Colorado Trip

 As part of my graduate program, I am required to go to Colorado once a year for a summer intensive residency for a week.  I couldn't bear the thought of being away from my babies for a whole week, so I made asked Keith to take off work so that we could all go down together and make a trip out of it. I was in classes from 8am to 4pm everyday, so he was a trooper and watched the kids. :) We were planning on staying in a hotel but then a friend of Keith's that he used to work with at Nu Skin graciously opened her home to us for a whole week (thanks again so much Fallon & Brice!).  It not only saved us a butt load of money but they have two kids close in age to our kids that they could play with, as well as a yard.  It definitely made the week much easier!

This was on the drive down, because of all the fires the sunset looked pretty cool (this picture doesn't give it justice)

 The first day was registration and then we had to come back later for a mandatory Orientation dinner.  We took a few photos while exploring campus.

Malea and me in front of the Counselor Ed department

The kids were such little troopers on the trip and did a lot of their napping in the car 

Here is a pic of Malea and their little girl Claire, they were good little buddies the whole week we were there 

There's not a whole heck of a lot to do in Alamosa, Colorado, but they do have some really cool sand dunes that we went to a couple of times.  Keith took the kids once by himself and they played in the water, and then we went again another time all together.  The weird/cool thing about the sand dunes is that there is water that runs through them in the morning and then by the afternoon the water stops so its dry again.

Malea & Isaac playing in the wet sand :)

Mmmm sand boogers :P

 

Me in front of the Adams State sign

Malea and Claire playing outside....we sure miss them already!  I'm sad I didn't get a picture of their cute little boy

Intensives was a great experience. The first day I had to take the MAT exam that I had been studying for for about the last 6 weeks.  Thankfully I passed with a high enough score for the program requirement, so that was a relief.  In the morning each day I had a Pre-Practicum class, which was where we practiced counseling techniques with our classmates.  The first day the professor walked in with two boxes of tissues and said "you guys are going to need these".  Boy was he right!  This was definitely the toughest part of the week because we had to be graded on certain techniques. He compared the week to boot camp and said that he would start out by "tearing us down" and then by the end of the week he would build us back up.  I had to grow a thicker skin that week, but I am so glad I did because I learned so much. After lunch we had our growth group, which was basically just group therapy for us as students (this was my favorite). It was a really great experience.  I learned so much about myself and feel like I became a better version of myself.

After Intensives were over we stayed for an extra couple of days and went up to the Denver area to visit some family.  We stayed with Keith's aunt and uncle, and it was so great to see them!  They had never even seen Isaac before so that was great.  Their poor dog Scout took a lot of Isaac's abuse but he knew who to hang around when there was food involved :)

We got to go visit Keith's grandma who is in a nursing home there.  She is legally blind now and her health is deteriorating so I'm glad we took the extra couple of days to go see family. 

We also stopped by to visit Keith's grandpa....it was so good to see him too and listen to his great stories

Keith's sister Jenn also lives in the area so we were able to go see them as well.  The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins.

We ended up driving home on Father's Day, so poor Keith didn't get much of a celebration.  Malea did decorate a card though and I snuck off Saturday night to get him the new "Sherlock Holmes" movie :)

We had a great experience in Colorado!  We ended up being gone for about 10 days, which was the longest trip we had ever taken with the kids.  They did so well though, and didn't start to burn out until the day before we left.  We were sure happy to get home! 

Dang Trampoline....

So once again I am way behind on blogging, and I have lots of posts to catch up on, but I wanted to do a quick post about Malea's leg.  So last Wednesday (the 11th) Malea was jumping on the neighbor's trampoline....I am usually pretty strict about not letting her jump when there are a lot of kids on there or when there are bigger kids jumping, but this particular day I didn't check in advance before letting her go over to jump.  The next thing I know I hear her crying really hard outside so I went out there and one of the other neighbor girls was helping her limp back home. At first I thought she hurt her ankle but once I got her inside and finally got her to tell me where it hurt she pointed to her left knee. I found out after talking to some of the other kids that an older kid bounced her really high and she landed weird on it. I got her some ice for it and she just stayed on the couch for the rest of the evening.  I didn't rush her right in to the doctor because I didn't want to overreact if it was just a sprain or a bad bruise or something.  She went to bed that night and slept horrible.  She woke up in the morning and refused to walk on it, and if you tried to move her or even get close to her knee she freaked out.  I mentioned something about it on facebook, and someone commented saying that it is actually really common for kids to break their legs right below the knee on trampolines, and I should probably take her in.  After reading that, and watching her sit on the couch all day refusing to walk on it, we decided to take her in to Instacare.  She had x-rays done and then the doctor came in and told us that she had indeed had a buckle fracture right below her left knee :(  Of course after that I felt horrible for not taking her in right away, but the doctor said that sometimes parents will bring their kids in and it turns out that its nothing, so that made me feel a little better.  He wrapped her leg in a splint and told us that she needed to go in to get a cast on Monday after the swelling has gone down a little bit.

 

 

 Malea after we got back from Instacare and after a tricky sponge bath :(

 Some of the neighbor kids have come and played with her outside on our bench, it has been fun for her

  Eating family dinner at the card table with Malea

The worst news he told us was that she couldn't walk on it for 2-3 weeks, at which point she could get a walking cast but she would have to have a cast for 6 weeks total :(  My first thought was, goodbye summer! :'(  I was so bummed out that this happened right in the heart of summer, and that she would be getting it off right when summer was over.  I was also bummed because I am only a few days away from being done with summer semester and then I have a month off of school.  I had big plans to do all kinds of fun stuff with the kids during my month off.  I was especially frustrated because she is the most cautious child, I for sure thought her little brother would have broken a bone before her!

 Grandpa Dave came by and brought her a Magnadoodle that she can sit and play with, it was so nice!

They're also letting us borrow their wagon for the next few weeks too :)

Malea with her cast, she was excited to get a pink one

  So now we are just trying to survive the next couple of weeks until the 31st when she goes in to get her walking cast.  She can't put any weight on her leg at all so we have to carry her everywhere. We didn't realize how much she does for herself and for Isaac until she can't walk!  We were excited to hear that they had waterproof casts so she can still go swimming and stuff.  And of course she got a pink one. :)  We have had to get creative with things for her to do, and you can tell she is getting bored, but she has been such a good sport about the whole thing.  Hopefully summer is not completely lost ;) 

Perspective

  I came across this quote today on a friend's blog and it could not have been better timing or more well-said:

 

"Be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon... and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly."

 

- President Thomas S. Monson 

 

Life the last few months has been insanely busy....I have been truckin' along in graduate school while also working part-time (graveyards no less) and also trying to be a good wife and mom to my swiftly growing kids.  I have been trying so hard to make sure and spend the time I'm not working/schooling with the kids and making sure that I am a good mom, that my house work has gone downhill pretty fast.  I feel like I am always just barely keeping up and things have definitely gotten behind.  Usually the laundry gets so piled up that I can barely get the last load(s) folded and put away by the time we run out of clothes again.  Or the clean clothes just sit in baskets until they run out and I need to do laundry again.  Most of the time the house is so messy that I would not allow even my closest friends and family (that probably wouldn't judge me because they love me unconditionally) see my house.  Then I try and spend nap time cleaning up but it never quite looks as good as it could.

 

HOWEVER, in a situation like this when there are just not enough hours in a day and something has to give, I have realized that if anything needs to give, it should be the things that are really not THAT important in the grand scheme of things.  As much as I would love to have a clean house and laundry perfectly folded and put away all the time, its not as important as spending time with my family and being there for my kids.  I have been working lately on making sure that I am "present" with my kids, not just there physically but there with them mentally as well.  There are days when one of the kids will do or say something so stinking adorable that I just have to stop and look at them for a minute to just bask in it before the moment is gone.  I feel sometimes like it is the first time I have really "seen" them all day.  Of course there are those days when I just have to go through the motions and survive for that day, but those days for the most part are rare.

 

I decided to make a list of all the little things I am going to miss one day, so that I can remember to enjoy them right now in the moment.

 

One day I will miss:

 

*Malea wanting me to snuggle with her when she goes to bed (even though at the end of the day I am just so done and want to snuggle up in my own bed with a good book)

*Not being able to go to the bathroom without an audience

*Always having a child as my shadow

*Malea coming in our room half asleep in the middle of the night to snuggle, 

and having to put her back in her bed

*Folding endless loads of little socks, onesies, rompers, Disney princess night gowns, and skirts w/ leggings (all that Malea will wear these days)

*Isaac standing up in his crib waiting for me to come get him out when he wakes up

*Malea beaming when I go to pick her up from pre-school, and how excited she is to show me the cute little craft she made that day

*My kids thinking I am just the coolest person ever

*Isaac's wild and crazy curls

*Playing "Cars" cars or Thomas the train with Isaac

*Hearing Malea say "Mommy, will you do a craft with me?"

*Isaac's mischievous little smile behind his binky as I am chasing him anywhere and everywhere

*Even the frustrating things like the tantrums/fighting/throwing food/nighttime waking (but I'm thinking I will probably miss those things a lot less :))

 

I'm sure there are endless more that I will miss.  I just hope that on those days when I am feeling overwhelmed and stressed and my kids are driving me nuts that I can remember these things, and say "Yes" to the kids when they ask me to play with them outside instead of cleaning or doing the other million things I could be doing. 

 

 

Thanks President Monsen for a great reminder :) 

 

Sealing

 So about a year and a half ago, my step-dad Rick was baptized into the LDS church.  We were all so excited for him and it has been such a blessing for our family.  My mom and Rick have been working towards getting sealed in the temple ever since, and I am pleased to announce that they were sealed on April 14th in the Provo temple!  It was such an awesome day, and I couldn't be happier for them.  It has been my mom's dream to be sealed for as long as they have been together, and I don't think she ever thought it would happen.  After the sealing we had a family dinner at the church, which was also a going-away party for my brother Sam since he was leaving for basic training the next week for the Navy. 

April 13th - Rick's endowment (Provo temple) 

Family dinner at Olive Garden (after the endowment)

Mom & Rick opening the gift we got them, which was a framed picture of the Provo temple and a Willow tree statue

April 14th - After the sealing (Provo temple)

(Fun little side note, my mom was wearing the same dress she wore on their first wedding day!) 

Congrats Mom & Rick!!

Catching Up

Once again, I am way behind on blogging!  The last couple of months have been busy but not for any particular reason.  Here is an update of what has been going on lately:

Malea is just getting to be so grown up.  I am amazed sometimes at the things she says and how she just "gets" things.  Here are a couple of funny things she has said lately:

In reference to the house being clean, "Mommy, I am so impressed with how clean it is!"  (Must mean the house isn't clean very often...lol).

"Mommy, I heard a familiar sound."

I don't even remember what we were doing but with an exasperated sigh she put her hand to her head and said, "I'm feeling kind of stressed out right now." (haha)

Having a picnic outside on a nice day

She is very aware of what is going on, and always has a million questions.  She just seems so big lately, and it makes me a little sad.  I hold her on my lap or pick her up to carry her on my hip and she's just not the little girl she used to be.  She is such a good helper with Isaac, and is becoming more and more independent.  She is still going to pre-school twice a week, but the school year will be ending next month.  She will be going to pre-school next year too.  She has been learning so much and really maturing.  I have to say that 4 has been so much easier than 3.  She still has her moments but she is not throwing as many tantrums and it is easier to reason with her about things. 

The other day I took the kids to the library on a Monday night when they do a make-and-take craft before story time.  All the kids made little bug jars.  Ironically, that night when we got home we found this huge beetle inside the house (freaked me out!) and we put it in her new bug jar.  She has been carrying it around with her and named it "Kamper" (?)....lol.  She is into My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, and is obsessed with stuffed animals. Every week she picks a new stuffed animal that she totes with her everywhere, and she can't sleep without.  She is so funny.  She loves to do crafts and it quite the little artist.  At least I think so :)  I wish I could keep every craft she makes at home or at school, but I've resorted to just hanging some up and then rotating them out, taking a picture before I throw them away.

Kamper the beetle :)

 Found the kids sitting on the couch reading books together....so cute :)

The kids in some new camp chairs I got for them

 Isaac is just as busy as ever!  Its weird to think that he is closer to 2 now than 1.  He went in to nursery last month, which was so great and he loves it. The other day I went to get him from his nap and he was standing just inside the door of his room looking up at me....he had climbed out of his crib!  I guess I can't really say I'm THAT surprised, seeing as how he is my little monkey, but it was just funny.  He is not ready for a big boy bed yet (he's only 19 months!) so we are going to have to figure out a way to milk the crib thing a little longer.  He loves "Cars" cars, trains (Thomas), trucks, tractors, etc.  He is such a boy!  He loves getting dirty and always seems to find mischief wherever he goes!

All ready for church

At his 18 month appointment, the doctor recommended that we have Isaac get assessed from an early intervention program for his speech.  He isn't saying very many words and they thought it would be a good idea.  I got in touch with this program and they came and did an assessment.  A week later they called me and said that he technically didn't test low enough to qualify for the program, even though his expressive language score was the lowest of the rest of his scores, but the woman said that she did a "clinical opinion" for him to be in the program because she was worried that it could turn in to a significant delay in the next few months if he didn't progress.  She will come once a month and work with Isaac on his speech, as well as give us pointers for helping him.  I have been teaching him some sign, and it was been so fun to see him sign without prompting!  So far he says "mama", "dada", "this", "that", "hot", "moo" for a cow, "roar" for a dinosaur/lion/tiger, "mmmm" with food, says "shhh" and puts his finger up to his mouth when someone is sleeping, and maybe one or two others that I can't think of right now.  The doctor said that at his age he should be saying at least 8 words (which half of the things he says are technically sounds), so he was a little behind.  The woman who is working with him is also giving us pointers for everyday struggles, because he is an extremely busy child.   

He has started wandering off lately, and I am just amazed at how fast he is.  It will be a matter of like less than 30 seconds and he can be completely gone!  We had a really scary incident the other day when I took the kids to the park.  We were having a little picnic and Isaac was just playing on the play ground and then he would come back every so often for food.  I got distracted for a couple of minutes and realized I couldn't see him.  I got up and looked around by the nearby pavilion, inside the slides of the playgound, etc and still couldn't find him.  I finally looked WAY down the opposite direction of where I was looking and saw him standing by a group of kids that were probably like 9-10 years-old.  I ran over to where they were, thinking how grateful I was that they stopped him since there was a pond nearby.  However, when I got to him he was soaking wet up to his neck!  He had gotten in the pond, and luckily one of the little boys that was nearby got in the water and got him out!  The sweet little boy had gotten his shoes and half of his shorts wet getting in the water to rescue him.  I was just sick about it, and could hardly sleep that night thinking about what could have happened.  I'm convinced that he must have a guardian angel.

His favorite new thing...using the stools to climb up onto everything

Poor baby fell asleep on the floor, he wasn't feeling very well that day

I don't know I even bother cleaning them up!

Isaac found a cup full of red punch and decided to take a drink

Before

After! (Oxyclean is amazing!)

As for Keith and me, a lot of our time lately has been spent working out the details to buy a house!  It has been a long, stressful, frustrating, exciting process, and I can't wait until we are able to find a house we love!  Everything takes so much longer than you think it will, and it is hard to be patient.  It is also frustrating to see a house you love and then find out it is already under contract.  I can't believe how fast they can get snatched up sometimes!  But we know that everything will work out.  I am also just finishing up my 2nd semester of graduate school, and I am learning a ton.  This semester has been a doozy!  It has kept me so busy.  I am looking forward to, but also nervous about, my residency coming up in June.  I will be going to Colorado for a week to do an intensive as part of my program.  It should be a good experience, but it also scares me a little bit.

Well that's about it for now!  I will be doing a separate post about Easter, but tata for now!    

Life is Fragile

This past weekend I found out that my kids' pediatrician, Dr. Greg Nielsen through Utah Valley Pediatrics, passed away. It was such a shock, especially considering that he is young, probably only in his late 30's or early 40's. Malea had an appointment with him a few days before and they called to reschedule the appointment because he was sick. Then the next I heard he had passed away. I don't know all the details, but apparently it was from a serious Staph infection, combined with a heart condition and a high fever that led to a stroke. He leaves behind a wife and 5 young children.

:(

We chose him as a pediatrician when Malea was born, so about 4 years ago now. I didn't know him personally other than through a professional relationship, but I have been surprised at how much the news has affected me. I have gotten emotional about it on several occasions when talking about it with other people, and I felt inclined to blog about it. He was one of the greatest doctors, so caring and genuine. He was always so sweet with my kids. I was so happy when I found a great doctor and wanted to stick with him throughout the years with all my children. My concerns were always validated, and I never felt like I was "wasting his time" when I took my kids in for illnesses. I have had experiences where doctors have had this attitude, and I never went back. He took the time to answer any questions or concerns we had, and didn't make us feel rushed. He was starting to get busier, obviously because he was so good, and I was getting to the point where I didn't want to tell anyone about him because I didn't want him to get busier! (lol). He was very cautious, maybe even overly so, but I appreciated that. There are several experiences throughout these past 4 years, with both Malea and Isaac, where he showed such sensitivity. He would go out of his way to make sure I was informed and to give me peace of mind about my concerns. The community is losing an amazing doctor, and a great man.

Death is always such an awakening for me. We go along through life, putting stock into such menial, unimportant things, and forget how fragile it is. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have of eternal families. I hope that his family can find peace in this knowledge during this difficult time. This experience has given me a reminder of making sure to keep my house in order, and to make sure my loved ones know how much I love them, because you never know when it will come to an end.

February = Party Month!

February is always an eventful month at the Walker home! Malea turned 4 on February 12th, Malea’s Valentine’s Day party for pre-school was on the 13th, Keith turned 29 on February 14th, and we celebrated Valentine’s Day! It was a stressful weekend, but so fun too. (On a side note, in addition to February being a big birthday month in our immediate family, we have Keith’s sister, Keith’s brother, Keith’s niece, and my brother’s birthdays in February too!)

We had a friend birthday party for Malea on the 11th (since her actual birthday was on a Sunday this year). We invited a few of her friends to go to Provo Beach Resort for some fun activities, and then had everyone over at the house afterwards for a ‘My Little Pony’ themed party with pizza and cake & ice cream. It was so much fun! Malea got lots of fun presents, including her first bike from mommy and daddy! She got to ride around on it a little bit that day (seeing as how it was like 50-ish degrees that day!) but then the next day it snowed :( Oh well, she will get to ride it soon enough!

On the 12th (her actual birthday), we had a family birthday party for her and Keith. We had the family over for tacos and cake & ice cream. It was so fun hanging out with family!

On the 13th, Malea had her Valentine’s Day party at pre-school! The night before we put together little treat bags for each of the kids in her class with some candy and a “Tangled” valentine. She decorated a bag the week before to hold all her fun treats. They got to eat yummy sugar cookies and watch a Charlie Brown Valentine’s movie. She was a little grumpy about going to school that morning (her new phase lately….not sure what the deal is!) but she still had fun.

(Side note #2: See if you notice anything funny on the picture of the V-day decorations I hung up….)

That morning I made the kids heart-shaped pancakes with pink food coloring (and didn’t realize until I went to take pictures that BOTH my kids were wearing Christmas jammies…lol). To make up for that, I made sure to get a picture of them together in their Valentine’s jammies. :) That night Malea and I made some homemade Valentine’s and hung up hearts on our front door. She also decorated a birthday card for daddy.

Unfortunately on Keith’s birthday/Valentine’s Day we both had to work so we didn’t get to see each other much :( We did make Keith’s favorite cookies (No Bakes) and took them to his work though. Hopefully we will get a date night soon (hint, hint to anyone who wants to babysit for us….;))

I think I am all partied out! Now Spring can hurry up and get here! (Please?)….