What We've Been Up To...

We're halfway through January already and I've yet to post anything on my blog this month. Holy cow! Where is the time going? We're knee deep into our bathroom remodel, which I've yet to post about because I'm unwilling to upload the pictures to my computer. How lazy is that? Maybe tomorrow... Anyways, here's a little update on what we've been up to the last few weeks, in case you thought we disappeared.

Perry is still busy at work. He's on track to make his bonus this quarter. Kudos to him! Over Thanksgiving, we both agreed, after a looong debate, that he should apply at a center in Orem, Utah. We both had mixed feelings about it, but felt the move would be good for our family. I personally would rather stay put here, but that's a little out of the question in terms of Perry's career goals. Obviously my job travels with me... Thankfully, for now anyways, we're staying put. Although doable, Utah is a little too far from home for me. Ultimately we're holding out for Spokane.

Hunter is keeping busy playing Legos. He's getting really good at looking at the directions, rather, condrections, and building things that turn out remarkably close to what it should look like. He amazes me. In fact, I almost teared up the other day when I had to buy him a belt for his pants. Little kids don't wear belts. Big kids do. And I own a big kid now. This morning I nearly teared up again, but instead sat in shock with my mouth open, when he put on the belt without missing any loops. I thought for sure he'd miss the back one... Oh my goodness does he love his sister! He tries to play peek-a-boo with her. It is annoyingly obnoxious. I feel bad for her. It is nothing like peek-a-boo. It's Hunter getting an inch from her face saying "pig-a-bee" over and over as he tips his head side to side. I can't stand to watch it, but they're bonding so I'm helpless to stop it. Despite that he is an awesome big brother. He knows exactly what toys she likes and is so helpful with her. In fact, just yesterday she ran out of whole peas to feed herself so he retrieved a spoon from the drawer, hopped up to the chair next to her and started to feed her, without my prompting. And he put away the dirty bowl and spoon in the dishwasher when he was done!! "That's what daddy does..." (And not mom?)

JP. The funniest kid I know. Period. Yes Hunter says some funny stuff, but JP is just spouts out funny like it's no big deal. But you all know that because you read the "Monkey Shiner Babblings." His all time favorite color is green. He takes it to the extreme too. Every board game we play he's green and be prepared for a meltdown if he isn't. He likes the Hulk just because he's green, and that also goes for the "Inja" Turtles too. In fact whenever we go some where we look for green cars. Not hard. Wrong. "Ugh. I don't like the dark ones..." That makes it challenging. And even though he sits in the middle and has a great view of the front, and all sides, it's astonishing how many bright green cars he misses...M -"Green car! Hunter's side!" JP- "Where where?" M - "Oh you missed it" H - "Green car! Green grass! Green tree! Oh you missed it." JP - "Where are you seeing all this green stuff?!" He's a rockstar at school too! I had the pleasure of hanging out with him the other day. He loves all the songs they sing and is *very* proficient with scissors. He thrives on praise. We built a Lego house and he refused to take it down until his teacher told him it looked great. Although he's very shy, he commented to me after class that he was a little sad that Morgan didn't hold his hands when they sang because, "I like when she holds my hands." Ahhh!

My little baby is slowly growing up. And by slowly, I mean slowly. At her 6 month check up she weighed 11 lbs 1/2 oz. Hadn't even doubled her birth weight. She turned 8 months today and I'm guessing she's probably 12 1/2 lbs. She loves eating food, but because she's so little, I have to bring the strap on high chair from home whenever we eat out because she's too little for a standard restaurant high chair. And she's still on the small side for shopping carts too, so she still gets packed around in my front carrier. Charlotte is basically just a perfect baby. I hate to rub it in, but she is. Okay, this last week she has been a stinker and started waking up at midnight and then again at 6 am and not going back to sleep...She can sit on her own and loves doing so but is uninterested in crawling. She can hold herself in "crawling formation" but face plants after a while and then we're done trying. Within the last few weeks she has started to be more vocal. Still a very quite girl though. But I can make her giggle if the timing is right. It's unbelievably cute! Occasionally she'll say da-da and a few times I've heard ma-ma-ma thrown in there. Usually when the sounds come out she's on the verge of tears, otherwise she has a pretty loud squeal down when she's playing with her toys. She also LOVES actually playing peek-a-boo, the right way, not Hunter's version. She will grab her blanket and pull it over her face and smile when she pushes it back down. Over and over.

And then there is me. What have I been up to? I feel like nothing. But really I've been painting the bathroom (super hard with kids running around), cooking, and then cooking some more. And doing laundry, and breaking up fights, and nursing the baby back to sleep who just woke up because of said fight. Driving Hunter and JP back and forth to school every day. Despite the day to day chaos, being home with the kids get quite lonely, so if anyone wants a playdate or coffee date.....! I recently finished up our 2013 yearbook and am just waiting for a good sale to come around so I can order it. I've also started to work on my cake website. It's been about 5 years since I've used the software so I'm a little rusty. AND I have a wedding cake order for the end of the month so be on the lookout for that adventure!

Like clockwork...Charlotte's up again at midnight. She spoiled me with this sleeping through the night business...