a few things

Just a few thoughts:

* Tonight at dinner I told John that he gets to start speech therapy at the elementary school down the road. He will start going twice a week and he was genuinely excited. I decided to give it to him straight and I told him that it was speech therapy and that the therapist would work with him on his words and language. He said, "can I go in the morning?" with a smile--so I think he's looking forward to being back in the school setting.

* What I didn't anticipate with that exchange is that Havilah would feel left out. She wanted to go too, poor thing, but of course that can't happen. She looked into her bowl of food and started to cry to herself very softly. Then when I asked her what she was feeling, she tried to hide that she was crying. Sometimes I have to remind myself that she just turned three: her emotions and social awareness are so keen, more than I expect for someone who is so tiny.

* I took the older two to the doctor today for check ups. I promised "no shots!" but we left the doctor's office with no less than one urine analysis, two TB tests (which are shots), three vaccinations, two flu shots, and two orders for blood draws later this week. Oops...I hope they forgive me sometime this month.

* Fall is coming to the desert! It's still a million degrees during the day but I can OPEN MY WINDOWS in the mornings and take un-scorching walks after sunset!! I'm a little excited.

* Mimi and Papa are coming for a visit in one short month! Hooray for grandparent time!

* I've been working through this Bible study with a friend and finding it challenging and encouraging at the same time.

* David is full on walking and I swear that baby will start talking next week. He never stops jabbering! I guess he has to get with the program or get run over! (-:

~E

John is 5!

John is five years old...how is that possible? Weren't we just living in Floyd Light Apartments (loved that apartment...such sweet memories) with little chubby John learning to crawl around? No? Maybe he's zooming up and down the sloped sidewalks on his Razor (muttering "Whoah, that's awesome. Yeah, that's amazing" to himself), growing taller every day, and sometimes giving me a glimpse of what he'll be like at fifteen. And when I'm blogging about his fifteenth birthday...that will be the day.

Here's a story that illustrates a paradox with John: last week, we went to the doctor's office for Billy and the office is next door to the hospital. It was raining that afternoon and we had to park at the far end of the parking lot. John was thrilled to see that an elderly gentleman was driving a little shuttle cart around, taking folks to the front door. John said, "Mom, can I ask him for a ride?" I said yes so he ran toward the man yelling, "Can we get on? Can we ride?" The man was good humored and we climbed on for a ride. John commented on everything: the rain, the ride, the hospital.... Finally, the man asked John, "Are you a chatterbox?" to which John said "no" (and probably thought "a whatbox?"). The elderly man grinned and said "could have fooled me!"

My boy was accused of being a chatterbox! His speech disorder is still present, it's still obvious to anyone who talks to him for more than three minutes...but he's beating it. That kid loves to talk! He and Hava chatter all day. And though our mother/son conversations are limited by his vocabulary, we are starting to be able to talk together about his thoughts and ideas.

John loves to be active, spend time with his dad, cuddle, hear stories, ride his Razor and new bicycle, play with his siblings, help me cook, and go to library story time. And yes, Jenny is still loved. What a sweet (big!) boy!

Havilah is 3!

My darling baby girl is three years old! Wow...and three years old is such a fun age. She talks all the time--about everything--and keeps us (meaning Billy and I) quite entertained. Some of my favorite lines:

"John is almost five and then he'll be a handful."

"Can I go look in the mirror at my curls?"

"I'm not going to ever, ever do that again" (in reference to some injury...)

"Jesus made the people" (she says this several times a day, always out of the blue)

Havilah is potty trained (praise God!), loves (loves!) to play with John all day, is enthusiastic about food, is quite attached to her baby dolls, loves to hear stories, and oh my, oh my that girl can scream...sometimes out of happiness but usually out of frustration or anger. I must admit, I will not miss the screaming part of this age.

The crazy thing about the three year birthday is that it marks the end of the "crucial first three years." At three, 80 percent of "critical brain development" is complete. The foundation for her life has been completely laid and is now ready for her (and us) to build the house of her childhood and adulthood on. It's a scary concept, really, because it feels like a door has closed forever. And yet, it's exciting to be moving into a new stage of her life.

Havilah is a ray of sunshine in our home. She has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger and is definitely a mama's girl. One of my favorite things about Hava is that she is very enthusiastic about everything. I love that girl!

birthday boy

David Samuel is one!

He loved his birthday carrot cake! But he was not impressed with the ice cream; he threw it off his tray...weird baby.

He was methodical with his presents, slowly ripping off the paper and handing me each little piece.

And look who's beginning to walk!

Happy birthday D!

D

Here's a little video of David. It's classic D: throwing whatever he gets his hands on, laughing, babbling, and getting mauled by his brother.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

That's Havilah's voice in the background, informing me that "butt and buddy are the same word." Then, because she's not supposed to say butt, she uses the proper term many times ("buttocks. buttocks. buttocks.") Thanks Hava--what a sweet addition to our video.

This baby will be one in just a few weeks...I'm savoring his last moments of babyhood (our last family moments of babyhood) but am also looking forward to David being able to run and play with his siblings. Good thing my friends are having babies now (congratulations Stephanie and Steve!!!) or I would be sad to see this stage leaving. Dear sweet David, for as long as you'll let me, I will baby you and kiss your sweet fat cheeks!

sugar, sugar

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A couple days ago we had a snow flurry here in the Valley of the Sun, which resulted in me mopping my floor (twice!) and baths for two adorable--and sticky--children.

I was innocently cleaning out the pantry, and Havilah spilled powdered sugar as she was carrying it to the trash. The rest, as they say, is history.

**please excuse the sideways video at the beginning. I did not initially realize the camera was set to video.**

Graduation!

Goodbye cubby...

Goodbye name tag:

Goodbye bus...

Goodbye Ms. Kim...

Goodbye Ms. Nancy...

Goodbye Ms. Martin...

That's right--the end of school arrived a few weeks ago and we are still sad to see it go. But we were blessed to end the school year with a bang. First, the preschool graduation ceremony.

Look who came to watch the festivities--Jenny!

(Yes, Jenny is wearing an outfit. I cut up one of Hava's old onesies and sewed it into a little outfit for The Beloved. Next, Jenny got a quilt.... Either I have a sewing problem or John is seriously addicted to that monkey--or both!)

My aunt Elise and cousin Kelson came to watch too.

Four preschool classes graduated at the same time. All fifty or so kids walked into and around the cafeteria dancing to the chicken dance. Hilarious!

John with his "diploma":

On the last day of school (a week after the promotion), all the preschool families were invited for an ice cream sundae party, complete with a slideshow of pictures from the last two years. We were the only family members that came so we had the party to ourselves. It was such a nice way to say goodbye to the people and experience that were such a huge part of our lives. (This is Ms. Jenny holding David below:)

Ms. Nancy put on her sunglasses and pulled out her kleenex when it was time for the final goodbyes. We were all a little choked up, really.

Although we gave the teachers thank-you gifts and told them how much they have meant to all of us--and especially John--I don't think we can ever fully appreciate or communicate our gratitude for all the love, energy, and attention they poured into our John. We sure will miss preschool!