Joshua James

My quiet little boy Joshua is turning into a talker.  I love it!  He is communicating, with WORDS!  I love how words can help eliminated a ton of frustration when dealing with a toddler and I am sure it eliminates a lot of frustration for him as well.

Josh has really developed a fascination for big trucks (diggers, dump trucks, semi-trucks, etc) and tractors (this includes 4-wheelers).  He loves tractors with trailers and tractors that haul things.  He even picked out a sticker package (for potty training) that had just one tractor on it, just because he enjoys tractors so much.   He didn't mind that it didn't have lots of tractors, he was just happy that it had one tractor on it.  One is always enough for him.

He is still content to play with one thing for a long period of time (or until his sister or brother come along and swipe it).  He loves Elmo, not just any Elmo (yes we have two in this household), it has to be the smaller one without the plastic eyes.  Ha.  Oh and don't forget about the gray kitty.  Those three (Josh, Elmo and Kitty) have spent countless hours these past few weeks playing pretend.

Regarding Joshua's tummy issues, we finally saw some breakthrough.  We eliminated milk from his diet and he is doing so much better.  It took about 2 weeks to notice a change.  We also noticed a few other things, like too much juice ( as in 6 oz of juice more than once a week) is not a good thing for him.  He just can't seem to handle it.   We also have noticed that he is a a little sensitive to dye in foods, especially yellow 5 and red 50.  Nevertheless, we are super excited about the improvement in his eating habits.  This last week he has been out eating Saray (minus the fact that she has a small appetite due to the cold she has), but still, he is eating way more than he used to - Praise God!  Now I just pray that his weight would start to increase. 

I love this gentle boy.  He lights up my world.

Saray Anne

Saray, my little sports fan.  Where did that come from?  Sports fan?!  Neither Jer or I are really into sports, I mean we like them, but we don't go goo-goo-ga-ga over them like Saray does.  Before having kids, Jer and I would go to a sporting event maybe once a year.  But now that we have a sports fan on our hands we have gone to more sporting events this past year then we have in our 6.5 years of marriage!  Ha!  Is this the start of something big in our lives?  I have a feeling that Saray will play in some sport, which one she will pick?  I think if she could she would play football.  But since football doesn't super young, I think soccer would be her second choice.

The other day I asked Saray if she would like a football for her birthday, and her response was oozing with exciting.  She shouted "axsolutely! I can't wait to get a football for my birthday!"  Oh dear...what a girl.   I love it though.  She continues to surprise us.  

Saray is finally starting to get over twirling & pulling out her hair (hopefully it lasts).  She will even let me brush her hair and put a barrette in her hair.   This is HUGE!  I never thought I'd see her content to wear a barrette.  But, once again, she has proven me wrong.  She even let me trim her hair without crying and even sat semi-still! Amazing!  Oh and she likes having her nails painted blue.  She always informs that her nails are melting, which means I better paint them again, and it has to be blue.

I love this sweet girl.  She lights up my world.

Grayson Carl

Hard to believe that Grayson will be a year old in just a few weeks.  I can't believe how fast this past year has gone by. He is turning into a toddler a little more each day.  He knows what he likes to eat and what he doesn't like to eat, and if you put something on his tray that he doesn't care for, he'll just toss it overboard.
 He also loves being in the center of it all, I mean literally.  If we are reading a book, he has to be right in the center.  If the twins have made their way to standing in front of the TV, he has to be right in the middle of them dancing along to the music until his twin siblings knock him out of the way (poor kid.)

He is still my little cuddle buddy.  He will sometimes just rest and relax in my arms and just watch the world happen around him.  He loves hugs and loves a good cuddle, you can just tell.   He loves to smile and loves being near me.  :)  He is a mommy's boy that is for sure.  Although, he absolutely adores his Daddy too.  I love this little kiddo.  He lights up my world.

 Grayson, how can you almost be One?!  You're growing up too fast.  Love ya Scooter.

Grayson - 10.5 months old - April 2011

Soccer Field

How in the world can a soccer field & a few balls make an evening special?  By spending it with your kids and spouse.   

We finally decided to take the kids over to the soccer field that is just a short walking distant from our house.  The kids LOVED it!  Especially Saray, she would run and kick that ball all the way into the "met" (net).  Her hand and foot coordination amazed me.  She is my little sports fan (any sport with a ball she loves.)  Grayson and Josh enjoyed themselves too.  Grayson chased his red ball around in the poking grass (no complains were made by him about the grass, amazingly) or pushed the stroller around by holding on the basket near the ground.  Josh mostly held onto his blue soccer ball and stared at the big truck that was being cleaned just beyond the fence.   Occasionally, he would put his blue ball down and kick it around.  

Isn't it funny how kids can be so very different even though they are siblings (or twins)?  Even though I know that each one of my kids is an individual and unique, I am still always amazed at how different they really are.  And I love their differences; I love that Saray has shocked us by being a sports fan.  And I love that Josh would rather play with tractors and trucks than kick a ball around.  And I love that Grayson doesn't mind the poking brown Spring grass that he has to crawl around on to get to center of the fun.  Watching them become more aware of themselves is so enjoyable.  I love exploring the world with my kids...please don't let me forget to enjoy these days...

Grayson loved chasing after his ball and his siblings

Joshua mostly just watched, but still had a great time

Grayson having a blast

Saray setting her ball in place so she can kick it into the 'met' (net)

Grayson & Daddy

Mommy and the Twinkies

Hugs on demand...Love it.

House Hunting Part 3

Shortly before my last blog, we had decided to back out of signing a contract on the house that is located on Cascade.   But after we decided to back out of the deal, we began to wonder if we had possibly made a slight mistake.  In fact, I felt more uneasy about backing out of the deal then I did about going forward with purchasing the house.

  Some of the houses we did look at in our price range were nearly 30 + yrs old and needed some TLC.  One house the realtor told us about was exactly the same in size, smaller lot, 30 yrs older, and more expensive.  In the end it just didn't make sense.

We did toss around the idea of building; the Realtor had mentioned (before we backed out of signing the contract for the house on Cascade) that we could build a house for $148,900.    But after talking to the Realtor again (this time after backing out of signing the contract the first time), we realized that wasn't an option really, especially since the builders that built and sold a house just last month for $148,900 were not going to be selling that same exact floor plan for that price anymore, in fact it was going to be $10,000 more, plus you add the fact that all the lots are now more expensive, it would have been closer to $15,000 to $20,000 in the end.  We would have been in over our heads if we did that.    

Oh, and just in case anyone is wondering, you can't get a NEW constructed houses for $10,000 to $15,000 LESS than the asking price, unless of course, the house is on the market for quite some time and the builder/owner just wants to get rid of it, then MAYBE, just maybe.  Generally, they will only go down $1,000 or $2,000 dollars off the asking price.  Just so you know. 

After much prayer and discussing, we came to the conclusion that the house on Cascade in the Reserve was by far the best deal for us, and it had a lot more pros than cons about it.  We feel like the Broker was shooting straight with us, especially after talking with the realtor and finding out that there really wasn't anything better on the market.

So, after all that up and down stuff, we changed our minds again.  We decided to go with the house on Cascade after all.  Thankfully, it was still available.  We signed the contract the other night.  Phew.  Jer and I BOTH feel peace about this pursuit.   And that is what is important.  Period.

Sure it isn't our exact DREAM house, but honestly, who really lives in their dream house, especially their first home they buy?   Okay, maybe some Movie Stars do that, but that really does not count.    We are far from being famous...

So now you know the latest news.

House Hunting Thoughts

Come back soon to read the latest news.

All I can say is that we both have peace about the direction we are taking.  Sometimes, weighing the option of others is important, and even more important, is deciding if their option is worth taking or leaving at the table.  Find your peace, and don't be swayed by the option of others, unless if they have 100% physical proof that their option is worth following, but still decide for YOURSELF.  Confusion is not from our God, but a sound mind is. 


And for those of you who read the House Hunting Part 3, you beat me to the delete.  ;)  It's still on here and still valid, if you know what I mean.