Winter 2013

We're going back and forth between warm(ish) weather and freezing bitter snowy cold this winter. We had some pretty snow off and on this past week but then it warms up and melts it all off right away. And then we have days like yesterday where the wind just blows and blows and makes us all want to dig a hole and hibernate. But I can't properly enjoy spring until I've had some of this freezing cold so I say, Bring it! 

Besides the weather, here's an update on what's been going on around the Martinez household:

• Ava is over a bout of RSV, praise the Lord! It didn't even last very long although it was very "not fun" while it lasted (about a week). She wheezed something awful and it made my heart sad to hear her breathe like that! This little girl is giving us a lesson in infant illness though. Jayden had his first sickness after he turned a year old and already Ava has been sick probably 7 times. Ugh, I can only hope this means we will have less sickness after she turns a year old!

• Jayden and Ava are adapting to a new daycare facility. Jayden more so than Ava. This is Ava's first time at a day care because fortunately we were able to avoid it for the first 7 months of her life but it came down to necessity and I really needed consistent child care so daycare it was. Because the daycare could only get her in part-time though, she is also still being watched all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays by my neighbor and friend. (It's a longish story about why we have this new system and why they're both in a new daycare, different from the one that Jayden went to from 14 months up until Christmas this year, but I'll possibly get to that story another day.) Anyway, Ava doesn't really eat or sleep while at daycare because there is so much going on and she's quite the social butterfly. However, thankfully, she makes up for both of those things just fine at night. Also currently, she is only at daycare for an entire day on Mondays so that day is quite long for her with the no-sleeping, no-eating thing but the rest of the week is manageable. If we're away from each other for the entire day, I go nurse her at noon. Jayden actually seems to like this new daycare better than the one he attended before so I'm so happy about that!

• Jayden got his two year molars in (or is still getting them in, but they've both popped through) and Ava has gotten her first two teeth in the past month so we have two teething kids but actually it hasn't been too bad!

• Ava crawled for the first time last week and I was there to see it! It actually was way more exciting than I could have anticipated because well, we have anticipated it for so long! She has been on the brink of crawling for months. Also I wasn't there to see Jayden crawl (or walk) for the first time so this was a first for me too! She is getting more and more mobile and we all get a kick out of her moving her legs that way. She also is really enjoying trying to pull herself up on things. She still gets wherever she wants to go mostly by scooting on her tummy or rolling.

• We are getting some good family time in these days which is a VERY nice change from the Cowboy football season. There's been swimming (indoors, of course), walks, basketball games, puzzles, family movies, and lots of toy playing going on. And for DJ and I as a couple, we're also getting to spend more one-on-one time together which is more overdue than one could ever imagine! We started going to a small group at church, and have found time to make some new friends, some of which we got to hang out with a couple of weekends ago (sans kids!). So whereas some people find winter dreary and confining, I actually sort of look forward to it since it means a break for us as a family.

• We have no trips planned which is actually nice for once. We spent the fall going somewhere almost every. single. month and let me tell you, that was fun, but also very exhausting! So for this winter, we've been somewhat intentional about deciding not to go anywhere. Sometimes it's nice to just stay home and enjoy being home!

• Work is going well for both DJ and myself. I am finally truly and completely caught up with my work after taking my maternity leave this summer. Oy vay. If there is a "next time", I think I will work until I have the baby, go have the baby and then return as soon as medically possible. As much as I SO enjoyed taking that time off and spending it with Ava, I'm not sure I can ever do it again. It took me 5 months  to catch up and it was not fun. I am forever grateful for my job though and the fact that I can work from home!
• DJ is splitting his time between football, golf and soccer this winter. One of their trainers had a baby a couple of weeks ago so they are all picking up the slack. Normally DJ would just be overseeing a little bit of golf this time of year in addition to football. He will be headed to California for his annual golf trip with the team and I have no doubt it's a trip he looks forward to every year. The big news at work for DJ is a new water facility room in the UW training room. He and his boss designed this water room, which includes hot and cold tubs (which used to be located outside, by. the. way, brrrrr), and it took several months to finish the project. They spent the entire fall working in only about half of their training room since the other half was closed off while it was being renovated. Even I, as a non-sports minded, non-athlete type, can appreciate how nice this must be for them to have for the use of rehabilitation and performance management for their athletes. 

• A few other noteworthy pieces of news...I am having a much anticipated craft party this coming weekend with a whole bunch of new people that I've never met...at my house...but I'm actually really really looking forward to it. I have really missed crafting and have gotten to do a little bit here and there but am looking forward to meeting some people that are also craft-minded so we can possibly do this on a more consistent basis!

• I am in love with warm boots, wool socks and cozy hats right now and cannot stop buying this stuff for me and my children. I have to admit, I do love living in Wyoming because we can legitimately wear wool-lined well, anything, and have a 'durned' good reason!

•  My mom and in laws made the trek to WYO this past weekend to watch the Super Bowl to play with the kids. We all had a great time and the weekend went incredibly fast. But one aspect that will stand out for me was the church service that my mom went to with me and the kiddos. They performed baptisms during the service and it was unlike any baptism service I had ever been too. We have three services at our church and the first service was the only one that no one had "signed up" to be baptized. So our pastor just said that if anyone felt like God was speaking to them to be baptized right now then they could come up front and "be dunked"! We prayed and I asked God that He would give people courage to come forward if that's what they felt led to do. And guess what?? FIVE people walked forward, in their church clothes, hopped into the water, and were baptized right then and there that morning. It was seriously so amazing to watch these people obey God's calling right in that moment and actively see them walk to the front in courage and announce their desire to obey God because they love Him. We all had tears in our eyes because, if you are a Christian, you know that God can call us to do some scary things and although walking to the front of your church in front of people who love and support you is not one of the scariest things you will do, it is definitely a big step in the Christian faith. And when you allow God to give you the courage to take those scary steps that He will ask you to do, it is a RUSH when you learn that God will indeed walk every step with you! And you will succeed because of it! Awesome.

• During the baptisms, Jayden announced loudly during a quiet moment that those people were "taking a bath." LOL

And that's about it for now! I'll leave you with a video of DJ and Jayden playing the Sesame Street Matching game...

For clarification, "Roweeta" is Rosita...lol...you may notice DJ has trouble remembering the proper pronunciation at one point too.