Kid Update

Miles

*We have been quarantined for about a month now, and it finally caused you to have a breakdown. I was certain all of you kids would have one before the month mark, so I was surprised it took you so long. You had a few moments one day that were a little rough around the edges. Nothing awful, just not your normal-perfect self. Well those moments, added to a snap at your sister at bed time, brought on a wave of guilt. I felt so badly that you felt so badly for incredibly minor mistakes. It took almost an hour of me helping you calm down, and while it was a tough parenting moment, it was also one of my sweetest.
*You asked to have your hair cut! You have been growing it out for quite some time now. Maybe about a year? You even talked about growing it out long, like to your shoulders. I gave you a hard time about it sometimes because you refused to comb it and put gel in it 90% of the time. It looks really great when we actually style it, but when we don't, it can tend to looks pretty wild and disheveled. I kept saying, I don't mind if you have long hair, as long as you do it! :) So it was surprising to me that you wanted to cut it. Grandma took care of it one Saturday when they were watching you. You're handsome no matter what.
*You're in this transition period, from childhood to adolescence, which is sometimes a little uncomfortable. Totally understandable.You're not really a little kid anymore, but you're not a teenager yet either. You're starting to mature in physical ways and mental ways. You like to have something mature to respond with in tough situations, such as when we had to take your school lap top back today and you said, "Well, that's just how life goes sometimes. You never know how life is going to go. It's been a really good tool for me to use." Stiff upper lip and all that jazz, even though you were so sad to part with it :) And you're asking more mature questions etc. It's been fun and enlightening to have these conversations with you.


Gwen

*You are my little wild child lately. It seems like in the last 6 months or so, a lot of typical "girly" edges are being rubbed off. You hate wearing dresses now (you change out as soon as possible because you feel like you can't move freely in them), and you hate doing your hair these days. You even resent me asking you to brush it in the morning. Either you or I will eventually get it brushed, but it's rare these days that you let me style it at all. You like it long, in your face and tangly.
*You love texting. :) Dad and I will sometimes go on a walk at night after everyone is in bed, and leave a phone with you guys and take one with us. You're usually the most nervous about this, so you like to grab the phone and text us periodically to see where we're at. You especially love using emoji's :)
*You are a leader. You always have a creative game or scenario you've made up to play with siblings or friends. When friends come over, you never even think to ask to watch a show or play on the computer. You usually come up with something far more entertaining to do. :)
*The other night Lindy was crying for a heating pad, but we couldn't find any others. You had the only one available. I tried looking, but to no avail. Luckily, without any prompting from me, you gave yours to her because you could tell she needed it more. I was so grateful. It really warms my heart to see you being so kind to your sister specifically since you two can also push each others buttons.

Lindy

*You are consistently my slowest eater. :) Sometimes it's because you're savoring your food and chewing slowly, but most of the time it's because you get distracted and want to talk during dinner.
*You are my child who most often says "Thank you" for routine things that I do, without being prompted. It's not uncommon for you to say, at a meal, "Thanks for making us this yummy food Mom!", or "Thanks for doing this for us" when I've gone out of my way to make something special. It's always so appreciated.
*You have the longest stories to tell. :) You always want to teach a lesson, or tell us a story, or a recount a shot-for-shot reenactment of a conversation you had with someone last week. I'll admit, sometimes it takes all of my self-control to listen to the entire account. But you're so dang cute, and I want to be interested in what's interesting to you.
*You are my longest prayer these days. When I asked someone to say a blessing on the food, I have to think for a minute how quickly we need to get food in our bellies before asking you to pray. :) And maybe I've mentioned this before, but Dad and I get a kick out of how you phrase things in your prayers sometimes. You thank Heavenly Father for things that haven't happened yet. In reality, you just have trouble phrasing things sometimes. But Dad and I like to think of it as a manifestation of your faith. "Thank thee that we won't get sick, Thank thee that we'll have a good time on our trip" etc. :)
*You are ALL about the monkey bars lately. You were bound and determined to make it across them last summer, and this summer you are focused on
mastering the art of monkey bars. Even if it means popped blisters on your hands.

Benson

*You NEVER sleep in your own bed. You either sleep on the floor of the girl's room, the floor of Mom and Dad's room, or (99%) of the time, you sleep on the hard floor in the hallway with every.single.pillow and blanket you can steal from the other bedrooms. It's maddening and utterly cute.
*Dad and I love how both your age and your personality help you to be thrilled with so many things. You do get grumpy/angry/tired for sure, but for the most part, you are just so happy all of the time. And you are thrilled with the simplest things; a rock, mud, a stick, a dog walking down the street etc.
*You are such a negotiator! If we ever say, "5 more minutes." You'll say, "No. All the minutes!" And then if we double down on the 5 minutes, you'll say, "Ok, just 1 more teensy weensy minute?" You can usually find a way to twist some words to get exactly what you want.
*You don't mind going barefoot most places. Even when that means walking across harsh landscapes, You like to be shoe-less.
*Still 1,000% boy. You love jokes about poop, and saying the word penis, and asking me to wipe your bum, and picking your nose... And just when I think, "ugh gross! Why??" You'll wrap me in a big hug and tell me how much you love me. You're so affectionate with me and I super love it. Every night when we ask what you kids are grateful for, for the last 3-5 months, you've said, "Mommy". Sometimes...you're grateful for Daddy, but usually it's me. I love your willing hugs and kisses.

Davy

*You are a real grump these days. From about 9-1 you're just ornery. It makes school time difficult. I love you so dang much, but I count the minutes until nap time. And you're only doing 1 nap (have been for quite some time, ugh) and sometimes it's not even that long of a nap! It's killing me! You're one good sleep habit is that you go to bed at like 730, and wake up around 8. So you sleep great at night and don't wake up too early. Gotta give you points for that.
*Your "conversations" have taken on a more advanced tone these days. Your voice inflection is starting to sound like a real conversation.
*You are starting to take more steps! The other Sunday (4/19/20), you were standing on your own, which was fairly new, and then you just randomly took about 10 steps to Dad! It was amazing! You collapsed into his arms and gave him a big, long hug. It was adorable.
*You now know the sounds for horse, sheep, dog (just panting), and chicken (just moving your mouth open and closed-like saying "Buc-Buc" but with no sound. Ha! You are also really good at the signs for more, all-done, night-night, milk, and brush teeth. You're next trick is learning the parts of the face. I'm pretty sure you know "nose", and are close to getting all the others.
*You love playing Peek-a-boo ("Where's Davy??"), and you love it when I sing the song, "Here is the beehive, where are the bees..." when I change your diaper. It's the only thing that keeps you still enough! And you have your own little sign to indicate that you want me to sing it again.
*You are SUCH a picky eater lately! Today, you barely ate anything. I don't know how you managed. But you refused almost everything we offered you except your oatmeal at breakfast. It's driving me crazy. You LOVE milk, and you love to drink. You're always so thirsty. But when it comes to food...your palate worries me.
*You have started folding your arms for prayers. I've also heard you say,"All done" when you sign it. (Sounds like Dah-Dah!) And as of this week (last week in May 2020) You have started walking the majority of the time!! Yay!!!

First Half of May

Secret Garden Party. We finished this book together and loved it so, so much!! As with most book to movie adaptations, the book is WAY better. We wanted to finish reading it in time to go to Thanksgiving Point and go inside their secret garden. It almost didn't happen because of Covid, but luckily the week we finished, they opened up for limited attendance. We weeded in the garden in the morning (totally legit way to celebrate this book, but the kids didn't think it was as magical as Mary and Dicken), and then we went to the Secret Garden and snacked on Irish Soda Bread (closest thing I could find to currant rolls like Susan Sowerby would've made), and when we came home we ate food based on the book (eggs and potatoes, fried ham, and fresh milk), and watched a different version of the movie than we'd seen before. ( meh.) Love celebrating literature with my littles.


Just as a child's hands, legs and feet should look after a day with good weather. :)


I wanted to teach the 2 oldest the basics of sewing (even though that's barely all I know myself), and I wanted to use up as much of our scrap material as possible before moving, and we needed a new picnic blanket. Boom! I cut all the squares, but the kids sewed them all together! They were actually quite proficient with the machine by the end, and I was happily surprised and proud. I sewed the squares into columns, and then sewed those together (that required a bit more skill) It was such a great beginners project for us. It's useful and beautiful, and we made it from nothing. I love it.


One of the things I'm going to miss so much it hurts when we move is Sunday dinners at the Garners. Just like we went to Sunday dinner at the Christensen's while we were in Idaho, and we missed it so, so much when we moved here, I know I'm going to ache for this Sunday tradition when we move. Besides being a temporal blessing to our family, we love being with everyone and having something to look forward to every week. Makes me real sad.



Still trying to sell our house...It feels like the marathon of house selling. On the plus side, since we have been almost militant about keeping the house clean...our house is really clean all the time and the kids know how to hop-to at a moments notice. On the downside...keeping it clean all the time because a showing might pop up in the next hour is exhausting and anxiety inducing. One of the tricks up our sleeves is that if a showing is booked last minute and we don't have time to clean everything, and there are dirty dishes, or random things on the counter, we shove it on the oven so it's out of sight. Usually we remember to pull it out right when we come home... This time I slowly baked roughly 15 bananas and 8 avocados.


We have gotten rid of so much, and a lot of other stuff is packed away. The kids have had to get creative! They found a way to rig this strap on the clothes line to make a swing. I was super impressed by it's actual functionality, and also by how long it would keep them entertained! We had to put a stop to it after about a week though, because it was killing the grass underneath.


Another night, another showing, another last minute outing. Richie had taken the kids up in the Canyon near Timpanogos cave the day before for a showing. They wanted to take me back. The Tanners live nearby, so we invited them, they were game, we pooled our food and had an awesome night. Nothing like roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and letting go of 99% of parental control. Feels good sometimes. Want to climb that rock? Go for it. Want to eat nothing for dinner tonight but chips, gatorade and chocolate? Great. Want to be covered in dirt and not wash your hands? Awesome. I love how well our kids get along, I love chatting with Nicolina, and I LOVE the light-heartedness that Scottie brings out in Richie.


Another morning showing, and Dad had a Zoom meeting with his students, so we headed to his work. We brought breakfast with us, the kids played with the random "toys" at his building, raided the candy stash, I tried to sneak in something educational (giant spelling word-word search, and skip counting dot-to-dot for Lindy), and Dad taught them how to play "carp-golf" (a game where you cover glue sticks in velcro strips, and then try and throw them to squares made of tape on the floor. The kids thought it was awesome.


Another showing, another afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's. We try to help around their property, and then play. Dad pulled out the big guns this time. He introduced them to Buckin' Bronco on the tramp (a game he played with his siblings as a teenager where he wears his belt around his chest and someone tired to hang on as he bounces), and then he started teaching the 3 oldest how to do a backflip on the tramp. He's a pro. He taught me when we were first married. I couldn't do it now, but it's a fun memory.


Russ and Nat (and co) were up visiting Zadi (and co) and invited us to hang out at a park down in Alpine. Turns out, Utah County hasn't had the same Covid restrictions as SLC county, so the kids actually got to play on the playground equipment! Between that, the pizza we brought and their cousins, they were in heaven! So fun to see them for a bit.


Easy science experiment. Take slices of bread and rub them on different surfaces, stick them in a bag, and wait. We wanted to see which surfaces were the most germy. Kitchen floor, Davy's high chair, and my phone were the clear winners for most disgusting. (Ugh) Untouched surprisingly grew more mold than washed hands and a few others. Toilet seat never grew any! The kids and I were both fascinated and grossed out by it.



I had Richie take a picture of me and the kids on Mother's Day I'll have to add later. Other than that, this is the only picture I got. Gwen and Lindy painted my nails and put makeup on me. :) I told Richie not to buy me anything this year because of our no-spend challenge. My favorite thing is alone time, so I asked him to take the kids on a drive Sunday morning so I could have a few hours to myself. I slept in, took a bath, took a walk and talked to friends and made a Mother's Day cake in peace. Glorious. I sometimes feel bad that I'm not one of those moms who wants to be around her kids all Mother's Day. I love my kids more than life itself, but my introverted nature makes my quiet, alone time not just something I like and crave; it's absolutely necessary to my sanity. That's just how I'm wired. Hopefully my kids understand that. If not now, then later.

2nd half of April

School stuff: Abstract chalk art that everyone's been doing. :) Tears over math. Reading "The Secret Garden" while playing Legos.


We weren't planning on doing ANY planting this year, what with preparing to move. But our home hasn't sold quickly like we thought it would. So we planted things in the garden and made it look all pretty. Most of it was peas, just what we had on hand, cause I wasn't going to the store for more seeds when we weren't going to reap the rewards! Then they suggested flowers in the front. So we did that. And then I wanted to use up as many of the veggie seeds we had in storage before we moved. I figured the kids and I could plant them, see what grew, and maybe sell some starts. ??? We'll see. The process is what's fun about all of these things. Getting dirty. Doing something productive. Even if we may not see and benefit from the end result.


Church at home. Parts of it are great. Parts of it...aren't. :)



Every time we have a showing and have to get out of the house, it's an adventure. Sometimes we head to Mom and Dad Garner's home, or eating pizza in the car. We've also gone on new hikes we've never done before and found new picnic places. Richie is the best at finding new places! While it can be a pain in the butt, it's also been extremely fun.




Aunt Makenna took the older 3 for another sleep over. She's the best. Richie I think had a window washing job on Saturday, so I had a lot of one-on-one time with just the two little boys. It's always nice when that happens. We went on walks, and had a picnic in the tent, etc. All simple pleasures. Benson it fairly easy to please and such a happy, happy boy.


Miles loved our easter basket hunt with clues so much, that he made cookies by himself one Sunday, and then bagged them up into individual portions for everyone in the family and then created a hunt for us with clues and a string maze. :) Love that boy.


My happy place


Fun Fact about Benson. He NEVER sleeps in his own bed. This is where you can find him every night, with ALL the pillows from Mom and Dad's bed and his.


Gwen's first time running away was a result of another frustrating math lesson. (All of the kids are pretty "over" school by this point. Math has always been pretty easy for her, and now it's starting to get a little difficult and that's frustrating.) She tried to sneakily pack her backpack and walk out the front door. I could sense what she was up to, so when she was quietly walking out the front door I asked where she was going. She said, "Just outside for a bit". I said, "You aren't planning on running away are you?" And then she was frustrated that I had guessed her plan, told me she left a note on my bed, and then slammed the door. Miles and Lindy were both quite scared. I told them everything would be ok, but they could say a prayer if they liked. I checked my watch to see how long she would last. She didn't let me worry for very long. She came back about 15 minutes later and said she would run away later when her paint by numbers kit came in the mail, so that she would have something to do while she was away. :) Growing up is hard.


We made a giant chutes and ladders game on the patio, complete with a giant dice Gwen made. I'm running out of ways to "spice things up" around here. I pulled this one from the recesses of my mind and it kept them busy for an hour or so, with some fighting...so I'll call it a win?


The state is slowly opening up. This means some people aren't as scared to have playdates. :) The girls have been spending every available minute playing with the Holbrook kids outside, (no inside playdates yet with all the kids- though I wouldn't care about that either), and Miles finally got to sneak away to his buddy Parker's house to hang out. It's been a long time! He came back pretty happy. :)