We have had an amazing year at the Wochnick house. 2011 has been a great year, and I figured I could not finish the year without posting (for once in several months).
Brandon is doing wonderful. In July he decided that he needed a change of pace, so he left driving and took a position as a salesman with Coca-Cola. He loves it!!!!! It has been a good change for our family. The hours are better and Brandon gets to spend more time with the family. He also enjoys it because it is more suited to his personality. Other than the new job, Brandon is up to business as usual, continually working on some home improvement project. He did finish two rooms on the basement, so Kaitlyn and Ben could move to the basement.
Brandon is doing wonderful. In July he decided that he needed a change of pace, so he left driving and took a position as a salesman with Coca-Cola. He loves it!!!!! It has been a good change for our family. The hours are better and Brandon gets to spend more time with the family. He also enjoys it because it is more suited to his personality. Other than the new job, Brandon is up to business as usual, continually working on some home improvement project. He did finish two rooms on the basement, so Kaitlyn and Ben could move to the basement.
I, Joanna, had a blast this year. On December 9, I finally graduated from Weber State University. After many years of work and stress, I can proudly say I have a Bachelors of Psychology. It is such a blessing to be finished with college and that I was able to get a degree. I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband who has encouraged me and pushed me to continue chugging along even when I ready to quit. I am also lucky that I am still able to stay home and take care of my kids. 
Kaitlyn has had an eventful year. In August, she started Kindergarten. After a rough couple of weeks, she finally settled in and loves school. She has made some fun new friends. She is doing very well in school and impresses me daily with the new skills she is learning. She loves to spell things, she constantly asks me to spell things for her so she can write them down. too cute. Also. she has lost two baby teeth, with a few more that are loose. She continues to be a happy, optimistic, silly, and tons of fun. Kaitlyn is a great helper, she is my cute little side kick. 
Ben is a handful. We sure love this crazy, energetic boy. In September, he started Joy School with three other rambunctious three year olds. He loves going to school like his big sister. I was surprised at how well he behaves during Joy School, especially when I am teaching. Ben is so cute singing the songs and telling me about the things he learned at school. He still has some speech problems, and continues to see a speech therapist weekly. We really like his speech therapist. Ben has been making great progress. Finally, Ben has been working on using the potty. He has earned many Cars toys and is almost ready to switch from pull-ups to underwear!!!!! 
Paul is still as cute as ever. He is my little sunshine and brings such joy to my life. He is talking a lot more, but it still sounds like he is speaking Klingon most of the time. He loves to follow the other kids around and do whatever they are doing. Currently, he likes to yell "Watch this Mama" as he jumps from the arm of the couch onto the couch and then rolls onto the floor. (Thanks to Ben) When we moved Ben downstairs in August, Paul got his own room and his own twin bed. He transitioned to the big bed better than the other kids ever did, with only a few nights of him crawling into bed with us. I love watching my kids grow and develop. They each have such fun little personalities. 
Finally, in September, Brandon and I became foster parents. We welcomed two amazing children into our home. Miss S. is ten and shares a room with Kaitlyn. They are pretty good together, with the occasional fight. Kaitlyn is glad to have a girl in the house who will play dolls with her. Mr. J. is seven and shares a room with Ben. He has a twin brother in another foster home, that he gets to see about once a week. He is an energetic and silly. He plays really well with the younger boys. We do not know how long we will have S. and J. in our care. Brandon and I love being foster parents, it can be hard some days, but we enjoy providing a safe and loving home for kids who really need it. This is just a brief recap of some of the happenings of 2011. Here's to another amazing year.
I was induced to have Paul a week before his due date. My labor was relatively easy. A little after midnight on February 12, Paul made his entrance into the world. I hoped that after Paul was born I would stop feeling so sad. It didn't happen. I tried really hard to enjoy those first few weeks, but it was tough. Of my three children, I only experienced the baby blues after Paul was born. I think I was just feeling overwhelmed with everything that had happened during the last couple of years. Slowly, things started to get better. I know it was Paul that saved me. His sweet temperament and easy disposition made it so easy to be his mother. He slept really well, ate like a champ, and rarely cried (the occasional brother is using me as a chew toy scream), and was healthy. He was a little jaundice at first, but thankful he did not have to use the Billi lights like his older siblings. He has also be healthy most of his life, with only a few minor colds and one ear infection. 
Paul is still one of the easiest going kids around. He takes Ben and Kaitlyn's constant teasing in stride and just goes with the flow. He jabbers all the time, and happily Mama was his first word, followed by da (for dog) and then dada. Even at one, he still loves to cuddle me a tons and gives me the cutest grin when I go to get him out of his crib in the morning. He would scoot, crawl, and now runs to me or Brandon when ever one of us comes home. Paul is also a real ladies man, he loves to coo and smile at the ladies. If a guy starts talking to him, forget it, he wants to find a cute lady to snuggle. He even walked up to the receptionist at the doctors office and started to cuddle with her. 
I love that he adores Brandon. He follows him around, we often call him our little stalker because you turn around and he is likely right behind you. He also likes to just sit next to Brandon on the bed and play with Brandon's hair. It is the sweetest thing on the planet. When Brandon is carrying him, he will cuddle up really close and grab his arm. I could just eat his cuteness up.
Do you know my favorite thing about Paul? His eyes, I just want to melt every time I look into those big brown eyes. When Brandon and I were first talking about having kids, I wanted them to get Brandon's blue eyes. I always felt like my brown eyes were so boring and plain. Kaitlyn has my brown eyes and we are learning together how fun brown eyes can be. Ben varies between blue and hazel eyes, and I think they will end up being hazel, which is pretty cool. Paul on the other hand has the darkest brown eyes. Even right after he was born, he had dark blue eyes and at about two months they turned into dark brown. I could get lost in his eyes and when he flashes those beauties at me I want to give him anything he wants (luckily for me right now that is usually food). We are in big trouble with this cutie!
So why do I tell the whole story about our Paul. If you would have asked me in July 2009 if I wanted another baby right then, I would have said no way. Now, I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing child and new better what Brandon and I really needed at the time. Paul has taught me more about how your heart can open up to more love than you ever thought possible. I am so proud to say that I am a mother to three wonderful children. I am striving to be a better mother and woman because I know that my kids deserve the best.
Brandon had a fun birthday on May 1st. He got an iTouch, which we absolutely love. It is tons of fun and I am addicted to the Angry Birds game. The kids like to watch movies on it, play games, and love listening to the Chipmunks on Daddy's new toy. Brandon loves to play Flick Fishing, and I am trying to convince him that he probably shouldn't be playing during church. Oh well, it keeps Ben and him entertained. I sure love Brandon and was glad I could get him something really fun for his birthday.
My mothers day was fun. I got three rose bushes, a few weeks early, which I happily planted in my backyard. We had a fence installed around the backyard, and I needed to plant some flowers in a new flower bed. I will have to take pictures when the flowers start blooming more. Brandon knows me to well, I love getting flowers, but I want the kind I can plant outside and enjoy for years to come (not just for a couple days). At church, the primary president gave a talk were she told the mothers why the kids loved them. Kaitlyn had told her that she loves me because I love her. How could you not love her? She is the sweetest kid on the planet and says the funniest things. I was glad that this Mothers Day I had three great reasons to celebrate. It was also nice to spend the afternoon with my family. Jeanne and Jasmine made a super yummy dinner. 
On a super, wonderful, and extremely happy note, I finished my crazy semester of college. I had four online classes. To make it even better, I got 2 A's, an A-, and a B. I know, I am awesome. Only one semester left until I finally finish my bachelors degree. WOOHOO!!!!!! This picture demonstrates how I felt after this long semester of school. 
Paul is a great baby and is growing too fast. He smiles all the time and is such a happy baby. He gets so animated when Kaitlyn and Ben play with him. He also makes the cutest sad face when Brandon gives him raspberries on the neck (see pictures below). He has started to sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night, thank goodness. I am truly blessed to have such a mellow baby. I always thought Kaitlyn and Ben were content babies. Paul is the ultimate pass-around baby. Our only problem, he is a closet thumb sucker. Whenever I turn my back, his little thumb goes to his mouth. It is cute, but I am not sure I want to break a kid of that habit. Oh well, I will continue to enjoy ever moment I have with my children. 
