September 2020

Oh my goodness.  September felt like the fastest month of my life.  I have so much I would love to say and no time to type it.

As the last post shares, Baby Lucy came right at the beginning of the month (Sept. 6) and things never slowed down after that.  We decided to take her up to Utah and have her baby blessing when she was two weeks old.  We dreaded the trip (and really, traveling there and back was pretty chaotic thanks to Max's motion sickness!) but it was wonderful.  We were able to have both of our fathers and my brother, Danny, help bless her.  Things that stood out to me included that she would be a "light" to those around her, she would be independent and kind.  It was so sweet to be able to see her in her grandparents' arms so early in her life.

This is the same dress that my sisters and I were blessed in! 

Atticus has been trying so hard to be helpful this month.  It doesn't always come naturally but I have been so grateful for all the ways he runs errands for me.  My favorite way that he helps is by holding Lucy.  Whenever I ask him to hold her so I can do something (often, it's something for him) he responds, "Of course!"

He has a new friend who has moved in next door and it has been wonderful timing.  I'm not sure I have ever seen Atticus so excited than he was the first time this new friend came and knocked on the door to ask him to play.  Since they are both in virtual school they are able to play, along with the cute girls who live two doors down, at least once a day, sometimes more. 

Added to that we started the American Heroes class with 6 of his friends and it has been a BLAST!  It's basically a P.E. class where the boys learn history along the way.  They wrestle and rough house and I can tell the boys are really enjoying themselves.  I'm grateful some of my friends took me up on my crazy offer to teach.  It hasn't been easy to hold with a newborn but Dane has been such a help while I try to juggle the commitments I've made.

 

Atticus had testing for both reading and math recently and did wonderfully.  We are so proud of his developing abilities. 

Another notable part of this month was Old Yeller.  We listened to the book on the way to and from Utah.  It is such a great book for boys!  It's all about adventure and becoming a man.  Atticus loved it and loved the movie, as well.  We also watched Swiss Family Robinson and he has watched it at least 5 more times since then.  

Atticusisms:

• "I bet there’s a whole Coyote Kingdom up here!" (While hiking up in the canyon.)
• "We didn’t see one animal!"
• "I don’t like the trees, just the mountains.  Get out of the way, trees!"
• "Just a moment!"
• "I'm a big boy.  I can do it..."
• "This is the worst day of my life!"
• "How can I help?  Can I help make dinner?" (My favorite and said almost every day.)

Hinckley has easily been the hardest part of this month, which I think we could have predicted.  It's never easy to go from being the baby of the family to a middle child.  Don't get me wrong, he LOVES Lucy and asks to hold her at least twice a day.  He is just struggling with the decreased attention and acting out a lot.  His actions include but aren't limited to head butting, throwing anything nearby at us, punching, hitting and, of course, a whole lot of yelling.  Meals have also gotten harder as he will wander off and wait to be fed.  We've found that if we turn on some music he usually will listen and eat better (which makes me feel like a pushover!  he was eating on his own before the baby came home!)  

What makes it worse is his constant wearing of costumes.  He either wants to be Batman or Spiderman (almost always Batman) all the time.  It is adorable (he runs around with his arms straight behind him so that his cape flies up- he feels like he's flying) and we know we'll miss it when this phase passes.  At the same time, there is always something wrong with his costume that seems to be unfixable.  It causes so much drama that we are probably going to have to put the costumes away until Halloween.  Wish us luck, because if we do that the next couple of days could be even uglier!

Hopefully we will be able to bounce back with some Love and Logic when we get our feet under us.

He started Joy School this month and he is loving it!  He still tells us he doesn't want to go each morning beforehand but as soon as he's there he gets so excited to be with "the friends."  He was hard when it was my turn to teach but it's never easy to share your own mom and toys as a toddler.

The two best developments this month for Hinckley were growing and his bike riding.  We came back from the hospital and he'd seriously gone through a growth spurt- his head was bigger and his legs were longer and he weighed at least a couple pounds more.  It was bewildering since he already looked huge next to the baby.  

And he can now glide on his strider bike!  Yay!

Hinckley speaks:

• "Can I hold Baby Lucy?" 
• "Actually..."
• "Please bless Daddy to wake up and read scriptures..."
• "Can I hear Atticus favorite Batman?" (wants to hear a Piano Guys Batman song)
• "I wear diaper like Lucy..." (Noooo!)
• "I baby like Lucy..." (Noooo!)
• ("You look fantastic!") "I not tastic, I Batman."
• "I not baby, I Spiderman."
• "Cuuuute!" (looking at Lucy.)
• "Can I tickle her little toes?"

Lucy is adorable.  Newborns are hard but she makes it worth it with her adorable coos and what feels like sweet hugs.  Even after some surprisingly large T-Rex burps she'll let out an effeminate sigh.  We have been so surprised- she has two teeth on the bottom!  I could see little nubs at the hospital but second guessed myself but we now know, without a doubt, she's got chompers.  Isn't that crazy?!

She is now a month old (as of Oct. 6) and has outgrown her newborn clothes.  She has cholic throughout the day, especially between 4:30 and 9, but it's not as severe as the boys so far. 

Another surprise has been her lack of spitting up.  She almost never spits up and when she has it's just a tiny dab at the corner of her mouth.  It has been a nice change.

Atticus

Hinckley

Lucy

A final thought.  

My sister Bobbie came to our rescue at the beginning of the month to watch the boys.  They loved it and Hinckley threw a fit when he found out she had gone.  I don't blame him, she's amazing!  We were so grateful for her help but worried because she had been experiencing some severe pain.  

Any prayers and positive thoughts for my beautiful sister would be appreciated.