READERS DIGEST VERSION

I know I have been a MAJOR blog slacker....but this last month has been SUPER CRAZY!!! I feel like I have been spread thinner than a single stuffed Oreo cookie (you know if its not double stuffed you are just waisting your time!)

So here is the readers digest version of what we've been up to...

Well the chaos all started when my independent study classes that I had started while I was pregnant were about to expire...when I got sick (while pregnant) school pretty much got put on hold since I couldn't read anything without feeling queasy. Well all the sudden I get a letter saying my classes were about to expire, so I went into turbo speed to finish them up. I did (thank goodness) and as soon as those ones were complete I had two other Independent Study classes that if I finished by the last day of the BYU semester I would get reimbursed for them (and that was a major incentive since the whole law school situation makes for lots of money going out and not so much coming in). So, pretty much I finished those two classes in a three week period...while still keeping up with my one class that I've been going to once a week at BYU Salt Lake Center. It was crazy...something I definitely do not want to repeat EVER!!! But thanks to some help with Carder from Jake's family I was able to do some hardcore studying, and am now only 3 1/2 classes away to graduating.

This last month Jake was also in the crazy bustle of finals as well as getting all his hours in at the courthouse (for his externship with the Federal Judge). He absolutely loved that experience. On a HUGE plus note, Jake is now officially half way done with law school (symbols, horns, confetti, light at the end of the tunnel) so it should be all downhill from here. We go to Vegas this summer for his internship and then just one more year in Salt Lake and he'll be done and we can stop living the life of a gypsy!

Now we are leaving behind the snow and school to spend the next 2 weeks in California for the holidays:)

JAXON'S BIRTHDAY

Jaxon turned two this last November. For his birthday what he wanted was for baby Carder to come to his house. (He always refers to him as baby Carder, never just Carder...I'm convinced he thinks baby is part of Carder's name). It was so nice to see everyone for a few days. Jaxon has LOVED Carder since the day we brought him home from the hospital, but I was surprised how responsive Carder was to Jaxon this trip. Carder would watch everywhere Jaxon would go and try to do everything that he was able to that Jaxon would be doing.

MUCHO FRIO

It has been dumping snow on us in Salt Lake. One day I went out and brought a little snow in and put it on Carder's walker tray to let Carder play with it, lets just say he wasn't a fan (maybe he is his Mama's baby after all). Every time we go out we have to bundle him up...it kinda a pain, but he does looks cute in all the layers with just his little face peering out. Carder loves Christmas time. His favorite things to do are to pull the ribbon off the tree and try to eat it, play with the fat plush Santa ornament and try to eat it, and sing along to the Christmas music in the car (and lets just say this has taken car rides in a whole new direction thank goodness).

CARDERS 6 MONTH PICTURES

Carder turned 6 months the end of November...its crazy, it feels like it was just the other day when we brought him home from the hospital...yet its hard to remember what life was ever like with out him! I try to get all his milestone pictures done pretty close to the actual day he turns that age, but with the craziness of this month this one didn't quite happen like that. We had it taken the day after we got out to California for Christmas, so its a few days before he would be 7 months, but he was still technically 6 months (I tried) :) This last month he has grown up so much. He got his first two teeth (on the bottom) they came in within days of each other. He can sit up totally independently, he can get just about anywhere by scooting/crawling and has even started standing up to stuff every now and then. (I dunno if I'm ready for this!)