Merry Christmas! (A little late like always)

Merry Christmas, everyone! I know, I know, I'm so late. Christmas sort of sneaked up and bit me this year. It was a happy bite. A love bug kind of bite. However wonderful it was, it was still very very sneaky. Even now I find myself still thinking it's December. Thanksgiving feels like it was just last week. What happened to my sense of time?

My lack of time telling isn't what I'm supposed to be talking about here, so I'll move along. We had pictures taken at Portrait Innovations again. We took Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa along and got some pretty cute Walker cousin pictures. I wish we could have had Kensington there too. Maybe next year we'll do it again, adding Kensington and baby Nuila the second edition as well!

A lot happened in the month of December. Tyler, Derek, and I were involved in a minor car accident and have been without my beloved Jetta ever since. We were stopped on one of our neighborhood streets. It's one of those 4-way yield streets. We were stopped. We were not moving. I feel this is important to the story. A lady in a big white van turned left while looking down (not at the road or at the beautiful black Jetta on the road). Tyler honked and honked but she still hit us head on (she cut the corner). Other than waking up Derek, making me late for work, and smashing the front bumper of Jenna (Jenna the Jetta), the whole thing wasn't that big of a deal. As of now, our car is still getting a makeover. Hopefully we'll have it back tomorrow. We're so tired of the Kia. We miss Jenna.

We have better news though: Tyler got a new job! He worked his last day at Bank of the West on Saturday. He started his new job with Omniture today (Monday). Omniture was recently bought by Adobe, so I suppose I should say that he works for Adobe. He will be doing account management. I think he's going to enjoy it. He said that they have a kitchen stocked with free drinks and lunch, a rock band playing room, and an on-line gaming room. I'm afraid that he'll like it so much he won't want to come home. I'll just have to take his word that he'd much rather be with us. It's close to home so he won't have far to go. We're very happy and grateful for this new opportunity. Go Tyler!

We went to a few Christmas parties. The Prestgard Christmas party was highlighted with going Christmas caroling. Our little family only went to one house because we didn't want Derek to get cold, but it was still fun. My favorite part of the party was Kensington's photography. I'll have to dedicate a post to the artistic viewings of a 3 year old. I have to say, she's got quite an eye for photography.

The Keetch family Christmas party had a gift exchange and Mexican food. I also schooled the younger generation in Wii Mario Kart. Derek dressed up as Santa. He was probably the cutest Santa I've ever seen. Maybe even the cutest Santa that ever was. That is my opinion. You can have your own opinion, of course. You can keep it to yourself if it differs.

My work party was a pot-luck of good food, a gift exchange, and Christmas caroling. It was fun to get to know the people I work with a little better. Derek was a big hit there as well. He was quite the performer.

My mom, stepfather, and two sisters (Samantha and Sabrina) came up for Christmas this year. I had to work the night everyone got into town but they surprised me by coming into the restaurant! They came in with Tyler, Derek, Dan, Choka, Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa. I'm still a new waitress and not skilled in the ways of large group dining but I took it on anyways. I'm pretty sure they all think I suck as a waitress. No one told me, but they made me so nervous I couldn't think straight. Tyler assures me that I did fine but I felt like a basket case. It was still really fun. I was so tired that night and kinda dragging but they came in and it energized me. It tortured Derek though. It was hard to keep walking away from him. He cried every time I walked out of the room. Luckily he was asleep for most of the meal. I got to clock out and join my family toward the end.

Christmas Eve, we opened presents from "Grandma and Grandpa Austin." Derek got a lion walker that he absolutely loves. Danny got a scooter that he was especially excited about. His face as he opened the Radio Flyer scooter was the epitome of kid Christmas faces. He bounced and laughed and had a huge goofy grin on his face. Awesome. Tyler and I made out like bandits in the gift department as well. Gift cards and clothing and jewelry. The jewelry was just for me though.

Christmas morning we opened presents at our house.Derek had fun opening presents. He was more interested in ripping the paper and eating it than discovering the toys within the packages though.

I wasn't expecting much this Christmas, but ended up getting one big present. It was a Christmas/Birthday present, which, normally, I'm totally against but it was just so sweet and unexpected and such a sacrifice that I was thrilled. There was a small box that said, "Pick one" and inside were two pieces of paper. One piece said, "Nook" and the other said, "iPod Touch."

After we opened presents at our house, we went over to Dan and Choka's for breakfast and the exchanging of sibling presents. The breakfast was amazing. Those crazy kids are GOOD cooks. (Dan and Choka, I mean, not the actual children.) Dan gave Tyler all three seasons of the IT Crowd. Tyler can't wait to get started on those again. Cory had my name and got me a cute pink purse filled with Target gift coins! I all ready spent them. I bought a dress and a cardigan.

And then we went to the traditional Prestgard movie outing. Tyler, Derek, Ashley, and I saw the "Squeakquel" of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was cute. Derek hung upside-down and gargled most of the time. Hahaha.

We opened presents at the Prestgard's house after that. More gift cards! I'm really excited about going to Mimi's Cafe to eat. I all ready used one gift card and bought some jeans that I LOVE. Mostly I love that they fit and that I fit in them.

Then we returned to Dan and Choka's for a good ol' fashioned Christmas dinner.

So, our Christmas was pretty great. Hope yours was too. I'm a bum and didn't send the Christmas cards I bought. I guess I'll have to repent and try again next year. Don't think that I've forgotten about you.
I love you all,
Merry Christmas.

(Actual post date: January 4, 2010)

Derek at 9 Months

This is such a fun age. Derek is such a little charmer! He's a very happy baby, most of the time, and loves to smile, play peek-a-boo, and laugh. He's quite the performer and loves the attention he attracts. I took him to my work Christmas party and he would hold up his hands and growl, wait for everyone to laugh, and then repeat.

He has another tooth coming in. It hasn't cut yet but it will any day now.

He hasn't taken any more steps on his own yet. He seems a bit tentative now after that first attempt where he fell forward. He cruises around using the furniture though.

He pulls himself up to standing. He loves to go to the piano, reach up, and play.

He stands by himself for short periods of time. I expect him to take off running soon.

He says Mama and Dada with intention. I also think he says "nanana" for nurse and "nononono" for no. He babbles a lot, loves to sing, growl, and yell. He's a very vocal boy. It's adorable.

He's very wiggly and active. He jumps. He looks at his cousins running around and you can see the envy in his eyes. He wants, so badly, to run around with them! He recognizes people and gets excited to see his family and friends. What a precious feeling that is, to see how excited he gets to see me.

I think he's just the cutest. Having him in our family is such a blessing.

Would You Like Fries with That?

One day I was about to go to the South Town Exposition Center with Jessica to have some good ol' fashioned Twilight fun when I got a phone call from my friend Ashley. I told her awhile ago that I was looking for a part-time seasonal job to try to get those darned ends to meet. She said that she'd talk to her boss for me and she did. (Thank you, Ashley.) She told me to come down right away to interview for a position. I was not dressed for an interview. I threw on some khakis and an argyle sweater and went to interview. I was hired on the spot and started four days later. I am now a server at a restaurant.

Good thing I got that bachelors of science degree, eh?

I've been working for a couple of weeks now. It's been good. I'm more of a "fill-in" server and only work twice, maybe three times, a week. I'll probably work a little more when everybody leaves for their Christmas vacations. The shifts are only a few hours. It's still hard to leave Derek, even for just a couple of hours at a time. He usually just chills with his Dad or with aunts, cousins, and/or grandmas. So he has fun while I'm working.

My boss is so impressed that I have all ready figured out the computer. That is the least of my problems. I'm more worried about tripping while carrying large trays loaded with drinks and plates of hot food, or about remembering and juggling the little things you have to get and do all at the same time. I think pregnancy took all the memory brain cells and turned them to mush.

I think it's a good job for me. They have a good atmosphere, everyone is really nice, and it's pretty relaxed. I feel really fortunate that I found a job that will get us through this hard time while still allowing me to be home 95% of the week (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less). I don't know how long I will work. I don't have a plan. We'll see how things go.



PLEASE

tip your servers (well) - especially in Utah where the bulk of their paycheck comes from tips. And it doesn't just go to them. They split it with the busboy. Even if the busboy makes them do most of his job.

Thank you.

Misunderstood Gem of the Week

What Wayne thought Tyler was singing:
"Obama Derek Bear"

What Tyler was really singing:
"Oh I'm a Derek Bear"

I am still laughing.

8 Months... and a couple of weeks...

Derek is growing so fast! He's so curious and adventurous. A couple of days before his 8 month mark, he was standing by the couch, holding on and watching the Gummy Bear Song. I was sitting behind him. When it was finished, he turned around slowly, stood without holding on to anything for a second or two and then tried to take a step toward me! I was right there so I reached out and caught him as he fell forward. He really wants to start walking. He's an expert crawler now and can disappear within a few seconds. He'd rather hold some hands and walk around. We walk around our house for hours. My back hurts. He can pull himself up to standing with no trouble at all now and LOVES to turn off the TV, DVR, VCR, and Wii. I don't know why he gets such a kick out of it. I try not to react at all.

He loves balloons. He also loves to roll and chase his bouncy ball around.

He hates bananas. Every time we give him bananas, he gags. He even threw up once. Maybe we'll try again next month.

He has two teeth now, both bottom middle teeth.

He babbles a lot. He's a very vocal little boy. It's really cute.

He plays peek-a-boo and even initiates play.

He's outgrown his whale bathtub and takes baths in the "big people" tub. He loves to splash around and play. There was a minor slip where he went under the water all the way for the first time and now he's a little timid about moving around. I'm going to have to get him a little seat and some more anti-slip stickies. I'm looking for some whimsical ducks like Sheldon has.

Burned by 30 Rock

Kenneth: "I feel as useless as a mom's college degree."

Haha. What a good line. Hopefully not completely true. I hope that, maybe, someday I'll go back to school so I'll have two useless degrees.

I love you, 30 Rock.

My other favorite part was the Chinese version of "Dealbreaker" written by "Lesbian Yellow Sourfruit."

Good stuff, that 30 Rock.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Okay, so I'm a week late in writing this post. That does not mean that Tyler is loved any less than infinitely. I'm sorry, Tyler, for not publicly wishing you well on your special day. Better late than never? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!!!!!

Tyler turned 28 last Tuesday. We celebrated with the Prestgard's the Sunday before his birthday and with Dan, Choka, Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa on Tuesday. Then, on Friday, Shanda, Christof, and Kensington treated us with dinner at Red Robin. So he had two birthday cakes and three birthday dinners! Thanks to everybody for making last week a great birthday-week!

We were supposed to be in CA for his birthday but had to cancel our trip. Tyler had the week off though so Derek and I were spoiled and got to spend all day every day with him! It was awesome. He's such a kind, caring, and generous husband and father. We love him so much. I can't imagine my life without him.

I hope he enjoyed being home as much as we enjoyed having him around. Everything is so much easier when he's here. He's so patient. He works so hard. Derek loves playing with him. And I think he's a gem of a man. I'm so lucky to have him as my partner.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

We Love You!!!!