We have had a great year and are enjoying life. This year we ended the summer by taking a family vacation to Yosemite to attend the Strawberry Music Festival. We heard some great bluegrass music and loved having Grandma and Grandpa Padgett with us. Many would say we were crazy to take four small children camping, and they'd probably be right, but a great time was had by all anyways:)
For a few years now, Jason has been searching for a fun family car and finally came upon "the one". It's a 1968 Mercury Commuter (station wagon). The previous owner took great care of it but we are glad there are still a few things Jason can work on with the kids. The kids adore riding in it and Liam calls it, "Daddy car. Varooom!" (It's so loud you FEEL the sound of it a block away!) This year Jason switched his specialty in the Army to Simulations and he is excited to begin working in this field. In November he was promoted to Major and we are very proud of his hard work, service to his country and diligence in providing for his family. It was wonderful that we live close to family and so many could come enjoy the promotion ceremony with us. As a promotion gift to Jason, his wife and father, wanted to honor the long tradition of military service in Jason's family. To do so, they had the names of Jason, his father and his grandfathers inscribed on a plaque at the Verteran's Plaza in his hometown, Simi Valley, CA.
Natalie has learned a lot this year about depending on others and is especially grateful for the generosity and kind heart of her mother. With the long pregnancy and birth of our 4th child there have been many physical challenges for her this year. Grandma Barbara became a permanent fixture at the Fort Irwin home for a while and we are very grateful for her loving service to our family. Thankfully the challenges are quickly fading and Natalie is looking forward to feeling, and looking, "normal" this next year:) Natalie has also learned how much she missed creativity in her life. She was able to attend a High School Choir Reunion and enjoy good friends, good music, and good times! After a two year break, she has recently renewed her interest in paper crafting and cooking. She blogs her creations at findingmystamp.blogspot.com and findingmyrecipes.blogspot.com. Her newest creative outlet has been digital scrapbooking. As she is not technically inclined, it was difficult to get started. She entered a contest to motivate herself to try this new medium. After submitting the first two projects she made, Natalie became a finalist in the contest. It was very exciting for her to achieve something in this new field of self discovery. She has also begun working with the Young Women's (Youth) program at her Fort Irwin church group and thankfully is enjoying it. However, no matter what is going on, her favorite thing to be is "Mom". It's a messy, stinky, and exhausting road to the most precious filled moments life has to offer her. Good thing she loves every minute.
Ilana is in the 4th grade and doing great. She enjoys school and continues to have an adventurous and sweet personality. She began playing the trumpet with her school band and also joined Girl Scouts, something she has wanted to do for a while now. This summer she took Tae Kwon Do lessons and ice hockey lessons. Yes, ice hockey, not ice skating. She revels in being a tom boy. She also took swimming lessons and was able to pass the level she was at by swimming the length of the pool and back without a break. Next year she wants to try horse back riding. She is a fantastic helper with her three brothers and we are so grateful she is apart of our family.
Jackson's exuberant personality continues to delight and surprise us at every turn, and then some. Natalie is convinced he will single-handedly make her into a great mother some day, whether she wants him to or not. Jack is in 1st grade and extremely verbal, thankfully this is what his teacher likes most about him. He continues to dream of being an inventor and we believe he will make it come true some day. He loves non-fiction, bugs and the sciences. His curiosity is taking him places and we continue to channel his amazing amount of energy into positive avenues. May the force be with us!
Liam began this year as our sweet little "yes" man. He would do anything we asked with a skip in his step. He is ending 2011 as our sweet little "no" man. He is a full blown toddler with the immediate "no" response going strong. We have found that if he says "no" to doing something, we simply have to ask one of the other kids to do it and he jumps right up to take care of the issue. Ah, the power of sibling rivalry at it's best. He really does still love to "help" (why yes, that is the bottom dishwasher rack he is "driving" around the living room), but of course it has to be his idea. He does dishes, sanitary waste removal and laundry quite often. Natalie is grateful for his "help" no matter how long he makes it take. Liam has shown a natural tendency to tease at a very early age but thankfully also shows a caring side. When the kids are in trouble or hurt he runs over to make sure they are okay then badgers the Mom until she checks on them. He adores all things horses, trains, corn on the cob and Cinderella (there is a horse in the movie). We look forward to the delight, or possible trauma, of his first Disneyland experience.
Greyson Xavier joined our family in April and has been an absolute delight. He was 9 pounds 9 ounces and has continued to be our biggest baby by far. At 8 months old he is wearing 18 month clothes. Ilana has nicknamed him "peanut" because he is so cute but "tank" might be a better descriptive. He is easy going and smiles at any little attention from the bigger kids. Thankfully no one was jealous of Grey when he was born, even Liam, and he has fit into this group like a champ. He fills our days with sunshine and nights with a good sound sleep. He has his two bottom teeth and is beginning to crawl and explore his surroundings. Watch out world.
We have enjoyed our time in California near family and we look forward to one more year here. Then it is off on another Army adventure. We are grateful for the experiences and employment the Army has afforded us. No one wishes for peace more than those called into battle. During this new year, we hope for peace in your homes, our countries and abroad. (Yes, I said it, World Peace:)
With much love, The Cannon Family
Jason, Natalie, Ilana, Jackson, Liam and Greyson
