The Fantastic and Frustrating Fours!

 If 30 is the new 20...and 40 is the new 30...then it stands to reason that four is the new six, right?  Actually, kindergarten is the old first grade, so I’m still trying to figure out when things reverse.  Anyway, Chase and Ella are officially four...going on six!

What makes four so fantastic?  I forgot what a joy this age is- they are little sponges, amazed by even the most trivial things, and still innocent and sweet enough to love you unconditionally.  Their ideas are so fascinating, their thoughts are becoming more complex and their problem solving more creative.  Their vocabularies are growing, along with their personalities, opinions and independence.  Their emotions are raw and sincere, and their understanding of the world is evolving.  I just feel privileged to be part of it all.

And with all those things comes a whole new level of frustration.  Frustration with not having all the privileges their older brothers have, with not physically being able to do the some of the same things, and with the realization that the world does not necessarily revolve around them.  Learning some of life’s more trying lessons- like patience- doesn’t come naturally for a four year old.

Experience has taught me that is the year to cling to...to hold tight to...the year before they are exposed to the bigger world of social influences at “real” school when I’m forced to let go in a bigger way.  Until then, I’ll take the frustrating with the fantastic!

Fantastic for Chase:  He still loves dinosaurs and trucks, and a good book.  Chase has also discovered Legos and Hero Factory (this is both fantastic and frustrating for him- but GREAT for fine motor development!).  He still loves cuddles, cuddles and more cuddles, and his newest skill of which he’s super proud- going under water!  And he hasn’t met a dog or dessert he doesn’t like.

 

 Frustrating for Chase:  Waiting...for anything (I think he’s lacking the patience gene), anything scary that his brothers might be watching on tv (actually, this may be more of my frustration, as Chase seems prone to nightmares), walking through the toy section empty handed, not being able to attach/detach small Lego pieces, and when you don’t acknowledge he’s talking the FIRST time (but isn’t that all our frustration???).


Fantastic for Ella:  The continued expression through dress up and pretend character play.  You just never know who she’s going to be, and yet, she still is very confident in exactly what she wants.  Lots of unsolicited “I love you, mom”s and very advanced problem solving- like when her brother doesn’t want to play what/how she wants to, she figured out he can be easily bribed with food.  She enjoys coloring, being independent (“I can do it”), and being mommy’s helper (in her own way).

 

Frustrating for Ella:  Being told she’s “pretty” (she’d much rather you call her “handsome”), when she’s put in a position where she’s being asked to do something she doesn’t want to (as indicated by her growling and anxious stomping), not being first/in charge (she’s VERY competitive), and not being her brothers’ brother.

Happy Birthday to my fantastic four year olds!

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans..."

Aint that the truth.  Life has been busy and happening all over the place over the last couple months.  Here is my best catch-up-nutshell version of our crazy life...

We survived yet another tax season.  Are they getting harder or are we just getting older?  Or both?  The good news is that I'm looking forward to that post-labor amnesia that should be kicking in any day now where looking back "it wasn't that bad...".  The GREAT news is that Brian really likes his job.  And, really, life is too short not to. 

Blake earned his yellow belt in karate, way to go, Blake!

Of course now it's getting harder and he hasn't totally committed to practicing, but I'm hoping the hitting and kicking techniques will change his mind (so long as he doesn't practice those on his siblings).  When he's not going kung foo, Blake is putting his new pocket knife to use following his  recent Cub Scouts refresher on whittling.  He's so proud, what do you think of his fish?

Note: whittling a small bar of soap takes a lot of- okay, too much- focus and patience for a group of excited third grade boys.

We also learned how to ski Southern California style- on grass, of course! 

It actually turned out to be a really good team building exercise with Scouts that ended up being very akin to rowing.  And I'm happy to report that Blake seems to finally be doing much better in school...now that it's May.  No doubt he's looking forward to summer and more fort building (he actually builds rooms in his forts!).

Garrett has continued to amaze us with his unique and original Lego creations.

This is the "graveyard" he built complete with headstones, a "creepy" tree, spider web and spider.

Watching Garrett construct this sphinx was pretty amazing- he new exactly what piece needed and where to put it.  He built his in under 5 minutes.

It seems like daily that he comes up with something new.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with at Lego camp this summer...should be interesting.  While I'm still trying to wrap my brain around him turning eight, Garrett has managed to finagle three family birthday celebrations and a friend party next month.  This kid is going to be a millionaire someday...  These days he's added another Character Counts wristband to his collection after being rewarded at school for turning in money he found on the playground.

Does this nullify the Character Violation he got earlier that week? 

Chase is still a bigger version of his sweet and loving self.  He's become quite the talker these days and goes from 0 to frustrated in about .01 seconds...patience is not this child's virtue.  But, fortunately, being too darn cute is.  And so are compassion, affection and cuddling.  Yeah, he's pretty irresistible.  He's also become quite the little dancer/singer.  Here are his moves to Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

Otherwise, his biggest challenge right now is trying to be "one of the 'big' boys" when his body is only three (which doesn't help his frustration).

Ella got her first hair cut!  Yes, while Chase has had more than we can count, we've been holding out on getting Ella's haircut so she could have long hair.  And now that she does, she wants it cut "like a boy".  The compromise was just a trim, which turned out much better than I was anticipating considering that she was growling at the stylist the entire time. 

She even got a style (something I'm strictly prohibited from going).  In the end she walked away with a "Jedi" braid- the one and only time, I'm sure.

She has also become quite enthused with drawing.  Here is the first official drawing that is recognizable to others- can you guess what it is?

It's kind of hard to see, but according to Ella it's a spider.

Now if I could just harness that creativity exclusively to paper... 

And, of course, she is still dressing up (and undressing) Ella-style constantly.  

Here's one of the coolest things about preschool- the twins got to celebrate their "special day" at school, where they celebrate non-school birthdays.  They were super proud to have Aunt Renee come to read a few of their favorite books.

Aimee.  My updates are a little less exciting...I'm still running about 20 miles a week, which is good considering I discovered cake pops (and really wish I hadn't)! 

Other than keeping up with family, I've been working a little less and am promising myself I will make time to write more.  Summer is just around the corner and I'm ready- or at least armed- with workbooks, summer camps and sunscreen.

Easter was low-key this year.  Mostly because we had been too busy to plan much more than an egg hunt and a totally nontraditional (but easy) lasagna dinner.  I really need to talk to the Easter bunny about rescheduling Easter for AFTER tax season.  Just as well- we went light on the egg hunt too, since I had already eaten most of the candy. 

Mother's Day was also low-key (the theme around here when things get crazy).  And, you really can't go wrong with a massage to celebrate.

 

This was the Mother's Day Tea at the twin's preschool where the kids in the class created the menu for the moms.  This year it was chicken noodle soup, lemonade and chocolate ice cream.  Yum? What I love about that is that they are all comfort foods, which tells me the kids love the comfort of mom!

 

Then there was the hailstorm of '12.  We had a few days of cold rain and hail- so much so that it accumulated just enough to make ONE snow/iceball.  By the next weekend it was 80 degrees, so that was our winter and then we were into spring.  It was fun while it lasted.

One of the coolest things about San Diego is "Free Tuesdays" at Balboa Park.  On this day we went with Nana to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs (of course) and then went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center where the kids got to explore for hours.  A portion of the upstairs was dedicated to stick building- whatever you can imagine and build!  We all had fun building masterpieces (and learning about physics...).

Over Spring Break the kids and I got to visit with John, Jen, Patrick and Jessica, who we haven't seen in almost eight years!  What a great time (minus the stomach bug that knocked a few of us down), and how fun to be grown ups and reminisce about childhood!  It was especially fun getting to know Patrick and Jessica a little better- what sweet kids (which is strange to call them, since they are both taller than me and twice as big since the last time I saw them).

Speaking of family, we recently had the privilege of hosting a family of House Wrens in the birdhouse the boys made with Grandpa a few years back.  Blake was the first to notice it, but I was doubtful because I thought the hole was too small.  Turns out, it was just the right size for a small bird and perfect shelter for a nest!  

In fact, we've had quite a variety of birds hanging out at our house lately- a Scrub Jay that waits on our patio for bread crumbs, a Coopers Hawk and a Redtail Hawk that consider our yard prime hunting grounds, hummingbirds that keep checking back to see if we've refilled our feeders, and a woodpecker that can be heard and seen poking at the neighbors' trees.  Blake even did his school presentation on birds- and a special thanks to Aunt Nee Nee for helping him!

And in the midst of it all, we moved Penny/Grandma & David/Grandpa in early March to be closer to us.  The move was all that Penny had talked about wanting for years, and we were able to spend a little more time with her in the last month.  Sadly she passed away just a few weeks after moving here (more on that in another post) and we think about and miss her often.

The good news is that this summer is promising to be unforgettable!  The boys are really looking forward to fishing and bird watching with Grandpa, going to Lego, Lasertag and rock climbing camps, and hopefully spending most other days in their bathing suits (literally, not metaphorically, although nothing would surprise me in this house).  Chase & Ella will hopefully be taking swim lessons and tumbling.  And I'm just hoping to keep my sanity :)

My Ninjas

As we see basketball season coming to an end for Garrett, we welcome something different for Blake...karate!  So far he's loving it.  It's a less formal and more fun format than your traditional karate studio, but he's already earned his first white tape.  That means he's got the four-corner block, double punch and slide step down.  Here he is working on his side kick.

It's been a great place for Blake to focus his attention and energy, especially since he's such an intense kid.  And hopefully it's alleviating some of the stress being created by the pressures of third grade.  Yes, third grade- can you believe it?  That's another story for another time, but speaking of class, check out this stop motion movie Blake made (with Brian's help) for a class presentation.  Technology is so amazing...it scares me.

As a spectator of the sport karate and with the constant presence of Ninjago in our house (Legos+ninjas=Ninjago), Ella donned one of her more creative get ups as a "bad ninja".  What brought my attention to this was Garrett's question, "Uh...mom, why is Ella wearing pants on her head?".  Well, to create the ninja mystique a la mask, of course!  Chase decided to be "bad ninja's kitty" and there you have it.

Never a dull moment in this house.  And, as if that isn't enough fun, let's give a warm welcome for spring tax season!  And February?  What happened to January????

Where Do I Begin?

Just because I haven't been updating the blog lately doesn't mean we haven't been busy. To the contrary...we've been especially busy. Here is a summary of some of the latest.

GIVE ME A 3, GIVE ME A 7

"Specil. Cool. Caring. Funny. Strange. Hot. Silly. Morvilis. Helpful. Nice. Playful." (Garrett)
"Speshl. Cool. Funny. Silly. Helpful. Nice. Lovely. Caring. Smart. Loveabel. " (Blake)
"Gentle. Brave. Kind. Huggable. Fun. Caring. Generous. Thoughtful. Compassionate. Interesting. Sincere. Beautiful. Creative. Strong. Smart."
Just 37 of the many reasons to celebrate Brian.

And what would a birthday celebration be without the treats we love but don't need? Happy 37 years to the best husband and father around!

POTTY PARTY

Did someone say "party"?

Potty training twins is no small feat. It seems that my hopes of them training themselves by watching the older kids (since they copy just about everything else they do) wasn't quite realized, so I had to take matters into my own hands. I knew what to expect from potty training...it was the challenge of keeping the older kids from capitalizing on my being distracted with the twins...for two weeks...while not leaving the house...at the beginning of summer that worried me. Somehow workbooks, reading and chores just aren't their idea of summer fun, go figure. But getting them involved seemed to do the trick (okay, that, and partaking in the gummy bear "rewards"...and a lot of extra video game time).

So, one week into the process and so far so good. Ella has been nearly 100% since day one. She's even staying dry at bed time. Girls are so smart! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Dah-da-da-DUHH...Super-Potty-Training-Girl!

Chase is catching on, but in baby steps. He's "going" but hasn't quite embraced the need to remove his underwear before hand (the washer and dryer are my current best friends). One thing at a time. And while Ella's motivation seems to be largely based on the joy of being independent, Chase's motivation is going to the movie theater to see Cars 2, since he's been tortured with constant previews airing since we have been watching a lot of tv to pass the time. And our one park outing so far has been successful (yes, that is my child using the potty in the back of the minivan, please don't stare), but it's still not a one person job (playdate anyone?). Another week or two and things should start flowing, pardon the pun. If not, it's going to be a looong summer for all of us.

ROCKIN', ROLLIN' AND RUNNIN'
Another half marathon under our belts. A new personal best time for both of us (Brian shaved 24 minutes off his last half marathon!, and I improved by about 6 minutes). And I achieved the goal I had been training for: a sub-2 hour time. The bright side of arriving and starting late is that there were plenty of people to pass to keep our motivation high. I'm just sorry I missed the flash mob. Even the crowds weren't that bad, despite the 35 thousand people. And the music was a good distraction, but it was no match for the mental focus it takes to make it through those last few miles. I have also confirmed that I have absolutely NO desire to run a full marathon...just watch the very fit, strong runners limping across the finish line and you'll know what I mean. Yeah...no thanks.

SPEAKING OF ROLLING

Both Blake and Garrett are officially riding their bikes with two less wheels (training wheels)! Congrats to both boys for putting their minds to it and not giving up until they mastered the art of balancing AND pedaling.

It was really interesting to watch them tackle this challenge...I learned a lot about their personalities. And, as a parent, I realized it's another milestone of learning to let go...and trust...and pray. And Ella wasted no time riding Garrett's old bike with training wheels. In fact, there was a period of time when I thought she might actually be the first in the family to take the wheels off.

Turns out that she forgets to steer and look up (she's too busy watching her feet pedal). And Chase is happy to ride around on the Big Wheel...he is great at steering but not as interested in pedaling (they truly couldn't be more opposite).

LE'GO MY LEGO

Because Garrett ran over 70 miles this year and Blake, over 50. Because Garrett is obsessed with Legos AND Star Wars. Because Blake had been working extra hard in school. Because Brian had been MIA for 2 1/2 months. Because the boys usually have to structure their play time around the twins. Because we promised.

The list goes on, but, the point is that the boys deserve to have some good old fashioned fun and spend some quality time with dad. Besides, who wants to take spelling tests and give oral reports when they could be at....LEGOLAND?! And they thought going to get bagels for breakfast on a school day was going to be highlight of their day...

...but the plan all along was to surprise them with a day at Legoland to check out the new Star Wars miniland (and other attractions, of course).

Enough of looking at Legos...let's build some!

The boys reenacting the Pinewood Derby Races.

After they got that out of their system, they did some laser shooting and rode the dragon roller coaster...again and again.

The aquarium next door was fun, too. It's not every day that you get to be underwater without getting wet!

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS

The twins have been enjoying things like painting with water colors. Another example of how different they are...he paints lines...

...and she paints blotches...

Meanwhile, the big boys were promoted in Cub Scouts to Bear Cub (Blake) and Wolf Cub (Garrett)- congrats to both!

Ella has a new 'do, "mommy hair"! She actually lets me twist it up into a clip (like I usually do by the end of the day) and doesn't tear it out- a first! Maybe next she'll actually wear a dress?

The boys continue to amaze me with their Lego creations.

Do you see the clown mosaic Blake built? This is one of my absolute favorite creations of his. And Blake's version of a pirate ship (below). Garrett also built a very elaborate, impressive ship but it met its demise before I could capture a picture of it.

That's when they aren't loving anything Pirate (mostly thanks to the Pirates of the Carribean movie and Lego video game). And this summer marks the introduction to Harry Potty and long chapter books.
The twins continue to discover new things. Like Chase, who figured out how to make dinosaur shadows on the ceiling with a flashlight and dinosaur- clever boy!


There have been almost weekly swim outings (Garrett conquered the high dive...18 times in one day!). Not to mention frequent visits from beloved Aunt Nee Nee and more quality time with Papa Jim and Nana Sharlene, now that they live in San Diego (like braving the fair rides and driving the bumper cars at the County Fair!). And, of course, marking the end of first and second grade.

All that in the last couple months. Fun but exhausting. Sure to come are more picnics in the park (and trips to the bathroom), beach excursions (and trips to the bathroom), bike rides at the park (and trips to the bathroom), camp outs in the backyard (at least the bathroom is close) and pretty much anything else that's free...and has a bathroom.
Happy summer!