2013 recap and Christmas letter

Here is the Christmas letter I sent out to a few people. I didn't get it sent to everyone I have in the past due to funds, so here it is:

Merry Christmas and/or Happy New Year (depending on when this actually goes out...I was kind of late on the decision to send anything this year).

Edward is getting to be such a big boy! He's just under two and as cute as can be. He, like his brothers, is very verbal and is talking up a storm in a 2 year old fashion. This year he has learned to walk, climb, run, tickle, tell jokes, push chairs to the counter to get just about anything he wants. He has the cutest sense of humor and is generally a very easy going kid. Busy. Very busy. He is determined to be one of the big boys. He knows all of their friends' names and is very aware of and interested in other people.

 

Extra stuff I didn't put in the letter: Edward is very helpful.  He is in such a fun stage. He is filled with wonder and will say, "Oh cool!" and "WOW!" over things like lights, decorations, painting. When he has and order of operations he'll say all drawn out and slowly, "now" before moving on to the next step.  He greets me every morning with, "Good morning, mommy." and if it's dark out or in a room he'll say, "too dark!" He is my best helper and listener. If I ask the boys to do something, he'll be the first to respond nearly every time. At dinner time when he hears the table being set, he starts calling everyone down.  "Dinner time! Daddy! Dean! Walter! Dinner time!!" He can count to 13 and get all the numbers right, but after that everything turns into 16.  He loves reading books with me and will often bring me books and say, "reading books mommy?" He also loves trucks right now. There is tons of construction on our main high way out and every day he is excited about seeing the trucks and identifying the type of truck. "Mixer! Digger! Mobile Crane! Drill!"

Walter turned 4 this past July. He has been going to preschool this year, and has been enjoying it. He's really taken to Legos and playing on the computer. His favorite games and videos include anything Lego related or Angry Birds. A couple of his big accomplishments this year were potty training and learning to ride a bike without training wheels. His best friend is Dean and though they are polar opposites in many ways and fight often, he constantly wants to do things just like Dean.

Extra stuff I didn't put in the letter: Walter loves a good laugh. He loves laughing at Edward's "jokes" and loves to do things he thinks are funny too. When I tuck him in at night he says (probably 10 times at least, no exaggeration), "Good night mom, I love you." and I have to respond exactly the same way or he gets frustrated and feels like it doesn't count. He hates to be kissed. We got to go to lego land after we got back from Snowflake for his birthday. It was pretty small, but they had fun.

 

Dean turned 6 in October. He started Kindergarten and is quite amazing academically. He is a great reader and really has a mind for math! He rides his bike to school (with me running beside him) rain or shine. He lost two teeth and broke his arm since starting school. Luckily it wasn't a bad break and he was done with his splint after 6 weeks. He is also very into Legos and he often creates instruction booklets for his own creations.

with his good friend at their Thanksgiving feast

Extra stuff I didn't put in the letter: Dean snaps his fingers all day every day. He's been trying really hard the last few weeks to be a really good brother to Edward. It's like they just figured out that he can actually play and interact with them. Dean will swing him around in circles, read to him, and let him sit on his lap when we're reading scriptures at bedtime. Dean is very affectionate and loves kisses and hugs.

6 mo. pregnant and got 3rd in my category for the Believe 5K

I, Celia, have had a good year. I have maintained the largest piano studio I've had in my life while simultaneously taking care of our 3 active boys. I ran and medaled in a half marathon in February as well as a couple of 5K's this year. I drove the boys to AZ and back (17 hours each way) by myself to see my sisters and parents this summer. While I was there, I found out that I am pregnant again! We are expecting our first girl. I'm not sure it's quite hit me yet what it mea
ns to raise a girl after 3 boys! This pregnancy has been good, but boy have I been TIRED the whole time. Between piano, the kids, running, taking care of the house, and being pregnant, I am just exhausted 95% of the time. But it's all worth it. I have been taking my own piano lessons this year and have loved every minute of it. Music Therapy for my soul. I have become more confident in my own abilities again, and it has benefited my teaching.

Poor Matt. Got leftover b-day cake from Walt this year.

Matt is still plugging away as a software engineer. In May we decided to buy a van to accommodate our projected family growth. We found one in UT through friends and he flew from a business trip in CA to UT to drive it back to TX for us. After a few months of trying to sell our Rav4 and not getting what we wanted for it, we decided to keep that for him since his '97 Neon was not really the best commuting car. We sold the neon, his first car, a few months ago. I imagine he will really appreciate having a working A/C next summer. He is amazing around the house and can fix just about anything. He's also stepped up and helped a lot more with cooking and other housely duties since I've been working more. We were blessed to have his parents, Mark and Kristan (pictured in our card), drive out to visit us for Thanksgiving. It was so great to have family here to celebrate with us. My parents are planning on coming here for the New Year and in March when we have our baby. It's hard to live so far from family, so I'm grateful when we're able to see each other.

I think that wraps it up for us! We're excited for 2014 and what that will bring (baby girl and all)! We hope all is well with you and yours. Happy Holidays!