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| christmas 2014 |
After having a nice texting chat with my sister-in-law a few weeks ago, I decided that it was time to jump back into blogging. Sure, I've been busy, but it's not like I'm trying to make a career out of this! I blog for enjoyment and to keep those who are interested in my life- namely a few friends and family- up to date on the happenings of our life. Also, it's a great record keeper- I'm basically writing my family bible. Ha. But really, I used to be into journaling so that I wouldn't "forget a moment" and that fizzled out once I got married. Whoops. A lot of precious moments forgotten I guess.
What the heck are we all up to now? Well, we are still in Oregon! Yay. I love it here. I miss my dear friends and ward in Wisconsin, but Oregon is wonderful in every way- close to the mountains, ocean, beautiful weather, and best of all- close to family. I never thought we would be homebodies, but it has been a blessing to be close to both our families for once. We live with my in-laws (how much closer can we get?? hahaha) and Carl's siblings are all within an hour's drive. There are aunts, uncles, and cousins every which way we look because something about this Leder family keeps everyone in the same area, many in the same town, for generations. My parents, sister, and brother-in-law, are only a mere 9-1/2 hour drive down south- only a 1-1/2 HOUR plane ride! It has also been wonderful for our kids to be so close to their cousins. I love seeing Ezra and my nephew play and use their imaginations together.
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| Makes you think National Geographic cover, right?? |
Vivienne's favorite..
- color is purple
- food is cucumbers and pickles. Oh and goldfish. duh.
- beverage is chocolate milk
- activity is playing in water (endless bathtime, sprinklers, the sink...)
- show/movie are my little ponies and the book of life
- book is "where's spot?"
She is a master of getting under Ezra's skin and making sure all the attention is on her. She loves to have the spotlight! She is our big talker. I can hardly remember a time when she wasn't talking now. She was an early bloomer when it came to talking! We thought she was an early bloomer when it came to using the potty, since she started wearing undies at around 18-20 months, but that has been a 1+ year process. I guess some parents claim their children are potty trained when they use the potty 50% of the time, but until my kids are 100% day potty trained, I claim almost potty trained. So, as of one week now, she is 99% day potty trained! I'll take it. Potty training is my least favorite parenting venture.
Ezra is in preschool and a teacher's pet- they all love him! Unfortunately, preschool takes a lot of his time and energy, so come the end of the day, we have noticed a lot more attitude from our little guy. Nonetheless, he is such a good kid! I love this kiddo. He will be so good with the new baby! I love his imagination and expressions. This kid is so outgoing and social. I never have to worry he won't make friends. We decided to "homeschool" him for kindergarten this upcoming year. I say "homeschool" because I enrolled him in the Oregon Virtual Academy (ORVA) which is through k12.com. It is essentially public school brought to your home. So, I'm not coming up with my own curriculum, but I do have a lot more active role in instruction and support. We weren't really sure where we would end up after Carl and I graduate, and enrolling him in public school has been up for debate since we started having kids, so I figured, why not just try "in-between homeschooling" and see how he does? The one thing about Ezra's preschool is that I don't feel like he has been challenged enough. I like the idea of him attending kindergarten for 2-4 hours a day so that we have more time to do activities he really wants to do like gymnastics or going to museums. And if I completely fail at this, at least it was just kindergarten. Ha! Good plan, I know.
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| my favorite 2014 picture! |
I can finally see a time in our life where there is a solid plan and no moving to a new state. I have loved our moving adventures over the last 7 years, seeing our country from coast to coast and getting to know people from all walks of life. It has been a blessing. Not many people can say they've lived in 7 states (13 moves? I keep losing count) in 7 years. But- I am glad to say we are settling down in Oregon. This is our home now. Carl received two job offers this week, so we definitely will be staying in the area! That is probably are most exciting news!
I am surviving most days :) 26 is not very old, but something about have two kids and a baby on the way has aged my body. I guess I need to actually try harder to get back into tip-top shape after this baby is born. This baby is very active and kicks me hard every hour. The pregnancy has been quite different than my other two, namely the morning sickness for the first 20 weeks. I am grateful for zofran but grateful to not be dependent on it any more. I've actually had sciatic pain too- I can now relate to other moms in that matter. It hurts a LOT. My abdomen grew very quickly as well, so I have many more stretch marks than before. We are stoked to meet our tie-breaker in July though! Either way, baby girl or boy will be adorable and loved :)
This is my last and final semester as well! I am beyond excited to never go back to school if I don't want to. I am glad to be finishing my BSN though. It just needed to be done. Overall, I'd say the workload hasn't been too horrendous and this semester is my (thankfully) lightest one, with only one class at 3.0 credits. I took 9 credits in the fall and 7 credits last semester. There is some busy work, but I'm at a point where I could care less if I get an A anymore. It's funny the things that used to matter don't really mean anything anymore. I was working to get an A again last semester and was doing well until the last three weeks of the semester when I thought, "what am I trying to prove?" I knew I could do it, but why did I want it? Just to say "Boom! I got straight A's!" ? So I skipped all of my last few busy work assignments and received a beautiful B. It was the best way to end my semester!
I hope you all are doing well! I look forward to chronicling our life more in upcoming months! We've had a trip to Spain, grandparent visits, and all sorts of fun :)
