Time For An Update...

So I believe its time for an update on the family. Let's see, before we left for Hawaii, we were in limbo about where we were going to live for the next year and now that's been resolved...we're staying in our house. Our landlords have graciously lowered the rent, granted they weren't as gracious as I had hoped for, but every little bit helps. So for now, we are staying put. Who knows what the future holds though.

Moving on to the kids....

Ava is growing so fast, it seems like just overnight she has turned into a full blown playmate for Van. She just turned 8 months last weekend and I swear her lifetime is going faster than Van's was. She went straight from crawling to pulling up and trying to walk. I do believe there was no time in between. She has been pulling up for quite a while now and is moving herself around the furniture, couch, chairs, etc. I think it probably won't be too long until she's walking on her own. The only thing holding her back is her little tiny feet. She still wears a 2 and has plenty of room to grow in them...I am so sure if she had some good 3's or 4's for feet she's be all over the place vertically by now. She has FINALLY broken her first tooth. She did it about a week ago and boy are we excited. She seemed like she had a runny nose for weeks and now, of course, its all gone. Not only does she have a tooth, but she is soooo over baby food. Hawaii pretty much turned her into a full blown eater. She ate everything from tri tip and potato casserole to blueberry muffins and sausage. Now her daily diet is very similar to Van's and she'll eat pretty much whatever we're having with only small limitations. She has really become such a happier baby now that she can get around so much more on her own. Her and Van chase eachother around the house, they laugh all the time together, and just love eachother's company. Don't get me wrong, there are many times that they are both so sick of eachother, but for the most part, Ava's favorite person is Van.

Onto Van. He's doing great too. Since Hawaii, we have had to nix the "no way"s a lot, thank you Kyler. But we're working on it. He's doing great at school and has started enjoying going too. I'm really glad we just stuck with that one. Its so hard when you know your kid is having a hard time because you just want to take away whatever is hard and make it easy again, but that's not always the best thing for them. Everyone told us to just hang in there and he'd be okay again, and they were right. He even runs up to the sign in table and picks his letter and goes to play with the kids. He has started to make friends, remember the other kids' names, and he always says this "goodbye everybody" when I pick him up. Its really sweet. Even the other parents and teachers have started to see our real Van, the sweet one that all of his church teachers have had the pleasure of teaching. Its a good thing. Speaking of Van and school, he has this new found independence, where he believes he can do everything himself. I do appreciate the help, but sometimes he just can't quite do whatever it is he's trying but he's pretty stubborn about letting us help. For instance, Van is potty trained but initially learned how to go potty sitting down because 1) it's easier and 2) he just wasn't tall enough to do it any other way. However, he is tall enough now (he has grown 3 inches in 1 year) and at school they help him stand up, so now he's all about that. He has also learned to pull both shorts and underwear down, pull up the toilet seats, and do his business standing. However being that he is only 2 and has just discovered the joy of peeing with his "sword", pee does not always end up in the toilet. Now we have to watch him closely because he will just run off, go to the bathroom himself and then come tell us he's done...and I have found on occasion pee in random places such as the bathtub (its right next to the toilet), the floor, the back of the toilet seat, the side of the cabinet, etc. Again, appreciate his striving to go all by himself w/o us asking, going with him, or even having to be in there, but we just need to work on his aim. Its so easy to see why boys enjoy the "sword fighting" game after seeing how boys initially discover it.

Now for some sap...I feel like there have been a lot of couples around us lately who have been breaking up or going through rough patches. Its sad really. I guess I'm just the eternal optimist when it comes to relationships and I always want to see people end up with someone they love. I feel very blessed that even though Mike and I are dealing with lots of other issues, i.e. kids, finances, etc...our relationship is solid. The basis for our family and future, our relationship, is pretty strong. We've been together a long time (at least at our age) and we have a lot of trust and faith in eachother. Not to say we haven't made mistakes or said stupid things, but we're still going strong and, I think, we have that "it" factor. Like I've said before, its not just that I love him, I genuinely like my husband. He is my best friend and I can be myself with him all the time, no hesitations, good or bad. If this were my only blessing from God, I'd be eternally grateful, however God finds it pleasing to bless us in so many more ways.

Okay off of my soap box for now. I'll try and be back soon with some more updates. Holidays are coming up which means lots of family times...oh boy. And, my dad's coming for a visit in a few weeks so that should be fun too. Off to figure out what to do with my Saturday.

B