Updates

I'm horrible at blogging lately but I have lots to record and my boys wont stop growing so I'm working on balancing documenting our lives and being present and recently, being present has just been the only thing I've made time for. But kids are napping and I've got a pile of laundry thats been taunting me for a few days so I'll make this brief.

Chad and Kayla Update:
  Still in love, still raising two cute kids together and always looking for a new project. We've spent the last few months looking into buying a home we found in San Tan Valley, its an amazing neighborhood with lots of young families and a strong, exciting new stake. The price is perfect and the location is 10 minutes from cousins, 20 from grandparents, surrounded by parks, churches and schools and after lots of researching and talking to locals, realtors and lenders, property value would just go up in the next 10 years. It feels so right. So we've been saving and getting all our ducks in a row, remember we were in a tough spot for the past two years so its kind of a miracle that we're even talking about buying a house right now...its a blessing and we're so grateful.
   We're looking at 2-3 homes in the same neighborhood but last week chads boss asked us how we felt about Orlando...as in Orlando Florida. He said of course, we would go wherever he wanted us and admittedly, I'd be down for any move, near or far. However, it postpones our house buying desires as we wont know til the end of April if Orlando is our new home. Which is fine with us, more time to save more time to choose. In the mean time, lots of prayers for the Merrells please, we've got changes in our future no matter what and while we're excited for them, we know changes bring challenges.
Exciting stuff all around.
   Chad LOVES his job and I've become equally invested in his work. With him still being relatively new to the job it requires a lot of time and dedication which we're all about but as a scout leader he was pretty torn. They do a campout every month, plus a two week camp in the summer and a few extras scattered throughout the year, if he were to take time off for even just 1/2 the campout, he would be left with 2 vacation days a year to spend with our family...not enough. Luckily our bishop sensed our concerns without us even voicing them and Chad was released, he misses the boys and the comrodery that comes from the scouting program but he LOVES his new calling, Sunday school Teacher! I'm thrilled about it! I LOVE hearing him teach, when I first fell for him he was teaching a FHE lesson in our singles ward. I'll have to sneak out of primary to gush over him in the back row a few times.
   I'm still in the primary and I'm loving it! I love teaching and connecting with the kids, I even have handshakes with a good number of them! It helps that a good chunk of them take lessons from me so they know how goofy i can be, i think it helps them respect me when I ask for reverence, because they know reverence isnt my natural state of being. We're learning together.
   I'm working out a lot lately, we spend almost every morning at the gym and the kids and I love it. I dislike leaving them in the daycare but a few of the workers are in my ward and they're comfortable there so that helps. Chad and I are trying to make this our year, our year of weight loss and keeping it off so I spend lots of time, preparing meals, shopping and doing dishes but we're both in it for the long haul. We booked our annual grown up getaway trip for this October and its perfect, it'll give us something to work towards. We'll be going on a cruise to the west Carribiean with stops at Cozumel and Yucatan. We can.not.wait.

Liam Update:
   Liam is potty training again...but he's doing it himself this time. He's always been mr. independant i dont know why i didnt do it this way the first time around, I told him to tell me when he has to go and if he poops in his pants we dont go out. It's meant that we've had to leave places upruptly but he's getting it. Potty-trained =more privileges. Preschool, swim class and gym class are waiting for him when he masters the craft, all of them require 100% potty trained children.
   Liams nursery leader came to me last sunday and said Liam needs to be put in an advanced nursery class. I laughed and jokingly suggested sunbeams but she was serious. Its been an inner battle trying to decide weather i put liam in sunbeams or leave him in nursery for another year. He really is just kind of ahead of the curve verbally so he's not being challenged in a room full of 2 year olds that are working on thier first 10 words still but we're getting new leaders and I'm hoping the structure and routine we're establishing in nursery will give him something to work on for the next 10 months. The music leader loves him to peices because he knows all the primary songs already so she always sends him home with extra props to sing them at home for me.  I love it and try to encourage him to be a protector of the little's in his nursery class, I'm hoping this year is a chance for him to become a leader and a helper!
  Liam loves building things, we found a marble runner set at a yard sale last weekend and he build new run towers every day. He associated building with his dad and i love the natural desire he has to be like him. Chad built him a bunkbed last weekend and Liam was right there next to him the whole time with his kids tool set, repeating everything he did.
  My cautious boy is starting to branch out a little more, he's still afraid of doing new things sometimes but he expresses a desire to try them, he just wants to know we're there to help. My heart lights up every time he tries something new and succeeds...so does his. He talks about it for days.
  Liam loves going on long bike rides, practicing soccer in the front yard, doing crafts while brother sleeps, going to play with friends at the gym, having babysitters, visiting grandmas house, running, going to the zoo/farm and building bonfires in the back yard.
   He's working on his numbers and letters right now and whenever were driving around and he sees a sign he asks about all the letters and what they say. He sometimes mixes up letters and numbers but we practice every day. We're working on building a little library under his bunkbed and he's so exciting about building it and filling it up with new books!

Matix Update:
   Oh Matiboy, he is growing so fast and so big! He is seriously so heavy, i'll be crawling the halls at cjurch and people will pick him up and I have fun guessing how long they'll last til they realize that he's so much heavier than they atticipated. Church is right during nap time (every church time is right in the middle of nap time it seems) so chad normally toughs it out since I'm pretty busy during 2nd and third hour but now with his new calling, I had Matix last week and honestly, it was rough. Matix is a mover and a little bit of a princess...he needs his beauty sleep!
   One thing we've learned about Matix is that he knows what he wants, he will not be distracted by funny faces or toys, if he has his eye on something or his mind set on a destination, he'll get it, or get there!
   He'll be walking within the next week or two and it's crazy to me how quickly it all happened, I try not to get distracted or miss moments like this but it takes a lot more effort to slow down and spend quality time with Matix while Liam's around, Liam gets a little jealous so I'm working on giving them age appropriate attention and recognition. Matix gets kisses and squeels from everyone  when he claps his hands together and Liam expects the same result when he claps but we want him to know we value his accomplishments the same way, we just show it differently as we grow!
  Matix loves eggs, watermelon, cherrios, veggie sticks, strawberries and sweet potatos. He hates lunch meats and tortillas. watching him eat is always a highlight of my day, so dedicated to food and the consumption of it.
   Matix has 9 teeth....9! We're in the process of teaching him that wrestling does not mean biting because its starting to hurt a little. He'll really pin you down, if I'm sitting on the floor, he'll come up from behind, use my back as support to stand and peak around my shoulder with a giggle and when I smile at him, he burys his face in my back and starts wrestling. we love it, wrestling is definitely Matixs love language.
   Matix is entering that stage of getting hurt all the time, bring on the bruises. Last night Matix bonked his face on brothers bed and cut his lip. He whined about it all night. I need to toughen up these boys but I sure do love the snuggles. We cut his hair for the second time in 10 months and its already getting long again. Cutting hair has become a family affair, we're all involved and it takes about 20 minutes too long but it's always fun and ends with a brother bath that both Matix and Liam LOVE!
   Matix is one years only in less than a month, its blowing my mind. he's such a sweet, easily entertained, determined, well-fed, dimpley, snuggle bug. We love him with all our hearts. I caught Liam trying to lift him and before I ran and stopped him, I watched as he carefully lifted him into a chair in his reading corner, sat next to him and started explain the story of the Zoramites. My heart was so happy. Liams still learning what it means to protect and what a big brother should do but I'm so happy for the little moments where they just nail the brother thing.

Here's to hoping I get better at making time to record the growth and love in our home!