Please hang up and try your call again

So what have we been up to? Seems like we were just in Texas celebrating Thanksgiving, and yet Christmas is right around the corner! Life has been filled with some exciting things so let's get started...

The newest addition to our home: a baby toilet seat and a step stool.

Lennix has decided to start potty training herself. And surprisingly- she does a pretty good job at it. I don't know if it's selective amnesia but I can't remember having to potty train Kody. So when Lennix started taking her diaper off and pointing to the potty- I was a little confused. A lot of days are spent at home, with the timer going off every 20 minutes and us sitting in the bathroom reading a magazine. Now if only she could learn to only take a few squares of toilet paper- we'd be in business! (Notice the huge pile next to the toilet!)

Baby update: Jared is still going to acupuncture regularly and Dr.Keh thinks she will be able to get me pregnant without IVF. We'll see. Our bathroom cabinet is already filled with so many unused pregnancy tests and ovulation predictors- we might as well use them while we can. Sharalyn and I signed up for another marathon in March so it looks like I will be starting my medications right after that. If all goes as planned (and Dr.Keh doesnt knock me up before then) I should be looking at having the embryo's put in at the end of April or early May.

Kody is still at Grace (obviously) and having such a good year. His new teacher took some getting used to but we are definitely on a roll now. He had his annual Christmas Program where we all came to watch him. At one point, Kaia (David's daughter) was on my mom's lap, David was holding Lennix, and Kardiff (David's son) was playing with Jared!! We are either the most dysfunctional family known to man, or we've got this whole divorce thing down to a T. It makes me smile to see all of us sitting there supporting Kody together as a FAMILY. At one point, Lauren asked Kaia if she knew who Lennix was. "She's just Wennix" she answered. Lauren explains that Wennix is Kodys little sister too to which Kaia says "Wow- that's so cool." Couldn't have said it any better myself Kaia! This Christmas he'll be with his dad, and to be honest- it never gets any easier. Tonight, I held his growing body in my arms with limbs over flowing everywhere and I just wanted to keep him there forever. I dont want to share him anymore. I want to keep him with me at all times and never let anyone else experience something I might miss. Here's the first of 2 Christmas presents Kody made for me at school this year. You never have to wonder what Kody will look like when he's 30 because apparently that was the look his teacher was going for. Seriously???

Speaking of Wennix...this is girl is TROUBLE! Yesterday it was so cold and windy, I was feeling really guilty as I looked out the window and saw the turtle and rabbit having to suffer out there on the balcony. For some reason, I have this strange fear that my animals can speak to each other and are talking trash about me. I know this sounds crazy but it's true. A lot of wasted time is spent worrying about if they are happy or if they think I am a good owner etc... So, after I drop Kody off at school- I decide to go outside and brave the elements so that I can move the turtle into the rabbits cage and turn the heat lamp on. (This is all being done without a bra on OR shoes on. And with my hair a mess and left overs from breakfast on the table.) I pick up the turtle, move him inside, feed them both and head back inside. Nothing. The door wont budge. I try again. And again. And again. Nothing. Lennix comes to the window and pulls on the lock forcing it to lock further and further. I beg her to push the lock up to which she just smiles and says "Upeeeee. Upeeeee." Panic is starting to set in. Like- real heart beating fast panic. I look around and realize I have no where to go but over. We are on the second story and this is no joke. Here are my options:

Option Number 1
Option Number 2

Tough choice right? Option 1 is a straight shot down. It might not look so bad in this picture, but the foliage is deceiving. Its not very thick and I would most likely break a leg. Or two. Or three. Option 2 I would have to jump out over my downstairs neighbors patio and hope I land either on a bush or a car hood. That's a big hope. So I decide to go with Option 1. I climb onto the ledge (with no shoes) and perch myself like a little bird. More like a big bird I suppose. I scream and scream for help but no one is home. I start to say a little prayer that went something like this:

Dear God,

Have I told you how sorry I am lately? Well, if not, I am. Really sorry that is. For everything. I need your help in a kind of big way. I know I am going to have to jump, so all I ask is that you break my fall enough that the bones I end up breaking aren't bad enough that I can't get upstairs to my baby. Because that would be really bad. Have I said I was sorry lately? Because I have been meaning to. Once I get inside- I will. Well, I guess Im going to jump. One last chance to send me a miracle....

Just then, the lady that lives below me (and whom I have never actually met) comes outside onto her balcony. She must have thought I was a crazy person up there perched in my bare feet and no bra. I shout to her and she makes some gesture that she'll come up. THANK YOU! 30 seconds later, the lady is in my house unlocking the door for me. Im not really sure what the polite thing to do is, so I grab Lennix and just say thank you over and over. She left without saying a word to me. Granted I dont think she speaks a lick of English but still- doesnt every one know "you're welcome?"

So there you have it. That pretty much sums up Lennix in a nutshell. If she weren't so darn cute- she would have been gone a long time ago. I haven't been brave enough to go outside to feed the animals since then. Not without a phone at least!

One last thing I have been obsessed with lately. Better than any bouquet of flowers Jared could ever bring me:

At first glance you might think they are parts of beehives. But you would be wrong. Its actually a wasp hive and I am totally fascinated by them. I found one a while ago while we were on a walk and cant stop admiring the beauty of it. Or them I guess. Jared has found 2 more to add to my collection and I couldnt be happier! I love them.