S Turns Three

My energetic, go-getter toddler turned three. How did that happen? Where did the past three years

go? I guess the two moves and new baby really sped up the time.

After having three kids, I thought I had this whole parenting thing figured out. Enter S. He threw a curve-ball into so much of what I had learned. I guess each of my kids have done that in their own way, but S stands out. It is not necessarily a bad thing. He has qualities that will make him an amazing adult, but they also make him a challenging toddler. S does not give up. To call him strong-willed does not really accurately describe him. I have tried the "strong-will" strategies on him, and they don't work. They say give the child options so they feel like they have some control. I give him two options in the boundaries I have set. He goes to a third option. Sometimes, it is in the boundaries, sometimes it is not. But he consistently chooses a third option. Once he sets his mind on something, it is almost impossible to change his mind. I can see him setting goals as an adult and reaching great heights, but as a toddler, his goals are not always healthy or practical. He is starting to learn that he has to follow certain rules, but he is not easily deterred. I am daunted by the task of teaching him how to know when to keep pursuing those goals and when to accept the authority God has put over him and lay aside his selfish desires. It's not easy.

Despite the difficulties, S makes me smile every day. Each morning, he greets me as if I have been away for months. I guess all of my kids do that to an extent, but his enthusiasm makes his morning "Mama!!!" that much more special. I am not naturally a morning person, so this is a big deal. He loves to be read to, he is learning to read himself, and loves doing his "writing," which consists of a tracing book with simple mazes.

Being the fourth isn't a problem for him since either makes his needs known or solves his own problems. It is not unusual for me to find him helping himself to a snack from the fridge or pantry (even if he has to use a bar stool to reach those chocolate chips on the high shelf). I appreciate his problem-solving mindset, but it does not always manifest itself in the healthiest of ways.

S is also learning to recognize love in difficult situations. When I have had to correct his behavior, he may scream and throw a fit at first, but many times, he will ultimately put his arms up for a reassuring hug. I am always there to hold him and let him know that I still love him even if I don't love his behavior. I do have to give him credit where it is due. He is always quick to say, "I'm sorry," and "I won't do it again." He also tells me "I want to be nice."

S also has a way of overpowering a room. His loud voice combined with his go-getter personality means he naturally draws a lot of attention to himself. I can see him as a compelling speaker or preacher. It will be interesting to see what God has in store for my little guy.

Oh, S, I love you so dearly. I know God made you the way you are for a purpose, and I would not change you for that very reason. When you look up at me with that sweet smile and those big, blue eyes, my heart melts. I love cuddling with you, baking with you, reading to you, teaching you, and being your Mama. You add so much our family. Life just wouldn't be the same without you.

Double Digits

K turned 10 this year. I can't believe that I have been a mother that long. In some ways it seems longer. In others, it has flown by.

K is an amazing girl. She is smart and talented, but, more importantly, she is helpful and sweet, jumping up to help me should I even mention needing something. She loves her baby sister, and she shares her dolls, snuggles, plays with, and dresses her. K also has incredible leadership abilities. She can find ways to motivate her brothers when I have failed. I am so excited to see what God has in store for her, but I am going to enjoy the years I still have with her before she enters the big, wide world.

This year, K wanted to host her birthday party at home. I was not sure what to do with a houseful of preteen girls, so we decided to bake cookies. I made the dough ahead of time, wrapped it up in individual balls, and put it in the fridge for the girls to use when the party started. The girls each received a piece of parchment paper and a ball of cookie dough, and I laid out dozens of cookie cutters and a variety of sprinkles for them to use as well.

Rolling out cookies

Having fun

Sprinkles make it better

One of her sweet friends

Cutting out the cookies

Since we were already baking cookies, K agreed to have a cookie cake instead of a traditional birthday cake for her party. When the girls finished rolling out and cutting their cookies, they worked together to create a "cake" for K. It was fun to see what they came up with.

The unbaked "cake". They kind of went overboard on the sprinkles

 The cookie-baking process took longer than I anticipated, and we had to rush to open presents at the end. The cookie cake finished baking while she opened her presents, and the girls sang a quick "Happy Birthday" before departing with their plates of cookies.

Opening presents

Watching her open presents

Overall, I would say the party went well. I think the girls had fun, and I know that K did. If the birthday girl is happy, I count that as a success.

A Busy and Surreal Day

My hubby took the two older boys to a ranch for the weekend. That left me home with my daughters and toddler. I was not planning on doing anything special or unusual. In fact, housework was really the only item on my to-do list. Despite that fact, today provided some rather unexpected events.

I decided to go to the library this morning to return some books and videos and pick up a couple of books I had on hold. While there, I noticed people setting up for an event. After some investigation, I discovered that our library would be hosting a Culture Fest, with tables from various countries around the world. They were just setting up at that time, and I was not going to hang out for an hour with a baby and toddler. I chose to go home instead. I did, however, return after picking up K from ballet. We visited the various tables to try the delicious food of the various countries. Some of the countries represented included Russia (I tried borsch), Peru (I tried some pudding-like dessert and chicken in a sauce over potatoes), Ecuador (They were serving hominy and pork, but they ran out of the pork. The hominy had good flavor, though.), Nepal (They were serving a coleslaw-type salad), Egypt, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico (I tasted their chicken with molé). I told K that we should host a Sweden table next year.

After visiting the tables, we watched a short program with Mexican dancers, it was fun to see them swirling their skirts around, and S seemed to enjoy the music. He sat through the three or four dances without any issues. Little A watched intently as well.

On the way home, we stopped at a craft fair that a church was hosting. We perused the stalls, and K picked out a Broncos apron for Christmas. S chose a wooden helicopter that I am hoping will withstand the abuse of a two-year-old.

We finally arrived home for an early dinner. Then I was able to finish some housework before bedtime. While nursing A, I sat down to watch House Hunters International, and lo and behold, there was one of my teachers from high school. I thought she looked familiar, and I finally placed her. When I heard her last name, it confirmed my strong suspicion that I knew this lady, even after 20 years. It was so bizarre.

After a full day, I am ready for bed. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Minivans and Minivacations

Getting everyone to look at the camera is next to impossible

My wonderful sister-in-law came to visit us for a couple of days this week, and we decided to take advantage of her presence and do a little sight-seeing. We still needed to finish some schoolwork, but we eased up on the workload and took full advantage of the beautiful fall afternoons.

The first day, we visited a local candy shop where they make perfectly lovely toffee, brittle, and chocolates. The store serves ice cream and coffee as well, and the production floor is visible from a counter in the showroom. We ordered the kids ice cream and sent them to watch the day's production while we ordered our hot beverages. I was hoping they would be making toffee since that is fun to watch, but they were finishing up some carmel corn and then took a break. That was somewhat disappointing, but we perused the shelves and found some delicious treasures to purchase.

Little cutie

The following day, we drove up to the top of the Monument for an afternoon of hiking. We chose an easy trail that even S could enjoy. When we completed the hike, the kids turned in their booklets to earn their Junior Ranger Badges. H had not filled all his information out, but the lady was really kind and went through it orally with him.
My sweet SIL left Wednesday morning after being mauled my my kids crying, "Don't go! Don't go!" My heart echoed my kids' cries, but I knew she needed to depart. I hope to see her again before too long, but, for now, the memories will have to do.

AJ's Party

AJ wanted a small birthday party at home this year, so we invited a couple of his friends over on Sunday afternoon and kept it simple.

We started the party with Lego-building contests, followed by pin-the-football-on-Peyton. Then we sugared up the kids with chocolate cake and ice cream before they ran outside to play. This was perfect since it gave them a chance to run off the sugar high, and I was able to sweep up the chocolate cake from the floor.

AJ said he enjoyed his party. That means success in my book.

A Quick trip to Ouray

The kids have been working on presentations about ancient inventions for their co-op history class. I think this is a great opportunity for them to practice research and writing a speech. For their topics, K chose glass blowing, and AJ chose water clocks. There are no local glass-blowing facilities, so we drove to Ouray for a quick trip to interview the glass-blower who lives and works there.

Upon arriving, we found the glass place and unloaded our crew to visit Sam, the local artist. He was kind to take time out of his day for us, but I got the feeling that he did not expect K to know or understand as much as she did about glass-blowing. He answered her questions, but I think that we both were a little disappointed that he did not offer her more in-depth information. It was still a successful trip in that she gained some interviewing experience as a form of research, though.

After the glass store, we walked to Mouse's Chocolates, a local chocolate, coffee, and ice cream place that is known for its tasty treats. The kids enjoyed hot chocolate and milkshakes, and I devoured my "hippie bar", a scrumptious blend of dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut.
Walking back to the car, I spotted a cute crocheted sweater that I needed. Timo took the boys while I shopped with the girls. Then we met again a few stores down. AJ wanted to go into a mining store to see if they had pickaxes. Not that he needed one. He just wanted to see one. They did, and they were about as tall as S. We left them all there, loaded up in the car, and drove to Box Canyon. We intended to do some hiking, but rain cut our climb short. I did manage to get photos of the kids, though.

AJ photobombing K

K photobombing AJ

A hanging out in the backpack

Deep crevice

That's a long way down

Sweet AJ

Beautiful K

Cutie Pie

A little waterfall

My gorgeous girl

A rare photo of me, courtesy of K

I almost didn't get a photo of S

This photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the area

I hope to return to Ouray sometime in the future. I would like to finish hiking around, and there is always room for more chocolate.

AJ's Eighth

Fall means birthday season, and AJ is first in line. This year, he turned eight, which almost seems impossible to me. How can that many years have passed since I was in the hospital awaiting his arrival? I suppose all parents feel the same way, and I don't guess it will get any easier as the years pass.

AJ is a fun-loving boy who demonstrates a tender heart and exhibits great amounts of creativity, especially where Legos are concerned. At this point, he wants to be a Lego Master Builder when he grows up because he would get to play with Legos all day (in his mind).

For his family party, he chose apple pie instead of cake to celebrate. He also chose to wear his favorite florescent yellow shirt for his birthday photos. We had fun snapping a few pictures before dinner, and his personality comes out quite a bit in some of the photos.

Being silly

Eight Years Old

Blowing out candles on his birthday pie

Cutting the pie

After pie, he opened his presents, which included three board games. AJ thoroughly enjoys board games, and this proved a smart choice to deviate from his usual Lego gifts. Timo and the three older kids played a game of Clue before bed while I put the younger two down. AJ had never played Clue before, but I think it quickly became his favorite.

I am looking forward to this coming year to see what God has in store for my growing boy. He truly is a joy to have in our lives.