If it were a Christmas letter . . .

Becca and Paul, first day back at daycare

 By popular request (okay, two people, but they are people I care about), I have decided to update my blog after a year of absence.  I've thought about updating before, but was put off by the fact that I am so far behind, I'd never catch up, and I feel a need to have pictures with my posts, and for some reason, I'm not awesome at getting pictures on my computer.  I've rectified this issue tonight, so that's one roadblock out of the way.  As for catching up, I've decided to give up on that notion and simply give an update similar to those found on the annual Christmas newsletter (which I have written for the last three years and never mailed . . . I'm awesome, I know).

 

Paul's first fish

 Kyle is doing well.  He's trying to get through his final few semesters of school, then he'll graduate with his Bachelor's in Technology Management with a Construction Management emphasis.  We are incredibly excited that he was able to get a job as a Maintenance Supervisor for Woodbury Corporation.  One of the interviewers told Kyle they normally don't hire right out of college, but they want to hire someone who can be there long term.  We felt so blessed when, after three interviews, Kyle was chosen.  He is on a trial period right now, so we are hoping and praying they decide to keep him on full-time after the trial period is over.  He's amazing at what he does, so I think they'd be crazy to not keep him.  So far, he loves it and we're hoping that continues.  Kyle doesn't get to go fishing as often as he'd like, but we were able to go as a family a month or two ago, which led to the hilarious picture of Paul's first fish he helped reel in.  Kyle also recently fulfilled one of his ambitions and is now has a concealed carry permit.  I'm less than excited about this, but he has been wanting to do it for years and is satisfied.  Kyle has also finished most of our basement in the last year.  With the help of friends and family, he was able to finish one bedroom and the living room.  We were able to put in carpet, so it's actually functional now.  We're looking forward to finishing the bathroom in the upcoming months.  Kyle is amazingly talented at all that he does, and I'm so thankful to be married to him.

Becca with small dots of green highlighter on her nose

Becca is coming up fast on turning FIVE!  And she'll tell you all about it if you talk to her for a minute.  She is very excited to start kindergarten.  She loves to go to daycare, and then as soon as we get home, she asks if she can go play with her friends who live up the street.  She is a social girlie to be sure.  She taught herself to ride a bike (using her friend's small bike) a few months ago and she learned to tie her shoes recently.  She loves to do "gymnastics" which consists of jumping from our couch into a somersault onto our love sac, doing cartwheels, and all sorts of other jumping, twirling, and somersaulting activities.  She is a cheerful morning person, and before she went back to daycare, she insisted I wake her up everyday before I went to work (I typically left around 6:45) so that she could say goodbye, possibly have "girls' breakfast" together, and watch Sesame Street and/or Curious George.  She has also recently decided that she enjoys unloading the dishwasher.  I'm all for it, though since she's still too short to reach the cupboards, I end up doing a fair share, but she's learning and is awesome. 

Paul is my anti-look-at-the-camera-and-smile kid.  This was the best I could do.  Paul recently turned two.  He is an active kid to be sure.  He struggled a little more adjusting to daycare, but we recently passed the milestone of no crying when I leave!  He's such a sweetheart and gives great hugs.  We're still working on expanding his vocabulary, and I'm hoping that being around other kids his age will help him.  He enjoys mimicking everything Becca does.  If I'm asking for opinions and Becca says "no" to something, Paul says the same, even if he originally said "yes."  He would rather play than go to bed at night, so he's still in a crib.  He has decided that if anyone is sad, they need a hug and a blanket. He'll even share his blanket for a minute if someone looks very sad. He loves to rock out to any song with a good beat.  He is a little pickier than Becca with what he'll eat, and he's not consistent, but if he decides to eat whatever it is we're having for a meal, he eats a lot of it.  His smile is ridiculously contagious to me, and I absolutely love how excited he gets when he sees me, even if it's after a quick trip to put the garbage outside.  His "Mama!" exclamation and a quick hug are priceless. 

I tend to have a hard time talking about what I'm doing on a public blog.  I have a personal private blog I use for a journal, and that is much more up to date.  I am doing well and loving life.  I am still working as a Financial Analyst for Novell.  My co-workers are awesome, and my manager is fantastic.  He's really flexible with me and emphasizes family relationships.  I was able to rearrange my work schedule last Fall and Spring semester so that I could trade-off with Kyle while he was going to school.  Several days a week, I came in to work really early so that I could get in at least 6 hours before going home at lunch so that Kyle could go to school and we wouldn't have to pay for daycare.  Since Kyle was going to school full-time, and several classes were in the afternoon, with more in the evening, a job wasn't really feasible, so I felt very blessed to be able to have the flexibility we needed.  I believe our family has been further blessed with Kyle's recent job.  I am hopeful that it will be just what our family needs.  I've also decided I need to learn to take "selfie" pics since this is one of the few pictures I could find of me.  It's from the children's parade that we had on July 20th.  Life is good.  I have plenty of goals and dreams and I'm hopeful that the next year will see several of them, including my ultimate dream of the past five years, realized. 

Paul is 1! (a few months ago . . .)

Wow, there's a lot to catch up on when you only write twice a year. :)  That said, I'm choosing an event to start with that is both exciting and noteworthy.  Paul turned one in May.  I couldn't believe it had been one year since his birth.  He is such a wonderful, sweet little boy and I love him so much.

We started the day with a birthday tradition my family always did: waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  This birthday breakfast came about because my dad often worked late while we were little and so he often missed the evening festivities.  In order to include him, my parents instituted birthday breakfast.  I love breakfast in general, and this is quite tasty, so it has been something I brought with me.  My college roommates even did it for me one year.  Moving on.  Paul LOVED the breakfast.  I'm pretty sure he really liked the whipped cream the most, but he dug right in an enjoyed it!

Please note that if you look closely, you can see his little mouth open with his tongue licking the plate.  Such is the fun of a semi-transparent plate.  It was cracking us up.


We had some friends over to help us celebrate.  The Briggs and the Boyes came over for hot dogs (in our firepit) and cupcakes and ice cream.  One of the perks of living where we do is that our small yard meets with a school field, and so we just go play in the school field when we find we need more space.

Kyle made me laugh when he decided to use a stick to light the candle, rather than a match.  What a guy.

Paul was not sure of his cupcake.  I think the problem centers around the frosting.  I have yet to perfect the first birthday cupcake frosting.  This frosting was kind of a flop all around texture-wise, but it was still tasty (in my opinion) so we went with it.

Although he ate some of it, he never really embraced the cupcake.  Becca did a similar thing at her first birthday.

We decided to get Paul a patio toy.  We found the one on the right (the one Becca is sitting on) on KSL.  The Boyes brought over the Lightning McQueen one when they came for dinner.  Their son won it somewhere, but they already had one, so they brought it over.  It has worked out well having both.  The Lightning McQueen one was the favorite by far.  It makes fun noises, and it's a little taller, and therefore easier for a parent to assist.  

My children are wonderful and I love them so much.  Becca is such a good big sister and is such a good helper.  She is sweet and funny and she loves her little brother.  Paul is a delight.  His smile wins me every time.  He loves to laugh and even enjoys an occasional snuggle or two.  He studies Becca so often and anything she thinks is funny ends up being funny to him as well.  They are amazing. 

I Have to Start Somewhere . . .

I keep thinking I need to update the blog, but then I get caught up with the fact that because it's been so long, I should really recap what has happened, but at this rate, it will never happen.  A brief summary is as follows:

In October, I had a birthday and turned 27.  I know that someday it will seem silly, but 27 seems "old" to me.  I can possibly still claim to be in my mid-twenties, but I'm kind of pushing it.  Ironically, I've had several experiences lately that make me feel like an infant, so I am left with the fact that while 27 is older than I have ever been, it is still not old, I guess. 

November brought about a few changes for me at work.  My manager that I started with at Novell left for a job at a different company.  This led to a busier work schedule.  Around this time was when the company that purchased Novell, Attachmate, made a change to our time off policy, stating that we now had to use or lose our time off.  In the past, we could roll up to 80 hours forward to the next year.  Because we now have to use our time off, we took an extended Thanksgiving and traveled to California.  It turned into a mini reunion at the last minute when Vance and Melissa found out the Monday before that they had the time off.  It was so fun to be around family.  It was good to relax.

In December, we celebrated Christmas at Kyle's parent's house.  All of his brothers were able to come up, and we were only missing three people. 

First picture with my new camera - Kyle and Becca on Christmas Eve

Paul and James

   

Decorating cookies with Aunt Debbie

My Christmas present was a new camera.  Because I wanted to be able to take pictures on Christmas morning, Kyle decided I got to open it Christmas Eve.  I played with it a lot.

We celebrated New Year's at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Salem.  We've done it the last several years.  This year, we played a new game.  I am not one for games, but it worked out well since my team won each time. :)  It was boys vs. girls but the atmosphere remained very friendly, so I had fun.  I mostly struggle with games when the atmosphere gets too tense with competition.  I'm a wimp, I know.  After New Year's, it was back to work.  I was contacted by a recruiter from the company my former manager went to and I interviewed for a new position there.  I was offered the job, but after a lot of consideration, I made the difficult decision to turn down the offer.  It would have been a great opportunity, but my family life probably would have suffered because of it.  I was able to still make a career change within Novell.  I left the commission team I had worked on for 4 1/2 years and I am now a Financial Analyst.  I started the new role at the beginning of February and it is the first time since graduation that I am doing things I learned about in college.  I think it will present a new variety of challenges, but I am looking forward to the broader skill set.

Kyle is still pumping concrete and doing well in it.  He is a hard worker and often gets compliments on his work ethic by the contractors he works with.  When not pumping concrete, Kyle chased down the claims department for a dishwasher malfunction.  Our dishwasher broke in late November.  We purchased a new dishwasher in mid-December from the Sears outlet store.  We thought it was a great dishwasher, until my parents stopped by on their way to Idaho for Christmas.  Kyle and my dad were looking at the basement room Kyle finished when my dad noticed the ceiling looked funny.  It ended up that there was a crack in the back of the dishwasher that no one had noticed and it had flooded our floor/basement ceiling for two weeks.  It looked like the back of the dishwasher had been melted at some point, which weakened the plastic and caused the crack.  Sears was great and gave us a brand new dishwasher and referred us to their claims department.  The claims department was more difficult, but Kyle persisted and ended up getting resolution.  We got bids from several restoration companies and the insurance gave us a settlement.  By doing the work ourselves, we are able to make a few upgrades to our kitchen.  We are very excited, but I'm pretty sure we're earning our upgrades.  This is probably the first home improvement project I have really been involved in.  It's tough, but it will be nice when we finish.

Becca is fantastic.  She has her days when I have no idea where my sweet little girl went, but overall, she is incredibly helpful, and so fun to interact with.  She is now in full story-telling mode. 

She is a sunbeam this year and is obviously learning her songs in primary.  I love it when I catch her singing a line from her primary songs.  I try to sing them with her to help her, and sometimes she likes it and other times she has to do it herself.  She also belts out Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story."  Kyle doesn't like that it is country, but I like Taylor Swift, and Becca is adorable and hilarious when she rocks out.  She loves to wear princess dresses and twirl around.  She is good about sitting still while I do her hair and she has discovered that she loves Malt O'Meal (the wheat cereal). 

Paul is 9 months old.  He is still working on learning to craw, but has been sitting very well by himself for several months.  I was anxious to get to the point where he could sit by himself so that he could possibly give his head a chance to round out.  He is a back sleeper, and is pretty good at sleeping, so his head got flat on the back.  Despite our efforts, he head was flat enough that a helmet was recommended and, swallowing my pride, we got it. 

He's pretty cute.  I must admit that the helmet is a struggle for me at times.  I feel like there is still a "bad mom" stigma with the helmet.  Most people my age, or who have young children know about the helmets and are very kind, but children and elderly people tend to be obviously baffled.  I wasn't ready for all the questions from kids.  Now I know what to say, but it was kind of funny how many children asked me questions that first Sunday.  The very first was a little girl sitting right behind us who tapped on the helmet and asked, "what's wrong with your baby?"  They are all polite inquiries and I'm partially ashamed to admit that it is still hard for me at times.  The main thing that keeps me going is the thought of how I am supposed to expect my children to do the right thing despite what other people think if I can't even cope with this little thing?  He wears the helmet 23 hours a day.  He has a one hour break in the evenings, during which I kiss and hug his little head as often as I can.  It is working and the sooner he has a growth spurt, the shorter the time the helmet will need to be on. I know I'm biased, but I still think he is adorable.  He is so much fun.  He loves to laugh and gets so excited to see Mom and Dad.  He does very well with table food and hasn't seemed adverse to anything I've given him.  He likes to pull himself up on anything he can.  While he isn't mobile yet, I have a feeling that I'll have my hands full once he gets there.  Maybe it is a blessing he hasn't.

This is a long post, but I think I caught the main events of the last couple of months.  Maybe I'll be able to update more regularly now.  Maybe . . .

Life as we Know it

Becca decided to paint her arm.

Phew.  I'm caught up (I think).  I know I'd have posted more details if I'd kept up with blogging as it happened, but I think it's a good summary.  We've gotten into a bit of a routine by now.  As soon as I get home from work, I start dinner while Becca plays and Paul normally naps.  Evenings are kind of crazy, and mornings are even more so, but we're a happy family.

Kyle helped Becca on the swings for a bit.

 We went to Salem Pond for Labor day.  We were going to try to feed the ducks, but we couldn't find any  to feed, so we played in the park for a while.

 Kyle loves to go fishing at this pond.  We didn't have his gear with us, but I did bring the camera.  He's such a good daddy and our kids are so cute (though I know I'm biased).

 If we hold Paul up high and then bring him down quickly (not tossing, but that kind of movement) he smiles really big.  Kyle had just done that with Paul for this picture.  Paul's hair looks lighter, and it definitely has some red highlights.  Depending on the lighting, sometimes he looks like a complete red head.  He has a cowlick at the front that looks like a curl.  I find it super cute, but everyone tells me it will be the bane of his existence in a few years.  I bet he'll still be pretty handsome though.

 I know, I have oodles of pictures like this, but I can't get enough of those blue eyes and his cue dimples.  He looked so happy as we walked back to the playground.

On the playground, Becca was challenging her courage by playing on this bridge/slide.  She is a slightly timid girl when it comes to playground equipment, but she seemed to really like this, as long as no one else went on the bridge at the same time as her.

 As I was taking pictures of Becca, I looked up and saw Kyle cradling Paul.  I snapped a few pictures without him noticing.  I've seriously considered blowing this up and framing it on our wall.  The scenery is beautiful and then there's a wonderful dad cradling his baby on a bench.  I don't know, I just love it.

Kyle had caught on that I was taking pictures.  Paul had just been smiling as Kyle played with his foot.  They will be such great buddies in the years to come. 

As for me,  I'm still loving life.  I feel so blessed everyday as I am able to work and still feel involved in my kids' lives.  It is so wonderful to be able to feed Paul on my lunch break.  Not only have I gotten to bond with Paul, but I've also gotten to know the teachers at the daycare pretty well.  It has helped me feel comfortable with my decision.  I'm slowly losing the baby weight, and it's so nice to be wearing normal clothes again.  I still have a lot of unfinished tasks, but life is getting more predictable.  Paul normally sleeps a 6-8 hour span, then wakes up in the early morning, but goes right back to sleep once he's fed.  He slept several 10 hour nights, but then his naps weren't as good at daycare, so between the two, I'd rather get up with him at night and have him sleep well during the day.  I am blessed with my job as well.  My manager has been very supportive and my co-workers are super nice.  All in all, life is good.

Becca's Birthday

 I love my kids so much.  I often put Paul in the swing while I get dinner ready after work.  Becca was helping me keep him entertained, so I decided to grab the camera and take some pictures.  I'm starting to wish I had a better camera, since pictures taken with my Dad's camera turn out so much crisper, but I am so grateful for the one I have so I can at least take some pictures.  And by the way, what in the world did our parents do without digital?  I love that I can look at the pictures I just took to make sure I got the smile that I was trying for.  Thank goodness for photography.

 One evening, I was (again) making dinner and Paul was getting a little fussy.  I put him in his bouncer and put his bouncer on the kitchen counter and his face lit up with grins.  Apparently, he much preferred the view from up higher.  It was so fun to be able to look him in the eye while I prepped the meal.  And I got the double dimples!


Miss Rebecca Aliene turned three at the end of August!  Sometimes I can't believe she is already three, and other times I can't believe she is only three.  She amazes me with some of the things she says and does.  She is such a special girl. 

 We started off the day with the traditional Green Family birthday breakfast of waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream.  Aunt Becky was able to come over for breakfast since she had another engagement for dinner.

I don't know why but I find her facial expression hilarious here.  She can be quite animated when she wants to be. :)

Kyle's parents came down again for the occasion.  We had dinner and cupcakes for dessert.  Normally I like to decorate the cake, but the frosting turned out funky and I decided not to stress it.  I plopped it on the cake and enjoyed the flavor, even if it wasn't beautiful.  Becca blew out the candle and then tried to lick the frosting off, but she didn't realize the exact shape of the candle.  I'm sure she was only trying to bite the frosting and cake, but she ended up biting off a chunk of wax.  It was hilarious. 

Kyle and I gave her presents from us at the end of the day, since she'd gotten gift from others earlier.  We gave her scissors and water colors, as well as alphabet and number flashcards.  She LOVES the scissors.  She entertains herself while I make dinner by sitting at the table and cutting any scrap of paper I give to her.  She gets to do practice cutting at daycare, so she knows just what to do.  She really like to paint with her watercolors, let the paint dry, then cut up the picture.  That one confused me a bit, but she really wanted to do it, so I let her.

Becca is so big to me.  She can sing the alphabet, "Twinkle, Twinkle", "I am a Child of God," and is getting pretty good at "I Love to See the Temple." Oh, and occasionally she'll throw in a round of "It's raining, it's pouring."  She can count pretty well, and she knows her colors.  She is super good at getting supplies for me, like burp cloths, blankets, diapers, wipes, diaper cream, etc.  Since starting daycare, she doesn't care as much for movies or tv, but is content to play in her room with her animals and dolls, "read" books, or play in the kitchen with me.  She insists on dropping Paul off every morning at daycare before she goes to her own class.  She occasionally has an attitude, and she definitely fights going to bed, but she is a pretty obedient little girl.  Her teachers say she talks a lot at class and they tell me stories of what she says or how she interacts with other kids.  She is a bit bossy, but the teachers assure me it's not in a mean way.  I can see that.  I was a bossy kid too, so I can't fault her.  She loves to run errands with Kyle and says that Home Depot is our favorite store.  She looks for candy by the checkout of every grocery store we go to, and she loves to help me do anything.  She is such a delightful child.  She is my Becca.

Kyle's Birthday and July Pics

 Kyle turned 32!  We celebrated by having his parents and one of his brothers come down.  Doesn't he look great?!  He started pumping concrete in May and he's been able to work on his goal of losing a little weight.  I made two berry cream pies (amazing by the way! One of our new favorites) instead of cake.  We put strawberries on one, and raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries on the other.  Both were delicious.

 I didn't really have any activities planned, but Kyle's mom and I had seen these Australian sodas at Fresh Market and we thought it would be fun to try them.  I had picked up plastic shot glasses at the dollar store, and it worked perfectly for taste tests.  I filled the cups, and then had everyone sample the soda, list which they thought it was, and then choose their favorite.  It ended up being a fun little game.  Becca loved being able to try all the different sodas.

Picture of our guests

Kyle insisted on taking my picture to prove I was at the birthday too.

 One day, before leaving for daycare, I decided to try to take a few pictures.  I had a hard time getting one of Becca without a funny face because she was eating something at the time.  Becca loves to help with Paul.  It is so wonderful.  She is also really good at keeping herself entertained to and from daycare.  Some days we sing songs, and other days she carries on a monologue of sorts.  Paul does pretty well in the car once we're moving.  Sometimes he fusses when I strap him into his carseat, but he often dozes on the way, so it's a pretty easy drive.

Can I just say that I LOVE Paul's double dimples?!  He has a smile where he only shows one dimple, but if he smiles really big, then we get to see two.  Kyle doesn't see the draw, but it just fills me up with love anytime this little boy smiles at me.

Blessing Weekend

 I know I'm way behind.  Lots of stuff has happened, but maybe I'll manage to catch up. 

We blessed Paul on July 3.  My parents and my oldest brother, Jordan, and his wife, Freesia, made the trip from California for the occasion.  Kyle parents, grandpa, and brother, Kevin, all came down from Ogden.  Not pictured are my Boden relatives and my Aunt Kathy. 

Becca wouldn't smile in any of the pictures, so as a last attempt, I tried a picture with just Becca and Paul.  Becca managed a smile, but Paul was starving by that point and had had enough of the heat and hunger.

The blessing was very nice.  Kyle did a wonderful job.  It's an amazing experience as a wife to listen  to your husband be a spiritual instrument in the blessing of your children.  Does that even make sense?  Let's just say I was very grateful Kyle has the authority and ability to bless our children.

Paul chuckled for the first time on his blessing day.  He didn't do the full belly laugh, but it was definitely a short laugh while he was eating.  I loved it. 

Paul wore a mix of clothes.  My mom and I had been trying to make a blessing outfit for him, like I made for Becca.  I modified the jacket (due to a lack of time) so it would be short sleeved, but the pants were not finished in time.  Even if they had been, Kyle was right (darn it!) and it would have looked a bit girly had we blessed him in it.  The jacket wasn't extremely feminine, but I spent the time crocheting it, so I had Paul wear it.  My mom crafted a bow tie really quickly and I sewed it on.  We borrowed the pants and shirt from my Aunt Teresa and the outfit was complete.  I think I'll just try to knit a vest for the next boy.  This, of course, assumes I learn to knit by then, but it's on my to do list.

I went back to work the Friday before the blessing.  Lots of people asked why I didn't just take another day off.  I actually did take a half day off, but I wanted to do a trial run of getting everyone up, fed, dressed, and out the door.  I figured it might also be easier on everyone to ease into daycare.  I actually managed not to cry as I drove away, leaving my two babies in someone else's care.  It was hard and I came close to crying a few times.  Fortunately, once I got into work, I was so busy being caught up to speed that time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to get my kids and have a three day weekend. 

Both kids seemed to adjust well to daycare.  Becca had a hard time in the mornings when I left for a couple of weeks, but she was always so happy and excited when I picked her up, I knew she was having fun.  She loves to show me all of her "projects" she does in class everyday.  During the summer they had "water day" every Thursday and she got to wear her swimsuit and run through the sprinklers for a little while.  She asked everyday if it was water day.  Within a few weeks, Becca started pretending to be her teachers.  She says the names of kids in her class, and often tells me that I am one of them.  Her teachers say she is pretty well-behaved and they love her.

Paul is a baby, so he doesn't notice much.  I am so blessed that I get to see him on my lunch break.  It has really helped make the transition easier.  I feel like he knows me and that we are establishing a bond.  Since he still sleeps so much, I see him almost as much as his "teachers" do.  I go on my lunch break when he wakes up from his second nap, and then I typically put him down at the end.  He often sleeps right until I get off of work, so he's not awake for too long before I see him then either.  I've been so blessed.