Theory of Relativity

At lunch, Caleb looked at Grace's cup of milk and said, "I have less more milk than you do."

Head Over Heels

Grace took a gymnastics class this year. She really enjoyed it. Ever since, we often find her doing this: We are definitely head over heels for a our sweet Gracie.

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This post was written while listening to this song, which may or may not have been subconciously influenced by Swiffer.

Eyeballs (Updated)

Joshua and Mary have hung out together a lot more since Grace and Caleb are in school. Joshua like to follow Mom around and do whatever she does. So while Mom is getting ready in the morning, Joshua can be found trying on Mom's shoes, or asking for deodorant and Chapstick*. He likes to be where she is. This has lead to a funny routine when Mary puts in her contacts. After Mary has put her contacts in, Joshua pretends to dip his finger in the saline solution and place that finger next to his eye as if he wears contacts. Then he says, "Eyeballs."

I laugh whenever I am around to see it.

*Joshua calls Chapstick "Ma". We are not sure why he calls it that. We think it is because of the kissing sound that you make after you put on Chapstick.

Brothers

What do you do when you go to check on your sleeping children and one of them is missing? I checked under the bed to make sure he did not fall out and climb underneath there on accident. Then I looked in the top bunk. This is what I saw: (Joshua is holding Caleb's blanket even though he brought his own.)

I think that after we tucked Joshua in this evening, he got out of his bed in a completely dark room while carrying his blanket, pacifier and polar bear (just visible under Caleb's dinosaur pillow). He climbed up the ladder into Caleb's bed. Then he snuggled up to Caleb and promptly fell asleep.

Those two brothers have done funny things together but this one takes the cake.

Growing Pains

Caleb is a growing boy. He has been eating a lot lately. A couple of hours after a meal, he will tell us that he is "starving." Today was no different.

He and Grace were playing loudly while Mary and I worked on a project. We sent them to the basement to play. Caleb came up a couple of minutes later carrying a box of Nutri-Grain bars. He asked if he could open them. We said no because those are for school lunches. Five minutes later, he was back with a box of graham crackers. We told him that we would be leaving soon for dinner at our friend's house and that he could not have those either.

He put the box of graham crackers on top of the bars and said with an annoyed expression, "This is my Mom won't let me have it pile."

A Note for the Last Post

Did you notice that Mary has posted for the first time? Pretty cool, eh?

The other thing that I thought Mary was going to write in that post is that we are expecting again. The new addition should be hitting the scene in May, if all goes well. We could not be more excited. Mary already had her ultrasound and everything seems okay. We did not find out the baby's gender, so we are expecting a surprise!

A December to Remember

Jared and I joke every year about the Lexus commercials and the big red bows you see on top of their cars. But, it is their slogan that has me thinking this year: "A December to remember."

December evokes many memories for me. For some reason it is the month with tragic memories in our child bearing existance. I remember the year 1999 when we were in the midst of infertility treatments and finally got pregnant … only to lose the baby 8 weeks later and a few weeks prior to Christmas. I remember the year 2005 when I was pregnant and doubled over in pain sure that I would miscarry again. Well, I was only partially right. I was pregnant with what was thought to be twins and was losing one to miscarriage while still being pregnant with the other. December was the beginning of several long months of bleeding that eventually made my water break early and our sweet Robert was born too early to survive at only 24 1/2 weeks old. I have a necklace that I have worn everyday since that reminds me of Robert. This December, without my knowing it, the clasp on my necklace broke and I have lost my pendant. Truthfully, it has been a bit devastating for me. Why December?

I have thought this month about these experiences and what they have taught me. Then, I remember it is not about me and my babies … it is about THE baby. It is about the baby that came down to earth to live and die for all of us. It is about remembering all that this baby has done for us so that I can see my baby again. It is a month to remember both the good and the bad. Perhaps the marketing department at Lexus is not that far off. December is definitely a month to remember.

The Little Chef

Joshua loves his Momma. He loves to spend time with her and work in the kitchen. If Mom is going to cook something, he is going to be working in the kitchen with her. He used to follow her around in the kitchen looking for a handout the older kids did not know existed. Now if he sees Mom go into the kitchen, he grabs a blue stool so he can help out.

If you are cooking and need flour or sugar, just ask Joshua. He will run over to the pantry and grab the containers you need. He just loves to be involved.

How much does he love it? Today Grace asked Joshua if she could help make the cupcakes with Mom. Joshua's emphatic response was, "NO!"

Joshua is our little chef.

Redefinition

I was talking to Grace the other night and Caleb came up to me and said, "You're a nerd."

I said, "Thanks."

Caleb turned around, looked quizzically at me and asked, "What does nerd mean?"

I said, "A nerd is someone who likes to learn and study. They are usually pretty smart."

Grace said, "I want to be a nerd!"

And Caleb said, "Me too!"

I loved it. Some of you may say that I left details out of that definition. The way I figure it, they will know something about the social awkwardness/stigma sooner or later. I mean, they are related to me.

Mr. Handsome

It seems that Caleb has done so much growing up lately. It has been fun to watch him transform. He is learning, helping, trying to stay a little more calm and is a fun element in our home.

I took this picture of him helping Mary frost cupcakes this morning. He does so much to help and he looks grown up. (We just bought him this new dress shirt. He has grown out of everything else. I am sure this shirt will soon be suffering from the same fate.)

Outfits

I gave the children a bath before church today. After his bath, Joshua decided to put on his bear pajamas. Since our church is so late, I did not see much of a problem with it. When I saw him later, I thought those pjs are one of my favorite outfits that he has.

Why?

Who wouldn't love to see Joshua's little bear bottom running around? What are some of my other favorite outfits that the kids have had? Well, I loved this outfit that Grace used to wear. I would call it her yogurt outfit. (It has fruit on the bottom.) And one last picture with Joshua properly in it.

Aren't Children Great?

Grace has really started to read and I don't mean that she has just learned to read. She has known how to read for a while. Now she has a reason to read. She has discovered the "Ivy + Bean" series and it has captured her. It has been rare to see her without the book for the last two days. I am excited that she has begun to learn the power of books.

Now I am faced with the question as to whether or not I should read her books to know what has captured her attention.

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The other night it was Caleb's turn to pray. He said a short prayer and end with this comment, "... and thank you for our clothes. Amen."

I did not know what to say.

(Although, every day many people are grateful for my clothes.)

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Did I tell you that Joshua likes loves adores eggs? If you want him to do anything in the morning, just tell him that you will take him downstairs and make him eggs for breakfast. He will do it as fast as he can and when he gets downstairs he will go over to the cupboard with the pans and try to open it.

Joshua know what he likes.

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If you want to listen to a good song, here is a group of guys we know from church singing an a cappella number.

Man-Riching

Tonight was the annual Wreathmaking event for the women of the ward. A ton of time was spent setting up the church, preparing the program, getting out the food assignments, and bringing in the materials so the women could make wreaths. While the women were making wreaths, one of the men suggested we meet at the delicious dining establishment of McDonald's.

I was thinking about going. It would be fun but I was not sure that I wanted to spend the money. (Let's say that replacing the roof was not what we planned to do with our finances this year.) I wasn't convinced that I wanted to make the trip. It is a school night. Then Mary told the kids that I was going to take them and there was no way I could back out. So we went.

It was great fun.

We got there after a couple of the other families had already arrived and ordered. The woman behind the counter looked at me with my three kids talking to other people walking in the door and said, "There are a lot of guys with kids here tonight. Do you know each other?"

I smiled and said, "Yeah, most of us do."

I ordered and the kids ate quickly in the restaurant portion of McD's. There were two or three other families that we knew eating there. (You cannot go into the play place area until they have eaten or they just won't do it.) They disappeared to the play place once they were done. I cleaned up, grabbed the drinks, and headed back there. Once I opened the door, the noise was overwhelming. The front part of McDonald's had about five customers in it. The play place had about 10 dads and some 35-40 kids.

The agenda for the evening was:

• Four Big Mac Challenge — Danny, the event organizer, offered to pay for four Big Macs, if anyone could eat them in one sitting. Derek took him up and pounded the Big Macs in a matter of a couple of minutes. Danny has photographic proof of the last bite.
• Technology Update — Matt showed a prototype of a new iPhone based technology that he is working on. He explained what it does and talked about the manufacturing process for the prototype and the production version.
• The Geopolitical Climate — Dave and Jim lead a discussion about the emergence of China on the global economy and the possibility of instability due the unique Chinese demographics. This lead into a wider discussion of the effect of the bail out on our economy and other developments around the globe. It was interesting to hear different perspectives on recent happenings.

Now it might not have been a typical Enrichment program or held at a typical enrichment venue, but I left feeling man-riched.

(Well, I also felt a little sick. Though I did not eat much, I think most of the men left with that feeling that can only come from eating fast food. Ah, what some endure to eat something they like but only while they are eating it.)

Sesame Street

Joshua loves all things Sesame Street. He loves to watch the short videos of a couple of songs on the web. He knows all the Sesame Street characters. He loves his clothes with any Sesame Street character on them. The most interesting part of this is that he has never watched an episode of Sesame Street. The marketing department at Sesame Street should be proud to know that Joshua is fully tapped into their show without even watching it. Here is the video proof:
I love the way that Joshua says Big Bird!

Gotta Love Kids in the Shower

The Transformation

One of the reasons why Mary is madly in love with me is because I am always so well groomed. [Insert sarcastic laugh.]

I don't know what it is with me and grooming. I like to be clean shaven. I like to have short hair. I just don't really like to shave or get my hair cut. I don't know if it is because I am lazy, I don't really like to be as well groomed as I profess, I'm too cheap to pay for haircuts, or if I am not worried enough to actually do it more often. Who knows. Anyway, this "before" picture shows me with a nice little halfro going. The "after" picture is with Joshua and Caleb on a Sunday evening. Caleb and I had gotten our hair cut the day before. (Caleb looks great with a buzz cut.) We had all worn ties, so we decided to take a picture. A friend at church said of this haircut, "Jared has gone jarhead on us." And in case you were wondering, Joshua's hair still rocks. Also, when I see boys Joshua's age wearing ties, I think that there is another member of the Future Accountants of America. All he needs now is a briefcase.

Grace's Instrument

Grace started taking piano lessons this year. She is having a lot of fun. I am excited for her to learn more about music and develop her talents. Since music is something we can enjoy all our lives, we might as well learn about it. (File that under "Advice I did not take as a child.")

The Children

This is what the kids are like some of the time: This is what they are like most of the time:

Firefighting

The fire department in our town has an open house every year. You can see the fire trucks, hear safety awareness information, have some pizza, and get safety handouts. We like to got and get the plastic firefighter hats for the kids. Here are some pictures of the boys "driving" the big fire engine:

Playing Soccer

Grace and Caleb both played soccer this season. It was Caleb's first attempt. Here they are before their first games: Caleb had a good year. He ran after the ball and almost scored a goal. Here he is on the field: Grace was much improved this year. After going to soccer camp this summer, she was more aggressive. The yellow team has two boys from our street on it. Grace told me she was going to kick the ball away from them. She did. Here she is running down the field: All in all, they both had a great season. They both played hard, had fun, Grace scored a couple of goals, and we will see what happens with the next season.

Catching Up with School

I have not been blogging much lately. I thought I should catch up. I am going to start with the back to school pictures.

Grace on her first day of school: Here is a picture of the kids on our street that walk to school together. (The two on the left side are too young for school.) Because the Kindergartners in our town start on the day after the rest of the kids, Caleb refused to be in this picture. If it is not his first day of school, he is not going to be in the picture. Grace and Caleb by the morning glories in our backyard on Caleb's first day of school. Caleb with Mary and me before he goes to school for the first time.

Who Raised this Kid?

Last night, Caleb was the only person to eat all of his dinner. That meant he could have ice cream for dessert. He chose the Brigham's Peppermint ice cream. (This is an excellent ice cream. One of the best peppermint ice creams I have ever had.) Normally, Caleb stirs his ice cream until it melts and leaves a little bit in the bowl when he is done. Last night, he ate, drank, and licked every last drop of his peppermint ice cream. (He even got a drip off of the table.)

I was not sure whether I should be proud of this behavior or not, but it is a shame to let the good ice cream go to waste. (Just don't let Mary know that I condone this behavior.)

Joshua's New Talent

Joshua is picking new things up every day. Before bedtime we usually sing a song or two. (Most of them are the Primary songs the children learn at church.) This past year, Grace and Caleb have learned "Called to Serve" and it is one of the songs that we often sing at night. I taught them that sometimes an extra "Go" can be inserted in the chorus between the refrains of "onward" and "forward." Joshua has picked up on the "Go." So when we sing "Called to Serve" he is quiet through the song, until after the second "onward." Then he will belt out a "Go" and stay silent for the rest of the song.

Health Food

We had ice cream for dessert the other night. We let the children choose either vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate frozen yogurt, or cookies and cream frozen yogurt. (It is not hard to guess which one of those I would have purchased.) I did not tell them one was ice cream and the others were frozen yogurt. Caleb selected the vanilla bean ice cream and said, "The vanilla bean ice cream is the healthy one. It has beans in it."

I agree with that kind of health food logic.

Halloween Pictures

Here are recent pictures from Halloween events: This is from our church Halloween party. All but Mary in orange on black on Halloween. (And I love the fact that Joshua's hair is working overtime in this picture.) Ready for trick or treating! Joshua is a cute little dinosaur. Don't mess with pirate Caleb. What a beautiful Asian princess. All the kids from the 'hood that went trick or treating together. And a great picture of little Joshua that I could not resist posting.

And a link to even more photos.

Recently Heard

The last video shows how Joshua's language skill continue to improve (and that his favorite word is "idunnoknow"). He has started learning a lot of new words, but he is not the only one with new words. Everyone has been getting in on the act.

Grace's reading has been tested by Halloween candy. She was digging through her bag the other day and asked me if I liked "Whooppers". (Marketing slogan: Candy that makes you whoop!) I asked her if she meant "Whoppers".

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This morning I was coming downstairs as Caleb was getting his backpack ready for school. I hear him say, "Mom, why did you leave my zipper all skippity-bappity?"

How do you answer that? All I could do was laugh.

(For the record, I believe skippity-bappity means out of place. Mary left the zippers together at the top of the backpack when Caleb clearly wanted the zippers either all the way to the left or the right.)

A Message for Granny Sal

On the Way Home from Church

Mary told the children that they were going to play miniature golf tomorrow.

Caleb said, "I can't play, I don't have any clubs."

Mary said, "Don't worry, we can rent some there."

Grace said, "Are we going to ride in a golf cart?"

Mary said, "We need to move from this town."

Of Pandas and Polar Bears

Joshua loves pandas. I am not sure why he choose pandas, but he loves them. From the time he was about 6 months old, if he played with our Fisher Price Little People, he would end up with the pandas and the polar bear. We have even taken them to church because he enjoys playing with them so much.

This past week Hayden visited us. The children had a great time with their old friend. Mary sent the boys to the basement to play one morning while Grace was at soccer camp. Hayden and Caleb decided to play with the box of animals downstairs. There are more of these animals than there are in our Fisher Price set. They are also smaller.

After the boys had been playing for a while, Joshua came upstairs to see what Mary was doing in the kitchen. Joshua was carrying two animals from the basement set: a panda and a polar bear.

He know which animals he likes!

Stuff

It is a good thing that Grace was not born to a long line of feminists. She has lately taken to singing the classic Disney song "Femininity."

Let's just say that won't be a feminist anthem anytime soon.

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Have you seen the Half Blood Prince trailer? I think you should watch it. It is amazing.

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Caleb woke up this morning and got dressed before 6:30 am. We went downstairs and he read two books to me. I don't think I did mornings like he does mornings.

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Joshua is learning how to pray. We tell him to fold his arms and he bows his head. Usually he bows it so far that he touches something with his head. If we are by a bed, his head touches the bed. If we are at dinner, his head touches the tray of his high chair. I should not laugh, but it is funny in a cute way.

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Weird song that I was listening to while posting.

Caleb's Tower of Toilet Paper

If you need to build, you use whatever materials you can find.

Conversation in the Ocean

While we were at the beach, I carried Joshua out into the ocean. He had sand and suntan lotion all over his back. I needed to rinse it off. (Kind of cruel since the water was about 62 degrees.)

As I was out there, a man came up to me and said, "Your son looks exactly like you."

I replied, "Yeah, poor kid."

Without missing a beat he says, "Yeah, he doesn't know how bad he has it, does he?"

Joshua and His Hair

I love Joshua's hair. It is so great right now. It is red, curly, and sticks up all over the place. It grows the most in the middle and just a little bit on the side. I think it is adorable. The other day Mary took a picture and Joshua got in the way. This is what the bottom part of the picture looked like: When I am around and Joshua needs something, this is what I see: I love that silly, little boy.

Camping Trip

This weekend we went camping with Ken, Camille, Summer, William, and Sam. We had a great time with them. Here is a picture of all but Ken, William, and me. Our tent is in the background. It looks pretty good considering that we left the stakes at home. (I thought we had brought them with and spent an hour looking for them while Mary wondered what was wrong with me and why couldn't I set up the tent faster.) We borrowed some stakes and made due. It was fine except for the fact that it rained on the first night. Stakes really help a tent when there is rain. Oh well.

The big activity was to go to the beach. This is Joshua posing on the way to the beach. (He put his hat on that way.) And this is why we call her "Grace with a hole in her face." Here are two pictures of Mary and Grace body boarding together. Saturday happened to be our anniversary. It may be Mary's dream to spend our anniversary on the beach. I guess we can cross that off the list. Next time we just need to go further south for warmer water, decrease the number of kids with us, and upgrade the sleeping accommodations from a tent to a hotel room and the rest of the dream will be realized.

That evening we took the older children fishing. We did not catch anything but we fed the fish a couple of worms and grubs that they managed to get off the hook. Grace came the closest to catching something since there seemed to be something that got off her line right as she was about to pull it to the dock. Here is Caleb trying his hand at fishing. I took this picture of the two of us. The little fishing dock was really nice, as was the pond. The pond had a bunch of turtles and you could really hear the frogs.

After we came back from fishing we put the children to bed and the adults hung out by the campfire. Ken is a physician in training, so they had funny medical stories to tell us. As they were regaling us with their stories of emergency room visits, we told them that we really did not have any stories about going to the ER. We had taken Grace for an ear infection once or twice, but that was the extent of it. We came home on Sunday. Joshua fell asleep on the way home and got a great nap in since it continued when we came home. Caleb went to get him out of his crib, fell over (Joshua was fine), and hit his head on the side of Grace's bed. We went to the ER to get staples for Caleb's head. Officially, I am blaming Ken and Camille. (Hey, it was their stories that instigated our comment.)

Beans and Bug

We Went on a Vacation - Part 3

We stayed with Oliver and Kristin for a couple of days. The first day we went to the zoo and met up with our dear Cambridge friends, Annette, Allison, Sariah, and Kaylee. We had an amazing time at the zoo. We got to see so many of the animals and then Sean met us for dinner. We had a wonderful dinner and great conversation. What pictures do we have of seeing our old friends? I am glad you asked. We don't have any photos with our friends, but we got a great shot of a panda eating. (Pandas are Joshua's favorite animals. He calls them "nandas" and did not want to leave that part of the zoo.) The next day at Oliver and Kristin's was our last full day of vacation. We went to a water park. This was the draw: We had a great time. The kids ran around, hit the slides, and we just spent the whole day relaxing in the pool. Oliver and Joshua bonded after swimming. Joshua and Caleb relaxing on the lounge chairs: Here is Grace after a day full of swimming: