January-March

So much for New Year's resolutions, am I right? Ha.  Well, I've finally finished my classes so I feel like I can get my feet back underneath me and do some of the things that I've been putting on the back burner for the last few months.  (My teaching license expires this fall, so I had to take some college classes this last semester to renew.)  January through March were a whirlwind of snow, homework, and sickness.  This season was really bad for the flu and other yuckies in our area.  Luckily, none of us got the actual Influenza, but we were sick with other things.  Since I work at the gym daycare one day a week, we were bringing home a new virus every Wednesday.  By nothing short of a miracle, Brennen had every Wednesday off for the entire month of February so the boys could stay home and get better.  Benson had some mucus drainage and a really bad cough for about 4 months straight, and if he got to coughing too hard, he'd vomit :(.  Tanner just always had this or that, mostly runny nose and cough, but has been better for a while.  Even though Brennen is still treating the flu daily at work, we are finally at a point where we are all healthy again!

In February, Tanner started his first semester of preschool up at the university! It was really good for him to get out of his element and interact with other kids and adults.  He always had a lot of fun, and would come home with home-made play-doh at least once a week.  At the end of the semester, the teachers put on a little slide show with pictures and videos from throughout the semester and I got a little teary eyed!  Not only because I could see how much Tanner was growing up, but also because I didn't know what I was going to do with him for two hours on MWF when he would no longer be in preschool!

Benson turned one on Jan 27.  This last year has been the shortest of my life.  I honestly can't think of another year that has flown by quicker than 2017.  Benson is our little family comedian.  He is always so happy and in a good mood.  He loves his brother, even when Tanner is mean to him and always want to play with him.  He loves to play peek-a-boo and will often go hide behind things and come out and "scare" you.  He thinks it's great that he can make people laugh.  He also loves to read books.  This makes my teacher heart happy :).  It's so funny to see the difference between Tanner and Benson when they wake up in the morning or from a nap.  Benson is smiling and happy a few seconds after waking up and it takes Tanner like 30 minutes! Benson has more teeth than I care to count, and knows a few words and phrases: "I want that" (this is the most common), "Stop," "Bath," "Ball," "Dog," "Cat," and "Dad." He will also fold his arms for prayers!

Brennen and I are just living one day at a time, haha! Our boys keep us on our toes and there surely is no rest for the weary.  We just bought new bikes and a bike trailer to haul the boys in, so hopefully we will be doing a lot of that this summer!  We had like two decent days this week that we were able to go out, but today the 30mph winds were back, wreaking havoc on the neighborhood's trash cans.  To give you an idea, while I was buckling Tanner into his carseat, the wind blew the truck's door shut on my leg.  Ouch.  The next couple of days I have plans to meet up with some old friends, Jessica and Alan, that I haven't seen for a few years.  I'm excited to see them and meet their cute twin boys.  Brennen has been working really hard at re-painting our house from its dark brown walls to a brighter, creamier, off-white color.  We have the whole upstairs done, plus the stairway and the intimidating 17 ft high entryway.  All that's left is the living room, dining room/kitchen, and half bath downstairs.  We are getting close!  Hopefully since I no longer have homework we can get it done quick! I'm going to try to start teaching for VIPKID.  Wish me luck because I'm not a fan of 3 a.m! I started my application back in December/January and Brennen convinced me that I couldn't do it with my classes, and he was right.  Now that Benson's FINALLY starting to sleep through the night more than once or twice a year, I might be able to do it.