Dear Charlie,
It has been a month since you turned 4. A big part of me is amazed that we've been able to keep track of you that long. Seriously. You hit the ground running (from birth I think) and you haven't stopped for even half a moment since. It should be recorded that you really are a runner. You are starting to learn about fear, a little bit, and sometimes try to keep an eye on me when we're in public, but sometimes the old urge comes over you and you bolt. You've never been one to take it easy. You don't sit still. You are always learning, always exploring, always chatting, and ALWAYS surprising us.
You are mister social. You love to be around other kids and love to play. You play well with boys and girls-especially the older ones. Wherever we go, you make a friend. I can almost bet that the friend will be anywhere from 2 to 4 years older than you. And the older friends don't just tolerate you...they love you! We always have older kids asking you to play. You are never intimidated by a crowd or new faces, in fact you thrive. You say hello to everyone and introduce yourself as "Charlie and Charlie Michael King." People wonder why your name is such a mouthful.
You love primary. You love to participate and share stories. I'll be honest, I was pretty concerned about your behavior for the first few months. You never stayed in your seat, you made faces at the other kids and jumped up in the front of the room, and up onto chairs, but we're making progress. You've now learned to tell the teachers that you need to go potty when you get bored. And yes, you use that opportunity to roam the halls at least 4 times during sharing time. You also love singing time and know the words to an unbelievable amount of songs. You've been making up songs lately. There's no tune to speak of and the words are hilarious. "I love my dad. Oh, yeah. I really love him. Yeah. My dad is the best."
You narrate all of the pretend games that you are going to play. I don't know where it comes from, but it is about the funniest thing ever. I overhear you saying, "Stella, do you want to play Mommies and Daddies going on a vacation?" Or "Let's play mommies and daddies going to the movie theater." Or of course, "Mommies and daddies burying their dead dog." Yikes. You are learning to play with Stella. This has been a painstakingly slow process, but I'd say at least 40% of your interactions with her are now positive. There's less wrestling her to the ground and more "going shopping" (unloading every book we own into boxes and bags in other locations). When you are trying extra hard to be kind, you talk in this really high voice and smile and I'm laughing just typing it. It is always funny and sweet.
Charlie boy, I never thought we'd get you to slow down enough, but you've turned into quite a snuggle bug! It is so wonderful. You love to snuggle with us and hug us. You still love to play with my hair and it's the only thing that keeps you from insisting that dad lay with you every night. You tried to lay down with him the other night and then sat up and said, "Sorry Dad. My mom has the longest hair." Then promptly left to find me. You are still like velcro when you come into our room in the night. I do love having you there. When we tell you it's been a rough day, you are quick to apologize and profess your love. You rarely walk by your dad without patting him on the arm or rubbing his back.
You are starting preschool this year. You call it "pretty school" and you are stoked.
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Back to the Blog
I have frequently thought about coming back to this little blog. I've never been particularly consistent about it, but there's something remarkably liberating about the fact that nobody reads these old family blogs anymore. Everyone is instagramming and snap chatting and here waits the blog with nobody to read it, but lots of writing to be done, I think. I need a way to relax at night that feels productive and I think writing here might be just the ticket.Taking a multi-year break removes all the pressure of getting "caught up" or keeping a running record of our family. I'm also interested in recording somewhere for our children and probably for myself some of the decisions that we have made and are making. We don't exactly do things like anyone else I know and I hope think perhaps it will add some insight to our memories (or at least for future therapists.)
Let's take a tiny snapshot of our family right now:
Charlie-is busy, but that goes without stating. He likes to be on the move. Sometimes Cam and I will wake up to discover that he's already been outside shoveling the driveway. He LOVES money. He is always asking for "a money making job." He works really hard and truly earns every penny. I'd say 90% of his current math education has been self-taught as he counts his money, records the numbers, trades in coins for dollars, researches potential purchases and figures out what he's lacking and heaven knows he's honing his negotiating skills.
Charlie plays quite well with Stella and takes really good care of Henry (for a quarter. not joking) He gives piggyback rides and reads books to him. He and Stella play and play, then fight and fight some more. Typical siblings, I think. He loves his kyuki-do (martial arts) class and works very hard. He was walking on air after his first belt test and progression. He has been taking special care to wet his hair to the side (because that's how you get the ladies,) Though we have very slow mornings around here with nothing to rush off to, he gets up and gets dressed down to his shoes at the crack of dawn every morning. He loves friends and being outside.
Stella loves singing and dancing and pink. For a minute she thought she might like blue and Star Wars, but I think she's come back to her senses and certainly to her past history and is embracing the sparkle again. Stella is a profficient artist and is always creating something. She goes through stacks of papers and markers everyday. She is so firey and sassy. She's LOVES the cat and wants to hang out with him a lot. She sneaks him into the house and drives me crazy. She collects....things. I'm always throwing out an old shoelace or a tag she's kept from someone's clothes. She loves scraps of ribbon and anything pretty.
Let's take a tiny snapshot of our family right now:
Charlie-is busy, but that goes without stating. He likes to be on the move. Sometimes Cam and I will wake up to discover that he's already been outside shoveling the driveway. He LOVES money. He is always asking for "a money making job." He works really hard and truly earns every penny. I'd say 90% of his current math education has been self-taught as he counts his money, records the numbers, trades in coins for dollars, researches potential purchases and figures out what he's lacking and heaven knows he's honing his negotiating skills.
Charlie plays quite well with Stella and takes really good care of Henry (for a quarter. not joking) He gives piggyback rides and reads books to him. He and Stella play and play, then fight and fight some more. Typical siblings, I think. He loves his kyuki-do (martial arts) class and works very hard. He was walking on air after his first belt test and progression. He has been taking special care to wet his hair to the side (because that's how you get the ladies,) Though we have very slow mornings around here with nothing to rush off to, he gets up and gets dressed down to his shoes at the crack of dawn every morning. He loves friends and being outside.
Stella loves singing and dancing and pink. For a minute she thought she might like blue and Star Wars, but I think she's come back to her senses and certainly to her past history and is embracing the sparkle again. Stella is a profficient artist and is always creating something. She goes through stacks of papers and markers everyday. She is so firey and sassy. She's LOVES the cat and wants to hang out with him a lot. She sneaks him into the house and drives me crazy. She collects....things. I'm always throwing out an old shoelace or a tag she's kept from someone's clothes. She loves scraps of ribbon and anything pretty.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
A Birthday Letter to Henry
Dearest, Darling Henry,
Your first birthday has passed and I think by the time you can read this, you'll know that though I have the greatest intentions, my attention to detail and deadlines leaves something to be desired. That I'm just writing this now and that we celebrated your birth with a completely un-themed, un-decorated, un-photographed family dinner (four days after your birthday) is no indication of how much we adore you.
Henry, you are everything to our family. I can't imagine life without you. You are chubby and sweet. You have an underbite and the most charming bottom two teeth that form the most wonderful, cheesy grin. We all love to make you laugh; there is nothing more satisfying. You are tenderhearted and get your feelings hurt deeply, but love to snuggle and be comforted. You love to explore, but always come back to safety or to snuggle. You will back your little self right up to us and just recline for a few minutes. You're quick to crawl over and lay your head down on anybody's back, arm, leg or whatever is accessible. You like to have your head rubbed and sometimes rub it on inanimate objects.
There has never been a boy in all the world who loved his daddy like you love yours. I think Heavenly Father knew that in this crazy, busy time of getting a new business off the ground your dad would need you. You find him, you crawl to him, you snuggle with him, you laugh at him, you beg to be held by him. You wave me away when he's around and sometimes tell me "no!" We were at a family dinner at Nana and Bapoo's house the other day. Dad walked in and we all heard you shriek from the corner "Daaaaaaad!" You light up when you hear his voice and would be happy in his arms forever. It melts my heart and makes me so happy to watch. Daddy can't get enough of you and to say he is flattered and adores you is an understatement. If he comes home late to find you asleep, he is nearly devastated and has been known to get you out of bed for a good cuddle.
It's so wonderful for me as a mom to have two big kids who love to tote you around and make you laugh. You rarely cry in the car (or anytime) because you have two entertainers keeping you happy. They work so hard to make you happy. They rejoice at every new trick you come up with and can't stop talking about you. In short, you are the family mascot. You adore everyone, but lucky for me, I'm the one you snuggle with at night. I just really love having you snuggled up under my arm. Sometimes I'm disappointed when you don't need me at night and sleep peacefully in your crib-I just love being with you so much.
You have a peaceful spirit that is all your own and so desperately needed among the chaos of our family. You are calming and so sweet. When anyone is having a bad day, they look for Henry (this includes grandparents, aunts and uncles.) You're grandpas and great-grandpa call you John Henry. Everyone else calls you Henry, Hen or Henny, except Stella who sometimes forgets and calls you Henry John. It's ok though, because she makes up songs for you and we can forgive a little mix up.
You make us laugh by talking through your nose and chatting away with the inflection of your voice always asking questions. You are just starting to try standing and haven't yet considered walking. We are very ok with that. You'd think that we'd be bored of all the tricks, having seen them twice before, but every roll and crawl, every drawer opened and basket emptied delights us to no end. We love watching you learn. We love watching you grow. You are a dream and we love you so completely.
Love,
Mom
Your first birthday has passed and I think by the time you can read this, you'll know that though I have the greatest intentions, my attention to detail and deadlines leaves something to be desired. That I'm just writing this now and that we celebrated your birth with a completely un-themed, un-decorated, un-photographed family dinner (four days after your birthday) is no indication of how much we adore you.
Henry, you are everything to our family. I can't imagine life without you. You are chubby and sweet. You have an underbite and the most charming bottom two teeth that form the most wonderful, cheesy grin. We all love to make you laugh; there is nothing more satisfying. You are tenderhearted and get your feelings hurt deeply, but love to snuggle and be comforted. You love to explore, but always come back to safety or to snuggle. You will back your little self right up to us and just recline for a few minutes. You're quick to crawl over and lay your head down on anybody's back, arm, leg or whatever is accessible. You like to have your head rubbed and sometimes rub it on inanimate objects.
There has never been a boy in all the world who loved his daddy like you love yours. I think Heavenly Father knew that in this crazy, busy time of getting a new business off the ground your dad would need you. You find him, you crawl to him, you snuggle with him, you laugh at him, you beg to be held by him. You wave me away when he's around and sometimes tell me "no!" We were at a family dinner at Nana and Bapoo's house the other day. Dad walked in and we all heard you shriek from the corner "Daaaaaaad!" You light up when you hear his voice and would be happy in his arms forever. It melts my heart and makes me so happy to watch. Daddy can't get enough of you and to say he is flattered and adores you is an understatement. If he comes home late to find you asleep, he is nearly devastated and has been known to get you out of bed for a good cuddle.
It's so wonderful for me as a mom to have two big kids who love to tote you around and make you laugh. You rarely cry in the car (or anytime) because you have two entertainers keeping you happy. They work so hard to make you happy. They rejoice at every new trick you come up with and can't stop talking about you. In short, you are the family mascot. You adore everyone, but lucky for me, I'm the one you snuggle with at night. I just really love having you snuggled up under my arm. Sometimes I'm disappointed when you don't need me at night and sleep peacefully in your crib-I just love being with you so much.
You have a peaceful spirit that is all your own and so desperately needed among the chaos of our family. You are calming and so sweet. When anyone is having a bad day, they look for Henry (this includes grandparents, aunts and uncles.) You're grandpas and great-grandpa call you John Henry. Everyone else calls you Henry, Hen or Henny, except Stella who sometimes forgets and calls you Henry John. It's ok though, because she makes up songs for you and we can forgive a little mix up.
You make us laugh by talking through your nose and chatting away with the inflection of your voice always asking questions. You are just starting to try standing and haven't yet considered walking. We are very ok with that. You'd think that we'd be bored of all the tricks, having seen them twice before, but every roll and crawl, every drawer opened and basket emptied delights us to no end. We love watching you learn. We love watching you grow. You are a dream and we love you so completely.
Love,
Mom
Sunday, March 13, 2016
March moments from my phone
Stella has put on lots of shows. Charlie has been acting as photographer (explains the blurry pic) please note the flower petals on the floor. She picked them off my flowers and made us throw them when she was bowing. Repeatedly.
We visited grandpa who eagerly showed us around the construction next door. He's best friends with all the workers and keeps a VERY close eye on things.
And Henry hung out in the basket of stuffed animals at ikea. Obvs
Posing in the headband crown. Gotta be prepped for any situation
Charlie has returned to full-body camo for spring
Playing with grandpa. Love him
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Stats
Have to put these somewhere in case we care later (though I can't imagine why we would) and so I can throw away the papers.
Henry
9 months
2/17/16
Weight: 20 lbs 3.5 oz
62%
Length: 28.8"
73%
Head circ: 47 cm
95%
Stella 4.5 years
2/17/16
Weight: 42.8 lbs
83%
Height: 43.3"
89%
Charlie 6.5 years
2/17/16
Weight: 57.4 lbs
85%
Height: 48.2"
73%
Monday, February 8, 2016
Family Snapshot
There are literally a gazillion things that I've been meaning to write about, thousands of pictures that should be uploaded, milestones, holidays etc that just haven't made it here to the blog. I know it's ok, we've got lots of things going on and our lives are recorded in many places, but I'm not quite ready to let this one go-at least all the way.
Instead of posting jumbles of thoughts and half written drafts, I'm going to give a little snapshot of our family right now for record keeping and to catch up.
Henry: is a doll. He is the most loving and pleasant baby. He's been quite content to be immobile until the last week. Like, I have been swaddling him and putting him down for naps on the bed still because he never moved! Suddenly, he's rolling all over, diving onto his tummy, grabbing everything in sight and scooting backwards. Our family comes together over Henry all the time, and especially in the evening. When the kids get their jammies on we lay Henry on the bed to be changed. His chunky body is as irresistible to his brother and sister as it is to Cam and I and before you know it he's being attacked with kisses and tickles and raspberries on the tummy. He laughs at all of us, but laughs hardest at his brother and sister who he loves to keep an eye on.
Henry has resigned himself to eating solid foods and doesn't love it, but doesn't mind. He is growing so fast and getting so chubby. His legs are just so beautifully fat from thigh to toes. When music plays, Henry dances side to side and sings too. He will play with his toys forever and just likes to be near the kids. They take such good care of him. Its cute to watch them try to calm him and cheer him up. Sometimes they'll be watching a show or something with Henry nearby and without even looking up from it, will pat his back or hand him toys. If he cries, Charlie and Stella drop everything and run to him. they alert me THE MOMENT he wakes up and if I wait too long I'll find all three of them (and many toys) in the crib. Henry is so endearing because he just loves everyone so much. He snuggles in and wraps his little arms around you and just hugs so tight. It melts me. Cam told me the other day "Sometimes I just want to quit...everything in life and just snuggle with Henry." My sentiments exactly.
Stella: Is the funniest combination of sweet and sassy that every there was. She LOVES to snuggle and be touched. She's always forcing her way onto your lap or entwining herself around you. She likes to sit close and be tickled and be carried. At the same time, Stella is quite a stinker. She'll call names with a little hand on her hip and tongue sticking out. It's definitely to her benefit that she still has a lisp. Somehow, it's funnier when she calls you names or blatantly disobeys when she's doing it with a lisp. Stella is crazy smart and sneaky. She swipes things she wants from everybody and hides them in her little purses and cabinets and any number of secret places. It was such a relief when our Christmas tree and my mom's were taken down because she had stashes of goods in all the nooks and crannies. She loves things that are pink or sparkly. She's constantly borrowing my mom's necklaces, my clothes and jewelry, and my sisters' makeup. She knows she's not supposed to take it though, so she'll hid it...wherever she can. Even in her pants.
It's so interesting to be a parent and see your kids be so smart, but in such different ways. For example, if I catch Charlie doing something and ask what he's doing, he'll throw his hands up, tell me exactly what he's doing and say "what?!?" and justify it thoroughly and logically. Stella lies. And it's very smart too. She'll be sliding along the wall with something and randomly say to me, "I'm just going to go rest in my room for a minute." code for: I'm taking this candy in my room to eat it because I know you'll tell me no. Both kids are still little so it's all entertaining currently, and usually I'm glad that it's all we're up against in teaching them.
Stella loves passionately. She throws her arms around her primary teacher after church every week. She adores her grandparents and aunts and uncles. She loves weddings and romance and sings with so.much.feeling. Sometimes when she wakes up, we hear her singing to herself in bed. If you ask about she says "I was just singing myself a little morning song." That, along with 24 little bracelets, necklaces and odds and ends really sums up Stella.
Randomly and hilariously, Stella is really good at accents and languages. She can speak gibberish and tell you its French, and it really sounds French. She catches a lot of the inflections and can trill her r's. She does a mean pirate voice and is also quite good with an Irish brogue.
Charlie: Charlie is just so....Charlie. He's his own little person and is so confident in that. Charlie loves to learn and then he loves to educate us. He loves to watch shows, (and admittedly there's too much of it) it's so fun to watch him absorb facts and apply them to so many situations correctly. He's been in love with Dino Dan lately and is constantly sharing dinosaur facts with us. In fact, he told he that I "really should brush up on your dinos."
Charlie is, as always, very independent. He'll wake up before me most mornings and turn on a show for himself, often get himself something to eat and get dressed. He just does his thing and is frequently annoyed when I slow him down. He's the kid who'll just say, "I'm going outside to break up ice." He gets himself ready, never asks for help, makes sure the door is unlocked so he can get back in and off he goes. He loves to explore, build and work. He's content to do it alone, and I think he needs a lot of that contemplative time, but he also LOVES to paly with friends. He's constantly trying to get play dates arranged and gets bugged that I am too slow about it. Charlie wants a phone so that he can set things up without waiting around on me.
Charlie is at the beginning of that tough age where many things you do aren't so cute anymore and though that's a bit difficult to navigate, I think he's doing it well. He's mostly pleasant and silly and tells ALLTHEPOOP jokes. Seriously, I tell him to stop at least 250 times a day. There's always a little song or rhyme about butts or toots or something else of that nature. It's exhausting, but he always finds it amusing. He talks like a little adult and loves to call Pappy on the phone, as of late.
Cam: Cam has been working his tail off. His business, The CowShare, sources and sells local, grass-fed beef. It has been well-received and that's very exciting. There's been a lot to learn, but I think he's found that everything confirms his original hypothesis and the basic business plan has been the same since he thought of the concept last December.
It's been a great (though stressful and exhausting) process to learn how to lead and motivate other team members. He felt strongly about his partners being full and equal partners, because he's great like that, but it's still his brainchild and as the one with the plans and vision, most of the responsibility falls to him. One of his partners announced a few weeks ago that she was leaving (odd timing as the business was really starting to cruise right then, but she has her own things to work out) and he'll be letting another employee go. But is looking forward to having a bit of a lighter load since they both brought some negativity to the table. That leaves Cam, Kevin, Rod and Mo.
Cam has been incredibly prayerful and thoughtful about all aspects of the business. He has felt guided in the partners and in so many decisions. I am unbelievable proud of him and how he works so hard to make all his partners feel empowered and motivated. I'm hoping that as the business continues to become more automated, he'll be able to relax a bit and focus on the things he's best at. It's been an amazing learning experience and I'm grateful for it, I know he is too, but I'm also looking forward to a bit more consistency.
Cam provides a spiritual foundation in our home. After trying for years to get in the habit of reading and praying, he finally decided that we were just going all in (he talked to me, of course). He has been the linchpin and reminds me that the most important part of our day is reading and praying. He reads with the kids and it's wonderful. It's something that they depend on every morning. He and I have been praying morning and night with study in the Book of Mormon every day. It's made a world of difference in our home and I'm grateful that it's the top priority and that it brings such a wonderful spirit to our family.
Me: I've had a tough time getting back to my pre-baby schedule, but it's coming. I'm working to keep the kids doing their chores everyday and getting mine done too. It sounds so easy when I type it, but there's a lot to do and so many interruptions with little ones. We decided to homeschool Charlie and while it's taken awhile to decide what I wanted that to look like, I think we're starting to get in a rhythm...starting... but it is coming. I have a million thoughts about it, but I'll save them for another post. Henry only naps for a few minutes here and there, so we don't have any long stretches of time. I also do a few things to help Cam with the business. It's not much, but when you put it all together, we end up having quite busy days. I always have my little posse with me, so we don't move particularly fast either.
I feel like there's been a lot of spiritual progression in my life in the last few months, which I think makes it ok that the house is usually a mess and it feels like I'm playing catch-up on tons of other things. I'm grateful for my calling to teach relief society. I love doing it. It feels natural and fun to teach, but more than that, I love the preparation. I have learned so much from studying the lessons and learning to be receptive to The Spirit. I've been motivated to make lots of small changes in my life and in our home that add up to be really significant. The motivation has come simply from learning the doctrine and having my testimony strengthened and because I've cut out a lot of things. Knowing that I need to be prepared to teach has helped me decide which things were helping to increase or drive away The Spirit. I rarely watch tv or anything, really. I frequently listen to my lessons, podcasts, or conference talks. I love it.
This has been a strange year. We added a baby which brings so much happiness, but also a swirl of chaos. It takes a long time to get my feet underneath me again after a baby comes. I'm just starting to feel like our home is starting to work right again. Of course we've done the baby thing before, so it's not terribly surprising. We've also started businesses before, but this year has been different. Everything has been more tangible and real. There weren't any other backup plans and though we felt the decisions we were making confirmed frequently, it's still taken quite a bit of faith. And then more of it. It's been soooooo slow and it's nice to be moving into the next phase of the running of the business instead of trying everything for the first time. It's really been very consuming for me and Cam and I'm so happy to be turning so much of my focus back to the kids and our home.
I've started giving each of the kids one night to be in charge of dinner. They choose it and help me cook it. They do pretty much everything themselves and I've been humbled to realize how much I underestimate them. They turn on the oven and chop vegetables. They cook over the stove, bread, stir, marinate, measure and it's been fun. Their confidence is growing and they'll always feel like they contribute in a meaningful way to our family. That's so important, I think. They'll also come away with some great skills.
Now that I'm writing, it's becoming more clear to me that this little season of life for me is really to establish patterns and habits for this family of mine. We're at an age where the kids are starting to remember and depend upon things (but not fight me on them quite yet). I have spent a huge amount of my time lately studying and following people and theories and ideas to decide what we want to give our kids. It's hard work to be a deliberate parent, but I have faith that it will pay off. I just think these little sweeties of mine are so wonderful, and they are also full of potential. What a privilege it is to help them reach it.
Instead of posting jumbles of thoughts and half written drafts, I'm going to give a little snapshot of our family right now for record keeping and to catch up.
Henry: is a doll. He is the most loving and pleasant baby. He's been quite content to be immobile until the last week. Like, I have been swaddling him and putting him down for naps on the bed still because he never moved! Suddenly, he's rolling all over, diving onto his tummy, grabbing everything in sight and scooting backwards. Our family comes together over Henry all the time, and especially in the evening. When the kids get their jammies on we lay Henry on the bed to be changed. His chunky body is as irresistible to his brother and sister as it is to Cam and I and before you know it he's being attacked with kisses and tickles and raspberries on the tummy. He laughs at all of us, but laughs hardest at his brother and sister who he loves to keep an eye on.
Henry has resigned himself to eating solid foods and doesn't love it, but doesn't mind. He is growing so fast and getting so chubby. His legs are just so beautifully fat from thigh to toes. When music plays, Henry dances side to side and sings too. He will play with his toys forever and just likes to be near the kids. They take such good care of him. Its cute to watch them try to calm him and cheer him up. Sometimes they'll be watching a show or something with Henry nearby and without even looking up from it, will pat his back or hand him toys. If he cries, Charlie and Stella drop everything and run to him. they alert me THE MOMENT he wakes up and if I wait too long I'll find all three of them (and many toys) in the crib. Henry is so endearing because he just loves everyone so much. He snuggles in and wraps his little arms around you and just hugs so tight. It melts me. Cam told me the other day "Sometimes I just want to quit...everything in life and just snuggle with Henry." My sentiments exactly.
Stella: Is the funniest combination of sweet and sassy that every there was. She LOVES to snuggle and be touched. She's always forcing her way onto your lap or entwining herself around you. She likes to sit close and be tickled and be carried. At the same time, Stella is quite a stinker. She'll call names with a little hand on her hip and tongue sticking out. It's definitely to her benefit that she still has a lisp. Somehow, it's funnier when she calls you names or blatantly disobeys when she's doing it with a lisp. Stella is crazy smart and sneaky. She swipes things she wants from everybody and hides them in her little purses and cabinets and any number of secret places. It was such a relief when our Christmas tree and my mom's were taken down because she had stashes of goods in all the nooks and crannies. She loves things that are pink or sparkly. She's constantly borrowing my mom's necklaces, my clothes and jewelry, and my sisters' makeup. She knows she's not supposed to take it though, so she'll hid it...wherever she can. Even in her pants.
It's so interesting to be a parent and see your kids be so smart, but in such different ways. For example, if I catch Charlie doing something and ask what he's doing, he'll throw his hands up, tell me exactly what he's doing and say "what?!?" and justify it thoroughly and logically. Stella lies. And it's very smart too. She'll be sliding along the wall with something and randomly say to me, "I'm just going to go rest in my room for a minute." code for: I'm taking this candy in my room to eat it because I know you'll tell me no. Both kids are still little so it's all entertaining currently, and usually I'm glad that it's all we're up against in teaching them.
Stella loves passionately. She throws her arms around her primary teacher after church every week. She adores her grandparents and aunts and uncles. She loves weddings and romance and sings with so.much.feeling. Sometimes when she wakes up, we hear her singing to herself in bed. If you ask about she says "I was just singing myself a little morning song." That, along with 24 little bracelets, necklaces and odds and ends really sums up Stella.
Randomly and hilariously, Stella is really good at accents and languages. She can speak gibberish and tell you its French, and it really sounds French. She catches a lot of the inflections and can trill her r's. She does a mean pirate voice and is also quite good with an Irish brogue.
Charlie: Charlie is just so....Charlie. He's his own little person and is so confident in that. Charlie loves to learn and then he loves to educate us. He loves to watch shows, (and admittedly there's too much of it) it's so fun to watch him absorb facts and apply them to so many situations correctly. He's been in love with Dino Dan lately and is constantly sharing dinosaur facts with us. In fact, he told he that I "really should brush up on your dinos."
Charlie is, as always, very independent. He'll wake up before me most mornings and turn on a show for himself, often get himself something to eat and get dressed. He just does his thing and is frequently annoyed when I slow him down. He's the kid who'll just say, "I'm going outside to break up ice." He gets himself ready, never asks for help, makes sure the door is unlocked so he can get back in and off he goes. He loves to explore, build and work. He's content to do it alone, and I think he needs a lot of that contemplative time, but he also LOVES to paly with friends. He's constantly trying to get play dates arranged and gets bugged that I am too slow about it. Charlie wants a phone so that he can set things up without waiting around on me.
Charlie is at the beginning of that tough age where many things you do aren't so cute anymore and though that's a bit difficult to navigate, I think he's doing it well. He's mostly pleasant and silly and tells ALLTHEPOOP jokes. Seriously, I tell him to stop at least 250 times a day. There's always a little song or rhyme about butts or toots or something else of that nature. It's exhausting, but he always finds it amusing. He talks like a little adult and loves to call Pappy on the phone, as of late.
Cam: Cam has been working his tail off. His business, The CowShare, sources and sells local, grass-fed beef. It has been well-received and that's very exciting. There's been a lot to learn, but I think he's found that everything confirms his original hypothesis and the basic business plan has been the same since he thought of the concept last December.
It's been a great (though stressful and exhausting) process to learn how to lead and motivate other team members. He felt strongly about his partners being full and equal partners, because he's great like that, but it's still his brainchild and as the one with the plans and vision, most of the responsibility falls to him. One of his partners announced a few weeks ago that she was leaving (odd timing as the business was really starting to cruise right then, but she has her own things to work out) and he'll be letting another employee go. But is looking forward to having a bit of a lighter load since they both brought some negativity to the table. That leaves Cam, Kevin, Rod and Mo.
Cam has been incredibly prayerful and thoughtful about all aspects of the business. He has felt guided in the partners and in so many decisions. I am unbelievable proud of him and how he works so hard to make all his partners feel empowered and motivated. I'm hoping that as the business continues to become more automated, he'll be able to relax a bit and focus on the things he's best at. It's been an amazing learning experience and I'm grateful for it, I know he is too, but I'm also looking forward to a bit more consistency.
Cam provides a spiritual foundation in our home. After trying for years to get in the habit of reading and praying, he finally decided that we were just going all in (he talked to me, of course). He has been the linchpin and reminds me that the most important part of our day is reading and praying. He reads with the kids and it's wonderful. It's something that they depend on every morning. He and I have been praying morning and night with study in the Book of Mormon every day. It's made a world of difference in our home and I'm grateful that it's the top priority and that it brings such a wonderful spirit to our family.
Me: I've had a tough time getting back to my pre-baby schedule, but it's coming. I'm working to keep the kids doing their chores everyday and getting mine done too. It sounds so easy when I type it, but there's a lot to do and so many interruptions with little ones. We decided to homeschool Charlie and while it's taken awhile to decide what I wanted that to look like, I think we're starting to get in a rhythm...starting... but it is coming. I have a million thoughts about it, but I'll save them for another post. Henry only naps for a few minutes here and there, so we don't have any long stretches of time. I also do a few things to help Cam with the business. It's not much, but when you put it all together, we end up having quite busy days. I always have my little posse with me, so we don't move particularly fast either.
I feel like there's been a lot of spiritual progression in my life in the last few months, which I think makes it ok that the house is usually a mess and it feels like I'm playing catch-up on tons of other things. I'm grateful for my calling to teach relief society. I love doing it. It feels natural and fun to teach, but more than that, I love the preparation. I have learned so much from studying the lessons and learning to be receptive to The Spirit. I've been motivated to make lots of small changes in my life and in our home that add up to be really significant. The motivation has come simply from learning the doctrine and having my testimony strengthened and because I've cut out a lot of things. Knowing that I need to be prepared to teach has helped me decide which things were helping to increase or drive away The Spirit. I rarely watch tv or anything, really. I frequently listen to my lessons, podcasts, or conference talks. I love it.
This has been a strange year. We added a baby which brings so much happiness, but also a swirl of chaos. It takes a long time to get my feet underneath me again after a baby comes. I'm just starting to feel like our home is starting to work right again. Of course we've done the baby thing before, so it's not terribly surprising. We've also started businesses before, but this year has been different. Everything has been more tangible and real. There weren't any other backup plans and though we felt the decisions we were making confirmed frequently, it's still taken quite a bit of faith. And then more of it. It's been soooooo slow and it's nice to be moving into the next phase of the running of the business instead of trying everything for the first time. It's really been very consuming for me and Cam and I'm so happy to be turning so much of my focus back to the kids and our home.
I've started giving each of the kids one night to be in charge of dinner. They choose it and help me cook it. They do pretty much everything themselves and I've been humbled to realize how much I underestimate them. They turn on the oven and chop vegetables. They cook over the stove, bread, stir, marinate, measure and it's been fun. Their confidence is growing and they'll always feel like they contribute in a meaningful way to our family. That's so important, I think. They'll also come away with some great skills.
Now that I'm writing, it's becoming more clear to me that this little season of life for me is really to establish patterns and habits for this family of mine. We're at an age where the kids are starting to remember and depend upon things (but not fight me on them quite yet). I have spent a huge amount of my time lately studying and following people and theories and ideas to decide what we want to give our kids. It's hard work to be a deliberate parent, but I have faith that it will pay off. I just think these little sweeties of mine are so wonderful, and they are also full of potential. What a privilege it is to help them reach it.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Six months of Henry
At six months, Henry is a dream. He's chubby and pleasant. He loves everyone and is only slightly hesitant with unfamiliar men (with facial hair). He sleeps wonderfully and loves to snuggle with his mama. When he's tired, he'll run his little face on mine or into my shoulder. He loves and laughs at his big brother and sister. He is very chatty and will play by himself forever. He plays with his feet and can roll over/has rolled over both ways, but has very little interest in it. He just observes. He's found his (high-pitched scream) voice and uses it. He still loves music and settles down at the sound of a beat from his dad or a few lines of music. If relaxes him visibly and quickly. He's still a noisy sleeper, but not like he was. He's starting solids and liking it, mostly. We really, really adore everything about this little sweetie and I really can't remember our family without him-and I'm glad. He brings the sweetest spirit and presence into our home. 
He sticks his blanket in his mouth and just munches on it, but won't take a binkie for the world
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