Erik's 5th Birthday

We are going all out for "Birthday Season" around here. Ben and Erik's birthdays fall 7 days apart, so the end of February and beginning of March are pretty festive for us. Last year, Birthday Season was extremely low-key. Shaun even missed Ben's birthday altogether because he had to work a 24 hour shift in a hospital rotation for school last year. It was less happy than we would have all liked since we didn't have a party with friends and it was just pregnant me trying to take care of everything. The boys wanted to have big parties at Chuck E Cheese last year, but we couldn't swing it. We promised then that we would make it up to them next time. The closest equivalent we have here is the Cache Valley Fun Park, so we've booked two reservations on back to back Saturdays. The boys have invited the kids from their school classes for each party, and haven't stopped talking about it for weeks!

On Wednesday, his actual birthday, we went bowling with the grandparents and had a special birthday supper of pancakes (the only food item he will fairly consistently eat that can be construed as dinner food for adults.) We had sausage and ham and eggs with ours...he had green yogurt. White cake with white frosting and plain vanilla Aggie ice cream followed. Shaun always does a great job decorating the cake!





He got some exciting birthday presents including a much anticipated "Golden Dollar" for his Treasure Box from Grandpa Mike:



He also got a cool telescoping tower of markers from Grandma Joy and Grandpa Steve. He immediately requested some paper and this is what he did to test out his new markers:



Yes, the first thing he wrote with the markers was a math problem he thought up and answered himself. Notice he's moved on to subtraction already...kindergarten is still 5 months away!
He is so into Math and has a real knack for it. I forgot to mention this in the last post, but one of his favorite things to do to pass the time waiting or when he asks me to lay by him when he goes to bed is a game he made up called "Math Questions." I think of arithmetic problems and he answers them, like "What's 17 - 3 ?" and he'll think a minute (or not!) and say "14!" This goes on for several minutes, until I can't think up any more numbers and I tell him I'm tired.

Anyway, the big party at the Fun Park was on Saturday. A few of his friends from preschool came and climbed all over the "SoftPlay" which is a big jungle gym with a two-story tall slide. Think McDonald's Playland on steroids. The kids claim to actually catch air when they hit a bump in the slide. I believe them. Its quite a rocket launcher. Here's a few pics:



The cake was a little slower in coming than we thought it would be, so Shaun entertained the kiddos during the waiting time with his favorite magic trick, the disappearing matchstick. (I did not ask him to do this, he just did. He loves this trick! And, preschoolers love it, too!)



Phew! A good time was had by all, but next year will be back to the low-key parties I'm used to!

Erik's How-way-you-la Chorus

I was working on this mid-December, and never got it posted because it seemed unfinished. I didn't add to it, but decided after re-reading it was post-worthy as-is. --Lara 2/27/09


Erik has had the Handel's Hallelujah Chorus in his head for the last few days. I think he must have heard Ben humming it or something. Anyway, he can't say Hallelujah, so he says "how-way-you-la" over and over again. Shaun and I just smile. The best is when he gets to the part that goes "you-la, you-la, how way-ay you la."

Erik loves to do mazes and other activity work books. He tore through a maze book last weekend and finished the whole thing. On the cover it says for Grade 1. Whatever. This preschooler loved it.

Erik is also my outdoor enthusiast. He loves to play outside in dirt, water, snow, grass, leaves, and rocks. He makes up games like Dirt Clod Smashing, Pine Cone Throwing, and Snowball Shredding. Playing outside is one of the only things that he will do by himself even if Ben doesn't want to.

I took this picture of him this summer after one of his outdoor boy sessions. He freaks if he gets a tiny crumb on his hands, but full-on dirt on his face is not a problem...

One of my favorite things about Erik is his smile. We will be watching TV or eating lunch together or something and Erik will lean forward into my field of view to look at me and smile until I notice and smile back at him. Just as if to say "I'm checking in with you and everything's good."

Erik loves numbers and must be a counting genius! When he was 3 1/2, we were driving in the van and he started counting. He kept counting all the way to 100. I was quite impressed. Then he started counting backwards from 100! He was very deliberate; he was thinking hard about what came next after each number. But he went from 100 to about 67 before he made a mistake! Now that's impressive. He didn't get his math genes from me.

Erik is also a great big brother for Alex. He kisses him at least 50 times a day. I guess the novelty of a baby has not worn off yet for him. They ride next to each other in their car seats in the van, and Erik always makes sure to remind me to put the handle down on the infant carrier so he can have a good view of Alex's face as they ride. In this picture, Erik is trying to shield Alex's eyes from the bright light after we opened the window blinds in my hospital room. Such protective instincts!

Its Valentine's Day so . . .

. . . it must be time to post the Christmas pictures!



We had a lovely Christmas waking up in our own beds and later visiting with family. The kids had a blast decorating the Christmas tree and I made no attempts to even it out. I found some cool metallic red, green, gold and silver wrapping paper and bows at Joann's so our gifts were quite color coordinated this year, which I thought was pretty fun. It also made Santa's gifts very recognizable since they had reindeer and snowmen on them.

Here are the highlights:

Shaun models his Japanese hanten which is a replacement for the hanten he brought home from his mission about 12 years ago, and unfortunately had a short life due to close encounter with the washing machine. (These are DRY CLEAN ONLY and they are not kidding!) In Japan, its traditionally worn by the working class as a outdoor work coat, but they make a wonderful warm house coat/robe thing because they are short and don't get in the way of doing stuff. (Wish I could get one in my size, but they seem to run very big, since they are an outer coat in their native land.)
He was very bummed when his original met an untimely demise, and I promised him when we could afford it I would replace it for him. He of course had long forgotten and was totally surprised to see a box shipped from Japan for his Christmas present. I hate surprises myself, but I do like to surprise others.

Ben made quite a list for Santa out of the Steve Spangler Science catalog and the Discovery catalog, including prices and page numbers for Santa's quick reference. He had no idea what lucky item would be waiting for him under the tree. Santa must have been aware of the sudden fascination with metal detectors Ben gained after watching some metal detector enthusiasts scan the sand volleyball pit at the park last summer. Ben can't wait for the thaw to find the buried treasure that must be in the back pasture.




Erik's heart's desire came true when he discovered a blue and green "big boy" bike under the tree for him with a big red bow. The bike has been displayed in his room, with the fancy bow and tag signed by Santa himself still taped on, until just recently when we finally convinced him to let us put it in the shed until the snow melts.



Alex has seemed very pleased with his activity table complete with all the obligatory lights and music that young babies seem to need as part of a balanced diet. His big brothers have also gotten plenty of use out of it, as two of the activities are a "laptop" and a phone with lots of buttons. The laptop especially has served as the command center for several important and intense missions carried out by Ben and Erik, including the national weather service tornado and hurricane watch center, (overheard: "Erik! Its heading towards Cedar City! Sound the alarm!") and various other rockets and time machines.

I received a storage ottoman that matches our couch we got this fall from IKEA in Salt Lake. (I must do a post sometime to explain my deep affection for IKEA.) And I got a new sewing machine! Hooray! I will have to finally finish my post about my homemade Halloween costumes from last year to explain that one as well.

Anyway, it was a wonderful and meaningful Christmas season around here, and we hope it was for all of you as well.

New Hobby

I've taken an unintended two month vacation from the blog. Here's what I've been up to for most of that time:

Yep, that's me (and my Dad) ice skating in my own backyard! Actually, I've spent a lot less time skating and a lot more time building the rink.

My mom has been making backyard rinks since she was twelve. She and dad used to build ice rinks in our backyard when I was a kid, weather permitting. (Tremonton tends to be warmer than Logan, so we were only successful a few years when we had the right combination of enough snow and cold temperatures.)

Since we have this great pasture in the back of our house, I thought it would make a super-duper big ice rink. We got a lot of snow in December to make a good base, so right after the New Year, I set to work. I severely underestimated how much time and effort my parents put into the ice rinks! Plus, really I bit off more than I could chew because the pasture behind our house is at least twice as big as my backyard was at my parent's house.

To make an ice rink, you have to smoosh down all the snow. We used snowshoes and walked around and around and around in circles until it was all tamped down as flat as we could. This first step was tiring work. Imagine taking thousands of baby steps through the snow to try to stamp down every square inch. It was pretty exhausting. And it wasn't very flat...lots of footstep holes and bumps. (We've definitely got to find a better way for next year!) After that, you reel out the garden hose and spray it lightly to develop an icy crust on the snow. After the snow is all sealed with an icy crust, you can spray it heavier and build up a thick layer at least an inch thick. You spray, let freeze, spray and let freeze. The amount of time you have to wait in between sprayings depends on how cold it is. If its very cold (near zero) you can spray every almost constantly because the water pretty much freezes on contact. If its around 20 to 25, its best to wait an hour or two in between. That takes several sprays over a few days. This was a pretty slow process for us because we could only spray after dark because it would warm up to just over freezing during the day. So we could only spray it two or three times in the evening after the kids were in bed. (I know my mom used to get up and spray it during the night sometimes, but with a teething baby who was not sleeping well, we couldn't do that).

We did have one really cold evening near zero that would have been a great night to build it up rapidly, but unfortunately our garden hose froze SOLID and we spent most of the time late into the night trying to thaw it out. Its not easy thawing 150 ft of hose in a bucket of hot water! (Note to self: next time take it in and put it in the bathtub.) Shaun is such a good sport to help me out with my crazy ideas.

The weather has only been semi-cooperative, which has added to the difficulties of getting the ice ready to skate on. We've had two major thaws already, the latest one was when we had three days of RAIN last week! But, the base has survived, and we've been able to resurface each time. I'm hoping it lasts through most of February, but it has been a warmer than usual winter here in Logan.

You'd think with all the time and dedication it takes to get an ice rink like this going, I must been an Olympic skater. Sadly no. I can go forward and turn and that's about it. I used to be a little better as a kid, but its been too many years. Still, its lots of fun. You can't beat being out there in nature on a quiet evening. We even have flood lights on it so we can skate at night. I have very fond memories of skating in my backyard as a kid, and I wanted to pass on the family tradition to our kids. Here's what the boys do:

Historic Moment

I wanted to document this historic day for my kids. They might not read about it in their own history textbooks, but their children definitely will and will ask them about what it was like on the day Barack Obama took office.

Ben was very excited that Obama won, having been an Obama supporter from the beginning. (He was anti-Hillary Clinton because she was a girl, which, I guess its is understandable when your 7 years old. Ben's very best friend is a girl, so there is hope for him to not be sexist.)

Erik was Pro-McCain, for reasons unknown to us, and he was a little sad on election night. He's not a very gracious loser, yet, which, again, we're working on with his 4 year old self.

As for me, this is not a political blog, and I have normally keep my political feelings to myself, but I am pleased that Obama won. I became interested with him months before the Iowa caucauses when I was pregnant and not sleeping well, watching C-Span at 2 AM. I saw some speeches by Michelle Obama, which greatly impressed me. At the time Mitt Romney was still in the race, and when he first announced, I figured I would probably support him. But I was, like millions other would be, impressed by Obama's calmness and passion about change. At the same time, I became less impressed with Romney and the way he was running his campaign. To me it was typical politician stuff. Obama really spoke to the things I am concerned about and I was proud to give him my vote! I was wishing that we were still voting in Colorado, where my vote could have made a difference, rather than in Utah, the reddest state in the Union, where a vote for a democrat just becomes a quaint statistic, but I was pleased Obama won Colorado without me.

Spotlight on Ben

Ben was excited that it was his turn to be the Spotlight in his 2nd grade class a few weeks ago. He filled out a questionnaire and got to take photos to put on a special spotlight bulletin board in his classroom. He chose the pictures he wanted to take, and I thought they were cute, so I thought I'd post them here:










First season of T-Ball Summer 2007.


Halloween 2007.





With his cactus named Tom, whom we adopted after a trip to Arizona.












Christmas Blizzard of 2006 in Denver.








Ben at his 2 year birthday party eating pasta.





Ben is such an amazing kid. He loves to learn and remembers everything. He is still very interested in weather, and is also into astronomy. He loves to look at the stars, point out Jupiter and the International Space Station when it floats by in the night sky. He has also been showing an interest in minerals lately. The other day he told me he would find me a huge diamond in the ground so I could be rich! Such a good boy to take care of his mama!

Ben is so smart, too. He is reading way beyond his grade level, is an excellent speller (got 4th place in the 2nd grade spelling bee the other day), and says Math is his favorite subject. His imagination and creativity is really coming out in his drawings of tornadoes, gemstones, and robot inventions. I never know what he'll think of next. He loves to teach others as well. Last night he said to Erik "Hey Erik, want to look at math flashcards so you can be smart?" They were 7 times tables, and he kept giving Erik hints like "7 x 8. Its one more than 55." Erik enjoyed this game. A few weeks ago he drew a poster his teacher showed the class of a way to remember how many cups, pints, quarts, etc are in a gallon, and could hardly wait to share it with our church Home Teachers when they came over.


Ben constantly entertains us. His teacher tells me he is the class clown, which didn't surprise me, but I know that he didn't get that from me! (or Shaun. I think it skipped a generation). He loves to tell Laffy Taffy jokes and to make all of us laugh. Shaun and I remember that from the time he was still quite small...before he could talk...he LOVED to laugh HARD! You know how something just catches you off guard and makes you suddenly burst out laughing? He would try to do that to himself again and again just to get the rush! He still loves to laugh until his belly hurts and he can hardly breathe and he has Erik to laugh right along with him. They really get each other going sometimes. As a parent, its a joy to watch!

He has been all I could have hoped for and more as a Big Brother to Erik from Day One. I love to overhear the games and make-believe that they come up with together. I still can't believe how consistently inclusive and patient Ben is with his younger brother. When I was expecting Erik, I read up on sibling rivalry and feared I'd be dealing with jealousy when the new baby came because it seemed so common and inevitable. Well, to my amazement, I've never needed any of that info with Ben. He doesn't have a mean or jealous bone in his body, so I should've known not to worry. And now he is so fun to watch with Alex. Alex smiles and can't keep his eyes off Ben when he gets home from school each day. I'm sure they will have a great relationship as well.

Ben, I know this will embarrass you, but we are so proud of the person you are! When we see what a great young man you are becoming, it makes us feel like we must be pretty amazing parents, but really we know that it all comes from inside you! We are so lucky to be your Mom and Dad! We enjoy every minute with you and are so happy you are in our family!

Alex SuperBaby

Every mother should be lucky enough to have a baby as great as Alex. He is such a joy to be around. Always in a good mood, even when I'm not. Don't get me wrong, motherhood is tough, and being a mom with three boys is very demanding. I have many hard days when I feel so tired and completely inadequate, just the nature of the job for me, I guess. But this baby is so amazing. Here's a list of a few things that amaze me and that I love about our little Alex:

1. I never knew some babies don't spit up. Ever! I bought a whole pack of new burp cloths expecting the volume of spit my other boys gave us. This child has literally spit up 4 times in his whole life, and each time it is the size of a dime. Hardly counts as spit up, really.

2. He only cries if he is absolutely starving or sick. When he wakes up at night, he just grunts and makes complain-y noises. If he gets lonely or wants some extra attention he coos. If we lay him in his bed to see if he'll go to sleep on his own, he usually makes a few wiggly noises and falls asleep. Again, I wouldn't have believed it humanly possible, I have heard stories and rumors of babies who behaved that way, but from my previous experience I thought they were joking. This baby is making me a believer! The other day, I tried to lay him in his bed for a nap during the day, and while he didn't fall asleep, he never cried. Just laid in his crib perfectly happy for 45 minutes entertaining himself with his feet until I decided he wasn't going to sleep and we had to go get Ben from school.

3. His fuzzy hair. He wasn't "blessed" with my cowlick the way Erik was, but Alex's hair is so fuzzy right now. I love to rub my cheek on his head just to feel that baby soft hair.

4. He is already starting to sleep through the night! My other children never came close to this accomplishment before they were almost a year old. This child is not even six months and he has slept through the night 3 times in the last month, and has only been waking up once fairly consistantly lately. Last night was his longest sleep yet...9pm to 7:20 am! I'm so especially thankful for this amazing aspect of him because I was already at my breaking point sleep-deprivation wise. No way I could have survived several more months of this schedule. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Alex!!