Camalamarooski

Cameron turned eight this year.  EIGHT is a big one around here.  He started Scouts and his baptism is scheduled for May 4th.  He couldn't be more thrilled about his opportunity to be the center of attention. I think he's excited about the ordinance too. 

Cameron is a sports announcer in the making.  He lives, breaths, sleeps, reads all things sports.  Driving in the car there is the constant hum of Cameron's color commentary from the back seat.  It's intense people. 

He is also Mr. Social, always wondering when we can invite people for dinner, when he can have a play date; making sure we attend every church and school activity.  He loves to be busy with social things.  He also loves structure, he asks me incessantly about what our "plan" is.  What's our plan for lunch, what's our plan for the weekend, what's our plan for the day, the homework plan, the chores plan, the reading plan.  Someday our little Mr. Organized is going to rock the spreadsheet. 

Cam continues to have a hypersensitive conscience.  He's the kind of kid that you just give him "the look" and he falls in line.  He is prone to guilt and eager to please.   (These are the things I know he gets from me, and it gives me a little anxiety worrying he will be insecure.) 

He is also a bit of a manipulator.  As demonstrated by the contract below, he exercises dominion over his desperate younger brother.  He is the oldest child, I think bossy is written in his code. 

Cameron does well in school, and we really feel so blessed by his genuine desire to do the right thing.  Sometimes a little ego and self-absorption keep him from feeling empathy and compassion, but we're going to assume that will develop with age. 

For his birthday he got a basketball hoop, a "real" one that he plays on the back patio for hours at a time.  Before school, after school, whenever he can sneak away.  It was well worth the $$ that's all I can say...

Scriptures from Baca and Grandpa Bird for the big #8.  Let a new tradition be born!

There have been similar contracts about Eli keeping the room clean while Cameron is at school, and Eli choosing Madden 09 instead of MarioKart when it's his turn to pick the Wii game. 

 

March madness has invaded my house.  I'm finding homemade brackets everywhere. 

Cameron and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters together.  He loved it, therefore I loved it by association.

Eli Eli Puddin' 'n' Pie

Eli had a birthay- shout hooray!

When I pull out the hand-me-down clothes for Simon, enough time has gone by since Eli wore them that I am sometimes overcome with nostalgia, and the realization that time passes so quickly.   Because of the gap in years between Eli and Miriam, I feel like Eli and I had a really great year when he was two. So now that Simon is two, and wearing those cute little clothes, I have been reminiscing about those days with my little buddy Eli. 

And now he is six!

Eli is smart.  He is shy.  He is detail-oriented and either focused to a fault or totally distracted.  He is a wandering soul, easily absorbed in the world around him.  He is the kid who literally stops to smell the roses.  He is sensitive.  But hell hath no fury like an angry Eli.  He would do anything for Cameron, or any of his siblings.  He is nurturing and kind.  He will play for hours by himself in his bedroom while the little ones nap.  I love the days when he doesn't go to kindy because he keeps Mim and Si entertained. 

A few months ago as the kids climbed in the van after school Cameron shouted to a boy in his class something about the boy's "annoying sister" - who happens to be in Eli's class.  Cameron started wailing and this is how it went

Cameron: Eli hit me for no reason!
Eli: No I didn't....There was a reason!

The reason turned out to be that it bothered Eli that Cameron had said something rude about his classmate.

On another trip home from school Eli informed us that he was going to go to 1st grade for reading groups. 

Cameron: Are there any other kids in your class going?
Eli: Nope.
Cameron: Are there any other kindergartners going?
Eli: Nope.
Cameron: Are you going to be shy?
Eli: Nope.

Richard and I are banking on Eli's intelligence to compensate for what he lacks in size, to help him have self-confidence. 

Eli is myterious, and parenting him feels like a crapshoot.  He can be hard to discpline because it's hard to find consequences that really reach him.  But a few things we have discovered that he really cares about, that we can use as leverage are nickels, Richard's nightly ritual of reading Narnia, the Wii, and all things Star Wars. 

Because speed is not his strength we thought Chess would be just the kind of game for him.  For his birthday he also got a Star Wars X-Wing model, a couple books, and some Star Wars legos. 

Obviously we love our Eli-Pie and love the way he stretches our limits and shifts our paradigms.

At the wedding of "Q" and "U".  Eli sometimes wears his gloves for hours at at time. 

The R2D2 valentine box.  He was so proud. 

Easter... again. Every year it comes. Imagine that.

Is there anything in life that isn't some sort of balancing act?  The sentimental, traditionalist, secular, sugar-addict part of me loves Easter.  So does the spiritual part of me.  It's tricky making holidays be about what they are supposed to be about while still enjoying the... um... commercialized part of them. 

I had a hard time with that last sentence.  Is there any justification for consumerism?

What with Facebook and Pinterest it's super easy to get caught up in the adorable and fun ideas for holidays.  So when I saw an article floating around making a request to mothers/parents everywhere to chill out a bit with the holiday festivities, I was worried it was going to rain on my over-achiever parade.  It wasn't like that so much, though.  It just politely asked that together we all tone it down a bit to settle the expectations of our entitled children.  For example, do we really need a leprechaun to bring gifts for the kids?  Can we just stick with wearing green on St. Patty's day? Fair enough. 

So we combined plastic eggs full of chocolate and jelly beans with our Resurrection Rolls from last year and had a wonderful morning.

Whatever we decided to do on Easter, we couldn't have asked for a more glorious spring day.  It was so beautiful.  Just like these hooligan children of mine. 

Happy Birthday Simon

Miriam was only eight months old when I found out I was pregnant with Simon.  The idea took some getting used to.  Even in the first few weeks of his life Richard and I were still feeling like we weren't ready.  Now, he is a fixture around here, and a delightful one. 

On the night of his birthday a week ago, I lied in bed and couldn't believe it had been two years.  My baby is two years old! Yikes!

Simon is a character.  In the picture above he is doing his new, slightly neurotic, habit of picking at his lip with his fingers.  He does it when he's nervous or shy. 

He is still a snuggle-bug and will lay his head on my should when I go to get him up in the morning or after nap. Every night at family prayer Simon and Miriam fight over who gets to sit on my lap. 

He loves glasses/goggles and hats.  He puts them on whenever he finds them and wears them for hours. 

Eli was the original "Horrible Headwound Harry" but Simon has taken over and set new records. 

He loves puzzles. "Puzz!" He shouts at me all the time "Hep you!" (Which is actually what he says when he means "Help me!") He spends a lot of time on puzzles, which is a lifesaver at dinner time.

Up until recently Simon has always been totally content with a little attention.  With Simon, a little attention yields a giant reward.  But lately he's been a little more demanding.  He's starting to have some mini-meltdowns, which at this age are simply adorable.  Look at that face! Richard and I have discovered that a few minutes in his crib will cause him to forget what he was upset about and then when you go in to retrieve him he is just happy to have your attention again. 

He is a little thrill-seeker.  We took the kids sledding and Simon was by far the one who enjoyed it the most.  That might explain his perpetually bruised forehead. 

He loves playing with any of the siblings, and has no problem playing babies with Mim. 

 

Simon has done a fantastic job of consolidating the syllables in words and names.  Why say in three syllables what can be said in one or two? 

 

Misha (the dog)- "Sha"

Baca - Ga

Grandpa - Grum

Shoes On - Shon

I don't know - Ah-no

Eli- Yai

Cameron - Can

Miriam- Min

 

Simon is utterly adorable when he is not operating under the influence of his older sister.  And even then, when they are making me crazy with their mischeivous antics, I can't resist kissing his cheeks. 

 

So even though it sounds cliche, and even though we were unprepared and I still feel like I have never quite regained control of my life since he was born, I really really

 

really

 

couldn't imagine life without this little guy.