Fading August

As August draws to a close I keep thinking of all the little things that have happened this month that I need to document for my memory's sake. Let's see if I can remember everything, and please don't feel obligated to read it all.

Preschool is going really well. The first day I didn't think Natalie was going to survive because she was driving me crazy getting into everything and distracting the kids with her antics. But she has completely settled down and now seems to be another student. She knows all their names and gets excited when they come. She has taken up the hobby of cutting....oh boy. She just wanders in and out of the room, colors a bit, watches PBS kids, listens to storytime, sings songs with us, etc. Oh, and snacktime is her favorite of course.

Natalie's new thing is to say, "Okay Mom", "Why, Mom?" and 'Hi Mom" And keep in mind that she draws out the words into several syllables. It's quite funny. She also does a great impression of Cyrena's exasperated sigh when she's frustrated. Time out works wonders with her but luckily we don't have to do it too often. She loves to sing songs and recite/read books--you would think you're breaking her heart when you tell her that we've read enough books and it's time for bed. She has super funny expressions which always make us laugh and she's usually willing to give a big hug and kiss when we request it, or when she wants to delay bedtime. She's a tasty little one. Good thing because she is a MENACE around the house, getting into EVERYTHING. This is new territory for me since Cyrena was not like that at all.

Cyrena is so lucky to have good friends in the preschool, all late birthdays like her. She is miss social and wants to have a playdate EVERYday. I have to limit her to just a couple times a week. She's still enjoying reading and math. Her favorite book to read right now is 'Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr. Seuss. She's at the point where she can read most words except for super tricky ones with silent letters or of course words that are quite big. She has memorized a lot of sight words (ie. come, like, here, etc.) just by exposure so that is great and makes for smoother reading. She is so happy when she can read a big book!


Cyrena is our 'straight arrow' and is pretty obedient the majority of the time. She continues to love church and her scriptures. Her anxiety has gotten SO much better, she rarely has a problem and is a lot easier to calm down than she used to be. Thank goodness. She is growing up a LOT.

She went with me to vote last week and has been playing 'voting' ever since. She has a tablet and makes me sign my name and everything. It's all very official.

Earlier this month, I turned the big 3-0! It was a fun birthday thanks to many of my good friends and family. Cyrena was so excited, you would have thought it was her birthday. We were out of town during my birthday but when we got home my amazingly talented friend brought me a beautiful birthday cake!!!
If you need a cake for ANY occasion check her out (sweet b cakes), she's fabulous! Thanks so much Becca!

David has been busy at work which is such a good thing. He survives on less than 8 hours of sleep which is a big deal for him--he didn't think he'd ever be able to do that! He gets a good weekend nap so that helps a bit. He usually leaves for work around 5:30 a.m. and gets home between 6:30 and 7. So that leaves us about 45 minutes to an hour as a family, which is made up of dinner, cleaning up, baths, scriptures, and bedtime routines. Then he goes to bed by 9:30.

So for that reason we are trying to move to the East Valley (Mesa/Gilbert) so we can cut his 90 minute commute down to around 20 minutes. Our house is currently under contract and we're just waiting and waiting and waiting for bank approval to move forward with a close date. We don't want to leave our house and ward but know it's important to be together as a family, especially with another baby girl coming in a few short months.

I'm 21 weeks along now and still feeling great. I am very lucky to be healthy. The baby is getting more active but David still hasn't been able to feel her...soon hopefully.

So here's to an unpredictable Fall which should be full of fun, birthdays, stress, and adventure!