Why my 7 month old baby is super amazing.

I love coming into the room and finding this.  Superman and his super baby. They had found the small superman cape from his old pajamas and instantly knew that Belén needed to be adorning it.  She was oblivious to what is happening and is just there for the ride.  I really think that's why all of my younger kids seem to progress so much faster than my first born and even second born for that matter.  She doesn't do what other 7 month babies do, she lives the same life that my other four children are currently living.

She is found in the cardboard houses, cars or airplanes depending on the day. She is eating the math manipulatives, school papers, and magnifying glasses right along with everyone else. She's found in the running stroller flying around the yard with her other siblings holding her while the older ones race each other. She's found on their laps or in the adult front pack they've attached to themselves while swinging away.  I can find her laying in the hammock admiring the view of the trees, bright blue sky and the bird poop that just landed in their hair. Luckily I haven't found her up in the tree house yet, and if I'm not careful they might find a way to rig her onto their pulley system and pull her up in the bucket. 

She's playing superman with her brother, hanging out in the bedroom listening to Old Testament dramatization tapes or CD's checked out from the library.  She's crawling from one room to the next, looking for the excitement of her buddies.They can't stand to have her crying for longer than two seconds before they have to pick her up, take care of her, and haul her off to be with them.  It's no wonder people say the youngest child is spoiled. It's not necessarily because of mom and dad. It's because of the 4 other little ones like her that just want her to be a part of their world. I can't say that I would want it any other way.  They love her, they dote on her, and it's as if she just belongs with them no matter how small.  

I do have a super baby. She's pretty amazing. But she's only super because of her super siblings.

Toothpick Mishap

Yesterday morning before church Savannah and Isaac had the toothpicks out and were making shapes with them on the floor. At one point I told them to clean up  and put them away so we could get ready to go. Savannah "sort of" picked them up.  She just left the pile on the edge of the couch and there were a few more remaining on the floor. I told her again to pick them up and she started getting upset about having to do it.  I explained about what I meant by "putting them away." Her version and my version of putting something away are completely different.  I made the off hand comment that someone is going to step on one and they really hurt.  I had done it before.  She still took her time following directions and Beau was telling her for the 3rd or 4th time to pick them up when Isaac started screaming and hollering. I was in the kitchen and made the comment "someone stepped on one didn't they."

Well he not only stepped on it, he lodged it through his heal and then broke it off inside. He was hysterical. He hobbled over with the broken part in his hand crying. Beau took a look at it and told him to hold still while he tried to see if he could pull it out. It was lodged in pretty deep and every time Beau attempted to pull it out he would flip out screaming "Don't touch it! It hurts!"  At this point Savannah is feeling horrible for not putting the toothpicks away. There is always something about learning a lesson the hard way that drives the point home rather than mom just trying to tell you why you should it.  

We decided that it would be best if we had the doctor help.  They could at least numb the area. So we called up the pediatrician during the after hours and scheduled for him to come in. Beau took him up while we headed to church.  All went well.  As you can see from the picture he had a good size piece lodged lodged in the foot.  Beau said he went hysterical over getting the shot to help numb it. It took Beau, the Dr. and another nurse to help hold him down. "He's a tough little guy," one of them commented. Yes he is.  

They were able to get it out without having to cut it open or without it splintering. He brought home the prize in a jar, and spent the afternoon watching a movie relaxing.  My favorite part was when the girls all got home from church and they ran over to see the tooth pick, and asked him, "Did you cry?"

"No.  I screamed."

What Kids Say

Today was one of those days where Mirian was fighting the school work. Some days she does great, and some days she stamps her foot down and refuses to move.  Today I wanted her practice some writing.  I asked her to think of the scariest thing that's ever happened to her and write about it. I told her I'd be willing to help.  She glared at me, thought, and then asked me how to spell the word 'making' while she hid her paper.  A few seconds later she handed it to me and proclaimed, "There. I'm done." 

I smiled.  Oh Mirian, Mirian.... what will I do with you.  I get the point.  We'll move onto a different lesson right now.  That little angry face with arrow says it all.  I'm thinking she's confusing the emotions of being scared over being angry though.  That's alright... I get the hint. Let's go read a book together.

After running around for a while this evening chasing each other, Caitlyn came up to me all out of breath.  She put her hand on her chest and declared with amazement, "Mom!  I can feel my heart beeping." 

Disease

I have this disease that cripples me when it comes to taking a long blogging break.  I have a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I feel like I have to go back and get you caught up on everything that has happened since my last post, which is completely overwhelming. Hence, I don't do anything. It is even more overwhelming right now because as a person I feel like I have learned so much since the beginning of the year in a variety of aspects that I want to share it all with you, and then the other part of me doesn't want to share any of it. How does that work?  It doesn't.  What results is a long absence of blogging with no writing or sharing of anything. Which is starting to wear on me.  My mind is filled with so many thoughts, ideas, and the desire to just keep a record of what is going on in our family that it feels as if it's going to explode.  The lack of time to do it also hinders me too, and keeps me from even writing a small post.  So I'm going to just shove all my reasons aside, and start small in catching up on small bits of things we've been doing and try to get back into the swing of blogging again.  I am finding that it really helps me sort thoughts, share ideas, and keep a written history of things our family is experiencing right now.

Sooo...  I'm going to start with the basics.

Last week was a huge week for us, specifically Beau.  10 years ago we started this journey together as we moved back to Provo so Beau could continue his education at BYU.