Christmas

Christmas this year was...pretty good. Of course, the season was wonderful and I loved celebrating Christ's birth. (Especially with the impending birth of the twins. I was particularly sensitive to the Spirit.) But the festivities? They were a bit lack-luster. Between moving (read: no friends), pregnancy, new job and new house, there was little energy for the Christmas details.

We did manage to fit in our annual Christmas Eve-Eve hotel stay. Anna was beside herself with anticipation and excitement. Poor Isaac got SO sick the day of the stay. We decided to brave it and go anyway. He made it through swimming and then spent the rest of the night throwing up and crying. Poor, poor boy.

 Since we were up the whole night, we decided to go straight home at 6:00am. We stopped at a gas station for hot chocolate and donuts for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent sleeping off the previous night and cooking treats for the evening.

Isaac was still super sick and missed most of the festivities. Anna made up the traditional plate for Santa and the reindeer, we read a few Christmas stories and then it was off to bed.

This picture pretty much sums up how I was feeling: slow and swollen. (That shirt is an XL maternity shirt...not big enough for these boys!)

Santa brought Anna and Isaac scooters, slippers, puppy dogs, and some DVDs.

 Anna got right to playing.

 Oh, Isaac. So sick.

 Playing with toys.

The new Christmas pjs, slippers, and robe.



Christmas Outfits

 These are, sadly, the best shots I was able to get of the kids in their Christmas Best. Isaac fell down the stairs a couple days earlier, so he's a little banged up. Despite the blurriness, I still think these kids are pretty adorable.

Nov/Dec Pictures

Playing in the backyard.

Jumping in piles.

Doing the dirty work.

Entertained by our new front loader.

Keeping busy with shaving cream and toy baths.

Winter activities: snowflakes and Pin the Nose on Frosty.

More backyard play.

Making gingerbread cookies.

Such a good helper.



Goodbye Camry! The new van is already in the garage.



30.

Jeff turned the big 3-0 today. We kept things pretty low-key. Anna helped plan his "party" all day. She worked so hard to make a birthday banner, draw a portrait of Daddy, write a birthday card, hang streamers and help make the birthday bread pudding. I asked Jeff to text me on his way home so Anna could change into a party dress and hide for the big surprise.

Jeff gets home pretty late from work so we had the party first, put the kids to bed, and then feasted on take-out from Bonefish grill.

I laughed until I cried.

Funniest picture ever.

A couple of belly shots...

I'm always hesitant to post about myself because, well, it just feels weird. But I know in ten years I'm going to want to look back and remember what it was like at this time. And while I am generally avoiding the mirror these days, I'll probably want to reminisce about pregnancy at some point in the future. (Right now I'm ready to say 'hasta la vista" to the whole gestation thing.)

So, here I am at 33-34ish weeks with the boys. I enlisted Anna to take some pictures of me and this is the best I got. The babies are growing and look very healthy. One of best parts of being pregnant with twins is the monthly, and now bi-monthly, ultrasounds. It's so fun to see these little guys kick around and catch a glimpse of their profiles. They are both footling breech which means they are basically kneeling at the bottom of my uterus.

I am feeling pretty good. Of course I'm tired and uncomfortable just like any other pregnancy, but I'm healthy and able to get around and the babies are healthy so there is not too much complaint from my end. When I found out I was having two I was really worried about being put on bed rest, but thankfully that has not been an issue.

Things that are different this time around:

• My hands and feet are even more swollen than with Isaac. You can see pictures from Isaac's pregnancy here. Then use your imagination.
• Ligament pain. Uggg. I never realized how painful this can be. Bless all you women who have had multiple pregnancies filled with ligament pain.
• I'm carrying these little guys a lot lower and more out front.
• Tons of movement. Obviously.
• C-section. My first and I'm a little nervous about it. Not necessarily physically, but I won't get to hold my babies right away and that bothers me.
• Anna is really excited and loves to talk to the babies. "Hi boys. It's Anna, your big sister." She was not even remotely interested in Isaac. Before or after he was born.

It's strange that this pregnancy is nearing the end. I'm excited but not ready. Can't wait to see those tiny fingers and toes and hear sweet little newborn sounds times two. But I could use a few more weeks to prepare.

Also, name suggestions anyone? We have one nailed down, but are at a stand still with the other.

The Nutcracker Ballet

I wanted to do something special with Anna since things have been so crazy around here. After giving her a few options, she decided she really wanted to see the Nutcracker Ballet.

The anticipation was almost as fun as the actual night out. This was Anna's first theater experience so we had a couple of conversations about what to expect and proper etiquette. Anna must have asked half a dozen times if I was sure there would not be popcorn at the Ballet.

But my favorite was the time and thought Anna put into her outfit for the occasion. She went back and forth for a week on what dress to wear. Would it be fancy enough? How well would it twirl? One night I found Anna in her room where she had laid out every dress she owns on the floor and contemplating which would be just right.

I let Anna choose any restaurant for our special night. Thanksgiving must have really left an impression and much to my dismay she chose The Golden Corral. After a delicious meal of Mac & Cheese and crackers, we made our way downtown.

When Anna gets excited she talks and talks and I had to remind her many times to try to be very quiet during the performance. But her enthusiasm was so cute. She got restless by the end, but I think she really loved it. We took home a nutcracker ornament to remember the night.

I really enjoyed the one on one time with Anna. I think this may become a Christmas tradition for us!

Jeff was in the paper today!

Wesley announces its newest executive

BY JERRY SIEBENMARK
The Wichita Eagle

Wesley Medical Center has hired Jeff Sollis to replace one of its two chief operating officers, but the 29-year-old native of Murray, Utah, won't hold the COO title just yet.

Sollis, whose first day of work at Wesley was Nov. 30, will be involved in the daily operations of the 760-bed hospital.

He was hired to replace Sam Serrill, who is retiring and shared the COO title with Steve Edgar.
Hugh Tappan, Wesley's president and CEO, said that he is "restructuring responsibilities across the organization."

In that restructuring, Edgar will retain the COO title and focus a lot of his efforts in areas such as physician recruitment and business development, Tappan said, while Sollis will have more operating departments to oversee.

In Sollis' time in hospital administration, he said this is his biggest assignment yet.
"This is a large tertiary teaching facility with a lot of service-line depth," he said.

Before Wesley, Sollis was assistant administrator at North Suburban Medical Center in Thornton, Colo., in the Denver area.

But that 157-bed hospital, which is an HCA hospital like Wesley, "wasn't quite enough to prepare me for that next step" in my career, Sollis said.

He said what attracted him to the job at Wesley was not just the size of the hospital and the scope of its operations. Just as attractive was the idea of being mentored by Tappan and Edgar.

"Somebody in my role, it's key that you have a CEO and COO who are willing to be mentors," Sollis said. "For me, this is a great next step."

Sollis' wife is Rachel and they have a 4-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. They are expecting twins in January.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/12/09/1626662/wesley-announces-its-newest-coo.html#ixzz17jUtv188

A Little Update

I'm more than a little behind on pretty much everything, but I wanted to share how we've been doing since our big move. And then I'll retroactively blog. (Wait, that's what I've been doing for the last six months...)

We made it to Wichita on Thursday, Nov 18th and drove straight to the new house for our final walk through. Anna and Isaac ran circles in every room and up and down the stairs over and over. It made closing the next morning even more exciting. Everything went smoothly and we officially became home owners around 11:00am Nov 19th.

Jeff thankfully had the whole week of Thanksgiving off which we mostly spent unpacking and spending money. Jeff was offered a pretty generous moving package which allowed us to upgrade on a few things. It was REALLY fun since we just don't ever go out and buy stuff. We got a new dining room table, new chair for the living room, a TV (a total treat since we haven't had one for the last couple of years), and reluctantly, a new bed. (Our bed frame didn't fit upstairs so we had to buy a split frame. Not exactly what we wanted to spend our money on, but whatever.)

Jeff's parents flew out for Thanksgiving weekend and after a nightmare chain of events they finally arrived in Wichita about 6:00pm on Thanksgiving. We missed our big T-Day reservations (there was no way I was cooking a bird this year) and ended up at the only open restaurant in town, The Golden Corral. Don't be jealous.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful. It was great to have Jeff's parents around to help us. Larry and Jeff were able to get a lot of little projects done, Marlene and I were able to shop quite a bit, and Anna and Isaac got lots of attention. Everyone was happy.

Real life began this week and here's how things are shaking out:

Jeff has been "drinking from the fire hose" at work. He's jumped right in and there is a lot to learn and do. He's generally working about 12 hours a day, usually 7-7. The people he is working with are really great and have been super generous.

Anna is having a bit of hard time adjusting. I think all of the stress of moving combined with two very distracted parents has taken its toll. She vacillates between her normal happy, bubbly, sweet self and being moody and emotional. I'm sure this is normal, but I'm anxious to get back to a good day-to-day routine before the her world is turned upside down again when the babies are born.

Isaac, on the other hand, is thriving. He has loved exploring every nook and cranny of the house, he's sleeping like a champ, and out of the blue started talking in small sentences. (Communication!) My new favorite thing he does is state, "I crying." while crying. Because he just wants us to really wants to understand he's sad, I guess. It's adorable.

I'm doing my best to keep my head above water. My days basically consist of going through boxes, resting, playing with kids, resting, cleaning up, resting, trying to bend over, resting, making food, resting, and then dropping dead at the end of the day. I'm 33 weeks and really hoping these babies stay put for another 5 weeks. Otherwise they will be sleeping in cardboard boxes and packing paper. I am loving, loving, loving our new house. It is such a pleasure to live in such a beautiful home.

And if you managed to get to the end of this long, pictureless post I'll reward you with the mental image of me standing in front of a lovely copper brown used mini-van. Because we bought one yesterday. And I won't even be mad at you for laughing because of all the times I swore I'd never own one.

Grandma and Grandpa

Cocoa Party with Grandma Marlene.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Golden Corral.

A delicious dessert.

Waiting for the horse-drawn carriage to arrive.

Our Last Week in Colorado

We tried to spend our time doing some of our favorite Colorado/Denver activities during our last week. We weren't able to do all that we wanted, but did manage to fit in a few things.

Anna requested one last trip to the Children's Museum and beignets from Lucille's.

Of course we ate at Benny's one last time. (This picture was taken just down the street from the restaurant.)

Anna and Isaac spent some time playing amid all the boxes.

And after they were gone, they had fun playing in the empty closets.

Lastly, we tried to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous November weather Colorado offered up this year.

Some of our favorite memories and outings while living here:

• Camping and exploring in Rocky Mountain National Park
• Fireworks in Estes Park
• Snowboarding Vail (Jeff)
• Visiting The Royal Gorge, walking the bridge
• Rockies, Nuggets and Bronco games (thanks to Jeff's work we had some sweet seats)
• Drives/snores up the canyon
• Pearl Street and great restaurants in Boulder
• Tattered Cover Bookstore
• Larimer Square (and especially Osterio Marco)
• Bonnie Brae Ice Cream Shop
• The Denver Temple (visiting the grounds with the kids and doing sessions.)
• Red Rock Amphitheater
• Visiting various parks all around town
• The Denver Zoo and the Nature and Science Center
• The Bay Water Park
• Shopping in Silverthorn while Jeff fished the Blue River
• Learning to cycle (Jeff)
• Having so many family members visit and letting us show them around.

We have tried to make the most of living here the past 2 1/2 years, but there are a few things on my "Colorado List" that were never realized.

• Visit Durango/Telluride, CO
• Tour the Molly Brown House
• Complete the downtown sculpture scavenger hunt
• Ski a Colorado Resort
• Hike Boulder Falls
• Have High Tea at the Brown Palace
• Visit Garden of the Gods

Of course the best part about Colorado and what we will miss the most are the friends we've made. They became our family and we already miss them dearly.



Ladies Who Lunch

Kathy, Jeanette, Me, Rebecca, and Kirsta

Right after we moved to Denver I was invited to join a "lunch group." Every Thursday one member of the group hosts a full lunch, including desert, for everyone. The kids all play while the moms enjoy a couple of hours enjoying good food and good conversation. (Kids eat before they come.) Recipes were then uploaded to a community blog where we could all access each others great meals.

This became my most favorite time of the week and where my most dear friendships were formed and I was able to step out of "mommy-mode" and have smart, funny, opinionated conversation. I think I will miss the "Thursday Lunch Bunch" more than any other part of my day-to-day Colorado life.

The group has grown and shrunk and members have changed, and sadly this is the only picture I have from dozens of weekly meetings. Missing from the shot are some amazing friends: Lisa, Brittney, Valerie, Becky, and Rachel.

We Made it to Wichita!

We are so excited to be here!