Birthday Stud

When I found out we would be having a baby in December, I felt horrible that we would be giving someone such a terrible birthday. I swore to myself we would not get his birthday lost in Christmas. Never. It would be special and separate and he would never get shafted. We're only at his FIRST birthday, and look, he already got shafted because his birthday post is AFTER a very lame Christmas post. Byron says, No poor Sam, he doesn't even know. I say poor Sam because I think it is just a glimpse of what is to come. Poor kid!

At least his birthday was great! This picture shows the very best thing about turning one: he is now a real kid that gets to travel like the rest of us. Way to go, little man!Sam had been cutting teeth for a couple of weeks prior to his birthday and had been CRANKY! But for his birthday he was back to his normal, happy, easy going self. It was great! I have always taken the camera into our kids' room on their first birthday so I could get a shot of them first thing. Here he is in his glory: Pink Binky and all... (fourth kid getting shafted with a left over older sister's Binky) The big kids were so excited for him to have his birthday, even if he didn't know the difference. So the whole thing was for them as much as him. They woke up to the table set up for a party with balloons and party hats, you know, the works! I decided to really spoil the kid which meant no errands! It was playtime at the mall with friends and chinese food for lunch.He loved dinner of black beans and rice (Freestone blood, I know...) and his "balloon" party. He got the biggest kick out of us singing Happy Birthday to him. He smiled so big and started laughing. We all loved it so much we did it again. He got his very own green balloon cupcake and devoured it way better than any of our kids on their first try. He didn't care much for his presents, but Lucy and the rest of us sure did. It was a fun day, and all in all, I don't think Sam Sam felt like he got shafted one bit. We'll have to see about future years when he will actually have an opinion... We sure love this baby!

Merry Christmas To All...

... and to all a good night!

The Greatest

Everyone loves their parents and thinks they are great. And really, they probably are. But my mom IS the greatest! I mean, who else comes out to stay with you for a month just because you want her to? No one but my mom! Who else helps you clean, cook, take care of kids and works on projects ALL day long, and feels like SHE is putting you out? No one but my mom! Who else will watch me struggle with my kids and see me lose my temper for a whole month, and still think I am a great mom? NO ONE, but my Mom (ok, and Byron). Seriously, she is THE greatest and we had such a fun time with her here. We always think we have so much time to enjoy, and we do, but it goes so fast!
We did projects: assembled 48 I Spy Bag kits for our RS super saturday, scrapbooked (that I only do once a year as a demanded christmas gift for gmas and gpas), did lots of early christmas shopping, reorganized my 72 hour kits, and figured out christmas cards. I'm sure there were lots more. We did cooking: Thanksgiving yumminess, chocolate caramel pretzel rods, lots of soups and breads and a few new recipes. I love cooking WITH my mom and being able to just ask her to show me something instead of calling her on the phone and trying to imagine what she is explaining. We did fun things for the kids: 1st annual family carnival nite (thanks Wallises for the great idea!), movie nights, story time, FHE. Anything with Grandma turns into fun. I love the interaction and relationship she develops with my kids when she is here for an extended period of time. They truly get to know her and love her and miss her when she is gone. We did cleaning: Ok, not a ton this time, but she did reorganize my laundry room, and speaking of laundry, that woman can do laundry like no one else I know. I turn around and a whole weeks worth of laundry is washed, folded, AND put away! Amazing!

Mostly when she is here we just talk and talk and talk. She is an amazing woman that finds the good side of anything and everything, and feels so blessed by such little things in life. She devotes her life to serving her children and grandchildren. She is the greatest. We miss her, don't know if we can wait for February! Yeah, that's right, she's coming again, to once more, inconvenience us by watching our kids, cleaning house, cooking, and doing projects. SHE IS THE GREATEST!

My Michigan Girl

I am sure that Michelle is planning on posting about Sam's first birthday, which is today. But in case she wasn't I am going to put a picture of her here. That will surely get her to post something because she will not want a picture of her at the top of the blog. I really like this picture. She is super cute. Love you, babe.

What could be better than a JOB in Phoenix?

Believe it or not, Byron IS actually going to be done with his fellowship this summer. He has been looking into various practices and is starting to interview for jobs. But really, what could be better than a job in Phoenix?
Nothing, right? Right now it is 75 degrees and sunny in AZ. Always sunny! Big draw. Mexican food galore. Mmm... Mattas, Filibertos, Serranos, El Charro, Mi Amigos, mmm. Big draw. Our family is in AZ. Our little Sam is #26 grandchild on BOTH sides of the family. All of the Garn cousins are there and the majority of Burnham cousins are there too. That's a LOT of family. Many people would think this is a reason for not wanting to live somewhere, but not us. We love these people and want to hang out with them on a regular basis. Huge draw! He did Residency there and has lots of connections. Big draw. I could go on and on about all the things that are pulling our hearts back to the Valley, but I won't, it would take too long. So again I ask, could there be anything better than a job in Phoenix? Well, DUH! Yeah, a job in MESA! For real? Well, I guess we'll see next week. Byron is interviewing with a Pediatric Cardiology practice that is based in Phoenix. They service the entire Metro Area including Mesa. We have always dreamed of how sweet it would be if Byron didn't have to commute to Phx. With the building of the new Childrens Hospital in Mesa, we thought that maybe that would be a reality somewhere long down the road. Well, it might be sooner than we think. The Phx group needs a guy in the Mesa clinic. Hmm, isn't that interesting. The problem is that Byron has been in training way too long (news flash there!) and he is too subspecialized. He is training this last year in interventional catheterization within pediatric cardiology, but not many practices need an interventionalist right now, including the Phx group. The new hospital won't even be done for another year, and the cath lab will take even longer to get up and running. So initially Phx was talking about not needing a cath guy right now and we were looking into other options. Now they are interested in making some arrangements, giving Byron enough cath cases in Phx to keep his skills up until he can get up and running at the new Mesa hospital. OK, sign him up! I can already smell the orange blossoms! Just kidding. We are not jumping the gun, we know that there are about a billion if's and but's that need to be resolved and that the timing just might be off. Then we will go somewhere else and yes, Mom, we will still be happy! But even in our very realistic even doubtful minds, it is all very exciting! We can't wait to hear what the Phx group has in mind when he interviews next week. Wish him luck!

Fall Favorites

Our fall was jam packed with visitors and projects and get-aways and beautiful weather and FUN! Hence the lack of blogging. I am going to try to quickly post some of the highlights so I can get back to randomly posting nonsense. It started of with a WONDERFUL visit from my two sisters, their two kids each, and my mom. We had 5 adults, 2 big kids, and 6 kids under the age of 3 here in our tiny little house. It was GREAT! (No, we're not polygamists!!) We mostly took care of kids, a lot! But it was so fun to do it together and to see and hear how they make things work in their homes. My sisters are FABULOUS moms and it was so healthy for me to be with them for an entire week and pick their brains. We couldn't even fit everyone in our cars so we only did two excursions that were musts: pumpkin farm and church (and church we decided could only be an hour because it was during naptime for 6 babes!) The weather was GORGEOUS and we spent all our time outside. I'm not sure if right now I miss my sisters more or the weather....just kidding guys! What a fun time we had!

We then had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa Garn. Grandpa was presiding at a Stake Conference in Grand Rapids so we packed up our crew and joined them for the weekend. It was wonderful to be with them for extended periods of time to visit, but also to hear them speak and testify of the Gospel. It was such a treat for us! We were so lucky to have Grandma stay with us longer for almost a week. The kids got to really know her and do fun things that Grandma Garn is great at doing. She is one of the most positive people I know and I love having her contagious attitude around. I put her to work helping me with projects I have been wanting or needing to get done. She helped me bottle 24 cans of chicken, start assembling I Spy Bean Bags, and made Jack a vampire cape for Halloween. It was so fun to have her here and we are so glad they are no longer on the other side of the world; the other side of the country is much better! Byron and I were able to have the get-away of a lifetime! If you've never been, you HAVE to go to FORT WAYNE, INDIANA! OK, so I am being sarcastic, but it really was a fabulous time! Anywhere without kids is a great place to be! PLUS, if you meet up with really fun people, it is even better! My sister and her husband were coming out to the midwest for a wedding so my mom and my other sister and hubby decided to jump in on the fun. We got to do all kinds of great things that we don't get to do with kids. We went out to eat 6 DELICIOUSLY GLORIOUS times, saw two movies, played a round of goofy golf (don't ask who won, or lost...), went to a musical, slept in, worked out, and went shopping. Most of all we talked, and talked, and talked. UNINTERUPTED! It was amazing.And thanks to good friends who helped out with our kids, they survived extremely well without us. Hmm, guess we better go again! By the way, if you ever have the chance to go to this restaurant, GO! It was so dang good! Go Fort Wayne! And hooray family!!

Vampires, Cheerleaders, and Harry Potter, OH MY!!

So this is about as generic a post as it gets--kids in Halloween costumes (no offense to everyone else who is doing the same), but it has been over a month since our last post and as junior partner on this blog it is all I can muster tonight.

In order of appearance:

Jack--The Vampire

Special thanks to Grandma Garn who was here in MI for the week of Halloween and made this cape for Jack's costume.

Max--Harry Potter

Max was also Harry Potter last year (although with a different cloak). Needless to say we were very glad when we were struggling to decide in the very week before Halloween that he chose a costume that we already had on hand.

Lucy--Michigan Cheerleader

We had a hard time deciding between the many costumes we had for Lucy, but anyone who has lived in Ann Arbor and knows the passion for all things UofM will understand why this won out.

Samuel--Dinosaur (maybe Alligator??)

Sam really disliked this costume (and we really are not sure whether it is a dinosaur or alligator). He wouldn't keep the hood on and so the best picture of him is with the hood off. Still pretty cute though.

Finally, this is really disgusting.

Both boys hit the Jackpot . . .

and participated in the ritual of sorting the candy.

Max was obviously thrilled . . .

and when we put it all together in one bag it totaled . . . .

15 POUNDS!!!

(I have to admit my hypocrisy of calling it disgusting when I am eating as much as anybody else!)

--Byron