conversation

I'm pretty sure this is one of those things that no one else will find as funny as we did at the time, but I'm going to record it anyways so that someday when I go back and read this hopefully I can have a good laugh.  :)  

Let me set the stage: It's suppertime and we're eating burgers.  I see Logan glance at the world map on the wall, and then he asks, "Dad, what's your favorite continent?"  Mike answers, taking this very seriously, "I don't know...ketchup, mustard, mayo, they're all good!"  I'm laughing and wondering if Logan even knows what the word "condiment" is, and Logan's wondering what in the world Mike is talking about.  For some reason this really hit our funny bones and we laughed SO hard!

Another funny one...from time to time (*cough*) our older boys will cry and whine about who knows what.  I know, shocking, isn't it?  :)  A few times lately when this has happened, Jackson will say, "Baby Wuvi!"  He still refers to all of his big brothers as Wuvi, and it's just hilarious when they're acting like babies and their 2 year old little brother calls them out on it!

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I really don't know how parents of larger families do it - there is just way too much to keep track of with each child and their individual needs. 

Poor Caleb, he's dealing with a few extra things right now.  I don't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but a little while back he failed the hearing test at school, so next week he has to go into the Health Department for a retest.  Last week Mike took Caleb and Logan in for dentist appointments.  Caleb has one cavity (the first of any of the kids), and needs to get in to an orthodontist.  :(  We knew that was coming at some point, but were hoping we had another year or two before having to start with that.  He has a cross bite and needs to get an expander to help correct how his teeth are growing in. 

I was relieved how Logan checked out at the dentist.  Last year the hygienist said she had to do quite a bit of cleaning and he needed to work on his brushing.  Well, he must have improved because she said he looked great this time!  Levi and I go to the dentist tomorrow afternoon.  I know I'm going to need some work done.  Good times.  We've been selling a lot of wood this fall.  Looks like I know what that money is going towards!

A few months ago we noticed a couple bumps on Levi's torso that looked like warts.  Then all of the sudden he had a bunch of them on his torso.  And, a few days ago he told me they were on his legs, too!  He has an area on both of his upper thighs that has them.  This morning I was in to the doctor with Jackson for his 2 year check-up, and asked him about it.  He said it's probably a virus that just needs to run it's course and could take several months.  I'm going to take a closer look when Levi gets home from school, and if it doesn't match a picture that the doctor showed me, then I'll need to get him in to be looked at.  But, if it matches the picture then it's this certain virus and we just have to wait it out. 

So, yeah, Jackson had a well-child visit to the doctor this morning.  Besides charming the whole office (no surprise there), he checked out really well.  He came in wearing his new cow backpack, carrying his combine, and saying 'hi' to the nurse.  He was jabbering like crazy, and had no problem making himself at home in the exam room.  Jackson is 27 lbs, which is 36th percentile; and 2' 11", which is 67th percentile.  He was going on and on about his "pombine" (combine), so at the end of our visit the nurse went to great lengths to find him a combine sticker because she knew they had some somewhere.  She took him in the office area by the receptionists while I was checking out, and I heard all sorts of "oooo's" and "ahhhh's" over him.  ;)  And, on the way out there was a newborn baby in the waiting room that he just had to check out.  What a sweetheart. 

Mike and I have been saying we'd really like to freeze this age.  It is just too much fun.  I remember loving from 2-3 with Levi, too.  With Caleb and Logan I don't know if that age was just too much work with two of them to enjoy it, or if it's all just a blur and I've forgotten.  :)  Jackson definitely has challenging moments where he trying to assert his independence, but problems can usually be fixed with food or sleep.  :)  He is turning into such a little boy with a big personality, and it's pretty awesome having a front row seat.  He is learning and trying new words all the time, and I especially enjoy seeing how he remembers things or when he follows directions.  He still calls all of his brothers "Wuvi", and while he calls both grandpa's "Papa", he does differentiate between Grammy (more like "Gammi") and Grandma (actually comes out sounding like "Obama"...).  Jackson is very social and enjoys a good party - he was so jazzed up at a family dinner the other night; Christmas should be a good time!  (*Ahem* Think he takes after his daddy???) 

Mike and my dad finished corn harvest on Saturday.  I had two boys that were a little sad about that (Levi and Jackson).  Levi was almost in tears.  He absolutely LOVES combining, and could ride for hours. 

Last week was the visitation and funeral for my grandma, and it was a blessed couple days with family.  My sister was able to fly in for a few days, and it was nice to have some extra time with her.  I had some out of town cousins that were also able to make it in.  The funeral was special as it was performed by the pastor that my grandma worked with for several years in Florida.  We always heard so much about Jim Blizzard, but I had only met him once or twice.  Her love of Christ was very evident - my mom was able to read my grandma's testimony that she had typed up a few years back, and that was very special.  The Gospel was clearly shared, and I hope it planted a seed in some hearts.  Mike stayed home with the boys while I went to the visitation, and then for the funeral we were able to take the three older boys.  It was a LONG day between all the driving, funeral, lunch, graveside service, and then dinner with the family; and they really did great with it all. 

Thursday evening we had Parent/Teacher Conferences at school, and we were so thrilled with each of the reports.  Caleb's grades are very good, as well as his behavior.  His teacher noted that he is gentlemanly, and is showing self-control even when others around him are misbehaving.  He could work on his desk organization (No surprise there! Ha!), but she wasn't overly concerned.  Logan is also very gentlemanly, and she mentioned how he is very perceptive of other people's feelings.  His grades are very good, and the teacher said that maybe sometimes he's afraid to try something just because he thinks he might not do it well enough (something I've noticed at home as well).  Levi's teacher said he is "...kind and considerate.  He is quick to help others.  He works hard and does his best."  What more could you ask for??  He has a couple things to work on academically (writing the letter "a", and sounding out words), but if they are trying their best, and their behavior is good, we are so very pleased.  Friday evening we took them out for supper as a reward, and they all agreed on Pizza Ranch.  (Did you catch that?  They all AGREED on the same place!)

I've been trying to decide how to rearrange bedroom assignments upstairs to get Jackson up there soon.  I may be insane, but on Saturday we decided to move Levi into Caleb and Logan's room.  Yes, all three of them together.  So far they've actually been sleeping at night, so that's a good sign.  Getting him moved in there required a major cleaning/reorganizing on my part.  A couple hours into it when I was sitting in the middle of their room with piles of *junk* all around me, I wondered what in the world I was doing.  But, clearly their stuff needed some attention, so although it was painful, it was good I did it.  Levi is all moved in, and now his old room is ready for Jackson to move up.  Now, the problem is, even though I've been thinking about this for a while, I don't know if I'm ready for Jackson to move up....  All this room switching is causing a ripple effect through the house which is a bit overwhelming, but it needs to be done.  Once Jackson is moved upstairs, I'm going to move some of the stuff from my office down to his old room, then hopefully turn my office into a hang out/reading area/lego building spot for the boys.  My plan is to also get a bed set up in the extra bedroom, and still use that room for clothes storage (since I have tubs of clothes in every size, and I need to access them frequently).  I'm just about ready to throw all our extra stuff into a big pile and start it on fire, but I'm too cheap to do that, so I'll keep dealing with it.  :)

we did it

The last week and a half or so has been oh so wonderful with Mike around more.  Two weeks ago on Thursday Mike only had to work a half day, then had the next day and all of the next week off.  Glorious!  After having him around so much I wasn't sure if I could manage getting the kids off to school by myself this morning.  :)

That first Friday I was able to go with Caleb and Logan's class on a field trip to the zoo.  Not the greatest weather, but I suppose it could have been worse.  That evening we had an adult only Soup & Pie night with our group from church, and that was a lot of fun.  I may have eaten too much... 

Last week while Mike was home we caught up on a lot of things around the house.  He brought the boys to school every morning, picked them up most afternoons, and we could let Jackson sleep.  We've been selling wood again this fall, and that's been going really well, so there were a few times the wood stand needed to be stocked, plus we got a bulk customer that needed a delivery.  Yay!  It's so great to have something like that that we can all work together on.

Last Tuesday was Halloween and the boys did some trick or treating.  Caleb was a bank robber, Logan was a bat, Levi was a soccer player, and Jackson was a cow.  I failed to get a good picture of them - it was busy once we get them in their costumes.  We went to Dave and Vonda's, and then over to Eric and Lea Anne's neighborhood, and they got WAY too much candy. 

Wednesday evening our niece, Alyssa, invited me to a canvas painting night at her church.  I was so excited to go, and we had a really nice time.

Thursday was Jackson's 2nd birthday!  My baby's not really a baby anymore!  :(  We had a small party with grandparent's, and I think everyone had fun.  Mike and I had worked on cleaning up the basement to make it a decent place to hang out, and he had gotten the ping pong table set up, so we had a good time with that.  I don't think Jackson quite knew what to think when he was opening presents.  He loved them all and wanted to play with each one as he opened it, but then we'd make him open the next one (it would have taken all night otherwise).  I went with a cow theme for him, getting a book, stuffed animal, backpack, and little cow figurines.  He got a loader from my parents, and a forklift set from Mike's mom and stepdad.  He has been playing with all his new toys, and is very good at saying, "Mine!"  (His older brothers just cannot keep their hands off his new toys...) 

Friday I made an unexpected trip to Grand Ledge.  My grandma had not been doing well, and my mom got notification that she was fading fast, so she wanted to get out there.  My dad was busy combining corn (with Mike and Levi), and I didn't want my mom driving out there alone, so we loaded Jackson in the care and took off.  So many little things worked out nicely for this: it was a beautiful day for a drive, Jackson did SO great for not having a nap, Mike was able to pick the other boys up from school, and it was nice to have one last time to see my grandma even though I hadn't planned on it.  We spent a couple hours there - I saw my grandma for just a couple minutes then hung out in the nursing home while my mom had time with her family.  It was so much fun to brighten people's day at the nursing home - Jackson was just being his adorable little self, and they were loving it.  He was saying 'hi' to everybody, he got a ride on a lady's walker, and there was another lady that was just having fun watching him play and every few minutes would ask how old he was and then say, "Oh, terrible two's!"  I probably had that conversation with her 6-8 times.  :)  My grandma ended up passing away later on Saturday, and so we'll be doing the visitation and funeral thing this week.  Going to be a crazy couple days.  It's such a wonderful feeling to know that she lived a good, full life, and that she had the assurance of salvation.  She is no longer suffering, she has been reunited with my grandpa after 19 years, and I'll see her again someday, too!

Saturday was Mike's annual trip to a U of M game.  The game wasn't scheduled to start until 7:30pm, but of course they had to start tailgating at 11am (crazy).  Not the nicest weather, and the game was postponed until 8:45pm or something like that, but they still stayed for the whole thing and then drove home!  I happily went to bed on time and took advantage of the time change.  :)  Saturday morning the boys were awful, must have been overtired as both Caleb and Levi fell asleep in the afternoon.  After naps we went to Vonda's for snacks and supper with Kara and Alyssa.  (Harold was actually gone hunting in South Dakota, but Will and Tyler were at the game with the other guys.)  Not a true "Girls Night" with my four guys around, but close enough.  :)

On Sunday Jackson went to Sunday School for the first time!  Boo-hoo!!  We peeked in on him and he was just too cute being in class like a big boy.  We love the 2's and 3's teacher and are happy to have someone in class with her again.  He came out of class carrying his papers like he was big stuff, and I just about lost it. 

Hoping the weather is nice at the end of this week after we're done with the funeral and all that.  We got our lawn mower fixed last week, and the the lawn really needs one last mowing before winter.  And, the garden needs to be cleaned up!  Sigh...