Blog Revival

Well, I've finally updated the blog layout... Hopefully this is a sign of things to come! I'd like to get back to blogging. Both of our cameras have been broken for months and it's hard to motivate myself to blog without pictures. I was reading through some past posts a while ago and realized how much I like having our life written. I have such a horrible memory and it's nice to be able to go back and read about the things we do in our crazy life. So, I'm not promising anything fantastic and amusing, but I would really like to get back on the blogging train. I do apologize about the lack of pictures for a while. Maybe this will also motivate me to actually get the cameras fixed!

I'll try to give a brief mini update...

Ian's still at Bank of America. He's happy to have a job, but somewhat bored. Hopefully he'll be able to move up or over or somewhere that fulfills him and our bank account at the same time. He's also still working with the youth in our church as the Young Men's President, but recently resigned from teaching early morning seminary to the local high school kids. It was just too much. We're happy to have him around the house more and though he misses it, I think he's happier too.

Emma is doing well in school and at home. The change in her diet a year ago has made a world of difference. She still has her moments(and sometimes days...), but overall, she's much better behaved, and much happier! She's still tearing through any book she can get her hands on and talking our ears off when her nose isn't in a book. She's ridiculously creative and always coming up with new art projects or science experiments to try. Alone time is her friend. Being the oldest of 4 can be frustrating to her and she usually asks for alone time at least once a day. Sometimes she just needs her own space for a while. I know how she feels...

Mckenna is still my little sweet thing. She's been a bit of a whiner lately, but we're hoping it's just a phase that will pass sooner than later. She loves kindergarten and ADORES her teachers. I think they think pretty highly of her too. She also(not surprisingly) has more boy friends than girl friends. I love to hear her talk about her day on the way home. It's just so fun to hear what is exciting to her. Homework is just beginning to challenge her, so we might have to come up with some kind of reward system soon. Her newest love is a hat we got free at Chipotle. It's tan and has a little pepper on the front. She wants to wear it every day to school. Kind of kicks cute hairdo's and hair bows out of the picture, but it makes her happy and she's just so cute with it on.

David might be at the tail end of his terrible twos. Either that or he's gearing up for the horrible threes(ok I know there's no such thing, but there could be... somewhere...). He's just been such a sweetheart lately. He'll come and give me a hug, or clean something up and then say, "Mommy! I just make you happy!" Many times he'll say it with such excited sincerity that it brings tears to my eyes. He's such a lover. He likes giving bear hugs and "big" kisses. He'll grab my cheeks, smush my face onto his and hold it there for a few seconds. And he's always very pleased with himself post-kiss. I think he's the one we'll have to watch out for in high school. I adore him and know that any girl who gets one of those kisses will never want to let him go.

Malachi is adjusting wonderfully. That seems to be the question I get asked most often. "How is Malachi adjusting?" I never know how much detail people want so I always say, "He's doing really well," and then see how much more they want to know. I could say... He's not screaming hysterically when he wants something. His language has exploded in the past two weeks. He's calling us Mommy and Daddy and has THE MOST adorable little voice ever. I can't even list how many words he says now, because there are two many. His best word is, "Showwwy," (sorry). Wonder why he's so good at that one? He loves giving random kisses and hugs. He adores dogs, hates nap time, will drink any liquid(including Gymboree bubbles which he tried in nursery today) until you make him stop or he pukes - whichever comes first. We got together with one of his buddies from Ethiopia this week. What a sweet reunion that was! It was a little boy who was in his group, also named Eyob, and the same age as our Malachi Eyob. We had many pics of the two of them together when they were in Ethiopia. It was so fun to see them play together. And I loved seeing the other Eyob's older brother Abel. He and I were buddies at the orphanage. Loved him. And I think he was excited to see me too.

I am (obviously) a very busy momma. Besides the usual mommy duties(carpooling, cooking, cleaning, park days, etc) I've been canning a lot this winter - applesauce is this week, I still hit the gym regularly, and have been slowly trying to become more organized. I was recently called as the Nursery Coordinator for our church. I'm in charge of 4 nurseries that have about 10-20 kids in each. When Sundays roll around I can get pretty busy!

We've lived in this home longer than we've lived anywhere since being married, and I'm loving it. I love our home and I have so many amazing friends. There is always someone to do something with. I love the area and I adore Arizona weather during this time of year. The only thing I'm not liking is the flu season. I feel like we've been sick for three months. Between school, church, and the daycare at the gym, our kids are exposed to soooo many germs that it's impossible to have all six of us be healthy at the same time. We're pretty much just used to functioning with sore throats and runny noses. We better have a healthy summer!

OK, so it wasn't as brief as I'd hoped, but now I'm not so intimidated about blogging! I won't feel the need to fill y'all in and then I can blog whenever I have an inkling! I'll hopefully come on here after Malachi's well check appointment this week. I'm excited to see how much he's grown since he's been home. It's been 6 months!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

2009 Family Photos

Don't worry Grandma, you'll get some real ones in the mail soon. :)

And to everyone else, my apologies for my lack of blogging. Um, well...not really. My house is cleaner, my stress level is lower, and my kids are happier. I just have no idea what's going on in anyone else's lives. Merry Christmas!

You Taw and Cal If Or Nee Ya

At the beginning of October we drove to Utah and Cali for 2 weeks. It was way fun...if you subtract the nasty sickness we had for the majority of the time. The Utah trip was quick, but fun. I wish we had more time there. Cali was great, but we didn't do a whole lot or see very many people because I was so sick! That makes 3 out of the past 4 trips to California that I've been super sick. Maybe it's a sign... We took too many pics for me to put them all up and even after weeding through them all, there are still too many and I'm too lazy to label them all. Make up your own captions. :)

Happy Birthday

To the greatest woman I've ever known.

That's My Girl!

Emma has been learning to ride her bike without training wheels. She is SO my child: TERRIFIED. I didn't learn until I was at least 7-8, and I eventually taught myself because I was too chicken to put myself in someone's hands. I know my sister gave me some awesome pointers. But I digress...

She screams and cries the who-o-o-ole time. I watched one of my neighbors come out of her garage just to see what all the commotion was. It seriously sounds like someone is dragging her by the ponytail or something. Funny thing is - she can do it just fine. Ian lets go all the time and she rides it wonderfully. She's just plain scurred. So today she fell, scraped her elbow, and bonked her knees. You'd think her beloved kitten had just been hit by a car(if she actually had a kitten). So I brought her inside and cleaned up her elbow. While she was recovering she had an awesome one-liner. She was just at the end of her crying when she stopped, looked in the mirror, took a couple breaths, and said, " My shirt kinda makes me feel better cuz it's so cute."

And then she got a popsicle. Because popsicles make everything better.

P.S. As I'm writing this I overheard her tell Ian(after being told to clear her dinner place), "I feel feeble." That girl reads too many books.

Holiday Boutique!

(Blocked my address for obvious reasons...if you need it, just leave a comment and I'll send you my addy!)

3 Years

2 Years, 1 Year

Mamamamamamama

EEEEEEEEE

We have a 1st word!! Last night at dinner Malachi said, "Eeeee(aka pleeeease)." And today at lunch he said it again! Granted, he said it after I gave him his food, but he said it!!! That is the one word we've worked on the very most - just because he screams every time he wants something. If I could just get him to say please, my life would be much less LOUD!

We went to the Dr. today for a follow up. She told me to pick a birthday somewhere between August and October, but not as late as November. I'd rather stick to the young side, so we're now deciding on October. Anyone have any special reason for a special day?

It's just so heartbreaking to think that when they thought he was 7 months(see pic below) he was actually closer to 15 or 17 months.

Since he's been home, he's gained 2 pounds, grown an inch, gotten a molar and an I tooth, gotten rid of the giardia(I think), started running and jumping, and is now sleeping in his own room. He's still biting and hitting at least once a day, but he is doing better with other limits like not throwing food, staying out of the kitchen when I'm cooking, and moving away from something when I say, "No." My absolute favorite thing is when he gives kisses. He holds your cheeks, pulls you in close and says, "Mmmmm." And now he's actually keeping his mouth closed for most of his kisses.

We had someone from the Arizona Early Intervention Program come to evaluate Malachi's development - and mainly his speech. She said developmentally he is right on track, but his speech is obviously behind. She is going to have the speech evaluator make an appointment, but she said she is sure he will qualify for therapy.

We also had his hearing checked relative to his ability to hear speech sounds. They were basically making sure he could hear well enough to learn to speak. He passed that, but she did say his right ear was too congested(or something) to hear well. Also, his language comprehension isn't strong enough to really isolate his ears, so they just tested his overall hearing and found that it shouldn't be interfering with his ability to speak.

Today his ped prescribed an antibiotic for many reasons - his ear, his nasty cough, his green snot, and now he has a little stye in his eye.

Other than all of that craziness, I really feel like Malachi is doing well. He's a toddler, so there are trying times because of that, but he is a generally happy kid, he eats and sleeps wonderfully and he loves his momma. That is more than we could have hoped for, so I think I'll be happy with that!

Best. Idea. Ever.

OK so maybe not ever... but definitely the best I've heard all day. There is a family living in Hawaii who is in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. They have a 13 year old son who would love to travel with his family to pick her up. He is raising money for his plane ticket by "contracting" with Santa. Here's the description:

Austin is my oldest son. He’s 13. And he’s super cool! He plays the guitar and ukelele, he dances hula, he has a big heart, and he desperately wants to go to Ethiopia with me to pick up his baby sister. The problem is the cost. Tickets will be about $2500 each. So, he is planning a few things to raise some of the money so that he can go.

We all know that Santa vacations here in Hawaii. He sits on the beach in his beach chair wearing his bright flowery Hawaiian board shorts sipping a pretty umbrella drink. I’ve seen him. Really.

Well... he’s here right now. I imagine that he’s here trying to relax before getting
into full blown Christmas mode. While he’s here in Hawaii, he picks up postcards and sends them to little girls and boys, reminding them to be nice and that soon he will be checking his list again. He also has some really cool stories to tell about Hawaii - the beaches, sea turtles, humpback whales, surfing. I bet he’ll include at least one little bit on each postcard, too.

Be sure to let us know the child(ren)’s name(s) and address(es). In a few short days your child will receive a personal note on a Hawaiian postcard... postmarked from Hawaii, too.

In addition, you get to feel good about your purchase, because it’s helping a 13 year old be creative and work his way to get something he really wants... a trip with his Mom to pick up his new baby sister from Ethiopia.

SO cool, huh? Here's the link to the Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30036303

My kids will be so stoked! Go check it out!