The LeBaron Lifestyle: December 2013

Wow, another year. This is nuts! I remember as a kid thinking about being a grown up and wishing for it to happen sooner. And now here I am. An old maid. Married with 2 children. A lot of big things happened in our family this year. Here is a quick rundown--

(Dec 2012) Austin graduated from BYU and turned 25. Oliver turned 1. We moved from Lindon, UT to Shelley, ID.

JANUARY- We were homeless living in my parents basement searching for a new grown up job for Austin.

FEBRUARY- Austin got a job at Lockheed Martin in Camden, Arkansas and we packed up our lives and moved south. Austin and I had our 2 year anniversary.

MARCH- Oliver learned to walk and got even cuter. We experienced the loudest and most intense thunderstorms of our lives. We got a dog from our neighbor and our landlord wouldn't let us keep it so it moved back across the street.

APRIL- Vivian was born! This is the best thing that happened this year :) My mom flew to Arkansas to visit and play with Oliver while I recovered. Austin was called as a counselor in the Young Men's. We flew back to Utah for Austin to walk at graduation and to bless Vivian with both of our families.

MAY- I turned 22 years old. My good friend Lisa and her baby Cooper flew to Arkansas to make fun of me while I attempt to raise two babies. (Visitors are a big deal and they deserve a spot in the review!)

JUNE- I flew back to Idaho/Utah alone with two babies because I was homesick and stayed for 3 weeks. I was called as a counselor in the Young Women's.

JULY- We put an offer in on what would be our very first house! We really are grown ups now! Oliver had his first major surgery (his circumcision) He was hilarious under anesthesia. He woke up very angry and upset. It broke my heart. My sister, Shara, and my sweet niece, Aneleise, came to visit. We visited a little museum in Smackover and a BIG museum in Little Rock. It was nice to relax and watch Oliver beat up on his big cousin. Once, while driving, we saw the back end of a deer bounding into the trees and Aneleise yelled, "Look! A kangaroo!" We do live out in the wild but, not THAT wild.

AUGUST- We drove to the gulf and it was our first time there. Vivian's first beach trip. Trying to close on the house but it is just dragging.

SEPTEMBER- Finally closed on our house and became real homeowners! We love our new house. My mom and dad came and helped us move in. Our 7th move in our 2 years of marriage. My mom unpacked my kitchen and my dad helped us put some paint on the walls and clean the gutters. Oliver said goodbye to diapers and started using the toilet.

OCTOBER- My grandmother, Venla, passed away and I returned home to Idaho (alone again with the babes) for the funeral. I stayed for 3 weeks again and visited friends and family. Oliver got to go Trick-or-Treating with his cousin, Ellie. He was a police officer and she was a rainbow. I dressed up as a robber and my sister, Shara made Vivian into a bag of money.

NOVEMBER- My sister, Katelyn, came to visit and stayed for 2 1/2 weeks. We had our first solo Thanksgiving and invited the elders and the sister missionaries over for dinner. It was kind of a flop.

DECEMBER-At the start of this month Austin and I cut out sugar and grains from our diets. (we have indulged at a couple Christmas parties and today, on Christmas.) We feel way better and have each lost 11 lbs. We also started a spending fast where we only spend money on needs and don't buy anything extra. Fortunately, I had already got all of our Christmas shopping done by then ;) That's why none of you got a Christmas card or gift from us because we really are not spending ANY money. But we still love you and will make it up next year! We will be on the fast until July. And hopefully will have all student loans paid and a good looking savings account. I came up with my New Year Resolutions and have actually been working on them for a couple of months now. 1) Better posture. 2) Use a cutting board (I have ruined many surfaces with knives) And the third is more of a family resolution to recycl. We are going to set up a system for sorting and start taking our stuff to the recycle bins at Austin's work. And of course, it's Oliver's 2nd birthday. We are in for another crazy year.

We have been blessed far beyond what we deserve. I have two beautiful, healthy children, a roof over our heads, food on our table, and a hard working hunky husband. I can't wait to see what another year brings. Merry Christmas to you all! We love you! Feel free to come visit :) We'll make it worth your while!

Can you believe it? Oliver is almost 2 years old. I'm doing this post now because I love the pictures I took of him today and I want to share them, because Christmas will be so busy I probably will forget to do it if I don't do it now, and mostly because my sister is here playing with my kids and keeping them busy enough for me to be on the computer (I've just about forgotten how to use it).

I turned Oliver loose in the yard and followed him around with a camera trying to capture him just being his 2 year old self. A picture is worth a thousand words and these ones describe him perfectly. But since I am a proud mom, I will add a few words of my own.

Oliver is such a sweet spirit. He is kind and polite. He's very sensitive and has a big soft spot for his momma. He loves books, cowboy boots, broccoli and I would be crazy not to mention his love for airplanes. And he's also a toddler boy. He likes to yell and wrestle and make messes. He is learning new words everyday and it blows my mind how fast he is developing. He communicates so well and is usually very cooperative. He doesn't always get along very well with other children and he prefers to just do his own thing. He's never been a very typical child. Whenever we are outside he kind of zones out. He doesn't run or scream or destroy things (he saves that for inside the house I guess) he just gets very quiet and walks around exploring. I love the little booger so much, my heart is always on the brink of exploding.

For your viewing pleasure, I present to you: Oliver

Once there was a tree...