MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday June 14th - Monday June 20th

- 6/14 Bryce brought the kids' bikes in from the garage (which I'm not a big fan of since it's no longer winter - they are scuffing up my baseboards, so they are back out in the garage where they belong), and Mattie was big enough to actually ride her adorable pink trike that she got for her birthday back in March. Her legs finally reach the pedals well enough to actually get the thing moving! I can't believe how fast she's growing...and she knew exactly what to do, though she does prefer to go backwards :)

Mattie actually got her first haircut this day too. I had waited until after the wedding because I wasn't sure how her hair would do in pigtails, but I just couldn't stand the mullet any longer. I didn't even want to wait to take her to a professional, so I whipped out our cheap IKEA paper scissors and chopped off Mattie's mullet and even trimmed her front a little (I really don't want to do bangs, but I also hate it when her hair falls in her eyes, so I just kind of trimmed up her whispies so that when her hair does fall forward, it's not in her eyes anymore). It's not the most professional haircut, but her hair is still so fine that you can't even tell, and even though I miss the length, it's a welcome relief to just let her hair be down instead of feeling like it always had to be pulled back to hide that horrendous mullet.

- The weather here in Wenatchee is still very disappointing. Though I don't want heatwave weather, I do want to be able to have my kids go outside and play in the water without freezing to death. It was in the low 60s one time this week, and the other days it was only in the 70s with 20+ mph winds, making water play not too fun. Even if we're not playing in the water, if you happen to be sitting in the shade, it's chilly. The thing I hate the most is the wind. I'm ready for summer already!

- Speaking of playing in the water, we bought a blow-up pool a couple of weeks ago (on the ONE Saturday that was actually pretty warm without tons of wind), and the kids want to play in it all the time. We've ventured out a couple of times and CJ has decided he's not a fan of his swimsuit. He'd swim in the buff - heck, he'd probably do everything in the buff - if we'd let him, but I'm being kind of a stickler about it. We're only in our backyard so I don't mind that much if he's naked, but he needs to get used to wearing a swimsuit because he's got swim lessons starting in July. That, and we live just a street away from the splash pad so we'll be spending a lot of time there (if the weather ever gets warm), and he can't be running around naked everywhere. I've been trying to teach him that our privates are special and that we need to keep them covered and protected, but I know how much he hates wet clothes, so it's a battle we're still fighting...

- And speaking of battles, holy cow, our little Mattie has turned into quite the little stinker. On the one hand, she melts us with her sweet songs and stories and silly antics, but then, in a split second, she can switch and be screaming about something she wants or giving us total attitude about something we've asked her to do ("No Daddy! Stop it!"), and in the last few days she's even started hitting CJ once in a while. We're really hoping this is as horrible as her two's are going to be, but I have a feeling the new baby is going to instill even more craziness from her.

- Still on Mattie, she has regressed a little bit when it comes to attachment. It actually started about a week before we went to Utah. I took the kids to a RS function which had babysitters in the nursery room. CJ went fine, but Mattie refused to let me go. She cried and cried, and so to not upset the other kids, I ended up bringing her in with me for the first half an hour. Then I took her in and the girls babysitting were able to distract her enough for me to slip out, and then she was fine. However, that next Sunday, Bryce had to stay with her for 15 min in nursery before he could leave, which was surprising because she loves her nursery leader and never has problems. And then we went to Utah and it was as if she had PTSD or something because she wouldn't go to anyone but Bryce. I could only take her if Bryce wasn't there, but for 5 days she literally clung to him. It was very frustrating! She was especially scared of the boys (cousins and uncles), which we couldn't figure out. I was most sad because she spent no time with my mom, who hadn't seen her since November. It wasn't until the last night, at the wedding reception, that we actually saw glimpses of our fun Mattie. She was smiling and talking to my siblings and even danced with her Uncle Brent. I wish it hadn't taken the entire trip for her to warm up to my family. Hopefully it won't be so long in between visits next time so she'll remember them more and warm up faster.

- On a tender note, CJ talks about his "baby brother" all the time. When we go places he asks if "my baby brother" is coming, and every night he kisses and hugs my belly (Mattie does too, always making sure to kiss my belly button :). I wish the baby would be more active in the day...for several reasons, really. Besides being able to maybe sleep better - this little boy likes to get his exercise all through the night - if the baby would kick more in the day, CJ would get to feel it. I've tried to catch it a few times, but with no luck. So in CJ's eyes, the baby is always sleeping.

- Yesterday was Father's Day. I'm still exhausted! I got up with the kids at 7:30 and went non-stop working on a big banner with the kids, making breakfast in bed for Bryce, feeding the kids, doing the dishes, getting dinner started, getting the kids lunch, and then getting ready for church. Before I realized it, it was ten to noon and I hadn't even showered yet for our 1 PM church. So to my disappointment, I had to ask Bryce to help me get the kids ready for church. Don't get me wrong, Bryce ends up getting the kids ready for church every week without being asked, but today, on Father's Day, I didn't want him to have to do anything, so I was bummed that I had to ask. He, of course, was totally fine getting the kids and their bag ready. And if I didn't already know, I definitely was reminded of how much I really need Bryce. I could not do it without him. I love him very much and he is a wonderful father and husband!

- I missed my dad yesterday, though. I guess that might be obvious to some, but it being the first Father's Day without him, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. I haven't lived at home for years, and we haven't even lived in Utah for 4 years, so not seeing my dad is nothing new. But on this day in particular, I definitely felt the sting of not being able to call him, chat, tell him our goings-on, ask for advice, and tell him I love him. I still miss his big hugs and the smell of his Old Spice cologne. And even though it was Father's Day, I felt like I should call my mom. It was good talking to her - we spoke for an hour and a half - but she expressed her feelings of missing my dad as well. She's usually pretty stoic about how she's dealt/dealing with my dad's passing, so I didn't expect her to say more than she missed him, but she did. She told me about how she thought about how they would have gone to Outback the night before so Dad could have a steak, and how she would have made him a special dinner on Father's Day - one of his favorites: swiss steak - and probably would have had some of my siblings over. Father's Day is usually a bustling weekend filled with dinners, desserts, church, visits and phone calls, but this year she wasn't even able to go to church do to some eye problems she was having, so she didn't have much to distract her from really missing my dad. It's times like these that it almost hurts that I can't be closer to my family, especially my mom. But that's life, I guess.

- CJ had his first soccer class today. I'm so glad we finally got him in something. I keep seeing my friends' blogs and their kids, who are younger than CJ, are in tee-ball and soccer, and I SO wish we could get CJ in tee-ball. But unfortunately, they only start tee-ball at age 5 here in Wenatchee. And I wish we could get CJ on an outdoor soccer team that actually plays games, but that's ok. This is an indoor soccer league that doesn't do competitive play. It's more about just learning skills, which I'm ok with since it's his first organized sport. The first class went as expected...CJ so excited to go, and then clinging for dear life to Mommy and Daddy once we got there. Poor Bryce met us there straight from work and wasn't expecting to have to run around with CJ, so he was all dressed up in suit and tie, carrying our 3 year old son across the field in the poorly-air-conditioned arena. Such a good dad. What was great was that it only took about 15 minutes for CJ to finally warm up and feel comfortable on his own, so Bryce was able to join Mattie and me on the sideline and enjoy the remaining 45 minutes of CJ's first class. CJ did awesome! They stretched, played Red Light Green Light, practiced running with the ball and then stopping and putting their foot on top of the ball (good practice for CJ's balance), and then kicking cones before they did some activities to kick the ball into the net. At the end, all the kids (3-4 year olds) ran to the middle of the field, put their hands in the middle, and shouted, "Fire Tots!" Unfortunately, CJ had to go potty the last couple of minutes so he missed that part, which is a bummer because I think he would have really like that. Overall, soccer was a success! Here's hoping that when his swimming lessons start in July they'll go as well...

- Mattie has become the seat belt Nazi. Almost every time we get in the car, if I don't have my seat belt on before we start moving, she literally yells at me to put my seat belt on. Glad she's watching out for me :)

Happy Monday!