October update

Walkin!
Wheres Waldo, I mean Sydney
Spiderman Cake!
Eat lots of salad to grow big and strong.

The boy can walk! Jackson finally started walking. I guess it just took him turning 1. Since turning 1 a couple days ago, he has really become a little man instead of a baby. He can walk, he pays attention and responds in conversation, and a lot of other fun personality things.
Jackson's birthday came and went. It was a fun Spiderman bash. He got a Spiderman cake, Spiderman ball, and a Spiderman doll. He also got some hand puppets. They have those at our nursery and he really likes them. Also he received gifts and cards from his grandparents. Sydney was as excited as he was. She opened a card for him (when we weren't paying attention) and shouted, "Jackson got a card! And he likes it!" Then she handed it over and went for another present, but we stopped her. Jackson learned how to hold up one finger when we ask him how old he is.
After the birthday there wasn't a lot of time to play with presents before bed, so we went to bed without cleaning up the fun from the front room. The next morning when Keresa brought Jackson out, he saw all the presents and mess and fun to play in and he got an excited look on his face and held up his finger as if to say, "I'm one! And these are my presents! And I want to play with them!"
We went for a drive and Sydney had us pull over to pick a leaf off a tree. It was a really big leaf. Bigger than a beach towel.
The other day when Sydney was acting up, Keresa asked her if she would like to have a spank on her butt (she usually says bum, but she was getting pretty upset with Sydney, so instead she said butt). Sydney noticed the new word, and with her head cocked and in an interested voice said, "butt? My butt? Butt. You going to spank my butt. Hmm, butt?" over and over so many things that it made Keresa start laughing and she had to send Sydney to me to receive the spank.
Keresa had a stake meeting in September for RS, so we thought we would make a day of it and bring the whole family. It was a 2 and a half hour drive to get to our stake center. When we got there, there was a nursery, so I went in there with the kids. The ladies in charge looked at me with disgust and said dads could wait out in the foyer for the meetings to end. So I walked out there to see a few other disoriented and bewildered dads. But before long we were all settled into the couches with our laptops or Harry Potter books, doing things that dads do.
As much as I thought Grundy Virginia might not impact me, it has already left its mark on me. A mark I will carry forever. A mark about 7 inches long with 9 little pinhole marks on either side of it. That's right my appendix burst, is out, and I am fully recovered. Even more amazing than surviving a ruptured appendix is that I survived missing a week and a half of school. I am finally 100% caught up with that too. And just in time I might add. We had our first big paper due this weekend. It was a fun assignment: the teacher gave us a potential hypothetical client, then gave us 4 cases and 4 laws and told us to apply them to the hypo and write a memo advising whether we should take the case or not. It was hard, but fun.
I had a test today, a midterm. After the test a kid asked me how I thought I did on it. I told him I thought I did okay, but that I almost missed the essay on the back. He freaked! Ha Ha SUCKA!! That sort of trick is way funnier in this uptight law school atmosphere!
Other than that, life as usual.
MK KGW SRW JGW

September update

Some turtle at some museum at Virginia Beach
exit wound

Sydney always helps me empty all the garbages on Saturday nights, then take it out to the street. She thinks she is in charge of that. She walks around the house with a handful of bags, dropping one at each garbage can. She stands and waits for me like she hasn't got all day or something.
After that, she was reading books with me in Jackson's room. His room is the kid playroom full of toys in the closet, so that is mostly where we play. So I asked her to pick out two books she would like to read, and take them out of his room because I was going to put him to bed, and I would then read to her by herself out in the living room before bed. When I got back, she was nowhere in sight, but the closet doors were closed. So I played and said, "Where's Sydney, oh, Sydney, where are you." And she threw the doors open to get me by surprise.
Jackson's record is 5 steps. I think he will walk some day, but so far, no more than 5 steps in a row. He has started making a lot of faces, including some pretty sarcastic ones. We will try to catch one on photo for you all.
I am recovering well from the emergency C-section I had, or maybe it was an A-section, for appendix. Keresa knows a lot of stuff about how I feel, how I should rehab, and what things I cannot do thanks to her C-sections. She coaches me well. Luckily we got our health insurance all set up and prepared first thing when we got here. Otherwise this appendix ordeal would have cost as much as schooling . . .
Thanks everyone for your love and prayers.
MK KGW SRW JGW

August update

Virginia Beach BABY!Jump AND point to self
da boys
Full for the first time ever

Over the last few days, Sydney has been singing one song that has had us worried. There is a part in the song where she says, "Oh my God..." then continues on. Keresa and I always look at each other kind of asking what we should do about it, and she sings on with more words that we can't understand. Well finally she finished the song and we heard, "Teach me all that I must do... to live with him some day." Of course! So we just taught her how to sing the first part correctly. "I am a child of God..."
Jackson got his haircut before church today. This makes "haircut number two" for his life so far. He is standing up to everything in sight. It seems like he will walk on his own any day now. He likes to walk around with me holding one hand and Sydney holding his other hand. He is pretty shaky still. He is also understanding and responding to more English. He says his own version of Uh-oh when he drops stuff, he plays lots of games, even initiates them -- games like peek-a-boo, and if we ever sneak up on him, he crawls away as fast and excitedly as he can.
We ventured over to Williamsburg and went to a sweet water park with a big wet jungle gym. There is a huge 1,000 gallon bucket on top that fills up and tips over every ten minutes or so. Sydney said later, "Dad, remember the big sippy cup that spilled and got water on me?"
We also spent time at Virginia Beach. You gotta love that warm Atlantic Ocean.
MK KGW SRW JGW

July update

Matthias got married. 07/06/07. Nice reunion.

June update

bubbles in the house
night night
APP-ugh-LAA(like in laugh)-cha
This is where you go to get thangs.

You can see that in Grundy, Virginia, they got plenty of "thangs" to shop for. Turns out it's call 'app-uh-LAUGH-cha' school of law. I guess we can probably make it through without picking up the accent, but I don't think our kids stand a chance. We found that our branch we will attend will be a 45-minute drive. It has an actual church-owned property with a sign and everything. It's a small branch of about 35 people. They will start up the nursery program when Sydney gets there because she will be the only one. We found a house that will be a good fit for our family. It's within 2 miles of the school. There is enough room for us to have a real guest room, but there is also the town's Comfort Inn within walking distance for those who like a little more privacy when they come to visit.
Our house has been in escrow for half of May and is scheduled to close on June 15. We will hang out here in Las Vegas until the reunion at Matt's wedding in 4th of July, then we will move to Virginia for our 3-year-long vacation. That's what it will be like right? ...
Sydney blew lots of bubbles this month. She scored a bubble blowing toy when we took a vacation to San Diego for Cinco de Mayo. We saw the SD sights and spent a lot of time hangin' out like beach bums. It was a great vacation destination. We highly recommend it for all.
Jackson had a haircut, so he looks like a boy instead of a baby now. He only ever crawls 2 steps or so, then he pretends to have numb legs and he just pulls himself along with his arms. He gets around pretty fast.
Keresa is trying to pack a box here and there so when it's time to go we will be ready. She has packed nearly everything except what we use in the kitchen and our clothes, and it's only 8 boxes. She thinks on the day before we leave we will fill another 8 or 10, but that's all the more stuff we have besides furniture.
We are excited to see you all at Matt's wedding.
MK KGW SRW JGW

May update

18 Bonnie Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89110

Our first house will soon be someone else's

glasses help reading right?
shirt soaked with drool
peek a boo at Whitney Pockets
Syd kid bungee jumping at Clark County Fair
in the trailer at Whitney Pockets

Well we don't have anything exciting like kids with broken arms. . .
April brought the Fair, and we spent an afternoon looking at animals, eating fried stuff, and Sydney even tried the bungee trampoline.
Sydney has learned to say a lot of things. The other day she had a snotty nose and she asked Keresa for a "TISH-me." She also listens all the time then asks, "What is that noise Mommy? (Daddy)"
We have been attending a number of high school volley ball games to watch Keresa's little brother. The players often wipe the sweat from their brows, then wipe it on the bottoms of their shoes. The idea is it rinses the dust from their shoes and they have a little moisture to aid in their ability to grip the floor. Sydney has been trying to jump really high, and Keresa found her wiping the bottoms of her feet like the players as she jumped.
Jackson is trying to learn to crawl, but so far he is not getting far. He has gotten up on his all fours and rocked back and forth, but that is about it. He is a happy little guy as long as we keep him full of food.
We set up the pool a couple weeks ago and left it to warm up in this sunny season. We swam on Saturday and it is still a little chilly, but our kids appreciated a fun dip with their parents.
We will be moving to Virginia this summer to prepare for law school in Grundy at the Appalachian School of Law. We are planning to use a moving service that parks a semi-trailer in front of your house, you load it up, then they come pick it up and you meet them at your new house. We figure we will order the trailer a couple days before we leave for Mesa for Matt's wedding, then attend the wedding, then drive on the Virginia to meet the moving van.
To relax from all the application and waiting, we are planning a trip to San Diego for a couple days. We will relax, come home and pack our stuff, then we will be outta here!
MK KGW SRW JGW

April update

fast slide at 'new park'
clean and full--it's a good feeling
small towel for a small girl
watch your fingers!
Happy Easter!

March has been a fast month for us. We received two acceptances: Ohio Northern and Appalachia University in Virginia. They require a deposit to hold your seat, so we decided to pay Ohio's in order to have a seat in case we don't get accepted anywhere else. Of course we would like to be at UNLV, so we will hope to receive that acceptance.
Keresa had a horrible headache that wiped her out Saturday, Sunday and Monday. So I took Sydney to church alone this week. When we had about 10 minutes left to finish Sacrament meeting, she put her little purse on her shoulder and whispered to me, "I'll be right back." It cracked me up.
Also while Keresa was sick on Monday, Syd and I played in the backyard for a while. She stood on the sprinkler box and said, "Daddy, this my scale. I weigh twenty-seven." Then she sat on a sprinkler and pretended to go to the bathroom. She is pretty creative.
Jackson turned six months. It is amazing how it seems like he has been here for a long time, but also how it seems like we just got him too. We are both glad he is past the infant stage. It is much more fun to play with him now. He is always laughing and smiling.
What if the reunion this year is Matt's wedding? We should correlate and all stay in the same hotel and Nick & Becca show us some cool hike or other thing we might do together. Is there a water park there? Is there a fun thing we can do with the kids? You Arizona kids please let the rest of us know if there is anything like that in Mesa and the surrounding area.
We are really on pins and needles until we know where law school will take us. We figure we will have received all our acceptances and denials by May 1st. Just to add some excitement to the wait, Appalachia U called us up to ask why we hadn't accepted their offer, especially since they had a full tuition scholarship waiting for us. I can tell the next few days will be interesting. We will let you all know.
MK KGW SRW JGW

March update

Donald Duck sandwhich
"Maybe later, I'm eating..."
"...or gagging."

Chubby boy and cute boy--you decide who's who;)

A couple weeks ago, Keresa tried Jackson at spoon feeding. He didn't have the muscle control or understanding yet, and most of it dribbled down his chin. Over the last 2 or 3 days, she has tried again, and now he is a champ. That means we will be able to get more food in there, and he will grow much faster. At their recent Dr.'s appointment, the kids were only 5lbs different, although they are 20 months different. So watch out "big" sis, your little bro might soon outweigh you!
Sydney scored this month. We thought about getting her a little plastic slide for Christmas, but couldn't justify it with all the other things we wanted to get her more. But last week we received a call that there was one up for grabs on our street...People who don't know about DI just leave their stuff out for the neighbors, and if no neighbors take it, the garbage man does. I hurried to pick it up before work, and since then Sydney has been sliding it up in the backyard. She climbs up and slides down all the day long.
Sydney has impressed us by saying whole thoughts, and we realize that she has a memory. She will describe how "Yessa-day, Kensey (a nursery kid) poke my eye, like 'dis. Poke! Owie!"
Keresa got moved from MiaMaid advisor to the YW 2nd counselor, so she is in Beehives now. She was also assigned to make a DVD slideshow of our recent Mt Charleston Youth retreat. She did a great job and now sees visions of making slideshow DVDs for all occasions (reunions?)
Speaking of reunions, is there an assignment for anyone for this summer yet?
The rumors are true, I have applied to law schools and am waiting back for acceptances. I should start hearing in the first part of May. I applied to Las Vegas of course, then four other schools that are less competitive so I might have a few "sure bets" for acceptance this fall. Among those are Albuquerque NM, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
We will keep everyone posted.
MK KGW SRW JGW

February update

Guess-how-old cake
"Elmo hat"

Book!
"Elmo Cake!"

Sydney was watching Keresa paint her toe nails like she always does. After they were all put away Keresa sat in her chair and did her hair like she always does. In the meantime, Sydney went unnoticed for a period. Then before long she returned. She typically sits behind Keresa and plays with toys, or something like that. When Keresa finished blow drying, Sydney said, "Mom- Paint Nails!!" And Keresa turned around to see Sydney all set up with a bottle of nail polish, her feet on a towel on the carpet, and silver shiny paint all over her feet. Keresa quickly bathed the babe in nail polish remover and told her this was a task that required Mommy's help.
Sydney's second birthday was Saturday. She got an Elmo cake, made and decorated by her mother. We celebrated twice- once at the Tingey cabin in Mt. Charleston during the day, then once with her Grandma Gifford in the evening. We learned that the digestive system of a two-year-old cannot handle two parties worth of birthday treats in one day. The next morning we had quite a mess to clean up.
While washing Jackson in the bath, I was trying to wash out his neck rolls because he is chubby, and sometimes throw up gets stuck in there. When I reached my fingers in there, he started giggling. So I called for Keresa, and he did it a few more times. Since then though, he has not laughed anymore. No matter how we try, we cannot get him to do more than a huge smile. I'm glad she was able to quickly come in the bathroom and see before he quit.
We went to a trip in Park City, UT last weekend. It was a lot of fun, and very cold. We saw -17F temperatures. Cold.
We went to Disney on Ice, The Incredibles. It was a lot of fun. Poor Sydney got bored during the intermission, then she couldn't really get back into it, and fell asleep before the finale. We tried to wake her for the fireworks, lights, and all the excitement, but she was just completely asleep. We shook her a little, stood her up, and it just did not do any good.
At some point before she fell asleep, I had her on my lap while I was eating the cotton candy. After a few mouthfuls I realized it wasn't continually melting in my mouth. I looked down to see that somehow I had gotten her pigtail full of hair into my mouth. It was nasty. She said, "No dad!"
MK KGW SRW JGW

January update

BB Jakn
BB Sydney
BB Banshee

Sydney, the other day when we were pulling up to the grocery store, she looked around and told her mom and me, "Albertson's. Shopping." Then later that same day we were stopped at a stop light where there is a McDonald's within sight, and similarly she let us know that we were next to the, "McDonald's. Hamburger." She thinks she is Jackson's mom. She walks quietly up to him and says, "Hi little guy. Doo doo goo boo doo."
Jackson only fit #2 diapers for one box worth, then onto the next. He may have that same super-growth gene that Bronson has. So just in case next time you see our family it looks like Sydney has a big brother instead of a little brother, it's Jackson.
We got to have a New Year's Eve bash with Chris and Summer and their kids. Grandpa and Grandma Whit showed up for a few hours of fun, but were scared off when Chris and Summer pulled out their new Christmas presents-- paintball guns! Let's just say they were wise to have left before there were any shots fired.
MK KGW SRW JGW