Hands

While putting on my fake nails last week (a must for me because I have this horrid habit of picking at my fingers if I don't have nails on) I took a minute to notice that my hands look like my moms. I don't have a picture of her hands but I know hers look just like mine. Her hands have given more than they have taken, hugged more times than I could possibly count, cheered her family on, raised 4 kids (5 at times, if you count my dad - love you dad), put in thousands of hours of physical labor, wrung themselves out worrying and being patient with us, and held each one of her 10 grandkids. In my contemplation of a mothers hands, I thought it would be a good thing for Natalie to have a picture of our hands, like I wish I had a picture of my moms hands with mine. I've had to rely on my mom a lot over the last few months - worrying about Nati with her speech, getting good advice on pre-teens, and reflecting on the past while having high hopes for the future. I can only hope that my hands can do what hers have done.

And..... happy day for us - Natalie is going to regular kindergarten. I met with her teacher last week and she said (and I quote), "Natalie really surprised me." She did so great on the testing and has come so far. She technically doesn't qualify for the preschool anymore!! When her teacher finished explaining everything to me, I didn't know whether to hit her (for stressing me out so bad) or hug her. Needless to say, I didn't hit her. I made it to my car before I cried. We still need to keep working hard on her speech but we are most definitely on the right track. Yup, a most happy day!!

Got Jimmer?

As most of the country knows, BYU has one AWESOME basketball player. Jimmer Fredette has taken BYU to new heights. He is all the talk among sports fans. Well.... a couple of weeks ago Jimmer was in The Creamery on 9th and was noticed by lots of people including Jason. Trying to be respectful, Jason waited until Jimmer was done eating before asking him to sign 2 t-shirts for the boys. Jason said he was super nice and was happy to sign the shirts. When asked if he gets tired of people approaching him he said, "It's only a little awkward when I'm on a date." The boys were SO excitied to get the shirts. Dylan has his on a hanger used to decorate his room and was just as excited to tell his buddies at school about it. I put Braxton's up until he can fully appreciate the meaning of the word "Jimmer". Go BYU!!!

Attack of the sticker monster!!

Oh how I love her!! All was quiet for a little bit, which was great at the time. I didn't know anything had happened until Dylan said, "umm, Mom. You might want to check out what Nati just did to me." He was being good and reading when a little sticker monster attacked. My shoes still have little squares on them and they are my favorite shoes. Oh how I love her!!

Basketball 2011!!

Showing his stuff!
Maybe getting a little tired.

Swish!!

Taking a breather. A day on the court is rough!

Bring on the hoops! The boys both played basketball starting in January. Braxton played in a

the 1st grade league which pretty much is just instructional. He was dying to play an actual game by the end. He's a good little player and had fun. He asked me just the other day when he gets to play again and was a little disappointed when I told him that I just signed him up for baseball. Dylan did great also! They only lost 2 games. He is getting so tall and is perfect for rebounding. We are so proud of them!

Finally!!

While on our little get away Katy, Melinda and I ran a half marathon - not just any half marathon, my 1st half marathon. I ran my 1st half marathon! All I can say is "It's about time!!" We started talking about it a month before and Melinda suggested the half. I was reluctant at first due to it being March and the fact that I have only been running a few miles a few times a week on the inside track at the high school. Springville High's inside track is known for being dark, creepy, and smelling like the boys locker room among other things. It's yucky but I do what I have to do to keep running through the winter. So with my fingers crossed we ran. The first 8 or so miles it was a lot of uphill. It made the first part a little tough but the last part was downhill and great. I'm so happy they made me run it. I've been wanting to run a half for a couple of years and now I can finally say I did it. Yeah me!!

What happens in Vegas......

Highlights of Las Vegas!!

A much needed weekend get-away!

Staying with a (hopefully) soon to be sister-in-law.

Shopping with the girls.

Running my very first half marathon (details in next post).

Nascar for the boys!!

M&M World including the 3D movie!

Multiple visits to In-N-Out because "it's better than it is in Utah".

Playing (and then buying on the way home) the Xbox Kinect. Grandpa & Grandma even played.

Somehow fitting 30 people into one house and those 30 people functioning with 3 bathrooms. Amazing!!

Hanging out and just being with family.

Leaving home with only one semi sick child and coming home with 2 sick kids.

Uncle Jesse chilling out with ALL of the kids in the hot tub.

Chris, Melinda, the Coca-Cola bear, me & Katy

Dylan chugging down a huge bottle of Coke - funny kid!

Jason & I waiting for the 3D movie at M&M World.

The family with "Red".

Carter clan with "Blue".

Dylan & Braxton with the Halo guy.

Some of the kids with Buzz & Woody on the strip.

Having a moment

Natalie with her new earrings. She loves them and keeps touching them to make sure they are still there.

I've been struggling with something for the last week or so and I figured if I vented I might feel better. Natalie has had speech issues for quite a while now. I am not unaware of this. She is in a special preschool designed to help kids with these types of problems. She is also going to private speech sessions twice a week for an hour each time. With the prospect of kindergarten issues this year I have been getting a little worried. I thought that she would go to normal kindergarten this coming year and most likely have to do resource, which I'm fine with. I know we still have a ways to go but I also feel that if we keep moving forward she will catch up. Last week her preschool teacher called to set up an assessment and told me that as of now she would need to go to an intermediate kindergarten this coming year and then repeat regular kindergarten the following year. I admit - I was crushed. I feel like she has come so far and that testing her now, when there are still 6 months before kindergarten, is unfair. The intermediate kindergarten is at a different school, with different kids, & different everything. I know she still needs a little help but she knows all but 4 of the alphabet letters, can write her name, and her speech is getting better everyday. She has already had to be separated from neighborhood friends who all go to the same preschool, and who all have a play date everyweek that Nati can't go to due to speech sessions. It just is such a hard thing. I know that we, her parents, have the ultimate say. I just don't want to hold her back anymore than she has been already but don't want her to struggle to stay on track. She is my little princess and I just want to do the best thing for her because this will affect the rest of her life.