Howard Update

Just wanted to let you all know that we're not dead. Sorry it's been a while since we've put anything new or exciting on here.... in fact, if you were hoping we would be posting exciting news and pictures... I have some bad news for you, we're not.



My camera's batteries have been dead for a while and I keep forgetting to recharge them, you'll be happy to know that they are in the charger right now... so pictures will be coming in the near future.



I will however take some time to catch you all up on the latest around our house.

Tyler is working on getting his Life Insurance license. He's taking online classes and tests, which the company is paying for.... very nice. It is great that he can get this license with the help of his company.

Kati is working on getting the motivation to start running again, actually, it's more like she's trying to get rid of the lack of motivation. I haven't been doing much work for The Florist at Edward's.... and so I've been on the job hunt for the just the right florist. It's tough trying to find the right company who will appreciate you for what you're worth. I think the worst part of working for someone else, not that I would mention this to any future or current employer, is them telling you what you're worth. It's somewhat depressing to know that you're only worth $9 or $10 an hour. At any rate, I'm grateful for my current employer and the flexibility that they've allowed me.... I'm just ready to see what else is available out there. I have also been busy working on digital scrapbooking. I love the program that Tyler got me for Christmas. It's so much fun.... if only I didn't have to be a responsible wife or mother then I could spend all day working on it. So far... I've only made it through my bridal pictures and some wedding ones. I'm so behind... but hopefully by this year I'll be caught up, or close.

Quincy is busy as ever. He has grown up so much lately. Although I don't notice any particular differences in his growth physically, I notice his growth intellectually. He comprehends much more of what we say now. He has even taken the initiative to try and emulate certain words we say. Sometimes he can make the same sounds, but more often they come out a little bit like gibberish. He has added the words: shoe and sock to his vocabulary. Quincy loves to read; He is learning his colors and even knows how to sign cat, bird, dog, and hungry. He knows how to do the hokey poky... which I would have on camera except that our camera's batteries died.

He shows interest in other kids and plays pretty well with them. At church he loves to see all the babies. He even tried to hold another baby's hand last night at our ward's ice cream social. He's very curious about little babies and shows great caution around them.... thank goodness. I don't know how long this will last. We are trying to teach him to fold his arms, which he does only half of the time we ask him to. He still can point to Jesus' picture, but won't say his name.

We haven't made any further progress with the potty, but we don't mind. We are content that he likes to sit down on his potty while we are in the bathroom. He'll get there someday. He is still a picky eater, which I blame solely on Tyler's childhood of picky eating. He did, however, try a tangerine slice and actually ate it. Hopefully his taste buds will expand, if only we can get his grandparents to stop feeding him sugary foods. :)

He has mastered climbing, running and throwing, a true boy through and through. He likes to help us dress him, by putting his arms in the holes of his jacket. He also knows how to put his beanie hats on. He understands where his socks and shoes go, but has yet to figure out how to get them on his feet. His belly button is yet another body part he has added to his list of: eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, toungue, ears, hair, head, belly, toes, fingers, hand, foot, and peanut. Quincy likes to hold utensils now, like forks and spoons. I prefer the forks where possible as the food has a better probability of actually staying on the utensil until it gets to his mouth. And speaking of mouths, he has developed a recent hatred for teeth brushing since we have decided that only we will be doing the brushing.

Quincy still gives great kisses... though his kisses now are usually closed mouth, as opposed to the old open mouth kisses that he used to give. He has also learned how to shift his weight from side to side.... he does this a lot to music, it's funny. He is working on jumping. He makes it to the top of his tippy toes and then that's as far as he gets. Tyler and Quincy work daily with his basketball hoop he got for Christmas. I think by the time Quincy's 2 he'll be able to dunk it. The other day he had emptied out one of his toy baskets, turned it upside down and put it underneath the hoop, then he climbed on top of it with a ball like he was going to dunk it himself. Funny boy!



Thursday we had some friend's from the ward over for hot dogs and hamburgers to watch the Oklahoma vs. Florida game. Saturday night we went to the ward's ice cream social. I think that basically sums oup our social life here. I guess we made a few trips to the library.... man, we're party animals.

We hope you are all having a great week! Pictures soon to follow.