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Update: Roxy Is In 1st Grade & Carissa Is Walking & Talking
Me, Kenny, Carissa (in my arms), & Roxy
Photo Credit: Stephen Anthony Photography
First of all, I can’t believe it’s September. We’re due for a family update. Roxy is in 1st grade and Carissa now has 6 teeth and is walking and talking up a storm.
I guess I should start by telling you how the rest of our Summer went. Roxy didn’t go to Summer school or anything so the girls were at home with me. I liked having both girls at home but it definitely wasn’t quiet during the day. We spent a lot of the Summer swimming in our pool. She had private lessons and she is swimming very well. She can swim the length of the pool and back and can swim both freestyle and breast stroke. Carissa didn’t have lessons but we always put her in a puddle jumper and a baby floatie. She loves the water and kicks her little feet when we put her in.
We also had our annual 4th of July BBQ. It went pretty well except for Roxy got stung by a bee. My eldest child sure can scream very loud! We also celebrated Kenny’s birthday in August. It’s startling to realize that we’re approaching 40 fast.
Me, Kenny, Carissa, & Roxy on the 4th of July
Roxy
Roxy on her 1st day of 1st grade at Merryhill School
Roxy started 1st grade at Merryhill School in August. She is 5 years old on paper and in reality she is probably closer to 6 years old. Remember Roxy is adopted and her real age is a little bit of a mystery because we know she’s older than they told us. She now has lost 4 teeth and you can see some gaps in her mouth. She is reading and writing a lot. She has 10 spelling words a week. She likes doing art projects. We enrolled her at Rize All Arts Center in a hip hop dance class and she really loves going. I actually highly recommend this place.
Roxy is a pretty refined eater (of course with me and Kenny as her parents). She is a total carnivore and prefers meat usually but she actually also likes vegetables like bok choy. I also don’t know of any other little girl her age who likes raw fish. We feed her poke and raw ahi tuna and salmon when we go to Asian fusion, sushi, or poke places and she likes it all. She’ll eat cooked clams and oysters too. Roxy is my feisty girl. I actually like that she’s feisty. She’ll be able to stand up for herself in this crazy world.
Carissa
Carissa, my baby panda
Carissa is now 19th months! She now has 6 teeth. She’s 26 lbs and 31.75 inches. My baby girl now walks all over the place. Furthermore, she is very verbal. She says Mommy, Daddy, hi, bye, no, shoe, Woxy (the way she says Roxy), Popo (maternal grandma), Yiyi (auntie), uh oh, wheeeee, hmmmmm, shhhhhh, nai nai (milk), and poop. We are teaching her baby sign language and she knows how to sign “more” and “all done.” We’re still working on it and I want her to learn how to sign “milk,”, “please,” and “thank you.’
As a shoe lover, Carissa is very happy just trying on shoes. I might have contributed to her shoe fetish by buying her way too many cute shoes. She also loves to be put in the swing set or on the rocking horse. Some days I just put washable markers in her hands and give her a pad of paper and let her go to it. She makes a mess but it makes her happy and I mitigate the clothing damage by letting her use washable markers. I would say she has a happy go lucky personality and a mischievous side to her. She isn’t as feisty as Roxy but she definitely has some spunk in her.
Me with Carissa (in my arms) & Roxy
Photo Credit: Stephen Anthony Photography
Kenny
Kenny is a neurologist. He has a new side gig where he is a ringside physician in boxing matches and even some MMA matches. When he 1st came home and told me about this opportunity I was a little surprised. But hey, he makes some extra on the side and gets to watch some boxing. For those of you that don’t know my husband, he is really into sports. Anyway, he seems to really like working as the ringside physician at boxing matches. His other hobby, if you can call it that, is tinkering with our kegerator that I got him Christmas 2015. I think I bought it because I figured Kenny would be drinking at home and not driving.We have fun picking out what brews and craft beers to put in it.
Me
I’ve just been focusing on my girls and my family and my writing. My girls keep me on my toes. I’m thankful to have a nanny. I don’t know how some Moms survive without help. Super woman I am not. Typically, I try to write for a few hours during the day and then I also blog at night when the rest of my family is sound asleep. That’s when I can write the best because I’m usually undisturbed.
I really enjoy writing for both Elk Grove Tribune and Sacramento4kids. My freelance writing has really branched out. I have been fortunate to connect with great editors/mentors and also be able to connect to other fellow bloggers. I feel like we are all here to support each other. That’s the way it should be.
I’ve started going to Elk Grove City Council meetings in an effort to be a more proactive citizen, as well as a mover and a shaker. If you haven’t heard, I’m advocating to bring language immersion programs to Elk Grove Schools. If you would like to support my efforts, please sign our Change.org Petition Elk Grove Schools Need Language Immersion Programs.
Me & Kenny
Photo Credit: Stephen Anthony Photography
8 Year Anniversary
We are celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary on Labor Day weekend. Our anniversary is September 5. It’s hard to believe it’s been 8 years because it’s passed by so quickly. At the beginning of 2014, we were about to adopt Roxy. Now it’s 3 and a half years later and we have 2 beautiful girls.
Kenny and I both love watching Game of Thrones and Animal Kingdom. Lately, we haven’t been going out as much as we are trying to really focus on our family. We have made some changes in the way we do things, and some hard choices in terms of who we choose to spend our time with.
I feel like our marriage has really evolved. It honestly hasn’t been an easy year with the passing of Kenny’s Mom and a few other events. But sometimes, it’s good to know that it’s just me and Kenny, facing the world together, and life’s challenges and triumphs as they come.
I hope all of you and your families are doing well. I send you love, light, and blessings.
XOXO Jax
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