Update

Well, I am once again taking an idea from a fellow blogger. I realized that I too have not put any "real" information about how life in the Bowers house is going. I guess with my new job and Keith in school time has just been flying by.

Right now we have a guest for a few days, Keith's brother Jason, who is staying with us till Friday night when he is flying to Spokane to pick up my sister Erin and help her drive her car down here. Erin is going to move in with us until she can get a job and get settled. We are so excited to have her, I think it will be challenging at times, but SO worth it to have actual, real family nearby (they are a lot easier to hit up for free babysitting than friends...hehehe). We are still waiting for our bunk beds to show up! They emailed a while back and said they are on back order and that they should be shipping out by at least today, so hopefully they will arrive soon, so poor Erin isn't sleeping on the floor/couch for too long!

The kids are changing so quickly that even I am noticing it. I feel like usually it is so gradual when they change that I don't even realize it. But, lately I feel like I am noticing changes every day. I think a large part of that is that Brady is going through a mental growth spurt! He is trying out a bunch of new words (nothing too hard, he doesn't want to strain himself) like apple, shoe, cloud. Small words, but big in my eyes considering the kid DOESN'T TALK!! He is also not so much of a pain in my butt anymore. He has become very lovey and it makes me melt. If you want him to pay attention to you , all you have to do is lay on the floor and he will come running over so he can use you as his personal jungle gym (hey, any attention is good attention from my non-snugly kids!). The down side of this is that he is VERY clingy, when either Keith or I leave, he cries. He has to wave to us out the window, and this lessens the separation anxiety somewhat, but this too has an upside, whenever we return home he is overjoyed to see us! Nothing makes me feel better than pulling up to the apartment to see Brady laughing and smiling at me in the window and then running to me when I open the door.

Natalie on the other hand is turning into a teenager more and more every day! She is sassy, and moody, and hates to go to bed, and hates to get out of bed, and doesn't want to eat with the family. When I write it all down like that it sounds bad, but she really is still so good, I don't know how I got so lucky with her. I think she too is growing mentally and is testing me and Keith to see what her boundaries are. She is finally learning that we eat dinner together and she can't play while we eat and then decide 5 minutes later (when me and Keith are mid-meal) that she wants a plate of food now. That doesn't go over to well. I definitely think I need to get her into a preschool. I was hesitant at first because I didn't want her to be in preschool for 2 years, but her little mind is soaking up so much that I think this is a prime time for her to be in some sort of learning environment. She loves to do grown up things too, she wants nothing to do with her booster seat half of the time, she loves to "craft" with me, and is pretty much an enjoyable kid to be around. And she is absolutely THRILLED that Uncle Jason is here, if she were older I wouldn't be surprised to see her trying to put makeup on him and ribbons in his hair! Right now though she will settle for a game of Chutes and Ladders with him.

Keith is doing good in school, I assume! I really don't know much about his schooling this year, other than he has chosen a field he wants to enter (estate planning) and has joined some cool groups that are going to be giving him that needed experience to get started on the job search that will be coming up here pretty soon. He LOVES to fish in "our" pond, and he does so every time he gets the chance. Our poor wii is feeling left out I am sure, but I love to see at least one of us getting a little fresh air and sun!

And me...well, I never know what to say, plus I am all typed out! If any of you actually made to to the end of this post than I am impressed. I am doing well, working as much as I can to bring in that needed moolah, and now I am also becoming obsessed with swaps! I work on them while I am working and it helps the time fly by! (I put a link to the pictures of the swaps I am doing on the side bar) I guess over all life is pretty good, which in turn makes me worry about what trials are coming next!