One year in Utah

We did it! We just hit our one year mark living in Utah, and what a year it has been. Time has flown by. We moved away from family and life as we had always known it, to a new area for a new opportunity. As scary and exciting as that has been, I find comfort in knowing that we are supposed to be here. There are too many little and big things that have shown us just that.

There has been lots of family bonding.  Since we no longer live by our #1 babysitters (the grandparents) Dal and I are getting used to date night including two little boys, a quick dinner at Cafe Rio, and possibly a Redbox if we are feeling crazy. Living away from family is a totally new experience for me. I worry about my kids not seeing their cousins every week, and not having them as best friends like I did. I'm not used to having my own Sunday dinner, or having my closest relative live over an hour away. But I feel like we have a pretty good setup, only being a quick three hour drive from home. We are establishing our own family unit, with our own family traditions, and our own way of life. Yikes.

In between DIY projects and painting around the house, we have kept ourselves pretty busy. After living in our house for six months now, we are getting familiar with the area, and are finding some of our favorite spots to go, even though I still use the GPS everyday. It may take a little getting used to, but I love that this is becoming our home together. We are excited to see what the next year in Utah brings!

Kai says:

This is a funny little boy. He came to the earth to teach me patience and love.


The journey of getting him to hear and speak has definitely been a challenge, but has made every little word and advancement in his speech so rewarding.  I have spent countless hours stressing, researching, and getting him in speech therapy.  It melts my heart to see him catching up to kids his age.  Having him be able to communicate his feelings, thoughts, and wants sure makes things a lot easier than always playing the "uh- is this what your talking about" game. We still have a long ways to go, but I am very thankful that we aren't dealing with something more serious. I think I often got caught up in focusing on what he wasn't saying, that I wasn't documenting and celebrating the little improvements he was making like I should have been. Now, it's time to celebrate! He has such a bright and funny personality, and I love hearing the words that come out of him.


This morning I was woken up by Kai yelling under his door, "Mom, patty cake. Patty cake. Patty cake!" I went in and started singing Patty Cake with him, thinking that was what he wanted. He let me know that was definitely not what he was talking about. So I put out my finger for him to lead me to "patty cake." He lead me downstairs, opened the pantry, and pointed up to the top shelf at pancake mix.
Patty cake = pancake. 
Ok, got it!

For lunch yesterday I told him I was going to make him a sandwich, and gave him some options of what kind he could have. He says, "YELLOW jam!!" It took me a minute to figure out what he was wanting, so I just pulled out the peanut butter to get started, and he starts clapping and getting so excited saying, "YELLOW jam, yellow jam!! Thanks mommy!"
Yellow jam = peanut butter.

Grandma Bonnie is on a cruise, and I had told Kai that she was on a ship. We had prayed that she would be safe in our family prayer. The next morning when we said morning prayers, we were praying that  Grandma Bonnie would be safe, and Kai yells, "Dramma Bennie on a pirate ship!! Trees, treasure, gold coins." I think he might be watching a little too much t.v, and reading too many pirate books! I told Dal about it, and we both died laughing when Kai said pretty close to the same thing again that night at family prayer, except he added in a bird. (parrot)
Cruise ship = Pirate ship.
Hope you are having fun on your Pirate ship "Dramma Bennie!"

I'm so proud of you little Kai.  I can't wait to hear what you say today!