2010 Review Extravaganza-Part 4

Welcome to my 4th and final 2010 Review Extravaganza! Hosted by...




October was an eventful month. My little man turned the big O-N-E and I loved watching him annialate his birthday cake.
The day before my birthday, we had a huge scare with Petey. It made me realize just how sacred these bodies are that we've been given and made me thankful that Heavenly Father answered our prayers.

Also in October, I was brave (or stupid) and squeezed myself into a barrel so that my son could enjoy a ride on this tiny train...and he did.

*tear* Spidey (Spider Monkey?) learned how to climb onto my kitchen table before learning how to walk. He's been doing it ever since so recently, I bought a baby gate and if I can't be with him, he gets "locked" in the playroom with the door open.

And although Petey was to be a punk rock princess for Halloween, on Halloween night, she decided she would rather wear her Belle costume...oh well. :)

One of my favorite (or maybe least favorite) blog posts in October was when I realized I have a cooking handicap. It's gotten better since then---not much---but better.


To start November, my sister turned 30 and my mom made us all lovely necklaces for the day that read "My sister/Aunt/mom/daughter is 30 today!" Slightly embarrassing and yet, amazingly hilarious.

In November, something inside of me got brave and I altered one of my shirts so it would fit better. I also altered one of Petey's shirts and made some cute arm warmers. November was a big sewing month for me.

For Thanksgiving, we flew to Alaska with my family and braved the freezing cold weather to enjoy some ASU basketball. Yup, we're crazy.

To start off December, we cut off ALL of Petey's hair---or mostly all of it. I couldn't find a blog post to link to this so apparently, I never blogged about her new do. It is adorable!

I also learned how strong my little monkey girl is when she showed me she can swing back on forth on the trapeze on my parent's swing set. Yup, I dressed my 2 year old in a onesie in the middle of December.

December also gave us one more hospital scare when we had to take Spidey there. Apparently, we had a scorpions= and apparently, they liked my son's arm --- or didnt, since it stung him. But he liked the hospital attention and was out of there within 5 hours.

December is also home to this blog post abuot being baby hungry. I have since zeroed in on the reasons I want a baby right now and they don't have much to do with actually wanting a baby---because my hands are full right now. They have to do with knowing this will be the first baby we will have that I will stay home to raise and I am anxious to see how that feels. How much easier breastfeeding and getting up at night will be when I don't have work at 7am. So no, I don't want a baby---I just am excited for the new experiences I'll enjoy of being a SAHM to a newborn.

PS: Still not happening anytime soon.

Thank you, wonderful ladies, for letting me in on this Review Extravaganza. It has been fun reviewing my wonderful year.

And that's how Suze sees it.

2010 Review Extravaganza-Part 3

Welcome to the third blogisode of my 2010 Review Extravaganza...hosted by:


Today's post reflects back on July, August and September.

Many changes came our way in July and August of 2010.

In July, Spidey received his first Toy Story themed gift...one of many since then. Papa decided since his nam matches the character in Toy Story's name, he should get all of the fun toys too.
We took lots of trips on the lightrail...

...and took trips to many different museusm in our area, thanks to my wonderful mom.

In July, we took family pictures with my family. I wondered if it was true what they say about red heads. I also made some changes and some more changes in our home.

August was one of the saddest and happiest months of the year.

I babysat my nephew, K Bear, for the last time this year.

We had a goodbye party at my parent's house for K Bear and his parents since they were leaving for China and below was the best picture we got...too bad my son was hugo-ginormous compared to his older sister so you cant really see her face.

Of course, the biggest part of August was when I became a stay at home mom. I started staying home on the exact day that I drove my sister and her family to the airport, where they would say goodbye to the US for 9 months and goodbye to Arizona for many more years after that. Saddest happy day of my life.

I cried a lot. I still miss them so much but thankfully, some genius invented Skype just for me.

In September, I started watching G-man.

And my sister in law and I started taking our kids to the temple once a week for a picnic.

I started hosting Monday Madness on my blog.

I was also learning how to be a stay at home mom through my struggles and triumphs.

September was a huge "mom" month for me since it was the huge test of whether we had made the right decision or not. So many people pulled me through that month and taught me so much of how truly important it is to be a mom. Maybe someday my kids will appreciate me as much as I've come to appreciate my own mother.

Stay tuned for next week's fourth and final review!

And that's how Suze sees it!

2010 Review Extravaganza-Part 2

Welcome to another blogisode of my 2010 Review Extravaganza! Hosted by...




In April of 2010, we celebrated Easter by having my SIL and her family here. The girls all had matching dresses and our Spidey was in an awesome pink tie. We tried to do a photoshoot and got some pictures...but it was kind of melt down mode for the kids.Also in April, I wrote this post which reflected some of my thoughts about marriage. I loved going back and reading so many of my April posts but that one stuck out to me the most.

In May, we celebrated our girly's 2nd birthday! Petey learned how to squish her brother's fat cheeks together...

...and she got a new bike for her birthday! A very special pink bike that is still too big for her this December. Someday, she'll grow---we hope.

May was also Mother's Day and I dedicated 5 blog posts to special mother's in my life. You will find them here, here, here, here, and here.

In June, these cute cousins (Spidey on the left, K Bear on the right) were starting to interact with each other more. I remember the day we parked their carseats like this when we were both at my parent's house. They were so cute together and I miss my K Bear so darn much!

Also in June, I wrote this post about how I'm sure some of us tend to get on our blogs and relay our lives to others as perfect and always happy. I talked about how frustrating work was (even though I loved that job so much) and how much I wanted to be with my kids. My patience was growing thin as I longed to be with my kids. If only I had known then...

And to end our wacky June, my 2 1/2 year old was still skinny enough for an infant carseat. Dont worry, we never put her in the car like this but at the science center one day, both of my kids were getting restless and wanting to be out of the stroller. I suddenly had a great idea that if we changed their point of view (we put Spidey in the front facing forward seat and Petey up in his carseat), maybe they'd be happy.
And guess what? They were! :)

I am loving this 2010 Review.

Stay tuned for next week's review of July, August and September.

And that's how Suze sees it.

2010 Review Extravaganza-Part 1

A fellow blogger friend of mine pointed me the way to a new blogger friend who is doing a fabulous Friday link up post for 4 whole weeks.

Each Friday, I will recap 3 months out of this year...which completely goes along with my Flashback Friday posts. Perfect!

In January of 2010, I made these goals. Some of them happened, some of them didn't even come close to happening but 2010 has been a happier year and also a successful one.



In January of 2010, Petey and Spidey were this size.

And Spidey was attached to me most of the time. Also in January, I became reunited with some very special photos of a very special girl whom I named my daughter after. 2010 marked the 9th year since her passing.
In February of 2010, my husband told me I dressed like an old lady. It took a while to stop thinking about that every morning as I got dressed but it doesn't seem to phase me anymore. And I still love him. :)

Also in February of 2010, I was trying to work on my weight. My husband took this picture of Petey and I outside my parents house riding my brother's special scooter.
And my son puffed up and became a butter ball. :) Love this kid so much...love him even more with his head full of red, curly hair.

March 2010 marks the first time we took professional pictures as a family...not a family of 4 but ever as a family. It also marks the meltdown my kids had at the end of our shoot.

March also marks Petey's second tear duct surgery. Hard day for momma since I had to do this one alone but we made it through with only a couple days of a bloody nose and a groggy girl.

The post that stuck out to me in March was here. At the time, I was taking a lot of things for granted and I think that post really brought me back to reality. I actually go back and read it often...I should just print it out and have it on my nightstand.

And that's how Suze sees it.