Kindergarten

We’ve had a another music concert featuring our amazing kindergartener, Maximilian, and attended Kindergarten registration for our growing Violette! 

It’s hard to believe that in the Fall Violette will be attending Sutton Elementary School.  This one is mind blowing to me.  Only fourteen months younger than Max, he towers over her and makes her seem so much younger.  Wrapping my head around not having her in the house all the time has been a difficult concept to grasp.  Hearing her giggle, listening to her little high pitched voice engage in creative play with Zane, and not having her helpful hands around will be a tough one! 

But the time has come for registration.  Violette and I headed to the school Saturday morning (the 22nd) and filled out the massive amounts of paperwork for her to attend.  We went around to all the stations and then took a bus ride.  I forget that she has never been on the inside of a bus.  Her eyes widened as we stepped on.  She was amazed at the bus length and sat in her seat with a bewildered excited face planted in her features.  She sauntered next to me and enjoyed the ride.  She was quiet, as usual, and seemed to be absorbing the experience, but really enjoying it as well.

She is ready, constantly reminding me that she’ll be in Kindergarten and she’ll be eating lunch in the cafeteria and have art, gym, and music class.  Yes, she is ready, but I still have her home with me for another five months, and I’ll enjoy those months!!

Max participated in another incredible music concert too.  He even surprised us with a small signing solo!  He was nervous, tears streaming down his face just a few minutes before we left.  He adamantly screamed that he wasn’t going and he was going to hide in his closet.  Oh the drama my children throw at us!  We managed to convince him it was going to be a fun time and headed to the school. 

For Kindergarten each class does their concert with just their class.  This gives parents a chance to really focus on their child without the other two classes of Kindergartners involved, plus I think 25 5 and 6 year olds are easier to control than 75, for the music teacher!

When Max walked out and positioned himself in his assigned spot, an instant look of fear and raised eyebrows spanned his face as he looked at the crowd.  I burst out laughing, he was so cute up there!  As the music began he cracked infrequent smiles, but I knew he was having a great time, just concentrating on the task at hand!  We were very proud of our little man!

Short, But Sweet Visit

He’s young, he’s fun, he’s Unkie!  And he came to visit us and brought a special guest too, his girlfriend, Taylor.  To say the children were excited was an understatement.  They were on cloud nine, waiting in anticipation for days.
 
Alex left in the evening and trudged on through the night, driving the entire time. He arrived at our place at 8am and was able to spend a bit of time with Noelle and Max before they had to head to school.  Of course I made them a promise that I would pick them up early so they could spend extra time with their Unkie. Alex and Taylor were understandably exhausted and went to take a much needed nap while I kept Violette and Zane occupied. 

I picked up Noelle and Max at noon and we came home to grab our guests to take them out to lunch.  The kids chose Steak N’ Shake as their destination lunch.  How can you go wrong with shakes and burgers? After lunch we spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying our limited time with Alex and Taylor. 
Then it was time for Noelle’s music class performance.  We are extremely lucky to have a very engaging and talented teacher in our school.  The children put on an incredible performance each year and this year was special since Unkie was in town to come and Noelle had a small speaking part.  This year’s theme was Pirate songs and all the children dressed up.  It was an adorable performance!

There was a big moment of pride as she stood up there and conquered a huge stage freight fear and spoke her line clearly for everyone to hear.  There were tears and declarations of backing out, but we encouraged her and ignored the tears.  We suggested she practice so that she would be comfortable with her lines.  She refused at first and sank to a sulky proclamation of self deprecation.  Again, it was ignored and soon she was found practicing on her own, smiling in the mirror.  By the time Monday night rolled along, there was no talk of fear or nervousness, she was ready.  As she stood up there this proud mama smiled and even had a few tears enter my field of vision.

At home Unkie and Taylor helped with bedtime routines and enjoyed a large dose of very effective birth control!

We were sad to see them go Tuesday morning, as the visit was too short.  We were all very thankful they came and can’t wait for the next visit!

Sweet Violette Turns 5!

Miss Violette Adelle has turned five years old.  Not enough nice things can be said about her.  I could gush for paragraphs upon paragraphs of her genuinely sweet and kind personality.  She is always there to help me clean, fold laundry, and do most chores.  I don't have to ask her to help, she is automatically volunteers.  She is the first one to make her bed, brush her hair and teeth and get dressed most mornings.  Violette helps to keep Zane entertained, coming up with imaginative games and fun activities.  She loves to practice writing and reading and thrives on learning.

Violette loves to put on makeup and do her hair.  She is constantly asking me to curl her hair and apply sparkly eye shadow and lip gloss.  Keeping colors in the light pink family, I happily oblige her requests.  Many afternoons I can find her quietly going through my makeup drawers, looking at all the different colors and asking about eyelash curlers and mascara begging me to use them on her.  She loves setting up shop next to me and putting on her own makeup as I apply mine.  We talk about girl things and blot our lipstick together.  She is truly my little sidekick!

90% kind and sweet, there is a little sour side in there!  She is a quiet retaliatory little one , striking with scratching and behind the back punches.  She then runs away and continues her innocent act for any onlookers.  No one would ever suspect her.  I am onto her game and she will soon fess up and bat her long eyelashes at me and apologize.  Some times she throws her innocent act to the wind and stomps off  to her room, slamming the door ferociously.  She will eventually come up, coyly apologize and proclaim, "I'm done with my tantrum now.".  This side of her makes me smile inside, as I am reassured that she can handle herself and will not be walked over.

To celebrate this momentous occasion of turning 5, we were blessed to have all three Grandparents come over!  We were even able to snap a picture of all seven of them during a lovely Saturday afternoon stroll:

The children soaked in all the attention from the Grandparents and had a wonderful time. Of course we also enjoyed cake and ice cream to celebrate!

 Note Zane stepping on Noelle in above picture :-)

Happy 5th Birthday to my beautiful princess, Violette Adelle.  May the next year be filled with much growth and happiness! 

Cousins

Our first overnight guests came in on Saturday evening.  Aunt CC and Maizey braved the snow and headed in to Adrian.  The four kiddos had been counting down the days for the last week.  Every morning Zane would wake up and ask, “is today the day Aunt CC comes?”.  He was beyond excited for the visit, as we all were. 

Haircuts, Barbie’s, toys galore, they all had a great time.  Violette and Max were especially kind and loving toward Maizey and helped her whenever she needed.  They encouraged her, and played with her.  Noelle is kind of over little kids and her kindness was only seen in short bursts throughout the visit.  Zane was more or less indifferent and did his own thing without involving Maizey too much.  In the end they were sad to see her go, and look forward to the next visit with their little cousin.

  

All five of them:

Favorites

Wow, it’s been a great while since I have done our Favorites post.  Zane was just a little guy then.  I ask the children these questions and write down, verbatim, what they say. 

Noelle Rose (Age 8):

Favorite Food:  Cake and salmon

Favorite Toy: My Breyer Horses

Favorite Friend: I have a ton, Ella, McKenna, Emma, and some more

Favorite Color: Green, purple and white

Favorite Animal: Horse and dog

Favorite Object: Special puppy and night nights

Favorite Movie/TV: Horseland and Frozen

Favorite Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

When I grow up I want to be: A dog breeder and a veterinarian

What is something that makes our family special?: We just moved

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?: Go ride horses and not go to school

Where is your favorite place in the whole word?  Horse camp and home

*Noelle continues to excel at school, but has a hard time getting motivated to go in the mornings.   She now has a friend that lives directly across from the new house and is always playing with her.  Noelle continues to love reading and talks back a lot!  She is obnoxious and extremely silly at the most inopportune times, but has a gentle kind side that we see very frequently and overshadows everything else.  For the 100th day of school they had the children write what they would do with a hundred dollars and Noelle said she would give it all to charity to buy food for those who couldn’t afford it.  This melted my heart and once again reminded me how thoughtful and caring she truly is. 

 

Maximilian Charles (Age 6):

Favorite Food: Cheese pizza

Favorite Toy: Leonardo sword

Favorite Friend: Luke and Zane

Favorite Color: Red 

Favorite Animal: Cheetah

Favorite Object: Fluffy Max

Favorite Movie/TV: Transformers

Favorite Book: Ninjago

When I grow up I want to be:  Hockey player and a police officer 

What is something that makes our family special?:  How we love each other

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?: Play tricks on people and skip school

Where is your favorite place in the whole word?  Splash Universe

*Max has struggled with the move.  He is constantly crying and not wanting to go to school or ride the bus anymore. Since this is the biggest change he has had to face, clearly he doesn’t handle it well.  I continue to encourage him and just ignore the negativity.  He will eventually get used to this new routine, and I am seeing an improvement as the weeks pass.  He continues to thrive in school, listening very well, following directions and learning to read.  His confidence in himself is lacking and he acts surprised when he can actually finish a book without help!  Max loves to be outside, cold doesn’t seem to bother him and he lights up when he dresses in snow pants and heads out the door.  Usually lasting the longest in the bitter temperatures, he fights to come in.  He is enjoying his time at in the new house, with all of us, playing constantly with Zane and Violette.  They are always bickering, but that is what siblings do. 

Violette Adelle (Age 4, almost 5):

Favorite Food: Bacon Bites

Favorite Toy: Fairies

Favorite Friend: Brennen West

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Animal: Cyrus

Favorite Object: Martha (stuffed dog) and night-nights

Favorite Movie/TV: Caillou

Favorite Book: Princess Book

When I grow up I want to be: A vet

What is something that makes our family special?:  We moved 

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?: Tickle people

Where is your favorite place in the whole word?  Chelsea Tree House

*Oh, my little “squinks” as we call her.  She is such a joy, constantly helping out, showing a great range in of independence, willing to try to do most everything on her own.  She is quick to sense when a hug is needed and frequently gives a huge squeeze at just the right time.  She leads Zane in play and helps him with whatever he needs.  She is a lover of cereal, choosing to eat it for every meal, and capable of pouring the milk and box by herself completely.    Although a huge sweetheart, when she doesn’t get her way a random explosion of temper occurs and can last for an extended period of time.  They are very infrequent, but grand when they do come to the surface.

 

Zane Michael (Age 3):

Favorite Food: Toaster Strudel

Favorite Toy: Lego’s

Favorite Friend: Max and Well (Noelle)

Favorite Color: Orange

Favorite Animal: Horses

Favorite Object: Hersey Kiss (stuffed animal)

Favorite Movie/TV: Hulk (Lego Super Hero's)

Favorite Book: Fairy Books

When I grow up I want to be: I want to grow up to a LIZARD!

What is something that makes our family special?: We Tooted

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?: Um, I would hide under my bed

Where is your favorite place in the whole word?  The new house!

*Right now Zane is obsessed with Lego’s.  He is constantly taking on and off the body parts of the different guys and interchanging them every few minutes.  As far as the comment about wanting to be a Lizard, it is the character from a Spiderman cartoon.  Zane is drawn and usually wants to be the “bad guy” from any show he watches.  He’s drawn to the Evil side of things.  Zane plays well with his siblings and even better on his own and is known around the community as a little “monster”.  He growls loudly at random people and shows his imaginary claws whenever a stranger approaches.  Yep, a monster!  He is loud, very loud, and very entertaining! 

A Noteworthy Milestone

After 3 years, 3 months, and 30 days (or 1218 straight days), Zane is now officially weaned from nursing.  I'm still in shock that we continued on for this long, seeing as with Noelle I was unsure of even breast feeding to begin with.  I dived into much research and decided it was the best for  the baby.  We had a rocky start, requiring a lactation consultant to come into our home to help, but we persevered and made it.

Noelle continued to nurse until around 7 months, due to pregnancy.  Maximilian lasted 8 months and stopped when I again, became pregnant.  Violette went until 14 months and Zane's pregnancy stopped her.  I never gave myself a time table, knowing that breast milk is truly THE BEST thing for any baby.  I went with what felt right for the child and I, learning with each one and  gaining more and more confidence, and reading my children's ques.

With Noelle nursing was a chore.  I was embarrassed, uncomfortable, and felt as if all eyes were on me.  I nursed in public restrooms, hidden behind the bathroom doors, squatting above the toilets.  I would be dripping sweat, worked up, and disliking the whole experience.  Looking back, she was also feeding off of my awkwardness, needless to say, we didn't get out much and avoided public nursing at all costs.  I began to pump more and use formula.

Confidence grew with each child.  I discovered Hooter Hiders and was able to cover myself in public and confidently nurse my children.  I began to feel pride for myself, to be able to give such a wonderful gift to each child.  To supply them with the liquid gold of food, and give them what is regarded at the most complete form of nutrition, with a wide range of benefits for infants' and toddlers' health, growth, immunity, and development, is such a gift and I was happy and proud to be able to do this for my children.

When I gave birth to Zane the nurses actually asked me to help out first time mother's with their nursing.  I shuffled to their rooms, sore from the c-section, but eager to help and tired of being alone in my room with only Z.  I shared with a couple of new moms what worked best for me, showed them how I did it. It was wonderful to be able to help, and I feel blessed to be given the opportunity to help them.  It gave me a another boost in confidence as well that I would take the route of self weaning and not set any time limits.

By the time Zane came around there was no doubt I would not give him any formula and continue on with nursing as long as we both were comfortable and benefiting from it.  In my mind I thought one year would be great to make it till and reevaluate the situation then.  When that rolled around it was 18m, then 2 years, then 2.5 years, then 3 years.  I knew it was working for him and I.  I knew there was nothing wrong with it, despite some outside opposition.  I knew it was best for him and I knew he would wean himself when HE was ready, not when society dictated that it was time.

I didn't push his weaning, with the commotion of the move he seemed to transition into not needing/wanting to nurse and I didn't encourage him to do it.  A few times while in the new house he resorted back to wanting it, and I let him.  Then it seemed like he would forget and I wouldn't remind him, especially at night.  I snuggled him in and during the time he would usually ask to nurse, I told him stories and held him tight and he was ready to fall asleep on his own, he was ready to wean.

I am feeling surprisingly good, void of the intense emotion that I anticipated feeling.  I am proud of myself as a mother for believing in my convictions about not forcing Zane to stop because it suited me, or others.  I am ready to close the door on nursing and to open the next door on having four children that are not dependent on me.

A small twinge of sadness has entered, of course.  I cherished those afternoon nursing sessions, when Zane would crawl onto my lap and fall asleep for less than 30 mins, but just enough time to hold him tight and drink in all that is him.  He did not require a regular scheduled long nap, just a catnap some afternoons was all he required.  It was  our down time together and that will always hold a special place in my heart.

It Actually Happened

I sit at our built in desk, enjoying the view of Violette and Zane running around, playing together.  Last Friday, February 7th, we spent our first night in the new house. We closed on February 5th.  Of course, on the 4th we were again dumped upon with a substantial amount of snow and Zane woke up throwing up!  Noelle and Max had a snow day, so we all packed in the minivan and made the horrific drive into AA, complete with a puke bucket for Zane to sign all the papers!  Never a dull moment!   I officially handed over the keys to the new owners on the old house, Sunday, February 9th.  So everything is moved in and we are finally settling in.

Moving was an overwhelming experience, one that was a lot harder than we anticipated.  The short move had us fooled into thinking, "we'll just grab and go, it'll be simple".  We were fortunate to have the help of neighbors, my Dad, and an out of town friend, Andy, to aid in the process over a few days, also a couple friends helped to watch the children, and another packed up my kitchen.  Their help was astronomical and completely needed. We were overwhelmed, exhausted, overwhelmed (yep, it's a word that I'm using many times over as it envelopes exactly what we were feeling), and emotionally stretched.  Plus the weather was unbelievably cold and the wind wiped along, freezing us all out.

Records amounts of snow fall and low temperatures have made for an unforgettable winter. Throw in moving and we will never forget this winter.  EVER. The piles of snow on each side of the UHAUL are courteous of Tom, he has shoveled his heart out this season!

But we are home now.  The house is finally getting our personal touches, boxes are slowly getting unpacked, privacy is becoming ours as window treatments are put up, and the children are playing by themselves more and more.  It's been a lovely house, Tom and I are so grateful to now be living here.  We sit by the fire in the evening, the children asleep so far away from us, we can laugh and delight in the pleasures of change and not even worry about waking the sleeping monsters.  The layout of this place has been very functional and we are easily getting used to all the space.

Surprisingly, all the children have been sleeping fairly well, making it through most nights without waking up.  Tom and I are also starting to sleep better, getting used to the creaks and odd noises of a new place.  This weekend we were able to hunker down and really get some unpacking completed and enjoy some morning of sleeping in past 7am together as the children headed downstairs by themselves to play.  JOY!

As the house gets more and more completed I will add pictures, but for now if you want to see it, you must visit!