Awesome H

Mom told me a story this week from our Christmas visit to G'ville that so clearly describes H and L's relationship. She really adores him and thinks he is quite amazing. Ok- the story. Mom was sitting with L in the bathroom waiting for L to "go." Sometimes it takes a minute and I'm sure L was enjoying just sitting with her Mopsey. So in runs H. Doing his waiting-too-long dance. He barely makes it in time. And upon finishing races back out to go play while L is still sitting. L watches him leave and proclaims out loud with great awe and wonder, "Awesome H."

More that one way to...

H and I made some pizza for lunch the other day. I was so tickled to see how he choose to eat it.

This is the favorite plate in the house. I have to speak with great authority and believablity when I say, "oh, its H's turn, Ek used it last" or vice versa because much wailing will result if I do not. I guess, though, that there is more than one way to eat pizza-- this is a first I've seen of this method.

A picture says a 1000 words

Need I say more about the love these two have for each other. I almost didn't ask J to take a picture because he had just walked in and was quite tired from the day, but I think that shows even more how pleased he was with Ek's portrait of him that she had labored on all afternoon.

Siblings

Sunday afternoon, I needed a bit of rest. J was off seeing a patient he had operated on the night before, so I laid L down, read to H and Ek and told them they needed to play quietly in their rooms for a bit while I rested. They played a long time in their rooms and I didn't hear much of a peep in the monitor. Then L woke up and climbed out of her bed (I now keep the side rail down so she can, I didn't think it was quite fair to have a potty trained toddler stuck in her bed, so now she can safely climb out when she wakes up so she can "go."). I could hear most all of what they were saying and unfortunately, they were not talking very nice (details are not important), so Ek and H were sent to their rooms for an hour by themselves for the first time in their lives. After an hour I went to talk to Ek about the responsibility and privilege of being "first" and oldest in our family. I asked her what she thought was the biggest benefit of being oldest. She said with a bit of hesitation that "sometimes I get the first piece of cake?" Ok. I reminded her that she was the first to go to school, the first to take dance, and the first to turn 6. She will also be the first to turn 16 one day and be the first to drive. But I told her with that comes the big responsibility of helping her brother and sister learn to talk and act. She had just joined in their talk instead of encouraging them to stop. And we needed her to help them make great choices. She came downstairs a new girl. She wanted to help and took our conversation so seriously. She and L went to work and unloaded the entire dishwasher. Now that was not what I was looking for in the conversation but I didn't object. And I loved how she was talking to L, she was saying things like, "No L, that fork doesn't go there, see the size of these, the smaller one goes here." It was so adorable and so sweet. It was so fun to see her teaching her little sister. Meanwhile J had a big talk with H about being the only boy and what responsibilities come along with that, he has been so great with his sisters too. He and L will play and play and laugh and laugh. I just hope they that they can be close and playful and helpful and encouraging to each other.

Shock

I have a moment I would like to remember. This is a moment of mine that I would like to keep and remind my self of one day. It was not an easy moment to come to! J said the other day that Saturday, I made him a perfect cup of coffee!!! Now I have made him many a cup of coffee and many times he heads back over to the creamer or sugar, quietly, and makes adjustments. He has even been known to not drink it at all after the first sip. So for him to say I had made a perfect cup, was, well, close to miracle. He even looked a bit shocked as he said it. I know my expression was pure shock. Ok so here is what happened. He went on a bike ride with Mike. It has been so cold. Like highs barely making 30s. Mike called to ask if he wanted to ride and I was thinking J would say no. Even J was thinking he could say no. But after talking to Mike and telling him no, J changed his mind. He put on every piece of exercise clothes he owns. Well maybe not every, but close, he was a grey marshmallow. They said they would ride an hour. After an hour and a half, I thought, J is going to be cold. It was close to dark, so I knew they would pull in any minute. So I put on a pot of coffee and found the heating pad. I turned the heating pad on high and put it on the couch for him to sit on when he got in. As soon as he walked in, I fixed him coffee, he wrapped his feet up in the heating pad and held the coffee cup in his bright red cold hands. He had a bit of a stare in his eyes, he was cccooollldddd. He didn't say it at the time, but the next day, he said it was the best cup of coffee he had ever had. He quickly went on to say, it wasn't just the coffee, but it was the arrangement. In other words, the creamer/sugar/coffee strength wasn't perfect, but the timing made up for it. Hey, I'll take it. And keep it forever.

"Hide and Seek"

My kids are needing a bit of help in their play of Hide and Seek. And I guess I'm the one who needs to get them where they need to be. #1 Poor Ek. Last night when they were playing I teamed the girls up against the boy. I was really hoping they could find spots made for 2 and Ek could keep L quiet. No such luck. When H would come near, L would pop out with her toothy grin ready to show where they were. Ek did not enjoy that too much. So note to self, help L understand the concept of being found. #2 H needs a bit help learning to stay quiet. H was hiding in the bathroom the other day from L. L comes running into the bathroom, "Daddy, where's H?" Just as J was opening up his mouth to say, "I don't see H," H blurts out, "Daddy Don't tell her I'm in here!" No, note to self, Help H understand he needs to be quiet! #3 L is still coming along in her counting. I remember when Ek was learning to count, she had a thing against "one." He counting for the longest time was "2, 2, 3, 4..." L has a thing against 3. She counts "1, 2, 5, 8!" So note to self, help L with her counting so the others have a few more seconds to hide. They need it.

On a side note, L is feeding me cereal and raisins by the morsel as I type. Sweet thing.

Sat. night

Saturday night we had our dear friend Ronda over for dinner and to watch the Iron Man. Our dear neighbors came over as well to share in the elation and heartbreak of that crazy race. It really was quite amazing to watch those people, some super athletes and some regular people, pushing themselves along toward a goal. They said several people had been couch potatoes 2 years earlier and not able to walk several years earlier. That is some crazy determination, but encouragement that these bodies God has given us can be trained and conditioned. I'm not really seeing myself ever going that far, but I will root for those who do, I may even have one from my own home cross a iron man finish line one day! We will see.

The kids were quite entertaining. Little L was her usual fit-in-with-the-big-kids self. They were serving us dinner when she came walking in with Cinderella High heals like she wasn't adorably cute. When we asked her to show them to us, she pointed that toe like she had professional shoe modeling experience. She came in several minutes later pushing her hair back to reveal her new stick on earrings, "Look mommy, I have earrings." B then dressed her in a hot pink gown, matching shoes, a strand of pearls, and a fuzzy hairband. So silly! And so fun! She was so pleased with her little self. She kids served us so much food, we couldn't bear to eat it all, H served most of it as a puppy. HH joined us at some point and watched the rest of the race. It was a nice, fun evening with really fun friends and playful kids.