The Family Update

Chris is at Buffalo Wild Wings watching the NFL draft with the Elders Quorum, so I figured it was a good time to post. Whenever you don't post for a really long time, it seems like it should take something important to actually do it, but I will disappoint you now & tell you I have no news to that effect - still, feel free to read on....

Chris: Still enjoying his new position at work, and taking day trips to places like Springfield & Branson, MO (I don't have the driving stamina for this, but he manages). Working in the public sector (selling office supply contracts to schools & gov't accounts vs. businesses) is always a little different, but he's done it a lot now, so he has a good feel for it. He is also always such a big help with the kids, and even with dinner, that I feel pretty lucky to have him most of the time.

Cami: Recently has become obsessed with the Disney Princesses. First it was Ariel, and then they all kind of joined in. She now visits the elaborate Disney princess web site whenever we will let her, and shouts out each of their names excitedly as we visit their respective kingdoms.. oh boy! We've garage saled/craigslisted some My Little Ponies and sets of little dolls, so she now has some girly toys to play with, in addition to her mass of educational toys (she was so into all the educational stuff, that it dawned on me a few weeks ago that we really didn't have to much just "fun" stuff - it's nice to be able to get some so cheaply, though I realize that this kind of stuff also just tends to amass itself over the years).

Also, if anyone has any tips on how to get a two year old to not think that laying down & kicking at you (or doing it during diaper changes) is funny, please let me know :).

Josh: Growing, growing, growing... his nine month onsies are none too loose at this point, at least not in the length. I am actually really need to get some longer sleepsacs for him too, as he only has a couple that don't really hug his little feet. His four month appointment is coming up, and I'm excited to see his stats to confirm that Chris's nickname "Gigantor" really is legit.

He also learned how to roll from back to front a few days ago, and now won't stay on his back for more than a minute or two at a time. This wouldn't be a problem, except for that he would just lay underneath baby gyms for literally an hour at a time before, swatting his toys and smiling happily... and now he grunts and pushes and gets all grumpy because he can't crawl away! At least that is what it looks like he is trying to do, but either way, his disposition has been unusually poor this week. (This may also have a little bit to do with the fact that he hasn't really pooped since Saturday - poor little guy! I have read this is normal, but I'm still not so sure. I called the doctor's office today, but was out when the nurse got back to me, so I think I'll try again tomorrow.)

As for me, I'm just up to the usual child care/housekeeping/graphic design on the side type of stuff. I am planning to take a Web Designer course at JCCC this summer, to learn how to fully produce web sites vs. just designing the layout, and am excited for that. I got a new laptop for this which is great, and have ordered the CS5 Adobe Suite which is coming out next month. Hopefully I will be able to pick it up pretty well, and we'll see where it takes us. At the very least it should help me do work more quickly and easier at my current job, which I'm very grateful for.

As a family, we are also doing some Spring cleaning! We cleaned out the garage a couple of weeks ago, and organized it for the very first time (yes, after 2+ years in this house). Saying that it needed to be done doesn't begin to describe it, and the joy I feel when parking in it, again for the first time, also knows no bounds. We're trying to update some of our photos too, so I made a couple of poster-like collages of the kids for our front office room frames, which are pasted below. Other than that, we just really need to get going on our garden, which has been completely emptied out due to it's former use as a litter box :(. Yes, our cat Peaches has gone to live with my parents for the time being, which is why we can actually use our garage & make our garden again...victory! You never realize what a pet person you are not until you have children. (Nothing against other people's pets - we all just have different abilities when it comes to how much we can handle.) Well, I realize for having no news, this post has gotten really long! Happy Spring!