Ah November.... Time of Thanks, Food, and Sports Medicine

November! I love it! Nick actually really loved it too. He started a sports Medicine Rotation down in Provo, UT. He loved the Dr.'s he worked with and loved learning new things! Everyone was really nice and were great teachers. Nick is actually interested in doing Sports Medicine when he's done with Residency so this was great for him to get his feet wet and to see if this is something he was really interested in, and it definitely is! We also benefited from Nick being in the sports medicine rotation because the Dr. he was working with is BYU's Sports Medicine Dr. so he gets free tickets in the VIP seating area, he gave 3 to us. So, Nick and I, along with our good friend Katie went to my first BYU football game in the stadium, it was a lot of fun! It was cool too because we got all this free food! Aside from that, We all (Nick, Me, and Alette) flew to Texas for one of Nick's interviews for Residency it was fun but it was also crazy busy. While we were in Texas we met up with some of our old Medical school friends, the Teame's and Johnson's- they are actually a year ahead of us so it was nice asking them how they liked Residency, it gives us something to look forward to!
 Last but not least, Thanksgiving was wonderful not only because we were able to be around family but Nick was actually able to be with us. He's been having to come and go a lot because of school but anytime we get him we're super happy!

GENDER!!!

Ever since I got pregnant with this baby I have been DYING to know if it was a boy or a girl. I obviously would be completely fine with having another girl because Alette is so darn awesome but it would also be way fun to have at least one of each. SO, I decided to schedule an ultrasound at 16 weeks to specifically find out the gender and guess what they told us.................. IT'S a BOY!

Isn't that profile just THE CUTEST!

PROOF! ;)

When they told me it was a boy, I seriously started to tear and almost immediately I thought of all my hopes and dream for the little guy. Mostly, I thought about how much my brothers mean to me and how much I want Alette and this little one to mean to each other when they get older. So in love with this little boy!

Alette's first "real" Halloween!

I was really excited this Halloween because Alette could actually semi enjoy this holiday, and I could even dress her up and be happy that more than a handful of people would see her! Last year she was a Cuddly Tiger but this year she was a yummy Cupcake! And, the other thing she could actually walk this year so they could get the full cuteness of it all.

Trick or Treat Time w/Daddy!!!

Halloween 2011 (@Trunk or Treat)

Carving a Pumpkin w/mommy!

 

Finished Product!

Halloween 2010

12 weeks Along with baby#2 (as of the 10th of October)

Moving to Utah

Alright, So the last spot I left off in the blog was when we decided we were going to be moving to Utah. Alette and I packed the entire house up because the rotation Nick was on left him barely any time at home to do anything extra besides studying. We ended up hiring some movers to work through the little HOA rules and it worked out just fine, they packed the moving pods for us and all Nick and I had to worry about was the 12 hour drive to Utah. Nick left to go to Jersey and completed his rotation there without a problem. What we DIDN'T tell everyone was right around this time I was going through my first Trimester with our little sweetheart Grant. I had some morning sickness but no where near as bad as it was when I was pregnant with Alette. So I think, right when we moved I would've been almost past my first trimester and I was happy because I was able to use the same OB I had when I had Alette. I had wonderful help during the periods Nick was gone because we were staying with his parents.

8 weeks along.

Alette in Nicks Hockey Helmet while I was Packing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Been a Whole Year and I Have Some Catching up to do!

Well, just the other day I was looking at the blog and noticed it has been a year since I last posted. Let me tell you, there has been SO much change in this year it blows my mind. It's a nice little journal to have and I can't believe I've neglected it this long! Anyways, I'll be spending the next little while updating the blog so if you're interested stay-tuned!

We're moving... Again, and it won't be the last time either!

So, this came to us kind of suddenly but it makes the most sense. While we were looking over Nick's schedule we realized that after this month, we would be here in California all but 4-8 weeks in a 6 month period. We talked about it and decided that it would make the most sense economically for us to go to Utah. Nick still has to travel to NJ for a couple more months, a month in Oct. Then, again come March and half of April. And in November he has a rotation in Utah, and then 6 weeks off during December-January. Anyways, the months that Nick would have to leave, Alette and I would be alone in CA, family/ friend-less so we though a much better use of our time, and a much happier use of our time would be with our loved ones. So we're still working through some of the snags (I hate HOA's for the record) but come hell or high water- Nick, Alette and myself will be in Utah October 1st, and we won't be leaving for at least 6 months (well, at least Alette and I won't be) Then, in March Nick will be told where we will be spending his residency.. Can't say I'm excited to be cold but I can say that I'm excited about having good company. :)

We're Alive, Just Being Lazy.

We're still here... I have been so terrible at updating the blog. I don't know how other people are able to keep there blog so up-to-date. Maybe I just need to come to terms with my self and admit I'm a bit lazy. Anyways, we have a ton of updating to do. So we'll get on with it.

First things first, we no longer live in New Jersey.... we live in the sunny state of California. We miss a lot of things about NJ but we are really happy here in CA. It's a TON cheaper here and, we are closer to both sides of our family.

We have a great Condo we're living in, it's actually twice as big as our last place and it's a lot cheaper too. I LOVE the kitchen; stainless steal appliances and nice tile floor. I don't love the counters, they're tile and it kinda grosses me out when I think about making bread on it because I don't think you can every truly clean the grout between the tiles. (that's just my weird opinion and I'm a little crazy about things being clean.)

Nick has started his fourth and final year of medical school which totally blows my mind. He is so close, but he still has a few years until he's completely done with the other part of being a Doctor, Residency! Nick has really enjoyed being at this hospital, people have a different demeanor here than they do in the east and it makes them a little easier to work with. He does have a little bit of a hectic schedule right now, but we're use to it now. Nick has started to apply for Residency so it's exciting but a tiny bit stressful too.

I have been doing the same ole thing. I stay at home with Alette watching her little mind grow. We still only have one vehicle and so it's still a little tough in that aspect. With Nick's schedule the way it is he doesn't get home until around 6-7 and so we can't really get out to do anything when he comes home. So, I joined a gym so I could get out at night a bit. I am definitely sore, but I feel so good at the same time. It's so nice to have a little me time. I am starting to be a little more "normal" in that I mean, I'm starting to feel like I can entertain the idea of having a babysitter so that Nick and I can actually have a date night, I haven't done it yet, but I am definitely playing with the idea... I know I'm a little over the top, Alette hasn't had a babysitter besides her grandparents, and that's only when we're visiting them and she's asleep when we leave. I realized this in church when she walked away from me and let other people hold her. I guess in her own subtle way she's been trying to let me know she's ready for me to give her a little "space". As for church, it didn't take long, I got a calling to be in the Nursery. I still don't have any friends really but I haven't been here that long either so I guess in time I will make friends, hopefully before we move again!

Alette is just growing up too fast! She makes us smile but she also can drive us a little crazy at the same time. She's a very smart and funny little girl. She decided she was either too old or big for her highchair, we got her a booster seat so she could sit at the table and feel like a "big" girl. She actually eats during dinner time so I think she likes it. She's very particular about certain things and can get a little frustrated. If she get water or juices from food on her leg she has to wipe it off, if she gets food on her hand then she thinks we are her napkins and wipes it on our clothes. haha She loves her books and loves sitting on our laps when we read them to her. She really loves Curious George. Alette absolutely loves going outside and loves playing in the pool. She's still an excellent napper and night-sleeper. We did a road trip to UT and she was excellent, 10 hours of driving isn't always easy but she handled it like it was nothing. One thing she does that drives me nuts is when she gets mad she hits her head on things, I'm hoping it's a phase and that she'll grow out of it once we can reason with her but for now we just ignore it. Other than that she has us wrapped around her little fingers and we love every minute of her!

I'll be posting pictures soon, but for now I hope this update is enough!

Laundry

Training her young. :)

Birthday Pictures

The Majesty sitting on her "Throne"

Always wants her Daddy.

Daddy's little girl!

It was a little dark in the arena so this was the best we could do!

Alette absolutely LOVES Blues Clues, When I need to get something done in the kitchen I'll turn an episode on for her and she'll sit (for maybe 5-10 minutes) and laugh at the characters. She actually REALLY enjoys dogs... she may be getting one for her next birthday. Don't tell Nick I said that. ;)

Already picking at the frosting. She knows a good treat when she sees it.

Digging in!

Trying to touch the camera with her mousse covered hands.

After a bath, she opened presents! She got a lot of fun toy/books.

The End.

Need I Say More....

P.S. I will be posting pictures in a few days of her Birthday but, I think this one will do for now.

Happy 1st Birthday...

Alette Ke'alohimaikalanimai Harker.

Newborn Alette 6 lbs 14 oz & 20"

1 year old Alette 24.5 lbs 34.5"

My sweet not so little girl turns one today! It has been one of the most incredible years of my life. It has been so wonderful watching her learn and grow into the little person she is. Alette is quiet the little genius too. I remember her always being so smiley as a newborn and also so aware of things around her even at only a few months old she knew what she wanted. She started out being very stranger shy and though she may get shy she loves when she gets attention from the people around her. She's a very happy baby with a lot of love and personality. Alette loves to flip through pages of books. The bathroom is her favorite room, She loves to bathe and play with water. She is now a full-fledged walker. She's to the point of almost running. She loves her blanket and will carry it around almost everywhere she goes. She loves to eat, as soon as she sees us eating she comes up to us begging for a bite. She's very smart and gets frustrated when something doesn't work the way she wants it to. She has started building with blocks the last couple days. She can only stack a couple up but she's working on it. She also loves to put lids on tupper ware of any container/ bottle. She also likes to help put away her toys, when we ask her of course (but it's a start, right?). It's amazing how much I have learned just being able to spend time with her all day, I seriously love getting her in the morning because she always has such a sweet smile and hug for me. She is the core of all happiness for both Nick and I. We love her so much and are so excited to see what the following years will bring. I just hope she slows down a bit in growing (at this rate she'll be 6 ft tall by the time she's in Junior High). ;)

Where Have We Been...

We've actually been quite the frequent flier these days. We've finally made it home after 2 1/2 months of being away from our beloved NJ home. It's a nice feeling, we've missed everything about the East and missed Nick even more! When Nick came to pick us up from the airport Alette hugged her daddy for about 10 straight minutes. Talk about a tear jerk-er! So, to get on with the post!
Nick and I decided a while back that it would be best for us to go visit family during his Surgery Rotation. Like I've explained in a previous post he was going to be living about an hour and a half away from us in a different town because the hours are just too ridiculous to commute all the time from the hospital to our apt. So to give him piece of mind that we would be fine without him we went to hang out with our family in Utah and Hawaii. We loved every minute of it but missed Nick desperately so we cut our trip short by about 3 weeks. Nick still has to be in a different town but at least we get to see him on the weekends and maybe occasionally during the weekdays. It's only for a couple of weeks and really, won't be that bad but we miss him all the time when he's gone. At least we were able to spend Valentines together! If you're interested at all below are some pictures of our trips to Utah and Hawaii. Hope you enjoy!

Utah:
Alette and I got to Utah a few weeks before Nick was able to come home for Christmas Vacation. During those few weeks Alette hit milestones without hesitation and hasn't stopped since. When we got to Utah Alette could sit but we had to put her in the sitting position and she could roll. with in a week in a half to two weeks she could put herself in a sitting position and she started crawling (full on crawling, she barely visited the army crawl stage), after that there was no stopping her. She started pulling herself up to the standing position(she's now almost walking, she walks along the side of the couch and sometimes stands without holding on.), she was kinda scaring me, she just grew up before my eyes within 2 weeks. Nick came home and was able to see all of it for himself, I think she was kind of scaring him too. She's too smart for her own good! Anyways, we were able to spend time with Nick and his family during Christmas and we had a ton of fun. Nick and I went our seperate ways. He went back to NJ and Alette and I went across the ocean to Hawaii.

Christmas: Alette and her cousin Elijah (who actually got a baby sister on Christmas too)

Alette Checking out one of her gifts.

Daddy and Alette, She got the hang of tearing paper pretty quickly, unfortunately it had bad repurcussions, she now tears pages out of books.

Hawaii:
The flight was an absolute disaster! But we finally got to Hawaii 8 hours after we were suppose to have been there. It was 2:30 in the morning and everyone was asleep so we didn't really get to say hi to everyone until they awoke. Alette had never met her Tutu and Tutu-man, or anyone else on my side of the family for that matter (besides one of my brothers and his family). Everyone was thrilled to see her and she had a ton of fun. We went to different places on the Island and ate at all the places I missed so much and managed to stop at the beach once. It was so nice to have them around me. Alette also got sick for the first time while we were there. It was a stressful time but surprisingly it only lasted a week (even though it felt like eternity with no sleep and a baby who was too sick to eat) She got slammed with a whole bunch of different things all at once. (Croup, Flu, Ear-infection, and 2 teeth) All in all we loved being in the warm weather and Alette loved not having to wear too much clothes. She's an Island girl at heart.

Hawaii: Standing up at the playground, notice my nervous hand trying to make sure she doesn't fall.

First trip to the hospital, she's so adorable and was being such a good sport.

Alette and her cousins Alice and Asa

Alette and her Uncle Lanakila(my brother), she really liked that motorcycle... maybe a little too much! Nick's going to have to keep tabs on this girl.

This is all the cousins together on my side. The whitest one is my kid ;) haha

Another Scratch in the Wall.

Hallelujah! Nick has completed his Internal Medicine Rotation. He has been taking test every other day for about a week and a half, which means, he's been studying more than usual the last few weeks. This rotation was very LONG and towards the end it was getting wearisome. You know your husband is tired if within a week he can finish off a 24 pack of Dr. Pepper (and he's only home and awake to do so 4-5 hours an evening). So,I'm happy to say Nick has crossed another rotation off his list making us closer to his graduation (I know it's not for a while but we're one closer). Which, I don't know will be a good thing, it may be even more stressful but exciting none-the-less.

Nick's next rotation is Surgery, I have mixed feeling about it. I'm very excited for him because I know this rotation will be super fun and he'll get a lot of hands-on experience. I'm bummed about it because he has to go down to Trenton, NJ which is about 1- 1 1/2 hours away and he has to commute back and forth (unless, we decide it would be better for him to sublet a room down there). Alette and I are going to go to Utah and Hawaii to spend time with family. We hate being away from Nick but it's will be better his mind isn't worrying about us because he'll know we have some family with us. It's a long rotation but I think Nick is going to enjoy it (maybe not the waking in the wee hours of the morning or commuting back and forth in the middle of winter). I am so proud of all the hard work he puts in. Nick is such a great man! I'm a lucky woman and Alette is a lucky little girl! Great job baby!!!

Thanksgiving

(Our family of Turkey's (my hand, Alette's and Nick's).)

I love that there is a holiday set aside for us to remember the stuff we normally overlook. I have so much to be thankful for and sometimes it seems we forget about them or get caught up with life. So, right now I'll take the time to recognize the most important things that I am so blessed to have.

- The Church, without the church the struggles we go through in life would be much more difficult. I love how it brings our family even closer.

- My wonderful Husband. Nick, is fantastic husband, he's funny, smart, good-looking, patient, loving, and an awesome daddy. I love the way fatherhood came so naturally to him, I love watching him with Alette. Nick has been able to juggle both school and home and he's done so very successfully. I couldn't imagine being married to a better man.

- My Beautiful and amazing daughter, Alette. She's is the light in our dark, she can bring a smile to your face so easily. I love her so much and am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be her mommy. She has a funny sense of humor already and I can't wait to see how she grows and blossoms into a young woman. It's funny how strong of a love you can have for such a small person.

- Family, I can't even begin to express my appreciation for my family and Nick's family. I love them and don't think I could be who I am without them. Both families have played such important roles in my life and when ever I get the opportunity to hang out with either side I get excited because there's something about just being around family that warms your heart.

-Friends, my family away from family. I love that no matter where you end up you'll make new friends and they end up being your family. It makes living far away from real family not so bad.

- Our apartment, although small, is a nice safe place that I can be confident that my family and I will be safe and warm/ cool if it's hot outside.

- Food/ Water, I know this is a given but there's been a couple times in the last month and a half where we were out of water. I had no idea I used water so often during the day and how much of a convenience it is in our life.

- My phone/ internet. Without this technology it would make it difficult to keep in touch with our loved ones.

Well, for now this is all I can really think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there is a ton of other things and if I do think of something I will be sure to post it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy October!

Well! this was our first Halloween with our small family. There's something about having a kid that just makes you want to get into the spirit of things. I decided that I would make some Halloween sugar cookies. After Alette went to sleep, Nick and I set off into the kitchen to decorate the already baked cookies, I would have done it with Alette but have you every tried doing something and actually getting in DONE when you have a baby?! I didn't think so. Anyways, I thought it would be fast because we weren't running to a lonely baby's aid every 10 seconds. It wasn't, it actually took us a few hours to decorate a handful of cookies. We resorted in eating the rest that were not decorated so that we wouldn't feel like we gave up.

First taste of Halloween delight

I think she likes it!

"The Baker"

Nick's twin

Which one doesn't belong?

Since Alette is so small (I should say young, there's really nothing small about her) we didn't really want to go trick-or-treating. One, she wouldn't have known the difference and two, we wanted to avoid the stares (mainly because everybody knows a baby without teeth can't eat tootsie rolls, or anything else for that matter. Well, unless you chew it up for her first). We decided that we HAD to dress her up though just so we could record her first Halloween. Nick and I were a little lacking in the dressing up department. We didn't really have anywhere to go so we didn't put any effort in dressing up. We did get to show Alette off at a Halloween Party and our Apt Complex had a little get together for the kids. Alette wasn't too fond of her costume but I thought it was adorable. All in all our Halloween was a success (aside from the fact that we had ZERO trick-or-treaters, I guess we look creepy?). I think next year Nick and I will be a little more enthusiastic about Halloween... not that we weren't this year but like I said before we lacked in some areas ;)! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween, I know we did!!!

Daddy and Tiger Alette. Rawr!

Close up

On another note, Nick has to go down to Trenton, NJ come the end of November which means that I wouldn't have a car or a husband (for that matter) for about 3 months. It sucks, but we've decided the best thing (financially and physically) to do will be me and Alette going to Utah and stay with family there. Alette and I are not happy about it and quite frankly we hate to do it but we also like having loved ones around. One a lighter note, I will also be able to go to Hawaii in January to see my family. Alette will finally be able to meet her tutu and tutu-man. So there's good and bad, but we'll make the best of things. We will be able to spend Thanksgiving with Nick and Christmas, so there's no holidays that will be missed (if you're not counting our anniversary and my birthday, Valentines day and Nick's birthday... I guess we are missing a lot!) O well, we'll just have to do something really awesome when I get back from our "vacation".

Update: Alette is now back to eating as much as ever, she also insists upon eating "big people food". She stares and Nick and I while we eat dinner and waits until we offer her some. I think she's in the midst of another growth spurt (like she needs it!!!).

Help! Eating Issues...

I am the kind of mother that is constantly worried about my baby (what mother wouldn't be). I think I tend to "over worry" and Nick would attest to this. I know I need to "chill out" a little, but before I can I need to talk about it and see if anybody else has gone through this. Okay, se here goes.

Alette went from being a fantastic eater, I mean she was eating 32-35 oz a day. She has always been a good eater, she's is very big for her age and therefore, she needs all those calories. About a week or two ago she suddenly stopped wanting to eat her solid baby food. She absolutely hates baby cereal and has since I've tried to get her to eat it. She does however like to eat vegetables. She also hates fruit, she won't touch the stuff. Anyways, so she stopped wanting to eat solids, then she suddenly wouldn't take her bottle as much. She seriously FREAKS out when we cradle her to feed her, she kicks, screams, and cries. I don't know what to do. She has started to eat her solid food again and she'll probably eat a total of 1 container a day of some kind of vegetables. She has not however picked up on her regular amount of food. She is now MAYBE eating 25 oz a day. I am so worried, and I get so frustrated not with her but with her new eating habits. I feel like a failure, I think "did I go wrong somewhere?", "did I do something wrong to not make her want to eat?". Nick isn't too concerned about it, I should listen to him. He's almost always right. I know I should trust Alette's instincts, and know she'll eat when she eats. What do you think? Do I have cause to be concerned? Should I just "relax" a bit and see what happens?

Anyways, let me know what you think. Thanks!

1/2 a year old!

New Stats:

Length: 28 1/2"

Weight: 19 lbs 13 oz

Currently wearing 12-18 month onesies.

Well our baby is looking more and more like a toddler than an infant. We took her in to get her shots on Saturday. Nick was finally able to make it to one of her appt. and he had to hold her while they gave her 3 shots. It was so sad, but I was glad Nick had to do it instead of me.

Alette can/likes to:

> Roll- She has recently found out she can roll to her tummy, it was driving me nuts because after she got to her tummy she couldn't get back to her back. She now knows how to flip back and forth but when she's tired and/or lazy she just cries and waits for us to put her on her back.

> Eat- She's always liked eating but she really enjoy's her baby food. She LOVES carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. She likes some other vegetables. Although, just the last two days she has really started fighting us about eating, it's kind of worrisome but I hope she snaps out of it soon.

> She still LOVES bath time.

> She really loves paper? don't ask me why but she gets excited when we go and get the mail and I give her one of the envelopes.

> Loves getting her ears cleaned. She stop what she's doing when we start rubbing her ears or cleaning them, she'll just lay there and look at the ceiling.

Well, I can't really think of anything else off the top of my head. She was teething a little but no tooth has appeared yet and it's kind of sad to have an extremely grumpy baby that you can't do anything for. Over all she is a joy to be around. Nick and I have so much fun with her and can't wait to see what her next milestones bring us!

VOTE FOR ALETTE!

I decided to enter Alette in the Gap Casting Call. Vote HERE for Alette and help us dominate! ;)

Thank You!

South Royalton, Vermont

I know I haven't blogged in a while and due to my laziness I will just skip to our latest trip. Nick and I decided that it would be a nice break for us to get a way from the hustle and bustle of our Jersey lives. Since we had no obligations this weekend and Nick had avoided being on call we thought it would be nice to go visit my mother in laws best friend. Elder and Sister Mitchell are serving their mission in South Royalton, Vermont which is the birthplace of Joseph Smith. It was about a 5 hours drive and worth it. The drive was absolutely beautiful this time of year with all the fall colors in full blown. As we drove up onto the ground you could feel the peace and calm spread over us. It is a place of pure serenity. Alette was extremely well behaved. She tolerated the long drive with very little fussing. I was dreading the drive for her but she showed me up! She slept really great the night we got there and was an absolute angel! Below are pictures from our trip.

Alette in the beginning of our trip.

If you want to keep a kid occupied give them a piece of garbage. (out of all the toys I brought her she wanted to play with this. it kept her busy for about 30 minutes!)

Quick picture, on our way to Vermont.

Love all the colors. (Up-state NY)

Up-state NY

There's something about this picture that reminds me of Princess Bride (I don't know why but it just comes to mind). Love it! (Up-state NY)

(Up-state NY)

(Up-state NY)

Elder and Sister Mitchell and us.

Alette's first time being "bundled up"!

The front step to the house Joseph Smith was born in.

Joseph Smith Statue.

Joseph Smith Monument. Put up on the 100th year anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth.

Close up.

President Hinckley stood right here and spoke.

On the way home.

Happy as can be! Love her!!!

On the way home. (sorry about the fuzziness)

This trip definitely gave us what we needed. Maybe one day you'll go there too!