...{MeRRy cHRiStmAS}...

For those of you who we don't have an address for and were unable to send a Christmas card too, here is the picture and our Christmas letter that went out with our card. Merry Christmas to all of you!

2008 has been quiet the year around our house. We enjoyed a lot of new things and experienced some exciting changes.
For starters, our little Gracie turned 4, started preschool and dance. She absolutely loves going to school and since she only goes 3 days a week, she often cries on the days that she wakes up and does not have to go to school. She has taken quite a liking to a young man in her class and is constantly telling the family of all the many great qualities of this prince charming. She also started dance with a new studio and is thriving and becoming quite the little dancer. She was chosen as the dancer of the month for November. At her Christmas performance she stood on the stage in front of hundreds of eager parents and families and danced her little heart out, doing every step and twirl perfectly. This is a big improvement from her past performances where she has usually taken the minimalist approach, only doing a few spins and hip shakes. Grace is a sweetheart!
Nicholas…our big 5 year old, whom we have recently nicknamed ‘Big’ or ‘Big Nic’, used to be our little Nicholas because he is named after his Daddy and it was just easier to call Dad, Big Nic and Nicholas, Little Nic. But we have decided that ‘Little Nic’ just doesn't suit his personality; he is definitely ‘Big Nic’! He has been having some medical testing done to test his Growth Hormone levels and has been such a trooper through all of the poking and prodding that has been required. We are currently awaiting the results of a test to see whether or not he has a Growth Hormone deficiency. Nic also embarked on a new chapter in his life, elementary school. He started kindergarten this past August. He is doing amazing and it came as no surprise to us that he quickly made friends with just about everyone in the class. He is such a friendly, outgoing kid and we love him just the way he is!
As for Nic and, I we have had a lot of adventures that we have been able to experience together. In November we ran our first race, it also happened to be a half marathon, 13.1 miles. It was a great thing to accomplish and even more rewarding doing it together. We also made the scary decision to make a career change. After 5 years with our APX Alarm family we decided that going back to our family at New York Life Insurance Company was the right choice for our family. We made some life long friends with APX. We’ve seen some amazing things and places and are sad to leave part of our life behind. Although it is scary to leave the comfort and familiarity of an old job and leaving the luxuries that that job provided will be hard, we know that this new venture will provide and allow many things to our family that we have not been able to enjoy in the last several years. We can’t wait to go camping during the summer, enjoy our 8th anniversary at home and actually be able to celebrate it, have a 4th of July and the best of all…not have to prepare for a cross country move leaving our home, friends and family behind come summer time.
This has been an amazing year, bringing so many good things and we have so much to be thankful for. We can’t wait to see what 2009 holds for our family. We hope you all have had as good of a year as our family and wish all the best for the upcoming year.

Merry Christmas

The results are in.......

So we actually got Nic's test results on Thursday but with all the last minute shopping and Christmas parties it has taken me awhile to get the word out.
His test came back normal, which means when stimulated his pituitary glands produce Growth Hormone normally just like they should. So we are relieved that he won't have to have a daily injection for the next 10-12 years of his life but still a little concerned about why he is growing at such a slow rate.
His doctors still want to test him every six months to monitor things, which will involve a couple blood tests and an x-ray but not the big 6 hour test anymore, (thank goodness).
So for now we will just keep making him eat like crazy and pray for a huge growth spurt to hit him soon.
Needless to say when we told him his blood tests were over for a while he was so relieved and over joyed. Thank you again for all of your love and support. We hope you all have a great holiday season.

:cRazY:

Okay so I know this sounds crazy but I really want to do this race:

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php

So I know that I am still in the recovery process from my last race and I have the stress fractures in my legs to prove it, but it's not till June 19-20th. Ever since I saw a picture of a man with long dred locks in a speedo running on the cover a running magazine and figured out what the heck he was doing, I have added it to the list in my head of things I really want to do, BAD! This year it is also being done in honor of Christian and Stephanie Nielson,

http://web.me.com/andrewtbagley/NieRecovery/Home.html.

Anyone up for it? I need a team of 12 crazy people. Nic and Teena I am already counting on you and I haven't even asked you yet, but since you two talked me into running a half marathon as my first race with only two months to train, I am thinking you owe me!

Let's do it people! Let's make 2009 a year for doing things that sound crazy, things we thought we would never want to do and things that make us admit our insanity ourselves for even thinking about doing them. Hey, maybe I will even go sky diving for my birthday....UMMM....maybe things not quiet that crazy!

My sister the HERO!!!

Yes....I am bragging! Nikki has always loved animals so when I got a call from her informing me of this animal loving heroic act, it came as no surprise! She is so cute and I am so proud of her! Good job Nikki and Savannah and the cop for actually being able to lasso the dog!

Go here to check out the story:
http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story/2-Girls-And-A-Cop-Rescue-Dog-From-Icy-Pond/R1HE1QPuikmhul14Y1Xe4g.cspx

It's over...Finally!!!

Well Nic's GH Test is over, thank goodness! It was a bit more eventful and dramatic than it should have been but over it went well. The first IV they put in wasn't very good. Every time they had to come in and draw blood they had to manipulate it and move it around until they got into a good enough position for the blood to actually come out. For anyone that has had an IV you know how much it hurts when they move it around at all. It is almost worse than the actual poke of the needle. So after the 4th blood draw they were injecting saline into the IV to clean it out and Nic screamed because it hurt so bad, I looked at his arm and instead of going into the vein all the saline they were injecting went into his arm and was forming a little bubble under the skin. They now had to try to put in a new one. Well he is a little guy with tiny veins so it took another 20 minutes and a few more pokes for them to finally get it into a big enough vein. After that IV was in all the blood draws were easy and uneventful. By this point he was so pail and lethargic, I kept telling him I didn't remember the last time he sat so still an quiet on my lap for that long. They did about 8 draws of blood total. He was such a good sport about the whole thing. He cried and screamed but for only being five he was so good. It was very hard to watch and I was surprised that I didn't start crying right along with him. When they weren't drawing blood he had fun reading books, making all kinds of projects and watching movies. When it was all over we got some food in him and he purked right back up to his usuall happy, energetic self. I am glad that is over and glad that that test is the last step, as soon as we know the results, which should be about a week, we won't have to put him through anymore blood test like that. Thank you for all of your love and support and concern on our behalf. Thanks Uncle John and Jonah for coming to say hi during the test and bringing Nic prizes, he loved it. We will let everyone know the results as soon as we do. Like I said before it should be about a week, so just before Christmas we should know.

My little Nicholas!

Nic is having his Growth Hormone Stimulation Test this Friday. The woman doing the test said that it will last anywhere from 5-6 hours. His test is at 9 am and he can't eat after midnight the night before so that in itself will be hard enough, telling him he can't eat until 3 in the afternoon. As soon as we get there they will start him on an IV with medicine that should cause his pituitary gland to release the Growth Hormone into his blood. They will take blood samples every 1/2 - 1 hour throughout the test. They said the medicine may make him nauseous so to be prepared for that side effect. Great!
I am not exactly sure how long the results will take to get back but we will be anxiously awaiting them. If his body produces the GH than we know he does not have a growth hormone deficiency and if it doesn't than we know he does. We have been told that treatment will be a daily injection of GH until he reaches puberty and his growth plates close, usually about 14-15 for boys.
Nic and I are so grateful that no matter the outcome of this test Nicholas is and will be a healthy little boy. We could not be happier that this issue is in no way health related. But as his Mom I see how being the size that he is negatively effects him even at such a young age. He is the smallest kindergartner and he notices it. We have had to change our vocabulary around our house. Instead of saying things like "When you get bigger you can do that" to "when you get older you can do that". Nicholas is very sensitive about his size and never fails to mention how all his friends are taller than he is. Luckily for him he is very outgoing on not shy. He has not yet let this hold him back at all.
We would just ask that all of you keep a little prayer in your hearts for him on Friday. I am nervous about the whole thing really. He has unfortunately had to have his blood drawn enough times already that he knows what to expect and he isn't too fond of it. 5-6 hours is a long time to ask any kid to stay in one room and have his blood drawn over and over and not eat anything and possibly feel nauseous too. I went and stocked up on the dollar toys today and have prepared a bag full of toys, activities and IPOD's with new movies so that should help with the boredom. He is brave and such a good boy I am sure he will be great and I will at the end of it all just be a worried Mom. What can I say I hate seeing him be in pain or uncomfortable. Thank you all for all of your love and support through this. We will let all of you know as soon as we do what the out come is.

{4}

Mary Grace Aguirre
December 9th, 2004
9:54 am
6 lbs. 13 oz.
18 1/2 inches
St. Marks Hospital

Goose:

I can't believe how fast these four years have gone. It really seems like just last Christmas we were bringing you home from the hospital. You were and have continued to be such a joy and blessing to our family! From very early on you developed your own little personality. Your smile has always been a great source of joy in our family. Despite your girly attitude and drama queen tendencies you are usually always very sweet. We love that you are always ready to cuddle and hug. You are such a good helper, you always ask to help before I could even ask for the help. You even helped Mommy out before you were born by arriving two weeks early, good girl!!! Even though you promised to stop sucking on your thumb when you turned four and swiftly broke that promise the moment you woke up, we still think you are a great little four year old. You have always been adorable but you are really turning into a beautiful young lady, (and you haven't lost your chubby little cheeks that I still love to kiss)! We may not have been prepared and definitely caught a bit off guard when we found out you were on your way to our family, but now we look back and just can't imagine life without you!

We love you Grace!

A hALf MaraTHon....

Let me just start by saying...Wow, what an experience that was. Not only was this the farthest I had ever run, it was also my first race ever, I have never even done a 5K before. So I was fully prepared for how challenging and exhausting this would be but completely unprepared for every other emotion and feeling that came along with it.

Friday night of course was not the best night sleep I have ever had in my life. I woke up about nine million times and even had a dream that I had forgotten to run. So we woke up at about 6:30 am and got ready and headed to the race at about 7:30. Once we got to Snow Canyon high school we had to take a bus up to the starting line. Of course the bus ride was the longest ride of my life, the whole time I was thinking, "OK that's got to be 13 miles now....STOP".

Me, Nic and Teena before the race

Once we got up to the start everyone was doing there thing, stretching and warming up. Once it was close to starting we were all herded like cattle to the starting line and waited for it to start. That was the worst part of the whole thing, the waiting and anticipation. The bell finally rang and off we went, almost. I had a little IPOD issues and by the time Nic and I got it going we were in the very back. The car that stays behind the last person was right behind us. But once we got it all figured out we were on our way and quickly passed quiet a few slower people. The first couple miles were pretty steep downhill which helps you run faster but is really hard on hips and feet. At the first aid station, (mile 3), we turned up a dirt trail and ran about 1.5 miles up and then came right back down that same hill. That was not fun, not only is running up hill obviously harder but dirt trails always slow me down because I'm afraid I'll hit a rock and roll my ankle or something.

By this time Nic had gotten tired of going slow with me and left me in the dust. Once I got to the bottom of the dirt trail it was about mile 6.5 so I thought I better take my Ibuprofen and down my GU pack because I knew there wouldn't be another aid station with water or Gatorade for another couple miles and by then I would really be needing something. Oh, I also had to stop and take my shoes off to get all the rocks out! The rest of the race was on either a paved trail, cement, or asphalt. Let me just say how unexpected the ups and downs were. I knew about the uphill dirt trail but after that there was constantly a little hill to go up and back down.

By about mile ten I was really starting to hurt. The seam in my shirt by my armpit must have been rubbing against my skin because by then it was so sore. I had to keep pulling my sports bra up so that my shirt would stop rubbing right there. There was a girl that was keeping pretty steady pace with me and every now and then she would speed up a bit and pass me and then I would pass and this went on for a mile or so and then once I hit mile 11 there was a pretty good down hill part and said to myself, "that's it this girl is not going to pass me again". So I put that down hill to use and speed up enough that I knew she wouldn't be able to catch up. Every now and then my calves would really start cramping and I would stop to stretch them a bit and walk, but I finally decided that it hurt just as bad to walk as it did to run so from mile 11 till the end I didn't stop running.

When I finally saw the high school I knew it was almost over. I came around the last corner and I saw my father in law waiting by where I needed to turn to go to the finish line. I started crying when I saw him and I knew it was almost done. I also saw some friends of ours up on top of the bleachers yelling my name. Once I came around the corner into the stadium there was a big group of people all yelling my name and cheering me on. Then my cute little babies ran over to me and ran with me to the finish line. My goal was to finish in under 3 hours, actual time: 2:58:24. That's right, a minute and a half to spare.

Once I finished I was so ready to just collapse and that's what I did. My cute husband who had come in about 35 minutes earlier gave me hug and I just started crying. Then my sister in law Teena who finished it in 1:39, gave me a hug and said, "Annie, all this pain will go away but the feelings of glory and that you did it will never go away".

Nic, me, Rylee, (Teena's daughter, she did the 5K), and Teena.

I can honestly say that I gave it my all. I really don't think I could have pushed myself any harder or faster then I did. I sure wish I wouldn't of had IPOD issues in the start, that could have taken off probably 5-10 minutes off of my time, but I can't control that. I came in under my goal of under 3 hours so I am happy. I also didn't want to be dead last and I think there were about 10 - 15 people that came in after me. I came in 358th place over all. You wanna hear something sick? The guy that came in first did it in 1:10. That is just over 5 minute miles. CRAZY!!!

It was probably one of the hardest but most fulfilling things I have ever pushed myself to do. I was so happy to be able to share it with my husband and sister in law. I will never forget the feeling of seeing all of those people cheering me on. That is what made the whole thing worth it in the end.

On yOur MarK...GeT sET...GO!!!!!

Well the time has arrived...The last nine weeks of training, with over 100 miles run, a lot of ice, IB Profen, knee braces, shin splints, pain relieving cream and muscle aches, all leading up too this.

We leave in the morning for St. George....Destination....The Snow Canyon Half Marathon, 13.1 miles. Nic and I have worked so hard over the last nine weeks to prepare as much as possible in the short time that we had since we decided to do this. We will be racing with Nic's older sister Teena, (she just did the St. George marathon a few weeks ago and qualified for the Boston Marathon, running it in 3 1/2 hours, that's like 8 minute miles over 26.2 miles, CRAZY), a friend of ours that we work with during the summer will also be running it. I am totally prepared to come in last, if not over all, at least out of our little group. My goal is to finish under 3 hours. The closest I have come is 9 miles in 1:55. So if I can run the last 4 miles in an hour then I will be good, it's just that at around 9 miles things are really hurting and cramping up.

So if you have some free time on Saturday morning around 11:00 am, send up a little prayer for me. The race starts at 9 am, so around 11 am I should be at about mile 10 and I'm sure I will be hating life!

P.S. I can't believe I'm off to run 13.1 miles. What is my problem!!! I will post on the whole experience when we get back on Monday. If I'm still alive!!!

{BOO}

OUR HALLOWEEN.....


















Nic's first kindergarten Halloween Parade!!!

Gracie's, I mean Dee Dee DoodleBop's Preschool Halloween Pararde!

Our Family!

Gimmie all your candy!

rEd IGuaNA

YUMMY YUMMY!!!!

gOOd nEwS!

Finally some good news for my little Nicholas. His pediatrician called me earlier today and the test results for Von Willenbrands came back all normal. So if he continues to not have any bloody noses and things keep looking normal then we can scratch that scare off our list!
PHEW!!!

pooR Kid!

So I talked to Nicholas' pediatrician today and she said that the test results for the Von Willebrand Syndrome came back inconclusive. That's right, they didn't get enough blood drawn from him last time so we have to take him back up to Primary Children's tomorrow and try again. He over heard me telling my Dad about it and let's just say he is not happy about it. He knows exactly what it means when I say, "blood test". He knows it will involve needles and hurting and he doesn't like it.

But hopefully this time we will get some answers. He hasn't a bloody nose for a couple weeks so hopefully that is a good sign and the test will come back negative.

I have a feeling he will be getting some new toys out of all these tests. I always use bribery in these situations. And why not? He is such a good boy while they are doing it, and I feel so bad for him. I will gladly buy him a prize because at least there is something fun coming at the end of all this for him!

wEEkeND In reVIEw

This past weekend was filled with fun for our family!

First, our good friends Beth and Ryan came down from Canada for the APX year end party! On Friday night the boys had there manager meeting so Beth and I went to visit with our good friend Danica. We got to the tour of her new Gorgeous home in Highland. It seriously was the most beautiful house ever! Then we all went to Kneaders, (YUMMY)! We had so much fun catching up and reminiscing. We talked about all the fun we had in North Carolina our first time selling APX together, (5 years ago), and all the other fun in between. We talked about how Beth beat up her sister and how unfair it is that Danica is 5 months pregnant and seriously doesn't show at all. We had a lot of fun having girl time to talk, giggle and just have without our husbands ruining it with talk of nothing but work!



Then on Saturday we had an Aguirre Family Halloween Party. It was a lot of fun. Pretty much everyone dressed up, even the adults. All the kids looked to cute in their costumes. I love getting together with our family, even though it is loud and crazy, (there are about 35 of us), it is always a lot of fun!


Saturday night was the big APX Year End Hoopla!!! It is so crazy. Beth and I talked about how our first year end party was this little BBQ in the park with a couple hundred people and now we all fill up the entire McKay Events Center. They played APX is Right, (The Price is Right) and Deal or No Deal. They gave away 2 cars, (one was a little Natural Gas Honda Civic, we totally wanted it), IPODs, backpacks, luggage, money up the wazoo and some really cool little scooters! Don't worry we didn't win a new car or even $10,000.00 dollars, we got another APX backpack to add to our already extensive collection! They did have these guys that came out and jumped on a trampoline. Sounds lame, but it was so cool! One of the guys hold the world record for doing flips and hoolahooping, (spelling?), on a trampoline. They got incredibly high, it was crazy!

































We had so much fun with our little Canadian friends and love it when they come to visit! I will be up to Canada in March to see your new little baby Beth! We love you guys!





















Also congratulations to Jappi for winning the Costume Contest! You looked amazing!

UPdaTe!

For those of you that don't know, about 6 months ago my cute little Nicholas had to get some tests done. If you didn't already know, he is very small. When I say very small I mean out of his whole kindergarten class he is the smallest. He has only grown a few inches in a few years and gained even less weight. So his pediatrician sent us to Primary Children's for a Bone Age Test, (an x-ray to check the age of his bones compared to his actual age), and a few different blood tests. Then she sent us to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist. The test six months ago looked OK, but the Doctor wanted to do another round of tests in 6 months. So a couple weeks ago we did all those test over again and then yesterday we met with his Endocrinologist again.

Two of his blood tests came back significantly lower than they should be. The Doctor said that those tests are just preliminary, to see if there is good enough reason to pursue more tests to see if he has a growth hormone deficiency. There are three things that would give reason to pursue more tests, one he is significantly shorter than someone his age should be, two his growth pattern is a lot less than it should be, and third his blood tests are low. So since he has all three they want to go ahead with another test, Growth Hormone Stimulation Test.

This test is a 4 hour test, in which Nic will be hooked up to an IV and be given something that will tell his pituitary glands to produce the growth hormone. Throughout the 4 hours they will take 8 blood samples from him. If his body is producing the growth hormone, than that means he is OK and will hopefully hit a big growth spurt soon, and if his body doesn't produce the hormone than they know that he is Growth Hormone Deficient and they will start to treat him for that. Treatment is a daily injection that he will have until his body stops growing, usually around age 15 or 16 for boys.

So, I am on one hand very nervous. I hate watching him get poked with needles and unfortunately he has had to do it so much he is pretty well aware of how bad it hurts. But he is such a good boy and is always very still and good while they do it. So, nervous for the 4 hour test, definitely, nervous about the out come, not really. We are so grateful that this is not a health issue, he is healthy and happy. Either way he will be OK. Of course the mom in me wants him to grow as soon as possible because I know how aware he is of his height compared to other kids his age. He is very out going and friendly but I know that he is really sensitive about his size. Thankfully kindergartners are still pretty nice to everyone and as of yet we don't have to worry much about teasing.

So I will keep everyone updated on the status of things after we get this next test done. Oh also, he had to do a blood test for Von Willebrand Syndrome, ( a form of hemophilia). He has been having a lot of bloody noses lately and since Nic's sister has two little boys that have it our pediatrician wanted to make sure. Still waiting for the results on that one.

When it rains it pours, right!

No REaSoN.....

Here are some random pictures, for no other reason than I never got around to putting a blog together about any of them.....

Jen's Bachelorette Party/Hairwaves Salon Shower

Emily, Jen and I, (my girls)

The salon crew. I don't work there, but since I practically live there, Em is one of my best friends and Jen is my new sister in law I got to go! It was so much fun. We went to Bonsai, it is like Tepanyaki. I only got hit in the face with flying food once.


Jen's Pampered Chef Bridal Shower at my house

Dary, Nana Mary and Teena, (two sister in laws and my mother in law)

Dary, Jen and Kambrie

Rylee and Kaylee, (nieces)

Miniature golfing

The kids visit to the dentist!

No Cavities!!!!

ThaT'S RigHT!!!!

Just for your information.....
I was so proud of myself this morning. On my training schedule for this half marathon I am doing in November I was supposed to run 4.5 miles today. Well I am happy to report that I ran 5 miles in 58 minutes, that's 11.6 minute miles. Considering that I ran 6 miles in 1 hour and 19 minutes on Saturday, (13.1 minute miles), I was totally stoked. I beat my time by a whole minute and a half!!!
Just wanted to bask in my glory for a minute, thanks for listening!

iNtroDUciNG....

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Aguirre

Kadee, Danny, Kambrie and Jen

What a cute little family!

Kadee and Kambrie

Kambrie

Payton, Sim, Nic, Livvy, Oliver and Sophie, (cousins)

Nic and I, the night before at the wedding dinner at The Lion House

Jen and I, she looked gorgeous! (I look pregnant for some reason, don't worry I am not!!!)

Livvy, Aimee, Oaklie and Grace, (cousins)

Aubrey and I

Last Thursday my brother in law Danny and his beautiful bride Jen tied the knot. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and it was beautiful. Danny has deserved someone like Jen for a long time now and now that he has found her I have a feeling they will be very happy.

Thank you Danny for finding Jen, (even if it was on the Internet). She is so much fun and not only would I have to still be paying full price or my nails, had you not married her, but I also would not have found a new friend. I am so grateful to have another sister in law who I can also call a friend. And Jen, there are very little words to describe how grateful our entire family is to you. We have all seen Danny at some pretty bad points in his life and now with you at his side he is back. He is happy and well, he is just Danny again. You have made him a wonderful companion and friend, which is something we have all wanted for him for a lot of years. You are going to make a wonderful mother and friend to Kadee and Kambrie and be exactly the sort of woman influence they need in their lives.

We wish you both all the happiness and love that can possibly exist in a marriage. We hope you both get to experience how wonderful it can be. We all love you and can't wait to see what the future holds for your new little family!