We're Back!

After 10 months w/o a camera, I finally broke down & bought one! I missed posting some of our crazy summer adventures, but don't worry all you die-hard Crosby family fans! We're back! Ah...feels good. So this is a classic kids on the tramp pic. More to come later...

An Update

Michael will be starting Kindergarten in a couple weeks & he couldn't be more excited! He'll be taking the bus to & from which just adds to his joy! I'm so anxious for my lil' guy to experience learning & fun at school. I have my LONG list of concerns too, but like our Father above knew, I too know he has to experience these things for himself.

Lizzie will be starting her first year of pre-school. This year I'm trying something new: a co-op preschool with 3 other moms. I'm super pumped! It will be the perfect start for Lizzie's school career. More one on one, which she really needs. She's got more sass than anything and that will make for some interesting school sessions I'm sure :)

Alaina will be 2 next week!!! My baby is no longer a baby! She's the coolest kid. Her lil' personality keeps us all laughing. Like, she doesn't just say no, she says "No way!" She's got a phrase or face or gesture for every occasion. Love that girl.

The Happenings

I haven't posted much lately cuz yet another camera went the way of all the cameras (the trash can) so I have no updated pics to show off. But here's the haps anyway-

Michael is liking his new glasses, which is great cuz like them or not, he needs them. He's wearing an eye patch a couple hrs a day too. Pirate Michael strikes again. He had his first vision therapy appt today & his vision has already improved. Makes me happy :)

Liz is still sassy as ever. I tried using her magic wand & turning her into a nice girl instead of the requested "yee-haw" (pony), but alas...to no avail.

Alaina continues to amaze me at her super huge brain. She speaks easily 30+ words & impresses me everyday w/ her smarts.

Brian's been super busy doing the bike thing. He's joined a challenge where he has to bike at least 1 century (100 miles) a month & he's been meeting that the past few months. Crazy. He's also dived into the many events this great area offers for bikers-extraordinar'. He's working hard & loving it.

Me? Well I'm STILL training for my first triathlon, which is now in 5 wks. I'm anxious to be at the starting line! It will be an amazing accomplishment for me. Bring it. I was really hoping to kick some booty at this thing, but I really will be lucky to survive it. All part of the adventure!

Michael & Amblyopia

Poor guy. What next? So we've noticed the last few months that Michael's left eye turns in periodically. At first we thought it was just some weird thing he did, but it became apparent that it was involuntary when his depth preception & vision also seemed affected. I took Michael in to the eye doctor & sure enough, they diagnosed him with Amblyopia (lazy eye). What happens is that one eye is weaker than the other. Over time, due to blurred or double vision, the brain wants that clear picture & starts to ignore the weaker eye. With out intervention the brain will eventually rely solely on the strong eye & the other is left to wonder. Thankfully this is a very curable vision problem w/ the help of glasses & vision therapy, which very well may mean an eye patch. So pirates & guys like buck will soon become Michael's hero's I'm sure. Although I admittedly feel over whelmed with my kids' long list of therapists, delays, & diagnoses, I am still grateful that this is something Michael should be able to battle while he's young & live to see (literally in this case) brighter days.

*And as a side note, it makes me wonder if part of his problems in school are directly related to this. No wonder he can't tell the difference between an e & a! He may not be able to see the difference!!!

Baby Fever

When I look at these pics of Alaina baby I can't help but smile & sigh. (This last one looks like she's caught a bug in her mouth.) I think I've got baby fever again. I've been thinking about another lil' one coming to our family with fondness the last couple of weeks and I talked to Brian about starting to try for another one at the end of summer, when Alaina turns 2. I'm still waiting for baby Joseph to be here with us. As most of you know I was pretty anti-pregnancy after my miscarriage in September. It was a long & stressful ordeal. I knew even before I began to miscarry that I wasn't prepared for another one. I don't mean to say that I wanted a miscarriage because it was more devastating then I cared to admit to even myself, but I do believe the Lord knew how much I could & could not handle. And as my due date for that baby draws closer (April 8th) I can feel myself grieving for a child that might have been. But this week at our getting-to-know-you Relief Society function I stood up and almost said I have 4 kids. I have another child on my mind. I can't say if he/she will complete our family, but as always I will feel MORE complete when he/she arrives. I now look forward to another pregnancy. Gone will be the days when I can go work out hard at the Y, carry two kids up the stairs at the same time, or boast of up coming triathlons, but more rewarding things will be coming & I look forward to that with excitement & reverence for the miracle it is each & every time.

Sequim 1 & 2

Brian's officially started his racing season w/ the Sequim series the last 2 Saturdays. He's joined the Collision 1 team from Everett & is really enjoying the camaraderie (not to mention the snazzy matching outfits). The 1st race he was a cat-5 (novice), but was able to upgrade to a cat-4 for the 2nd race. The pack of riders in the 1st race rode 36 miles & averaged just over 21 mph & Brian took 11th out of 40 guys or so. The 2nd race the pack rode 48 miles & averaged almost 25 mph & Brian took 17th out of about 65 guys. It's been fun watching him race & live his dream on a bike. He's become a biker & I'm thankful for the healthy, family fun hobby it is. The kids got to take the ferry to watch the race & they loved it. Fun, fun, fun!

Michael's 5 & Alive

Our lil' man is 5! He had a great bday w/ friends. We did the space theme & that was a big hit. Now that he's 5 he says things like, "I'm 5 now mom so I can reach that". It's funny. He's excited to move on to kindergarten & go to the "big kids school". He'll be taking the bus to/from so he's extra excited about that. Just a world of opportunities have opened up to him since he turned 5, or so he feels like. Can't believe my baby is so old! We love you, Beau!