Michael

Michael is often quite fierce when his siblings bug him, but he is also very loyal to them and is a good friend to have. Sometimes when Jill gets in trouble and runs away crying I will find Michael on her bed with her, reading her a book. And just today he built her a fort just so she could have a place to change her clothes.

And yesterday he decided to make an extra effort to talk with Timmy all day, and he loved hearing him respond. It was cool not only that he chose to interact with Timmy, but also that he enjoyed it. Timmy definitely has all of us cheering for him. :) The boys and I talk about him often, and we're all in awe. :)

And speaking of smart boys, yesterday I took Brom to give him a bath, and I sat on the edge of the tub to fill it. He saw the tub and got all excited. He started kicking his legs, waving his arms, and rotating his hands like he does when he's excited. It was cute. I've never seen him get excited about a bath until he was in it before. What a smart guy!

Oh, one more thing - last night Michael and Timmy were playing with pieces from a game called Quirkle. I think it's something like dominoes. It has a bunch of wooden squares that you match up by the color and shape on them. Anyway, they were having fun lining up all the pieces. Timmy called it a puzzle and actually spent quite a long time arranging those pieces. Anyway, at on point Timmy heard Michael toot, and he said something like, "Don't a poop it a bum!"

Awww

Little fella has a fever. I laid him on my bed for a while and he slept after he had already taken a nap. He is usually eating this time of day, but he just fell asleep again. He seems mostly happy, but poor fella. He doesn't seem to feel so good. Pretty darn cute, though! Yes, thank you, I will be glad to sit and cuddle him.

Picture Wednesday

First of all, my new camera got sent away on March 10, and it is finally supposed to get back to me on Monday. I am dying for a decent camera! Why, oh, why did I have to lose my old one? :( I hope the new one will work better now!

And now for Mama's pictures from Joshua's ordination day. I was a lame-o and didn't take any! I was too busy worrying about feeding everyone, I guess. Thank heavens my mother has my back!

I love this boy! I am so proud of him, and I can't wait to watch him pass the sacrament with Hyrum on Sunday!

 

My dad ordained Joshua. :)

 

These ones aren't from the same day. Mama saw me trying to take pictures of her daffodils as the sun was going down (they didn't turn out), and she sent me these. Aren't they lovely? Daffodils are among my very favorites. Yellow is such a happy color! I set the bottom one as the background on my computer, and it made me smile. :)

 

And one last post

We've had a little trouble with Timmy at church. I've talked about it before I think. One of the counselors in the Primary presidency has asked that Timmy be accompanied by either Jeremy or me wherever we take him (Primary or nursery) for the other kids' safety. He has a hard time with singing time and sharing time in Primary. He can't hold still. It's not just that he is three. It's that he is autistic and there are too many people in there. And he had trouble in nursery for a while because he was going through a phase where he hit and knocked down other kids just to see their reactions. So the lady from the presidency told me he couldn't go by himself because some of the kids were afraid to go to nursery. It turns out that one of those kids is her son, and he is spoiled. He cries all the time and takes things from the other kids. The nursery leader has noticed that Timmy is just doing fine most of the time now, so she tells us we can just go to class, but the lady in the Primary presidency doesn't see that. She disapproves when she sees him in there without us.

And yesterday the Young Women's president asked me, "Are you going to go get Timmy?" Apparently, her son is the other one who won't stay in nursery. I told her that it was a super busy day, so I had just dropped him in nursery. (I didn't mention to her that 99.9% of the time HE DOES FINE IN THERE! He gets upset when Chase steals his toys, but he's not hitting much anymore.) I said I was going to try to get him to go to Sunbeams for class time. (It is a smaller group, and while he's still a monkey, he does better in there than with the whole Primary.) I felt stuck and frustrated, and I also felt hurt and judged. I didn't like that I didn't feel like I could go be with my parents, and I hate that they judge him without knowing what is really going on and without realizing it was just a phase. On the one hand, I can't blame them for wanting to protect their kids, but on the other hand these ladies have never shown that they liked me at all. They have never talked to me other than these times, so it's hard to feel like they care or that they have any interests other than their own at heart, even the one who was supposedly speaking for all the kids.

So anyway, I went with him for part of nursery, and so did Jeremy. Jeremy thinks this whole thing is dumb too and was tempted to video Chase taking things from the other kids all the time. The Young Women's president brought her son to nursery anyway and he did great. He didn't even notice when she left. And after Joshua's ordination I put Timmy in his Primary class and left, and he did just fine. I just want them to see that the phase has passed and to just leave it alone! We shall see. I'm trying to take care of my son too, ladies.

And on a different note, if you're reading this, please pray for Jeremy! He has applied for a lecturer position at SUU. He is qualified for it, and it would be such a blessing to us in so many ways! It would help us get out of Globe where Jeremy is so terribly allergic, and it would help us get back to Cedar City. It was such a good place for our family. He really is hoping to get it. Please pray with us that he can!

Quite a week

We went to St. Johns to visit my parents last Tuesday. We left in the morning and came home that evening. Robert and Kelly were there too. It was so nice to see them all and to finally see Mama's new kitchen! Its still strange to me that she has a dishwasher! But its great, and the kitchen is lovely. :)

I got a new toy from my dad in the mail a few days before our trip. It's a birthday present. It is a Nexus 7! I feel horribly spoiled. It's fun to have a tablet, though, and it's much more portable than my old laptop. Its fun playing around and figuring out all it does. The boys love that they can say, "OK, Google," and then ask a question. And right at this moment I am composing this blog post on the Nexus. The Blogger app for Google devices needs a lot of work, but it works just fine for a basic post, and it's nice that I can do it one here when all the computers are in use!

Anyway, so my dad sat down with me and helped me get a movie and songs and a few other things on here. The boys have now watched The Emperor's New Groove a few times on here. Dad told me where to get stuff on my PC so I can get more movies on here. I am still working on that. (Windows 8, grumble, grumble. Ha ha. Really, so far Windows 8 has been fine. It does seem to run a little slow because of the start page running in the background, but we've found some fun apps, and overall it just needed getting used to.)

The kiddos had a great time. They jumped on the trampoline and went to fly kites and airplanes. Timmy put together two big puzzles and had so much fun playing with all the different toys. He was mad when we left. Mama made pizza for dinner, and we got home around 10:00 I think.

Joshua turned 12 on Thursday. The night before, my parents came to town. They left Robert with us, and I made spaghetti while my parents took Joshua to dinner.

On Thursday morning we saw them all again before they went on to the Gila Valley. Mama went to Walmart and Dad took Hyrum to fly helicopters. I also ran to Walmart to get Joshua a birthday shirt.

My parents went on their way, and we had lunch and headed to Mesa. We went to the dollar theater at Superstition Springs Mall to celebrate Joshua's birthday. He chose the second movie of The Hobbit. We really wanted to see The Lego Movie, but it wasn't there yet. They two older boys really enjoyed the movie. Benji and Michael were kind of wiggly. I think they prefer watching at home where they can get up and wiggle if they need to. Brom did awesome. He ate for a long, long time, and when he wasn't eating he was just happy. Jill and Timmy were just fine for a good 2/3 of the movie, and then they were just done. Jeremy ended up taking them outside to play in the water and stuff. One problem was that Timmy had lost one she and Jill had lost both in the theater. We found them all later, thanks to the handy dandy flashlight app on my phone, though. Another problem was that Jill got stubborn and kept trying to go off on her own. That's something we specifically told them they could not do at the mall. The consequence of that was that we couldn't walk around the mall after the movie. Hyrum, Benji, and Jill were all mad about that. And the other problem was that those little ones got really impatient at the end of the wait. I came out of the theater with the five other guys and sent them all to the bathroom, and then I saw Jeremy out the window holding two very squirmy and sad kiddos. Poor Jeremy! However, this experience taught us that with four big tubs of popcorn and a more kid-friendly movie we could do that again! That's fun. The last time we went as a family was when we saw Finding Memo a long time ago. That didn't go well...

So anyway, we got ice cream on the way home. Joshua had made cake that needed frosted. It fell all apart as we took it out of the pan, so I helped frost it back into shape. He had picked some gummy shapes and swirly candles to put on it. He was pretty pleased with the finished product. But between that and frying frozen burritos (Joshua's choice) and feeding the little guy  it was like 9:00 before we had a birthday party, and then Papa and Joshua decided it was too late to actually eat the cake. I wrapped it up and hid it in my bathroom. Jill and Timmy were really upset about that.

From us Joshua got a gray Garfield shirt (gray is his favorite color and he loves Garfield), a new sleeping bag, a new R/C helicopter, some ties (he is a deacon now, after all), and a castle puzzle. He picked the sleeping bag and puzzle and was pretty excited about all of it. (Well, except for the ties. Ha ha! Ties aren't very exciting.)

On Saturday I tried to get the house clean for Sunday. I wasn't as successful as I hoped. I really wouldn't have been successful at all if Jeremy and the boys hadn't helped me! With all that went on dinner wasn't ready until like 9:00, and then I still hadn't gotten throwaway dishes for Sunday dinner. So I got the kiddos started towards bed while Jeremy went to the store. It turns out that was a really bad idea. He came home wheezing. He used his nebulizer and took a hot shower, but he came out wheezing more. I was in Jill and Timmy's room trying to get the three little ones to sleep when I heard Jeremy yell, "Honey!" I ran out to the living room. He was using his nebulizer again but could only breathe in short puffs and could hardly talk at all. I grabbed my phone and called his dad to come and give him a blessing. The hurried over. Jeremy decided he had probably better just go to the hospital, so they took him there. I think they gave him a blessing on the way or something.

At the hospital they injected him with steroids and got him on oxygen and another nebulizer. It all helped pretty quickly. Thank heavens! He was gone until 12:30 or so. I felt bad having them all out so late, especially since Aaron had just spent a long night camping the night before, but I was so thankful that they came and helped. Jeremy came back talking and laughing, and his shoulders were no longer tense like they get when he is struggling to breathe. He also got a prescription that needed filled right away Sunday morning. He took it to the pharmacy as soon as it was open right after Sacrament Meeting and then he picked it up after church. I am so thankful that he is OK! Those asthma attacks get so scary so fast!

We made it to church on time for once! My parents came and sat by us. Joshua got sustained to be ordained a deacon. And he got spotlighted at the beginning of Primary. The way they do it - they don't tell who is being spotlighted at first. They have everyone stand up, and then they call out things about the person, and everyone that those things don't apply to sits down. The last person standing is the person being spotlighted. The problem is that since it's a surprise I can't asked them what their answers would be, so I'm never sure if I've got it just right. And the spotlight sheet is worded weird. It's written like a poem and asks for some weird things. And Joshua is a very literal person. If you say he likes to do something you are saying he does it all the time. So when they were reading from the spotlight page Joshua kept standing up and sitting down. I guess I didn't get things exactly right. He knew they were spotlighting him, though, so he always stood up again. It was hilarious.

And after that we took him to Sunday School with Hyrum. He's all done with Primary now! That's how they do not in this ward. He is pleased with that. He feels like they talk to them all like they're little kids, and to be honest, they really do. He has been wanting to be done with that for like two years. Every now and then we'd just let him come with us to our class, and he liked that better. He says that he liked going to Sunday School and Priesthood better, and that the likes the scouts. They are good, nice boys.

We all went into Priesthood right at the beginning because that's when Joshua was ordained. My dad ordained him. He was given a nice blessing. I think if I wasn't worried about that sad little Brom and Timmy bouncing on my lap I would have thought to write it down. Ha ha! Oh, well. What I remember is that he will hold fast to the church and prepare to serve a mission. That is something I've already noticed about him. He does indeed have a budding testimony, and he is planning on a mission. I like how the Gospel is a fundamental part of his life. He's always liked to know how things are and have them stay that way. The Gospel and the standards we live by don't change, and he recognizes that blessings come from following those "rules." I wish I remembered more of the blessing!

After that I took Timmy to his Sunbeams class and Mama and I went to Relief Society. It was fun to have my mom there, and I liked hearing Kenzie's comments from the back. :)

And after church Mama and I went right to work making 6 pizzas. It quickly became apparent that she's not used to Timmy cooking with her. Ha ha! Sorry, Mama! I don't dare squash his enthusiasm, and I like that he likes to help. He drives me crazy too! I made the dough and Mama made coleslaw and made the dough into pizza. My dad helped Timmy and helped put cheese and meat on. It worked out pretty good, and it was yummy! And as soon as the pizza was out Joshua was making red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting. He did awesome! The cupcakes were light and soft and the frosting was fluffy and great. Yum! I was so pleased with how it all worked out!

So there you go. That was our busy week. Busy and full of blessings. And we thought Jeremy would get some sleep to help stave off asthma attacks. Pfff! ;) Hopefully we can get him to bed sooner this week!

Little Guy

 

Here are some things about six-months-old Brom:

 

He still likes to play with  his own hands sometimes. He'll notice them in front of him and get really serious and try to grab his own fingers. You can see he is working really hard at figuring out his hands.

 

He now naps at least once a day. He had stopped napping for a while, but he usually slept through the night. Now that he takes little naps he doesn't sleep as long at night, but he still sleeps pretty good.

 

A couple of weeks ago he was sick with a yucky cough and horrid allergies. His eyelids were red and his nose ran like a faucet. I think he got a bit of a cold too. I took a lot of Vitamin C and it helped. Hooray!

 

He is great at sitting. He likes me to sit him on the floor with toys. He can sit for a good five minutes or so before falling over. :) I love it. He looks so cute and tiny sitting there.

 

He gets really happy about being laid on flat surface (i.e. the floor, the little trampoline, my bed, etc. He throws his arms out to side and kicks his legs making excited sounds.

 

He can entertain himself for bit now. I can put him in his swing and he'll grab the flowers that hang above him and play happily for ten minutes or so. He is tall enough for a walker now, too. He likes that. There's a flower with a mirror on it, and he likes to eat it. He scoots around backwards. Fun times! (Just a side note -Timmy also likes the walker. He sits in it and walks around, and he turns the flower like it's a steering wheel. Ha ha!)

 

He is still a very good easy-going baby. He is usually happy, and he does great at church. Her is very smiley too. He smiles at pretty much everybody, especially when he makes eye contact. He laughs easily too. It's cute how his sense of humor is developing. Sometimes he'll pick one word out of something I said and laugh about it. He never laughs very hard, but he does laugh.

 

He got his first tooth last week and also rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time. He can easily roll from his back to his side. He really needs more opportunity for practice. I just like to hold him - a lot.

 

He is pretty ticklish. He likes me to kiss his checks while my chin tickles his neck. His sides and thighs are ticklish as well. Pretty fun. :)

 

He likes baths. Baths are magic. They calm my sad babies right down. I still lay him down for a bath because the tub is slippery, and he likes it. He waves his arms and legs around like crazy. I love giving him baths.

 

He likes to eat everything he can get his hands on. He has also been really interested in whatever were eating, so we give him little tastes now and then. He likes that.

More stuff

Have I ever mentioned that I dislike coming up with titles? I sure do. I feel all pleased when I come up with a good one, but I have a hard time making them up.

Ok. Gotta hurry with this one.

We've had some good wind (not like crazy blow-your-face-off St. Johns wind.) and some rain. I hope we get more. I like spring, but I still wish it didn't bring hard times for Jeremy. Jill wanted to get a little swimming pool today, but it was too windy and we'd need a new hose to fill it. We may have to get those when the wind quiets down.

Today Brom and I went to the Dr. Since last spring I've been having something like asthma to go along with my allergies.  I wasn't diagnosed with anything today, but I have an inhaler and an anti-allergy medicine too. I am glad to have it because I've been borrowing Jeremy's inhaler, and I don't want to be using up his medicine during spring time! But every now and then I need some too. I'm glad that's done. It feels weird that i have an inhaler. Oh, well. It is one of the use as needed kind, not the twice daily kind.

Also, the good news is that I weighed about ten pounds less than I thought I did. (I avoid weighing myself like I avoid the plague. I am afraid of what the scale will say!) And that means that I have lost about 30 lbs since I got pregnant with Brom. Whoa! I hope it stays lost! And I am pretty pleased.

And Brom got his six month checkup. He has gained about 10 lbs since birth. He is still in like the 98th percentile for his height, but his weight percentile went down from like the 74th to the 41st. He didn't lose weight, but his weight gain just isn't following the same curve that he was. I'm not really worried about it. A couple of weeks ago he had a yucky cold and kept choking on the guck in his throat and throwing up. I figure that's why his growth rate was lower. But she wants to check him again in 2 weeks and see if his weight is bouncing back or if she needs to worry.

And, of course, he got shots. :( He got one oral vaccine and 3 pokes. It is so sad. He was such a good, happy boy for most of the time we were there (2 1/2 hours!), and then he got poked. And later he didn't feel good at all. And to top it off, he is still teething. I held him as much as I could this evening. Poor fella had a tough time. And I feel so bad, too, because Jeremy doesn't think vaccines do any good. So I feel like he thinks I just went out and wounded our child for nothing. I really don't dwell on that too much, though. I can't change his mind, but getting their shots is important to me. I don't want my kiddos to get those horrible diseases! So I will keep at it, and before we know it he'll be 4 and pretty much done until 11. Thank heavens he doesn't have serious reactions. Then I would feel stupid AND bad. Ha ha!

So anyway, sad day for the buddy. Bathies are magical. They pretty much always help, even when my babies are at their saddest. And I held him like I promised. He is sleeping now, and I am going to join that party! Good night!