Friday night, March 12th....

Leif is officially a walking toddler now, the best is when he holds his hands up in the air while walking, it reminds me of a baby chimapnzee! He had his 12 month check up today (19 lbs, 6oz, 29 inches long, happy healthy, still only 6 teeth) a few immunizations, but he did very well and cried only for a few minutes. Immunizations are always a little scary for me, I worry for a few weeks if my son will suddenly become autistic or die in his sleep, but so far, so good. Grace is doing an excellent job with her reading, I really wish she had more friends to play with, but so far no body seems to want to have a regular play date, at least any of the other little girls her age, maybe it's just me though. Last night I went to a baby shower for Kristina Clark and Annie Packard, both are prego with their 2nd baby. It was fun to be with everyone and hang out. It's interesting growing up, watching everyone start families, take on more responsibilities, watching our parents age, buying homes, it's kind of scary actually. it's a little terrifying being completely responsible for everything, I miss the days when I lived at home and everything was taken care of, I guess this is how we learn and grow though, by doing. I hope I can be a good example to Grace, so that when she's all grown up she'll be able to handle all these responsibilities better than I can, but for now, I'll just fake it! (Fake it till ya make it, right?). Grace misses Camarillo a lot, she misses her cousins so much, it's a huge reason we want to move back home, so Grace and Leif can be around good people, I hope their bonds with their cousins deepen and they will be able to guide each other though the messiness of junoir high and young adulthood, I am terrified they will make my same mistakes, I think I pray and ponder everyday for ways that we can avoid that.

Next week Christian is going to the Dominican Republic for a service mission, I am so happy he gets to do this (and yes, jealous too). I get to fly to my parents on Tuesday, the 16th, with the kids. With any luck, all will go well and during our stay Grace and I will get to fly to Philadelphia and visit Seth and Micah, I haven't seen Seth or his family since Christmas 2008. I miss my brother and niece and nephew terribly, I hate the fact that Grace never sees them, I feel like she is missing my whole side of the family. When we are in Utah we will get to go snow skiing! I can't wait to see Grace on those bunny hills!

Another Week

Leif is walking! I cannot believe it! He is taking almost 20-30 steps in a row now! I am kind of sad that my baby is no longer a baby, but a toddler, as he is officially "toddling" along. He loves to point at objects and say "oooo", he is not talking much yet, or really at all, just making gestures, throwing fits, and mimicking noises. Grace is starting to read now, she is reading by herself even, words like pen, hen, sat, cat, dog, very simple, but amazing for her young age. We took a last minute trip to grandma debi's house last week to see Ilene(not sure if it is spelled right), Aunt Kirsten's new baby girl. She has thick, black hair, and a tiny, sweet face. It was so fun to get to hold her. We got to take Addy and Audrey shopping, it was very fun watching the girls pick out clothes, I have a feeling someday they will be helping me pick out my clothes. They picked out a few outfits, including some cool Ugg style boots. We actually went to Nordstrom, where they tried on the real Ugg boots, but after seeing the sticker price we decided they were over rated. Leif got very sick during the trip, so we ended up staying an extra day. He had high fevers and was so lethargic. He is still sick this week, and I have ended up catching it as well. I am up to 8 mile runs now, it feels so good, I have decided to start training for a half marathon, maybe one in St. George or here in San Fran. Grace had so much fun hanging out with her cousins, she is always in heaven when we go down there and tells me she wants to live there., but she always misses my parents in Utah as well, it'd be so nice if we could all live in one place. Life is too short to miss so much of each other's lives. I have not seen my brother Seth, or his wife and kids since Christmas of 2008, I miss them so much and hope to see them soon. Right now Christian and I are tossing ideas around about where to live after dental school. The latest is South Dakota. They have a very attractive loan repayment program. I am getting antsy waiting to finish my nursing program though, so we need to go wherever that may be where I can finish up. Christian is progressing with his dentistry, it's fun to hear stories about him working on patients. He challenged me to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days, I took the challenge....we'll see...I know I can do it. I've never actually read the whole thing front cover to back by myself, with other people I have, it's about time. It's funny though, I know what is testified in that book is true, and is from God. My faith feels like a mustard seed, strong, sometimes small, but it never dies. I feel so blessed for all the wonderful things my family has, to be here in dental school, to have 2 healthy kids, a running car, an apartment. there are so many people that are without, places so destitute I cannot even imagine, I wish to go to those people someday and do whatever I can to help, it is what I have always wanted to do, and a huge part of the reason I am so driven to finish my nursing degree. It is only 5 more nursing classes for my RN, I finally received my LVN license in the mail (only took almsot a whole year! way to go CA nursing boards!). Brother Down's health is failing him, he has tumors on his spine. It makes me so sad to think he will not be with us much longer. He has always been there in my life, he has always been a permanent fixture, someone you know that is always steady, and I have to admit, what I crave and need in my life more than anything is steadiness. I am grateful for my life, and I thank God every day for it, for all I have comes from Him.