Sunday, September 4, 2011

September 2011 Update

My, how time flies! It’s been too long since my last update. I have a 2-month old baby already!!! Hailey is growing up so quickly. I took her to the Dr. last week for her check up and immunizations. She weighed 13 lbs. 1 oz. (75%) and was 23 ¼ inches (95%). I’m going to have a tall little girl! Hailey’s little friend in our ward (Abbi) was born 3 days after her, and she only weighs 10 lbs. 8 oz. What a chunker I have! She is still the best baby in the world and we love every minute with her. She finally started smiling a couple of weeks ago…and I’ve caught her giggling a couple of times. At the beginning of August, Rhett’s parents flew from Denver to be here for Hailey’s blessing on August 7th. She wore a beautiful knitted dress & booties that Grandma Z. had made many years ago. I’ve had that dress, booties & matching afghan for about 12 years, just waiting for a little girl to wear it!!!

Hailey's blessing day, August 7th

Hailey with Grandma & Grandpa Zimmerman

Hailey with her 4 big brothers

I've had this dress for about 8 years...just waiting for a little girl! She wore it to church today.

My little chunky girl...all dressed in pink, with a big bow on top!

I caught a smile!

Jackson is 2 ½ and the best little guy around. He has such a quiet, calm spirit about him, and is so happy all the time. He LOVES to talk to and hold his baby sister. He’s always saying “Hi cute girl!” to her. We’ve been having a great time since the boys went back to school, as it’s just the 3 of us at home now. What a change from the crazy whirlwind that we have the minute the boys get off the bus! Jackson still enjoys doing puzzles and the alphabet is his new favorite thing. He loves watching the Leap Frog “Letter Factory” movie that we have, and playing with the magnetic letters on the fridge. He even likes pointing out letters on signs, books, etc. that he sees. He can sing the Alphabet song and knows all the letters by sight, and what sounds each makes. He’ll be ready for Kinder next year! Too bad he won’t start for 3 years.

Jackson with his baby sis

Carson started Kindergarten this year and is loving it! He is one of Mrs. White’s “Whales” and couldn’t be happier. He is an energetic, crazy, fun-loving boy that can be so loveable and kind, yet the next minute decide he’s going to throw a tantrum because he can’t eat candy in church!….that was today’s problem. Carson just loves to be like his big brothers and especially loves playing in the dirt and riding his bike. Carson lost his first tooth on the 4th day of school (8/25). A few months ago he bonked his teeth on Logan’s head and his 2 front top teeth died as a result. I kept thinking that they would fall out first, but the dentist said he’ll probably lose the bottom ones first. Well, she was right!

First day of Kindergarten



Logan turned 7 on July 12th and started 2nd grade this year. His teacher is Mrs. Spruill and he is in the same class as 2 other boys in our ward, Alex and Noah. Logan loves to read and draw, and most recently has been working on making a calendar to hang in their room. He’s so creative and does a really great job on projects. He also loves to play different games on the computer. I think he knows how to use it better than I do! Logan will be completely happy if everyone just leaves him alone, yet wants to be the center of attention as well. Hopefully that’s just a phase.

Logan's 7th Birthday

First day of 2nd grade

Austin turned 11 on July 21st and started 6th grade this year, which means he now attends Driscoll Middle School. He loves every minute of it, and especially likes that he gets breaks between each subject and gets to eat a hamburger at school any day he wants! Austin spent a lot of the summer and the last couple of weeks working on a book he’s writing, similar to the Percy Jackson books. His book is called "The Lost Jar of Greek Fire", and he’s currently in the process of typing it up on the computer. When he’s done I’ll give you all a sneak peek! He thinks it’s going to be around 130 pages long….we’ll see. He’s actually a pretty good little author (and illustrator). Austin also started 11-yr old Scouts last week!

Austin's 11th Birthday

First day of 6th grade

As for me I’m still trying to get used to my new calling as the Relief Society Secretary. I guess my brain just isn’t back to normal after my pregnancy yet, because I don’t feel like I know what I’m doing yet. Hopefully that will change soon! Nothing much is new for me. Just trying to keep on top of the housework, my calling, and motherhood. I’m currently keeping myself busy doing laundry at my friend’s house, since our washer is broken and no money to fix it. I am making do!

Rhett is plugging along with his job selling life insurance. It’s definitely up and down in that business. I noticed a couple of months ago that he looked like he’d lost weight. He dismissed it, but when I mentioned it again about a month ago he actually weighed himself. He had lost between 15-20 lbs. And for those of you that know Rhett, he doesn’t have that much weight to lose! Add that to him never being home and some other health problems he was experiencing due to the stress of his job, he decided a change needed to be made. He came home early from work one day and had decided to stop doing “management” at work. He was constantly at the office doing recruiting, hiring, training, etc., then would still go out in the afternoons/evenings doing his sales appointments. Basically all that meant was that we never saw him. Anyway, now he’s just doing his sales appointments and is home a lot more. We are still struggling financially, but are much happier!

Rhett and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary on July 17th. Lucky 13…best years of my life!!!

We have been trying to stay cool this summer, as we’ve been experiencing a major drought here. It hasn’t measurably rained since last October. The temps this summer have been 100 or higher for approximately 60 days or more. In turn, our A/C has to run all the time to even try to keep the house around 80 degrees. I can’t wait for rain and cooler temps!!!

Well, that’s all for this time. We hope you all had a wonderful summer, and that back-to-school is as wonderful for all of you as it is for me!

Love,
Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson, Jackson & Hailey