The Beginning

In an effort to keep family that lives far away informed about our family and goings-ons, I've decided to start a blog. This will help those that wish to be more involved with the kids to know what's going on in their lives. And it'll be fun for the kids to be able to contribute to the blog and share what they're learning and/or enjoying in life. I also think getting into the habit now of blogging family updates will be good if we ever do end up living overseas. I'll try to write at least once a week, and more often when something important happens of milestone type significance. This will also be a good journaling tool, as I am not very good at keeping journals (though I really need to get on the ball about that).

So here we are, as of today:

Robin is about two months old and growing fast. She has her two month baby wellness checkup tomorrow, which involves shots. Yay. I'll give her some infant ibuprofen before we go to make it a little more comfortable for her tomorrow. She's definitely starting to see more of the world around her. Her hand movements are more steady, she moves her head to follow mobiles, and she coos and smiles regularly. She is still a good eater, which is a relief to us after Rebekah and Rachel's troubles.

Rachel is approaching two fast and gets into everything nowadays. In fact, I'm often hard put on how to keep things out of her reach. She is definitely the type of child that being quiet means she's up to something. She's full of laughter and smiles, which just lights up my day. We're working on potty training, but it's slow going. She still views it more as a game and has yet to catch onto the idea of knowing she needs to go before she goes. But I'm hopeful she'll get it soon. We've put her in disposable trainers for now, and will switch to cloth trainers once she seems to have the basics down.

Rose is almost seven, in the first grade and still participating in ballet. She loves to dress-up, dance around the house, socialize and style her hair. For her, it's all about getting a laugh or hug and being the center of attention. Sometimes, she struggles with the amount of attention the little ones receive - but we are quick to reassure her and try to get one-on-one time with her on a regular basis.

Rebekah is a comfortable nine-year-old in the fourth grade and also in ballet this year - which really seems to help with her awkwardness that most preteens start experiencing at this age. She still enjoys art and learning about dinosaurs. In the past few months, she has also become a great help to me. She is usually willing to hold the baby or help with chores whenever I need an extra hand. She loves playing with her little sisters and 'showing them the ropes'.

Dad is working on his last semester for his Bachelors at BYU-I. He is concerned about his heavy course load and work schedule being too much for him, so I am doing my best to keep the house organized and take care of everything else so he can just eat and sleep when at home. The next three months will be hard for both of us, but well worth it once we achieve our goal.