Growing Up Is Hard To Do

We've been fighting Jacob a lot lately with his "attitude." I guess part of growing up is thinking you know better than your parents and exerting your independence and sense of self . . . as painful as it is to watch & live through.

So last week when we took Jacob to his first Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts, he was too cool to play any of the silly games with the older boys no matter what Mom or Dad said to try and convince him. "That's dumb," or "That's so easy. I'm not wasting my time doing that," was all we could get out of Jacob. Finally the peer pressure of the Scout leaders and some other boys got to Jacob, and, of course, he had a BLAST playing the dumb and silly games.

Soon after I took Jacob to the library after he begged and begged so he could find a Star Wars chapter book to read (which is too hard to him to read, but hey, who am I to stop him from trying). The library was out of Book One, so Jacob searched and searched for other cool books. I found all kinds of darling, cute books that he kept turning down. When I finally asked him what his problem was, he said, "Mom, I don't want a 'cute' book, I want a 'cool' one!" Ohhhh! What was I thinking? Now there's a whole slew of books at the library that Jacob won't read because I mislabeled them as "cute." We'll have to give him some time to forget before returning!

Then the day came when the school called. Jacob was sick at school and had just thrown up all over his classroom. I remember when I was a kid in school that NOTHING was more embarrassing than vomiting in front of your peers! Poor Jacob. I raced to school and found him sitting in the sick room quietly trying to be brave. As soon as he saw me he ran and threw himself into my arms sobbing. He couldn't hold back any longer. There I was, the one person he didn't have to pretend to be cool in front of. The person he knew loved him no matter what. It's nice to know that I'm still good for something and that no matter how big Jacob gets, he still needs his mom.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's started out early this year with a fabulous surprise package from Grandma! Too bad I didn't get a picture of it! The kids were ecstatic with their Pez and fun surprises. I even got some Valentine's socks! Thanks, Grandma! We sure love surprises!

Then Brandon and I went out for our Valentine's date . . . dinner & errands. How romantic. But just being together without the interruption of little voices IS romantic these days!

On Valentine's Day I decided to make Foods We Love. I guess since I comfort & reward myself with food, it only makes sense to me to show my love with food. Blueberry muffins & eggs were for breakfast. On a school day? That's unheard of for Mommy to wake up early enough to actually MAKE breakfast at our house. Sad, huh?

Happy heart sandwiches for lunch!

Sweet & sour meatballs for dinner!

And a Valentine's cookie cake for dessert. Boy, I haven't made one of these for at least 8 or 9 years. Poor Jacob ended up with the stomach flu right in the middle of his class party! Luckily it was a quick flu!

This is just about the one craft I know how to make. The kids and I spent Friday afternoon before Valentine's making these chocolate Kiss flowers for their teachers. It kept them busy for a whole afternoon, so I guess it was a hit!

The kids each got a book for their Valentine's from Mom & Dad. They were all thrilled with their books and individual boxes of chocolates (Jonah ate his whole box in one sitting). Brandon gave me a dozen beautiful roses and chocolates as well. Here's to trying to create some fun family traditions. We'll see how long they last!

Visiting the Elk

Going to Hardware Ranch last year was such a hit with the kids, that we decided to go again. While Jacob is still fascinated by deer and all antler-bearing animals, I find his obsession is waning. A lot of this is probably due to the fact that our new home isn't close to the plethora of deer that were at our old house. It's always more fun to bring Nanny and Papa along with us, as they make things so much more exciting. So we invited them and Natalie's family since she was alone with her little one's while her husband and older one's were skiing that day. We had perfect weather and no line to wait in. It was a great day trip!

Sarah, Nanny, Papa & Ezra on the sleigh ride.

Sarah, Jonah, Jacob, Eli, Mommy & Nathan on the sleigh ride.

This amazing bull elk got one whole side of his antlers shot off. I bet that hunter is cussing his bad luck! Can you imagine the kink in that bull's neck carrying those lopsided antlers around?

Sarah, Jonah, Daddy & Jacob in the elk museum.

After Hardware Ranch Nanny & Papa treated us to lunch at their favorite old college hangout, Fredricko's Pizza. Yum! Then Brandon INSISTED that we stop by the Bluebird's chocolate shop on the way home. He really had to twist my arm to get me to agree. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of treating the kids to a little piece of chocolate each. They were all chocolate covered for the entire ride home. Oh well.

Jonah's 3rd Birthday

Last month we celebrated Jonah's 3rd birthday. We didn't get the best pictures this go-around, but here are a few:

Jonah opening his t-ball set from Grandma & Grandpa. He loves it! Thanks!

Mommy & Daddy gave him Fridge Phonics to learn his letters with. Jacob, Sarah & Nathan gave him the Toy Story 3 movie. Nanny & Papa gave him a fun leaf blower to "help" Daddy outside in the yard. And Justin & Amy gave him a fun train whistle. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Jonah with all his gifts. Things were too crazy.

Here's Jonah's train cake. Brandon helped decorate this year due to a time crunch. I think it turned out pretty cute and Jonah loved it!

It's hard to hold up 3 fingers! (Doesn't he look tired? He's always tired. Hopefully help is coming soon for his sleep.) What birthday would be complete without Aunt Natalie, who delivered Jonah on that scary, cold morning 3 years ago in the car?

What would we do without our Jonah? At times I feel like he will be the end of me. He's definitely proven to be our most difficult child (so far . . . knock on wood). He's full of life and busy, busy, busy. We love his hugs & kisses. He loves to share . . . sometimes. He loves to play with his older brother and sister. He loves to help set the table & clean up, and the sense of satisfaction it gives him. He loves books, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and all things Toy Story, but most of all he still loves his doggie! We love you, Jonah. You're an important part of our family.

Socially Irresponsible

Last night we had the kids' SEP's (parent/teacher conferences). Jacob, of course, had the glowing, perfect oldest child report. (Aren't ALL oldest children perfect? After all, I was an oldest child!) Things went well at Sarah's conference at first, but then her teacher showed us that she had marked Sarah down on her "social responsibility." Big shocker. Needless to say, Brandon and I were not exactly surprised. "Sarah needs to learn to stay in her own space" was code for "Sarah hugs the boys . . . a lot." And "Sarah needs to listen" was code for "Sarah loves to visit with her friends . . . a lot." Apparently Sarah is moved to a separate table to do her work alone so that she doesn't bother others and can focus on her own work. The teacher strategically put her star, quiet pupils next to Sarah in hopes that their influence would rub off on her. But, it looks like her influence rubbed off on them instead. Can you blame them? It's hard to resist such cute friendliness! Luckily, Sarah is smart enough that her academics aren't suffering in the least. In fact, she tested ABOVE grade level. In front of the teacher Brandon and I have to give our sighs of disapproval and vow that we'll help Sarah work on this "problem." But I have to secretly admit that it makes me smile and laugh inside. I mean, seriously, this is only Kindergarten!