A Few Months Passed. . .

Obviously, I neglected to make the monthly update for March and April. . . and now May! I wish there was a better excuse than "I just didn't do it," but really there isn't. It's not that we didn't have things we would like to share or that things weren't happening, it's just a dropped ball (maybe that's why I prefer to use my feet!) One good thing despite all of this, however, is that we haven't stopped snapping pictures or recording interesting/funny/milestone moments. So, before you read on perhaps you need to make a trip to the restroom, get a drink or a snack, and find a comfortable sitting position because this posting will have more useless text and highly entertaining videos than ever before! And with our planned trip in June, I think we can expect the next posting to be filled with loads of things as well!

Since our last update, we have had a visit from Grandma Simonton and Grandma and Grandpa Workman. Their visits overlapped a few days, so it was almost like living near lots of family again for a few days! Alas, it didn't last long enough, as such visits rarely do, but we enjoyed our time together nevertheless. This means, of course, that more of you need to make the trek down and spend time with us. We are just a poor, destitute student-family working toward a better future (I hope!), so visits from us will be very few and far between. I understand the irony of this statement as we are coming to Utah in a few days, but once that's over, I suspect the next time we are in Utah you will have to call me doctor, or Craig Workman, PhD, whichever you prefer. The moral of the story is that you should come and see us while we are still humble and palatable company!

March represented the coming of a late spring; late for Houston anyway. The cool weather hung on for longer, which really delayed the heat waves and blooming flowers. However, once spring came, it was fantastic! I don't remember last spring having weather that pleasant and I sure didn't notice the Blue Bonnets either. One of the veterans with whom I was working was finishing his participation in one of our studies. During our time together we have talked about a lot of different things, among which has been training hunting dogs, his time in the service, and of course Jax and his grandchildren. He asked me if we had ever gone and seen the Blue Bonnets when they bloom at the beginning of spring. When I said no, he told me it's something we might like to do because they are fantastic and make for some good pictures and memories. About two weeks later, he emailed me and told me the Blue Bonnets were out and a drive into the country a little ways might be worth it. It just so happened the following Saturday was a MAGNIFICENT day, so drive into the country we did. And it fantastic was! 

We had to drive out a little further than we originally anticipated, but it was well worth the journey. It was a little funny how we found the spot, too. Aubrey was on watch duty for a field or something that we could stop in and take a few pictures. Then suddenly we rounded a bend and saw a dozen or so cars pulled off of the side of the road. "What's going on there?" I wondered. Then we saw it. . . the entire hillside was covered with Blue Bonnets! It's difficult to describe how beautiful it was to see these vibrant blue flowers blooming on a hill on the side of the freeway.  So, we stopped with the rest of the sheep, got out our cameras and started snapping away (100 something snaps)! These are some of the fruits of our endeavors. This was around Easter, so that's the reason for Harry the Hare being with Jax in the pictures. This really was a wonderful, fun experience that we will likely do again next year. Y'all should come with us (live down here for a few months and you'll be saying y'all too). It was another reminder of how loving Heavenly Father is that he has created such beautiful things for us to see and experience!

Sometime later that month, Frankie was having another not-quite-teething episode. He's had the same 10 teeth for several months now , but has acted like he's been teething several times in the interval, but hasn't gotten the fruits of more teeth for his suffering (update: he's for sure cutting two new ones as I write). These episodes also mean he doesn't eat or nap very well. Well, funny things can happen when 20 month-old boys are simultaneously starving their guys out and devastatingly tired! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are usually soft enough to eat, and tasty enough that he eats more than a bite. But I've never seen him as tired as he was that day. If I'm really being honest, we were probably laughing at him more than we felt sorry for him, but you've got to admit that's a funny way to fall asleep. He's just enough like me to know that sleeping with your hands behind your head is the most comfortable position, even when you're sitting upright! Seriously, though, how tired do you have to be to fall asleep while eating lunch, with the sun in your eyes?

Aubrey is consistently on the hunt for fun things for us to do as a family. I like it because it adds variety to our days and it always seems like she chooses things that are just different enough that they make for great memories. Early this spring she found a Groupon to a local strawberry farm and we went and picked fresh strawberries. We weren't quite sure what to expect with this, so we geared up to get good and dirty, in close that we wouldn't mind staining strawberry red. As is turns out, we probably could have worn just about anything we wanted, because picking strawberries isn't as messy of a job as all that. We were given bag-lined buckets and set loose on the many rows of strawberries. The vibrant red of these freshly picked strawberries was quite astounding, and the freezer jam that ensued continues to provide us with a tasty reminder of something I'm sure we'll do again next year! 

This past March, Aubrey and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. As staying with me for 5 years is quite the accomplishment, we decided to celebrate in style by taking a trip to New Orleans. . . all by ourselves. New Orleans is only a short 6 hour drive. Well, it was supposed to be a 6 hour drive, anyway. As it turns out, one of the problems with most of Louisiana and it's swampiness is there aren't many alternate routes aside from the major highways. So, if something goes wrong on one of those highways, the rest of the highways behind the incident is SCREWED! Our 6 hour trip turned into a 9 hour journey because of three hours of stop, stop, stop, go, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, traffic. There was an incident on the interstate in downtown Baton Rouge and it literally took us 3 hours to travel 20 miles. We were stopped on this gnarly, several hundred foot high bridge crossing the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge for over 30 minutes. It was a bit of a frightening experience. We don't think about how much bridges shake and move when we drive over them because we can't feel the gyrations in motion. But when you're stopped on the bridge and feel every undulation, you can't help but fear for your lives a little. We were starved by the time we got past the stoppage (an RV's engine had caught fire), so we stopped at a McDonald's just off the freeway in Baton Rouge. This experience provided us with the worst example of customer service we have ever seen. The girl taking our order was texting as she was talking to us, wandering around the seating areas on her phone (presumably so her manager wouldn't see her), they messed up our order, and at least two other orders while we were in there. In the end, Aubrey said I can never work at Louisiana State because she's decided she hates all of Baton Rouge! And I really can't blame her. 

So, once we finally got to Nawlins, we were looking forward to things picking up very quickly. Good thing we weren't disappointed. The place at which we were staying was on St. Charles with a trolley stop just outside. We were able to trolley to the French Quarter every morning and spend time seeing the sights, like the sarcophagi,  and experiencing new things. We tried po boys, étouffée  alligator, muffalettas, oysters, gumbo, and of course some beignets. All in all, it was a very relaxing and pleasant experience. Of course we didn't really "experience" The Big Easy to it's fullest because we don't drink, get tattoos, or walk around scandalously dressed. No big deal, at least we got to see Mark Harmon filming with NCIS!

Because the weather has been cooperating lately, we've had more chances to get outside, explore the grass, and pick up and collect every stick that has fallen from the trees over the winter. I've never seen someone so fascinated by twigs and branches as this little kid! I think part of  his motivation is that he wants to be outside as much as possible. . . and bending down to look at and collect as many sticks as possible is the best way to stay outside for extended periods! It's also a great time to run around. Even if you have a funny run that makes your parents giggle every time you get going. Do all little kids run this funny, or just mine? (Some of you dirt bags are tempted to make a crack at how "funny" his parents run; try to resist!)

Aside from running around and picking up sticks, he tried something very unexpected on one of our adventures onto the green surrounding our complex. We were just walking along, picking up sticks (I had been handed at least half a dozen by this point), when he suddenly ran over to a small tree. A small tree he very badly wanted to climb. . . and I have no idea where he got the idea! Funny little guy, isn't he? I particularly love his effort noises for when he's really trying, but it's just too hard! They say little boys have an innate desire to rough-house, climb, jump head first into anything, and do many other seemingly reckless activities that leave their mothers in a panic with the hospital on speed dial. I've seen several flashes of such behavior from this little man as well. It sometimes seems odd to me that the same little boy that isn't afraid to try climbing trees, or jump in the pool, or balance precariously on almost anything higher off the ground that half an inch can get a little fright and run behind the couch when the doorbell rings. I suppose the fear of unknown noises is stronger than the fear of bangs, bruises, lacerations, and pain.

Among the many things Jax is learning as he continues to grow is to be more independent. He has always wanted to be away from us at the park, but his desire to do things solo and in his own way can be very entertaining at times. For example, he's decided that the best way to go down the slide is face-down, and backwards. I find myself saying, "Really, Son, face-down and backwards?" We've been taking him to a park and doing slides for more than a year and we've always done the traditional feet-first and seated style with him or helped him get into that position for the sliding fun (which to be fair to him, he hasn't always found that much fun). So, what's the deal with face-down and backwards? There's really nothing wrong with it, it just makes me wonder where he gets these ideas! First it was trying to climb trees; then it's making up his own ways of going down the slide. And now he seems to have inexplicably gotten over his dislike of dirty hands and has decided that to play in the sand, dirt, and rocks, one must lie prone and fling handfuls of whatever he happens to be in behind himself in a quasi-swimming motion. If I'm being completely honest, it really does look like a lot of fun. I would join him in the rock and sand swimming, but I've been instructed my whole life to keep clean and it's a bit of a hard habit to break. Besides, someone needs to hold the camera.

Now that the warm weather has come and begins to be oppressive, it's finally time to get out and go swimming. We swim as often as we can, and Mom's tan is evidence of that! Over these last two or three weeks, I think we swam at least 8 times, and each time it gets harder and harder to leave. Once, we made the mistake of thinking we could take lunch to the pool and eat before we got in the water. This was a monumental failure. As soon as he had his swim trunks on he knew what we were doing. And going to the pool and not yet being allowed in is the sort of terroristic torture upon which most governments frown. So, instead of eating his sandwich that day, he had a handful of Cheetos (it's not a pool picnic without Cheetos) and was ready for the water. With very few exceptions, he has always loved bath-time, so it's not much of a surprise that swimming is a fast favorite as well and something we do every day it's not raining. Actually, that's not entirely true. There was one afternoon when the day started sunny after a raining evening, but was overcast while we were swimming, and started raining a bit as we were walking back to the apartment. We cut that one a little close, but it's well worth it when he has so much fun and sleeps so well at night. The video is our first swim of the summer. The water was chilly, but felt good once we got acclimated. The last time we went (only a few days ago), the weather was hot and humid, the water was warmer but still very pleasant. It's only going to get warmer, so it's nice to have pools around in which we can cool off and enjoy ourselves despite the tyranny of the sun.

So, that's all we can think of. Aside from our entertaining child, our lives are rather pedestrian and boring. I go to work and school, Aubrey keeps things going at the apartment. We try to get outside as often as possible, get stir crazy when it rains, and generally do everything we can to have a good life. As always, we miss all of our friends and family that can't be with us and hope you are all doing well. We're excited to see some of you in the coming days and can't wait to have the opportunity to see the rest of you as soon as possible. We are grateful for the Lord's blessings and his watchful gaze continually upon us.



An Average February

There aren't many milestones of note from the shortest month of the year. We celebrated Aubrey's birthday on the 11th (I'm not allowed to say how many she's had), enjoyed a relaxing day at home on Valentine's, and I made one more attempt at playing handy-man/mechanic and tried to fix the A/C in our Envoy.

Number One Son continues to grow and enrich our lives. Our walks to the park continue to be the highlight of his days and weeks. So much so, that the 45+ minute walk back is his biggest low-light of his days and weeks (it doesn't help the walk back is usually right before nap-time). It's entertaining to watch him play at the park.

When we visit the park, Frankie (remember that his "real" name is Jax; I just call him Frank) tries to find a buddy as close to his size as he can, and then just follow him/her around and play with whatever that miscellaneous child happens to be playing with, or just watch them play with it. He doesn't steal their toy or try to take it, but as soon as they aren't playing with it, it's fair game!

Another interesting happening at the park is the fact that Aubrey and I are invisible as soon as that gate closes. He wanders off as far from us as he can, and when we follow him and try to play with him, he makes his way to the other side of the area. Apparently he's already decided it's not cool to be seen playing with Mom and Dad in public. You can see from the picture that he is looking for a way to get away from Mom and go play on his own. So, we end up moving from bench to bench, a respectful distance away, but close enough to intercede should the need arise.

We tell ourselves things like "Well, at least he's not afraid to meet and play with other kids. . . or their parents" or "At least he's not just clinging to us the whole time and won't get down to play" or even "We're not hurt that our own son puts as much distance between himself and us as he can. He's just more independent. . . than every other kid under three at this park." I make it sound much more terrible that it actually is and in all reality we are pleased his outlook on playing with and meeting others is as open and positive as it is. I would prefer him to be cautiously optimistic (is that an oxymoron?), rather than overtly fearful, when he meets new people. Honestly, I think he's somewhere between "Sure creepy man, I'll go into your car and eat your questionable candy" and "I'm freaked out that you looked at me from the other side of the park and will be between Mom's legs for the remainder of my time here." I think he's in the Goldilocks spot! (That means "just right" for those that don't get the metaphor).

We have been wanting to go to the zoo together for a while, and on President's Day we finally made it. We tried going on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January, but the traffic around the zoo was so congested we bagged the idea and decided to try another day. After that, we decided that holidays on which schools were out were a bad time for going to the zoo! So, why did we go on a President's Day, which is a no-school holiday? Because earlier this year the schools closed down for "winter weather" (I just about died laughing about that) and many of them had school on President's Day as a make-up for the one they cancelled. We thought we were being so clever, because I had work off (hooray for government-paid holidays) and we anticipated that most schools would be in session. It was busier than we expected, and definitely a trick to find parking, but once we did we were able to enjoy the zoo. Aubrey has been working with Jax on animals and the noises they make. Watching Mikey Mouse Clubhouse helps too. He growls like a bear, toots like an elephant, and even roars like a tiger. My favorites are the lizard and the chicken!

Unfortunately, he didn't consistently "talk" to the animals he saw. He did love seeing the new baby giraffe and the new baby elephant; it was actually quite difficult to pry him away from watching and laughing at the giraffes. And, as usually tends to happen when so he's had so much fun, he wore himself out!  I was not surprised to look back and see him asleep almost as soon as he got that binkie in his mouth for the trip home.

Aubrey's dad was in town for work the weekend before Aubrey's birthday, and it was a lot of fun to see him those few days we were able to connect. A significant finding from his visit was the barbecue joint we went to on his first day here. We've finally found a place (here in the deep south) with barbecue good enough to recommend to people when they come. Additionally, after only a short thirty minutes, Frankie was sufficiently re-warmed up to his grandpa to hold his hand when we walked through the mall or go to him to get picked up and carried to the car. We were fortunate enough to have him with us to celebrate Aubrey's unknown number of years since her birth and had a great time at Aubrey's favorite local Persian restaurant (come and try the chicken barg, you won't regret it). We had so much fun with him and there's a part of us that keeps hoping he'll get sent down for work again.

Aubrey spent a fair amount of time making and sending Valentine's from Jax (sorry folks, only for the grandparents). I'm not sure how she decides which of the VAST multitude of ideas from Pinterest to execute each card-worthy holiday, but they always turn out amazing. What makes them even better are The Boy's contributions of his feet (last year) and his hands (this year) in Valentine's-red paint as part of the card. I was actually available to help with the hand-printing process this year, and let me tell you something. . . when your son hates getting things like dirt and grass on his hands, trying to get him to have fun putting his hands in paint to get a good hand print for a Valentine's card is quite an adventure. He doesn't freak out or anything, but he tries to remove as many individual parts of his hand as he can; a finger tip here, part of the palm there. In the end, it took three of our hands (my other hand was responsible for the rest of him) to control one of his enough to get something that was even passable as a hand print for the cards! It really gave me a deeper appreciation for the herculean effort it must be to teach and manage a toddler on your own for any amount of time. I try to imagine adding two, three, or four more pairs of hands to the mix, and I'm overcome with wonder at how you ladies have done it and remained sane. You must have good husbands I suppose!

As for my part, every few months or so something goes amiss with one, or both, of our cars. The cheap-skate part of me that feeds the DIY part of me combine with just barely enough experience and knowledge about cars to give me the gumption to do most of the repairs on my own. Mostly the simple things like oil changes and the such aren't much of a problem. But there has been a persistent and rather annoying problem with the Envoy's air conditioning. This is a problem that, unfortunately, gets WORSE when it gets hotter and more humid. This is a major concern when one lives in weather that routinely hits the high 90's with 100% humidity. . . you can survive for days without drinking water if you breath into your stomach instead of your lungs (p.s. don't try this at home!). Originally, we hired a mobile mechanic to replace the A/C compressor, which we considered the first and most likely candidate for what was going wrong. After the "fix" I looked under the hood and couldn't see anything different. No shiny new parts standing out against the contrast of the old dirty ones. But, he seemed like a genuine and nice fellow, so we gave him the benefit of the doubt that he did what he said he did. That and he was long gone by the time I got home.

However, as the months went on and the problem persisted, and I did more and more research (it turns out this is a common problem with our vehicle with three or four different possible solutions) and tried various different things, nothing seemed to remedy the problem. We eventually took it to our local Pep Boys, because they do everything for less you know. They tried a few other things under the impression that the compressor problem and some others had been fixed some months before. In the end, they concluded that the problem was an unsolvable enigma but also noted what I had first suspected,

"That compressor doesn't look as new as it should," Bruce (the Pep Boys manager) told me.

"I thought the same thing when I looked at it the first time," I said. "How much would you charge me to replace it?" (I'm strapped for time these days, and didn't want to take the time to replace it on my own.)

"Well, with all of the problems you're having with it," he grudgingly said, "I would only install the dealer part because there can be small differences between what you get at Autozone and the dealer part that could make it work or not work"

"Any idea how much the dealer part is?"

"I can find out."

Then, after a few hours I got a call. "I got a quote for that part," Bruce said, trying to sound optimistic.

"What's the damage?" I grunted.

"Well, the part alone is $700 and the labor is likely to be that or more because it's on the bottom of the belt line and would take several hours to get to. But this really should fix it because it's really the only thing left that it can be."

". . . . . . . . . . .," I said

"Sir?" Bruce asked.

"Alrighty then!" I finally said. "Well, we're just entering 'winter' and we aren't likely to need the A/C until spring, so I'll just come collect the car and pay you all for your time."

That rotten mobile mechanic! It's just beyond my comprehension how someone can steal money like that and go home to their family (dude has three little girls at home) feeling they've done right by their family and the world. Anyway, we put off the repair all winter, but every time the temperature got much above 70, the A/C would work less and less effectively, reminding us that eventually we were going to have to fix it. So, recently we ordered the part online (saved $500 and got a bonus part of the A/C system for free), and last Saturday I drove to Wes's house to use his garage and dove into the engine compartment. I replaced the A/C compressor, and A/C drier/accumulator, and the battery and alternator (I got a "battery not charging" error on the way over, and my tests indicated the one was bad, and then the other). See the three shiny new parts?

I tried to vacuum the A/C line, so the refrigerant would go in and cool properly, but it didn't work. I was at Wes's house form 10:30 am that morning until 1:00 am the next morning trying to get the system to work properly. My lower back was KILLING ME from bending over the engine all day, and my sweet wife waited up for me and rubbed my back for a very long time to try and give me some relief. We took the Envoy back to Pep Boys to have them test for leaks in the A/C system, because it just wasn't holding vacuum. They found one and I fixed it. The system still wasn't holding vacuum. We took it back, they found another, they fixed it, and now it "blows snowballs". However, the trouble didn't end there! Monday evening, after everything was fixed, we went to the outlet mall. The car drove great on the way, but as soon as we slowed down, something was obviously wrong. The engine was acting a fool and I kept getting ignition misfire codes over and over again. The check engine light was blinking (for those that don't know: light on, bad; light blinking, VERY BAD). We looked up the codes, tried a few things right there in the mall parking lot, and nothing worked. So, we limped the car back to Pep Boys (they had it last so they must have broke it, right?) going 25 mph the entire way. It needs new spark plugs and a new ignition coil. A reasonably cheap and easy fix that I can do.

Now, that little voice in your head is saying, "Craig, that was an extremely long story just to say you've had car troubles and got them (hopefully) fixed." That's true, and I'm sorry the story was so long, but it's important for me and my family to see the perspective of all of this. Since we have been married, Aubrey and I have had car trouble, after car trouble, after car trouble. An expensive sensor on the Cadillac broke (we sold it instead of fixing it). The Impala was constantly overheating, then blew the head gasket, got fixed, then continued to constantly overheat and throw trouble codes. The transmission on Aubrey's Saturn only lasted for a few months in Houston. The Avalon has a hole in the windshield washer fluid reservoir, one door that doesn't open (both the inside and outside handles are broken on the inside of the door compartment), and another door that holds water every time it rains. And the Envoy has had this ridiculous A/C problem. What's the point? Why am I seeming to rant about troubles that I'm sure many of you can easily outdo without writing an epistle as I've done? Because I had an experience as we were sitting at the outlet mall this last Monday. I was feeling frustrated and discouraged, wondering why it seemed that every car we've ever had has been loads of trouble. Then, I said a prayer. I pleaded with Father that these fixes we were trying in the parking lot would work and the car would miraculously run great. As I was praying, I said something to Father that I hadn't thought of before. I started to change my questions from "Why does this always happen to us? Can't things just work?!?!?!?" to "Why is this my challenge? What am I supposed to learn?" It's then that it hit me.

After Number One Son was born, I thought about the sort of man I want him to grow up to be. I want him to be the opposite of me in many respects. Patient instead of rash. Humble instead of prideful. Kind instead of sarcastic (sarcasm is a way to say mean things and "get away" with it). Exercising mastery of his emotions when I lose control over the littlest things. The list goes on. I realized a year and a half ago that the only way for Frankie to learn those things was if I am those things. I am responsible for providing the example of how he should be; the example he can see and follow. So, for the past year and a half, I've been improving myself. Praying for help to be patient, humble, kind, to exercise self-mastery and to have an understanding heart for others. The result? I don't react as harshly as I used to. I don't get down on myself as hard or as bad when I do foolish things. I use kind words with my wife and son more often. I've made myself be patient when I would have blown up.

So, what hit me this last Monday as I was asking these hard questions of my Father in the mall parking lot? It hit me how far I've come! A year ago, I might have put a dent in the car in a rage of frustration at the car not working, especially after I had JUST tried to fix it. (There were at least two dents in the Impala from such frustrated tantrums). I might have lost my temper as my loving wife and tender-hearted son looked on in fear and sadness. . . but I didn't. I was plentifully frustrated, just like I have always been. But I controlled myself. I calmly sought solutions with my wife. And I prayed instead of dented.

Father loves me enough to allow this most recent challenge as a way of showing me my improvement (my wife mentioned similar changes in me as well). I have no idea if the A/C is actually fixed or if my replacing the spark plugs and coils will make everything work well again; only time will tell. But something I do know is that Heavenly Father lives. He loves us. He is deeply concerned with our eternal well being and He does not allow trials into our lives to hurt or punish us. He allows trials to help us understand our progression. To help us gain perspective. To help fortify our faith and testimonies. To help us become worthy of the mansions he has prepared for us. TO HELP. . .

I will likely be faced with frustrating car troubles many more times in my life (hopefully not for a long time!) and I hope I can keep improving and reacting better and better to these and other similar situations. It's unlikely that I will not have the feelings of frustration and anger when these troubles come, but I hope I continue to choose a higher way of dealing with them. I'll probably lose my temper again and feel like I've lost all of the ground I've gained. But that's what the atonement is for. It's for imperfect people like me that want to be better and fail time and time again. But, I hope to be the best example for The Boy I can be. I hope to treat my wife with love, kindness, and thoughtfulness. And I hope to be the sort of son both my earthly and my heavenly parents can be proud of.

So, there's the answer to your little voice's question. I shared that long and likely boring narrative of our common-to-life car troubles, because I wanted to share some personal insight I had. I share, because I care!

As always, we love and miss you all. We are excited to see many of you in June and wish you the best you can have until then. Maybe next month's entry won't be so long. . . :)

P.S. The spark plugs and coils went it easily and well. The car is still having some unknown trouble, though. I suppose the trial continues!

January

The end of January signaled 18 months of life for Number One Son. He weighed in at 27 lbs (80th percentile) and is a stout 32 inches tall (50th percentile). Even though he's on the higher-end of the weight category, his new doctor said he's doing great and she's not at all concerned. Along with continuing to grow physically, his capacity to do things on his own grows as well. As an illustration of this, his mom felt it was time he got his very own ice cream cone. . . and he got to hold it all by himself. . . the whole time!

It's astounding to see how much he's grown over this last period. His personality is becoming more evident, and he's beginning to exert his opinion. . . often to the exasperation of his mom. With the constant threat of teeth rising (and apparently falling again), this has been a challenging month for mother and son. And let's be honest, it really can't feel too great to have blunt molars breaking through sensitive gums! In the end, most our days are spent playing cars, reading some books, and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We've been working on his communicating what he wants and doesn't want, hoping to stave off some of the tantrums. He's very good at shaking his head "no;" but I've never thought about how PHYSICALLY more challenging it is to nod the head "yes." I once tried to show him how to say yes by helping him nod his head with my hand. I thought he thought it was just a funny game. Then, when I asked him to say yes to something later, he grabbed his own face and tried to have his hands help his head nod yes! It was HILARIOUS (no video, unfortunately)! Since then, he has made huge strides in nodding, even though the jury is still out on if he knows exactly what it means. There have definitely been some challenges and lots of fun times. But, we know that without living through the challenges we don't appreciate how great things are when everyone is getting along.

And so, we come to our next visual aid. Jax has always enjoyed bath time, and with Aubrey having to make extra efforts during the day to curtail the fits and tantrums, Dad has been doing bath time alone so Mom can have a few extra minutes of cool down. I really don't mind, because he's mostly a pleasant person in the water. However, the events of a few nights ago brought Mom into the bathroom, wondering why son and father were having such a great time!

Part of our goals for this year are to increase our physical activity, decrease body size, and be outside more as a family. Luckily, a very nice - and shaded - park is a short 3 mile walk from our apartment. Because the weather is mostly very pleasant right now, walking/jogging to the park is both possible and enjoyable! Jax is still deciding what he likes to do there and he's learning it's ok to put his hands in the sand. He sees so many other kids enjoy digging and playing in it, he desperately wants to try. In the end, his hyper-extended fingers allow his palms to brush a few grains as he bends down at the waist to try it out. (No way is he going to get on his knees in the stuff unless a rogue dip catches him unawares and he's forced down.) This last trip to the park, Jax was trying VERY hard to keep up with the 8-10 year-old twins he met there. It was funny to see him mimic someone other than us. Unfortunately, those darn legs are just too short for him to keep up. He's getting more independent with his playtime and has even gone so far as to climb the stairs, sit down, and do the slide without any help!

 

 

We can't wait to see what these next several months have in store for us. I'm sure there will be plenty of exciting happenings, not all of which will get a mention here. As always, we wish everyone well and want you all to know how much we love you and think of you. We've been so blessed by the Lord with good health, a strong son, and joy in our daily lives. May this post find all of you doing the same!

End of Year Update 2013

As evening approaches on the last day of 2013, we take a moment to reflect upon the happenings of 2013. Although we haven't had grand events of awesome notoriety, some interesting things have happened.

Generally, Aubrey and I are doing very well. A few months ago, we decided to take a huge leap and have Aubrey stop getting paid to work and stay home to do the hardest work of all. It was scary at first, but it's been an enormous blessing for all of us!

I'm in the middle of my third year of my PhD program, with at least two (but probably three) years to go. It's been a very interesting experience and I'm learning a lot about what it takes to be a research scientist. I currently work at the VA Hospital in Houston coordinating research efforts for a PT, PhD researcher who works with people with Parkinson's disease. We are currently performing two projects, so when we are busy, my days are full! I recently had to start working full time, so I have even less time to do school work than normal, but somehow it all gets done. I find ways to be with Jax and Aubrey as often as possible, which is the only reason I'm semi-sane!

But you really aren't that interested in reading about our daily lives. Number One Son and the many strides he has made in learning to use his new body and experiencing everything this life has to offer are much more interesting! Because everything is new to him, he had more "firsts" this year than we could ever name. He's done everything from rolling over, to walking, to running, to singing in church (as soon as that organ starts, he starts to holler). Below are some of the highlights of his year.

First, this boy loves the water (look at how fat he was)! Bath time is his favorite time of day, even when he used to go swimming most days. He's been aching to get back to going to the pool with his mom and always wants to go every time we walk by the pool to get the mail.

Then, he got addicted to "real food" and easily weaned off of milk. Just look at that mouth open... he's ready for more!

More firsts for Jax included crawling and furniture-walking by the end of February (8 months old), most of which was driven by his deep, abiding desire to get his kitty's tail!

Of course he quickly progressed to walking and running, even though those legs don't take him nearly fast enough! By his first birthday, he was already running around and causing all sorts of mischief. He really liked his cake though!

In October, we went to the Dewberry Farm, where Jax got to see lots of animals and even got to feed a goat! Because he had such a great time here, Aubrey and her friend started taking their kids to the zoo more often. He loves those animals, just like his mom!

This December he had his first experience with the snow.

He actually did much better in the snow than we thought he would. As the next video shows, he really doesn't like to get his hands dirty. . . just like his Uncle Wayne!

Those are the major talking points of our boy's life. Of course there are many more, but there is only so much time in the day. His favorite things are playing with his cars, loving on his stuff animal toys, going to the zoo and the park with is best buddy Tayson, getting chased by his dad, and reading his books with his mom (especially when he gets to sing along with the music). 

Here's hoping your year has been as much fun as ours. We'll make 2014 just as great! Keep in touch and know that we love you all! We love it when people come to visit, so if you feel like taking a trip, Houston's nice in the Fall, Winter, and Spring! May the Lord bless and prosper you as he has us during this past year.