Since the last time I posted was October, there is a lot to catch up on! We'll see how much I can cover...
Halloween: Kaleb was an alligator and Aliyah was a ladybug. We started the night with the annual trunk or treat for Sugar 6th ward, and then went to Grandma and Ron's for chili and homemade rootbeer. Kaleb was sick of his costume by then, so he didn't do any actual trick-or-treating but we didn't mind that too much :)
Thanksgiving: We spent Thanksgiving with the Parkinson's this year. It was a few days full of delicious food, very little sleep, and lots of fun :)
Christmas: In some ways we feel like we didn't really get a Christmas. It was a very emotion-filled week, and we had very sick kids throughout the holidays, but there was a lot of fun and sweet memory making in the mix as well. Since Christmas was with the Schleg's this year we had a little party with the Parkinson's a couple days before. On the 23rd Carly, my Mom and I got to head to Idaho Falls for a quick shopping trip since Carly had just found out she'll be having a little BOY in June! We are very excited to meet this sweet little Paxon :) That day was followed by lots of play time and our gift exchange. The highlight of the night was probably when all the men in the family (and Sarah and Emi) opened their ukuleles!
For Christmas Eve with the Schleg's, we had a wonderful dinner complete with sparkling cider and ate by candlelight in the new room. Afterwards, everyone took part in a beautiful nativity program. We got started a little late though, so by the end we had lost most of our shepherds and animals and Ron became the angel. Following the program, we took Kaleb and Aliyah upstairs to open their Christmas Eve presents. They opened their jammies from Grammy, and their blanket and stuffed animal from us.
Christmas morning finally came and the kids had a few minutes to see what Santa brought before it was time to throw ourselves together and dash to church. Through the rest of the day we really had a blast, just relaxing and enjoying each other. The kids had so much time to play with their new toys and have fun cousin time. We finished the night with our Schleg family gift exchange. By the end of that, Kaleb was throwing up and had almost constant diarrhea. He had been really sick 2 days before and hadn't felt great since, but for some reason it really hit hard again that night. After about and hour of that, we decided to head home. After a couple of hours at home, Kaleb was so completely miserable and we were wondering if we should take him to the hospital. He had hardly eaten a thing throughout the day and the day before, yet he continued to have diarrhea so we were worried about him getting dehydrated. We decided to run to Grammy's house so that he could soak in a warm bath for a while (his little bottom was so raw and we only have showers). On the way out Kaleb fell asleep, so we went back home and he slept through the night! Aliyah did as well, and it was such a blessing for all of us. Unfortunately by Tuesday the nasty sickness had set in really bad for Aliyah, so we had the same ordeal with her for about 3 days. It felt like such a nightmare of a week, but we survived!
It's funny, because here I am writing this post on a Sunday afternoon, home for the day with 2 sick kiddos. Luckily this time it is just runny noses and coughs. Although wiping noses can get old, I would take that over throw up and diarrhea any day!
So a quick recap of January: This is in some ways a crazy semester, and in some ways a more relaxed one. This is Jonny's last semester of classes, so he doesn't really feel much pressure to get A's. He has all of his applications in, and now we are just waiting to hear back from the schools. So far we have an acceptance letter from Concordia with a $5000 scholarship offer, and an acceptance letter from Willamette with an $8000 scholarship offer. Jonny is also on the wait list at Washington and Lee, and Lewis and Clark. We are anxious to go through the decision process and start making plans so that we can get a clearer picture of what the next 3 years will look like, but our only choice is to be patient!
Jonny's class schedule doesn't allow him to be home as much during my office time, which makes for a very stressed momma on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! It is simply too much to try to keep both kids happy and maintain a professional office. So...I am turning in my two weeks notice tomorrow. Our plan is to move in with Jonny's family for a few months to get us through this last phase of schooling. Jonny will start an internship in April, and then probably sometime in August we will be heading off on a new adventure!
So, I know this post is becoming quite the novel. If I would just get better at updating things more often, it wouldn't have to be so long! To finish things off, I just want to write a blip on each of the kids. These are going to be those proud mom, possibly annoying to others, types of details but I want to remember this fun time with them and my observations...so there is your warning.
Kaleb: I absolutely love the stage Kaleb is in right now. He always has a lot to say (at least when he is around Jonny and I, he still gets pretty shy around other people), and I love the way he talks. He has started really emphasizing certain words, such as "and then, we were going to play cars." It is such a little thing, but it is so cute :) Kaleb loves cars and stuffed animals most right now. From October to December he was on a total cars kick, and although he still loves them, he isn't quite as obsessed. Every night and frequently throughout the day he has to gather all of his stuffed animals and he hugs them and says "Oh, I love these stuffed animals," and he throws them around and just has a lot of fun with them. He recently started having the boy ones give the girl ones kisses. We have been working for about a month on teaching Kaleb about the heroes from the Book of Mormon. He loves learning about them, and I think it is so awesome how quickly he is picking it all up. We have hero cards, and he can go through and name all 14 of them and tell details of why they are heroes. He is also doing such a great job at learning the alphabet and recognizing the letters. He is such a smart little kid, and it makes it so fun to teach him. He is also a very caring, sweet big brother. I am amazed at some of the little things he does to watch out for Aliyah. Although, I must say, there are some things we are working on. He has become pretty bossy and has a hard time sharing certain toys with his little sis.
Aliyah: Little miss Aliyah just hit the 10 month mark and I have to say I am really excited for the stage she is entering. Her little personality is coming out so much lately, and I love it! She loves to dance - her little legs instantly start bouncing whenever music comes on. She is also beginning to love baby dolls. When she sees one, she picks it up and gives it hugs over and over and pats it on the head. Her favorite toy is generally anything that Kaleb is playing with, which can be very frustrating for Kaleb! A few weeks ago she hit a point where she would no longer go to sleep for me. All of a sudden, our system just wouldn't work, but as soon as I would hand her to Jonny she would just melt in his arms. So, she prefers Jonny for nap time and bed time, but outside of that I'm the preferred parent. She cries as though her world is going to end as soon as I walk out of sight. It is fun to have her interacting more, and I know it will just keep getting more fun. Aliyah started crawling right around Christmas, and is now working toward walking. She cruises the furniture and is getting more confident as she moves around. She will be a very happy girl when she hits the one year mark and can eat most everything we are eating. Aliyah adores Kaleb, but doesn't have very much patience for all the affection he gives her. We call Aliyah our little lion because she has such wild hair and she is so feisty!
So there is my not so quick recap of the last 4 months. As we prepare to end this phase and begin a new one, I am nervous and stressed and so excited. It is going to be wonderful to just be mom, and not have to worry about 97 boys and just everything that comes with being a manager. We feel so blessed to have had the opportunities we've had here and we are so, so grateful to the Schleg's for providing us with a home for the summer!
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