Birthday letter for Elijah

A little late little buddy, but life has gotten in the way this week.

For Elijah,
You are 6 years old now and it hardly seems possible. 6 is the age when you go to firs grade. It's when you ride the carousel by yourself, when you can cross the street without holding my hand, when you can get ready for school without any help at all- (dressing, brushing teeth, washing hands and face, putting on socks and shoes, and even zipping your coat).

You keep us thinking with your questions- "Mommy, what if the tires on the van were made of rocks and we could crunch over anything so trees could fall on the road and we wouldn't have to stop?" Is there a question in there somewhere? You maintain a steady stream of conversation with your brothers and I on topics that are as broad as the scope of your incredible imagination.

You laugh at Micah's silly dance moves, you cry when you can't do something just right, and you love everyone with a purity that is remarkable. You're a wonderful big brother and son, and we love you 6 year old boy!

LOVE

At breakfast yesterday,

Elijah: Mommy, I love Daddy because he wrestles with me. (spoonful of cereal)
Me: Oh yeah?
Elijah: Uh huh. And I love you because you give me kisses when it's not even bed time. (more eating)

:)

Micah sings Timbaland

Boys and Girls

Our friend Morgan was here for a little while last week. We love having a girl around. All of the boys like playing with her. She and Micah painted for quite a while. While it's true that they all like playing with her, there must be some unwritten rule about sitting beside a girl on the couch...
Can you tell it's almost nap time?

Happy Birthday Micah

Micah turned 4 years old on the 15th! He picked out his own cake mix, icing and candle at the grocery- a process that took a great deal of thought for him. He finally settled on chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing- a man after my own heart. :)
Here we are at our little family celebration...
Nana and Papa visited to give both of the boys their new bikes for their birthdays. Micah chose Spiderman and has had several opportunities to ride even though it's February!
He has really started sounding out words and trying to read after watching Elijah's successes. He of course wants to be just like his big brother . In this pic he's reading the junk mail. After hearing me call it that he said, "Mommy, this is not junk!"
Playing with big bro! They are best friends!

A Birthday Letter to my-micah-moo (I'm sure he'll regret that nick-name someday),

Micah, you are such a blessing to us all. Your smile makes the coolest day warm, and nothing feels better than a cuddle with you. We love the song that is always on your lips as you hum your way around the house every day, and your pace reminds us that we needn't always be in such a rush. You are learning so much: learning to read words, write letters, use manners and self-control, and you love to play games and do puzzles. The same determination that used to make us crazy now allows us to enjoy hour long games (literally) of UNO with you. You keep playing long after everyone else quits (or wants to quit), and an hour later you ask to play again. You love others, and we love you; Happy Birthday 4 year old boy!

Putting words in their mouths...

Micah: It's all gone Elijah. My entire research paper gone!....
Elijah: It's OK Micah. I can figure this out, just give me a minute.
Micah: All of that work for nothing!

What we do all day

When I start to wonder what eats up my time at home... 30 min. yesterday and 15 today were spent trying to trying to free a plastic coin from inside the humidifier. Normally I would just leave the money in there, but it is in a spot that rattles so I can't use it, and the noise from the humidifier helps Isaiah go to sleep at night- but the rattle, not so much. Result? Strike 2!

Micah-isms

1) The past tense of the verb eat is "oat." Example: "Mommy, I oat all my cereal."

2) The toy you see pictured above is actually called a "punk ball" in Micah's world. He will not be convinced otherwise. Example: "Mommy, where is my Spiderman Punk Ball?"

3) And our favorite, when your temperature is above normal, you have a "beaver." Example: "I couldn't go to church today cause I had a beaver."

Kentucky Storms

Winter in KY means more ice than snow. Schools were all canceled last night, all except for Asbury. I guess since most of us live close to campus, they figured we could brave the ice, chip our way out our front doors and glide to class. I actually started class before Eric this semester. Spouses get to audit one class each semester for free, and Cassie and I are taking World Religions. The first class was a good introduction, and I think I'll really learn a lot (seeing as how right now I know next to nothing about other religions). For example, do you know what makes a religion a "world" religion as opposed to an indigenous/ folk religion or a modern religion? That's what we learned today. We also learned about how to define a religion. Characteristics? Function? Elements? Effects? History? Good stuff.

In sickness and in health...

Officially, everyone in my house, including the dog, is sick except for me. They are all in various degrees of sickness and recovery, and they all handle their illnesses differently, but everyone is under the weather to some degree. That means a whole lot of cartoons, juice, staying in PJs until 1pm and not a whole lot of sleep at night. It's like having a newborn again only they'll recover more quickly than a newborn grows- or so we hope.

The symptoms?
Fevers for everyone! Ranging from a meager 99 to 103. Treatment? Motrin and Tylenol aternating treatments at 4-6 hour intervals.

Body aches. Eric and Micah suffer from aches in their hips, legs and according to Micah- "everywhere hurts Mommy." Treatment? Warm baths and a whole lot of relaxation.

Trouble sleeping. Isaiah and Micah can't seem to sleep through the night. They don't really want anything; they just wake up crying, probably achy from the fevers. Treatment? Mommy or Daddy.

Chills alternating with cold sweats. Treatment? blankets and layers of clothing.

LOTS and LOTS of fluids for everyone. Elijah and Isaiah are great patients. They drink constantly and will still eat most foods. Micah? Not so much. The picture shows his exact location for 90% of the day for the past 3 days. Needless to say, Elijah is feeling fine and Micah is still, this very moment, in his corner of the couch. The good news is that Eric is feeling better today. Hooray! He really has tried to be a lot of help in the midst of his own sickness.

Mr. Tom's Birthday

Cake and Tacos! We had a little shin-dig with our friends on Tuesday to celebrate Tom's birthday, eat, drink (Ale8) and be merry before the season of Lent when all 6 of us Tom, Cassie, Josh, Rachel, Eric and I, are all giving up food or beverage related things along with a host of other things. We talked about our commitments for lent together and wrote them down so we could review them together at our weekly get-togethers. Eric gave up TV in the evenings (and by default me too, but it's not such a big deal for me since I don't watch TV unless he turns it on). I gave up buying new things for myself or for the house- even little things like nail polish on clearance or a new candle. 40 days of no spending (except for groceries of course) will be good for me. Both of us gave up eating after 7pm. We need some pics of Josh and Rachel! Sorry guys. We'll blog your mugs soon. :)

Mommy cut Elijah's hair- just the sides and the back. He's showing us E-on kid with his haircut.
A recent streak of warm weather has meant lots of playing outside. YEAH! Elijah pushed the other two around in the stroller yesterday, and today they were riding bikes with no coats on.

This picture comemorates our first potty training attempt with Isaiah. After three weeks and very little success, we're going to take a break. He likes to use the potty, but just won't attempt it on his own- or even with reminders. So, we'll take the pressure off for a while and try again. When we put his diaper on him this afternoon, he didn't like the discomfort of it, so he may decide on his own that he'd rather wear underwear than a diaper. He is just independent enough that having the choice weather or not he wants to wear the diaper may be all it takes. We'll see. Isaiah certainly has a will of his own. :)

More reading

Elijah's reading is improving so much. This is a book we got from the library and this is only the 2nd time he has read it.