2nd Week of January

The 2nd week of January went better than the first, in terms of me going back to work and Hudson adjusting.  He went down for naps better for Steve and was more patient in between feedings.  Thankfully I'm still able to nurse him in between appointments.  It's a win/win since I don't have to pump and Steve doesn't have to warm up a bottle.  Hopefully this can continue until he's 1 year old. :)

Here are some other highlights.

Nyles and Carter with their Ninja shirts on they got for Christmas. 

Piper cleaning out the peanut butter jar.

Nyles holding Carter in 2016, and Carter holding Hudson in 2021 (babies wearing same shirt).  

I love Hudson's cute legs!  Carter holding Hudson.

 

Steve built Piper a stand for her food so she doesn't have to bend down as much (they say it's better on their joints).

Beautiful sunny day in January.  Why not go out and jump?

Hudson's new trick is grabbing his toes.  So cute and smiley!  He likes to suck on his jumper as well.

Cute Hudson--Such sweet eyes, nose and eyelashes, and his cute little firetruck bum :)

Since we were enjoying beautiful weather, on Saturday we decided to go on a hike up to the suspension bridge.  It's nice that it's close and we can all go as a family, including Piper.  Carter made it up and back all by himself for the first time.  Steve didn't carry him even once!  

We made it up in pretty good time.  Hudson was my little hiking buddy.

On Sunday we also went for a walk as a family.  Nyles took his bike and Carter his stroller.

Cute boys!

Silly boys!

Good thought.

1st Week of January 2021

 2021 is here!  It's been fun so far.  Here are some highlights for the 1st week of the year.

Rob and Nyles ice fishing at Utah Lake w/ Steve.

Steve taking down the Christmas lights since it's a New Year!

We had Pauline and Rose and their families over on New Year's Day for dinner, plays games, and have a white elephant exchange.

Rose holding Hudson.  Lincoln playing w/ Piper.  Pauline holding Hudson and Lincoln.

The boys drawing w/ their new white elephant gifts before bed.

Cute Piper laying on Steve's blanket.

All of us playing laser tag outside in the beautiful sunshine while Hudson takes a nap.

Cute baby Hudson.

Steve and I had our 12th anniversary on Saturday, January 2nd.  We got take out from the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  After picking up our food, we went to the church parking lot in Murray and showed the boys where Steve and I first met playing ultimate frisbee.  Who knew after playing ultimate frisbee we would start dating a few weeks later and then get married a few months after that?

Just being silly.

Cute Hudson's toes and a hat the boys put on him.

Cute Hudson caught sucking his thumb for a minute.  Hudson has been sleeping in his room at night since after we got back from Christmas.  He's doing great!

Playing a fun new game from Aunt Diane for Christmas.  Thanks Aunt Diane!

Cute Nyles holding baby Hudson.  Hudson wanted to try my banana.

Can't get enough of his cuteness.  I love his chubby legs!

Such a sweetheart!

Steve went up to Idaho to go duck/geese hunting so I took time off work to be w/ the boys.  

We had fun playing games and spending time together.

He loves to chew on everything.

The boys wanted to make homemade dough.  We used half to make mini pizzas and the other half to make pretzels.  Nyles said we should make the dough every day!

Rob and Steve had a great hunt up in Idaho.

The 2nd day they limited out on Geese.

Haha funny Steve.

While they were up staying w/ my parents, Steve put in another light in their fruit room, so now there are 3 lights!  Again my mom wonders why didn't she have the other lights for the past 35 years?  Better late than never I guess right?  So nice to be able to see what you're looking for now.

Nyles colored this cute snowflake in school (the top one w/ blue eyes).

Hudson loves his brothers and likes to grab their hair.  The boys did puzzles then we played Book for Mormon headbands.  Carter wrapping Nyles' snake around him.

Great quote for the new year!

Learning from the Pandemic

Since most of 2020 we were going through the Covid Pandemic (and technically still are), I wanted to write down some thoughts about it.

Things we missed because of pandemic:

• Swimming pools, especially while I was pregnant during the Summer.
• Family get togethers.
• Regular grocery shopping (not big lines or things out of stock ie toilet paper, Clorox wipes)
• We couldn't go fishing or recreate outside our county for a while
• "Normal" school ie they were closed.
• Playing w/ friends.
• Steve missed hours in clinical hours.
• Not worrying about the virus.
• Going to church and church activities.
• No swimming lessons.

Things we learned from the pandemic:

• When we did get together during the pandemic it was extra special.
• Importance of family.
• We can use Zoom/Duo to communicate w/ friends/family members.
• We can also affectively use Zoom for work meetings/appointments. 
• Nothing replaces in person interactions though.  We all need human face to face contact.  We get strength and unity by being together.
• Dogs help us emotionally.
• Stop complaining about it; it's happening so embrace it.
• We've learned more about our boys.
• Use time wisely
• Enjoy the little things, savor the moments.
• We can work together to solve the pandemic (globally).
• Do things together that are meaningful.
• Restaurants and stores have become more efficient w/ takeout/drive up to get your food or items (don't have to go in the place to get it).
• Prepare for the future.  If you are prepared you won't fear.
• Have a 72 hour kit.
• Life moves too quickly and people don’t slow down long enough to see their lives pass by. The virus has shown us that life doesn’t need to fly by so quickly. We can enjoy the moment more.
• Prioritizing our relationships with family and friends
• The importance of health and wellness
• We really don’t need to spend as much as we usually do
• Decreasing pollution benefits us and the planet
• Wearing masks works, not only to slow/stop Coronavirus, but also other viruses like the flu.  There has been a huge decrease this year.
• We don’t need much to be happy.
• We need to have an emergency fund.
• We need to slow down.
• Mental health is important.
• To appreciate and love each other.

Things we are grateful for from the pandemic:

• Steve was still able to finish/graduate
• We got Piper.  
• Ability to work from home more, and 100% now, which will hopefully continue.  
• It's allowed me to go back to work full time after maternity leave w/out missing the baby as much, still hold him, see him, cuddle.  I can still nurse while working.
• The boys have been able to continue their education online
• We've grown close together more as a family.  
• We've been able to spend more time together as a family.
• We've had more family dinners (almost every night now).
• We've been able to have FHE/Come Follow ME more.
• The boys have become better friends- playing together and communicating w/ each other.
• Family prayer happens regularly (daily).
• It's reassuring to know we have an emergency fund.
• We appreciate the outdoors, being able to get out of the house.
• We are grateful to have our backyard to run around.  
• Also grateful to have a trampoline to get energy out, our playhouse, sandbox, and bikes for the kids to ride.  
• We live on a circle which allows more room to play.
• Grateful for our home and the space we do have.
• We're thankful for our boys teachers and we don't have to teach them all ourselves.
• To be thankful for our blessings.

Last Week of December

 We finished up 2020!  Here are some highlights from the last few days.

We went to visit Dave and Joann after getting back from visiting my parents in Idaho for Christmas. Joann got Hudson to fall asleep.

The boys were excited to put together their Lego Snow Excavators they got.  

We got a little bit of snow, so Steve and the boys went out and shoveled it.  

Carter made sure to get the snow off his inflatable bear.

The boys got laser tag guns from Grandma/Grandpa McGrath, so they've been having fun chasing each other around w/ the laser tag guns.

Steve went out ice fishing again at Utah Lake w/ the boys.  Dave and Joann also came w/ Lynsie.

 

They had a good time and caught lots of fish!

Hudson checking out the laser tag guns.

He thought it was tasty ;)

Cute baby Hudson.

The boys and I played our new game "Totally Gross" which is a science game.  It's really fun actually!  Here the boys are showing me they can lift one eyebrow.  Apparently it's genetic.  Both Steve and I can do it actually. 

Nyles got a free bowling coupon to Fat Cats from school for all his hard work.  

We went on Wednesday, December 30th as a family.  We all had a great time!

It was a lot of fun even if we didn't bowl as good as we wanted (Steve and I anyway).  

Being together and having fun was most important.

We gave Hudson some rice cereal for the first time.  He tried it, though wasn't so sure about it.

Carter has to snuggle with Piper every day.  Thankfully she's patient with him.

On New Year's Eve we went to the Aquarium for a little while.  

That night we also played "Disney Colors" with Steve's family for a little while via Zoom.

There were fireworks going off that night, which Piper didn't like, so she hid under a blanket.

Great reminder.