Lately I haven't written much (if you haven't noticed). I've felt pretty uninspired in every sense of the word. I have no idea of topics, nor even my usual birthday updates for the kids or our latest vacation. But, since this blog is somewhat of a documentary of our lives (since my journal went bye-bye about 8 years ago (the day our eldest son was born in fact)), I do like to keep some facts recorded now and then. So, here goes (all in one fell swoop)...
April 27- Elise turns 4. This little girl brings so much excitement to our lives. Often in the form of singing and loving on us all (much to a certain little brother's disgust, as he wants to run and play), but also often in the form of crying and carrying on many times each day. She keeps it lively and keeps me humble, that's for sure. She has lately been always wanting to help me wash the dishes, so I try to encourage that (maybe then I can get out of it sooner, since it's my least favorite chore!) She got a "new" bike, and has been mastering it with much proud-ness. She wants to do everything the big boys do (read especially), and we have to remind her to wait longer. She kind of gets stuck in the middle, as she's not big enough to always keep up with the boys, but doesn't want to be a "baby" either. Recently I tried to take her out for some mommy/daughter time, and she didn't like it at all. "Isaac will miss us too much", "I don't want to go with just you, then I'll have no one to play with", etc. We ended up having a good time (in my opinion), but she wasn't convinced (even though we bought new matching shoes together). I think I'll have to work on that one a bit!
April 29- James turned 6. This guy is chomping at the bit in every way. I can't believe how his skills have improved over the past year. He went from little boy to big boy...just like that! He is now so responsible, takes initiative (sometimes), has gotten rid of many of his fears, is growing like a weed, and even looks like a big boy now. Thankfully he still has that dimple that is so cute! (which isn't really a dimple but a scar from an incident involving a bike and a deck post) Last summer we had him on a treatment plan through our Naturopath, which helped him a lot. His eczema is pretty much gone, although we are still dealing with environmental allergies. His food allergies are pretty much gone too (although I try not to overdo any certain ones). He is such a sweet, thoughtful boy, but also very curious and sometimes mischievous. When the kids become teenagers, he's my biggest concern! He likes to push the boundaries and has to know "why" for everything. He gets hurt many times a day from his experiments, but then is back trying them again, a few seconds later. Yikes!
James' latest: (before bed one night)
J: Mom, what would you do if a raccoon came in our house?
Me: I'd probably freak out.
J: Hmm...ohhh...I didn't know that moms fweaked out... (pondering)
The next day we had our back door open to let in the cool breezes. We were eating supper and my back was to the open door. James looked down the hallway and announced in a sing-song-y voice, "Mom, guess who's in our house?" I quickly turned around and found not a raccoon, but our neighbor's dog walking down the hall. Thankfully, I didn't have to "fweak out". (we're working on pronouncing those 'r's!)
May 28- Luke is 8. Luke had an upside-down kind of birthday. We were in Arizona for vacation, and spent his birthday driving from AZ to San Diego where we flew home. So, he got burgers at In-N-Out, lots of trail mix and dinner at a strange restaurant in a strange town for his celebration. And a long ride in a rented van (just like ours, but nicer and newer). We had a cousin's party at Grandpa &; Grandma's the night before we left, so he got cake and all that while we were there.
Luke is our wealth of knowledge. His nose is in a book most of the time, which is a blessing and a detriment all rolled into one. He's missed a lot of conversational information as he's so absorbed in his books, but then he knows so much about other stuff from them. I do try to limit his reading, as I want him to have lots of time playing, interacting, building Legos (which he loves too), creating projects and such too. There are so many aspects to having a well-rounded (and grounded) child!
The other night was a scene I've been waiting for for years. It gave me a glimpse into the future as to how bigger families work and gave me hope too. I was trying to get Isaac (22 mon.) to go to sleep. Normally he's no trouble, but for some reason he wanted me to fill an endless list of requests (milk cup, rocking, blankets in certain positions, rubbing his back forever) and would cry if I didn't jump through his hoops. I was tired and not up to the shenanigans, since I'd already spent much time with him. Luke jumped in and said, "You can go to bed, Mom, and I'll rub his back until he's asleep". I could have cried. Well, I may have and just can't recall. So, Luke got out of bed, sat down by Isaac's crib and talked calmly to him and rubbed his back until he was asleep. So awesome!
Here's one of Luke's 8 year old humor lately:
Greg: We should paint the goat shelter this weekend.
Me: We could have the kids do it, they love painting.
Greg: Well, I'd rather have it done uniform.
Luke: Does that mean we will put buttons and pockets on it?
