Want to Be Scared?

1, 2, 3, Jump

Wednesday was Mikey and Roger's last swimming lesson (at least until March). I decided to take a little break from swimming lessons because it's just too much. Not too much money, nor time for it is only half-an-hour twice a week. But you try to get four kids fed, dressed, in the car (with shoes and coats), to the rec center, into the locker room, out of their street clothes, and into the pool by 9:15 in the morning. Then, after going through all that, I am not content to have them swim for 30 minutes, so after class we swim until 11, then I take the kids into the locker room, into a shower room, shower and wash all the kids, dry them off, put their clothes on, put their shoes and coats on, take them out to the car (which in itself is extremely difficult - I only have two hands), bring them home, have them sit up to the table to eat lunch as I try to clean up breakfast and make lunch, all while at least one child is crying and throwing a fit during one or more of those things. Sometimes it is just too much.

But even though it is a lot of work, it is definitely worth it. The boys love swimming, and have really improved a lot. They are swimming with their faces down in the water - before they would freak out if they would get their faces splashed with water in the tub, something that happens many times to each kid during bathtime. Mikey still doesn't quite like the splashing, but he tolerates it.

The first day of swimming they had no concept of staying in line, they held hands the entire time, definitely didn't put their faces in the water, and kept on letting go of the edge of the pool during instruction time. Now they understand and obey line etiquette, are becoming more independent of eachother (even though Mikey will usually make sure that they are standing by eachother), and obeying most of the instructions given them.

Miss Ruth, their teacher, is so amazing. She makes a special connection with each child. She teases Mikey by calling him "Mickey" and even though it started out as an honest mistake, they have fun with it. Mikey's had to work harder on swimming because he can touch the bottom of the pool (barely) so at times it is easier for him to just have his face out of the water and be standing than it is to swim. When I practice with him afterwards I will compliment him on the skills he has improved on, and he loves it when I tell him that his daddy will be so impressed. He can swim from one end of the pool to the other, even with his face in the water.

Because he's not as tall, has great physical coordination, and is fearless, Roger is a natural at swimming. He is a very quick learner, even though he often gets distracted from the lesson. Even though he will disobey because he is distracted, Miss Ruth has never been mean or unforgiving of him. She celebrates him and who he is, and he loves her in return.

The boys' favorite thing about swim class (besides Miss Ruth) is Jumping. They love to jump in the water. On special days they are allowed to jump off the diving platform. They will usually have a water noodle to jump to, but Mikey insists on not needing the noodle, and he jumps in and swims over to the edge with no problems. Roger has everyone's attention when he jumps in. He loves it so much, and has absolutely no fear. He tells Miss Ruth, "I'm going to do a Big Boy Jump!" then he'll jump. While in the air he'll spread his legs out, then once under the water, he'll swim over to Miss Ruth.

Todd's dad once said, "I could see your kids excelling in the more non-traditional sports". Like swimming and sledding?

Weird

After lunch I told the boys that we would be having story time, then go down for a nap after I was done cleaning the kitchen. They soon disappeared and I finished cleaning up.
I then walked upstairs to find that Mikey, Roger, and William were all in their beds, and quietly trying to fall asleep.
I feel like I'm in some one else's home.

Class of 2022

I went to a Kindergarten Registration Information meeting. All I can say is, "Who's child is starting school?" I swear none of my kids are old enough, but apparently yesterday Mikey was a baby and today he's getting ready for Kindergarten. I have to admit that during the meeting I did get a little choked up (I know, shocker for those who know how often I get emotional) when I realized that Mikey really is not a baby anymore.

Mikey is getting so grown up. He gets dressed by himself, won't even let me come in his room in the morning until he's dressed. He does not like to spend much time in his pajamas (which are NOT PJ's, he can't figure out what LeNae is talking about when she says PJ's, hehe). The moment he wakes up he changes into his clothes. He's brushing his teeth all by himself, even getting the toothpaste on the toothbrush.

He has been super helpful. He cleans his room by himself, fetches diapers and wipes for me, will sit and feed Grant his bottle. When I vacuum, he gets everything out of the way for me. In Joy School a few weeks ago we introduced the "Gunny Bag" (a pillowcase that eats all the toys not put away). Since then, Mikey has been so good about cleaning up the toyroom before each meal so that "Gunny Bag" won't eat his toys.

The only thing I can complain about is that Mikey has been enjoying teasing his brothers just a little too much (and you can only imagine how upset Roger gets when he is teased, can't say I don't blame Mikey, it is kind of fun). But he is still great with his brothers. Just today William tried attacking Mikey (William is very use to getting his way), and even though William was letting the fists fly and was attempting to tackle Mikey, Mikey just put up his hands to shield himself while waiting patiently for me to intervene.

So, this fall I may be one of the only mothers who didn't shed a tear when any of her four children were born, but cry like a baby when her oldest starts kindergarten. I've gotten soft.

Julia, Julia, Where art thou, Julia?

As I was putting Roger to bed, I started scratching his head while I asked him which song he wanted me to sing. He usually has me make up a song about one of his toys. Tonight he said, "The Julia song"
"The Julia song"? Who's Julia?
"She's at his house" (We're still working on the his/her thing)
"Do you mean Julia, Elizabeth's sister?"
"Ya"

Today Joy School was at Elizabeth's house. Her sister, Julia is 13 months old, and even though she's really cute, I think that William's already called for her. Here's the proof:
Plus, her mom -Amy and I have already decided they are perfect for each other. They both are the third of four (or soon to be four) children of the same gender, they both are abnormally small for their age and family, and they both are adorable.
But, Roger is the ladies man.
I guess we'll have to move away from each other before they get into high school and this sweet innocent girl causes a feud between brothers.
So tonight, Julia had a song made up for her.

Sledding

I don't view myself as an over-protective parent (and I know some of you are raising your eyebrows going "Not even close!") but I do have to say that I've realized that sometimes I am.

Todd has been taking Mikey and Roger sledding several times this year. We've gone as a family to a near-by park, but whenever Todd goes with the two boys, he goes to a hill that is at the rec center. They always came home in one piece and seemed harmless, until...

For Young Womens we decided to go sledding for an activity. We were having it at the rec center hill, so I had Todd, LeNae, and the boys come (my pregnant friend Katie watched Grant). It was dark when we started, but everyone had assured me that you would be able to see. When I got on top, I was surprised with how well I could see. The snow made everything so bright.

Standing at the top, I was a little nervous, but figured that it was because of the darkness. So I grabbed William and sledded down. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done (and I have gone sky diving and bunji jumping) - but maybe because I had my little boy on with me. It was so steep, and you had no control of the steering. I sat at the bottom for a few moments in shock. Because everyone was on top of the hill, I grabbed William and the sled and started hiking up. As I was walking I watched Katie's little girl Liv go down on her sled. She was lying down on her back and I stared in horror as her body bounced off and on the sled. I'm not talking a little bounce, I'm talking a good foot of air between her body and the sled.

When I reached the top, I walked over to Todd and told him that I couldn't believe that he takes the boys sledding on that hill. Just then, Mikey had walked to the top of the hill, pulling his sled behind him, got down on his sled just to ride it down again...ALL BY HIMSELF!!! I was just in awe. Todd laughed at me.

I decided to just stay at the top and supervise the Young Men and Women, and my boys. After some time I got more use to the height and more comfortable with the idea of sledding down. I realized it wasn't as bad as it seemed, and even went down a few more times with William, who laughed and laughed as we went down.

Mikey did not stop sledding at all. Once he got to the bottom, he turned around and brought the sled up the steep hill just to do it again. A couple of times he allowed Todd to go down with him.

Roger went down by himself a couple of times, but soon grew smart. Being the ladies man that he is, he had all the Young Women loving him. He would ride down the hill with them, then have them either hold his hands as they climbed back up, or even carry him back up the hill. That kid is definitely going to an all-boys high school.

Hot Stuff is Two

Two years ago today, Baby William joined our family. We were thrilled to have him. He's had a great year. Let me tell you what he's mastered in just a year.

1. Walking

2. Talking - well, at his level

3. Running

4. Growing hair

5. Becoming a big brother

6. Potty-Training

7. Jumping

8. Wrapping my heart around his finger (he already had this one mastered)

For those don't know William too well, here's some information about him.

He's a tough little fighter. He may be small, but he's tough. I ran a marathon when I was first pregnant with him (I didn't know it at the time), and even though I was popping in the prescription strength IB profins, William hung in there. He can hold his own, easily, with his brothers. Knowing he is smaller, he gets away with a lot, he will attack and hit his brothers and remain out of trouble.

His brothers are his best friends. Even as a baby, he was the most happy when I would let him just watch his brothers play, and now that he's big enough to play with them, he is ecstatic about it.

He comes into bed with Todd and I in the middle of the night (I know, I've gotten soft). I love it because he snuggles right into me, and for some reason I do not even mind that he's taking up most of the room, I don't even mind the times he's wet the bed (my standards are really down, aren't they). I've even put a plastic sheet underneath where he comes to sleep. I do love the snuggling, and waking up to him in my arms, and I know in just a few years, he's going to be grown (the whole home birth turned me into a hippy).

William is great at making the cutest facial expressions. He knows how to play up a situation. He pulls the excited face when he knows he's supposed to be excited, even though he has no clue what you're talking about. He knows how to be cute. He will give you a sweet smile to let you know he cares about you. He made my Grandma Love wish that I would leave him with her because he was so cute and fun, especially when he played "Blind" (he closed his eyes and walked around with his hands out in front of him. I have no idea where he got this from, but it was hilarious).

He has learned how to jump, and actually leave the ground with both feet! For a while he's known how to jump, or fall from the step that leads into our living room. It's been a fun game for him where I yell and scream begging him not to jump, and he'll jump. Sounds boring, but it's a blast. You wouldn't know it by his size, but William is a big eater. He can eat and eat, he just has a coordination problem with getting the food up to his mouth, or with falling asleep while in the process of eating. He has a huge mouth, he can open his mouth wider than I can open mine.

He was my easiest baby. He was always very easy going and cheerful (now he has more of a mind of his own). Whenever I was having a hard day, he would smile at me as though saying, "Mom, I know it's tough, but everything is going to be just fine".

William is such a joy to us, and I am so thankful that he is my boy. We love you so much Hot Stuff!

New Look

For the last several years, I have noticed that my eyesight isn't what it use to be, nor what it should be. I had read that during pregnancy, your eyesight may worsen because the fluid misshapes your eyes, but that after the pregnancy is over, your eyesight will go back to normal.

I have pregnant for the last four years, so I just blamed my eyesight on the pregnancy. But, with Grant getting older and older, and my eyesight not getting better, I figured that I should go in for an eye exam, especially since I hadn't had one since I was in junior high.

So, I went in for the exam ... and failed. The doctor told me that I needed glasses. I think he could tell I was quite skeptical about it, and as if he could tell that I was thinking, "Glasses are overrated, I just won't do it", because he then told me that I wouldn't be able to pass the driver's license eye exam without glasses. How he knew that my license was expiring, I have no idea. My right eye is weaker than my left eye, and the reason I have been able to get away without glasses for so long is that my left eye was overcompensating for my right. Without glasses, my right eye could go lazy, then I'd really look weird.

So I got the glasses. Still unsure of how I feel about them. I did promise myself I would try to wear them faithfully for a month before I quit wearing them, to see how much they really do help. The doctor said that since I hadn't ever worn glasses, things would look slanted at first, and oh boy, they did. I actually got sick to my stomach for the first couple of days.

Anyway, I've realized that my looks have changed a lot in just one year. Last year at this time, I was pregnant, had long hair, and had no glasses. This year I'm not pregnant, don't have long hair, and am wearing glasses.

Me last year with Roger

Me this year with William

On another note, I really felt as though this last pregnancy really did a number on me. Even though I am only 25, I don't look, feel, nor have the life of a 25-year-old. Liz said (in trying to make me feel better, I think) that I looked like a good-looking 27-year-old. Thanks ... I guess. Well, the other day I was feeding the sister missionaries. One of them told me that she was shocked to find out that my boys were my kids. She saw me holding Grant and had assumed that I was babysitting him - there was no way he was my kid, I looked too young! Yay!!

I know it's pathetic that I get excited about these things, but hey, I am a woman!

You don't have what?

"Mikey, I......AM.....NOT a snowman... Mom... Mikey called me a snowman!"

"Roger, you're not a snowman".

"Ya, cause i don't have balls ... only Frosty."

Should I tell him about this conversation when he's in high school?

For Joy School, we built a snow man. The kids loved it. Todd was home in the morning, so he helped the kids build "Frosty". It was nice to not have to go out in the snow. We didn't have any carrots or coal, so we improvised. Todd decided to just stack the snow instead of rolling three big balls. It was easier for the kiddos, but it did make an interesting snowman.

The Secret in Action

We've always known Roger's eyes to be brown, Mikey's are green, and William's seems to be a green color. Mikey says that he and William have "yellow" hair, and Roger has brown hair.

The other day I guess Roger was sick of being the "brown" boy because he told me that he had green eyes. I tried to correct him, but when he freaked out I decided to drop it. The next several days he kept on saying that his eyes were green, I knew that someday I would have to point out the truth to him, but figured that it could wait.

Yesterday while swimming, Roger was sitting on my lap. We were talking when I noticed something. His eyes are green! I could not believe it. I guess The Secret does work.

Mikey has great PR skills. When you are to deliver some unfavorable news to someone, it is always best to somehow get that person to understand you, to side with you. The best way of doing this is by flattering the person. If you are about to fire someone from a job, it is best to pay the person some sort of compliment, and if the compliment is a good and sincere one, the person getting fired may even resign stating that they want what is best for the company.

Whenever Mikey has done something wrong, he will run up to me and say, "Mom, I love you". I will then ask him what it is that he has done, and he will be completely truthful, "I hit Roger".

Now, because he did flatter me by stating that he loved me, can I punish him at this point? Also, it's not always so one-sided. If Mikey accidentally hit Roger, if Roger hit Mikey first then Mikey hit back, or if Mikey just went and hit Roger we will have this same conversation, so even though Mikey is being truthful, it's difficult to clear up what really went down. Whatever the case, I do not mind the flattery.

Here's his "I love you" in action. But in reality, can you blame the poor kid. Look at what he has to deal with.

One thing that was a huge trend this year was hats. Hats is where it is at. You can use them to listen......while pushing pink strollers...

Shots

Grant is an entire seven months old... and he just got his first immunization shots. Yay for him.... yay for me having to deal with him.

I don't do the well-baby visits, after your first child they (at least to me) seem so very pointless. You go in, sit forever, waste an entire afternoon asking your children to stop touching things, just for your child to be weighed, measured, and told that everything looks great. Also our cheepo insurance doesn't cover anything, so needless to say, I just don't do it.

With that, it is no surprise that all of my kids needed shots. Roger was the lucky one only needing one shot. It was so bad that even I had to get a shot.

Luckily LeNae was around to help me. We had the kids go in with me and the nurse one at a time, oldest to youngest. Mikey was a champ. He had to get several shots, and even though he was crying, he still allowed the nurse to stab the other arm. I told Mikey, "I'm sorry, I know shots hurt, but they aren't bad, they're good, they help you to not get sick."

Seeing William's size, the nurse was surprised with how much of a fight he put up. "He may be small, but he is strong!" she exclaimed.

Afterwards they got to go home and snuggle up to a movie.

Later that day Mikey and Roger grabbed some of their toys and were giving them shots, using a toy airplane as the needle. They would "stab" their toy over and over again. All while Mikey was saying, "Shots hurt, but they good....they make you so you don't get sick....I'm a good doctor..."