Becoming Childlike

Over the past week, David has given me daily reports on which classmates did not get a "superstar" stamp for good behavior.  He often mentions two boys who apparently tease the other kids a lot.  When he first mentioned their behavior, I wanted to make sure he did not follow suit, and so encouraged him to be a good example to them by not teasing the other kids, and to still be nice to them even if they were not nice to him.

Tonight while he was saying his bedtime prayer, without any prompting for me, he prayed for those boys by name, and specifically asked Heavenly Father to help [Boy A] not tease and [Boy B] to not hit other kids so they could get superstar stamps.  I was completely blown away.  His prayers are usually pretty predictable, so it was not only remarkable to have a new subject, but one of such maturity.  Matthew 5:44-45 came to mind:

"44 But I say unto you, ^aLove your ^benemies, ^cbless them that ^dcurse you, do ^egood to them that ^fhate you, and ^gpray for them which despitefully use you, and ^hpersecute you;

  45 That ye ^amay be the ^bchildren of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth ^crain on the just and on the unjust."

How often do we pray for our enemies?  And when we do, how often is our prayer on their behalf instead of our own (i.e. please make him stop bullying me)?  I feel humbled by his compassion.

Afterwards he helped me get Daniel in bed (who was having a bit of a rough time) by bringing up a couple special toys, giving him kisses and hugs and comforting words.  (Daniel went right down after that).

I then got to enjoy an animated conversation with him about school.  We haven't gotten much feedback about it, in spite of all his talking.  We'd ask him how school was and he'd reply "Good."  "What did you talk about today?" was met with a shrug.  Tonight I asked him, "Do you like school?" (smiled and nodded with a twinkle in his eye) and perhaps by inspiration followed up with, "What is your favorite part?"  Those were magic words that opened a floodgate of feedback.  He was so excited to tell me about their routine and especially the playgrounds.  He described in great detail the number and shapes of slides, the climbing wall, and other apparati at his disposal.  He described how he wanted to try something and [Girl A] didn't think it was a good idea, but he thought he could do it and tried anyway, and how he fell when he landed.  He talked about how he and a few other kids buried toys in the sand on Friday and how they worked together today to dig them up, but couldn't find all of them ("The Team that Never Gave Up!") and how they found other things and what everyone's opinion was as to what those things were.  He was so enthusiastic, and I loved hearing him share that with me.

Overall, it was a very sweet, tender bedtime experience, and I'm so thankful for it.  I sure love my boys!

Kindergarten Musings

David's first full week of Kindergarten has led to some interesting observations on effects of school restraints.

THIRST

Before: David's always been a thirsty kid.  I wasn't sure which of my kids was anomalous after I had Daniel, since he only drinks a fraction of what David does.  When our niece got diagnosed with Type-I diabetes and my mother-in-law said her constant thirst was the symptom that alerted her to the problem, I panicked.  David is always thirsty.  So last summer I had my sister-in-law check David's blood while she was doing her daughter's, just to be sure.  I was relieved to find out he's "normal" as far as diabetes goes; I guess he's just exceptionally thirsty.  

Now: The first couple days when I picked him up from school, he'd beg and berate me for a drink.  How dare I not have one ready the moment he stepped in the car!  I've decided that it's simply a result of not being free to get a drink as often as he would at home.  I've also decided it is to everyone's benefit to have a water bottle on hand for him so he can slake his thirst and not keep complaining about how thirsty he is all the way home.

ENERGY

Before:  My mom used to say she's never seen such a busy child.  I can't tell you how many times a day I tell David he needs to keep his feet on the floor.  He's usually climbing up or jumping off something, or just running around the house in circles.

Now:  Raise that to the n-th power.  I was convinced I needed to go out and find a 4-foot hamster wheel to install in his bedroom after his first day of school.  He was almost literally bouncing off the walls.  Can we get two recesses, please?

TALKING

Before:  David didn't really start talking until he was three.  He's been fairly chatty since then, and Nathan and I joked that he was making up for lost jabber.  He's not the kind of kid you can tune out though.  He wants direct responses to his chatter and follows up with periodic pop quizzes to make sure you've been listening.

Now:  Non.Stop.  Energizer Bunny of conversation.  Chatterbox.  All of the above.  Once again, he can't vocalize as much as he normally would, so he makes up for lost opportunities once he gets home.  I commented on this to Nathan, how David doesn't seem to really have anything particular to say, yet he keeps on talking about anything and everything.  Nathan shrugged and said "that's okay," but after about two hours of D's breathless chatter, he turned to me (David still talking in the background) and said, "You're right; he just doesn't stop!"

Summer in Review

We are still binky-less!  Hurrah!  There were a couple times on our trip where I thought "this would be so much easier if I could just plug him up," but he never asked and I never wavered.  Whew!

Speaking of our trip, here is our summer in photo summary:

My Dad came up for 4th of July weekend (Mom was in Utah), and the boys had a "ball" playing baseball with him.

We also did sparklers and driveway fireworks, which the boys LOVED:

We went to the beach that Monday.  The boys loved playing in the waves and digging in the sand:

Then we drove by Dinosaur mini-golf and decided to have a round.  Daniel liked to smack his ball where-ever from the starting point, then pick it up and place it right next to the hole for an easy putt in.  He did NOT want to do this last hole, because he realized he would not get his ball back!

We went to Utah for a Nash family reunion.  My mom picked us up from the airport and we enjoyed spending the weekend with her and my sister DeeAnn's family down in Nephi.  We then joined up with the Other Nashes in Provo Sunday night.  Here's Nathan with his sisters:

We visited Thanksgiving Point in Lehi and enjoyed a mini zoo, pony rides, dinosaur museum, and a 3-D IMAX film about some oceanic dinosaur whose name I cannot remember, then went and had ice cream before heading back to our hotel.

We took family pictures with all of Nathan's family (sans Jeff, who unfortunately had an urgent work matter he needed to attend to last minute).  This is one Nathan took from the "sideline".  We'll post others when we get them.

A highlight of the Nash reunion for the boys was when we made and launched rockets.  They carried those things around for DAYS.

We learned to play a fun game called Bang!, and I confess it often led me to conflicting emotions.  You're supposed to take other players out, and I never wanted to pick on anyone.

The boys got to see all 5 of their living great grandparents on this trip.  I always think this is so remarkable, because I never knew any of my great grandparents.

Here's Four Generations of Nashes.  I wonder which of my boys will be the one to carry on the look-alike trend.  Unfortunately, we got a picture with Grandpa Nash but not Grandma (sorry!).  I was not in charge of this--don't blame me!

We stayed overnight with my Grandma Rabiger before flying up to Seattle for the next leg of our trip:

Many thanks to my Aunt Deanne for having us over for a Pioneer Day cookout and Aunt Joyce for taking us to the Salt Lake airport!  My brother Sean picked us up from the Seattle airport (the Other Nashes were still driving en route) and we enjoyed an evening with his family.  Then Nathan's Grandma and Grandpa Merrill picked us up from Sean's and took us up to Anacortes.

While we were up there, Nathan went hiking with his dad.

And discovered that his 16-year-old hiking boots are not as sturdy as he supposed they still were...

We got home late Tuesday night and David started his first day of Kindergarten on Thursday.  Here are the obligatory pictures of starting school:

I asked David to take off his sunglasses for the next one...

Okay, now take them all the way off, put your arms down, and give me a nice smile...

What a ham!  Let's try again...

Still a little dorky, but considering what it took to get THAT, I'm satisfied.  When I showed Nathan, he laughed and said it reminded him of this Calvin and Hobbes strip:

Anyway, then we took David to his first day, and the teacher invited Daniel to join them on the mat while I filled out some paperwork:

His first day was just a day of assessments with only a small part of the class.  They read a story and toured the school while "looking for a raccoon" (part of the story, I guess).  David came up to one of the signs for the tour and read it out loud, taking his teacher quite by surprise.  I guess only a couple kids in the class can read yet.  Wait until she discovers his mad math and puzzle skills...

Oh yes, in case you didn't get our announcement yet... we're expecting #3 on February 4th!

What Do Stay-at-Home Moms DO?

I saw this on Facebook, and thought it summed things up pretty well.  It is slightly truncated.  See the full article here (might also help with larger print).

(They're playing cards, in case you can't see)

So to all my SAHM friends... Rock on.  Carry on.  

...Canasta, anyone?  :P

Binky's Last Stand?

Daniel will be three in a month, and he still sleeps with a binky.  I know, I know...  

Weaning David off the binky actually ended up being pretty easy.  He had 5 of them, and when he started chewing holes in them I'd throw them away, telling him each time that when he chewed through all of them we wouldn't buy any more.  The last binky got chewed and tossed.  When he asked for it that night, we said nope, you chewed through them all; they're all gone.  And that was that.  He pretty much shrugged, rolled over, and went to sleep, never to mention them again.  He may not have even been two yet, but I really don't recall.

Daniel has not been so easy.  When the binky chewing started, I tried the same tactic.  Except I didn't have five to go through.  Two, maybe three.  I made him use that final binky until it was utterly ragged, but I could tell he just wasn't ready to give it up, and decided standing on principle wasn't worth him choking on a piece of chewed off binky in his sleep.  So I broke down and bought another set.  Figures that the kind of binky he likes is only sold in pairs.  We told him earnestly that when those were done, that was it.  No more binky.  And we reminded him of it after the first one bit the dust, and as the cracks have been getting bigger in THE FINAL binky.

Well, he did it today.  As I was putting him down for his nap, he chewed a hole in that thing, then took it out of his mouth and stuck his finger in the hole to investigate, making it even larger.  "Mom, it's broken," he told me.  I asked, "Do you want me to throw it away?"  Grunt in the affirmative.  "Okay, but this is the last binky.  There are no more after this.  Are you sure you want me to throw it away?"  Again yes.  And he laid there in his bed, binky-less, looking somewhat forlorn while I shut the door and went to do the deed.

I suppose I should be doing a victory dance.  I might be, if we weren't about to go on a trip.  Because although Daniel only has that binky for naps and bedtime at home, it becomes an extension of his tongue on trips, practically coming out only for meals, and even then sometimes those get sacrificed to binky time.

Meanwhile Daniel called to me from his bed and asked me to sit in the rocking chair.  I suppose that's seeking compensatory comfort in the binky's absence.  I sweetly declined, gave him a hug and kiss, and encouraged him to go to sleep, not wanting to start an expectation of me hanging out in his room for the duration of his nap.  Several minutes later, I could hear him playing with cars, and several minutes after that he was banging to get out of his room.  Now he's wailing pathetically.

Generally speaking he still naps willingly, and for a couple hours to boot; I'm NOT ready to give that up.  So I guess we'll see if I stick to the "buy no more" resolution this time.  Something tells me I might find myself in the "desperate for a binky" aisle at Target in a few days.  *sigh*

Starlight Express

Because I just can't resist... here are a few pictures of our little basement production mentioned in the previous post.

Thanks for the memories, Keely!  :)

David's Travel Itinerary

"Mom, to get to Grandma Nash's house (in Washington), first we'll take a shortcut to Texas to rest, then walk to New Mexico, because it's close, to get a drink. Then after we get a drink we'll walk back to the car (in Texas??) and drive to DeeAnn's house (in Utah), and then we'll drive to Grandma Nash's house! And we can use my map puzzle for directions. Does that sound like a good plan?"

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

Lack of blogging over the last 6 months = sorry. Don't even get me started on my scrapbook (can we say Jan 2008?). But, truth be told, there's not a whole lot to say, really. Here's a brief summary of what we've been up to. The lack of deviation is almost frightening:

Breakfast, preschool/gym/errands/laundry, lunch, nap, errands/playground/laundry, dinner, [evening obligation of the day], bed. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

We do have some changes on the horizon. David starts Kindergarten in August (hooray!) We also decided since he'll be in all-day Kindergarten, and since he has a long list of things he wants to do when he turns 6 (including tee-ball, tennis, soccer, and trying lots of new foods), to let Daniel have a go with The Little Gym in David's place. I am excited for Daniel to get a chance (he asks me every week if it's time to take him to Little Gym), but sad to withdraw David. But, we can only do so much, you know?

Meanwhile we're looking forward to visiting family this summer (hence David's travel itinerary)!

And some long overdue photos:

One of Nathan's favorite Little Gym images (Jan 2010):

At the NC Zoo:

The ONLY Easter picture (sorry G'ma Merrill). This is at a friend's church's family fun day.

Primary Activity at the Raleigh Temple:

David's Preschool Graduation:

My brother Sean's Ph.D Graduation from Yale. Pictured: My sister Minda, Sean, our childhood neighbor and surrogate sister Keely. Incidentally, Minda forbade me to stand on the curb with everyone else, haha. Story: The summer before I started Kindergarten, Keely had visited her Dad in Ohio and seen Starlight Express. She brought home a tape of musical highlights and we, along with another neighborhood friend, put on our own production of Starlight Express in Keely's basement. It was quite a production for 5 independent elementary schoolers, and we were immensely proud of ourselves. She got this poster for Sean to remind him to stay humble with that fancy degree of his. :)

Daniel getting fancy with his tools:

Summer Fun:

David's Final Little Gym Show Week (Jun 2010):

(Desperate measures to keep a little boy sitting down!)

Supply & Demand

How many of you have looked at a charge for a service and thought, "That's stupid to pay someone to do that; I can do it myself for less (or free)!" On the flip side, how many of you have ever had a task that we just dreaded doing, and procrastinated, put off, rationalized against, and otherwise avoided it? Nathan often reminds me that the Laws of Supply and Demand dictate that at some point, a consumer will be willing to pay for services. Maybe those of us who have procrastinated and avoided our tasks finally decide to just pay someone else with more time or better skills to do them for us.

I am ashamed. I've been staring at my ironing for a month--one dress in particular--and creatively avoiding it, feeling blessed that we have enough clothes to go without a few particularly wrinkly pieces for weeks on end. In my defense, the dress was fully lined and had boning, and it was tricky fabric. I could have done it myself, but really didn't have the time or energy to focus on such a meticulous piece of work. I finally took it to the dry cleaners and had them do it for me. One hour and $3.78 later, my dress was freshly pressed and hanging in my closet. Much better than stressing over it for a month.