August 2020

Holy cow, August has been the month of dressing up and imaginative play!

For some reason I thought Hinckley might not like costumes as much as Atticus did.  Boy, was I wrong.  And having someone else excited to dress up and make up all of these games just added fuel to Atticus's fire, er, imagination.  It has been fun.  Tiring, but so fun.

I even caught Dane dressing up for a second.  It's not his thing but I caught him.

Poor Max got roped in for a second, too.  Yep.  He was reenacting the Grinch again.  But I nixed this one.  Our Max was not thrilled about his role at all.

Another fun game that Atticus invented is "Postal Inspector."  They each have a "bonafide" Postal Inspector folder from their Grandpa and they'll call Bobba to ask for "cases."  Okay, this game is mostly played by Atticus but Hinckley likes to join the fun and write his scribbles when he's in the mood.

It is hilarious to watch.  Atticus will take notes about various cases and then come up with the cutest names for his suspects.  “Package Poey,” “Credit card dedit gard,” “Druggy-Guggy” and so many more.  This has to be one of my favorite games he has ever come up with.

Toward the beginning of August some dear friends held a baby shower for our precious girl, Lucy.  I tried to express my gratitude at the time to those ladies but I don't think I could do so adequately.  Each of them had reached out to me the previous fall during our family's time of mourning and pain.  It made this time of rejoicing even sweeter.  I feel so blessed to know every one of them and am determined to show that kind of love and support to others in the future.

We love our Angel Baby and are so excited and grateful to welcome Baby Lucy to our family.  As I'm writing this, she hasn't made her appearance yet but we expect her any day now.

Look at these adorable decorations!  I have some of these up in the nursery now.  And this diaper cake is just incredible.  So, so sweet!

Something else that made August special was a last minute present given to us from my mom: a trampoline!  Atticus got to go on a special road trip with his dad (the first of many?) to go retrieve it and we LOVE it.  It already gets so much use in the heat of the summer and as things cool off we'll all be on it more and more.  Thank you, Mom!

With the end of August came Atticus's first day of kindergarten!  It was such an exciting day.  Pretty much our entire state is doing virtual learning and though it is my belief that children should be in school, we are making the best of it.  He loves his teacher, Mrs. Bloom (she is a doll!) and I love that I still get to spend so much time with him.  It's made the transition so much easier for Hinckley, too.

Here he is at his little work station.  Also above, you can see him with our dear friend helping to stitch the letter "L" on an adorable quilt she made for little Lucy.

Atticusisms:

• "Be quiet!  I’m cracking cases!"  (While playing "Postal Inspector.")
• "My favorite part of road trips are looking at the countryside and listening to angry music."
• "Dad, you look good.  All the girls are going to like you."  ("All the girls?  I only need Mommy.") "But Mommy doesn’t wear makeup or jewelry!" ("Mommy doesn’t need makeup or jewelry.")  "Then all the other women are trash?"  ("What?  No!...")
• "You’re the best teacher ever!" (During his first day of class.  It was a great sign.)
• "Hinck, have you lost your mind?!"
• "You’re the best dad/mom ever."
• "I don't like girls!  The only girls I hug are family."

Oh, Hinckley.  He is stubborn but so, so cute.  I think I will have more quotes than commentary this month.  He is talking so much and it cracks all of us up!

He has started sticking his tongue out when he wants to talk back... only he often forgets to stick out his tongue!  Instead, he sticks out his lips like a duck.  He does make a pretty rude noise as he does it, so we're trying to take it seriously... but it's usually all we can do to keep a straight face as he does it.

He also pooped on the potty a couple times, which made us excited.  He still LOVES to poop quietly in his bed in the morning or after a nap, though.  It could be a long road to fully potty train.

Hinckley speaks:

• ("Slobberhead Hinckley.") "Slobberhead Atticus."  (It was his first real insult.)
• "I wanted to give them a kiss!  Not fair." (About our sweet neighbors who just moved.)
• "I drive a garbage truck/cement mixer when I grow up."
• "Daddy, you sweaty?" (He asks every time Dane works out and both boys insist on removing their shirts if Dane does.  They also want to ice their legs every time he does, too.  So cute.)
• "Sun got in my mouth." (When the sun made him sneeze.)
• "I didn’t.  I just dream about Jaws in the dark forest." (When asked about his dreams.)
• "I don’t know." (Usually said multiple times in a row.)
• "Oitmeal" (Oatmeal)
• "Tomoyo" (Tomorrow)
• "Pyoop" 
• "Snakes!" (The couple of times he's pooped in the toilet they look like snakes to him, ha ha.)
• "Get away from me!" (While pooping in bed.)
• "I not awake.  I still sleeping!" (While pooping in bed.)
• "Let’s do it togeder."
• "Good moning!" (Said both in the morning and after naps.)
• "I hope you not get scared." (Said to Mommy after our bedtime routine.)  
• "Atticus [will] save me, Mommy save me, Daddy save me..."  (He's still afraid at bedtime.) 

Three last bits of August.  Our finished climbing wall (so excited about this!), our Titles of Liberty and Dane's birthday.  It was simple, just the way he likes it.  He is such a good man.  And it was a very good month.

July 2020

As always, July started out with a bang and some excitement.

We had a gathering at our house and it was wonderful to feel normal again for an evening.  Our awesome friends brought some spectacular fireworks that made the night so special.

How we love this great nation of ours.  How worried we are about our freedoms and way of life- much of which has been threatened and altered this year.  I could write and write about the subject but I will spare you, for now.

Another highlight of the month was seeing our beloved Whitakers.  We finally got to meet their adorable, beautiful little girl.  Atticus was in heaven (so was Hinckley, for that matter!)  I have never seen Atticus play so patiently and maturely.  We can't wait to see them again!

Aside from that, life has been pretty simple over here.  My energy has definitely been lower now that I'm on the homestretch of pregnancy (a new body pillow has helped me get more sleep) so the boys have had to be patient.  Thankfully, they get along wonderfully most of the time.

One game they came up with this month is called "Jaws."  They've never seen the movie but have heard the main theme song and LOVE it.  Hinckley asks to hear it at least once a day.  They will take turns playing it on the piano and then they both act terrified and run away from the shark (or "the jaws!" as Hinckley calls it).  Our dog is more than happy to chase them up the stairs.

Atticus's behavior has, as ever, had its extremes.  Some days he is so considerate and helpful  ("Hinckley, Mommy is stressed out!  Stop ____________!"- fill in the blank.)  He finally got back to making a hat for his baby sister (it was a team effort, for sure!)  Then there are days where we get the scowl below.  One especially hilarious, negative interaction involved him drawing a picture of me and taping it on the wall and throwing weapons at it.  I had to leave the room it was so funny.

He has gotten far too mouthy with us and so we were trying to avoid slapping him but... it might be our only option.  He said something nasty one night and without our saying a word he grabbed a bar of soap and stuck it in his mouth.  "That wasn't that bad," he said afterward.  Another time I put hot sauce on his tongue and he told me it was "Yummy, yummy, yummy.  Guess you'll have to find something else."

Here he is posing for a "magazine article" he wrote earlier in the month.  Originally it was going to be about how hot it was and then the story changed into an invention where you could shoot snakes out of your armpits...?  Huh?  It changed so quickly I couldn't keep track.

He's still pretty obsessed with the idea of being a Green Beret or a Navy Seal.  Dane got an awesome book that I highly recommend, The Way of the Warrior Kid, and he LOVED it.  Unfortunately, there were some unintended consequences.  The Navy Seal in the book wakes up extra early for the day to work out and so we had a couple verrrry early mornings when Atticus woke his brother annnnnd... the rest of us.

Atticus-

• "I picked out an outfit for you- a black dress with eye makeup, lip color and tall shoes.  You’ll look great!"
• "I have the spirit!" (After studying the BOM for ten minutes.  He even took it in the car with him so he could keep “reading.”)
• "You’re my best brother, Hinckley."
• "Mommy is stressed out!  She’s already having a horrible day, so don’t make it worse!"  
• "Hi!"  (Said to a neighbor on a ladder.  We passed him again...)  "How’s it going up there?"
• ("I’m not a fan of spiders.")  "Who IS a fan of spiders?!"
• "I'm going to have 3 girls and 7 boys.  We'll live in the woods.  The boys will be hunting during the day and making spices at night.  The girls will be weaving baskets..." 
• "I want to do everyfing when I grow up.  Build houses, be in de army... But there's one problem.  When will I see my kids?" 

This month was huge for Hinckley and his ability to swim.  He went from only bobbing across areas (it was painstakingly slow and yet he would refuse help!) to going at a pretty good pace for his age.  He can swim across the length of the pool but usually goes from step to step.  He even started jumping off of the wall at the back of the yard (it's pretty high for a 2.5 year old!)

There isn't a ton more to report.  He did start to get sick yesterday, which is never fun.  Then again, our family hasn't been sick since February, so we aren't surprised or upset.  Hopefully it doesn't get worse and is only a simple cold.

Hinckley Speaks:

• "K?!"  (After demanding something angrily.)
• "I’m cold...No, I dead. Monsters kill me.”
• "I love you Atticus, you’re my best bwudder." (While hugging him at least once a day.)
• “Can I?” 
• "Get my feeties.” (While being tucked in.)
• "I have idea..." (Sometimes his "ideas" make sense.  Often he just wants attention and makes something up.)
• "I die him."
• "I Santa!" (Whenever his t-shirt gets stuck on top of his head.)
• "Look, I Jesus." (He had made his towel look like a toga.)
• "I be like Jesus!  I grow beard!"
• I love you, you’re da bes brudder (to mom and dad)
• Thank you for your help. 
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