Really, I should be studying...

Well, the holidays certainly came and went quickly for us! It was great to have such a nice long break from school, but the insanity required upon return...*SIGH* Things have been snapping along so quickly that I haven't even had time to FIND the camera to get all the Christmas pics off it so for now, I'm just gonna post some more recent pics of the kids and such.
Here are two lovely large mouth bass, ready for the broiler...

Rachel and I made a cupcake rainbow for Phia's first birthday in November...Phia actually slept thru her official birthday dinner so we saved the cupcakes for the next day. She wasn't interested in it at all! Just kinda stared at it and poked her finger in the frosting a bit and that was that. Maybe next year she'll be more in to it!

Here's Gramma and Sidney at Rachel & Brian's...Mom has a better picture she sent me when she was trying to get into his neck and tickle...he LOVED it! Oh, and he also got a pair of green camo rain boots for saying "Hi Gramma! Love you!" on the phone...Mom has this deal that when the grandkids say Gramma to her for the first time, they get a pair of red boots. But Sidney got the green camo ones and they are CUTE! When we opened them, he slipped them on (amazingly, on the right feet too!) and stomped around in his diaper butt.

Sidney loves to take his own pictures when he gets a hold of the camera...I usually wind up erasing a ton of butt, ceiling, foot and carpet shots. But he DID get this cute pic of Phia, complete with illegal possession of contraband...she looks guilty already, doesn't she?

And we did try to get the kids and Santa together this year but they BOTH wailed and arched their way off his lap 2 seconds after being seated. Daddy had to intervene and so we wound up with this weird shot of daddy holding two dubious kids and Santa trying to fit his jolly red self into the pic...ah, memories, huh??

Both the kids are doing well and thriving...also, they are each developing more of their personalities which is fascinating to watch but extremely frustrating to deal with. Sidney, although I adore him infinitely, can be the most obnoxious and irritating whiner, one fatal character flaw I despise. It takes A LOT of patience and self-control on my part to contain my own temper and not want to beat the living daylights out of him. I'd say that right now, that is my biggest challenge with Sidney,the persistent whining, flailing and general fuss he puts out when he isn't getting his own way. Every day I learn some new little trick to either redirect his attention or to control myself...parenthood teaches ME so many things! Time outs seem to work well, he has strict nap and bedtimes which I'm HOPING will improve his mood as well, lots of activities like coloring, drawing, puzzles, cars, and chasing around the house. It's been so cold (no snow though...what's up with that??) that we've been cooped up alot so I do try to get him involved in play groups, story times at the library, and frequent visits to Gramma and Granpa Gaertner. He is also talking more and more each week, more of which we can understand. He is in LOVE with Wall-E, Bolt and Elmo as well as all the cute little dump trucks he got at Christmas. He still hasn't really clicked with Phia although a few nights ago, both of them pretended to feed us from plates...it was VERY cute! He is also trying to help more and more...he can put his own shirt on, get shoes for everyone, throw trash out, pick up things, carry groceries in, and even gets the key into the door lock! He really is a sweet and cuddly boy and we adore him!

Phia is morphing into a truly FUNNY girl...she has this head-tilt cute-face thing going on that just makes me laugh out loud. She also covers her eyes with the backs of her hands when she KNOWS she has been caught doing something wrong like getting into the trash (one of her FAVORITE things to do!), yanking Sidney's pants down when he tries to steal a toy from her, or pitching her own little baby fits. Phia likes to throw herself on the floor and arch around like a fish out of water for her fits...she usually gets a whop on her diaper butt and "NO FITS!" from Daddy, then her WHOLE world comes crashing down and she wants Daddy to pick her up and hold her. She is a cuddle bug too but only when you pick her up...she likes to lay on your shoulder and snuggle into your neck with the back of her head. She does NOT like to sleep with anyone however...it's torture for both parties. She doesn't scream as much as she used to, but she is still quite vocal and says "hiiiiiii", and has started saying "GUH!" for good. She is starting to fight back when Sidney picks on her, loves stairs, HATES shoes and socks, snow and cold, LOVES her bears and dolly, sucks her thumb, and brings a lot of joy to our lives. I couldn't imagine life without my Phia-chan.

Sid and I are just kinda puttin' along...he's still trying to find some sort of full-time permament work but watch, it'll happen two months before I graduate! He still works at the juvey and got a lot of hours in over Christmas break. We always manage to survive every month, so we don't stress out too much about that....I do LOTS of storage stuff (food and non-food) so not only do we save money, but we have lots of the essentials to last us for 6-12 months. He is also pretty much a full-time stay-at-home dad which I know is a HARD job! But it works for us, and I think the kids are only benefiting from having Daddy here a lot, especially for Sidney as him and Sid are so similar sometimes, it's scary.

Nursing school is INTENSE, and that's putting it mildly! I love it though...the first time I feel truly challenged by my education. I'm making some great friends, namely my life partner Denise and my school husband Justin...and I'll have you know that SID came up with those not me!! It really is crazy how much time I spend with my classmates rather than my own family, but my only consolation is that it will be worth it in the end and they are the reason I am doing this. And on that school note, I really should be getting to some schoolwork for tests and papers due in a few days...I hadn't really meant to ramble on so long!

Jsut a few notes: please keep my Gramma Libby in your thoughts and prayers...apparently, she fell at a theatre last week, admitted to the hospital becuase the bruises were hard (NOT normal!) and THEN, developed a DVT (deep vein thrombosis= clot in a vein in her leg) and it somehow dislodged and went to her lungs so she had a pulmonary embolism. I'm worried but unable to do anything as she lives in California. Also, keep my Aunt Ruth and Aunt Laura in your thoughts and prayers...Aunt Ruth just seems to be having more and more health issues and the outcome doesn't look very shiny. PLUS, Aunt Laura was t-boned and her car is a total loss, she's losing money from work although the good thing is that she was not seriously injured, only just sore and shaken. There have also been some seriously scary events right here on my street in Ephrata...Christmas night some guy named Hector was arrested outside my back door for pulling a knife on someone and then throwing said implement in MY back yard. And then a few days later, a guy that Sid went to high school with was murdered a block and half down on OUR street and from what I've heard/read, there are no suspects. You guys know I'm not a worrier or drama queen, but these events have wigged me out and we are taking steps to protect our family and home since moving isn't really an option at this stage of the game. *SIGH* Gosh, I hope the rest of the year quiets down! And I hope that 2010 finds much peace, joy, love and meaningful moments for you!