Doesn't Matter Where

Reid really hates to be alone. He always has. And bedtime has often been a major struggle because of it. We have thrown in the towel on trying to get him to sleep in his bed though. He falls asleep most nights under the table in the hallway downstairs. As long as he can see one of us he will crash within minutes. He is such a goofy little man. I keep telling myself that someday he will sleep in a bed like a normal child. Baby number 5 apparently gets a new set of rules. Sheesh.

New Specs!

Zane was due for new glasses and new frames. His old ones were completely thrashed and were being held together by a staple. So it was with much delight that we went to pick up his new glasses this week. Previously I had gotten transition lenses put in but our new insurance does not cover it so we opted to get a pair of prescription sunglasses as well. He is very thrilled with his new look!

Rascals

Reid has been an utter rascal the last few weeks.  Eric has been working long days and late nights which has left me to manage dinner and bedtime solo most nights. I have discovered that there is a surefire way to keep him out of trouble though, give him a bath. He will play in the tub for as long as I let him and magically when tub time is done it is time for bed. It is not a bad gig. The kid gets clean and I save my sanity. Win, win!

Learning to Sew

Miss Lucy got a cross stitch kit for her birthday. We finally had time to start working on it and she is taking to it like a duck to water! I forget how slow it can be to learn but she is absolutely determined. Can't hardly wait to see the finished product.

Imp

This little boy is 100% imp these days. He is very interested in following the big kids and being just like them. His vocabulary is really coming along as well. He is talking up a storm and it is so much fun to hear what is going on in his head.

4.0

Andrew just finished his first semester of middle school and he could not have done a better job. He rocked all 6 of his classes (two of them being challenge) and managed to get straight A's. We went out to Dairy Queen for ice cream to celebrate. It is a good thing that I don't pay him for grades. I would be broke!

Lucy's 7th Birthday

Lucy celebrated her 7th birthday with friends the weekend after her actual birthday. She was very excited to have a Frozen themed party. She managed to be easy on me with her cake decoration requests and just wanted sunshine and snowflakes. Easily done!

Helping Daddy

Reid helped Eric work on the car by jacking it up for him. He is so strong it is ridiculous. We are constantly amazed at how tough and strong Reid is for his age and his size.

This goes way beyond his goat milker hands. He is just strong all over and he knows it.

Lucy is 7

We had a small family celebration at Red Robin for Lucy on her birthday this year. Eric had to work so we snuck away to celebrate our special girl for lunch!

7 years old is such a big deal to me. It is like the final cross over from babyhood to big kid territory to me. I don't think there is anything magical that happens when my kids turn 7, rather I think it is a mental shift that I make in the way that I think about and train my kids. The initial hard work is done by the time they are 7. Basic character traits have been established and personalities have fully emerged. There are future changes and events and shifts that happen but this is a milestone age to me. Happy birthday my Lucy girl.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Today is the day my girls look forward to all year! The high school does an amazing job hosting a dance every January for dads and daughters. It means a lot to the girls that Eric takes them. It does not hurt that there are lots of cookies and cupcakes and punch. And this year the theme is Frozen. So that just adds to the excitement of the night. And let's not kid ourselves, any daddy that misses a Seahawks playoff game must be very committed to his baby girls. They are the priority and they know it.

First Haircut for the Ollie-wog

Ollie had been looking like a long haired hippy these days and I decided that we needed to finally do something about it.

Ollie was not exactly sure that he was ready to have his hair cut but he was a trooper as soon as the hair stylist gave him a sucker to eat. Now my baby looks like such a big boy. Bittersweet feelings over here for sure!

Merry Christmas!

It was a great Christmas this year! We had a wonderful and mellow celebration with both sides of the grandparent equation and Uncle Reece and Auntie Angie.

Presents, dinner, some more presents, dessert and Christmas is complete!

Farewell Calvin the Wonderdog

We have known for several months that Calvin was not looking good. He had a stroke a year and a half ago and we really thought that was going to be the end of him. He rallied though and came back from his stroke, not the same as before but still a friendly happy dog that was a wonderful member of our family. Well last night Calvin started shuddering as he was breathing in with every single breath. And just by watching him we knew it was time. We called the vet hospital for advice and went to the ever trusty Dr. Google for information and it all said the same thing. Calvin was in pain and was hurting. Eric ended up carrying him to the car because he could no longer stand up, he would just slump over when placed on his feet.

We arrived at the vet hospital and the receptionist took one look at him and confirmed what we already knew, he was looking very bad and we needed to make some decisions for him. I am thankful for the decision being easy. It was very hard to watch him be in that type of pain and be that out of it. He could hardly pick his head up and seemed to be in some type of spaced out zone. I have no doubt that he would have died within the next day or so but we did the right thing by him and had him put to sleep.

What can I say about Calvin? He truly was a phenomenal dog. The best family dog I have ever seen. He was so unfailingly patient with the kids and the babies. I remember that when we brought Andrew home from the hospital that he was totally uninterested in him until around 6 months later he discovered that this small little package would feed him from the high chair. He would start sniffing around our future babies as soon as we brought them home from the hospital, looking for scraps. In his later years the babies crying would bother his ears and he would howl with them when they were sobbing. His sweet little heart couldn't understand why I wasn't doing SOMETHING to make that baby happy and quiet.

Calvin had a cast iron stomach. I can not even begin to describe the amount of food he ate off counters. Dozens of cupcakes, loaves of banana bread, pound boxes of See's chocolates, all was fair game for him and he rarely was ill from it. He would slink at the slightest disapproval in our voices and look mournfully at us for his transgressions.

Calvin would let the kids tug on him. Pet him. Roughhouse with him. He would not let them climb on him. But ears, tail, gums, stealing his bone, stealing his toys, all was ok with him. He did not snap at them. At most he would groan and get up and move. He was unfailingly tolerate with them and he adored them always.

Calvin was the best dog I could ever ask for. There will be no replacing him. He was truly one in a million.

An Early Christmas Present

The girls have been asking to get their ears pierced for several months now and it seemed like a perfect Christmas present for the both of them!

To say they were very excited would be a huge understatement. They were so thrilled to pick out their earrings. Lucy picked out sparkly 'diamond' flowers and Gwen chose little red ladybugs.

Lucy chose to go first and was extremely brave the whole time. She gasped a little when they pierced her first ear but she took it like a champ. There were zero tears from her. Just a whole lot of excitement!

Miss Gwen hopped up into the chair and prepared herself to do as good of a job as Lucy. And she did!

Gwen was closer to tears than Lucy but she is a tough cookie and didn't even make a whimper. She is very thrilled with how nice her ears look now too! They are getting so big and grown up now. I can hardly stand it.

O Christmas Tree...

It has been an odd Christmas season for me this year. We put our tree up and got it decorated. And that is just about everything that I have done for Christmas. The kids were super excited for the tree though and it looks like the season in my front room. Which is all I need. It is going to be a nice, mellow holiday, I can just tell.

Big Too

Mr. Oliver has decided that he can play and wrestle with the big kids almost all the time these days. He grabs his blanket and curls up on the floor with anyone who is willing to let him be big. It is very cute and way too grown up for me!

Mac and Tab

Miss Gwen has been making huge strides in reading since this summer! I was quite concerned this summer when we worked and worked on letter recognition with Gwen and it just didn't seem to be sticking. She had a very hard time remembering letter names and often got them twisted around entirely. I thought she might have some version of dyslexia because it really did seem that she was struggling. I should have known that this determined little girl would not let anything stand in her way though. A month ago Gwen asked to try and read a book to me. I have a set of very early readers and the first book is called Mac and Tab. It is where I start with all my kiddos and a month ago she could 'tap out' the sounds in the words but not blend them together to actually get the word. Last night she asked to try and read it to me again though and, much to my happy surprise, she blazed right through it! I am so impressed with her determination and drive. She is going to be another reader I am quite sure. I am so ready to have a reader that loves the girly books like I do.