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CATCH UP:

I've realized that I need to do a better job of blogging since this is basically my journal. Most of all, I want to remember the stages that my kids are going through and all of the funny things they say and do.

Reggie is now almost 7 months old. He is sitting up really well, enjoys eating baby food and graham crackers and those freeze dried yogurt bites, and basically has been acting like he doesn't want to be treated like a baby any more. He enjoys bouncing like crazy in his jumperoo and likes sitting in his bumbo chair too as long as he is near the action. He has started to notice when I leave the room, which makes it just a little bit harder to get things done. He loves his older brother and is happy to just sit and watch Grady be wild and crazy. Reggie has had a cold for like 2 months straight now--runny nose, cough, even a hoarse little voice for a while--which has made for some long nights and has spoiled him with being held way too much!

Grady is now 3 1/2 and thinks he's an adult. He has the craziest facial expressions and has some quick smart-alecky comebacks. Yes, he's a little naughty. But most of the time, he is a sweet boy and is very helpful with his younger brother. He is glad to be able to turn off the lights when I'm rocking Reggie to sleep or to grab the diapers/wipes for me. He especially loves to play pat-a-cake with Reggie and will always list off all of his favorite people when he gets to the throw it in the oven for "Reggie and Grady and mom and dad and jody and grandpa and grandma and Matt and Tanner...etc" part. He still LOVES trains and he loves to read books. He knows all of his letters and most of their sounds and can write many of them too, and he can spell and write his name. He likes to quiz me on the letter names by writing one on his magna doodle and then asking me what letter it is. Grady loves to talk and we often find ourselves getting to the point where we say "Grady, no more talking...or don't talk!" Bad parenting, probably, but he seriously doesn't stop sometimes and he doesn't have a quiet or whisper mode either. Grady just started Sunbeams which I had been really worried about (just thinking that there was no way that he could sit still for that long) but he has done surprisingly well (so far anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed). He especially loves singing time and has been a "stand out" singer since he started nursery (basically, he was the only child that sang at all and I know because I'm the part-time music leader). These are some of the funny things that he says or has said just recently...

--He calls potatoes, tomatoes. Like he'll say, "See that shop mom...that's where grandpa's brown tomatoes are."

--He has mostly gotten over calling "bridges" "fridges". Todd didn't want me to correct him on that because he thought it was cute but it drove the teacher in me crazy.

--Grady always wants to say the prayers and can come up with some crazy stuff...like the other night he prayed that we would be safe (sweet) and not get shot (I was like, what???). I swear we don't have a violent home.

--Grady had an ear infection and ran a fever a few weeks ago. So once when he was hot and uncomfortable I told him he could have some ice cream. Now he tries that on me almost nightly..."Mom, I'm hot...I think I need some ice cream." He actually kind of pronounces it as "hice cream".

--The other morning Grady found some candy and asked me if he could have it. I said "nope" and thought he'd whine or try to argue but he just paused and then said, "Look at my heart, mom...you broke it."

--Last night we were at my mom's house having dinner with the missionaries there. Grady didn't eat his food very well, but tried to help himself to some dessert anyway. I grabbed his arms to keep him from getting a cookie and he quickly turned to a piece of art on the wall with some words on it and said "You see this, mom! This says NO GRABBING me!"

Todd is liking work out at the prison. Things are usually pretty low key since most of the inmates are asleep while he's there. His favorite night so far was probably New Year's when an inmate decided ring in the New Year by pulling the fire alarm down at camp (minimum security area) where Todd was stationed that night. Todd and his partner forced all of the inmates to evacuate and then made them stay outside in the 7 degree (I think like -4 degrees with wind chill) cold for an hour.

School is going well for me...I just can't believe how fast the year is flying by. I really enjoy teaching and have been really impressed by some students' improvements this year. There are some challenging students in my class as always (although, I think one of my students this year trumps all) but there are some really, really good kids too who make it all worth it!