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.