Little People

They have taken over my life. I LOVE it!



Asher, who is not so little anymore (but I like to cradle him like a baby and pretend) is so generous and kind when he wants to be. He is so good at making up games to entertain his younger brothers. He also just beat Portal 1. An amazing feat considering that I cannot play that game for more then 10 minutes without feeling extremely nauseated.

Asher just bought (with game tickets at the roller rink) a blue heart shaped necklace that says "Best Friends". This gesture alone was so tender to me that I wanted to cry a little. I asked him who he was going to be giving it to and he told me. For 3 days I was so nervous that his friend might "reject" the necklace because it wasn't cool or something. Reject something that my little Asher thought of doing all on his own. My heart ached to protect him from this possible reality of life. That some things might not be "cool" for boys at his age. I guess that I shouldn't have worried at all because his friend liked the gift and ended up wearing it to school the next day as a bracelet. So sweet.

As Asher is getting older, I realize that there is going to be some hurt in life coming his way. Friends, girls, activities, just the normal things that life will throw his way. I am losing him to the big world out there because I know that I cannot protect him forever. I just hope that I can teach him who he is and whose he is. I love him so much. I am not ready for this!

Myles liked this science project because it was about batteries.

Myles is such a vocal little character. The questions that come out of his head blow me away. Can cats and dogs see in color? How does this battery/motor/device work? What is it like for babies inside their mommy's tummy? Who was Heavenly Father's father? Who was his father? There are so many things that he asks us on a daily basis, I really need to start writing them down. Who knows, maybe someday he will be able to answer a question that nobody else has been able to answer!

A couple of weeks ago, on the Friday that his class would be celebrating Easter, he was soooo excited to go to school. His class was also going to be going to the local Arctic Circle and ordering their very own food for lunch. He knew that this was going to be a big day and clearly had high expectations for it. He kept telling me, "Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever!". I love seeing him grow and get excited for things in life, things that can make his little soul happy to be alive. It is so simple sometimes.

Owen has been giving us yet another run for our money with his antics lately. He is so devilish sometimes that I just want to put him in permanent time out! I think that I have finally clued in to the source of the problem, XBox. Yep. The boy is addicted to Lego Indiana Jones. If I ask him to do anything else his reply is "boring..." - he is 4, for crying out loud! I know I need to nip this in the bud now before he gives up eating and sleeping. Ha ha!


Owen also informed me the other day, cause you know he is quite the Don Juan, that boys do not like girls with black hair. I asked why, because one of his various little loves has black hair. He couldn't explain it but just that he would no longer be liking this particular girl anymore. :( I told him that he could like what ever he wanted, blue hair, black hair, red hair. Fortunately, I think he changed his mind because 2 days ago this little girl came over to invite him to play. He didn't hesitate, only reverted to his bashful shy boy routine. I guess it works for him with the ladies... He now loves her again. She is his favorite. I was so worried you know! ;)


Sawyer is growing just way too quickly. He can now go up and down the stairs, a very important thing in his little life. He loves to travel the house at his leisure now. It is cute to watch him as it seems a whole new world has opened up to him. I am fine keeping it this way. I just wish I could do this with all of my boys.

Well, it seems I have to comfort him now as he is upset about some toys that rudely poked him in the bottom when he decided to sit down on them. It can be so hard to be little, you know.

STITCHES!!

**Not for the light hearted...advert your eyes if necessary!**

It happened, finally. I had been dreading "this day" for about 11 years. With four boys, I am really surprised that it didn't happen sooner. One of my babies has split his chin open.

Now, just to be clear, Owen was technically the first of my boys to get stitches. It happened this last summer in Moab. We were 4-wheeling, he was wearing cowboy boots, trying to climb up on the trailer...it was bad...and bloody. We were in a motor home so we couldn't really "rush" to the hospital. Fortunately, my little sis had her truck there.

Owen and I went off to the small town hospital together. Everyone in the hospital looked like they had just come in from rock climbing or biking. Dirt under the nails, sunburns, cut off jeans. For real.


Owen's cut was inside his upper lip. He was really really brave. The dr.'s explained that had it been a fraction higher, he would have needed maxillofacial surgery, a fraction lower, he would have lost his teeth. We were very lucky.

Three hours and 4 stitches later (it took us a while to get all of Owen's freaking and thrashing out of the way!) we were as good as new! Owen was so proud of his stitches. He showed anyone who was interested. In fact, he still shows his gums to people...it has been 5 months.

I was so relieved that my baby was not only okay, but not visually/ permanently marred by the experience. By that I mean his perfect little body was still perfect on the outside, (exceptttt for a roasting stick burn from a campout...that is another story!) there were no visible signs of damage.

As a side note, I know this won't last forever. Boys will be boys. Cuts, scrapes, scars and other injuries are inevitable in our future. And heaven forbid if they ever get tattoos!!! Ohhh, the things I have to look forward to. In the meantime, I like to pretend that they are all still precious, soft and downy newborns with the perfect unblemished bodies they were born with. (You can call the mental services on me later.)

So anywho, back to last Friday night. Owen and Myles are in the tub acting like maniacs as usual. (I really do need to start separating them and making them take showers.) All of the sudden, I hear it. The loud, ominous thud followed by an excruciating scream. I know.

I run in, Myles has his hand on his chin, blood is spilling out. Yep. It's time. Sterling, ironically, was not home. I pull Myles out, put some toilet paper on his chin to stop the bleeding and ready myself for the first look. GASP!! I think he knew it was bad because Asher, who was there to catch the action, and I both backed away and put our hands over our mouth at the same time.

We go to the sofa, where I calmly explain to Myles that we are going to have to go the the Dr. to see what he thinks about his cut. "NO NO NO!! I don't want stitches!! I don't want STITCHES!!!"

In the midst of all of this, Asher gets this "ah ha" moment type of look on his face and runs downstairs, returning with his microscope and a clean slide. He wants a live blood sample. Ewwww. Really. I tell him, "You know, now is really not the time. Maybe a bloody nose or a mosquito bite..." "MOM!" "Okay, you have to ask your brother's permission." Myles, who has been crying up to this point, stops completely and says "yes". THEN-he hops (HOPS) off the sofa to peer into the microscope along with Asher. WHAT??? I am dumbfounded. Crisis adverted.

By the time we got to the Insta Care (Sterling met us there) Myles was doing pretty good. He insisted that we inform the Dr. that he DID NOT want stitches. The nurse tricked him and told him that she was cleaning his cut. Instead, she taped a pad holding a liquid numbing solution to his chin.

This picture is pre-stitches- believe it or not! The dr. was great at getting Myles to relax and open up. Myles suddenly had a lot of information to share.

Three stitches. I actually got a bit light headed when they were sewing him up. Sterling told me I was white and the nurse made me eat a sucker! Well, if you insist!

Myles checking out the final look. He is so proud now that he not only survived - but that he is going to have an awesome scar to show the ladies! Let's hope it is only this scar that he ever gets....right?! A mom can hope.

It doesn't take a genius...

...but I think that he is pretty smart!

Tonight Myles was thumbing through Asher's scout book and pointing out the various activities that he wanted to do. When he reached the section on electricity, he was soooooo excited. Myles LOVVVVES anything that has to do with electricity. Batteries, wires, flashlights, toys, etc. I cannot tell you how many toys in our house are missing their battery covers, or how many battery covers are floating around- because Myles usually has to take them apart right away and examine the chambers, what size of battery the toy takes, and so forth. We actually have to limit the amount of batteries that Myles is allowed to go through in one day. We have also wised up and started taking him to DI to purchase the toys that we know he will be disassembling and rewiring.

Anywho, back to tonight. We read the explanation in the manual about how electricity travels from the source through an open and closed circuit. He immediately wanted to do the experiment. He proceeded to take apart a tiny key chain flashlight to rearrange the wires and batteries so he could test out the various ways in which he could get the light bulb to work. He even came up with an awkward looking circuit involving paper clips. It worked! When he went to bed, he snuck a larger flashlight light bulb into his room to experiment with. I wasn't supposed to know, until Owen blurted the news out... Myles said to me "Owen has a big mouth."

I love my little Myles. He is an different breed of boy but I am so glad that he is mine!!

**In my next post- Asher's microscope experiment using Myles' fresh blood after splitting his chin open. Never a dull moment, I tell you...***

Just a day in the life...

Umm, no.

Myles asked me about poop last night. Yep. He wanted to know where it came from, how it was made, why we have it, and so on. I decided to pull out the Usborne book that we have about our bodies and how they work. It was our bedtime story book.

Owen and Myles patiently waited their turn to ask me their questions. "Why do we have one tube for food and one tube for air?" and "That is not really what a heart looks like...it looks like a triangle!" (Owen)

After I finished explaining, in detail, how food works its way through our system, is broken down, nutrients removed, etc., Myles looked at me and said "So, poop is food?"

Me- "Yes, after our body has taken what it needs to grow."

Myles -"So, we can eat poop!?"

Me -"Ummm, no!"

Myles- "But some people eat poop."

"No."

"Yes."

"Myles, no. We don't EVER it poop....that is disgusting!"

I hope he will take my word for it.

A picture a day goal...

Soooo, I am really such a SLACKER! This having four kids stuff has left me no time to blog....well, not really. I have been facebooking a lot more these days. I have realized though, especially around Christmas time, that I am just letting too many precious little things go undocumented. So, I am going to try to write more frequently. I also like the idea of posting a picture a day for one year. Phew. I don't know if I can do it but hey, if I can't do this then I must really really be unorganized. So, to catch up for Jan 1 and 2nd, here are a few lovely pictures.

This picture is kind of hard to make out. We have this old Canon camera that Myles loves to carry around and take pictures with. Sterling and I decided to download the images on it and this is what we found! The world through Myles' eyes. This is a fort that all three boys built in our basement.

These pictures were also on our old camera. How could I resist not posting these!?! Asher and Myles entertaining us with their odd ball humor. Love those boys...

And life goes on . . .

Here we are folks, T - 5 1/2 weeks and counting. Of course, I am already deducting 2 weeks off that schedule because each of my babies has come 2 weeks early for one reason or the other. AND - this pregnancy has been so agonizing that I think I will castrate the Dr. if he doesn't take me then. I don't want to hurt the little bambino though, sooo, if I get to 38 weeks and it is not time, I will just dig deep and find the strength to make it . . . for one more week maybe!! :)

Since my last post, I have been on prednisone. An awful and wonderful drug wrapped all into one. Aside from the night sweats, bloating, irritability, and heart palpitations, I am thrilled to announce that it has kept my "rash" (more like alien imprint from another planet that is taking over my body) at bay. The only bad thing is that I cannot be on it for very long so I am already being weened off and - that means the rash is already coming back. At least I was able to keep it a bay for a couple of weeks.

I have also been kind of insecure about the weight gain/ bloating. Look guys, I know I am big, I am not blind. I can especially see that my face is bloated. Everyone that I ask (for an honest answer) says " Oh no, you look great . . . the same!" Which really, that is kind of an insult too. LOL! Well, my dear mother in law saw me for the first time in a few months today and she admitted that "YES" my face does "look puffy". So there!

It is at times like this that I really do look forward to getting my body back to myself. I cannot wait to hold my little one. I just seem to function so much better when my babies are on the outside of my body. As I have been in and out of the hospital, I get to see the little newborns in the nursery. The other day I almost started crying out of joy because I truly am so excited to have one more. I loveeee the baby stage. I really do.

In other news, today Sterling and I went to our first consultation with the child psychologist to get Myles set up for his evaluation. The verdict is still out but most of the preliminary reports/tests are coming back as Autism. Really. I mean, how could we have missed this. With Asher, it was so obvious when he was young. With Myles, it is a completely different story.

There were no tears this time (not yet at least). I pretty much welcome the diagnosis. I am ready to move on and start helping him and getting the help and guidance that I need. I was asking Sterling as we were leaving, why did Heavenly Father send these boys to us? Is there something that I am just not learning as a mother? Then I realized that perhaps he thought that we could actually handle these circumstances. Go figure. I am going to have to dig deep again - but then, what mother doesn't have to do that everyday with her children, no matter what her situation?!

I am worried a bit about the baby. If Asher and Myles' "differences" are as bad as it gets, then I can handle it. But now I think, what if this baby is severely autistic? I know that there is no point in worrying. I also realize that I would never change this baby (or any of my babies) for the world. I will take them no matter what. I guess that I can face any challenge that is put in front of me with the Lord's help. These past 8 months or so have been a testament to that. And I thought that there was an easy button . . .

Well, I will post more soon enough. Who knows, maybe baby pictures will be next!! Yippee!!

Myles the Hero!

I wanted to mention that in an effort to make Myles feel special and important at school (what student doesn't want to feel this way?!), his teacher decided that he should be the "Hero of the Week". Myles was soooo proud.

We picked out some of his favorite pictures and decided that he would demonstrate his love for building things (guns, cars, contraptions, etc.) to his classmates. It was a success, other then the fact that his "gun" kept misfiring the rubber band bullets. There were a few close calls too when he had them pointed into the crowd of eager faces.

I am so proud of Myles and the life force that he brings into this world. Our family, my life, would not have been so special without him. I love him so much!!

Stop the world . . .

. . . I want to get off. I have really had it folks. Really. I know that I don't have a lot to complain about. I know that my life is relatively blessed and easy going. But sometimes, all of the junk hits you at once (or within a 9 month time period, shall we say) and I just want to jump ship.

For starters, I am going to admit one of the not so glamorous realities of this pregnancy. I have some sort of mean, unrelenting rash that is now covering most of my body (except for my face, ironically). And it ITCHES like a mother. It keeps me up at night and distracts me most of the day as well. The doctors, of course, have no idea what it is - but they seem to be certain that it is pregnancy related. I think that at tomorrow's appointment I get to have it biopsied. Yippee!! Can I just mention how this all adds to my overall image of attractiveness? I have lost any inkling of "mojo" that I might have had in this female body. Will it ever come back . . . ?

On top of this, Myles has decided to blast us full force with his "personality" issues. He is not participating at school and it seems to just be checking out from reality more frequently. So of course, time for a professional diagnosis. It is like walking through quick sand for me to deal with this issue for some reason. No parent likes to hear what is wrong with their child.

As I was making phone calls to get this issue squared away (if you can really call it being "squared away") a psychologist mentioned something about children with autism that of course brought a problem that we have been having for a while with Asher bursting forward!

Asher has major food refusal issues. He is just not eating. It is getting worse as he is getting older, probably because his body requires more food to sustain it. He gets this dark bags under his eyes and he has digestion problems. It is not that I really have been ignoring it, I have just kind of given up the fight (fighting) with this issue. Well, I am rolling up my sleeves again. I am going to try to find a therapist who can help us . . . and help me know what to do.

So, this doesn't sound like too much, right? I am just a bit overwhelmed right now. If I break it down I can handle it all - I mean, I have no other choice. I guess that it wouldn't be life if I didn't have these challenges to deal with. And I am sure that their will be plenty more to come. For now, I am going to just keep my head down and keep pushing forward.

Out of the mouths of babes . . .

A few days ago, Myles was taking off his clothes to put on his pajamas. I was standing between him and the laundry basket which he was trying to throw his shirt in.

Myles: "Mommy, I am going to throw this at your milk!"

Me: "My milk? What are you talking about!?"

Myles: "You know, your 'milkies' !"

Nice. I guess that is what they are calling it these days. Fine by me. :)

Yesterday, when I was clipping Myles' fingernails, he wanted to know if Heavenly Father had to clip His fingernails. Yeah, I guess so, I told him. "Well, then were does He keep his fingernail clippers?" Humm, I am going to have to think about this one.

And finally, Owen was getting ready to go down for a nap the other day. As I was changing his diaper, he informed me that his peepee would also be going to sleep. Whew! What a relief! Those things can be so pesky!! LOL!

P.S. I think that I have just read one of the best quotes of my life!! Head over to NieNie's blog to read her post. Mr. Nielson was apparently addressing his two screaming daughters and he said, "Hey girls, the devil called and he said that you are doing awesome!!" Hilarious!! I am going to have to use that one! :)

Myles Turns 5!

My dearest little Myles,
In the last five years, you have taught me -

. . . that it is okay to march to your own beat!


. . . that people will understand you even if you use words like "ospee" (woopsie) and "causabe" (because).


. . . that you can get just about anything in life if you have big blue eyes and eyelashes that bat like a butterfly's wings!


. . . that there is a special bond between brothers that comes with the territory.

. . . that sleeping with treasures (i.e. Hotwheel cars, a birthday card, a paper airplane) can be a rewarding experience but,

. . . sleeping with a puppy who pees in your bed is not a good thing when you get in trouble for it!



. . . and that feeling on top of the world can come from something as simple as the joy you feel with the wind in your hair as your ride your airplane!



I love you little Myles. I am so so glad that you came to our family. I am so glad that you gave us the opportunity to love you . . . and that you give us such love back! Happy Birthday little one!

It's the little things . . .

A couple of days ago, Myles (4) was watching quietly as I gave Owen some antibiotics.

Myles: I think that I need some of that medicine mommy.

Me: No, I think that you just have allergies.

Myles: Oh. Do allergies make me go poop in my pants?

Nice.

Some of my happy moments . . .

Myles joining me for "quiet time". I told him that he could play with his Legos in my room if he was quiet (while I read a book). I dozed off and when I woke up, this is how I found him.

Owen volunteering to try to go "poo poo" in the potty. He is not quite ready yet but he is definitely interested . . . humm, maybe he will learn quickly!

Asher in the rare moment that he will hold someone's hand. Yippee! I was especially happy to see that it was Owen who always wants to hold Asher's hand. :)

Asher receiving his Wolf badge. *sniff* So proud!

Conversation of the day . . .

Myles: "Mommy, why do you have a baby in your tummy?"

Me: "I don't have a baby in my tummy, not yet!"

Myles: "YES YOU DO MOMMY!! You have a baby in your tummy!!"

Nothin' like having your child inform you about some unpleasant weight gain.

A Mommy Moment

Tonight I was coming up the stairs when I noticed a little brown spot on the wood floor. I wiped it up with my sock, thinking that one of the boys had been into the chocolate chips. As my foot was wiping it, I noted that it felt a little bit thicker then the usual chocolate chip. So, being the smart mom that I am, I took off my sock to smell it.

Yep, poop.

After taking in the shock of it all, I noticed the little brown smudges that were on the first four steps going down the stairs. It would seem that Myles, who is getting much better at pooping "in" the toilet, decided to fore go his usual wiping. Instead, he opted for the "sliding my bare butt down the stairs" method. Nice.

A Month (or so) of Firsts

Oh where, where, where do I begin?!! Okay, first, and update on the Rubik's cube (*%$#!!?) thingy - still not solved!!! Grrrrr. I can get two rows done but alas, it is that last row that gets me every time. I have even consulted the internet for help but all I can find is a series of about 50 algorithms that I am supposed to complete. And there are people who do this with no help?! (scratching my head . . . )

So, I have a lot to catch up on. The first and most exciting event was that Asher turned 8 in January! Our little baby is growing up. Sniff. We had a rockin' party for him - lots of friends - lots of boy sweat! I think that he loved it.

Well, as you may know, along with turning 8, Asher also became an official Cub Scout. This has been a learning experience for us both as we have already learned the "Cub Scout Motto", secret hand shake, secret code names, etc. Okay, well they are not really secret but let me tell you, these boys take scouts very seriously. I mean, it is like a whole organization . . . . gosh! LOL!

Asher also had his first Blue and Gold Banquet in which he was awarded his "Wolf" badge . . . . such an over achiever. :)

Of course, another exciting event was Asher's baptism. This was a wonderful experience as we were able to have both sets of grandparents there. Asher has been anticipating (and slightly fearing) this day for a year now. He didn't like the idea of being dunked under the water. We practiced, we prayed, we talked about it, and we made it . . . well, barely.



Just as Sterling and Asher got into the font, those up close (who were mostly children) could hear Asher start to panic and say "Daddy, I don't want to do it - I don't want to do it!!" This worried me but I knew that he meant going under the water - not actually being baptized. Sterling was firm and fast. He quickly said the prayer and pushed Asher under the water, just as Asher started freaking out and kicking his legs, but he made it.

Apparently, Myles thought this was amusing and started laughing hysterically- which also got the other kids laughing. Oh yes, it just cannot be typical in our family. Nope.


Speaking of Myles, we also encountered our first allergic reaction this past month. Not to be crude, but Myles woke up one morning with such a terrible rash that I rushed him to the doctor and I think that my first words were something to the extent of "What the *$#@!!?? is it?!" Amoxicillin. Now we know. Poor little Myles suffered silently for about a week. He is such a trooper.

We also we to our first "Monster Jam" and boy - let me tell you! The boys were mesmerized. It was a smash hit. I even enjoyed it myself. We almost left Owen at home but we could not find a babysitter. I am so glad that we didn't though as he was the most enthusiastic of them all!! He was yelling and clapping. He was even chummin' it up with the people around us, giving them high fives - I just don't know where he gets this social spirit from! :)




Even with ear plugs the boys still thought that it was a bit loud for them!

Okay, well, I think that this just about covers everything!! LOL! Oh wait, I almost forgot! We also went sledding at the beginning of January. The boys loved it. It was a first for little Owen. I think that these pictures pretty much sum it up!

We just could not get his little gloves to stay on . . . poor baby!