Running Around

After working last night and the morning shower, I wore a long sleeve t-shirt and yoga pants all day long. No make up and barely brushed my hair. But I did brush my teeth. I honestly love days like this (except for the fact that I slept only 2 hrs in the last 24 hrs). Since I only work twice a month, I forget how much it hurts my body to be so tired after a night shift.

Last night's shift officially kicked my butt. I have not worked that hard for so long. Nothing like an overdose,suspected heart attack, gunshot wounds and a young guy with cancer to give you perspective and keep you on your toes through the shift.

In the evening, Heather came over and we ran 3 miles around the neighborhood. We attacked some hills and enjoyed some girl time. There is no way I would have run by myself so it was great to have Heather join me. I really love running. And I do not love the fact that we could hear Eerka's crying three houses away from ours as we left and she missed me. According to Troy, she stood by the front door for 15 minutes and cried for me. So sad for the little girl. I hope it is just a phase.

First Day of the Year

I am so excited! This is the perfect year and opportunity for new resolutions. 

• We moved into our new house this week in Sycamore Canyon in Corona de Tucson (Vail).
• Eevi will now have more hills and running trails than she could have dreamed of. 
• Today was the first time in our new ward. 
• I will complete my first year at Rincon Research Corp. after five great years at Raytheon.
• Eerika will turn one year old.
• Saku will soon graduate to being a "big boy," we hope.

I have never really been one to set new year resolutions, but with all of the major changes that are happening to our family, it is hard to not get the feeling that our life is starting from a new slate. It is actually quite refreshing.

Saku and Eerika starting the new year just right... getting breakfast.

Dear Saku,

You are 2.5 years old. How is that possible? Though I am constantly reminded about the fact that you are two and we are experiencing the "terrible twos". One thing is constant about you; the highs are so high and the lows are low. There is no gray area when it comes to being Saku or being your parent.

You are a talker. You talk all the time and you speak very clearly. Mostly you speak in English.

You are very thoughtful. There are times when you randomly tell me that "'äiti, you look beautiful" or tell Eerika "you are cute" and you constantly ask us "how are you feeling".

And you ask "but WHY" about 1000000 times a day.

You are a dream child when we go to other people's houses. You play well and barely fight. BUT when people come over to our house, you gets so excited that you throw toys and act like a crazy man. I am sure that this will pass but it makes play dates little stressful.

We are working on using more words and less whining. Some days are great and some days really try to patience.

You are demanding that you need to go to the doctor so you can feel better. Somehow I think you would change your mind if I actually took you there.

You love it when isi comes home. You sprint towards him and give him the biggest hug. He is sort of your favorite right now. ANd I am ok with it. He is a pretty good man.

You like to watch Super Why and Curious George. More so, you like to pretend to be Super Why. And you love books. It makes me so happy that you enjoy books just as much or even more than watching TV.

You keep telling us that you "need presents". I guess we got little too excited about telling you about joulupukki (Santa) and getting presents.

You sleep in our bed on most nights. Yes, I can't believe that I am typing that. But as long as, we get to go to bed without you in our bed, we have learned to sleep with you as you come to our bed around 2 or 3 am. And it is slightly sweet to snuggle with you.

You take naps for 1.5-3 hours and your bed time is kind of late (close to 9). It is not my favorite thing, but I don't think there is much I can do about it since you are napping so well. If we skip a nap, then you are out by 7 pm.

You like Eerika quite a bit especially now that she is walking. However, it sometimes kills you when she just looks at you or touches you. It is so ironic as you lay on top of her without a second thought. You have learned to be little more careful with her as you ran around and she walks.

I love Saku. Thanks for being my little boy.

Love,
äiti

Dear Eerika,

I think I missed an update on your life as you turned 10 months. I have been too busy (or lazy) to blog much lately. I would like to think that I have been more engaged in your life and thus I have spent less time sitting in front of the computer and writing down what you are doing.

You are doing a lot of things. You are growing up so fast. I have to be honest. When you were a newborn, I was kind of looking forward to you getting bigger and little more independent because it was hard having a newborn and a 19 month old. But now, I don't want you to keep growing so fast. I want you to stay as this silly, excited little being who learns so much all the time.

You are an independent little girl. When Saku is asleep, I try to play with you one-on-one. However, you love do your own thing. You wander around the house. You pick up toys. You drop them down. You climb on the treadmill. You try to get to the toilets. And you make lots of noise as you do this. You like to babble,but more so, you just make funny noises. You check-in with me every once a while, but you are content on your own. However, when I am not around, you can act quite differently. There is something magical about me that brings the best out of you and maybe that is why you just like to be with me and not anyone else.

You have had a rough time with sleeping and I think we should blame your top two teeth that came through and the two other ones that are still working their way through. They seem so big in your mouth, but they make your smile look quite adorable.

You are still nursing. I thought we would be done by now, but due to the teething and interrupted nighttime sleep, we are still nursing. I am fine with it. You are fine with it, so we will see what happens in the next month. Isi does not enjoy feeding you because you are so messy. I don't mind it, though, I do have to sweep the kitchen floor three or four times a day.

You are playful. You enjoy putting your tutti into my mouth when I hold you before naps and bedtime. And you are so ticklish when I give you kisses on your neck. I love these times with you. You play with cars and make "car sounds", but you also love to take care of your doll. When I make crying sounds, you walk to your doll and pick her up and snuggle her. You are very loving.

You have learned two signs in the past week. You sign for "more" and "all done". However, when you really want something, you just make lots of demanding noises.

You have enough hair that I can put clip-on bows in your hair. You don't really notice them so you don't rip them off like you did with the headbands.

Your cry is so loud. Fortunately, you do not cry much. But sometimes I do shut my bedroom door when it is time for you to sleep little longer and I don't want to hear your cry. One day you will understand and you don't cry longer than five minutes or so.

You are a walker. You might crawl every once in a while, but you have mastered walking. And more impressively, you have an amazing ability to squad down and get up.

Eerika, you might think that watching you grow as a second child isn't as exciting as watching Saku learn new things. It is not true. I am completely amazed and mesmerized by you. I think you are the most beautiful thing in the world. You bring such a great balance into our family and I will always be grateful that you are my daughter.

Love,

äiti

Silent Morning

This morning I woke up on my own (rather than to the noise of my children). Saku has made his way to our bed at some point so his leg was on top of my stomach. Both Saku and Troy were snoring. I snuck out of bed. Turned the Christmas tree lights on and sat quietly to check my emails.

I am so full of joy this morning. The three amazing, sleeping people make my life so full of happiness.

I love Christmas season and I love the fact that I am sharing the excitement of CHristmas with Saku. We sing Christmas songs all day long. I am grateful for Eerika who walks around all day long and when she seems me, she either reaches out her little hands for me or tries to speed walk away (if it is a diaper change time). I am grateful that I get to share the excitement of parenting with Troy. When it comes to parenting, shared joy really exponentially increases the joy you feel.

I am grateful for Troy. Another year is about to be over and as I look at our life together, I know we are stronger and more united as a couple. I know we aren't perfect but I know we will work hard to make each other happy.

I am grateful for our health. We have had our share of snotty noises and cough, but overall, we are healthy. I still can't believe that last year during this time, Eerika was still in my belly. I am grateful for the ability to have children and have my body recover after it. I am grateful for running and working out and the rush of happiness that it gives me.

I am grateful that I know and believe in the true meaning of Christmas. I love telling Saku the story of baby Jesus and singing songs about Him. I am more aware of my Savior's love during this time. And as I have had my own babies, the idea of a baby Jesus coming to this world and becoming the Savior of all mankind is truly remarkable as is the image of Mary, the mother of Jesus, giving birth to Him in a stable.

I am a strong woman

You know what I love about life: when you do something that is quite ordinary but it makes you feel extraordinary.

Camille was so kind to let me borrow her double jogger so I could see if I like running while pushing a big stroller and two kids. I would hate to pay a lot of money for a big, heavy double stroller and not end up using it.

So yesterday, I bundled up the kids and we headed for our first run together. Saku is used to being pushed while I run but I have only done three or four runs with Eerika. She doesn't like being strapped down so I was nervous how it would end up.

Both of the kids were great. When we had about 1/4 mile to go, Eerika started to protest so I just sprinted home as fast as I could. I only ran two miles and I would almost say that I felt the work out more in my arms than my legs. My pace was pretty good with an 8:50 pace for the first mile and an 8:20 for the second one. Since the stroller is so heavy, it almost pulls you along. I sounded like a freight train as I huffed and puffed but the two, short miles gave me a good work out.

I am not being sarcastic when I say that I am thrilled about the prospects of pushing these kids while running. They look adorable as they check out the scenery in front of them and I will be stronger. And then those solo runs will be so much more appreciated and I will be that much faster when I am not pushing an extra 70 pounds.

Earlier that day, we had braved the weather and spent some time in the park with Haley. Saku pretty much whined the whole time, but the girls had a great time. I am starting to think that listening to a toddler/child whine could be considered as a form of torture and punishment.

I love the fact that these two have been friends for their whole lives. Obviously their understanding of friendship is limited, but Saku has been so excited to go on the runs on Trevor and Haley's stroller. And Haley happily exclaimed "he is two, too" after she asked me how old Saku was.

Grateful for Tomorrow

Last week could be characterized by great days and crappy nights. The kids have been sick and sleeping terribly! And while I am grateful that they aren't that sick, the lingering snotty noses and coughs drive me crazy.

Today I fasted for the first time in months and the low blood sugar in addition to the lack of sleep made me a cranky woman. I feel bad for the kids and Troy. I am not proud of myself for the snappy comments and short temper, but I am grateful that I apologize easily. That sounds like I am patting myself on the back, but I do realize that I wasn't that kind today. I wasn't patient. They all deserved better than how I treated them. And I apologized for it.

I'm glad tomorrow is another day and I can start all over again.

Few pictures of my darling kids- I promise I will be better version of myself tomorrow!

Exhibit 1: I had to snap a picture of Eerika as I put her in the exersaucer and vacuumed. This picture makes her look like a little calm angel who just sits there and watches the world go around.

Saku got a chance to go up on our attic and he had a blast with isi.

Exhibit 2: this is not a girl who just sits calmly and chills. She goes 100 miles an hour walking around our house. Makes all this noise. Pulls her socks and shoes off. Eats dirt and rocks. And I love it.