2015 At An End

As the years pass it's harder to summeraize all that has occurred in a year since it seems like it had barely begun. We tend to look at the old posts and reminisce of things past and record our greatests memories and achievements. Here's our belated post on 2015.

Leora is officially walking and walks EVERYWHERE! Even when we go to the park she insists on walking as much as possible which often means we get there halfway through playtime, but she is proud as ever of herself. If she can snag one of us on the way up or down the stairs, she attempts that too which makes me positive she'll be chasing down her siblings in no time. Her comprehension of communication is rather amazing to us. Early on she learned to sign and now approximates words which means we will have another chatter bug soon.

Eli at PT with Ms Beth.
While Eli is unable to reply as to his biggest accomplishment, I think he would agree that it is preschool. It took several weeks with many tears for him to adjust and now it is something he looks forward to. After a busy morning of errands I can tell him that the afternoon is school and he smiles and claps his hands. The projects he brings home I will ask him about, "Did you color this?" and he gives a definate nod and points proudly to parts of his work. He is verbalizing more and has made some leaps and bounds with his newest SLP Ms. Colleen. We work on things daily and without much of a fight. It's hard for him, but he has a desire to communicate and is willing to put forth the practice. You can't say that of too many 3 yr olds!

When I asked Keila she answered without hesitation, "Swimming the length of the pool in a swim meet!" I have to agree one hundred percent. It's one thing to deal with the anxiety of things that you have no choice but to do, it's another to choose to face a fear and utilize your learned skills to overcome the challenge. She is by no means over her anxiety, but she has practiced dealing with it in a powerful way and found a sense of pride and confidence that was not there before. She has also learned to enjoy school a little more. Mornings can still be hard but once she's there she does well academically and socially and her teacher says she is a joy to have in class.

Isaac has demonstrated a growing awarenss of choices and consequences which is part of the promises he made when he was baptized earlier this year. When things moods are swinging and little ones are easily agitated, I can ask him what he thinks the Lord would have him do and he often makes better choices which makes us proud of him. After all, what more does a parent hope to see then that their child will learn to make the right choices for themselves. He is also finally able to claim he is a real reader! Just like his mother, he devours books and because he's grown to love it, his reading level surpasses his grade. It was such a struggle at first to learn but now that he's over that hump there's nothing to stop him! Ocassionally we chuckle when words like Obsidian are pronounced "absurdian" but for the most part my energy is now spent going to the library weekly to check out 4-5 more books for his voracious appetite!

I am proud to say I am surviving four children! As long as I get some regular exercise in I am able to maintain the household, all our many activities and amazingly enough, not yell - too much! In all seriousness, it is nice to have found a rhythm that works for us and I can in sincerity say I love this role of a mother! In addition I've taken a few classes to better understand the educational challenges we might face with Eli as he gets older. I am now better armed for his next IEP meeting and to begin potty training. It will be a long haul but I'm excited to see what I will learn this next year. Our children are our greatest teachers! My free time is spend snuggling quickly growing children, reading and cooking. The kids are never quite sure what new dish I will try for the week but we are developing a varied palate!

Kent celebrating his 'Super Dad' birthday for 2015.
Kent spent part of his year considering another job that might put us closer to his side of family. In the end we decided otherwise due to finacial obligations. That being said, he took a course on trusts and has begun to really put our finacial plans into place. There are the typical concerns of retirement, education for the kids, etc. but we have the added weight of unexpected medical costs as well as planning for a future for Eli. There's a sense of peace in knowing we are doing all we can for future. Aside from regular wrestling sessions with the munchkins, he still has a nice garden to add to our dinners and has made some good friends and now has regular guy's nights. Life is good!

We are so grateful for all the blessings of this last year. Life is truely busy, crazy, unexpected and wonderful all at once. We wouldn't have it any other way! Bring on 2016!

Fond Farwell to 2014

It's time yet again to say farewell to a wonderful year! Here is a small list of our blessings of 2014.

Leora was born - which is a huge achievement in and of itself much less her daily survival among the smothering loving of her three other siblings. The furrowing of her brows is indirect relation to the sibling closest to her view and she sits most contently in the quiet of her swing - a blessing for which Mama is profoundly grateful for. She's a tough cookie and we can already tell she will hold her own nicely when she can stand on two feet. Her favorite things are sucking on her lower lip, milk and snuggles, especially at night when she can command the attention of her parents with her darling coos and ear to ear grins.

Elias list of achievements is long as he began the year learning to walk. Since then he's quickly learned to run (and practices it frequently on his parents much to their dismay) can walk up and down the stairs holding the rail and even jump off the ground with two feet. His skills in sign language have progressed by leaps and bounds since the show Signing Time is the only thing that will have him sit still for more than 10 mins. He is frequently surprising people with the new signs he has picked up from the show and loves the power it gives him. He loves music and dancing and will break out his moves just for the joy of music. He amazes us with his persistence and we look forward to seeing what else he will achieve in the future.

Keila will forever remember this as the year her baby sister arrived. Since before Eli was born she's known about Leora and drawn her in her pictures of family. She told us there was one more and she was right. Her achievements this year are measured in her heart as she has worked on facing her fears and consequently found a love of learning, preschool and the joy of new found friends. She loves girl time with Mama ( her favorite being the pedicure at a 'real spa place'), learning about bugs and other living creatures, helping out around the house and of course her baby sister. She is always willing to watch her and will chat endlessly to her about everything under the sun. They are the best of friends!

Isaac is our math/science loving first grader. He is proud to be able to read all on his own and we love that he will practice it in reading to his siblings. In addition, he swam in the preliminary meets for the district. While he did not make the final cut we are so proud that he improved so much and found joy in working hard. He's begun finding creative outlets with all things normally considered junk through a show called Artzooka and amazes us with the things does make. He's and engineer at heart! He loves pokemon, spending time with Baba, playing games of all sorts. He had a particular fascination with chess and even request to be a chessboard this years for Halloween. Thankfully he gave plenty of notice and Mama was able to whip something up. One thing is for certain, this boy is anything but typical!

Kent finally feels more at home in the management department finds great fulfillment there. Last years project of a moveable garden cart has been a success and he had proudly provided us with beautiful fresh kale, bok choy, beets, okra and even a little broccoli. His current project is a large sandbox on the side of the house that he hopes will be a great outlet for Isaac and Eli. The skills from this may lead to bis dream of a raised garden bed lining the edges of our backyard. The kids love him to pieces and one or two always jump up to greeting when they hear the garage door open. Nothing tops off the night better than a wrestling match of kids against Baba and we pray he'll survive long enough for Leora to join in on the fray!

Flo survived another pregnancy without the entire house falling down around her. She is proud to say she is managing the obstacle course of four children and being somewhat sane. (Though the general consensus is that sanity is overrated) she is currently working on maneuvering through the education system for special needs kids and has begun a blog for the Sharing Down Syndrome Westside chapter. She adores her four munchkins and finds so much learning and growth in meeting each one of their unique needs and personalities.

2014 has been a great year full of surprises. We love the friends and family that have been apart of it and look forward to the adventures of 2015. Happy New Year everyone!

Recap of 2013

We come again to the close of another year! Here are the highlights of 2013:

Kent is ALL about management this last year! He moved from being the senior manager of the pharmacy department to the director and while it was a planned move, it was not expected for at least another year. His boss retired early and so with only a little over a years experience in management he moved on. It's been a steep learning curve for him with lots of growth but its also been difficult to balance with home life and personal progress. To make all of it a little more efficient, Kent decided to bike to work for a few days. He calculated it to be about a 17 mile ride which took him 80 mins. His energy was great and the limited daylight hours was incentive to get home earlier which made everyone at home happy but alas it is not a realistic ideal but he is glad to have found a new hobby. He also oversees the rental of our old house and the settling in of the new home. He has engineered his own mobile garden (a garden in boxes on wheels which can be used to maximize/minimize sunlight for year round gardening) which he hopes to get started in the spring and in the process had fun with a little wood working. He and the children made some wood Santa ornaments for the tree and they enjoyed it so much he hopes to do more.

Flo continues to find growth and joy in her role as a mother. In addition to the usual jobs of house cleaner, decorator (we bought a new home), taxi driver, teacher, mediator, cook ... (Perhaps it might be easier if the list were of things she didn't do!) she took on the challenge of fundraising for Sharing Down Syndrome of AZ. It was a labor intensive process but was gratified to see nearly $500 raised by September. She hopes to begin doing it year round by selling cute sugar scrubs and handmade soaps. She also visited Washington DC for the first time for a little R&R from her duties and was replenished by the experience to find a better sense of balance. Weight lifting and running have become part of the regular schedule again and it is the general consensus that a healthy Mama is a happy Mama!

Isaac began kindergarten this year and now has a wonderful outlet for all his enthusiasm and energy. Here he is with a family friend goofing off. He loves math and has begun to use his skills in understanding money, enough so that he budgeted and bought Christmas gifts for the family and a simple toy for himself. He was so proud to watch us open our gifts! During the summer Isaac joined the Bellair swim team. It took a lot of courage to dive let alone compete but it's been a powerful experience for him. He's grown to be quite the helper with Eli and the giggles between them tell us they'll be the best of buds as they grow up!

Keila has a charm of her own! She is very much an introvert but when she's comfortable can chatter a mile a minute in her adorable voice. A doctor once told me we ought to patent her voice because he found it so cute! One of the things she'll chatter on about are bugs, "the cute little fellas" and is a stanch protecter of them. she stands guard and shrieks at you if she should come close to stepping on them. She loves time with her Mama and especially spa time. She's already asked if she can use cucumber on her eyes the next time we do it! There's a bit of a love hate relationship between her and Eli but when a stranger comes along she is as protective of her baby brother as she is of bugs. Adule or child- you better watch out for her wrath if you mess with him!

Elias has grown much in this last year! He finally got some teeth in that little mouth of his and went from army crawling rapidly to crawling on his hands and knees. His physical therapist says he will be walking as soon as he gets the confidence to try on his own. He's taken quickly to sign language and can tell us word like: more, please, finished, wash hands, bath time, nap time, up, down, bye-bye and thank you. He LOVES music and has developed his own sign for it. Anytime he hears something he likes he begins to do what we fondly call, "the Bubby dance" by wiggling his little bottom and or swaying side to side. He insists on music while he does therapies and will stop in the middle of work to get his musical toy going again before he continues! We wonder if years down the road we'll see him in the center of a dance floor as the life of the party!

We are so grateful as a family for each other and the friends and family we find in our lives. Most of all we are grateful to The Lord and all the blessings He gives us daily. Happy New Year to you all and may His Spirit stay with us through into the new year! Welcome 2014!

Farwell 2012

Thus we are at the close of another year. We are all a little older, some taller, some rounder and hopefully wiser. It's been an eventful year but with all it's ups and downs we found much to be grateful for.

Elias turned 9 months old on Christmas Day! He is as darling as ever. In fact, as a precaution to kissing attacks and faux hawk rubbing he has taken to wearing his specialized helmet. You must schedule for snuggle time in the evenings and early morning feeds which Mama has first priority over. He loves to chat, deep long conversations anytime when his older siblings are not about - typically late at night or early in the morning. He can sit up on is own for a good amount of time and loves food and feeding himself. He is often found using his charm on his parents to taste everything from ice cream to chocolate which I'm sure his siblings feel a great deal of injustice over. Alas, it is hard to be born of pure Cutonium and the youngest!

Keila is our ever precocious girl. She started her first year of preschool and takes great pride in HER own friends. She was recently invited to her very first birthday party where she had fun introducing me to her little group and telling me all about them. She loves all things beautiful, jewelry, shoes, clothes, and music. Se loves to break out in song at random times and "shake her bottom" (as she calls it) and if you let her she'll have you dancing alongside. Despite this, she is a true introvert at heart and loves nothing better than one and one time with mom or dad, snuggling, reading or simply chatting in her cute little toddler voice. Who knew there was so much to say at the age of three!

Isaac is five and finishing his last year at preschool. He is very proud of the fact that he can do simple sums and sound out small words. He is forever creating his own books and has quite a portfolio of work with regards to Angry Birds. Should they EVER run out of ideas for this popular game, Isaac will be ready with resume in hand to apply for a job! He's becoming more and more of a gentlemen every day and will hold open the doors for everyone nearby. Along with this he's developed other skills such as tying his shoelaces and cooking simple microwave meals.

Flo has reached even greater levels of efficiency this year as she juggles two children in preschool, one with weekly therapy and doctor appointments as well as a permanent aide position at the preschool two days a week. On the side she is earning degrees from the University of Life in 'medicine in children with Down syndrome' as well as 'how to cut through government agency and insurance companies red tape'. While these degrees are not recognized nationally, she feels confident they will come in handy for future use. Amid all this she is grateful for her children who help her keep life in perspective and always provide laughs daily.

Kent felt he needed more excitement in life and changed his hat if you will multiple times this year. He moved from being a ICU pharmacist to managing them. According to Isaac this means he "watches them and tells them what to do" which Isaac feels is boring. Dull or not, management suits Kent and he is seriously considering doing an MBA. Who knew you needed a degree to do that well! ;0). Just a few weeks ago he was released from his calling as a Scoutmaster. After three and a half years of working with the boys he finds he's a little sad at the loss of the calling, after all where will he get the best stories to tell! On the other hand he is grateful to have more time to pursue projects at home and play time with the kids.

We are grateful for the growth we've experienced this year as individuals and as a family. We are also mindful of the blessings we receive from the Lord daily and are optimistic for 2013. Happy new year everyone!

Another Year Gone - 2011

It is time yet again to bid farewell to another year. While we were greatly sadden at the loss of Kent's mom early in the year, we have also be blessed with much growth and love. Here is the latest and greatest on the Montierth family.



Kent spent the first part of the year happily strolling along in life with a good handle on his calling as a Scoutmaster and his job as a clinical pharmacist. It seems he was too content and the Lord gave him a nudge in another direction. Through the urgings of his boss, he applied for a management position over the staffing pharmacists in the hospital and got the job. We were told in advance that the individual in that position would moved into the clinical management job in 2-3 years time. As such Kent needed to obtain an MBA to qualify. So the last 2 months of the year has been spent at a much more frenetic pace as he works out the new responsibilities of this job, continues his position as a clinical pharmacist until it is filled by someone else and prepares to take MBA courses starting in August of 2012. See what happens when you're too content?! ;0)



As a wife and a mother, Flo takes all things in stride (albeit a crazy one!) and manages to juggle Isaac at preschool, volunteering at the preschool so Keila gets free playroom time, decorating Keila's bedroom, managing her calling at church as a visiting teaching coordinator, exercising and thus far completing 2 sprint triathlons. For the last few months she's been wearily holding up the pregnancy of the third child in her old age. ;0) She has only one real goal for 2012, and that is to simply keep her head above water with a husband working and doing an MBA, one child in kindergarten, one in preschool and a newborn. If there are no restrictions placed on the level of sanity need, then she feels confidant she will accomplish the task!



Isaac is in his second year of preschool. He has a sharp little mind and loves the interactions with his friends. With some daily urging from his mom, he's begun to sound out words and read a few books to Keila. His imaginative mind has busily creating all sorts of contraptions from anything that isn't nailed down and finds great pleasure in his newest toy - Lego's. They may have just earned themselves an advocate for life! He is a sensitive and responsible boy - a big helper around the house and will often get a wet rag wipe down doors, walls and floors whenever he sees his Mama is busy cleaning.



If there ever was a toddler moving fully into a young lady/princess, it is Keila. She is all about things that are feminine and beautiful. Having just put up a full lenght mirror in one of the bedrooms, Flo and Kent caught her admiring her reflection and even turning around to gaze at her backside! Apparently this is an inborn skill! Her chatter is all about what princesses do and do not do as well as lengthy conversations on wisdom that Isaac often imparts. She has a very lady-like way to getting your attention by simply placing her dimpled hand on your mouth and telling you, "Hush, hush!" She LOVES to dress up, color, paint and 'decorate' as well as play with her friends from the playroom.

Montierth #3 is due sometime in April. We do not know the gender of this child yet (rest assured we will keep you posted) but it will be unveiled at a small party in just a few days. We are all excited for this new addition and the adventures he/she will bring to our small family.

We are grateful for the many blessings of this last year and for all the friends and family that made it memorable. Here's to a new year and a clean slate with more joys to come!

The Best of 2010

Happy New Year everyone! As usual, we like to recap on this past year of 2010.



Kent successfully transitioned from his job at Maricopa Hospital to Banner Estrella. While it was taxing at times to move to a job that wasn't on call and as intense, Kent has overcome his frenetic pace and enjoys having more time to himself! ;0) This has allowed him to focus more on family as well as his calling in church - Scoutmaster. He can now proudly say he thinks he has more of a hold on his calling - rather than the other way around! Due in part to Flo's efforts at learning how to swim, Kent has been bit by the exercise bug - particularly in swimming. From it is born a rather pleasing side note, he's lost a lot of weight.



Speaking of Flo she is learning how children can push her to grow. Isaac inquired of her during the summer why it was she didn't swim, needing to lead by example, she decided to overcome her fear of water and took some lessons. The dedication to this weakness has resulted in the insane idea of doing a triathlon in May. Thus at 5:30am she can be found at the gym, swimming, running and cycling. She also endeavored to conquer the plain and austere feeling of her home and began decorating the rooms, painting walls and garage sale finds as well as adding pictures and decor. Just recently she finished a quilt for Isaac, one sewn by her entirely - both by hand and by machine - that Isaac proudly displays. On the side, she cooks, cleans, volunteers at the preschool and did her calling as a ward missionary (recently released) - her personal attempt at being superwoman!



Isaac is growing by leaps and bounds. He is totally potty trained, both night at day. This has enabled him to start preschool which he LOVES!!! Holidays and breaks have become 'trying' on him as he dearly misses his friends, in particular a girl named Keirly whom he's often holding hands with and Maxwell, his digging partner. He can now spell his name, write the letters, and loves to guess at the first letters of words he hears. He his a huge help around the house and particularly with Keila since he keenly feels his duty to 'teach her' what he knows. This can be difficult at times for a little girl. Luckily she adores her brother. Isaac recently got a tool set that he proudly uses to fix everything and anything he sees. When real fixing needs to be done he is there by Kent's side asking a million questions and grunting as all handymen do!



Keila is as darling as ever, and she knows it! She has a way of snuggling, smiling and giggling that tends to wrap people right around her little finger. She is walking and has a good waddle run that helps her keep up with her brother. She tends to use sign language more than words, unless she feels an urgent need to communicate - such as in the case of chocolate! At such times she can loudly say 'Tree?' (for treat) and 'Chalket' for chocolate while vigorously rubbing her belly for the sign of please. The household is kept on their toes for her curious little fingers can be found in everything. She tends to shadow Flo and mimic her as much as possible. We hope this all pays off when she takes over the cooking for the family!

We're grateful for all that 2010 has brought us and excited for the following year. May the Lord's blessing be with you all. Happy New Year!

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everyone! Our family has had an eventful year and we want to thank everyone who's played a part in our adventures!



Kent has performed the great balancing act of this year. He completed his residency in Albuquerque in June, then moved on to Houston at MD Anderson. Due to the unexpected death of his father and the numerous stresses of a residency, he decided to leave early and found the 'dream job' in Phoenix, AZ at Maricopa Hospital. He enjoys the full income that comes of being a pharmacist and finds his biggest task is to regain his life! For those who don't know, residencies are designed to cram in 2 or 3 years of work experience into one thus leaving very little time to breath! The new freedom (and breathing time) has him spending it with Isaac and Flo as well as developing new hobbies. He purchased a Canon Rebel (digital slr camera) and is learning the fine art of photography. This small and sometimes intrusive contraption goes everywhere and is now fondly thought of as a 'second wife' by Flo.



Flo has grown into her role as a mother this last year. She is learning to find the balance between homemaking and playing with a child and in so doing, has discovered new levels of multi-tasking and organizing. The art of moving has been perfected to a science by her, and she is relieved to know that June of 2009 will bring the last move for a few years. (We move back into our house in Glendale) Besides cleaning, cooking, laundry, playing with Isaac, church callings, keeping the general household sane, she has a few hobbies. Her latest projects and hobbies include reading, writing, trying new recipes, a FHE laminated activity book as well as the two blogs she manages. We are also happy to announce that we found out 2 weeks ago that she is pregnant. Prior to Isaac she had a few miscarriages, but we are hopeful that this one takes since she's experiencing so much nausea!



Isaac is 18 months old now. It is hard to believe that time has gone by so quickly. He is as active as ever and loves reading, playing with stickers, pretending to cook, collecting rocks, listening to music, dancing, pushing buttons of all kinds, and making new friends - especially when they are girls! Heaven help his parents when he gets older! His vocabulary has increased dramatically in the last 2 months with favorite words being Isaac, purple, blackberry, blue, nut, tall, and "ho,ho, ho". He had his first real adventures with refined sugar so there will be no turning back no matter what his Mama does. His cautious but inquisitive nature and sweet disposition bring joy to his parents life.

We've survived 3 moves, 3 different states, one hurricane, a family member passing, and the day to day battles of living. We are so grateful to all the friends and family that have helped us in our adventure this year. Most of all we are grateful to the Savior and his mercy and goodness. All the changes we went through this year turned into blessings in His hand. We love this season when we celebrate his birth and life, may Christ's Spirit rest with you all for the coming year.