Let's Get Physical

No, this is not some sensual, R-rated post. It's about ice hockey. I know hockey is not the American favorite past-time sport, but we Finns love it!! Mio plays for the BYU hockey team, and they had a game against ASU this weekend. They actually played three games in three nights. Those poor players were tired! Since Mio is little bit on the shorter size, some of the bigger players liked checking him. There were few times when we weren't sure if we would be able to skate off the ice. I hadn't been in a hockey game for years, and I had forgotten how physical the game is. Mio said that he was little sore from all the checking. He even had a bleeding lip. Troy's parents and Trent, Savannah, Hayden and McKenna came to support Mio as well. We appreciate the family support! Next time we'll have to make a nice glittery poster for him.

Saku enjoyed the game and was even able to fall asleep there. I really think he likes to be little chilly when he sleeps.

Smooth skating

Mio at the face off

Mio got a penalty so Saku and I went to pose next to the penalty box. Mio pretended that we weren't there. I know I'm almost like an embarrassing mother to him.

I love these boys!

Few cute pictures and some pondering

This weekend we had a chance to go and visit our friends Phil and Christina. On a quick side note, isn't it interesting how you refer different couple's names; sometimes it's the wife's name first and sometimes the hubby gets the first pick. I wonder if people say Troy and Eevi or Eevi and Troy.

Our boys were born 5 days apart and they "met" each other in July when they were only few weeks old. Their size difference seemed so big to me at the time. At three months, James has really grown and the boys seemed to be about the same size. Saku's head is so round and James' head is long. Saku might weight little more because he is kind of a dense baby where as James had few more thigh rolls. The boys kept talking and talking over each other. Oh, how I wish they could grow up together and be buddies.

It took so many pictures to get both of the boys to smile at the same time.

Does it get any sillier than this?

We were only able to hang out for few hours, and it really made me miss them. I have thought about friendships quite a bit lately. What makes two people become friends? Sometimes I have so much in common with my friends. Sometimes it is because they are fun loving people and bring excitement to my life. Sometimes it's because they are good talkers and I'm a good listener. Sometimes it is because they let me do all the talking. Sometimes there seems to be no good reason and we are still very good friends. Sometimes it's simply because they know how to make me feel good about myself. I don't mean it in a "Eevi you are so pretty and smart-compliments" way, but their presence makes me feel good about myself. There are also people that I would love to be good friends with, but I wonder if we would hit it off, if I would be exciting enough to be their friend or if hanging out would be like a bad first date...

Big hug to my friends. You are much loved and appreciated!

Saku at 3 months

Our little boy turned three months last Thursday. We keep forgetting that he is only three months since he is such a good size little man.

A little summary of Saku at three months.

*Eyes are still blue

*Hair is light brown

*Mom introduced Baby Einstein and it keeps him occupied for 10-15 minutes.

*Can roll from his back to his side and his side to his tummy; rolled from back to tummy in a smooth motion twice.

*in the last week, he has started to tolerate tummy time again. Rolled from his tummy to his back two times, but doesn't do it regularly.

*loves sitting in the Bumbo seat and looking at himself in the bathroom mirror when mom gets ready

*has become quite the master of spitting up, which means that mom's signature scent is curdled milk

*wears size two diapers

*forgot how to sleep during the night

*takes better naps

*loves shoving his hands in his mouth and gagging himself

*tracts objects really well and responds to you across the room

*loves ceiling fans and lights

*talks constantly

*holds his hands together all the time

*he loves talking and interacting with us

*his hands keep him entertained 90% of the day

*still gets his feelings so hurt when you lay him down when he is crying

Prayers Answered

There has not been a night in the last three months when our evening prayers have not included the plea "please help Saku to sleep well tonight". He was doing well for a while and we celebrated the 7 hours of sleep in a row, but after his 2-month appointment, we have regressed to sleeping only about 3 hours in a row. However, this is not about sleeping again, which might be a relief to those who are so sick of talking about sleeping or not sleeping.

I admit that I have wondered how long it will take until my simple prayer gets answered and I have wondered what Heavenly Father wants me to learn from this experience of not sleeping more than 3 hours in a row.

Then few days ago, a friend of mine asked if I take naps all the time to balance the lack of sleep at night and I realized that I don't take naps. It is not because I don't have the time; I seem do just fine with the sleep that I get. I am not trying to sound heroic because it is hard. I think it is more emotionally hard to get up at 1 am, 2:30 am and 4:30 am and then finally 6:30 am to start the day. However, I feel like Heavenly Father has blessed me with energy and positive attitude during the day, so I don't have to stay at home and take multiple naps to somehow survive the day. Because He knows me so well, He has blessed me with the energy to go out and have playdates with my friends and exercise because these things bring me happiness.

Another blessing has been Saku's increased social skills:) He talks to himself all the time, he talks to us and smiles and smiles. Last night I was putting him to bed and we said a prayer and as I was talking, he started talking. I had to open my eyes and he was looking straight at him and just kept talking as I finished the prayer. Plus it is amazing how happy this little boy is, except when he is hungry or stuck in his car seat. I think I did injustice few months ago when I kept talking about how he is not a very easy baby.

I will keep praying for increased amount of sleep, but I am grateful that I am able to survive, be happy and feel normal(most of the time) even when I don't get the luxury of sleep.

Finallly a Homemaker?

When Troy and I met, he probably fell in love with my sense of humor, my drive to succeed in school and life, my butt(it looked good back in the day) and the fact that we just clicked. He did NOT fall in love with me because of my homemaking skills. I knew how to cook one meal when we were dating. He was seriously worried about the status of his stomach for the rest of his life. I did not have much interest in homemaking stuff; I think I almost took pride in the lack of it. In reality, my pride for being clueless when it came to the cooking, decorating, sewing etc., was most likely a defense mechanism.

Four years later, I hope he still finds my humor funny and that he doesn't mind that my butt isn't shaped like it used to be, but I am proud (even though pride is a sin) to say that I have become a homemaker. No one will come to my house and ask for decorating tips or tell me that I should open an restaurant because of the amazingly delicious meals that I cook; however, I feel like I have develop talents that didn't feel like my talents few years ago. Even though I like to think of myself as a very modern woman and I don't necessarily like the female/male stereotypes, it makes me feel good to be able to do things around the house. I want to be clear that I do not think that anyone has to be a cook/seamstress/interior designer to have a nice home and be a good wife/mother. It takes much more than pretty things to have a good atmosphere at home. However, I am happy to have accomplished some of these skills:)

What are some of your talents that you didn't use to have? What are you striving for?

Now we finally have a curtain next to our front door so we have little more privacy.

I had some extra fabric and ended up redoing this lampshade.

I felt like baking today--well I felt like eating something sweet today, so I made some delicious cookies.

I need to finish off with few important questions

1. Do you enjoy homemade cookie dough or the actual cookies more? I just ate few spoonfulls of cookie dough...and I have 20 cookies baking in the oven..yes, this does not help the shape of my butt.

2. Has anyone's child had an issue of always waking up after 30-45 minutes of nap time? I tried so hard not to mention Saku, but I am trying to decide whether I should try some new tricks to extend his nap time or should I assume that he will only nap for 45 minutes. He is still tired after 45 minutes.

Dear...

Dear Friend,

I wish you did not have to move away. I am excited for you to start something new, but my heart aches for the loneliness that I will feel when I cannot see you daily. I have enjoyed the comfort of our friendship, the trust and honesty that is between us and the simple fact that I know that you are my friend.

Love, Eevi

Dear Friend,

I am sorry I hurt you by pulling away and making you feel like I did not need your friendship. I hope you know that I did not intentionally try to hurt you. I sincerely hope that our friendship can get pass this and we can get back on the track where we were prior to all of this.

Love, Eevi

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am grateful for my earthly body. I am grateful for the ability to have children. I am grateful for the ability to nurture Saku. I am grateful for the ability to run and get strong. I am grateful for the health that You have blessed me with. I promise to try to be less critical of my body and love it in spite of its imperfections.

Love, Eevi

Dear Friend,

Happy Birthday. I love you like a sister. You are amazing. I miss sharing my daily life with you. I still have the dream of living next to you and raising our kids together.

Love, Eevi

Dear Mom,

I miss you. People are telling me that I look like you with my new hair cut. I love the idea of looking like you. I hope you can feel how much I love you. I might need some of your strength if Saku does not start sleeping better. I wonder what advice you could give me.

Love, Eevi

Dear Troy,

Thank you for your sacrifices for our family. Thank you for making me feel beautiful. Thank you for loving Saku like you do. . Thank you for marrrying me in the temple so we can be together for an eternity. I do not take any of that for granted.

Love, Eevi

Dear Saku,

I hope that I don't see you until the morning. You looked adorable in your new train pyjamas. I do not think there is anything cuter than a little boy wearing pyjamas. OK, I do think that naked little boys are the cutest, but you are little bit a hazard without a diaper so we will stick with the pyjamas.

Love, mom

Dear Blog Reader,

Our computer is at the computer doctor at the moment, which leaves me without pictures. I also do not have a computer during the day, which forces me to do useful things such as cleaning, sewing, organizing etc., when Troy is at work. I will keep you posted on how life without a computer works out for me.

Love, Eevi

Dear Eevi,

You are rather silly for blogging when you could be sleeping.

Love, Eevi

Seriously Important Thoughts and News

We got a runner#7 for our relay team. Chad Ensign will add little more testosterone and speed to our team.

We got runner#8-Bert Dover. He said he would rather just run all the distance at once rather than run three times. Too bad we can't do that.

I have 20+ burp cloths, yet I find myself catching most of Saku's spit up in my cupped hand.

If you happen to run out of nursing pads and it is Sunday, which means you cannot go and buy new ones, panty liners work. Troy is very embarrassed that this information is being posted.

Friday night is my favorite night. Yes, it was our date night(with Saku). Yes, I got a foot rub. But the best part was that Troy got up during the night with Saku so I was able to sleep few more extra hours. And of course, Troy's appreciation for me increased.

I ran 6 miles on Monday morning. I love to be out running. The runner in-me is coming out of the 10 month hibernation.

I have lost six pounds in the last five weeks. My fat percentage has gone down 1.5%, which is really nice. I have not been good about avoiding sweets, but I have been running really hard. I know this could be taken as bragging or looking for some "way to go" compliments. However, anyone who has tried to lose weight seriously knows how hard it can be, so I feel like I can brag a little bit:)

I have develop as a mother to the point where I can let Saku cry for 5 minutes and he has started to fall asleep within 3 minutes of crying. So wonderful! Tonight it took 1 minute! I could not believe it!!

According to Troy, I look like a chipmunk in this picture. I can't smile nicely for pictures:( However, it shows my new hair cut so I'm posting it.

Saku took his first ride in the seat part of our stroller on Saturday and felt so proud to be a big boy:)

I Might Need to Improve My Conversation Skills

We were enjoying a fun Saturday afternoon and I'm trying to engage my family in some conversation and this is the response...

Both of my boys were snoozing and I was actually reading a book.

Aren't lazy Saturday (or really any day) afternoons the best?

My Brave Little Man

Saku had his two-month appointment yesterday and he did so well. We were pleasantly surprised that we only waited about 5 minutes to get in and another five minutes for the doctor to come and see our little guy. We really like our pediatrician. She is so personable and listens to our concerns and opinions. Any doctor that gets Troy's approval is an A+ doctor since Troy has a basic mistrust towards doctors. This is interesting due to the fact that many of our good friends are doctors/med students and Troy has a great respect towards them and enjoys their friendships.

So the important numbers for Saku at 2 months are the following

Weight: 13 lbs 15 oz (90-95th percentile)

Length: 24.5 inches (90th percentile)

Head: 42 cm (90th percentile)

He used to be in the 50th percentile for everything, so we have made quite the jump. Most likely his growth will level out and he won't be in the 90th percentile for that long.

My baby doesn't look like a baby anymore. I mean obviously he is only 2 months, but he seems so big to me now. That newborn phase is over so quickly. Saku gets this confused face when Troy's face disappears behind the camera.

Am I a cruel mom to try to capture his red face on camera while he receives THREE shots? He cried so hard for 30 seconds and then stopped right away when I cuddled him. It was one of those moments when I really felt like I was his mom and he knew that I loved him and wanted to comfort him.

This is how he felt for most of the evening. Troy and I took turns to cuddle him. He was very sleepy and even fell asleep on his own in his crib. For many babies that might be an every day event; however, Saku has fallen asleep only twice on his own prior to last night.

Check out those strong legs and the sweet band-aids.

I also came across this blog post by Seriously, so blessed!. It just made my day.

Thanks for the tylenol tip. It seems to have worked like magic:)