Some Stuff

Life has gotten pretty exciting around here so I thought I'd do a quick update (it's all I've got time for!) Mostly about the kids.

Sarah has developed chunky thighs, and tends to get stuck in her Bumbo seat. She went after baby food with relish for a week, then changed her mind and stopped eating. And she got her first tooth. Today! I can't believe how fast she's growing. She'll be 6 months in a few weeks, so this is the earliest any of my kids got teeth, by far.

Willard has learned to use the potty! I was very nervous about training him but decided to give it a whirl last weekend, and when he asked me to put a diaper on him and THEN peed his pants- we knew he could do it. He did fantastic after just one day with wetting, and after this ONE week, he seems to have the concept of telling mom and putting icky's in the potty too. Wow, I'm a lucky momma.

Harvey got to register for Kindergarten this week! He was so excited. I found it quite funny to hear how he answered questions- 'No I can't write my name- but I can SING it!' His counting is usually funny- 1, 2, 7, 10. And his shapes, oh my. We have some work to do before school starts. I really thought he knew them. But his enthusiasm was unmistakable and I'm glad he's excited. I can't really believe he's 5.

Abby is a Girl Scout and has had a successful run of selling cookies, which are now finally all delivered and money collected, and just plain done with. She's doing well in school, and loves to help me out. We had a new family move in 2 doors down and they have a little boy in first grade. She's so excited to have someone her size to play with, and he comes over almost every day to ask if she can. I'm trying to find a balance with all that I think she should be doing and letting her be a kid.

I'm a Bear Den Leader now, and still haven't figured that out. I feel like I'm kind of sort of starting to get the new swing of things with 4 kids. I teach Harvey's preschool group about once month or so, and try to volunteer in Abby's class on Thursday mornings. The spring bug has bit me hard, but I'm so busy I honestly think I'm going to miss Spring entirely. Jeff has got some exciting things going on at work- which are keeping him even busier too. So if I sometimes look like I've lost my mind- hopefully it's temporary!

Boys Will Be Boys!

Well the month of February has been one to really enjoy my boys. Harvey turned 4 years old on President's Day. And Willie turned 18 months on Valentine's. He hasn't gone to Jr Nursery yet, he's come with me to Sr. Nursery, and been sick. Here's some of what they've been up to:

Harvey getting ready to blow out his birthday candles. What a precious boy he is. He carefully blew out each candle, one at a time.

The rug was a present from my younger brothers and sister, as soon as it was spread out he got his fingers running over the road saying vroom, vroom. Who needs cars? Not Harvey.

Willie is growing so fast, he is always hungry. I need to feed the boy every 2 hours at least, often more. He's rapidly turning into a toddler, but keeping his sweet disposition too.

Harvey was tired. We took Abby to school, he came home and fell asleep without even taking off his jacket. Polly was happy to have someone to lie down by.

What fun these brothers are having. I'm so glad that Willie came along, right now Harvey doesn't fully appreciate it, he's not even sure he likes Willie yet, but I can see the brotherly bond forming. They are going to be great friends.

Harvey wanted to show my Aunt his Super-Harvey Costume, so he put it on for her

Then Willie decided he needed a cape and helmet too. I absolutely adore how Willie looks up to his big brother (sister too). He is really a uniting presence in our house, freely sharing his love with all of us.

Between the two of them I don't think any mother has ever been more loved. They both love to cuddle. Sometimes it is frustrating when great-big-four-year-old-Harvey insists that he not be put down. But mostly it's incredible. This morning Willie wanted to lie on my lap and Harvey hung on my back, alternately sticking his face over each of my shoulders and saying PeekABoo, silly boy. Willie loves to give hugs, and if for any reason I need him to come to me (diaper change being one) I just open my arms wide and say HUUUG!! And he'll come running right into them.

Harvey's imagination is sometimes just downright funny. Currently he has some (imaginary friend??) spiders that are actually having a birthday today. The spiders? They are his hands. They feed him, but sometimes they'd rather play in the food, or feed themselves. With Abby in school half the day, Harvey is sometimes frustrated and bored. He doesn't think that Willie is fun to play with, I'm trying to show him that Willie can play now too. If we get out the wooden blocks, Harvey will build something creative and Willie will stack a tower to knock down. They both love to play with cars and kitchen toys. Whatever Harvey is doing, Willie wants to try too. If I can just teach him to let Willie follow him around, I think we will have great success.

Willie, oh he's growing. He's not a little baby anymore, but a curious toddler. His vocabulary is growing rather inconsistently, but growing. He recently learned the sign for food, and the word. So I hear a lot of Bfoo Peeese. His favorite new term seems to be ME. Which functions well as Mine, Pick Me Up, and more. He is learning to make animal noises, although the only one that is easily recognized is Mooo. Even it comes out Booo. He makes a cute little squeaky noise for a kitten. And can growl and grunt pretty well too. He's also learning to respect boundaries, if I teach him. He really likes to pull all the movies off the shelf, and I was getting aggravated with always putting them back on. Then one day Jeff told him 'No, leave that alone' and he did! Why didn't I think of that? Sometimes I have the most obvious DUH moments as a mom. I forget the simple things, lol. But as long as I remember to love and enjoy my children, I think we'll be ok.

Pictures!!

So I found my camera, uploaded the pictures, and here are mys super cute kids, and what they've been up to since umm August. :S

Abby wanted me to do her hair in a STAR. This was what I came up with, it isn't particularly good, but it was fun trying. Maybe this weekend we'll try again.

Her idea. Completely hers. Well actually, Harvey was quite agreeable.

Yes, she actually did succeed in pulling both of her brothers in the bike trailers. Smart, strong, clever girl!

My goofy little trick-or-treaters

Yes, that's more like it. Lovable, sweet, darling children.

Our Unicorn Keeper. Yes, I made the costume. Blood, sweat and tears (lots of tears) went into that robe. But it worked out in the end and she loved it.

Super Harvey!!! He kills bad cows, lol . He is so wonderfully imaginative. It's a boy thing I guess, but he always wants to be killing something or other. Why Super Harvey gets bad COWS I have no idea.

Yep I made the cape for this one too, and it turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself. No tears.

Tiger Cub. It was Abby's, then Harvey's. I don't quite dare say it- but I think my kids keep getting cuter. Is this not the cutest little boy anyone has ever seen? I mean really- sparkly eyes, toothy sweet grin. Freeze time here please. I can't bear the thought of him growing up.

A shot I got on his Birthday. He keeps trying to grab the camera when he sees it.

Worth A Thousand Words

Sunday, just before dinner- We'd had a busy week.

There really is nothing sweeter than sleeping children.

Simple Pleasures from my kids

What simple pleasures can I find every day? Well my children provide plenty

Willie- with his little one toothed grin, he is an absolute joy. He is most content in the arms of his parents. He is so observant, his eyes are like little bright sponges- they soak it all in. His laugh, his smile, his little baby voice babbling away. What is he trying to tell us?



Harvey- Aaahh my Harvey boy. He tells us several times a day that he loves his WHOLE family. I think my favorite thing right now is his little mispronunciations, they are sweet but I know he will outgrow them soon. Willie is pronounced with an 'L' at the front. Huggy, checky, a lot of ee sounds at the end of a word. Tonight he sat on my lap while listening to scriptures, reached over and patted Willie's head and said 'Oh Lillie I'm you big brother'. Harvey is always trying to save us from the monsters- he is a hero, a superboy, a GOOD GUY.



Abby- My precious daughter! What would we be without you. Abby loves to surprise us by doing a special chore without us knowing. She creates parties to entertain mommy all the time. She is always trying to help and play with Willie. When we made a lentil dish called Yamiser Wat for dinner she devoured the first helping, asked if she could have more and shouted 'oh YES' when we inquired if she liked it. She is pretty frank about things- when I asked her how I looked one day, her eyes got really big and she responded almost breathlessly- 'Barbie!'. She is mighty good at laying on the compliments. She has the best laugh in the whole world- it is downright ticklish. When Abby laughs, so do I.