THE JUAREZ FAMILY: November 2009

Okay, so it has been awhile for me. I guess two kids does make a difference in how much free time you have. Or at least naps and cleaning my house have become much more tempting than going online. So everything is going great here. Carson LOVES his new baby sister. Carson calls her Kate or Baby Kate. He is so sweet. He gives her kisses all of the time (he kissed the screen while I was loading a picture of Kate for this post). He'll ask about her or want to know where she is. He is possessive of her and is sure to notify me if someone outside the family is holding her. He knows to be soft with Kate and, for the most part, is very gentle with her. Such a good big brother.

Carson also just had a birthday. He is now two years old. He'll tell you so if you ask him (but I don't think he knows what it means to be two). We did a Halloween themed party and it was so much fun. We had a cookie decorating table and balloons and toys scattered all over the floor. Plus, we had the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes. It was a toddlers paradise. Carson got some great gifts. My friends were paying attention to Carson's likes. He got cars, trucks, a guitar, and iron man stuff. It couldn't have been any better for him. Unfortunately, my camera was not working, but my brother-in-law Nate took a few pictures, so hopefully I'll get those from him soon.

Ben just finished his classes for his Masters program. Now he just needs to take the comprehensive exam on November 19th and he'll be all done with that. He got straight As of course. He's such an amazing guy! Going to school full-time and working full-time is not easy.

I am training for a half marathon in California with a couple of my friends. We have been really good at keeping to the training schedule. The run is not until March, so we'll have plenty of time to build up our miles. Right now we are only doing 2,3, and 4 miles and I can't see myself doing any more than that right now. Training for an event is the only way I can get myself to workout regularly. I'm so glad that there are so many of my friends training with me. It makes keeping to schedule and staying motivated so much easier.

My sister Rachel stayed with us for almost a week before she left for New York City. I REALLY miss her. She is so great with Carson and a huge help around the house, plus, she's just great company. She is really enjoying her experience living in the Big Apple and calls constantly telling me how much she wants us to visit. For those of you who do not know, she is performing in "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, with the Rockettes". If we can make it work, we are so going to go see her. I'm not excited about how cold it will be, but I think it will still be a lot of fun.

We had Katelyn's baby blessing yesterday. The entire weekend was nice. I was able to visit with Seth and Riva and their kids and Isaac and Allison and their kids. Trick-or-Treating in my in-laws neighborhood went really well too. Carson enjoyed going house to house more than the trunk-or-treat. Gloria, my mother-in-law, made a beautiful blessing dress, together with a bonnet and little shoes. Katelyn looked so pretty. I'll post some pics as soon as I get them. Speaking of which I have a few random pics that I was able to load to the computer. Hopefully, I'll have a few more to post before the end of this week.