April 2021

April felt longer than your average month.  I guess we just packed a lot in.

It started with a camping trip to the Valley of Fire with some friends in our ward.  Man was it beautiful!  The kids were able to climb until the sun went down (and even afterward.) 

Our little Lucy didn't sleep hardly at all, which came as no surprise, but the boys did great!  We count it as a success and look forward to doing more camping in the future.

The camping trip was just before Easter weekend (which also happened to be General Conference for our church, as well!)

It was a wonderful Easter.

We are so proud of Atticus.  This isn't just because his paper airplane game is on point, although it most definitely is.  (In case you're wondering, those little ones were tiny!)

We have seen him struggle and push through.  He has been a peacemaker- for his parents, his siblings, for friends.  He is making huge strides and being rewarded for his hard work and practice.  He is not perfect but he tries so hard.  I get teared up just writing about him.

First, he is kind.  He loves being at school with his friends and his teachers.  He is so friendly and, from what I can tell, kind to all of his classmates.  His teacher says he is one of the students that make her job worth it, which makes my momma heart so proud.  She has had some tougher days and so he has prayed that his teacher would have better days and he'll draw pictures for her and brought her an apple one day.

He started playing piano last month (I may have mentioned this already) and he has progressed a ton!  He asks to practice and, while he still gets angry as he practices, he really seems in it for the long haul.

Like I said earlier, however, there have been things that have been hard to watch and hear about. 

For starters, there is a boy in his class that seems to be giving him a hard time.  According to Atticus, the boy was his friend at first but now the boy is mean to him.  "I think I found a bully," he told us the first day.  There have been a few hard days but Atticus seems safe.  He tells us that he likes "silent lunch" because now that boy can't say mean things to him and his classmates.  I don't think we need to intervene, for now.  He has said he just ignores the boy and we think that's a pretty good way to respond.

The struggle that has weighed most on my mind has been his anger during soccer games.  

He has natural gifts (I am sure it's from his paternal grandma, Marti) that allow him to really see the field and position himself in just the right places.  In addition to these gifts, he has worked hard so that he is one of the fastest kids on the field and he has an excellent first touch as well as great accuracy.  So you'd think he'd be amazing, right?  He will be- when he can get his emotions under control.  

There was one game, in particular, where he had to sit out for a quarter and a half because he was beside himself over losing.  We lost by a lot (6-0, I'm sorry to say!) and it would have been a much closer game if he had stayed in.  I am happy to report, however, that he didn't lose his temper once at the following game and he has been doing a much better job since then.  When he played like that, he was seriously unstoppable.

Atticusisms:

• "Mom, are you 100?" ("Yes.  She's 100," his father was quick to reply.)
• "I really want to homeschool.  She didn't give me a bandaid!" (Said while showing a small cut he had gotten on his finger while at school.)
• "Stupid wind!" (Said while rotating back and forth and trying to "hit" the wind with his basketball.)
• "I prayed that Dad would be happy." (Said after hearing his parents argue and when he saw his dad smile.)

Oh, Hinckley.  So cute.  So terrifying.  

At the beginning of the month he was talking about how he wanted to have a wife and kids, all so he could have a "beohd" (beard) and go to work at the office.  Now he is very adamant that he doesn't want a wife because he doesn't want to do "kissy-kissy."  (Oh, the effect a big brother can have!)

He's coming along with his tracing and artwork.  Below you can see his "python."  It's the best he's ever done!

We've started doing FHE using Zoom calls with our family (which we love!)  For the first week Dane's dad asked the boys to draw something they would take with them on their mission.  Atticus drew a crocodile (for protection- it would eat anyone who tried to hurt him while he was sharing the gospel.)

Hinckley worked on the picture and explanation above with me.  I tried so hard not to laugh while helping him.

We just love so many things about him at this age.  The way he runs is so adorable.  He twists his whole upper body from the hips from side to side, pumping his arms.  And when he dribbles a soccer ball he does little poses as he traps the ball.  (He's getting pretty good!)

Speaking of soccer, he is dying to have his own team.  He wants to go to every practice and game for Atticus and always wears soccer clothes, long socks (Atticus's practice socks if he can) and cleats.  We've had many conversations and tantrums when he's been reminded that this season is just for Atticus.  At the last game, he even asked me if he could go in and play during half time.  He took it pretty well that time.  

I'm excited to have him start this fall.

The last thing I wanted to mention tugs at our heart strings.  He feels so small and wants so very, very much to be a big kid.  Almost once a day he'll ask me when he's going to get bigger in one way or another.  And there are many times where he still needs help but utterly refuses help, making the situation virtually impossible.  For example, he wants to buckle his car seat.  Now, he can do this.  He has done it several times.  But it takes him a very long time, during which time I am not to move the car because "It's a dangewus woad!" (Good point, kiddo.)  I'm not to even back the car out of the driveway.  When I'm already late for our carpool...  Auggggh!  And if I even come near him and suggest that I could help him, he makes me regret it.  

I just have to take deep breaths.  And I need to leave earlier.  For everything.

We love his independence and know it will serve him well.  In the meantime, however, it makes for some very difficult days.

Hinckley Speaks:

• "Chocolate makes my poop brown!"
• "Who fills them with milk?" (Pointing at Mommy while she was nursing the baby.)
• "I not beautiful!  I'm powerful."
• "I have two gulfwends." (At the beginning of the month.)
• "I'm going to mawwy Georgia, Elsie, Evelyn and Faye, too."
• "Pockets hit me... he thwew a wock at me and his mom said, 'POCKETS, COME HEOH!" (After some detective work I discovered he was talking about his friend's cousin who is named "Hawkins.")
• "I don't like cats." (After a cat had attacked our dog while we were on a walk.  It was traumatizing for all of us.)
• "What kind of bones do you have?"
• "Can I see yo bone?"
• "I have to take my sho-uht off so to play basketball/wohk out/westle." (Any excuse, right?)
• "Wawwior kids take theyuh sho-uhts off when they do fwips." (On the trampoline.)
• ("Let's play Goldilocks.") "Okay, I'll be Batman." ("Batman's not in Goldilocks.") "...Okay." (While playing with some Joy School friends.)
• "Why am I not big?!!!"
• "I'm so stwong because I wohked out."
• (After falling down he grabs his knee...) "I'm okay.... Cover it... " (I cover his knee.)  "Kiss my weg." (I give it a kiss.) "Yep.  I can see bone, all wight."  (For the record, it didn't even break the skin.)

Oh, our little Lucy Laurel.  Dane is starting to call her Lula.  I still find myself calling her Lucy-Lou.  

No matter the name, she is such a little lamb.

She loves to be held tight and holds you right back.  I rub her back when she's in bed or just before she goes to sleep and I can often feel her little hand rubbing me right back on my arm or shoulder.  When I hold her on my hip she often squeezes my arm- little squeezes as we go on our way.  Don't get me wrong- she still bats at our faces and seems to want to tear off poor Max's beard but she can already be surprisingly gentle for being so small.

That hasn't stopped the boys from trying to frame her.  Oh, no.  While they were taking a bath I saw some mysterious little floaties in the water (gross!  we drained the bath and they took a good shower.)  When they both vehemently denied any wrongdoing we decided not to worry about who was responsible.   That wasn't good enough for the boys.  They talked it over and decided that, since neither of them was the culprit Baby Lucy must have pooped in the tub.  (Who, as it happened had been in her room the entire time...)

She's also becoming a bit of an escape artist.  She has gotten out of her bumbo seat a few times and so now I have to buckle her.  Atticus's legs were too fat to ever sit in the chair and Hinckley was content to just sit... so this is a new experience for us.

You can't see the movement in this photo above but she was making her first sign for "more."  She's still spotty with it but I think next month she'll become more consistent.  

Man, she loves eating so, so much.  Nursing during the day is such a burden.  She outright refuses some of the time until she's about to go down for a nap.  I can tell she's holding out for the "good stuff."  And she's getting adult food.  I've descended so far in my parenting practices that I just chew up my own food and give it to her.  Heck, I'm sure that's how cavemen did it.  I figure she's getting great nutrition and I don't have any extra dishes/blenders to wash.  

This has been another big month for our little beauty.  

She started babbling early in the month.  When she isn't growling she's babbling, "Bah, bah, blah blah blah."  It's like music to our ears.  She has this cute way of babbling by sticking her tongue out like a baby bird.

 

She went from being able to scoot backward and rotate 360 degrees on her tummy at the beginning of the month to scooting forward!  (This first occurred on May 3.)

She can go from sitting to hands and knees and she is starting to sit with one leg forward and one backward so that she can go back and forth. 

I try not to talk to much about us, as parents but I wanted to write about one final experience that I had while coaching Atticus's team.

Remember that game I described earlier?  The one where we lost 6-0?  It was not just traumatic due to Atticus.  The coach on the other team treated me with complete scorn and disdain and I let it shake me.

My players made a mistake that I wanted to correct.  He reluctantly let me restart the play and when that mistake was made again he had his players attack the ball and score a goal.  When I attempted to talk to him about the situation he yelled at me, "You should have taught them!"  Adding, "Go!" to his players.  I tried to remind him that the kids were 5 and 6 years old and he just ignored me.  I was shocked and humiliated.  It honestly took me days to recover.  I don't take confrontation well and I started to doubt myself as a coach and just as a person.  It was a darker week for me, I'm sorry to say.

Thanks to time (which heals all!), my sweet husband, loving family members, friends and the sweet whisperings of the Spirit, I am back to feeling good about my decision to coach.  No, I'm not perfect (far, far from it!) and that's okay.  I like my coaching philosophy and methods.  I like that my players love to come to practice and that they feel loved by their coach.  And I feel sorry for that coach, his team and anyone who takes sports that seriously- especially at such a young age.  

It's funny how it takes a shocking experience like that for you to really assess who you are and your own feelings of self-worth.  While I really felt worthless for a couple days there, I have since felt even more loved by my Father in Heaven.  He is proud of us and rooting for us, even in our smallest, most meager efforts to serve and lift others.  

March 2021

March whizzed by.  The first couple weeks were a blur, mostly because Lucy had her first bout of congestion.  Honestly, it wasn't that bad but for a sensitive baby girl it was a frustrating experience.  We spent plenty of time together as she figured it out and she worked through her little cold.

Right after she recovered we went to the doctor for her 6 month appointment.  She is doing wonderfully.  She was 24 inches long (still in the 65th percentile) and 15 lbs (still right around the 30th percentile.)  We were referred to an ophthalmologist for her left eye.  It seems to wander a bit but with early intervention it should be resolved, easily.  We'll find out in May with our first appointment.

This little girl brings us all so much joy.  She takes wonderful naps, loves to eat pretty much anything and is such a happy, easily contented little companion.  She loves jumping and has been jumping in our Johnny Jump-Up and in her bouncer all month. She also loves bathtime and has learned how to scoot her way down in her bath chair so she can kick the water.

She started sitting up this month!  Her first really long time sitting up was on March 20th.  She still occasionally loses her balance (has hit her head a couple of times, poor thing!) but is really doing well.

My personal favorite milestone are her little open mouthed kisses.  So stinking sweet!

This was a big month for Atticus because he started going to kindergarten two days a week.  It's very different than what we grew up with and had hoped for our little one... but he loves it!  The teachers are finding ways to help the kids stay active and feel connected even with their attempts to keep them all socially distanced.  

 

He is doing so well.  He came home from school one day  and told me, "I have a secret.  I can read books."  This is something we have known for a while now- he has the ability, just not the desire to push through difficult words.  We were thrilled that his teacher in person was able to help convince him that he could do it.  We're excited for him to start going five days a week as of April 6.

After months of saving, he saved up enough money to buy a Nintendo Classic that a friend gave us. Of course, he loves it (even Dane and I have enjoyed playing Mario again) but man are video games addictive.  We've already threatened to throw it in the garbage a couple times.  At the same time, it is a good motivator and it's not bad for children to learn delayed gratification and moderation.  Wish us luck!  We'll need it as we navigate this new stage.

We also started the soccer season this month.  Atticus asked me to coach again...so I am.  I love coaching and I love this age level but I have to admit, I was reluctant to coach him again since he had so many meltdowns the last time.  I'm happy to report that not only have his skills have improved a ton but he also listens SO much more!  His teammates are adorable and work so hard.  They chose the name "Black Dice" for their team (I would've chosen a different name but I let them vote and the children spoke!)  We'll see how they do in the next month or so.

One more thing I wanted to remember from this month about Atticus was his cityscape assignment.  His teacher asked them to draw the silhouette of buildings for an imaginary city.  She showed them some with funny faces on the buildings to give them character.  Atticus started by looking up the Empire State Building.  He drew that with a funny face on it and then his imagination just took off.  He drew the Twin Towers.  One of the twins was nice and one was an evil twin- he explained that this was before the towers fell.  Then he drew a beaver building (it had a very beaver-like tail.)  He explained to me that this was where you could buy beaver pelts.  A beaver tower?!  Where on earth did that come from?  You can't make this stuff up! 

Atticusisms:

• "You should learn more about animals so that you can be smart, like me."
• "Augh, I can't do this!  Hinckley, say a prayer!"
• "Listen to my mom!  She used to be a real soccer coach!" (To his teammates at our first game.)
• "Uggggh!  The San Francisco!" (After eating cookies that had rancid Crisco.  He kept calling it "San Francisco" between groans.) 
• "Can you please be my mom?" (To our awesome neighbor and friend, Hillary.)
• "Mmm!  This is so good!  The peanut butter is so fresh!" (Also said to Hillary.  He loves her food so, so much.  He's not alone- she's an amazing cook and person.)

Hinckley is still so adorable and so hard.  I want to enjoy this stage more and I really should.  His imagination is just so rich and detailed.  He can often be found running around, punching and kicking bad guys while singing his own theme music.  He no longer requires a costume to play the part (though he still loves them!)  His favorite go-to game is to play is still Batman and he wants anyone nearby to play it with him.

Once, while playing along with him he pretended to hand me something and I didn't quite catch what he said.  I assumed it was food so I acted like I was putting it in my mouth.  He looked horrified, yelling, "You ate your pet!"  It was all I could do not to laugh out loud as I hurriedly spat out my "pet" to help a very distressed Batman calm down.  

I wish the tantrums weren't so bad.  They are getting worse.  He has been sleeping less (dropping his nap more and more often) and his behavior is just awful.  I remember it being like this with Atticus, too, so we hope that as time goes on his little body will adjust and we can have our sweet little boy back in the afternoons and early evening.  Until then, we try to get him to bed RIGHT after dinner and it's not a minute too soon.

All of the Hinckley pictures this month are either at Joy School or (below) on the way to Joy School.  We have loved this Joy School group so much this year.  Hinckley has come such a long way.  We'll miss these friends in the fall!

Hinckley Speaks:

• "I'm Batman and you're Joker/Alfred/Two-Face."
• "This is my diwections." (Holding a receipt from the store--any paper becomes a prized posssession once it has been in his hand.  This includes receipts, junk mail and my random to-do lists.)
• "My Gwandpa Stitch has cowonaviwus.  We should pway fo him later..." (After being asked more about this mysterious grandpa...) "He died."
• "Mommy!  Woohoo (or often) Hoo-hoo!" (He is mimicking Atticus when he tries to get my attention by saying, "Yoo-hoo!")
• "Wook DOWN, wook DOWN, wook down, down, down, down, DOWN!" (The boys love Les Mis.)
• "Listen to me... and I must DO!"
• ("How much does this drink cost?") "Money."
• "Did the wind make a bad choice?" (When he sees all kinds of leaves on the trampoline.)
• "Mommy, is he speaking Fyench?" (While listening to Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf speak.) 
• "Good.  I feel da Holy Ghost!" (When asked how he felt after watching a friend get baptized.)
• "I'm upset-mad.  I'm going behind this couch to take a deep bweaf."
• "Mommy, if you yell at me I'll yell at you." (After being told to cover his mouth many, many times.)
• "Did Lucy pull Jesus' beard?  Did he shave his beard yet?"
• "Batman is tiwed... (lays down on recliner and then whispers) and powuhful."
• "Mommy!  I'm listening to that number!" (While listening to "When the Saints Come Marching In.")

We can't forget St. Patrick's Day!  Atticus was so excited that he started making a leprechaun trap a couple weeks ahead and started asking me if I thought a leprechaun would pee in our toilet again.  Well, he wasn't disappointed.  The leprechaun did leave a mess in our downstairs toilet.  Hinckley thought it was hilarious this year.  

And let's not forget his trap.  After a few different designs it ended up being simple- a mouse trap underneath a hanging chocolate coin.  The trap got the leprechaun's pants.  Interestingly, the pants were made of paper and tape.  He had asked me the day before if leprechauns were real and I had said no.  When he saw those pants he turned to me, "See Mom!  You were wrong!  Leprechauns are real- and they wear paper pants!"  I was more than happy to concede defeat. 

All day long he was telling people  about the leprechaun that was probably going around in shamrock underwear since his pants got snagged.

\

Lucy managed to avoid getting pinched (we were hard pressed- she is so adorable!) so the day was a success for everyone.

Here is a fun battle we had after talking about the Armor of God.  Dad forgot some of the pieces of his armor so he didn't stand a chance.

With Atticus and many of his friends going back to school full time it just didn't make sense to continue our American Heroes class.  We decided to end it with a service project.  It was such a fun experiment to try.  We will miss having those sweet boys in our home each week!

Before the service project, we had each boy present about his favorite hero and why.  You can see that Atticus chose George Washington and reminded his classmates about Washington's courage and miraculous preservation at the battle of Monongahela.  

Then I told them about my favorite hero of them all: Jesus Christ.  He went about doing good and so we went and tried to do some good for a sweet friend of mine who'd recently fractured her knuckle.

It was a great way to end the month just before General Conference and Easter.  Speaking of which, I need to wrap this up so I can get to bed.  General Conference starts tomorrow!  You can tune in here.  Don't miss this incredible chance to hear the word of the Lord for our day.