For our old friends & neighbors

Since I mentioned my blog on the Christmas card, I thought you might stop by.  Here are some more recent pictures and info about us.

My mom and India spent a lot of time hanging out and talking about books during Boppie’s visit last month. India hasn’t been loving middle school (wow, hard to believe since everyone knows how fantastic it is), so I pulled her out to homeschool her about a month and a half ago. It’s going pretty well. Unfortunately India is a quick learner and a smart girl so I can’t BS her very much. I actually have to study and know what I’m talking about. She does a lot of research and learning on her own via computers and reading assignments. She’s learning Latin. That’s been interesting since I don’t know it at all. I have her do conjugations and grammar and just hope she knows what she’s doing since it’s really difficult for me to correct it. India is a complete sweetheart and is a pleasure to have around all day.  So far there is no teenage bitchiness.  Let’s hope it stays that way (yeah, right!)

York is in 6th grade at middle school. He is a little bummed that India isn’t around to keep him company, but he is enjoying himself quite a bit anyway. York is very social and claims to have “hundreds” of friends at school. We figured this was some sort of masculine bravado, but whenever we go anywhere people always wave and shout, “hi, York!!!” He still is into building and engineering, and loves to figure out how everything works. He’s getting pretty handy. I can have him do simple jobs like replacing doorknobs and fixing broken bike chains and he gets them done well. He’s a real sweetheart with the younger kids. He plays so gently with them. He even gets a few professional babysitting gigs.

Finn is our sensitive child. He has been struggling in school this year (well, every year actually. He’s in 4th grade now), but is working hard. His teacher is a sweetheart, but doesn’t really know how to help him.  I’ve toyed with the idea of homeschooling him too, but I’m still waiting for him to be tested for dyslexia and other fun things. Plus, homeschooling him seems like it would be a lot of work.  Like more work than I want to do.  Finn is really good at sports, so that’s a good thing.  Although with his insecure nature, he has to be coaxed and heavily encouraged to try hard.  He did really well at baseball this last year.  Since baseball is played for three seasons here it looks like we’ll be gearing up for spring practice pretty soon. He’s fond of golf too, so we’ll see how that works out.


Arabella is such a lover.  Annoyingly so.  She’s incredibly touchy (as in “must be touching a parent at all times”) and it makes me want to scream sometimes.  Seriously, it makes me feel totally claustrophobic.  She is always making cards and letters for people (except for Ada who she hates most of the time).  She is doing well in school and trying really hard to teach herself cursive.  She somehow managed to make it into advanced math (how that happened, genetically-speaking, is beyond me.)  She’s super-girly and loves pretty things.  Fortunately she isn’t into the whole tween-scene.  Thanks goodness we have no Disney channel or that might be a different story.

Ada is a little spitfire.  She was a total blob for the first year and honestly never laughed or cried.  I guess she was saving up all that emotion because she has really let loose with it this year.  She’s not emotional, like crying and dramatic.  But she is extremely opinionated and lets you know exactly what she thinks.  She loves to yell and boss people around (Mister thinks it’s really cute.  Mostly because he thinks everything she does is really cute.)  It’s funny to see how different children are when they have older siblings around.  She talks more like a teenager than India does. Annoying, but I think it’s just a stage.  So far this house has been pretty diva-free and I’m hoping to knock any prima donna tendencies right out of her


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Jasper is turning into the sweetest little boy.  He is affectionate and charming and loves to snuggle.  He still is completely a boy, though, and loves to carry guns around and tries to smash things with sticks and rocks.  He is madly in love with his pacifier and since he is our last child I have been completely spineless about taking it away.  Consequently he can barely speak.  That thing is always in his mouth.  His speech sounds like there are marbles in his mouth. I promise I’ll take it away when everything is back to normal in January! He is two, but not all that terrible. His moodiness has gotten better and better (I am now thankful I didn’t give him up for adoption, which I definitely considered during his nasty colic that lasted for more than a year.) He still can run a little hot and cold at times, though.



So that’s it for our kids.  If you want more detail about the grown-ups, you’ll just have to stay tuned.  We love Austin and hope this will be our home permanently. If you’re ever in town, call us. (Not that you will be because Austin, well all of Texas really, is in the middle of nowhere!) 

By Hildie | Filed under Kids

4 thoughts on “For our old friends & neighbors”

  1. Such a great family—you are amazing!!!

    I actually love Austin—brings back memories of the old Texas days—when we went to vocal competition in Austin—ahh, those were the days…

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  2. They are all beautiful! And Growing… You know you made gorgeous babies.
    It was good to see your family. The Mister here even took a look and thought they are adorable kids. Good for you for home schooling India. It can be a hard job but Connie says it was well worth it for M. She is excelling now.

    Enjoy your trip, the warmth and the sun. We dug out of about 6 more inches of snow today. Several got stuck going up our street this morning.

    Reply

  4. Jennie,

    It was a really great surprise to get your Christmas Card. Gary and I didn’t think you and “Mister” liked us! 🙂 ha, ha I have been meaning to thank you for the wonderful recipe, on your previous family website, for the yummy pot roast. My mom even wanted the recipe! I am super glad you are doing well in Dallas, but we do miss you and your family in the ward. It is great to hear how your darling kids are doing, thanks for sharing. We hope to get a family Christm….well “Holiday” letter out soon, thanks to my spiffy skills at procrastination!

    Lets do lunch! (over the internet!:),
    Kate G.

    Reply

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