Happy New Year's, everybody! I've got a few resolutions that I've made this year, some major ones and some pretty simple ones. I'm not going to write them all here because I'm sure most of you probably don't care about my temple attendance or scripture reading habits all that much, but I did want to be better about writing this year, whether it is in my own personal journal or on this blog.
A good friend of mine shared a suggestion with me, which is that she blogs every week, whether she feels like it or not. I really liked that suggestion, because that doesn't feel like a completely overwhelming goal, but it's something that can get me through that writer's block that piles up the guilt when it's been so long since I last blogged that I feel like I will never catch up.
So, here goes! As a simple update for the beginning of the year, I figured I would do a basic summary of what our family is up to, and then we can catch up from there as needed!
Starting with Calvin:
As far as milestones go, he's crawling everywhere and into everything, babbling all the time, and incredibly close to walking. We'll see if he gets that one down by his birthday this week!
Next up: Maggie!
This sweet girl is doing awesome! She loves her preschool speech therapy program, and is getting really good at figuring out some of her letters and sounds! She loves to write out a bunch of letters and say, "Mom! What does this spell?" and gets a kick out of it when I try to sound out the nonsensical words she writes out. M's and O's are her favorite, as are any of the other letters in her name.
She is 4 and a half going on 16 and as girly as all get out! She says that her favorite colors are pink, purple, and sparkles, and she begs me every day to let her wear lipstick.
This picture is just about the perfect description of Clark's personality that you could get. He loves to be silly and funny (and we're working on getting him to learn where silliness is appropriate and where it is not--aka Primary), but he also loves focusing on his schoolwork and accomplishing pretty big milestones. He LOVES school and is doing great in math, reading, and writing, and his teacher had wonderful things to say about him, which as a parent is always fun to hear.
He also is my little hard worker (as long as he can be convinced that there's a good motivation for doing the job I'm asking of him--we learned this month that money is actually a pretty good motivator for this one!), and yesterday as we were unloading wood he learned the hard way that throwing the wood up in the air isn't the best idea....especially when you throw it straight up and then look up at it as it lands. He knocked two teeth loose (baby teeth that would have come out soon, anyway), got a pretty swollen lip, and a long scrape on his cheek. Poor guy!
I think the worst part was that his mom was laughing at him so hard while she was trying to help him clean the blood up. Apparently I'm not all that sympathetic.
Now, for Jack's update:
We are currently running some pretty high mileage (averaging 30-plus miles weekly, with our long run capping out at 16 miles two weeks ago), so it's fun to have people in our small town stopping me to say that they saw us running together.
Other than that, I'm still feeling fragile mentally, but definitely on my way to getting back to a normal sense of myself, which I'm grateful for. I worried for some time that I would never bounce back completely after Calvin, so I'm immensely relieved to be seeing such improvement.
I'm also staying busy with teaching voice lessons, piano lessons, sketching and drawing any time I get a free moment, and trying (usually rather unsuccessfully) to manage the chaos of a house of 7 humans and 2 dogs (my brother Levi has been staying with us for the past couple of months, and will be leaving soon to return to college--sad face for me but excited for him).
Steve has had a BUSY year. He has returned to college to get his bachelor's in nursing, and since BYU-I online was the cheapest option, he chose to go there. His last semester he took statistics and it pretty much kicked his butt--he was more stressed than I had seen him about passing a class in a LONG time, and that includes nursing school! Now that it's over, he's taking easier classes and although he could have his bachelors within a year, he's choosing to go a slightly slower route in order to preserve his sanity (and mine, too, let's be honest).
He also had a busy year directing two youth productions ("You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Little Mermaid") and starting a weight-loss program where he's lost over 30 pounds! He's also training for a half marathon, and picking up extra shifts at work whenever he can fit them in.
So that's where we are in a nutshell, hopefully I'll be better about keeping up on things this year!
A good friend of mine shared a suggestion with me, which is that she blogs every week, whether she feels like it or not. I really liked that suggestion, because that doesn't feel like a completely overwhelming goal, but it's something that can get me through that writer's block that piles up the guilt when it's been so long since I last blogged that I feel like I will never catch up.
So, here goes! As a simple update for the beginning of the year, I figured I would do a basic summary of what our family is up to, and then we can catch up from there as needed!
Starting with Calvin:
This handsome little fella is nearly a year old, and he is definitely not letting his momma forget it! He's crawling all over the place, refuses to sit still through church meetings any longer, and has juuuust started the toddler tantrum phase when he doesn't get what he wants, which everyone absolutely looooves (If there was a sarcastic font, I would have used it there).
I guess it's only fair that he's acting obnoxious now, because he really was one of the easiest and most social babies I had ever seen--we were incredibly busy this last year with some shows that we helped direct, and it was wonderful that my baby happily went to anyone who wanted to hold him, and played with them as long as they wanted to.
That happy little baby has changed his tune a bit now that he's learned that he can have his voice heard when he's displeased, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't still make me laugh several times a day. Even for a toddler, he is remarkably cheerful and cuddly--but only when he wants to be. Otherwise, look out!
As far as milestones go, he's crawling everywhere and into everything, babbling all the time, and incredibly close to walking. We'll see if he gets that one down by his birthday this week!
Next up: Maggie!
This sweet girl is doing awesome! She loves her preschool speech therapy program, and is getting really good at figuring out some of her letters and sounds! She loves to write out a bunch of letters and say, "Mom! What does this spell?" and gets a kick out of it when I try to sound out the nonsensical words she writes out. M's and O's are her favorite, as are any of the other letters in her name.
She is 4 and a half going on 16 and as girly as all get out! She says that her favorite colors are pink, purple, and sparkles, and she begs me every day to let her wear lipstick.
She loves sticking her tongue out when taking selfies--also another favorite activity of hers. She is tough and doesn't take any flack from her brothers, and in her personal interview this month, she set a goal not to cry as much when her brothers tease her. Fingers crossed that she's actually going to work on it. :)
Next up: Clark!!
He also is my little hard worker (as long as he can be convinced that there's a good motivation for doing the job I'm asking of him--we learned this month that money is actually a pretty good motivator for this one!), and yesterday as we were unloading wood he learned the hard way that throwing the wood up in the air isn't the best idea....especially when you throw it straight up and then look up at it as it lands. He knocked two teeth loose (baby teeth that would have come out soon, anyway), got a pretty swollen lip, and a long scrape on his cheek. Poor guy!
I think the worst part was that his mom was laughing at him so hard while she was trying to help him clean the blood up. Apparently I'm not all that sympathetic.
Now, for Jack's update:
The highlight of his 2016 was a trip to Disneyland--just him and the parents! He had a blast and it was fun to get to see his cute personality in a completely unknown situation. He's funny and enjoys telling jokes and quoting his favorite movies (we finally relented and let him watch "Captain America: Civil War" on this trip--he'd been begging to see it since it was in theaters).
He enjoys reading (a little too much, sometimes--his teacher had to get after him a few times this year for reading when he was supposed to be listening to her), riding his bike, and friends. Every day he asks to play with his friends--as a mildly introverted person, it's funny to watch my extroverted oldest boy want to be around people and stimulation constantly! I don't necessarily understand it, but I try to support it.
As for me: Those of you who read my blog know that I struggled with some pretty severe PPD this year, and you will be happy to know that for the most part, I feel like I'm coming out on the other side it.
A big help to that has been my latest goal to train for and complete a marathon--my mom (who is 54 this year) has always had a goal to run a marathon, and thanks to some significant weight loss on her part, has been able to run again! Since she was running, I became her unofficial coach and have been running with her on an average of 4 times a week since last March. It's been one of the best things for me on days when I don't even want to get out of bed to know that I have to go running with her or I'll let her down, and the physical health has definitely influenced the emotional health, as well!
Other than that, I'm still feeling fragile mentally, but definitely on my way to getting back to a normal sense of myself, which I'm grateful for. I worried for some time that I would never bounce back completely after Calvin, so I'm immensely relieved to be seeing such improvement.
I'm also staying busy with teaching voice lessons, piano lessons, sketching and drawing any time I get a free moment, and trying (usually rather unsuccessfully) to manage the chaos of a house of 7 humans and 2 dogs (my brother Levi has been staying with us for the past couple of months, and will be leaving soon to return to college--sad face for me but excited for him).
Last but not least, this handsome guy:
He also had a busy year directing two youth productions ("You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Little Mermaid") and starting a weight-loss program where he's lost over 30 pounds! He's also training for a half marathon, and picking up extra shifts at work whenever he can fit them in.
So that's where we are in a nutshell, hopefully I'll be better about keeping up on things this year!
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