Moving

Wow, it has been so long since we have posted. Hmmmm, were to start. Mid to end of November we decided to move closer to Randy's work so that he wouldn't have to continue to drive over an hour each direction for work. Randy has been wanting to move for months, but I wasn't so sure about moving closer to the border. We looked at a bunch of homes and made a decision on a home in Rio Rico. We put in the offer, they countered, we countered back and they finally accepted the offer. We were a mere week and a half from closing when the roof inspection came back requiring a new roof. We offered to pay for half of the costs of the roof, but the seller refused to pay any more than a fourth of the cost, so we cancelled the contract and went back to look for more homes. We drove by a bunch of homes and without even going inside, we were sure we didn't want any of them. We did however find a few that we wanted to see the inside, with one in particular that we really liked. The one that we liked the most is off of a creek that runs year round, has tons of trees, a workshop and a storage shed, on just under an acre, 3 beds, 2 baths, a huge fireplace, and over 2000 sq feet of space. When we went to go for a full tour, we brought Sandy with us so that we had a less biased opinion. We all really like the home. Sandy even said that she felt like she was in Idaho with how green and pretty the land is. Jolee loved running around the home and she even found the room that will be hers and hid in it. Although she did pinch her fingers in the door trying to close it. The master bedroom has a large walk in closet (hurray!). We plan on remodeling the kitchen, but everything else is pretty much okay! So we will see what will happen, if they accept the offer and everything goes through with the inspection, then we should be moving mid to end of January. We are very excited and can't wait to have more space. We have already started packing (if the first house would have gone through, we would have moved next week) and we are ready to be out of boxes.

Cookie Making

Jolee loves to help Aunt Sandy make cookies! I think her favorite part is trying to eat as many as possible before Mom and Dad cut her off.

Even more more pictures

Wearing Mommy's shirts

After rice crispy treats

Even more pictures

Sleeping with Daddy

Sleeping with teddy

Trying to put a shirt on as pants

More pictures

Jolee meeting the puppies

Hiding in the back of the car (we were parked)

 The Swanns at Uncle Neal's

At the park with Aunt Misty

Pushing cousin Jocelyn

Learning to put on make-up

Good-bye picnic for Uncle Mikal (he is serving a mission in Independence, Missouri)

Jumping on the trampoline with Aunt Misty

Up in the air on Mom's feet

Silly Swanns

Trying to bottle feed a puppy

Pictures

Helping Daddy get his room ready before school started

Learning to get dressed

1st time in jumping castle

Using her keys to unlock the nightstand

Daddy and Jolee

Feeding a giraffe with Mommy

A couple of Swanns

Drinking on the go

Look a peacock

Playing in the water

Footprints

Playing the piano with Mommy

Silly girl and her duck

Jolee's potty

Jolee's bean bag chair

Stuck between chair and table

After a popsicle

Still kicking

Yes, I am still alive. I know I haven't posted in forever, but I blame my princess on that. She loves to be wherever I am at and "help" with whatever I am doing and after 3 or 4 posts that I had started were deleted, I gave up for a while. As she is asleep right now, I have a few minutes to write, before I am going to go crash. I am finally working part time and I am LOVING it. It is one of the best things to happen since Jolee was born. I love getting to spend more time with Jolee. Life is so much better when I get to be home more. Working full time nights was starting to drag me down and I was losing far to much of Jolee's childhood for me to be happy. I am trying to make the most of each day that I am home. We have done quite a few zoo trips. Our day usually starts off with breakfast. Then I turn the radio or a CD on and we dance. Jolee is a great dancer! I want to put her in ballet when she is a few years older. Jolee loves to blow bubbles, but I have to hold the bottle or she will dump it everywhere. She is actually pretty good at blowing bubbles. She likes to build towers with blocks or legos and then knock them over. We are working on learning more sign language and talking more. She knows how to sign: food, water, milk, cracker, more, again, hungry, cuddle, dog, peach, color, thank-you, please. Jolee says: mama, dada, hi, bye, more, cracker, hungry, dog, baby, peach, apple, keys, puppies. She probably says and signs a few more words, but I can't really think tonight. She also is working on learning animal sounds. She woofs like a dog, quacks like a duck, moos like a cow, meows like a cat, and opens her mouth like a fish (it is hilarious). She knows how to use keys to unlock locks and open drawers. She likes to climb and do anything dangerous. She loves getting the mail. Lately she has been getting in a lot of trouble for trying to run rampant in the grocery store and for trying to run and hide in the parking lot. NOT good. She is going through another growth spurt and has been super snuggly, so I have been slacking on housework and spending more and more time just holding and cuddling her. She loves to cuddle. We are again trying dairy products with her and she is finally able to tolerate them! She is really enjoying yogurt. She still has mostly soy, but dairy is officially been added to her diet. It is going to be so much easier to cook without having to check ingredients all the time. Randy continues to enjoy teaching in Nogales and we are planning on him continuing to teach in Nogales for at least 3 more years, but possibly much much longer. With Randy having to drive an hour and 15 minutes each direction, it is getting to be more and more pricey with raising gas prices and Jolee and I are missing having him home. With all of this, we are starting the process of looking for a home in the Rio Rico area. I always said that I wasn't going to move again until we move to Idaho, I guess I was always wrong. I am still running (just ran 4 miles tonight). I ran a 5K a few weeks ago and I will be running a 12K in December and another 1/2 marathon in January. I am having the pleasure of helping one of my very good friends train also. It has been a blast to run with her and help her "learn" to run. I miss having Randy with me, but it is much easier to run with someone closer to my height and not have to try to keep up with Randy. We continue to be doing well and we are excited and a bit terrified at the thought of a new home and the changes that go along with it (having to find a new babysitter, YIKES!). Love you all, Sarah

Oh, I almost forgot, Jolee is working on potty training (yes, I know it is early, but we are using cloth diapers and I am very motivated to help her learn to use the potty). She is starting to both sign and say potty. She loves to say peepee and poopies. She is getting better and better at telling us when she needs to go potty and she running to the bathroom. When I was over at a friend's house visiting teaching, Jolee had a piece of toilet paper and proceeded to wipe her fully dressed bum. I think I will have to start working on teaching her that the potty is a private place. I think I am up for a lot of embarassment in the next few months.

ME TOO!!!

Jolee seems to think that she can do anything that we are doing. It never ceases to amaze me what she thinks she should be able to do. She has become quite the dare devil. She will climb on to the couch and stand on the very edge and jump on the edge of the couch until she almost falls the she runs to the back of the couch only to do it all over again. She will occasionally fall off and think that it was the greatest thing ever. We will occasionally put her on the bed, until she gets to the edge and almost falls off. She loves to play on the bed, running, falling, and jumping.

Jolee even thinks that she needs to be eating what we are eating, although what we are frequently eating will make her sick. She even attempts to take the dog for a walk. When we bring him in from a walk Jolee will run over and grab the leash before we take it off of him and try to walk him. She does pretty good until the dog pulls a little bit and then she drops the leash. I think that she needs a little more practice before she actually gets to walk him outside of the house. Jolee has been wanting to type on the computer because she sees mom, aunt Sandy, and dad typing on the computer. So this morning I let her type  a letter and this is what the out come was. I let her type until she said that she was done. She did havbe fun and I guess it is all part of learning.

Zvcgnbvnbnnnbnmmnbnbnggnnnnnnnjjjjgjgnhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhm            vyd7ufuuryt6ey7ey cwbcxf              gjjjgm                                                                                                        v    vmv n                     sll;mm mmkfdrkllwl;4dzccdbhsghgggfgdggesasgvvvv b                              bqwyuew2T76b7                1`8b78nHAHBHhhvfhhbj cdhjcgggggg             k,,,kaaq 

Jolee loves to eat cold cereal for breakfast. She will eat two or three small bowls full with a bit of soy milk. She is still allergic to milk and I am hoping that she will out grow it. It would make life so much easier if she did.

Work is going well for me. Although by the end of the week the students are driving me a little crazy. Most are doing much better. I have one student that does not like to listen. The like to grab students and/or teachers/aides. He usually will grab them by the arm, wrist, or hand. However with one particular aide he loves to attempt to grab her in in appropriate places and areas. One day he attempted to undress her. Last Friday this aide was not here so it was my turn. This student decided to "hug" me but did not let go. When I finally got him to let go he grabbed my wrists and would not let go. It was not until I got the "do it now" voice that he let go. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Sometimes I think that it is better to have a room filled with 3-4 year olds, rather than have a room filled with high school aged students with the mentality of 3-4 year olds. What was I thinking? How could this have ever been my dream job? Now with all doubts aside, I really do enjoy my students. I have been able to see some of my students grow by leaps and bounds all ready. One student is non verbal and would not use their communication device. She would also have everything given to her. It was when I came into the picture that she had to ask for what she wanted, using her device. She will now verbalize what she wants and has become quite the little spit fire. I guess that is what I get for wanting her to open up. Another student that that is also non verbal has also opened up and has been quite the little miss attitude. What have I done. Oh well, things will improve. They always get worse before they get better. I do enjoy my students and I don't even mind the drive. Although it would be nice to be home in thirty minutes or less.

Life Goes On

My how the time flies! I was absolutely sure that my first year of teaching would drag horrendously slow. But here it is almost the end of the first quarter and I feel like school just started. I do have a long drive each school day, about an hour and 15 minutes each way. I am surviving though. I love working in Nogales! I have the best special education director. He actually cares and is willing to spend monies on a program to make it better. I have at least not been told no yet. I have gotten hesitation on one thing though. We will see if it happens. I love working with my students. Though they are a handful at times they are a lot of fun during other times.

Sarah has finally gone part time, YEA!!!! She gets to finally be home with Jolee more frequently. Though I am not sure she knows what to do with all the extra time ;). She is enjoying every single second of being with Jolee. She also keeps herself busy making freezer meals every now and then. Sarah does so well with planning ahead and works hard to keep us with in budget. Having to learn to budget with a smaller income, I think we are doing rather well over all. She has also ben busy reorganizing the house and getting quotes on AC units. She is doing well at keeping the house running smooth while I am working. We went on a date by ourselves last Friday and it was awesome. We had french food at a little french diner, overly priced but good. Afterwards we walked over to a gelato place and got some yummy gelato. We think that gelato is much tastier than ice cream. It is also healthier for than ice cream. I think that pistachio gelato is my favorite.

Jolee is growing fast, I can hardly believe that she is almost 16 months old! It was just yesterday that she was born. She now has a mouth full of teeth and is currently working on her eye teeth. After she is finished with those I think that she has one more set of molars and then she will be done until she loses teeth and when she is twelve. She is very much so a busy body. She has to be able to do things on her own or she will yell at us. She has gotten pretty good at using a spoon and eating cold cereal, with soy milk of course, and other foods. Jolee is getting braver and daring to try different foods and textures. She does pretty well. She continues to learn and grow and develop at lightning speed. This morning she took apart a recorder that Sarah had given her to play with. I did not even know that it came apart. I am in for a heap of trouble!! I will be hiding my drill so that she will not want to take it apart. She already gets upset when I do not let her help me fix things. The dreaded, "you'll have a child just like you some day," curse.

We ordered our grass and it has been delivered and planted. We ordered Zoysia grass. It is supposed to be drought tolerant, low water usage, slow growing, and choke out bermuda grass and weeds. It is the miracle grass. We will keep you posted on how we like it. We planted it on Saturday and it took al day long. I am in the process of changing the serpentine belt on the Buick. It is a pain in the butt. Who ever designed this engine and the way it is mounted to the car needs to be shot. My sister has moved down from Idaho and is staying with us until she can get a job and get on her feet under her. She has been a big help and always eager to watch Jolee for us. As you can see with or with out a post life goes on! We are busy, happy, and healthy and enjoying each other and the time we get to spend together.

That Tickles

Jolee loves tickling and being tickled. The other day she decided that she wasn't being tickled enough, so she walked up to me, pulled up her shirt so that her belly was showing and she proceeded to tickle her own belly and giggle hysterically. It was one of the cutest things I have seen her do. When Randy got home from work today, he took his shoes and socks off as usual, but then, he was attacked by the tickle monster. Jolee stood over his feet and rested her head on the floor so that she could use both hands to tickle Daddy's feet. Randy is so ticklish and he was laughing like crazy and whenever we laugh, Jolee laughs too. It was so much fun to watch Jolee tickle Randy and both of them laugh. I can't help myself from laughing right now just thinking about it!

Playing in the Sprinklers

          Jolee came outside with me to help me water. After she had "helped," we were both so wet that I decided it was a great time to play in the sprinklers. We had a great time and ended up sopping wet.