In the effort of recording things that will be special to remember but will never be remembered if not written down, here we go again! On Thursdays at the end of each week of swim team, one boy and one girl are awarded "swimmer of the week." They each get two bite-sized donuts, and Jaxon has been looking enviously at those donuts all summer, and just in general, really wanting to be recognized. Well yesterday, IT HAPPENED!! He ran over after his "team meeting" after practice with two small donuts and one HUGE grin! He said, "MOM! I'm 'Boy Swimmer Of The Week'! That doesn't even mean I'm the best, it means I WORKED THE HARDEST!!!" I'm not sure why that meant so much to him, but it warmed my heart (again) to see him recognize and enjoy the fruits of hard work!!!. The first few days at swim practice he would try to get out of going in the morning by telling me he had an awful stomach ache (which is entirely possible because he was so nervous) and in the ONE SINGLE FULL LAP they had to swim at practice he would only swim about 10 feet before clinging to a lane line. Now he swims at least 4-5 full laps in a practice and never stops to hold on (unless he needs to empty the water from his goggles due to a particularly awesome, belly-floppish water entry from the blocks!) He works so hard to get his little body to move just the way they show him, and he was really REALLY proud he didn't get disqualified at the butterfly meet (like 2/3 of his 6-and-under team) because they all got tired and gave upon Butterfly and swam the rest of the way freestyle. He was awfully slow, and I wasn't sure he was even going to make it across, but he was determined to do it correctly! He came in dead last in his heat (by a long margin) but ended up getting 4th place because 4 swimmers in his heat were disqualified for giving up on butterfly and swiming freestyle.
I am watching my little boy grow up a little everyday (and just grow in general, he has NEVER in his life had an appetite like this!!!) and while it hurts my heart a little to watch the little boy disappear, it warms me to the core to see him learn and grow to do what's right. And on that note, his sassy and emotional outbursts are pretty much gone now that the anxiety of the move is over, and I actually have time to sit down and play with him. I wanted to make sure to get that in writing, because it's so easy to get mad and "blame" him when his is misbehaving, but I know at this age it is a direct corrolation to our relationship and quality time at that moment. I love my little turkey to death, and I am looking forward to starting this adventure all over in just a few months!!!
Lastly, we were having some down time this afternoon and grandpa walked into the room with a sly smile. He said outloud to himself, "Well I sure am thirsty. Guess I better head over to Circle K and get a Soda." Jaxon didn't miss a beat, hopped off the couch and said, "Not without me your not! See ya mom!"
So Much to write!
It has been crazy busy around here, but in the emotion of getting ready to have another baby, we have been reading Jaxon's journals and looking at his scrapbooks. I'm sad (only sort of) that I don't do either of those things anymore, because Dave and I were reminded of so many hilarious, and special things that we never would have remembered without the written reminder. I just didn't have (make) time for them, and that's when we switched over to the blog. It's been weighing on my mind lately how important it is to write all this down somewhere, ANYWHERE, so again, (and again and again and again and again) I will try with the blog.
So- our crazy lives! About 6 weeks ago we felt impressed to meet with a realtor and find out about the reality of selling our house. Would we be able to make any money? Would it sell? What about buying a new house? We got great news and both felt very strongly that it was time to put the house on the market. Dave and I are NOT what you would call "decisive", or "fast movers" so that was our first clue that it was truly right. Well, long story short, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING with the sale of our house went shockingly, incredibly, smoothly and quickly. We had 3 offers the day after it went on the market, and accepted a full price offer (Where we actually were able to sell for MORE than we bought for (okay...we did buy almost 9 years ago, but still, in this market...SCORE!!!) on the 4th day. The realtor was worried that the appraisal would not come in as high as the offer and the family would not be able to get lending. If that happened, we would just have to accept whatever amount the appraisal came in at. To be honest, Dave and I felt great about everything, and when the appraisal came in at EXACTLY THE AMOUNT WE SOLD FOR, it was just another testament that this is the right thing at the right time. So in a short six weeks we have really spiffed up the house to get it ready for showing (Why do we wait to do this until it won't be ours to enjoy anymore???) sold the house, packed up our stuff, and two days ago moved into my parents basement while we patiently (or, for me...hiding my impatience) to find the right house.
Again, we feel very strongly, VERY STRONGLY, that when the right house comes along, we will know. We have seen many many houses come up in our search, and immediately knew we needed to see only two so far, that came up a week apart. Both were exactly what and where we wanted, and we put in full price offers. We were so excited for both, and within hours we were informed that both had been sold to cash investors. It was disheartening, and I was sad, but not mad. One of the things Dave and I felt impressed to pray for (after much temple attendance, fasting (For dave) and prayer) was that if we felt right about putting an offer on a house, but then did not get that house, that we would not get bitter and second guess our promptings. There is a reason that all of this is playing out like it is, and we are going to be willing to ride it out happily, and gratefully. I have the most wonderful parents, with a wonderful house where we can stay. I have to admit, I had some anxiety on Wednesday when we moved in. I really REALLY thought that this would just be a pit stop... that before we moved in, we would know a MOVE OUT date, and have a new house in the works. It scared me a little that that was not the case, but sweet Dave is so faithful and continues to talk me down from my freakout ledge!
In the meantime, Jaxon has had a lot of anxiety about moving, but of course does not know how to verbalize it. It has resulted in some talking back and acting out (which of course has been effected largely by my innability to spend as much time with him as I have been busy packing and cleaning...) and the last 3 nights in our own house he wet the bed every night (that hasn't happened in like 6 months!) I felt so sorry for my sweetie and have tried since we have been here at grandma's to ease his worry and spend lots of time with him. Our first night here was disasterous, again because I think he was worried and anxious, and resulted in Jaxon being up 6 times between 8 and 4 in the morning. NONE of us woke up well rested, but as a result, last night we all slept like logs, and at 10pm when I went into check on Jaxon he fell out of bed right before my eyes, and did not even make a peep but continued slumbering on the floor. (Yes, I put him back in bed) We are slowly getting unpacked here (my back has been absolutely killing me, and there is just only so much I can do before I reach my threshold!) and I have one more trip back to our Lomita house today to finish "packing up" Our furniture is still there but all ready to go, and the ward guys will come help Dave move it all out and into a storage pod on Tuesday night (3 days from now)
In other news, Jaxon has been doing swim team, swim lessons, and Dive lessons with the City of Mesa. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences to watch him go from crying and scared and wanting to quit, to working amazingly hard, getting so great, and learning to love his new skills. I really debated whether or not to pull him from swim team, because he was so scared about it, but I am so thankful I didn't. He has gotten so much self confidence from his newfound abilities, and I love to see him achieve and understand the feeling of working hard toward something that is worth it! In every meet, in every heat, every swimmer gets a ribbon, which is such an insentive for him! In the first meet, freestyle, he got 5th place in his heat AND was one of the fasted 8 swimmers on the team so he got to swim in the relay, where his team got 8th (last) place. We and he couldn't care less, and are just so proud. In the next meeting, back stroke, he really took to that stroke and has excellent form. He swam in the second fastest heat and still got 2nd place! In butterfly (where he and all the other 6-and-unders mostly look like they are flailing and drowning...) he got 4th place and ran to Dave and I beaming and said, "I'M JUST SO PROUD OF MYSELF" and on the way home called both sets of grandparents. In this last final meet he swam in the breast stroke (in the slowest heat of all the 6 and unders) but got 1st place! He doesn't understand that the different heats mean different speeds, and was so excited about his first place ribbon! He called both sets of grandparents, and several aunts and uncles! This is the excitement and pride I hoped he would find, and we are all loving it!!!
He finished up his Dive lessons and they were pretty awesome and hilarious! Both sessions he was the youngest kid in class by about 4 or 5 years, and looked so tiny with the other divers. He always tried his best to follow every specific direction, but the truth is....well...it was pretty funny! The instructors both LOVED him, and helped him find success and move forward, but... his "diving" still leaves a lot to be desired. He really does love jumping off the diving board though, and has been asking to watch olympic dive trials on youtube, so we will sign him up again next year after his littly body has another year to grow and progress.
Alright, we are off to the house to finish packing up, so I will (hopefully) add more later!!!
So- our crazy lives! About 6 weeks ago we felt impressed to meet with a realtor and find out about the reality of selling our house. Would we be able to make any money? Would it sell? What about buying a new house? We got great news and both felt very strongly that it was time to put the house on the market. Dave and I are NOT what you would call "decisive", or "fast movers" so that was our first clue that it was truly right. Well, long story short, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING with the sale of our house went shockingly, incredibly, smoothly and quickly. We had 3 offers the day after it went on the market, and accepted a full price offer (Where we actually were able to sell for MORE than we bought for (okay...we did buy almost 9 years ago, but still, in this market...SCORE!!!) on the 4th day. The realtor was worried that the appraisal would not come in as high as the offer and the family would not be able to get lending. If that happened, we would just have to accept whatever amount the appraisal came in at. To be honest, Dave and I felt great about everything, and when the appraisal came in at EXACTLY THE AMOUNT WE SOLD FOR, it was just another testament that this is the right thing at the right time. So in a short six weeks we have really spiffed up the house to get it ready for showing (Why do we wait to do this until it won't be ours to enjoy anymore???) sold the house, packed up our stuff, and two days ago moved into my parents basement while we patiently (or, for me...hiding my impatience) to find the right house.
Again, we feel very strongly, VERY STRONGLY, that when the right house comes along, we will know. We have seen many many houses come up in our search, and immediately knew we needed to see only two so far, that came up a week apart. Both were exactly what and where we wanted, and we put in full price offers. We were so excited for both, and within hours we were informed that both had been sold to cash investors. It was disheartening, and I was sad, but not mad. One of the things Dave and I felt impressed to pray for (after much temple attendance, fasting (For dave) and prayer) was that if we felt right about putting an offer on a house, but then did not get that house, that we would not get bitter and second guess our promptings. There is a reason that all of this is playing out like it is, and we are going to be willing to ride it out happily, and gratefully. I have the most wonderful parents, with a wonderful house where we can stay. I have to admit, I had some anxiety on Wednesday when we moved in. I really REALLY thought that this would just be a pit stop... that before we moved in, we would know a MOVE OUT date, and have a new house in the works. It scared me a little that that was not the case, but sweet Dave is so faithful and continues to talk me down from my freakout ledge!
In the meantime, Jaxon has had a lot of anxiety about moving, but of course does not know how to verbalize it. It has resulted in some talking back and acting out (which of course has been effected largely by my innability to spend as much time with him as I have been busy packing and cleaning...) and the last 3 nights in our own house he wet the bed every night (that hasn't happened in like 6 months!) I felt so sorry for my sweetie and have tried since we have been here at grandma's to ease his worry and spend lots of time with him. Our first night here was disasterous, again because I think he was worried and anxious, and resulted in Jaxon being up 6 times between 8 and 4 in the morning. NONE of us woke up well rested, but as a result, last night we all slept like logs, and at 10pm when I went into check on Jaxon he fell out of bed right before my eyes, and did not even make a peep but continued slumbering on the floor. (Yes, I put him back in bed) We are slowly getting unpacked here (my back has been absolutely killing me, and there is just only so much I can do before I reach my threshold!) and I have one more trip back to our Lomita house today to finish "packing up" Our furniture is still there but all ready to go, and the ward guys will come help Dave move it all out and into a storage pod on Tuesday night (3 days from now)
In other news, Jaxon has been doing swim team, swim lessons, and Dive lessons with the City of Mesa. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences to watch him go from crying and scared and wanting to quit, to working amazingly hard, getting so great, and learning to love his new skills. I really debated whether or not to pull him from swim team, because he was so scared about it, but I am so thankful I didn't. He has gotten so much self confidence from his newfound abilities, and I love to see him achieve and understand the feeling of working hard toward something that is worth it! In every meet, in every heat, every swimmer gets a ribbon, which is such an insentive for him! In the first meet, freestyle, he got 5th place in his heat AND was one of the fasted 8 swimmers on the team so he got to swim in the relay, where his team got 8th (last) place. We and he couldn't care less, and are just so proud. In the next meeting, back stroke, he really took to that stroke and has excellent form. He swam in the second fastest heat and still got 2nd place! In butterfly (where he and all the other 6-and-unders mostly look like they are flailing and drowning...) he got 4th place and ran to Dave and I beaming and said, "I'M JUST SO PROUD OF MYSELF" and on the way home called both sets of grandparents. In this last final meet he swam in the breast stroke (in the slowest heat of all the 6 and unders) but got 1st place! He doesn't understand that the different heats mean different speeds, and was so excited about his first place ribbon! He called both sets of grandparents, and several aunts and uncles! This is the excitement and pride I hoped he would find, and we are all loving it!!!
He finished up his Dive lessons and they were pretty awesome and hilarious! Both sessions he was the youngest kid in class by about 4 or 5 years, and looked so tiny with the other divers. He always tried his best to follow every specific direction, but the truth is....well...it was pretty funny! The instructors both LOVED him, and helped him find success and move forward, but... his "diving" still leaves a lot to be desired. He really does love jumping off the diving board though, and has been asking to watch olympic dive trials on youtube, so we will sign him up again next year after his littly body has another year to grow and progress.
Alright, we are off to the house to finish packing up, so I will (hopefully) add more later!!!
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