East Coast habbits die hard!

There is news of a big snow storm heading our way. Although I never believe our weather man, I always take it seriously. In the east coast, I would look at bread, milk, and toilet paper, and make sure I had plenty. You would go to the store and the shelves would be mostly bare of these items and would probably not refill themselves for days after the storm. So I did my checklist today.

Bread-Check
Toilet paper-Check (probably enough for three months)
Milk-Running low

So I head to the store and what do I find, lots of milk. Then I remember that I do not need to stress over these things were I live. So funny that my old habits are still in place.

If this storm is anything like they are predicting, pictures will come soon.

Merry Christmas!

This is not a professional picture but it is how we will remember Christmas!

It has been so fun getting Christmas cards in the mail but I have just not had the energy to return the favor so I thought I would send an electronic version.

This year has been unique. We usually have lot of fun vacations and adventures as a family throughout the year. This year we have nothing fun to talk about. It has been one year since Nathan or I left the Boise area to go on a vacation. This year has brought an unexpected new bundle of joy to our family. After a long eight months of laying in bed and my gall bladder coming out, Riggins was born on August 19 at 36 weeks. He spent a short time in the NICU. Most people would never guess he was a NICU baby as he was 16 pounds 7 ounces (7lbs 8 oz at birth) and is 26 inches long (19 1/4 in at birth) at his four month old checkup on Tuesday. He is healthy and thriving.

So our adventures include: Our family watching TV and living through the shows (not something we normally used to do). Biggest Loser, Pawn Shop, Cake Boss, Cosby Show, game shows, and other random TV shows have brought many learning moments. For a long while, we also enjoy a night card or board game which was the highlight of my day.

Nathan still enjoys working at BSU. He has managed to continue to excel at work even though emotions were high this year. He recently finished a huge project the day before Christmas and will able to relax for the next week and half. And since I am writing this, I can say that he is the best husband and dad ever. We are all truly blessed to have him in our lives.

I was so close to be done with my Master's in Accounting and should have graduated last week (yes, I took a moment to shed a tear). I have nine credits left and have yet to be brave enough to enroll for even three credits. I still struggle daily from muscle atrophy and do not know how I could sit through class. Monday marks four months and the day that my good friend has committed me to get back in shape. I am going to take it slow but know that I have to start somewhere. I am thankful that I am able to stay home with my children and watch them grow. If Riggins would not have been born, I would have probably been looking for a full-time teaching job.

Avalee is loving 3rd grade. She is doing well in all her classes. She is enjoying dance were she learns ballet, tap, and jazz. She has become a master on her violin and will probably finish the first Suzuki book this year. She is my best Riggins' helper and I could not survive without her.

Lincoln enjoys 1st grade. He currently has 122% in math. I think the teacher might need to make his extra credit harder :) He is learning to play the piano and played Scooby Doo and Jolly Old St. Nicholas for his first piano recital. He also enjoys playing baseball and flag football. He really understands what is going on in these games but sometimes forgets to join in the play because he is analyzing. He is my best Riggins' entertainer as he enjoys playing imaginary "games" where Riggins can watch.

Riggins is four months. He enjoys eating (never had a kid that takes eating so seriously), enjoys spitting (but not as bad as Lincoln), smiling at himself in the mirror, talking to us, and loves attention for Avalee and Lincoln. His head is so big that he is not rolling yet but he is starting to move by pushing with his feet.

I feel blessed for all this year has brought to our family. It was a rough year and many people had to help us get through it but I cannot be more thankful for where I am in life and the happiness I feel.

Merry Christmas,
JoAnn

Chubby Cheeks

Riggins in glasses!

Chubby cheeks! Yes, he weighs a lot and is heavy to hold. We will get the four month stats on Wednesday. He might have started out as our smallest but I think he will end up as our biggest.
I love the pictures I find on my camera :)

Leaves

This picture was taken on Wednesday. If you look hard, our garden is still growing in the background which is not normal for Idaho. The kids got home from school, saw the leaves had fallen, and found the rakes. I wasn't even paying attention and soon saw them outside.


Then they buried Avalee.


Then they buried Lincoln.


If you have leaves, they will hire out for free because they love to play in them. They think our leaves piles are huge but they really have no idea what they are missing.

A First!

I finally have a child who's head is on the charts for their age. Riggins' head is in the 99.7 percentile for his age. Yes, it is only on the charts by .3% but it is on the charts. In other news, he weighs 12 lbs 10 ounces and is in the 53% for his height and weight. He is definitely healthy.

I also found out today when he gets really mad he holds his breathe.

Bowling

We are trying to do some fun activities in October to make up for the fact that we did nothing all spring or summer. Here is our bowling adventure.

Avalee was pretty good.
Lincoln needed some help to remember not to throw the bowl.

Riggins slept.

Fun Pictures

I am going through the camera and just found these fun pictures. What a cute family I have.

Trouble

Our doctor no longer calls Riggins by his name instead she calls him "trouble." Riggins was born three and half week early. He spent his time in the NICU and came home perfectly healthy but he has all these small random things wrong. I am going to list them so I remember this someday.

• He has had his belly button zinc oxided four times for a portion that is smaller than a pencil eraser that didn't fall off. Normally it goes away after one try, two at the most. Riggins is not so lucky. If it doesn't go away this time, they are going to have to surgically remove it next week.
  
• He has developed acid reflux and is now on pepcid and a gas-reducing formula. This is not a surprise for me, and we are thankful that he is not as bad as Lincoln was.
• He has had thrush in his mouth for two weeks. They finally painted him purple yesterday. I left the doctor's office with Riggins naked because I didn't want to stain his clothes. Good thing it was 91 degrees.
• He has had a yeast infection in his diaper area. I finally got this go to away with a prescription ointment.
• He has hydroseal. I am not going to explain this but it seems to be a Wood trait.
• Since he was in the NICU, he had to have another PKU. Why I don't know but man it made him mad.
  

So as I said nothing major but I have been at the doctor's office every week since this child was born. Good thing the doctor and I know each other well and can joke about it.