{December 2016}

December was so wonderful. As apprehensive as I was to have all the kids home for track break it ended up being so magical, I never wanted the month to stop. We had a great month as a family, celebrating the holidays and traveling to be with family for Christmas.

Hannah proved to be such a huge help to me. Hannah is extremely organized and works efficiently. Every morning she'd wake up and take care of all her responsibilities, then help me out, so she could quickly reap the benefits of having extra screen time. Mommy kept her busy, practicing the piano, reading lots of books, and practicing math every day. Hannah even learned how to tie her shoes over the break. Hannah's current dream is to have a YouTube channel for kids. She did a lot of "research" on the subject. She and Paige played a lot of video games together during the break. Hannah asked for a Pikachu for Christmas and was lucky enough to get it, and also get a Kindle Fire! She's loved playing on it. Hannah got the stomach bug TWICE during the break. No fun at all!

Paige loved to relax during track break. She'd stay in her pajamas for long periods of time. However, Mommy kept her busy with reading practice, handwriting practice, and math practice. It wasn't necessarily fun, but Paige completed all her tasks with only a little bit of complaining. Paige was especially excited, because she learned to tie her shoes like a pro! Paige got a lot of fun toys for Christmas, including an American Girl doll, and a Kindle Fire. Hannah and Paige played a lot of fun video games together over the break (and wished they could have played even more). Paige got the stomach bug TWICE. Once from Hannah, and once after she spent so much time taking good care of Mommy when she had the bug.

Sam loved having his sisters home during track break. He loved having companions around constantly, and they played so well together. He also loved having Daddy home for two weeks. We all spent a lot of time watching, reading about, or playing Star Wars with Sam. Sam even got to meet Darth Vader, who dressed up just for him. He was in awe, and wasn't even scared at all. It was the sweetest. He still loves his Hot Wheels, and spends time building tracks and courses all over the house.

Jonathan turned eight months old and we can't even believe it. He continues to be the happiest guy in the world, even though he's been teething all month. He spreads good humor and cheer to the whole family. Jonathan is crawling all  over the place, and is extremely quick about it. He's cruising around furniture, climbing stairs, and scaling walls. He even started standing on his own, and he's very pleased with himself! He says Mama (sort of) and will turn and look at each family member when we say their name. He always responds to the words "eat" and "play." He also responds to the command to "get 'em" like a good attack dog. He'll only nap when he's rocked to sleep. He loves all foods except peas and green beans. He prefers food served warm, but makes an exception for ice cream. He makes noises like a wookiee. We love him so much. It was so sweet to spend his first Christmas with him, and watch the magic in his eyes.

{November 2016}

As the year winds down and the season changes from summer to winter (in Las Vegas) we were able to enjoy a lot of fun together as a family. 

Hannah: November means Parent/Teacher conference time, and it's something I've always looked forward to, because I can always count on Hannah to have a good report. Hannah's teacher, Mrs. Kramar sure loves her, and thinks she's awesome. Apparently all her classmates do too, because she is a very popular girl. Everyone wants to be her friend, and they'll fight over who gets to sit by her. Hannah is reading at a fourth grade reading level, a full two years (plus) ahead of where she needs to be. She loves playing games on the computer, like prodigy, and she loves writing creative stories. Hannah was especially disappointed that Donald Trump won the election after being so incredibly invested in Hilary Clinton, but she; took it in stride, and she was happy that she won in Nevada. 

Paige: It was a delight to attend Paige's Parent/Teacher conference. I'm so grateful for her loving, hard working teacher Mrs. Evarts. Paige is doing excellent in kindergarten, and is exactly where she needs to be. She's a very smart girl, and is doing excellent with reading. Mrs. Evarts said that Paige is an excellent friend to her peers, and a great big help to her teacher. She loves being social and she loves learning. Paige remains my tender heart. Paige came to me crying today because Hannah and Sam were playing together without her. She said "It hurts my feelings because Sam used to be my best friend but I guess he broke up with me." Now he's telling her, "I Hannah AND Taige's boy, right?"

Sam: November was pretty similar to October for Sam. Lots of Star Wars and Hot Wheels. He is such a funny kid. We discovered that if you want him to take a nap you just need to go on a fifteen minute drive around the neighborhood and he conks right out. One thing about Sam is he LOVES holidays more than anyone I've ever met. He was a sucker for Halloween, and now that Christmas is around the corner he gasps and points and shouts at every decoration he sees. It's adorable. Sam got sick TWICE in November and had to use the nebulizer. I sure can't wait for him to grow out of this! 

Jonathan: Jonathan turned SEVEN months. It kills me how quickly time is passing. Jonathan is standing and scooting around furniture. He's crawling all over the place, and even started climbing up the stairs. I can't handle it! He loves being a Turney, and thinks our family is pretty great, but he loves his mommy best of all. He's doing great at eating, and he's working on getting another tooth, which is probably why he's so needy and cranky all of a sudden (and getting into the WORST sleeping habits--he's still not sleeping through the night)! He enjoyed munching on rolls for his first Thanksgiving. 

We had a blast in Utah for Thanksgiving. The kids loved being with Grandma and Grandpa as always, who spoiled them rotten, and took the best care of them. They went to the Treehouse museum, took a bunch of trips to Lees, went on walks to see the llamas, and even got to the zoo. The kids were excited to meet Randy Whiting, Adam's biological father, and get to know him a bit. We had dinner with him, and we hope to see him again sometime. 

Thanksgiving break was the start of track break, and in order to prevent chaos and bloodshed I've been ultra organized. My kids have certain tasks they must complete in order to get one hour of screen time, which is all they get total per day. Today their tasks kept them busy until about one. Hannah picked writing stories on Google docs for her screen time (perfect, way better than TV) and Paige picked working on Lexia, a school program, for her screen time. Even better, its educational. Paige asked me to lay in bed next to her while I read and I ended up falling asleep accidentally. Not only did the kids follow instructions while the boys and I napped, Paige even put away all the girls laundry after Hannah sorted it! I woke up covered in blankets, thanks to Paige, with a glass of water next to me and the iPad playing peaceful piano music.