Happy Fourth of July

Just because

Catching up, always catching up

        This blog is never up to date and I feel like all my posts are a failed attempt at relating our lives over the past several months.  But as I have looked at many others I realized I am not the only one who is not on top of things.  Life is really just the typical daily grind in our neck of the woods, work, dishes laundry, play and more play.  
        Seth is really into imaginative play which usually involves some sort of bad vs good guy.  This play is very scripted as in Seth tells you word for word what you are suppose to say as we are playing it.  Also how we are expected to die.  I really have no idea how he comes up with half of what he says but it keeps us laughing and on our toes.  Just tonight he is packing a bag to go to the Easter Bunnies home and we are going to need to take food so of course the top choices are apples, oranges, carrots and potatoes.  One of my new favorite and least favorite things he has discovered is drawing.  It means he actually sits still and is calm for a few minutes. His drawings consist of various line forms that represent different items but he loves it. However he only covers a small portion of the paper and then moves to the next and does not want any of them thrown away as they are, "special to me mom".  Seth turned 4 recently and I just didn't have the energy to do anything elaborate this year but I think I did okay anyway.  We had a Power Ranger Party where we played typical games like samurai samurai nylock(duck duck goose).  I also was lucky to find a boy in our neighborhood who is very good at karate. He came and taught the kids a few moves. They loved it and learned how to be good ninjas that only protect themselves. 
         Norah continues to improve on her gross motor skills and is cruising gaps, can get into standing from sitting in the middle of the room and is walking behind a push toy.  She loves it and is so proud of herself for everything that she does.  We are starting to do more gestural imitation such as pounding on things, making blubber noises with her fist at her mouth and recently did some waving.  She is stuck on the da da babbles despite my attempts at mama or even a buh buh sound. I also have found that I have become lazy and have not attempted any signs with Norah like I did with Seth.  For now I am not worried we will see what she does over the next few months.  Health wise we had Myringotomy tubes placed in the fall after she had four ear infections in two months and a long winter still ahead of us.  Then after a very tiresome December we discovered she had acid reflux.  We were up five times a night with a hard to console baby and if she was sleeping she was whimpering in her sleep.  She does not fit the mold at all for someone who would have reflux but after being on meds for a few weeks and taking her off again for a few days she is definitely happier and sleeping better on the medication.  She is starting to get her first tooth and I have to say I must have suppressed the memory of Seth teething because I have forgotten how grumpy they can be.  Overall though she continues to be such fun to have around. I love watching my two kids together. They are generally happy and Seth loves getting laughs out of Norah.  Can they always stay this way and we just skip the we hate each other phase? 
         Justin and I are both busy at our respective jobs and at home.  Justin is taking another computer programming class online and is looking into continuing with more school. He is also hard at work tiling our bathroom that we gutted last June.  After months of letting it sit we finally had a plumber come help us and then finished up some of the construction work.  I am excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel and have my bathroom back.  I was called into the Primary Presidency in December and have been busy learning my responsibilities for that and then carrying them out.  I work with a pretty amazing group of women and feel like I will learn a lot from them as well as the kids.  Overall most weeks I feel like I can barely keep up with my own life and I long for my weekends to try and catch up but I know that life overall is pretty good right now and I really have nothing to complain about.

Norah really did not care about Christmas she just wanted to do her own thing. I had to keep putting her back by her toys to get any pictures of her with them.  

Christmas was so much fun with Seth this year. He loved everything was so excited and was totally spoiled. 

Ninja Birthday Boy and Cousins with their instructor Tehl

6-7 MONTHS

I look back at this year and wonder where time went. I remember being a little kid and thinking the days on the calendar never seemed to move forward. Now I feel like it is just going by so fast.  Norah is almost seven months old and growing up so fast.  She is learning to do so many things as quickly or quicker than her brother. It is sad how his infancy already feels like a blur to me.  She started sitting at five months and by six months was on her hands and knees rocking. She is now an expert army crawler but is desperately still trying to figure out how to move her legs as well. She almost has moving back into sitting down just needs to figure out how to rotate her hip.  I love her squeals babbles and dadas.  She is just the happiest baby almost always has a smile on her face. Her favorite person in the world is Seth.  He only has to walk into the room and she just smiles. He does some of the silliest stuff and she just laughs and laughs. He loves her a lot as well and wants to hug and kiss her.  Wouldn't it be nice if this loving sibling relationship lasted through high school!  Learning to be a mom of two and a family of four has been more of an adjustment but I don't know what we would do without both of our kids.  They really do test you and try you however, they are the best reward at the end of the day as well.  I am excited for the holidays and to see all the excitement that comes with kids and this time of year.  

(pictures taken by TN Photography)

Swinging in a daze

When did my kids get so big?

Nine o'clock preschool is going to be a challenge for our late to bed late to rise son. But on the first morning he was pretty excited.  I swear yesterday he was my late talker all smiles and compliance. Now he is Mr. Independent and I have a reason to counter your reason.  It is good that he also seems to have a loving streak going because he also tells me very sincerely several times a day that he loves me.  I am learning that these years are going to be a great lesson in patience for both Justin and I.   

He wanted me to take his picture on the second day of preschool as well.  If you ask him what he did in class he says "nothing"  but if you listen closely he is singing new songs, talking about treating friends nicely and the rules of the classroom.  I have a feeling this is going to be a great thing for him.  Maybe I should come up with a jingle for the rules of the house. Then he might remember them a little better.  

Five months have gone by so quickly.  I feel like I am going to blink and she will be a little lady.  She is starting to develop a little personality and is doing all the same naughty things her brother did.  Started rolling at four months but then gets mad that she is on her stomach and lets you know.  She is also producing copious amounts of drool and bites everything that comes to her mouth.  I am not looking forward to the teething months.  She also started waking up at around three and six. Which I have not appreciated.  I am also falling into the same trap.  I am too tired to listen to her cry so we just take five minutes to feed her and we all go back to sleep.  However I know this is not the best for either of us.  One day I will learn how to get my children to sleep through the night.  At her last doctors appointment she weighed 15lbs and was 25+ in length.  75% for both.  Justin puts it best when he says that he cant not remember a time without either of our kids.  Despite all the struggles it somehow seems worth it when they are asleep or give you a giant grin.  

One Project Down

Before 2009

2013 after
changed deck color and design 

Added the sandbox/playset and some more cement

Added the drinking fountain