I'M A BIG GIRL!!!

We have been working on potty training with Reba and she has resisted peeing in the toilet. Today we had success! She was dry when she got up from nap so we rushed into the bathroom and she sat for a while and went! She loves getting potty treats. We got a couple packages of M&M's that we use as potty treats. I thought we were going to have to change our tactics. I am so glad to start seeing a light at the end of this tunnel. I know, one time doesn't mean total success but now that she has started to do it we should see more successes. Wish us luck!

Myrtle Beach 2011 cont…..

Today got off to a good start. The house was quiet, the kids were sleeping… It was nice… until the alarm went off at 7:30. We forgot to turn it off. Shortly after the alarm all the kids were awake and running rampant through the house. So we got up and started making breakfast. That didn’t go well either. I burnt the bacon so Lisa took over. We had plans to go to the Tanger Outlets to get Lisa some pants and then back for lunch so the kids would get an early nap so that we could spend a lot of time at the pool. Needless to say that didn’t work. It was raining so we had to make other plans.

We decided to let the kids go swimming in the large bathtub. They loved that. When the rain stopped we got ready to go to the outlets. There are two outlets in Myrtle Beach. Of course we went to the one that didn’t have the store we wanted. So we packed up and went to the other one. When we got done there we went out to eat.  The place we chose was close to the outlet we were at but we couldn’t find it. So we drove to the other location closer to our resort and had about the worst experience that we have had eating out. The food was blah, the service…. well I think we had that, and the price was way to much. After lunch we decided to walk it off on the beach and also give the kids a chance to get out and run around. The kids love going to the beach and looking at the ocean. We didn’t get in because the weather is too cold along with the water. Lisa and three of the kids got to see some crazy teenagers go into the water though. I took Reba home because she was too cold. When we got back to the condo Lisa and the kids got ready to go swimming while I stayed home with CJ and let him take a nap.

We are now getting ready to head back home to real life. Not looking forward to that but it has to happen some time. The kids are sleeping, laundry is almost done, and we are watching Castle. If only we could stay a few more days…

Myrtle Beach 2011

We started out on our what has turned out to be our annual vacation to Myrtle Beach. We have been coming here for the last 3 years and enjoy the trip every time. We mainly go to just get away from our regular every day life. This year it is a good thing that we just come to relax because it rained yesterday and has been raining all day today. We did however still go to the pool and enjoyed our time there. Chloe and Jared love to go swim by themselves. They are getting so big. Reba and CJ love the water. Today the water was a little cold so they weren’t to keen about getting in but like most kids once they were in they didn’t want to come out so that we could get lunch ready. After lunch Lisa and the two younger kids to a nap and Chloe, Jared and myself watched a movie and played some games until everyone woke up. The kids must have been tired from the trip down because they took a really long nap. We had dinner and then went out to get dessert. We went to Krispy Kreme for some doughnuts and to let the kids watch them make fresh doughnuts. It was a hit. Chloe wants everyone to know that her stomach hurts.

Chloe is really enjoying this trip down. She gets to have a King size bed to herself. She also has her own TV. She thinks that is the greatest thing. Jared and Reba are sharing a room that has two  beds full size beds in it with a TV for them.

I think every time that we come down here I find things that I would like to have in my house when I can afford to build one. The part I am really enjoying the most this time is the bar/island. It has granite counter tops and is elevated. It just makes things so much easier to deal with especially when you don’t sit down with everyone and eat at the same time. Ya know like most people do with breakfast.

Growing up

Our little family is certainly growing up fast. Chloe is in second grade and doing wonderful. She is amazing at spelling and vocabulary. She is also preparing to be baptized. She is very excited about it. She is a wonderful big sister. She loves to help out with everyone else. Mostly I think she likes to be in charge and feel grown up. We are working on figuring out our roles as mother and daughter. We are so much alike that it is a long process for us that takes a lot of patience that neither of us have most days. We either get along like best friends or worst enemies.

This week she lost another tooth and Mom and Dad forgot to call the tooth fairy. It was a huge deal but the tooth fairy made up for it by writing Chloe a note. That sure is a wonderful tooth fairy!

Jared is doing really well in Kindergarten. He does really well reading but I worry that his teacher doesn't see how far along he is. The books he brings home are not a challenge for him at all. He flies through them so I just try to get him to read harder books at home to me.

Jared has more energy than all the other kids put together. He loves to wrestle with the younger kids and pin them to the ground. Unfortunately they don't like it quite as much. I wish we had enough time, money and vehicles to put him into a sport. I thought school was supposed to get some of their energy out!

Reba is working on potty training right now. She has tried in the past but she hasn't gotten the hang of it quite yet. We think she is ready physically but not mentally. She just doesn't want to go potty. Maybe this time we will be able to stick with it and get it done. I would like her potty trained before she turns three.

Reba loves to play with her little brother. She gets to be the biggest while the others are at school. She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Zoe from Sesame Street. Elmo is another front runner for her.

CJ is getting so big. He now has 9 teeth. He has stopped having ear infection every few weeks. We are very grateful for that. Sleeping through the night is another milestone that we are very grateful for recently. He has started giving kisses to us too. He says Da-da very clearly. He says Mama too but it doesn't mean Mommy. It means Gramama. Its really cute.

We are very excited about next month. Colby will be 18 months and he will be "legal" to go into nursery on Sundays. That will be a relief for Ken at least. He has been taking Colby with him to classes when he can for a while now.

I have been busy with the same old stuff with a few variations. Taking care of the kids during the day and night with the added chores of the wife and housekeeper always take the spotlight. I also have been working with Chloe's teacher to fulfill my duties as a room parent. We are making a spice garden to auction off at the annual Spring Fling at their school.

I also have my calling at church of Nursery worker. That is a challenge. We now have 3 people in there but there are almost 15 kids and 12 are there regularly. We have the set up to do and the lesson and story time. We also have set up and clean up of snack. Unfortunately we have all had things that have come up and there are rarely three of us there. We have to get helpers each week.

Ken is working hard at Massage Envy. He went back to Utah a few weeks ago for a couple interviews. He got the Massage Envy job in American Fork but we are still waiting to hear from the Corrections job. That one would be the ideal one for us but we are trying not to get our hopes up. He did great on the physical though.

Ken has also been playing on the church basketball team when he is here. He has fun getting his exercise and getting to know some of the other men in the ward. The kids love to go with him. Sometimes to cheer and sometimes to play with the other kids that go to watch their dads.

We are planning our move back to Utah sometime in the next few months. It all depends on Ken's job situation and the sale of my mom's house. It has been on the market for a couple weeks now and we have had one couple come to view it. They seem like they are interested. We are just hoping and praying that they want it and make an offer.

Happy Birthday to CJ!

Today Colby turned one! I can’t believe it has been a year already. For some reason he seems like he should only be about 9 months old. I think that is because he was three months old before our family was whole again. It is almost like life around here didn’t start until Ken came home for good. In this short time he has been such a blessing to us. He is so happy and easy going. I think he takes after Ken. Definitely not me. Even during his 4 or 5 ear infections with trips to ERs and Dr. offices he has been great. It took us a while to realize he had a problem because he was so happy.

But now, here we are. He started walking just over a month ago. He has 4 teeth. He is still sucking away at that little thumb but we are working on it. It is still kinda cute. Tonight we had cake and ice cream with our family. My brother and his family and my dad and Donna came to celebrate with us. Colby was great with his cup cake. He didn’t want to wait for the song to be over to start eating. He got PJ’s and a grinch doll that he loves. He is so adorable I just can’t stand it! We had a lot of fun. Wish you all could have been here with us.

Jared’s first day of school!!!

Today Jared started kindergarten! We took him to school and got him settled in class. He has the same teacher that Chloe had. When we got there he seemed shy and quiet but he was ready to sit at his seat and play with the girl next to him.

Jared was able to ride the bus home with Chloe from school. When they got here, Reba, Colby and I were there waiting. The bus driver said that he didn’t want to sit in the star seat. That is the front seat on the bus. She said he almost threw a fit over it. I can see Jared doing that. Here he is with a stranger and she is telling him to sit in a certain spot. Poor kid probably thought he was in trouble. So she helped him sit in it.

 
Jared seems to really like school and after they got home I really realized how much I enjoyed the peace of them both being in school. Now we are back to the normal sibling bickering. I love school!

Chloe’s Haircut

For those of you who don’t know I have had a hard time letting Chloe get her hair cut. She has never had it cut, just trimmed. I was listening to the radio a while and the Super Nanny was on. They         had different callers calling in and asking questions. One of the callers was a young girl and she asked what she could do to get her mom to let her get her hair cut the way that she wanted to. The mothers response was that she didn’t want her child to have a hair cut that she hated later on in life. The Super Nanny responded with the fact that we all have hair cuts for our youth that we don’t like and wish that we didn’t have but that is just the way we grow up. At the time of the hair cut we like it but styles change and that is why we don’t like those wonderful hair cuts of our youth. After I heard this I began to think of why I didn’t want Chloe’s hair cut. I didn’t want it cut because I like long hair. I felt bad because I wasn’t even worried about what Chloe wanted and it was just what I wanted. After much thought about I talked to Lisa and we decided that Chloe could pick out a couple styles that she liked and then we would choose from them. I think we got a style that looks really cute on her. She looks a lot different now. I think that she looks a lot like Lisa did when she was young.

The first picture is the style that we liked and then the rest are of Chloe getting her hair cut and what she looks like now. Hope you all enjoy.

This is the style that we all thought that would like good. We hope that you all think that the hair cut looks as good as we do.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the final outcome. What a different look this is than the one that she had before. Still just as beautiful though.