Man, it has been a while since I last posted. So much has happened. Christmas, the new year, Ron started school again, everything. Braeden has started to say little things like "mama" and "dada." Ron and I argue sometimes about how much he really understands what those words mean...but I think that he at least has a superficial knowledge that Ron is "dad," I am "mama," and he is "chunky monkey." Most people disagree...but the other day, Ron was sleeping and I brought Braeden into the bedroom to wake Ron up. As soon as Braeden saw Ron sleeping in the bed, he started yelling "dadadadadadadadada!" I think he totally knows.

We have had some problems trying to find a good sitter for Braeden. He had a spill at Bonnie's house which kind of made us a bit nervous. Not that we mean anything against Bonnie, but Braeden is starting to learn to walk...and he needs constant attention. I think it was just getting to be too much for Bonnie to have 3 kids to watch. So, Ron spent a lot of time with Braeden during the Christmas break, but then school started again (which means I am again a single parent! JK!). So I advertised on craigslist...but that just attracted a lot of wierdoes. So I asked my Relief Society president if there were any ladies in the ward who were maybe stay-at-home moms who could use an extra couple hundred bucks a month...but they made it into this big thing like I needed charity and I was in such a bind and my life was falling apart. It was embarrassing...and they still call me to check up on "my situation." Anyway, a lady in our ward volunteered. She wanted me to pay her up front, which I did...but then she dropped a couple bombs on me. First she said that she didn't know if she would be able to handle it. Then she started to make comments about her ability to watch the kids if they were teething. Then she finally broke the camel's back by saying she only wanted to work about 2 days a week. That irritated me because that means that I paid her about 4-5 dollars/hour! That is insane! She is only supposed to be paid about 2 dollars/hour. I paid her with the intention of her working about 20 hours/week at 2 dollars/hour. She screwed me over. And...I have to find another sitter for the rest of the time. How irritating. So, just by chance, that night I got an email from a girl whose husband goes to BYU, just had a baby, had good experience, and was willing to work as much as I wanted as long as I wanted whenever I wanted. It was perfect. Ron and I went to meet her, liked her a lot, and now we are slowly phasing out the other lady (I am going to get my 150's worth as much as I can through the end of the month...) and then will fully switch over to Chantel. Braeden really likes her. That makes me feel good. Just one less thing to worry about.





Anyway, I hope you enjoy these pictures. I have some Christmas ones too...I'll post them later. My camera batter died...so I couldn't import them all. Also, my scanner died, so I can't scan any.





And finally, I hope you all had a happy holiday. Be safe in the cold. And don't be shy about telling people that yes...Rose's baby is much cuter!