I have been inspired to start a blog from my sister-in-law Kasie Payne. While visiting her I noticed she had a print out of her blog, which was a record of her family growing over the years. I loved this idea so much I have decided to start a family journal of my own.
Here is whats going on in our little family. Ben is working at Xango right now. He was laid off right before Christmas but found a new job within a week. While this job is much better then being unemployed it has many complaints. We took a pay cut when he moved which wouldn’t be such an issue but his coworkers are difficult to get along with. But with the idea of starting his own business one day he is learning all he can from this job with high hopes of a more successful future. We do receive unique benefits from his job such as free juice and other products that Xango produces, most for free or at a low cost to us. The company is all about getting healthy. I find this ironic because both Ben and I have never eaten more unhealthy. I guess this is natures way of saying its time to change.
Caleb is preschool for his third year, due to his birthday missing the cut off date to start kindergarten. We celebrated his 5th birthday StarWars style. His best friend Jacob (from the neighborhood) has the same birthday but is a year older. His mother and I decided to join the boys birthday party and have a big celebration. We hired a Jedi knight to show the kids how to train in the Jedi arts. Caleb loved it. This year he has started taking an interest in girls. Two girls in particular, Layla and Kate that attend his preschool. He has mentioned many times that he would like to have a date with them but wouldn’t get married until he completes college. (I feel that we have brain washed him well.) I arranged a play date with Layla at her house and they played well together until he gave her a bloody nose. Lots of blood but they remain close friends. This year for Valentines Day Caleb and I made homemade cards with candy inside. He made 4 special cards just for Layla. Its fun teasing him about his girlfriends. He really enjoys adding numbers and he is learning to read. We are all excited to see how well he will do at kindergarten. My only major concern is his size. Caleb is over 4 foot tall and weight over 80 pounds. He stands out in his preschool class. Good thing he is such a good looking kid.
Ciara is learning to potty train, and almost doing it all alone. She asks to go to the potty everyday at least once. Today she ran up to me repeating mommy, grabbed my little finger, and led me into the bathroom. I got her undressed, she went and flushed the toilet, washed her hands and looked up at me to say thank you. I was so proud. Ciara LOVES Elmo. Yesterday she woke up and the first words out of her mouth is “Elmo on!” We watch Elmo many times a day. At her checkup the doctor told us we need to stop giving her bottles. This has been our biggest challenge yet. Ciara has breath holding syndrome, when she gets upset enough she lets all her air out, passes out and sometimes convulses. This makes disciplining much harder. For the most part she is really good at listening to her mama but when it comes to Elmo and having a bottle to go to sleep, she will pass out for them. So its a work in progress. She is also getting her back teeth in so she is a little cranky anyway. Ciara has a love for music that I have never seen before in a child so young. When she was about 8 months old she started humming the music to Indiana Jones. (Caleb plays the video game on the wii, so she heard the sound track often) Then she started humming StarWars theme. And now her favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Row Row Row Your Boat, and of course Elmo’s World. She loves dress up and playing outside.
Now my turn I guess. I enjoy staying home with my kids. I spend each and everyday with them but I still feel that they are growing up to fast. I keep myself busy with housework and house projects (like painting, I love painting!) I also try to cook new things. When my sister-in-law works I watch her young one, Kaiah who I just love. She is really close to Ciara’s age and doing anything together makes things more fun. She just had a baby and soon I get the chance to watch her as well which I am looking forward to so much! We had a miscarriage this summer and have not been able to get pregnant since, and at first I was pretty mopey about it. But I have had so many opportunities since then, I feel that it may have been a blessing. We hiked Timpanogos Mountain this summer and I have never felt so accomplished. I was sore for 2 weeks after that hike. I enjoy my time with my family and I’m very anxious about my kids growing up so quickly but I am enjoying the ride while it lasts!
So thats it for now. 🙂