When their stay with us ended up being extra long (they had planned to come for a medical procedure which was delayed by a week) I worried that having two families in such close proximity for a long time might be a recipe for disaster. I am happy to report that I was wrong.
Yes, Atticus and Bowman did fight a few times and even little Lucy and Junie had a couple of tiffs (hilarious little baby fights that I’m sure McKay and I had when we were that small) but it only strengthened our friendships. Thank goodness for the power of prayer and having an open line of communication. Craig and McKay did everything in their power to help around the house- cleaning, buying groceries and dinner, you name it. They went out of their way so much that I worried (and still do) that they did too much.
In any case, the magic did, eventually, end. McKay’s eye surgery was a success and they began the long journey home. Now that it’s over, I feel so grateful that the Lord gave me a such a wonderful friend and the opportunity of a lifetime to really spend time with her and her adorable little ones. I guess little Junie was asking to go to “Noey’s house” quite a bit when they first got home. She never would have remembered me if things had gone according to plan. We miss them and can't wait for our paths to cross again.
While they were here (on July 14) Atticus lost his very first tooth! And only five days later he lost his second tooth. It was scary for him but in the end he somewhat reluctantly let his dad pull them out. It was a good thing, too, because the adult teeth were already growing in!
The poor kid was in for quite a disappointment the next morning: there was nothing under his pillow! I told him there had to have been a mistake. He tosses and turns so much at night that I had a feeling it was somewhere nearby. Sure enough, after a thorough search we found the coin behind the bed. The Tooth Fairy had come, after all.
Here are just a few of the hundereds of photos Atticus took one day.
At the beginning of the summer he wrote a summer bucket list with things he hoped we would accomplish. I'm so glad he did because it really pushed me to do more than I normally would have. Some of the things were so easy and just took a little preparation (light sparklers, make a rootbeer float, have a water balloon fight, make smores, glow sticks at night, etc.) There were a few that put me out of my comfort zone (tie-dyeing t-shirts was probably the least fun for me! Poor Hinckley just couldn't stop touching everything!) I think it might have to be a new tradition.
This kid. We have had our share of struggles this month. We've also had so many amazing talks. His courage to stand for what he knows is right and the depth of his understanding of gospel principles never cease to amaze me. He told me the other day that when his friend used language he didn't like he asked him to stop. Just like that. I never had the courage to do that as a kid!
He also has a (selective) heart of gold. Just on Sunday he wrote a letter to his Nana asking her to be his "pinpal," without any hints or nudges whatsoever from us.
I love it when he and Hinckley get along. It really does happen a lot, especially if they can play together first thing in the morning. For a week or so in July the two of them were going running right after they woke up. He had a Powerade that he had saved each would take a couple sips from a blender bottle (they called it their "Preworkout") and then they would go work out in the garage after their run. They would open the door and report to me each of the exercises they had completed.
Speaking of working out, have I ever told you about the time some friends of ours who have three girls came over? This was a few months ago. We hadn't seen them for months and months due to the quarantine. He surprised me by disappearing when the girls arrived, rather than saying hi. I was chatting with them on the front porch when he came back around the corner with some weights and started lifting them, just in view of the girls. He even started grunting as he lifted them for a more dramatic effect. I was totally dumbfounded. He was trying to impress those girls!
He loves history and was especially excited about the stories of Louis Zamperini and Gail Halvorsen (aka the "Candy Bomber"), so much so that he and Hinckley constructed their own bomber out of cardboard and were pretending to fly it and bomb factories below. Their aircraft had all sorts of buttons and levers drawn on it. Naturally, this led to their creating their own cardboard Nintendo switches. I love it when they are relaxed enough to create their own games. Their creations are almost always so much better than what I would have come up.
Atticusisms:
- "Will you buy this for me?" ("Nope.") "But I need a new water bottle for soccer..." (Trying out his skills of persuasion on a friend's mom.)
- "You're going to jail! You stole, you were speeding, you didn't pay your taxes...and your landscaping wasn't good!" (He was pretending to be a judge.)
- "I got my eyes on him... he's a SPY!" (Watching the ward membership clerk walk down the aisle at church as he counted the numbers who were there.)
- "Bomb them at north degrees south!"
- "Dropping ballistic missiles!" (While pretending to be Louis Zamperini or a bombardier.)
- "I like saving things. Like, I save my treats so I can make Hinckley jealous and I'm saving my money." ("What are you saving your money for?") "So I can spoil my grandkids... like Bobba." ("Oh, you want to have a family, do ya? Who are you going to marry?!") "No one!"
- "I want to live on a farm... I'd love to plant seeds all day." ("Yeah, I want a Batman farm!" Hinckley was quick to add.)
- "I don't know what to get!" (Said a quick silent prayer, and then, more calmly, made a choice while at Target.) "I'm so smart!"
Hinckley has been so much easier this month. We still have terrific battles (and I mean the "terrifying" definition of "terrific!") but his body has adjusted a little more to missing a nap, which is such a relief for our family.
He can still be so self-conscious, leading to some heartbreaking questions. One day he looked at Lucy and asked, "Why is Lucy's tummy so big?" I told him she was perfect and that babies' tummys often looked like that. Then he looked at Atticus and asked, "Why is Atticus's tummy small?" I told him that Atticus had grown up more, had more muscles and probably got a lot of them from all the running he did. So he went running around the house and came back, looked down at his own tummy and said, "Augh... Still big." I tried to reassure him that he was perfect but I'm not sure he was listening.
He may not have wanted to listen to me because he told Dane and me a few weeks later that our tummies were big. He asked Dane, "Why is yo tummy so big?" after Dane responded, laughing, he asked me the same question. "What?" I replied, "My tummy isn't that big... is it?" And he said, with a twinkle in his eye, "Yes it is! Tell da twuf!"
I could list so many other hilarious conversations we have had with him. I feel like every other sentence I have to struggle to keep a straight face. Then the rest of the time I'm trying to interpret what on earth he is asking. This isn't because of his pronunciation. He enunciates fairly well for a three-year-old. It's purely that he has interesting ideas of products/toys come into head that just don't exist or make no sense and he desperately needs me to look it up just to make sure. ("Show me a Batman_________. Show me Bwuce Wayne becoming Batman. Show me Anakin Skywoko toning into Doth Vado.") It can be so exasperating as he loses patience with us.
Here is our little muscle man just after getting a hair cut. I wasn't there but Dane tells me he had just told him, "I'm gonna punch you in the face when I'm a teenager!" What?!
His art skills continue to improve. I am amazed at the details he started adding this month. Eyes with pupils, fingers, toes, teeth and even eyebrows?! It's all new! I wish he wasn't such a perfectionist but hopefully he'll learn to be patient with himself.
Boy does this little man have music in his soul. He just can't seem to keep from dancing. What's more, the mood can really affect him. When I first introduced Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" to him and suggested a fun scenario to act it out (Jack sneaking around and then being chased in the Giant's hall) he was positively terrified and would scream for us to turn it off. After a few weeks of this something clicked and he became obsessed with the song, asking to play it constantly. He has since slowed down a bit (only requesting it once a day or so.)
He has started having a similar reaction to movies. Where, up until this past May, he never really seemed to worry about them, he has started yelling and screaming while watching tense parts of movies. This is nothing new for us. Atticus has been turning off movies or running away from anything that makes him feel uncomfortable for years. It did take me by surprise the first time, though, since he had been so docile up until now.
On our way to Utah (we went again at the end of the month) we stopped by Cove Fort and were pleasantly surprised to find the Hinckley Cabin. Hinckley was so excited to have a landmark that shared his name. Inside the cabin, we watched a video all about Ira Hinckley, the founder of the fort back in 1867. Every time he heard his name he would get a huge grin and start paying attention again.
Hinckley Speaks:
- "I'm not eating it! It's my pet." (About an animal cracker he had brought home with him.)
- "I'm giving him foot massages and baths so he won't say, 'Ouch!' " (His explanation for an epic mess of bowls filled with blue liquid for his Batman figurine.)
- "I want to wiv wif Ewwie. But I'll have to wait until I mawwy huh."
- "And now it's time to dance!" (After eating a quick lunch while listening to music.)
- "Do you know 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'?" (It turns out that they didn't.) "I don't fink you know anyfing!"
- "I'm stwong!" (Said multiple times between taking bites of food and flexing his muscles.)
- "I need to go potty. I need to wisten to my body!"
- "Whew is da Batman cawd?" (After learning that there are Joker face cards.)
- ("Want to jump on the trampoline?") "I can't! Not wif my bwoody foot!" (It was a tiny scab on his toe.)
- "Daddy, my poop is spicy!"
Our beautiful little Lucy just turned 11 months!
She crawls in and through everything. If you're nearby on the floor, you're next. She'll go back and forth over your lap or tummy. For example, this last Sunday there was a little boy who was having a hard time in nursery. He laid down on the ground crying and before we could get to him to help him (we have a lot of children crying in nursery lately!) Lucy crawled right up to him and started patting his head and giving him kisses. It was so cute and was a nice distraction for him. We did have to move her after a little while because her pats became a little too rough but her intentions seemed good.
She loves Max's toys, food (she's always trying to sneak a bite!) and even his bones. We're saving this photo for when she brings someone home on a date.
Ohhhh, this sweet, sweet girl. Babyhood is so very short. She'll be a year in just three weeks.
In the middle of the month she started coasting along furniture and gets better at it every day.
We call this her "Flock of Seagulls" bedhead. It makes an appearance every so often.
Rare footage taken by Atticus. She does cry plenty but I think this is the first photo that has documented it.
She gives the best kisses and so much more often than the boys ever did. We all love them.
She does this adorable downward dog maneuver where she puts her head on the ground and looks through her legs. She loves to chew on chalk if she can get her hands on it.
Some of her funniest tricks, however, have to be karate chopping my hands or spoons when I try to feed her (sometimes she uses both hands at once) and rotating on her bum. She will hold something in her hands and then circle about with her little legs moving like the hands on a clock. It is adorable.
We also LOVE dancing with her. Toward the start of this month she started rocking side to side in her high chair (and elsewhere) to music and it is so, so fun.
What has really made my heart soar is Atticus's increasing attention to her. In the final months of July and beginning months of August it feels like he is finally seeing her. He has told us a few times that he doesn't want her to grow up because she is so cute. He loves to carry her, play with her and "teach" her things. Hinckley has been very interested in Lucy from the start (a little too interested or rough, much of the time) but it has taken up until now for Atticus to really treasure his time with her. Perhaps it is because she has become so interactive, or maybe Atticus is the one who has just reached a developmental milestone. Whatever the reason, it makes all of us so very happy, especially Lucy.
I alluded to our trip to Utah earlier but here is some proof that we went. My sweet friend from the mission was getting married and I was able to go to her reception. As an added bonus, I got to see another dear former mission companion there. Hooray for a happy beginning!
We had a wonderful stay with Dane's parents and spent some treasured time with members of our family on both sides. I was on my own with the three kids so I didn't take very many pictures and just tried to soak it all in.
I did take a few pictures while we were with my dad. We spent the night at his place and went paddle boarding with him the next day. Afterward, Atticus said it was, the "funnest day ever." He wasn't wrong. It was a very simple, delightful day. Lucy and I stayed on the shore. She was quiet but, overall, seemed to enjoy herself. Hinckley had a blast digging in the sand and pouring it on his head. Even though it wasn't the ocean, Atticus seemed satisfied. We could cross "Go to the beach" off of his summer bucket list.
Whew. That was July. And now we're a third of the way through August.
Speaking of which, I may as well make an official announcement here. The school district we are zoned for started school yesterday but, after much prayerful consideration, Dane and I have decided that we will keep Atticus at home. We are so excited about this decision. There are still times I feel a little nervous or overwhelmed but I have felt so much more peace than fear. We are happy to discuss our reasons and the wonderful, wealth of materials that we have found if anyone is interested.
With that being said, this blog will likely also record our homeschool adventures, so stay tuned.
I'll leave you now with this photo of a double rainbow we saw recently. We had a few crazy days of monsoon rain and this beauty appeared afterward.
Life really is beautiful, isn't it.
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