Happy New Year!

We wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and our hopes are that you have a wonderful, healthy 2008. We also want to wish Mat's dad, Ben, a very happy birthday!! What is it - your 29th birthday, right? :) This is also my 100th post!! Exciting that it fell on a holiday - at least for me!

2007 brought a lot of wonderful memories for us. Finley turned 1, Arlington started pre-kindergarten, we went to the lake for a weeks vacation this summer, our nephew was born, my brother and sister in law announced they were having a baby, and Mat's sister and brother in law decided to adopt. And of course, bringing our final child into our family! 2007 will always hold a special place in our hearts for that reason. I personally will always be greatful to Aunt Betty who accompanied Mat to China to help pick up our most precious package. It meant the world to us that she was able to do that!

A brand new year means a brand new set of resolutions. Mine are always the same. Eat better, cook more, don't yell at the kids (ha). But alas, by January 2nd, usually one of my resolutions is broken! But being that it is still the 1st of the year, I am hoping for the best. It is hard to eat well when you can't cook well, and hard not to yell at the kids while you are trying to feed them a healthy meal you slaved over all day that they don't like. :) But hey, it is all in fun making resolutions anyway.

Since my last post last week, our large ball of company all went home, and we enjoyed a peaceful weekend of doing not much of anything but playing with all of the new toys. We did go out to eat Sunday for dinner as a family, bu Cainan wasn't feeling that well. He had a fever starting on Saturday and it is still on and off today. I took him to the doctor, but the doctor thinks it is just a virus. He has a terrible cough that is keeping him from resting well, and just doesn't feel well. Poor guy. He really hasn't been sick much, but is having trouble shaking this one. We have a prescription for an antibiotic if the fever isn't better by tomorrow, so we will see. He is just very restless and hasn't had much sleep since Saturday, so he is overly sensitive. For those of you who know Cainan, he can be sensitive ANYWAY. He seems to have sensory issues - he doesn't like having his legs touched, or anything on his lips. He doesn't like to be crowded (unless by his mom and dad). He doesn't like uneven spaces, or things to bump into him. The list goes on, but he is getting better all the time. But when he is sick, look out! Hey, who wants to be bothered when they don't feel good, right? Quadruple that for Cainan.

Arlington is doing well. I have been very proud of her lately and her big sister skills. I do think that being 5 MIGHT be better than 4. For all of those with little kids - here is how it goes. Ages 0-1, you don't get a lot of sleep, but the babies are cute and small, and pretty stationary. Ages 1-2, they start to develop some personality and some "mood swings". The terrible twos actually start around 18 months! LOL. Ages 2-3, worse than ages 1-2 in the fact they have more language skills and have learned to stomp their feet and say "that's not fair". Ages 3-4, worse than 2-3 because they THINK they are wiser than you and will tell you! Ages 4-5 are worse than 3-4 because they KNOW they are wiser than you and back talking becomes just a lovely daily occurance.

But I digress. Arlington has really turned into a little lady. She watches her brother and sister and LOVES playing with them. She and Finley played in her room today for about 1 hour with no problems. They never really fight over anything. I guess the age difference makes that so right now. Arlington understands that Finley is a baby and doesn't understand what she is doing. Arlington has always been a pretty easy going kid who doesn't mind sharing (although she has her moments), so her personality comes into play. She is her dad through and through. Their personalities are mirrors. Is that a good thing you say? Well, I expect her to go to Harvard, but I could to without the - not 20 - but 50 questions a day. She is a little dramatic like her mama, but NOT like Finley.

Arlington also talks a little in her sleep. Each night when we tuck her in before we go to bed, she will roll around a little and murmur something under her breath. LAst night I tried to "adjust" a doll she was holding and she just grabbed it tighter and said, "no Sabrina, I want to hold it like that". (Sabrina is her best little friend). Then she giggled. Never opened her eyes. And today we watched the rose bowl parade, and she was very curious about the flowers. She wanted to know who had to water all of those flowers. :)

Finley is, well, Finley. She is her mama through and through. Everything is drama and all about ME. :) "No" is her new favorite word and she says it constantly. Do you want a drink - no. Do you want to eat - no. Do you want to get down - no. I never know what that girl wants. She is practicing "cup" but will say "cut". She says "side" to go "outside". She says "mommy" "daddy" very clearly. She says "baby night night". She knows what a cow and a sheep say. And she has started to memorize a favorite book. I think she will be smart like Arlington (althought at this point Arlington was speaking a lot of two word sentences and knew her ABCs by heart and recognized most letters) but she is just going to be much more stubborn. It could be a long road to 5 years old with this child.

Cainan is doing well. REally coming along with language. Even though he can't say a lot of words, or a lot of words sound the same, he is repeating us syllable wise. WE say "baby" he says "baba". Tonight he said "night night" and it came out "nigh nigh". Not bad! He says "book", "ball", eyes" - those are new. We are working on "light" because he knows what they are and points to them contantly. He added a new sign "down". If we could just get him over his sensitivity, we would be good! I am just not used to having a sensitive child. And because he is a boy, I guess it surprises me a little! :)

My news is that as of today, I became a stay at home mom. It wasn't really of my choosing, but something Mat and I have been discussing. I LOVE working. I know that sounds crazy, but I am a pediatric nurse, and for the most part, in 10 years, I haven't had a job I didn't like. I luck into these great jobs with great hours, so how could I say no? I have been working just 3 days a week. Not much at all. Just enough to keep my license active and give me a little break from the kids for some adult conversation. But I got a call that my job is making some changes. I am a "per diem" staff person. I work as neccesary. I have had pretty steady hours in the almost two years I have been at this job because of the nursing shortage. My job didn't offer part time, and I didn't want full time, so this was the compromise. But our company was bought out by a new set of CEOs and they are cutting the budget. A long story short, they are really limiting the amount of time per diem staff can work. I would have gone from 3 days a week to maybe 3 days a month. Now balance that against the cost of daycare, and it doesn't make any sense. I basically work to pay for daycare and keep my license active.

So, I am jumping into a new adventure. I am treading in the deep end with this one. I am trying to embrace the fact that I will be home with my babies and Cainan is going to get more one on one attention. Both babies will stop going to daycare all together. Downfall - they were really advancing socially and with their language. Arlington will still go to pre-kindergarten, but only in the mornings. It is free, so now we don't have a daycare cost at all. Upside - in the afternoons while the babies nap, Arlington and I can get ahead on her school work and her beloved workbooks. (That girl is going to be smarter than me by the time she is in first grade).

Downfall - I will NEVER have a moments peace. :) I will have to take the babies to all of Cainan's appointments. That should be interesting. Sigh. I need a nanny.

Okay - here are just a few pictures I took! Enjoy!