Happy Birthday Kaleb!

Well, my baby is one, and I'm kind of sad. I love the baby phase. Knowing it's the last baby phase I'll experience with my own kids makes it sadder yet. It's fun, though, to see his personality emerge. And I'll be glad not to carry the lug, once he starts walking.


I would say that "busy" and "curious" are the best two words to describe my little boy. He likes to unload the dishwasher (onto the floor), empty drawers to see whats in them, and push buttons to see what they'll do. But here are a few other things that makes Kaleb, Kaleb:


He loves his bed! I was once asked how I taught my children to sleep anywhere. I figured it happened because I just do what needs to be done, and when nap time comes, I put them down wherever we are. Well, that doesn't fly with Kaleb. He will sleep in your arms (maybe), in the car seat, or in his crib.


He loves music. While pregnant, I would feel thumping during upbeat music. As an infant, he would kick his legs in unison to music. Now, he does squats. I wonder how that will translate into dance moves as he gets older?


He loves dirt. We just put in a huge amount of concrete in the backyard, and what does he do? Head straight for the dirt--as fast as he can. When I'm sweeping, he chases me, trying to play in the dust pile that is forming. Needless to say, I try to sweep when he's not in the room.


For the most part Kaleb's an easy going kid, but he doesn't like to be roughed up. Last week, Brenna was hugging him with great enthusiasm. He complained and pushed at her, but she wouldn't let go. So, he leaned forward casually and bit her on the shoulder...hard. I found myself holding Kaleb in one arm and Brenna in the other. As Brenna cried I explained he didn't mean to hurt her, and didn't know it was wrong. But when I looked at Kaleb, I saw knowledge in those little eyes. He knew what he had done and he was happy about it.

Easter

Our Easter began Saturday afternoon with a church picnic. The kids missed out on the egg hunt, but they go to see the Easter Bunny, and we all ate a good meal. Larissa was so adorable following the bunny EVERYWHERE. She even tried following the bunny into the restroom, but had to content herself with waiting outside. The bunny DID push her on the swing though. What a nice bunny!

On Sunday, as we were getting ready for church, I asked the girls, "Why do we celebrate Easter?" I wanted to make sure they knew it wasn't all about the easter bunny. Brenna excitedly answered, "I know! I know! We are celebrating the beginning of spring!" At least she didn't say the Easter Bunny. We had a mini discussion on the true meaning of Easter and headed off to church.

As soon as church was over, I took the kids up to Grandma Sharla and Grandpa Johns house for lunch and an egg hunt. We ate yummy leg of lamb, potatoes and all kinds of fixings. Then we brought the kids home, where Tori was hosting the McCormick Easter gathering. There was more food, chatting, and of course, another easter egg hunt. It was a busy day that ended with a sweet chat with Kaitlyn about Jesus. I'm glad she realizes the meaning of the holiday.

Summer Plans

Last week Kaitlyn brought home a note informing me that she has been recommended for summer school. My reaction was mixed feelings of sadness and relief. I was sad that, with as hard as she works, she still needs extra help, but I also felt relief that she is far enough behind to get help. It wasn't that way last year.

Kaitlyn went through a battery of tests last year with the schools speech therapist. As the therapist was reviewing the results with me, she kept saying, "Kaitlyn scored a 12 (or a 20, 17, etc). That's great!" I found myself becoming more and more irritated, and finally stated my own opinion. "That's not great. The average score for this test is in the 60's." "Well," she explained, "in order to qualify for help, she would have to score a 10 or less." So frustrating! She was literally missing out on help by a few points, when there was such a huge difference between where she was, and where she should be.

So, if there's room, she's off to summer school. She excited to go, and I'm thrilled that she likes school.

A Blogger's Life for Me

I make no secret about spying on other people's blogs--especially crafty blogs. I find myself clicking on a link here, a link there, and I find some really fun things. Today I saw a necklace I liked on etsy. I went to the ladies blog, and guess what? There's a contest. You can check it out at The Pretty Peacock, and Feels Like Home.

Road Trip

Oh what do you do on a road trip
to make the miles fly?
Do you count the road kill
as you're driving by
or watch the temperature change?
Is that what you do?
So do I.

As we were driving home from our latest trip, I was amazed at what could keep our interest. For hours we tracked the temperature/weather changes with elevation, and somewhere north of Tremonton, UT, there was a stretch of road labeled as a "deer migration area". It really must have been, because we passed, and found ourselves counting, many deer who had met a sad fate. Other than that, I'm sure we did the usual -- sleeping, reading, listening to music, etc.

As we began our trip, I didn't have high hopes for good attitudes during our pending 30 (trip total) hours of driving. About 30 minutes into our drive, as we entered Victorville, Kaitlyn asked, "Are we almost there?" Frank and I laughed and explained how long we'd be in the car. I was sure that was just the beginning of questions, complaints and whining. BUT, I was wrong. The kids behaved amazingly well, and were surprisingly interested in the scenery and weather, on occasion. It wasn't until we'd been in the car for well over 10 hours that Larissa started crying, and asking to go home. Kaleb began crying about the same time. Luckily, everyone fell asleep before long, and we were able to arrive in Boise, ID in peace.

We hung out with Laura's brother, Steve and his family for several days, playing games, shopping (good prices), and being entertained by their dogs. Kaitlyn was afraid of the dogs and, at first, refused to eat if they were in the house. Eventually, hunger or something else proved more compelling than fear. The kids loved going to Cabella's (the sporting goods store), and seeing the, um... "frozen" animals. Kaitlyn and Brenna got coon skin caps as their souveniers of our visit to Idaho.

scarey, eh?

On Thursday, we stopped to see Shoshone Falls, on our way to Salt Lake City. Brenna, who adamantly refused her jacket, found herself freezing (to be expected in snowy weather).


In SLC, we toured the local sites. Brenna insisted on wearing her coon skin cap. I was surprised by the number of comments we heard, and inquiries we received about where to buy one.

Of course we had to take a picture in front of the temple. How could we not? The platform built for photo ops was screaming at me "This is the place."

While Camila and I attended the Saturday afternoon session of conference, Frank and the kids visited with Ed(a friend) and his family. Camila and I were walking across the temple grounds when suddenly she says, "I know her." It was a neighbor from Brazil. I had to laugh. Camila finds people she knows or at least portugese speaking people, everywhere we go. In Idaho, she had visited with a friend from Brazil, and when we went to a Relief Society activity at my sister-in-laws church, she found a lady to speak portugese with.

Afterward, Laura met up with her friend, Stephanie, for a short visit, before the family headed for home.

Not wanting to stay at a hotel for one more night, we drove straight home. We arrived shortly after 2am. Since the kids had been asleep since early evening, they were wide awake, and enthusiastic about their surprise.

While we've been vacationing the last couple weeks, workers have been in our backyard, putting up a retaining wall, patio, and concrete path (for biking). It was all done by the time we got home and the girls were thrilled to see it. Since we've been home, the girls have spents many hours out back. I love it! I don't have to be out front watching them ride the sidewalks. I can be inside and easily see them from our kitchen or office windows.