The Daily Living

My children are growing and today as a friend of mine was over and was commenting on her 5 month old and how she was compared to her 6 and 4 year old daughters, I realized that there were so many small details I had already forgotten about my babies and what each of their personalities were like.  So today is to document the here and now. 

Kody is getting so silly.  He loves catch phrases and loves to half seriously, half mockingly say "Yes Sir" when either his siblings or parents give him a command.  Also he says "Oh my goodness".  It is so cute and it makes me blissfully happy.  Stupid I know, but a fact still the same.  He loves to try and make me laugh like the other day when he found a pacifier in the cupboard and began to act like a baby in an extremely exaggerated but endearing way.  Slowly he is outgrowing his terrible twos and threes stage and additionally his Sensory Processing Disorder, something I don't really tell a lot of people or talk about, is becoming more manageable with each day.  But he is also growing into a little kleptomaniac.  In the last two weeks he has stolen 3 things.  Yes seriously stolen, like from a local hardware store, the school book fair, and a consignment shop. Although we have made him return items and apologize himself and pay for those items which were not returnable and although we have not once let him keep, play with, or enjoy any of these things I still fear it will happen again although this last return he cried with embarrassment so I am hopeful.  Overall when I think of Kody right now I think of me walking towards that light at the end of a long tunnel - this is the beginning of the end of a couple of pretty difficult years for me and him.

Issac is acclimating to Pre-K like a champ.  Some days he comes home telling me how boring it was, but still he is excited almost everyday to go.  It is a somewhat hard transition for him to go so long with so little physical activity.  As you can imagine when he gets home he bounces from wall to wall.  He loves primary and singing and sings his heart out both in church, at home, but most enjoyably in the car typically to pop music, which I know I should think is inappropriate, but I find it largely amusing.  His recent pediatric opthemology appointment to deal with an eye issue lasted over three hours which of course is ludicrous but still he impressed me with his improved patience and handled it all..  Issac robustly picked out his first pair of glasses.  The eye care specialists laughed at his very specific tastes and commented on how combining that with his mowhawk and very clear sense of style made predictions of his future success as a fashion designer.  Issac is just so much fun, maybe because he is so much like me - I don't know, but he just exudes happy energy.

Wyatt is changing his personality in so many ways.  Previously he has always been my very easiest child and although he is still pretty mellow this is the first year he has expressed many opinions, ideas, and wants so clearly.  Likewise he is frustrated when things don't go as he thinks they should, when he finds out he is wrong, or when he is told no.  He is excelling at school and has had perfect attendence since his very first day in Kindergarten and is excited to keep this going forever even to the extent of refusing a family vacation that we had considered for this month in lieu of those perfect attendance certificates each year.  According to him he is second best at math in his class and that is fast becoming his favorite subject.  He also has turned into a little video game junkie wanting to spend all his time playing computer games, Wii games, or Gameboy Advance.  This is where we tend to have our little battles of will.  In the end I continue to win them but not without some collateral damage like him saying, "I wish you weren't my mom." ouch or other hurtful things. But still at heart he is one of the sweetest most pleasant boys and I am hoping it is just a passing phase.

Isabella recently turned 9.  Her birthday presents were varied as her interests are.  Her presents represent her life shift from girl to 'tween'.  She has been on a kick of learning to cook and so she shadows me around the kitchen each night wanting to learn to make more and more new foods, her specialty is cornbread.  She loves to write stories and poems and is currently writing a book for a local children's writing contest.  Lately I have been teaching her to not be afraid to try hard things and after a bit of cajoling/forcing her to, she learned that lesson.  She didn't want to memorize the 10th Article of Faith for a church thing two Sundays ago.  She claimed it was for a variety of reasons all of which I knew to be lame.  I knew it was really because she thought it would be hard.  She fought me all along the way, but I persisted.  Once she had it memorized I gave her the option to share whichever Article of Faith she wanted to knowing that if her lame reasons were legitimate she would pick another.  When she got up to speak out came the tenth one.  And she glowed with pride and I knew she had learned a valuable lesson.  Since Bella is such a sponge, this is what parenting her is all about - taking those teaching moments.

Travis is busy, busy, busy, and still the most devoted husband.  He is working 90ish hours a week.  And yet every moment the kids are awake he is trying to dote on them.  He is getting better at anticipating any family need so that he can be prepped for it since his time is so limited.  He loves to put the kids to bed and it is something I have willingly turned over to him.  He cherishes the time spent catching up on their day and gives me some unwinding time.  On Saturdays he lets me spend the morning sleeping in and then we engage in family work and play.  Additionally Travis has taken a more vested interest in his position as Scout Leader and has been making headway on some new plans for that.  When I think of Travis I hear the word devotion in my head.  He is devoted to the Lord, me, the kids, and his service in that order.  He is just perfection.

As for me, well my days are filled with the busy moments of most every mother; laundry, cleaning, carpooling, child rearing, cooking, etc...But somehow I fit more in.  I love reading and so continue to participate in three book clubs.  Yet I constantly struggle to balance that, dare I say, addiction with the priorities of real life.  Additionally I love being in the community and have therefore volunteered to be the Vice President of Women's Club of Manheim for the next two year term.  It is then assumed that unless the President renews her term that I will be the president the following term, a thought that terrifies me to no end.  I like to spend my free time planning our summer vacations.  Some camping trips, a Texas trip, another several state tour like last year's New England Adventure.  I live for these trips and have found that I am happiest when exploring every nook and cranny of our country with my family.  And since the Fifty State Sweep will see its conclusion in the next two years I am already contemplating my international options.

Perhaps this is boring to all of you, to me it seems it.  But in another five years I may not be able to remember the details of this time frame as I struggled today to remember five years ago.  But hopefully I will remember that I wrote it down.  And when I do I'll look back and smile because I'm sure by then we'll be onto new things and different phases and this will seem very nostalgic and I love remembering the past.