Busy time of the year

Here are a few of the things that have taken place over the past week. Granny, Brian's dad's mother came to visit. We celebrated Valentines day and went house hunting on Saturday after doing Christmas with Granny. Ava celebrated her 3rd birthday. Jaxon turned 6 weeks on Monday, February 14. I had to go to my doctor's appt. to get approved to go back to work:o(. And then I started back Tuesday, Febrary 15. I am so glad we have the rest of this week and Monday off of work! Maybe I can catch up on some things around the house!



























We celebrated Christmas with Granny on Saturday up at Brian's parents house. Granny got to see Jaxon which she loved and was able to spend time with the other great grandkids as well. They loved opening presents from Granny! Then Brian and I went to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse and had a great time being by ourselves:o) We also drove around and looked at houses and were encouraged seeing several houses for sale that were in our price range.



Jaxon is smiling all the time! And the other night, he laughed in his sleep! He is 11.6 pounds. Yesterday he started staying awake all day! Crazy! He would take a couple 20 min. cat naps but was awake from 7 til 7 at night. Now the nice thing that came from that was that he slept til 5:15 that night! Today, he did the same thing. He woke up at 9:30 and didn't go to sleep til 6:30. When he's awake, he doesn't fuss or cry most of the time unless it's time to eat. It works for me, except for when I am trying to make dinner:o)



I went to see my doctor on Valentine's Day. Everything checked out well and I was able to go back to work yesterday. It was a great first day back and everyone made me feel welcome! It was a little bitter sweet. I missed being at home with the baby but we are blessed to have a wonderful babysitter and being able to take them to the office twice a week. I think next week will be tougher since it will be a 4 day week.

Today, I got three root canals done at the dentist. It was not as bad as expected but the pain after the numbness went away was almost unbearable! Thank goodness for pain medicine. I would be laid up in bed and the kids would be destroying the house if I couldn't get relief. I still have to have the crowns put on and then this 3 year ordeal will be over and hopefully I will just be going to my 6 month cleaning!

Lots of things happening. Hopefully some days to relax are in the future:o)

Growing Up

Jaxon is growing up. He was one month two days ago on Feb. 3. He is out of newborn diapers and just about out of his newborn clothes. Some fit and others do not and same with his 0-3 month clothes! I love it because it is as if he has all new clothes again!

We started a chart for the girls and they each have 3 things they work on. Every evening we put a penny on the chart for each task they complete. After they master them, we replace it with another task. On Sunday, the girls take the pennies off and divide them up for tithe, savings, and spending. The girls have just completed their first week of tasks that they are working on to master. Ella and Ava had the same tasks for the first week which were, staying in their seat at meal time, cleaning up their toys, and staying in bed at bedtime.

Ella mastered staying in her seat at meal time and did well at the other two but is still going to work on them for next week. I think we will replace the one with "Getting out and playing with one toy at a time". That one will definitely take some time!

Ava did really good at all three but we are still going to work on them for this coming week too!

It helps us all stay focused and consistent on a few things. Sometimes life is too busy to work on everything all the time. This week has been so much less stressful because we are working on a few things. Does this mean we forget about everything else? No, but we don't lose our temper as much and keep in mind those things that can be worked on in the following weeks. I have enjoyed my kids so much more and am making time to reward the kids for their good behavior. Today, Ava put her shoes in her closet without being asked. Yesterday, she put her toys away without being asked! I was so proud of her. Ella let me know she was finished eating before she got out of her seat at lunch and she also put her clothes in her hamper without being asked. I was amazed. Now, this may happen again or it could have just been a one time thing but I know that something is working!

Dentist Visits

Ella went to visit the dentist for the first time yesterday. We went into the waiting room and it was as if we were entering a jungle. It had a large tree with an opening at the bottom with toys the kids could play with. It had 2 big screen tv's and then a room where kids could play video games. The only bad part was the fact that I was there for an hour and a half! When Ella was called, she went back with the nurse all by herself. She was hesitant at first but she came out with a big smile and a bag full of goodies. And she had a good report which I was thankful for! The dentist came out and introduced himself and talked to us about her visit and then we were ready to go! I'm glad Ava came because I think she is now excited to go to the dentist! I also went but it wasn't nearly as fun. I think I would rather push out 10 babies than go to the dentist. To say the least, I will be making that visit a few more times:o(