Airplanes, Shoe Flies, & Other Bits of Wisdom...

Here's a few of my favorite photos from the past week or so. Unfortunately, Billy has been at Ft. McCoy, WI since last Sunday (a week ago today) and so I had to take all these photos, and really, I'm not the photographer of the family...but nonetheless...



Nathan, one of my brother's friends from childhood, and his wife and son came to visit John and Misty. While they were in town, they came to Columbia to visit the zoo and we tagged along. Toddlers make friends fast--these are two of my favorites of Alexa and Keegan that day.



Some of you may remember that when Alexa was a baby, my mother-in-law taught her to make a "scared" face on command. Now its in Korean, and sounds something like "Achua" (kinda makes you want to say "God Bless you!") but, over two years later, she still does the "scared" face! (I couldn't decide which of the two I liked better...)

Here's my little architect! I'm not sure if its during nap times or when I put her down for the night, but at some point, Alexa plays with her logos because every morning, they're in a different configuration...I thought this one was quite symmetrical! (and yes, those are Strawberry Shortcake figurines in the background...my old toys as a matter of fact)


Here's a recent photo of Brody! I can't believe he'll be two months old on Tuesday! Based on weighing him at home, I believe he's over 9 pounds now! We'll know an exact weight when he goes in for his well baby check.






And here's one of my two little munchkins together! I'll try to remember to take their picture in this chair from time to time so you can see how much they've grown.





Overall, I think we've done pretty well being as this has been the first week since Brody was born that it was just the kids and me (between my mom coming for a visit, then Billy not having a place to work for a few weeks, then his mom coming to visit...I know, I've been spoiled--so have the kids!) We've definately had some learning moments (such as #4 below), but I've discovered that with parenting, you're always in training!

So if you've ever spent much time around a two-going-on-three year-old, you know that they are quite the little thinkers and have a unique way of processing their surroundings. As such, here are a few of my favorite little sayings/bits of wisdom Alexa has imparted over the past few weeks:

1. When told Billy would have to fly to go to work and we would be taking him to get on an airplane: "Ok Daddy, don't fall off the airplane!" (Billy called to let us know he managed to hang on to that airplane and arrived safely at Ft. McCoy)

2. One thing I forgot about is that down south, we seem to have more flies than I remember seeing in Utah. We've had one sneak in the house from time to time, so we've taught Alexa the "Shoo Fly, don't bother me!" song. Yesterday, when a fly suddenly zoomed past us, Alexa stated: "Mommy look! A Shoe Fly!"

3. We've been working on teaching Alexa to pick up her toys when she's done playing. I was cleaning up the kitchen the other day and Alexa asked me what I was doing. I told her and she said, "You're cleaning up? Good job Mommy! Good job!" (Due to the fact that we are potty training as well, I also get these accolades for other activities...)

4. This is my personal favorite and will require a bit of explanation... Wednesday was a particularly busy day at work, so I spend more time than usual at my computer (since I work from home now). Also, Brody was having a rough day and so he spent a lot of time in my arms. At the end of the day, when Brody was asleep, I had some time to play with Alexa in her bedroom. When it was time for bed, I told her it was time to clean up. She looked at me with a "no-nonsense" look and replied, "I can't help you right now Mommy, I'm too busy." Oops. Guess she might have heard that one too many times that day...

Oh yeah, and I haven't forgotten about posting photos of the new vehicle (ok, I had until I re-read the last post!) so I'll try to include those in the NEXT post...

From Doubt to Delight...

So it's been a while since I updated the blog...the main reason being that for the last three weeks, every week, we've thought the next week would finally bring the long awaited orders. Despite the fact that this move and this opportunity really seemed like what we were supposed to do, we were beginning to doubt orders would ever really come and our 'leap of faith' was suddenly beginning to seem like a suicide jump.

However, as of yesterday, Billy is again employed. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for our family! I know that God always has a perfect timing for everything, but sometimes it's really hard to trust that timing!!

Anyway, here's the short version of the last few week's events:

Billy's mom arrived on June 27th, and as a result, we've all been spoiled! Brody and Alexa both have new wardrobes, and Billy and I have gotten to eat Korean food to our heart's content! It is amazing how much Korean Alexa remembers and after this visit from her Halmoni, she should be able to count to ten in Korean as well as sing a Korean kid's song! As you can see from the photos, Alexa also enjoys wearing her Halmoni's shoes!!




On July 7th, my brother was commissioned as a 2LT in the Marines! Haylee and my parents were all in town, so Alexa had a great time!



While Haylee was staying with my brother, they took a trip to Disney and Alexa got a Minnie Mouse costume as a souvenir! She LOVES the headband with the ears, and I can't wait until Halloween this year so she can wear the entire ensemble! I have to hide the dress right now or she'd want to wear it to church!




Brody will be 7 weeks old tomorrow! He is definately getting bigger (although I love how tiny he looks in that great big chair). His reflux seems to be getting better-his breathing at night is improving, so we're all starting to get a little more sleep.



Lastly, with two kids, my civic was no longer working as a family vehicle, so after much research, we sold my 1997 civic and bought a 2006 Toyota RAV4! It's 4WD and has a V6 so we're set when we return to Utah! The biggest selling factor for me was the fact that it has a third row seat which folds down flat if I need the back cargo room.

Photos will come soon of that too...and it won't take three weeks!