Our Four Boys:

Life is moving along. My legs are mostly healed. I do have a lump on my shin. Our HT is an ER doctor, so I'll ask him if it's normal or not. Nothing new has really happened this last week. Cub Scouts, homeschool, introducing solids to Jackson (going very well), nursing, planning my next girls' night (chocolate fondue party), renewed our temple recommends, listening to Rilie and teaching him new words... all in all, it's been a good week. Nick and I are in the phase, where the weeks blur by and pretty soon the month is gone and a new one has started.

Last pack mtg, Alvin received his pinewood derby car. He is very excited about that! He is about one week away from getting his Wolf Badge (plus two pins). I'm trying to let him take the lead... it's been anxious for me! Not that he's behind, he's just so close and decided he wanted to take a break from it.

Last Sunday, Alex and I attended a fireside for those turning 8 this year. He was nervous and excited. The stake had us meet in the chapel. The Stake Primary President spoke briefly, then we heard from three children who were baptized last year. Afterwards, we broke into wards. Our bishop spoke to the children about their baptism day and their interviews with him. Our bishop is great at connecting with children. At first, the kids were anxious, but after he spoke to them they were beaming with pride. The next stop was walking through the locker rooms and baptismal font. Then, they heard a talk on the Holy Ghost. A sister gave each child a piece of felt and talked about how it felt (warm and fuzzy). She told them to keep it in their pocket, as a reminder to keep the Holy Ghost with them and how he would feel in their hearts. When we got home, Alex put the piece of felt in his scriptures.              

Rilie is enjoying dress up. His favorite is the cowboy get-up from Grammie Ivey. 

 

I finally bought sleds! All three boys are enjoying sledding. 

Nick was taking a nap and I was taking care of Jackson... so Rilie could not go sledding.
You can see how he felt about it. 

He got over it quickly, and we found other fun games to do. 

This is his impression of Arnold from Magic School Bus. 

He goes around the house with his hands on his cheeks saying, "Arnold, oh no!" 

Arnold upgraded to being a cowboy! 

Surprise, surprise!

Hilarious Video:

Alvin and Alex taught Jackson how to scream... for fun! 

Nick was not please, but Jackson thinks it's great. 

Rilie discovered his shadow: 

Finding Our Groove

We are finding our groove again. 

Jackson is preferring a schedule, so I am learning how to keep one. He wakes up about 7am, then naps 2.5 hours later. He naps again around 2pm, unless there is a car ride before then. He goes back to bed at 7pm. He feeds at 12am & 5am. As for growth, he dropped in percentile, again. His nurse has decided not to be concerned. He has great color (skin), he is active, social (very social), meeting mile stones, etc. She just asked us to offer 3 meals a day and snacks, via solids (on top of nursing). He prefers real food, but will eat some baby food. For breakfast, we share a bowel of oatmeal together, if his brothers are eating something he can enjoy (an orange or banana), he gets his own to eat and play with, etc. At dinner, he's eating shredded meats (something I put off as long as I could before). He loves the world of food! This is a picture of him watching Alex with his new game. The light rushes from one side to the other. You have to squeeze the ends together when the light is in the middle. Jackson loves to watch the lights flash by, and the boys love the competition.

 Rilie is enjoying boxes. The last 6 weeks has been full of new things. He is learning how to get undressed and eat at the table. Lately, he loves oranges! He is singing songs; Jingle Bells is his favorite. (Still working on catching that on video). He enjoys soothing Jackson: He will find him fussing, get on Jackson's level, pat his head, and shush him. It's really cute. He is beginning to color with crayons, rather than eat them. He is talking much more. His hearing exam was last week. They weren't able to complete it. Her informal diagnosis: he can hear speech just fine. She wanted us to come back and check on tones though. He missed a lot, but there were some distractions going on. People seem annoyed when I bring all my kids to appointments... you try finding someone to watch four kids at 8am!

Alex is enjoying life... in general. I love his enthusiasm to run off and get lost in his own games! He enjoys all the breaks he gets from a mommy seeking balanced: "Time for math! Wait, I need to feed Jackson.", "Time for reading! Wait, Rilie has a poopy diaper", "Let's finish history! Wait, it's lunch time and I need to do the dishes first.". By the end of the day, we do complete all our assignments. He just expects these breaks. Before I finish my sentence, he is already off and running onto something else (usually Legos). He loves being read to. This week, we finished Treasure Island (adapted for young readers). He loved learning all the pirate phrases and he added the Jolly Roger to his viking boat for history. It has snowed a lot, and he has reminded me about their need to be outside. He has built several snowmen and an igloo. We started the igloo at a park, then we had to pick up dad from work. They asked to go back and finish. Dad thought it was a great idea. Nick has pictures of it on his phone. Hopefully, I can transfer them on to here. 

One of his Lego projects. He took the picture too.

Alvin loves reading. We are very proud of him! He still isn't at grade level, but he is reading at HIS level fluidly! There is an amusement park up north, Silverwood. They give free tickets to students who read 10 hours between now and March 15. School assignments do not count, it has to be "reading for fun". My nightly readings do count though. Last night, we started the Chronicles of Narnia (Christmas presents from Grandma & Grandpa Anderson). Afterwards, we marked our sheets. I encouraged the boys to take books to bed, so they can read (instead of just looking at the pictures). It was their choice, but I could mark it on their sheet if they were actually reading. I checked on them every 15 minutes. Alvin read OUT LOUD for 45 minutes. He enjoys the Frog & Toad series. In Cub Scouts, he has earned 3 beads. He's on his way to earning his Wolf badge by Blue and Gold. 

Alvin's snowman. He took the picture too.