Christmas Songs

The kids like to sing Christmas songs and actually are starting to know the words this year. This is different from past years; I can see that the words are registering with the kids now that they are older.
Amelia can sing the chorus to Jingle Bells, some of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and most of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Jack says his favorite Christmas song is Away in a Manger. Jacob sings along with all of it.
They incorporate all of these songs into "Christmas shows" that include rehearsal, some kind of stage setup, show and grand finale.

The Game of Life

Last night the kids and I played the game of Life. I thought Jacob might be old enough to enjoy playing it, turns out all of the kids enjoyed playing. Dada joined us about halfway thru to help Amelia but everyone played great until the end.
Jack was so funny, taking each spot seriously; like "Car crash! I didn't crash my car!" or "I am not paying for college that's too much money!"
Today once the kids got home from school we had to play again they liked it so much.

School Conferences

Today was school conferences. Here are highlights from each of the boys:

Jack -

His teacher commented that he is very respectful to her and others. He is reading is at grade level. He does a great job coming up with ideas for writing. In math he is a critical thinker and double checks his work.

She said if she had to nitpick about his behavior she would say Jack could be more enthusiastic about learning. At carpet time he energy is low and lethargic. I note that because his kindergarten teacher commented that he seemed tired at school too.  I am not sure about that, seems like he is just bored.

Things he needs to work on is continuing reading skills and better penmanship. Overall he is doing great at school.

Jacob-

His teacher commented that Jacob is very respectful and has great behavior. His reading is at grade level. He has a great facility with numbers and easily solves problems in math. 

She said he needs to do a better job of paying attention to spelling words and penmanship. We also talked about different chapter books he could read and would be interested in. Of course he is doing well in school.

I thought conferences were a good check-in. I really like Mrs. Chadha, Jacob's teacher. I like how responsive she was to Jacob and how she could help improve his learning and interest in reading. 

Jack's teacher is not that great but he is doing very well.

Jacob - 8

Jacob turned 8! He was so excited for his birthday and his birthday party. We went to Chuck e Cheese, of course. He got lots of legos, a watch, some money and spy glasses.
Jacob is wonderful: see previous post.

Jacob

A note from his 2nd grade teacher:

Just a quick note. Jacob was the first to get 5 full minutes of complements today from the class. He got so many. The kids all agreed that he was a good friend who helped all of them make better choices. They also said that they appreciate how he helps them feel more confident when he works with them on tricky things. He puts forth a lot of effort and has a lot of integrity! 

"Best Night Ever!"

I have to admit, as a mom I am addicted to hearing, "This is the best day/night ever!" from the kids; tonight I got to hear that from them. After taking the annual Christmas pictures at JcPenny's I told the kids we were going to have dinner in the food court. This is something I know they love and we do not do very often. Jack's face lite up with joy, "Oh ya! I love the food court."
On the walk down the boys had to recount all the other times we had eaten there (2) and what they had eaten. Everyone likes the clam strips so we got those again. After dinner we even got mini blizzards.
The whole evening, including pictures and when we came home, the kids were happy, got along and had great attitudes. It was an evening to cherish and remember.
Best Night Ever!

Halloween 2015

This Halloween was great. Amelia was Elsa, again, Jack was the Red Ranger from Power Rangers Dino Charge and Jacob was an alien spaceship. We did our usual walk around the neighborhood for trick or treating. Parker Julson joined us, along with Umma. All of them got way too much candy and had great fun.

Amelia

Amelia and I went to the pumpkin patch today with her preschool class. She had a great time of course! We got her a Cinderella pumpkin, went thru the hay maze, climbed the hay pyramid and petted the animals, the usual stuff.
The notable thing about the pumpkin patch trip was during breakfast. I told her that we were going to the pumpkin patch today. She responded by sticking her lip out and saying "Umma. I want Umma to take me." I said yes of course you do and Umma would want to take you but this year its me. She didn't like the answer but she got over it.

Cub Scouts

Jacob and Jack are about a month into Cub Scouts. Of course with everything their attitudes and aptitudes give each boy's experience different.
Jacob loves going through the list of requirements for each badge. He has already completed two badges because he is driven to finish the list.
Jack likes to do the different activities but slower. Some of the requirements he has jumped at, others he says no thanks. He has started about 4 different badges, completing about half or more of the requirements but not finishing any yet.
The great thing about the badges, for both boys, is that it gives us something to do together. At first I was tempted to sign off on a lot of the badge requirements because they are things we have already done BUT after consideration I didn't. I want to take advantage of the opportunity to spend time doing activities with the boys. Last night, as a family we did a Mario Cart video game family tournament (Tiger-iffic Badge) and the other day we all counted our steps in the backyard to compare step sizes (Code of the Wolf Badge).
I can't wait to see what else Cub Scouts have in store for us!

Amelia

Amelia loves to sing and dance so the Barbie movies are right up her alley.

Jacob

As I was leaving tonight Jacob ran out of the house for a hug. He told me, "You're better than any ipad." That is a HUGE compliment!

Jack

Jack came running in from the bus today.

Jack: Mom I got 2 good news and 1 bad news, what do you want to hear first?
Me: Umm... the good news.
Jack: Well 1 of the good news is there is no bad news. The other is I have a lose tooth! I ate a pear at school, boy are they hard" (then he gives it a significant wiggle).

Geez where he comes up with some of the things he says!


UPDATE:
Jack came home the next day to show me his tooth that he pulled out himself at school. He said he was standing in line when he pulled out his tooth with his bare hand. He then said "My tooth is out!" His teacher gave him a little plastic tooth to take his home in.
I figure the tooth must have been lose for awhile without Jack realizing it because you can see the new tooth coming up already. Anyway tooth fairy comes tonight!!

First day of School

Well after an 8 day strike the boys are back to school! The strike was a bit tense and stressful for everyone so we are glad that it is over. Since the open house, schools still did that before the strike started, Jacob had been so excited to go back to school. Jack was a little weary but at the open house he found out a friend was in his class so it gave him more confidence.


At about 4:15 the boys came rumbling home. Both threw off shoes, coats and backpacks for a snack. They were both still excited from the first day of school. Jack told Dada that Mrs. Rodriguez is the best teacher ever. He showed me a book that she let him borrow about cats. Jacob told me he had several kids from his first grade class in his second grade class. He met up with some friends on the playground to play first thing.

First day went off without a hitch, so great! I am excited to see what the year holds for the boys.

Jacob

Tonight at dinner Dada started to remind Amelia that she wasn't going to be able to stay up for movie night because of some bad behavior the night before. I say started because Dada had just given Amelia his "look" and said something along the lines of "And do you remember how you acted last night?" when Jacob interrupted with, "Don't worry about it, he'll just let it slide." (along with gliding his left hand in front of his body.) Oh my goodness I almost choked on my chicken I laughed so hard. Jacob knows Dan's a bit of a push over and told his sister not to even worry about him! Oh I laughed, Jack and Amelia kept intimidating Jacob's gesture and words to make me laugh more.

*** Amelia did get to stay up and watch the movie.***

ipod

The other day at church Jacob was given a discarded ipod. He had high hopes that it would work. I could just see the sparks of excitement at even just the thought he could have an ipod. I told him not to get too excited because I wasn't even sure if it worked. Well we borrowed Myrna's charger to see if it would even turn on: it did! Oh boy how excited the kids were for that. But there was a password that we didn't know. Well lucky for us Dada is kinda technology savvy because he got the thing up, running and connected to my i account. Now Jacob has an ipod. The first morning Dan told him it was working, Dada told him at 5:15am, Jacob stayed up and played it all morning. I had downloaded minecraft for him the previous night.
We also figured out that we could Facetime and text Umma, Josh, Tanya and our ipad. Oh the joy in that alone! The boys are now obsessed with texting Umma. Now note they type about 1 word every 4 minutes but they still text. I figure it is good spelling and typing practice for them. Umma of course doesn't mind.
The kids have gone from staring at our big tv to the small ipad to an even smaller ipod screen. I believe they will be far sighted soon.

Amelia

Amelia started her last year of preschool the other day. I can't believe it!! She really likes school, likes to do school work. I stayed a bit to help with some other kids her first day so I got to see her sitting nicely and singing along. She came home singing, "head, shoulders, knees and toes." This year she is going to preschool three days a week. I could tell even after the first day that she was kinda tuckered out from it. Once she gets into the routine it will be no problem though.

Labor Day

Labor Day this year we were going to go camping but it got canceled due to wild fires. Instead we went north to visit Jamie, Emily and family and spent sometime in Spokane. We had a great time visiting the Colemans. Out of the whole weekend Jack said his favorite thing was playing with CC and eating gumballs at their house. Jacob couldn't decide what his favorite thing was because it was all so fun. Amelia liked the gum best of all.
In Spokane the kids went on the carousel and we all went on the Sky ride, a leftover gondola ride from the world's fair. We stayed in a nice hotel right next to the park so we could just walk over. We swam, ate out at restaurants and spent time together. The whole weekend was great; everyone got along and we had a good time.

Jacob

Jacob bought some front and back bike lights. He used his own money that he has been saving. Dad and him put the lights on his bike and then him and I tried them out on a night bike ride. The bike ride he was jabbering on about the lights. Half the time I couldn't even hear him because he was riding ahead of me but that didn't matter. He told me, "The lights cost 14 dollars, 16 with tax. Have to remember the tax."
I told Jacob as it gets darker sooner we will have to go on more bike rides in the dark. He really liked that idea.

Amelia

Amelia has continued to be a good sleeper. Despite wanting to crawl into bed with us constantly, she is great at sleeping in. During summer her bedtime has been extended to 8:00 with the boys. I remember that when Jacob and Jack use to stay up late they would still get up early but not Amelia she has been sleeping into 8:30ish, even 9:00 sometimes. I have to say I love having a sleeping buddy in the morning.
Now come school time her bedtime will have to be pushed back to 7:00 so that I will be able to get her up for school but for now she can enjoy the summer sleep-in.

Baseball Game

We went to the Dust Devil's baseball game last night. We have tried before without much success but last night was different. It wasn't so packed so the kids could move around a bit, stand up, dance if they wanted too. We also went with the church as a group so they had friends to play with. Additionally it was also dollar hot dog, drink and chip night so each kid got to have a snack.
On top of all that during the 6th inning kids are invited to run threw the outfield; one gate to another. We have never stayed that long so the kids didn't know about it, but Katelyn, one of their regular babysitters, told them all about it. The boys, her, me, Amelia and another kid, Parker, ran as fast as we could threw the outfield. I ran with Amelia; she was so delighted to be running. She didn't stop once. Once Jacob hit the field I could see his whole face light up with excitement. With the adrenaline kicked in he swept across the field. I lost track of Jack because he was running with Katelyn and Parker but he said he had a great time. When it was time to go none of the kids wanted to leave. I guess it means that we will have to go to more Dust Devil games.

Amelia

Amelia has been sneaking into our bed at night for a while now. It's a constant battle for room and the right sleeping temperature when she is in the bed. The last couple of mornings though we have not only woke up to Amelia in the bed but her baby doll as well! It's a losing battle when the baby has now made camp.

JULY

Well the beginning of July was our west side vacation. We had a great time enjoying the sun and family. The kids loved the ocean and staying with Linda in Ocean Shores. Seemed like it was the perfect balance of things to do and relaxing. The kids didn’t get bored once. The 4^th of July was so nice, hanging out at Potlatch with everyone and then at Gramma Sharpes' house. Again it was just a wonderful time.

The kids during July went to our church's vbs; they had a blast. It was Amelia's first year participating in the activities. She did great and had lots of fun. Her and Jacob were part of the Children's Worship Team; which was some kids who got on stage to teach all the other kids the motions to the songs. Amelia was so serious up there trying to keep up with all the motions. I thought she was the cutest of them all. Jacob on the other hand did an amazing, emotional job. His face conveyed the emotions and melodies of the music. With every change of tempo in the song he would sway his body or twist his body to the beat. It was so fun to watch him have such a great time.

At the end of July they all went to another church’s vacation Bible school for a week. I was impressed that Amelia went since she was by herself in the preschool part of the program. She did real good though and had lots of fun. I guess the boys were in separate groups too but they are older and had been to that church before.

We also have been spending lots of time in the water! It certainly has been hot this summer. The kids and I went down to Hermiston Oregon to a family aquatic center down there. It’s a great place with a big pool where the kids can touch almost everywhere, two water slides the kids can go down and its pretty cheap. Both times we went there we spent over 5 hours swimming. Jack was very excited to be able to go down both slides. 

The kids have also started swimming lessons again. Jacob doesn’t really need them but we let him do them one more year. Jack started out like a fish out of water but has improved tons in just the week and half since they have started. Amelia is doing great. She is way ahead of the kids in her class. It’s mostly all her experience in the water that helps her and the boys do well.

Oh another fun thing is we got Amelia a new bike; a little princess one from the Goodwill. She loves everything pink and princesses. She rides it around like a pro and has even mastered starting by herself. It took her to work thru a major fit to get her to do it but she did. She would yell, “This is TOO HARD!” J She liked riding a pedal bike around before but only if we helped her start. Now she can do it herself, she is so cute riding around on her bike.

Jack turns 6

Jack is officially 6; two hands! For his birthday he got lots of Power Ranger Dino Charge stuff. Dino Charge, not to be confused with the other two Power Ranger shows. He also got a Robin bow staff that I am sure will be taken away eventually.
His birthday party was at Chuckie Cheese the Friday before his birthday so he opened his presents then. He had an amazing time at Chuckie Cheese. Him and Amelia got to go in the Ticket Blaster. He even got the magic 1,000 big ticket. We spent a couple hours there playing games. Jack is already planning on going back to Chuckie Cheese next year to do the Ticket Blaster again.
Things I have learned about Jack so far is that he is very funny, he likes to make his own rules, he likes to be active, he is athletic, he is kind and thoughtful.

Amelia turns 4

Amelia turned 4 today. She is such a wonderful big girl. I can hardly believe in a year she will be 5 and off to kindergarten but for now I will enjoy her every day.
This morning as she woke up I told her Happy Birthday. She immediately shot up right and said, "Its my birthday! Can I open my presents?" Ok sure it's your birthday. She did at least call down to the boys to see if they wanted to watch her open her presents. After they had scrambled upstairs we all sat in a circle in our pajamas to watch her open her presents.
She got lots of things that she really did love. After her cowboy boots and cupcake game she cried, "Oh! Just what I wanted!"
Things that I have learned about Amelia so far in these 4 years is that she likes to laugh, color, read books,  play with Barbies, dance, sing, and be around her Dadda.

Jack

I had a proud mom moment today. Umma sent pez dispensers to the kids today. Amelia got Elsa, of course. For the boys she sent Thor and Captain America. Jack immediately grabbed the Captain America. There was a tussle as Jacob reached for it too.

Jack said, "I get to choose first because its my birthday. That's fair."
Me: "That's true it would be fair for you to choose first. But look, you get to have 7 new presents and Jacob doesn't. Who would Jesus let pick first?"
Jack: "Jacob."
Me: "Ya you are right. Now who are you going to let choose first?"
Jack: "Jacob."

Jacob picked first and picked Captain America. Jack didn't get whiny or mean, he just accepted what he got. He is such a good boy.

School year 2014-2015

Another school year over and it was a great one! The boys loved going to the Franklin this year. I was a little apprehensive about moving schools but it turned out to be great. Jacob loved his class and teacher. He made lots of friends, including his best friend Belen. Actually on the second to the last day Jacob came home almost in tears. He was super upset that he wouldn't be seeing Belen every day. Oh my mother's heart just ached to see him so upset. I told him that maybe we could call her and have a play date over the summer. He like that idea so here's hoping it works out.
Jack did great this year. His teacher wrote on his report card, "He tries his best to produce quality work." Of course this surprises me because when we do work at home he does not try his best but I am glad he does at school. Another thing that surprised me was taht at the end of the year Jack as at the beginning of a first grade reading level. I hope we can build on that to keep him improving. Several times over the last couple of days he says, "I miss Mrs. Perry. She is nice." I am glad that Jack enjoyed school this year. I think he will like it more and more as he gets older.

Boys headed off to the last day of school.

Amelia

Amelia can ride her pedal bike now real good but the other day going to the park she wanted to ride the skuut again. At the park I asked her why? She said, "The pedals. Pedaling makes me exhausted."

Baseball

The boys wrapped another t-ball season. Both Jacob and Jack did very well.  I believe each boy improved their baseball skills
Jack's favorite part was hitting the ball and the baseball pinata at the end of the year party. Jack improved his hitting form. He is good at catching the ball when he is wearing a batting helmet. He knows the ball can't hurt him with it on; whatever gets him catching right now.
Jacob's favorite part was hitting. Jacob is real good at catching the ball now. It is fun playing a game of catch with him. He has always been good at throwing the baseball, now he can accurately throw it.

Amelia

Amelia finished her first year of preschool. She really liked school and did well.Towards the end of the year she started interacting with other girls in the class; started having friends. I think her favorite place to play was the kitchen area of the preschool room. She said her favorite part of preschool was coloring. I am glad she enjoyed herself and am very proud of her good attitude and behavior.

Insane Inflatable 5k

 This weekend Jack, Jacob, Uppa and I did the insane inflatable 5k. Its a 5k course with bounce obstacles spread threw out the course. The day was sunny and warm but had a bit of strong breeze. The boys did great! I was a little worried Jack wouldn't make it but he did so good. The obstacles were spread just far enough apart that when you saw one it gave a boost to keep going. One slide was super tall; it had a ladder with a rope to help get to the top. I was worried Jack wouldn't make it up but again he did great. He didn't even use the rope, just scurried up the ladder.
On one slide Jacob ran and jump! Well he jumped so high that his bounce was even bigger. I thought he was going to land in the dirt at the end of the slide. Jacob did catch a bad bounce from Uppa on the second to the last slide and hurt his knee but he recovered enough to finish.
We all got t-shirts, medals, banana and water. The boys forgo-ed their bananas for a ice slushie though. We had lots of fun!

Mother's Day 2015

For Mother's Day each of the kids made a nice card and present for me; each different just like the kids. All made at school
Jack made me a sunflower card with his hand print as the flower. He also made me a pinch pot that he painted then glued different kinds of feathers in it. The pinch pot was kinda the equivalent of a homemade ashtray back in the day but still nice.
Amelia made me a nice card. Inside the card it read: I like her because she plays barbies with me. I like it when she makes me oatmeal. Amelia is not too hard to please. She also painted a wooden sunflower which was magnet then glued her picture on it.
Jacob's class had a Mother's Day tea in the afternoon. He served me strawberries and lemonade. The class sung a nice Mother's Day song. He made a place mat that had a picture of me and him on one side and a sheet with statements about me on the other. Highlights of the statement include:
My mom loves... me and herself.
If she could do anything she would... stay home and relax
My mom is good at... going to bed.

The night of Mother's Day we got ice cream at Baskin Robins. Overall a very good Mother's Day,

Jack

This afternoon Jack comes book'in into the house. "I hit Xaiver with a knife."
First question, "Was it a real knife?"
"No"
OK next question; "Is he all right?"
"He's crying."
After getting the story Jack apparently threw a plastic knife that hit Xaiver near the eye. Jack said he said sorry, told Amelia to come with him and then took off. Geez, At least I know when things look rough Jack runs ... and takes his sister.

PS We went back over to apologize. Xaiver was fine and they immediately started playing again.

Jacob (7), Jack (5), Amelia (3)

           

Jacob

Jacob loves video games, I guess it's more correct to say computer games; he loves to play them. At first it was Deer Hunter. I thought it was a cute pastime him and Dada could play together. They were always working together to kill some large animal or upgrade a rifle. Then it turned to Mine craft; which virtually Jacob is obsessed with. He can tell me all the things he builds, what his friends build, or what he wants to build. He even had found some online videos of other peoples worlds that he liked to watch.
Well yesterday he came home to ask if he could get the game, Hill  Climb. His friend Wesley on the bus had it on his device. Jacob asked, in a very non-committal way, "Can I get this app, Hill Climb? I don't know if its 9+. Well maybe it's not too bad even if it is 9 and older." I looked, of course it was 9+ but I think it is for the skill level because I have played it before and there is no violence to it. Actually it emphasizes the laws of physics to win the game. Either way I downloaded it and now Jacob is obsessed with that game. By the time I got downstairs this morning he had already upgraded to two different vehicles and was planning on "buying" the arctic level. Geez

Jack

Jack in kindergarten is horrible about bringing home his homework. Each week he is suppose to have received a Kindergarten News letter that gives me updates about what is happening at school along with some practice sheets to do at home. After about 3 weeks of nothing Jack finally brought some home yesterday. I know I haven't been getting them when at the end of the teacher note it says:
      "The class still needs the following (a list of supplies follows). Thank you to those who kindly donated last week!"

I am not worried about kindergarten homework, who really cares. What I am worried about is Jack's ability to transport papers to and from school. This is a concerning pattern for the years to come; one in which I am gong to have to stay on top of. Somehow in my future I see lots of missing assignments from this child.

Circus

We took the kids to the circus for the first time; they were all very excited! It was a Shriner's circus. Throughout the performance you would think they didn't enjoy it at all. They all sat stalk still, staring with wide eyes and straight mouths. Occasionally Jack would react with a smile but for the most part it was serious observation.
We saw tightrope walkers, acrobats, horses, elephants, motorcycle riders all the typical circus acts. It was long show, 2 hours. The show didn't get over until 9:00 pm; I didn't think Amelia was going to make it but she did.
On the way home I asked what everyone's favorite thing was.
Jacob: the first dance number (the whole circus staff did a Carnival dance number)
Jack: the motorcycles in the Cage of Death and a Spider-man acrobat
Amelia: the motorcycles

All of them asked on the way home if we could go again, so even though there was not much external response apparently they enjoyed themselves. :)

The Backyard Camp-out

The kids asked if they could have a camp-out in the backyard. I thought well sure why not. Xaiver even came over to join the fun. What Dada and I figured was that they would either get scared or cold and come in the house some time in the night.
They all started in the tent just fine, being loud and wild like kids do. Jacob told a scary story about a man with yellow eyes that killed kids in the neighborhood. That scared Xaiver so much he started crying. Alex had to come get him because he was so upset, so it was just the three of them.
After that the three of them kept playing with the the lantern and flashlight having a good time. Pretty soon everything went quiet. Dada thought that was suspicious. I thought they probably just went to sleep, it was 9:30 at night. Dada decided to go check it out. He wasn't out there more then 2 minutes when he yells, "Their gone!" I was like what? Are you sure? He says back, "I'm in the tent!"
Oh geez here we go! Where did they go? Of course we called their names a couple of times but they didn't come. Dada was getting kinda panicky at this poing. We split up: he went towards the Partidas; I went toward's Mrs. Stephanie's. As I was coming round Mrs. Stephanie's back deck I see them all sneaking around William's house: Jacob, Jack and then Amelia. I yelled "You three get in the kitchen! You are in so much trouble! You're all getting spankings!" All three of them run in the house giggling out of control, having a good'old time.
By the time I got there Dada was already there reading them the riot act. Of course none of them got spankings but after their feet were washed off they were sent to bed. No more camp-outs for while.
I explained to them the next day that they are not old enough to go roaming the neighborhood at night. Of course Jacob asked when they were going to be old enough. I told him 13, let's see if he will remember that!

Easter 2015

Easter was the usual excitement around here this year. We told the kids they had to stay in bed until 6:00 am. Jacob said he woke up at five, snuck down to look at this basket and then waited in his bed till six. I think right at 6:01 the boys were tromping down the stairs to see what was in their baskets. The biggest hits the Easter bunny brought was Pokemon cards. The boys were super excited about the different cards they got. Amelia got up a while later. She was excited to see all the candy.
At church they got a ton more candy at the egg hunt there. Afterward we all had a relaxing afternoon at home.

Spring break plans

We told the kids they get to spend some time over on the Westside for their spring break. I went over the details of who and where they will be staying, then ended it with I'll pick you up and bring you home.
I look over and Jacob has double thumbs down. I asked, "double thumbs down? Don't you want to go?" He said, "Yes, the thumbs down is you picking us up."
I said, "What about Easter and all your candy? You want that don't you?" Jacob looked perplexed for a moment and then Jack, over his shoulder as he walked out of the room, said,"You can just mail it to us."

Weinermobile

Jack, Amelia and I made the front page of the Tri-City Herald the other morning standing in front of the Weinermobile. It was happen chance that we drove by it while running some errands that day. I decided to pull in real quick because heck you don't see the Weinermoblile that often. The kids got to look inside it and each got a little Oscar Meyer Weinermobile whistle.
The next morning Myrna and Justin called first thing to tell us our picture was in the paper. The kids didn't really think anything of it really but it's still a fun little picture and blurb.

Amelia

Amelia is now a confident bike rider. She still needs to work on starting and stopping but she can ride, ride, ride. Last night she rode all the way around the loop. What a gal!

Jack

I call home today:

answer: Hello
me: Hello?
Jack: Hi Mom! It's Jack
me: Oh hi Jack. What ya doing?
Jack: Watching the sink holes show.
me: Oh how is it?
Jack: Good. Do not move to Florida!
me: Florida huh.. is that were all the sink holes are at?
Jack: Ya
me: Can I talk to Dad?
Jack: He's outside cleaning the freezer.
me: Oh
(I hear Jack walk to the garage)
Jack: Daaad! Mom's on the phone. Bye Mom.

Although this seems like a normal conversation it is not to me. This is my guy Jack! Jack who is suppose to a little guy. He is now answering the telephone like a kid, when did this happen? I honestly didn't even recognize the voice that answered the telephone.
I hope in the future near and far Jack talks with me on the phone.

Jacob

For a while I had to ban the ipad in the morning because the kids were getting up super early to play it. They could play the ipad after they ate breakfast, brush teeth and got dressed. Usually there wasn't much time before the bus came to pick them up.
Well Jacob has solved that problem for himself.  The last couple of mornings he has gotten early made himself toast for breakfast, got dress and brushed his teeth. By the time I come downstairs he is on the ipad, ready to go for the day. I am pretty impressed that he will do all those things to play the ipad but it does show that he understands that he must do his work before he can play. I hope that trait continues on into his adult life.

UPDATE:
Jacob has now taken to getting breakfast for Jack and Amelia if they want him to. This morning I can down the the kids eating breakfast cookies and drinking milk. Amelia even had a straw in her up.

Amelia

Amelia rides her pedal bike just fine. She has been able to ride it for a while now. The trouble is getting her pedal, she just isn't motivated. Today I told her she could have candy if she pedaled all the way down the road. Of course she made it all the way home, not even stopping when she ran over Jack's foot. Oh motivation.

Amelia

Amelia almost always climbs into bed with us in the middle of the night. I cannot think of a night in the recent weeks that I haven't woken up to see her in between us.
She sleeps very close to Dan, using the same pillow as him. Of course she sleeps so peacefully.
She also sleeps hot too!  She sleeps between us with not on stitch of blanket on.

Jack

Jack is having trouble at school with some boy. He said the boy is not nice to him and bullies him. We have encouraged Jack to talk with his teacher about it and if that doesn't work I could talk with his teacher.
Today after school Jack was saying how the kid was bothering him again but he said, "I can out run him. Roy is big so he can't run for long."
So I guess the problem is solved for right now. Jack can out run 'em.

Packwood Presidents Day 2015

We went to Packwood this weekend to meet the family at Jeff's house. He is so generous too share his place with us. This week there was no snow and lots of sunshine so we all enjoyed the outdoors. Saturday we all went hiking; we took off towards Packwood Lake. All of the kids did super. Amelia walked a good long way but turned around with Burton sooner then the other kids. Jack, Jacob and Maysen hiked on, I think, we may have hiked around 3.5 miles which is a lot for a kid.
Another highlight of the trip, besides the hot tub was the skeleton of a dead dog Jacob and Uppa found. We ended up taking some teeth, the skull and spine home with us.

I asked each of the kids what their favorite part was.
Jacob: Spending time with Umma and Uppa.
Jack: the hot tub
Amelia: Uppa's new truck, seeing Umma and Uppa

Amelia

Amelia is 3 1/2 now. She just now has her first fever.
Last night in the middle of the night she woke up just boiling; Dada didn't even know what was happening he was so worried. I gave her some medicine and went back to bed. Dada stayed by her tucking her in and patting her. After a bit of that though Amelia opened her eyes and said, "You can go now Dad."
I am sure she will be better soon.

Jack

Jack got his remote to the remote control helicopter in the mail the other day. I heard him in the front room driving it up and down. He kept telling himself and Amelia, "I'm a natural!" He is very excited to have his own helicopter just like Dad and Jacob.

Jacob

Today at the movies we were waiting for Myrna and Xavier. The kids were pretending to play video games for a while when the enviable "Do you have any money" question came up. After I checked my purse to find I had enough money for only 2 kids I said, "Sorry everyone plays or no one plays." The boys immediately start brainstorming ways to get to play a game. After several solutions that didn't quite work Jacob says, "It's ok the other two can play. I can pretend to play this game." Boy my heart just swelled with pride and joy after he said that. He is the sweetest boy ever! I don't think Amelia and Jack will ever appreciate how great a brother they have.

PS No one played a game

Seahawks 2015

Sunday the Seahawks won some football game to go to the super bowl. It was one of those games people have to share where they were during the game. I thought I would record where we were.

 

We all were watching the game at home. Dada had already paced around the house, turned off the TV and back on because he couldn't bear not to watch it. Jacob, Jack and Amelia came in the living room as things started to turn around in the game. Dada and the kids was huddled on the ottoman and floor, a ball of anxiety. Once they won Dada was up shouting and of course the kids followed along high-fiving.

We watched for a while after the game when they showed Russell Wilson and several other Seahawk players praying on the field. I said "Look they are praying! That is so great they are doing that." Dada told the kids, especially Jacob sitting next to him, "That's what a real man does." The next TV shot showed Russell Wilson over whelmed with emotion crying after we heard what he had to say, Dada looked down at Jacob to see him wiping tears from his eyes. Dada said, "You crying a bit buddy," and then he gave him a hug. I could see Dada so proud that his little guy was shedding a tear over the Hawks; a great bonding moment for the two of them.

Once the game coverage was over we took a family walk to walk off the tension of the game. After the kids and Dada played football in the backyard.

Jack

Jack like to listen to music while he goes to sleep, not unusual. The unusual thing is that he likes to listen to the same song over and over and over again. He listens to the "Super Hero" song on his personal CD I got for him a year or so ago. The song goes through all the super powers you could have and says his name. It isn't too bad as long as he keeps the volume down but usually he tries to turn it up loud so we can hear it downstairs. Geez let me tell you how much I don't like hearing that song 10 times in a row.

Amelia

Its a little late but I wanted to blog about Amelia's preschool Christmas program. She was so darling up there standing so nicely. She didn't sing a lot of the words but did most of the motions.  She was very serious. She wanted to do a good job. She would look down to make sure she was still standing on her piece of tape. By the end of the performance she was yawning a lot, it was close to bedtime, but she perked for the cake afterwards.

Amelia

Amelia has been talking a lot about weddings lately. She draws pictures of her getting married. The other day she said she was going to play getting married. I asked her who she was going to marry. She didn't have an answer for me so I said your boyfriend. Her response, "Oh yes, a boy that is my friend."
She asked me today what I wore for my wedding. I told her a cream colored wedding dress. She insisted I describe it to her but I told her I would just show it to her when we got home. She asked what my shoes looked like and was very upset to find out I didn't have them anymore. She kept asking what else what else. After telling her about a hair comb and veil I couldn't think of anymore. I don't know where this came from but it seems she has already starting planning her wedding.