It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming June, and now here we are at the end! Though the days seem to have slowed gradually throughout the month, time keeps ticking by without missing a beat. My mind and body are in a constant battle between micromanaging everything around me (thanks pregnancy) and wanting to let go and enjoy. My early risers wake with the sun and I have had many productive mornings filled with baking, bike rides, early morning grocery shopping, and freshly scrubbed bathrooms. There's been quite a few bad Mommy days, and also a lot of joy and fun.
The boys are usually out the door early in the morning to meet up with their friends at the little park behind our house. They go back and forth all day, sometimes dressed as super heroes, and sometimes with their water guns in hand. Other boys thought it was great fun to dress up and go to the park and soon batman and a knight in VERY shiny armor joined them. They ran around the green space with pretend swords, fighting bad guys. Hyrum will rush home, hot and sweaty, after a little while and ask for a sandwich as he gulps a glass of cold water.
If it's raining, they find other fun things to do. One morning I heard them laughing and giggling, big hearty belly laughs. I came downstairs to find the popcorn bowl dumped all over the floor, and let out a huge sigh. When I asked why the popcorn was all over the floor they replied simply, "We were just playing hip-hip-hooray!" Usually after moments like these I find myself wishing I had dealt with more grace and humor. At least I can look back on the moment with a smile.
Lately our snacks consist of fresh, juicy fruit that we get at sale prices. Hot afternoons bring cherry stained fingers, faces and shirts. My happy toddler can be found with watermelon juice running down to his elbows and dotting the grass beneath. A bowl of strawberries can be polished off in seconds. And oranges have become a new favorite.
The long days and early mornings often bring over-tired children. One
afternoon I went and hid in my room after enduring a half hour tantrum
from my favorite three year old. When he had to stop crying long enough
to figure out where I had gone, I couldn't help but smile. He eventually
found me on my bed and jumped up for a snuggle. He pressed his back
next to my tummy while he rested his head on my arm. When the baby
kicked him he giggled, "He wants to play tag with me!" I thought two
year olds were curious creatures, but this three year old of mine is
even more of a puzzle. And I often find myself at whits end by the time
the day is through.
We are enjoying some new words and expressions from our favorite toddler. The one I love most is when he exclaims, "Whoo-WEE!" when something is a lot of work. I love the way he puckers up for a kiss after he sees Daddy and I smooch. He has the cutest lips ever! His favorite show is "Georsh" (Curious George) and he has some pretty awesome dance moves to the theme song. He can pull doors closed now and lock himself in bedrooms. Whenever I'm cleaning up or kneeling on the floor, he will come and plop his bum down on my lap and just sit. He has the best scrunchy nosed smile and the most contagious, rolling belly laugh. There have been many meals lately where we all find ourselves laughing to tears because of Finley's antics and laughter.
Hyrum has decided that I need a little more help around the house lately and suggested helping with dinner clean up. It was a light bulb moment and I've so enjoyed their help each night! They are still at a stage where it's a novelty to push a stool up to the sink and rinse the dishes. One of them clears the table and the other rinses and loads the dishwasher. Hyrum sometimes prays that "Mommy won't have to do so much work with her big tummy" and those prayers are answered ten fold when their tiny selves pitch in with the clean up after dinner!
One night during scripture study, Daddy asked a question that Hyrum was quick to answer. As Camilla stood up and smacked her hand to her forehead she exlaimed, "How is he so much smarter than me when I have a bigger brain?!" Six going on ten, that girl is. She makes us laugh every day!
We then start the bedtime routine from youngest to oldest. Having the two little boys share a room has been pretty easy for the most part. Perhaps it's because we've been down this road before with up to three kids in a bedroom during our student days. While I sing Fin to sleep in his dimly lit room he reaches his soft baby hand up and places it on my cheek. Sometimes he pulls my face close enough to his that I can feel his eye lashes tickle my nose. I sing quietly in his ear while he smiles and then I smooch his neck to get a good giggle.
Both boys move around so much in their sleep! Fin has fallen out of bed more times in this last few weeks then all of the other kids put together in their entire lives. We still play musical beds fairly often. Mr. Stannix had a good laugh when he found my six month pregnant self squished on the side of the toddler bed at 5:00am in desperation for a few more winks of sleep. Joseph still sneaks into our bed once or twice a week, but since investing in a bigger bed, it's a lot less noticeable!
Although a lot of our weekends are booked up this Summer, I am looking forward to relaxing with no schedules and few commitments. As I finish up the last trimester of this pregnancy I am eager to use these months to replenish and refill.
"Fatigue is the common enemy of us all -- So slow down,
rest up, replenish, and refill."
~Jeffrey R. Holland
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