Close to the end of last month, I realized that once upon a
time, I wrote a monthly family newsletter. Maybe it was the blogging, maybe it
was facebook, maybe it was that we moved, or that life got too busy. But,
somehow along the way to 4 kids, I not only stopped writing it, I completely
FORGOT that I used to write one at all. There are so many things worth
documenting in our busy lives that I wonder how I could have ever stopped?
Well, it’s time to change that. Without further ado, I present our Segeberg
Scoop—February 2013, (and some catch up and January, too).
We’ll start with Tanner. Since the beginning of the year, Tanner
has started officially crawling. For a while, we called him our “carpet
swimmer” since his version of scooting around looked like he was swimming the
breast stroke on the floor. It was incredibly cute. Within the past month or
so, he went from primarily swimming to primarily crawling on all fours. He has
also been pulling up to his knees, with and without furniture, for a while now.
(And just this week, he has started occasionally pulling to a full stand!) One
of his favorite places to crawl to (and pull up at) is underneath the computer
desk. Tanner recently started trying table foods. He loves cheese, but it
doesn’t seem to love him for now. But pears, apples, bread, and crackers are
some of his favorites. He has also been trying to mimic a few signs—“daddy”
ends up as a palm to the forehead, “mommy” is a palm to the chest, and for
“cereal,” he holds out a fist of wiggly fingers. It’s cute to watch him try to
figure out how to make his body do what he wants it to. Even when he’s
frustrated or unhappy, he’s got a ready smile for ANYONE who happens to look.
He’s generally a happy little guy and we love his sweet little personality.
Clayton is next. Last year, Clayton was in a music class
once a week. He would sing the songs at home, but would very rarely participate
when we went to class. After much discussion, Ryan and I decided to try
something else for him this year. We signed him up for a little gym class and
he LOVES it. During the first class, they gave him a t-shirt, (red, his
favorite color), and he wore it for nearly a week straight. He doesn’t
particularly love the circle time, (will often just stand and watch), but the
rest of the class is a blast. He begs to stay longer every. single. week. We’re
glad he’s loving it so much. Clayton also moved into the Sunbeam class in
January. He was not excited about going to Primary. He cried and begged me to
stay. After staying with him for shorter amounts of time during Opening
Exercises, last week, he finally went without much drama. It was a momentous
day for him. (Although I didn’t let him know—I was glad the drama was over!)
We’re also thinking about potty training Clayton. I signed him up for preschool
next fall and one of the requirements is that the kids are potty trained. We
hope he’ll start thinking along those same lines soon. (I am definitely tired
of changing his diapers!)
Whitney is in the middle of her kindergarten year. She loves
school. I recently had her second “parent-teacher conference” and her teacher
couldn’t say enough good about Whitney. She is succeeding at all of her basics
and is very much a helper in class. Whitney was also the Student of the Month
in February. (Although she didn’t tell me about the papers in her backpack and I
missed the assembly where she was honored. I was so sad!) The academic aspects
of school are fun, but she’s definitely in it for the social. Whitney is such a
social butterfly that it’s hard to imagine that she’s an introvert. (She does
HAVE to have down time to process life, though.) This year, Whitney started
piano. She (for the most part) enjoys practicing and playing. She recently started
with a new teacher and seems to like that so far as well. Whitney also has
started really reading. Last summer, she completely had the ability to read,
but just wouldn’t. Over the past few months, she has decided that she CAN read
and does it all the time. I love this shift in her abilities and confidence.
Whitney still loves to imagine. She and Clayton love to play “Jake and the
Neverland Pirates” (he’s Jake, she’s Izzy) or “babies” (they are each the
parent of their own baby). I love watching them play together.
Kallie is a confident second grader. She, too, loves school.
Her teacher also had a lot of good things to say at her parent-teacher
conference. If we ever wonder where Kallie is or what she’s doing, chances are
she’s reading a book. Last summer, she read the entire Little House on the
Prairie series and LOVED it. In fact, she loved it so much that if I suggest
something “like Laura,” Kallie is on board. She is even planning on having a
“Little House on the Prairie” birthday party in a few months. Kallie is also
currently my right hand girl. During the “witching hours”—between when the boys
get up from naps and when Ryan gets home—she is a great helper with Tanner.
Kallie has been taking piano lessons for a year and a half now, (we switched
Kallie and Whitney to a new teacher at the same time). She is really picking it
up and quite enjoys it, in spite of her occasional frustrations about some part
or another being “so hard.”
Being an adult can be kind of mundane, as exhibited by
Ryan’s and my updates. Ryan’s recent excitement was getting an R/C car for his
birthday. The kids have also really enjoyed that gift, although they don’t
really get to drive it. They just enjoy spending time outside with dad while he
runs his car up and down our street. He also passed his 4 year mark at
Microsoft in January. This may seem like small potatoes, but that’s the longest
he’s been with a company so far, (thank you college and grad school). He is
still serving as the Scout Committee Chair in our ward.
As for me, after a year-long opportunity to work with our
ward choir, I was recently called back to the Young Women’s organization…this
time, as first counselor. This was FANTASTIC news, as I have really missed
being in there with those girls. I love being part of the YW and being able to
watch the girls as they grow in their understanding of the gospel. It’s an
amazing place to be! My other big event from February is that I bought tickets
for Ryan and me to meet his parents in the Baltics when their mission ends in
August. I am beyond excited! I’ve reserved our apartments in both Tallinn and
Riga…and hope to have Vilnius pegged down by the end of the week. It’s hard to
believe that in 6 months, we will be home from that long-anticipated trip!
Well, there is our life in a nutshell. Hopefully future
updates won’t be quite as long…
