State of the Family 2015

Okay, so the whole 'blogging more' resolution totally didn't happen. I'm no better than the folks that start out January 1st running for exercise and quit within a week. Maybe worse. Oh well.

2014 was another year of transition for us. Kyla left Dell Children's Hospital mid-year and picked up part-time work at Austin Diagnostic Clinic on some weekend days. Kyla is able to stay home with Jaedyn during the week, and then either I or Kyla's mom takes care of her on weekend days that she's at work. So far it's working out great, but Kyla is looking to increase her hours at ADC (and it's looking like that's going to happen early next year). We've signed Jaedyn up for part-time daycare with a flexible start date, so we'll be prepared when that happens.

I have been enjoying being done with school and being able to focus on work. I left my full-time position after 1 year and took a position with Apple here in Austin. It's been a bit of an adjustment working for a huge corporation, but it's a great resume builder and valuable experience. I'm a contractor though and don't get the precious Apple employee discount, so nobody ask me if I can get them cheap Apple merchandise (believe me, I'm as bummed as you are).

Jaedyn is over one and a half. She's walking (running!) and learning new words. It's amazing how much she understands. I'm enjoying this age tremendously even though she can be a handful. I made the following video for Grandparents Day that sums things up pretty well.

And here she is at Halloween in the panda costume Kyla made for her:

State of the Family 2014

2013 was a crazy year for us.

Kyla finished her Master's of Science in Nursing degree just days after giving birth to our first child, Jaedyn Amara Carlson. She received her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certification in the summer. She's still working at Dell Children's Hospital part-time and is starting another part-time gig as a PNP at another clinic here in Austin for a few days a month. We are grateful that she is in a position to spend most days with the baby. On days that she is away and I'm onsite with a client, we have a nanny part-time that is working out great.

I finally graduated with his Communication (Graphic) Design degree after 12 long years of [mostly part-time] school. About three weeks before Jaedyn was born and just finishing up my final semester, I tore my ACL playing soccer. Two days later, our house guest tore his ACL as well. So poor Kyla was nine months pregnant and having to wait hand and foot on two gimps. Luckily, I was able get to the point of walking by the time the baby was born. I had my ACL surgery a couple weeks after. This time my parents were staying with us to help take care of me during my recovery while Kyla took care of our brand new baby. If that weren't enough, I got gallstones just before Thanksgiving and had to have them removed. With school out of the way, I've had more time to focus on my business, which has kept me very busy.

Needless to say, we're looking forward to taking it a little easier in 2014. We can't wait to see Jaedyn grow and learn. She's almost crawling, so we'll be dealing with her being more mobile. Kyla hopes to get a half-time job that utilizes her new credentials so she can keep spending time with the baby. I am happily contracting full-time and look forward to seeing what new opportunities this year brings.

And yes, we are going to try to post more on this blog this year.