CJ

CJ has been keeping busy with school and young women's these days. She has played on the YW basketball and volleyball teams which has been wonderful for her.

She started out not sure whether or not she liked basketball. It was hard. But she kept going to the practices and learned how to play and in the end, really enjoyed it.

Volleyball was fun too! Same thing as basketball, she wasn't liking it as much at the beginning because she didn't know how to play. By the end, her serves were going over and she has some strong returns.

I got to help coach both basketball and volleyball for the Young Women. At the beginning, it was hard to watch a game and see anyone else but CJ. I kept yelling things just for her and then had to tell myself, that I am coaching and have all the girls to cheer on. I can see how coaching your own child is tricky.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for the Young Women program. As a parent, it is priceless to have leaders reinforce same standards and morals because at this age, your kids don't listen to you or think you know what you are talking about. But when another adult says the same thing, they think it is golden advice.

I am also so grateful for the activities that the youth program offers. We haven't let CJ go to the dances in middle school, because I hear they are pretty bad. She was able to go to a Stake Valentine's Dance not too long ago and loved it. They invite the 12 year olds once a year to a stake dance here. I keep telling CJ that when she turns 14, the stake and multi-stake dances are better than the school ones.

I love the Personal progress program which teaches CJ to set goals and achieve them. It encourages high standards and morals.

We measured CJ the other day and she is 5' 4 3/4" which is only a 1/4" away from me! She seems taller than me most of the time because she is skinnier and when she has shoes on she towers over me. I also think she looks older than 12. I keep telling her to enjoy being a kid, but she insists that she is not a "kid". I tell her she will always be my child.

CJ is a great babysitter and this past weekend, made $80! She babysat 3 times! She has saved her money and bought herself a used IPOD touch which is her new prize possession. I think that seeing her cousins and friends have one of their own, made her want one even more. The IPOD touch has been an awesome incentive to do well in school. Unfortunately, the "getting into college one day because of your good grades" reminders aren't very effective at this point in her life. It's hard for her to see the big picture.

I see CJ progressing in all aspects of her life and couldn't be more prouder of her. I used to worry more about CJ because for some reason I thought, what if she inherits tendencies from her biological mom? I'm not so worried anymore.

CJ was made to do good things! I'm so happy she is part of our family!

Winning!

With each contest, Ben and I have tried to prepare Mia if she loses, which we always tell her there is a good chance, because there are so many people who enter. Mia struggles with defeat. She hates losing. At home, it is very difficult to play a game with her because she is so competitive and always wants to win.

There's lots of tears and a lot of frustration from everyone.

We went to Xander and Mia's Science Fair last night and Mia scored 2nd place again! I kept telling myself that it would be good if Mia didn't win again. Other kids should have the opportunity and Mia could learn how to deal with not winning.

But when the moment came, in my heart I was cheering her on and hoping she would win. I think that as a parent, we should be cheering our children on and not hoping that they will lose so they can become humble and learn how to deal with defeat. There will be plenty of opportunities in life to do that.

I've decided that I am past the part where I prepare Mia for a loss. I'm just going to enjoy in this girl's achievements and when a loss comes, then we will help Mia deal with it.

And then there is Xander.

Mr. Shy boy.

Each student has to present their project to the judges and explain what they did. Since Xander can be super shy at times, I thought he was going to bomb the presentation.

I was volunteering in the class when he left to go present his science project. When he came back he looked calm and happy. I asked him how it went and he said very cool, "Good."

And that was that.

So each grade level came up on the stage when it was time to present the awards. When Xander gets shy, he makes these weird faces where he sticks his tongue out on the side and then he hunches over like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

That's what he did when they called his name for "Honorable Mention".

If his expressions had words, they would say things like, "What? Did you call my name?" , "I have no idea what you are talking about." , and "I'm so clueless as to what is happening this very moment."

Both Mia and Xander owe their Dad lots of hugs for doing both projects with them. I told Ben that it was his job to do the Science projects because, #1 he is better when it comes to science and #2 I did the Reflections contest with them #3 he is better.

It was a ton of work and Ben was a champ helping both the kids. They love doing projects with their Dad. One thing we have learned, having two kids doing the same projects is definitely double duty. I told Ben to just wait until we have 3 kids in elementary!

It was worth it though seeing our kid's get excited about their accomplishments!

This girl. . .

This girl is sweet. She is like a warm ray of sunshine. You can always catch her with a smile on her face. When I'm gone, she welcomes me home with a hug and an, "I love you." and "I missed you."

This girl always has food on her face. You can find her most days in the cupboards and refridgerator looking for something to munch on. Even with locks and duct tape, she can still find her way in or know just the right moment when I forget to lock the fridge. She is like Hansel and Gretel when they leave a trail of bread crumbs. That's how I know where she's been.

This girl is becoming potty trained. When we got back from Utah, I decided she was ready to start the potty training. After a week, she had gotten the hang of it. She wears panties all day! Her potty training is not a 100% but she is getting there.

This girl likes to play. She loves playing games with her family. She is starting to play independently and it is entertaining for me to watch her use her imagination. I'll see her make a picnic for her stuffed animal friends or take care of her "Toy Story" babies (Woody, Jess, Buzz and Bullseye). I'm always amazed at how motherly little girls are naturally.

This girl loves to read and be read to. She'll bring a book to me and say, "Read me?" I'll read her a book and then she'll read me one. When she reads it, it is all jibberish, but it is so fun to hear her. She's got the intonation down.

This girl loves to sing and dance. She will ask me, "Play Just Dance?" She loves singing, "Sunbeam" and can't sit still while singing it. She'll grab Mia, who is her dance partner and hold her hands and dance in a circle. The newest song is, "Popcorn Popping". She doesn't know all of the words, but she does the actions and it is so cute.

This girl is super active and busy. Zoey is on the go, always. She bounces, literally, from one thing to the next. I think she is coming out of her "must destroy or take apart" stage which is somewhat of a relief to me.

This girl is also funny.

inquisitive. . .

and likes to do art. . .

Our family is complete with THIS GIRL!