It’s been too long since my last Charron Family update but I’m ready to get back on track with documenting our lives.
This year has definitely had its challenges. With me losing my job last Spring, I really fell apart. I felt underappreciated and more like a number than a valuable contributor. I felt betrayed and like I was never going to find a great job that I loved again. Now I realize I was being dramatic but I think it’s hard when life surprises you.
Glen lost his Aunt on Cancer this year and we felt terrible that she didn’t have a chance to meet Wyatt. We did have the opportunity to go to Massachusetts this year and had a lovely time with Glen’s family. I cannot wait to go back. Everyone loved Wyatt and I got a chance to really bond with Glen’s family. This is the first time that I really felt a part of the family. I just wish it would have been under different circumstances.
What many don’t know is that Glen and I had experienced a loss of our own in early November. To our complete surprise, we found out that we were expecting a little brother or sister for Wyatt in June. We were absolutely shocked but completely overwhelmed with excitement. Right around my Mid-Term, which was a few days following the positive pregnancy test, I had a bad feeling that something wasn’t right. I went from eating everything in the house to suddenly having no appetite. I stayed home from work and went to the Doctor for some testing. Later that evening (about ten minutes before my class midterm) I received a call from a nurse stating that my numbers were low and that I needed to wait two weeks and come back in for more testing. At that very moment I knew it was over. I’ve never been asked to wait two weeks to confirm results. I felt like they knew that I would lose it before then. The next day I started spotting and on Wednesday I experienced the loss. Luckily Glen and I had a lot of support and prayers from our friends. My friend Cathie experienced a loss of her own and when I told her about mine, she told me some things that really helped me find closure. When you experience a loss you will always think of the “could have been” but you have to learn not to dwell on it and to accept it. That little baby will always be in our hearts but we have found peace with it.
Although this year presented some challenges, the Charron’s are ending 2012 on a high note.
Glen has a new job testing (wrecking) train cars into one another that he loves. What man wouldn’t love that? He’s also writing lots of music and is a part of a great new band. He’s having a lot of fun with it! He’s been into watch BBQ competitions on television lately and made a mock-smoker with our current charcoal grill. He made ribs in case you were wondering.
I have a new job in the Human Resources department at a large Credit Union. I love my new job! The perks and benefits are great and I really feel like I’m valuable to this company. I’m being challenged in many ways and learning a lot which leaves me exhausted at the end of the day but I love it! I earned a “B” in my very first back-to-school college class, Sociology. So, it’s no “A” but I worked really, really hard in this class and considering that I hit some personal life “bumps” in the way, I feel very proud to be walking away with a “B”. Not only that but this class was not easy! Our professor wrote our textbook and had very high expectations. I felt very challenged with the material and the tests. I didn’t do well on my Mid-term (cramming for a test is not my strength) but I did amazingly well on my class final. At this point, I’m going to take a small break and wait for my tuition reimbursement benefits to kick in before I take more classes.
My photography business is doing great! Actually, it’s a little too great. I have a pretty significant waiting list for clients and am very busy on the weekend taking photographing babies and small children. I absolutely love it but a full time job, school, being a Mom and a house keeper and owning and running a small business is exhausting. It even sounds exhausting! At this point I’m scaling back slightly and focusing my efforts on infant photography. I also took two photography classes over the fall and have come a long way in my abilities. I now only shoot in manual and I use my camera to the best of its ability. I’ve also been incorporating more creativity into my photo sessions and rely on skill and talent over editing software which, I believe, helps me stand apart from other photographers.
We are all happy and healthy and ready for more positivity in the new year.
Wyatt is doing very well. He has an amazing little personality and is soaking up information like a sponge. The other day we were playing with blocks and he picked up the circle block and said “circle”. This this morning when I was putting on his shoes I said “one” and he said “two”. I’m completely amazed with his vocabulary and word association. He can now do his ring stacker all by himself and in the correct order. He can also put the blocks into the shape sorter. He stacks blocks and make towers and then knocks them down. He loves to climb on things, dance and sing. On his most recent school evaluation he mastered all of the 12-18 month skills and many of the 18-24 month skills. The only thing that we sometimes struggle with is his tendency to be shy at times. Mornings are difficult when we arrive at school. I put him down and he hugs onto my legs and whines. When he moves to different class rooms he sometimes clings to the teachers or has a hard few days adjusting. He can be shy but he’s not always shy. He’s usually very pleasant and happy. He loves to give hugs. He will even chase his favorite teachers around just so he can give them a hug. He says “Hi” and “Bye” to his classmates and is starting to play with them more.
Wyatt is very affectionate and loves to sit in our laps. He will be across the room and start “backing up” into your lap from across the room (it’s hilarious to watch). He will bring us books and puzzles and sit in our laps signaling that he wants us to play with him. He pushes little cars across the couch and says “vroom vroom”. He likes to hid things. I’m always finding random things in my shoes and bag. He loves to put my shoes and take them off. When I wiggle my toes he laughs. He also loves to play dress up. He takes socks out of the hamper and tries to stretch them to fit his head. He also likes to wrap scarves around his neck.
He’s a little comedian too! Glen and I don’t miss television at all because we have our own entertainment by watch him. A few weeks ago he laid on his stomach, on his arms, with his butt in the air and his head on the carpet to the side (like most toddlers like to sleep). Then he slithered across the room like a slug. Then when he slithered into the fire place he said “uh-oh”. It was so funny. Glen and I were laughing so hard that we were crying. Then he kept doing it to make us laugh.
We don’t watch much television but when we do Wyatt likes to watch Barney. He loves to sing, dance and clap along to the songs sung by the giant purple dinosaur. He also loves to watch Eebee Baby. If you’re over the age of two, it’s possibly the most boring thing you’ll ever watch but if you are a toddler, it’s like baby crack. It’s a show of a baby puppet that does baby things. Like rolling a ball, flipping light switches on and off, playing with cheerios (fill and spill), splashing water, etc. That’s all it is for an hour. There’s not much talking or singing just watching a baby puppet do baby activities. He will also watch concerts on TV. He really likes the Queen/Freddy Mercury concert.
At sixteen months Wyatt now has twelve teeth and is almost twenty pounds. He wears size four shoes and twelve month clothing. His hair is long, fine, straight and soft. His eyes are still grey with brown centers and they sparkle in the sun light. He looks really good in Red and bright colors like cobalt blue.
Wyatt can be a picky eater. He likes peaches, pears, apple sauce and loves bananas. He will out eat you in a pancake or waffle eating competition (trust me on this!). He loves sausage, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, turkey, spaghetti, roast beef, hamburgers, bread, peanut butter and peas. He also loves sweets. Sometimes as a treat we give him chocolate milk or a cookie. He’s now pretty familiar with cookies and when I’m baking he says “cookie”.
Every day is a new adventure and we can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for us!
Photo Dump!
Wyatt's Halloween Costume
I love my pumpkin!
My Pumpkin in a Pumpkin, 2012
