March 4, 2007

Hi Everyone,

Attached are some pictures of Justin. He is growing big. He is 20 lbs and some ounces as of today. He got to spend the morning with Hans at the Urgent care with his 7th ear infection. He's had a low grade fever all week, but I thought it was related to other things. But the past two days he has been miserable and inconsolable. Not the Justin I know and love. He was getting his four molars as well so who knew it was his ears...again! So now we get to do tubes. He is my only baby to have ear infections and need tubes. For that I am grateful. He is miserable. He started walking about three weeks ago. He can walk all the way down our hallway to the kitchen, which is quite the distance. He is impressive. As of a few days ago he isn't walking or standing steady either. Should have also clued me into the ear infection thing. He figured out how to back down things finally. He is very proud of himself. He likes to climb up things like the stairs or slides and then back down them. He also loves to wrestle with Katelyn and Hans. He is much more verbal and tries to say things all the time. He loves to eat except for the last week due to the ears, and loves to stand up at the table with us. He is one on the 21st.

The girls are well. They amuse me. Ashley said to Hans, "Why aren't you going to school anymore?" He says, "Because I graduated. Remember? That's why we moved away from Maryland to Colorado?" Ashley says, "I guess I just didn't notice." It was cute. I'm glad she didn't really notice all the stress and transitions too. Now she says things to me like, "Justin never got sick until we came to Colorado" or "it's always cold here in Colorado, not like Maryland." Then I ask her if she likes it in Colorado and if she'd like to stay forever and she says, "hmmm...I guess so. It seems like a nice place." She is growing big. She is my super helper. I really don't think I could do it without her sometimes. Not really fair for a 28 year old to be relying on a 4 year old, but I felt better about it this morning when I was talking to her about that and she said, "mom, I have plenty of time to play. I just play, play, play." How did I get such a mature, well-adjusted person?

Katelyn is still my spunky three year old. She is starting to need friends of her own as Ashley's aren't cutting it anymore and she gets bored when Ashley is at school. I try to play with her as best as I can. She likes to coach me on my English. She says, "Mom, say mar...(I say it)...Now say ker, (I say it)...Good job, mom!!! You just said marker!" She is a good cheerleader. If I do anything she applauds me. It's quite nice:)

Hans is so great to me. He has been so helpful. I'm so grateful I have a husband who spends time with us and enjoys being with us and the kids. He gets tired, but he keeps on going. I'm impressed with him. He has a lot going on right now. He did fix several cavities on me this week as well. It's fun to see him there at the office working like crazy. He never has a minute to sit down. It's crazy. I'm worried that when he gets his own office he'll be bored. The company took us out to dinner on Friday night, which was great. Why do I enjoy a free dinner so much more then one I pay for?

Hope everyone has a good week.

Love, Michelle