Big Fat Blog Post

We know it has been awhile since we posted, but when we can't even go to the bathroom alone or have enough time to sit down for a half-a-second (except when going to the bathroom with one or more children present), how do you people expect us to post to our blog?!?! Someone should write to Websters and suggest that under "parenting" the antonym listed should be "privacy"! Soooo, here is a big fat posting to update everyone on the happenings...

We are all very happy and healthy, and Hannah's first few weeks have been full of adventures for the whole family. The kids absolutely adore her and "help" me with everything. Hannah is about two months old now, and she is extrememly patient and calm and has been sleeping through the night since four weeks of age. Thank you, Hannah. Hannah smiles all the time and can't get enough of watching the shinanagens her siblings put on for her. No lack of entertainment around here.

Hannah was blessed on April 13th and we enjoyed having family in town. To answer all of the questions about Hannah's middle name (Suzanne), we named her after her Great Aunt Sue and her Aunt Linda Suzanne--two incredibly faithful and positive women whom she can model her life and actions after. Here is a picture of Hannah with her Aunt Linda.

Jacob is now in the last stages of potty-training (just needing a pull-up when we are out or at night just in case), and he can climb or ride or break just about anything. True boy. He steals our heart with his blue eyes and mischevious smile, though.

McKenna still has an abundance of energy and personality. She can be the sweetest little girl in the neighborhood or she can blow us away with her sass (saved only for her parents). She comes up with some good ones. The other day she told Dan: "Now Daddy.....you've been a good Daddy all day and part of being a good Daddy is getting me some more milk..." Hmmmm, where has she heard that? She can turn any good parenting trick against us. I am afraid her IQ may be a bit higher than mine. I think I better start reading up on parenting teenagers, any book suggestions?

We have been on a few trips to see family (grandma's, beach) and on some family outings (discovery museum, Golden Gate Bridge, steam trains in Tilden park) and to Carson to find a place to live and work after Graduation.

Dan graduates mid-June and we are moving to a cute little 4-bedroom with a big backyard. The kids are thrilled! It has a huge kitchen (I am thrilled) and a garage (Dan is thrilled). We will be renting for a year or two until we have a more steady income and then plan to buy somewhere in the Carson area. Please come visit for Tahoe beach fun in the summer and snowmobiling and sledding in the winter!!!

Dan has a three job offers for which we are currently weighing the pros and cons. One is for an associate position at a fast-paced new dental office, one is for a public-health dental clinic with lots of benefits, and one is for a buy-out of a very established practice just outside of Carson.

We feel so blessed. The Lord always provides for our little family. Although we have signed away our privacy (when exactly that happened, I am not sure), we are loving all of the ups and downs that parenting is throwing us. We are excited to be done with dental school and move on to new adventures in Carson. For those of you who keep bugging me for more pictures, there should be plenty in here to satisfy for a while. Love all!

She's Here!

Our little Hannah Suzanne Budd has made her grand entrance! After 2+ weeks of continuous contractions with no results, Hannah finally came speeding into this world after a fast and furious hour of labor! She was born on February 21st at 7:04pm, weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces, 21 inches long. Although we warned the nurse that Courtney goes fast once her water is broken, Hannah surprised the entire labor and delivery floor by starting to come when neither our nurse nor doctor was in the room. A doctor was literally yanked from the hallway to deliver Hannah by leaning over the side of the bed and catching her as she shot out. Hannah and Courtney are both doing great. McKenna and Jacob absolutely adore their new little sister, and Courtney is enjoying a very quick and easy recovery. We are so incredibly grateful to our Father in Heaven for the wonderful blessings of a healthy baby and healthy delivery.

I'm very proud of Courtney. She was amazing. For those interested in the movie-like details: They broke her water at 6pm to try and get things going. At 6:55pm Courtney started hitting the call button, and the nurse came in saying she was dilated to 5 cm. At 7pm the nurse was holding the head in with her hands screaming for help, at 7:02pm a doctor came running in putting on gloves, and at 7:04pm Hannah was born. At the end there it was basically a 4 minute continuous, off-the-chart contraction, which she simply screamed her way through, until Hannah came screaming out. It was intense! Go Courtney!

Christmas Picture and Letter

To all who visit our blog, we thought we would just post our Christmas picture and letter instead of mailing them. We love you! Have a wonderful Christmas season!

Season’s Greetings, Family and Friends!

We hope, as always, that this letter finds all happy and healthy! We have had a busy year and are looking forward to the many changes this next year will bring!

One of the biggest changes we will have next year will be the arrival of a little daughter, due in February. The kids love to feel her kick and hiccup, and they frequently stuff dinosaurs and dolls in their shirts to pretend they have a “big mommy tummy”.

The other big change will be that Dan is graduating dental school in June, and we will be moving out of San Francisco and into an as yet unknown location to have an as yet undetermined job as a dentist. Sound a little nerve-racking? Yes, we would have to agree, but we know that Heavenly Father will help our little family settle into a place that will be right for us. So, we will keep everyone updated.

Throughout this year, Dan has been enjoying treating patients and having more time to spend with the kids. They literally charge him when he comes home, and although drained from the day, he indulges every request for wrestling, “horsie” rides, and “swing me, swing me!” Poor guy has his hands full with dental school, three new callings, two tiny energy-suckers, and a pregnant wife.

Courtney is busy with kids and is growing daily. We’d like to say that she is growing in height or character, but mostly the growth is straight out front. She and the kids have been able to explore the local parks and discovery museums and enjoy doing projects and school-time at home.

McKenna has had a lot of fun this year in soccer, gymnastics, and swimming classes (one at a time, of course). She is active and talkative and has made many friends both young and old with her sweet and silly ways. McKenna sang her first solo and gave a talk in the Primary Program this year at Church. She thrives on practicing and performing. We are afraid we may be fueling the fire for our little drama queen. She is a wonderful big sister to Jacob and has taught him many important life lessons already, such as how to run in Cinderella high heels and how to sing “I am a Child of God” at the top of his lungs.

Jacob started gymnastics this year and absolutely loves to climb and jump on and off of everything; he knows it’s legal to get his climbing fix either at the park or at gymnastics. All bookshelves, counters, fridge shelves, and dressers are off-limits. Jacob talks constantly, and we understand most of what he is saying since he pronounces his favorites very clearly: chocolate, park, and vacuum. Jacob’s latest trick is to say “I love you SO MUCH, Momma” when he is in trouble.

We are ever grateful for our many blessings, the greatest of which being our Savior.
Merry Christmas to all,
The Budd Family

Let's Play Catch-up!

We have a bit of catching up to do to record some of the events of the Fall before Christmas is here! Time has flown, so here's a quick highlight of the past few months.

Jacob turned 2 at the end of September

and is our little comedian.

Here's a few pictures of his birthday.

(Who thought it would be a good idea to play baseball in the house?)

McKenna turned 4 at the end of October

and had a little Tinkerbell Party with her friends.

They loved following Tinkerbell footprints to

find a Hidden Treasure!

Then came Halloween: picking out pumpkins, decorating them using a power drill (another brilliant idea), sewing costumes (Courtney made the Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Wendy costumes herself!), and of course, trick-or-treating (for 15 minutes in the dense fog).

No...this is not Mexico

So every few months, I go on "externship". Which means the Dental School farms us out to community clinics in the area and we work like employees of the clinic. Well my externship site is in Oakland, and on the way home one day, we saw this lovely sight. I reached out the window with my cell phone and snapped a picture. Notice that about 80% of the car is simply hanging over the edge, and is simply secured by 2 chains. But at least he had the forethought to put on the little red safety flag, right? Amazing.

I've been "Tagged"

Okay, so I was “tagged” and this means that I put down 6 things about myself that people probably wouldn’t know and then I “tag” 6 other people at the bottom of my list and leave them a comment on their blogs to let them know they were tagged and to read my blog for the rules.

So,

1-I actually won a car when I was 17. Yes, a real car, for free. Problem was that it was this BOAT-of-a-Buick! The thing was old and had dents and dings everywhere, and it could fit all who cared to join me for ice cream runs and drive-in movies. It got me (and anyone else from the whole of BYU) back and forth from home to Utah each summer and Christmas break. Due to the amount of metal around us, we were always very safe, so my parents were happy. They called it “Courtney’s Ark”.

2-I can’t stand whistling in the house or car. Dan, you can whistle while you work, you can whistle while you walk, just don’t do it in the house or car. Like nails on a chalkboard. Come to think of it though, Honey, I think I could make an exception for inside whistling if you “whistle while you wash”—as in dishes.

3-I get silly and loopy and down-right witty when it gets late. I know that this happens to a lot of people, especially us giggly girls, but my “late” is a lot earlier than most people’s (try coming over past 9pm and see what happens) and my witty side also comes out after an overdose of chocolate or ice cream. These things make me happy, what can I say?

4-I was one of three nurses that delivered a woman’s eighth child only nine minutes after she entered the waiting room on our Labor and Delivery floor. Cool, huh? No doctor, no drugs, no time. Poor lady shouldn’t have even had to pay for that hospital stay.

5-I learned to water-ski when I was five and could do pretty cool tricks by the time I was seven. Thanks, Dad!

6-I love, love, love my husband and kids, and I think that our life (yes, dental school, loans, endless streak of car trouble, toddler terrorist negotiations, and all) is pretty much a fairytale. Not in the sense that I am wishing that it was not reality, just in the sense that we are SO, SO blessed. Dan is my dream-come-true and our kids light up our home. You may be thinking that this is cheesy, but I wrote this one down since no one would think this about me from my highly-developed sense of sarcasm! So there’s the truth under the sarcasm!

I tag Dawnelle, Kristin, Angela, Emily B, Jen R, and Liz.

Gender Score!

The score was tied for a while, but the GIRLS have pulled ahead! That's right, we are having a girl in February. McKenna has been praying for a little sister for about a year now, so we should've gotten the clue. She also told us that when the doctor looks inside to take pictures of the baby, "if it has long girl hair, it's a girl and if it is bald, then it's a boy." (Picture of "long girl hair" below.)