Sunday, October 1, 2006

October update

KGW & JGW
Always wanted a pic like this
in awe
kind of a tradition to take one like this
show us the lips
he knows Dad
mucho hair for 0 days old
Dads can nurse too
Wee little piggies

Cute nails Syd!
3 Gens of men
Everyone's asleep
the Asian nurses said he would be smart because he
is already reading from his comic-book throwup rag



The Boy is here!



Weight: 8lbs 10z
Height: 20 in
He came just before 8:00 am this morning, September 28, 2006 in Las Vegas, NV. It was a normal quick surgery that got the baby Jack Jack out in less than 10 minutes. Like his sister before him, Jackson was quite an acrobat in the womb, and left the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and body. Thank goodness for modern medicine and surgery. It saved this mom's (and baby's) life once again.

Friday, September 1, 2006

September update

Welcome home Matthias!
swinging at the reunion in Whitehorse Lake, near Williams, AZ
kiss the lizard Syd
Glad to have Uncle Matt back!
Yo yo yo kids

In July we got to have a 4th of July party of cleaning out our junk room (most people have a junk drawer, we have a room) and making space for Sydney. She helped us move her closet items into the new room. Somehow, she knew the bunk beds were just for her, so when we were almost done, she pulled her bear and blankee out of her crib and put them onto her new bunk bed and climbed in. She has been sleeping there ever since! She does more and more grown up things all the time. It's just hard to think she is becoming a little girl.
Into the mid month Chris and Summer invited us up to Brianhead for a work vacation, that turned out to be mostly a vacation. They broke a lot of ground in their property in preparation for the cabin. It's called a cabin because it's in the mountains, but really It's a house I think. Chris used me most by sending me through the dense forest looking for a good path to run a string to mark his property boundaries. We had fun chain sawing and playing Bucheron. Summer hosted an excellent spread, complete with private casita for our family, and she made a primo dinner of meat and beans. Martha would have been proud.
We have been in a parenting class for a few weeks now that is a lot of fun as a date. Plus, Keresa's little sis has a steady baby sitting job with us that I think she rather appreciates. The class is called love and logic, and we would highly recommend its precepts to not only parents, but youth leaders, dentists who work with children, piano teachers, etc. It is a lot of the same kind of parenting that a counselor would use, so some of it is very familiar (because of our counselor dad).
In church on Sunday I reached over to whisper something to Keresa and Sydney looked up at me very seriously and quietly motioned her finger to her lips, "Shhh." She is in nursery now. It's very good for everyone. I'm sure you all remember sending babies to nursery and getting to go to your classes again. What a relief!
Sydney has been potty training. We got her some pee pee candy (skittles) that she gets to eat one each time she goes in the toilet. Of course it has been frustrating for Keresa with Syd not understanding about going in the place she is supposed to, but they are both surviving, and Syd seems like she is really making progress after a week. The first poop she did in the toilet is memorialized by photograph.
Saturday we did a boat load of chores. It seems like our first Saturday home after weeks of reunions and scout trips. It was nice to do so much. We even gutted the swamp cooler and began using it at night instead of the A/C. It cools us down to 70. (brrr)
I have also been selling my old school books on ebay. It was good that after all the shipping, ebay costs, etc. has been paid for, I am left with $170. I know I know, it is not enough to quit my job or anything, but it's a nice little bonus.
With love, mk kgw srw

Saturday, July 1, 2006

July update

"Good morning this is Sydney. How may I help you."
New shelves in the closet, thanks to an inheritance of particle board from Grandpa Bert's will.

6/23/06 The moment you've all been waiting for has finally come: I have to eat my words. We listed my sweet awesome Mountaineer in the Review Journal. I'm selling it. I can't afford the stinkin' gas. But incase any of you could, here's a sneak peek at what the rest of Las Vegas will be seeing early Saturday morning:
2002 Mercury Mountaineer, V6, All wheel drive, power everything, separate AC for passenger/driver, 6 disc in dash CD changer, rear AC, 3 row bench seat for 7 passenger seating, AC and Radio controls on steering wheel, leather, dual power and heated seats, separate lifting glass and rear door, class II tow package, new tires, roof racks, fog lights, alloy wheels, a horn that plays "la cucaracha," memory seat, keyless entry remote and on door, auto dimming rear view mirror, running boards...okay maybe it doesn't really have the cucaracha horn...
We are looking at some cars similar to the one we've already got: bigger size car with enough power to pull a trailer. My two top picks are Impala and Monte Carlo. We would like to spend around $7k, but could go all the way up to $9k. I would probably sell the house off before selling the banshee...back when I was single. Now-a-days, the banshee has a lower priority than I ever thought it would have.
This morning when I got out of the shower, I was still in the bathroom getting ready. Like most mornings, Sydney and Keresa woke up while I was in there, so they were in the bedroom calling me. I heard Sydney saying, "Dad, Dad, Dad...Muh-Kay, Muh-Kay... " Keresa said she started that on her own. It sounded so un-baby-like.
Thanks to Dad donating a short stack of particle board to the cause, we have built a 3-level shoe shelf in our master bedroom closet, and a more serious 5-level shelf in our hall closet. And, in building those, it gave me some good ideas for my lesson this Sunday about preparing for the Melchizedek Priesthood. I was able to talk about charging the battery on the drill, preparing all the boards to the right measurements and cuts, getting nails and screws and glue, etc. I was able to convert those temporal things for some spiritual aspects of preparing our boys for their next step. It was a good lesson.
Keresa is days away from the third trimester, and reaching the end of her feel-good days. She has started feeling light-headed and a little sick if she doesn't keep cool. So she invites over her little bros and sisters to swim throughout the week. It is giving her and Sydney a great tan!
Keresa had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning. She told the doc we are scheduled to tour the hospital that he likes, to make sure we like it too. He said, "Well is it getting that close to the date? Let's schedule you then." So she is scheduled for live birth, September 28, at 7:30 am.
I picked up a new DVD online that Mom sure thought was neat - it's a new compilation of Gilad's TV shows put together for a total body workout that is 70 minutes long. It's fun because the guy is such a character. I recognize some of the parts of the movie as segments from Mom's old work-out video.
Our office took us to a night on the town. We started at the steak house in Treasure Island, which was good. But things really got exciting afterward when we saw the show Mystere. It was a lot of fun and very entertaining. It is like a foreign circus set in a jungle. The characters are not people, but not animal, just like some kind of creatures. They do a lot of trapeze stuff, jumping really high on trampolines and doing flips, etc. It was really fun. We saw Blue Man Group in March, and we were trying to decide which was more entertaining. Keresa thought if you are a music/rhythm and technology person, Blue Man may tip the scales a bit, but any old person can enjoy Mystere.
When we got our Mountaineer in December, we noticed right away it had a problem where the brake lights would stay on. It was as if someone was still sitting in there holding down the brake pedal, so many times I would come out in the morning and the battery had gone dead, or after work, or after school at night, etc. We priced fixing it with the dealership and they assured us it would be 3 or 4 hundred dollars, so we said bag that. Instead of fixing it, we have just been reaching down and un-plugging the brake lights cable, so just adding another step to getting out of the car. Now that we are selling it, we decided to fix that problem for the next person. So we hesitantly dropped it off at our regular mechanic. He let us know after only 4 or 5 hours that he had fixed the problem, and the total bill would be 80 bucks! He said this is a common problem among this year of truck, and there is a recall switch that he purchased for $15 and installed it in only an hour. Word to the wise: fix the problems as they come instead of putting them off, and NEVER believe the dealership for an estimate.
With love, mk kgw srw

Thursday, June 1, 2006

June update

MK -- UNLV Class of 2006
yum
grad party at MacCayo's
Grad party at Ice Rink
Pretty excited to get a boy!
Wait, Keresa already has two kids?
Shirt of my alma mater

Graduation feels a lot like retirement. I have so much time now. I get to catch up with my girls. It is very relaxing.
LV temple holds early sessions 3x per week. Those are nice because I can go before work, before the girls wake up, and make it through the whole session without getting heavy eyelids. Last week I did an early day. Then Dad called me in the afternoon and asked me to spot him and Mom who had a sealing assignment but were sick with headaches. Keresa asked me if I remembered what happened when pregnant ladies do sealings (they faint). So I went solo and met up with the Logandale stake folks.
Keresa and I are finding out that Sydney understands most of the things we say. She may also be dyslexic. She says diaper as "pye-der" and zebra as "bree-zha." Hopefully we can get her to switch those syllables around.
Sydney has tried to just whine and point to stuff, but we are making her say things instead of whine. One of the things she has picked up is that Keresa asked her, "You want me to help you?" when reaching for a cracker. So she started saying, "Help you?" when she wants help with something.
Keresa is having a great time creating ideas to switch Sydney's room into a suitable boy nursery. She has picked out new colors, paint, bedding, etc. And now, I actually have time to help her do that stuff!
Other than that, things are just warming up around here. Looking forward to those hot Vegas temperatures!
Mk kgw srw

Monday, May 1, 2006

May update

Flower children in Sedona, AZ
Con-grads (corny, I know)
hunting instincts of a really good hunting animal
perfect weather for a walk
Happy Easter!
Happy Beach?!

This month we went to Sedona, AZ for a few days. It was a nice little trip for spring break. We didn't do anything spectacular. We just swam, hiked, rode 4wheelers, did a Jeep tour, watched a movie and had an Easter Egg hunt. It was fun to just hang around and not worry about work or school. I guess that would be what you call a vacation. Sydney did pretty good at the egg hunt. She liked throwing the plastic eggs on the ground and watching all the treats inside explode onto the sidewalk.
The room we stayed in had a huge spa bathtub. We put Sydney in it and turned on the jets. She wasn't too sure about that, but she did like the deep water. She walked around and splashed in the shoulder-deep water. Then she made a weird face, and a little log floated to the surface. We had to rush to turn the jets off before it got sucked in and incorporated into the system. That ended bath time prematurely.
KGW is doing well in her pregnancy. She is into the 2nd trimester now so she is feeling great. She just has to find a way to cope with the inescapable heat that will be here before we know it. We will be setting up the pool in the backyard to help with that. If anyone wants to come spend the night here, we run the swamp cooler and you will wake up to a chilly 64 degrees in the morning.
MK is so excited he is sleeping less and less each night. He is counting down the days to the graduation. We have been considering what hobbies he can take up to fill all the spare time we will have, and have decided mostly to take on all the projects around the house, like shelving, putting together a little shed, yard work, etc. It will definitely be a pleasant change to have a husband again!
Sydney scared us with her dental progression. She has 2 teeth in the bottom center, one of the front teeth on top, then a space, then the next tooth. So her smile sometimes looks as bad as her dad's. But now the gap is bulgy and we think the tooth that belongs there is on its way down.
Also here is a fun website I made for a final in a class this semester: Delamar
Looking forward to seeing everyone in August!
Love, Mk kgw srw

Saturday, April 1, 2006

April update

3 generations of Banshee lovin Whitney women!
Logandale's "little mesa" or Jumpback
Sure do like my new Banshee! (2003 limited edition)
as long as Mom doesn't fall asleep too...

Sydney is surprising us with all the funny things she does. She is learning lots of "words"(thank you sounds like "deed-doo"). Her new funnest game for Dad is chasing her around the house, and she runs away excited/frightened that I will catch her. She can hardly stand it when she hears me getting near her and yells out with excitement.
Keresa's pregnancy is coming along without any problems. She is feeling as healthy and energetic as always.
Our anniversary happened in March, so Keresa planned a surprise date. We went to a restaurant referred by Keresa's family called Hash House-a-Go-Go. It's kind of creepy, like some ride at Disney land with all the themes and decorations, and there is weird farmish music. The relative recommending the place told us it was "farm food, but twisted," whatever that means. When we got there, their sign said Hash House-a-Go-Go-Twisted Farm Food. Original review eh? There were only 8 or 10 items on the menu. They were things like steak, ribs, fish, chicken, pot pie, etc. The food came out on these giant plates that were way oversized. The entree had a huge pile of mashed potatoes to the side and weird non-edible plants thrown over it- like shredded up corn husks, a stick off a sage brush, other weird things. So we ate. Probably we won't go there anymore.
The next item on the anniversary agenda was also a surprise. Keresa had me put my seat all the way back and close my eyes while she drove us to the place of our next destination. We drove around and she made many turns to confuse my senses so I wouldn't know where we were. Finally she admitted the turns were to confuse me, but she was a little lost and would need my help to find the surprise. We finally landed at the Venetian hotel, whose show right now happens to be Blue Man Group! We thoroughly enjoyed that.
We also found time this month to visit Logandale and ride around with Chris and Summer and their kids. Grandma and Grandpa hosted us and provided a nice spread as usual: more hamburgers than a wedding party could eat and 4 or 5 choices of crackers or chips, and of course orange juice.
We are looking forward to the reunion. We'll be seeing you all.
Love, Mk kgw srw

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

March update

Sooooo hungry for a yellow Banshee!!!

Saturday I ran the sprinklers. Sydney thought it was pretty cool to stand on the edge of the patio and put her hand over the edge to let the sprinklers spray it. Then she put both hands out. Using both hands, she had no hand on the ground to balance her in the leaned over position that she was using, and she fell forward into the mud. Luckily she caught herself with both hands, so she didn't get full frontally mudded. However, in this elephant-walk position, her head was now right in the stream of water shooting from the sprinklers where her hands once were. She kind of gasped and shook her head back and forth as the sprinklers sprayed her head for a minute. I picked her up and set her back safely on the patio. Then she walked toward the sprinklers again...
We went to the store to get groceries. There was an amazing sale on the deli cookies that said 10/$1.00. So we got 10 boxes of cookies. At the cash register, the lady said ok guys, what's with the cookies. We told her and she told us that it was ten cookies for a dollar, 20 cookies per box, $2.00 per box of cookies. We said forget it.
Getting ready for church, we proceeded in the usual way: Keresa gets showered and dressed while I feed Sydney, then I get showered and dressed while Keresa dresses Sydney. Then Sydney roams around the house looking for something to do while Keresa does her hair and I finish tying my tie in the bathroom. Only 5 minutes until it was time to leave. I suddenly heard a splash and Sydney coughing/choking. I immediately pictured the large throw up that must have proceeded out of her mouth, but then thought how impossible for her to have that much liquid in her stomach. I peeked out into the bedroom to find that she had tried to get a drink out of mom's quart sized cup that was on the nightstand, and tipped it forward a little too far to dump water down her throat, dress, socks, shoes, everything. Keresa quickly put her in a new outfit so we could still leave on time.
Love, Mk kgw srw

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

February update

Nice Shiner!
cousins Sydney and Stellie
Mom and Syd at snowy Mt. Charleston, NV
Happy Birthday Sydney!
and it tastes good too!
muchos toys

I have one online class for counseling. It's about drugs and addictions. I had to order the book online which was called Substance Abuse. It came in the mail and I put the receipt out for Keresa to enter into her checkbook. Then I left.
Keresa got up a little later and encountered the hand-written receipt with my name and address on the top, the words "Substance Abuse" in the middle, and $76.00 printed on the bottom. At first glance she thought it was a citation I had the day before and was presenting it to her in this manner. Surely her blood chilled and she had the increased heart rate feeling for a moment. Then she remembered me telling her I was ordering a book online for my drug class. Poor thing. Needless to say, school is underway, and life is crazy again.
Sydney had a birthday party for the big number 1. About the party, it was fun. We got a nice card from Grandma and Grandpa Whit. Sydney ate the yummy caterpillar-cake with out much mess.
Sydney just loves the phone. She loves to talk, pretend to say hello, etc. She pulled it just a little too forcefully and the entire body of her Grandpa Gifford's multi-line, multi-functional office phone (aka the cinder block) came crashing down sending Sydney for a tumble. So sad.
Love, Mk kgw srw

February update

nice shiner
cousins Sydney and Stellie
Mom and Syd at snowy Mt. Charleston, NV
Happy Birthday Sydney!
Tastes good too!
Muchos Toys!

I have one online class for counseling. It's about drugs and addictions. I had to order the book online which was called Substance Abuse. It came in the mail and I put the receipt out for Keresa to enter into her checkbook. Then I left.
Keresa got up a little later and encountered the hand-written receipt with my name and address on the top, the words "Substance Abuse" in the middle, and $76.00 printed on the bottom. At first glance she thought it was a citation I had the day before and was presenting it to her in this manner. Surely her blood chilled and she had the increased heart rate feeling for a moment. Then she remembered me telling her I was ordering a book online for my drug class. Poor thing. Needless to say, school is underway, and life is crazy again.
Sydney had a birthday party for the big number 1. About the party, it was fun. We got a nice card from Grandma and Grandpa Whit. Sydney ate the yummy caterpillar-cake with out much mess.
Sydney just loves the phone. She loves to talk, pretend to say hello, etc. She pulled it just a little too forcefully and the entire body of her Grandpa Gifford's multi-line, multi-functional office phone (aka the cinder block) came crashing down sending Sydney for a tumble. So sad.
Love, Mk kgw srw

Sunday, January 1, 2006

January update

" Forget presents, I want more toys!"
Syd and Santa (taken with a Treo 600)

Christmas came and went; so did Grandma and Grandpa. They went to the airport near the first of December, and returned around the end of December, so we have had their extra car at our house. It came in handy for about a week when mk's car was out of commission (sold). We were so excited to get a new car we went ahead and sold one before we had bought the new one. The Beast (as grandpa affectionately calls it) served us well for that short time when we would have been a one-car family. Keresa surprised mk with a beautiful truck for Christmas. Nice replacement for the ghetto Saturn ride. The new one is a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer, same as a ford explorer, just more luxurious. It has seating for 7, so we will be able to fit all the scouts for outings now!
Keresa enjoys having lots of quality time with mk during the break. We have been out a lot together and it is so nice to have regular 8-5 schedules for this short break.
We went to red rock to ride four wheelers with Chris and Summer on Christmas Eve. It was so hot we all had to take off our jackets and couldn't stop to rest unless we were in the shade.
We are enjoying many blessings and hope that everyone else is too. We anxiously await an announcement from Summer!
Love, Mk kgw srw