Jinxed

Last weekend, we hung out with our friends Brian and Alia. Alia had a little cold and warned me to not get sick. I responded along the lines of "I work at a hospital, so I am pretty immune to things, I wont get sick". This is true and I haven't been sick in a long time. However, Wednesday came and I started to feel sick. By the way, I don't think Alia got me sick since Saku has had a cold for days. So I went to work last night with some sniffles, but nothing dramatic. However, four hours into the shift, I called Troy to make sure that he was working on his final project and informed him that I was feeling so terrible. I had five patients that night and kept running around to make sure everyone was OK. Every time I got up to go to a patient's room, I felt like I was going to either pass out or vomit. My blood pressure was way high for me (a perk of working at the hospital is that we could check it) and I alternated between hot and cold. Finally at 3 am, Troy picked me up from work and I came home four hours early. The whole time, baby girl kept moving around like crazy and I had some achy pains, which worried me. The last thing I want to do is to get the baby stressed out.

None of my co-workers read my blog, but I am so grateful for them. Almost each time, I got up to do something, they offered to do it for me so I could just sit and chart. They remind me to make sure I'm eating and resting enough and baby girl receives plenty of belly rubs.

What would be do without wonderful people around us?? Good thing we don't have to go through this life alone.

Troy let me "sleep" this morning. I put sleep in quotation marks because Saku kept coming to the room every 15 minutes for few hours saying "aiti" "aiti". He loves to check on me. Finally, I got some uninterrupted sleep when the boys went to the park:)

Let's hope Saku won't always feel this way about family scripture study!

Hard to be honest

I'm not talking about not stealing, cheating or lying; I'm talking about truly expressing my thoughts as they are and making an account of my life as it is. I started my second blog as an outlet for my "true" feelings, yet maintaining two blogs is just too much right now and even there I felt like I unconsciously edited things I wanted to say.

It is true that there is a certain satisfaction when people agree and comment on your thoughts. It feels good to be validated. And mostly, I know who my audience is (hah, makes it sound like my blog is somehow popular,which it isn't) and what they think. I can say with 100% sincerity that I don't attempt to portray my life as a picture perfect family life nor do I feel like I have more trials than others. Yet I wish I could really make my blog feel and sound like me. I don't want to offend anyone, yet if you know me and I write something that you don't agree with, I would hope that you would know me well enough to not be offended.

So here is few attempts on more honesty about me and my life.

I need some "Eevi" time. At the moment, I take care of Saku and Troy and the house and when I go to work, I take care of my patients. It is rewarding and so worth it, but I feel burned out.I know that when Troy reads this, he will feel guilty and that is not the purpose of this. He knows all of this, but for two more weeks, he can't help much because he is so swamped with his responsibilities. Because this is all so exhausting, whatever "alone" time I have, I usually end up trying to catch up with sleep. I need some quiet time, few good books and movies, good food and good laughs with friends.

Last few weeks of this pregnancy have been really hard on me. I get lots of pains and aches. I hate to complain to Troy, but it has been tough on me to be hurting. Baby girls moves around well so I am not worried about her. I am also slightly anemic, which adds to my exhaustion. I am not running anymore. Thanksgiving day marked my last 1 mile run and I think I'm done until she comes out.

I am blessed with many wonderful friends, yet at times, I feel alone and lonely. This feeling quickly fades away as I meet up with a friend. In high school, I hung out with my friends every day. During college, I lived with my friends. Nowadays, I don't have a friend who I talked to on daily basis or hang out all the time. I don't know if it is a social pressure that makes me feel like I should have someone like that. I don't aspire to be popular nor need a play date every day, yet sometimes I wonder if people miss hanging out with me.

The other night I was talking to a co-worker about my mom and she asked me what my mom was like. I explained how much mom loved life and how people liked her so much. She quickly responded "just like you". She isn't a close friend and happens to be a very honest and straight forward person. I made me happy to think that I have that quality that I so miss and admired about my mom.

I really like my job, yet I hate how tired I am at the end of the night. The other night a doctor thanked me for all the helped during the day. No offense to any doctors or doctor's wives, but they don't show appreciation too often, so I was impressed and obviously flattered by her saying "Thank you so much for all of your help". I love how I feel after successfully completing a procedure or noticing that something isn't right and getting it fixed. I often feel like I should apologize for the fact that I enjoy my job and working. Some people might think that I have to work and feel bad for me and I have to remind them that I am up all night and day by choice. I can't wait to only work once in a while because my body simply can't take this kind of schedule. Yet I am truly grateful for my education and what it allows me to do. Working has also blessed me with a new group of friends and an opportunity to share the gospel little by little.

As I read my thoughts, it kind of makes me sound sad, which I am not. I am very happy, but I have my struggles.

Do you feel like you are able to honestly portray your life? Do you prefer to just talk about the nice and fun things? Everyone has their own motive for blogging and I'm curious to know what you want your blog to be like.

The Season of Love

I cannot believe that it is December. I love Christmas season. It is my favorite time of the year. I'm sure I've said this before, but my mom made Christmas magical each year so I am trying to do the same in my own home. We already have our Christmas decorations up and this year will be the first year with our own Christmas tree. Since Troy and I firmly believe in real trees over plastic ones, we don't have one yet, but I am excited to go and pick one up and decorate it. It will be interesting see how the tree and decorations will handle Saku's exploring:)

On Sunday we took some family pictures. As cute as my child is, he wouldn't make a good child model since he refuses to smile to the camera 99% time. We probably took close to 100 pictures and only few of them actually turned out. Saku wasn't to be blamed for all the "bad ones". Somehow I have adopted this retarded smile and made bunch of the pictures look stupid.

Mom, dad and the baby girl in the belly. I can't believe she will be here in 8 weeks (give or take).

One somewhat successful family picture.

We have spent the last few days cuddling each other a lot. Saku has a terrible, absolutely painful diaper rash that hurts so badly that poor kid can't sit or even walk well at times. So we have cuddled on the couch as Saku lays on me.

Saku loves hiding behind us as we go "where is Saku?" and then he jumps around to show himself.

This little boy was in heaven as he got to run around for an hour outside. Even the cold weather didn't slow him down.

Saku doesn't smile on command; however, it doesn't mean that he doesn't smile. He loves being silly and playing with us, so some of the best happy faces are when we goofed around.

I love the fact that it is finally cold and I can drink hot chocolate to warm myself up in the mornings. We still haven't turned on the heater. Saku gets the space heater for his room, so his room is nice and cozy. In fact, Troy ended up getting dressed there after his shower because he was so cold. I have noticed that I don't have enough warm clothes for Saku. Does anyone else seem to have this issue with their kids? I forget that the weather does get chilly enough to require warm clothes.

Happy December 1st!

The Power of Words

Saku has finally started to say words. Because he is our first one, Troy and I can't get enough of him repeating words we say or using them. He definitely doesn't have an extensive vocabulary, but we enjoy the progress that he makes daily.

Saku calls out for "äiti" all the time. Saku has never used the word mom or he doesn't even really make the connection between the word mom and me since we have always used the Finnish word as a reference to me.

When I go out of the room, the word "äiti" echoes in the house and he asks for me when I'm not home in the morning when he wakes up and I'm at work.

His favorite word is "ajaa", which means drive. He asks for that about 25 times a day and we go to the garage several times a day and he gets to play in the cars.

He is also using "joo joo", which means "yes", quite a bit. This helps us to know if he wants something.

Not only is Saku saying words, he translates them. We asked him to say "ei" which means "no" in Finnish. He never ever says "ei"; instead he says "no". Same thing with the word apple. When we ask him to say it in finnish, "omena", he says "apple". Not too bad for a 17 month old.

While Saku's words are just full of fun and joy, I have encountered some rather interesting people in the last few weeks.

Aino and I went to Chik-fil-a for lunch while she was here. A sweet woman commented how adorable Saku was. I was happy to receive a compliment about my wild child when she continued "and don't worry, you will lose those pounds in no time". Hmmm...I really thought I was obviously pregnant and wouldn't be confused for a post-baby rolls. While I wanted to let her know that I was 29 weeks pregnant with my second one, I didn't want to embarrass her so I just thanked her and waited for my peppermint milkshake, which would surely help with these extra pounds.

A few days later, Aino and I decided to go and get a manicure. The nail tech asked if Aino was my daughter. Say WHAT??? People tend to think that I am 19, not that I have a 19 year old daughter. So funny.

After a crazy shopping trip at Frys, I was waiting for Troy at the door when an elderly man passed me and exclaimed "wow you are so pregnant, how much longer?" When I informed him that I had to wait until the end of January, he seemed so shocked and sorry for me.

A good reminder to watch out for things that come out of my mouth as well:)

Reasons to be Happy and Thankful

This fall, we have been on a survival mode to say the least. Troy's school and work schedule has left me feeling like a single(working) mom and Troy is getting less and less sleep each week. On top of this, Saku has entered the stage in toddlerhood of knowing what he wants and wanting it NOW. And when he doesn't get his way, he lets you know.

When I got pregnant, Saku was only 11 months and he was really easy. Fast forward six months and he is quite the handful, so it will be interesting to see how we will handle two kids. I still think he is the best little thing that has ever happened to me, but he does demand a lot.

Tonight, I am feeling great and thankful.

Maybe it's because...

the end of semester is only 4 weeks away and I will get my husband back as he graduates December 18th.

I got to enjoy my youngest sister for two weeks. I got to know her better and appreciate and love her more.

She is truly a babe!

The fact that no matter how many temper tantrums and time outs take place during the day, this handsome face melts my heart each time.

I slept 12 hours last night. Yep, I went to bed at 9 pm and woke up at 9 am. It wasn't all continuous since Saku woke up TWICE crying hysterically. I'm wondering if he has nightmares or night terrors. Does anyone have experience with this?

I spent all afternoon with Camry and Rachel as we were sewing as much as our three little toddlers allowed us to. Camry is one of my favorite people and I loved getting a chance to get to know Rachel better. Plus their amazing sewing skills helped me as I started some Christmas projects.

Good news about my job situation. I get to change to a per diem position after baby girl arrives. This means that I am required to work once in 30 days, which is practically nothing. I am so excited to be able to keep up my skills while staying home with my kids. This was the goal that I had in mind when I decided to go to work this past year, yet I wasn't sure if it would happen so soon. I always felt strongly that I was supposed to be with this unit and work under this manager and they have been so supportive and flexible with me. So every once in a while, I will put on my scrubs, take care of my patients and use my brain in a non-mommy way and rest of the time, I get to do what I love the most, be a mom.

What is making you happy this week?

Oh how I wish you were closer

Aino,

Thanks for coming to stay with us for the last two weeks.

We sure love you and appreciate your help.

Saku will miss having his play buddy around all the time and mom will miss those extra few minutes of sleep when you helped out with Saku.

Mostly, we will miss your smile and laughter.

Cant wait to see what happens this spring!

Love,

Saku, sistah and Troy

"Are you a little bit pregnant"

This baby girl's pregnancy obviously has not been documented as well as Saku's was. I am 27 weeks and 6 days along. The baby girl never, ever stops moving. Each night as we sleep and Troy cuddles me, he is amazed at all the rocking and rolling that's going on in my belly. He keeps asking me how I am able to sleep at all.

There are few things that seem different this time around.

I could eat sweets all day long. I crave donuts, candy, cookies and the list goes on. It is really hard for me to stay away from them and all the Holiday sweets don't make it any easier.

I am still running few times a week. Last Saturday I actually ran almost 3 miles. I didn't have my watch with me so I'm not sure how fast I was going, but I think it was around 10:30-11 minute/mile.

With my first pregnancy, I got so excited about each doctor's appointment because it meant that I was that much closer to my due date. This time around, I wish there weren't so many.

I am obviously more tired since I work nights and have a toddler at home. There have been few nights when I have started to feel dizzy and really weak around 5 am. I guess I am prepared for the sleep deprivation that comes with a newborn.

Baby girl at almost 28 weeks

I think my belly is about the same size with this pregnancy as it was with Saku. During my first pregnancy, I got lots of comments about how big my belly was and until this week, people kept saying how tiny I was. However, on Monday night my co-workers said that my belly really had popped out since last week. Most of my patients love talking about the baby and how I'm doing. A 81 year old, sweet little man requested that I sent him a birth announcement.

I have to say, this week I am feeling fat. Until now, I have felt really good about my weight gain and how I look, but this week has been little bit of an emotional struggle. I am also tired of maternity clothes. I am too cheap to buy a huge selection, so I recycle through the same shirts week after week. While I can't wait to deliver the baby and have my body back, I am not looking forward to that stage where you are just floppy and jiggle rather than pregnant or skinny.

I have a small collection of baby girl clothes and I am so excited about her arrival. I feel like I need to start preparing for the birth again. I am excited and nervous at the same time about how things will play out this time around. I am praying and wishing that I won't have back labor again.

I cannot think of any girl names that seem right for her. So this baby might not have a name for a while and we are keeping it to ourselves like we did with Saku, which isn't hard when you don't have one.

Goodbyes and Hellos

Since we will be a family of four in few months, we decided that it was time to get a bigger car. We bought our own first car three years ago and absolutely loved the little Scion Xa. While it worked beautifully for two people and we learned to pack it efficiently once Saku joined us, it just wasn't going to be a big enough car for two car seats and all the extra stuff that comes with kids. We do have our second car; however, we don't feel like it is reliable enough for longer drives.

So a week ago, we sold our Scion to a young couple who fell in love with it like we had few years before.

We had been doing research on possible SUVs and looking at prices for months now. We even spent 4 hours at a dealership two weekends ago, but we lucky enough to find a private party who were selling their Chevy Traverse. I have to admit that I feel slightly spoiled to drive this nice car. It is way big for us now. We obviously dont need a 8 passenger SUV; however, we figured that we would buy a nice, big car now and drive it for the next 10+ years. By then we will hopefully have more kiddos to fill the seats. Though at the moment, I feel like two kids will be enough for few years:)

Saku enjoys being higher up so he can see more of the road. I am still trying to adjust to the fact that my car is twice as wide and twice as long as the old one. Troy drove it to work the other morning and when I called him, he said "I have bad news for you, you'll have to drive the Mazda from now on, I just love the Traverse". It feels good to be happy with our decision after spending a lot of money on car. You know me, I am such a frugal woman, so it took me few days to get over the fact that we had spent that much money on a car, but I love it and I love the color.

The old owners didn't wash the car before we bought it. On Monday morning after our morning run, we decided to do little scrubbing on it.

Saku loves helping and cleaning, so he was more than happy to play with sponges. After he got tired of cleaning and wanted to run to the street, we put him inside the car and let him "drive" while we finished washing the car.

Yes, Aino was lucky to come on a vacation and get recruited for baby sitting and house chores right away.

Infiniti G35 used to be my "dream car", but I have to say that I am perfectly happy with the Traverse. While cars are mostly for boys, do you have a car that you really like?

Pumpkins, Lion and Baby Sister of Mine

Last weekend, we drove to Phoenix for a Halloween party that Troy's parent's ward puts together. It is quite the show, so we went to help out and enjoy the party. Saku did a little round of trunk or treating. He wore his pumpkin PJs, which got covered with his sweatshirt when it got cold.

He quickly learned to get the candy, put it in his pumpkin, say thank you and wave good bye--and then moved on to the next car.

Saku is checking out what he scored. He liked M&Ms, but we really didn't go to many cars since he doesn't need too much candy.

One of the fabulous attractions of Grandma's house is the piano. It's an electric one, so you can turn down the volume; however, Saku figured out how to use that button so it doesn't help us much.

Another perk is Grandpa's love for football. All the boys enjoyed watching it. Saku has started to say "ball", but only when you sort of whisper it to him. if you ask him to say "ball" in a normal voice, he signs it.

Saku has loved the Halloween season and all the decorations; especially, all the Halloween lights in the neighborhood get many "wow" remarks from him. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas since it is my favorite holiday and I think Saku will enjoy the decorations.

Last night was our ward's Halloween party. I made and frosted some cookies and Saku was happy to lick off the frosting.

Thanks to Camille. Saku made an adorable lion. He even kept the hoodie part on until it just got too hot.

Saku "tossing" some bean bags.

The balloon was a hit until it popped and scared him:)

After the party, it was time to pick up Aino from the airport. Saku was already in bed, but this morning they became instant friends. Aino supplied us with TONS of candy. Few adorable clothes for Saku and the baby girl and this sweet soccer ball for Saku.

Saku is more into cars than balls, but he was in heaven as Aino and I kicked the ball around in the backyard and he got to chase it.

We are thrilled to have Aino with us for the next two weeks. Right before she went to bed tonight, she said "just wake me up whenever you need me in the morning". Oh, the joy of sisters and having extra pair of hands around the house. This means that momma will probably get to sleep a little more in the next two weeks and I will get to do fun things with my baby sister.

Our goal is to take pictures every day for the next two weeks, so I hopefully I can finally do a pregnancy update with pictures. One of our friends commented how I have exploded in the last few weeks, which is ironic because people at work keep making comments about how tiny I am. I'm thinking that I'm pretty average this time around, but I'll let you decide once pictures come up.

Today Aino informed me that I have been lazy about blogging and I agree. I just don't have the energy to do it...is anyone else feeling unmotivated to blog as well?

Success!!

Today was such a good day. So ordinary and so good. Saku had a rough night last night so we brought him to our bed. I have no idea how such a little body can move so much and take up so much room. Troy went to work little later than usual, which meant that momma got sleep in until almost 8 am. I actually woke up with a smile on my face even though the night had been rather restless for all of us.

Saku and I made banana pancakes for breakfast and went on our usual walk to the park. Since it was much cooler today, I even dressed up for today and received compliments from Troy. I know some of you super moms look like fashion models every day, but I am not one of them, so little fashion made me happy today. While Saku napped, I talked to Anna and enjoyed an episode of "House".

We took Troy to school as we do each day and shopped at Sunflower Market while he was in class. I love to get a treat there when we shop. They have delicious muffins and candy bins, but my self control was solid and we only bought produce.

The afternoon was filled with playing, a 1.5 mile run and another stop at the park. I vacuumed the whole house and folded laundry. Saku and I took a shower together and cooked dinner.

Troy and I finished watching "Robin Hood", which we had started last night. It doesn't get much better than snuggling with your hottie hubby while he rubs your round belly while baby girl is rocking it.

So ordinary, yet my heart is so happy right now.

Saku found his floating device and wanted to put it on. After about 45 seconds, he got sick of it:)

This is my big boy who is eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

He is 90% angel and 10% little monster. Though some days it seems that those numbers flip:)

Also good news about my job--but I will wait until things are finalized to post anything! I am so blessed.

Fun Happenings

I have not been in the mood for blogging lately, but I better catch up before too much time goes by. We survived, I mean enjoyed, this year's General Conference. It is not quite the same when you have a 15 month old running around. Brian and Alia came over on Sunday and we ended up using Baby Einstein as a baby sitter for Saku and Cameron during the second session.

This is my view when I attempt to check out my toes.

It has finally started to cool down and I even put on SHOES instead of flip flops last week as Saku and I went to the park.

I sat on a blanket and read my book while Saku wandered around and enjoyed his freedom. The reading isn't too efficient since I can only look away from him for 15 seconds at a time. He is so quick nowadays.

Saku enjoys eating spaghettios and usually one of his cars accompanies him for meal times. We tend to take multiple showers each day due to his love for smearing food on his hair.

On Saturday night, we went out to Downtown Tucson to enjoy a cultural festival called "Tucson Meet Yourself". This was our third year, but first year that some friends were able to come with us. We enjoyed some eggrolls, swedish meatballs and Indian fry bread with honey and powdered sugar. So delicious!

We found a grass area next to a band playing some music so Saku was able to dance. He gets to excited about music and thinks he is pretty cool when he dances.

Brian, Alia and Cameron

Steph, Mike and Maddy

Do you like how none of the kids wanted to give a smile at the camera.

I know the receipt is difficult to see, but I scored the deal of the year at Frys on Saturday. I was able to get 141.06 dollars worth of food for no money at all. Yes, free groceries. Thanks to coupons and two transferred prescriptions, my weekly groceries were free:)


We are awesome parents and have introduced soda to him. He LOVES dr. Pepper, but enjoys coke as well. We cooked some Cafe Rio Pork on Sunday so we had a little treat of Coke as a left over.

Saku is really strong. He has learned to hang from things such as the handicap bar in our bathtub and the monkey bars at the park. He is able to hold himself for a good 10 seconds. Obviously we are right there in case he would slip.

Saku loves drawing, but he still tends to want to eat the crayons, which makes drawing little bit of a battle. Too often we have to be "all done" after he decides to chew on the crayon instead of drawing with it.
Every day with Saku is an adventure. He still doesn't say any words, but we have learned more animals sounds. We can mimic a cow, a chicken and a fish. He loves to say "wow" when something cool happens and "yay".

Few nights a week, he seems to have a difficult time going to sleep. So Troy or I go and sing to him while rubbing his back. If he is not a sleep and we stop singing, he sits up and makes the "more" sign because he likes to singing so much.

Friday night, Troy was singing to Saku while he was drinking milk from his sippy cup. No more bottle for the little man:) He stopped drinking and turned around and planted a huge open mouth kiss on Troy. Saku is more than happy to give kisses, but this was the first time, he just gave one without being asked. You can bet that his dad was beyond happy.

Saku is such a restless sleeper that we can not have him in our bed because he kicks and tosses around all night. However, on Friday night while mom was at work, he woke up at midnight and ended up sleeping next to Troy all night long.

For the longest time, Saku was a mommy's boy and I kept telling Troy that there will come a day when daddy will be the coolest thing in the world. I think we are there now.

While we love him, not every day is all fun and games. We have started to do time out since Saku has a tendency to want to throw things. I honestly don't think he means to be hurt anyone, but it is not a habit we want to encourage. Yesterday he hit another kid with a toy, so we had to do a time out during Sunday school. Any tips on how to tame a wild boy??? A friend of mine was worried about her daughter pinching other kids and make a comment that it made her feel like a bad mom. I assured her that I would never think that it was her parenting; however, now that Saku has started being rough with other kids every now and then, I start to wonder if people will think I can't discipline my child. I know it's not rational since I can't control my child every second.

I am way due for a real belly update for baby girl. We call her "Eavan" as a nickname for now. It is a Celtic name that Troy found few weeks ago.

Is grass greener on the other side?

How do you feel about where you live? Here are some of my thoughts.

http://runsleepplayandlove.blogspot.com/2010/09/home-sweet-home.html

Oh the Love-

This weekend was Amanda's wedding. Amanda and I met in nursing school and developed a strong friendship. I was honored to be one of her bride's maids. It was my first time as a bride's maid and my first non-LDS wedding.

Amanda obviously looked stunning as a bride. We ordered our bride's maid dresses through David's bridal and we had to order them at least 12 weeks before the wedding. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but I was only 8 weeks pregnant when I ordered mine and on the wedding day, I was 22 weeks.

As I tried on my dress two weeks ago, it fit perfectly fine. On Friday (after I worked Thursday night and was little more bloated), I looked plain fat since it is not a maternity dress. I just bought few sizes bigger dress to accommodate the belly. It was pretty sad since it was a beautiful dress and I didn't want to look hideous.

Amanda's friend Darcy was the maid of honor and Christina, Megan and I were the bride's maids. Darcy's daughter Tara was the junior bride's maid. The scenery in Tubac was beautiful, but there were plenty of bugs that made smiling for pictures little more challenging.

Megan joined the army to do military nursing and she will be stationed in Washington D.C so this was a nice to chance to see her and meet her fabulous new boyfriend!

I just cant get over how cute my little boy is. I have to confess that I am little worried that our next child will not be as cute because how many adorable babies can we produce.:)

Since Saku was born, there aren't very many pictures of me (or Troy) since we like to take pictures of Saku. It is easier to take pictures of someone who looks adorable even with mud all over him, with bed head, naked, dirty, angry or sad. Obviously that is not the case for me. So since I was all prettied up, Troy wanted to pretend his wife is a model and took tons of pictures of me.

Amanda's cousin took care of our hair, which was nice since I am completely handicapped when it comes to doing my hair. We did our own make up, which was kind of funny since none of us wear tons of make up.

Saku was in heaven. There was tons of grass and he was allowed to run all around it. As we were walking down the aisle, he got so excited to see me. However, the moment that I passed him, he got so mad that mom wasn't coming to him. So Troy had to leave the ceremony since our child was crying. And we all know that Saku has a good volume cry.

I have to say that Christina is one of my favorite people in the world. We don't see each other too often, but I enjoy our friendship more and more after each time that we get to spend time together. After the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, we chatted in our hotel room until midnight while rest of the wedding party was in the bar. We admitted that we were probably the lamest bride's maids ever, but loved the chance of catching up.

And to make things better, James came to the wedding as well, so the little boys could play together. I think it took few minutes for James to get used to Saku. Saku was eager to give James "high fives", but he wasn't really sure about that. The boys are only five days apart and our #2 babies will be about 6 weeks apart.

We finally took some family pictures. And Saku even smiling at the camera. Thanks to Christina's amazing "Peek-A-Boo" skills.

Here is the beautiful LeSueur family.

The food was so delicious. I was I could have kept eating all night long; especially, since I didn't have to worry about fitting into my dress after the night. Saku had his share of salmon.

We got a chance to hit the dance floor. Phil and Christina got some sweet moves. Saku was in his element on the dance floor. He was dancing until 10:30 pm!! I am not joking. I was exhausted and he just kept dancing and dancing. We took some video, but really it doesn't do justice.

We also saw Naomi, who went to nursing school with us.

Amanda, thanks for a wonderful night. You were so beautiful and we loved sharing this special day with you. We sure love you!!