One Terrific Kid

Yesterday was Brendan's awards assembly. I knew he was getting an award but I didn't know which one. I was surprised and proud when he was called up as his class' December pick for the Terrific Kid award. I actually got a little teary eyed as he went up on stage. I know he can be difficult but he is a sincere, smart, honest and kind boy and it is nice to have that recognized.
You can see in the picture that he was pretty excited too, hence holding the award over his head the whole time. :)
He told me that next time, he wants more than one award. He asked not to miss any school (perfect attendance) and wants to take more AR tests (reading award). Nice goals, Son!

Darby is 3!!

Its not that hard for me to believe that Darby is three. It has gone too fast and I still remember her birth vividly, but she seems so grown up (and tall) that in my mind, she's been three for a while. I'll admit that I spent a part of today looking at her baby pictures, reading her birth story and getting all sentimental though.

When I went into her room this morning she was still asleep. I woke her up with a rendition of Happy Birthday. She did not appreciate it.

However, she was in great spirits all day. She watched a few episodes of Strawberry Shortcake, played with her babies and had yummy snacks.

Today was Brendan's awards assembly (more about that later) so we took a trip to the school. Jason was able to get off work to come too.
In the afternoon she played nicely with Eva in the dollhouse and decided that Red Robin was where she wanted to go to dinner. The other kids were pretty excited about that.

She loved it when the waiters sang to her but was more excited about the sundae. She started eating it before the song was even done.

Upon leaving, she got a pink balloon, which she slept with that night (until we could sneak in and take it away).

Her party is on Saturday and THAT is what she is over-the-moon excited about. She has been talking about a party for weeks! Stay tuned.

Screen time for Brendan

This is Brendan. I love video games and the rule is that I need something to play them, unless it's a learning game like Numbers League. To play them, I have to earn screen time. I earn screen time by doing these things: playing outside: 1 minute for every minute, reading: 1 minute for every minute, help without being asked: 5 minutes, homework: 20 minutes, blue: 20 minutes, green: 10 minutes and completing all night chores well: 10 minutes. Blue and green are school behavior screen times. The games I like to play are Trucks and Skulls, Trainyard, Ticket to Ride and Monster Truck Nitro 2. I used to like playing Angry Birds and Cut the Rope but I when the new apps were bought I liked them better.

Edited by Mom to add that he's pretty good at Ticket to Ride. He regularly beats the computer with scores over 150. His brain amazes me.

Look Ma! Two arms!

Today was Eva's appointment at the orthopedist. We told her that they would take off her cast and take a picture of her arm. If the bone was all better then she wouldn't have to get another cast but there was a chance she might get another one on. She said she wanted an orange cast if that happened. Go figure.
Well the appointment was really pretty quick. The doctor showed me her X-rays and the bone regrowth. He also explained that she'd be stiff and that we need to stretch the muscles a little each day. He also told us to keep her away from things and situations that could injure it again, like playsets, high places, slides, etc.
She wasn't as excited to be cast free as I thought she'd be but she was super excited for a real bath and to wear long sleeves again. :)

Time flies

My baby just took her first steps with a push toy yesterday! She started on her knees and then went up on her feet and started walking. I wish you could have seen her face. It was a mix of surprise and pride. She thinks she's such hot stuff! She's been pushing it all over the house since then. I love her!

Domino effect

Last Thursday morning I saw Eva had a messy pj shirt on and asked about it. She said she threw up in the sink last night. She had a fever too so she stayed home from school. All she did the whole day was lay on the couch. She took a few naps there. She felt better on Friday afternoon. By then Darby was down. The girl who never naps voluntarily took a 2 hour one and later fell asleep in her daddy's lap. Saturday she was lethargic and feverish and would only sleep being cuddled. She stayed home from church today with Jason (I have sharing time this month).
In addition, this morning Paige spit up . . . a lot. But she was happy so I thought it was just a gas bubble or over feeding. Just as I put in her church dress though, she threw up her lunch on me, my church clothes, the carpet and the couch. So she was staying home too. After church I find that she had a three hour nap. Whoa! Now both sick girls are in bed by 6pm. And Bubbs just says he feels sick.
It just keeps going downhill. I'm not sure if it a good thing it's a 4 day weekend it not. It means I have daddy home for backup but we are also stuck at home all weekend. Please just let the illness skip me!
Mommies can't get sick!

Edited to add: It hit Brendan today after lunch. He had chocolate milk as part of our early morning donut run. Lets just say, I love my carpet cleaner.

Another GWL weekend

As a part of Special Forces, Jason gets the opportunity to sign up for marriage retreats fairly often. We were able to go back to the Great Wolf Lodge again on the Army's dime this past weekend. We attended marriage seminars but also had family time and paid babysitting for a date night. Sweet!

We arrived on Friday and one of the first things we did was reactivate Brendan and Jason's Magiquest wands. We also bought Eva one now that she is old enough to understand the game. Of course, Darby wanted a wand too but was happy with a plain plastic one (it DID have pink sparkles and that was enough for her). Jason also found wizard hats for the kids and Darby found a crown she couldn't live without. In fact, she wore it the whole weekend.

Because the Army booked our room and they just looked at numbers, we had a room with all the sleeping arrangements in one place. This proved a big problem for our very excited kids in regards to falling asleep. It was a rough night. In fact, the next night was worse. That was the only failing in our trip.

As part of the retreat, meals were free in the conference center. We would take the kids to breakfast and then drop them off with a nanny service while we attended the classes. It was really nice to be able to focus on US and to meet more Army couples.

For family time the next day, after the marriage classes, we had to divide and conquer. Poor Eva couldn't play in the water due to the cast. I took her and Paige and set out to make her time just as fun as Brendan and Darby, who went with Jason to the water park. We went to the Stuffing Station and she stuffed a pink wolf that she named Strawberry. We did a quest with her new wand around the lodge and then we ate some ice cream while we waited for her pedicure appointment at the kids' spa.

We also went into the water park to see how Dad was doing. Darby was having THE time of her life. She was not happy to wait poolside with me while Jason went with Brendan on the Howling Tornado water slide but it was only fair that Bubbs get some time with Daddy. Then we left for the spa.

Eva was SO cute at her appointment. Wrapped in a pink robe with a smug look on her face, she sat there while they pampered her feet and painted her toenails. I could tell she loved the princess treatment.

That night we were able to drop the kids off with the nanny service and go one a date. I tried to get us signed up for massages but they were all booked. We ate dinner near the lodge and I had the best meal I've had in months. Then we played a bit in the arcade. We rocked out on Guitar Hero, I beat Jason at air hockey and skee ball and he won the game of electronic Connect 4.

I wish I had brought my swimsuit (I didn't think I'd have time to use it) so that we could have played at the water park kid free. I guess we'll just have to go back. :)

There was a worship service on Sunday morning, more marriage classes and then time to check out. Half the kids zonked out on the way home. It was a good weekend.

Bragging a bit

This is a bit of a bragging post. If you don't want to read about my kids' awesomeness, feel free to skip it. It is a fully proud-mama-indulgent post to help me remember the great things my kiddos can do at this stage of their lives. Years from now I expect this will mean a lot to me and them as they read the past blog books.

Brendan:

This boy has an amazing brain. He is currently in 1st grade and just tested out of his old AR level and is now reading 5.7 - 6.2. That means he is reading and passing comprehension tests for books at a 5-6 grade level. This is especially exciting for me since I taught fifth grade and have so many favorite books in that level. I can't wait to have conversations with him about these books!

Eva:

Eva is just starting to read too. It's so exciting! Breaking her elbow has made school a bit harder since she's right handed but her teachers report that she doesn't let it hold her back. I was kinda impressed at her left handed printing.

Darby:

She is such a fashionista. With her new magnetic dolls and an iPad app I found she makes all sorts of outfits. And most actually match. :)

Paige:

She's just really cute and cuddly. I'll miss it when she's older. Her new talent is climbing. Oh no!!!

So, if you made it through the post you have just read the ramblings of a mom who is so proud of her kids' accomplishments. They each have their weaknesses for sure but I wanted to do a small celebration of their abilities right now at ages 7, 4, 2 and 11 months.

No More Monkeys

It was Saturday night and Eva and Brendan were in her room horsing around. I heard a cry and Eva came out of the room in tears, with Brendan trailing her saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry". She didn't give many details but I gathered from her that she fell down and hurt her arm. I checked her arm and it seemed okay. I gave her a hug and had her lay down on the couch for a bit before dinner. I watched her for a bit and noticed that she wasn't using that arm. And when I called her to dinner she told me that she wasn't hungry. She just laid on the couch and whimpered. I asked Brendan what happened and it came out that in their horsing around he had thrown her off the bed (she had sat on his head and he reacted by pushing her). Jason took her to the ER.
It turns out that she broke her right elbow. It was a complete fracture but was "non displaced". Jason says that she was a real trooper. She let them twist it and X-ray it and everything without much fuss. However, when they had to cut her sleeve off for the splint, she freaked out. Poor girl loved those jammies. Anyway, she got a splint and instructions to take her to the orthopedist as soon as we could.

Why do these things always happen over the holidays or on a weekend? This time we got the double whammy. She had to wait four days for an appointment due to New Years. In the interim, she has been on pain medication every six hours and when it wears off she is in real pain. Dealing with a splint is not an easy task either. I had to buy her some new short sleeved shirts as and her old ones don't fit now and she's been wearing long sleeves for the last months.
Today was her day to get the cast. There was a bit of a paperwork issue and they had to wait in the lobby for a while. Here is a result of that. Silly face pictures with the iPhone.

When they took off the splint her arm was really swollen and the bruise was ugly. Poor little girl. :(

She chose a purple cast with black padding (to match her outfit that day I suppose). She is actually pretty excited about it. Its so much easier to deal with than a splint. The doctor is having us come back in three weeks.

There are some funny, but sad, things about this. She points out her one-armed-ness all the time. When we are about to pray she tells us, "I can't fold my arms. I only have one arm". And in Primary when they did songs with actions (like "Popcorn Popping), she can only do half the actions. It's cute but sad.
We are also going to a water park in two weeks for an Army marriage retreat. She won't be able to swim. So sad. I've decided that she and I will go to the spa there and also to Build a Bear.