everything enoch

Enoch finished preschool. He will be in Kindergarten next year, I can hardly believe it!! He is pretty excited and has a very positive attitude towards school. I think it helps that Daddy is down the hall, how cool is that?
Soccer for Enoch has been a little trying. He didn't enjoy it too much and was glad when it ended. He still enjoys playing soccer in the backyard, and when the mosquitos are gone we will be doing that more often.

Swimming lessons are on for Enoch right now. He is still nervous of deep water but is being brave and listening to his teacher and doing everything she asks with a little coaxing. A promise of a new lego set next week when we go to Montana might help a little bit, too.
Enoch really, really, really loves his baby brother. I will find him sitting by Thad just staring at him. Enoch is always so excited when Thad's eyes are open - which is still not all that often. He loves to help me and is always willing to throw out the dirty diapers and fetch me things that I have forgotten.

A new love Enoch has found is banana bread. He loves it!! Aside from Lego, his interests right now are Thad, Ninjas and Star Wars. Spiderman is starting to be replaced..... We are also working on riding a two wheeler. This is slow going, but if he keeps at it I think he might be able to by the end of summer.

all about levi

With four kids keeping up is a little difficult. There is always so much going on and so many little people that want my time and attention. Here is what is going on these days with Levi:
Soccer ended last week. The mosquitos were so bad! He got bit on his ears and they puffed up to twice their size and stuck straight out. I really should have gotten a picture, it was something else. Levi was able to play for the last couple weeks and got some goals and has improved quite a bit. He even has some moves and is learning to pass.

Kindergarten Grad was the night I got home from the hospital. My parents were nice and stayed in town so that I could go without having to take either of the younger two kids. Levi was very cute and the whole class participated. He got to share his favorite kindergarten memory, which was "going to the police station and making orange julius'." The teacher also spoke about what everyone wanted to be when they grow up. Levi's desire is to be a Lego Engineer. Sweet, eh?

Josh (and I when he is not around) have been reading Harry Potter to the big boys. They finished it last week and we watched the movie Sunday night. It was fun to see the boys be so excited as they saw things they had read about. Enoch could not contain his excitement when Harry caught the snitch in his mouth, and Levi was beyond delighted when Griffindor won the House Cup. Levi really enjoys reading, especially when it is with his dad.
Having read Harry Potter, Levi has become very interested in chess. I taught him how to play and was surprised he actually can follow the rules. He taught his babysitter to play, too. We have been playing lots of chess lately as a result, and have tried out checkers, too.
Levi has been fantastic with his new baby brother and has been a big help around the house. He now does most of the vacuuming has started to help clean the bathrooms, too. Swimming lessons are in full swing right now and he loves having it every day. Lego is still the best thing on earth as far as this kid is concerned.

how are things?

Many people have asked how things are going with a new baby and all. Things are good. I feel blessed and happy. Josh is almost done school. The big boys absolutely love having a baby brother around. Enoch, especially, loves the idea of being a big brother to a little brother. They are helpful and kind and Levi even vacuumed for me today!


And Monet, well, this picture sort of sums it all up......





This was during dinner and she had a meltdown and plopped her head right into her meal.

thad

Sunday was a beautiful day in Stirling. I am sure half the town saw Josh and I walking with the kids in tow, knowing that we were trying to walk this baby "out." Sunday night we watched a movie, and again, I was walking, but this time on the treadmill. About 2:30 am my water broke, and by 3:00 I was starting to have some contractions. After a week of picking up the house everynight in case something happened, I did nothing at all Sunday night. So I cleaned the kitchen and the living room till 4am. I didn't want things to move too fast so I tried to slow things down by having a bath and just trying to relax.

By 5:30 things were HURTING, so I woke up Josh and he got ready. We called our home teachers and they were here just after 6:00. We left for Lethbridge, only making a quick stop at the school so Josh could leave some sub plans behind. They checked us into the hospital, and to my surprise, before they checked me for progress or anything, the nurses led me right into a delivery room!!! No waiting in a pre-delivery room for me this time. At 7:00 I was 4 cm, and within 45 min I was 10cm!! Wa hoo.

I remember telling the nurse when I was 9 cm and holding that she could let me push cause I have small babies with small heads. She didn't seem that amused, nor did she let me push. But finally I got my chance and I was ready to pop this baby out. I thought it would be a MAXIMUM of two contractions of pushing, cause, well, that's all it took for Enoch and Monet. But it really took almost half an hour to get baby out this time. I recall telling Josh "I am going to die." I don't recall screaming lots, but my sore throat for the rest of the day told me differently. It felt like I had been at a very exciting hockey game the night before.

At 8:12 am, out came baby (we had no name at this point), and all I could think was, "Who is this?" He was so different!! He was CHUBBY. And he has HAIR. And his head was BIG. The nurse now laughed, referring back to my comment about babies with small heads. It was an excrutiating process, but at least it was quick. For the rest of the day my main thought was, I am never doing that again!!!!! But already the pain is forgotten...
Cause now I have the most adorable, cuddly, sweet baby: Thaddeus Luke Stone, or Thad. He is a very good baby so far and smells divine and has the most kissable little (or big) cheeks and has the softest skin and the furriest head of hair. Oh! I love him!! The other kids are all pretty crazy about him, too. Even Monet. You can tell she is not all that pleased with my lack of attention for her, but at the same time her attention is focused in on the same little being. She loves to call him cute, which is funny cause often it comes out as "Baby toot!," which gets the older boys roaring with laughter.

I am so grateful for my new baby boy. Yes, I thought he was a girl. Yes, I had hoped he was a girl. But I am so glad to have a new boy addition to the family and wouldn't have Thad any other way.

grad

Went to our first small town grad last night. I have to say, it has its perks!!!!

The theme was Western, with a quote from a Paul Brant song - "Small Town, Big Dreams."

The things I really liked about it was with a graduating class of 17, each kid gets to participate. Each graduate was introduced and spotlighted on stage, telling of their accomplishments and what they had planned for the future. In the teachers tribute to the students, he mentioned everyone of them. The class of 2011 also took a moment to thank their parents and went out in the crowd to give their moms and dads flowers and cards and hugs. (One guy had nothing for his mom and he was lovingly heckled by the stands, it was funny). They also had a picture show of all the graduates. Like a wedding video only it is for a high school class. OH! and the whole town shows up after dinner to hear the speeches and see the show.

With a class of 800, there was nothing so personal for us back in the day. It was pretty cool to see.

play

Josh was in the school play last weekend. He was asked to be the "Teen Angel" in Grease. When I found out about the request I laughed hysterically. I really couldn't imagine Josh singing on stage in front of people and acting out the words. But he proved himself to be quite the hit. I was impressed. I doubt I will ever see my husband again in sparkly silver shoes and a white sparkly fedora. Way to go, Teen Angel!!!