May 2023

 

We started May off with a new tradition: May Day baskets!  

Not long after delivering our baskets I found the sweetest note taped to my door from Hinckley:

"Dear Mom, thanks for a wonderful day."  Oh, he may never know how precious that note was and is to me.  

There were more than a few moments like that in May.  Don't get me wrong!  There was plenty of chaos and tears, too.  But it was a good month.

For example, halfway through the month we celebrated Mother's Day and it was the best yet.  The boys put so much love and thought into their cards.  Hinckley made me three of them.  I loved every minute of the day.  

At church the children sang "I Often Go Walking," which is a song about mothers.  Then they brought roses to their mothers so I got two.  The boys were glowing they were so proud.  Then there was a luncheon for the women the second hour and cute Israel was passed around by a couple of sweet friends.  It was just delightful.  

Even though the photo we took that day makes me laugh (we should definitely recreate this when the kids are grownup- Israel's posture and facial expression are hilarious!) I'm so glad I could capture a moment from such a good day.

"The is the way of the moms" 

Another reason May was a good month is that little Israel started sleeping more.  He still has reflux and I still give him medicine for it every day but man, it's more manageable than before.  

This (above) is him at 3 months.  We went to the doctor a couple days later and discovered that he is in the 70th percentile for weight and 65th for height, so he is still easily our biggest baby.  And what a cute little chunky monkey!  His smiles are just adorable.  He talks and squeals all the time (I wish I had a video- he goes, "Aaaahhh!" starting with a high pitch and then going down.)

Halfway through the month he proved that he could sit in his bumbo chair, so he's made progress in his head control, for sure.

At the end of the month we went up to Utah so Dane could bless him (finally!)  It was so simple and sweet.  We held the blessing at Bob and Marti's home and some of our sweet family members were able to come and share that time with us.

Things that stuck out to me in the blessing were that God would "prevail in [Israel's] life" and that he would serve a mission and be a worthy father, who would "bring [his] children to Christ."  We learned not too long ago that one interpretation of the name Israel is "let God prevail," so that was a beautiful thing to hear. 

This was a great trip for many reasons but I think having Israel meet his grandparents was the best part.  

Lucy has had quite a month!  While I wouldn't say that she is potty trained she is determined to potty train herself, little by little.  

My, has it been a different experience this time around than when we potty trained the boys.  They suddenly were interested in the potty and got it, pretty much overnight.  Lucy, on the other hand,  has been reading her potty book and talking about wearing undies for months and months now but still keeps having accidents.  

At the same time, however, she is way more independent than they were.  She can take off her clothes, climb onto the potty, do a decent job of wiping, climb off, redress and wash her hands- all by herself!  I had to help the boys with all of the above.  So I guess it's a fair trade-off.

We were using candy as an incentive but have recently changed to pennies and that seems to be s/// bf ddoings the trick.

Who knows?  Maybe by the end of June she'll have it down.  We'll just have to see.

I mentioned earlier that our trip to Utah was wonderful for many reasons.  Another big reason we loved our trip was because Lucy finally got to ride on a real horse (or pony, as it turned out.)  

This little girl has wanted to ride horses ever since she first saw one in a book.  Back when she was first learning to talk she would see a horse in a book and try to ride it.  This was why she got a bouncy horse for her birthday and another one at Christmas, both of which are very well loved.  

So when we put her on top of a pony at the This is the Place Heritage Park she was on cloud nine.  As she went around she kept saying, "This is fun!" over and over.  We could have come just for that and I would have gone home happy.

She certainly has a mind of her own.  She will show up wearing the funniest things, like this day with a huge dress from a box in her closet (I've gathered it up in the back so it wouldn't fall off of her) with shin guards and giant cleats.  She thinks she needs to put my deodorant on her arms (all the way  down to her wrists), makeup remover on her legs and my chapstick all over her face (even though she claims it's just for her "wips" each time.)  My deodorant was actually missing for a couple of days and, sure enough, she knew where it was, safely tucked away in her bathroom.  

Yep, she makes us want to pull out our hair sometimes.  From her messes to her fibs ("I did wash my hands.  Right here..." and she'll walk up to the wall and pretend to wash her hands) it can be a lot. It's a good thing she's so stinking cute. 

Listen to Lucy:

• "Banquet" (blanket)
• "Popsiticle" (popsicle- and boy does she love them! She leaves sticky drips in our kitchen all the time.)
• "I want eggies, Mom." (pretty much every day she wants an over easy egg or two.  Not that I blame her, because they're delicious!)
• "I gobble you up!" (She pretends to eat us- we've had to remind her not to actually use her teeth...)
• "In the name of Jesus Baby Christ, amen." (She has been making this little joke for a while when she prays.  It can be a struggle to keep a straight face to correct her but we're trying.)
• "I DID!" (yelled in a sweet but very insistent way, often about something she didn't actually do, like wash her hands or poop on the potty...) 
• "It's too wate!" (Often the answer when asked if she wants to go potty.)

Boy did Hinckley have a good month!  He got his first wiggly tooth at the beginning of the month and lost it toward the end of the month.

He scored so many goals on his little soccer team that I'm a little worried how he'll handle his next season when joins the older players (he'll be in the K-1 bracket this fall.)  When they played a team that played good defense he really started to get worked up.  He even stomped off the field in tears at one point when one of them blocked his shot.  Thankfully, Atticus gave him a good pep talk and he was able to get one goal in toward the end of the game.

May was another cricket month here and so he spent about a week catching crickets every day.  I'm pretty sure I heard one of the boys say that their record was 18 in one day before releasing them.  

As of May 22 this boy is officially headed for Kindergarten!  What a year it's been for growth.  He identifies all the alphabet and beginning numbers and writes them all so well.  I love his hunger for knowledge (he asked to start Kinder math early and often asks for extra work when it comes to math and copy work.)  His memorization skills are absolutely incredible.  Without seeing it he can memorize poetry and scripture passages with very difficult vocabulary and wording.  Sometimes I am stunned by what he can remember and understand at such a young age.

As fun as it is to see him grow physically and mentally, we are far more concerned about his little heart- his relationship with God and others.  While he does, naturally, have a tender heart, I've been concerned of late that it is getting harder.  He can be so grouchy and even downright mean to us.  This is probably why I have been so grateful for people from church who have reached out to share how much they love and appreciate him.  

While he is occasionally reluctant to participate when we read the scriptures (or comply with any of my ideas) I have heard from several people about his answers and understanding of gospel principles and Bible stories.  In our primary group for children, a profound answer will come to a question and everyone will look around the room, wondering who it came from at first.  Then, they'll realize it was Hinckley.  It has been reassuring to hear that our grouchy little guy is listening.  

Favorite food- stuffed French toast, Least favorite food- meat, fish

If I could go anywhere I'd go to- Heaven

Favorite song- Mandalorian

When I grow up I'm going to be- Army man

Hinckley Speaks:

• "Is pee edible?"  ("Yes, in emergencies.") "Like what?" ("Like, if you were marooned on an island or stranded somewhere without water.") "Or if you got really thirsty at a park?" ("No, we would go home and get water.") "What if we were camping and didn't have water?" ("Hinckley, I would drive home.  You don't need to drink your pee.") "I'm going to try it." ("Please don't drink your pee.")
• Do adult soccer players get treats after their games? ("No.") "Then why do they want to play?"
• "When I get married I'm going to stay home with the kids and my wife can work."
• "I'm not constipated, I just don't want to poop yet."
• "Can you please introduce me to your brother?" (about Uncle Rick at the family reunion.)
• "Are we in Utah yet?"  (Asked for the dozenth time, to which we both respond, "No.") "What the heck?!"

Atticus had another great soccer season with his recreation team, Lightning.  They took second place again.  Atticus played his heart out that last game and we were so proud of him for not giving up when the other team scored.  He played pretty much the whole game and they didn't score until our little man was subbed out, so he was upset but got back out there and didn't give up.  He played until the whistle and then broke down and sobbed on the sideline.  

Our plan is to have him try out for club this summer but we are very reluctant to leave this team.  We have seriously LOVED it.  The kids work so hard, the coach is so good with the kids and the parents are just awesome.  We'll see how things go with this next potential step.

Soccer isn't the only area in which his hard work was rewarded.  Atticus got Hinckley and some other friends to work like Trojans in our neighbors' yards.  They pulled weeds and made some good money for their efforts.  They also washed one neighbor's car.  Atticus is really hoping to start cleaning garbage cans if he can. 

His long term plan is to save up for a vending machine and then make his fortune with the vending machine.  Whatever he ends up doing, we love his drive.  It will take him far.

And now he's a Third grader!  Man, he grew a lot this year.  

Favorite food- Spaghetti, egg in a hole

Atticusisms:

• "It's Mother's Day!  Let Dad take care of the baby.  You should enjoy yourself!"
• (Hinckley- "Are you going to have a wife?") "Maybe.  I don't want her crying and sad to death if I die in the army." (Mom- "What about me?") "Dang it!"
• "Can I please watch KFC?" ("You mean Studio C?") 
• (After being told by his dad about Old Uncle Joe who used to use a belt to spank his children.) "Is Uncle Joe still alive?" ("Yes.") "Is Dad going to call him to get some tips?"
• "How could Jesus let Lazarus suffer like that?" (As we were reading the story in the Bible.  It was a beautiful discussion.)

Here are some more reasons we loved our trip to Utah at the end of the month.

1. Mimi's baby chickens

2. Fun times with my family and with Bobba and Nana

3. This is the Place Heritage Park with Bob's side of the family

Lucy wasn't the only one who got to ride a pony.  The boys kept saying "Giddyup!"

There was so much to do and learn there!  Here are the boys doing the "handcart adventure" with Bobba.

And seeing their Great-Grandparents and cousins there was such a treat.  

Out studies this month were focused on Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Latin American countries.  

We talked a bunch about Brazil and the Amazon rainforest.  We made Brazilian brigadeiros (chocolate truffles,) read some fun books like Afternoon on the Amazon and  The Umbrella by Jan Brett, and watched Rio and Rio 2.

And now it's summer!  Hooray!