Kid Updates

Miles
I can't believe I almost have a 7 year old. He seems to be getting more mature by the day. He's also getting more curious by the day, which I'm so excited about. Parents always talk about their kids asking questions all the time,especially, "Why?". Miles never really went through a phase like that. These days though, he always has really complex (for his age) questions. I'll try and explain the answers and then he'll say, "Oh, ok that makes sense." For questions I can't answer right away, we write them down in a folder and then look them up when we have time. Today we looked up *What is a uvula for? and *Why don't birds get electrocuted when they land on power lines. He will also frequently make up scenarios and ask "What if?" Like, "What if the sky really did rain down orange juice?" Sometimes his questions are really deep and really cause me to think before I speak. Questions that I have no idea where they come from Questions like, "What if Heavenly Father said that boys had to marry boys and girls marry girls?" or "Dad, what if you had to marry 2 girls." or "How come only boys have the priesthood and not girls?" and "How come all of the prophets are boys?" I mean...c'mon kid. I'm not supposed to have to deal with those tougher questions till you're older! Although, it's provided a wonderful platform for some really great discussions.
He does really well with school most of the time, but coming back from Christmas break was killer. He kept insisting that he hated school and never wanted to do it again. It's taken a week, but I think we might be back to normal. It was hard on both of us.:) I think he has most of the skills to be a good reader, but he hasn't caught the reading bug yet. So whenever he reads it's just because it's part of school or because I make him. I wish he really wanted to read, because I think he'd take off. Hopefully we'll get there sooner rather than later.
He's been getting plenty of mileage out of his Christmas presents, namely Mario Kart, Battleship, and his Magformers. I may have already noted this, but he says he's too big for baths now (unless of course it's in Mom and Dad's jetted tub with bubbles); he's strictly a shower man these days. He has renounced most girly things like princess movies and the colors purple and pink. (even though he still likes them plenty if he's around them) His favorite profession these days is a farmer. That's what he most consistently wants to be. Sometimes when we're cuddling before bed, he'll tell me all about the different kinds of animals he'll have on his farm and how many. Recently his prayers have gotten way more grown up. He prays for longer and about varied things every night. He usually always throws in, "And please help us to follow Your ways so that we can live with you again". He wants to bear his testimony every Sunday, and gets bummed out that every Sunday isn't fast and testimony meeting. Last week he bore his testimony about wanting to be a missionary. :)



Gwen
Gwen is a mini-mama. She loves to try and take care of Lindy and anyone smaller than her. Lindy isn't always appreciative, and Gwen is always so patient when Lindy rejects her help. She loves babies and has been in heaven holding her newest cousin Brendan. :)
She's got the moves. If music is on, watch out, cause she's gonna shake it. :) She's loving her dance class, in case you were wondering. She's also becoming a better singer. She would sing before, but now her tone is actually pretty accurate. And her amazing memory helps her memorize songs after 1 or 2 listens.
She's on a rotating clothing schedule these days, by her own choice. She goes from fancy, to not fancy, back to fancy. Sometimes the pattern changes. But she loves wearing her church dresses on a regular basis.
One of her big things these days is saying things like "When I was 3...." or "I used to do that all the time when I was 2" Sometimes they're accurate, but most of the time, it's just a wild guess on her part. :) She has THE BEST laugh. It's so genuine, and frequent, and contagious. I love listening to it.
She is an emotional girl and feels things deeply. The other night we had a babysitter come over for a bit and when she went home, Gwen was absolutely hysterical. Today, Richie carpooled with some of his family to Idaho for his Great-Grandma Ewing's Funeral, and she cried for a long time. When we came home from St. George this last time, she cried as we pulled out of Mom and Dad's driveway, and continued to cry for at least 30 minutes. When we got home, she cried again.
She loves cuddling at night and always asks me to tell her funny stories from when she was little. My mind always goes blank! Which is why I'm so glad I can just go back in the blog and remember things. One night I tucked them in and as I was leaving she asked if I would come cuddle her later. I said I would, and as I walked away I heard her say to Miles, "She really is very kind, isn't she?" The things that come out of her mouth crack me up and amaze me. For instance, we read a very detailed book the other day about reptiles. Today, she picked up the book to show Richie and practically recited the entire thing to him. This morning she came in and cuddled with me a little and told me it was time to get up and make breakfast. I told her I was tired and wanted to sleep all day. After about 1 minute she said, "Mom, do you know why Heavenly Father made kitchens? SO WE COULD EAT!!!"
Sometimes the things that come out of her mouth also infuriate me. She has a fair amount of sass and I don't always know how to handle it. As an example, in the mornings I want her to get out of her pj's asap because she still wears a diaper at night and always struggles with UTI's. She'll say, "But Mom, you know that I like to eat breakfast in my pajamas, remember?" I'll say yes, but....and give her my reasons. She'll simply say back, "Well, I don't want to." And if I push it again, She'll put her arms straight to her side, fists clenched, brow furrowed, and even louder and with more attitude say, 'But...I...Don't...Want...To!!" Definitely a challenge.



Lindy
It seems like at this age, kids learn something new every day. Lindy is no exception. She is starting to say more words and communicate more effectively. She understands most of what we say and responds appropriately. "Are you all done?" "Can you go shut the door please?" "Where are your boots?" (To which she responds by holding her hands and shoulders up and says, "Boooos?" So cute)
She has the best walk. It has such purpose to it. I wish I could adequately describe it. She walks like she means business. She's also really into being able to reach things lately. So she'll go grab the stool from the bathroom to stand up on, or a garbage can lid, or the potty chair, or a suitcase, etc. Anything she thinks will help her reach something high up.
She wants to be big so badly! Whenever we're having a conversation, she makes sure she is a part of it. Often mimicking pretty closely what one of the kids have said, at least in intonation.
She's still potty training herself, and I'm still not totally on board with it. I really should. I'm just lazy and don't want to deal with it. Santa even brought underwear for her for Christmas. But without any help from me, she's improving and getting better every day. So maybe if I just wait it out, she'll figure it all our on her own?? Crossing my fingers.
She still has a huge personality. Part of that personality lately is that she really tries to make people laugh. She'll make silly faces, funny noises, dance around goofy, whatever gets a rise out of her audience. The nursery leaders have told us the same thing. They say that lately her thing is to dump the toys out of a bucket and wear it on her head and walk around to everyone making silly faces.
She still has issues being a bully, but we've been consistently working with her and she's getting lots better. If she ever starts getting out of control, I'll say, "Uh-oh, do you need to go calm down for a minute?" She always shakes her head yes, so I tell her to go sit in her room and read some books until she feels happy. She'll march off with a pouty face, usually grunting, shoulders slumped. But she'll make it to her room, stay there for a minute, and then come out on her own when she's happy! We also have to do timeouts when her personality get too big. (Which of course is a euphemism for physically abusing someone. :) Just to be clear) She throws the best fits. She'll get so upset, pout, sometimes fake cry,slump shoulders, shuffle away, and then fall face first on the floor. It's always hilarious.
When we put her down for bed, she loves her crib to be full of blankets, babies or dolls, and books. She is loving books lately, and that makes me giddy. She loves falling asleep to music, specifically the Cori Conners lullaby album.
When we do school in the mornings, she's wanting to actually participate for some of the time. So we get her a paper and she scribbles for a few minutes, which has been fun. She always stands up for the pledge and puts her hand on her heart in the morning when we say the pledge. She's getting better at "saying" her prayers. She'll kneel and fold arms while we talk for her, and she'll manage to say "Jesus" and "Amen".