My Growing Boys : September 2020

Liam: Liam is loving 1st grade. He is attending ALA again and in spite of covid rules and changes, he is still thriving and having a wonderful experience at school. He LOVES his teacher Mrs. Anderson and has a lot of new friends. He likes to participate in foot races at recess, learn about pokemon cards through his friends and even brings home all the "lame ones" that are given to him. The other day his teacher called to verify what was in his lunch, confused, i explained that i packed him grapes, a bag of popcorn, carrots with hummus and a ham sandwich. She said 'ok, during recess i let them have a snack and he has been eating his lunch during snack time and then buying lunch on credit in the cafeteria.... "yeah thats not right" I responded. I thanked her for checking in about it and had a little talk with Liam about honesty and keeping our word. (We have a "once a week" rule when it comes to buying lunch) He felt bad but I get the feeling he will always be pushing the boundries and finding loop holes...inquisitive and problem solving! Now i just need to help him find more worth-while "problems" to solve. He LOVES making friends, it's one of his main goals this year and i am beaming with pride at how tenatious and determined he is to put his plans in motion. He made a form for me to help him fill out that consisted of a name line, address line and phone number line. He had my fill it out 8-9 times and then cut them in strips so that he could give our contact information to his new friends at recess and arrange playdates! I was impressed and with a little revisioning (removing the address line) we got to work and by the end of the week, all the slips were given away and now we wait anxiously by the phone. He even found out where the bus stop is in our neighborhood so that we could go there after school and play with friends on the playground. Liam now has Parker, Carly and Aden as friends and fellow adventurers. My hearts so full! Matix: Matix loves Metallica, Baracuda and Crazy Train. If we play any rock music, we look in the rear view mirror to find him head banging with a furrowed brow, eyes squeezed tight and lips pushed out to make the gnarliest rocker face you've ever seen on a four year old. He knows as many words as I'll allow him to hear and wants to tell everyone, like he's discovered the Americas. His preschool teacher approached my car at pickup and said she needed to tell me something. My "worst case senerio" mind went straight to behavioral issues but I was relieved when she said "Matix sang the entire first verse of Sandman from Metallica today at recess, I'm pretty sure your kid is cooler than me!" I was oddly proud and embarrassed at the same time. He also loves his back tickled, it doesn't matter who you are, if he feels the inkling to be tickled, he'll curl up on your lap, lift his shirt and wait for you to piece together the situation and start tickling. He still takes a 2 hour nap every day that i thank Heavenly Father for daily. He loves making Easton laugh, practicing archery and being in charge. He likes to help with everything, cleaning dishes, making eggs, using the microwave and getting Easton from A to B. He's still terrified of heights and never afraid to put anything in his mouth including bugs, strange foods and foreign objects (He isn't still teething, right?) and currency. He proudly writes and spells his name whenever possible and we are all shocked at how well he has memorized the Restoration Proclamation, we are only a few paragraphs in but he never forgets a word! Hes still full of passion that bubbles over into a fight a few dozen times a day but I've learned a few key words that help him remember how to keep the peace in his heart and still feel his big feelings "Oh no, you're not a volcano are you?!" ( That one makes him smile) and "Deep breathe, I can see your frustrated" are my favorites but anything accompanied with physical touch helps him find his focus. I'm so proud of his improvements over the past month and feel so much closer to him as we work together on our patience and peacemaking. Easton What can I say. He makes our home a heaven on earth. His sweet smile is mature and intuitive and he seems to know how to take care of use better than we take care of him. He laughs at all his brothers jokes and sometimes he laughs for no other reason than to make a joyful noise. His poor ezcema is heart breaking and some days covers his whole body but he never complains and lets me lather him up and change his diet and detergent constantly. Another quest to find the irritant...fun, fun fun. Easton lets everyone love on him but makes sure no one feel left out by changing preference of whose holding him constantly. He snuggles me daily, laying on my chest for a few moments then lifting his head to make eye contact, smile and repeat. Its probably my new favorite hobby, I could do it all day. He's really getting around now, running when he can and getting into toilets whenever the opportunity presents itself. He loves being outside and playing on the grass, its both of ours favorite spot to be. When dad walks through the door after work, no matter what part of the house he is in, when he hears that door latch shift, he starts screaming dads and running to the door. He jumps in his arms and stares at him lovingly for as long as he can before chad and I start laughing. They snuggle on the couch and Easton doesnt want the moment to end, always staying as still as he can and just smiling.