A Week of Ups and Downs

Last week was a bit of a rollercoaster for us. Here are a few highlights:

~I dropped Jacoby off at preschool on Tuesday and noticed that the class had done a project with sunflower seeds, a very dangerous food for Jacoby. I'll describe the whole incident more fully on my other blog but, suffice it to say, I haven't felt that kind of fear in a very long time and lost several nights of sleep thinking about all of the things that could have happened.

~Jacoby is starting to read--it's so cool.

~Morgan is three, and it's definitely not the age for me. He and I had more than one battle this week. Yesterday, he told me that we were mad at each other, which was true. I'm constantly having to re-think my strategy with him, or else he's going to spend the rest of the year in his room. Right now he's sitting on the potty singing "Oh, Susanna" at the top of his lungs...I think I'll keep him (but how many more months before he's four?).

~Our house is going to be sold sometime in the next few months. We knew this was coming but were hoping the owner would hold off another year so Justin could get done with school and we could figure out life post-PhD a bit before a move. I'm really going to miss this place.

~We have a couple of plans in mind for the upcoming move, both of which I'm really comfortable with. We'll have more details this week, I think.

~In light of the upcoming move, I'm moving my garage sale up to next weekend. All the stuff is priced and ready to go, and I'm looking forward to getting rid of it!

~I went to happy hour with moms from Morgan's preschool class on Friday. It was a great way to end a crazy week, and I really love soaking up time with other working moms who are busy like me.

~In thinking about some of the events from this past week, I've sort of realized that the definition of "crisis" has changed drastically for us since 2010 when all of the medical challenges arrived on our doorstep. Us having to move is a mere inconvenience, not a crisis. Home will always be where the 4 of us are together, the address doesn't really matter that much.

We hope the week ahead is uneventful for all of you!

Easter and Springtime Fun

We had a lovely Easter. The boys enjoyed a special service at church and an egg hunt at home. Then we changed into play clothes and headed outside to work on our garden and plant seeds. It was a lovely day.

Life is very normal and routine these days, which I love. Jacoby has soccer two afternoons a week and has been doing a great job. He's very methodical with the soccer ball and is developing some great skills. It's fun to see him out on the field with the rest of the kids. Morgan enjoys riding his bike during soccer practice.

We've put our skis away for the season and are hopeful for more snow next year. Jacoby skis on his own now and was doing a great job snowplowing and learning how to stop. He came a long ways this winter and really enjoyed it. Morgan got the hang of balancing on his skis, so we're excited to see what he'll be able to do next year when he's a little bigger.

I went to Salt Lake City last week for a site visit for our fall board meeting. It was a good, fast trip and much of my time was spent on the University of Utah's beautiful campus. I ventured downtown for dinner to see the new outdoor mall, which was lovely. I was glad to get back home and we spent this last weekend hanging out, playing, and catching up. Justin is busy with his class, looking for jobs, and waiting patiently for feedback on his dissertation proposal.

We hope you all are well!

Morgan the sheepy

Jacoby checking out his Easter basket

Mixing compost into the garden

These boys love dirt!

Planting seeds

Easter dinner

Happiness Is...

Happiness Is...

~Spending a week in Montana with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins; enjoying beautiful spring weather, scrapbooking, lunch with a childhood friend, movie with Sister, and finding a screaming deal on a brand new pair of ski boots!

~Jacoby graduating from Occupational and Physical Therapy

~Beautiful springtime in Boulder, longer days, the return of backyard toys, and hours spent outside

~Watching Jacoby play soccer with other kiddos and knowing he's healthy, feeling well, and keeping up with everyone else

~Justin's finished dissertation proposal

~Knowing the Graham family is reunited and beginning their new journey in Georgia

~Watching our boys walk in a parade through the sanctuary at church on Palm Sunday

~Spending time each night this week reading about the events leading up to Easter and learning about Jesus and the love he showed during his short time on earth

~One more trip to the mountains for spring skiing...and the inaugural run of the before mentioned ski boots.

~A long run this morning as the sun was rising and shining on the mountains

~No new allergy issues for Morgan

~Finding out that my eyeballs are ok

Reading with Aunt Megan

Reading with Grandmanette & Cousins

Driving the pedal cars

Doing a puzzle with Grandma Pam

Enjoying the backyard

Jacoby's soccer team

Working on Mommy's skis

This past week was filled with more celebration as we closed out the great birthday season of 2012. Jacoby and I visited Morgan's preschool class with treats and had fun hanging out with the little kids (who thought it was very cool to have a big kid visiting their class). The boys helped me make a card for Justin to celebrate his birthday. He and I enjoyed an evening out while Aunt Jill babysat during their visit with us last weekend. So, everyone has been celebrated and we've all turned another year older--birthday season is always a whirlwind, but it's also one of my favorite times of year.

Now we're looking forward to signs of spring and longer days. Our weather is unseasonably warm and I'm sure we're due for another major snow storm or two, but I love the longer days and seeing my tulips starting to appear. The boys love playing out in the backyard by themselves (definitely no grown ups allowed when they're out there doing their thing). I think they feel very independent and grown up. They can't wait to have the sand table and slide out. They're also very interested in riding their bikes, so it's nice to be getting out, soaking up the vitamin D, and shaking off the remnants of winter.

We enjoyed a day of spring skiing last weekend up at Mary Jane (with everyone else in Colorado!). It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time. Each boy tried out skiing on their own. Jacoby is getting a good handle on snow plowing. I notice he watches other kids intently, so he's definitely working hard to figure it out. Morgan enjoyed "skiing on his own", which basically meant pointing his skis straight down the hill until he ran into me, laughing and giggling all the way. I am impressed with the balance he's gained but he's going to be a terror on the slopes one day when we turn him loose. I am getting quite proficient at skiing and snowplowing backwards!

March is one of the busiest months for medical appointments for us. We had an endocrinology appointment last week, and Jacoby has grown another inch and gained 2 pounds. He's up at the 90th percentile now! Doctor wants him up at the 100th, so there's a little more catching up to do and then it will be all about maintaining growth until he's a big guy. Overall, he's grown 8 inches and gained 18 pounds since June 2010. Next up is an OT/PT check just to see how things are progressing with his development. He's writing his name and other words with quite a bit of confidence, so I don't expect any surprises. Both boys see the pediatrician for well-checks and then we're done until April when Morgan goes in to see the allergist. I've got weird things going on with my eyeballs again. The hemorrhages from last year haven't gone away, and I'm going to be having a bunch of tests done in April to rule out the possible development of glaucoma. Since I have 20/20 vision and don't have any symptoms for all of this, the stuff going on behind the scenes is a little unsettling. But hopefully we'll know more next month.

Justin finishes up teaching for the quarter this evening. He'll be off for the next week before heading to Utah next weekend to present at the SBL conference in Provo. I think his students have done well. They were very excited last night when he showed up with passages from the New Testament (in Greek) for them to read and discovered they could do it!

I'm busy at work and at home--lots of projects going on plus some spring cleaning. I'm also trying to increase the mileage on my runs to get ready for a 10K race at the end of May. I'm hoping to take the boys to Montana during their spring break and while Justin is in Utah in a few weeks. And since I have no interest in getting stuck in the middle of Wyoming, I'm waiting to see what the weather is going to do before making it official (and informing my little travel partners).

We hope you all are having a good week!

Birthday treats with Morgan's class

We brought rice krispies dipped in chocolate with sprinkles

Daddy with his boys on his birthday

Playing in the backyard

Morgan and Mommy on the slopes

Our two snow bunnies...check out the sea of cars behind them!

Our littlest snow bunny

Jacoby and Daddy coming down the slope

Jacoby on his strider bike

Morgan the Fearless on his trike

Wild Things