J-A-C-O-B

For all those of you who may not be abreast of the latest Facebook headlines (and those who have simply blocked me), the big news to come out of this week is that Jacob is writing his name independently! Yes, it is true! His teacher called me early in the week and said that while one of her assistants was working with him on a whiteboard he just wrote his name. She wasn't expecting him to do it, so when she recognized what he had done, she called to Mrs. Wally to come see quickly. Mrs. Wally picked up the child she was working with and carried him with her to try to see, but Jacob dutifully erased the whiteboard like he has been taught to do when he is done using it. They gave him the marker, and he wrote his name again! Mrs. Wally screamed with excitement, which made Jacob cry. She quickly gave him some gummy worms to assure him that it was a good thing, and he was pacified. Of course I immediately got Jacob and gave him a marker and a whiteboard, and he did it! J-a-c-o-b! The 'J' was pretty good, but none of the other letters lined up with it, and the rest were a little shaky, so the untrained eye might have a bit of a hard time recognizing it for what it was, but it was definitely his name. I am thrilled! For some time now I could tell that when I helped him write his name that a lot of the motion came from him, but when I'd let go he'd just start scribbling. But this time he truly did it all by himself! I tried to get him to do it for Brigham and for my parents, but he wouldn't do it either time. Perhaps he's realized the marketability of his new skill and is holding out for more gummy worms. But I've seen it with my own eyes, and I'm so proud of my Jacob. It makes me wonder what other things he will surprise us with in the future!

The Buffalo Run

Yesterday morning was a nerve-wracking one for me. Brigham ran the Buffalo Run 25k (that's about 15.5 miles for those of us who are not super mathematical) on Antelope Island, and the shocking truth of it is that he really hadn't trained properly. Blame his work schedule and different illnesses, but when it all came down to it, he was not ready to race a 25k. Especially a 25k trail run. Up and down steep mountains. In the mud from the rain the day before. With wild buffalo roaming about ready and willing to gore passing runners. So I was nervous. But like always, Brigham rose to the challenge and slew the Buffalo Run, soundly beating all of his colleagues from work that he was so worried about being humiliated in front of. True, he can barely walk today, but he can drink proudly from his new Buffalo Run coffee mug.

(Brigham didn't really want me to post this picture because he says that it looks like he's walking to the finish line, which is not entirely accurate. It really looks more like power walking. But the truth is that he absolutely was running. I can swear to it.)

After Brigham's victorious run and Benjamin's first soccer game of the spring season (which was not as victorious but fun nevertheless), we went with Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup to the Discovery Gateway museum. Any place that can make all of my kids this happy is one of my favorite places! What a good time!

March Madness Madness

No, I haven't started stuttering. The level of Benjamin's obsession for everything relating to March Madness has reached levels that can only be described as... well... madness. While I'm sure that thousands of little boys around the nation have pored over the NCAA bracket and painstakingly filled one out, I'm not sure how many have filled out at least fifteen (same teams, slightly different outcomes-- kind of like those choose your own adventure books). Most of Benjamin's brackets have been drawn by hand, although this afternoon I did take pity on him and print out four more for his use. He was ecstatic. We are beginning to worry. I asked him today what he is going to talk about once the tournament is all over, and his prompt response was, "How the teams all did!" *Sigh* It may be a long wait until football season...

Ty has developed some passions of his own. And while no one has passion like Benjamin, Ty's feelings are still quite strong. (Benjamin would be appalled that I started my sentence with "and", but I'm a grown-up and I can, so I did. But (!) please don't tell him or I'll lose all credibility as a writer in his mind.) One of Ty's loves is playing outside in the dirt with his trucks. Even rain could not keep my wild thing from wanting to go outside with his whole soul, so one day this week I finally put him in some old clothes and sent him outside. When he eventually came in, he was covered in mud and a face-splitting grin. "Gwamps' house" is the other thing that really floats his boat. And why wouldn't it? Where else can he run up and down hills, play in a playhouse, drive tractors in the dirt, ride down the hill in a car, eat treats, and play with his cousin Emmy? More and more often the first words out of his mouth in the morning are, "Gwamps' house? Go car?" Today I made the mistake of telling him that we were going to go to Gramps' house after his nap. He cheered and went to his bed happily enough... only he didn't sleep. I've made a mental note not to mention Gramps' house if I hope to get Ty to sleep before the trip is completed.

Jacob deliberately threw up in the car again today, and I'm still fuming about it, so you'll have to wait until next time to get an update on him!

Getting in Touch with my Masculine Side

Had you asked me 15 years ago how I'd feel about being surrounded by four handsome, adoring males, I certainly would have said, "WAHOO! Bring it on!" And with good cause-- it definitely is exciting! Had you also asked me to rate a day spent at a model train festival and a BYU basketball game on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "Please don't torture me like that!" and 10 being "The most amazingly fun day ever!", I probably would have given it a 2 or a 3. Little would I have realized back then that my answer to question one would directly lead to the scenario in question two. The shocking thing to me is that after spending the day in said pursuits, I have to give it very high marks.

I'm not sure what has happend to me over the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the constant indirect exposure to such high levels of testosterone, but now I find myself shouting out, "Fire truck!", "Train!", or "BULLDOZER!!" when I'm driving around-- even when there are kids in the car. I also confess that this season I have watched a game or two of BYU basketball on TV even when Brigham was at work and Benjamin was at his grandparents' house. Of course I rationalized that I just needed something to watch while I was folding laundry, but sometimes there was more watching going on than folding. Just what is happening to me??? I don't know, but just being able to share in the joy of my little boys beholding model trains or my big boys beholding Jimmer's shots from half court makes it alright. (But someone please slap me if I ever start talking about fantasy baseball or spitting in public, okay?)

Identity Check

As I was putting Ty down for his nap just a few minutes ago I said, "Good-night, Trouble!" His response was, "I Ty!"

Little does he know that they are synonyms.

Making Progress

Last night during dinner Ty looked at me and said, "Pee pee? Tweet?" I gave him an enthusiastic, "Okay!" and he went running for the bathroom. He peed, but what was most amazing to me was that his diaper was still dry! I have a strong hunch that his request was born more of a desire to eat a treat instead of his dinner, but I'm thrilled nonetheless since it is his first time requesting to go potty. I certainly won't miss changing two sets of diapers!

Chip's Accomplice

I know, I know-- I'm slacking off on my New Year's blog resolution already, and it's only February! And slacking off is a slippery slope, so this is my attempt to drag my self back up to the edge of the precipice.

About a week ago while I was doing my hair, I heard a big crash from upstairs. Ty was the only other person at home, so I went sprinting for the stairs, holding my breath for the big scream that was sure to follow such a big crash. As I reached the stairs, however, what I heard was not screaming but some crazy giggling. The surprise brought me screeching to a halt. I listened, and there was more giggling. I was relieved, and I was just about to go back to doing my hair when I decided that a crash that loud was worth investigating, whether Ty was okay or not.

I found Ty in Benjamin's room standing in the bottom dresser drawer which he had used to gain access to the top of the dresser. Chip's cage was on it's side and the lid was on the floor. Hamster bedding was spilling everywhere-- all over the dresser, all over Benjamin's clothes inside the open drawer, and all over the floor. Chip was standing at the edge of his toppled cage trying to decide if it was safe to make a run for it with a giggling two-year old staring at him only inches away.

Fortunately, this story ends well. I was able to catch Chip before he made his great escape, and after a lot of washing of clothes and vacuuming, Benjamin's room was restored to its normal somewhat-clean state. Ty has been banned from watching the Free Willy movies but seems to be taking it in stride. His energies have apparently been redirected to freeing himself as he has mastered the ancient art of crib-climbing-without-hurting-oneself. After throwing his door open the first time and shouting, "Hi!", he has also learned the art of stealth and will now quietly leave his room, close the door, and sneak into Jacob's room and try to watch shows with him during nap time. After trying to convince him to stay in his crib unsuccessfully, yesterday I pulled out the big guns: a pack 'n play with a crib tent on top. He's pretty mad about this new development, and we'll see how long it takes him to respond now that the gauntlet has been thrown down!