Swimming in February

Yes it is true... where else in the country can you go swimming in February other than Yuma. Now the pool was heated, so that helped. It was a beautiful day and the kids just can't get enough of the water. Alexis would stay all day if she could. I'm sure if Timothy wasn't so cold he would have played until he became a prune too. Poor little guy just gets so cold so fast. He loves to splash the water and see the waves of water.

Before we left for the pool Alexis found a kickboard and she was using it like a boogie board... on the carpet. She is such a funny kid. I've included a few pics. I wanted to get pictures at the pool too, but I thought it was more important to actually watch the kids next to and in the water instead of fussing with a camera. Sorry... but... you know...

I'm also including a few pictures of Timothy from this morning. His personality is really coming alive. He loves to climb on Alexis' bed and collapse into the blankets and snuggle on the pillow. Then he pretends to hide and reappear. I just can't get enough of these two bundles of joy. Another fun day in paradise...

David and I also went on a date tonight! A shock... I know. We went to an actual sit down restaurant for the first time in over a year. It was nice to have some time to just sit and talk and not worry about who was watching which kid. We had a nice time. I forget sometimes what it is like to go on a date. I even did my hair and makeup. I haven't done that in what seems like a year either. Sometimes the little things like showers and makeup help me to feel human. Today was a good day all around. I love family time... and I love my super, duper, wonderful husband too.

Six weeks left...

Today was the first day of David's LAST rotation! I must say that four years ago it seemed like this time would never come. So much has happened in the last four years. I know that some days it seemed we'd never finish school, but other days it seemed we couldn't slow down time enough.

Last Thursday David attended a job recruitment day in Tucson. We had hoped to get some answers for job opportunities and I must say that after David returned I was a bit frustrated. What was supposed to be "first interviews" was nothing more than, "here's my card..." David even had appointments. He did get some answers though. TMC is on a hiring freeze and has no openings... Other companies that he had interviews with also had no open positions. We were both pretty irritated. We are finding that many graduating pharmacists are planning on staying in the Tucson area and that the jobs are not as plentiful as applicants. We were not planning on staying long, but now this has affected our job search process.

In other news, Timothy got a haircut that fits him. His hair was starting to cover his ears and so I decided he needed a buzz. David did a great job, but Timothy did not enjoy the haircut. At first he laughed at the buzzing, but that quickly changed to howling. Hopefully we will not have to do that for awhile. His hair is so blonde that he looks bald in some light. I like the cut though, so I guess that is what really matters...right?

Timothy has also figured out how to escape the house. When the back door closes it doesn't latch unless you pull on it. Timothy knows that if it isn't latched that he can pull it open and get out. He moves so fast that he can get across the room and out to the garage in under a minute. As you can imagine... my job just got more fun.

Alexis also attended her first Primary Activity Day. She was the only Sunbeam in attendance but she had a good time. David stayed with her and it was almost like a Daddy Daughter Date. She came home with an armful of goodies and a few good stories. Of course she has the drama of being run over by a bigger kid, but she is such a drama queen. They had a tug of war contest and Alexis was horrified that the kids were not sharing. She did not understand that it was just a game.

Valentine's Day was also a hit. Alexis was so excited to share her cards and candy with everyone. The entire week prior she kept asking if today was Valentines Day. She kept coloring more and more cards and started planning a party. I think when she gets older she is going to be a professional party planner. We didn't do much, but David got me a live plant and I got him a belt. Super romantic, I know. Someday maybe we'll go out to a fancy place for dinner or something.

Below are a few more pictures from recent days. On Friday we went to the park. We took some sand toys because Timothy loves the sand. Before we knew it, half the kids were playing in the sand too. Only problem is that they took all the toys we brought. Alexis was devastated that they didn't ask, and that they were not sharing. We did get the toys back, and Timothy did get a few minutes of play time with the toys.

The next picture is of Timothy pulling every towel out of the drawer. He loves having free range of the kitchen. Pots and pans also litter the floor on many occasion. He loves to tear things apart. Very much a little boy.

And the last picture is poor cranky Alexis asleep... 5 minutes before we have to leave for church. Church is at 1pm here... which is right at nap time. She was so tired and couldn't handle it any longer. I think she looks like such a little angel in this picture. Well... that is it for now...

PICTURES!

I finally received access to the laptop and am able to post some pictures. Below are some fun pictures from some recent doings. Nothing earth shattering, but this is how we've been spending our time recently.
This first set of pictures is Alexis helping Grandma in the garden. The blue bucket is the "wormie garden". As Grandma was digging up some dirt, she'd find worms and hand them off to Alexis to add to the worm pail. Alexis won't touch the worms but she loves to see them. She also loves to be a helper. She feels so big and important transporting the precious worms. So cute...

This next set of pictures was taken during our front yard party. Alexis decided we should prepare for a party. There was no company coming over and we were just enjoying the weather, but she thinks every day should have a party. She was enjoying some vanilla wafers. Timothy likes the wafers too. He also took up some driving lessons. He just sat in the car and played with the wheel. He is still too small to make the car move, but likes being outside playing.

This next picture is Timothy getting his first exposure to video games. He loves to play with the controllers... but then again, he loves anything with buttons. Thank goodness he loves being outdoors so much, or else I'd be worried about a little couch potato.

These next pictures are of Timothy's first time by himself down the slide. As you can see he is super excited and loves it. He even climbed up all the stairs to get to the slide. He is a bundle of energy and quite a spit fire. Did I mention he loves to be outside? This is also the same park trip that David busted open Alexis' lip. They have some funky "kid safe swing" and when David gave Alexis a good push her lip hit the "safety bar" and split open. I would have gotten pictures of that to except my camera ran out of batteries. Typical.

These are only a few pictures... But I'll try and post a few more. These kids grow up way to fast. Gotta love em'!

Whatever!

Blogging has been more difficult lately because David has been taking the computer to work with him and access to a computer has been little to none. So tons has happened and gone on since my last post. Where to begin?
We have had lots of firsts around here. Alexis got her first splinter. It was a big one in comparison to her little fingers. All I could do was put a band aid over it to distract her and hope she forgot about it. She wouldn't let anyone near her finger and David insisted that it be removed. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a screaming and kicking kid. David suggested we put "magic lotion" on her splinter to make it feel better. Alexis thinks lotion fixes everything. The magic lotion was teething creme that numbs the gums for teething kids. David said it would numb her finger too.... and it did! David distracted her with candy in one hand while he yanked the splinter on the other hand. Not one tear was shed and no one got kicked! A mini miracle!
Alexis has also mastered the tricycle. She rides that bike like a mad woman. It takes her 10 minutes to get across the driveway, but she is pedaling like crazy. I guess it is just small wheels and a small bike. She loves to go outside and play with all the big neighbor kids. It makes her feel all grown up. There is, however, a drawback to this. She mimics everything they do. Her new favorite phrase is, "Whatever!" and it drives me CRAZY! She uses it with all the attitude she can find. Am I already having to deal with a teenager here? Then last night she came over to me and said, "I hate you!" and I was caught way off guard and honestly I was super hurt. How is it that my innocent little girl could use such hurtful words? And where did she learn them? We had to sit down and have a nice talk about how such words make people very sad... and we don't say things like that. I'm not sure she understood exactly what she was saying, but I think I'm hoping more than anything that she didn't know. It breaks my heart to think she actually may have meant it. Good times ahead... I can't wait for teenagers...
Timothy can't talk much yet. I am grateful for that some days. He has been super sick though and if he could just tell me what hurts, it might be helpful. We all got this super nasty cold and the kids have been coughing like crazy. I had almost no sleep for an entire week because of staying up with sick kids. Sleep deprivation is surely torture. I feel like we've been sick the entire time we've been in Yuma. Hopefully we are in the recovery stage of the cold now. At least the kids are sleeping a little better.
Out little man is growing up so fast. His personality is a funny one. When he laughs he throws his head back and every time I see it I crack up. He is definitely more hyper than Alexis was and gets into EVERYTHING! There are no cupboard locks at my parents house, so all the pots, pans, and dish cloths are fair game. He pulls everything out and just laughs. He also thinks it is funny that I can't put things away as fast as he pulls them out. I guess that makes him a typical kid.
The sandbox is also a new favorite for Timothy. I was worried that all the sand was going to go strait into his mouth, but it didn't. He just loves picking it up and letting it run out his fingers. He was happy just sitting in the sand for over an hour yesterday. Simple things make that boy happy.
He is also on the verge of walking. He stands on his own for several minutes at a time. As he goes from object to object he has begun to let go and see if he can get there on his own. We also got him a little push scooter for Christmas that is now his own little walker. He still gets frustrated though, because crawling is so much faster.
David is in week 5 of this rotation. This means that he will be finished with his rotations in 7 weeks! Time is just flying by. I keep trying to kindly put things in perspective for him in regards to how little time he has to finish LOTS of projects. He always puts things off until the last minute, and then gets crabby when he has to rush and feel lots of pressure. He also is starting the job hunting process. The hard part is that just getting his licence takes about a month. That means he will be graduated for over a month before he will actually be able to practice as a licenced pharmacist. Talk about annoying! Our budget continues to get more tight as I think of all these wonderful scenarios of having bills to pay with no income or student loans available. I guess I just have to have faith that it will all work out.
All is well here otherwise. If I could just keep these kids from getting sick again. Sleep is returning and we keep trudging forward. Thank goodness for good loving families and gentle reminders of what is truly important...