Finally A Concert!

 Benjamin has been participating in various bands for a long time now with no opportunity to perform due to Covid.  Most practices were online or with a ridiculously large number of restrictions and all without hope of ever performing anything they were practicing.  However, today finally, there was a concert.  They divided the bands up into 4 bands so the stage was very uncrowded and the audience had plenty of room to social distance and it was so fun to see them play!  Benjamin had a short snare drum solo in one of the songs he played with the concert band and his percussion ensemble band piece was so fun to watch.  (His solo starts at 0:23 in the second video)  I'm so glad he enjoys music so much.  The video quality isn't great because I was trying to film while Peter was trying to see if he could climb into my lap and jump off the chair.  Again and again and again.  Each time he grabbed my arm for leverage and then I had to grab him so he wouldn't kill himself.  The end of the second video comes when I didn't grab him just right and he got a little hurt after all.

It was so funny to see Peter after I told him that we needed to be quiet to hear the music because if he yelled, we had to leave.  He nodded gravely and indicated the he understood.  Then he looked at me, shrieked and immediately waggled his finger in the "no" sign.  Then he babbled nonsense in a whisper and smiled.  Then he shrieked loudly again, waggled his finger and began to whisper and smile again.  He did this 4 times.  Christian and I were cracking up while innerly cringing at his repeated screams.  Without any words, he was clearly saying, "Okay, let me see if I understand you clearly, screaming is bad, whispering is good, correct?  Okay, let me check one more time, screaming bad, whisper good.  Just to confirm..." and on and on.  He does this a lot, actually.  We'll tell him not to bang on the table at dinner and he'll bang on it, shake his head and finger no and we'll say "that's right, don't do that" and he'll do it again and again while always emphasizing that he understands what you're asking.  It's equal parts aggravating and adorable. 

Today Peter and I went running again and when we came home, he decided it was his turn to push the stroller on a run.  He took his little blue elephant, placed him in the smaller stroller, and pushed him around the back yard.  So adorable.

Little Going On

 I haven't posted in a week and I feel like I should but there's just really nothing to write about.  Every day the same - kids go to school, Peter and I play at home, Kelly sits in the basement all day managing Ford's finances.  The only picture I've taken all day was when Peter beat me to the dirty dishes in the sink and decided the nasty water that had collected in and filled the mixing bowl would make a great place to play.  I put a towel on the floor and let him play.  He was so happy to be splashing that I didn't have the heart to stop him.  When the entire contents of the bowl were on the floor and he was soaked from head to toe, he decided he was done and we went to change.  It was good motivation to change him out of his pajamas anyway.  Some days I find little reason to do so.

His favorite things lately are to play with his marble track, play on the trampoline, read books, roll around on the yoga ball, and play with toy guns.  His cars have become less interesting, but he still loves to watch cars drive by and walking through a parking lot to the store is an eternal process because he wants to stop at every large truck/car and "talk" about it.  He loves the garbage trucks, UPS/Amazon trucks, and mail trucks that come through our neighborhood.  I think he's going to be a car guy like Christian.  Christian loves learning about and comparing cars.  He gets frustrated with me when I can't tell if the Tesla that just drove past me was a model 3 or a Y or an S.  I'm driving here, kid, give me a break!  

Easter is Coming

 I'm getting excited for Easter.  I feel like Christmas always gets all the good lead-up and Easter gets shafted.  Christmas gets the decorations, the lights, the music, the clothing, the traditions, etc. etc. for a month before the big day and Easter gets the one day with the eggs and bunnies.  Yet, Easter is celebrating something of such monumental importance - the resurrection of Jesus Christ!  It's huge.  So this year I decided to start changing that.  It's been slow going so far, but I figure a little this year and more the next and hopefully we'll build up a few more Easter traditions than just the egg hunt.  I'm starting this year with reading "The Unexpected Deliverer," making a Christ themed Easter banner, and making an "Osterstrauss" and several lessons/activities related to those things.  For the Osterstrauss (a set of branches decorated with eggs), I needed eggs that can be hung, so Sunday we got out all our fabric, yarn, ribbon, scrapbook paper, modge podge, etc. etc. and got to work making some.  Sadly the kids didn't have as much fun as I did.  Bella made a few but wasn't happy with her creations.   Same with Christian.  However, I loved it. 

 I could have made more and more but when I was left alone at the table and Peter started whining, the joy slipped away. As a result, we ended up with very few and so I might have to make more or just buy some.  So that tradition is off to a rocky start, but I remain optimistic.  I think once they see the little Easter tree, they'll like it.  I need to think what we'll do on the actual day of Easter since we'll be gone in West Virginia until the day prior.

I bought Chick-fil-A for lunch for Bella today.  She's been asking me to buy it for her ever since I took her there on a girls' date.  We'd gone through the drive-thru and had spent 60 minutes in line.  I didn't ever want to do that again, but she's such a foodie and I'd been putting her off long enough.  Today only took 30 minutes but it's still a long wait for some silly fast food.  I didn't buy myself anything but the look on Bella's face when she came home and saw the lunch on the countertop was pay-off enough.  It was so cute.  I was also so happy with the way Peter behaved during that long wait.  He waited so patiently, so I took him to the playground on the way home and he was so happy.  He would never stay still for even two seconds so I could get a good picture.  He loved the twisty slide the best and did it over and over again until he was a little popsicle and we had to go home.

He still doesn't speak but the other day Christian and I were playing soccer and Christian yelled, "Goal" and Peter responded with "goal!" with nearly perfect clarity.  We were so shocked.  He has mimicked that sound a couple more times when Christian prompts him.  Also, he'll use a word similar to Cheese when he wants cheese.  It's like "chzzzzz."  Maybe he'll talk before he's 2 after all.

Silly Games Just For Fun

 Christian had a half day of school yesterday so he was home by 11 and the others were still at school for a few more hours.  We took advantage of the time together to play things that he wanted to play.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with Christian.  It always is.  The highlight was our shooter game where we each took a toy gun and lined up little animal figurines along the top of the bat-cave and then shot them off.  It was such a silly little game but it lasted a long time before we got bored.  We also made up a variety of games on the trampoline and walked the neighbor's dog, Coco, together.  He also bought himself a ukulele this week and has been happily playing it, so we played a few ukulele-guitar duets.  It was fun to have so much to do together that didn't involve the screen.

Today after dinner, screen time was all used up and so when Christian asked if we could go outside and play our made up trampoline games again, everyone was willing to come.  At first I was hesitant because Benjamin is so much larger and stronger than all of us.  He is also viciously competitive and when you combine those things, someone always ends up getting hurt.  He was very amiable tonight, however, and when we told him he would have to kneel and not stretch out his arms to be allowed to play, he agreed.  It was hilarious to see him try to bounce around on his knees and catch the ball with his elbows like a little t-rex.  I'd like to think it's because he's such an amazing athlete and not because we are so incompetent, but he still managed to win!  He can be such a fun person when he's just relaxed and playing.  

My Little Artist

 His initial forays into the art world were always met with resistance, but as he grows, Peter's getting more and more interested.  He's been coloring more with crayons and markers and today I decided to try painting again.  We had been watching the little squirrels in the yard competing with the birds for our seeds so I decided to stay right there and paint on the window.  I covered his clothes with a paint shirt from the closet, tied it at the back, and we were ready to roll.  We also did a little rainbow craft and made the whole thing a mini color lesson.  He loved smearing the glue and sticking on the cotton balls.  He loved watching the crepe paper blow in the breeze of the window.  He also really seemed to enjoy painting with the various different brushes (often preferring the wooden end of the brush to the bristle end - alas, toddlers.)  His favorite thing though was the little spiky ball he could dunk in the paint and bang against the window leaving bunches of fun little colored dots.  As always, I left the supplies out for a while after we were done in case he decided to return to it later and he did return twice more later in the day and paint some more.  It was fun to see how he tried different strokes and color mixtures.  Some things never change, though - when he accidentally got paint on his fingers, he immediately stopped and insisted we wipe it off before continuing.  I tried to assure him it was no big deal and we'd wash when we were all done, but clearly finger painting is still a ways in the future.

I Love Sunshine

 Today was such a great day.  It got up to the low 40s and was bright and sunny all day.  We couldn't resist spending most of it outside.  Even Benjamin was willing to come along and play.  We rode bikes down to the high school soccer field and played 2v1 (Christian and I were a team against Benjamin).  We all had a fun time but Benjamin had a hard time keeping up with us.  Christian and I get a lot more exercise than he does and we are naturally distance runners whereas he's a sprinter so we ran and ran long after he'd fallen over in exhaustion.  After that we played on the different playgrounds and challenged each other to different feats of strength on the bars.  It was a wonderful time during which everyone got along and it made me really happy.

Bella had decided to stay home because she really wanted to make St. Patrick's Day cookies and wanted to prep the dough.  When we got home, the dough was chilling in the fridge and she came out and played on the trampoline with us while we waited for it to be ready.  Then we baked them and all enjoyed her hard work as we listened to Irish music and decorated Irish/Spring themed cookies.  Who says you can only decorate cookies at Christmas?  The icing turned out perfect.  I just really wish my cookies would ever turn out the way I have them in my head!  I picture the perfect image and think I'll have no trouble creating it and then my hands disobey me and it turns out looking like a preschooler's.  Luckily  Bella has no such problem and she created some beautiful cookies.  Ugly and beautiful cookie alike made a delicious dessert for the kids after dinner.

I love that spring is really on its way.  Never have I sought so ardently for spring.  This year, in particular, winter isolation has been grueling.  I can't wait for the freedom that warmer weather will provide.  While we can't go into indoor children's play places, museums, etc., it will be so wonderful to be able to spend more time in the woods, at the river, and on the lake.  It can't come soon enough!

The Story Must Go On

 When you're so tired from a long day of being a dad, a husband, a Ford employee, and a bishop that you can't even bear to sit up, but Peter has designated you to be the one to read him his bedtime story...

I love this wonderful man.

Fun at the Mall

 Bella and her friends walked to the mall after school yesterday.  They shopped a bit (in the stores that were still open and had survived Covid) and ate and I sat at home and asked myself, "How did I get to the point where my daughter is hanging out at the mall with her friends!?!  Where has the time gone?"  When she got home she told me about a shirt she liked but couldn't buy because her friends were moving on.  I suggested I go look at it with Peter and get it for her if it's in her price range.  So, Peter and I went to the mall.  It was Peter's first time ever and my first time in years.  First mistake: assume the mall opens at 10 as you remember from your youth.  Nope, it opens at 11 now.  So, that meant it was just me and the mall walkers strolling around the shuttered stores.  I debated about going home, but then I saw something perfect for Peter.  It was the one kid-friendly space in the mall that they haven't closed due to Covid.  Presumably because it's the only place that costs money.  I didn't tell him the machines did more than sit there and he was perfectly happy without inserting a single coin.  He ran around until the stores opened and wasn't very happy to give up play time to go clothes shopping.  Being Peter, though, he complained for about 30 seconds and then moved on with his life.  Once we actually got into the store, I discovered that the shirt Bella liked was actually a Men's XXL and they didn't have a smaller size, so that shirt was out.  I'm glad we found the fun toys so the trip wasn't a total waste.

Warm Weather Sunday

Sunday was so wonderful.  There's a screen ban in our house on Sundays so the kids are forced to be creative and active.  Combine that with the kind of weather we had and it was wonderful.  Benjamin and I went on a run with a neighbor's dog he's taking care of this week.  Christian tried to come along but he couldn't keep up and turned around after 1/4 mile.  That dog is fast!  It's going to be some good exercise this week while he's around.  Peter, Christian, Bella, and I went to the park.  It was so nice to have a dry, snow free playground again!  Everyone had a wonderful time and it was great to see Peter running around on the playground and getting some really good gross-motor activity that he hasn't gotten in all these cold months indoors.  Then Kelly brought home the electric wheelchair of a sister in our ward who passed away this week.  He's going to give it to another person who needs it, but the kids couldn't resist taking a spin on it while we had it.  Combine that with lots of card games, board games, and a wonderful church service online and it was a great day to finish out February.  On to March!