Moving Forward

Zoya will be 2 months (2 months!!) on Friday. We can't believe it. We are still waiting for her to move past her newborn sleepiness stage but she won't :). She loves to sleep and spends 19-20 hours/day doing so. I think that's crazy. She is super mellow and rarely cries. We can't wait to watch her personality unfold.

Carmen is now 17 months and is hitting toddler-hood. He has started deciding that he wants things and he wants them NOW. Discipline is starting to play a major role in his life as he learns his boundaries. He's also super-energetic and makes both Mommy and Daddy tired (not that they aren't already with a newborn :)).

Tihitina continues to do awesome in school. She is quick to catch on. I don't know what I would do without her around the house either. If she's not doing school then she's holding Zoya or taking Carmen outside to play.

Bitsu continues to love school and is doing very well, with an 89% average. She is trying out for the school play soon. We are all a little nervous to see how she is going to do.

Turi has really hit teenage-hood. She has no trouble falling asleep anymore and complains about being tired all the time. She has started to ask if she can sleep in and take naps. Whoa! How did we get here? And the emotions are quickly following :).

I had my ACL reconstruction surgery a week and a half ago. Finally, most of the swelling is down and I am quite functional, although I have to be braced all the time. Hopefully, the brace will come off soon and I can get my leg back. It's been tough hobbling around the house and being unable to drive. I am so glad the surgery is finally over.

Curt and I are back into the swing of things. Bible studies have started back up and meeting with students is in full swing. It's a challenge spending time with students AND trying to get enough sleep but the newborn stage is short. Pray for us this semester. It seems a little slow starting since I can't get out and Curt has had to be around to help me. Pray that things would pick up, specifically with the men, and we would have the energy to meet the needs the God puts before us.

The Cat

Why is Ellie, the cat, always were everyone else needs to be? She is often found sitting on top of Tihi's work in the morning, on the changing table in the afternoon and in the baby chair in the evenings. You know, all these places are in the sun at those times of day. How does she know???

Carmen has decided his new favorite thing is Starbucks! He is related!

My parents gave Carmen a dog that "sings". Carmen loves it. We are ready to burn it :).

Christmas and New Years

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My parents arrived in town on Christmas day and we had 2 weeks of fun. We had our Christmas goose (those things are tough!!) on the 26th and then I had 2 weeks of not cooking dinner or doing chores. They left yesterday and we were SO sad to see them go. The girls got to go to the movie theater for the first time with Grandpa, Carmen learned to play ring-around-the-rosy, Tihi spent one whole afternoon with Grandpa at the library (I would never stay as long), Carmen spent many hours outside walking around with Grandpa (I would again never spend as long :)), we opened gifts on New Years Day again, Bitsu learned to sew a quilted pillow, Turi sewed more doll pants from a pattern with my mom (I hate sewing :)), we lived through a snowstorm, and overall we had a blast. We were so thankful for them being here. I'm not sure what we're going to do for meals now though...

On a different note, I finally had my MRI and follow-up appointment for my knee. I partially tore my ACL and both Menisci. I will be going in for surgery on the 21st. Sad but glad that I am in a place where I have good medical care to get it taken care of.

Zoya is 1 month old today!! I cannot believe how fast the time went. She just went through her first growth spurt and is out of her NB clothes and into 0-3m. Crazy how much bigger she's gotten in a week. And I went for my first jog today. I can't say it was a run; I wasn't moving that fast :).