Seth in December 2013 - 4 years 6 months old

Seth turned four and a half on Christmas Eve. He was a little disappointed he didn't get half birthday presents, but 1 - it's your half birthday, and 2 - it's Christmas tomorrow. He was pretty excited for it, though. Life continues to be up and down with Seth. He is really moody and predictably unpredictable. Starting preschool was ... an adventure. The first day was a bit rocky - we ended up staying in the hall for a bit. The second day was even worse. It was a special Christmas Tea and Seth didn't want to dress up for it (fine), but then he would not go into class. I refused to leave, so we all sat in the hall for at least a good 30 minutes until Seth's class came out to go and take Christmas tea pictures. We followed along with a sad, crying Seth, but he eventually nudged closer to the kids - they were so cute and sweet and interested in him. By the end of the pictures, he went to Chapel. He ended up staying in the hall or visiting Logan's Mother's Day Out class the entire time, but he made it through the day. The next two days were fine (even though his main teacher was out of town), but the next week had a couple of rocky days again. But I think we've made it through the worst. He is never going to be the kid that loves it and wants to rush out the door, but I can tell that there are parts that he likes and it is good for him and his growth. Surprisingly, Seth volunteered to be Joseph in the class performance for their Christmas show. So, he was Joseph. It was so cute. His class dressed up as the nativity and sang "Away in a Manger". The girl next to Seth thought he was singing too loud and kept trying to shush him and tell him to be quiet. And Mary was probably about a foot taller than him. But he sang out loud and strong all the songs - and there was probably about 9. He knew the words better than anyone and he was only there for a couple weeks. I was very proud of him. The last day or preschool, he brought home a whole bunch of gifts for us (ornaments and pictures and things) and he was so proud to give them to us. So sweet. On a related note, Seth has been going to Sunbeams by himself every week! Yay! The day the Primary was supposed to sing for the Christmas program, Seth told me over and over he wouldn't do it, but when the time came, he went right up and sang. His teachers were so proud of him. His sunbeam teachers were so sweet. One of them made stockings up for all the kids full of candy and little toys and Seth couldn't wait to open it on Christmas, too. Seth was very excited about Christmas. He gets really into things being just so. For Advent, the four Sundays, we read scriptures and share treats. We were a little slack about the readings (and I really wanted to get an advent wreath, but couldn't find one), but Seth would not let us forget about the treats. We had to have them every Sunday and he would pick one out each week at the grocery store. He really enjoyed his presents on Christmas - Lincoln logs, legos, a remote control car, and other odds and ends, but he wasn't satisifed until he opened all the Doraemon comics from Ji. Then, he was in heaven! FUN THINGS THIS MONTH -Dentist, no cavities, and some special xrays. It all looks good! -Ward party. -Seeing Santa -Christmas program at preschool. - CHRISTMAS!

Andrew in December 2013 - 6 years, 7 months

Andrew has been loving his break off from school. He does well in school and is very well behaved (unfortunately, according to him, it sounds like half his class is quite naughty). But I think it takes a bit of a toll on him. And, as he says, he never gets enough time to play. He kind of thought he was going back to school tomorrow and is very happy to hear he has another week of break. He can't believe how much time he gets off! It's kind of cute. He has been playing pretty much non-stop over break. Right around Christmas was a little overwhelming, and the boys wanted to do more screen time, but I think they got through with this and aren't so "bored" anymore. Of course, getting Netflix probably didn't help any. Andrew is on track with school. They raised his reading level finally - the books were getting way too easy. I wish they would raise his level a little quicker, but it's okay. He is probably right on track, maybe a level ahead of where he should be. Sometimes, I wonder why he isn't an avid reader yet at home and reading to himself, but I have to make sure not to project myself onto him. He is reading harder books than the beginning of the year, but more importantly, he is much more fluent, has a better vocabulary, and is answering questions well himself. His handwriting is AWFUL, but it's not really his fault. HIs kindergarten didn't focus a lot on the mechanics of writing, but more on the creative process, and now here, they did NOTHING on that lined paper, and just jumped straight into coursework. But I have been harping on his handwriting more the last few weeks and really instructing him as he does his homework. Last week, he brought home his list of spelling words and they were beautiful! He had really taken his time and wrote all the words clearly at school. I was so proud of him. His math is good - they do SO many word problems, but I try to throw some flashcards in when he lets me before he runs off because he needs to play. This summer, we are going to have to really focus on rote memorization for addition and subtraction so it is cold. Sometimes, I feel like there is a lot of supplementation (right now, we mostly just do history), but he learns a lot at school, too. Andrew is still a little rascal. I feel like it has been coming out more lately. Somedays, it is like he gets on this naughty streak and just can't go one minute without disobeying. For example, this morning, I was trying to get the boys ready for church. Andrew will run around butt naked until he finally gets around to putting clothes on. Then, he will mess with other people's clothes or shoes, then run into the car, and start honking the horn because it's fun. ARGGG - that child. Or the other week, in sacrament meeting, he kept telling Logan to yell things (and yes, Logan does it). And other times, he is like a perfect angel. That child! Andrew uses the bathroom more than anyone I know. He has to go right (and I mean, right) before we leave the house. If we are delayed by something, he will go again, even if it is just 5 minutes. He will go at least TWICE when we go to a restaurant. I don't know how he manages at school! He is just the kind of kid where if he thinks he needs to do something, it is completely and positively non-negotiable. Andrew enjoyed Christmas, but spent much of the season trying to decide if he believed in Santa or not. His class at school celebrated Christmas more than I can imagine. They had an Elf on the Shelf (Andrew begged for us to have one at home, but I don't want to do it and Seth is terrified). Andrew was adamant that the elf was real, no matter how much I told him that they are pretend and you buy them at the store. He even got an email from his elf on his school email!!! Santa visited their classroom and they wrote letters to Santa and he wrote them back (although whoever wrote the letter didn't seem entirely fluent in English). He brought home all kinds of Christmas things and they had a fun Christmas party where they decorated t-shirts! They did celebrate the other holidays a bit (they made dreidels out of marshmallows and chocolate kisses), but I still can't believe how much they did. Andrew ultimately decided he believes in Santa, even though he told me earlier in the season that he think it is just us and we bought the presents. Andrew didn't get everything he wanted from Santa (he wanted Book of Mormon action figures (check!), a remote control helicopter (he got a car from grandma and grandpa), and army stuff (which he didn't get, but he bought himself with a gift card afterwards)), but he still had fun. He got some Legos. He built it himself (a house and fire truck) and really enjoyed it and loves playing with it. He also got Lego minifigs (like 20) from his Uncle Kiyo that he loves to play with. And the boys also got a Connect 4 game and Snap Circuits (yes, those are electronic circuits, but the boys are loving doing the experiments with me). And some Lincoln Logs, which Andrew also really enjoys. And Doraemon books from Ji and Ba. So, it really was a nice Christmas. FUN THINGS THIS MONTH -Football game with Katsu and his brothers. Andrew had a lot of fun. -Kids motion study at ECU. Andrew went in two times and wore an accelerometer for a week (like a souped-up pedometer) and got a $10 gift card to Walmart with which he bought army things, of course. -Thanksgiving. -Dentist appt. No cavities for Andrew, but he was mostly excited about searching for their two elves. He also got a panoramic x-ray and everything looked good. -Ward party. Andrew was a little upset we didn't stay the whole time to see Santa, but Seth and I were feeling a little under the weather. -Seeing Santa at our realtor's office. -Christmas party at school. -CHRISTMAS!

Logan in December - 2 years 1 month old

Logan is growing into a full-on toddler. This month he has expanded his talking so much. I can't believe the vocabulary he has. It is sometimes still hard to figure out what he is saying, if there aren't enough context clues, but he usually speaks clearly - it's just a matter of figuring out what he is trying to tell you. He still mostly speaks in single words, but he will combine words occassionally. He uses both nouns and verbs and also says things like "Quiet!". His most recent word that really cracks me up is "ewww" when he doesn't want some food. Picked that up quick. He is always cracking me up and is really quite fun. Logan has really jumped into playing the last couple weeks. He cries at night because he still wants to play and doesn't want to go to bed. He jumps up from breakfast and runs to go and play. He really likes to play with people (like Little People and action figures) and little animals. I love to hear his people have conversations. They mostly just say their names and talk abotu candy or treats (his all time favorite things). He also loves to play with cars and trains, his shape sorter, puzzles, books, blocks, etc. Today he built a huge city of blocks, stacking them into all kinds of houses and then destroyed the city. "City. Gone." He plays by himself well. He doesn't usually play toys with the older boys - they love to rough house. From morning till night. They wrestle and play hide and seek and chase each other and jump off the beds and furniture and play outside and throw balls, etc. etc. Logan loves to play with basketball hoop outside or to play on the swings. He could swing for hours. Logan is attached to me like glue and it is getting a little old. He wakes up and wants me, wants to sit next to me at every meal, be in my lap always to the exclusion of any of the other children, go down for a nap laying next to me, play with me or sit on my lap when I am working on the computer, help me cook, help me shop, be held by me, let me exclusively change him, and then lay down with me at night and then wake up in the middle of the night crying hysterically for me and refuse to sleep unless I am there. It's a little exhausting! Katsu will say "Do you love me?" and Logan will say "Mommy". He went to nursery for one hour on his own last week and did really well, but this week, he was not himself during Sacrament meeting in anticipation of nursery. We saw a picture of nursery in the Friend and he burst into tears. As soon as sacrament meeting is over, he clings to me and starts sobbing. Someday he will go, right ... Logan's toddler stubborness is starting to come out. He loves to say "no" to everything now. He will often change his mind afterwards to "yes", but it has to start out as no. He starts to hide from me when it's time for nap/diaper change/sleep/clothing change, etc. He thinks it's funny, but he also only wants his way. Logan has started going to a Mother's Day out program at Seth's preschool on Friday mornings, since that is when I will be teaching my lab next semester. He cried hysterically when I dropped him off both days, but he did well and was happy when I picked him up. I know he doesn't love it (he HATES being away from me), but I think it is good for him and the teachers seem great and there are many little boys for him to play with. Logan LOVED Christmas. If you asked him what Santa was bringing him, he would say candy. He loved to point out Santa anywhere he saw him, but he was also terrified of Santa. When we went and saw Santa, Logan would get nowhere near him. He always says that Santa is scary. Cracks me up. He loved getting candy out of the advent calendar every day and also loved the tree. He really enjoyed his presents this year - candy and a car garage with a crane (Santa), Thomas train - he loves to run Thomas endlessly (Great Grandma and Grandpa Crookston), and a remote control police car (Grandma and Grandpa). FUN THINGS THIS MONTH -Football game with Katsu and brothers. Logan LOVES the pirates and had SO much fun. I wasn't quite sure if he would go without me, but he loved it. -Thanksgiving - eventful since Logan got nursemaid's elbow right after dinner. After many attempts, I finally got it back in, but he wouldn't use his left arm (his dominant arm) for a couple days. It seems all better now. -Painting the fence - Logan even helped paint abit. -Dentist visit. Logan sat really well for the exam, even with a stuffy nose. We'll try to get a cleaning on him next time. -Ward Christmas party. Logan was slightly terrified the whole time, because Santa was coming. -Watching Seth's Christmas program at school. -Lots of time at the library, especially while hoping Seth was doing okay in preschool. -Christmas -Dinner with missionaries, who slightly scared Logan- he hid the whole time, until we brought out cake!

Seth is 4 years 5 months old

a week ago ... behind again.

Anyways, the biggest change for Seth this month is he decided he wants to go to preschool.  Yay!  He said it for about a week or two before I felt like he was really sure.  At this point, I wasn't sure if we would be able to find a spot, but luckily the preschool I contacted had just had someone that day say they were going to move.  Crazy!  We visited and Seth was a little nervous, but the kids in his class just loved him and were showing him all around and he made a bracelet and had a fantastic time.  He is signed up for the 4 day class, so he is Tuesday - Friday.  He wanted to start immediately, but I needed to get him a backpack and finish up my semester.  And of course, Seth wanted a particular Batman backpack, so I had to order it online.   And of course, the last two days he says he doesn't want to go to preschool.  But too late buddy!  He starts on Tuesday and I hope he likes it.  I am excited - I think this will be really good for him (for getting ready for kindergarten and not being so bored at home) and I am excited.  Logan will be doing one morning a week too in the Mother's Day Out program, so I will have one morning a week to myself ... well, until I start work again next semester.

Seth went to Sunbeams today the whole time.  Katsu dropped him off - I think that makes the biggest difference.  Yay!  Maybe he will finally go regularly before he is no longer a sunbeam.

Seth is still mostly into reading his books and wanting to play computer games.  He isn't too much interested in learning to read or his work books.  I picked him up some Bob books at the library, though, and he loved them.  I still feel like he is mostly biding time until Andrew comes home from school so they can play together.  He is starting to play more with Logan which makes me happy.

Fun Things This Month:

• Last soccer game.  Seth just loved his season and did really well.  He was always so eager and he still likes to play soccer every day.
• Loving the new swing set.  Would love to swing for an hour or more every day.
• Voting with Mom.  Mostly wanted to try out the swingset at the church we were voting at.  Wish every Sunday that our church had a playground.
• Playing too much Lego Star Wars video game while we painted the fence.  Seth LOVES it.  I smell an addiction on our hands if we aren't careful.
• Visiting preschool.
• Going to an ECU football game.  Seth LOVED it!
• Doing a motion study for ECU.  Seth wore an accelerometer for a week.  I can only imagine the data - it is probably him being still for hours at time (reading comic books) and bouncing around the rest of the time.  Unless that kid is obsessed with something, he is the wiggliest kid I know.
• Thanksgiving - Seth wasn't much interested in the food and didn't stay around at the table very long.  He was mostly interested in playing soccer with our guest before and after.
• Putting up the Christmas tree and decorations.