snapshot

I have lots to blog about, but I’ve been stalling.  I have photos that need to accompany posts and due to computer issues, the photos are not accessible right now- but while those issues are being worked out, I need a post to remind me what life is like right now. 

Cooper is in 2nd grade and has an awesome teacher.  He also has great friends in his class and seems very comfortable in school.  He’s doing well academically and is capable of more than is required of him right now.  He is aware that he has a little sister at school this year and is good about making sure she gets where she needs to be, which brings his mother comfort if nothing else.  He has moved from the Let’s Play Music program to private piano lessons and is enjoying his teacher.  He is preparing for both an upcoming duet recital and an original composition festival.  He has also started a hip hop dance class that he was super excited about.  He choreographs his own stuff around here all the time, so why not let him learn from someone who knows what they’re doing!  He has welcomed Seneca into chess club this year and is looking forward to soccer starting in a couple of weeks.  While it doesn’t sound like he has free time, he is great about getting homework and practicing done so he can play- he has decided that he wants to be a famous creator.  His words.  So he creates stuff… in any genre imaginable.  I often have to remind him that it is time to go to bed long after I have actually tucked him into bed because he is still “busy” with stuff.  I know I am using the word, “stuff” a lot, but I really don’t know what else it is.  His latest projects have been taking place out on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.  We have several shuffle boards, hopscotch forms, mazes and other business that I don’t really understand.  But it keeps them all busy and happy and I’m great with it.  He’s a thinker.  And he’s emotional.  Don’t try to deviate from his plan unless you are prepared to deal with the meltdown.  Pretty much he’s awesome and I’m super glad I have such a good kid.

Seneca is long, wild hair and a big smile.  Kindergarten is proving to be a wonderful social experience for her… meaning she won’t stop talking!  She has lots of friends and I wonder if she’s learning anything academically, but considering all that is happening is review for her anyway, I’ll relax about it.  She is in her 2nd year of LPM and is excited to have moved from the bells to the piano.  She listens to her music faithfully and enjoys going to class.  She was very excited to go back to dance this year, with new ballet and tap shoes, she was ready to go.  And she’s darn cute in a little leotard and tights.  She’ll be a fireball on the soccer field shortly and is ready for bed every night.  She is excited for homework, still loves Fischer more than she loves the rest of us and thinks “Stellie is the cutest little thing ever!” 

Beckham has started at Discovery Club, a pre-K experience that both of his siblings did before him.  He is a smarty pants and tells me all about it when he gets home.  His face is older, he is taller and he needs to stop growing.  He is also doing a hip hop class and LPM and asks every day where he gets to go.  He wants to go somewhere fun all the time and have access to friends at the drop of a hat.  Thank heavens for preschool because he would not survive with just me and Stella all day every day.  He is very excited for soccer to start and is on a team with fun friends.  Beckham is a negotiator and while he has a perfected “shut-down mode,” he is generally very pleasant, easy-going and happy.  He jokes and teases and loves to trick me.  I often find plastic spiders or snakes on my computer or my bed and he thinks it’s hilarious.  He has been nothing but sweet to his new little sister and hasn’t displayed any jealousy whatsoever.  This may be due to his age, but no matter the reason, I am very grateful.

Baby Stella is perfection.  She is gorgeous and sweet and smiley.  She eats well and sleeps great.  We spend quality time together every three hours as she refuels, then she sits and smiles at me for about 15 minutes before I remember I have stuff to do around here.  Then she has another nap that lasts until it’s time to eat again.  Really rough.  She is awesome in the car which is totally something to be grateful for seeing as I’m running someone somewhere most days of my life.  She was a peanut to begin with but has worked very hard and has earned herself some terrific cheeks and thigh rolls.  Seneca said it best when she claimed Stella “brings us all together.  She has Cooper’s big curious eyes, my beautiful dark hair and Beckham’s kissy lips.”  Knowing that perhaps this will be the last time I hold a tiny baby of my own, I try to remember to slow down with her, to soak up the smiles and the peacefulness that she brought with her because it’s already flying by way too fast. 

Denten works his fanny off on behalf of Arizona tribes all day long and then comes home to love us.  He helped me paint all of the trim and doors in our family room Saturday and it looks fantastic.  He’s awesome at seeing what needs to be done and stepping in with either big kids or baby so I don’t lose my mind completely.  He and I are escaping next week and it will be nice to have him (and Stella) all to myself. 

Do I need to record a Fischer update?  Good: I swear less in my head than I used to.  Good:  He listens to me sometimes.  Good: the things he has chosen to chew do not belong to me.  Bad: he still has moments of being a stinker, but I do not dream of who to sell him to on a regular basis anymore.  Progress.

I just need to lay it out sometimes so when I look back in moments of frustration and exasperation, I realize that in all actuality I’ve got it pretty good.  When I remember to not be uptight, my life is fantastic and I love my kids like crazy.  I see Heavenly Father’s hand in my family’s lives and am grateful for the angels that surround my children.