Milestones

So I don't have any pictures to post, but we've hit some new milestones this week that I want to share:

• Katherine's new favorite song is about 5 Little Monkeys swinging on a tree, teasing Mr. Alligator "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" Along comes Mr. Alligator quiet as can be and SNATCH that monkey right out of that tree! She does all the little motions. It's hilarious!
• We took Katherine on her first hike to North Mountain Saturday morning with some friends. We took the easy trail around the mountain and she walked about a 1/3 of the way while Geoff and I took turns carrying her the rest of it... to be expected... The WEATHER WAS PERFECT and it was a lot of fun.
• In the car on Monday, Katherine figured out how to say "X" rather than "Eck."
• She made her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich with only a little help from me to flatten out her butter knife. The bread was a little manhandled but still edible.
• She can officially take off her sleeper pajamas, start a DVD, and open a fruit roll up by herself.
• She can practically draw a circle by herself.
• She never wants to get in the car or get out of the car when it's time. She loves to sit in the drivers seat, push all the buttons and pretend that she is charge.
  
• She tells me "Relax Mom, Calm down" all the time, because that is what her father tells her to do when she's screaming or talking up a storm.
• I've decided she screeches like the wraithes on Lord of the Rings.
• We've been attending story times and going to the park faithfully.
  
• Barney is the top movie of choice this week.
• Favorite books are the If You Give A... Books. We have the If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Moose a Muffin, I rented If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake from the Library. I think she just likes that all the animals have 2-yr-old A.D.D. and constantly move to the next activity on a whim.
  

I have started working out again in the mornings before Katherine wakes up and it's WONDERFUL! Getting up early was the key to what was missing in my life... taking care of myself. So far when I get up at 5:15am, I have been able to do cardio and weights, read scriptures and have breakfast before Katherine wakes up... Life is good. I got to host book club, go to an auxiliary training by LDS Family Services on Conflict in Marriage, and go to the movies with the girls this week. We saw When in Rome... I gave it a B- but a laugh.

Most importantly, we dodged a bullet this week. Geoff's work had announced potential lay offs earlier in the month and Thursday night they announced the projected numbers: They might let the bottom 353 ppl go at the end of March. Geoff is #388 so we are safe by 35 positions. The budget is still being negotiated and we hope that means nobody will be laid off, but it's relieving to know we're in the clear... for now.

Our neighbor Jason works for the same department and was not as fortunate, His number is in the 200's. He came over Friday afternoon to see if Katherine could play because he needed some cheering up! So he and Katherine played with some homemade play dough I just made. They laughed and chased each other around and he felt better in no time. She truly is everyone's antidepressant!

We love you guys. Feel free to call call any time. We love to hear from you.

First Official Haircut!

I took Katherine to my girl Candiss to get her hair done.
She LOVED sitting the chair and acted very prim and proper like a princess.

The 2 yr old mullet is gone but not forgotten...

Work is done - Sucker time!

Mini-documentation of Christmas at Prescott

The Friesses arrived first of the entire family to Phoenix and they stayed with us for a few days. It was so fun. They worked hard for me as during our ward Christmas party so I made sure we played hard during the rest of the time. That Saturday we planned a Sarager get-together at Freestone Park where we got caught up with Grandmother, Lloyd & Donise, Marty & Rhonda, Andrew & Marcinelle, Todd & Lindsay, and Morgan & Melissa. We got to see all the babies and it was a fun afternoon.

Riding the train at the end of a very nice day at Freestone.

After visiting Freestone park, the Friesses and Katherine and I went to my grandmother's house for dinner. Grandmother said she had hidden our presents and the children needed to look for them. Well, she had hung each one of our gifts on the antlers she had hanging on her wall... She is so fun! We were not allowed to open them till Christmas morning, but she got us all gloves. (Incidentally, Geoff was very glad to have handy because he went snow camping with YM up in Flag a few weeks later. Thank you, Grandmother!)
Katherine and Sarah did very well this trip. Their relationship is still somewhat love/hate, competing over toys and who got to do what first, but rarely did they not want to be together. Every morning the first thing Katherine would ask is "Where did Sarah go?" It was all I could do to keep her from breaking into the Friesses' bedroom at 6am to go find her.
Having 15 people staying at my parents' house was quite a feat. We played games, watched movies, went on hikes and walks, read and refereed the kids, and overall, everyone stayed pretty happy. Often at night we would gather around the tree and read and tell stories before the kids went to bed. Once the kids were down, we could actually watch an adult movie but most of the time I fell asleep in the chair- Poor Geoff had to work so he was down in Phoenix a lot and I was lonely without him. I was relegated to the recliner while everyone else shared a loveseat!! How grateful I am that he made the drive back up 4 times during our visit.

Total delight! The first time seeing snow.

Papa took Katherine on her first adventure into the snow.

Cuddle time every morning as we watched cartoons. Everyone had someone on their laps between Katherine, Sarah, Jonah and Paxton.

That was the SOFTEST, most wonderful blanket.

I still don't know what Katherine was crying about. She had lots of fun decorating her house.
Mark and I celebrated our birthdays together. My mom made a pumpkin cake with maple frosting that was delicious! We are getting old, considering when I first met Mark I was 13 yrs old. The best part of the celebration was opening Geoff's card and taking out a gift receipt for a spa day. I was so excited, I cried!
Hot chocolate is an honored winter tradition at our house. My mom mixes it with powdered milk and creamer so it's very creamy. We tease Natalie that she likes her drink so thick she can chew it... No joke...
Any time anyone was cooking, Katherine pulled the stool right up next to them so she could try to help. She remains a faithful apprentice and one day she will make an excellent cook.

We ran out of memory on our camera so we are dependent upon our family to send us photos of all the excitement during Christmas.

The first video was taken at my grandmother's house and had us play a game. She had the little ones give each of us a black strip of paper and then told us to put it in our mouths... Can you guess the song we sang??

The second video is Katherine talking to Genet about her ginger bread house. This Christmas had lots of firsts. It was very fun.

Time with the Bergerons!

We had a fabulous time with the Bergerons while they visited over New Years. We spent most of the time at the park and at the mall. These two were inseparable and happy together. Grandma Debbie played dolls and pretended to eat the plastic food Katherine cooked for her in her new kitchen. Uncle Jake and Uncle Vic played tickle monster and chased her around the house. She had a blast. We were able to go out to eat a couple of times. It was truly a nice time together. We love them and hope we can spend more time with them soon.
Thanks to a WONDERFUL grandmother, the carousel is Katherine's favorite activity and she asks for it daily. She's been able to ride about once a week, so this kid has nothing to complain about.
Victor went horseback riding with the men on the Jackson side one afternoon. It was his first ride and everyone he was a natural. He just turned 16, ladies, watch out!

The brothers together again! It's a good looking bunch. I love these men.