February!

Well, lots has been happening. Let's begin with the most exciting news...


Aric is beginning to crawl! A few weeks ago he started pushing up on his arms and legs, and Justin and I were amazed that he could balance himself. Each day he became a little more comfortable with maneuvering his body around, and now he can scoot himself over to toys! He is not cruising the house by any means yet, but I think in the next week or two he will be taking off! He's not even six months old! Small but mighty...that seems to be the pattern with our kids!






He is such a love. He is such a happy boy, and loves to be loved. He has about a ten minute attention span for each activity (swing, bouncer, etc.) and then he want to be picked up while I walk around the house to do things. He has NO stranger anxiety thus far, which is a huge change from Avery (and so much easier). He does know Mommy and Daddy though, and he loves to watch Sissy!! She totally entertains him! He also has a special place in his heart for MeMa (Grandma Miller), who gives him everything that he wants. It's funny to see him grab for everything I have (spoons, food, anything I pick up). It's a joy to have him in our family and watch his development...what an amazing little buddy.


Avery has been so great lately. She has had a lot to adjust to with the home renovations, and she has been so flexible. There are moments, of course, of craziness, but we are so in love with our little girl! Her conversations with us are amazing...we love talking with Avery. She enjoys gymnastics and her weekly play group, but we are all tiring of the snow! We are ready for the zoo, parks, swimming, etc. Here are some fun pictures of her!

Avery was supposed to be sleeping in Grandma and Grandpa's room. Two hours after her "nap" she came out to the family room and I asked her if she took a nap. "No, I've been teaching. I took some things off of Grandma's shelf and we're having lessons." When I walked in, she had all of the Willowtree figures set up...she said the students were in one line and the teacher was in the other.

Avery showed me all of the little figures that were students. Then she crawled over to the teacher and said, "Oh My Gosh, Mom! She doesn't have eyes!" It was so funny. I have it on video. I'll have to post it.

Tuesday I had Avery dressed to leave for the post office. I walked to the kitchen to get Brother's bottle and when I came back she was passed out asleep on the floor!

When I vacuum, I have to hold the vacuum in one hand and brother in the other arm. Avery likes to follow behind me with her "baby" and vacuum (excuse her hair and outfit...she is in the mode of dressing herself and doing her own hair)


Later, she put her "baby" to sleep after I put Aric down for a nap.

Justin is plugging away at the job hunt, but fortunately, has a good stable job right now to get us through this transition. There are still some funding issues with some companies in Colorado Springs, but everyone is hopeful that the contracts will come through! He is a hard worker, and though the current economy requires some frustrating patience, we know something will come through.

I found out that my school is going through cut backs for the first time in the history of our district. I took a year sabbatical, so my job is secure if I need to return full time, but I'm sad that some of my friends are losing theirs! What a rough time...the media represents that things are improving, yet so many people around us have been negatively impacted just within this past year! I feel lucky to have options...

The house is coming along! We hopefully will be moving in within the next week or two. I will definitely post pictures soon...we just have to do some cleaning first!