Waiting

UEA usually means heading to Teasdale.   For as long as I can remember we've lucked out with nice weather which means my kids get plenty of outside time.  We are often hanging out around the cowboys who are moving the cows from the mountain to the desert.   This year Bentley wanted to have a cousin sleep over so I dropped the girls off in Annabelle.  Sarah said they would head over to Teasdale and take a short stop in Koosharem to load up some of her cows.    As most things cowboy related go a short stop to gather up cows ended up being a full days work.    My girls ended up in the cab of a truck for hours waiting for the gathering of the cows.  For one it was a cold windy day and  my dad told them they better stay in the truck and not spook the cows away.  I told Sarah she should have called me and I could have come and rescued the girls and Sarah just replied "Why? it's not like we never had to do that sort of thing growing up".    It's true we had to do that sort of thing a lot and without any complaining.   I remember waiting in trucks for my dad to finish up chores.  Waiting in the car while my mom ran into Red D grocery store to do her grocery shopping.  (It was legal or at least nobody cared back then).  I waited before and after dentist appointments in a room with nothing more than scholastic children's magazines.   Waiting rather impatiently and most likely hungry while my mombrowsed through jobbers odd lot (i.e. junk store) after a long day of shopping in Salt Lake.    Each year my mom took me over to Richfield for my annual checkup for my leg with Dr. Sodaberg, an orthopedic doctor from Primary Children's hospital.  I don't really know how long we sat in the  clinic but it must have been a while because I still have vivid memories of reading the public health posters about bottle mouth and kids.  I should write the public health department to commend their work because I never could put my kids down to sleep with a bottle in fear of bottle mouth.  I waited at the movie theater for my mom to come back and get us.    The routine was you walked a half a block down the street and called twice without putting a quarter so that my mom knew if she got too hang up calls in a row the movie was over.  I waiting for rides home from junior jazz practice and most every after school activity in middle and high school.  There was no mobile phones so no way to get a  hold of my parents back then to see how close they were.  I just had to hope for the best and stand there and wait.    I'm not sure my kids have ever had to wait for much in their life.  Heck they don't even have to wait for their favorite movie or song to rewind.  So I guess it was a great character building experience for them to be stuck in a cab of a truck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but listen to the radio.    I hope it stretched their patience even a little bit.  Here's to hoping we can get through the prayer on the food without someone starting to eat.

The cows being moved from the field by my parents house to the ranch where they would get their immunizations before trekking down to the desert

Shaz

Spencer loves shoes.  He will notice some shoes and with so much enthusiasm say "Shaz".  It doesn't matter whose shoes he just wants some on his feet.  

My other kids at this age were constantly shedding their shoes any chance they could get. I was always so annoyed to arrive at our destination to see bare feet and shoes and socks tossed every which way in the backseat.  I use to go jogging with Emily in the jogging stroller and would often discover one shoe missing when I returned.  After a couple lost shoe episodes I would first take off her shoes and leave them home.   Spencer on the other hand will notice his bare feet go find his shoes and bring them to one of us and ask to have them put on his feet.  It's pretty incredible to me that he always knows where his shoes are.   In one of those hurry out of the house moments I called to anybody listening "Will someone find Spencer's missing shoe we've got to hurry"  Emi, Jane and Aaron ran around the house, I'm sure a little haphazardly,  without any success.  Spencer on the other hand hearing the word "Shoes"  disappeared and a few minutes later reappeared holding the missing shoe and we were out the door "like a herd of turtles" as Bart often says.   Speaking of missing shoes Jane, who has never misplaced anything in her life, is at her wits end always looking for her shoes Spencer has scattered around the house.  I get her frustration as she and I like things in their place and their is nothing worse than frantically running around trying to find a lost  shoe.   We deal though because how can you get mad at such a face!!!

Super Saturday!!!

It's a beautiful Sat. morning in October and Bart is away to New York City chasing autographs.    The kids and I start the day watching Emily play her first volleyball game of the season.

Then we decide to take a trip down to Brooke's house to raid a pumpkin patch her family helps take care of.  On the way there we stopped by "Jaker's Jack-0-Lathern" pumpkin patch in Springville (can't beat the $2 admission fee) and enjoyed a few of the festivities.    

Spencer navigating his way through the toddler hay maze!!

It's hard to get 4 kids to look at the camera at the same time

Hey mom,  take a picture of us way up here.  

Pumpkin patch hay ride.   Spencer is intent on counting the pumpkins just like his older brother Aaron was doing. 

Emily convinced me it would be fun for all of us to go through the big corn maze.  I hesitantly agreed and about half way through the maze had a minor anxiety attack trying to keep all of us together while finding the way out.  It became apparent we were just going in circles and then I missed Bart badly because he's the steady I'll get us out rock we rely on.  The sadness turned into madness that he wasn't there but was doing his stupid autograph thing.  The anxiety and madness kept building until I found a group and decided our best bet was to follow them.   They noticed the trail of stragglers behind them and told me we  foraging our own trail the hell out of here.  I said "Sounds good to me".  And like a breath of fresh air soon we were out!  

Spencer was enamored by the animals and especially liked petting the pit 

We then headed down to Brooke's house and gathered us up enough pumpkins to fill up our porch as well as some for the preschool classroom kids I work with.

We got back right in just enough time to drop off the boys for Emily to watch while Jane and I used some free Real Monarch's soccer tickets that were given to all the Sparta soccer players.    I know nothing about soccer but it's a developing interest with Super Soccer Jane in the house!!!

Give me 5

Aaron turned five and during the day came skipping into the room and said "Ta-Da I'm five."     I don't know if I've ever met a kid more prepared to be 5.  He's such a joy to be around.    Most days I thank Heavenly Father he sent me such an even temperament for a child.  He blesses my heart so much!!  Aaron is your smiley, go with the flow,  make others happy and prefers to be with lots of friends sort of kid.    When's he's busy he is busy and will stick to a project and really focus.  When he is not busy all he wants to do is busy himself with bugging his sisters or messing with Spencer.    I guess that's how it goes with a high energy boy.  

It's a tradition that I'll decorate a cake for each birthday.  Aaron wanted the exact cake as last year but I have a rule that I will never make the same cake twice.   Mary gave me an idea to use the frozen buttercream transfer method for a star wars themed cake.  In the past I would decorate the cake in private to surprise the birthday kid but Aaron was so insistent that he help I caved and during the process I saw him so happy I realized he may be that kid that enjoys the creating of a project than the actual finished project.  Plus it kept his touch everything sort of hands busy for a long time on a rainy Saturday afternoon.  Best days ever for both of us.  

Here is the finished storm trooper!

I'd prepared Aaron to not expect a big birthday bash this year but ever since Phin's brought a birthday pinata to Sunday Dinner Aaron would say can't we at least have a pinata with the cousins.  Sounded like a good deal to me so a Sunday Dinner Pinata party is was.

Knots

Have you met many 4 year olds who can tie their own shoes?  Well Aaron can.

It really isn't that surprising.  Aaron starting walking and then immediately began finding anything rope like and knotting them up and making his own sort of pulleys.    He's got an incredible sense and interest about how things are put together.  His babysitter Kathy, who's husband who has an Engineering/lawyer/MBA degree and thrives off of helping his kids win Science Fairs (sort of husband) will text me pictures like this and often tells me how impressed she is and thinks Aaron has an Engineer's brain.

I most certainly hope she is right and he continues with the interest because at least in my neighborhood I see the the Engineer husbands coming home earlier than the rest of the overworked men.

After Aaron independently tied his shoes I told him I'm so impressed I might just have to brag about him.  He said I shouldn't do that because his friend Ezra brags all the time and he doesn't like it. Sorry my humble bud, sometimes a mom just has to brag every once in a while!!

Say it louder

Spencer prefers to scream to get his needs met but he does have a lot of words that we encourage.   I think he is on the verge of a language explosion as I'm seeing a lot of word approximations of words he imitates.  This excites me like no other because this kid needs words!!!  He has developed this high pitch squeal that sends my nerves to the moon with anguish.    Emily did the same thing at this age and I retreat within myself when he's doing it and tell myself "It won't last forever".  

Here is his 16 month language sample:

Ah Oh  ( He loves hearing himself say this word.   Sometimes he will drop something just so he can say it over and over again.)

doe  (go)

ane (Jane, he often calls for her when he wakes up)

Ma (milk or mom)

Ba (sippy cup)

da da (dad)

yes

No

side (outside)

ba (ball)

siz (shoes)

mo  (more-usually when he wants candy)

da da da (when he sings Darth Vader's song with Aaron)

dow (down)

aa (up, when he wants me to hold him)

Mie (Mine, usually if someone takes something he is playing with)

nigh nigh (I've heard this a couple of times when he's willing to take a nap and says it to me when I lay him down)


Perhaps my favorite though is when he hears the phrase "time for a prayer" he prompting folds his arms before anyone else and waits with the most enthusiastic proud of himself smile and then makes sounds throughout the prayer as if he is saying it himself.

I love this kid

Really mom did you have to take a picture.......

is what I'm going to hear when Spencer is older and sees this in my blog book!!!

Spencer loves to put his sisters underwear over his head and walk around like its an important part of his outfit.  When I'm doing laundry he loves to come in the laundry room, sort through the piles of clothes, find the girls underwear and put it over his head.  Today I found him with 3 different ones on...

Emily commented how sometimes when she is in her room Spencer will march in go directly to her underwear drawer take out of pair of her underwear and put in on his head and march right out of her room without even giving her the time of day.


Funny kid!!