Max Recap

A few new things have been in store for Max this spring. He is starting to learn to ride his bike without the training wheels. He isn't too thrilled to keep trying, but he is so close! Max has also started soccer for the first time. We realized with Jack that we started him way too early at three years old (first child excitement). So Max is just beginning and it has been the perfect time for this six year old. We have had so much fun watching him; he is aggressive and follows along with the game and has ALMOST scored numerous times. He is highly motivated with rewards and is always asking us if he can earn something if he does something. Before every game he asks if he can get a reward if he scores a goal. He is quite manipulative because it is usually something I want to agree to like a place to eat out for dinner or movie night for the family. It has been pretty funny, even though we are trying to teach him to love to play and do well simply because it's fun (yeah right, I'm out there cheering my lungs out so we can go to Red Robin!) In the few games Max has played he has handled the ball 10 times more than Jack did in a season. They are definitely two different kids with very different personalities. Speaking of being highly motivated by rewards, Max has gotten some pretty great "treats" with good haircuts the last couple of months. Mas HATES to get his hair cut, and even though we've made progress over the years it still isn't a favorite activity for anyone involved. So, like any good parent, we bribe him. Max said he would only do a buzz if he could have a mohawk. We said what the heck, why not for the day, as long as he would be PERFECT for the haircut in the morning and later to get the mohawk gone. It was sweet! We had planned to go bowling that day, and one of his best buddies was having a birthday party later that afternoon. We got the funniest looks from people wondering what kind of people we were to let our six year old kid wear a mohawk. He was the HIT of the birthday party and thought it was the coolest day ever. He finagled 4 Oreos out of the latest haircut, but I tell you, he was an angel for both haircuts, and our house was actually peaceful (or at least our neighbors don't think we're abusive anymore!)
Byron took the boys to our ward Father's and Son's Outing and they had a blast. They were the first ones to the site and Max was thrilled because he helped Byron build and start the fire that ended up being THE fire that everyone used the whole night. Way to go buddy.
One last thing about Max. He is the best brother ever. He always is thinking of Jack and how he can make him happy. He and Lucy have a special relationship. He is in school every morning and she gets so excited when it is time for him to come home. He plays and plays with her and makes her so laugh all the time. She calls him Maxers and says it so affectionately. The other day after playing on the trampoline and doing every single thing she wants him to do, he said, " I am so done playing with her." but two seconds later he was back at it. So cute!

Jack Recap

There have been so many things going on lately that I have not written about. I decided to post them categorized by individual children. This time the first shall be first....

Jack has been a busy kid this spring. He was able to participate in his first ever Pinewood Derby. He totally designed the car and Byron helped him cut and sand and install weights and paint. His car did really well the first few rounds, including beating car designed by the Ford Engineer Dad. After winning twice they decided Jack's car might be not within regulation. They said it was too long with the weights sticking out the back. Hmmm. Thought the cars were inspected BEFORE the race, but whatever. Jack and Byron took the weights off the back and stuck them on the sides. The car won it's next race, but fell off the track on the next one and it was down hill from there. Unfortunately our boy got the sweet taste of victory in his mouth early on, only to have it turn a bit sour. We were proud of him, though. He kept a good attitude, and really only complained a little bit on the way home. Leave it to scouts to teach boys the hard lessons of life and how to deal with them. Jack also had his piano recital a while back. He had practiced and practiced his songs for weeks, and was so bored of it he raced through the songs. His teacher was really concerned that he would not be able to keep the right tempo and recommended Byron sitting with him to count with him. Jack really thought he could do it on his own, (and we did too...his teacher is a little over zealous!) The recital was on a Sunday immediately after our church, so he hadn't practiced that day, and heaven forbid he ever practice on Saturday, so I was a bit nervous for him. He was calm as can be and performed wonderfully! He was proud to be a part of the recital, and was even talking about next year's performance, which is a huge thing considering he regularly goes through phases of refusing to play after this year! All in all, it was victorious!A few months ago we discovered that Jack really gets a bum deal around our house. He happens to be home only during the really chaotic times of the day. In the morning before school when it is rush, rush, rush. After school when it is homework, piano, scouts, sports. Dinner time: eat, sit down, eat, sit down, sit down, sit down. Bedtime for the little ones occupies all our focus, then it's nearly time for Jack to shower and go to bed. We don't think he really realized this, nor did we for a while, but after many struggles of behavioral issues, we took a different look at things. We decided he needed some Mommy Time. Once a week we have scheduled a time for he and I to spend some alone time together. It has made such a HUGE difference. It doesn't even matter what we do. He just knows that on such and such a day, at this time, he will get his special time and it somehow makes everything else okay. He gets to pick (within reason) what we do, and it usually isn't very long, but it is enough. We have worked on his pinewood derby car, gone to a book store, shopped for shoes at Meijer (that was random), played the Easter Bunny, and played catch with the football. I have found that it is harder to be frustrated with him when I have more positive experiences with him. For a while the only interactions we were having together were nagging and negative. After having good moments together, I feel like he knows I really care, and I can see him in a different light too. Plus, it has truly been fun to just hang out with my boy! Hooray for Mommy Time and hooray for Jack!

Therapy and Psuedo-Therapy

There have been a number of things this past month that have made me feel "normal" again. ( I know many would argue that I have never been normal...) Between having a baby and nursing that baby every 3 hours and throwing out my back, I have not been able to do a lot of the things that help me feel like something other than a slave to my house, children, and aging body. I started physical therapy for my back and it has been wonderful! No miracles or anything, but definite changes and relief. This means I have been able to RUN! Woohoo! I haven't run since before I was pregnant with Lucy. It feels great (actually there's a whole lot of jiggling going on that doesn't feel so great!) , but hopefully my back will hold up and I can continue to pound it out on the pavement. It feels fabulous! I also mowed the lawn yesterday, which takes me back to my teen years and is totally therapeutic! A few weeks ago we gave Sam a bottle for the first time so I could go to the temple with our Relief Society sisters. It was so needed! I hadn't been to the temple since Dec. and was in need of a spiritual boost and was greatly filled. Next we had a girly night where two friends came over and we made dresses for our girls. It was so fun! It made me remember that yes, I can do something other than change diapers and pick up all day. Lucy totally didn't need another dress, but turning a couple of pillow cases into a dress for her was what I totally needed! Date night with my hubby was also pretty sweet. Byron owed me a date from FOREVER ago because I beat him in bowling, thank you very much! This means he had to arrange babysitting and decide what we were going to do. Dinner and a movie is an all time fave, but lo and behold, he came up with something better: dinner and shopping at the outlets! And not shopping for the kids (well a little) but he said it was shopping for me! With being fat and pregnant for 18 months out of 2 years, not to mention the postpartum fatness, it has been a long, long time since I have shopped for myself. I didn't find much, but the fact that I could shop kid free and with someone to show off to, it was a blast! Book club is also mega-therapy for me. I love, love, love to read and escape in a good book, but I love going and visiting with the girls even more! I came home from the last one and Byron said, "How was it?" I said, "great, but my back hurts. I think I sat in the same spot too long." He said, "Yeah, well FOUR hours is a long time." I said, "Duh, it wasn't FOUR hours! OH MY GOSH! I was there for FOUR hours?" Sorry, Elizabeth, we stayed a loooong time, but truly, it makes me a better woman. Maybe not the next day when I am so tired, but I continue to find myself chuckling over past book club conversations and it just makes me happy. Each of these things has made me feel whole and well again. Hallelujah!

Happy Mother's Day

I could try to list here many of the reasons why I love Michelle so much, but it would be in vain. I think that I could very literally go on all night. I will list just four:





Jack

Max

Lucy

Sam

I want to say to Michelle personally what Elder Holland said to mothers of the church collectively.

"You are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient. If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do. You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging."

Thanks for everything, Michelle. Especially bringing these great kids into our lives.

Love you, Babe.

4th Baby Bliss

Our little Sam is now four months old and he has been so much fun to have around. We were quite nervous for #4 baby to come along, mostly because Lucy was going to be so little and her behavior would be a complete wild card, and also because 4 kids is a LOT of kids. I think we were so geared up for life to be completely chaotic that when it has come down to being just chaotic, we have found it all to be very enjoyable. Most of this comes from finally having some experience under our belts, but also because Sam is really a good baby (ok, and because Byron is in his research year and is more flexible than ever before.) Here are some of the things we have decided are quite nice about having a fourth baby:

• knowing he can cry for 5, 10, or 15 minutes and he is NOT going to die or even remember it just a few minutes later
• knowing that yes, schedules are nice and make for happy babies, but they are bound to get messed up easily (shots, sickness, travel, growth spurt, etc.) so chill out and be more flexible
• knowing that when schedules get messed up, it really only takes a few days to get back on a schedule so chill out and be more flexible
• we can change a diaper faster than Dash
• watching the older kids love him and include him in their play (LOVE this, it's got to be my favorite thing about having more kids)
• feeling confident that Jack really can carry him all over the house, including down the stairs
• knowing that I really can lose THAT much hair in one washing and I really won't go bald
• telling people that are admiring our two little ones that we have two bigger ones at school (I love the reactions)
• my mom being willing to come for 6 weeks when Sam was born (no, that's not a typo, yes, I know I'm spoiled and I love it!)
• knowing that it really is a short amount of time that I will be sleep deprived and nursing nonstop, so it really isn't that bad
• knowing that it really is a short amount of time that he will be a little baby and just relish in his every detail: from the smells to the smiles to the touches
• realizing that I have had 3 other babies so I should know what to do, but that even though I can't remember anything, it's ok and Sam will survive
  
• having really low expectations of self and house because wow, we've got 4 kids
  

Of course there have been times when it has been overly hectic because of the baby plus 3 other kids, but I try to picture dealing with it all as if he were my first baby and I am so grateful he is my fourth. I'm sure he will be more adjusted and easy going than my others. Come to think of it, I am a fourth baby and my mom always said I was such a joy. Little did I know it had way more to do with her view of things than really how I was as a baby. (Dang, I thought I was special!) I realize now it was just the 4th baby bliss!

It's About Time

I know that is what you are all thinking. Heaven's, it's what we're thinking! But really what it comes down to is that it truly is all about time. And we just don't have enough of it. But now more than ever I am realizing that time does go by so fast and if we don't document some of these even seemingly trivial things that we do everyday, we will never be able to remember any of it. So even if this isn't the greatest blog you have ever seen, it is finally here and will serve the purpose of letting us post the details of our lives and letting you in on it too.