Progress and Pulling Up and Fat Baby Feet

UPDATE, Saturday, May 2- Just a few days ago, my sweet Ash began pulling up to stand (as I wrote in my original post below). Since then, in just a few days time, he has continued to make delightful progress! He now stands easily and can pull up to just about anything. What’s more, he’s also figured out how to get back down out of a standing position. And he’s starting to actually crawl on his hands and knees for the first time, instead of dragging himself forward with his arms. And he’s cruising just a bit too- slowly and with great effort, but he’s definitely starting to cruise. In fact, Asher left enormous slobber marks all along the edge of my couch cushions this morning, a little “slug trail” of tell-tale evidence that this boy can cruise!

Original Post- Recently, nine-month-old Ash began pulling up to his knees. I noticed immediately that he wouldn’t use his legs at all, he would just pull himself up using only the strength of his upper body. This worried me because he has never used his legs much at all. He doesn’t use his legs to crawl, but simply drags himself forward with his arms. And he doesn’t stand on his legs when I hold him upright. He seems quite unaware of his legs actually and acts as if he has no control over them. This has concerned me for several reasons, and has been a nagging worry always in the back of my mind.

But today Asher surprised me and delighted me and filled me with hope! My amazing little boy pulled himself up to his knees at our coffee table and then HE STOOD UP on his own two feet as if it was the easiest thing in the world. I was amazed! And then he did it again a few minutes later- he pulled up to his knees at the couch and then stood up easily. And he did it again. And again. I could literally feel my worries washing away as I watched my sweet son use his legs so easily and so well!

And, of course, such a beautiful, reassuring milestone deserved multiple pictures to document it! I snapped pictures of Asher’s slobbery little hands clutching our coffee table and his fat little feet, planted firmly on our rug. I captured his winning smile and his dimple and his two new teeth and even his nose, which is constantly snotty these days.

  

              

 

It’s things like this, like watching my baby stand when I worried that he couldn’t, that seem like little miracles to me. And I truly love it when my worries turn out to be unfounded! I couldn’t be prouder of my little boy today, finally standing on his own two feet! Bravo, little Ash!

Last Year’s Carrots

Joshua has been in a gardening mood today. As soon as daily chores were done, he was in the backyard digging around in the dirt. Then he dug up a patch of my lawn and planted a dried pinto bean he had found in the pantry. Our backyard grass isn’t the healthiest and the last thing it needs is big bean holes dug in it. Still, I had to chuckle as I watched my darling boy while he planted his “bean tree.” I complimented him on his hard work and asked him to please dig in the garden instead of the grass. Josh grinned and obliged.

An hour later Joshua found me where I was working on our new job chart. He carried a large bowl filled with carrots from the garden. Carrots keep in the ground for many months, but I was still surprised to see so many. Apparently in the craziness of a c-section recovery and a sweet, newborn baby and a brand-new homeschool schedule, our fall garden harvest was not as thorough as I thought it was.

So now we have 20-something carrots on our kitchen table. Joshua is eagerly washing them clean and slicing them carefully with a butterknife and preparing an afternoon snack for all the kids. And he’s singing cheerfully while he works.

Moving Up

Joshua has been in gymnastics for a little over a month, I think. His coach recently told me that he was ready to try out for Boys Level 2, and that he had been ready for quite some time… which, I can only assume, means that he’d been ready for few weeks that he’d already attended class. Try outs are May 12 and, if Josh passed, he would join Level 2 in June.

Today Joshy had two new coaches. They were substituting for his regular coach, but usually they help coach the boys competition team. I watched during practice and could tell they were impressed with Joshua. I could also tell that they began to watch him more closely, as if they were curious just how much he could do. He’s the youngest and smallest boy in his group by far, but his strength, agility, and coordination far surpass the rest of the boys. It’s extremely noticeable during practice.

After class, the coaches kept Joshy back when they let the rest of the boys go. I heard them ask Josh to take them to his mom. When they found me waiting just outside the gym, the coach said- and I quote- “Are you Josh’s mom? He is amazing. He’s really, really good.” He went on and on about how incredibly strong Josh is and how he was easily able to do every skill without any obvious effort. I could tell by the way he talked that he truly was amazed, and it made me feel so proud of my Joshy.

Josh is so good, in fact, that these coaches want him to join Level 2 immediately. He doesn’t even need to try out! Moving to the next level without a try out is very unusual! But these two coaches, as well as two others that had coached other groups during practice but had kept curious eyes on Josh, all agree that he’s ready. So next week, my studly little wrestler/gymnast will move into the Boys Level 2 gymnastics group.

I Want a Belly

I want a belly, a big, round, pregnant belly. Last year at this time, I was in my third trimester and my tummy was just starting grow, visible proof of my baby-on-the-way. I loved it!

I am not very far along now… 3 months or maybe a little more because I’m not completely sure of my dates. If past pregnancies are any indicator, it will be 4 or 5 more months before my belly really starts to show. I can hardly wait! I am so excited to have a big, round belly. I’m excited to run my hand along the curve of a round belly, I’m excited to wear maternity clothes (even though Rick just bought me lots of cute new clothes in my regular size) and I’m even excited to waddle a bit when I walk. I seriously just can’t wait to look pregnant!!

Braden’s Imagination

Braden has quite the imagination. He is always morphing into some new creature. He loves to be a bear, a puppy, a baby, or a scary guy, and once he’s transformed into one of these things, he completely refuses to break character.

Braden frequently turns into a little robot. He pushes his self-proclaimed On button (his nose) and then he marches robotically forward, swinging his tiny arms and making mechanical noises. It is quite hilarious.

Recently, Braden was a puppy during lunch. “Woof, woof- this is yummy- woof,” he barked. Then he swallowed some food wrong and began to cough. After coughing a few times, he instructed me, “Mommy, say, are you alright puppy?”

I obliged and Braden happily barked back his response.

Another Missing Tooth

Brenna has had a tooth that’s been loose- a front, top tooth. Brenna hates pain and has a very low pain tolerance so the three  bottom teeth that she’s lost so far each got more and more loose, started to turn grey, and then finally fell out thanks to the weight of gravity. This top tooth was no different. It was hanging loose and crooked in her mouth, and made her look like a cute little hillbilly. What Brenna lacks in pain tolerance, she makes up for in impatience. She just can’t stand to wait for anything and she really wanted her tooth out. Plus, it was so loose that it was making it hard for her to eat. We urged her to pull it herself or to let Daddy give it a tug. She finally agreed.

Just as a side note, Joshua’s tooth-pulling behavior is exactly the opposite. He wiggles teeth that aren’t really loose yet and he rips them out of his mouth himself before they are really ready. I always chuckle when I see these stark differences between my “irish twins.”

Armed with my camera, I took pictures of the entire process. Rick dried the tooth, and pulled on it. Brenna’s tooth popped out into his hand. She insisted that it hurt and held a rag to the bloody hole in her mouth. But she felt better once she saw the big, gaping hole in her smile.

I found myself saddened by this big milestone. Loosing bottom teeth doesn’t effect a child’s smile quite the same way that losing top teeth does. Brenna is darling with her gap-toothed grin, but I know that her sweet smile will never be the same again. A big, adult tooth is surely on the way, and as a sentimental mommy I am just not ready for my first-born to look so grown up.

Six-Year-Old Scripture Study

Our little Joshua got up at 7am today and read his scriptures for nearly one hour. He loves to read the scriptures and he has personal scripture study very frequently. But reading for 50 minutes seems extra impressive, especially for a just turned six-year-old boy. Even I don’t read my scriptures for that long every day!

How does it feel to be a State Champion?

Why don’t you ask Joshua? He knows!

Joshua took First Place at the Greco-Roman Wrestling State Championships, along with the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award for his entire age division, and Third Place at the Freestyle Wrestling State Championships. The #1 and #2 ranked Flyweights are in Joshua’s weight class, making it the toughest Flyweight weight class by far. However, after just a few months of wrestling, our Josh is the #3 ranked Flyweight in the entire state so he was up for the challenge… and he proved it this weekend! Way to go, Joshua!!

Details coming soon!

A Wrestling Trip

This post is a week overdue. Last Saturday, April 18, Joshua had an out-of-state wrestling tournament. We decided to attend. Rick was unable to get Friday night off of work, but his shift lead told him he could leave three hours early.

I got up at 3:00 am, just as Rick got home from work. The car was already packed and I had put the kids to bed in their clothes the night before, so we just scooped everyone out of bed and buckled in them into their carseats and drove four hours to the tournament.

We arrived at 7:00 am. The kids and I staked a claim in the bleachers and ate breakfast while Rick napped in the car. Joshua stretched out and warmed up and found kids his size to practice with. Rick came in just before the tournament kicked off.

Joshua had a great tournament. He pinned most of his opponents easily. There was one tough kid in his bracket though (Josh always seems to get the toughest kids in his bracket!) Josh fought hard against him and the match was pretty close. Josh threw the kid hard at the end, but he wasn’t given the 3 points for the throw because he threw him as the whistle blew. If he could have thrown a second sooner, he would have won the round. It was disappointing to have it so close, but also GREAT to have it so close, especially when we knew how tough this kid was. He actually missed being the next age group up (the 7 and 8 year old group instead of 6 and under) by only 3 days, and the #1 kid in our state was totally creamed by this guy when they met up at a recent tournament. So he was a very tough competitor! We were so proud of our Joshy!

That was Joshua’s only loss so he came away with a neat Silver medal. The center of it spins, which thrilled Josh to no end. He was only a few points away from winning the Champion title, for most points scored during the three legs of this series of tournaments. And he ended up with a massive bruise on his little cheek, which I think he was rather proud of.

Grandma and Grandpa had driven several hours so that they could cheer Josh on at the tournament. It was great to have them with us. I love how involved they are and how special it makes Joshua feel to have them attend his tournaments.

After the tournament, they took us out for a celebratory lunch at Sizzler’s. Tournaments take ALL DAY usually, but this one was over “earlier” than most. Even so, it was late in the afternoon (around 3pm) by the time we got lunch. I’d waited too long to eat and ended up sick as a result. But everyone else had a great time at lunch. Joshua proudly showed off his spinning Silver medal, and devoured his lunch with gusto.

Rick’s parents left after lunch. Rick and I took the kids to Target. Knowing that we’d only be away for one night, I had packed very lightly. Too lightly, as it turned out. Before the tournament even started, Asher has a massive blow-out. Seriously, I told Rick that it was the kind of poop that most babies only dream about making! With two quick grunts, Asher ruined his outfit. I changed him into the clothes that I’d brought for him to wear the next day. So after lunch we stopped at Target and grabbed an extra change of clothes for our little guy, along with a few other things.

And then it was off to the hotel! Of course, we could have driven home that night, but we’d been up since 3:00 am and we’d had a long day. Plus, it is always fun and exciting to stay in a hotel together! We decided that staying in a hotel would be really fun. The kids were thrilled, as if we’d taken them to Disneyland instead of a Comfort Inn.

We did have to switch rooms because the faucet in our tub was broken. Our kids have sensitive skin so I wanted them to have baths after swimming that night. It was a quick, easy switch to a room right next door.

Rick napped again at the hotel. The kids and I watched TV for a few hours. When the kids started to finally get wiggly, we woke Rick up and headed for the pool. The kids were so excited about the pool! When we got there, several families from our wrestling team were already swimming. It was fun to be together.

The kids had a blast playing with their friends. Brenna played with the other little girls, “wrestling sisters” who she had played with at the tournament. The older boys on the team took Josh into their group and played water football with him. Most of the boys were around 9 or 10 so Josh was quite a few years younger. He just beamed as they included him. Josh has really become a favorite of the older boys… because he’s such a rocking little wrestling and such an all around cool kid! Maddie loved the water and swam all over the pool (in her life jacket, of course). Braden, who hated swimming last summer, loved it this time. He had a blast, wasn’t afraid at all, and didn’t want to get out of the pool. And little Asher, cried pitifully in the pool. He was happy to sit on my lap by the side of the pool, but he’d start to whimper as soon as his toes touched the water. So I just enjoyed cuddling him and chatting with our head coach and my fellow wrestling moms. 

We swam for hours and had a great time. Finally, we started getting hungry so we left the pool and returned to our hotel room. We hadn’t realized how long we’d swam, but it was 10:30 pm by the time we got upstairs! We’d eaten such a late lunch that no one was hungry before that time, but by 10:30 everyone was starving. Unfortunately, we weren’t in a very big town and most restaurants were closed by then.

Finally, in desperation we ordered pizza. Now, with Josh and Maddie’s Celiac Disease and with Braden’s milk allergy, pizza does not seem like a logical choice. But we had a plan. The barbecue wings were gluten-free (no breading and we checked the sauce) so we ordered those for our Celiac kids. We also got two large grilled chicken salads for them. And Braden, always easy to please, ate his pizza with no cheese. So everyone ended up full and satisfied.

It was so fun to order all that food (pizza, wings, salads, breadsticks, Sprite, root beer) because we rarely order pizza and we never order that much! It was fun to wait expectantly for our dinner- the kids took a bath and watched Peter Pan while we waited. Then we sat around together on the beds and ate dinner while we finished the movie. Rick read to us from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the chapter book we are currently reading as a family. The kids went to bed very easily and it was so cozy to sleep in the hotel room together. I love the feeling of everyone sleeping in one room.

The next morning we enjoyed the hotel’s complimentary breakfast buffet. Thankfully, there was food our Celiac kids could eat-  fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and so on. We spent a lazy morning in the hotel before we finally packed up our stuff and checked out. The kids were so disappointed when it was time to leave. Maddie said she wanted to live there forever, but changed her mind when Brenna reminded her that Sophie was at home in “Puppy Hotel” and needed us to pick her up.

We got a quick lunch and then drove 45 minutes away to Rick’s sister’s house. We spent the afternoon there and had a great time. The kids all played together, Angie and I enjoyed talking, and Rick napped some more.

Aunt Angie had two large bags of hand-me-down clothes for our kids from their bigger cousins. Oh, it was so nice! I LOVE hand-me-downs! I won’t need to buy summer clothes for Brenna. And Joshua was thrilled when his favorite cousin Jaxon passed on some clothes- some shorts, shirts, a sweatshirt, and a pair for socks, which instantly became Joshua’s “lucky socks.”

Uncle Jason took Brenna and Joshua for rides on his motorcycle. Brenna was nervous by the speed; Joshua loved it. How like each of them!

As evening approached, we left for home. We had a three hour drive and made it home by 10:00 pm. We picked up Sophie, who was delighted to see us, the next morning. It was a great weekend for us. We were so proud of our Joshua and how hard he worked at the tournament. And we had a great time swimming, eating out, sleeping in a hotel, visiting cousins. It was an exciting vacation, even though it was short and busy. We all had a blast!

Poop-Tastrophy

While I was napping, Rick had quite the poopy adventure with our two youngest sons. We’d just gotten home from an all-day (two-day) wrestling tournament for Joshua. Asher was asleep in his carseat. Rick heard him making noises, knew he was awake, and went to get him from his seat. He found Asher with his hands and face covered in poop! He’d had a major diaper blow-out, all over his carseat. Then he must have put his hands in it and then rubbed it all over his face and head. Ew, ew, EWWWW!

Rick, being the brave Daddy that he is, immediately set to work carefully and thoroughly washing his doo-doo covered son. It was a long process. Once Asher was cleaned up, Rick decided to put Desitin on his bottom (um, Asher’sbottom, that is). But the Desitin was missing.

And there was Braden… covered in a jumbo-sized tube of Desitin. Rick told me that his entire face was completely covered in thick, white Desitin. It was in his nose, covering his eyes. It was all over his shirt and Braden was happily rubbing more thick gook into his hair.

Rick got to work cleaning up Round Two of his disastrous afternoon. Desitin is hard to wash off, so it took a lot to get Braden clean. And he’s still sneezing white boogers.

And I slept through it all, thanks to my great husband!