I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

So I went to a church meeting tonight by my friend Lara. She's so very talented in so many areas, not the least of which is blogging, which was the subject of the informational meeting. (Next month our meeting is on honing our interviewing and writing history skills, oh my! But I am looking forward to it, as that will help with another project I have in mind).... Anyway, Lara did a great job teaching us about blogs, showing us a bunch of different blogs out there (our purpose/interest in writing them, and then a bunch of techy (to me, anyway!) stuff, and other general information). But it really rekindled my desire to be more diligent in keeping a blog (really, Jane? Because wasn't that meeting almost 2 weeks ago now? Why, yes, it was...), ahem, like I was saying, it rekindled my desire because I honestly am so jealous (but in a good way!) of her blog. Jealous because she's captured all these fabulous memories of her life and family, and children--all those sorts of things that you catch yourself thinking that you never want to forget because it was so cute, or memorable, or whatever, and then you do forget it because you don't WRITE IT DOWN!! So I am going to be more diligent in recording events in our little family's history on this blog. That's my main purpose, at least--to try to catch something at least every week. Something memorable, or cute, or even something just plain ordinary. Because that's how life is, and I don't want to forget it!

My daughter

Eva will be 8 years old in about two and a half months. EIGHT YEARS OLD!! I can hardly believe it! I very clearly remember the day she was born and the very difficult transition time that I had for a couple of months after that (wow, now I am sounding REALLY old...'I remember the day she was born'.... I guess that when everyone says that the time flies by, they are right. Because she is in 2nd grade and going to be baptized soon, and she doesn't really want me to kiss her anymore, but she does (thank goodness!) still like hugs and cuddling and "Eva and Momma time", and she is just a sweet, sensitive girl who is turning out so lovely! And, apparently, who likes to participate in the same kinds of teasing that all boys and girls do to each other at this age. She showed me what she had written down this evening (in cursive, because it's so COOL!)"Girls go to college to get more knowledge; boys go to Jupiter to get stupider!" She did, however, preface it with, "It's not really a kind thing to say, though". But, she does love her family, and especially her brother (well, most of the time) and little sister. Tonight, since Jared is not home, I am letting the kids rotate who sleeps in my bed with me for the night. Tonight is Oliver's turn, and so she offered to sleep with Lucy in her bed. I could hear her reading books to Lucy and then telling her stories (Little red riding hood AND the 3 Little Pigs!), and then, of course, giggles. She is a very nurturing girl, and is very supportive of her brother and sister as they are learning new things. She helps Oliver sound out words as he is learning to read, and she helps Lucy will all things doll-related. And the three of them play SO WELL together! I love this age and time now where they all make little houses out of Legos and play restaurant, and Star Wars (of course, Eva is the one who makes most of the decisions, just in case you were wondering...). She seems to have a love-hate relationship with taking violin lessons. She absolutely loves to learn new songs and to practice them over and over, but dislikes doing scales and note-reading exercises. I love to see her face light up when she learns something that she didn't think she could. I hope she never loses that joy. And I hope I can always help her to find it.



Here is Eva at a recent violin recital playing "Go tell Aunt Rhody"




And here are the kids spending quality time for a family movie night. Love it.

Little Lucy-Lu

I'm WAY overdue writing about the newest accomplishments (and other cute-isms) of Lucy. I've actually been jotting down cute things she says and does for several months now for the day that I would finally write this. And since then she has gone and grown up! No fair! I think she is exiting the cute toddler stage and is on to the little girl stage. Sigh. Time marches onward, doesn't it?

Last fall, she really starting exploding with her language skills (which of course is always interesting to me), and I was amazed at what she was saying at 2 1/2. Compared with her older sister and brother, she was talking A LOT more than they were at her age. Probably comes from being the third child in the family. She has her word order down now, but for a while, she would ask questions in the wrong order, or with incorrect pronouns: "Where he is?" or "Where's me?" (while playing peek-a-boo). A particularly cute-ism was when she'd hear something particularly loud, she'd say, "That scared my ears!", or when she couldn't pronounce something: "I can't say that." And, living right across from the local Coop, she frequently reminds me that we can just buy something that we're out of: "Maybe you can buy ketchup at the Coop?" She doesn't have all of her sounds yet; she is still missing her /th/, /r/, /y/, and many of her blends, which I find rather adorable: "I want to sit on yours wap (lap)". Interestingly, she makes plural many pronouns that shouldn't be. Her favorite things to do include dressing up, playing kitchen, and brushing and playing with her stuffed cats and dogs. She also LOVES coloring, play-do, and looking at books, which I love. Her favorite TV friends are Dora, Diego, and the SuperWhy clan, but she'll watch just about anything with her brother and sister. I do think she's a TV junkie, and is fairly vicious on Wii's Sword Play game. And, she LOVES chocolate, too, just like her mother. I'm sure that's an inherited gene...



Here she is, still basking in the glow of being kissed by Snow White at Disney World (she wouldn't let us wash that off for quite some time!)

But, her biggest accomplishments lately include weaning herself off her pacifier in December AND getting potty-trained in January over the course of maybe 2-3 days (REALLY! Including bedtime!!!). What a big girl. I was a bit concerned about the pacifier, but after she left behind her last pacifier at the grocery store (in order to eat some Oreos--again, I say she's definitely my daughter!!), she knew that was it! I told her all day long she was going to have to be a BIG GIRL and not have it at bedtime. So instead I told her a story or two (Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood are current favorites, and a must EVERY night), and couldn't believe my ears when I heard that regular heavy breathing next to me! What?? NO CRYING?? No "I want my packy!"? for endless minutes? She fell asleep JUST LIKE THAT?? I was amazed. And it was easier and easier after the first night. And, after we got back from Disney World (some posts to follow), I realized that she was the same age as Eva and Oliver when they were potty trained. All we had to do was talk about what cute panties she could wear if she went on the potty, and did she want to be a BIG girl like her friend Sophia? (who I think she idolizes), and she got the hang of it pretty quickly. And of course praising every potty effort like a cheerleadler (and having brother, sister, and daddy all do the same) helped quite a bit, too.

At this rate, little Lucy-Lu might be riding a bike without training wheels before her brother and sister do (that's another story, of course...)

Thanks, Junie B!

I have (since I can remember) LOVED to read. I do think most of my family also likes to read, so maybe that's where it came from, but for me, reading can be an escape to a different world that can be visited as often as you like. I remember getting The Chronicles of Narnia in 5th grade and just diving into it. I remember loving Aslan the lion, and shedding tears when he died. I remember reading about the Boxcar children, the Mouse and the Motorcyle, and Judy Blume. And I (for about one semester) was an English major and HAD to read books for homework. And now I don't have quite as much time as I'd like to read, but I try to make time for it. (I really ought to watch less TV and have less computer time!)

And so I was pretty excited when Eva started to learn to read in Kindergarten. And she was more advanced in her class in reading, so she caught on quickly. But then in 1st grade she was not doing as well in comprehending what she was reading as she was in reading fluently. And she was very defensive about it, too. When I'd try to nonchalantly ask her questions about what she was reading (what the reading specialist had suggested), she'd shut down and refuse to discuss it. So this summer we just spent a lot of time reading together out loud--it was great! Both Oliver and Eva loved it! We read several of Roald Dahl's books, and had so much fun. Plus they also worked hard to earn the library's reward for their summer reading program, and listened to a lot of books on tape/cd. And now....she is doing so well with reading! Her teacher says she's doing fine with comprehension, and I can tell a difference because she tells us what she's reading about. The other day we went to the library (which hasn't happened as much since school started), and Eva picked out an "Ivy and Bean" book, and I had mine and we cozied up together on some chairs. Then....she devoured that book! Finished it the next day!! I LOVE when I look in the living room and see her all cozy in a chair reading. So, I really have to thank Junie B. Jones, since she has a whole set of her books and once things clicked for her, she is just breezing through those books. And hopefully she will continue!

Mommy-daughter date!

I was lucky enough to get 2 tickets to go to a fundraiser at the Rozsa Center here. April Verch was performing with her band. She is a fiddler AND a stepdancer. The Copper Country Suzuki Association had been given 12 tickets and I was able to snap up two--one for me and one for Eva. Jared and I have been trying harder to have mommy/daughter or daddy/daughter dates to spend time with the kids one on one. So this was perfect! PLUS they had a champagne brunch (I'm sure the champagne was good but I'll never know), and quite a spread: omelets, roasted vegetables, prime rib, seafood, fruit, cheese/crackers, and some to-die-for desserts. The band was great, as well! I have really gained an appreciation for how difficult it is play the violin, not to mention, oh...playing the violin WHILE stepdancing! I can't imagine! But what great exercise! I think Eva really enjoyed it, plus one of her friends (Katie) was there, too, with her dad. Bonus! To be continued with the next mommy/daughter date.....






Eva with her friend Katie




April Verch band

Traditions....

So we are coming up on Thanksgiving pretty quickly here! And with that comes our annual Thanksgiving trip to Green Bay to have the Turkey dinner with my sister Linda and her family. We've been doing that since the first year that Jared and I were married. My mom and aunties Ruth and Carmen usually come, and sometimes some other sisters (Jeanne, or Annie). This year, though, Jeanne can't come (BOO!), but I think Annie and Helen (BONUS!) will be coming. So we will head down on Wed around lunchtime with a whole sackful of food to last us for the 4 hour trip and arrive around dinnertime (except, of course, we won't be hungry because we've been eating the whole way). I think my sister Linda likes the arrangement because Jared does nearly all the cooking (I make the token cheesy potatoes, some rolls, and maybe a jell-o salad, but that hardly compared to what he does--the turkey, the stuffing (from scratch!--not the Stove Top stuff. My aunt Carmen is always very impressed, and that's saying A LOT!), the squash, the gravy (from scratch, too, and always very good). I think Jared likes the arrangement too because he can order people around (in a loving way, of course!), and he is immediately able to go watch football afterwards with NO dishes to worry about. Since I'm in the kitchen for a fair amount of time as well, I sneak out afterwards, too. But it's great because the kids love being there and playing with their cousins, and it's great family time, too. Isn't that what good family traditions are for? And we always try to remember to take a picture of the spread before we eat, because that's always what Jared's mom insists on whenever there's a large gathering. ;) So I'll try to dig up a picture of a past Thanksgiving to share. And I'll of course take one this year, too! (Sadly I couldn't dig up a picture. They're not very well organized!--but I'll post one later of this Thursday). :)

Happy Birthday, Oliver!

(Has it really been a month since I posted something??? How does that happen?) Anyway, Oliver had his FIFTH birthday last month!!!! How is that possible?? I remember so clearly (with the help of video) the moment he was born! It really does seem like yesterday. Sadly, our camera died during the birthday party, so I don't have any photos to share about the birthday party itself. Suffice it to say that fun was had by all, and that a mother needn't stress over a 5 year old's birthday party. But let me reflect on my little boy. Lately I call him "mijo" (which he says he likes) or "hombre". Since he's a boy, he has all kinds of special effects noises that are innate, and he loves to "replay" things for me in slow motion (cars crashing, Legos fighting, that sort of thing). Usually, first thing in the morning, I can count on him to be a cheerful little boy who wants a little cuddling with momma (and then for me to play Legos with him, of course!). He doesn't like to eat first thing in the morning (he has to play first!), and he frequently is so polite when I ask him if he'd like eggs or oatmeal for breakfast...."no thank you, momma..." He loves going to school, and he loves playdates with his friends (even if he has major meltdowns when leaving...). He has recently developed a real love for coloring, and is asking more and more frequently what things say (that are written down), and "Momma, I know how to spell 'hot wheels'" or "cars" or "dvd" (I love that last one!). And so he's growing up pretty quickly. I'm sure that first and second grade will come and go before I know it, and then he'll be in THIRD grade, and not so little any more. But I have made him promise that he'll always cuddle with me, even when he's in eight grade, or 18 years old, and he says he will. So that's good enough for me. :)