Long time, no blog!

Yikes, sorry for the lack of posting! Not sure what my problem is... I've started a few posts and they just seem b o r i n g. And, I've been slack on taking photos lately too. Once we receive our tax money, we will be purchasing a new laptop so hopefully that will motivate me to take more photos and blog more! Anyways, here is the latest and greatest. Hopefully it's not too boring.

Austin is weaned!

A chapter in my life has come to a close. My last baby is officially weaned :( I was ready to be done, but it makes me sad that Austin is growing up and we are nearly done with the baby stage forever. Like the other boys, I was aiming to breastfeed for the first year with weaning beginning about a month beforehand. We've been offering Austin a cup since 6 months and he would occasionally take a sip or two, but really showed no interest until recently. Then about two weeks ago a switch went off and he just 'got it'. He began finishes 6 oz cups of milk with no problem (something that took the other boys a long time to accomplish). I knew he was ready at that point, so I figured I would just hang on to one feeding a day for some bonding time, since he is still just my tiny little baby. Then Austin came down with a cold. I told Aaron that weaning was off until he recovered since he needed the superpower of breastmilk to help with the cold. Unfortunately though his cold had him majorly congested and it was just way easier for him to drink out of a cup. So that was it. Two weeks ago I brought him to bed with me when he woke up in the morning. He was sitting there looking cute as ever and I signed "Milk" to him and he pointed to the door. So he's adjusted just fine to say the least!

And to add insult to injury, Brody and Jacob updates.

As if it's not hard enough for me to grasp that Austin is growing up, Brody and Jacob decided to go ahead and grow up too. We had Jacob's parent teacher conferences last week and got the green light for Jacob to start kindergarten in the fall! We also took a tour of the school Jacob will be attending and were very pleased. We took Jacob with us and I was worried it might seem a little overwhelming because it was recess when we got there so kids were coming and going all over the place, but he did great! He seemed to like it a lot and I liked that the building is very nice and new and set in a very wooded, quiet setting. The layout of the building is also very simple, so that makes me feel good that he should be able to find his way around there very easily this fall. What I don't like about it is that there is only a full day option for kindergarten. We are going to try it out anyway and if it proves too much, we'll just pull him and find something else.

And as for Brody... next week applications come out to enroll him in preschool! We'll put him in the Friday morning program and I think he'll love it but I don't think he realizes that Jacob won't be there with him yet. I think he'll be ok though, a major perk of being the second child is that he is very familiar with Mrs. Render already because she always takes the time to say hello and goodbye to him during drop off and pick up. My only hope is that Brody doesn't force Mrs. Render in to retirement before I can get Austin there! He can be... um, let's just say a handful.

Aaron and I are growing up, too!

We've been going to Church every Wednesday night to attend Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course. We've been doing a budget every month and doing our best to stick to it! It's been great for our marriage because it's the first time we are on completely the same page as to how we are spending our money. Now Aaron knows that a new quad is completely out of the question, but a fishing lure is ok and I know that if I want a new pair of jeans I have to wait 4 months to buy them. Or something like that. ;)

And other stuff...

Running is going blah! When I do get on there to run, I'm doing great and able to run 2-3 miles. Problem is more with my consistency of running. Since late December it's just been one thing after another... stitches, a cold, migraine, and the house where we keep it being occupied. Typically, the person who stays there only visits once every 9 weeks. However, he has been filling on call hours for someone else who had surgery so he has been there a lot more frequently the past few weeks (including this week). He'll be gone on Friday, let's hope I can stay healthy and get back in a rhythm.

Skiing/Boarding is going awesome! We've been so grateful to my mom for babysitting and letting us get some turns in at least weekly! Conditions have been great and it has been so nice spending some time together.

And on a serious note...

I added a blog link to the right for the Hanway family. I know Katie through an online message board that I have been a part of for a few years. Her 2.5 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with cancer after they found a tumor in her skull. It's a very scary time for their family and prayers and well wishes are very much appreciated, even from strangers!