To My Favorite SIX Year Old

 

Sweet Noah,

Six?! Amazing.  It seems like since kindergarten started in August you've grown up incredibly fast.  You learn so quickly, and kindergarten has been the match that started a wildfire of knowledge for you.  You're in the highest reading group, but love math too.  Whether it's art or p.e. or library time, you just love school.  Lately because it's been so cold we drop you off instead of walking together, and my mama heart just about bursts every morning as you anxiously jump out of the car and run to get to class.  I love that you're having just a magical first year of school.

I also love that you're succeeding at more than just learning. Mrs. Chan told Dad and me at your parent/teacher conference that she's had other parents from your class and the other kindergarten classes mention how glad they are they their child plays with and is friends with you.   They notice too how kind you are to everyone and are glad that their child has a friend like you.  Good job Buddy!

You are good, really good.  But I worry sometimes because you want to be perfect.  You are so pleased to report that, "Mom! I did my math perfectly!" or "Mom, I sat perfect on the carpet today at school." So we talk a lot about just doing your best and how everyone (even Mom) makes mistakes.  Dad and I would never expect perfection from you, but it is impressive to see how hard you work to perform things like drawing and building with exactness.  Just don't be too hard on yourself, and we promise not to be either.

You are competitive, but not aggressive.  You LOVE to win, whether it's a game of Sorry or finishing a bike ride before your brother.  You've learned to slow down just a little to let that frustrated brother win in a race every once in a while, which he and I both appreciate.  You seem to like the athletic and social aspects of soccer, but the aggressive, going after the ball part not quite so much.  But you're six.  You've got LOTS of time and lots of sports to try out.

You are a love.  You still wake up before everyone else to sneak in some snuggles with Mom or Dad.  You tell each one of us all throughout the day that you love us.  I can't thank you enough for all of your sweet love notes that you make.  I have depended on you for things like getting a diaper, setting the table or grabbing Leah so she doesn't play in the toilet again, and you've shown so much love by helping me.  Thank you.  This year I've needed more help than ever, and you sure came through for me.

You are aware.  When you're playing, you seem to always have one eye looking out for Leah.  I can't count how many times you've stopped what you're doing to go check on her, gently take a Lego piece that she's found, or give her a hug when she's started crying.  You also apply that awareness to your prayers.  It's not uncommon for us to hear "please help me to be guided and directed tomorrow" or "please bless me that I'll look for others who need a friend" included in your prayers.  You are thoughtful and are really beginning to grasp the important role that prayer will have in your life.

Oh, I love you!  I don't tell you often enough about the miracle you are.  It took years, prayers, and more medical intervention that I want to remember to bring you into our family.  But you came, and Dad and I couldn't be more thankful that you're ours.  You are the ultimate big brother, so willing to help, play and love Luke and Leah.  They will forever be blessed by your good example as you pave the way for them to follow.

Happy #6 big boy!

Love,
Mom

November's Bits

We finished off the soccer season in November.  It was Luke's first try at team sports.  He learned a lot, and we learned that his competitive, aggressive personality might not quite be ready for team sports.  As one of the youngest players he just had a hard time being motivated on game day.  Water breaks were probably his favorite time.

 

 Noah got on a team with a bunch of his friends from church.  It was fun for him to play with his buddies and fun for me to chat with so many of my friends that I don't get to see often enough.

And Leah sure got used to spending a lot of time playing in the grass and cheering for those brothers.

Noah did an awesome job at his first jog-a-thon!  He totaled 39 laps and just kept running.  I was busy marking lap cards and every time he'd run by he would say, "Mom! I'm tired!" or "Mom, I feel like I'm going to be sick!" So I'd tell him to walk for a lap and then run again.  He'd nod his head and then take off running again.

I was so proud of him for pushing himself.  And then I was shocked at how hungry he was the whole rest of the day!

Luke was a great cheerleader as Noah ran, and Leah did her part just by cooperating and being content while all of that lap running was happening.

Noah sent his first text message, and I was the lucky recipient!

One night when Nate was working late the kids and I took advantage of family night at Chik-fil-a.  

 My first round of Joy School came and went.  I love this group of kids, and I really loved seeing Junie exercise her leadership skills during free play time!

When Luke is growing he gets really tired and really hungry.  With five minutes to go in sacrament meeting he curled up on the floor and took a 45 minute nap.

Cookies make every day better, especially a day when Mom needs to get a bunch of errands done before kindergarten pick up.

Leah needed some extra snuggles while I was cleaning up dinner.  She cozied up with Nate and got so comfortable that in minutes she was out for the night.

Nate and Noah went off to a football game with friends, so Luke and I (with Leah, of course) went on a date of our own to Menchie's.

This girl gets into EVERYTHING.  She really doesn't care about toys right now.  It's more fun for her to just go from one place to another pulling anything and everything out of where it belongs.

 

 My keys had been lost for months.  It felt like a metaphor for my year: forgetful and misplaced a bit.  Our back seats in the van are almost always down, but when I needed to put them up for a carpool, ta da!, there were those darn keys.  Maybe that's a metaphor too: the fog is clearing, and I'm not quite so lost in the thick of it anymore. :-)  Getting more sleep (thank you, Leah) helps with that a LOT!

I loved seeing our pantry door decorated with so much Thanksgiving artwork!

 These two were from Noah:

 

 Luke made this one when I was teaching Joy School:

And, I love that we continued this tradition of thinking of the many, many things we have to be thankful for during the month!

To My Favorite ONE Year Old

Sweet Leah,

We made it to one!  Hurray for both of us!  This year has been special and wonderful, as well as exhausting and challenging.  From the moment you came into the world, I knew for sure you were meant to be in our family.  And I've been reminded of that over and over again as you've filled each one of us with love and happiness throughout the year.  So, thankfully as I look back, the memories of exhaustion and frustration kind of fade away and thoughts of you smiling, laughing, hugging, and growing fill my mind.

You are filled with love.  You will hug just about anybody who has open arms, although you save your very best hugs for Daddy.  It never gets old to see your arms stretch wide and your legs kick with excitement when you're giving Daddy hugs.  The rest of us get pretty spoiled with love too.  As you've grown and become more interactive your brothers have responded to your hugs with loving you right back.

You are determined and curious.   Up until a month ago that even meant you were determined to not sleep through the night.  But maybe you realized that with a birthday right around the corner, it was time to start acting like a big girl.  The last few months I've tried to keep you out of the trash cans, away from the toilet, and retrieved you numerous times after falling into the laundry basket.  You just like to explore and investigate right now, far more than playing with toys.

You are social.  Being with friends and family definitely suits your personality.  You are willing and usually eager to be with new people, whether it's at church or a play date with your brothers.

This year I had to focus only on what mattered most, because that's all I had energy for most of the time.  And although a lot of things didn't get done, it felt so good to give all of myself to Dad, Noah, Luke and you. You are a blessing, and because of you I slowed down and focused on our family with real intent.  This is a year I will remember forever.

Happy birthday to my last baby.  You bring such sunshine into our family, and I can't wait to see what another year of life with you is like!

Love,
Mom

12 Months of Leah

Just a look at how much this sweet girl grew and changed in a year!

Leah's Birthday

 Oh, what fun it was to celebrate Leah being one!

Her actual birthday was pretty low key.  We started off with the traditional birthday pancakes.

And finished it with an easy dinner at Chick-fil-a.  The grilled chicken there might be Leah's most favorite food.

A few days later all of the family gathered to celebrate our girl.

 It was so fun to plan, prepare and make this party happen.

There were a lot of different thoughts swirling around in my mind: it's our last first birthday party, along with this has been a challenging year and so worth celebrating that we made it to ONE, and this girl is just sweet, so of course celebrating her and the wonderful addition she's been to our family feels special.

 We started off with Leah's cake.

Before the candle was even lit her legs were kicking with excitement.  And once the singing began Leah could hardly contain herself.

 This girl did not hesitate for a second once that cake was within reach.  But she did keep looking over at me, just to check in that this whole cake mess was o.k.

 Before long her feet were a mess too and she was just enjoying all of the sugary goodness on that cake.

 

 

 It wouldn't be Leah if we didn't get some wrinkle nosed, rascally smiles in there too!

 

While I cleaned her up, everyone else ate dinner, and then it was on to opening presents.  

 Between having two brothers and three cousins there we had lots of good helpers to open presents.

Leah likes to be busy and have people around so opening gifts and checking out so many new things seemed to be really fun for her.

The night finished and I just felt so happy.  It was an evening to remember, something that we won't experience again with our own kids.  And I'm o.k. with that.  I am just so thankful that this sweet girl came to our family.  She is such a great reason to celebrate!

TWELVE Months

Leah is TWELVE months old!

twelve month stats:

Height: 31 inches (96%)

Weight: 21 pounds, 12 ounces (79%)

Head: 47 centimeters (94%)

Let this month be remembered as the beginning of a full nights sleep -- for both of us.  Oh, hallelujah!  Just a few days into the month your fragmented sleep turned into the most heavenly, uninterrupted eleven and a half hours.  It was overdue, but I'm so thankful that it came at all!

You spend a lot of the day chasing around your brothers, trying to steal their Lego pieces, and love to get in on the action when they're running around playing Star Wars. 

You also protest and insist on being held a lot of the time when I'm in the kitchen.  But I get it.  The view is better up there, and you can actually see what's happening and keeping your mama busy.  So I'm really good at holding a baby with one arm and making dinner, cleaning up, dispensing medicine to a sick brother, or whatever else is happening with the other arm. 

When the house gets too quiet I know to first check the bathroom, then my bedroom, and when one time I still couldn't track you down, I hunted until you were discovered in the garage.  You are on the move, curious, and your rascally personality makes for trouble sometimes.

And speaking of rascality, let's talk for a minute about trying to take some soon to be one year old pictures of you.  It was nearly impossible!  As soon as I set you down on the grass you were taking off, making faces, and rocking backwards.  It was all laughs for you though, I mean, look at some of these outtakes.

 

  That's a whole lot of personality coming out right there!

Hugs are still your favorite.  We're not hearing the cute "Ahhhhh" sound as much when you give hugs, but you are a lover for sure.  You give sweet open mouthed kisses every once in a while too.  Too many kisses make you giggle, so I try to smother you every once in a while.  You also love it when we play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.  It's so fun to see you cover your own eyes and initiate playing the game.

You are a great eater!  I can't think of anything you absolutely won't eat, except for some gross cardboard flavored baby crackers I shouldn't have bought.  Can't blame you there. But your favorites include cheese, chicken, avocados, eggs, bananas, and pineapple.  This month you figured out sharing and like to reach out to give me some of whatever you're eating.  You sweet girl! 

I love this stage where you just seem to be understanding more and more every day.  When I ask, "Where is your paci?" you look down to see if it's attached to your shirt."  When I've said, "Grab your diaper," you pick one up next to you.  Even though your words are limited, that exchange between me talking and knowing that you understand is so fun.  You are repeating sounds, and we've heard you say 'this,' 'up,' 'apple,' and 'go.'  You also make a really cute turkey sound when we ask you to say gobble. 

Twice you took a step, but clearly, in your mind, that was enough.  You are NOT interested in walking.  Often when we stand you up, you immediately collapse like a wet noodle.  Hard as we try, you have definitely communicated to us that walking will come on your terms, and we just need to be patient.