Valentines Day

On Valentine’s Day, my sister posted the following on facebook:

“Happy unimaginative, consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative and shallow interpretation of romance day”

I’ve never been much for celebrating Valentines Day and let’s face it, Justin and I are probably two of the worst gift-givers on any given holiday, anniversary, or birthday.  While I agree with my sister that having a day set apart during the year when you do what you should be doing every day takes away much of the “meaning” behind it – However, I did, for a change, want to make it a little more special for my kids – and not just because society told me I’m supposed to. 

I’m not a morning person so cooking my kids a special Valentine’s breakfast was not going to happen – especially since Abigail had early morning band.  Instead I made blueberry muffins the night before as well as pasta salad for them to take for lunch - they make themselves sandwiches 95% of the time so they are always excited to have something different.  They also had a few small treats on the counter to start their sugar rush.

Carly was excited to take the Valentine’s box to school that she and Abigail had decorated.

We managed to create the kids’ Valentine’s from candy we already had.  It was a little tricky coming up with clever slogans to go along with the treat.  Abigail had already taken all her Valentines to school before I took a picture – all of hers were made with the fun Skittle packs that I bought in Hong Kong – they are packaged in a neat triangular wrapper.  (Sad to think this is Abigail’s last year celebrating Valentine’s Day at school).  Jason gave the boys in his class gummy hotdogs and hamburgers (also from Hong Kong) and the girls in his class got Skittles.   We had just enough Crunch bars to create Carly’s Valentines.

Justin and I ate lunch at CPK that afternoon.  They had an awesome Valentines special with entirely too much food, but we managed to eat every last bit.  Katie was super excited about the carnation they gave us at the restaurant.  I love that we live close enough to Justin’s work to go out to lunch every so often.

The kids were sugared up when they got home from school so the Valentines cookies I had ready were appreciated, but unnecessary.   Justin and I were still pretty full from lunch so there was no big elaborate meal – though after the kids went to bed Justin prepared chicken enchiladas for me to eat the next day – yum!

Not to shabby for a “happy unimaginative, consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative and shallow interpretation of romance day”

Business 101

Remember this picture from Christmas:

This doesn’t even include two additional rolls of duck tape the girls got from their cousins for Christmas or the duck tape handbag kits from Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher.  So what do two girls do with all that duck tape?  Apparently they start a business. 

Abigail and two of her neighborhood friends decided they would sell duck tape merchandise with their multitude of colors and patterns.  They created (with my assistance) an excel spreadsheet to track the custom orders and they started taking orders shortly before Abigail’s birthday.  In the first week or so they’d earned $39 – split into three ways that makes $13 each.  I figure they are probably just about breaking even or maybe even making a slight profit, but more importantly they are having fun and learning a bit about doing business as well.  

Last week Abigail and one of her business partners did a little reevaluating and it was determined that which ever girl creates the item, gets the cash – thus preventing anyone from cashing in when they weren’t doing much of the production.  I was a little nervous about her proposing this to the third partner, but thankfully she thought it was a great idea as well.  Geesh, doing business with friends is tricky.

Carly has been selling things on her own also, including candy canes from the 10+ boxes of candy canes Justin purchased on clearance.

Being a little business savvy myself, I’ve put in another Amazon order for duck tape to use for my own personal benefit.  I’m not above a little bribery.

J @ 5.5

Jason celebrated his half-birthday at school on Monday, which in my mind justifies a little update on my 5.5 year old.  (Is it just me, or did those of us with summer birthdays just get jipped back in the day?)

Nicknames:  J, Buddy, Bud, Spud

For a boy who moved very little as a baby and toddler, Jason sure is an active boy now.  Often you will find him running from one place to another in the house.  He likes to chase Katie around the island or race down the hallway to the front door.  He also likes to wrestle with his sisters (and anyone else).  The friend he plays with most often though isn’t much for wrestling so we’ve had many, many talks about being a good friend.

This was one of the rare times Jason and his sisters were participating in a non-contact activity by looking at a big seek and find book together.

Jason’s really good though at channeling his energy during church or school.  We’re often told how well behaved he is and how quiet, calm and polite he acts.  So glad to hear his moments of rambunctiousness are primarily kept at home.

I wrote the following back in October and it never got posted:

Living in a construction zone means we have easy access to outdoor potties.  I know they are disgusting, but Jason thinks they are awesome.  Sometimes I think he uses them just for the fun of it. 

 

that’s Jason’s bike parked outside a nearby "restroom" 

Tuesday as we were heading home from soccer Jason told me he needed to use the bathroom really bad.  I told him we’d be home in a few minutes and that he could wait.  By his whimpering I began to doubt he’d make it.  I threw him an empty shopping bag to sit on and tried to distract him by talking about his day at school, hoping we could at least make to one of the porta-pottys in our neighborhood.  I could tell he was on the brink of a major accident so immediately after I pulled into our neighborhood I pulled over to the side of the road and he jumped out, dropped his pants, and peed in the decorative landscaping adorning the neighborhood entrance.  I stayed in the van praying nobody would turn onto the street and see my son, bare bottomed, peeing right off the main parkway.   Embarrassing, yes, but accident adverted.  Katie pointed out her window and asked if she could go potty there and has pointed out the spot “Day-Day (Jason) potty” a few times since.

Another older picture – I was woken up on a Sunday morning back in November by Jason coming up along side my bed and asking me a question while very nonchalantly wearing a ski mask.  After the initial shock wore off I’m sure I answered him then went back to sleep.  Apparently the ski mask stayed on for a good portion of the morning because I later discovered these pictures on Justin’s phone.  No big deal, just eatin’ breakfast with a facial sweater… funny boy!

Since we learned of Jason’s food allergies I’ve always been concerned that if someone handed him a cookie he would, without question, eat it right up.  This was especially concerning as a toddler when he had such a limited vocabulary.  Jason’s teacher tells me that nearly every day at snack time Jason asks if he can eat what she has passed out to the class, even when it’s something they’ve had before.  To her it makes her second guess herself, but to me it’s a huge comfort that he’s finally aware that he needs to be careful about what he eats.

When given the option to take any treat into class on Monday he chose fruit snacks.

Will often quietly repeat what we say – I’m thinking it may helps him process it.  For example if he asks me how many weeks til Grandma Kesler comes to visit, and I reply 15 weeks, I can hear him quietly whisper to himself “15 weeks”.  I think it’s actually pretty cute.

Is going through a very sensitive stage.  When he gets frustrated or hurt he usually ends up running upstairs to his room crying.  He only needs a minute or two and then he’s back down as if nothing happened, but we are trying to teach him to communicate with words instead of taking off.

Since starting kindergarten in September I’ve noticed this boy can draw.  He’s also writing really well, can sound out basic words, and is doing really well with his addition.

This isn’t his best work of art, but it’s something I found on the office floor yesterday.

If you can’t tell the boy on the left is saying “BOOM” and the boy on the right is saying “AAAAAA”  I entirely blame this on the nerf gun Justin bought Jason for Christmas.

When we went to Hawaii, Jason’s teacher asked him to keep a journal of the things he did on vacation.  Here are a few pages:

I’m not sure if all schools do this, but as the kids are learning to write they are encouraged to write a word how it sounds to them.  I can’t remember exactly what they call this approach – maybe inventive spelling.  It’s really strange for me.  I’ve been in the classroom helping the kids and been specifically told not to help them spell words correctly.  The parent in me struggles a bit with this, but I’m trusting in the process. 

Jason isn’t a huge fan of wearing jeans

Jason is super easy to entertain – he’s really good about finding something to do and enjoys just about anything.  He plays lots of games, likes to look at books and loves being read to, he still enjoys cars, but is just as content playing with the doll house if we have a friend of the female variety over.  He’s also likes to be creative by coloring, drawing, or creating designs out of the melty beads.

Jason and Justin have a new little bedtime routine that in addition to reading a story each night and reading Book of Mormon stories, they playing catch before turning out the lights.  Jason loves that special time with his Dad.

Jason always includes “bless the baby” in his prayers

I think my boy gets off too easy with chores.  I know at this age the girls were already folding and putting away the laundry and helping with the dishes.  I think it’s high time we step things up and give this boy a little more responsibility around the house.

One of Jason’s regular jobs (which he actually enjoys) is cleaning the toilets.  He uses far too many disinfecting wipes for my liking, but it’s worth it.  He also sets the table and helps his sisters put away the silverware.

Jason can be very nurturing and loving to his little sister.  Katie and Jason play so well together every morning before he goes to school.  He’s great about including her when he has friends over to play.  Such a great big brother!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today (Hong Kong time) is my Mom’s birthday – would she be opposed to me posting her age?  Let’s just say it’s a milestone birthday.  We wish we could celebrate with her.  No shocker that I didn’t get a package or card sent to her, but in my defense she is being released from her mission on Thursday and then traveling around the world for several weeks before heading back to the states so I wasn’t sure she’d even get it.  Actually, she doesn’t really care about gifts or cards so I don’t really need to feel guilty at all.  I know she’ll check the blog though and I wanted to let her know how much we love and miss her.

My Mom is the most amazing example to me.  She is the kind of mother I hope to be.  She loves unconditionally, accepting us as we are – flaws and all.  She doesn’t judge and she doesn’t criticize.  I always know she will be there to support, listen, and love.  She’s so much more than a mother she’s a friend and we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Love you Mom – can’t wait to see you soon!

My “Baby” Girl

If I could have chosen any gender for this pregnancy I would have chosen a boy – it just makes sense.  Evens out the numbers a bit, gives Jason a brother, logical right?  So yes, I was excited.  But then I got home and saw Katie and felt really sad.  I ADORE that girl!  She is so full of personality and love.  I have enjoyed her so, so much. I have always, always, always loved being a mother and I certainly don’t favor one of my children over another or one gender over the other, but I’ve said this before, when Katie was born I had a light bulb moment and I GOT IT.  There was never any rush to get though any stage.  I enjoyed her and found happiness and contentment even during the multiple midnight feedings.  I recently read “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin – interesting book with lots of great take-a-ways.  Anyhow, one thing she said was, “The days are long, but the years are short.”  I don’t necessary think the days are THAT long in fact often they seem to fly by, but I do know that the years are WAY too short.  I’m in no rush to see my kids walk out that door, if I could slow down the time I have with them I would.

I guess none of that is really gender specific nor does it necessarily explain why I felt a bit saddened that I wasn’t going to have another little girl.  Perhaps it was just a reminder that Katie is growing up and that I can’t go back and recapture or relive all those special moments with her.  I’m not making much sense.  But in summary – super excited to experience having another little boy – super bummed that my little girls keep growing up.  (And it’s no secret I’ve been trying to convince Jason for years to stop getting bigger)

Katie has changed so much in these past few months that I feel it’s time for an update on my adorable little girl:

Nicknames include:  Baby, Babe, Love, Sweetie Peetie, K

Katie has become quite expressive.  I’ve had a couple different people comment to me recently that she is talking quite a bit.  I love her little voice and hearing her formulate her thoughts into words.  She can put together full on sentences that can actually be understood by others.  My Mom hasn’t seen Katie since she was eight months old, she’ll be coming to visit when we have the baby in May and I keep wishing I could freeze time so my Mom can experience and share these stages.  Seriously, this girl rocks my world – she is so stinkin’ fun.

After Hawaii I thought we’d have Katie potty trained in no time – she had been using the bathroom several times a day and stayed dry during our entire flight home.  But then she got sick, then I got sick, and potty training just wasn’t something I thought about.  Not sure when that interest (in both of us) will return, but we’re not there.  She sits on the potty almost everyday, but we’re not consistent enough to go down that road.  I’ve always said I’d much rather change diapers that clean up “accidents” so we always wait til it can be an easy transition.

Photo taken back in October

The day after we got home from Hawaii Katie asked to sleep in the “big girl bed” in her room.  She was so excited about it that we decided to give it a shot.  We tucked her in and were surprised when we didn’t hear from her until morning.  She never slept in her crib again.  A few days after making the move she insisted that we take the crib out of her room before turning out the lights for the night.  Neither Justin nor I felt like getting out the tools necessary to take it apart so we tried to tell her we’d do it another time, but she was insistent and her request was granted.  We thought it was funny that the next night she asked for the crib to be put back up (we held firm on this one).  It’s been nearly three months and Katie hasn’t gotten out of bed once.  Even when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap she calls for us to come get her – we don’t necessarily take her out of bed, I think she just wants our OK that she’s ready to wake up.  Talk about easy, peesy!

She still has a binkie when she sleeps – yes, I know it’s time to take that away, but if it jeopardizes whether she’ll still take naps I’m not ready.

Katie still willingly takes long naps nearly every day.  Occasionally there are days she’ll be in bed for an hour or two and I won’t be sure she ever fell asleep, but I think that’s rare.  Either way she’s resting and quiet.  We’re also in a nice stage where if I want to skip a nap for my convenience she’s totally fine with that too.  She may end up a little more sensitive or whiney by bedtime, but it’s not a big deal.  With the start of the new year we now have church from 1-4pm so Sundays are napless days.

We missed so much church in October because of vacations, sickness, etc… that when we got back from Hawaii Katie struggled every time I dropped her off at nursery.  Apparently she’d just cry for a few minutes and then be ok the rest of the time.  Often whichever adult comforted her during that time Katie would stick close to the rest of the class.  One week that particular adult had to pick up a crying child and Katie stood there and scowled at her making clear the betrayal she felt.  The last month we’ve seen a huge change, she’s actually excited to go and when we pick her up at the end of church she’ll proudly exclaim to us, “Me happy in church!”

Katie doesn’t cry much.  Late last night as Justin and I went to bed we heard her crying – like she was having a bad dream – it only lasted a few seconds, but we both noticed that hearing her cry isn’t something we hear every day.  Sure she whines occasionally and will cry if she’s hurt, but she really is a happy little girl.

Has started to develop friendships.  The other day in the car she rattled off to Justin the names of a few of her friends from church.  Every Friday I do a swap with another Mom who has a 4 year old daughter.  Now that Katie is communicating so well I think they are finally starting to actually play together instead of independently.

At least a few times every week since November Katie will ask, “Me back hotel?”  So funny that Katie still has memories of Hawaii and would love to go back.  Actually, we all would!

Katie loves to say prayers – she likes us to help her out and she’ll repeat what we say pretty much word for word.  At the end all she needs is us to say, “In the” and she’ll excitedly complete it with “name Je Chri – AMEN!”

Katie likes to play games.  Abigail got the game Headbanz for Christmas and Katie had lots of fun wearing the cards on her forehead.  We had to be real careful though cause often she’d get so excited about the card she’d see one of wearing that she’d blurt out what the picture was that we were trying to guess.

Katie recently started pretending.  She put a baby doll down for a nap on top of her pillowpet with a blanket at nap or bedtime.  When she woke up she exclaimed, “Baby Happy!”  She’ll have make believe conversations on the “phone” and will tell herself a story as she looks at books.

She has the most squishable, kissable cheeks and an infectious laugh

I’ve recently been reading about the love languages of children and in the book it mentions if you’re trying to figure out your child’s love language then pay attention to how they express love.  For Katie without a doubt, she expresses her love physically.  She is all about giving hugs and kisses and we freely give them right back to her.  It’s possible she may just be limited by her age and capabilities to show love in other ways (service, words of affirmation, etc…) but for now it’s all about snuggles and smooches.

Can count to ten and has the ABC song down pretty well

There is nothing terrible about the twos with this girl.  To be honest I don’t think any of our kids put us thru the “terrible twos” – if anything three was usually a rougher age than two. 

A few weeks ago we had another two year old at the house and she got into everything.  Katie followed her around the house picking up after this friend and trying to keep her out of trouble.  This little girl even tried to help herself out the front door – something I’ve never had to worry about, ever.  I can’t imagine how my friend can even have a few minutes to herself to shower with such a busy little girl.  Not my Katie.  She can certainly make a mess, but she’s not exceptionally curious and doesn’t get herself into much trouble.

Katie likes to go shopping and run errands, but she’s content to stay home too.  She’ll say, “me stay home with you!”

Katie likes to pick out what she wears and has gotten really good at putting on or taking off her pants, though she still struggles with shirts.

She’s not a huge fan of getting her hair done, but that’s probably my fault.  She never complains when we do it, but if I ask her if she’d like a ponytail or a clip most of the time she’ll say no – guess she’s happy with it falling into her face all the time.

Pretty much every day I make a smoothie pack full of spinach, carrots, cucumbers, bananas, oranges, and a little frozen fruit to take the edge off.  The kids have actually learned to really like them, especially Katie.  Yum, Yum!

Katie likes to color and write.  She’ll sit at the desk with me with a paper and pencil and ask how to spell something (usually the names of our family members) as I spell out the letters she’ll jot down some symbol on her paper and wait for me to tell her the next letter.

We read a book at naptime and bedtime.  I’m sure most kids are like this, but she could read the same book for weeks and not tire of it.  Some of her favorite books are the seek & find picture books.  She has an amazing memory and can quickly point out where all the items are hidden on the pages.

Have I made it clear enough how smitten we are?

Love this girl!