Talia ready to hit the slopes!
Happy kid sled picture! Yeah!
Alaina sleds & Ky chases her
Talia likes to eat snow
This would be applesauce hair
Talia loves her brother
Laina dances and sings "Away in a Manger"
Just being cute!
Ky's winter concert
Hamburger cake I made for Ryan & Lisa's b'days
The girls enjoying technology with A. Lisa
Snacks with Grandpa
The Birthday kids Ryan & Lisa
Our attempts to do passport pictures
She kept smiling for hers...
Perhaps because her father was setting a bad example
Okay...and mom too...
Dancing on the table...Her leg is all better!
A new outfit from Aunt Julie--quickly became a favorite!
Ky's winter concert part 1, He is in the top row, gray and green shirt.
Ky's winter concert part 2
Ky's winter concert part 3
Talia sings Happy Birthday to Grandma and gets cookies
January was quite a month for us. With Talia being hurt early on in the month--we just kind of rolled with the punches and hit survival mode. She needed a lot of extra holding and compassion. She also needed a lot of activities to keep her busy since she wasn't able to move. I do think that she appreciates playing with building blocks more now...and will sit a bit longer with books (though not much unless Aunt Julie comes over to read to her...)
Before Talia got hurt--we had a fun day sledding. The kids had a blast...and even Talia enjoyed her few runs down the hill with Dad.
We had planned to go to Shawano over MLK day, but our plans were thrown with unbelievably cold temps and snow. It didn't really seem worth the trip if we weren't going to be able to do much. Instead, we stayed at home and enjoyed putting together a puzzle and playing games and watching movies. Ky is finally old enough to enjoy playing board games with. Alaina tries--but often gets bored/frustrated or her playing pieces magically turn into something else and she if off in her own world. Talia--well Talia is all about destroying the game--I mean exploring. It is hard keeping her off the table.
We also finalized our vacation plans. Ten years ago, Rob and I decided that we would go to Hawaii on our 10th anniversary. We have been faithfully saving and anticipating this reward ever since then. With the kids ages and such we had decided we would take them (Nana said she would come along) and attempt to go over Spring Break so we wouldn't have to pull Ky out of school. We were shocked to find that airline tix were over $900 a piece just to GET to Hawaii. RIDICULOUS! So our plans to Hawaii were quickly nixed. :( That's when I mentioned to Rob about still going on a vacation and planning Hawaii on our 20th anniversary (the kids would probably appreciate it more then anyway.) So we began exploring our options and finally settled on a Carribean cruise. We are excited. We were unable to go over Ky's spring break (it was too expensive--I guess everyone tries to go places over spring break) so we will be going several weeks later. We will have to take Ky out of school for a week--but hey, it's once every ten years....not like we will be doing this regularly. We will visit the Grand Cayman islands and Cozumel--and BONUS--Rob's mom & Jan will still be coming with us, so we will have some extra help. Now we just have to hope that no one gets sea sick! :) For our trip, we had to get passport cards, so we attempted to take the pictures ourselves...and then we gave up. The kids were not looking straight on. Their heads were too big, then too small...it just became too difficult. So I took the kiddos to CVS to have them do it--and was tortured by how long it took them to get the photos right. (I guess I'm not the only one to have problems.) They are done now though so I am happy! :) Stay Tuned for the April blog which will have tons of great pics and stories! YEAH!
So...I'm just going to summarize our family happenings by person...it has been too long.
Rob is still working in Personal Lines at AmFam. He is hoping to move up to management and try something new. His love for beer and coffee continues to grow as he bought himself a Keurig and continues to roast his own coffee. And beer...yeah. I guess you would say he is a connoiseur. I have to say I don't like much of what he drinks--but he enjoys finding the new beers that have been brewed--especially bourbon barrel ones. He enjoys beer tastings with friends.
Me--well...I am still trying to master this stay-at-home mom thing...or this mom thing in general. I have read some great books "Shepherding Your Child's Heart" and heard some great sermons by Andy Stanley (Future Family) that continue to motivate and inspire me. Rob and I are also currently attending a parenting seminar (Effective Parenting in a Defective World) that inspires us both to become better parents. We still hope some day to do some fostering and have really struggled with if we should move sooner or later. We just refinanced the house again and are excited to be owing less on the house with every passing month. At the same time, we know that if we want to foster, we need something a little bigger---something with preferably an extra bedroom and a second full bath. (I fear for the day our children are teenagers....one shower is not going to cut it.) We have talked about a possible addition to our house as well. We both really like our neighborhood and school system and have no desire to move. For now we trust the Lord will guide us and that it will become apparent what he wants us to do. Oh wait--me--oh yeah...I gotta talk more about me... Well, I am taking a break from piano lessons. The next class was cancelled and I didn't want to take the lower level class. Instead, I am trying to send this semester focusing on the future of my education. Should I get my Master's? And if so, in what? Should I get my biology certification? My head has been spinning around this. Hopefully in the next month or so, I will feel more definite direction. I continue to sub and in general that is going really well for me. I am doing much better with younger and older kids, though I still really struggle with the middle school kids (grades 5-8), though I know that age is a struggle for everyone. I just wish I could come up with some better ways to deal with students. Enough of me....
Kylan. Kylan's love for sports overflows. Every day at recess he plays soccer. And if you ask him what his favorite part of the day was--he will say "playing soccer at recess." He also is currently playing in a basketball league on Saturdays that he LOVES! He is really bummed when he misses a game (sometimes there are tears.) A good consequence for him is to say "no sports". That quickly grabs his attention and gets the motivation to fix whatever he is doing wrong. Ky continues to LOVE first grade and excel at it. Sometimes I catch him mumbling in Spanish or exchanging English words for Spanish words. It is clear that he has learned a lot and I would consider him bilingual at this point. His reading in both English and Spanish is awesome as well as his math. His least favorite subject is Music--and of course he gets lower marks in there because he goofs around. However, he was pretty stinking cute in his school music concert.
Alaina. This girls always amuses me. Life is a stage to her and she is always performing. She continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Homeschooling has gone well with her. She is *Very* close to reading. It really is just getting her the stamina to try. (She is pretty active and doesn't like to sit down for too long.) She LOVES playing with Talia, but then also gets very angry when Talia starts destroying her stuff. Her sleeping has really been improving too. We had been going through spurts of her waking up and screaming due to leg pain and such in the middle of the night. Of course there is very little that we can do except try to comfort--and Alaina is not very accepting of comforting touches when she wakes up. Alaina loves playing with her friends Arianna and Lexi at the Princeton club. We try having them over every now and then for playdates. They are her best friends. She dislikes going to the library and story time--but I make her go anyway. She usually enjoys it once she sits down and the librarian begins reading. These "classroom" type situations are important preparations and I really want her to see other people reading and taking interest in it. Rob and I (more I than him) still struggle with whether or not to send her to 4K next year. Educationally she is receiving all she needs from home as well as has plenty of playtime with friends. 4K however would prepare her from being away from me (Kindergarten). I think this is something she struggles with sometimes. It will also prepare her for the classroom atmosphere. If she goes. I will miss her. 4 days a week is a lot and I am not sure I am ready to let go yet. She is my child and my time with her is too short as it is.
Talia--well..I wish I had blogged more for her sake. I know I have missed much because I have not blogged (three kids though makes it hard!) Talia will always be my baby--and she knows how to work it with me. She continues to nurse--I have been trying to wean--but it has been rough. I weaned Ky and Alaina at 18 months and she has no desire. I am not sure what I am going to do right now. So I just continue on. At the same time I know that our nursing time is special cuddle time. UGH! What to do!? Talia can have the sweetest personality covering you in hugs and kisses and then next you know she is screaming at the top of her lungs for fun. She is my little spitfire! She loves to climb...EGADS! And wants to be involved. If we are leaving she will grab her coat and shoes and try to put them on. When Daddy comes home she will help him take off his shoes. She is so helpful and ready to grow up. She has also gone potty on the toilet several times. She tells us after she goes by saying "Poopy Stinky" (okay it is really hilarious when she does this in public.) Unfortunately--she isn't consistant enough that I think she is ready to train. I think it will be a few months yet. Talia LOVES baths. You mention bath and she will run upstairs and begin ripping off her clothes. And then when you pull her out she screams and cries. It is pretty funny. Her talking is amazing too. She will talk in short sentences. And she loves to yell "me too!" if anyone says they are doing something. Cookies are her motivation. In fact it has been one of her favorite words. She points at the cabinets and says "cookies please!" Very cute.
January is done and now I must continue to catch up on this blog....to the next month!
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