A family update
I'll readily admit it has been a very long time since we updated this blog. Since moving back to Reno, we have been able to update everyone pretty regularly about our family activities. That doesn't mean that we still don't have much news that we can share with the world here on this blog. Ainsleigh and Nolan are getting so big. It is almost impossible to sit down and put our thought to digital paper. However, we must not forget that this is also a journal for us to remember many memories we might forget otherwise. Looking back on what we captured while in Virginia, so much has happened and I am glad that we got to capture it here for us to look back on, fondly.
Ainsleigh just turned 5 in June and will be staring Kindergarten next month at Mt. Rose Elementary in Reno. She was accepted into the two-way language immersion (twi) program. Essentially she will be exposed to the Spanish language all day long at school. In Kintergarten she will be exposed to 90% Spanish and 10% English throughout her day. As she moves up through the grades at this school the ratio will decrease. The school administrators say that by 3rd grade she should be fluent in Spanish and will also be literate (speaking, writing and understanding) in the language. This will give her a big advantage in life knowing a second language. As Spanish was my minor in college, I can competely understand its utility and know that it will help her in all of her other subjects in school, being able to think differently. It's almost like what they say about learning how to read music, it improves academic performance. Learning Spanish as a second language will help her excel in her studies. It can't hurt, right?
Nolan is now 2 and a half. Boy, time sure flies. He is really coming into his own. He is very independent and likes to make sure that he wants to do what he wants to do before he goes about doing anything. That is subtle language for saying that he is oh so stubborn. He has the best personality when it comes to interacting with others. He is really a joy to be around when he is happy. He loves, and I mean loves, Special Agent Oso right now and I expect that to change soon, but it is one of the shows that he can watch over and over and over again. We are still working on his potty training. He refuses to accept our invitation to have him sit down on the john and he doesn't tell us when he has a #2 coming, but occasionally he wants to go.
Speaking for potty training, Ainsleigh is now sleeping overnight without Pull-Ups! For about a week or two now, she is running without them. We stop liquid intake around 6pm each night and make her use the toilet before heading to bed. It seems to be working (fingers crossed) and we hope it lasts.
As really big news, Christine and I are expecting our 3rd (and what we feel is the final) addition to the family. We don't know the sex just yet, but we'll keep you posted (we'll try posting more regularly). We are due, officially, in January 2014, but from the looks of the necessity of a c-section, we will be having the baby at the very tail end of 2013. That's good considering we have maxed out our insurance deductible for the year and it should cover most of the expenses. If we run into 2014, that would start a whole new cycle and we definitely don't want that.
Our new house is looking great and we should have the cement patio poured at the end of the month. We are getting a wood grain stamp applied to the patio. So, eventhough it is cement it will look like a wood deck. This really excites me becuase I have been fighting weeds back there all year long and I can't wait until it is a place to relax a little. As for the rest of the backyard, it will come with time. We have a budget and we don't want to overspend. It will look great when it is all complete, but for now we just need to enjoy a cement patio. A place where the kids can ride their tricycles without fear of running into the street.
As for the houses next to us. There is a plan for 25+ houses to be built next to ours and they already have about 10 or so up, framed and their roofing tiles are being placed this week. They should be done really soon for the homebuilder to begin showing off the models of the new houses. We should have neighbors by the fall or coming winter immediately next to us. It will be nice to not have so much dust and weeds landing in our yard, on our windows and in our air vents once this constructions completes. It will also be nice to know who our neighbors will be; if their will be other families with kids our kids' age or not.
Well that is a lot for now. Check back later and we'll be sure to have more.
Thanks for stopping by.
