Happy Birthday Little Man

Today is Kohen's 1st birthday.

I can't believe that a year has come and gone. He is getting so big. His favorite things are pushing around the laundry basket or anything else that will move, he loves to play with his sister, take baths and splash water everywhere. You can't tell by looking at him but he really does like to eat. As soon as I start making dinner he makes a b-line to his high chair. I haven't really found anything that he wont eat. (nothing at all like Grace, can you say picky?) He is so close to walking. He has taken about 3 steps. He will stand unassisted as long as he has something in his hand to occupy him. He is such a good little boy. I love him so much, even when we are awake at 2:00 am for no apparent reason. Happy Birthday Bubbers. Mommy loves you.

Happy St. "Padich" Day

I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day, or as Grace calls it, St. Padich Day.  She has been looking forward to this day for a while now.  She made her daddy promise that he would wake her up before I got up so that she could change into her green clothes and come in and pinch me.  What a silly girl.  I love how much fun she has with holidays.  This morning I made us green shamrock pancakes and we had corned beef and cabbage for dinner. After dinner two little leprechauns, actually it was her Nona & Papa, gave Grace a present. They gave her her very own motorcycle helmet. Now she can ride on Frank's bike.  She has had a perma-grin all night. Frank drove her home from my parents house and she was extactic! I'm pretty sure she would sleep with it on if we would let her. 

so long twenties, it's been fun.

I have about 20 more minutes left of my 30th birthday and as I sit her alone in dark, I am oddly at peace. Much to my surprise I don't really feel any different. My birthday came and went pretty much like any other day. I got a kiss on the cheek and a "happy birthday honey" from my hubby on his way off to work. My precious 5 year old wanted to make me a special birthday breakfast in bed but because she knows she is not allowed to use the stove she decided to make me oatmeal. (I will admit that it was a bit on the cold side, but if you could have seen the smile on her face. She was so proud of herself. To be honest I have been an emotional wreck this past week leading up to today. I guess I finally realized that life is going to happen whether I like it or not. Instead of focusing on all the blessings I have in my life I was dwelling on the negatives. Yes I may weigh more than I would like, but because I was blessed with two wonderful children I have a reason for it. I may not be living in my dream house, but at least I have a place to call home. The endless task of cleaning the kitchen only means I have a family to cook for. Although I don't get to go shopping as often as I would like and my checkbook could use a bailout from Washington, I am thankful that I get spend every day at home with my children. I guess what I am trying to say is that I need to stop waiting for tomorrow, start enjoying today and begin living for the moment.

1% and I don't mean milk.

I took Kohen in for his 9 month check up a few weeks ago and he has dropped from the 13% for weight to the first percentile. He is 15 lbs 10 oz! I looked at the nurse and asked "is the scale not working?" Now Grace was a little peanut until age 4 and then she took off. Now she is about the 50% for both height and weight. He still has chubby cheeks, chubby arms and thighs so the pediatrician is not concerned. He is such a wonderful baby. He hasn't mastered crawling yet but I am not too anxious for him to be mobile. I am enjoying the calm before the storm. Kohen loves to be with his sister. She will "read" to him and sing songs. She is such a good little helper. He loves to eat. (not at all like Grace) His favorite things are his feet, removing his socks to be more specific, playing with his doggy piano and his Jumparoo. He has 2 teeth on the bottom and enough hair to make a small faux hawk.

Farewell to an awesome man of God.

Good bye Pastor Louie.  No longer will you be here with us but forever in our hearts you will stay.
See you in Heaven.

Rev. Louis Z. Enriquez 1936 ~ 2009 Rev. Louis Z. Enriquez, 72, passed away Tuesday, January 13, 2009 after a brief illness. He was born March 28, 1936 in Monticello, UT, to the late Rev. Vidal and Elizabeth Enriquez. He was graduate and valedictorian of LABI, Ysleta, TX class of 1957. On December 13, 1958 he married the love of his life, Inez Medina in Price, Utah and they went on to have a beautiful marriage and ministry that lasted 50 years. He was an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God for over 50 years, with the last 35 years serving as a Pastor in the Salt Lake City area. He was founding Pastor of Mount Calvary Family Worship Center. His love of teaching and ministering the Word of God was his lifelong passion. He was loved and respected by his family, congregation and others in the Christian community for his love, compassion and spiritual guidance. He had a great sense of humor and loved to tease both family and friends alike. He loved his grandchildren dearly and adored his great-grandchildren. They brought immeasurable joy to his life and he made them each feel special. He enjoyed sports and was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. In his younger years he was a baseball player, three time state of Arizona high school wrestling champion, and later a competitive racquetball player. He also enjoyed the times when he was able to golf with his grandsons. There will be an irreplaceable void in each of our lives and we are grateful for the legacy and the heritage that he left us. Louis is survived by his loving wife, Inez; three daughters, Debra (Robert) Rivera, Taylorsville, UT; Lydia (Lorence) Leon, West Jordan, UT; Sherry Hackett, West Valley City, UT; eight grandchildren, Stephanie (Paul) Bonella, JaNae Palmer, Michael (Teresa) Rivera, Jeffrey (Alissa) Rivera, Jonathan Leon, Tamara Rivera, Nicholas Lozano, Cameron Hackett; six great-grandchildren; five siblings: Rev. Daniel (Carmen) Enriquez, Joliet, IL; Jean (Rev. David) Garza, Northglenn, CO; Becky (Paul) Gold, Grand Junction, CO; Ketta Guy, Lawrenceville, GA; and Dixie (Jim) Lamon, East Wenatchee, WA. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his infant daughter Tamara Enriquez. A viewing will be held from 6-8 p.m. at Mount Calvary Family Worship Center, Fri., January 16, 2009, and the funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., with a viewing at 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, also at Mount Calvary Family Worship Center, 3050 S. 3200 W. in West Valley City. Interment will be at Valley View Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mount Calvary Family Worship Center, PO Box 701618, West Valley City, UT 84170. The family wishes to thank the staff of the University Medical Center NCCU for their compassionate care during this difficult time. Please share condolences at www.serenicare.com

THE best wrap job ever!

I almost forgot to add this to my last post. Grace was very into Christmas this year. She wanted to help with the wrapping. This is my present from Frank and the kids.
She was VERY proud of herself. I was pretty impressed my self. I loved the usage of the pink rose. I was a little confused when she spelled my name sararararara. She knows how to spell it. Maybe it was some kinda of cheer. If you look closely you can also make out two U's. What can I say she loves the Utes! She also wrote "i heart u". I love this girl.

Always late

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. This year was a simple Christmas on account that I haven't been working full time since Kohen was born. I made most of the gifts I gave to my family and we tried to stick to a budget with the kids. Thankfully Grace is pretty easy to please, all she wanted was an Easy Bake Oven and a cupcake decorator. Kohen was too sick to care about Christmas or presents. My goal for Christmas 2009 is to be done shopping by Halloween. I tried to get Christmas cards to as many as I could, but postage is expensive and so was printing the cards so I hope no one got their feelings hurt. I am very excited for what 2009 will bring. Frank and I are going to be tightening the belt straps and working on getting our vehicles paid off. We want pay off Frank's student loans, they are not due until he is done with school which won't be for a few more years but we want to be out of debt by the end of 2009. We are going to start saving for his tuition and thankfully his works offers tuition reimbursement. Besides our home we hope to be debt free. Not only are we going on a financial diet but on a food diet as well. We are both unhappy with how look and feel and we want our children to learn to eat healthy and be fit. Hopefully since we are both ready for change it will be easier. Wish us luck. I hope all of you have a wonderful new year!

We're goin' BoWLiNg baby!

 

UTES 48-BYU 24

The UTES gave the Cougs a royal butt kickin' on Saturday. Frank was so sweet to take me to the game. Besides not being able to feel my toes by the end of the game, I can't complain about the weather it was great.  No snow, rain and very little wind.  I'm so glad that he had season tickets this year. What an awesome year the UTES had. I only wish that I had the money to take us to whatever bowl they make it to.  Unfortunatley we were sitting by quite a few "kittens". Most were okay but a few were quite obnoxious.  One guy (BYU fan) two rows in front of us tried to start a fight with the guy (U fan) one row in front of us right after the first Utah touchdown and right before halftime a BYU fan about 5 or 6 rows up from us decided that it would be cool to swan dive onto the rows below him. (What an idiot) Thank goodness no one was injured.  All in all it was a great night. I may not know much about football but with the energy and excitement of just being there you can't help but have fun!  I have to accomplish two things before next season:

#1. Learn more about football

#2. Learn the fight song (not just the the tune)

Thanks again Honey for taking a chance with me. I hope I didn't disappoint you.

Back by Popular Demand!

okay, well maybe not by popular demand, but I have had a few of you hounding me to update. Give me a break, I've been very busy. I had to recouperate after Disney World, hosted two parties, prepared for Halloween, voted early and went to craft day with Stephanie (by the way the hot glue gun injury is healing nicely). I've been busy, I have also started selling Usborne Books. If you have never heard of them, they are THE best children's books. Grace loves them. If you are interested in purchasing books or hosting a party and earning free books, just click on the yellow duck on the top of the my blog.

So for all of my fans out there just dying to know what I have been up to
(who am I kidding, I have no readers)
here it is:
our October in a

We're Off To See The Wizard

the wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's okay you can keep singing it if you would like. Grace and I have. This year Grace went as Dorthy and Kohen was the Cowardly Lion. I have to first give a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful sis in law who made Grace's dress. Mindy you are amazing. She made her dress from start to finish in about 3 hours. I think it would have taken me that long just to figure out how the sewing machine turned on. I'm what some people might call "domestically challenged." I never learned to sew, knit, quilt or cook. I am getting better at the cooking though. Back to the costumes. I have to say that I love a good bargain. I don't like spending too much money on Halloween costumes, seeing how it is my least favorite holiday. I needed to find a white button up shirt for Grace and couldn't find one anywhere so I thought I would hit the D.I. (a second hand store for my readers who aren't from Utah). Not only did I find a perfect white shirt but I found a slip and Toto's basket.

Basket for Toto: .50 cents (dog not included, we already had one)

Fluffy slip: $3.00

White blouse: $4.00

Fabric for dress: $5.00

Shoes: $12.00 (my only splurge)

The Best Dorthy Costume Ever: Priceless
(I know I'm cheesy, but it's getting late and I tired)

Kohen's was too cute for words. I had to splurge and get his.

It's The Great Pumpkin

Charlie Brown. We took Grace & Kohen out to the pumpkin patch. Of course I waited till the sun was almost setting before we headed out. Luckily we had enough light to find the perfect pumpkins. I think Grace enjoys picking her pumpkin more than the trick or treating. I think it is the thrill of the hunt, she gets that from Frank. I just want to get in take a few pictures find a fairly decent one and go home. I would have pictures of us carving them, but, a, yea well we didn't carve them this year. We waited and we ran out of time. Oh well.

#1 Ute Fan

Well at least we thought she was. Frank and I thought that Grace would have fun seeing the Utes in action. She is always cheering for them, her favorite color is red, she makes sure we have the flag flying on the car on game days and she knows the tune to the fight song. Apparently we were wrong. Kick off was 12:00 for the game last Saturday and at 12:30 I get a call from Frank that something like this, "I don't think this was a good idea, she is bored and wants to go home already." She did manage to last the whole game, with the help of a hot dog and dippin' dots. Well Frank, hopefully Kohen will be a bigger fan. Frank is going out on a limb again, he is taking me to the Utah/BYU game. I promise I won't start whining until after half time.

Florida Slide Show

What I learned on vacation

#1. a family of 4 consisting of 2 children in car seats DO NOT fit in a Ford Mustang.
(rental car companies mistake, after 2 days we exchanged it for a Chevy Impala)
#2. Florida is HUMID
#3. A 5 year old is impossible to please. Even at the Happiest Place on Earth
#4. Thank Heaven for Nona & Papa
#5. 7 days is not nearly long enough to attempt the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Sea World, Universal Studios and an airboat ride.
(We didn't even get to see the ocean)
#6. Florida is HUMID
#7. Grace is a thrill seeker. She LOVED the Tower of Terror, Everest, Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.
#8. 40 Minutes is too long to wait for an autograph of Ariel
#9. Grace hates 3-D movies
#10. Next time I will make sure we get the direct flight home from Orlando.
#11. That a gift shop can charge whatever they want for a 27 cent postcard stamp.
#12. Who cares about fashion, wear comfortable shoes!
#13. Traveling with a 6 month old isn't as difficult as I thought.
#14. Nursing on the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride is a little tricky.
#15. Did I mention that Florida is HUMID. (At least Kohen's Eczema cleared up while we were there)