work out in life, it was for the best and was a blessing in disguise. This job loss made Dave reconsider his career goals and realize that what he was doing for a job was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He made some plans (and took actions) for a future career and is on his way to a new, radically different career path. Who knows how long it will take him but at least he now knows exactly what he wants to be when he "grows up" :)
2009 has also brought some uncertainties for the future as I had a life-changing diagnosis of a heart condition that I was born with but never knew about. I've had some scary days during pregnancy when I didn't know if I would wake up the next morning. I always did (so far) and am remaining optimistic that it will be stable and allow me to continue with my normal life. Only the future will tell. But for now I live one day at a time and enjoy every day as much as I can. Life is such a beautiful and such a fragile thing! I look at the beauty around me every day and am amazed and humbled how lucky I am to live on this earth and to have my family.
We did not take many long vacations this year, as we always have in the past, for multiple reasons. However, I feel like the year was still adventurous for us. I went to San Francisco in August for a training class to prepare me for the NP boards. I took my family along and we made a vacation out of this trip. It was a lot of fun and we got to relax and do some sightseeing. We've also gone on local road trips, did some camping, and had multiple weekend mountain picnics with our best friends. As most of the year was spent being pregnant, we did not make it to Russia or Hawaii, which makes it that much more exciting for the new year to come so we can finally take a real vacation somewhere fun! As of right now we don't know where or when we'll go but one thing for certain, 2010 will be an adventurous year for us!
Alex turned 5 and started kindergarten in 2009. He loves school very much and is a great student so far. He's made many friends in school as well as maintained old friends from preschool. Girls in his class are crazy about him and I heard a rumor that he has a few "girlfriends" in his kindergarten class. He is such a charmer!
Sandy and Bessie had a great year also. They get along fine and are loved by everybody. It was interesting to see their reaction to Nicholas when we brought him home. Sandy was a little afraid of him at first and now she mostly ignores him. Bessie, on the other hand, is very protective of the baby. She'll sit under his bouncer when he's in it protecting him :)

For now we're enjoying having a newborn Nicholas in our family. I spend most days feeding and taking care of Nicholas, sleeping, eating, and having short outings.

Nicholas has joined our family!!!

Our little miracle baby Nicholas is finally here! He couldn't wait to join our little family and made a grand entrance on December 7th at 11:37 am after a very short labor (5 hours total). He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 19.5 inches long.Hi Papa!
Welcome baby Nicholas! We love you very much!!!


Alex is a proud big brother and can't wait to meet Nicholas face to face (we snuck Alex in the hospital and he saw Nicholas through the glass doors tonight!!!)

Trying to catch up

Wow, I can't believe how much has happened in the last 2 months! I need to be better at updating this blog...

Alex helped to paint the new baby room and he actually did a lot of painting. Good job, Alex!

This is the finished product (Dave's design).
Alex also played flag football 101. He did great but I doubt he'll be a football player someday (and I'm ok with it :)

We went to our favorite Engh Gardens to play on their pirate ship, run through the maze and admire other fall decorations.



Alex wanted me to put this picture of Bessie on here (he is SO opinionated sometimes). Doesn't she look so smug? Well, she is!
On Halloween we went to Park City with some friends and did trick-or-treating on the Main Street. This was an awesome day! Will definitely do it again!
We tried to dress up Sandy but she didn't like her costume...
Alex and his princess friend :)))


The kids got so much candy there! Alex is still eating his (middle of December).
Zara had an awesome party at her house and I got to see all my good friends from work. I miss you guys!
I believe this is 36 weeks picture. Alex's favorite :)
We had a Nurse Practitioner week in the middle of November and UNP organized a very nice dinner for us at La Caille. Great food and nice company :)
Dave and I had our 11th Anniversary on November 19th and he took me to Chez Betty. Excellent food! The flowers were good too! Thanks, honey :)
End of November snow storm transformed out backyard into a true Winter Wonderland. I love waking up in the morning after a snow storm like this and looking into my yard! Gorgeous!

Alex and his best friend Nicholas at out house were dressed as a Pilgrim and an Indian.
37 weeks baby! Full term! This is a picture from a couple of weeks ago...
We had a great Thanksgiving with Dave's family.
The Bird was DELICIOUS!



I ate my whole leg (actually I'm lying... This year I wasn't able to finish the leg but there is always next year!).
Day after Thanksgiving instead of going into craziness AKA shopping, we repeated the Thanksgiving feast at our house. I roasted a turkey with lemons, garlic, onions, and thyme and made a couple of side dishes. It was nice to have our own leftovers which didn't last too long :)

Happy Holidays!