HOLY SMOKES!!! how time flies. I can't believe that Ayden is four and in preschool and Ryleigh is turning 2 on Monday! It seems like not too long ago Doug and I had just gotten married and our biggest worry was getting the homework done so we could graduate. Lots has happened since I wrote last (not that I am consistent at all) we have moved into a new place. We are in a condo/apartment like place. We have more room for us to grow into, although it sure filled up with our crap already. We are still trying to get into the routine of things. With where we are living we are currently about halfway between both of our jobs. I take the kids to my sister's in Fort Collins to be tended to and pick them up on my way home from work. Doug travels about 20-25 minutes southwestish of where we are to teach for a 1/2 day and then drives 12 miles south to teach the other 1/2.

Ryleigh has finally began to talk and it is starting to make some sense. We started using more sign language with her so that she would have some way to communicate and I think that has helped her out. She has her vowels down great, it is the hard sounds like "c" in cows comes out more like "ows". Ry doesn't have much of an understanding that she will be a big sister come January though. . . I think that she will adjust okay, but it will take a while. I hope to potty train her while on maternity leave, she is so close!

Ayden is growing like a weed. He is thoroughly enjoying school and can hardly wait for the next day when I pick him up. He is a smart cookie though and there isn't anymore tricking him or skipping pages in the longest book ever that he may choose. He has many books memorized and will "read" them to Ryleigh, Brown bear is the favorite. He has also adjusted to the new ward finally, he is excited to have 4 other people in his class with him and the teachers are wonderful. They bought him a birthday present his second week there. He is really excited he does his first primary program on Sunday, geez he is growing fast!

Doug is tooling right along. He was accepted into the citizens police academy which meets weekly on Thursdays. He is pretty stoked about that, he hopes it will help him get a job when the time comes. He is still playing army once a month, he has gone down twice and the second time he achieved his goal of not puking! I think that it is probably a little more mentally and physically challenging than he thought it would be. He still can't wait for the opportunity to play in the band again.. . . we just hope he doesn't have to wait until after basic next summer to do so.

I am still plugging away at my job. I am short staffed so I currently am working probably 50+ hours a week, it has been hard on me and on the kids. I finally went to my boss and said if she wanted me to stay sane I needed to take some time off and do so soon. Hopefully things will start to slow down a little. I am trying to do my best with maintaining a positive attitude. The pregnancy is continuing to go well I am in somewhat of the awkward stage where regular clothes don't fit but most maternity clothes are too big. But what can you do. For those that don't know we are expecting another little boy come January, I am excited to see if he will look like Ayden did or like Ry or if he will be a better mix between Doug and I.

Till next time. . .