House rules

Jaed is getting at the age where he is starting to fight (or just complain) about our house rules. I mostly think this is because his friends are pointing them out to him and telling him that they don't have to do that. For example, Jaed has to be go to bed at 7:30 and his friend told him he was too old to go to bed at the time and that he doesn't have to go to bed until 9:30. Here are some other rules we have that his friends think are "stupid"

No sleep overs (unless there is an emergency)
No friends on Sunday
No friends over until chores are done
No movies unless we have seen them first
No playdates with other kids unless I have met their mother

I probably could think of more but these are the ones that have come up as "complaints" within the last little bit. My mom had TONS of house rules and I remember thinking the same thing Jaed is thinking now: "It's not fair!", "That rule is dumb!", "Why?", "I can't do anything!", etc.. We try really hard to explain why we have those rules but I don't know if it really makes him feel better. Unfortunately, the rules won't change because of the complaints because they are rules that we feel very strongly about but it still sad to see him look so sad. It brings back those days that I felt the same at his age.

Getting back into it

It was so nice having a long break from homeschooling and now it's so hard to get back into the groove again. I went with a different homeschool program for this next semester. This new one gives us a certain amount of money each semester so we can buy our own curriculum and if we have money left over we can use it for community programs for the kids such as swimming, gymnastics, music lessons, etc.. I'm really excited about it and it will be nice to be able to put the kids in more community activities so they have more social opportunities.

Jaed and Josie were tested right before the Christmas break to see how they are doing in their education and both them are at grade level or above. It was a good feeling to know that they're still learning even with me as teacher. Before I homeschooled them, Josie was not at grade level in many areas and now she is right on track or even above the norm.

Surprisingly, Indi has decided that after Kindergarten she would like to be homeschooled. I haven't decided if this homeschooling thing will be long term or not so we didn't agree to her request yet.

Diaper Changer

I've decided to teach Jaed how to change diapers because I feel like he is old enough and I'm tired of doing it :). I don't allow him to change poopy diapers because the first (and only) time he did it...well....WOW....was it a mess. It was all of Zoey's legs, over the bed, and some on Jaed himself. It was horrible to clean up so, yes, I learned my lesson the hard way. So, his assignment is the wet diapers and I do the poopy ones. Kaia is the easiest one to change because she understands the diaper changing commands: "Don't move", "Lift your bum up", "Go throw this in the trash". And as for Zoey, well she's in the stinker stage. She doesn't want to lay still even after you tell her to about million times and the last thing she is going to do is make it easy for you. Jaed often has to call in reinforcements (ie. Indiya) to help out with the chore of changing Zoey because if she's got an attitude at the time, it takes two people to change the diaper. One to hold her down, and the other to change her.

One time I asked Josie to change a diaper and I thought she was going to throw up on Kaia. She tried to do it with only two fingers on each hand and the whole time she was doing it she was saying, "Eww, this is disgusting.....ewwwww, I can't do it!". And remember that was just a wet diaper! If I need a good laugh during the day I ask her to change it because the site is HILARIOUS it has even gotten me to laughing so hard, I've cried.

2009 Collages

I made a collage for each of the kids from pics that were taken in 2009:

Family pics:























Jaed's pics:























Josie's pics:























Indi's pics:























Kai's pics:























Zoey's pics:

2009 Personal Review

Here's some questions that I someone sent me to answer on my blog:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
   Turn 35 years old.......I'M FREAKIN OLD!
   
   
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   I can't even remember what they were. I'm sure they had something to do with exercise and healthy eating, but I sucked at it!
   
   
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   Wow, tons of my friends did! I was a little jealous :).
   
   
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   My Dad.
   
   
5. What countries did you visit?
   Pfft.....like I have the time or money to do that!
   
   
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
   More money, more fun, and more sleep.
   
   
7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory?
   April 15th (the day my Dad died)
   
   
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Moving to Washington and starting a new adventure with my little family.
   
   
9. What was your biggest failure?
   Wow, a failure.....and the biggest...hmm.....I think I'll keep that one to myself!
   
   
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Some dumb head colds.
    
    
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    The questions should be (at least for me) "What didn't you buy!". We bought a new Van.
    
    
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
    My kids, who amaze and delight me often. My husband, who made a decision to take a job even though it wasn't the one he wanted and does a great job at it and me and my siblings for coming together for my Dad's funeral even though some of us hadn't spoken for sometime.
    
    
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
    David Letterman, Tiger Woods, etc. etc. etc.,
    
    
14. Where did most of your money go?
    Food and shelter. Clothes for growing kids. Gas. My shopping sprees.
    
    
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Getting my own craft room!
    
    
16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    
    1. happier or sadder? happier
    2. richer or poorer? poorer
       
    3. Healthier or less healthy? Ok, less healthy....but at least I'm admitting it, right?
       
       
17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Exercise
    
    
18. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Being crabby at my kids...oh, and my husband.
    
    
19. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
    My sister, Becki and my Mom.
    
    
20. What was your favourite TV programme?
    Lost, Brothers and Sisters, Ugly Betty and Days of Our Lives
    
    
21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    My old fart neighbors!
    
    
22. What was the best book(s) you read?
    Hunger Games
    
    
23. What did you want and get?
    My husband to ge a job offer in Washington.
    
    
24. What did you want and not get?
    To live close to my sister in Washington. Her husband got a job in Tennessee so they moved.
    
    
25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 35 and I hung out with my family!
    
    
26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    Winning the freakin lottery!
    
    
27. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
    Whatever is comfortable.
    
    
28. What kept you sane?
    My meds, and my husband.
    
    
29. Who did you miss?
    My Bloomington Friends!!
    
    
30. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.
    Sack up and move on!
    
    
31. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
    "That's my story and I'm stickin to it!"
    

Here we go again.....part 2

Continuing with the update:

Indi….is a DELIGHT! She is so dang obedient and a breath of fresh air. She does her best in what ever you ask her to do and loves to be complimented! She is still in the public school attending Kindergarten and loves all of her friends and talks about them constantly. She truly is the mini mom in the family and quite the rule enforcer! Her teacher told me that if she let Indi be the teacher for the day she would do a wonderful job! I love watching her grow and learn as well. She is constantly giving hugs and kisses and is right there if one of her siblings is upset, mad or crying to try and make things a little better. Her and Josie are best friends and (mostly) play well together. She is overjoyed when Jaed asks her to play and loves to play boy things with him (guns, legos, guys, etc.). Her positive that she has OCD, but as of now we are able to control it without medication, thank goodness. Right now her OCD is surrounding by washing her hands and making sure everyone else does as well. She refuses to play with her siblings if she thinks they need to wash their hands and they don’t.

Kaia…..is our demon child but yet so fun to have around. She LOVES to tease everyone. The whole month of December, every time one of her siblings got into trouble she was right there to tell them that they are now on Santa’s naughty list. She gets into EVERYTHING and is completely shocked and horrified if and when she gets into trouble for it. She hates to have her hair done, put on clean clothes, brush her teeth, and go to bed, but she loves to eat, play with her siblings, watch Dora and Spongebob, and cuddle at night. I’ve been trying to give her little chores to do so that when she turns three she will be ready for a chore list but her response to my chores is always, “No momma, I’m to little for chores!”. She has no desire to go on the potty and has even informed me that she will never go on the potty and will always wear diapers, which truly frightens me.

Zoey ….is precious! She has huge blue eyes that are mesmerizing to look at. Her looks could get you to do anything! She is not interested in walking but can get around quite fast with her little shuffle crawl. She loves to eat, follow her siblings around, look at her board books, crawl all over our dog, but hates to have her hair done (but that doesn’t stop me!), hates to be left in a room alone, and especially hates to be ignored! She loves to bee bop any kind of music, even when her sisters make up songs to sing. She is their best audience!

Here we go again.....

Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last blogged (I find myself saying that a lot). Well, I’m going to start AGAIN! I’m dedicated to post everyday until the end of January…….I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

So, I know you’re all dying for an update and I wouldn’t want to kill anyone so here it is:

Thayne….had his first trial last month. He worked 14 hour days (sometimes more) and even into the weekends. It was a killer for him and me both. The kids and I missed him tons and I know he missed hanging out at home. Unfortunately, after a lot of work and tons of witness testimonies the jury found the Dr. not guilty. Thayne said that he and his boss were not completely surprised but still a bit disappointed. Now, Thayne is back to the 8-5 work schedule with weekends off, which we love! He still enjoys his computer games at night and thinking he’s going to sleep in on the weekends.

Ally….is enjoying homeschooling, having a home, and taking care of her family. I took a break from crafting through the holidays but I look forward to starting again. My list of ‘New Year Resolutions’ is quite long so wish me luck!

Jaed…LOVES being homeschooled. He loves learning period! He is very fun to teach because he is attentive, asks lots of questions, and remembers what he learned (even the day after J). When he’s not learning he’s in his room building legos, reading, or teasing his sisters. He can get his sisters yelling and in tears within seconds of being around him if he wants, but we’re trying to curve that behavior with changing consequences! When he wants to be, he is very caring to his sisters (especially Kai and Zoey) and does what he can to make them happy. He has learned to change diapers (wet ones only!) and does it when I ask! Jaed is a typical boy who loves to be loud, funny and rambunctious. He is a delight and entertaining part of our family!

Josie….is still on the fence about being homeschooled. On an educational level she is flourishing. Her ability to read has improved ten-fold and she loves to cuddle with me during a school lesson. She is not confined to one spot while she is learning which I think helps her to be able to focus on learning instead of focusing on classroom rules. When she is doing flash cards she is jumping up and down, rolling all over her chair, rolling on the floor, etc.. At first it used to drive me crazy but when I saw how much better she learned when she wasn’t restrained, I got over it! She does miss her friends and the social aspect of school but we try and make up for that by meeting together with other homeschoolers once a week and other field trips. Her and Indi are in a children’s community choir and she really likes it. They had their first concert a couple of weeks ago and she did MARVELOUS! I could tell that she felt so good and important! Josie still hates to share and chores take her about 3 hours to do because she hates it but she makes us laugh and smile all the time. She is so innocent in her thoughts and we have decided that she has no filter between what she is thinking and what she says which has had us laughing hysterically on several occasions.

More to come tomorrow......

Homeschooling

I have NEVER thought about homeschooling my kids. It just wasn't something I was ever going to do. To be completely honest, I thought those moms that home schooled were a bit off their rocker. That opinion came from complete ignorance on how homeschooling work and what the advantages were. I focused completely on the 'cons' which made my decision to NEVER home school a very easy one. Well......first I'd like to apologize to all my friends that home school for thinking that you were all a bit strange and off your rocker! I'M SORRY!!! I have done TONS of research about it because of the problems we have been having with Jaed at school that I feel like it is the right thing to do. I have found a great curriculum for them (Washington Virtual Academy) that is very structured. They even assign you a virtual teacher that you work closely with so that your kids are progressing and receiving the things they need. I have joined a local Homeschooling group (so that my kids don't turn out socially retarded) and plan to do many fun things with them.

I went to their school today to tell them that Jaed and Josie will not be returning after today. Josie's teacher was not pleased. She even said, "Josie is doing so well, why would you pull her?". Well she obviously isn't aware that Josie has been in school two weeks, and has brought homework home twice unable to do it because it wasn't explained to her. The first time it happened, I spoke to her teacher and she said, "Oh, I just assumed Josie knew how to do it. It was simple things she should have known.". WELL SHE DIDN'T KNOW IT! Josie needs the one on one attention in her school work so that she's not left behind like she has been. Jaed's teacher seemed alright with it (not like their opinions count!). My concern with Jaed is that he is not challenged enough in school. He needs to be able to go at his own pace and not be halted because the other kids in the class need more explaining. When that happens, he becomes bored and starts to do naughty things which gets him in trouble and sent to the Principal's office.

I didn't want to pull either of them unless they were ok with it. But the first time I mentioned that it was a possibility they both begged me to do it. Indi, on the other hand, said "NO WAY!". She waited to long to go to school that she's not going to stop now! I don't know if I could ever home school her because she is such a HUGE social butterfly that not going to school for the social atmosphere would be detrimental.

So, the Warner School starts tomorrow! Wish me luck and throw prayers my way!

Cakes with Dad

At the kid's school they had an open house and asked that the kids make cakes with only their dads and bring them in to be judged for awards. I helped Thayne find some simple cakes he could do with the three oldest and I think he did a great job! He's such a great Dad to be willing to participate in that stuff and the kids LOVE to be able to do things with just him. They each had a turn with him and enjoyed every minute of it! Unfortunately, the kids didn't win any prizes but they were thrilled to just have entered the contest. We decided that after the contest the kids would give their cakes to their teachers (because I did not want three cakes at home begging me to eat them!). Jaed's teacher decided to save the cake for the next day and let the class have it as a snack. He was so excited!!

Here's Jaed and Thayne making a LEGO cake!


























































Here's Indi and Thayne making a Rainbow cake!!














































Here's Josie and Thayne making a present cake!

NO PRETTY!

One of the best things about having girls is to do their hair. I have convinced Josie and Indi that doing their hair is a must and often tell them that it hurts to be beautiful (or pretty) to get them to stop whining and crying during the hair-do process. Of course, they want to be pretty because princesses are pretty so that usually quiets them down. Well, the story is not the same with Kai. When it's time to do her hair, she hides, yells "No" or just completely ignores me. Does she actually think that she will win this battle?? NEVER!!

Her new thing is to say, "I NO WANT TO BE PRETTY!". Even when I say that she can't be a princess if she's not pretty she simply responds, "Ok" and thinks that means her hair doesn't have to be done. This morning when I was doing all of their hair I called her in first but she yelled back, "Josie and Indi first, Momma!". Like that's going to give her enough time to either think of another excuse or find a really good hiding spot! Where does this 2 year old get this kind of attitude and how is she so dang smart? The smarts OBVIOUSLY come from me and the attitude must come from her Dad.

I told her one time that if she is not going to be a princess and get her hair done then she has to be witch with ugly hair. She instantly informed me that she wants to be a witch!

When I was editing these pictures, Kaia was standing right by me and she said, "Oh, momma, I so pretty!". As you can see, this is without her hair combed and the same hair-do she had yesterday!

First Day of School

Josie and Jaed started school today. Indiya doesn't start Kindergarten until Monday. Josie and Jaed were so excited last night that they had a very hard time getting to sleep. When Thayne and I finally pulled ourselves out of bed this morning, those two were dressed, wearing their backpacks, and watching T.V.. I told them to take off their backpacks so they could have breakfast and Jaed told me that he didn't need breakfast he just wanted to go to school. He's such a funny kid and always thinks he knows what is best for him. They both ended up having cereal and then bugged Thayne until he was ready to take them. I think I even heard Thayne tell Josie to quit bossing him around.

They got to ride the bus home and they were all smiles coming down from the bus. Jaed told me some names of friends he made and Josie said she made friends but couldn't remember any of their names (not unusual for her. She still calls some of her cousins different names because she can't remember!). They can't wait to go again tomorrow. They'll probably want to sleep in their school clothes tonight!

Now little Indi did not have such a great day. She was so sad to see her brother and sister go to school without her. She wouldn't smile all morning until I told her I would do anything she wanted for the next little bit. We played games, read books, colored and even cleaned :). She is so ready for school to start. I'm even a little sad for her that it's only half day, but it will give her something to look forward to next year. She is thrilled that she gets to ride the bus home with Jaed and Josie!

That grin doesn't show even a little bit of his excitement! He even asked Josie why she wasn't acting excited to go to school and we all thought she was. I guess she wasn't as excited as Jaed thought she should be!



























This is a different outfit she had on when Thayne and I woke up. I think she just grabbed the first outfit she could find. I had to override it and chose this one instead.



























Now Jaed's 'Mister Cool'! This is as close to his little sister as he wanted to get.
























Poor Indi...her life was falling apart. She was just in here watching me crop the pictures and said, "Momma when did you take that picture of me?". What a funny kid. In her mind, she was never that said looking.

Crafting here I come!!

So my craft room is organized and is ready for me every time I walk in it! I can hear my desk, my stamps and all my other fun stuff calling my name every time I get close to the room. I really could go in there, shut the door, and not come out all day. Making stuff with paper relaxes so much. I think i would be an even happier mom if I could have 5 hours a day to craft.....ok......5 hours is a lot but wouldn't that be HEAVEN!

I have decided to become a Close To My Heart Consultant (which means I sell stuff out of their GREAT catalog) so that I can hang out with other crafty women and make a little money to support my hobby! I plan to have at least 2 stamping clubs that meet once a month at house and each club will have 10 members. So if any of you want to come to my house (plane tickets are going down, you know) once a month to participate in my clubs just let me know!!!

So, anyway head on over to my craft blog by clicking on the link just to the left of this post called "My Inspiring Creations" and check it out! If you get a wild hair and want to support my crafting habit go to my consulting page: http://stamping.myctmh.com and order something or just check it out :)>.

Mom and Daughter Date

The town we live in is quite a hick town and once a year they have this HUGE Rodeo (along with a fair and a 3 HOUR parade!). Rodeo's remind me of my Dad. He was kinda a hick himself and would have loved to come to our house this weekend to go to the rodeo if he was alive. So, in his honor, Indiya and I went to the rodeo. It was no cheap date but it was worth it! We watch some horse bucking, calf tying, silly clowns, and team tying.

I know very little about rodeo's so the people around me were flooded with questions by me. Good thing they welcomed them and were even telling me things when I wasn't asking. Indi was enjoying herself as well as the popcorn, soda and chips. She never asked once if it was time to go. She got upset a couple of times when they were doing the calf rope tying. One calf was hurt pretty bad and a animal ambulance had to come out in the arena and take him away. After that, Indi was not a fan of that sport! She told me several times that she loves baby cows and that their moms were going to be mad if any of them get hurt. Then she looked around and asked, "Momma, where are the baby cow's mommas?". Like I know....but I pretended that I did and told her I was sure they were waiting around back for them to give them kisses. She smiled and relaxed a bit.

Playdates

As we have started to really settle in and gotten to know our neighbors, other than the cranky old ones, we have met a family two houses down that have two boys. Well, one couple has an 8 year old boy and then there is a mother and her 8 year old son that lives there with them. It's a bit non-traditional but they seem normal......I guess. Thayne took Jaed over there last weekend to meet the boys and their parents. The boys seem to get along well and Thayne said that the parents seemed ok, but we both are so paranoid that we don't know what to do from here. We told Jaed that he wasn't allowed to go in their house for a while and that if he wanted to play with the boys, they had to come to our house or ride their bikes. The boys have come to our house twice and have enjoyed themselves but now they are asking Jaed to come to their house. Thayne and I talked about it and decided that he could go over there for 30 minutes and then had to come home and check in. He leaves the house with his friends and both Thayne and I say a silent prayer that nothing will happen.

Before I had Jaed and worked with files of Juvenile sex offenders and learned all about their situations and how they were abused as children themselves. So much can happen in such a short period of time that you almost don't want your kids leaving your sight (or your home) for even a second. But, that obviously isn't possible so we prepare them and ourselves as much as possible. We are constantly talking to the kids about strangers and the other important stuff and hope and pray that nothing happens to them and if something does then we hope and pray that they will tell us right away. Unfortunately, pediphials come in all different types and you can't identify them by sight and behavior. This is when you rely on God to help you know if situations are safe for your children or not and follow any feelings you have. But it is so hard (at least for me!) to distinguish between paranoia and promptings sometimes.

Parenting is so hard and we make mistakes all the time but this is one situation I don't want to make a mistake in.!

First Haircut

It's amazing that Indi has NEVER had a haircut. She was born with such little amount of hair that we never even thought about cutting it. Well, the ends of her hair are quite ratty so I decided it was time for the big first cut! I didn't want to pay to have someone cut 3 inches off evenly across so I just decided to do it. She has curly hair so if I am not exactly even, no one can tell because it's curled!
Here's the before picture:





















Here's the after (the shiny stuff on her forehead and face is not sweat! It's water from my squirt bottle!)

Bikers

Thayne and I have been trying to teach the older three kids to ride a two wheeler and we have succeeded with 2 out of the 3. Jaed and Indi caught on very quickly and are riding everywhere. Josie is a bit more hesitant because she doesn't want to fall so we put her training wheels back on her bike and told her to tell us when she's ready to learn to ride without them. I check in with her a lot and ask her if she's ready to learn without the training wheels and she's not shy to say, "No, I'm not ready!". She is quite speedy on her bike with training wheels so there is no pressure to learn since she can keep up with her other two siblings. This is the main cause of tension between our old FART neighbors. One neighbor doesn't want them riding on the sidewalk because a car might back out and hit them and another neighbor doesn't want them to ride in the street because they might get hit by a car. Mind you, that that they are NEVER outside riding their bikes without Thayne or I (or both of us) out there with them making sure to get them out of the way if a car comes but obviously that isn't good enough for our crabby neighbors. They think our kids should not leave our yard even when riding their bikes.

Anyways....enough about the old folks....Kaia doesn't have a bike but she's off and running on her little scooter!




Thayne's parents got this bike for Josie but it's too big for her right now and Jaed out grew his bike so he's not apposed to riding it!























She's ready with her knee pads and elbow pads on!























We don't' think this bike was meant to be ridden without the training wheels because it has no brakes, but it doesn't stop Indiya!























Here's our Indiana Cheerleader riding her nifty scooter!

It's all about Kaia!

Kaia is next! What a sweet/stinker girl this one is! One minute she is the cutest most adorable little thing you have ever seen and the next minute she's the "devil's child" (that's what Thayne calls her when she's in one of those moods!). She is quite gifted verbally and bosses everyone around all of the time. She also isn't shy about telling you what she wants and when she wants it. The best time to spend with her is at night because she turns in to a cuddle machine and plasters her body to yours and gives tons of hugs and kisses. She doesn't give those things freely and only gives them to a select few when she's ready. I'm glad I happen to one of those chosen few (Thayne's one too. I think he's higher on the list than me!).

Kaia loves to pretend. She can make a family out of anything. I gave her a piece of paper and she rip it into two pieces and one piece was the mommy and one piece was the baby and the baby had poopy pants that the mom didn't want to change them. Sounds like she got that scenario from a real life experience! We got the Little People out of storage when we got here and she loves to play with them. She can play for a long time in her room if she's surrounded by those Little People!

Kaia is also the biggest teaser ever around. One of the worst things she has done is moved her high chair right in the middle of the kitchen, sat in it, and every time one of the kids came close to her she would reach out and pull their hair until they screamed. How does a two year old think of things like that? Of course, she's smiling the whole time. She even laughed one time! Scary!! She loves to grab the kids's toys and run with them and when they catch her and pin her down to get the toy she comes crying to me and says that she had it first. I think she likes to tease Josie the most because she gets the most reaction out of her. Josie is so upset when Kaia takes her toys that she can't catch Kaia right away because she's crying and screaming. I really try to act like the adult and discipline her but I always have to turn my head for a moment to wipe the grin off my face and compose myself.

Kaia is constantly talking and asking questions. She has great grammar and understands so much for toddler. We are so impressed with how advanced she is and laugh everyday over something she said or did. One of her favorite things to do is hold on to the dog's tail and follow him around where ever he goes. She doesn't try to direct him, she just holds and follows. He lets her do it and knows that he has to keep walking around until she gets bored. Our dog's name is Cooper but Kaia calls him "Coopy". She rolls all over him, lays on him and makes him take her dolls for a ride. He puts up with her and never refuses! They have a special relationship!
Kaia was our special blessing during law school. She was the highlight of that time in our lives. I think she will always have a special place in Thayne's heart as the "law school baby"!

It's all about Indiya!

It's Indiya's turn to be bragged about! What a little girl she is!! Thayne and I both agree that she is our best helper around! She loves to help with everything. I even have had her change Zoey's diaper and she did great! When I asked her to do it she jumped right at it and followed every step she has seen me do. When I've asked Josie to do it she complains and says, "This is icky" the whole time she's doing it and tries to change the diaper with her thumb and first finger only. The contrast is between these two girls is amazing!

Indi is a bit obsessive compulsive. She changes her obsessions often. Some obsessions she's had is washing her hands and making sure everyone else is washing theirs. Every time you come out of the bathroom she is right there to make sure you washed your hands. Jaed hates this! I think he purposely doesn't wash his hands because he gets quite a reaction out of Indi. He'll finally go wash his hands when she won't play anything with him and avoids everything he touches. She even goes on and on about how disgusting it is that he didn't wash his hands. Another obsession is germs. She was constantly asking if this or that had germs on it. You should have seen her face when I finally told her that germs are on everything. I thought she was going to die! I think that's where the hand washing obsession came in to play because i told her that if we wash our hands often then it kills the germs.

Indi is very compassionate and sensitive. She hates to see others hurting and is so willing to hug them and comfort them however she can. She loves to make friends and is not shy about asking someone to be her friend. If they say yes, she'll immediately hold their hand and lead them to where ever they're going to play. She's quite the social butterfly!

Indi is very obedient and wants to do what is right. She tries very hard to follow all the rules! It's nice to have a child that I don't constantly have to look after and watch. When her and Josie are fighting and I come into the room to be the referee, I'll immediately ask who is going to be like Jesus and Indi and Josie BOTH points at Indi.

Indi is truly a delight in our family! She keeps us moving and there is never a dull moment when she's around. She has a great sense of humor and laughing all the time!

Bad hair!

Can eight month olds have bad hair days? If so, I think this is a perfect example of one!

All about Josie!

Josie is my next child to brag about. Wow, where do I even start. Thayne often says that Josie could have been just fine being an only child. She loves to play by herself and is easily bugged by her siblings, but loves them even though the bug her sometimes....ok, most of the time. My mom said that Josie looks exactly like I did at her age and if you look at pictures of me at her age, you'd probably say the same thing.

Josie thrives on routine and does not do well with change. She likes everything in it's place and when it's out of place she becomes frustrated until it's back the way it is suppose to be. When she unloads the dishwasher she does it perfectly and in her own way. If you tell her to unload the bowls first you'll get an ear full about how that's not the order she does it in. She has certain rules that she does not break in the house but other rules she thinks are jokes. For example, she knows that she can not wear her school shoes on any other day but school days and if I'm in a hurry and want her to just throw them on she will fight be until she wins, saying "I CAN'T WEAR THOSE! IT'S NOT A SCHOOL DAY!". But, she's more then willing to break the rule about not touching my jewelry, she'll come out of my room with every necklace and bracelet on I own. How can you not chuckle at her (after I sternly tell her to get the jewelry back in my room, of course.).

When it comes to learning new things at school you can see that she really wants to learn them and is trying so hard. It's not an easy thing for her but after a lot of practice, the light bulb turns on and she's got it down. Her favorite subject in school is music. She loves to sing and be sung to. She tries really hard to sing with a vibrato in her voice which makes it a bit humorous. She loves to make up her own songs and sing them for you. The only problem with that is that the songs never end. I usually have to wait until she takes a huge breathe and then start clapping, saying "That was wonderful, Josie!" which is normally responds, "I'm not done, though." and keeps going.

She is truly a blessing in our lives and keeps us on our toes, constantly! Thayne and I often wonder what her husband will be like and how he'll handle her :)>.