Little Things That Make Me Happy

Today I noticed a few things that my kids do that make me happy, and rather than just smiling about it and moving on - I really tried to relish it. It totally made my somewhat boring/normal day into a great day!

Cdc has decided that he doesn't like to hold my hand when we are walking somewhere. Instead, he likes to hold my finger. But not just any finger. And not my pinky or my index finger. He is very particular about holding my ring finger. And not only that, but it has to be the finger that my ring is actually on - meaning my left hand. He doesn't care if we have to stop in the middle of the street and take five minutes getting his chubby little hand wrapped around the right one - it MUST be my finger with my wedding ring. I love it!

Cpc is making up words all day long these days. Now he's writing all sorts of "words" instead of just his name all the time. And when we ask him what it says he explains it very clearly, because he's thought it out. But it sure doesn't make any sense to Pmc and I!

These things are really helping to over-ride the annoyed feelings I've been having about two very bothersome issues. Cdc not only likes to say "no" all the time, but he also whines incessantly when he feels the need to say no. Ugh! And I'm finally coming to grips that I just am not sure how to handle the fact that when Cpc is sick, HE doesn't slow down - but his sensory responses do. This basically means that even if we do all the therapy activities that we normally do, he wets his pants quite often if he's got even a little cold. And even if he's got a really bad cold or a fever or something - he keeps going with all the usual energy! Of course, maybe that's just the genes from my side of the family - my siblings and I are all that way.

Tidbits from Life

The other day we were driving in the car and we turned on some classical music. Nothing new for us there. Cpc was really wanting to listen to some other music though, so in order to distract him we asked "What instrument is playing? Is it a piano?" It was actually a violin solo with an orchestra. We were kind of looking for "violin" as the answer, but alas we were outsmarted by Cpc: "No! It's an Orchestra!"

One of our recent bowling trips included Pmc bowling a pretty darn good game - the best I've ever personally witnessed him playing. He actually got one more strike than shows up here, but it didn't register! So silly Pmc instead of going and having them fix it just threw another strike!

The first page here is something I randomly decided to see if Cpc would like doing - copying the words I wrote and telling him what they spelled. He was so thrilled by it, after he finished he wrote me a page of homework - the second page! He sure is getting good at this writing stuff - it's so fun to see how interested he is in it - and that we're not pushing it at all - just latching on to his enthusiasm to learn it!
We are loving our passes to the Aquarium that we got for free - if only we could figure out what time of day those otters are awake instead of asleep! The boys love pretending to row this boat in the ocean with all the fish!

Cdc turned TWO!

Although he's been acting two for the past 4 months, he finally had his birthday! It was such a fun one. We had grandparents and my brother over for cupcakes - chocolate just for Cdc (his one true love)! I didn't get many pictures because my mom had her camera and I know I'll get those eventually - just never in time for blog posting.

He was very careful with his unwrapping skills, using his fingertips instead of just ripping away! He has been playing with the cars from Momsey & Grandpa D, his bowling set from Grams & Papa - and he's eaten more than enough Pixie Stix from Uncle Hdhe to last him a lifetime! We are SO grateful to have this little guy in our family!

P.S. He also received paint, paintbrushes and paper to go with the paint-portion of the easel that daddy is finishing for his birthday. But with school starting he just hasn't had a chance to finish that yet. I can hardly wait to see the finished product!

Art and The Easel

For Christmas Pmc made the boys an Easel. He could have bought one for less money probably, but he and I are pretty similar in our desire to learn to do things as well as making our gifts more meaningful. So he made it, and like all projects either of us ever embark on - it didn't turn out as perfect as we'd hoped. But it is a good, sturdy easel nevertheless and most people, especially the boys will likely not notice the little defects. And ultimately the project is special both in product as well as experience. And I think this holds true in all forms of art.

I grew up playing the violin, and always had a hard time with it. I always thought music was about perfect intonation and rhythm. These things are precise and can be accurately measured. However, though there is a clear difference between "piano" and "forte," there really is no precise decibel for either one, or anything precise about the feelings involved in words like "allegro" or "-." I wish I had understood these concepts when I still had motivation to practice. I might have understood that practicing was not about reaching the impossible perfection, but about experimenting and developing, to the best of my ability, the music placed before me. As it is, I hate practicing and rarely pick up my violin. I'm sure there are many who would say that's a shame, and I guess in some ways it is. But for me it's simply more worthwhile for me to value the experiences I had, and use the lessons I learned to help me in other things. And it does. I've applied that lesson to my tap-dancing, and I try really hard to teach the lesson to my kids in the things they endeavor. Do I wish I'd stuck with violin? No, not really. Do I wish my mom had let me quit? Maybe, but then I might have had the same problem with tap dancing. And frankly I'm glad I can now pursue tap dancing with a little more freedom. And I hope as a mom that I can recognize that even though I'm sure some of my mistakes could influence my kids for the worse, I'm still pretty sure I'm contributing in a significant way to "sturdy" kids overall, just like that easel is really pretty sturdy! And whatever happens, I know I'm better for the experience!

I'm not exactly sure how this post changes from it's intended purpose. But alas, back to the Easel. Pmc timed things just right because Cpc's interest in writing/drawing has skyrocketed in the last few months. He has never liked crayons much, he prefers pens and markers. But he loves paint too. We always thought maybe this was a sensory thing, maybe he's uncomfortable with the kind of pressure he has to use with crayons - markers are much easier. And maybe that's still true although he seems to have overcome it to some extent. I also wondered why he never seemed to like coloring much - but alas it was merely due to the fact that he is too creative for those coloring books. You give him a blank piece of paper and that kid can color. Oh and you give him some ideas of things to draw and he will embelish to his heart's content. He has also taken to writing his name and has become so good at it that it's started to be obnoxious. I'm proud of him. But I really am tired of the HUNDREDS of pieces of paper around the house with his name written in the top corner on both sides and the rest of the paper blank. I finally found a solution yesterday though - that is now his painting paper, it's the one thing he'll use it for.


He writes his name best when he writes it small. And in that first picture EVERY SINGLE ONE of those papers has his name written on both sides. And that is the product of ONE day! Seriously I love this kid of mine!

Things we've been up to

Things we've been up to lately:
That turtle really liked Cpc, it followed him back and forth for about 5 minutes.


The zoo with my favorite childhood friend - Nmph and her new baby. Why do I always think to get pics of our kids together - but not us! I need to work on that!

Utah Basketball - Go UTES!

We've been bolwing a lot lately due to our awesome "Pass of all Passes." The kids are loving a weekly trip to the alley. Doesn't my honey look good in that USU shirt (even if it is blurry - I just can't get the lighting AND the speed right!)? Did you hear he got into the MSHR program and he's back in school? At my Alma-Mater!

Cpc does LOVE to "shave" with daddy!

Cdc and Sucking his Thumb

Remember how cute we thought Cdc was sucking his thumb? I really did think it was adorable, and I knew it was a great tool for him. And honestly I was perfectly happy with anything that meant a sleeping child after Cpc's sleep issues (p.s. he is still sleeping amazingly, he hasn't woken during the night in weeks!). Well, he only sucks his thumb when he has his dog, and we don't (except on rare occasions) allow that dog out of his bed. So really, the thumb-sucking has been an entirely sleep-associated thing. However, I have been starting to worry a little that if we don't stop the habit now it could become too ingrained to go without a big fight. So a few weeks ago when his callous on his thumb became so thick and hard that it tore and created an "owie" we took advantage of the situation. We put a band-aid on it with some Neosporin (or as Cpc likes to call it - "Food Lion" because it is leftover from Pmc's mission and that's the brand from the grocery store there right before bed and told him he was going to have to go to sleep without sucking his thumb. He struggled a little bit, but he totally understood what was happening and went to sleep like a champ. Well, we drew out the need for the band-aid for a few extra days after the entire callous peeled off. And then we one evening at bedtime I showed him his thumb and how it got all better because he wasn't sucking on it and that sucking his thumb was bad for his teeth too, and asked him to keep trying to sleep without it. And he did. For two weeks he went to sleep NO problem. He'd just put that dog-ear up to his nose and go to sleep. And then this last week he's started having a bit of a hard time going to bed, both at bedtime and naptime. I figured it might happen. But hey, as long as I cuddle him and sing him some lullaby's he does okay. So, Cdc - WAY TO GO!!!!!

Narnia with the High School Friends

We had such a blast a few weeks ago with Pmc's high school friends up at the cabin. The S family was even able to make it for an evening, and we haven't gotten the opportunity to be with them for a long time - so we were thrilled. We spent two nights, and even though we didn't have much snow - the boys and kids did get some good sleigh-riding. I even got to do a little, although it was definitely harder to fit that in without all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents around. And I gave in to going on the little sled with Cpc, and that turned out to be a bad idea. I twisted my knee pretty bad and it is only now finally recovering! The one other mishap is that the N family hit a deer on their way up - but luckily the only bad part of that was the nasty deer snot that was all over their car.

Here's our posterity:

And here's our attempt at getting a group shot after we'd already made the kids sit for their shot. There was just no room for a re-do, even though poor DS got cut out of the shot!

Technology

A few weeks ago one of the men that Pmc works with, in his calling in the Young Men's at church, gave him an old iPhone he had from work. This was thrilling to Pmc even though he's not using it as a phone because we don't want to buy a data plan. So he upgraded from his iPod Touch and I am the lucky one to get to use it. I always knew one of these would prove useful, but necause of the cost - I have been perfectly content with paper and the desktop computer. Well, now that I've had a couple weeks to get myself organized with Apps like ToodleDo, iReadG free, Blogger, Gospel Library, etc. - I really am feeling the benefits of technology. I am grateful for it's powers, and grateful for kind people like Brother L. I even have found that I'm better at not wasting my time on things like pinterest and facebook and blog feeds. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's mostly that this first generation Touch has limits - like no iOs4. Whatever it is, here's to managing my time well.

Once Upon A Time...

A couple weeks ago Cpc and I went to the frozen yogurt place down the street for our "Mommy Date." After eating our yogurt, I asked him what we should do now. He said "I don't know," so I proceeded with a bunch of suggestions, the last of which was that he tell me a story. I've been telling him made-up stories before quiet time for a few weeks, so I figured maybe he could come up with something. Well, he latched onto that idea and this is how his story-telling proceeded:
First he closed his eyes and leaned his head down a bit and put his fingertips on his temples. Then he started "once upon a time...." He then spouted off a cute little story that had something to do with Daddy, but otherwise I can't really remember. At the end he said "The End" in the most triumphant voice I've ever heard from him, opened his eyes and grinned at me. It was simply priceless!

Behind the Times

I need to play catch-up a little, but for once I'm not feeling guilty for not living up to my own expectations. I spent the last month desperately trying to finish our 2009 and 2010 blog books on Mixbook, since our Groupon for them expires in 3 days. But I finished ahead of my deadline and they are being printed already. Maybe I'll have them this next week. I decided it was high time to get those printed so I can stop worrying that there is no point in posting on this blog (believe me or not, the whole reason we blog is to keep a journal/scrapbook for ourselves and posterity). But now I only need to add the cd's of music, and make dvd's of the movie clips from each year! Maybe I'll even have 2011 printed before June!

Anyway, I do have pictures to post and a few things to write about, but for now I just wanted to congratulate myself on a job well done!