Changing and Growing

Lately, I've been putting our family videos onto dvds. It has been a fun trip down memory lane for the past three years.

It's hard to believe that Kevin was such a chunky little guy, and that he's changed so much in only three years.

This was Kevin on the day he was born. It wasn't the best birth ever, but I was sure grateful for the results. It is kind of weird to think that without modern medicine, neither Kevin nor I would be here today.

He was 8 lbs 11 oz at birth. It is kind of funny actually, because I see people with their tiny babies, and I think, "Kevin was never that small!"...or at least not on this side of the tummy wall. I ask them how much their babies weigh and they tell me things like, "Oh, she's grown so much! She's nearly eight pounds now!"

He had dark hair and many fat rolls. His eyes were blue, and he was generally a very happy baby.

This is Kevin now:

He still has blue eyes, but his hair turned blond a few months after he was born, and it's been fairly light ever since. He's talking and running and jumping. Sometimes he thinks he can fly too. Moving so much has really slimmed him down. Every day I think he can't get any cuter and he proves me wrong.

He loves to play with other kids, and he loves to have adults to play with too.

He's really been talking lately. It's been fun to have Argent (my sister-in-law) staying with us. Every time she walks upstairs, Kevin yells, "Look, Argent! Look!"

If I don't respond right away, he repeats it until I express excitement as well. Then, he'll run up and give her a big hug. He sure loves his aunt.

She's been sick, but she's starting to feel better, and Kevin is excited to do things with her.

Kevin loves Arkhon. He and his puppy are best friends. They run around and play and Arkhon tolerates nearly every game that Kevin comes up with. Sometimes we have to play referee, but they do pretty well for the most part. Arkhon would never dream of hurting Kevin, though Kevin occasionally hurts his dog on accident. Luckily, Arkhon has gotten bigger.

A lot bigger.

The size of our puppy

The size of our 9 month old dog.

 He is really doing well. He gets a bit excited when company first gets here, but he calms down quickly.

Long-suffering, thy name is Arkhon.

Dakota is still hanging in there. She was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago, but she's still going. She's pretty sore most of the time, and occasionally her breathing sounds atrocious, but she's a champ. Even though Arkhon is taller at the shoulder now, she still tells the puppy who's boss.

Kevin loves her too, but she doesn't play any more, which makes Arkhon more fun. Argent likes Dakota better. She likes how calm she is. Arkhon has too much energy for her most days.

Our snake is doing well, and is a lot bigger. I'll have to put some updated picture of him up soon. Our second fish, Renji, is also still alive. Hopefully he'll keep going for a while. I think he's already out-lived Gin.

Grig and I have grown and changed a lot in the last three years too. We've grown closer, and have become less selfish. We're still works in progress, but I have learned a lot from becoming a mother. Who could have imagined that we would be where we are now, with our own home? Sometimes it seems too good to be true and I have to thank my Heavenly Father for our many blessings.

I look forward to more lessons from my crazy family

Happy New Year!

I haven't written any goals yet. That's tomorrow's goal, I think.

He loves his dog. Happy New Year!

I am pretty ashamed of myself though. I only blogged 6 times in December. I can try to make excuses for that, but honestly, I could have done better.

*Raises a glass of Martinelli's* Here's to a better blogging year (and videos)!

I am going to have some exciting goals this year. The most immediate one, is to buy a home.

Yes, we have found our home. Following the inspection next week, and barring any serious problems, we will be settling in this home February 13ish. That's almost my birthday, and it may be the only present I'm getting!

Happy birthday to me!

A couple of other things I've learned about buying a home. Earnest money has to be submitted usually within four days of accepting the offer or counteroffer. Once that happens, things move fairly quickly, though if you are getting a loan, you have to wait for approval.

It is an awesome home, and we are very excited about it.

Also, inspections and appraisals are not the same thing. Inspections are paid for by the buyer, while appraisals can be negotiated to be paid by the seller. If the appraisal finds something wrong, it has to be fixed before the  loan will accept the home. However, if the inspection finds something wrong, it is up to you how you deal with it. Hopefully neither will find anything seriously wrong.

Soon, this boy will be sleeping in his new bedroom. (And yes, they are both asleep in this picture).

Our puppy is growing up. Arkhon is almost six months old now, and as tall as Dakota. She's twice as heavy as him still, especially with her fur grown in, but his stilt-like legs move him faster than light.

We had some pretty awesome snowstorms around Christmas, and the dogs loved it. Kevin hasn't been enjoying the cold as much, but hopefully it will snow enough here so that we can go sledding sometime.

Ah, my snow dogs.

I'd like that.

I've also finally figured out where the first book in my series is going to end! This was the book I worked on for Nanowrimo, but the problem was that the plot is super-long. So, I was trying to figure out where to end the first book so that it would have a conclusion, but still be exciting. I think I figured it out, and it's really not very far away from where I'm writing. That means my first draft is about done! Whoohoo. I'm motivated to start writing again. Sometimes not knowing when you're ending is as bad as not knowing where you're going. I knew where my book was heading, but I just didn't know where it was ending.

 A lot of exciting things are happening, and hopefully by the end of next month we'll be in our new home.

Here's the goal of writing every day, Monday through Friday, again. I'm going to do it!

Hooray for a new year with new opportunities. When I tell you my new goals, I will also make an accounting of my goals from last year.