Happy New Year 2010!

Our Annual New Year Picture. Yes, Sam is eating. He is usually eating. And Max does have a crazy red juice smile. What can I say, our pictures have personality. :)

2009 was our year of change. When you have kids, which year isn't? But this year, we seemed to have more than usual. The BIGGEST change, Riley and I have lost a total of 90 lbs. between the two of us. Riley and I have both made some major changes in our diet/exercise and hope to maintain our new healthier lifestyle and fun new wardrobe through 2010. Some of our other changes:
*Max started Kindergarten and we were lucky enough to get him into a local charter school! He LOVES school. His teachers are fantastic. He has also enjoyed his Kindergarten Enhancement class this year, Pat is amazing with him!
*I changed jobs, going from Preschool to High School. And, Driver's Ed. Craziness!
*Sam transformed from sweet baby to Danger Kid. He is VERY adventurous with no fear. Luckily no major issues yet, but bandaids are coming in handy. He is also becoming our little eater. He eats more than Max daily. :)
*We made it through some major road projects out here. The construction seemed neverending and extremely frustrating. Glad it's over (though I hear it's starting again in Feb.).
*Riley and I both turned 30. Although it seemed major, it was fairly painless.
*Max started piano lessons. He is becoming an excellent little pianist and he is loving it! He has performed in 2 piano recitals already. He also enjoyed his first year of soccer, t-ball, tumbling, arts and crafts, and performing in The Nutcracker.
*We became proud owners of a Polaris Ranger, and then spent every weekend in American Fork Canyon. We loved our hiking/camping/exploring adventures, even in the rain!

This year for New Year's we decided to start a new tradition. After taking down the decorations, we shoot the stale gingerbread house. Max and Riley love our new tradition, I'm sure if Sam had been awake he would've enjoyed it too.

My hopes for the New Year:
*To have more patience.
*To lose the last stubborn 10-15.
*To find a better balance between work/play/and cleaning the house. :)
*To find some of my lost motivation. Especially the exercise motivation, but cleaning the house motivation would be good too. I have an over abundance of shopping motivation. Maybe I can channel that energy.

Things to look forward to:
*Mexico 2010!
*All day school for Max. He is so excited to eat lunch at school. :) Mom is sad.
*A talking Sam. He is learning new words daily. Love it!
*California. A little bit of San Diego mixed with a lot of L.A. Fun times will be had by all.
*Summer Vacation. Riley has some weeks off that have yet to be planned, but I'm sure they will be filled with non-stop fun-ness.
*American Fork Canyon. The ranger begs to be ridden.
*A new garden...if I find some of that motivation. Riley and I plan to start a garden to go with our fruit trees this spring/summer.
*Las Vegas. Though it's not planned, I'm sure we will sneak in at least one trip. Possibly Cirque included. There are some new shows I am excited to see.
*Our 10th anniversary!
*Christmas break 2010. Not because we have anything fun planned, but because we love Christmas break...mostly because nothing is planned. It is 2 weeks of fun nothingness. And video games. Nuf said.
*Sam's kidney issue to finally come to an end. Hopefully.
*Potty training 2010 beginning in September. Wishful thinking, I know, but I'm determined to try.

Christmas

Santa delivered!

Much to my dismay, Max has grown out of his thomas bed/crib mattress. This year, he asked Santa for a loft bed with a desk, and since he made sure that he was on Santa's (mostly) nice list, Santa delivered! When Max talked to Santa about this present, he made sure to tell Santa that he could bring it into our house in boxes since it probably wouldn't fit very good through the door or up the stairs put together. When he came downstairs on Christmas morning, the first thing he said was "that Santa is so clever! He brought my bed in pieces! I knew he would figure out something!" Santa also brought Max a new mattress, some bedding, and tinkertoys. Sam didn't seem to care much for waking up on Christmas morning or opening presents, but when he finally decided to get out of bed, he was lucky enough to score a learning table, a singing coloring board, and a cash register from Santa and various toys with noises and buttons from me and Riley.

Riley and I decided to get Max a DS for Christmas this year. We had told Max that he could have one when he was 8, so he had NO IDEA he was getting one. When he started opening presents from us, he opened a few DS accessories and said "oh, this will be fun to use with your DS mom" (since he always plays on mine). When he got to the DS, he looked at me and said "MOM, what is this?" Until I opened the box and put the DS in his hand, he couldn't believe we had really gotten him one. It made his day! After his bed was put together (thanks dad and Gary!) he got up on it and played DS for a while.

As I mentioned earlier, Sam was in no rush on Christmas morning to get going or opening, so he opened his presents around noon. He was very excited to have new toys with noisy buttons, keys, and a PHONE! He loves playing with his new toys and figuring out new ways to climb on, smash, or otherwise ruin them. What can I say, he's all boy!!!

Riley and I had fun this year getting each other some clothing and Wii accessories and our annual trip to MEXICO! I can't wait! :)

I hope everyone had an amazing Holiday Season this year!

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas Eve was great this year! Riley had to work, but we made the best out of the time he was home. We went to a matinee of the Princess and the Frog with my parents, Riley's parents, and Nat and Craig. Riley, Max, and I loved the movie! She is one of my new favorite Disney Princesses. The story was great, and I loved the setting and music. After the movie, Cody and Stormy joined us and we ate at Mi Ranchito...yummy! Before Riley went to work we came home to open our Christmas Eve jammies. :) Then, the boys and I made sure our house was ready for Santa's arrival.

I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay!

We were invited by some great friends of ours to share in their Hannakah traditions this year. Max was in total shock and a little mad to find out that there was a holiday being celebrated yearly that he has not yet been made aware of. We all had a lot of fun learning all about the holiday, enjoying the yummy food, playing games, etc.

Max loved playing dreidel. He was very protective of his "money", and with a little luck (and some help) he won! He was even able to bring home a dreidel of his own to practice up for next year. :)