Chapter 42

We started a new chapter of our lives today.  I title it:

Chapter 42: Husband Starts Full-time Work While Wifey Finishes School

Today was the first day of the hustle and the bustle.  I had to hustle home from school so that Husband could bustle off to work.  Getting out of class half an hour early made it so that we could eat grilled cheese sandwiches together and say "I Love You"  before we said "Goodbye."

Tony was upgraded to full-time at the TSA.  Financially, this is a great thing.  Scheduling wise...doable, but a pain in the buns.  He works the split shift from 1:30pm - 6:30pm and 8:30pm - 1:30am.  Ouch.

So if you don't hear from us for a while, just know that we're surviving (with the help of Grannie), even if barely.

By the way...I asked Hyrum today whether he wanted Baby to be a boy or a girl and he said, "Play basketball."  So, boy or girl, as long as Baby plays basketball, he'll be happy.

Texas: Part 1

We were lucky enough to go to Texas for New Years/Christmas this year.  It will probably be Hyrum's last free trip on a plane.  Boy did he love watching the planes come and go.  He was also so well behaved on our flights to and from.  He would sit and read books or just talk with us and even slept some both ways.

Spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Brown always means having a good time.  They sure like to spoil us.  One of our first activities was to go the the Gaylord Ice! Show.  It's always neat to see all of the things they can do with ice.  And Hyrum was just too darn cute in his little blue parka.

We were also lucky enough to make another trip to Houston to visit Grandpa Burgess and the Joneses.  Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Annette were able to take Grandpa Burgess to the temple to seal his sister to him and his parents.  They said it was a really neat experience.

Hyrum's favorite part of the trip was playing with the balloons.  Everyone else enjoyed watching him!  He would throw them up in the air and run around catching them and hitting them.  Of course, it's all fun and games until all of that running around results in severe leg cramps...at which time nothing is fun or ever will be fun again.

Hyrum also liked pushing Grandpa Burgess' walker around.  And Dad even gave him a couple of rides.

Dad's favorite part of Houston might have been getting Freebirds for dinner.  He will be a happy boy indeed if that restaurant ever makes it's way to Arizona.

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  We have so much fun with them, whenever the opportunity arises.  We're grateful for Grandpa Burgess and the example he is to us!

Favorite Things

Little Boy has a few favorite things these days.

1. Basketball: this includes playing with the new hoop he got for Christmas, throwing any kind of ball, or watching any kind of sport.  It's all basketball.

2. Running and Crashing:  He loves to run.  He loves to say "run run running" when he runs.  He loves to purposely crash when he runs.  He loves to crash cars and trucks and tractors and boats.

3. Owies:  He is fascinated with owies.  He points at owies and hits himself and says "Owie!"

4. Apples:  He loves eating apples.  More specifically he loves eating oranges, which he calls apples.  He knows how to get them out of the fridge himself.

5. Stories:  He loves reading stories, especially "Little Blue Truck" and "Hop on Pop."

6. Holding Mom:  He loves having Mom hold him, even though he is getting too big and Mom is getting too big for all of this holding stuff.  He says, "Hold you me" when he wants held.

7.  Mater: First thing every morning he asks to watch Mater, which is Cars, Cars 2, or Mater's Tall Tales.  He asks again when it's over.  And again later when he thinks Mom has forgotten that he already watched it once (or twice) that day.

This little guy of ours is growing up.  He's going to be a big brother soon.  We're so excited to see what kind of personality this next one has.  We wouldn't mind if Baby wants to be just like Big Brother.

Busting the Binky

I am ever so grateful that my child was one of those kids that would take a binky.  They are lifesavers.  And luckily, weaning him from his binky all of the time to just at night and nap time was an easy task.  Unfortunately, getting rid of it completely has been a different story.

I tried a couple of months ago to "pull the plug."  I was in the middle of a busy semester and Husband was working nights.  Needless to say, after a couple of rough nights I gave in and decided that the binky would just have to stay.

Then, while we were in Texas (thanks to car trips to Houston and plane rides) the binky became the desired object.  The Boy would ask for his binky in the car, when he was tired, when he wasn't tired.  It got old fast. So, on our first night back, I told him that the binky was going "bye-bye."  He put up a fuss on that first night.  He wanted his binky!  But I didn't give in.  We sang songs and read stories until he fell asleep.  Yes, we had to get up a few times during the night to console him, but we were sticking to it!

Yesterday he refused to take a nap.  He was exhausted, but he just wouldn't.  So when bedtime finally came, he was ready to sleep.  We put on his new dinosaur jammies and brushed his teeth.  Into bed.  Covers on.  Let's read Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book.  He was out like a light.  AND he made it through the whole night with only a couple of love taps when he got a little fussy.

The next few nights will be the determining factor.  Husband will be back at work and as much as I'm in denial, school is in session.  But we're going to bust it.

Where Did December Go?

December flew by.

We were hardly ever home.

Luckily, I got anxious and set up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.

We spent a majority of December at Grannie and Pops' house it seems.

We watched the kids and drove them to and from school and fed them and did laundry etc. while Grannie and Pops drove up to Provo with Elder Shinkle.

We celebrated birthdays, complete with chips & salsa...

and ice cream cake.

We watched the aunties and uncle again while Grannie and Pops went on a little vacation.

And then stayed there for a few days before and after Christmas just because we couldn't get enough of them.

Hyrum solidified his relationship with Uncle "Haydeen" and still talks about Haydeen and how he is is "buddy" etc. etc. etc.

We love the Shinkle family and were glad for all the extra time we were able to share with them.