Nice Kitty!

The following conversation was whispered during Sacrament Meeting today, actually during the Sacrament.  My intense need to giggle reminded me that I really shouldn't let Matthew have his diversions until after the Sacrament.  He had his quiet book out and was playing with a little velcro-backed cat:

Matthew: "Aunt Connie says she has a nice cat."
Me: {nod} (I really was trying to be reverent, after all.)
Matthew: "I wish we could have a nice cat."
Me: "But Daddy and I are allergic to cats."
Matthew: "Then you could just move out!"
Me: "But where would I live?"
Matthew: "On the grass next to the house."
Me: (with loads of sarcasm) "Gee, thanks."
Matthew: "You're welcome!  And then we could take care of the nice cat!"

It's nice to know where I stand on his ladder of importance.

Not Exactly Fish-Like...

For the past three weeks the boys have been taking swimming lessons.  It has been somewhere in the neighborhood of three years since their last round of swimming lessons (I wasn’t going to drive 25 minutes each way for 30 minute swimming lessons, but with the new rec center open it is a five minute drive!) so it was almost like starting over.

Matthew was terribly excited about the whole thing until we walked into the pool the first day and he saw how big it was.  Then he got pretty darn nervous and made some comment about the “enormous bathtub.”  But it didn’t take long for him to get over his nerves.  After five minutes in the water, he relaxed and started splashing around like crazy.  After that, the only problem he had was that he absolutely hated the feeling of his swim trunks without his underwear.  He didn’t seem to like the loosy goosy feeling and would walk around with one hand holding his trunks up as tightly as he could get them.  (I’m betting that he won’t grow to prefer boxers as he gets older.)  It was like the end of the world getting him into the trunks each day, but once he got wet he was just fine.

Matthew kicking his legs like crazy and grinning about it.

 Trying out the kiddie slide

Daniel and Nathan had a better idea of what to expect and really enjoyed themselves.  While neither one of them is really an independent swimmer yet, they made really good progress and are anxious to take swimming lessons again so they can improve even more.  They have definitely gained some confidence (Nathan was even brave enough to jump off the diving board on his last day of class) so I consider it time well spent.

Having fun.

 Daniel holding his breath ready to take a swim.

Nathan jumping off the diving board.

Eight Is Great!

Today was Nathan’s baptism day.  He has been counting down for about the last year and has been terribly excited for the past few weeks.  He was sick on Tuesday and it really stressed him out because he was afraid we would have to cancel the baptism and wait until next month.  But a little priesthood and a lot of faith meant he was well by Wednesday morning.

 Kev’s family and those of my family who were able to attend joined us for the baptism.  There were seven children being baptized in our session and my favorite comment for the day came via Matthew (no surprise there) when the seven kids and their seven dads all in white came in and sat down: “There’s a lot of Baptists here!”

After the baptism and confirmation, we gathered at our house for food and fun.  Thanks to all those who helped make Nathan’s day special!

I’m terribly proud of Nathan and the choices he has made.  He is one of those kids who understands gospel concepts that seem far beyond his years and he is always asking questions that make me think.  His baptism gift was his own set of scriptures and the morning after he got them, I came out at 7 a.m. and found him reading his scriptures.  He says he wants to read every day.  I don’t know many eight year olds who do that so again, terribly proud.  He is a great kid.

Highly Opinionated…Even At Minus Four Months

Baby doesn’t like ultrasounds.  Unlike the boys who made things easy (except for the fact that Matthew was moving so much we had to schedule a second scan to be able to focus on his heart, brain, and spine-we could see it all but he wouldn’t stay still long enough for the tech to get a picture), she seems determined to stay out of the spotlight.  When we did our gender check, she had her ankles crossed and her feet tucked up under her bum.  And she refused to move.  Which made it really hard to discover the secrets she was keeping.  What normally takes about two minutes to find took us thirty.  When we did our first diagnostic ultrasound, she was lying across my belly, hiding in the shadow of my belly button.  After thirty minutes, we were still missing a couple of structures (including her heart) so we scheduled another scan.  When I went in for today’s ultrasound, she was head up but as soon as the tech pressed the ultrasound wand on my belly, she turned so she was crosswise hiding under my belly button again, and curled up in a little ball.  She had her legs and arms all tucked in and refused to move.  She was kicking me like crazy but was determined not to cooperate.  We managed to get several pictures of her heart, but if they are not clear enough for the doctor who reads the ultrasounds, I will need to go back yet again.  We have had the same tech for all our ultrasounds and she has started calling baby “naughty.”

So this is the only view we can get of her:

No cute profile pics for us.  But the boys think it is funny that all she will show us is her back.

Ba•by•hie•mer’s

noun  \bā-bē-hī-mərz\  : a degenerative brain disease caused by pregnancy that results in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, and changes in personality and mood

It’s Party Time! (Part 2)

What kid wouldn’t love to have a birthday celebration that lasts three days?  As the finale of Nathan’s birthday, we gathered at my parent’s house for an under the sea cake and the traditional singing of the birthday song.

Once again, fruit by the foot makes great seaweed!  Throw in some pull and peel Twizzlers and it was a cinch to make.

It Was a Zoo-tiful Day

Since Nathan’s birthday is always on Memorial Day weekend, we have a tradition of going to the zoo.  We had originally planned to go on Monday, but after checking the weather forecast, we changed our plans and opted to go today while there was break in the rain.  It turned out to be a perfect day: clear and cool, though not too cold and with a lovely breeze.  I checked the zoo website before going and discovered that discount tickets were available by going into any Les Schwab Tires location.  My in-laws came with us so with discount tickets and more adults than children, all three boys got in free.  You’ve got to love that!  (The discount tickets are good all summer so if you are planning a zoo trip I highly recommend stopping in to pick some up.) 

Once we arrived at the zoo, we discovered that Les Schwab and other retailers in the area have sponsored a super fun dinosaur element at the zoo.  So we felt like we got a 2-for-1: a trip to the zoo as well as a stop at the dinosaur museum.  When we rounded the first corner and spotted a triceratops, Matthew got super excited and yelled, “A trinocerous!” 

And then we came closer and the dino moved…and roared.  They were all animatronic!  So cool!  There were even a couple that spit.

Matthew was particularly intrigued by the t-rex.  It would move its eyes, then bend down low to take a peek at the passers-by.  Matthew commented, “It’s totally sniffing me.”

And unlike our last zoo visit, Matthew was unafraid of the fake elephant and posed willingly for the traditional zoo pic.

The boys also got to climb on a dino for a “ride” (and a picture)…

 …and Mattew was extraordinarily proud of himself when he figured out how to climb the rhino all by himself.

We ended our zoo trip by attending the bird show, always a favorite for us.  Daniel and Nathan were thrilled to be in a picture with the eagles while Matthew thought they were super cool…from a distance.  He's not a stupid kid, after all, and those birds are pretty much the same size as he is and a lot more dangerous looking.

After the zoo, Nathan got his birthday present from Kev and me.  I love that it is his favorite.  I’m always proud when I pick just the right thing! 

And as a little bonus, here is a peek into what life is like with a houseful of boys:

I love that Matthew is the only one who never says, “Oww!”  He may be small, but he is tough.

It's Party Time!

When it comes to parties, I'm not much of a decorator.  If I put up a poster that says "Happy Birthday" I feel like I've totally outdone myself.  But Nathan thinks differently so when he asked if he could decorate, I was happy to spend $2.50 on crepe paper so he could get his decor on.  And he did.  My boys are off-track right now and Nathan spent pretty much the entire day yesterday creating waves, under the sea scenes and Daniel even put his origami-mania to good use by populating Nathan's ocean with all manner of origami sea creatures.

There was even a giant eel slithering out of a big old hole in the stairwell, creeping around the banister...

...and peeking out from under the chair.

Nathan opted for dinner and a movie as party activites (Yay me!  No musical chairs or pinning the tail on anything!) and wanted fish cupcakes to match the under the sea theme.  All the boys helped me turn fruit by the foot into seaweed and stick everything on the cupcakes.  It took us a grand total of about twenty minutes to finish it all.

It was one of the easiest parties I've planned to date and yet everyone had a good time.  Of course, we just barely had enough pizza.  In the future I need to remember that my boys are reaching the age when they can eat their own body weight in pizza.  Multiply that by eleven medium sized bodies and it equals more pizza that I'm accustomed to.  I guess that is a battle I'll be fighting from now right on through the teenage years, so it's probably good to get in the habit of buying more than I think I need!