Darr Family Blog

Weekly Happenings: I can hardly believe that it’s already August. It seems like not too long ago I was having to remind myself to write “2014” on checks and tithing slips. I’m glad that the beginning of the month is kind of calm, because once we hit towards the end of the month and celebrate our anniversary (12 years…woah), things are going to really start picking up, what with birthdays and the holidays right around the corner. We kind of took this past week easy. It’s sort of become a pattern with us. I think that part of the issue is that with the heat and humidity, I don’t really feel like going outside. 😉

The Weekly Weather: It’s been hot, but not as humid as it was last week. We still like to spend quite a bit of time inside, though. I’m really looking forward to fall!

What Paul’s Been Up To: Working hard, as usual. He also finished up the last box to go around our trees (kind of like a border). The trees look really nice. 🙂 He also took Joseph to the zoo on Saturday since I needed to go to a baby shower.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Working with piano students, giving my choir the month off (so many people go on vacation during August that it’s hard to get enough people to sing), keeping Joseph healthy and happy, and reading a classic that I really should have read years ago…The Count of Monte Cristo…it’s SO good! Oh, and saying goodbye to one of my friends (her family is moving to Colorado). I didn’t get a chance to get to know her as much as I would have liked (I thought I’d have more time…that’ll teach me)!

What Joseph’s Been Up To: Enjoying small outings (like the zoo, or the outdoor mall that’s by us; it has a play area that he loves to play in). We also went to Chick-fil-a for a going away lunch for my friend. I fed him ahead of time, since I knew the play area would be way too much of a distraction. He got to play in the play-place for over an hour, so he was in Heaven! He also had his first successful potty-on-the-toilet experience (where he actually went, instead of just sitting there); he hasn’t shown interest in the potty since, so I suppose it’s baby-steps, and his first (of what I’m sure will be many) job of being messenger between me and Paul (I was downstairs with him and needed Paul for something, but knew I wouldn’t be able to call loud enough, so I had Joseph go tell Paul that I needed him). He was so proud of himself for doing that!

This Week in Pictures:

 

 

Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty uneventful. The weather has been really hot and humid, so we’ve been trying to do stuff inside. We did end up going to the zoo on Saturday, but since we have passes, we were fine with only going for a couple of hours.

The Weekly Weather: As mentioned before, it has been hot and humid. While the temperature doesn’t seem to soar like in California, the humidity makes it seem hotter than it really is. I think I’m slowly acclimating to it all, but it’s taking longer than I’d like. 😉

What Paul’s Been Up To: Enough people have joined Paul’s part of the Pathway Program, so he’ll be able to start classes soon. He also has done a lot of work in the yards to keep them looking nice.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Keeping Joseph entertained, trying to keep ahead of the household work, and trying to sneak in a nap here and there (even when a little boy is peeling my eyelids open while asking if I’m awake).

What Joseph’s Been Up To: Joseph’s been really interested in feelings lately. He’ll watch my face closely as I react to things and he’ll ask if I’m mad, happy, or sad. It’s made me more careful with how I react to things, for sure! He’ll also randomly tell me that he loves me (though I’ve noticed that there is an increase when I put on his favorite show or fix his favorite food/snack). 😉

This Week in Pictures:

Bonus Video: Here’s a video of Joseph…well, being Joseph.

Weekly Happenings: We had a pretty low-key week. Most of our stuff happened during the weekend. 🙂

The Weekly Weather: It was pretty mild with the exception of Thursday night. We had quite a storm come through. Joseph slept through the heaviest of the rain, but woke up during the crazy thunder and lightning. He was pretty scared. I ended up holding him while rocking in the rocker until the storm passed and then snuggling him in bed for a bit before he was willing to go back to his bed.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He. Built. Me. A. Farmhouse. Table. Squeeeeeeee!!!!!!! He spent a few days mulling over the design and then took Friday off to buy materials and build it. I took Joseph to the zoo and to the mall while he was building it so that he didn’t have us underfoot and he could build it inside as opposed to in the garage or in the yard. He wrote up a post on his blog (if you click on the word “blog” it will take you to his blog post about it).

What Sarah’s Been Up To: As aforementioned, I took Joseph to the zoo and then to the mall while Paul was doing his project. I also hosted a party for my friend who is a consultant for the company Thirty-one (a company that sells all sorts of different bags/totes/organizers, etc.). It was fun to get together with some of my girlfriends, eat snacks, and look at really cute and fun stuff. Plus, since Paul was able to finish the table on Friday, I was able to show it off on Saturday at the party. 😉 I also helped Paul move our old table and chairs out to the garage so that someone could come and get them (Paul advertised them on Craigslist on Friday night and someone came and got them Saturday afternoon).

What Joseph’s Been Up To: The two big things that stick out this week are that he was able to be in the same room with me while I was vacuuming (without being scared) and he has stopped screaming/crying when we wash his hair (with anything other than a damp washcloth). Paul has been working with him on the hair-washing, which is great! He still complains a bit, but he doesn’t carry on the way that he used to. We just tell him to close his eyes as we dump the water over his head. 😉

This Week in Pictures:

Bonus Video: Joseph decided that my leg made for a pretty good buckin’ bronco. 😉