Pink Eye Birthday!

Three Years Ago.......

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday (We were in Central America on a cruise)

3rd Birthday

AND.......

Little Scritcher Scratcher and her two teeth! (Even though it's not her birthday I had to add this picture because it was a great shot of her sparkly whites! Even though she looks a little scary!)

It was a cold and snowy day (just like today) three years ago when our little Carsen Scott Peck was born! Our doctor had told us to come in around 8 a.m. to see about getting thing going (I was almost a week over-due).......when things were still the same (nothing) we decided to go ahead with our decision we had made the day before. A c-section. So at 5:25 p.m. Carsen was FINALLY born. (A hefty 8 lbs 13 oz! Although, I have come to realize that the birth size of a baby means pretty much nothing! Heck, I was 8 lbs 8 oz. You'd think that would result later on into something....nope....just 5'3" and some 100+ pounds)! Our poor little three-year-old has Pink Eye! Yesterday morning I noticed his eye looked a little red, but I figured Myka had poked or scratched him. (Her new nickname is Scritcher Scratcher...because she's like a little kitten)! As the day progressed the eye did not look better. So, I googled (of course) and researched pink eye. I then called "Dr. Nat" (my friend who has kids and used to be a pharmacy tech). I hauled Carsen over there to let her give me her expertise advise---sure enough---pink eye! Carsen's Pediatrician called in a prescription and now we are just waiting it out! (Good thing I didn't have some big birthday party planned for him! I was partied out and figured (selfishly) that he wouldn't realize he was missing out on a birthday party.) Besides, Carsen would rather spend the day hanging with his Daddy. We had to cancel our game night with friends and hunkered down with basketball in the basement and me watching "Friday Night Lights" upstairs. (It was actually quite a fun evening!) This morning we took Carsen to Kneaders for breakfast and then he opened his Birthday presents (a new bike, a Mack Semi Truck and more costumes! Which he has already changed in and out of at least three times each) and now Chad and Carsen have their tools out and are doing a "manly" project for me! (Assembling my food storage rotator! Hooray! What a great Christmas present!) Happy Birthday Carsen! We love you!

ALL ABOUT CHAD...

Thanks Nat...This is a good way to start off the New Year! (I hope.)
THE HUSBAND TAG....

What is his name? Chad Gordon Peck (Chadders, Daddy, Charming Chad (that was his college nickname)!
How long have you been together? Married 6 years and almost 7 months.....
How long did you date? We dated from September(ish) and got married in June. There was that time when we said "Let's date other people. But neither one of us ever did...." (ahhh)
How old his he? 28 (29 in April)
Who eats more? I would really hope he does... When it comes to Popcorn though, it's a race to see who can eat the most. (I have to be fast or I won't get any.)
Who said I love you first? Chad.
Who is taller? Hah. I wish that were even an issue---I'm 5'3" and he's 6"0.
Who can sing better? Chad by far. He would never admit it, but he has a really nice voice! It runs in his family...but since he's a 'guy' he would never be the type to volunteer his talent in any public situation. I just get to hear the silly made-up songs he sings to the kids.
Who is smarter? Definately Chad. Not only does he have street smarts, building smarts, work smarts and people smarts---he also is always thinking and scheming ( i love that about him!) I am more "schooly" smart.
Who does the laundry? Me. I honestly can't think of a time when Chad did a load of laundry--but on his defense--I can never think of a time when I finished the basement, built stairs down from the deck, finished an office or built shelves in the garage--and works!
Who pays the bills? It's a good thing it's not me. Chad is much more organized and meticulous when it comes to money.
Who sleeps in the right side? Chad does. Which doesn't make sense, because I am the one getting out of bed in the wee hours of morning to tend to little Myka.
Who mows the lawn? Not I. The yard is all Chad's. (I pick some weeds here and there and tell him where to plant things.) Chad enjoys having a well-kept yard.
Who cooks dinner? Me. If we BBQ Chad is all over that.
Who drives? Not me when we are in the same car. I can't think of a time when Chad has sat in the passenger seat. I like it that way (and I'm pretty positive Chad does too!)
Who is more stubborn? That would be me!!! Chad is super chill and laid back. I have to pester him to get in a good argument.
Who kissed who first? Well, it was kind of me. But, he asked for it! We had been dating for quite a while and he said to me, "You're never going to kiss me, are you." How was I supposed to respond to that???? I had to give him a little kissy or else he would think I didn't like him!
Who asked who out first? I'm looking awfully agressive here.....It was me! We had a Book of Mormon class together (oh so typical of Ricks College). We had met a couple of days before and after class one day we were walking out and I invited him to go to Yellowstone on a day trip with a bunch of roomies. It was the first of many!
Who proposed? Chad. We were in Jackson Hole on March 10, 2001
Who has more friends? It depends how you look at it. Chad works, and therefore he is surrounded by lots of people. Chad is probably a better friend than I am though.....
Who is more sensitive? Me!!! I can cry at a silly little book!
Who has more siblings? Chad. He has 10 siblings! (Kind of).
Who wears the pants? Depends on the situation. I think we both have a leg in there somewhere...

Now I TAG: Kelly, Keri, Jill, Erin, Crystal and Janene.

Ring in the New Year

We headed to Idaho to ring in the New Year with Chad's family.....who are the most fun people in the world! I love starting a new year. It's a time to reflect on the happenings of 2007 and plan for 2008....Now I have to get through January in freezing cold Utah (with no parties to plan, Christmas presents to buy or people to host at my house!) I do have a cruise the first of March to get ready for! (hooray!)

Surprise!

My entire month of November and December were focused on a SURPRISE 40th Anniversary party for my wonderful parents. (In fact, I feel like I missed out on enjoying the holiday season, but in the end it was all worth it!) When I initially mentioned the idea of a party to my brother, I wasn't envisioning such a task. I thought we would throw something simple together. Then the more we started planning and thinking, it turned into a bigger event. There are so many important people in my parents life, and we didn't want to leave anybody out, so we ended up reserving my church to hold all the people. Plus, I wanted to put together a digital scrapbook of all their years together and create a DVD for everyone to watch.

It was so hard to keep it a secret from my parents! They were staying at my house the whole week before the big party. We told so many lies and ditched them so many times during the week, I'm surprised they were even still around for the party! One night everyone went to the movie, but we told them we didn't want to find a baby-sitter. We told them we were having some friends over to hang-out. (Really, we were working frantically on a DVD while they were away). We did the same thing a couple of nights later. We told them we were going to play games with TJ and Rachel, when really we were finishing up the DVD. (Actually, I can't even say WE--more like TJ and Rachel...Talk about awesome friends! They worked all night long and all the next day and the end product was amazing! Thank you guys!)

To top it all of...Chad and I got my parents ski tickets for Christmas. We thought this would be the perfect way to get them out of the house and out of the way for an entire day.....We told them they should go on their anniversary (which was Saturday). As the week went by they kept hesitating about going skiing on Saturday. Finally, Friday night they were like, "It's too cold to go skiing. I think we'll come back to Utah another time and use these passes." YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. This was my only way to get them out of my house for the entire day so I could get the shopping done, haul the Christmas trees out of my house, and pull of an anniversary party. Luckily Kye intervened and took them for most of the day.

I must say...the party was an absolute success. But it was only a success because of all the helping hands that went into it. I have the most amazing aunts who were part of my party planning scheme from the beginning--they had fabulous ideas for food and helped me organize, delegate and decorate. My amazing friends (I love you girls to death) were there helping me cut up fruit and prepare all the food for the party. (Plus, they had to listen to me every morning on the way to the gym talk about the party preparation). Super rad cousins (thanks Jill) who came early and helped set up and then took my camera from me and made sure there were lots of pictures to remember the evening by. Uncles and other family members were there till the end cleaning up the mess and helping us get out of there! And of course Kye and Kelly--they put together the best song in the world and Kelly accompanied us on the yukelalee (however you spell that darn instrument)! They were the ones who found all the last-minute items we needed and made the party run smooth. And, I must say....it never would've come together had it not been for Chad. He is the best husband and does things without being asked. (Plus, he puts up with me!)

We had over 100 people come to surprise my parents...and boy was it a surprise! They had no idea and truly were shocked! It was so fun to see so many family and friends from all over the state (and out of state) come to support my parents on this special day.

I love you Mom and Dad!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas was at our house this year. My parents, my brother and his family, and my grandpa and aunt were all at my house for Christmas Eve and stayed over to enjoy the mass chaos of Christmas morning....The kids loved playing together and we all ate ridiculous amounts of food...before the main course was even served. (I tell ya, I could live off of appetizers!) The kids sang songs for us on Christmas Eve and were so excited about Santa Clause.... I have one thing to say about the whole event...thank heavens for a finished basement! But even more importantly--thank heavens for a wonderful family who I love so much!

Christmas morning, Carsen was speechless at his "Darth Vader" costume. (He seriously requested that. He has never seen Star Wars...nor have I....but for some strange reason he wanted a costume and a mask.) He also requested a computer (I think he was slightly disappointed with the computer he actually received--I think he envisioned he was going to receive the computer he played with at the Apple store.) And of course a gun...this one makes noise. He was in heaven. The other presents were just simply something to open and then toss aside so he would resume playing with the gun and the costume.

Myka just wanted to cruise around and pick up all the little pieces of wrapping paper everyone left on the ground. I felt like I was pulling paper out of her mouth all morning.

It was a wonderful Christmas with fun surprises and thoughtful gifts.

Carsen playing with his new gun Christmas morning.

Darth Vader! (I wonder where the mask was during this picture...He usually had it on.)

Myka playing with her new toys. We should've just given her 'rights' to Carsen's toys..That's the ones she wanted to play with.

Carsen and his cousins opening their Christmas Eve jammies. (No, Carsen is not a mechanic. That is his Power Ranger costume.)

Life

I have decided these two precious little people are amazing! My thoughts are always on them and pretty much my every move caters to their needs (and wants). I love it! It's so special to think these little people are dependent on me...and they LOVE me!! It's good to be loved, especially by such sweet children.

This Christmas season has been the most fun so far as a parent. Carsen is so excited about EVERYTHING. (I don't know what we are going to do when Christmas is over, because we won't be able to use the 'Santa Clause threat' anymore.) Time goes by too quickly! I can't believe it's the weekend before Christmas and we are wrapping (literally) up the holiday! This is such a special time of year, and I am sad to see it go by so quickly.....

In case I don't make another post before the big day--Merry Christmas to all my blog friends!

The Lights

My favorite outing this time of year is to venture down to Temple Square and see the lights. This year was no exception.....It was bitter cold, but we still loved it! (When we got home Myka's little toes were frozen! Oops. Bad mommy.)

A day in the life of.....

Just another day in the life of Carsen Scott Peck.....One minute he's a pirate, the next minute he's a super hero. You've gotta give it up for the creativity! (Lucky for me, I'm the one left to clean up the messes!)

Chad took Carsen with him to the Jazz game Satuday night. (At least they finally won.) Carsen had on his D-Will Jersey and was cheering on his team until about half time and then he said, "Let's go home." (There was no way Chad was leaving, so luckily Carsen is a super-sport and made it through the entire time!) While the boys were away, the girls played...I put Myka to bed at 7:30 and worked on my lesson for Sunday! (Such fun!)

Climbing to the Top

Myka has decided crawling is just too boring (and probably a little rough on the tender knees). She is climbing up onto everything! We often have to rescue her from under the kitchen table where she is wedged underneath the chairs....standing.....Her favorite is when Carsen is taking a bath she saunters into the bathroom and climbs up onto the bath tub to see what's going on. I keep waiting (and dreading) the day when she discovers the stairs. So far we are gate free......

Freezing Family Photos!

'Tis the season for Family Pic's. We are a bit late getting them done this year--which is why we were in the FREEZING cold! Our photographer said it was her shortest (and coldest session) yet! Our kids were absolute troopers! Despite the frigid air--I think we came away with some great photos!!! I am still waiting to get the ones back of my just my kids, so stay tuned for more......