Life has been so good for us lately. Our organized chaos keeps life fun and fulfilling with our four kids and a dog. We're really, really, busy and yet we find a lot of time to spend time together as a family, and Sean and I even are able to squeeze in some dates here and there, thanks to our wonderful friends and neighbors the Prince's , who even tell us to go out so that they can have our kids over.
Sean is doing great, working hard at his job at P&G and doing very well. He is really enjoying his career. He does an amazing job at balancing work and family, in addition to his time consuming early morning seminary calling. He continues to loves sports, playing and watching, and teaching a love for them to our boys. He's an amazing husband and father.
I think that I've finally found my stride as a mother of four! The last several months have been really, really crazy for me. I was finishing up an independent study class, house training a puppy, getting ready for Christmas and Josh's baptism, on top of taking care of a house full of four energetic kids. I remember on one weekend when Sean had business trip, (which luckily don't happen very often) and I got the worst stomach flu I've ever had. I won't go into details, but I got so dehydrated it flattened me. I think I lost ten pounds. Anyway, I called Sean at work the day before he left, and told him that I didn't think that I was going to be able to handle it all, so we took Izzy to be boarded for the weekend. It's amazing how much easier four kids seem when you take away the dog. Anyway, we survived, and the dog is still here. I think I'm even starting to like her. Now that all the big stuff is over I have some time again! Not a lot, mind you, but enough to start doing some fun projects again, some that have been on my list for a long time.
Josh has really grown and matured this year. We've been amazed as we've watched him prepare for his baptism, and how much more confident he's become. I remember a FHE a couple of months ago- we were going through the missionary discussions as a family, and Sean was teaching the Plan of Salvation. He taught it and then asked the boys to teach it again (a great teaching technique of Sean's). Josh recited it almost word for word! He drew it on the white board and everything. It's been fun watching him play basketball this winter too. I think he's really found a sport he loves. Soccer just wasn't his thing. It helps that he's the tallest on his team too.
Nathan is loving Kindergarten and has gained more confidence too this past year. He's always been our shy one, but I was amazed when he came hom one day during the first few weeks of school and he could test his own blood sugar! The school nurse had taught him (bless that woman!) and he was so proud of himself. I hadn't even tried to teach him, thinking that it required too many fine motor skills for his age. (And I didn't want to waste a bunch of expensive test strips.) I thought maybe in a year or so he'd be ready, but no, she got him to do it. He loves reading, and recess is his favorite thing at school. I'm amazed at his patience level. He rarely gets frustrated with school stuff like when I’m reading books with him and he’s sounding out the words, and loves doing his homework, well, except when he'd rather be playing outside.
Isaac. Where do I start? This kid is the one that brings us so many feelings of joy and frustation in one day that I feel like I'm on bit of a roller coaster. He is so independent that it's almost unbelievable. He's so smart, helpful and capable, and yet he almost refuses to do anything that Sean or I tell him to do. He knows almost the entire alphabet already, though I'm not sure that I've taught him any of them, or if he's learned them all from Starfall. The key with him is that he needs to feel like he’s in charge. We've been having a lot of fun with Mommy school lately, and he also enjoys going to the preschool classes the township does a couple times a month.
Hannah is definitely in her angel stage. She’s taking her time learning how to crawl, but her talking has taken off. She can make so many different sounds! She loves her toys, and being number four she has tons! She loves to play with and be entertained by her brothers, and has recently started clapping. She is a pure joy to have around.
Izzy has pretty much settled in. She’s a great sized dog, small enough that she can’t do too much damage and she hardly sheds, unlike Teancum did, but she’s much more high strung than he was. She’s scared of a lot of things, like bike helmets, or other unusual objects that occasionally find their way into our house. She’s great with the kids. She’s so patient with them, especially Hannah, who will grab her ear, fur, collar or anything else if she gets too close. Izzy doesn’t even care. A couple of times we’ve caught Izzy dropping her ball right next to Hannah, as though she wants to play fetch with her. Hannah thinks it’s another toy of course.
2011 was a great year for us, and we’re looking forward to 2012 being another wonderful one!
