January 2012

The dress C-sta is wearing was made by my Aunt Z. 
Aunt Z sent it home with us for C-sta 
when we visited with her in December.

January 2012 was spent recovering from our crazy and memorable December 2012 and happily settling into new routines for the new year. On the whole, I felt much better about the start of 2012 than I did about the end of 2011.  I worked on being better at letting things go a bit more, while better appreciating the organizing 'here and there' that happened on occasion and the projects that were completed as a result. 

M turned 11 part-way through January. As is tradition, we left up the Christmas tree in the loft until M's birthday so he could open up his birthday presents under the tree.  

The newest 11 year old Scout in our troop is really enjoying his experience so far. Isn't he handsome? He's getting so grown up!

C-sta is so happy to be in Sunbeams now!

C-sta finally stopped using her binkie in December--yay!--and in January she began taking ballet lessons Saturday mornings.  Not knowing that she was going to begin lessons a couple weeks before her class started, C-sta began telling me (very dramatically), "Mama, ballet is my DREEEEEE-MMM!".  Where she learned that, I don't know but it was super cute to hear!  So far she is enjoying her class, loves her teacher (a ballerina in our stake), and loves that one of her friends from her preschool is also in her ballet class.  I love that we can help her "DREEEEEE-MMM" come true.  

Weekly I trade babysitting with a friend so that she and I both can go help in Li'l J's 1st grade class. C-sta and her friend B really enjoy their weekly play-dates.  Pictured below is C-sta with her friend B one afternoon at our house.

Pretty pedi's

Pretty in Pink

C-sta still enjoys it when I document her cuteness with a picture or two. Recently she wore this cute outfit that once belonged to her Aunt C. I fixed her hair in a set of double flipped ponytails and ta-da, total cuteness!

Off on a Daddy-daughter date!

This month J-rod took C-sta on a date to see the 3D release of Beauty and the Beast.  C-sta was super excited to wear her Belle crown that she got for Christmas 2011 from the LV S family. She had such a good time at the movie that she's still talking about her date with her dad and asks to watch our Beauty and the Beast DVD almost daily.

After coming home from the movies with J-rod, C-sta and the boys found an itty-bitty lizard. All three kiddos really, really, really wanted to keep this little reptile, but J-rod said NO way! Fortunately I was able to appease these cuties by taking a picture of each of them holding the whittle-guy.

Five years after moving to this area, I have come full circle in the callings I've held. At the end of  January I began serving where I first served after moving here--the nursery.  My good friend S (and fellow nursery leader) and I had a crazy, chaotic first day as we tried to get our bearings, but we are very excited to be working together to love and serve this group of sweet little kiddos.  The counselors J-rod has been serving with for the last year and a half were released and called to serve as the Young Men's president and the Ward Mission leader, so J-rod has called new counselors and the new bishopric is working hard to keep the ward running smoothly.

M visited with the pediatric orthopedic specialist Phoenix Children's Hospital to review the scoliosis x-ray series taken a few months back. The doctor we met with told us that while M does have a slight curvature, for right now he'd like to keep an eye on the curve and continue to watch what it does as M grows. He asked that we come back in six months for a follow-up. 

Coming up, February 2012.