Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Tre gets his brown belt

Tre joined karate when he turned 4 and worked all the way through the "little gator" belts (white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and camouflage). Then he was old enough for "official" belts and worked his way through white, yellow, orange, green, and purple. On Saturday he tested for brown. It's his last test before his black belt test. He was super nervous about this test because it required him to spar for 4 minutes straight with a new black belt each minute. I know that doesn't sound long, but it was and he was exhausted. Sensai warned me that moms normally have a hard time watching and usually leave in tears. He wasn't wrong. I cried when I saw my baby sparring and crying his way through it. It exhausted him. When the minutes were over, he thought he was done but then Sensai wanted him to kick the black belt in the head (there were pads). At that point he was too tired to get his foot that high so it took him about 45 more seconds to do it. By the time it was done he was emotional and his face was flushed with exhaustion. I have never been more proud of him. It was a challenging test and our boy stayed on his feet and he never quit. I love this kid. He has a lot to be proud of.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy 2015

Well, we had a very Merry Christmas and a great New year too!  2014 was very good to us, with the biggest accomplishment being that Jack finally got his dream job (second only to his Navy dream job) and works for the airlines. Unfortunately, he's low man on the totem pole, so he missed Christmas and New Years, so that was a bummer, but I must admit, that i am so proud of our children and how well they adjust to him being gone so much, and especially on important days.  We parents worry about them so much, and then it seems like they never give it a second thought.  Thankfully, I think daddy's work schedule is just a way of life for them and something to be proud of and not something to be sad about. The kids got more than they needed for Christmas and we got to spend the day with my parents, sisters, nieces and nephews so that is aways fun.

Tre got a kindle and a xbox game he really wanted.  He loves to read and informed me the other day that after he's a Navy Pilot and retires from the airlines, he wants to be a librarian and own lots of different libraries.  He is his father's son.

William got a bike and another xbox game that he really wanted.  He was slightly jealous of the kindle, but got over it quickly with all his goodies.

Becca got a kitchen and she is in LOVE with playing with it.  I love to watch her mimic my role as a mom!

New years was spent at my house and my brother-in-law cooked chili.  Then we walked down to my sisters and did fireworks.  Becca loved them, which was a surprise because she hated them last year.  After she hit a wall, not literally, we came home, put her to bed and hung out with our across the street neighbors.  I got in bed at 11:45. Jack was in El Paso, so my motivation to stay out in the cold to see midnight was small.  We usually sit in the hot tub to bring in the new year and talk about how the year went and how we think the next year will go.  Usually we say, maybe this year you'll get hired by the airlines.  It's exciting to think that now we don't have to worry about that and can just look forward to the pay increases every year!  HAH!

Nothing new is going on here, though.  The main focus right now is potty training Becca and working on William's behavior.  We tried to train becca a few months ago and she did a great job, but she never ever asked to go.  It was constant reminding so mommy got tired and decided to try again when she turned 2.  The Christmas break was the perfect time to start anew.  It's been a week and a half and she is doing fabulous and actually asks to go.  Unfortunately, we are struggling a bit with the poop, but hopefully we will get there soon.  I am anxious to see how she does when she goes back to MDO.

About William, all the kids seem to go through their "season" and william is going through his right now.   We are working on 4 things:  not whining and complaining, not talking back, eating what is made for dinner, and cleaning up after himself.

Until next time...