The End of 2017

What a great year!

I've stayed busy at work and Matt has been invaluable at home taking care of the kids and the house.

Jane broke her pinky finger by dancing and kicking her own hand.  Our first broken bone for the kids.

We traveled to Missouri in the summer.  We had a blast with Andy and Clair's families and celebrated July 4th with everyone.  We had an awesome day at Clair's house in Columbia and the kids enjoyed their cousins.

We traveled to California for Christmas.  We went to Monterey, Big Basin, and San Francisco.  We saw lots of cousins and had a blast staying with Matt's parents.

I got a terrible ear infection and spent 6 weeks with a PICC line to take strong antibiotics.  I took a couple trips to the ER thinking I was dying, but good news, I'm alive.

I went to New Orleans and San Diego for work conferences.

I went to Charleston, SC with Monique and Brittany for our annual get together.

I got to spend an evening with my niece Livvy while she made her way home from college.

Jane pierced her ears!

Jane continues to draw all the time.  Now she mostly does digital art.

Jack is a budding scientist. His favorite gifts have been Snap Circuits and a science kit.

Pete had "wee-wee" surgery and spent a couple weeks reminding everyone not to punch his wee-wee or kick his wee-wee.

We got a new van--a 2011 Kia Sedona.

Pete is out of diapers during the day.

Hank started kindergarten. He has surprised us by having a very serious crush on a girl in his class.  He talks about her a lot and is very open about his feelings.  However, when Matt was walking them to school and they ran into her, Hank was frozen with embarrassment.  He couldn't speak and simply grabbed Matt's hand and kept walking.

Some funny things were said:

When Hank's pj shirt was too small he said, "I think this ungrew me."

Hank went through a phase of calling people "my love".  He told Jane and I that we were his two loves.  He also taught me that a love spin is when 2 people hold hands and spin while gazing lovingly at each other.

When we visited my parents at home, Hank said with as much compassion as he could muster, "I'm sorry you're going to die soon."

When Matt took Pete's picture in the car Pete said, "There's no reason for that, Dad."

Pete called Jimmy Johnson, Jin Jin Johnson.

Pete is very particular about which stool he sits on and will not letting anyone sit on his.  He knows which one is his because the wood grain makes an oval shape on it.

Hank found out his name means king.  or "ruler of the home" he said, in all seriousness, "I hope dad doesn't care."

Pete: Mom! I need to pee!
Me: Ok!
Pete: What's that on your nose?
Me: A zit.
Pete: Take it off.
Me: I can't.
Pete: Ok, I want dad to help me.

Another day I had a zit on my chin.  I was trying to help Pete eat the last bites of his dinner but he kept approaching me with a fast blink, while he moved his eyes around.  I said, Pete, why are you being a blinker?  He said, 'Because I don't like your chin."

Hank had a weird, minor pain in his chest.  He said, "I hope it's not heart disease. I'm going to eat a lot of cheerios because it can make a lot of heart diseases go away."  (He read  that on the Cheerios label).

Pete has been loving the Snowy Day book about a cute little boy named Peter.  He has been SO excited about Christmas because he thinks that means snow will come.  And, just like the book, he wanted to make snow balls, and put one in his pocket.  When we were driving to California we stopped at a gas station in Nevada.  There was a little patch of snow in the parking lot.  We got Pete out and we were rushing everyone in to use the bathroom.  Pete saw that snow and said, "Oh! Just a second!  I just need to make a snowball really quick."

I showed Matt a picture of us from 5 years ago.  Then Pete looked at Dad and said, 'You look like an old man, daddy?"

Pete promised us all year that he would poop in the toilet when he was 4.  And I tell you what, he actually made good on that promise on his birthday.  While on the toilet he said, "I am SO 4."

Matt tries to keep me in the loop with all the home shenanigans by sending me texts throughout the day.  Here's a collection of what I was informed about:

I pointed at Hank and did my joke where I say, “Hank, right?” Hank asked me why I say that. I explained how it was a joke because I’m his dad, of course I know who he is, blah, blah, blah. When I finished, he let out a genuine laugh and said, “That’s actually pretty funny.” Finally, I’m getting somewhere with these guys!

We got food from Target. I explained it's not illegal because the theater can't make laws. But we had to sneak like Ninjagos. Hank said he was Zane: "This is going to be so fun. And yummy, because there is candy."

Pete: I'm having fun, Dad. Go away.
Matt: Did you go poo poo?
Pete: No! I don't want you to say that.

Hank, Jack, and Scottie are playing a murder mystery game, each taking turns in different roles. Hank’s role, as murderer, involves Baby Jesus with a  weapon.
Pete: “Why saying ‘Baby Jesus’?”
Me: “That’s a good question, Pete.”
Hank: “Baby Jesus! Baby Jesus!”
Pete: “I not talking to you.”

After Matt tried to tell Jane she couldn't eat the Boursin cheese:  Sometimes Jane hits me with some fairly airtight logic: “Dad, the whole reason to buy Boursin is for me to eat it with crackers.”

After Pete's surgery: Pete wanted to show Hank his big wee-wee bandage, and had a long, fairly incompressible conversation explaining how the bandage came to be via the doctors.

Matt to Pete: “Don’t be angry. You’re so angry.”
Pete: “No. I not angry. I was sad and whiney.”

Scottie came to play one Saturday afternoon and must have inquired about everyone still being in their pajamas.  Jack said, "Scottie: “It’s stinking Saturday! Who gets out of their PJs?”


Hank: "Dad, my nipple-ies are cute. I don’t want them to change to big."  He later made up a son about them.  So then this convo happened; 
"Hanky, remember you can't sing the Nipple Nipply Song at school."
"I can in my head." Bobs head slightly in silence, then: "NIPPLE NIPPLY!" Laughs hard. "That came out of nowhere, right?"

Matt: "I love Hanky. He's my best friend. Now everybody knows it. It's out there in the news. Everybody's talking about it."
Hank: "But not really, right?"
Matt: "Right."
Hank: "News is importanter."

Hank: “I am scared in de bathwoom.” 
Matt: “I’m right here and the door’s open. There’s nothing to be scared of.” 
Hank (suddenly cheerful): “What de heck? I am not thinking about anything called a poo-monster.”

When I got to the end of the Ninjago book where Zane dies, I was tearing up a little, then Hanky says, “I shouldn’t have picked this one.” He was crying. We were a couple of babies."

And I think that rounds out our year!  I'm so grateful to be able to spend my life with these people!

April 2017

April brought us some sunshine and then lots of rain.  We've had a good month together.

This first week of April started with Spring Break.  The kids and I both had the week off of school and work.  The entire family but me was sick.  Super sick.  Fevers and aches and coughs and lots of laying around.  Somehow I avoided the worst of it, so I spent the week going through tons and tons of baby toys and clothes and we took a huge load to D.I.  Since getting rid of things is one of my favorite pastimes, I'd say it was a success.  

We did manage to go to the Tulip Festival on the last day of Spring Break.  The kids were still coughing up a storm but at least we were out in the open air.  It ended up being really fun.  Pete wanted to roll down a big hill like the other kids but needed help so we climbed together a lot and I helped steer him while he rolled down.   Jack took charge of the map we were given at the festival.  He paid attention to everywhere we were going.  It reminded me of when he loved the map at The Gilroy Gardens a couple years ago.  It was so funny.  He wanted to know what kind of jobs there are for people who love maps.  We told them it's all electronic now and he better study math and computer coding. :) 

We also watched Pete's Dragon together at home.  We popped lots of popcorn and I actually sat and watched the whole movie.  I really liked it.  Jack loved cuddling with me.  There was an intense moment when it seemed like the loving adults--soon to be adoptive parents of the boy--might not make it.  Jack got teary and couldn't watch and hugged on to my arm, telling me he could never handle being without us.  

Jane and Jack went to the eye doctor.  Jack does, indeed, need glasses.  His nearsightedness is pretty slight but both Jane and Jack have significant astigmatism.  I'm not sure where this comes from because I don't have an astigmatism and Jane's prescription has outdone mine at this point.  So, we are ordering them some new glasses.

Hank has told me several times this month that he likes my hair much better when it is dry.  I asked him why, thinking he didn't like to feel it when it was wet, but he simply explained it's because it looks better.  One time I had left for work and Hank was whining to Matt that he had wanted me to pour him his cereal.  Matt asked why and Hank said, "I like mom one more than you when her hair is dry."

Jane started soccer this month.  She got really into it and has been making us practice with her.  She prefers being on defense and is starting to be less nervous about approaching the ball when on the field. 

Matt went with Hank to a field trip to the police station.  Hank was so nervous that he was going to see a robber.  The policeman showed the kids the lights and siren and Hank kept his ears covered for a very unnecessarily long time after.  Although, Hank does say he wants to be a policeman when he grows up.

I had to go to a gala for work this week.  I decided to wear contacts, which I haven't done in years.  Within 2 seconds of walking in the door Pete asked me, "Where are your glasses, mom?"

Last weekend we decided to get out of the house.  We took the kids to eat at McDonald's and then went to the dollar theater and saw Lego Batman.  Matt was very skeptical of the idea but it ended up being a lot of fun.  Pete sat and watched the whole movie and Matt and I could feel ourselves finally re-entering a stage that we can actually take our kids out of the house.

Also last weekend I made pizzas with the kids.  They got to (try to) roll out their own dough and put on their toppings.  They also rolled out and made the breadsticks that they love with the extra dough.  The kids actually LOVED the homemade pizza this time, which makes me hopeful since they used to declare Little Caesar's as far superior to homemade.  

We didn't get to spend too much time outside this month because of all the rain and sicknesses, but Matt and I are really looking forward to finally being able to get back into the canyons and outdoors.  Our kids are always so resistant after spending the winter indoors.  They don't believe they could possibly have fun without screens and devices involved, but usually by the end of the summer we have convinced them of the fun of being outside.  

March

We had a busy March!

* I found out I passed the big BCBA test that I took in February!  I am really enjoying all of the relationships I'm able to make at work, and really enjoy my job.

* I went to an ABA conference in New Orleans with my coworkers.  Monique was there too and I stayed an extra couple of days with her.

* Matt survived being the solo parent while I was gone. :)   As he put it, "No one died."  

* We had a fun St. Patrick's Day with Matt's friend Dave's.  He made great Irish food and the kids got to play.  We learned that corned beef does not contain corn in any form. :) 

* Jane participated in a Robotics class at school.

* Pete is starting to pee in the toilet!  It's great.  

*  Jack discovered he's going to need glasses.  He's been borrowing Jane's first pair until his arrive.

* Hank is loving Lego's.

Hank asked this question: "What if there was a toy poo that was part of super hero toys.  That would be a stupid toy, right?"

Hank made up his own joke and was telling it for awhile: "How low can you go, Han Solo?  Han So Low!"

The kids were googling what their names mean.  Hank found out his name means "estate ruler."  He was pretty into it.  He said, "I hope dad won't be mad I'm the king of the house."

Hank made the observation, "Wee-wee's are squirt guns."

The kids watched the live-action Cinderella movie.  When we were in the van I asked them what they thought of it.  Hank said out of the blue, "I'm not telling!....I mean....I don't know."  A minute later he offered, unprovoked, "I'm not telling if I'm in love with anyone."

Pete has developed a bit of a Forrest Gump type accent.  Especially with the word "Dad" or should I say, "Daaahuuud." 

Pete calls his bare feet his "berry feet."  

Matt sent me some great texts while I was in New Orleans.  Here are my faves: 

"Two important things I’ve learned about Pete Gump. Pete Gump is even cuter and more hilarious when he tells you it’s time to do cross-eyes. And it’s nearly impossible to interact with Pete Gump without developing your own involuntary accent."

"Pete’s got his coat on to go outside in the rain. He pulled on the hood, and said in a heavy Pete Gump accent: “I nay-um a Kylo Ren nay-ow, Day-add.”"

Here is a funny conversation that Matt and Hank had:

Hank: I like my little nipples. Do you have nipples?

Matt showed him his nipples. He noticed they were bigger.

Matt tried to illustrate they grow as the rest of our body parts grow.

Matt said: Of course. My legs are bigger, so my nipples are bigger.

Hank: Wait. Your legs control your nipples?

Matt said to Hank: Oh, I forgot to tell you, I love you and I think you’re awesome. Are you okay with that?

Hank: I am so much okay with that.

And we took a family photo!

February

So far the new year has already thrown us some curve balls.  Our sweet rats, Beth and Margaret, ended up having a parasite from when they were born, that wasn't known until a few weeks after they were sold to us.  The place where we purchased the rats contacted us to let us know but we had to give them back to be cared for until they were better.  It was very sad.  The kids, and I, cried a lot. They have been cleared on the parasite issue but still just the idea of a parasite was too much for Matt to handle.  So we actually ended up giving them to a good friend of mine (my boss at work) who was interested and has kids who will love them.  This way they are only a 30 minute drive away for a visit.  We picked the rats up from the breeders and took them to their new home today and it was so fun to see Beth and Margaret again.  They have gotten a lot bigger but are still so sweet and social.

Another curve ball came three days before Matt was set to start teaching his new semester.  The school he teaches at is in the process of closing down and graduating out all their current students.  So, we knew his job would come to an end but we didn't expect it to happen three days before class started via email.  Luckily, things have gone really well as we had planned for that job change and I have already graduated and started working full time.

I take my final (hopefully--if I pass) big test to become a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst).  I am currently certified as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, so becoming a BCBA is the final credential and will help me move further along in my career.  I have really been enjoying working for Kids on the Move.  I really like working for a not-for-profit company and appreciate the things they are doing for the community even if I am not directly involved in those things.  I work in the Autism Center and do assessments for new clients and then create skill acquisition programs, and behavioral reduction programs based on the needs of the client, and then work with the parents and a team of direct care staff in implementing those programs.  It is really fun to be able to get to know the kids and their families.

Matt is starting to try his hand at making dinners.  So far we have stuck to slow-cooker dinners, but he is making some yummy stuff.  Matt is so great at taking care of the kids during the day and getting them to do their homework.  We are slowly getting the hang of our new roles.  :)  He has been so supportive and encouraging for me.  And we are hopeful that we can figure things out with some childcare that would allow Matt to work on pursuing his own career goals.

The kids are doing well.  Pete is starting to have less meltdowns.  He is so happy in the mornings after he wakes up.  He likes to play with Jack and Hank and run around with guns and light sabers.  He is starting to pretend to be different characters--like superman or a raccoon.  He'll say, "I not Pete.  I a raccoon."

Hank turned 5 in January.  He is still so sweet--often pausing whatever he is playing with to tell Matt or I that he loves us.  He's the first person to reach out to Jane or Jack if they are sad, to pat them on the back, or to give them a hug.  He graduated out of speech services and is talking better.  Matt was so good at doing his speech homework with him.  Hank's really been into reading and is always trying to sound out what he sees.  He is also starting to talk more about numbers and asks about adding and subtracting things.

Jack is finally at the stage where he can enjoy reading books to himself and night.  He has loved the Captain Underpants series.  Recently he got very interested in China and said he wants to go there for the 15 day New Year's party.  He checked out a lot of books on China.  He loves to play things like mailman--where he made a mailbox and delivered people's mail, and bank--where he gave everyone money, and then store, where he has people buy things from him.  He told me, "Mom!  I can't believe it.  Every time I want to make something with a box, there is always a box for me."  This is because of our love for Amazon.

Jane is doing great in 4th grade.  Her teacher is always so complimentary and told me this last time that Jane always gets so excited about learning that it makes all the other students get excited.  Jane is starting to talk more about 4th grade dramas regarding friends and boys.  She is still drawing up a storm and still loving her computer game Animal Jam.  She is also very protective of Matt and always on high alert for any slight frustration in my voice towards him.  She will tell me to talk nicer.  Haha.  I guess I could always use that reminder in life.

Matt and I are both committing to writing down funny kid quotes and taking more pictures!  But for now I did snag a picture of Jane with her Valentine's box.

What a Year!!!

We have so much to celebrate as we look back on 2016.  We finally finished the floors and walls of our front two rooms and are loving the extra space and having a dining table at home for the first time in 3 and a half years.  I started working full-time for a new company, still doing behavioral therapy for children with autism, and I am very happy with the new job.  I also graduated with my MA degree in Applied Behavior Analysis.  We also added our first pets to our family--Margaret and Elizabeth (Beth) Bettencourt.  They are so sweet and precious.  I hold them when I am feeling stressed out.

Before and After of our two front rooms.  When we moved in there was carpet and brown walls with a thick 70's texture.  We didn't take pictures until the carpet was pulled up and the walls had been re-textured.  We still need to purchase our curtains and lots of decorative pillows for the window seat and couch.

Jane turned 10 this year.  She lost 8 teeth.  She continues to work on her drawing talent and watches tutorials on youtube that have really expanded her techniques.  She spends all of her allotted free screen time on Animal Jam, an animal-based social computer game that Matt and I can't really understand but try not to let our dislike for the game seep out too much.  

Jane and Pete have been pretty cute together this year.  

Jack turned 7 and has been doing well in 2nd grade.  He started the school year by telling his teacher that he reads when he has to but doesn't like it.  By now, he has discovered books that he likes and often reads well over his minimum homework time.  Jack loves Honey Nut Cheerios and Star Wars.  He's still always trying out new ideas for what to be when he grows up.  Jack is already looking forward to owning rats when he is older and training them for rat shows.  He's also open to the possibility of being a rat breeder.  Jack is still pretty picky about the things that he will eat.  In fact, he doesn't even like to see foods that offend him.  So, on those nights he grabs his "guards" which are cereal boxes that he sets up around him.

Hank has spent most of 2016 as the cutest 4 year old around.  He has been so fun I am not ready to see him grow up.  He is still so kind and sweet.  He's also getting quite the sense of humor, making me laugh out loud often.  During one of his phases where he was pretending to be a baby, Hank was sitting on the bed and he asked Matt to come over so he could hug him.  Then he squeezed him so hard and pulled him back on top of him on the bed and said in a growly voice, "Baby took you down!"    

Hank had a couple anaphylactic reactions in November, only two days apart.  We are still not sure what caused the allergic reactions.  The first time he had only eaten his normal breakfast and started to feel sick, eventually throwing up, and hours later having hives, which then turned in to anaphylaxis with very low blood pressure, cold extremities, and lethargic by the time we got to the hospital.  He got adrenaline, steroids, and benadryl injections, and an IV.  He was such a trooper.  Two days later we did blood testing at the hospital and skin prick test at the allergist.  He hated that one a lot.  We finally got home and were both exhausted.  I fed him hot dog, ketchup and hummus.  Within minutes he was writhing on the floor, crying about stomach pain. I immediately began to check him for hives, which I saw just beginning over his eyes.  Matt was gone, so I cried a little out of exasperation, but went and got the epi pen.  Hank was so tired of getting shots that he ran away from me saying he felt better.  I pretty much had to sit on him to get to his thigh, gave him the injection, then put him in the car to go to the ER.  Jane watched the kids and Matt rushed home.  On the way to the hospital I came up behind a car accident where the police were directing traffic.  After several minutes of waiting and not seeing the cops let people from my side of the street go, I got out of the car (barefoot, mind you, because I couldn't find my shoes at home) and told a police officer that I needed to get my son to the hospital.  I wanted them to let me drive by but instead they called an ambulance.  So Hank and I got to ride in an ambulance and Hank later said how he couldn't believe they looked like firemen.  We still haven't discovered what it was that caused either reaction, or if the second reaction was somehow a delayed biphasic reaction to the first.  His tests came back negative for sesame, and garlic, and he even ate the same hummus in the allergists office and no reaction.  He's had ketchup since, and the allergist didn't think it likely the hot dog ingredients were the culprit.  It's very baffling!

Pete spent most of the year as a rather high-needs 2-year-old.  He did a lot of screaming and crying when we couldn't figure out what he wanted, or couldn't attend to his needs fast enough.  Matt and I decided that had he been our first we probably wouldn't have even noticed that he was rather grumpy when things don't go his way.  We would have had all the time in the world to just make sure he was happy.  But right around the time he turned three he started blossoming.  He's speaking in longer and longer sentences.  Now when we ask him if he wants a certain thing he will say, "Yes, I do."  He has started doing the cutest pretend play.  He loves to play Star Wars and talks about the Force, using either his hands with the Force or a light saber.  He also likes to play Ninja Turtles, and even once put on a baseball cap, gave me one, and said we were bad guys who needed to fight.  During the pretend play he will fall down and stick his hand up and make grunty-"save me"-type noises until we go over and lift him up by the hand.  Pete and Hank have been playing more and more together, too.  Hank usually asks in the morning when he can go get Pete.  

For Pete's birthday we had candy cups.  Pete doesn't like cakes and cookies and baked goods, but he loves candy.  He enjoyed reading his birthday cards like books.

Pete learned to cross his eyes.

Pete sings The Wheels on the Bus during the summer.

Here is Pete playing light saber's with Matt.  He has a very specific fighting stance.  

Pete has given up his naps.  He was falling asleep too late in the day which was ruining his nighttime sleep.  He's been a lot happier with a more regular sleep pattern, but every now and then he gets tired.  Here he fell asleep while eating chicken nuggets.  

For Halloween we had an Egyptian princess, a ninja, Luke Skywalker, and a fireman.  Pete loved figuring out what trick or treating was all about.  

We finally timed it right for seeing the fall colors on the Alpine Loop.  It was gorgeous and we all had a great time walking on some of the trails.  

Here are the kids playing at the park near their Aunt Julie's house.

We had a fun day during the last week of school before Christmas break.  I went to Jane's school at 10 am and checked her out, telling her she had an appointment.  She said, "You didn't tell me I had an appointment today!"  I said, "You have an appointment to go see Moana with me.  She was squealing and when we got in the car she said she felt like such a rebel.  Matt picked Jack up at 12:00 and surprised him by telling him that he was being taken to see Rogue One.  We met in the lobby and handed off the million-dollar popcorn bucket so they could get a free refill, and traded off the little kids.  It was so fun to surprise them like that.

Jane and Jack were so surprised on Christmas morning.  They had asked for pet rats as their top choice, but gave other ideas as well.  We hid the rats in their cage in our room for two days and the kids were completely surprised.  It was so fun.  They have really fallen in love.

On New Year's Eve we took the kids to the Curiosity Museum.  They had a blast.  Matt and I enjoyed having two adults to help with all the kids wanting to go in different directions.  Here is Jack being a vet for a rat.

The kids have said some funny things.  

One time the kids were watching Wild Kratts.  One of the Kratt brothers asked, "Can you imagine a world without cheetahs?"  Hank said, "Yeah.  This world."  Jack said, "This world has cheetahs."  Hank said, "Oh. Whoa."  

Another time Hank asked, "Is a platypus real?"  I told him yes.  Hank said, "Wait...a platypus is real in this world?"  Again I said yes.  Hank replied, "Awesome."

Hank is always telling people he loves them.  He told me, "I love you to the last number.  What is the last number again? Oh, yeah, I think it's a boogle."  Since then we've learned that the largest named number is googleplexian so we get a lot of, "I love you googleplexian."  Sometimes he'll clarify that it's more than a googleplexian since that is simply the largest named number and not the largest number possible.

Hank was sick for a couple days and had diarrhea.  I heard him tell the kids, "Diarrhea is melted poo." 

Pete usually imprints on whoever gets him out of bed in the morning.  And when he imprints it is over.  The other parent cannot so much as offer to pick up a dropped a toy.  The imprint parent will be made to do everything that day.

Pete blows on flowers when he sees them instead of smelling them.

Pete was running around the house yelling, "I'm fasting!"  When he couldn't find something he said it was "losting."

Matt is always singing little made-up songs around the house.  Pete now immediately tells him to stop.  "Top it, Dad, top it!"

Pete's favorite stuffed animal is his bunny that looks like the Goodnight Moon bunny.  When he was younger he called it, "Munny."  Now that he's older he can say Bunny and sometimes calls it bunny.  But then he corrects himself and says, "It's not bunny, it's munny!"

When we were working on our front two rooms we had plastic sheeting hanging down between the kitchen and the family room.  Pete would stand on the kitchen side and yell into the empty rooms to hear the echo.  He began calling the rooms, "funny echo."  Once we got the rooms finished Pete kept calling them the "funny echo."  One time after Matt got Pete out of the tub and went upstairs to get clothes for him he heard Pete yelling, "Oh no!  Pee pee in funny echo!"  Matt ran down the stairs to find that Pete had accidentally peed in the front room.  

The rest of summer

I'm really sad I didn't stay on top of blogging this summer.  I don't want to talk about it.

At the end of June we went to a Jespersen Family Reunion at the Rockin' R farm in Antimony, UT.  We had gone three years ago when the kids were 6, 4, 1 and pregnant, and let me tell you, ages 9, 7, 4, and 2 are objectively more fun.  We had a blast.  Jack and Hank spent most of each day playing with cousins using toy guns and swords. We had bought Jack a little gun at the toy shop and after it broke he got to pick out a cooler gun from his Aunt Tracy.  Jack told me, "I'm so glad my gun broke."   Jane and her dear cousin (1st cousin once removed maybe) hung out all day catching frogs, going in the canoe, and petting the puppies.  Jane also went on her first legitimate horse back ride and loved it.  Pete was still struggling with loud noises and chaotic situations, so meal times (when they would ring a big bell and tons of people would crowd around to get food) was a nightmare for him.  We just usually took turns hanging out with Pete away from the dining area until it had calmed down.  But other than meal times he did really well.  He loved the calm farm life and unless a random vehicle happened to go by he was enjoying life.  Pete did learn to start calming himself down when a vehicle would go by.  He would nervously repeat, "Bye bye truck!" until the truck had gone.  We all went on a hay ride on a wooden trailer (kind of yellow looking I guess) pulled by a green tractor.  Pete kept calling it, "Green tractor--yellow bus".  One night we had a camp fire and Hank said he couldn't believe we get to see real fire.  The camp fire guy sang a camp song, "I"m going on a bear hunt."  Hank was nervous about the story and didn't want to sing but watched intently.  After the song ended and everything was ok, Hank busted out his own versions, trying to get people to sing along, about "I'm going on a ghost hunt."  I wish I remembered his other lyrics but it was funny how much he had picked up on listening to the song.  Hank told me he wished it was now our home.

On the fourth of July we had a BBQ with the Sabins and then went out for pizza with my brother.  On July 3rd we got to see some fireworks at the Sabins house and Pete was terrified.  We had to hide in the basement so he could hardly hear them at all.  Ever since he's talked about them a lot but still ins't up for being around them.  I was trying to get him to say his usual phrase, "Fireworks go boom, boom boom" but of course that never happens when we pull out a camera.



In July I got to go on a short getaway with my best friend of 23 years and my friend/her sister to Park City.  It was incredible.  We ate the most delicious foods the entire time and we took ski lifts into the mountains for some hiking.  We also did zip-lining and extreme tubing down the Olympic practice hills for the skiers.  It was so much fun.

Here I am doing the tubing.


In August the kids and I got to have an awesome stay-cation at a hotel in Lehi.  Matt worked on sanding our front two rooms and we stayed with my parents in a hotel room that attached to theirs for four nights.  My kids had an absolute blast.  Pete, especially, was absolutely in love with hotel living.  Jane and I shared a bed, Jack and Hank shared a bed, and Pete slept in a port-a-crib.  Pete would often keep us up past 11:00 singing songs and kicking his legs, but they really did so well.  It was so fun to be able to knock on Grandma and Grandpa's door and hang out in both rooms, get free breakfast every morning, and go swimming and hot-tubbing every night. We also did a lot of fun things during the day like Lehi Fun Center (Trafalga) where Jack rode a go-kart for the first time (never mind he accidentally hit the gas when people were still trying to get in their cars), and Hank did laser tag for the first time (that was adorable, people eventually had to let him take a mercy shot so he could shoot someone), and we all got soaked in the bumper boats.  We also spent a fun day at the Thanksgiving Point Children's Museum, had a picnic at Bridal Veil falls, and went to see The Secret Life of Pets.  Pete was absolutely obsessed with the hotel exercise room.  Each time we left the hotel room he insisted on going by the exercise room (opposite direction) and would look in the windowed door and say, "Exercise! Exercise window!  Two exercise!  Bye exercise!"  And no matter where we were he kept saying the word "exercise"  all throughout our stay, too.  It was so funny.  My kids had so much fun spending so much time with Grandma and Grandpa Griner.  We all had such a blast we were sad to see it come to an end.  And now when we drive by the hotel Hank sighs and says he wishes we lived there.

Go kart time!

Jane and her cousin Paris love when they get to be together.

Pete would have been happy to live in the hotel forever.

We were especially sad to realize just how much more work needs to happen on the front rooms.  So, it's just the six of us existing in one bathroom, one bedroom, and a kitchen.  Thankfully we do have access to their bedrooms upstairs but the kids won't go up there to play.  It's crazy-town.  And on top of that I'm supposed to be spending every waking moment studying for a big exam I have on August 30, and my new semester starts tomorrow, and the kids start school tomorrow.  Can't I just go back to a hotel and play?

But, here are some funny things the kids have been saying.

Hank asked me for a fuzz ball and was very upset when I couldn't understand him.  We finally worked it out and he got his much desired fudge bar.

One night I decided to listen to the song that Pete was singing to himself in his crib and I heard "Pete bed", "cream" (that we've been putting on a rash), "veese" (what he calls chapstick), "garbage truck", and "song again!"

The kids played a game for awhile that they called "movie star bite".  Jane and Jack would take turns taking bites of their food in slow, exaggerated ways, as if they were on a commercial selling delicious food.

Hank was talking about how Pete is my baby.  Then he started laughing and said, "When we grow up we will be mom's grown-ups".

Pete is still in love with letters.



Matt overheard Jack explaining to a neighbor friend what hell was.  Jack said, 'It's bad guy heaven."

One night when we were watching a movie I took a couple bites of Hank's popcorn.  He looked at me but let me take it.  After the third bite Hank said, "My brain says not to share.  But I will share.  I will not listen to my brain if it says something mean."

Another time he talked about his brain telling him things was when he told Matt, "Dad, do you know why I am always punching Jack?  Because my bwain say to do it and I should listen to my bwain when it says that."

Jack said to Hank, "Hank, a teenager is a type of kid.  It's not a grown-up but it still can drive cars."

Hank said, "Dad, how come my wee-wee have a hole on it."  Matt said, "That's so you can pee, bud."  Hank said, "Oh, I thought a bug bite it on the.....on the.....right there. I thought I go pee-pee and it make a hole, then go back in, make a hole, then go back in.  That how it rain."

Matt was outside cutting through some fallen branches with an electric saw and Hank asked, "Dad, what is that?"  "A saw."  "What is it used for?"  "To cut through stuff."  Hank said excitedly, "Like HUMANS?!"  Matt said, "Well, yeah, but we don't cut through humans."  Hank said, "Can it cut through bad guys?"  Matt said, "Yeah."  Hank seemed awestruck and said, "Oooh, it is a weapon and a tool."

If Hank likes the taste of something he will say it tastes like meatballs.  He tried out a new jelly on a PB&J sandwich.  After one bite he said, "MMMM, tastes like meatballs!"  And he likes to ask for water mixed with his milk.  And every time he ways, "Tastes like meatballs!"

Quite awhile ago Jack went through a phase of pretending to be a zombie.  Hank hated it so much that eventually Jack only had to barely cock his head to the side and Hank would run off screaming.  We were getting really frustrated and Jack was getting in trouble.  Hank didn't want Jack to get in trouble so he came and told us, "I only hate it 1%."

Hank told Matt, "Dad, my body say the only dinosaur that didn't die is a crocodile."  Matt said, "Yeah?  A crocodile is a dinosaur?"  Hank said, "Yeah, and it's the only one that didn't die from that big huge meteow."

After Jack told Hank it's illegal to go outside with a diaper Hank asked Matt, "Dad is it a eagle to go outside with a diapow?"

Hank said, "Dad, I am seeing if I am wolverine."  Then he held out his fists for awhile, stiffened his arms and fists, said, "H--nnghhemfpf."  "Nope.  I am not Wolverine."

Jack and Jane have been into the idea of getting pet rats lately.  I had four pet rats when I was growing up so I was telling them about them.  I happened to have the coolest pet rat to ever live so I was telling them how Squeaky would tarzan swing from the house plant on a table next to the couch to the top of the couch, go from the couch onto the shoulder of a person sitting there, and into a pocket if she could.  She also had a pack rat's nest under the couch where she carried everything she could find.  She new how to get crinkly-wrapped atomic fireballs from my mom's purse where it hung on a chair by climbing up the chair, dropping onto the purse, then reaching her head into the front pocket of the purse.  Then she'd take it to her nest.  She was the best.  Unfortunately she passed away when she peeked her head out of the door when my brother was leaving and the screen door swung back and broke her nose.  I was mostly telling Jack and Jack but Hank was in the room.  I told them how I held Squeaky until she died but that she died very loved and then I started telling stories of other rats.  A few minutes later Hank came to me very serious and asked, "Is it true?"  I could tell he was asking about Squeaky and I said yes.  He collapsed onto the floor, covered his face, and simply said, "I care about her."

Summer's been good.

June

It's been longer than I'd like but I've been drowning in school work for this summer semester.  Matt's been growing lots of plants and taking good care of the kids.  Jane's been going to a weekly drawing class.  She hasn't loved it, but finally enjoyed the last class so hopefully she'll start to like it.  She'd just rather draw her own ideas I think.  Jack finished Coach Pitch baseball and had fun with that.  Jack and Hank took swimming lessons and really improved.  Jack can swim across the width of the pool, although it's quite inefficient.  He can even jump off the diving board and get himself to the side.  He swims in a way that looks exactly like drowning so I'm pretty much always panicked.  Pete is increasingly fully of anxiety.  Everything scares him--mostly noises.  Things go better if I just accept that I will be 100% on Pete duty any time I'm around him.  This only works out, though, when he's willing to be with me and not Matt.  Pete is very particular about who is taking care of him.  It is cute to see Pete get excited when we are both home though.   When I get him out of bed he usually says, "Daddy work" and Matt said he does the same with him when I'm at work.  But every now and then we are both home and after he comes downstairs and sees that he gets so excited.  He'll usually announce it over and over again to the person who got him out of bed.   He just points and exclaims, "Mommy!" over and over again, making Matt acknowledge the exciting situation each time.

Hank, at 4, is still cracking us up consistently.  He needed to go to the bathroom and I asked, "Did you pee your pants?" He said, "I don't know!  Let's see.  It's a mystery!"

Hank told me that he is concerned that when we are sleeping people come in our house, eat our food, and put it back.  He said, "That's what my brain says to me."  I had no idea what he was talking about but then later as he ate tortilla chips he picked up a broken one and said, "See?  Someone took a bite."

I let the kids get a sucker at the store the other day.  The kind that are the really big ball-shaped lollipops with all the fun flavors.  Hank was so happy.  After tasting it he said, "I want this to be in my mouth forever."

I was leaving to do school work and Hank asked where I was going.  I told him I was going to do school.  He asked what school was and we talked about the world of higher education.  He asked when school would be over and I told him I'd be done before Christmas.  He asked when Christmas is and I walked him through all the months and seasons and holidays that would pass before Christmas.  Then I started to walk out the door and I heard Hank explain to Jane, "Mom won't be back until Christmas."  I stayed and re-explained. 

Hank, and all my kids, don't really care for frozen corn but do like  corn-on-the-cob.  Hank always explains that he wants his corn "built-up".  So when he saw I bought corn-on-the-cob last week he was so excited.  He asked multiple times a day if we would be having the corn then.  It just worked out that we didn't have dinner together at home for a few days.  One of the days he asked me to make it, he said sweetly, "Mom, you can make corn-on-the-cob really fast, can't you?  For your best buddy?"  The sad thing is that after I made the corn-on-the-cob I realized that Hank couldn't eat it because of his recently-fixed front tooth, Jack couldn't eat it because he's missing his front teeth, and Jane said it hurt her teeth.  So I ended up cutting it all off the cob any way.

I was telling Hank how much I loved him and our family more than anything else in the world.  He said he loved his family, too, and that thing we eat with the beans.  That came out of nowhere, plus he doesn't speak super clearly, so it took several minutes to figure out he meant chili.  We haven't had it in months and I didn't even know he liked it that much.  But apparently it ranks up there with his family.  So about a week later I asked the fam what I should make for dinner that day and Hank yelled, "What's that thing with the beans?"  So we had chili and Hank was thrilled.

We had a package at our door and Hank brought it in.  He said, excitedly at first, "I hope it's a real live dog!  ...But I guess it's not because it's not going woof woof."

One night Hank explained, "When you die, only your head goes to heaven.  And you can ROOOOLLLL.  Like BB8."

Hank learned how to add beginning s-sounds on s-blend words.  The problem is that he's been overgeneralizing.  So we get a lot of, "I want spasta."  

Hank heard a police car siren and said, "It's the police!  They'll think we are robbers in human costumes!"

Hank also reasoned with Matt, "If it's bath day and you don't give me a bath the polices don't know."

I announced to the kids that I was going to make cookies and they were pretty excited.  Hank ran into the kitchen wanting to help.  I started getting out the ingredients but then realized we didn't have any sugar.  I got out the step ladder and told the kids to cross their fingers I'd find sugar on the top shelf.  Hank was working very hard at it and then asked, "How do you cross your fingers?!"

Matt and Hank were reading a book and in the book people sat on a mat.  Hank said, "That's a mat, and Matt is a human."  And then he started cracking up.

Hank was trying to play but his hair was in the way.  Matt offered to put a hat on him.  Hank said, "Well...I want a man-bun."  Matt said, "I'm just not good at man-buns."

Hank said to Matt, Jane and Jack, "You guys are smart.  I'm not smart.  I don't even know Spanish."

Hank said, "Dad, I am scared in the kitchen and the family room."  Matt said, "Yeah?"  Hank said, "Yeah, I am scared something will eat that is not even real."

Matt was driving and Hank told Matt to go faster.  Matt asked if he wanted him to go so fast that they'd crash.  Hank said yes.  After a minute Hank said, "Dad, that was really fast, did you crash?"

Hank said, "Dad only my yegs(legs)  and dis(pointing to his chest) think Captain Phasma is a bad fighter.  But my brain thinks Captain Phasma is a good fighter.  Is that weird?"

One day Hank told Matt, "Dad I don't want to be a superhero I just want to be a kid."

Matt or I lay on the floor next to Hank's and Jack's bunk beds each night until they fall asleep.  We usually just play on our phones.  I always know it's time to go when I hear a little thud from a toy dropping onto the floor after falling from Hank's now-asleep hand.  

For months I've been wearing glasses as I didn't get new contacts after my last eye appointment.  Pete does not like to see me without them.  If I take them off he gets very uncomfortable and whiney and won't quite look at me until I put them back on.  

Pete calls Grover, "Blue Elmo" or, as Pete says it, "Byoo Melmo."

When we go into Pete's room to get him from his crib, and turn on the light, he screams, "Eyes! Eyes!" He likes to let his eyes adjust slowly.

Pete has a bad habit of "W-sitting" and working with children with special needs I am familiar with the potential concerns of it affecting the muscular development and motor skill development.  I usually try to get him in a new position if he's W-sitting.  But he's become so familiar with it that now I only have to say, "Pete, don't W sit" and he'll sit in a better position.  One day he was sitting normally and I patted his back.  He said to himself, "W sit" and still changed positions.  

Jack often talks about how he doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up.  He seems to be quite concerned about it, despite my efforts to explain most people don't decide until they are much, much older.  I wrote about how he was considering something with plants, because of doing those things with Matt.  Then, when I went out with Jack on a little date, we talked about what I do at work.  I told him about how I help kids learn how to talk if they haven't learned it yet and gave an example of one client who has learned to communicate with an ipad.  He thought that was pretty cool and then said, "What if I do what you do when I grown up?"  Sometimes the kids find some of my work toys, too, which has given Jack the impression that it must be a fun job because who wouldn't want to play with light-up balls and balloons all day?

Jack got a bad cold a couple months ago.  He carried around a roll of toilet paper and a plastic sack everywhere he went.  And he was very pleased with his set-up.  He also loved throwing his full sacks out in the big trashcan outside.  He likes to pick up and throw stuff away, especially when he is getting paid with "marbles" (have I talked about our marble system where the kids earn marbles and turn them in for toys and stuff?).  Anyway, he helped me clean out the cars one day.  He was pretty excited to be earning marbles.  He told me, "This is like my job!"

Jack turned 7 on June 12.  He got to have a pool party at Sharon's.  He loved it.  What he wanted most from us was Star Wars Monopoly and plants.  He got both.  

Hank with his man-bun that his aunts helped him with.

Jane's still life drawing from her class.

Jack at his end-of-year dance festival.

Mother's Day

Wow, what a week it has been!

Monday I was looking forward to finishing one last final exam and then having two weeks off of school.  I still had to work, of course, but Matt and I were hoping he could get the swamp cooler installed and the floor joist put in so we could get going on the front two rooms. We were also hoping to go out for our anniversary, and to take the family to the Tulip Festival.  But Monday evening when I was taking a timed final exam, I got a call from Matt.  I could tell something was wrong but he just kept asking when I was going to be done.  He told me that he had run over his foot with the lawn mower.  I called a couple neighbors but no one answered.  I finally got a call back from our friends who were our old neighbors, and they rushed over to help.  The husband took Matt to the ER and the wife and her daughter were going to wait with the kids, but I made it home just as Matt was leaving for the ER.  I went out to the mower and found Matt's shoe with the top front of the shoe chewed up and gone.  Inside the house there was a small blood trail from the back door, through the laundry room, kitchen and into the bathroom.  When I was finally able to talk to Matt again he told me that he had been mowing the lawn when the blades had gotten knocked out of place on one side.  Normally if he knocks against the mower the blade will lower back to its right height.  The mower is old and hard to start so he hadn't wanted to turn it off.  He kicked against it a couple of times, but the third time his foot must have slipped.  He didn't remember taking his shoe off outside.  But he did remember the sound of the mower hitting his shoe and immediately knew it was not good.  He went into the house and called for Jack to get his phone.  Jack was all business.  In fact, he asked Matt if he could see his foot.  Matt showed him and then Jack went into work-mode, got two phones, brought them to Matt, and then ran next door to get Jane from the neighbor's house.  Our friend stayed with Matt at the ER and then brought him home at about 11.  Matt lost the tops of two toes, down to the first toe knuckle.  The podiatrist cleaned the wounds of grass and bone fragments, and sewed him up.  Because lawn mowers can be so dirty he was given a tetanus shot and preventative antibiotics. He's been all wrapped up, wearing a Velcro boot and using crutches.  He's been taking a lot of pain meds and not walking very much.  He was pretty mad at himself about it at first, but has been in much better spirits. 

That night, when he finally made it home, we realized that Matt wasn't going to be able to get around the next day so I found a babysitter for the next day and then packed all the bags, school bags, school lunches, my own work bags and lunch, and showered and set out everyone's clothes so that the following morning we could all make it out of the house on time.  I also needed to fill Matt's prescriptions and get him crutches in the morning.  I got less than four hours of sleep and my sickness got much worse.  The next five days was the longest work week of my life.  I never made up for the lost sleep and struggled with a horrible cough. Poor Matt wanted to help, but was pretty much unable to do things around the house.  I definitely gained a new appreciation for just how much Matt keeps things going around here now that it was up to me to do all the cleaning, picking up, dishes, bag packing, laundry, grocery shopping, bedtime routines, bathing the kids, and on and on and on.  

Unfortunately, I could use a three-day nap.  But I did get to sleep in until 10:30 today!  Then the kids gave me their cute gifts from school and some home made cards and then we all cuddled on the couch and watched the old videos that Matt had made me of the kids.  It was fun.  I work six days next week so I spent the rest of the day trying to catch up around the house with dishes and laundry and healthy food prep for the fridge.  But I think we all had a pretty fun day for being stuck at home and I am just happy that Matt's toes are healing.  He had a follow-up appointment on Friday and things seemed to be doing ok--tissue is healthy and no infection.  We are both hoping he will be more mobile pretty soon!

Hank told me that he wished he could have gotten me a huge TV with lots of Ninjago episodes on it.  

Jack told me that he loves me because I make pizza for him and buy him toys.

Even prior to this crazy week, Hank had started asking a lot about who was going to be home with him on which day.  He seemed a little nervous that one of the days we were both going to leave.  One day he asked Matt, "What's it called when two people leave their kid at home and go to work?"  Matt said, "I don't know what they call it."  Hank said, " I think it's called.......KID IN DANGER!"  After Matt laughed Hank went on, "What do you call it when both mom and dad are in the car and the car leaves?  BABY IN DANGER!"

Some other quotes we jotted down from the last few weeks are:

Pete was crying upstairs after waking up and Matt asked Hank, "What should we do? Should we help out our friend, Pete?"  Hank answered, "Yeah, and not punch him in dee face, and not kick him in dee face, and not lay on him in dee face, and not lay on his neck, or else he will become a zombie."

Matt was trying to get Hank to go pee and Hank was resisting.  Matt told him, "You need to get it out of your head that you have to pee your pants before you actually go to the bathroom."  Hank was smiling and rubbing his head and asked,  "Should I rub my head until it go out of it?" Then he stopped smiling and got serious and said, "I don't want to hurt myself.  Maybe I just bump my head on something a yittle bit."  

Hank asked, "Dad, do ninja's have lips?"  Matt said, "Yeah, they do."  Hank started cracking up and said, "That is funny!"

Hank kissed Matt on his knee and said, "Now do you feel like a sipian?"  We figured out later it means champion.

Hank watched Matt through the front door as he came into the gate and then the house.  Hank said, "I thought you was a baby zombie that opened the gate and was walking, but you was mine own dad."

Jack has had a bit of a cold lately and has been walking around with a roll of toilet paper and a plastic sack to put all of his used tissues in.  Jack was explaining this set up to me and Hank said, "Well.....let me tell you something.  I use that to wipe my wee wee."  

Jack woke up one Saturday and immediately wanted to watch his two TV episodes that he gets on Saturday, while at the same time playing on the iPad for his allotted daily time.  So Matt asked him, "So you're just going to blow through all your stuff?"  Jack looked confused and said, "No, I'm going to have fun."  

Pete loves to point out any trucks or motorcycles that he hears or sees.  He especially loves to point out when there are two of anything.  "Two motorcycles!" 

Any time the lettering on a shirt or sign resembles the letters in the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Pete always gets excited and says, "chicka boom boom!"

Pete has been sleeping with an old stuffed bunny for as long as I remember.  For Easter he got a new stuffed bunny which Pete calls, "new bunny."  The kids have been watching a cartoon lately that has a cartoon bunny that resembles Pete's new bunny.  Every time he sees the cartoon he says, "new bunny!"

When Pete wants you to hold him he says, "Heed you."  If he's frantic it's usually more like, "Mommy heed you, mommy heed you!"  Like the time (a couple weeks ago) when Matt was drilling into the house.  Pete was absolutely terrified.  I tried to take him to play upstairs where it wasn't that loud but he could not handle it.  Eventually we ended up going on a very long walk that day so that Matt could finish.  He is pretty uneasy about loud and unfamiliar things.  

Sometimes Matt puts funny kid quotes on his facebook, so I'm just going to copy and paste here.   

Jack: "Dad, was gum made when you were alive?"

Do they do this on purpose? Just to make me feel bad about my life? Well, first off, I'm alive, Jack, and you're chewing gum right in front of my face, so dumb question. But really, I think you're wondering if way back when I was a kid, did technology exist to make a chewy thing that tastes good and lasts a long time. Yes, the tech existed, and you're mean.

_____________

Hank finished his apple juice and walked into the kitchen carrying his empty glass, which was made of glass. "All done!" He spiked the glass hard into the sink like it was a football and he'd just scored a touchdown. Predictably, it shattered into a million pieces that flew all over the room. "Sorry Dad." He walked out to watch his show.

_____________

Hank: "Dad, Luke Skywalker have to kill his own father."
Me: "Oh, yeah. That's kind of rough, huh?"
Hank: "Look, Dad, it's easy."
He makes Luke slice Darth's neck with his light saber.
Hank: "And then Dath Vado's head pop off."

________________

Hank was hunched over playing with superheroes. I snuck up behind him and hugged him. 
"Thank you, Dad." He's an angel. 
"Hanky, we'll always be buds." 
"Yeah. And if we were bad guys, we would destroy everything." Wait, what? "As buds?"
"Yeah."
I swear he's an angel.

______________

You want to know how my 4 year old wins at Plants v. Zombies? As the zombies enter the house to eat his brains, he quickly turns to me and blindsides me with: "Dad! YOU'RE in that house! The zombies ate YOUR brains!" Hmm. Really? Cause if I had the iPad, I guarantee they wouldn't've got past the lawnmowers you little punk.