For those who's emails I don't have, here is our Christmas Newsletter and Card!
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December
24, 2012
Dear
Family and Friends!
Another
Christmas, another year- yes, it’s that time of year that your random relative,
favorite child, old roommate, or new acquaintance mails you a picture and
newsletter! Well, e-mail in our
instance.
We
are doing well all the way out here in Wisconsin! SO many changes have occurred
since we’ve moved out here – as easy as it is for me to write a book about our
life in just the past 14 months we’ve been here, I’ll save you the saga, and
share a little about each of us.
We
moved out here initially because Carl was accepted to a cardiovascular
perfusion program last year. We were both so excited to come out and start again on a new career path! However, as
Carl continued in the program, he realized that due to his personable nature, spending
the rest of his career inside an operating room just did not seem right. And I
whole-heartedly agreed. So, though an extremely difficult decision, we decided
to pull out of the program. Now, he has been fulfilling pre-requisites for physician
assistant (PA) programs! What?! More school? Like I said, Carl is such a
personable guy. And smart! We said, “why not?” I would just like to take a
moment and brag- PA school is incredibly difficult to get in, let alone get an
interview. Among 1,600 applicants, 300 receive interview offers and each school
varies in the seats they have per program. That is why I am SO proud he has TWO
interviews already lined up after the New Year! Way to go, Carl! We are praying
school starts this year, but whatever it takes to get in is our current motto. Whew! Now that that’s out of the way, Carl turned the ripe old age of 30 and has
been ever so helpful at watching the kidlets while I rest after work. His
favorite things are a good nights rest (every parent’s dream), opportunities to
ride his bike or jog, a new pair of shoes, wrestling with Ezra, and watching a
great action flick on his new 50” TV. Least favorite things: stinky rancid milk
spit up from Vivienne on a fresh shirt that’s just been changed into and my
blood curdling scream when I see a spider.
I,
Tracey, have been doing quite well myself! I have been working in an emergency
department as an RN for the past 10 months (minus six weeks of maternity leave)
and I love it! I work nights and I must say, the patients who come in during
the wee hours of the night continue to keep me entertained. I am so grateful to
finally have nursing job I love and don’t want to pull my hair out while there!
Besides work, I still enjoy sewing and cooking a good meal, though between kids
and work, I find sleep consumes most of my time in-between. My favorite things include hearing my babies
laugh, chatting with Carl before bed, and a good chocolate dessert. My least
favorite things include my detest for this mullet hair I have due to trying to
grow it out this upcoming year, trying to come up with dinner when I don’t meal
plan, and having Ezra pull my hand and say “mess!” only to find that yes, there
is cornstarch all over the living room and piano.
Ezra is
now the ripe old age of TWO! 29 months to be exact. He is freakin’ hilarious! Finally,
the chatting phase has arrived. He loves to ask questions, can count to 12,
almost says his ABCs correctly (does “A B E E E F E” count?), and like his
mother, enjoys singing, dancing to all music varieties, and anything involving
music. Many who attended to Venegas wedding can testify of his awesome dance
moves. Ezra has such a bright light in his eyes. Even strangers notice and stop
to tell us! He is incredibly intelligent and a great problem solver. He is
making great strides in potty training as well – I know how curious you all are
about his current bowel and bladder patterns. A few of his current favorite
things include covering himself with our couch pillows and hiding, finding pens
and markers to draw anywhere, watching
the Backyardigans, playing rough with Dad, and “helping Vivi” whenever
possible. His least favorite things include naptime, being told “no” and coming
inside after being outside.
Vivienne
Chan Leder – what a doll baby! She is now NINE months! I can hardly believe her
one year birthday is nearing! She makes the sweetest little baby sounds every day.
She has been rolling around mostly to get to things, knows how to “army-crawl,”
but prefers to scream and make us tote her around. We call her our little
parrot for that very reason of constantly hanging on to one of our shoulders. Vivienne,
or “Vivi” as we mostly call her, seems like she will be walking before she
crawls as she loves to pull herself to standing anywhere she can clasp her
little pincers onto. I say pincers because those ruthless little fingers will
most definitely find their way to the most tender skin on your arm, your
collarbone, and a few unspeakable places as well. She is following her brother’s
footsteps in being a chunky little thang with the many fat bracelets up her
arms and down her legs. I could nibble on her little round cheeks all day! Favorites: being held all day, having
mom-and-dad-time-ONLY, my phone, and playing with whatever Ezra has. Least
favorites: being buckled in the car seat, not being held and walked around, and
being forced to wear a diaper.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May you continually remember the reason for this season and achieve all your resolutions by next Christmas ;)
Love,
Carl,
Tracey, Ezra, and Vivienne
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