I can't believe how fast kids grow.... mine are growing like weeds. Owen is now fully potty trained. We got over the hump of pooping yesterday and he was ever so proud of himself. It was great to see.... not the pooping but the celebrations of him doing it. He is now no longer my baby boy! Such a big boy. His language is exploding and that is awesome.

Nathan is crawling all over the living room and into everything. He is pulling himself up on stuff and trying to walk around it. He moved from the front of his seat to the back side of it the other day. It is amazing that he is only 7 months old. 7 months old and not a single tooth in his mouth, but hey, he is pulling to standing.

Other than that not much going on. Looking forward to being on vacation in 5 weeks. Excited about seeing Owen's reaction when he realizes he will be going on a plane.

Bonnie was in part of last week she was doing a training session at one of the corps up here and so spent some time with the kids. Owen loved having Jeffe, Samuel and Isabelle here too. They had a blast. Only wished the weather could have been better instead of raining. We have a friends daughter watching them this week as our sitter is out on vacation.

Jon and I are doing fine, nothing much to report there.

So Nate is now a whopping 6 months old, and really where does the time go. He is thriving which is the main thing. Doctors/Nurses are happy within although he is a big boy. He weighs a whopping 19 lbs 15 oz and is 28 3/4" long - amazing. He is generally a mellow, happy boy, the complete opposite personality wise - so much more relaxed. He is pulling himself up to all fours and rocking which is cool, so will be crawling any day. Don't know if that is a good thing or not - once he is mobile, it opens up more headaches etc!He is doing well and seems to be "on schedule" so that is good. No major sign of teeth, but gums look like something is starting to happen.

Owen - 2 1/2, wow. He is doing great, his language is exploding. We are starting potty training and for the most part he is doing well. Sometimes he will tell you he needs to go, others will let you know after he has gone - so frustrating. I have to remember that it is a learning curve for him too, and so try to encourage as much as possible. He loves the outdoors, like to play which is great. We have been in the backyard a lot with the recent nice weather and he loves to play catch, and loves Jon to pitch a baseball (soft) to him for him to hit. He does make good contact with the ball sometimes and does well catching balls of different sizes. I think we are going to have an awesome athlete on our hands - he has good soccer skills already - kicking and dribbling, so that is cool.

Jon is doing well, and we have his brother Jeff in town with us at the moment with his wife and two younger kids. It is great to actually meet Patrick and give him some snuggle time. Samuel is the cutest and is a fireball. Loves to play and reminds me so much of Owen. Jon though is Jon, gets on with what he has to to and is all set.

Me, I am fine. Plodding on with the routines that I have. Work is busy with meetings about upcoming grants, summer visits plus the other responsibilities that I have. I like getting out and about though to see what is going on at different locations. Gives you ideas to give others. One of my friends at work is retiring and they had a department meeting at his house yesterday, and cooked out to celebrate. It is sad that he is retiring, he will be sorely missed by me. I will miss our banter, our laughs and his quick whit. Congratulations Vobbester!

Been thinking a lot about a lot of things, too many to get into on here, but things have been made clear in a lot of ways - things that require a lot of my time, and things that I have decided don't.  I think I needed some time to mentally get to grips with some stuff and decide on an action plan  for the future and to move on and away from things. I can only change what I can control and do, I can't control others.

"Celebrating" the 4th family at camp next weekend which will be great that we are all together. I know the kids will have a blast. Should be a good time.

Then in a few more weeks going to the UK to be with family and looking forward to that. Cadbury's here I come!

 Nothing too interesting going on really. Life is life and plods on regardless. Both boys are doing well. Owen's language is just exploding at the moment, it is fantastic to watch. Nate is now on 1st foods, which in some ways is scary. He is already a big boy, so I am hoping that it does not make him even bigger. He is taking to food well though, and it seems to be helping him sleep through the night which I am liking a lot.

Mum and Dad are in Vegas at the moment, they were going to the Grand Canyon today. Was supposed to be in the 90's and so I have told them to make sure they have sun screen on and that they re-apply it. Don't want burnt parents visiting with me.

Looking forward to the summer. We have had a few nice days here recently and it is good to know that the warmer weather is on the way. I was so sick of the snow, and having Nate and being cooped up inside for almost 3 months because of the cold didn't help. Roll on summer nights and days.

Here are some recent pics of the family.