On My Mind...

Playing baseball with her dad in a leotard, tights, and converse shoes (or "Chucks" as she calls them). 

• It has been crazy around here lately. Ryan has logged more than a 100 hours at the hospital this week alone, and he's still plugging along in surgery as I write this post. I would not handle his demanding schedule nearly as well as he does if the tables were turned. And I know there are much graver circumstances to be in than having a husband who works a lot, so I am trying to keep a little perspective during this demanding time. That said, I miss my husband. 
• Maddie is such a great help to me these days. She often takes Davis under her wing and cares for him like she's his mini-mom instead of his sister. So far, he doesn't mind a bit and seems to like the attention she gives him. Just this morning she helped him pick out his clothes for church while I was making breakfast. Her mothering nature has really been helping me out as it gets more and more difficult for me to do everyday bending and reaching. 
• Now I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, having children who are prone to locking themselves in bedrooms and vehicles is a relatively small problem, but humor me for a minute while I recount this past Friday's exciting play date when Maddie, along with four other children, got locked in her bedroom. This is the 4th time in this little girl's life when either a locksmith or the fire department has had to come to her rescue. Isn't 4 times in 4 years quite a bit?  There is a dead bolt on the bedroom she shares with her two brothers (the renters before us were apparently preparing for the zombie apocalypse or something as there are deadbolts on almost every door in the house...oh, and they lost all the keys). Naive as I am, I thought that covering these deadbolts with duct tape would deter my children from tampering with them. It worked for almost two years...until Friday. We had some friends over for lunch and a play date and 5 of them had made their way up to Maddie's room. The verdict is still out on who actually locked the dead bolt (my money is on Davis), but once it was locked, it couldn't be unlocked by small hands--all the duct tape had jammed it shut. After calling a locksmith, we learned that even they don't  have the tools to bust open a dead bolt, so the fire department was our only hope. My friend Deb called 911 and three firefighters were at our door in minutes. The children were rescued about 30 seconds later and they didn't even have to break down any doors. Luckily everyone remained relatively calm (I came closest to losing it) and no one got hurt. Davis thought the fire fighters were pretty awesome and even ran downstairs and put on his fire hat so he could show it to them. And I learned my lesson--I have removed all the dead bolts from all the bedroom doors around the house. 
• Spring is beautiful in Connecticut., and blossoms are starting to pop up everywhere. You should really come for a visit. 
• Sometimes I bribe my kids with a jelly bean to stay in their beds and be really quiet after I put them down at night. I know it's not sound parenting, but it works and it keeps me from going insane when they try to come up with every excuse in the book as to why they aren't ready to go to bed. I swear, no other time of day is as exhausting for me as bedtime. All you mothers out there who relish it (I know you exist), I admire you through and through and would love to hear how you make it an enjoyable experience night after night. 
• General Conference was great, as usual. My favorites this year include President Packer's talk, Elder Ellis' talk, Elder Holland's talk (I am loving all the New Testament references he has been using the past few years), and President Monson's talk on obedience. Good stuff. 

From the Mouth of My Babe

Maddie: "Davis, sometimes when a boy gets married he puts a flower in his mouth."

I could write a book about the wisdom my girl deems necessary to impart to her little brother. 

They pick me a bouquet of dandelions whenever they venture out into the backyard. They think it's my very favorite flower.

Davis Reed @ 3 Years Old

Davis celebrated a birthday this past Wednesday. It's a little crazy to think that my baby is 3 years old. He is full of personality, that's for sure.

I don't think he realized that having a birthday meant opening presents, so he was pretty stoked when we pulled them out.

Learning how to hold a bat with Dad.

One of Davis' gifts was a pair of light sabers. I think Isaac was more excited than anyone about this present. I even overheard him say, "Davis, when you open your presents, choose the one that looks like sticks first, ok?" 

Leaning in a little bit close to those flames, little buddy.

At three years old, Davis:

• Is as passionate as ever. He loves big and he fights big. I have never received so many kisses and hugs from one person in a single day, but he is also quick to turn on you when he feels an injustice has taken place. Hitting, biting, and weeping and wailing often ensue. 
• We just moved him into the same room as Isaac and Maddie in order to prepare for the baby, and he loves being with the big kids. He goes to bed about an hour before they do, and he knows "dat Isaac can't come into da woom until I'm sweeping." So far the transition has gone smoother than I expected. We will see how week two plays out. I hope we can keep them together and still keep my sanity. 
• Some of his favorite foods are eggs, string cheese, pizza, fruit (especially apples), soy beans, and macaroni. He also loves anything sweet. Forget getting him to try something that he deems "yucky." It's a losing battle that I hope he will grow out of. He particularly loathes avocados and tomatoes. 
• He is obsessed with superheroes (batman being his current fave). He also loves Star Wars, Diego, and Kung Fu Panda. 
• He and Maddie have become quite good buddies while Isaac is at school. He is content playing Lego Friends with her, or reading, or any kind of dress-up. She will also happily play superheroes with him. The minute Isaac walks through the door, though, all attention goes to his big brother. And they are CRAZY when they play. Wrestling, chasing, yelling, and overall madness take place when they are together. 
• His nicknames are D, D-Man, Davy, and Bear.
• He has recently started running away from me in public places (didn't we conquer this over a year ago?) and it makes me very wary of taking him anywhere because I physically cannot move as fast as he can at this point. I have never considered one of those leash backpack things as seriously as I am now. I am praying that he grows out of this really really fast. Any advice?
• He insists on wearing his Diego Rescue Pack to pick up Maddie from preschool, and he is always greeted with smiles and laughs by the rest of the parents. He does look pretty cute wearing it, though I had to put the kibosh on him placing anything edible inside of it when I found he was hoarding string cheeses and bananas inside of it for days at a time. 
• Davis has a big heart and is at a really fun age. We are trying to soak up his innocence as long as we can. I am really hoping that he loves being a big brother.

From the Mouth of My Babe

Taken Sunday morning, just shy of 30 weeks. The end is getting closer!

The other day Maddie took a look at my belly and declared, "Mom, you look just like Kung Fu Panda!"

There are worse things than being compared to Po, right?

Isaac @ 6 Years Old

After celebrating his big day at school.

Isaac participated in a reader's theatre with some of his peers recently. Here they are performing The Tortoise and the Hare in front of one of the kindergarten classes. Ike played the part of the Hare, and Maddie and Davis and I were able to watch one of their little performances the other day.

We celebrated with pumpkin pie for the birthday boy since it's his favorite.

One of the gifts we gave Isaac this year was Snap Circuits. He is able to build simple electronic circuits and learn things like how a light switch works. He and Ryan spent a good part of the afternoon working on different projects with them. I think Ryan enjoyed it as much as Ike.

On Fridays we always eat pizza and watch a movie, and last week Isaac got to invite a few friends over to our weekly tradition. It was sort of a mini-party but it seemed enough for him. Being great with child and running a one-woman show around here most nights, it was all I had energy for this year. Kung Fu Panda was the movie chosen by the birthday boy.

Grandma and Grandpa sent Isaac this Perplexus game. Someday maybe he'll get to play it...

What can I say about our Isaac at six years old?

• He is a big ball of energy, especially after getting home from school in the afternoons. We have had to have talks about "controlling his crazy" when he comes home. Everyone is looking forward to warmer weather and being able to release that energy outside.
• He is very inquisitive, and will often ask questions that surprise and stump me. 
• He still loves to build anything and everything, so I expect Legos to be a part of our lives for years to come.
• He is a great eater these days, rarely complaining at the dinner table and usually the first one to clear his plate. His current favorite is orange chicken. 
• While his energy seems to keep growing and growing, he still has a calm and predictable disposition and is slow to anger most of the time. 
• He loves school almost as much as he loves staying home. Music and gym are his favorite "specials" (as he calls them) at school.
• He hates kisses (but tolerates me kissing him on the top of his head--"because it's not slimy that way") but loves hugs and still hugs me almost every morning when he wakes up.
• He is a master at giving excuses about anything and everything, from why he isn't ready to go to bed to why he needs help packing his lunch for school. 
• He loves to laugh and make people laugh. If Davis does something crazy or silly, he will often give me a look and we both bust up laughing together. I can't believe how big he is getting.
• He loves Davis and Maddie, and he also loves to boss them around as well.
• He would probably choose to spend time with his dad over just about anyone else. 
• Although it's been over a year since he has headed back west to visit Utah, he still talks about our trip there all the time. In fact, he told me the other day that he wanted a wii for his birthday, just like Grandma's. I told him that wasn't going to happen, so he has taken it upon himself to save all his money until he has enough to buy a wii of his own. So far, he has $20.33 in his fund. 
• I love having Isaac as our oldest child. He is a great example to his younger siblings and has a really kind heart. Happy Birthday, little man!