Updates

Troy

4 1/2: Loves to color lately. I am a big fan of a sitting activity. He loves to draw shapes and then scribble over them with another color and laugh. He likes to write letters, his name, and copy drawings of his bots that I draw (very poorly. Drawing is not a talent of mine.) Troy likes to tease Liam to get a reaction and has a hard time stopping. But he loves to make Katelyn laugh and does a good job of it. He likes to watch Daniel Tigers neighborhood (THE best show ever in my humble opinion.) He sings the songs all day long. His rescue bot toys are his friends that he talks to and puts in time out. Haha. Liam saw it and now copies Troy. But Liam gives them a kiss after they say sorry :) So cute to me. Troy likes to do things right the first time, he gets embarrassed if you correct him, but Daniel Tiger has a song about trying again that has helped. He also wants to parent Liam. Sometimes good, sometimes not. Liam has a really loud scream. 

I am really grateful for Troy's desire to do right and to please us. He is a sweetheart and we are so grateful for his influence. 

Katelyn

9 months: She is SO good and smiley. Everyone gasps at how light she is. She is really light. Especially compared to Mr Liam. People used to gasp at how deceivingly heavy Liam was. Kate is almost crawling, she loves to get up on her knees and lunge forward. Katelyn will not be rocked to sleep, which is awesome at home but a little hard at church. Still wakes up once at night and naps twice. She loves food and her hands shake before the first bite. She gets so excited when Ben gets home. She has to be held if you make eye contact with her. Liam loves to get a reaction out of her, but it ends up scaring her, so I hold her a lot anyways. I can not believe what a peace Katelyn brings to our family. What a sweet little personality and beautiful smile and laugh. We love our Katerbug. 

Liam

2 3/4: Always in motion, which is why I don't have many pictures of him. We usually end up taking video. He loves to run, jump, and spin in circles. He loves to be with his family and gets very concerned if someone naps for too long and almost wakes them up if I don't catch him. He is so energetic but also thinks of others a lot. If I give him crackers, he gives some to Troy and even Katelyn sometimes. He always asks Troy, "You wan some too?" Liam honestly cannot sit for more than 20 seconds. We have tried everything. He will watch Daniel Tiger for about 10 minutes but then gets distracted. Sacrament meeting is a really big patience tester. We are in the hallway a lot. Not because he is crying, but because he is yelling for no reason about someones owie (cast) or someone's toy or snack. If we let him hold a toy for too long, he chucks it. Breast feeding Katelyn is the best part of church nowadays. It's the only time I get to just listen to the speaker. 

But Liam can melt your heart faster than anyone and I am so excited for his sweetness to bond our kids together. 

Ben is learning a lot at work and getting up to speed. Change is always challenging, but he is doing great I think. There are great people at his office and this last week they went in really early to fill up a coworkers office with balloons. Hundreds of balloons. 

I am finding joy in each day. Some days I can't see how such trivial tasks could make one happy, but then I think about being a mom and not a maid/cook. Prayer and study are big factors on my mood. I also think a lot about schools and areas to live, but I am reminded to focus on the most important things by the Spirit. I love the friends we have made already and I really look forward to chatting with them at church and at play group. I am adjusting to our new family schedule. I feel grateful for so much. We get to see the Kitchens for Thanksgiving and some of my family this weekend. We are SO excited for both of those visits. I love the holidays! Happy Thanksgiving!!!