Changes

Timmy devoured a chocolate cookie I made on Sunday and smeared his chocolate handprints all over the laundry room door. :)

Our street is such a mess right now.  It's good that there's another way out to Main Street, but I sure wish that construction wasn't going on right now.  I can't even go running on our street anymore.

Last night Timmy was fussing because he was tired.  I had already nursed him, and he'd actually been asleep on the floor for a few minutes, but that never lasts long.  So I just laid on the floor with him on my tummy for a while, and eventually he was laying on the floor on his tummy next to me.  He turned his face towards me and I smiled at him.  He smiled back with his cute little gap-toothed grin and his cheek squished against the floor.  It was so breathtakingly cute I wished I could preserve it in perfect memory forever.  Then he closed his sleepy eyes for a bit before starting to fuss again.  So I carried him over to my chair and just held him thinking I'd need to nurse him back to sleep.  The next thing I knew he'd fallen asleep in my arms.  Sweet little boy. 

I love that the world is so new and fresh for him.  He has so much to learn and discover.  Just this morning he is eating an orang for the first time.  From the look on his face I should probably remove the peel. :D A few minutes ago he came and slid the mouse pad out from under my computer mouse and then shook it around, panting like he was so excited.  It's fun to watch his face and see the curiosity and wonder that he feels at little things that for me are mundane and everyday.

It's sad that little boys don't last.  They grow and change so fast, and these precious little moments are gone all too soon.  I love my children so very much.  I am truly very blessed to be able to have as many chances at this cute stage in a baby's life as I have had.  I'm so thankful for them all.

Timmy

My little fella is sure growing. But he still hates it when I leave the room. He cries and follows me if I don't take him with me, and then he cries until I pick him up or distract him. He also hates it when I do any sort of cleaning or cooking. He stays right on my heels crying. Poor little fella. If I start to clean the living room, for example, he drops at ever he's doing and starts following me. He follows me around in circles getting more and more worked up as I run around putting things away. And heaven forbid I should have to take anything upstairs!that's the absolute worst! ;) I feel so sad for him, but I never know what to do for him. I think he must be learning to push buttons. Distractions only work sometimes and I can only carry him when I'm doing some kinds of cleaning. Yeah, vacuuming and loading the dishwasher are pretty hard to do one-handed (darn vacuum cord!).

Although, Timmy does like it when I load and unload the dishwasher. He finds it pretty fascinating. He crawls over and tries to climb on the door and then he takes the silverware out one piece at a time and inspects it. Ooooh, and the dirty dishes! They are so interesting! Silly boy. I can distract him then, though. If I take him in the living room and sit him down with a toy and turn on The Wiggles or Baby Signing Time he will sit there spellbound while I finish up in the kitchen. I sure love that little one. Oh,and he's getting shaggy on the back of his head. I love that too.

Heven Help Us

My goodness.  I've noticed over the years that bloggers often misspell cliches and such.  I was just reading a blog today where the writer was talking about somebody putting somebody up on a pedestal, except she spelled it petal stool.  That's one of the worst ones I've come across.  It's crazy because the meaning is lost when people do that.  What does petal stool even mean?  It's also sad that nobody reads anymore.  If they did they'd know how to spell things like that.  Groan.
Also, please know I mean no offense.  It just makes me groan and feel a little sad.  I know some people have a hard time spelling.  It just seems like chiches should be easy to spell unless you don't understand what they are at all.

Future

There have been a thoughts I've encountered lately that have got me thinking about the future.  For one thing, I keep thinking about how my babies are growing so fast and how everyone I meet says that they will all be gone before I know it.  That thought makes me try harder to cherish the little moments in our family.  I want to remember that Timmy started clapping this week.  I want to remember that he got his fifth tooth this week and that his sixth is on the way.  I want to remember how Jill and Timmy licked the beaters from the banana bread I made today.  Timmy stood beside me and rubbed his sticky beater all over my skirt.  That was fine.  It's just my jean skirt and probably needs washed anyway.  Jill saw what Timmy was doing, though, and said in a concerned voice, "Skirt.  Skirt."  Then she came over and put the sticky part of the skirt in her mouth and tried to eat the sticky off.  I want to remember everything.  I think that's why my weekly letters to family are so long.  Plain and simple, I don't want my children to grow up and leave me.  But I think that grandchildren will be a lot of fun.  Still, this has been the most challenging yet most joyful season in my life, and I hate to think that if I blink I will miss it.  I hate to think that I will wake up someday and realize that this season is over, even if the next season brings much joy too.  It all gets me thinking and wondering if in the life to come we can be spared the pain and have more joy in the journey and progression.

Another thing I've been thinking about a lot is the fact that both Jeremy and I find ourselves at least once a day looking to see which child is missing.  I just keep feeling like somebody is missing, and so does Jeremy.  In fact, it feels to me like more than one someone is missing.  That's a crazy thought.  We already have a big family by any standards.  And it's not that we wouldn't openly welcome another little someone into our family.  It's just that the timing and persistence of these feelings is interesting.  We often have them soon before another baby is to join our family.  And no, we are not expecting right now.  (I'm just pretty darn sure, ok?)  There just seem to be at least one or two spaces that need filled at our table or one or two more little bodies to herd together for family prayer.  I guess we will see. 

All those thoughts, though, have me wondering where and when and how things will go with another baby someday.  How will I even find a doctor that I like as much as my old one?  And will I even be allowed to deliver at the hospital that we can see if we walk outside?  What in the world kind of crazy will the new doctor think I am having a seventh baby after having placenta previa/accreta happened with number four?  However, I believe in God.  I believe in His plan, and I believe that things will all work out in His timing (definitely the best timing).

Amazing

It's the middle of the night, but I just wanted to document some amazing little things in our little lives here.

First of all, my Dad was in a bike wreck last night and broke his hand in a few places. I'm not sure I feel 100% comfortable throwing this out on the web, but I have been praying all day for him. I figure if somebody else reads this and prays too, so much the better. Eitherway, this is something in my life that I'm thinking about, and I've got to talk about it somewheres. He will hopefully be able to get to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow and they'll figure out what needs to be done. I love my Dad so much. It pains me to think of him in pain, and I just pray that all will be made right.

Second, it thrills me to no end to see my little Timmy walking all over with his hands in the air lately. He is now walking more than he crawls. It's so amazing to watch that cute little tiny guy toddling around. He toddles across the room and then falls over. And then he stands right back up without needing to grab anything. He just pushes himself off the floor and toddles around some more. It is so darn cute.

Third, Jill's desire to avoid clothes has hit an all-time high. The last couple of days have seen her in varying states of undress. The problem now is that she wants to dress herself. She wants to decide what she's going to wear, and she prefers to put it on herself. She also changes her mind repeatedly before she can even get dressed. Today she found a laundry pile and tried on a bunch of the clothes. She put on one of Hyrum's t-shirts and came to show me because she thought it was so funny how big it was on her. Then she tried Michael's sleeper top, but she couldn't get her head through the arm hole and was really frustrated. She scattered that pile around the room and had a heyday. Yesterday we took her to Walmart in her silky nightgown because that was what she chose and I decided it was more important for her to be happily clothed than screaming and naked. She doesn't even want to wear a diaper lately. In a house full of boys I don't feel that I should allow that. Goodness, this is a hard stage sometimes! She so wants to be independent, but she's not quite big enough. But she's amazingly cute and her little smile melts my heart.

And, boy, is Jill amazing at testing her limits lately too! I'm a little afraid of the teenage years I have ahead. What in the world will I do with so many teenagers testing limits and pushing buttons? But it's neat to think of all the joys that are ahead, and those are what matter most anyway.

I'm thankful for my amazing and loving Heavenly Father for letting me try and try again and loving me all the way. I'm thankful for all the experiences He sends my way and for my beautiful family. I'm thankful to know that He listens and cares. Truly, our God is a good God.

Thinking

Here is a really thought-provoking post on another blog.  At least it's got me thinking, and I bet it will get you thinking too.

Joshua

Direct quote from Joshua today: "I want a tuxedo so I can look like I'm in a hurry."

'Round Here

This is such a funny picture.  It doesn't really look like Timmy - except for the teeth. :)

We have a tradition in our little family.  Boys get their first haircut on their first birthday.  Except Benji broke that tradition.  He had way too much hair to wait for his birthday!  Timmy isn't as bald as Joshua was, but I still wonder if he'll have anything to cut when his birthday rolls around in November.  I suppose we will see.

My poor baby has been fussing and rubbing his ears, especially at night.  I tried calling to get him into the community clinic to get his ears checked, but they don't have openings until tomorrow morning when I'm supposed to be at work.  It's not like I work all that often anyway!  This is the second time since school started. 

Anyway, it was a really long night last night.  It was one of those nights where in my younger years I might have been grouching in the middle of the night because I needed sleep.  Yeah, I've gained some patience over the years.  I took that poor little guy in my arms and nursed him over and over.  It's a good thing we've got that nursing-laying-down thing figured out or we may never sleep.  But it also means I spend a good deal of time laying the wrong way in bed so that he's not right on the edge of the bed.  I just throw my pillow on the other side and grab a blanket to throw over us, and then he starts nursing and we go back to sleep.  Last night, though, he kept snuggling closer and closer and closer to me until I had literally about five inches of bed to sleep on.  I was right on the edge.  And he woke up a lot.  I wish I knew what to do.  Maybe I'll just call a regular pediatrician and see if they can squeeze him in today.  Or maybe I'll get smart like Aunt Stacey and learn how to look in his ears with a flashlight to see if they're infected.  Hmmm...

Yesterday I cleaned a lot.  I've decided that what I've got to do to have a clean house is not to deep clean sporadically but to clean every day - several times, in our case.  Then it's just maintenance instead of crisis management.  Maybe.  So I swept the kitchen a few times.  I vacuumed and used the spot remover on the living room carpet.  And maybe if I just keep on top of that kind of schedule every day our house won't go to pot.  The only problem is that I'll never have time to do anything else. XD Sorry guys - no more dinner.  Ha, ha.  However, it's lovely having it all clean when I get up in the morning.

Would you believe it - we're barely into September and already the boys need a jacket for school in the morning, and Jeremy needs a jacket to come home from class in the evening.  Maybe that's natural for some people, but for us from Globe where it's finally starting to think about maybe cooling off this time of year, it's just new.  I'm excited for fall to come, though.  I'm looking forward to driving up the canyon to see the fall colors.  And I think the boys are excited about needing jackets for school.  Now if I can just get them to wear long pants...