Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Smile Lucy!

I know I said I would write more about what was going on for us, after I wrote that little goals post. Yeah, it took me a week to really get to it. We have been a lot more busy this last week, and I am trying to find time to relax a little too. Sometimes relax does not mean "write a blog post."

But, Lucy is taking a nap, and I feel somewhat awake, so here we go.

When I started a post last week, it was boring and list-like. I would rather just tell you what each of us has been doing. I am sure the longest part of this will be about Lucy. She is, as we all know, the most interesting. Sorry, here we go:

Jimmy is back at the grind. Immersion, a two week intense class, started last Monday. He is busy pretty much all day everyday. Though they did give him yesterday off, which we utilized for a fun family activity. I will talk about that later. This semester's Immersion is more business/contract law, something Jimmy doesn't love, however he is still enjoying it more than classes. That is not really saying too much, but it does make him still want to be a lawyer. And that is good. He is also putting out LOTS of applications. He applied to several last week, most in New England. But we are now considering many other options. The Coast Guard, Air Force and even some places in Alaska. We are spreading the net very wide.

I am working at VMI and Dabney again. I have one less class at VMI which at this point seems to make things a little more manageable. I got my evaluations from last semester and all but a few students had very positive things to say. Although I am happy about most evaluations, it is still frustrating to have students say they hated your class, or you as a teacher. Even if, all the rest seem to think you did a good job. Other than that, my pregnancy is going fine. I am definitely feeling a little bit more like myself. I have even started running 3-4 times a week. Don't worry, it is nothing extreme, just a little something to keep me sane and active. We will see how much longer I will keep it up. In a couple weeks we will find out what Coopito in terms of gender. I will be happy either way.

Lucy, oh Lucy. This little girl came back from our break and was just a completely different girl. She is talking all the time and most words are recognizable. It may not be all sentences but she certainly lets us know what she is thinking. One of the funniest things to watch is her talking on the phone. She takes it, paces around the house (like her daddy) and babbles, introducing words like mommy, daddy, 'mato (tomato), poopy, pooh (winnie the...) and so forth. And it sounds like she is having a very meaningful conversation. I think her grandparents get a kick out of it. We sure do.

Last week she spent the whole week choosing to take "naps." Some days she did, some days she didn't. Needless to say I am not too fond of the idea of her not napping. I get even more cranky than she does. This pregnant lady needs her nap, I tell you! So, this week we started putting her down for a nap a little bit later. We will see how that goes. I did that today, and I can still hear her jabbering.

Yesterday we went to Lynchburg, an hour East of Lexington. They have a really nice children's museum/play place. Besides the drive it was a great trip. The drive was an hour of winding roads, and I am prone to car sickness. But once we got there and went inside Lucy had a great time. It was four floors of exhibits, play-grounds and things for kids to touch, feel and listen. I was impressed and thought several times, wouldn't it be nice to have something like this closer by. It seemed to wear Lucy out, because I had to wake her up this morning (which never happens by the way). It felt nice to see something else in the Virginia area.

And that is us, kind of in a nutshell. We are expecting many great adventures in the future in these coming months. I will try to keep you updated as they come along!

And the obligatory pictures....

These are of Lucy smiling (squinty eyes and all...)




Sunday, January 13, 2013

New Year

You know how everyone is looking at those old goals they had for 2012....well I am going to do this too. Sorry, you don't have to feel inclined to read any of this. I will write a post about our lives after I get through this one. I feel like part of setting goals is reporting, so here goes:

This was my list from last year:
  1. Learn and practice sign language with Lucy -- Check!
  2. Run a half marathon within the first 6 months of the year -- I ran two! Check!
  3. Continue monthly Temple attendance -- we tried, we really did!
  4. Study the scriptures with the intention of understanding the stories (so I can explain them to Lucy) -- Still working on this
  5. Make a baby quilt for Lucy (a really pretty one!) -- Check!
  6. Go camping/hiking several times this year (I want to enjoy the AT!) -- We did alright
  7. Have a date night at least 1 a month -- We did pretty well!
  8. Try 12 new foods (1 each month) -- I forgot about this one!
  9. Make family dinners important and routine -- It's now a habit
  10. Blog frequently--and try to tell stories about the day. -- okay....

I must say, I actually feel okay about where we got this year. I thought I was going to be seriously disappointed, since the year before most of my goals were thwarted by taking care of a baby. Life happens.

This year, for our Family Home Evening last Monday we made some goals. I made mine really simple this year. This year is going to be crazy enough, and some things are just going to happen. Jimmy graduating, taking the bar, and getting a job. I will have a baby.

So my goals are simply:

1. Collect recipes into binder
2. Read scriptures daily
3. Exercise regularly

Here's to another year!