Bring On the New Year!

Well, 2009 has definitely been a busy year. Giving birth to our third child in four years really ages you. When I look at mine and Jamie's engagement picture taken five years ago, I am reminded just how stressful and exhausting raising babies and toddlers can be. Lets just say it looks like at least ten years should have passed instead of only five. In 2010 I will enter the last years of my twenties when I turn 29 but I feel so much older. I am keenly aware that 2010 will be the year I need to start using eye cream. Don't get me wrong, my 3 beautiful children are worth every single wrinkle and gray hair!

How do I know 2010 is going to be different than 2009. Most importantly, I will not be pregnant or giving birth. I will not have to even worry about getting pregnant (Jamie got a vasectomy right after Pierce was born). What a relief!

Second, our tax rebate is going to increase from last year with another added dependent....woohoo!!!! Jamie and I are going on a mini vacation. Well, more like a local getaway to a hotel for some much need R&R. If we have the energy we will probably throw in a Mavs game and treat ourselves to overpriced food at a couple of fancy restaurants. I think we deserve it. Who know, we may get really wild and crazy and go to a movie...haha. Oh how things have changed in such a short time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Third, both my sisters are getting married. The kids will get 2 new uncles this year! Good thing the girls already just adore them both! We are so excited for both of them. I think it is time for the kids to have some cousins!

Fourth, I will be drinking this year on New Year's Eve!!!!! And, staying up past the ball drop.

Things I will HAVE to do in 2010:

~potty-train Reagan (fun times...insert huge amounts of sarcasm)

~teach Pierce how to self soothe and sleep in his crib (probably going to be the hardest thing I will do in 2010 because most likely I am going to have to let him cry-it-out)

~send Reagan to MDO - I can't wait! I won't know what to do with just Pierce...shopping sounds good. No, better yet - SLEEP!

~somehow figure out how to take all three kiddos to the neighborhood pool in the summer

~baby proof the house

~find more ME time or I WILL go insane

~have more date nights or Jamie and I will forget that we once knew how to have fun together

Things I HOPE will happen in 2010:

~Pierce's reflux will resolve itself

~Emerson's doctors will gain wisdom and figure out the source of her illness - my ONLY Christmas wish this year

~establish more routine and better sleep schedules for everyone

~I will miraculously wake up one morning with the motivation and skill to become a good cook

~a special mommy and Emmy trip to San Antonio to visit my grandparents and go to Sea Worl

~have time to finish decorating the kids' rooms

~frame and find places for the professional pictures taken over the last year

~win the lottery - gosh, these kids are expensive!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas! I am definitely grateful for my 3 perfect blessings this holiday season. I predict 2010 is going to be filled with lots of joy! Just watching my children grow and learn and love is pure happiness.

Hallelujah

I found a new pediatrician that I just love!!! I can't tell you how relieved I feel to finally have someone listen to my concerns and be empathetic. She is also a young mother of a little girl the exact same age as Reagan and can really relate to many issues we are going through. She spent a good hour with Pierce at his appointment and answered all of my questions. She never made me feel as though she was in a rush to get to her other patients. She never made me feel ignorant. She validated my concerns. She related my situation to issues she experienced with her own daughter. She was very personable and truly seemed as though she cared about her patients. At one point she just held Pierce and loved on him because she thought he was so sweet and cute (well, who wouldn't think that!?!). The nurses were great! The front staff was friendly and accommodating. The office was very kid friendly. In the waiting room there was a beautiful fish tank with LIVE fishes (not fake like the other office) and all the exam room doors were wrapped with Christmas paper. I could not have felt better about the appointment. In fact, I left feeling reassured and relieved. She even called herself (just like she said she would) later that day to tell me she had received some of the test results that Pierce has already had done. AMAZING!

I also want to mention a few cute things Emerson said/did this week that I don't want to forget. She is becoming quite creative!

The other night she got soap in her eye while washing her hair (she cried even though she uses Johnson & Johnson's No Tear formula) and asked me "what do we do to make my eye stop burning?" I told her we needed to wash it out with clean water. She responds "no, I don't think that will work. I think I need a piece of chocolate to make my eye feel better." Creative and quite manipulative don't you think!?! Because she was so cute I gave her a piece a chocolate. The crying immediately stops and she says "yep, my eye feels much better." OMG. I think I may be in for some trouble.

Then, this morning Pierce woke up crying for his bottle and Emerson asks "Mommy, why does Pierce cry so much?" He really doesn't cry that much but for a 3 year-old it may seems like all the time. I tell her that "babies just cry sometimes and that usually he is trying to tell us something because they can't talk yet. This morning he was telling us that he was hungry." Again she disagrees with me and says "no, that's not it. I think he cries because he wants me to play with him and make him laugh." And you know what, she may be right. She is great with him and always seems to be able to make him laugh. And he just adores her right back. It is such a great feeling to watch your kids love and adore each other. I am so blessed.

I just love that the ABC Family channel has a ton of Christmas movies airing during the whole month of December. We were all watching Santa Claus 3 with Tim Allen and Emerson got so upset that they were referring to his character as Mr. Claus. I mean she would not let it go. "Mommy, why are they calling him Mr. Claus? His name is Santa. Why does he have 2 names?" I mean, this went on and on and on. No answer I gave her was sufficient. I have a feeling she may figure out the whole "Santa" thing before most kids. I can just see it now, upset parents calling me because their kids are distraught after Emerson breaks the news that Santa is not REAL. She is so observant that she may realize that one Santa looks a little different from another Santa. And then will come the questions. I better be prepared and come up with some clever answers.

We did go see Santa this year. The past 2 years Emerson wanted NOTHING to do with him. This year she was eager to tell him she wanted a swing set. We got a picture of all the kids on his lap and the expressions on Reagan and Pierce's faces are PRICELESS!!!! At least there was no crying. Hope you enjoy the photo, we definitely got a good laugh out of it. I guess it was worth the outrageous $16 fee.