It's My Blog and I Can Brag if I Want To
The main purpose of this blog is a family history, so I am not going to apologize for the self-indulgence of this blog. We all know that there are wonderful parts of parenthood and tough parts, and this blog post is dedicated to the amazing privilege it is to get to raise these incredible kids. They are growing up so fast, and I want to remember how cool they were at this age.
 |
| Last week I took Mason out for breakfast before school for some special talk-time. |
Mason turned 7 a few weeks ago and is in first grade. It warms my heart that he absolutely loved school and is excited to go just about every day. Some parts of school aren't always really easy for Mason. At the beginning of first grade he was readying at a pre-school level, but with a lot of hard work and an excellent reading tutor, he is now reading at an advanced second-grade level. Mason is not afraid of hard work and loves the feeling of accomplishment that comes when he masters a spelling word or finishes a tough book. He loves math and science and is very curious. A couple of times a week he comes up with questions that I don't know the answers to and we look on the Internet for answers. Last week it was "what makes puffer-fish puff?" and "are there monkeys in Hawaii?" He loves science experiments, and the favorite present he got for his birthday was a circuit kit that he works on with his dad where he builds all sorts of electronics.
Mason started taking piano lessons a few weeks ago. Before he started we talked about how sometimes it would be hard and he would get frustrated, but he wanted to do it anyway. He does get frustrated practicing sometimes, but persists and loves the sense of accomplishment he feels when he masters a song. Last night he overcame his fear and played a song at the primary talent show and I will never forget the huge grin he had on his face when he took a bow.
Mason and I have a really sweet relationship and I really hope it continues through his adolescence. A few times a week he will approach me and ask for one on our "special talks." This means we go somewhere alone in the house and he crawls up on my lap for a heart-to-heart. The poor guy has inherited his mother's worry-gene, and like his mom, usually just needs to talk it out and get a little reassurance. Usually it is something serious like his worries that he is the only kid in his class who hasn't lost a tooth, or that the girls in his class are fighting over who gets to marry him. Last week he seriously told me "I really want to go to Hawaii. I can't stop thinking about picking coconuts." Since then he has been saving every penny for a Hawaii vacation.
Probably the best thing about Mason is what a great friend and brother he is. Mason and his brothers are the very best of friends. He and Myles share a room and often we hear them telling jokes and laughing hysterically for hours after bedtime. Max absolutely adores Mason and multiple times a day runs up to Mason to give him spontaneous hugs and kisses. When Mason comes home from school Max runs to the door and cheers "yay! Mason's home" and jumps on him for a hug. Mason always responds with love and adores Max. We couldn't ask for a better big brother in our home.
 |
| Myles asleep during Family Home Evening |
 |
| Myles asleep in the shopping cart |
Myles is hilarious. He comes up with things everyday that we just can't believe he came up with. Yesterday as he was running around in circles because he had to go potty I scolded him "Myles! Go potty right now!" He yelled back at me "Mommy! You follow Satan!" Shocked I asked what he meant and he said "you follow Satan's plan because you don't give me choices!" When I reframed the request as "go potty or get a time-out" he praised me "Mommy! Good for you! Now you are following Jesus's plan!" He remembers and repeats every bad word I have ever said and knows that he will get my attention if he said "hell yes!" The problem is the kid is so dang cute that I can't get mad at him. He has the most adorable smile and twinkle in his eye.
Myles has an absolutely incredible memory. Before Christmas I wanted him to memorize a poem and sat down with him thinking we would work on a line at a time for a few weeks. I told him the 16 line poem once and he immediately repeated it back to me word for word. He recited the poem at Christmas and then last week when I asked him if he wanted to do anything for the Primary Talent Show he recited the entire poem again perfectly on the spot. He remembers songs he learned 3 years ago, can tell a 20 minute long detailed story of the 3 Little Pigs word-for-word since he learned it when he was 18 months old, and remembers every lesson and song he has ever heard in Primary. Pretty much everytime we get in the van he reminds me not to run out of gas like I did once more than 2 years ago. He even remember the color of the tow truck that brought us gas.
Probably largely because of his memory, Myles is incredibly smart. He has been reading for almost a year although until recently he refused to read book but would read anything we wrote on a flashcard. We have to watch him carefully when Mason gets home from school because he likes to get Mason's homework out of his backpack and complete it for him. Myles especially likes Math and considers it a great privilege to be allowed to do a math worksheet before lunch. He goes to two preschools and finds one incredibly boring but is learning to make friends. At the beginning of the year he was thrilled to report to me "Holly said I could be her best-friend as long as I promised not to play with her!" Over the year we have worked a lot on social skills. We discovered he is actually really shy and nervous and didn't know how to talk to people, so instead he would act silly or hide. We have practiced introducing himself to neighbors, playdates with new kids, and now he has a great group of friends. When we ran into Holly yesterday she gave Myles a huge hug and said to her mom "Myles is my best friend!".
The best thing about Myles is how cuddly and tender hearted he is. He appears to other so confident and secure, but he is the most sensitive and sweet of my boys. There is something about his body that makes it absolutely perfect for cuddling. His limbs wrap right around me, his cheeks are so soft and kissable next to mine, and about 20 times a day he tells me that he loves me and gives me a hug or a kiss. He and Max are starting to become great friends while Mason is at school and it warms my heart to see him become a protective and loving big brother. Myles is my little sweetheart.
 |
| Max and his toys |
 |
| Max and his daddy at Disneyland |
I would have a really hard time believing that there could be an easier baby or toddler than Max. He is truly a little angel. From the moment he wakes up in the morning smiling and singing until the moment he runs up to his bed the second we say "bedtime" he is all smiles. The little angel could easily get lost in the big personalities of his brothers but he can definately hold his own. If someone takes a toy, pushes him, or excludes them from their games, he has no problem making sure he gets his way.
Max still sleeps in a crib, and at 2 and a half still has never tried crawling out of it (the other kids were jumping out at 18 months). When he goes to bed he is surrounded by about 30 stuffed animals, but within 5 seconds can tell if even the smallest toy is missing from his bed. He especially loves Mickey Mouse and for months we never saw him without a Mickey Mouse tucked under his little arm.
Max refers to himself in the third person and about 10 times a day says "Macky needs a bath." If anyone calls him Max he quickly corrects them saying "I Macky. I two" while holding up 4 fingers. We are trying desperately to teach him his colors but he just smiles sweetly and says "colors" no matter what color we hold up.
Max absolutely adores his family. When Mason leaves for school in the morning Max follows him to the door, waves, and says "Bye Mason! Love you!" and the times we walk to meet Mason after school the second Max spots him he runs to him, gives him a hug, and then insists on carrying Mason's backpack home. He knows Myles loves to wrestle so if Myles is sitting anywhere Max will go to him and climb on top of him and say "take that" to which Myles will gently pretend to wrestle, usually ending with hysterical laughs. The second he hears the garage door open when Marshall gets home he runs to the door saying "Daddy Home!" and crawls up him for a tight hug. And best of all, he loves his mommy and always says "mommy loves macky." For the talent show last night Max had no stage fright at all and sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" right into the microphone nice and clear, and ended with the cutest little bow you have ever seen. At only 24 pounds, people usually think Max is a lot younger than he is and they are overwhelmed by his cuteness.
Max is still my baby and if I had one wish it would be to freeze time right now and keep him that way forever. He is just at that age where he can still be my baby and let me rock him and baby him, but is also asserting his independence and turning into a little boy before my eyes. I think in my eyes he will always be my sweet little Macky baby.
I can't help but add a quick boast about Marshall. We've been married almost 9 years and I still can't believe I lucky enough to find him. When people gush about their husbands on blogs I sometimes wonder how authentic it is, but please allow me this opportunity to document how wonderful this man is. At work I often see couples whose marriages are struggling and most of those days I come home completely overwhelmed with love for Marshall and his kindness, patience, and compassion towards me. He balances me out with his calmness, strength, security, and makes me into my best self.
A few weeks ago I was out of town for 11 days for work and people I told were shocked that Marshall would "allow" me to go. One of the best things about Marshall is not only his support of me, but the pleasure he takes in any success and pleasure I have. When he introduces me to his friends he adds "she has a PhD" and I can see the pride in his eyes when he or I talk about my career. I'm thinking about going back to school for a post-doctoral Master's degree in Psychopharmacology and Marshall is even more enthusiastic about the idea than I am.
Marshall is an incredibly hands-on father. Whether I'm out of town for work (a couple times a year) or working late seeing private clients (a few times a week) Marshall doesn't think twice of stepping up with making dinner, helping with homework or piano, or putting the kids to bed. When people hear this they are usually shocked that Marshall can do all this with no help, but he really is a true help-mate. The kids adore him and especially love it when he helps them with their video games or science projects. He is tender with the kids when it is called for and is their preferred caretaker when they are sick, but he also has no trouble following through on discipline.
When I was dating Marshall and we talked about the future together, he warned me that he would never make more than 35K a year in his profession. Of course that didn't matter to me and I fully expected to share in the financial duties of our family and live frugally. What we didn't count on was Marshall having opportunities to rise to the top of every job he has had, and he has become incredibly successful. A combination of humility, luck, tremendous talent and skill, and hard work has made him able to provide for us in a way that assures me of the security I need to be able to not constantly worry about finances (okay, not as much). He has never had to ask for a raise, instead they just keep getting offered based on his contributions to the company! The best thing about his career success has been watching his confidence grow over the years and how much he loves his job. He often says that he couldn't imagine a better job for himself.
I feel so blessed to be in a profession that reminds me almost daily how lucky I am to have the kind of marriage I have. I know I am not always easy to get along with, but Marshall has a way of defusing my anger and securing me with his love. He is the best part of me.
.jpg)
Comments