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.