Soren Update July 6, 2008

Dear Family,

I have lost all my worries about this being a long, drawn out summer. Time is flying by!

We said goodbye to my sister, Jenny, and had the house to ourselves for a few days. Then our next batch of guests arrived. Our friends, Jared and Rachelle Underwood, sold their house last week and they are planning on spending most of the summer with family and out of town. They have made our house their home base, and we get to have them stay with us for a few little chunks of time. Their first visit was last week. They have a two year old son, Brent. It was so nice for Soren and I to have built-in friends for a few days!

Besides entertaining the multitudes, Soren and I have found some other fun activities to participate in. We are back in swim lessons after a two week break. We have also been spending quite a bit of time in the local library. We are having a hard time sticking to any kind of a schedule while guests move in and out, but Soren has been a very happy boy anyway.

Great news! We finally have Erik back! He finished up the last work for his class on Thursday, and Soren and I have made sure he spent lots of time with us to make up for the time he spent on the class. I am very grateful to Erik for working so hard to better himself and improve our lifestyle. It is hard to have him so busy, but at least everything he is doing is beneficial to us! The 4th of July weekend was very productive and fun – we were able to catch up on some projects around the house that have been waiting for awhile.

Soren learns new things everyday. He is constantly running around and getting into whatever he can reach. This week he opened one of my kitchen drawers, reached in, and pulled out two boxes of baggies. He pulled every bag out of the box before I noticed. He was so proud of himself for figuring that one out! He is also doing much better at imitating noises that Erik and I make. I don’t think he understands what he is saying yet, but he will mimic. Although it is hard to tell with the very first words, he is now regularly saying “Chi” for cheese, “Dada” for Daddy, “Kiddy” for Kitty. Yesterday he brought me his shoes, and kept saying “Shz, shz”. I think it was just a coincidence, because later in the day, he pointed to one of his toys and said the same thing! I think he may be saying more things he thinks I can understand, but right now he still sounds like he is speaking a foreign language.

Sorry there haven’t been many pictures lately. It seems like the videos capture the moment so much better! I hope you enjoy them.

Love,

Ashley