It Will Be Hard But Better

We told our family's at our Christmas celebrations and letting people know has actually really helped us with the shock we've been in. The timing of having another baby is still a little stressful but we wholeheartedly know that this was meant to be and that is definitely helping us change our tune. The reason we've been stressed is because of the phase of life we're in. You see we don't even know where we will be living this August. We found out about the baby just days before a very stressful test that Danny needed to take. It was his last chance to take the GRE to get the score he wanted before submitting all his applications for grad school. Thankfully he got the exact score he was hoping for so we've already seen the first great blessing since that pregnancy test. He was able to send in his applications and now the next step is to wait. We should know in the next few months if and where he'll be accepted. He has applied to eleven programs total and only three are in Utah.

• BYU - Masters in Geology
• BYU - PHD in Biology
• U of U - PHD in Biology
• University of Texas at Austin - Masters in Geo science 
• University of Chicago - Evolutionary Biology
• UC Berkeley - PHD in Biology
• University of Illinois - Masters in Animal Biology
• University of New Mexico - Masters in Biology
• Ohio University - PHD in Biology
• Montana State University - Masters in Paleontology
• South Dakota School of Technology and Mines - Masters in Paleotology

2018 will be a year of changes for our family and it seems to all start in August. We'll have a new baby and hopefully a new program for Danny. We will still be seeing changes if we stay here in Utah because another one of our stresses is trying to figure out room for a third baby. As of right now we don't have room for another crib and we definitely don't have room for another car seat. We will have to figure out some arrangements in our home and moving to bigger space is a possibility. That however isn't a must. Danny's cousin Mary who used to live in this place managed to be here with five kids so we do know that it's possible to be here with three. What is a must though is getting a bigger vehicle. We will have three kids in three car seats. I was actually thinking the other day that when this baby is born Addie won't be four yet so we will have three kids ages three and under. It will all work out. I keep having to tell myself that. :) 2018 will be hard but it will also be better. 

December Joys

This post will be a bit scattered but we were able to spend a lot of time as a family this month. Danny has the whole month off before the next semester starts in January and the kids and I have really enjoyed having him at home with us.

Aquarium (12.11.17)

They had a little ELF scavenger hunt with little Elfs hidden throughout the displays. Addie loved it.

Dr. Ogden's Lab Christmas Party (12.15.17)

Hudson wasn't feeling well so I stayed home with him while Danny took Addie to this party. She did great until it was time to leave which she didn't want to do. She loved having Daddy Addie time though.

Ward Christmas Breakfast (12.16.17)

First visit with Santa this season and Hudson was not a fan.

Rueckert Family Christmas Party (12.17.17)

We didn't take any pictures here but we did share our baby news to my parents after the party was finished. They were excited and had the best reactions. I also told my brother Jared as I was leaving and Pollyanna of course has known for weeks now. :)

Provo Riverwoods Lights (12.19.17)

Danny had interviews with both the bishop and the stake president this night for his BYU grad school application so I took both kids and met Jill, Mike and Georgia at the Riverwoods where we saw lights, rode a train and saw Santa again. Hudson was still not a fan.

Sickness (12.21.17)

There's been a horrible sickness going around and Hudson got it. Poor kid. There was a lot of puking going around and we really hope it doesn't spread to others in our family.

Extended Rueckert Christmas Party (12.23.17)

Addie joined this table all on her own and tried to include herself in the game they were playing.

Spanish Fork Lights (12.29.17)

I'm not sure how much Hudson was able to see from his car seat but Addie was in heaven! This is our second year coming to this and one we plan to continue as long as we live near here. The videos below are purely so I can remember the excitement in Addie's cute little voice.

Surgery Update

Two months ago Hudson saw an eye specialist for his tear ducts and we were given two options.

1) Wait until he turned one to put him under for surgery on both eyes.

2) Hold him down in the office and have doctor do the procedure with him awake.

We waited. Today I took him in for his followup where we would schedule his surgery and it turns out that waiting was the best decision because his issues are all gone! I'm so happy on this day with this sweetest little man!

Now I'm hoping that the same thing happens for his umbilical hernia. Hopefully time is what he'll need for that to fix itself. His doctor says that we'll need to get that checked when he turns two and if he still has it we'll look into getting a procedure done for that. :( Fingers crossed that another miracle will happen but until then I'm going to be thankful for the miracle we've already been given today.