30 Days of Thankful: Alex

We are so thankful for our Alex.

He started preschool this year at a local church, the same program Shayne went to at this age. We knew he needed it to help him spread his wings a bit. But man, talk about a rough transition (further solidifying that he really needed it). He is a champ, though, pushing through, growing and learning every day.

First Day of School, pre-meltdown



This kid is crazy about hyperbole. Everything thing is "I just can not resist it. I can't live without it! I'm going to die without it. I just won't surviiiiive..." or "Want to hear about the most amazing thing ever? This is the very best thing in the whole wide world..." And he loves me as big as "all of home and earth and all of space and back and everywhere."





He is totally a youngest child, both in the fact that the world seems to be at his command (tonight he told us he is the President of Little Boys), and that he thinks he is so stinkin' big. When he first saw his preschool classroom, he said it was "kind of a room for babies," and the other day when we were talking about things he liked and I mentioned Lightning McQueen, he told me to stop naming "baby stuff."



This was coming from the same kid who excitedly wore a Cars shirt two days earlier. He talks big kid, but is definitely still my baby.

Avengers-themed 4th Birthday

And I'm so thankful for that.

---

"I was sitting behind two teenage girls on a bus. One of them was upset because her parents had balked at buying her a prom dress they couldn’t afford. She was not happy with her second choice.

"'Then Mom came unglued because I didn’t say thank you,' she complained. 'I don’t know what she expected me to say thank you for!'

"Ungrateful child, I thought.

"Not long after that I began pondering the promise of 'a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it' (3 Nephi 24:10). Although I had been paying my tithing and fulfilling my other obligations, I did not feel overwhelmed with blessings. In fact, I felt that I had little to be grateful for.
Suddenly, my experience on the bus flashed through my mind. I, too, had been an ungrateful child.

"I began to think about my life, and, first as a trickle and then increasing to a torrent, there came to me a powerful awareness of the blessings I had received. From tiny everyday blessings to the great blessing of the Atonement, I saw how abundantly I had been blessed. The windows of heaven had been open all the time. I just hadn’t noticed.

"That night I understood for the first time that when gratitude fills our hearts, there is no room for unhappiness. Happiness, I decided, does not depend on obtaining all the desires of our hearts. It does not have to wait until we get married or become parents or acquire material goods. Happiness depends in large measure on our ability to feel gratitude for the abundance we already have."

From "The Thankful Heart" by Carolyn Wright

30 Days of Thankful: Star Wars

If you've read our blog from the beginning, you know that our family has a long history of Star Wars fandom. We recently realized, though, that Alex had never seen the original three movies, so when he had a great day at preschool a few weeks back (another story for another day), we let him have a special movie night with Mom, Dad, and The Empire Strikes Back.

Oh my goodness, it was so. much. fun. to watch him watch it. Movie magic, y'all. He was so into it, like when his whisper of "Get out your lightsaber" when Luke encountered Vader crescendoed gradually into a holler: "Get out your lightsaber. Get out your lightsaber! GET OUT YOUR LIGHTSABER!"

Of course, it wasn't long after that we needed to watch A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. And ever since it has been all Star Wars, all the time with this kid.

Matt and Mandy, the costumes you sent us back in '07 have seen new life the past two weeks.

The gift that keeps on giving!



Yep, definitely thankful for childhood gems like this.

---

"Here are two ways to help children (and us mothers) practice the skill of gratitude so that they can learn to land gratitude too:

"1. Thankful Time: We have 'Thankful Time' right before bed. Each person in our family tells us what they are thankful for that day. The responses range from the serious to the silly. As the mom, I model thinking outside the box like, 'I am thankful the light turned green' or 'I am thankful you guys made it home from school safely.' So although Crew’s response almost every night is 'I’m thankful I got to play with Trey,' at least he is hearing all the different ways blessings can manifest themselves.

"2. Good News/Bad News: When something negative happens to my children, I acknowledge what is wrong, or frustrating or what hurts with the 'Bad News'. Then, we find a bright spot in the situation with the 'Good News'.....You really can apply Bad News/Good News to almost any situation. I am hoping this parenting technique teaches my children to acknowledge and accept the pain or discomfort of the moment, but then move on and find the good in every bad situation."

Excerpted from "Landing Gratitude" by Tiffany Erickson

I'm Wucky!

This fall we instituted "snuggle night" in our home. Each of the kids get one night a week to stay up just a bit later than everyone else and hang out with Mom and Dad in our room. They named it themselves, because we usually spend it snuggled up on our bed, talking about whatever they want. Sometimes we might bring up a serious issue that needs attention, and other times we might just watch funny YouTube videos together. In just a short while, they have come to really count on this time together. (See the most often heard phrases on our Year in Review post.)

Anyway, Brendon and I were talking (again) the other day about how quickly our kids are growing up and how we really need to capture this time, so last night I recorded our conversation with Alex during his snuggle time.

Totally priceless.

I will spare you the whole fifteen minutes, but here is a little one minute clip that includes one of my favorite things he does these days. There is no video--he wouldn't have opened up as much if he knew I was recording--just a picture of him from yesterday, with the "For" stuff he mentions at the end of the clip.

We are so wucky to be his parents!

Merry Merry!



The antlers broke when we tried to attach them to our van a few weeks ago, so Brendon improvised, much to the delight of Alex (and the relief of his mother).

Twinners

Once a week, Brendon takes one of the kids to work for a couple of hours in the morning. (The advantage of being the only person working in your building--and homeschooling!) They've set up their own "office," right next to Brendon's, where they print coloring pages, do homework, call Brendon repeatedly on the intercom, play on the computer, print their own business cards, and "help" him with the occasional odd job.  It's their special Daddy time, and they love it. Gracie has said if she couldn't become a veterinarian, she would take being a janitor for Daddy, because that would mean she could go to work with him every day.

This week it was Alex's turn, and he got all dressed up to go, just like Dad.

 

Of course, Brownie got to go to to work, too, and Alex had packed his own bag to take, again, just like Dad (who takes his laptop bag every day).

 

 



Can you tell he was just a little bit excited and proud? I think--hope--these experiences will be fond memories for our kids when they think back on their childhood.

Gratuitously Cute Photos

Alex and his pal, Brownie, just because...

 

 

 

 

Actually, not just because. Brendon and I have been thinking and talking a lot lately about how little time we have left with the littlest versions of our children. And I know it won't be long before I just ache for these days...so I'm capturing them while I can.



On Having Sisters

One day as I was driving Shayne and a friend of his somewhere, the girls were making a bit of a nuisance of themselves, as girls are often wont to do when boys are around. As their antics went on, the friend--who has two younger sisters of his own--turned to Shayne and said...

"Sisters, huh?"

"Yeah..."

And at that second I saw a look of such complete understanding pass between them that it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting out in laughter. "Oh, the humanity!" their eyes read. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Fortunately, Alex hasn't reached the stage where his sisters cause him quite so much suffering--yet. On the contrary, he is constantly asking one or the other to be his "best friend forever" and doing all their bidding, from playing as one's dog to being the other's royal servant.

More than that, Gracie is his go-to for comfort and help when Brendon and I are gone or unavailable. She can be so sweet with him, relishing her role as big sister and mini-caretaker, as she reads to him or helps him get dressed. And he always goes to her when we are getting ready to leave them with a sitter: "I'll just sit with Gracie."



Sisters...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

First Post

So hard to decide what will get first billing on the new blog! We had a pretty fantastic summer, but I'm going to go back even further, to the age of the dinosaurs...

I'm sure I've mentioned Alex's infatuation with dinosaurs. I have to admit, I've always thought it was such a cute little boy obsession. It's so cute, in fact, that it makes me forgive him for not loving the plethora of trains, tracks, and railroad accessories we bought for Shayne, sure that the investment would pay off someday when a little brother arrived. Here he is, at the perfect age for choo-chooing his way through the day, and he could not care less.

What he does care about are Troodons, Triceratops, Velociraptors, and Parasaurolophus...es. So when it was time for his birthday in May, I didn't even have to ask.

It was a dino-themed birthday breakfast with his favorite blueberry pancakes:

 

 

A laid back day of snuggling under his new dinosaur blanket from Grandma, watching Dinosaur Train:

A family dinner where he lucked out and got twin sets of dinosaurs to play with:



And a pinata on which he could unleash his inner dinosaur:



It was a dinosaur-sized celebration for our three year old!

 

We are so glad our "sixmoore" is in our lives. He brightens every. single. day.



(Not) Sharing the Love

One of my favorite things to hear Alex say is his spontaneous "I love you berry much." He says it pretty frequently, usually with his arms around me, and of course it melts me every time. So, so sweet.

We've had some extended family visiting over the last week--Brendon's parents and Jenny--who have tried their darnedest to win him over and get him saying the same to them. He's been bribed with candy, ball-playing, and tickle time.

But he's not having it. Even going as far as telling Grandma that he does NOT love her berry much. Not nice at all.

And now his bedtime conversation with Brendon just tonight, while not very happy about being shuffled off to bed:

Alex: "I don't love you berry much."
Brendon: "Oh really? Who do you love?"
Alex: "Mommy, and Brownie (his stuffed dog)...and myself."
Brendon: "I'm going to remember that in the morning when I'm making everyone else crepes for breakfast."

"Who, me?"

Sunday Journal

Yesterday we visited a few nursing homes to sing with our ward. One of my favorite moments, aside from hearing all the children sing "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (Why don't we sing that very much anymore?), was seeing this awesome outfit being sported by a resident's pet dog.

Seriously, what's funnier than a tiny dog wearing shades? The kids flocked to the well-dressed pup and her owner, and she loved it.

This week we were learning about the different parts of our brain, and on Friday when Gracie got the vacuum out after I asked her for the broom, she said, "Sorry! My temporal lobe just isn't working!"

Alex told me this week that he wanted a Bowser (from SuperMario) birthday when he turns three. Yes, future birthday party themes are still a regular topic of conversation around here. When I asked him "What about Elmo?" (from the last time he "decided"), he thought for a minute and said, "No, Bowser. With Elmo on the side." What?

 
Alex discovering the magic of dry ice while making rootbeer last week.

We went to the library book sale this week and scored big. Shayne far, far prefers to read non-fiction, science related books. Which is fine. But I also think it's important for him to read fiction at this point, but had yet to strike the iron with a book or series that really worked for him. Enter Diary of a Wimpy Kid for $.50. I don't know why we hadn't tried it earlier. Yesterday he couldn't be kept from it and asked for book light for the first time. Hooray! Up next, Harry Potter. A couple of his friends have been reading and talking about it, and he's ready to dive in so he can be a part of the conversation (and watch the movies with Mom).

So, I'm loving the Sunday blogging. I've now posted twice as much in the last two weeks as I did in all of September. Hallelujah, people!

Funny Boy

Looking back through my New York posts, they read like the never-ending vacation slideshow that's only interesting to the person who took the pictures. Thanks for bearing with me! And, I won't lie, I have at least one more NY post I plan to put up. The slideshow ain't over yet, friends! In the meantime, though, how about a little Alex?

He makes us laugh a lot around here. (And I really love that Shayne and Gracie are old enough to share knowing eyes and undercover giggles about the cute stuff he does, too. So fun.) One of our favorite things to giggle about is his pirate prayer face.



The one eye, every. single. time. we pray. And it never gets less cute.

Have I told you about how he is afraid of highly polished floors? Something about the reflections make him feel like they are not a safe or stable surface, I think. Isn't that funny? We started piano lessons for the big kids again this week, and Waco Hall's lobby floor is a no-go for him.



Poor kid! Still makes me laugh. Mean mom!

I plan to post about Shayne's birthday before I resume the slideshow...legos, ninjas, and more legos.

Snippets

 

Clips of recent family performances: Shayne's spring recital (yes, his teacher was a pirate this time around), Alex rocking the headset mic, Alex showing us how he "reads" at family scripture time, Alex and Aubs playing Just Dance, and Shayne in a bedtime show he put together...quite a different kind of performance than his recital.

Balex

Alex probably deserves the biggest update just because he is growing and changing so much right now, but I'm short on time, so I'll just have to try to get in as much as I can...

• First off, he is just precious.

• Don't let that sweet sleeping picture fool you, though. He can spell trouble with the best of them.

• He thinks he is SO big and smart now that he is talking. I adore his little toddler language: Hayne (Shayne), Daisy (Gracie), Aw-ee (Aubrey), Doo (Thank you), Duice (Juice), and on and on. Probably my favorite is "Wat Dis!" (Watch This!) He's in that stage where he will repeat a word over and over until someone acknowledges (and repeats) the word back to him so he knows he's understood.

• He is such a mimic. I see him studying out his siblings' every move so that he can copy it exactly. The picture below is a good example...he saw the big kids strapping in with the regular seatbelts in the car, so he pulled the middle one over and put just his arm through it. He wants to be a big kid, too! (He was also pretending to sleep in this picture--a little game he likes to play with me in the car.)

• He also knows his place in the family, though. Whenever I ask him if he is a big boy, he says "No, baby!" I think he plans to milk that position for all it's worth.

Sharing Mom's earbuds at naptime. Special privleges for the baby of the family.

• Check it out: He has moved into a bed. He stays there. And he goes to sleep on his own at night! Really it's just a matress on the floor at this point (that's how we've transitioned all the kids), and I still lay down with him at naps, but definite progress! Hooray!

 "Helping" Daddy take down the crib.

• He loves to pray. We laugh because at the end of our family prayer before bed, he'll immediately start hollering, "By Men! By Men! By Men!" It's hard to tell if this is his word for amen...or vitamin, since the kids routinely head for the gummy vitamins each night at that time.

 Not a related picture, but a cute one of the first time he saw his favorite animal.

• He still loves balls. If there is a shirt with a sports ball on it, that's the one he's wearing. If there is a ball to be found, it is in his hands. (I think we have found our theme for his birthday party next month!) Here is an awesome video of Alex playing ball, wearing Gracie's pink batting helmet. Watch for the drunken walk at the end when the weight of the bat gets the best of him. Hee!
  

Don't Judge

When we moved into this house (a year and a half ago), we found that it was much easier to have Alex nap in our bedroom rather than his crib, just because the elder noisemakers made it hard for him to stay asleep in that part of the house. As you can imagine, this then led to problems at bedtime since he wanted to sleep where he napped. So we have lived with a compromise ever since: he naps in our room, and he falls asleep at night in our room (when we are out in the living room), and we move him to the crib in his own room when we are ready to go to bed ourselves. Okay, so maybe that is not so much a compromise as it is just us giving up and giving in. What can I say, he's the baby.

(So, no, Shannon, he's not in a bed yet, though I am thinking about going ahead and getting rid of the crib in hopes that a bed of his own might encourage him to fall asleep there, instead.)

If that wasn't bad enough, these days I often lay down with him until he falls asleep. It usually does not take long at all, and I can hardly say no when he is sweetly patting the pillow next to him. So I lay there, phone in hand, often catching up on blog reading or playing sudoku as he drifts off into dreamland.

Last night I was at church at bedtime, and when I got home, Brendon had me go in and take this picture of the boy:

With me not there, he insisted on taking the play phone to bed with him. Brendon said he talked away on it until he finally drifted off.

So, let's wrap up with a summary of what I am teaching my son, shall we?

1) He makes the rules.

2) Manipulation works.

3) And one phone to rule them all.

Maybe it's time to make some changes?

I'll keep you posted.

Back in the Saddle

 
Back to school...even Alex. I'm a taskmaster, I tell you.

We've been spending the last week and a half adjusting to the earlier mornings and more scheduled days. And quite frankly...

I'm tired.

So is Alex. The other day, he fell asleep flat out on the floor, which he has never done before. Poor baby.

 

Change is rough. The first day I taught, I came home to him beating on the door and crying. The second and third days, he was all smiles. Then we went and changed things again on him, with Bekah, our sitter, staying with the kids this week instead of Jenny. It didn't quite set him back to square one, but he is definitely clingy when I return and is taking longer naps than usual. His way of processing it all, I guess.

And now I'm going to go process it my way...caffeine.

Friday Photo

I have a week's worth of photos from Craft Weekend to share next week, but for now you can just marvel at this photographic evidence of our stellar parenting skills.

 

Friday Photos

Just when I thought it was safe around here, Aubrey turned up sick Wednesday night with the same flu Shayne had last week, and Alex started with a fever a few hours ago. I am SO glad it is Friday. We'll be enjoying sick kids and fanatical handwashing all weekend. See you on the flipside!

 

Pre-flu Alex, hamming it up at the breakfast table.

Friday Photos

People...

OF COURSE I need to say more about Alex's birthday! It was his first birthday. It was our last first birthday. It needs its due!

And OF COURSE, the birthday needed a theme and a little party. Even though I tried to convince myself otherwise a few weeks ago when I was a bit stressed and not in the mood for party planning, it's tradition now and just wouldn't be the same without it. Especially this birthday!

 

So I had an idea in my head, and I'm so pleased with the way it turned out. I wanted to do an alphabet/flashcard theme because "A" is for Alex! So, with a big thank you to Cameron, who created a line drawing from a photo of Alex, I designed the invites to look like flashcards. The back side had another "Aa" and all of the party information.

Here are the rest of the party goodies:

 

"This party was brought to you by the letter Mm" favor bags filled with M&Ms, coordinating water bottle labels and banner, an ABC chandelier, and flashcard food labels. Love it! (With a nod to the post at Seriously So Blessed about the over-the-top themes :)

 

We (it was all family...Jenny came up and Nana, Papa, Bill, Clark, Marchelle, and Bryant came over) ate a little (artichoke dip and bruschetta) and then watched Alex open presents. He was all about the few balls he received. He'd look at the other gifts and then just try to dive around Brendon to find where he had hidden them.

 

Then we watched Alex just grin and barely touch his cake while everyone looked on, only to really get in to it when everyone had moved on. Then we ate some more (chicken alfredo pizza and caesar salad).

 

Then we had a second birthday serenade for Jenny, whose birthday was Tuesday, and enjoyed some of PW's chocolate sheet cake. Can you say full?

 

It was a yummy, sweet little celebration for a yummy, sweet little boy! Look how grown up he is!

Oh wait, one more picture...probably my favorite from the day:

 

Looooooove! Thanks, Jenny, for capturing it. (Blanket Disclaimer: Whenever you see a really good picture on my blog, the likelihood that Jenny took it is about 99.5%.)

Birthday Report

 

Do I really need to say more?