Super Long Update Time

The Blogging Gods are not pleased with my recent offerings and demand more. Currently my camera is too far out of my reach and would require a dizzy walk all the way down the stairs and back up to post any pictures, so I will simply give a little update about each of the dwellers of this home.

JACK

Jack is a typical almost 18 month child, except that he doesn't talk as much as we would like. He is tall for his age and so very handsome! Some things he enjoys lately are:
*Playing with his sisters- sometimes they do not enjoy this as much as he does
*Lifting up his shirt to get tickles on his belly- we had family pictures a bit ago, and he kept lifting up his shirt so the photographer would tickle him. Punk.
*Giving hugs- this might be the best thing to ever happen to me
*Climbing on our table and taking everything off of it- hence my current lack of any tablecloth or decorations on it
*Getting bedtime songs and snuggles
*Taking baths- he hears water running anywhere, even from the washer, and he starts trying to strip his clothes off
*Pooping- I change more messy diapers from him than I thought was possible. I won't complain, however, as we have some friends in our ward who have the opposite problem with their little girl and have had some serious challenges with it.
*Swatting Flies- give him a fly swatter and he is a happy camper. Sometimes he even kills flies!
*Eating- this boy is a GREAT eater. I love it.
*Being read to- he loves when I read to him, but he LOVES when Emma reads to him.
*Admiring himself- the kid likes mirrors, and I don't blame him!
*Electronics- phones, remotes, wires, chargers, keyboards, whatever! He wants them all.
*Shoes- His, Daddy's, mine, Emma's, whatever! He wants them all. If I can't find one shoe in a pair, I know to look in places Jack might have gone instead of any logical place for a shoe to be.



SARA
Sara has been having a rough spell lately. So much whining. All the time. Every time we think she is coming to the end of this phase, it starts up again. It is getting better as we have found that an early bed time, a good dinner, and ignoring the crying seems to help. She is still our sweetest snuggler and is a devoted Daddy's girl. She is gorgeous and sweet most of the time and we love her to death. Some things Sara likes lately are:

*Yogurt- right now she is throwing a fit since we are out of yogurt. Oops.
*School- she wants to go to school every day
*Dresses- she never wants to wear pants to school if she can help it.
*Dressing herself- if you ever see her in an outfit that doesn't seem quite logical, please don't think it was me who picked it out.
*Styling her hair- including cutting it :(
*Snuggling- this also helps with the whining. Way more effective than yelling.
*Coloring- this girl will color for hours. Literally. Sometimes all she wants to do while Emma is at school is color. She is quite the artist!
*Learn- just not from me. She loves learning from Miss Mandy and Emma, but is not the biggest fan of sitting down for learning time with me. I have to sneak it in sometimes.
*Drinking- she is the kind of kid that could fill up on water at dinner and be just fine with it. She would prefer to drink milk all day than ever have a treat. It can be a struggle to get her to eat real food at times.
*Cleaning her bathroom- I have to fight tooth and nail to get her to clean up her rooma nd make her bed, but if I ask her to scrub the toilet or mop her floor, she is ALL over that!
*Kids her age- this is a big relief to me as I thought she was going to be my shy child. She is more reserved than Emma, but has lots of friends her age and is a good playmate.


EMMA
Emma is getting smarter and prettier every day. She is my biggest helper, and I still mourn when I take her to school because I miss her so much. Right now she hates going to bed because she is certain she is missing out on all kinds of partying when she falls asleep. Some things our Emma likes lately are:

*School- she loves it! I kind of wish she didn't.
*Reading- she is finally getting it and is excited about it now. Yay!
*Eating out- she wants to go to a restaurant every night. We don't eat out that much, but if it were up to her, we would all the dang time.
*Cooking- if she can't eat out, she is only content if I let her help me cook the meal.
*Getting compliments- She is my daughter! She lives to get verbal praise. If I tell her what a big helper she is, she beams and runs to find something else she can help me with.
*Writing- she can sound things out now and likes to write letters and captions for her pictures.
*Drawing- it is more than coloring now. She actually draws great pictures.
*Taking care of Jack- I can't wait for her to be old enough to babysit. She is great with her siblings and loves to help especially with Jack.
*Leading music with me- I am the ward chorister right now, and Emma likes to sit on the stand with me as I lead. She is very reverent when she does this, and it makes me feel better knowing I am not leaving Ross with all 3 kids through the first third of the meeting every Sunday.
*Singing- she learns songs so fast and loves singing. We are learning the verses to Follow the Prophet for FHEs, and she can memorize the words faster than Ross can.
*Telling stories- She likes to tell other detailed information about the events of her day. Putting her to bed can take a long time because she just has so much she wants to discuss.
*Saying prayers-I could write a whole post about this. She is a great little prayer. She is so sweet and sincere and listening to her pray helps me see what she is actually absorbing from the events around her and what she is worried about.


AMANDA
I have been a bit busy with my 4 callings (5 if you count being a Visiting Teacher) and trying to prepare for and attend my monthly meetings with friends in the area like Book Club and Bunco. I have been a bit (so very much) sick lately, but have been feeling a bit better and a bit stronger each day- so hopefully soon I will feel back to normal. I have been part of an exercise group in my ward, and even started a diet plan with a friend from that group. We help support each other and I have really enjoyed it. I am busy with child rearing and working just as usual which has taken up my blogging time/motivation. Things are good. I am blessed.

ROSS
Ross has had some frustrating times this last week or so. He was in an 8 car pile-up one morning while commuting to work, and his car was totalled. That means that we are down to one car which means I walk everywhere all the time now until we can get a check from the insurance and buy another one. He has been working hard at work with some new training, and then lots of overtime to take care of the work he can't do while in training. He works so hard, but is always happy and loving when he comes home, and he never fails to brighten our home when he walks through the door. Our family is so blessed to have him. He is a wonderful husband and father, and we couldn't ask for more!


There you have it- the Goodmans in a nutshell. I will try to get pictures up tomorrow. No promises.