2010 IN A NUTSHELL

As I reach the one year anniversary of my last post, I feel inspired to update my fans, ok, mainly my mother as to the events of our life this past year. I have been informed on several occasions that a lot has happened so I should update. Again, thanks Mom!

February:
We found out we were going to have another baby!! So excited!! My brother John and his wife Emily had a baby, finally making me an aunt! We went to Rexburg for the blessing and had a really nice time.

March: I GOT TO GO TO NEW YORK!!!! Oh my goodness, had so much on my girls trip with my sisters and mom. Ryan's parents came and helped him with the girls while I visited the city. We went all over town, sightseeing, eating, shopping, eating, shopping and had a great time. We celebrated six years of marriage, and bought a minivan. With the upcoming birth of number 3 and all of the babysitting that I do, the Rodeo just wasn't cutting the mustard. So Ryan bought the car while I was in New York. With my blessing. I hate car shopping. With a passion.



April: Easter. Thats about it. Slow month, but my recollection a mere 9 months later may be fuzzy.

May: We took a family trip to see Ryan's family in California. Callie got to go to Disneyland for the first time and LOVED IT!! We had a lot of fun at the Magic Kingdom, truly is magical! We found out number 3 was going to be a BOY!!!! Ryan smiled for like a week. Seriously, so excited for a son! I also ran a half marathon, it was awesome. I ran with my good friends Shannan and Emily who were so patient to run with a pregnant chick, but I had such a great time and am so glad that I did it.

June: Aunt Molly graduated from high school, last of my siblings to leave Freeman. FYI, the best high school graduation I have ever been to. Air conditioning, cushioned seats and short. Thank you class of 2010, the audience appreciates it. All of my siblings with the exception of Ty, because he is in Zimbabwe, all came home for Molly's big event, so we had a great time getting together and visiting, etc.



July: Ryan celebrated his birthday, 31. Worked in our garden and just played, enjoying summer.



August: Callie turned 4. I went to Girls Camp as a Third Year Assistant Level Leader and had a great time. Even with my gigantic stomach, seriously, HUGE, I enjoyed camp, the girls and the other lovely ladies I worked with. There is something special at Girls Camp, a feeling that you don't get many other places. The chance to feel the spirit and be close to your Savior surrounded by His creations. Truly amazing. Molly left for college. Maybe it was in September, can't remember all that well, but we were sad to see her go, but excited to watch her begin this new chapter in her life.

September: Peyton turned 2. Connor James Christensen was born September 25. He was 8lb 6oz and 21 inches. My biggest baby, but everything went smoothly with no complications and we loved him immediately. The girls loved him right from the beginning, even Peyton who I was a little worried about! Callie started pre-school with Teacher Rita and Teacher Kara and loved it right away. Peyton was very sad to see her best friend leave three days a week, she missed Callie and wanted to go with her, but needs to wait her turn! Callie also started dance, which my little drama queen loves.




October: Peyton finally started talking. Incredible. Now she doesn't stop. Ever. And my mom passed the Washington Bar. This is a picture of her swearing in at Gonzaga Law. We are all so proud of her and her accomplishments. And really happy she doesn't have to take it again!!


November: We had a wonderful visit from Ryan's mom, dad and uncle who came for Connor's blessing. John, Molly and my Uncle David and Aunt Donna were able to be there. Kip and Emily tried to get there, but just missed it, I think we were running a little early at church that day. Jane and Joe and Beau and Kelsey came home for Thanksgiving and we had so much fun. Got some family photos taken by the incredible Randi. Of course, Black Friday shopping was amazing as usual. My sweet Grandma watched the girls for me so we could make it to Target by 4 am. She truly is the best! We also enjoyed a record breaking snowfall for the month of November. Lucky us.



December: We celebrated the birth of our Savior and spent time with family over Christmas. We all went out to the farm and spent a few days with family. We ate, watched movies, played the Wii and enjoyed spending time together. Callie had her first dance recital and did a fantastic job.




January: We took another family trip to California to go to Disneyland. This time, my mom and both my sisters joined us. We had so much fun. My dad decided to not go, so there were eight of us and we decided that we could all squeeze into the van. Yes, you are doing the math correctly, eight people, seven passenger van. Plus stuff. However, we managed to squeeze everything and everyone into the car and drove through the frigid cold to Utah where we picked up Jane and traversed the rest of the journey in the warming temperatures to California. We spent three days at Disneyland, one day at the San Diego Zoo and the girls went shopping one day. Ryan and my mom also did a deep sea fishing expedition. Mom decided that she enjoyed the water, but not necessarily in the cold doing some fishing. Callie is a roller coaster, theme park junkie. I think I will do a separate post about D-land. We also had a major family change last week. Ryan was accepted to begin a nursing program in Boise, Idaho, so he started last Monday for the 11 month program. He will be living in Boise, and the kids and I are staying in Spokane, with Ryan coming home when it is possible. Hard adjustment and we miss him, but he is doing a good thing for our family and the reward is worth the sacrifice.

Riverfront Park

So my mom called and asked if the girls and I wanted to walk with them around Riverfront Park on Saturday. I thought that would be fun, and it kept the house quiet for Ryan so he could sleep, since this is his weekend to work, so he is super exhausted. Anyway, we had a lot of fun. It was a little cool, but not too bad, especially considering it is January! So, we walked across the bridge to check out what the falls were like.

Callie loved it. The waterfalls were pretty cool.

Peyton didn't.

Grandpa tried to cheer her up. She stopped screaming, but she wan't happy until we got off that bridge! So, we kept walking around, then we went to the big wagon and there a zillion ducks there. Not really a zillion, but lots. And geese. Really big ones. I think with this warm winter we have had, they have been eating well this winter. But you would think they were starving the way they swarmed my dad.

Callie helped him for a couple of minutes, but she got scared because the ducks chased her a little. I can't blame her, I stayed several feet back from them myself. They were a little scary! So then we played on the big red wagon and rode down the slide. It was fun. Again, Callie loved it, and so did Peyton, but I rode down with her.

We also played at the little playground down there, which the girls had a lot of fun doing. Overall, it was quite fun and Callie said a dozen times throughout the rest of the day, I had fun at the park mom, it was so fun. Totally worth it!

Beds optional?

So, when I was coming upstairs to go to bed tonight, look what I found: Yup, apparantly the floor is more comfortable than the bed. Which she does have one of. It is just empty. So, I took a picture and left her there. Bad move? Not sure. I guess she wanted to sleep on the ground tonight. That blanket what my mom's when she was small. She lets Callie use it, but I know she is showing her love, because I think she really wants it back. Thanks Mom, Callie really does love that blanket!

This weekend Callie has been exploring her sleeping options. Friday night, Ryan was getting ready to leave for work and he came downstairs and said, "did you know Callie is sleeping in our bed. She is on your side. And her baby is on my side." Yes, you read correctly. Callie and her baby took over my bed. Sad. Sure enough, I came and checked out the situation, and Callie was all curled up and tucked in on my side of the bed, and her little baby was tucked in on Ry's side. It was cute. But I still scooched her over to her Daddy's side and crawled in.

Walmart anyone.

I did something I dread almost as much as the dentist yesterday. I took the girls to Wal-Mart. Plus, it was almost lunchtime. Root canal anyone? So we are making the rounds, outside wall first, get my fresh stuff, meat, dairy etc. and things are going ok, could be better, could be worse and then we start into the middle. Hmm, I can sense things going downhill. So, this nice couple walks past us as I am asking the girls to please be nice and Callie quit squishing the groceries and seriously Peyton, do you have to drop the sour cream on the floor! This couple looks to be in their early to mid forties and they are smiling broadly and I am sure as soon as I go by, laughing at our ridiculousness. Next aisle. Oh, listen, Callie is singing. She changes between the chorus of Follow the Prophet and P-L-U-T-O (think BINGO only with PLUTO). And here comes the same couple. Again. This time, I swear they are laughing, so I said, I know you are jealous and they said THEY WERE!!!! Their kids were all grown, tell you what, I would of swapped that nice neat unsquished grocery cart for my disaster any day, but I think if given the offer, they probably would have kept theirs. See, they don't actually want their own kids small again, they wanted grandkids. So, I wish grandkids for them soon, my parents love them. Of course, thats because they don't take the girls to Wal-Mart. Last time my mom was with us, she left with the kids in tow and just went home. Can't blame her one bit! Final grocery inventory was one squished tomato, one opened carton of sour cream, mashed bread, two rolls of wrapping paper used as light sabers and one very frazzled mom. So yes, our trip was followed by Wendy's chicken nuggets and a nap!

Monkey at the table

Amidst the dinner drama with Callie, my little PeyPey is sitting in her blue booster seat chowing down on her fries, with a lot of hamburger in front of her. Because she LOVES to eat. Seriously. I would guess that she spends 75% of her day eating. Everything. Its incredible, she is like a machine and then her stomach starts sticking out really far and she is just so cute. Anyway, back to dinner. So, she is stuffing her face and I am trying to get her to eat some hamburger, which she usually loves, but she won't eat it. She keeps reaching across the kitchen for something doing her grunting/talking thing. Lots of grunting, no actually talking, unfortunately. Well, I have no clue what she wants, so I keep offering hamburger. No go. So, I finally really look around the kitchen and what do I see. Her monkey. Its this really cute black stuffed monkey that the favorite aunt Jane gave her for Christmas that Peyton carries around everywhere, she loves it. A lot. So, I pick up the monkey and hand it to her. She starts grinning and gives it all sorts of loves and then proceeds to stuff handfuls of hamburger in her mouth. Literally, stuffing by the fistful. Loved it. Apparently, she just wanted a little company as she ate!

Mean Mom

It's official. I am a mean mom. We have a lot of trouble with Callie and her eating habits. Or lack there of. She doesn't eat very much and she is super picky. And it bugs me. Seriously, its food, it's good, it's healthy, just eat it! So, the other night I fixed hamburger pie, I was feeling really lazy that particular evening, so I scooped a small portion onto Callie's plate and told her she had to take three bites, because she is three years old. What do you know, she wouldn't eat it, as usual. So, I told her she could eat it or go to bed. It was 6:00. Pretty early still. However, that stubborn little creature chose to go to bed. She fell asleep on the floor and woke up around 10:30 wanting a story, etc. So, I told her she wouldn't eat her dinner, so she had to go back to bed and she didn't get a story. Yes, mean, I know. So, then last night, we had hamburgers. I again put a small piece on her plate with a few french fries. She dove for the french fries, but then I stopped her. No french fries or juice until she ate her hamburger. Oh, the look I received. A proud moment for a mean mom. So, after about five to eight minutes of faces and coughing and choking and gagging, and you get the picture, she manages to force that piece of hamburger down her throat and move onto her french fries and juice. I am wondering, how long is this drama going to continue? Unfortunately, I am forecasting many YEARS of drama with my little princess.

Time, how it flies

As I have been scoping out everyone else's blog, I decided to quit being a loser and actually post a few things on my own blog. I kept waiting, because I was sure that I needed to catch up on the last six months, but I decided instead, I will just pick up where I am right now, otherwise I would do nothing. Not good.