Thursday, October 13, 2016

Family update October 2016

The company where John works underwent a huge rebranding and changed its name from Creditera to Nav Technologies. It has grown a lot in the 2 years he has worked there! He loves the supportive environment, the focus on integrity and family, and feeling like he is making a difference in the world. He has some great friendships there and often stays late on Fridays to play a card game called Magic. He continues to play the organ in sacrament meeting about once a month and was just released from being an Elder's Quorum teacher after serving for a couple of years in that calling. He has been continuing to focus on his health and mental wellbeing and as always, puts his family above all else. He's a hands on, patient, understanding, fun dad. He takes Charlie to school in the morning and really enjoys that time with him every day. 

Barb stays busy with the kids, the house, doTERRA, church, and her millions of projects and different commitments on her time. She's learning to reign in her FOMO (fear of missing out) while still nurturing her innate extrovert and "gatherer" personality. She has focused on incorporating exercise into her life this year and enjoyed doing yoga and a high intensity aerobics class called High Fitness. She's been teaching Relief Society this year and is still the ward choir director. She and John also spend a lot of time on Sundays helping the kids stay in their primary classes. Sometimes it's all hands on deck to make that happen. 

A big focus for Barb and our family this year has been our niece, Bridget, who was born in October 2015 with severe health challenges. With John's support, Barb has traveled to Las Vegas twice to help Catherine and Richard and their family, as well as helping when they travel to Salt Lake to meet with specialists. In July, Barb and a friend, Rachel Watson, organized a large fundraiser/music show in support of "Boosting Bridget". 250 people attended and it was a night to remember. John was incredibly involved and supportive, and many friends, neighbors and family members attended or participated in the show. 

Charlie is in 2nd grade at Crestview Elementary. Last year, he finished up his at home ABA (behavioral) therapy and finished 1st grade strong with the help of his teacher, Miss Aste and his full time aide, Lynne (Kelch). He achieved his goals so well last year that this year he only needs an aide for part of the day. His teachers, Ms. Saltas and Mrs. Hepworth (SpEd), are dedicated and fun, and really seem to "get" Charlie. He's still excellent at math, and often explains how he's figured out complex concepts in his head. He seems to be a very visual and logical learner. He excelled at swimming this summer and continues to take breakdancing from Chacho at The School of Dance. He loved his soccer camp over the summer, as well. He lost 5 teeth last year!

George just started his 3rd and final year of preschool. He will be the oldest in his class his whole life because his birthday is in September. We think this a great place for him to be! He attended Wasatch Presbyterian Preschool last year (in the same class as Jude!) and is at Cottonwood High School's child development lab preschool this year. He LOVES it. He is sensitive, emotionally intuitive, and loves to keep up with his big brother. He's a great artist, with a deep and abiding love of rainbows. He loves to sing and play Dad's drum kit. His favorite song is "We Will Rock You". He loves warmed up chocolate milk, scrambled eggs, Paw Patrol, and hugging Bonnie. He got really strong at swimming over the summer and participated in a tap/ballet class and recital last year. He was the only boy in his class and did so great! Mom got teary-eyed more than once watching him from backstage. He and Charlie are now in the same breakdancing class but that may not last for long. 

Bonnie just turned 2 and has become a little girl and not a baby. She's potty trained (which she did by herself), a great sleeper, and talks in long, complete sentences. She wants to be just like the big kids and keeps up with them pretty well! People always comment on her signature haircut (an a-line bob with sweepy bangs), her beautiful eyes, and how much she looks like John.  She loves chocolate milk, as well as baby dolls and stuffed animals, and has amassed a large collection.  Her favorite songs are There was a Tiny Turtle, Little Sir Echo, and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam. She likes being a helper- she loads the silverware into the dishwasher with mom and takes the garbage out with dad. She is loud and talkative and feisty and determined and funny! That is, until someone other than our immediate family looks at her or talks to her. Then she gets clingy, scared, shy, refuses to talk and sometimes cries. She is very attached to Mom. She loves to do things "by self!" and yells at the top of her lungs, "I talk to mama first!" 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Big brother Charlie

Teaching some math to George using Play-Doh to make a 10 tray for addition. Then Charlie and I made a 100 tray to work on multiplication. 

Reading Bonnie a book. Makes my mom heart soar!!!

10 years



Monday, January 11, 2016

Charlie's Christmas Tooth Fairy wish

Charlie's greatest wish came true- he lost his second tooth in Christmas Eve, so the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus came on the same night!! He had a wiggly tooth for days and days and waited and waited. Finally, in Christmas Eve, he asked me to tie a piece of floss to it and he pulled it out! 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Conversations with Charlie

"Just try to stay calm mom."

"Next time you get mad at me, remember. "

"Daddy is grumpy. Who's usually grumpy?"
"You."
Just our Charlie man, keeping the peace

Monday, November 02, 2015

Bridget

I had the incredible opportunity to go visit Catherine and Richard and their four kids for 5 days. What a sacred, special experience. Bridget, their 4th baby, was born with some unexpected health challenges and Cat needed some additional support. They have felt so strengthened by the power of prayer and the priesthood through this trial and I feel like some of that oozed over into my little family. I've never been able to leave my kids that long and have everyone do so well in my absence. It was miraculous. I left all three (first time leaving Bonnie!) with John and they all thrived.

I had to take this photo- I'm sharing my Coke with a "Champ" which Bridget certainly is


Sunday, November 01, 2015

Halloween 2015

This has been my most low key Halloween ever. A big reason for that is because Baby Bridget was born earlier this month, and we have been concerned and focused on her. Her precious life is such a powerful reminder of what is most important. 

Recently, I have also been practicing to tame the FOMO beast (Fear of Missing Out) and feeling so much peace in doing so. We carved our one pumpkin on Halloween night. I didn't decorate the house other than that. I wore a very low key costume (stay at home mom Dorothy Gale) to only one event, and John didn't wear a costume at all! That doesn't sound that big of a deal, but almost every year of our marriage we have done a coordinating couple costume or family costume theme and decked our house out in decorations. 

We had plenty of Halloween outings- parties at school and preschool and playgroups and church- so I really didn't need to do anything other than those to show my kids a good time. 

I had a crazy busy day on Thursday with a dance class party for George at the same time as Charlie's school parade, plus Charlie and George's class parties at the exact same time. Charlie was also Star Student that day AND had show and tell. Luckily, I had help making it all happen- John took the morning off of work and my friend Jessica picked up George from dance (her little boy was his guest to the dance class party) and kept him all morning, fed him lunch and then took him to preschool. 

I had a lot of fun helping in Charlie's class, making an apple juice and dry ice witch's brew. When I asked Charlie if I could wear a costume to help at his class party, he looked at me horrified and said, "No!" One of the other moms let me borrow her witch hat so I was more legit. 

On the night of Halloween, we skipped the neighborhood parties and potluck and our kids opted to stay home and pass out candy instead of trick or treating. We went to our next door neighbor and that is it! Normally, I would have felt defeated and sad, and in the past sometimes we've missed out on things for kind of sad reasons, so it isn't only my FOMO that has made me feel down. But this year we are having such a lovely October, everyone is doing so well! So to choose to stay home just because we felt like it was really quite wonderful. 

We had such a fun night together. We watched The Princess Bride for the first time ever and all day today Charlie has been quoting lines and laughing at parts of the movie with me. He's even said, "Mom, as you wish" a few times with a little smile and gleam in his eye because he knows in the film it means, "I love you." Heart melter. 

Bonnie the Monkey (aka "Bonkey")
George the pirate (recycled costume from last year!) and his friend Sam Plumb
Charlie the robber (admittedly, I did stay up very late working on that t shirt (hand sewing together two other shirts we had) and assembling that LEGO Mixel for him for show and tell. So that part wasn't very low stress, but he was overjoyed by both surprises in the morning so it was definitely worth it). 

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Bonnie Repeats

Today alone she 
-sang along to the radio (Kelly Clarkson "Heartbeat song"- is has a part that goes "Up up up up all night long, up up all night long" and she was singing ba ba ba ba.)

-learned the word Oreo at Costco after all three kids got an Oreo sample and we were singing the "Or-e-o, or-eeee-o" song from Wreck-It Ralph.
        (The Oreo aftermath)

- George had some new Play-Doh in the car and was telling Bonnie to say "Play-Doh". After a few tries, she got "ā" then after a few more was saying "ā-dō". 

- also in the car we taught her "Apple" and she was saying "Pul" after a few times.