Best of 2010

Okay, I am such a slacker when it comes to blogging. I wanted to recap the year since I haven't posted much, so I decided to do a series of posts which are the best parts of 2010 for me. There are so many blessings as I look back on the year and I am so grateful for each one.

I am grateful for the new baby boy that we are expecting this spring. We don't have a name yet, but I am getting very excited and nervous to welcome number four especially now that I no longer have the holidays to distract me. I hope I won't get too overwhelmed, but I love each one of my children so much that the thought of being blessed with another one makes me so happy.

A few of the other things that I am blessed with, but didn't have the opportunity to make into an entire blog entry include: great friends and neighbors who share in the difficult job of being a mother of small children, two of the cutest nephews that were born in 2010, being able to do temple work for my grandparents, and so much more. some of the things I did actually manage to blog about I didn't want to repeat even though they were highlights for 2010 as well.

If you want to know more about what we have been up to in 2010 please keep reading the next several posts. Besides this post their are seven posts for the Best of 2010 series: Kiera, Beck, Kate, holidays, Couple time, MBA, and a post about my favorite everyday stuff for 2010.

Best of 2010 Kiera

This year has been so much fun to watch Kiera learn to walk, run, and talk. She is already beginning to speak small sentences like "help me" and "open this". She often replaces t for other letters at the beginning of words and calls her sister "tate" and also says she is "tute" or cute. She is very active even for a toddler and I have a hard time getting her to sit still long enough to get her hair done, read a book or even say family prayer. She is pretty good at keeping herself entertained and at holding her own with her older brother who can't seem to leave her alone. she loves animals real or stuffed and was so happy to get a fur real kitty and pillow pet for Christmas. she also loves music like her older siblings and loves to play the piano. She doesn't even pound on the keys like you might expect, but plays the keys with individual fingers and sometimes I am amazed and the sounds she makes. she also loves to sing and dance when others are playing music. I can't get enough of her and I am so glad she is part of our family.

Best of 2010 Beck

Beck is in his first year of BuziBee Pre-school and absolutely loves it. He is so excited when I pick him up to tell me all the things they did in pre-school and he i

s having a hard time right now with such a long break. He is very excited to get back to pre-school and his New Year's pajama party. He can be quite obstinate at times but he says the funniest things and has a great imagination that make it impossible to stay upset with him for long. He loves watching his kids shows and reading books. He is sometimes overly affectionate with his baby sister and is so excited to have a baby brother.

He is learning to ride a bike with training wheels and is doing very well. He is very independent and already refuses to let me dress him and if I don't get his snack fast enough he will just help himself.

I still love watching him sleep and it makes me sad how fast my babies are growing up. I love being able to have a son and I hope I can be the mom he needs to help him become a great man someday.

The best of 2010 Kate

I have been so proud of all Kate has learned this year already in Kindergarten. She is very outgoing which is kind of a surprise to me. Anytime I walk into the school with her a lot of other kids are saying Hi to her. Her teacher did mention at her last SEP that she needs focus on her work and not talk while they are working. I am glad she has friends and is learning so much at school. she is making great progress with reading too. In addition to kindergarten she is also taking ballet and piano and wants to try soccer. Here is some music she wrote when she first started piano.

The first line is Einsy Weinsy Spider, the second is Row Row Row your Boat and then Twinkle Twinkle little star. She just finished her first semester and had her first recital. She did a great job and even played two of the harder songs which required two hands.

she is quite artistic and loves coloring and creating all kinds of art projects and even won 1st place for 3 dimensional art for her school for kindergarten through second grade. I was so proud of her hard work.

She is a great help and a very sweet girl. She is one of the best things to ever happen to me and I am lucky to be her mom.

Best of 2010 Holidays

The holidays are so much more fun when you have little kids that get so excited about everything. Christmas was great. The kids were very pleased with what Santa brought and Beck commented, that "We made the nice list and got none coal". He was so excited to get a bike and transformers and Kate loved her skates. It was warm enough they even got to go out and practice for a bit on Christmas morning. I tried very hard to make sure they understood the true meaning of the holiday and they had lots of fun re-enacting the nativity on an almost daily basis. I don't have any Christmas pictures available to me at the moment, but here is one from Halloween. The rain didn't even dampen their spirits.

It has also been fun to help with the holiday parties at school. Eli and I were both able to go the Kate's school for a thanksgiving feast and eat lunch with her in the cafeteria. I was able to go to Beck's pre-school for the Thanksgiving party and Kate's kindergarten for the Christmas party. It is fun to see how excited your kids are to see you at their school. Kate was so excited to announce to everyone that I was her mom and she came up and gave me a big hug. Beck wouldn't leave my side the whole time I was helping with the pre-school party. I love the adoration they have for their moms and dads at this age and I am trying to enjoy it before it is gone.

The best of 2010 couple time

With three small children and Eli starting an MBA program we knew there were going to be a lot of sacrifices and time together was going to be even more important than ever. This is a goal we will need to continue to work on throughout the next year. We did have some great times together that really strengthened our relationship and especially the Mexican Rivera Cruise we took in April. I loved trying new things like Snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas and horse back riding on the beach in Mazatlan and also the zip lining through the jungle in Puerto Vallarta. I can still feel the benefits of this couples vacation even now that is has been several months.

I also really enjoyed going to see the Paul McCartney concert this summer. Eli loves music and it was nice to share in the music that has been such a big part of his life. I am not as big a fan as Eli, but he put on an excellent show and I really enjoyed the concert.

Best of 2010 Eli begins an MBA

This has like many other of the best things from this year also been a challenge as well. It is not easy for me to be a single mom for several days of the week. I don't see how they do it all the time. It is tiring to not have a spouse available to help because he goes straight to school from work and doesn't get home until after 11pm. It is also hard for Eli to have more responsibilities and work than he can possibly accomplish in a day and to miss out on family time. However, I am very proud of him for following his dream and setting and accomplishing high goals for himself instead of settling for the easier route. I am grateful for the example he is setting for our kids that education and self-improvement are important and worthy goals. I am grateful for the wonderful job he does providing for us.

Best of 2010 Regular everyday stuff

Some of my favorite moments of 2010 have been the simple everyday things

like the kids coming in to our room in the morning to snuggle and play

funny things they say and do while we are out running errands

I can't believe Kiera actually fell asleep like this.

or even playing outside on warm summer days. I thought it was pretty funny that Kiera thinks she needs her helmet on like her brother and sister who are riding bikes eventhough she is just walking around.