August 2021

 Well, the remaining weeks of August flew by.  

Atticus started homeschool and started his soccer team on the same day.  The best part about this team?-  I'm not coaching it!  I needed a break and it sounds like Atticus is doing so much better with someone else as his coach.  I can't wait to cheer him on from the sidelines.

Atticus is loving home school.  I don't want to gloat because it is so not perfect but it is such a good fit for us.  Since his friends went back to school on Aug 9 Atticus was begging me to start school the next week.  It was a bit of a scramble but I was able to get it together so we could begin class on Monday, August 16.  A highlight of our first day for Atticus was going skateboarding at Craig Ranch Park's amazing skate park.  We also were able to swim during school, all while still getting a bunch of schoolwork done.

I keep expecting Atticus to fight me about school or complain about missing his friends but I think he still really appreciates the benefits of being at home (and there are many!)  He does NOT miss wearing masks or having to sit still in a desk for long stretches (we do a lot of moving and creating while learning over here.)  He hasn't said this but I can tell that he loves how much of a choice he has about the order of what we do, when and even about the tangents we are able to go off on.  He loves that he can be completely done with class so quickly and still play with friends and go to sports, etc.  He loves being able to play with his brother and really, really loves that he can play with his baby sister. 

Speaking of Lucy, I am so grateful for a milestone that Atticus seems to be crossing.  For years we've noticed that he doesn't really look at people's body language or facial expressions when interacting with them.  While we've tried to instruct him, he just didn't seem to understand (or care) and so very little progress was made.  With Lucy, however, he has been so motivated to make her laugh and to keep her safe that he has been studying her face.  It has been melting my heart these last couple months as I watch him play peek-a-boo with her, tickle her or sing to her.  He is finally observing and responding appropriately!  In fact, we have heard him tell Hinckley on more than one occasion, "Hinckley, she doesn't like that!  I can see her face!"

We love the bond he already has with Lucy.  He wants to be there to wake her up every time, if possible, so he can talk to her and pick her up from her crib.  

Of all that has happened this month I believe Atticus is most excited about skateboarding.  He asked for a skateboard back for Christmas 2019 but did very little with it.  Then, just a few weeks ago, our neighbor got a skateboard for his birthday and Atticus wanted to pull out his skateboard again.  This time, however, he means business.  He has been determined to progress and that is just what he has done.  

(Above: At the skate park on our first day of school.)

He has watched videos of his cousins (who are amazing skateboarders) and wanted to go to a "real" skate park.  After proving me wrong and learning to ride down our driveway in just an  hour or two, Dane took him.  We've taken him a few more times since then.  While he's limited with what he can do, he loves being there and the thrill of trying new things.  I can't offer him any instruction but you can bet that will I be his biggest cheerleader. 

The last highlight of the month for Atticus has been watching Mark Rober videos.  He just can't get enough and Dane and I have to admit that they are entertaining (and highly educational.)  They've certainly gotten his mind going.  He told me that the other night he was doing math in his head and it led to an impromptu discussion about multiplication.  He totally seemed to understand!  It's so fun to see him progressing in this area, as well.

Atticusisms:

• "Mom!  Did you wake up Lucy without me?!" 
• "Look!  I'm a little engineer!"

Hinckley still has his days that are so, so very hard.  I'm finding that getting him breakfast right away is a total game changer as far as how his day will go.  We all got sick just before the last week of August and Hinckley was even harder that week (it can be so hard to sleep when you are stuffy!)  Thank heavens we are all well again, especially Hinckley.  He has been so pleasant these last couple days.  

Something he has been doing for the last couple months that I adore has been his Batman workouts.  He will turn on a Batman song (most often Batman Evolution by the Piano Guys) and he'll do push ups, bicycle ab exercises and run around the house, being sure to flex every so often.  Words simply cannot do it justice.  It is hilarious.

He started Joy School again today.  He was SO excited to go back and was even a little annoyed when I got there, telling me he wanted to keep playing.  Hooray!

He started his little soccer team that same day in the evening.  He has been begging to be on a team for months and months and he was just beaming from ear to ear as we put put on his gear and headed to practice.  As he walked to the field he told me, "I'll do my best, Mom!"  And he sure did.  

Did I mention how stinking cute those kids are?  I was dying watching them. 

Here he is enjoying a culinary creation: mustard strawberries.  He loved it.  Atticus was less sure...

He is so independent.  He will play with his toys and make up conversations for an hour at a time if you let him.  When I ask the boys to sit for a book he often will go off like you see in the above picture to look at his own book.  When he learns to read he will just take off.

When we all got a bug toward the end of the month we decided it would be wise to use the nebulizer for our little guy.  It did the trick and he was able to work through his illness much faster.

Hinckley Speaks:

• "Don't tell them my name!" (When meeting new friends at a park.)
• "Someone is stinky!  I fink it's _________________." (He is always trying to blame someone else!)
• "Don't bothew me!  I'm suhcling stuff!" (While randomly circling things in a magazine.)
• ("Please be sure to lock the door!") "So a cwiminal can't come in?"
• "I wook wike Bane!" (While using the nebulizer.)  
• "I'm not supposed to talk to stwangos."  (To a stranger at the park.)
• "I don't want to be a man when I gwow up."  ("What?!") "I don't want to have a beyowed!(beard)"  (Phew!)
• "Alexa, pway Bayatman Evolution by the Piano Guys."  (At least once a day.)
• "Alexa, yoh dumb."  (After trying, in vain, to get his song to play.)

Lucy has shown so much personality this month.  She has shown, again and again, how much she loves shoes.  She will go to the shoe organizer on her door and pick out a pair of shoes.  Then she'll try to put them on her feet or just look at them.  Next, she'll crawl around the house looking for someone to help her put them on.  She doesn't fight at all- she loves putting them on and is very patient as the shoes are fastened.  Once they are on she looks so pleased.  She'll kick her little feet and stare at the shoes some more. She's also started putting on necklaces.  Unlike her brothers she leaves them on and will even get sad sometimes if you take any of these accessories off too soon.

She turned 11 months on the 6th (she'll be a year in a week!)  

She is definitely talking, more and more.  Her first word has been confirmed, "Dada" for "Dad."  She does say "dat" for Max or "dog."  She has occasionally said, "Mmmmmmah!" for "more" but more often she just yells or claps for more.  Then, when she's done eating, she'll wave her arms and after I ask her if she's "all done" she'll repeat, "Da-dat" with the same intonation as "All done."  She also is the earliest child to say, "Mama" and does it fairly often.  It is the best.

She is crawling faster but what really cracks us up is all the bear crawling she does.  I think it may have something to do with dresses.  She doesn't wear them often but when she does, it makes crawling difficult, if not impossible on her knees.  But she does it often, even in rompers so...  Maybe she doesn't like being on her knees?  She also is coasting along furniture much faster and reaching to transition from one piece of furniture to a neighboring one.

This month she has really taken off with her walker.  She crawls over to it all the time to practice with a big grin on her face and is learning to move it about when she gets stuck in a corner.  She even uses our stools as walkers now.  

She loves playing peek-a-boo, riding on our rocking horse, the slide or on swings.  She especially loves the trampoline and chasing her brothers- either in a stroller or while being held.  She starts to pant excitedly and wave her arms like she's going to get them.  

She still LOVES dancing and does it all the time.  Most often it's in her high chair next to the speaker while we listen to music but, honestly, she'll sway from side to side just about anywhere.  When the boys play piano (they play a little each day) she will dance and then crawl excitedly over to the piano so that she can play, too.  Even when one of us sings a song that she knows she'll get excited and sway.  It's just so cute.  It's no wonder that her brothers are so into her.  She is pretty darn adorable.

The last thing I'll mention about our sweet babe is her cake smash photo shoot.  I feel bad because I didn't really even know that this was a thing with my boys.  There are so many things I would do differently now but I know that's the way it goes for parenting.  In any case, we took Lucy's year-old photos almost a week ago and that little stinker would not eat her cake.  She was so sweet and photogenic for her photos for the first half hour or so.  Then we brought out her cake and she was not the least bit interested.  I put a little piece in her mouth and she made a face and shoved the cake away.  We moved the cake back so it was next to her.  Again, she shoved it away.  After she shoved it away a third time we gave up.  It was no use!  

This means that we have a discouraging 0 out of 3 of our children who have eaten their birthday cake.  It's really quite hilarious when I stop to think about it.  We'll be having cake again for Dane's birthday and then again for her actual birthday so we'll see if she warms up to it by then.

We ended the month with a celebration of Dane's 35th birthday.  He is a simple man, so we didn't go too crazy.  We had a fun date night planned on Saturday but poor Atticus got a stomach bug early that morning, so we had to cancel.  Thankfully, we were able to make up for that yesterday with cards, yummy treats and bone of his favorite meals (he requested chicken fettuccine alfredo.)  

We are all so grateful that Dane is a part of our life.  As I mentioned elsewhere, I love how our children's eyes light up when they see him.  I know the feeling.  

HOME SCHOOL LOG-

Now for a home school entry (feel free to skip this, I just don't want to have a separate blog for this information!)

I'm sure things will change over the years but I really like some of the tips I've picked up on from other homeschooling moms.

First, I have a morning basket that has, at minimum, a song and a scripture for the week that we are trying to memorize (it correlates with the Come Follow Me lesson for the week.)  I'm now trying to include a work of fine art and at least one memorization piece (poetry of some kind.)  I have the boys' church journals in there to copy the scripture once at the beginning of the week, as well as religious magazines and materials.  

I'm finding that, though imperfect, it's a great way to get them going right away in the morning while I'm getting breakfast on the table.  

Then I'll send them up to get their beds made and to get ready for the day.  They come back down and we have a set of Routine Cards that have all the subjects we plan to cover for the day.  Sometimes I'll have an activity or book in mind and I'll steer them that way but, more often, I let them look over what we need to accomplish and they will let me know.  

Just FYI, for Math and Language Arts we have been using The Good and the Beautiful.  I highly, highly recommend their materials.  

Aside from that, we have been using the resources and rotation schedule found on Marlene Peterson's Libraries of Hope website.  Using her philosophy (she says she found it, she didn't create it, which I love), known as the Well Educated Heart, we try to nurture our children's hearts first with less emphasis on facts or the "mind."  The way to nurture them is through Music, Art, Poetry, Stories and Nature.  We sprinkle a little of each of these throughout our week.  

For now, I've settled on this loose schedule: Nature on Mondays (Atticus will have a lego class and soccer in the afternoon), Poetry Tea time on Tuesdays (Hinckley will have Joy School in the morning and soccer that evening), Music on Wednesdays, Spanish and more Nature on Thursdays (Nature means we'll try to be in nature, maybe listen to some nature poetry or stories and do some nature journaling), and P.E. will be on Fridays as well as art or a craft based on the area of the world we're studying.  Saturdays seem to be a great day to try a recipe or two from that area.  Then, on Saturday or Sunday, we'll try to watch a movie or two based on the area we've been studying, as well.

This month, we've studied Scandinavia and it has been fun!  Highlights include learning about Vikings, making viking shields and a viking meal (Tavern bread and mushroom soup), making Tomten figurines, a Dala horse and eating cinnamon buns, Swedish meatballs and Swedish Rye Crisp Bread.  

Earlier in the month we learned about Edvard Grieg and his music, especially the Peer Gynt Suite (my boys really, really love "In the Hall of the Mountain King."  Atticus can even play the first part on the piano!)

Now that we're in September we'll be studying Columbus and the Age of Exploration as well as China, India and Japan (some of the places Columbus had been trying to reach.)  Our nature studies have been and will continue to be Stars and the Heavens.

That's all for now!

July 2021

July began with visitors.  My best friend and her sweet little family came to stay.  

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.