Darr Family Blog

Weekly Happenings: I’m still trying to figure out how it’s already 2015, let alone how it’s already February of 2015. Not too much happened this past week. I was hit with a pretty nasty stomach bug mid-week, which affected what I had planned. We did still manage to make it to a play date and a meet up at the park. Oh, and we were also able to take Joseph over to my friend’s house and had her take pictures of him with her super-nice camera and a nice background.

The Weekly Weather: The weather for the majority of the week was gorgeous. It was almost like Mother Nature forgot it was January (or realized that it was January in South Texas). Yesterday there was a tiny cold front that moved through and brought with it some precipitation, but today is back to the warmer weather. I guess we’ll see what tomorrow holds.

What Paul’s Been Up To: School and work have kept him pretty busy. He took the day off one day to take care of me (and to make sure Joseph was taken care of while I was sick). He also put some fabric that I bought and cut to size onto Joseph’s train table so that it looks a bit better (the paint wasn’t holding up like we expected). Oh, and he also made a fort for Joseph in the back yard. Pictures to follow. 🙂

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Not too much…just getting over being sick. I did do a mini-craft. I took a little step stool that we bought not too long after we moved here (we found it in an antique store for pretty cheap) and painted it a color I liked better (green; as opposed to the pastel yellow that it was). I figure Joseph can use it in the kitchen to get up higher so that he can help me do stuff. I also went to a music workshop last night where I learned quite a few things that will help me learn and grow in my calling as choir director.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: We took Joseph to one of those kids places to get his hair cut (they had seats that looked like cars and they had movies and video games for the kids to play with). He was unsure at first, but got excited about getting to sit in a car (especially since there was a Lightning McQueen one). Once the actual hair cut started though, he lost his excitement. He cried through the whole thing (but at least he didn’t thrash about like at home). Hopefully it will get better with time. We wanted him to have a nice hair cut for his pictures. A funny/cute story about him at his “photo shoot”. Mandy (my friend who was taking his pictures) positioned his legs and told him she was going to take his picture. He twisted his torso around, folded his arms, looked straight into the camera, and said, “Cheese!” Why won’t he do that for me?! Hahaha! She also knew that he was really into the movie Cars, so she kept asking him questions about Lightning McQueen, and saying “Kachow!” so that he would say it back to her (it’s almost a knee-jerk reaction with him…if one person says it, he almost always automatically says it back). It was really great!

This Week in Pictures:

 

Weekly Happenings: I must admit, January is always a hard month for me. It’s right after the awesome craziness that is the “holiday season”, so it seems to be a bit of a let-down after all of the excitement. I’ve been trying not to let it get me down, though. I finally got all the way back into my routine at home, which has made it a bit better. We have been blessed with good health and active imaginations (which were needed a lot this week because we never knew when we would be able to go outside). Monday was a holiday, so we made it a fun day by going to the zoo and then dinner afterwards. The rest of the week was pretty typical, with the exception of Joseph and I meeting up with friends for lunch one day and then going out to eat on Friday (which was a great break for me).

The Weekly Weather: It’s been pretty ping-pong like. There have been freezing cold days followed by sunny, warm days, followed by cooler days. I suppose the saying “if you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait fifteen minutes” isn’t too far from the truth. 😉

What Paul’s Been Up To: Mostly just work and school. He got to have some quality boy time with Joseph while I was at a baby shower yesterday. They went out for cheeseburgers and then went to Lowe’s and Walmart (two of Joseph’s favorite places, by the way).

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I finally got back into my exercise routine! I feel much better after doing it. Joseph is really accommodating. He’s totally willing to be upstairs in the loft, watching a show and playing with his toys while I squeeze in thirty minutes on the elliptical as well as some sit-ups (oh, and a shower, lol). This week, my goal is to buckle down and get choir stuff organized so that we can get the choir started back up now that the holidays are over.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: We are working more on potty training. He likes to sit on the toilet and is really excited when he goes (he also loves flushing the toilet and washing his hands afterward). He is also showing a lot more independence. The other night, I was surprised to see him get almost all the stuff ready to brush his teeth (he had gotten his toothbrush wet and was trying to reach the toothpaste). He has also started to figure out knock-knock jokes (his favorite being anything that “interrupts”, such as “interrupting cow”, though he hasn’t quite figured out the timing on that one to do the “interruption” part) and has shown that he has a funny sense of humor. When I’m showing him the different parts of a book while reading to him, he will sometimes call the title page the dedication page (and will say it all silly, which shows me that he’s joking)…but now he’s taken it a step further: he has almost gotten the idea of an inside joke, it seems. There are times that he’ll look at me, say “dedication page” and then burst out laughing, which makes me laugh, too. I love him!

This Week in Pictures:

 

 

Weekly Happenings: I finally feel like I’m almost back to our routine. All I need to do is add back in exercising and housework…wee, fun. 😉 We were homebodies for the first part of last week due to the weather, but once the sun came back out we did more things outside of the house. I even took Joseph to the park on Friday, which he thoroughly enjoyed (especially since kids he knew happened to be there also).

The Weekly Weather: The first part of last week was sort of miserable. It was overcast, rainy, and cold. There were several days where the sun did not show its face. Those days were hard on me because it made it hard to be motivated to do anything (other than snuggle under a blanket and nap or read). I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to handle living someplace like Seattle or Portland. When the sun came back out, my mood changed almost instantly. It felt so good!

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s immersed in his current classes as well as work. He also did some maintenance work on his car. It was putting off an exhaust-like smell, so he changed the air filter, added some brake fluid, and washed it off really well…he thought there might be some residue left over from when he was cleaning up and changing the battery. It seems to have done the trick!

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Not too much out of the ordinary. I need to get going on picking some choir music for the next few months at least. Hopefully I’ll do that this week! I did get to host my book club, which was fun (I love being able to stay in my comfy clothes at home) and I did get to go out for dessert with friends on Friday, which was also nice.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s been pretty awesome this week. There were daily struggles with boundary-pushing, but who doesn’t deal with that with a three-year-old?! He really enjoyed when we met up with friends at In-N-Out for lunch one day…and his friend next door was getting rid of his motorized Mater ride-on toy (he got a motorized car for Christmas), so his parents passed it along to us. That just happened last night, so I don’t have any pictures of him riding it yet, but Joseph was over the moon. Lastly, he had a bit of a rocky day going to Sunbeams today. I think it finally hit him that this was the new reality for church (no more nursery) and he was bummed. He seemed happier later when I went to change his diaper (at his request) and said that next time he would be happy in Primary. Hopefully that will be the case. It just about broke my heart to leave him crying in there (not a loud, distracting cry…more of a resigned, silent cry, which actually made it worse on me).

This Week in Pictures: