Swim Lessons and the Van: June 2019

June had a very bittersweet beginning.  We had dear friends move halfway across the country the first weekend (here are some chances we had to say goodbye).

And we got a new van the second weekend.  (For the whole story, see below*) 

The van came just in time for our anniversary so... Happy 7th Anniversary to us!
 
Hinckley is making huge strides.  He can "count" to ten (his version) and does countdowns from five.  He is dancing all the time (his rhythm is right on!)  Even when we go to the grocery store he moves to the beat while sitting in the shopping cart.  He has his own style (he insisted on wearing the batman-suspenders getup a few weeks ago) and we love it.

He is still such a wonderful peacemaker.  Several times this month when he heard Atticus go to his room crying/yelling he could be heard saying, "Uh oh" a few times, along with, "Stop!"  He will then go up to Atticus's door (sometimes he'll even make kiss sounds to the door), knock, tell him, "I'm sorry" in his way ("Ee-Saw-Daa").  Atticus lets him in, Hinckley gives him hugs and kisses and Atticus calms down.  It has worked every time so far.

The most exciting recent development for Hinckley has been swimming.  He started some pretty intense lessons on June 10 and after just three weeks he is floating and swimming amazingly well!  He screams and yells pretty much the whole time for the swim instructor but at home is as happy as a clam.  He is so funny- he seems to have no fear of the water and loves putting his face down.  He kind of folds at the waist and kicks/pulls with his arms like a fast inchworm.

Hinckley Speaks:
"A show, a show!" (runs in front of the TV like his brother.  Show also means "swim" or "swing.")
Love you ("Ub oo")
"I decited" (we thought this was "I'm excited" but he says it so often that we've become less sure.)
BATMAN! ("BA-BAA!"- sung along with a yelling Atticus)
"Beam!" (yelled while putting arm out while listening to "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam")

Addakiss, mah mah (kiss sounds- often in the morning when he wants to wake Atticus up)
Water (“Deeda”- I once said, “WWAHTER” to help him and he just said, “Deeeeedaaaa” in response.)

“Dance”

Atticus has had a great month.  He is taking swim lessons from his awesome teacher again and it's fun to see him gaining confidence and getting faster.  At the beginning of the month he had decided he just wanted to do the doggy paddle all the time (we're thinking he was trying to swim the way a wolf would.)  It took a little convincing but he's back to following Ms. Hillary's lead!

He really doesn't like drawing (he gets so upset when things aren't "perfect.") but we were thrilled this month when he tried drawing some new things.  He drew his first house, his first tiger, he learned to draw shark fins, waves and hearts.  The hearts were for his sweet cousin Natalie (his new penpal.)

He has decided that red is his new favorite color (no longer black, green and blue) because it's "mad," "evil" and "mean."  This, naturally, led him to cheer for the British (the "Redcoats") while we were reading a book about the Revolutionary War.  That boy.

We can't stay mad at him, though.  One friend from the ward actually texted me to tell me how grateful she was for Atticus. He had asked her where her grandson, Bubba was.  She told him that Bubba was sick.  Atticus replied, "That's too bad."  A few seconds later he added, "I hope he feels better soon!"

Another proud moment this month came when Atticus sang in church for Father's Day.  He had been practicing at home and it showed.  He sang every word with all his heart and you could easily hear him over the other children.  We've probably had 10 or more people tell us how fun it was to hear him sing.  Way to go, Atticus!  We hope he never stops singing.

Speaking of Father's Day, I just have to say how grateful I am for the fathers in my life, especially this guy.  We love you, Dane!


Atticusisms:

• "Have you seen our new van?!"
• "How dare you?!"
• "Woohoo!"
• "Why does [the Grinch] eat onions? (crunches a raw onion in his mouth) "... Hot, hot, HOT!"
• "I hate him so, so (repeat 10+ times) much!" (Or "I love you so, so so... much!")
• "Please bless Bowman to make (hundreds of) new friends." (every prayer)
• "Mommy!  That guy has tattoos drawn on him!"  (yelled the first time- we've learned to whisper about these kinds of things)
• "Why does the Grinch drink black coffee?"
• "What kind of superhero is Deadpool?"
• "[Hinckley's] a peacemaker.  He helps me calm down.  When he grows up he'll be a madmaker."

*The rest of the van story:
Dane was in Albuquerque working on a homicide case.  He was gone for our anniversary but we had some fun plans for the weekend.  Before this last minute trip for work, we had finally decided to get a van.  

Shortly after Dane left, we learned that my brother was looking for a car just like ours and it was decided that we would sell the car to him.  So, right after coming home from New Mexico, Dane turned around and drove our car up to Utah.

The next morning Dane got the car over to Danny but, while they were finalizing the transaction, I received a text that indicated to me that the van we had been preparing to purchase in Vegas had been sold (the salesman had sent me a text that said, "Sold." Little did I know he was correcting an earlier text in which he had accidentally written, "old.")  In a panic, I told Dane the van was sold and that he should check out a dealership only a few minutes away that I had seen online.

He found an incredible deal on a van that was newer and had more bells and whistles than we had intended.  His flight was delayed for 6+ hours, anyway, so we cancelled the flight and he drove the van home.  As it turned out, he actually arrived home sooner than his flight would have taken off in Utah.

It was a loooong week for poor Dane but well worth it.  The van is simply wonderful.  I'm still pinching myself and feeling downright spoiled.

Speaking of ordeals for Dane...

Max has been losing his puppy teeth this month (he still has one left, making it a funny-looking double tooth.)  That has been weird enough but then, one day, Dane was stepping on something somewhat painful all day.  When he got home he discovered that one of Max's teeth had gotten stuck in his sock!