January

I'm going to attempt this year to document more of the little things which will probably translate into a post at the end of the month of things I haven't already addressed. I used to be so much better at writing down things the kids would do or funny things they would say. As each one has joined our family it's become more of a challenge.

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Our family has developed some "potty" mouths lately as we try to coax and get Alex excited about really wanting to use the potty consistently. We thought he was fully potty trained at the beginning of the month, but the past 4 weeks we've seen huge relapses. I'm hoping this next month will be better. I just don't remember having to go through so much with my others. One day I was yelling to him upstairs to come downstairs and go potty. I yelled for him several times. He was busy playing by Tyler who was working and Tyler heard Al give a big sigh and then say to himself, "Why do I have time?"

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Tyler ended up in the emergency room one night after a coughing episode left him unable to breath. It scared him enough that he wanted to get it checked out. Turns out he has Pertussis or Whooping Cough. I'm pretty sure the reason I haven't had a cough is I think a nurse might have included the booster in a tetanus booster I got after having either Nate or Ash. Ty's trying to sleep it off and remain calm when the coughing hits him.

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There is a boy in our Primary who we like to tease Ashlyn about. One Sunday during Sharing Time the kids were asked to tell who they looked up to and admired. Everett raised his hand and said Ashlyn. The look she gave him was priceless. They were the only two on their row and she was a little speechless. He just looked at me and smiled. Ash has really taken to these bracelets that are the latest fad. I'm beginning to wonder how far up her arm they'll reach.

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Alex started Primary this year which means he gets to be with me. I wasn't sure how he would handle having Mom in there, but so far he's done fabulous. He loves to wear his cowboy boots and bring his scripture case with him, just like his older siblings. At the beginning of the year he got a CTR ring. He's lost it and found it several times. One time during the lost stage he came to me and asked if I knew where his DVR ring was. Sadly someone has corrected him and he now refers to it correctly,"C-T-R, that means Choose the Right."

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Erik has been busy, busy, busy with basketball. I kind of like it since it gives us a lot to do during the dreary month of January. He's on a competition team like last year, except they are terrible. It hasn't been a matter of not losing every game, but rather not being decimated by every team. There have been no close games and it's quite disheartening for the boys and their coach who has thrown in the towel. He also got placed on a Jr. Stallions team as a fluke. I looked at both schedules and decided we could probably make it work for both. His Jr. Stallions team has been a lot of fun and they've actually won most of their games. AND church ball has started. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays involves some kind of basketball. Good thing Tyler and I both love the sport.

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I decided to try and get a pot luck lunch group going in our neighborhood. I thought of all the ladies who are home and would probably like to get out and socialize once in awhile. I sent my flyers around and had a few accept and then back out. Even the morning of I wasn't sure who was going to show. Turns out we had a nice little group of about seven of us. I'll try again this next month and see if we can't get a few more.

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One of Kiersten's conversations with Alex as she's getting stuff out for a sandwich.
Alex: I want some cheese!
Kiersten: Shocker.
Alex: I want some shocker!
Moral of the story: Sarcasm and three years old don't mix.

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Alex likes to say "boo-yah" and I had no idea where it came from. I asked him once and all he told me was Studio C, a favorite BYUTV show the kids like to watch. No one is really sure if that's where it came from. Tyler and he also have a little ongoing conversation about Mt. Dew. They refer to each other as "Dew Man." "Dew Man, can you go get me a Dew, Dew Man." "I'll get you a Mt. Dew, Dew Man."

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Kiersten put together her first piano recital featuring a few Christmas songs. We both decided that December is too crazy of a time for families and we didn't want to add to it. But January's pretty much free reign, right? We did have a few bumps in trying to find a date that would work for everyone, but we did it and even got to perform our Sleigh Ride duet we've been learning for a couple of months.

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Alex said his first real prayer all by himself and he calls stop signs, "sign stops," and green lights are "green go," which sounds an awful lot like gringo.

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One of our traditions for good grades is ice cream. EVERYONE has to get straight A's and then we treat them to ice cream (and sometimes fries). This night was a frosty night at Wendy's after one of Erik's basketball games.