Swift and Speedy: Cross-Country Season

This week was the last of our school district's six-week after-school running club, the Landsharks. This year Josh joined Ben in the practices and races and both had a great time. Ben once again proved to be fast, really fast, and reveled in the joy of running. Josh stayed in the middle of the pack, wearing a big smile through his races. I am glad the kids love to run so much. We sure love watching them race!

It's a great program. There are three weeks of twice weekly practices. Then there are three races over three weeks, one race a week, which cuts the practices down to one per week. The slogan for the program is "every finisher a winner." The kids are encouraged to race against themselves, trying to do better every week than they did the week before. When they publish the results, it is all alphabetical, not by finish time. I really love that philosophy for these little ones of ours. It keeps the kids running and enjoying themselves. And as parents, Adam and I encourage the kids along these same lines. But of course, especially for Ben, who is so quick it amazes us, we keep track of all the official stats in secret. :) So here they are:

Ben chose to run the 1.5 mile race, the longest option, all three weeks. The first race he ran in 13 mintues, 21 seconds. Only 4 2nd graders total ran the 1.5 mile that week, the rest of the 34 runners were 3rd-5th graders. He was almost 12 minutes ahead of the next 2nd grader. He came in 5th overall and all the kids that beat him were 4th and 5th graders. The official time from the first race was a little questionable, since in the second race, Ben ran the 1.5 miles in 9 minutes 51 seconds (a 3+ minute improvement, but without much change to his placement). But WOW! That's just a little under a six-and-a-half minute mile! He was 8th out of 31 runners. This time only one other 2nd grader ran the 1.5 mile race. It was his good buddy, Luke, who was only 1/2 second behind him. It was fun seeing them stick together. The third race Ben finished in 10 minutes, 8 seconds, coming in 6th out of 43 runners, again only beat by 4th and 5th graders. He's heading to the citywide 1.5 mile race next Monday night. It should be a fun evening! He's really excited. He just loves it. We are so proud of him!
Josh ran the half mile race all three weeks. His time in his first race was 5 minutes, 30 seconds. As he was finishing the race, he heard us cheering for him and a huge grin split across his face. You could tell he was feeling like a rock star! His second race he showed a huge improvement, just like his brother, and finished in 3 minutes, 59 seconds. His goal was to do better the second time, and he did more than meet that goal, he destroyed it! His final race was run in 4 mins, 18 seconds. He was sad it was the last race, because he really enjoyed race night. When we asked him why he said, "Because I get a treat at the end." They hand out fruit snacks or a Clif bar at the finish line. The way to that boy's heart is definitely through his belly! What a crack-up! We are incredibly proud of Josh too. Both boys put in a lot of effort this season, and it paid off!One of my favorite things about race night was the stunning Colorado skies. I love our beautiful sunsets here. It was perfect to be outdoors in the warm (actually HOT!) late-summer/early-fall nights we've been having, cheering on my boys, experiencing their pleasure in the sport, and watching the glorious beauty of the Colorado skies.

Paid Off

This beautiful piece of mail arrived at our home yesterday. Those big red letters say that Adam's large MBA loan, the one that has taken a pretty chunk of our monthly income for the past 5 years since graduation in May of 2005, is now paid off. No more. Done. Paid. In. Full. One month earlier than we expected. I did a happy jig in the kitchen. And maybe some joyful shrieking. As William Wallace, played by {the crazy but talented} Mel Gibson, says in Braveheart, "FFFFRRRRRREEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMM!" Sometimes the sense that time is flying by can be a good thing. Five point five years since MBA graduation? Really? Wow. Wow! We will not miss you for one itty bitty second, loan!

A House Full of Boys

When you have a house full of boys you are constantly stepping on things such as these:You find paper airplanes here, there and everywhere:
And when they get to be too many, your "fancy" formal living room might just have a hidden secret, like a storage table full of them:You have bowls full of "special" rocks that have been found outside and given, oh so seriously, as priceless gifts to you:
The higher shelves on your bookcases, that were once reserved just for books and decorative knick-knacks, are now also home to wooden swords, foam swords and plastic lightsabers that are in "time out" for being used against one brother or another in a not-for-fun way:
Your lovely display bowl of intricately carved decorative wooden balls is "enhanced" by a Bakugan Mega, which you insanely think kind of works:
Forts will spring up, like weeds in the garden, fast and all-consuming, for playing in, for reading in, for building and then leaving unattended for hours (but don't you dare try to clean it up!): And sports items such as these are discarded throughout the house at all times, usually right in front of doors to be tripped on, stepped on (cleats hurt!), and shifted around so you can open and close said doors:I don't have to worry about finding the missing Polly Pocket shoe, watching out for tiny barrettes that Tommy could choke on, or discovering half-dressed dollies lounging on the living room couch. But there are a million wonderfully annoying little things about living with a house full of boys (I spared you the photo of the pee that never fails to find its way ONto the toilet seat), and these are just a few of them that always make me roll my eyes and then bring a smile when I discover them. Toys under feet, random displays of boyish decoration, the gift of a rock...I know I will miss them terribly one day, when all my boys have {hopefully} moved on to lives of their own, as they should.

I wouldn't trade these days for anything. Well, maybe the pee on the toilet seat....

Lord Of The Flies

A friend's recent post on her daughter's funny reaction to some flies in their house reminded me to capture this little "snapshot" story of Luke.

Luke has always been a lover of bugs. You've probably read a post or two on Luke's bug-love before. He loves them deeply, and if he gets his hands on one, well, he is so happy, so full of joy, that he loves it to death. He loves all bugs; he does not discriminate. He loves to watch them and follow them. He doesn't much like to have them crawling on him, but he does like to hold them in his fingers (which usually results in a dead bug). One of his favorite gifts from Grandma was a bag of rubber bugs. I think he might become an entomologist when he grows up.

There is no bug I find more disgusting than a fly. Flies sit on, consume and regurgitate poop. Does a bug get nastier than that? They are dirty, germ-carrying, decay- and waste-loving, annoying little pests and I am pretty darn good at sneaking up on them and turning them to fly-smoosh. This year Colorado Springs has had a huge number of flies buzzing around. Usually we are pretty bug-free. The temperature extremes and the altitude combine to keep the bug populations low. But something about the way this warm, dry summer has proceeded has allowed the flies to multiply irregularly and it is not welcome by me. But Luke loves it.

In mid-August we had some fruit flies that converged on some bananas that were waiting to be made into bread. There were so many that I just tossed the bananas out because I was so grossed out by the flies and all the invisible nastiness I was sure they were seeping into my bananas just by landing on them that I was no longer willing to eat bread made from the fly-touched bananas. But from that point on all the flies Luke sees, house flies, horse flies, fruit flies, gnats, etc. are known only as "fruit flies."

Luke's imagination is going wild right now. He's so hilarious and creative. The ideas and stories and situations he comes up with are just fascinating. In the past few weeks, he started talking about his friend Fruit Fly. He'd call to Fruit Fly to follow him. He'd make sure Fruit Fly was with us in the car to travel around. Sometimes Fruit Fly would just be in his imagination, but whenever a real fly or two (or ten) gets in the house he's talking up a storm to them, calling them his friend Fruit Fly. He takes naps with Fruit Fly. He plays games with Fruit Fly. He lets Fruit Fly outside when Fruit Fly wants out, and lets Fruit Fly in when he's ready to come back in. It's so cute, and so gross all at once.

Sadly for Luke, I am, as I always have been, a fly killer. Out of pure revulsion I cannot help myself. One night at dinner, a particularly pesky fly was making its desire to make our dinner its own very clear and I made a swat at it. I was not thinking about Luke's friend Fruit Fly even a little bit. But Luke sure was! And when he realized I was trying to kill the fly he totally flipped. "No! Mom! He's my friend!" Deep sobbing ensued. This was not usual tantrum crying, the kind that we get pretty regularly from Luke that he can turn on and off pretty quickly because he's just trying to work one angle or another. This was true broken-hearted hurt. Like I would cry if I thought someone was trying to kill one of my friends, my human friends. He was really devastated. I was so glad I had missed or I would have felt TERRIBLE! How could I have forgotten Fruit Fly?! Oh, I know how...I hate flies!! Why did Luke's imaginary/real friend have to be a fly?!!! Luke only seemed to slowly recover when he noticed the fly still buzzing around our dinner. Which I could no longer eat because it had landed on my plate.I still hate flies. I still think they are grody and disgusting. I still kill them whenever I can. Luke still loves flies. He still thinks they are his friends. He still wants to catch one and keep it forever. So now I have to be very stealth in my fly swatting. Not only do I have to sneak up on the fly, but I have to make sure Luke is nowhere around. I couldn't break my little boy's heart by killing his friend Fruit Fly! I'm not a monster. At least I don't want Luke to think I am. I don't care what the flies think.

I sure can't wait until he makes a new imaginary friend. Unless it's Hairy Spider. Flies might be gross, but spiders...they're scary! {shudder}

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Up until Monday I thought the first day of fall was Thursday, the 23rd. Then I was online and this one site said it was WEDNESDAY, the 22nd. Yes, if Autumn is your favorite season and you eagerly anticipate its arrival and mark it with celebration, as we do, you may be confused too, as our news channel was saying that the 23rd is the first day of fall. But they were wrong. The 23rd is the first day of fall in Greenwich, England, but for the U.S. (because our time is behind England's), in the Mountain Time Zone where we, the Chaos, live, well, believe it or not, the first day of fall was the 22nd! I know, strange, right? I was surprised too. But the explanation is interesting. Go ahead. Look it up! OR maybe you knew it already and it was just me. :)

Well, the discovery that our Thursday plans for our family's annual tradition of Fall Feast were a day late just wouldn't do. So without complaint we moved the party up a day! Pot roast, fresh baked bread (thank you, Albertson's hot and fresh-baked French bread loaves!), apple cider and homemade pumpkin pie a day earlier than planned? You can see why we weren't so sad.

It was a perfect first day of fall here in The Springs. Summer will be back tomorrow, and it was here yesterday, with our temperatures in the low 80's, but today...it rained! It was cloudy and gray and cool and BEEEEAUTIFUL! I was so happy.

Luke helped me get the roast ready. He loved the shapes of the fingerling potatoes. This one was his favorite. It looked like a person! But it was a little disturbing when he said I had to cut its head off to stick it in the pot. So I just left it whole.

Isn't it gorgeous?!

This is the biggest reason I love Fall Feast...a family tradition all our own that makes us feel that special family feeling. The kids love it too! After arriving home from school they were drooling over the smells of the cooking food and desperate to give the feast a try. "Just a little taste, pllllleeeease, Mom!" I think all three of the big boys at one point in the afternoon said, "I love Fall Feast!" I am going to have to get a bigger roast next year. There were hardly any leftovers...BOO!

Three cheers for Fall Feast!

Oh yeah, that was one go-ood pumpkin pie! The crust was so buttery and fresh. Mmmm.... So if you didn't find the information about the autumnal equinox as fascinating as I did, maybe you will find this little tidbit of information useful. There is NO canned pumpkin at the grocery store. I make my pies from scratch, but I usually buy Libby's pumpkin puree instead of roasting and pureeing my own (I've got a right to make life a bit easier from time to time, don't I?!). But alas, last year with the wet spring and hot summer weather, followed by early frosts ruined much of the sugar pie pumpkin crop. So Libby's is holding out to release cans close to Thanksgiving when it is in highest demand. Crazy, right? I just hope I get some! I'd hate not having pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. It just wouldn't be right! I might have to {gasp} actually puree my own. Nooooo!!!! Fortunately I had one small can of pumpkin in the back of my pantry to make the pie today. When I found it I felt like I had discovered America. It saved the day!

Tommy liked the pie as much as the rest of us did. All day long I was flashing back to our Fall Feast last year, when I had to cook the roast in the garage because any smell, even a good one, is too much for me when I'm pregnant and I wouldn't have been able to eat it after smelling it all the livelong day. Pregnant. It's strange to think that our dear Tommy was still a belly baby bump at this time last year. It feels like he's been a part of our lives always. But at the same time, can it have been almost an entire year already? Didn't we just do Fall Feast?! Time is such a bizarre thing. Isn't it?

Fall Feast was followed up by Fall Feast clean-up which always requires a re-washing of the table cloth (someone spills apple cider every year) and the cleansing of a massive pile of dinner dishes and debris. The kids rolled upstairs, bellies warm and full, and I only had to remind Ben he wasn't Lord of the Tub once. They were tucked in and snoring the snores of the happily full by 8:30. It was a great first day of autumn for the Chaos. We hope it's a great fall for all!

On My Pillow

This is what I found waiting for me last night on my pillow:A secret little September Valentine made of Bendaroos. Etched lightly in pencil it says "I love you." Thanks Ben! You filled my bucket.

Tuesday Nights

I am a bright-sider. Yes, I naturally tend to tint things a little rosy. But I am having a hard time finding the "good" in Tuesday nights.

3:40 Big boys arrive home from school, have a snack and we begin the torturous homework routine (it doesn't help Ben's total apathy towards homework that one of his best buddies accompanies him home from school so he can catch a ride to soccer practice)
4:30 Ben and Owen get ready for practice, everyone is loaded into the car and we head out to the field
5:00 Ben's practice begins
5:10 I return home and start making the Tuesday night "fast dinner" (this means a dinner that can be prepped and ready in 15 minutes) and harp on Zach for 10 minutes to get ready for his practice
5:25 Dinner is {hopefully} ready so that Zach can eat before...
5:40 I drive Zach to soccer practice 20 minutes away
6:00 Zach's soccer practice begins
6:15 Arrive back home and feed the rest of the crew (although I can happily say that even with our busy schedules, this is the only night of the week we don't all eat dinner together)
6:30 Adam heads out to meet the young women from our ward since he's been recruited to coach their basketball team
6:45 Put on my {beautiful} Scout shirt and drive up to church for Scouts deep into "The Witching Hour" with a tired Tommy, lethargic Luke, jubilant Josh, and the only one who is actually supposed to be at Scouts, boisterous Ben
7:00 Scouts begins--a mere 3 minutes in, I have to leave my crew of awesome leaders to deal without me and haul Tommy, Luke and Josh off to pick Zach up from soccer practice
7:25 Return to Scouts so Zach can catch the last 35 minutes and I can fulfill my calling as best I can with tired Tommy, lethargic Luke and jubilant Josh to add to the 10 wild and crazy 8- and 9-year-olds; WILD AND CRAZY, because the night has not had enough of that yet
7:50 Adam's time coaching ends and he comes to get the little boys and take them home
8:00 Scouts ends and I take the big boys home
8:10 The bedtime routine is a little crazier than usual as everyone is keyed up from the go-go-go, but with two of us the kids are usually in bed, settled by 8:45
8:45 The evening tidy begins; with all the busyness of the afternoon the house usually looks like a tornado hit
9:20 I get my full chill on.

When Adam is traveling for work (as he has been the past two Tuesday nights) I add to that:
6:15 Pick up Ben from Owen's sister's practice because that's where my friend who picks Ben up from practice for me has to go after Ben's practice ends and I'm dropping Zach off at his at that exact same moment
6:30 Drive through somewhere for dinner because at this point it's just too exhausting to cook anything and too annoying to spend the time encouraging the picky eaters in our family to eat
8:15 Get home from Scouts with the boys bouncing off the walls
9:00 Get all five boys in bed, a time of night that has the potential to be absolutely sweet or pure torture, usually on Tuesdays it's the latter
9:10 Ignore the mess that is my house and myself, which the OCD side of me hates to do (I feel like my house is beyond help and I'm probably looking like I stuck my finger in a light socket by this point), but I just can't do one more thing before I crash in a staring, brainless daze on the couch; where I will stay until I am finally willing to get up again because my eyelids will not stay open a moment longer and I decide my bed would be much more comfortable than the couch for the night.

Conlin Chaos indeed!

By the end of most Tuesday nights my shoulders are sore from the tension, my head is spinning from the non-stop craziness, and I am begging Adam to carry me up the stairs for bed just so I don't have to stand up again.

I'm still trying to think of the possible bright side to Tuesday nights. Great co-leaders for Scouts? Definitely. A fabulous husband who is so appreciated when he's home and SO missed when he's not? Absolutely. Boys who take such joy in all the great activities they get to participate in that they don't even realize how busy they are? Yep.

But it's hard to remember those things at the beginning of the Tuesday night tornado, and thinking of the bright side is certainly beyond my abilities when I'm still spinning like a whirling dervish and I am so, so, SO tired that my brain just wants to shut off. {click}

Ben's Books

Ben constantly has me in stitches. He is just such a character, but not on purpose! I can't describe Ben in any other way than to say he's SO Ben! Ben that has recently highlighted his Benness the past two weeks in his library day check-out choices. Ben usually makes "interesting" choices, such as books we already own (and he knows it), or books on random topics (like hamsters or quasars), or books that I am sure he is the first to check out even though the book is 15 years old (because they are so odd!). But the past two check outs have taken the cake! Last week he checked out this HURKIN' book called Favorite Poems Old and New: Selected for Boys and Girls. It was like 1000 pages long. Say what?! What a pick! Of all the books in the library. But we did have a fun time reading a bunch of them over the week, including one of my favorite poems The Highwayman and Adam's, Casey at the Bat. On Thursday, after returning the poetry book, he chose an encyclopedia. AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. Oh, Ben! I love your youness!

Confronting Temptation: The Story of How Zach and I Conquered the D.S. Monster

Last week, while Adam was traveling for work, I caught Zach in bed with his Nintendo D.S. SO BUSTED! Rule #1 broken: No video games in the bedrooms at all. Rule #2 broken: "lights out" means lights out. Rule #3 broken: No video games on school days. But worst of all what was broken was that fragile thing called trust.

I was setting up the basement for preschool and couldn't find Zach's DS anywhere. I like to make sure all the games, controllers, and other video items that get strewn about are put away for the week, especially with my preschoolers coming. I remembered Zach asking about one of his games earlier in the day that he wanted to trade with a friend. The dread set in. Did Zach bring the DS upstairs? I was hoping against hope that I was wrong, but unfortunately I knew I probably wasn't. And I had to check.

There he was, blankets pulled up over his head so Ben couldn't see what he was doing, playing the game system. I didn't yell, like I wanted to. I kept it short and calmly told him he'd lost the DS for the year, he could have it back when he was in 5th grade, and that he had completely disappointed me and shattered my trust, which shatters our relationship. Then I left the room, closed the door, and contemplated throwing the DS in the garbage can with enough force to shatter the $#@!!*% thing to teensy little bits.

I was furious!

The next day I had Zach get himself all ready for school all by himself. He had to make his lunch, get his things all together that he'd need to be prepared for school (believe me, this is a true challenge for him), and get out the door on time. If he didn't want to listen to his mom just because he didn't like the rules, he didn't get the benefits of having a mom around either. And the thing is, he did a really good job. Which, to be honest, made me even more frustrated. He was calm, cool and collected. He hunkered down and did what he had to do and even left early enough that he could tryout for the handbell choir at school. I wanted him to be begging for my help, to shed a tear, to plea for forgiveness. In fact, I needed him to do this so I could graciously forgive him, win the point, and be mom again. I couldn't keep the "no mom help" thing up. I LIKE being a mom; I LIKE being HIS mom. But that's not how it went. And that made me more irritated.

In the hours that followed, as I wracked my brain for what to do, I had a Zach epiphany. See, Ben is the kid who would do all those things. He gives me the visible signs of distress that I associate with contrition. But Zach's not really like that. He's more reserved with his emotions and tends towards trying to see the sunny side of life. He does lose it from time to time, especially when he's tired, but that's pretty rare, and that's usually tears, not shouting. I can count on my hand the number of times he's yelled at either Adam or I in the past year. The way he deals is push his upset away. Sometimes he will just ignore it; it's over and he wants to try to forget about it and deal with the consequences like they are the norm. And sometimes he gets to business; he does what he has to do and hopes that you notice that he's doing the right thing. I was expecting him to respond in the way I would respond or how Ben would respond, emotionally, but Zach's not me, and he's not Ben. And he did everything he was asked to do that morning. Just like he always does when he has consequences. He deals.

That understanding of him cleared up a lot for me. But what was I going to do about the D.S? I feel like we've battled the video games over and over. They create trust issues and huge temptations. But I don't want to take them completely away. I think our rules for them are good ones. We have set time periods they can play; they can't play violent games (only rated "E"); they can't play during the week when school is in without special permission and the answer is "no" if they ask, it has to be a grown-up's suggestion. In addition, I know the boys enjoy them; they are one of their favorite things to do to relax. Plus, with the rules in place, I think video and computer games can be teaching tools too. Taking them away completely would be like someone taking one of my favorite things away from me. Also, if I took them from Zach I'd have to take them from everyone, because we all have to share the house. But the consequences and punishments Zach's faced in the past haven't seemed to sink in with him. I had no answer, and I hate not having an answer!
Next, I turned to my friend Lisa. She's a great mom, and teaches a Parenting with Love and Logic class. I needed some advice and a new direction.

Her advice: give it back. Give back the D.S.

And, you know, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. You'd think I would say, no way! Not after the rules he broke. But it felt kind of good to go in that direction.

Getting back the D.S. didn't come free. It came with discussion, between Zach and I, and some choices that needed to be made by Zach. I told her mostly what I wanted was for him to learn to listen to The Spirit, the voice inside him that tells him that he's doing something he shouldn't. Her words were very eloquent, and I wished I had a photographic memory so I could have said exactly what she said to say, word for word. But basically she talked about how the home needs to be a safe place to make mistakes. That if he can learn that at home he is loved and forgiven and trusted, as he gets older he will know that home is still his safe place. That he will want to keep the trust and feelings of love he gets from home and will make choices to keep those things, and will also not try to hide his mistakes for fear of repercussion. Because that can be dangerous.

This is what came from Lisa's advice. I talked with Zach about trust and told him how much I do trust him and NEED to trust him. That I trusted that he and I could come up with a good way with how to deal with his D.S. if I returned it to him that day. I talked to him about temptation, and how sometimes temptations are just too big for us. God knows us so deeply and intimately. He knows what is hard for us and always provides ways for us to avoid or deal with temptation. When we can't deal with it well, we have to run away. I told Zach that for me it's shopping. And what do I do about it? I try to go to the mall only when I have to. And I take Adam with me, because he always makes sure we are frugal. I asked Zach what he thought he could do to avoid the temptation that the D.S. is for him. His idea was that we could put it out in a very obvious place, so I could always see where it was.

So we tried it. The next day, I had to take Tommy to the doctor and the kids got home before I could get back. The gap between when they got home and when I did was only 10 minutes. They called to say they were home as I was getting in the car to leave the doctor's office. But what was the first thing Zach did home without me around? Played his D.S! I was SO MAD! We had JUST talked about this. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. But again. I kept my cool. I thought about how good it felt to work out the problem together the day before, even if it hadn't worked out so well.I wanted to find a way to do something similar. In sticking with the spirit of what I was trying to do with him by giving back his D.S. in the first place, I came to him and said, "So the 'out, but in plain view' idea maybe didn't work so well. Let's think of something else." We came up with custodianship. I am now the custodian of his D.S. When it is an appropriate time to play with it, he can ask for it, I can get it out for him, and we will go from there.

This should work. I feel really good about it. The temptation is removed. Zach can't get to his D.S. unless I get it for him so he's free of it. And so am I. Freedom! What a gift. Zach came up with the idea, with my support, on his own, so he's happy with it and has some ownership in it. His free agency was respected, as it needs to be for my sweet "tween" who is learning responsibility and decision-making that is bigger than it has been before. And I think he learned something that, if he can remember it, will help him as bigger challenges and temptations come his way as he grows up in this dangerous world of ours. He learned that he is trusted to make a good choice, that home is safe, and that God always provides a way to run from temptation. And I also feel like Zach and I are at a new place. Especially with the change in my fundamental understanding of how he deals with his frustrations and consequences.

Like I said before, I love being Zach's mom.

Every Day I Fall A Little More

If you can ignore the totally weird look on my face, like I might attack you and bite your nose off, and the fact that there is a glitter covered cardboard snowflake STILL hanging in my window from last winter's seasonal decorations (I feel like I should be embarrassed, but, oddly, I'm not), you might find yourself falling a little more in love with the darling men presented before you in this photo too. This picture was taken last Friday night as we were leaving the house for the family dance at the boys' elementary school. Can I keep us like this forever? Part of me would love that. But then there's the part of me that says no. Because then there would be no change. Nothing would be different. There would be nothing new to enjoy and embrace every day. And then I wouldn't get to fall in love more and more each day. Conlin Chaos, you are ahhhhh-mazing to me.

Some Things You Should Know About Tommy: Month Eleven

Eleven months is here. One to go until he's a full year old. Wow.1. Tommy is in a separation anxiety phase. If he's not with Adam or I he can be pretty weepy. If he's well rested and recently fed he's in better shape. For example, I did a volunteer training the other morning and my friend Lisa watched him and he was just fine. But when we left him for the BYU v. AF game, in the middle of the day for almost four hours, our neighbor said that whenever she tried to put him down he'd get so sad. And when Tommy's sad, it makes you sad, because his sad is so sweet! He knows what he wants and sticks to his guns. When I can't get anything done because he won't let me leave his side I have to keep reminding myself that this is an important and healthy stage, and that decisiveness and tenacity are great traits in an adult. Even if it's hard for both of us right now!2. Tommy is learning object permanence. Brilliant boy! Unfortunately, this is usually the most noticeable when he finds some small toy that he's not supposed to play with because he could choke on it. But when I take it away, even if I give him other exciting toy options, he's still looking for the original small toy. No, Mom. I don't want that lame rattle. I'd like that marble that looks like it tastes absolutely scrumptious.3. A couple of weeks ago, when I finally gave in to the reality that his pants were like capris and his shirts reminded me of the song from the movie Tommy Boy "Fat guy in a little coat," Tommy's 6-12 month clothes were packed away midway through his tenth month and the 12-18 month clothes were pulled out and placed with care in his dresser. I always hate packing up the old clothes. But as much as I loathe that, I love getting out the new ones!4. Tommy is in the middle of his first full-blown nasty oozy booger, hacking raspy cough, red angry throat, getting out the humidifier and slathering on the vapo-rub, sleep disturbing cold of the season. Poor little guy! This is his first major cold since the RSV, and unfortunately, the RSV weakened his lungs enough that now bad colds can cause him to get all wheezy. So he needs nebulizer treatments. Let me tell you how much he likes that! The only way I can get him to sit still and not rip the mask off his face is to nurse him while I give him his treatment. He looks at the mouthpiece that spews vaporized albuterol towards his nose like it is an unwelcome guest crashing his party, total distaste, and tries to push it away while keeping his latch. It would be funny if he really didn't need the medicine to ease his breathing!5. Tommy loves to laugh with you. The other night at our Scout Pack Meeting he was sitting on my lap while our Pack Master was telling some {lame} jokes. All the kids would laugh (they were very young-boy-pleasing jokes) and every time he heard the boys laugh, Tommy would chime in by doing this fake little chuckle. Over and over. It was making me laugh so hard! Which just made me look like I was laughing at really dumb jokes.6. Tommy's favorite games this month are dump the Tupperware lids out of the cupboard, dump the books off of the shelf and dump the diaper bag. He also still enjoys "I pass the toy to you, you pass the toy to me."7. Tommy has expanded his repertoire of babble sounds to include "Ma." He's not saying it in reference to me yet, but I know that's going to come soon. It's music to my ears!8. Tommy is a total and complete charmer. He loves to smile at anyone and everyone, then he will bashfully lean his head against my shoulder or chest while looking up at you through his long, dark eyelashes. It's so darling! Or he'll reach out and point at you and give you a babble or two, like he wants to tell you something. The only problem with his adorable flirting is that it makes people want to hold him. If we jump back to #1 you can see how this might be a bad idea. The second I pass him off he begins to wail for mom. Then I just feel bad.9. Tommy has three teeth now. Two on the top front, and one on the bottom front. The bottom one just popped through two days ago. It's amazing how teeth change the look of his face, and really make him look older. {sigh}10. Tommy sleeps through the night, usually from 7:00pm to 5am, has a little snack, then back to sleep until about 8am. He naps great too. This probably has to do with how much he loves to eat. Some days it feels like he sleeps, eats, snacks, then sleeps again. His favorite foods are black beans with rice and avocado, chicken tortilla soup with avocado, and plain old avocado.One more month until the ONE. Our love for you, darling Tommy, grows with you!

Hooray to Josh!

To say Josh is "enjoying" Kindergarten is like saying a bird "enjoys" flight or a dog "enjoys" having her ears scratched. It's an absolute understatement! He's talked it up so much that Luke is already desperate to start Kindergarten. His teacher sends home "Hoorays" that indicate that your child had a particularly great day. Tuesday Josh brought home his second Hooray for the year. He's so proud of his Hoorays, and we are too! So glad you are loving school, your teacher, learning new things and all the rest, my baby boy. You are a shining star!