Nathan & Fiona, Kaisa & Everett – Family Blog

This, folks, is my handsome husband. For those of you who don’t know, he’s a search marketing guru. He’s been in the industry for 12 years now, and he rocks at it.

I just need to brag about him for one quick sec. He has been with Boostability for almost 2 years now. He started out as the director of fulfillment, and when he started, he was the only guy on his team. Soon, he had one employee, then several, and eventually his team grew to over 20 people in-house and over 100 stay-at-home writers (including myself). This week, on our Valentine’s date, Nathan told me that he was promoted to VP of Operations!! I am SO excited for him, mostly because he seems SO HAPPY. He LOVES his job, and that is all I guy can ask from his career, right? Plus, it came with a raise and a nice “pat on the back” that he is doing a great job and valued by his employer. That’s got to be a good feeling.

I’m so proud of you, babe! Keep up the good work!

It’s February now, so I should probably do a post about Christmas, right? :)

My mom, dad, sister, and her fiancee (now ex-fiancee) were all able to come up from Arizona and visit us over Christmas weekend. And let me tell you, it was a PARTY! We had SO MUCH FUN! Here are some highlights from the weekend.

The kids asked Grandma Wendy to read to them up in the top bunk. And, being Grandma Wendy, she did! They loved every minute of it!

Santa came! We had a ridiculous amount of presents under the tree this year!

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we had to get the kids up before the sun in order to get everything opened and be ready for 10:00 church.

Everett opening his stocking. When he opened this lip balm, he excitedly exclaimed, "Look mom! Boy makeup!"

Kaisa opening her stocking.

Harrison opening his stocking. Actually, he just wanted to eat the presents. I had to help him open them.

These were their big presents from Santa. Everett got a workbench and Kaisa got a Barbie with a horse that really trots!

The rest of the morning was captured on the video camera…it was lots of fun! Nathan surprised me with an iPad that he bought with our credit card miles. We’ve been having a lot of fun with that! We also got an Xbox 360 with Kinect. I was so reluctant to let Nathan get one of these, but I’m so glad I finally gave in. It’s been so much fun, and the Kinect is great! It’s so much easier for the kids to learn and I can exercise with it. I got Dance Central II to go with it, and I love it! We also got Fruit Ninja and it makes my arms sore every time! The kids really like Fantastic Pets and Once Upon a Monster.

We went down to Payson after church and opened presents with Nathan’s family. We got to talk to Uncle Matthew who is on a mission in Chile! That was really fun because we did Skype. Then we came back to Orem, put the kids to bed, and played Dance Central with my family. It was so fun! My sister blessed her baby the next morning, and then my family had to leave. We are so glad they got to come!

On New Year’s Weekend, we got to go to a family reunion held by my great-aunt for the Utah Allens (my grandmother is an Allen). There were a lot of my dad’s cousins there with their kids. A lot of his cousins are my age, so I think of them as my cousins. The kids had so much fun playing on the bounce houses and eating treats!

3 years ago this morning, I birthed my hefty, 9 lb. 13 oz. Everett. It seems like yesterday. I can’t believe how big he’s grown and how much he’s learned in these three short years! He is such a little ball of energy and we love having him in our family. He is so silly and is always making up funny songs or words. He picks up the funniest phrases from TV or conversations he hears and uses them all the time. He gets stuck on one words sometimes and says it over and over. For example, last October he loved the word “eyeball.” He thought it was the funniest thing. He would say “eyeball” and giggle over and over. We went trick-or-treating to our neighbor’s house and just as he started to walk away, he turned his head and yelled “eyeball” at them, then ran away saying, “eyeball..hehehe…I said eyeball!” It was hilarious. Everett loves superheros, swords (he calls them strong swords), balls, cars, trucks, trains, riding his tricycle, playing with his sister, and cuddling. He is 22 months younger than Kaisa but only 3 pounds lighter. His feet are one size smaller than hers. He’s excited about all the fun things he will get to do now that he is 3, like go to preschool and Sunbeams. We sure love this guy!

1 day old

6 Months Old

1 Year Old

2 Years Old

3 Years Old!

I just saw this on a blog I like to read.

It’s amazing. I want to do this to my piano, but it would have to be a different color that matches my house. The finish on my piano is in bad shape. The previous owner allowed their dogs to chew on the legs and the paint is missing in many places. There are a lot of blemishes. I think it would look fabulous with a fun, vibrant coat of paint.

This is a crazy idea, right? If I’m going to repaint something in my house, shouldn’t I start with a desk or table? You know, something simple? For some reason, I am drawn to this idea. I love the little appliques she added, too. I may not have room for that since I have a spinet. Anyway. Anyone want to help me with this project? Natalie? :)

My sister, Melodie, also encapsulated and ingested her placenta after giving birth. We both feel that the pills were SO helpful after birth for a lot of reasons, and we’ve started calling them the “magic pills.” I found this little clip on “Good Things Utah” and thought I’d post it here. It’s very informative, and I’m thrilled that this process is starting to become more popular. If anything, it makes me look less weird. :) P.S. If you are wanting to try this, go with Launi Anderson in Orem. She charges $50 (rather than $175 from this lady).