2009 in Review

Top 10 2009 Sylvia Events-

10. We potty trained Dallin and got rid of the Binkie
9. Andy got laid off from the Utah Blaze, and then hired with REAL Salt Lake, then laid off again, and finally re-hired as a full time salaried position. Phew.
8. We welcomed a new nephew, Grey in February and a new neice, Ellie on Christmas Eve
7. Dallin started pre-school and LOVES EVERY MINUTE
6. We celebrated 5 years of Bliss in July
5. Andy ventured out on many "guys sports trips"
4. Ashley transferred to the new Primary Children's Outpatient Clinic and went part time
3. Andy graduated from the University of Utah
2. We added a new sister in law, Erika who married Andy's youngest brother Gregg

And the #1 thing for 2009 is....

1. CLAIRE ALDINE SYLVIA (the cutest, sweetest, giggliest, wiggliest, smiliest,
happiest thing ever) was born

Okay it didnt turn out as exciting as it was in my mind. It was hard to narrow it down to 10 things.. but oh well you get the idea. I am excited to see what 2010 will bring for our family. Now that I am not pregnant we are hoping to do more adventurous things including skiing/snowboarding and teaching Dallin to ski as well. We plan to take many hikes with the kids when the weather warms up and finally get to head out into the woods for some camping trips. We are planning a big trip back east to Boston and Cape Cod in July, and as always we are looking for different options for Andy to move up in his career. This will be the first year in our marriage where Andy is not going to school, and I am not working full time. I hope this means more quality family time for us to enjoy being The Sylvia's.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Lazy

I am being a lazy blogger right now. I do have lots to post about, for instance Christmas, oh and the birth of my latest neice.. kind of a few biggies. Anyway, I am waiting for the motivation to come and then I will post... waiting, and waiting...

Giveaway

11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven is giving away a gorgeous Hotslings baby carrier!

To enter click HERE.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE

... from the two cutest kids ever (I am not biased at all)

Oct/Nov in a nutshell

Claire's 1st attempt at rice cereal... Yum

I can sit up!!

Me baby C and Dall supporting our REAL Salt Lake in the playoffs

Dallin and me cheering

Claire's first Halloween, isn't she just so stinkin cute

My pirate, pumpkin and hubby

Splish Splash... 1st time swimming and loved every minute

Andy got an all expense paid trip to Seattle to see his REAL Salt Lake Soccer team play in the MLS Cup. Boy did he have fun, and way to go REAL for "Taking the Cup"

Andy and his work buddies in Seattle

Me, Dallin, Claire and my mom went to the airport to welcome the winning team home (and Daddy of course who flew home on a private plane with the team)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Me and the hubbs

The three Sylvia Girlies

Grammy and Granddad with the 4 grandchildren (one on the way)


Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. We sure did, and we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

The Amazing Race

I decided I really want to audition for the Amazing Race. Ever since the show started I totally pictured myself on the show, and now even more than ever I feel inclined to audition. I am not sure who I want to be my partner though. I definitely do not want to go with Andy (no offense) because I dont really want to expose my marriage publically like that. I have considered my bro-in-law Tyler because according to my family we would be a great team... we both possess the right qualities but we dont really have a "relationship" per say... not sure if that would be an adavantage or not. We thought we would have a good case though... picture this

-Mormom mom of two partnered with her "rock band" brother in law
-We would sure look good together, we would look like blood relatives that is... both red headed and freckled, actually it might be a bit confusing.

If you are wondering, I am truly serious about this, and am just trying to decide who the best partner for me would be. I believe that the partnership can make or break the race. Let me know if you are interested.....

I got a feeling....

I know people make fun of other people for posting on their blog about "how perfect their little life is". Today I just have to be one of those people... whether you like it or not. I am at work today, and as usual am counting down the minutes until I get to rush home and scoop up both my babies, hear about their day with grandma, and smother them with kisses. I am so grateful for my job, because it gives me an opportunity to truly "miss" my kids. That might sound weird but I have figured out that I am the type of mom who needs to get out, get some adult interaction and actually work in the career that I chose to go to school for. And at the end of my 2 lovely days of work, I ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT know that I have the best life waiting for me at home!!! My kids have taught me truly what my calling in life is, and that is being the best mom I can to them. I sure hope I do a good job! I could not imagine my life any other way, or under any other circumstance.

tear...

So Long...

Today marks my last full day of work at Primary Children's Medical Center. I have worked there for 4 1/2 years and it has been AMAZING. I absolutely love my job and am so happy I took the risk and made a bold move when I started working there. I was absolutely TERRIFIED to be working at a Children's Hospital, only to soon find it was the best decision ever. If you are wondering, no I did not quit, yes I will still be working. Primary Children's opened a new outpatient clinic in Riverton, (not to be confused with the new hospital) The two are connected but offer totally different services. I decided to transfer to the Primary Clinic for a few reasons. First, it is closer to my house, and since I work 12 hour shifts a shorter commute was very appealing. Second, I was ready for a change of pace. The Hospital is very busy and fast paced, which is great, but again working long hours makes that very tiring on my body! I am very happy with my decision, and will still be working with the same Radiologists which is huge, and some of the my favorite people will be joining me at the Clinic. The good news is I am going to be working up at the Hospital every Wednesday night from 5-10 pm for some extra hours which means I still get to see some of my closest friends and keep in the loop. The Clinic opens bright and early Monday morning, but I wont be there till Tuesday! Yay!

Family Fotos

We decided it was time to get some family pictures while the weather was still nice. Our friends the Clayton's were AWESOME and helped us with the shoot. Eric has taken a liking to photography lately and we asked him to come out and take some pictures our family. He obviously did an amazing job, and Jenny edited all of them with her mad photoshop skills. Thank you guys so much for being so talented and offering to help with the pictures. I love the way they turned out, so here are a few to check out!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I turned 27 on October 19. Good times! I was considering putting down in my blog my 27 year old stats, you know, like we all do for our children. Weighting in at ____ that is where it stopped. Ha ha. Anyway, my birthday was fun, I celebrated with the in-laws on Sunday with cake and ice cream. Monday I enjoyed a yummy lunch with my girlies at my most favortie burger joint, eat-a-burger (thanks Jenny) and then went to dinner with my family and had cake and presents that night! Tuesday I got together with my girlfriends from high school at Red Robin and we celebrated both mine and Meghan's birthdays. WOW lots of food was involved in retrospect. I really cant believe I am 27, I think I always consider myself to be in my early 20's. One day I will realize I am old and wrinkly and saggy and all that good stuff.

My bestest friend

*beware this is kind of sappy but I was just in one of those moods



My best friend Katie and I have been friends for years and years. When we were in high school we had that type of friendship where I went with them on family vacations, we had sleepeovers every weekend, out parents were eachothers second parents, you know that kind of friend. We have really stayed just as close as ever, and now with two kids each we still find time to get together as often as we can. Her oldest daughter Audrey is 4 and Dallin sure loves hanging out with her. Brad, her one year old and Claire I am sure will grow fond of eachother too. I just wanted to say how truly grateful I am to have such an amazing friend, someone who I still talk to every single day, tell everything to, and who just "gets" me. I love ya Kate!

Its been 4 months already?

Claire officially turned 4 months on the 11th! I seriously cannot believe she is that old, it makes me want to cry. If you are wondering, No she does not suck her thumb but her hands are constantly in her mouth so sometimes it ends up in there for a minute. I was able to snap this cute picture with her sucking her thumb. Here is a list of milestones Claire has reached so far:

* She weighs about 15 lbs (we go to the doc on monday for her official appointment)
* She rolls over from her back to her belly
* She is starting to giggle all the time and it is sooooo cute
* She is the happiest easiest baby, really only cries when she is tired and even then its hardly a "cry"
* She is cutting her first tooth as we speak, it it the bottom side tooth.. next to the front two... random
* She sleeps pretty well, usually only wakes up once a night around 4, sometimes it is twice but she is getting better
* She has to sleep in her swaddle blanket, otherwise her hands go crazy and she wakes herself up
* She loves talking and cooing
* She has discovered her feet, and LOVES to hold them all day long
* She started reaching for toys and sits up well with a bit of support to try and play with them

Overall the last 4 months have been so enjoyable. She really is such a delight, and she sure melts my heart over and over and over. We love our little muffin.

3 1/2 months and Rolling Over

Some animals, some pumpkins and lots of duck poop..

That is what we encountered at our trip to wheeler farm today! My mother in law wanted to take the kids to pick out a pumpkin so we packed a lunch and headed over there to walk around. It turned into a beautiful day, and Dallin and Lyla sure had a blast together as usual running rampid through the grass (that is where the duck poop comes into play) After lunch we headed the pumpkin patch where the kids each picked out their favorite pumpkin. It was a fun day to say the least, oh except for the very end where my poor nephew Grey somehow slipped out of his buckles in his stroller and fell flat on his face onto the cement. It was sooo sad, but he ended up being just fine minus a scratch on his head.

Can someone please tell me when my son decided to become Mr. GQ?


Claire cute as can be. I just want to squeeze her little cheeks.


The infamous duo


WE LOVE PUMPKINS!!!

Gregg and Erika's Wedding

On September 28 we celebrated the wedding of Andy's youngest brother Gregg. He married Erika and I am so excited to have her as my new sister in law. The wedding was at Gardner Village and turned out beautifully! Gregg and Erika looked so great and I am so happy for them.

Pictures of the happy couple coming soon....

Dallin was the Ring Bearer and was such a little stud. He actually behaved so well during the ceremony and did his job perfectly! He is so big!

This picture is ADORABLE! Dallin and his cute cousin Lyla (who was the flower girl). These two are such a hoot and had a blast running wild all night long. They were pooped by the end of the night!

Claire looked soooo cute in her purple outfit. She was definitely a hit at the wedding, but who could resist this one?

Here we are all together. I wish we had a better family picture of the 4 of us, but this one is pretty cute!

Update on reality

Work so far has been amazing. I feel like I am there just enough to get out of the house, spend time with my lovely co workers and do a little life saving. Claire has handled being away from me just fine, which was the thing I was most concerned about. She takes the bottle like a champ and goes down easily for her naps. Dallin is absolutely LOVING preschool and he practically runs in every time! All in all the "back to work" thing has all been relatively easy. The PCMC clinic at Riverton is opening in November and for those who dont know I will be working out there. It will be a good change of pace and of course it is closer to our house so my commute cuts in half. I'm excited but nervous, because running a brand new clinic will definitely have its challenges!

On another note, I took Dallin in for his 3 year checkup today. I cant believe he is so old, it still boggles my mind. He weighs 32 lbs. which puts him right in the 50%. He is 38" which is the 75%. I was glad to hear he is growing well. I talked with the doctor about his sleep problems (he wakes up 2-3 times every single night). She referred us to go see an ENT to look at his tonsils and adenoids. Sometimes they are enlarged which causes obstructive sleep apnea. Basically they stop breathing in the night, and then it wakes them up... They never really get into the deep REM sleep and then they become super hyperactive during the day as a result. All of the signs (including mouth breathing and snoring which he does most of the time) make the doctor suspicious. I guess it is pretty common and removing them is the only cure. Most of these kiddos have a great response and the sleeping problems usually resolve. I am anxious to see what the ENT says. Is it bad to say I hope that he does have this problem so that it can be fixed. I sure would like a good nights sleep sometime soon! I will let you all know what the doc says next wednesday!

Tribute to my kiddos

I am sitting here at 6:30 am updating my blog because I am headed off to work today. I got ready a bit faster then I thought, so I wanted to take this time to say some things about being a mom. I am so blessed to have two amazing and absolutely beautiful children. They are so smart and loving and I couldn't ask for anything else. At times Dallin is quite a challenge, but at the end of the day he is still the sweet cuddly little smarty pants that I love! Claire has started laughing and is starting to reveal her own sweet personality. I cannot believe she is 3 months old and it is time for me to head back to work. I am so grateful that I was able to cut down to part time so my kids get more time with Mommy!

I love tummy time...

Well for about 20 seconds maybe. Can you even stand those huge brown eyes? I sure love this little girl.

Claire's Blessing

We blessed Claire last Sunday. She looked so beautiful, and it was a great day to celebrate with all our friends and family. Even though the majority of our family does not share the same faith, they were all there bright and early at 9:00 to help honor Claire on her special day. We are so fortunate to have such loving and supportive families! Andy gave a wonderful blessing and we enjoyed visiting afterwards with everyone. Here's a few pictures of my darling girl.

back to work

Well my twelve weeks of maternity leave will soon be over. Oh how interesting it has been being home every day with the kids. I have always worked, so it was quite a new experience for me spending every day home, not to mention most of the days Andy was at school and work so he wasnt home to help much. Of course I have loved every minute of it, and I am very sad to leave my kiddos and head back to work. The good news is I was able to pull some strings and cut back from working 3 12 hour shifts to working only 2 now. I am so excited because now I can have more time at home, and the kids dont have to be watched another day by their oh so amazing grandmas!! Dallin starts preschool on tuesday, the same day I start back to work. I will be working tuesdays and fridays which are Dallin's school days. I figured it would be easier for the sitters to only have him for a half day now that Claire in n the picture!!! I hope everything works out financially for us so I can stay part time. I may throw in a 5-10 pm shift starting in October for a few more hours. I will say that I am pretty excited to go back to work because I really truly love my job. I have the greatest co-workers on the planet, and I really enjoy working with all the adorable kids at the hospital. Working two days seems ideal for me, because I get the best of both worlds!!

Miss Smiley

Claire's first trip to the zoo, looking as cute as usual

First time in the Bumbo. I think she likes it, what do you think? Oh and I dont think her smile could get any bigger.

Pictures Galore

Here are some pictures to sum up the last few weeks

Cousins Dallin and Lyla acting silly as usual

Claire sporting her adorable self

Mom and Me

Great Grandma Gert "GG" and Great Grandpa Leo in town from Boston

Granddad and Dallin building sand castles

Andy's Graduation party

Dallin turns 3

Dallins awesome new Tonka bike

All Dallin asked for for his birthday was a spiderman mask. Clearly his wishes were granted!

Dallin taking a whack at the spiderman pinata