Family Updates: March 2015

Jaycie:

• Is doing amazing at potty training. I decided to try and get her potty trained just after her 2nd birthday (we're overachievers around here) and right when I was about to announce she was potty trained she would regress. Time and time again. So I'm knocking on wood right now and saying "Jaycie is Potty-trained. 
• Her vocabulary is getting quite extensive. She really likes the word "either" however she doesn't really understand what it means. For example "Katie goes potty either". I've decided that I think she thinks it means "too" or "also". I just think it's so cute that I don't have the heart to correct her. 
• Moved to a big girl, twin bed. I think her baby mattress was just to hard for her. She'd sleep for a few hours and then end up in bed with Josh and I. That was not working for me, so I found a super cheap bed on KSL and painted it to match her old crib. It's perfect and she loves it and I love it cuz now I can sleep. 
• Really HATES socks. I think she gets this from Grandma Gubler (who in 15 years I've never seen in a pair of socks) so I'm looking forward to sandal and flip-flop weather. 

Kaitlyn:

• Is learning so so so quickly it scares me a little. She participates in a state funded online preschool program called UpStart. They called me the other week to let me know that Kaitlyn is reading and learning on a FIRST GRADE level. WHAT!?!?! I made them test her again just to make sure and they're right. She HATES the program but she excels at it. 
• Is really struggling with Primary right now. She doesn't like her new teachers (even though they are so nice) and she never wants to go to class. It's literally a fight and bribe fest to get her attend. 
• Still loves Elsa from Frozen even though she hasn't seen the movie since before Christmas. She got these new blue gloves that sing and that I want to chuck in the trash think are super cute from my Mom. 
• Is sortof a follower. We've had a lot of problems with her picking up on every bad habit her little friends have. She teams up with them to leave Maddie out of things and so far I feel a little like my Mother when she used to make me be nice to my sister. I've cancelled all play dates for the next week because it's become a real issue.
• Loves to practice her Dance and Leaps. She lives for Friday's dance class and thinks her teacher, Miss Sara, walks on water. It's fine... I do too. :)  

Madisyn: 

• Has improved so much in Dance. For a while she didn't enjoy it and would be goofy the entire time on watching day. It was a problem. However, since Christmas break she has really started to excel and do a great job. Miss Sara tells me every week what an improvement she's making. It makes me smile. 
• Is really looking forward to Soccer season. We went to Phoenix recently to visit Josh's brother Linden. Her cousin Jaslyn was there and she's a soccer superstar. We got to attend a couple of her games and Maddie was mesmerized. She wants to be Jaslyn when she grows up. That's fine, I'll take it. 
• LOVES UpStart! She works so hard at it and is learning on a Kindergarten Level. I'm proud of her. 
• Is an amazing bed maker. She wakes up every morning and makes her bed. Then she helps Kate with hers. She's a selfless little girl who likes to please. Yay!
• Only wants to play with Boys. She's always been a sort of loner. Kate loves friends and Maddie is fine to sit back and watch. But, recently she's been talking about all these friends at school and church and they're all boys. One even ran over and hugged her at preschool...um, yeah...

Josh:

• Still in the Elder's Quorum Presidency in our ward. He seems to enjoy it except for when it's super demanding. He's super social anyway so this is just another way he gets to know people. 
• Moved from Cottonwood Post office to Murray Post Office to fill in as their Manager for a while. I think he's getting a little discouraged since he was passed over for the last manager job because of his age. (Yeah total discrimination...the guy came out and said he was too young. Josh was pissed) 
• Used his gas money refund from Cottonwood to put in a fence. 
• Really needs a vacation

Amber: 

• Really into reading again. All I want to do is read. All. The. Time
• Is done with her Scouting Calling. I'm really over cub scouts and I'm trying not to quit but I'm this close. 
• Looking forward to Girls Camp. It's ward camp this year and I just held my first camp meeting. I'm super excited about the theme and I have a million ideas rummaging around in my head.
• Feels like I'm the maid. I've made chore charts for everyone living in my house to try and cut down on my work. So far, I do less cleaning but more nagging. 
• Has had a constant headache for about 4 days. 
• Has been off "the sauce" (dr. pepper) for the last three months. But I'm currently enjoying one as I type because it's all I can think of to dull the headache. :( 

Family Update - October 2013

Jaycie is now 14 months old. She is so much fun but so much work. We have to watch her all the time otherwise she's playing in the bathtub (turning off and on the water) or climbing everything in sight. We often find her climbing onto the table to "share" Maddie and Katie's food, or on top of the television stand so she can touch the TV. She really loves to throw things away in the garbage can and enjoys watching me cook. She has to be on the counter when doing hair, not just hers but everyones, and likes to brush her teeth. She is extremely independent and likes to play in the basement playroom just like the other two girls.

Katie is loving Dance Class right now. Her teacher, Miss Sara, says she's impressed with how well Katie is doing at remembering what the different dance moves are. She really loves to dance and can't wait to show us what she learned at Dance, every day. She still loves the color pink and has recently become attatched to a stuffed Watermelon (strange, I know) but she really loves it, almost as much as her baby whom she has named 'baby Katie'. She loves preschool and is working on learning to write her letters. She's proud of the fact that she can almost write her name. She has the K, A, and E down. I don't think it will take to long to learn the I & E.

Maddie loves Preschool. She is well behaved and absorbs so much of what her teachers tell her. She really likes to draw and color so art is high on her list of favorite activities. She has taken an interest in the computer and likes to play games. She has asked for a skooter, a bike, and an IPAD for her birthday and Christmas. Not sure what Santa plans to do yet, we shall see. She weighs about 3 lbs less then Katie does, coming in at 28 lbs. We're trying to feed her things we know she likes to help get her to gain weight, it's a constant concern for us especially since she eats more than most kids her age. She struggles with breakfast but the other meals she has no problem finishing. We're hoping to avoid a lecture at her 4 year appointment but only time will tell.

Josh has finished up a couple of jobs he was doing for his sister. He re-finished a portion of her front yard, painted her house, and built shelves in her basement. He's been trying really hard to make some extra money so we can get in a better financial possistion. It's been a struggle since he got promoted because although he makes more money it's closer to a salary job than before and we lost about $15000.00 a year. It will be great for his future but right now it's tight and we're needing to find ways to supplement until things settle down and work out. He's still working with the young men in scouting and helping neighbors and ward members with their projects. He's a generous man and I'm lucky to have him.

I, Amber, am not doing much work with my Mary Kay Directors. One of the women I was working for turned out to be extremely dishonest and isn't paying me. I find it frustrating and I'm at a loss as to what can be done about it. I guess I just pray and hope things work out in the end. I'm looking for things I can do from home and there aren't a lot of options, so really I'm just trying hard to budget well and not spend any unnecessary money. It sucks but I'm learning to be even more frugal that I was before. We are slowly working on finishing the basement with some supplies we already have on hand as well as using some Home Depot Gift Cards we've recieved. Hopefully we will be able to finish with our tax return; but, like everything else, only time will tell.

Family Update - July

Josh is rocking his supervisor job at the Holladay Post Office. It's the first summer he wont be out in the heat, all the time, in the last 9 years. We are so thankful. He's been trying hard lately to be the fun spontaneous Dad and so we've been on a lot of last minute activities. He was bummed that he didn't get to fish much while camping so the next weekend we went to Lake Vernon. It was nice and Josh wants to go back and camp sometime. He sold his truck because it's part of his one year plan and he misses it already even though he only drove it maybe once a month to Home Depot since we got it. He's quite the social butterfly in church and he likes to get to know the new people. He's determined to get to know everyone and he's off to a great start.

Amber is still trying to be frugal and save money however the current situation has dictated that I get a job. So after talking to everyone I know for a few weeks I landed one as a personal assistant to a couple Mary Kay directors. It's so nice, I do most everything from home and just leave on Wednesday evenings for about 3 hours. So far it is a little overwhelming but I think once I get the hang of things it will work out to be quite nice. I've been cooking quite a few new recipes lately and this batch has turned out much better than the last batch. I still live for play group, girls night, and dates with Handsome. The big news this month is that I finally bought some new bath towels. I love them and can't believe I waited so long to get them.

Madisyn has become much more opinionate in the last month. She has a comment for everything and asks so many questions it can make your head spin. I have no idea where she gets it. We've found out she is still deathly affraid of animals and bugs. She loves her new swingset and is super excited every day to go play in her playroom downstairs. She's taken a liking to my phone and the games that test her on her alphabet. She's doing great considering I fell off the teaching bandwagon before Jaycie was born. She's excited to preschool to start in the fall and asks everyday if she can go swimming at Spencer's house (his grandparents have a pool).

Katie is so smart. We have been learning that she really absorbs a lot of what we say even if she doesn't appear to be listening. She still has a talking back problem but she says it with such an attitude that I'm sure we are in for it when she becomes as teenager. She still loves Taylor Swift and we have to listen to it in the car wherever we go. I curse the day I programed her CD into my van. She loves to dress up and had started to take her hair out when I do it so that she can do it herself. She went down the waterslide at Spencer's Gpa's Pool and is so proud of herself. She was so excited about the Princess Festival but insisted she wasn't having fun until she met Cinderella.

Jaycie is almost 1. I had Allison take some pictures the other day so we can send out invites for her birthday party. She has three teeth now and she is such a happy baby. She likes to climb on things, most recently she learned to climb up the kitchen chairs to stand on them. She isn't walking yet but has taken a few steps between Daddy and I. She loves to swing on the swingset and thinks that only food she should eat is fruit (especially grapes) but she seems to be growing well. She still isn't sleeping through the night but she usually will stay in her bed until after 2:00 am. We love her to peices and wish she wasn't getting big so fast.

Family Update May 2013

Josh is having quite the exciting month. He turned 30 this month and we have invited 100 people over to our house this saturday for a BBQ in celebration of such an occasion. He has been working towards a promotion for quite a while now (like 2 years) and on his birthday the postmaster called to tell him he was the new supervisor at Holladay. To say he was thrilled was an understatement. The man couldn't stop smiling, all day. For his birthday we went to the Sand Dunes and has so much fun. Josh took the girls and I on 4 wheeler rides, played in the sand, and hung out with some great friends. He's still serving in Scouts and so usually on Wednesday nights he's gone but they've called a new guy in our ward to work with Josh and they seem to get along really well so he's excited. Josh spent most of the last two weeks putting in our yard and although it's not totally complete it looks amazing.

Amber is currently trying to save money and pay off debt. I spend time each week going over our debt payoff plan and trying to stick religiously to our budget. So far things are on track and going well. My attempts to spend more time working on myself are getting spoiled by kids who need to much attention and a baby that refuses to sleep through the night. So I'm usually functioning on less than 5-6 hours of sleep (not consecutively either). I've signed the girls up for swimming lessons again and we are trying to spend as much time during the day with friends at playgroups as we can. I'm trying to put together a "plan" for our weeks so that I can start teaching the girls things again (since I fell off the teaching wagon when Jaycie was born) and we can have a more structured day. I'm excited for summer and although I was planning to get going on my garden that isn't going to happen since we are out of money for the yard. That will most likely have to wait until next year. Bummer.

Madisyn got a hair cut this month. Nothing drastic, just a couple inches. I was starting to notice her hair getting into everything and never looking super healthy and clean towards the bottom. We chopped a little off and now it looks amazing. She has started to throw fits everytime we go to a store because she thinks she has to get something (I love my Mom but I blame her for this) and I have had to leave no less than 3 stores in the past week because of a meltdown. She's looking forward to preschool and she seems to enjoy swimming lessons although she's affraid to put her face in the water. I feel like we will be on level 1 FOREVER. She is extremely observant and isn't affraid to talk to adults about the things she knows or observes. She's quite obsessed with the bathroom sink and I'm constantly finding things wet that shouldn't be (like play dishes or mini dorito bags). She loves to sing primary songs and insists on saying the prayer for every meal and at bedtime.

Katie is a sweet sassy thing. She's started this thing where she likes to contradict, talk back to me, and use her "selective hearing" to ignore me when I'm speaking to her. I bust out the "do you want hot sauce on your tongue" at least 2 times a day, and although I've never done it, she's affraid of it. She's very into her friends right now and is constantly talking about her best friend Jane or Maisie but when she sees them she barely talks to them. Whatever. Katie loves swimming lessons and I'm pretty sure she'll pass this time around I can't move her up without Maddie so we shall see in a couple weeks where we are with that. She loves playing outside and has a really great tan right now. Everyone notices it and comments how brown her skin is. I guess that comes from her Dad's 1/64 indian blood or something. Kate is loving her primary teacher and she's doing better with staying in her seat during sharing time.

Jaycie turned 9 months old this month. I can't believe my baby is almost not a baby anymore. She's still not sleeping through the night but I have her down to approximately 2 feedings a night and she's spending the first half in her crib. I just don't have the heart to let her cry it out. I mean, no ones 10 year old still sleeps with them right? She's crawling all over and pulling up to everything. I swear she thinks she can do whatever her sisters can. She's started waving upsidedown and saying "HI" to every baby or little kid she sees. She's on a baby food strike still and so I've pretty much given up on it. She eats mostly finger foods and breastmilk. No mushy baby food for her, and don't even think about Oatmeal. She cries like you poisened her. I'm thinking we are going to need to get her a new car seat soon. At her well child check she was 18 lbs and 28 inches long. Her hair is still not growing very fast no matter how much I will it to but we work with what we have and although she hates the flower headbands I still put them on her.

Family Update : April 2013

Josh is still filling in as supervisor at the Sugarhouse Post Office. His manager loves him and the post master loves him but the lazy carriers still don’t love him. He got an EEO (equal employment offence) filed on him from a lazy carrier but Josh and his manager ripped that apart right away seeing as Josh was on Vacation one of the days he’s claiming he was discriminated against. The ultimate goal is to get this guy canned so we will see how long it takes. Josh applied for a permanent position as supervisor and his manager says he’s getting it so we are also waiting on that. Josh is super motivated to get the yard done right now. He has started in the sprinklers and we are currently waiting for the weather to improve so we can have the concrete poured. Josh is turning 30 this month and I have every intention of throwing him a party against his wishes. He’s still serving in the scouting program but since he’s had to work so often lately he hasn’t been a huge help; however they knew that when they called him. Josh is quite the social butterfly in the ward and makes sure he talks to everyone who’s new.


Amber is currently spending most of my days raising children. I’m really enjoying my book club and I’m thinking about getting a gym pass so I can start to work off all this baby weight. For some reason I just can’t figure out how to diet and nurse a baby at the same time. Go figure. So now that Jaycie is nursing less I should be able to have a little more time for myself. I just finished reading the Book of Mormon again and I love how much I get out of it every time I read it. I teach the 4 year olds in primary and I love those little kids. I have a very well behaved class and love teaching them and helping them feel Heavenly Father’s love for them. General Conference just came and went and I was extremely uplifted and inspired. I really felt that the sacrifices I’m making in my life are what’s right for me now and I have a desire to be a better more patient mother and to make my marriage stronger. I'm looking forward to summer and hopefully some play dates and time outside with the girls. We're planning to get a zoo pass and one to the aquarium too, so it should be a fun summer.  

Madisyn is becoming quite the sleeper. Lately she refuses to get out of bed until at least 9 a.m. which is rough considering we have been doing swimming lessons which start at 9:40. She’s a little timid in the water and doesn’t like to jump in or get her face wet so I’m sure that she’ll be on the first level of swimming lessons forever. She loved purple and has to wear a purple shirt everyday. She has the most beautiful long hair but wants a pony tail everyday because she has to wear “mommy’s big one” hair elastic. She’s really into eating goldfish and yogurt lately and she likes to carry Jaycie around even though she knows she’s not suppose to. She loves doing puzzles and coloring.

Katie is 3 going on 13. She’s been a struggle this month. She is constantly telling me that I’m not nice, that we aren’t friends anymore, that she’s going to Grandma Karen’s and then to Disneyland. She loves Cinderella but has been watching Brave and wearing Merida lately. She wants pancakes for breakfast every morning and thinks that Dr. Pepper is the only beverage out there (she hardly ever gets it; but that doesn’t keep her from asking). She’s getting really good at matching her clothes and making her bed. She recognizes the letters A,B,C,G,J,K, &M. She is excited for preschool and she loves swimming lessons. She’s not as afraid as Maddie is of the water but she likes to keep her face dry when possible.

Jaycie is growing so fast. She’s crawling all over the place and now is pulling up to everything she can so she can stand. She usually gets tired and falls down but at least she’s trying. She’s eating three meals as day as well as snacks. She really loves Cheerios, Yogurt, and Bananas. She’s not sleeping great and not in her bed very often. She was doing well and then once Amy had Camden and she slept in my room for 6 weeks now it’s really hard to get her back into her own crib. She’s been teething for 4 months but still no teeth yet; but it’s not for lack of trying. She likes to talk and screams things like “BaBa and Yaya” all the time. She’s a super easy going baby and usually will let people hold her. Everyone loves her and is constantly commenting on how beautiful she is. Of course we think so too. We are going to start trying to sleep train her however I can’t let her cry so we will see how well this works.