It's Friday again. These weeks go by so quickly that I can hardly remember which day we are on. We had a few fun afternoons this week going through some family videos. The kids have been talking a lot about our old house and how much they miss this n' that about it. Seeing Hyrum's long hair and hearing his little voice and funny pronunciation made me grateful that we have at least a few funny moments captured on video, but also made me realize how quickly we can forget stages. Day to day life becomes the norm and I sometimes get used to them just the way they are. It's hard to describe. I guess we just grow with our kids and gradually all of those sleepless nights, funny toddler words, and mischievous moments get lost in our memories. I want so badly to capture those things, to be able to write descriptively enough that I can almost smell those clean fresh clothes when I dress the children. I want to be able to read back and almost feel their chubby fingers touch my skin long after they are grown. I spent a bit of time this week jotting down those sorts of things so that I could attempt to write about them in greater detail before they are erased from my memory.
Joseph is growing like crazy! He is turning into quite the toddler and his features are maturing. I took a picture of him while he bathed in the kitchen sink the other morning and he looked like a giant in that little sink. It made me realize just how quickly he is growing and changing. This whole week he has slept in until passed 7:00am (which is pretty much unheard of for him). He starts his day full of energy and then slows down around lunch. He frequently falls asleep in his highchair in the midst of chaos and crazy older siblings. He prefers to nap from 11:00am on which makes for long afternoons spent playing and a very tired boy at dinner. If I am ever on the computer he will do something like jump dangerously on the couch or play with the DVD player to get me up. Then he will run over and try to steal my computer chair away. He's pretty goofy and quite the mastermind! He is really starting to express himself and his vocabulary is coming along nicely. He loves to drop stuff and exclaim, "Uh-Ohhhhh!" This week he has started pointing at things and saying, "Dat, dat!" or "I-an-dat!" He also says "Hot" anytime he is near the oven or sees me cooking. He is the biggest eater I've ever had. I can't decide if he is right or left handed yet because he holds his utensil with his left hand and then shovels in the food with his free right hand. He eats his food until it's gone and often asks for seconds! He loves music and can really feel the beat. If he is strapped in somewhere when the music plays he will swing his foot or shake his head. He loves to dance while holding his big sisters hands, it's something special they share. I love the way he smells like fresh laundry when I hug him and I extra love smooching the soft skin on the back of his neck and running my fingers through his long, thin hair. He likes to go to bed between 6:30 and 7:00pm and always sleeps with his knees tucked beneath his tummy and his face buried in his blankets or hands.
Hyrum is a sweet little boy (when he wants to be). He doesn't like to be told what to do, especially when it comes to the potty. But if you make suggestions or give him two choices to pick from he is almost always happy to oblige. I often have to ask him 100 times to go pee after seeing him march around the house (that's his potty dance) with his knees pretty much coming to his chin every time. He likes to practise his listening skills and repeat everything Camilla tells him in question form. "Oh, to the airport?" "Oh, an idea?" The other day he wasn't feeling well and when I asked him what was wrong he told me, "My fingers are cwanky..." It made me laugh. He loves his sister. While we were watching Camilla at her swim lessons I noticed he was looking sad. He had kind of a pouty lip and his head was down. I asked what was wrong and he responded, "I miss Camilla, Mommy..." Those two are quite the pair and it makes my heart swell to see how much they love each other. He still calls Joseph "Joe-Fed". It cracks me up. This week I've also been reminded that he is my snuggly one. He still needs snuggles and still climbs on my lap or asks to be cuddled. "Mommy, can you cuddow me?" Ah! It melts my heart! If I've learned anything this week, it's that every kid loves a good cuddle once in a while. His speech is hilarious. He calls a skittle a "ksittle" and Spider-man "Psider-man" and a picture a "Psichure". Cheese whiz is "Cheese Wheeze" (which is hilarious) and he calls the bathroom fan the "Ghost Light". He has pretty much given up his afternoon naps. When the toy room is clean he will run circles around the cleared carpet and beg to be chased! He always asks me to lay with him for a while at bed time. I was a stickler about that with Camilla, but Hyrum's little voice always sucks me in (or perhaps motherhood has given me experience). He loves when I scratch his arms at bedtime or pinch them lightly. He's quick to fall asleep, especially when I draw on his face or play with his hair. And he will always tuck his arms behind his head and twitch to let you know he's really asleep. I cherish those few minutes at bed time where it's just the two of us and he whispers, "I love you, Mommy" while I snuggle him. He still visits our bed a couple of nights each week, but someone told me that won't last forever (obviously) either, so I pick my battles.
Camilla is full of laughter and loves games. She likes to throw snowballs at me and giggle at my reaction. She has a game for everything including dinner. The other day she played where she would take one bit and then one sip of water. She explained it all to me and then asked, "Does that sound fun?" She is also crazy observant! She discovered a funny thing about spoons while admiring her reflection in one. If you look at yourself in the front of a spoon, you will be upside down, but if you look at yourself on the back of a spoon, you will be right side up. In my whole life I've never thought about that, or noticed. She is still plugging away at her piano and some basic math. We are currently working on subtraction and perfecting writing our numbers. She loves to chop things up for me. The other day she chopped the celery for the soup while Hyrum peeled the carrots. While they were working hard, I thought I'd take the opportunity to throw in a load of laundry. As I'm heading downstairs Camilla says, "Don't worry Mom, we like helping! You can just do all of the easy jobs because you're sick and I don't want your fingers getting too tired or anything!". She's such a big helper and has unloaded the dishwasher a couple of times this week without being asked. Her stuffed animals are very important to her and there's still hardly any room for her in the bed at night. She left her special "Hugh" at Gramma and Grampa's last time we were out and had to Skype him to make sure he was enjoying his time there. She comes up with the funniest names. So far we have Matilda (a duck), Deedee (a giraffe), Cody (her favorite husky dog), Hugh (cody's baby dog), Gerald Cuthbert (the panda), Turwillabee (the turtle) and others. Today she asked for some cuddles to warm up in the cold basement. I loved holding her close, all wrapped up in a blanket while she put her head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smooch her cheeks (even though I figured she's getting a little old ). So many memories came back as she nestled her little body into mine. I have loved the extra cuddle time this week!
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