Robert's Wrap-Up: February

I can't believe February is over, but I can't wait for SPRING. I'm definitely feeling the bug for warm weather and outside play days.

Here are a few of my favorite February photos and activities.

Here is Sydney being a weirdo....Here is the same weird Syd from a different angle. Man, I love that silly girl.

This is how Daric spends his days lately. He loves to get into things and exploring his world. He is finally deciding that walking is an acceptable mode of transportation. Although, when speed is of the essence he still prefers to crawl.

Apparently, McKenna thinks she is lactating because here she is with my breast-pump trying to get some 'milkies'.

Here's Emma's b-day. This is the first time we lit the candles and sang to her. However, as you can see Todd is better prepared with a deep breathe than Emma is...which resulted in Todd blowing out all the candles.

This time is the 'do over'. Candles were re-lit and thanks to Sydney, Todd was not victorious the second time.

Oh, here's me officially turning OLD.

Toddy decided that he wanted to teach all of us a lesson....

He got out his scriptures, TV tray, and chair. He was basking in the attention of the whole family.

We learned some things about Jesus and tornadoes, the rest I'm not certain about.

I made Todd a tuna sandwich for lunch, but I forgot the pickles. He decided to help himself...he wanted to make sure he didn't miss a spot. I was afraid he wasn't ever going to stop....eventually he did and thoroughly enjoyed his pickle-I mean tuna sandwich.

This is my nephew Josh at his last High School B-ball game. It's not really his last, because tournaments begin next week. Josh had a great season and he are very proud of him. Good Luck at State, we'll be cheering for you!

This is our little Science Fair winner. Syd went to the District Science Fair again this year and received an honorable mention for her project. Way to go, Syd!

A few other happening that I didn't capture on film were...

Emma's patriotic program. She sang her little heart out and did a fabulous job on her speaking part. Yah, Emma!

Ken spent a few days out of town on business. He traveled to Cedar City, St. George, and Las Vegas. He was able to spend an evening in Cedar City with his brother's family which he really enjoyed.

Todd made huge progress in speech....He can now say his S's....which is HUGE! Sydney is no longer Nydney...he can now say everyone's name in the family correctly. This is big, big, big. I am loving watching him improve by leaps and bounds.

Well, okay I think that's it. Tah tah for now. :)

It's been 2 weeks!

I made it 2 weeks without blogging, or facebook. Like with any withdrawal the first three days were the worst. My computer was still calling my name...but I resisted. After a few days I had filled my time with other things that I hardly missed the computer. On Friday when I realized it had been 2 weeks I was shocked. Time flew by.

I have nothing profound to blog about. But I do have something I think is way cool. Last week was my birthday...I am old! But we won't go there! My brother, Bruce, decided to make me a table for my birthday. I am SOOOOOO excited.

Our family of 9 have been cramming around this little table. Sometimes I make everyone sit around the table with folding chairs. Sometimes some are at the table and some at the bar on bar stools. Either way it has been squishy to say the least.

Now I have this....

This table can fit 14 people comfortably. I am so thrilled. Last night at dinner I had to tell me kids to scoot closer they were so spread out, we still had half the table left empty. I can't wait to start having people over for dinner, now that they will have a place to sit.

Happy Birthday to ME! Thank you so much, Bruce. I love it!

My Love Affair...

Today my Love affair with my computer will end...

I have found it more difficult to adjust to Ken going back to work than I originally thought. I thought when he went back I would be so much more productive. I would be in charge of my own schedule, therefore I would accomplish so much more with my 'extra' time.

I have found that I was wrong. Having Ken home for almost 7 months gave me freedom and flexibility that no longer exist. I am finding that it is much harder to accomplish anything productive. I have to try and cram cleaning, homework, phone calls, and bathing in between a very short window of opportunity called nap time.

The rest of my time is spent taking care of the needs of three little ones at home, running kids back and forth to school, making meals, cleaning up after meals, chauffeuring kids to activities, and making sure no one kills each other in the process. You all know what I'm talking about...it's just regular mom stuff. Only I'm not used to doing by myself quite yet. I used to be very proficient at it, and I trust that I will be again soon.

But....

that is why I have to take a break from the computer.

Having Ken gone has left me feeling lonely and craving some social interaction. So I've turned to the computer to feel the void...blogging, looking at blogs, or wasting time on the mind numbing facebook. I find myself being drawn to the computer hoping that I find a new comment on my blog, a new email, or some new scoop on facebook...anything to link me to the outside world...not exactly a healthy way to spend the day. It usually just ends up making me feel more...blah.

I've decided to take a two week break from the computer so I can reprioritize and get back on track. I need to find a routine that is both satisfying and productive. A routine that includes all the things I HAVE to do and some of the things I WANT to do like...exercising, having more quality time with the kids, and reading.

So, so long for a few weeks. I'll be back a healthier more productive me!

Tomorrow Morning...

....when my little Emma wakes up she will be seven years old.

Happy Birthday, Em!

It is actually hard to believe she is 'only' seven. Seems like she has been at least seven for a few years now.

Emma, I hope you have a wonderful birthday! You are a very special girl. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. I know sometimes it get tough being stuck in between all of your siblings, but if anyone can do it you can! You are a trooper.

I love your smiling face. I love that you love to sing and hum. I love that you love reading and doing puzzles. I love that you try so hard to be good at school and at home. I love your imagination. I love that you love art. I love when you get excited about something and your face lights up. I love that you are mine.

Love, Mom

A,B,C's

Today I was looking back at some of the old posts I have done over the last year. I noticed that several posts had to do with Todd's speech, we have had some big milestones...like the first time he called someone an idiot and they actually understood him, and more recently when he said is name for the first time. It dawned on me today just how far Todd's speech has really come. Instead of people looking at us like....What did he just say? Now people outside of the family can usually understand him.

On occasion over the last few years I've taken home video of Todd saying his a,b,c's. This first video was taken in Feb. of 2008. Todd is not quite 3 1/2. You can see he has great difficulty pronouncing his sounds. Later that year in May Todd had surgery on his palate.

This second video (sorry you'll have to watch is sideways) was taken in March of 2009 more than a year later at age 4. You can see he still struggles, but has made huge progress.

This third video was taken in January of this year. He can now make almost all the alphabet sounds. He still struggles with a few, but he has come so far in just the last few months. Stay tuned after Todd's a,b,c's for bonus footage of a 2 year old tantrum.

Todd's speech delay has been a long hard journey for him as well as the rest of the family. We are so proud of his efforts and progress.