A Night At The Theater

The Wilcox Six Proudly Presents...
The Wilcox Variety Show

Our first act is the original puppet show "Flappy and Zebra Fall in a Hole" by Blake (piano accompaniment by Garrett).

The second puppet show is Garrett's reenactment of a tractor (using his unconventional but creative SIDEWAYS paper bag) and various farm animals. This storyline is somewhat vague but resembles that of "Old McDonald". Note: A hearty thanks to our talented and imaginative set designer Aunt Renee.

Our final act is a series of piano compositions by Blake with creative movement expression (which some may refer to as "dancing") by Garrett. We apologize that our photographer ran out of memory in her camera at this inopportune time and promise to have this corrected for future performances.

Audience members are giving this entertaining family show 5 Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars and "must-see smiles" across the board (and standing ovations with help).

Shows are daily but show times are impromptu and show material is random and unpredictable. We hope you enjoyed the show.

Look Who's Talking

Ella has found her voice. She’s been discovering new sounds she could make (like sniffing, gasping and yelling) and now she’s trying to talk. At least I think she is. For about a week she’s been making word-like noises and “talking” with intentional inflection. She’s trying to say something, I’m just not sure what it is. There is one word that’s unmistakable though, “dada”. It’s her favorite, too… probably because she gets a huge reaction from it. But we’ll just say it’s because she loves her daddy. So while Brian has been on tax deployment, at least he knows he’s not forgotten. And since Chase is still content with making loud grunts and squeals, there’s still a chance he might say “mama” first… or not. That’s okay; his endearing smiles more than make up for it. And the positive side is that now I can delegate more of Ella’s needs (like waking up at the crack of dawn) to “dada” since she’s requesting him by name, right?

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

The Wilcox Family photos by Audra Baecker

If You Give Him A Bowl Of Cereal, He's Probably Going To Ask For A Straw...

Garrett is a VERY picky eater. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that Garrett really only eats cereal. Seriously- breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are a handful of other foods he will eat from time to time, but cereal is his meal of choice (after dessert). I think I figured out why…it’s a meal AND a drink all in one! He drowns his Raisin Bran Crunch (his current favorite) in milk, eats for a while, then slurps up the milk through a straw. I agree that the milk is the best part, especially once the cereal gets soggy. So, whenever we serve Garrett his cereal, he will quickly remind us that he also needs a straw. And when you give him the straw, he’ll remember he’s also thirsty for orange juice…

Miss Independent

Some say she’s intense, serious, and intimidating…and she’s only eight months (but, really, how do you compete with a brother who oozes charm?). Okay, I’ll agree that she doesn’t just smile at anyone for any reason…she makes you work for it most of the time. BUT if you catch her in just the right mood, she’s smiley, happy and wiggly. (Is it possible that she already has the attitude of a teenager?) And she’s definitely NOT the loud child (unless she wants attention…then she lets out her piercing “girl” scream- ouch!). She’s observant and, while she doesn’t need to be the center of attention, she definitely wants to feel a part of the conversation. I give her credit for knowing what she wants and what she doesn’t and not being too quick to settle for anything less. But most of all, Ella is independent. She’s content to entertain herself, is able to go with the flow, and doesn’t need anyone’s approval…except her mom (she’s a mommy’s girl). I’ll admit it; she has me wrapped around her chubby little fingers (that go perfectly with her cherub cheeks). And for all the people who say that she’s going to have to get dirty if she wants to play with her brothers, I’m not so sure…I have a feeling that she just may have THEM playing at HER tea parties. I guess we’ll see, but something tells me she will be holding her own just fine...

Cleaning With Love

It’s like pulling teeth to get him to pick up his toys or the scraps of paper he left (he loves drawing pictures then cutting them out) or the popcorn that is scattered all over the floor from his snack, but for no apparent reason today, Garrett decided to clean my room. Not his room, but mine. He even closed the door so he could surprise me. He picked everything up off the floor (and put it all on the dresser or in the bathroom and closed that door), lined up all the miscellaneous shoes he could find and even made my bed (Garrett style)! He removed the comforter FROM the bed and pulled out some blankets from the linen closet and spread them out. I’m not sure why he chose the Mexican blanket, but he liked it…then he arranged all the pillows to make it “comfy” and “pretty” for me. He really put his heart into it. I was sure he was going to ask for something….some kind of “reward” that he knew I would have otherwise said no to. But I was wrong. All he asked was if he could get a happy face (our “rewards” system) and he excitedly ran to the kitchen, dragged the chair across the room, picked out his favorite color crayon and added another happy face to his chart…and to his mom. Thank you, Garrett!

The Faces of Chase

To say that Chase is expressive is an understatement. As long as his belly is full and his teeth aren’t giving him too much trouble, he provides a constant source of entertainment with his many, many different mannerisms, expressions and smiles. I can always count on him to be my smiley guy. Here are just some of the faces that Chase makes…all taken within a matter of minutes! Hopefully this brings a smile to your face…

Garrett: 6 Weeks Post Surgery

So far, so good. It's hard to believe that it's already been six weeks since Garrett's surgery, but today you'd never know it. He has made a full recovery and is back to his normal, playful self. I'm relieved to not have to be limiting his activities anymore (any idea how frustrating it must be for a four year old- and his mom- to be told not to jump, run or exert himself too much?), except for the long term things that we've been advised against like rough, contact play, riding motorcycles and horses and anything else that could logically result in damage to his good kidney. Good thing it's almost summer and time for swimming- his favorite sport!

Garrett's first post-surgery ultrasound did not show any evidence of hydronephrosis (definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydronephrosis) which would indicate an obstruction either from scarring from surgery or the "kink" of concern that could interfere with drainage from the kidney. The next step is the VCUG (refer to the link under "Have You Seen This?" for a definition), which will be without sedation this time and we expect to be quite unpleasant but very necessary. This study will take place in late May and we hope to learn if the surgery was successful in correcting his reflux at this time. Until then, Garrett remains on prophylactic antibiotics to prevent UTI's and any further damage to his kidney.

Thanks again for the positive thoughts and well wishes. As always, we will keep you posted.

The Logic of a Mom

I’ve been writing some of the funny things the kids say in my “The Logic of a Child” column (which is just a small sample of all the interesting things that come out of their mouths), but here are a few things I’ve caught MYSELF saying lately that actually made me pause and giggle:

~ “Please don’t put your underwear on your sister’s head”
~ “Did someone pee on the dog?”
~ “Do you want moose poop or broccoli cookies?” (it’s actually Moose Tracks ice cream and Girl Scout- which they know as “Brownies”- cookies and the kids came up with the names so I went with it…anything to try to dissuade them from wanting sweets…but it NEVER works!)
~ “Can you please stop burying the dog’s bones?”
~ “Let’s not put Legos in the cereal, please” (this was my response to Garrett’s announcement that he made “Lego cereal”; fortunately he didn’t eat any…that I know of)
~ “If you don’t go to sleep now, then I’m going to wake you up extra early in the morning!” (after thinking about this I’ve realized that this threat probably only scares adults)
~ “Please don’t put his foot in your mouth”

And somehow this all makes sense to me…

Lights, Camera...Wait! Where Are You Going?

It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time and I was expecting it to be a little hectic, but tying to take pictures with all FOUR kids TOGETHER was an even bigger undertaking than I anticipated (I'm pretty sure this is where the expression "corralling cats" comes from)! The babies were teething and overtired (despite our best efforts all day long to get them to take a decent nap). The boys were much more interested in playing and exploring in the park rather than sitting still and looking handsome (how do you compete with a train, a tractor and a creek?). Ella was in a funk (see the video clip below) and Chase was totally and completely fascinated and mesmerized by the grass... and not the camera. And HE was actually the most cooperative of all the kids (or as cooperative as you can get when all you can do is lay there…or sit for a short while before tipping over). By the end of the session the boys were filthy, the babies were even more tired and irritable, all the kids were starving (even the bribery tactics with treats didn’t work to get them to sit still for pictures!) and we STILL didn’t get a picture of all the kids together (that I know of).

Ironically enough, the boys had the time of their lives at the park (something they don’t get a chance to do as often these days) which will make this occasion especially memorable for them. This is what made me realize that when there are memories attached to the photos, it makes them all the more meaningful. Having said that, we’re probably going to have to try again for a picture of all of them together but next time the kids won’t outnumber the adults and we’ll try for earlier in the day. And hopefully instead of being in their own little worlds they will all be present in this one…at least long enough to take a few pictures... I'll be sure to post them (the pictures not the children) when they're done.

Until then, here is a clip of Ella being feisty and delirious. And this is BEFORE we started taking pictures!

We may have gotten some decent pictures (I haven’t seen them yet), but here are a couple of Chase and Ella “standing by”. This experience has given me a whole new appreciation for strollers...