Updates About the Kids

This post is more aimed at the grandparents, aunties and uncles, but anybody is still more than welcome to continue reading.

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Akiko

Akiko is wonderful, but you already knew that. 

 Last Sunday was our Primary program and she got a featured part. You see, with the younger classes, they have the whole group go up to the front and each kid says a short line about how Heavenly Father loves us or something like that. However, Akiko and a couple other kids in her class got bigger parts where they got up individually and talked about an act of service they had provided for someone. She talked about that day when my sciatica was acting up. <-- Please read this link if you don't know what I'm talking about. 

I had quite a few people come up to me afterwards and ask me if she really did all that. They were all really impressed. If only they knew. She does stuff like that often. It's just who she is. She's such a good example.

Speaking of being a good example, we also went to our first parent/teacher conference this week and got to look over Akiko's first report card. Her teacher spoke very highly of her. We were told that she's a great example to the other kids, she's very respectful and gets along with everyone. 

She's making great progress with her reading and writing. Her teacher showed us a journal they've been working on and the improvement in her writing and spelling was dramatic and so fun to see. If she continues reading at the pace she's going, she may be bumped up to a 1st grade reading class! Like mother, like daughter.

Akiko either "meets expectations" or "demonstrates strength" in all areas on the report card. In the teacher comments, her teacher wrote: "Akiko is a joy to have in class. She is always ready to learn, follow directions, and do her best. Akiko is kind to others and is well liked by her classmates."

Her teacher even went so far as to tell us that when she sees her best students, she watches the parents closely to see what it is they do so well so that when she has kids of her own she'll be able to follow our example. It was so sweet of her to compliment us like that!

At home, Akiko continues to be a wonderful sister to her brothers. She totally dotes on Asher. She's such a great little girl overall. Joseph and I are so proud of her.

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Moses

Moses is such a smarty pants and he's got Akiko to thank for that. Just about every day, Akiko comes home from school and teaches Moses all that she had learned that day. So, basically, Moses is receiving a kindergarten level education from the leading authority on kindergarten education in our household. What a lucky kid!

Moses is thoroughly enjoying preschool and can actually name his friends at school (a feat that I could never get Akiko to do). He's doing really well developmentally and his teachers are impressed by everything he already knows. 

Unfortunately, CA law is changing the rules next year. The cutoff date is changing from December 1st to November 1st, meaning Moses is missing the cutoff by 5 days and will have to repeat the same class next year. Joseph and I are currently debating whether to repeat the class or take a year off preschool next year. I'm irritated by this to say the least because Moses is already really far intellectually. Socially, he's right on cue, as in he's starting to develop relationships outside of the home.

Now on to potty training. I think this is my least favorite rite of passage. What worked for Akiko is not working for Moses. He could care less about the charts, the treats, the grand prize at the end, etc. 

I was getting really frustrated for a while, but then I just had to remember that each of my children is different. Each pregnancy was different. Their newborn temperaments have all been different. Moses' chill personality is so opposite Akiko's dramatic temperament. Once this dawned on me, I decided to step back from coaching and let him take the lead. I've had a bit more progress on this front. 

While he's still not trained, he is recognizing when he goes and lets me know. Then, under supervision, I have him change his Pull-ups. The Moses-led approach is a lot less frustrating for both of us and is progressing a lot more quickly, so keep your fingers crossed that it'll click for him soon so that I won't have to change anymore of his diapers. By the way, he's been staying dry through the night for a while now, so I'm not terribly concerned about night training. Woot!

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Asher

What a joy this little man is! 4 months old already. Can you believe it?

Well, Asher is weighing in at just under 16 lbs. Chunky! But that's only about 60th percentile, so it's still fairly average.

Asher is rolling front to back and back to front, but has not yet figured out that rolling can be used as a mode of transportation. He is the only child out of the three who actually enjoys tummy time. Akiko and Moses hated it when they were his age. He can grab at and grasp his toys and bring them to his mouth. His favorite thing to grab and gnaw on are his toes. His neck is strong and his back is getting stronger. He recently graduated to the sitting position in the tub, though he still cannot sit himself without support.

He is smiley and his giggles are getting easier to coax out of him. He loves loves loves his daddy. Yesterday, Asher was having a bit of a rough day, especially during late afternoon/early evening. I had managed to calm him down for a bit and was playing with him on the floor, but after a while he started fussing again. Joseph came home right then and as soon as Asher saw his daddy, he broke out in the biggest grin I'd seen all day and he had a great night the rest of the night.

Now a word about the eczema, because I know you're all dying to know. Background first, for those who didn't know what we've been struggling with. 

When Asher was 2.5 weeks old, he broke out with the worst baby acne I have ever seen in my whole life. The acne, after a few weeks, receded into the worst cradle cap and eczema I have ever seen on an infant. Meanwhile, all the other babies in our ward who had been born around the same time (there was a boom of about 8 or 9 babies in about 3 months) had beautiful, clear, soft kissable skin. 

What made things even worse was the fact that Asher was suffering and uncomfortable because of it. The heat of late-August/early-September also exacerbated the problem. It should also be noted that it is all over his body (trunk, arms and legs) and face.

Day 1 of treatment

Well, we've been trying everything to keep it under control. For the most part, things have calmed down. The cooler weather helps. So does a good slather of lanolin (Aquaphor, Eucerin and Cetaphil had let us down). However, he's got a few problem patches, most notably on his left jowl and both elbows. They became wet and oozy making the open skin prone to infection.

Day 4 of treatment

At his 4 month checkup, we were advised to try bleach baths, a regimen of oral antibiotics because the skin was getting infected, a cream called CeraVe and I have to go off dairy. The CeraVe looked promising at first, but ended up making him break out even worse. We went back to using lanolin.

So, every night, Asher gets a bleach bath, then gets slathered head to toe in hydrocortisone and lanolin while antibiotic ointment is also applied to any open sores, then his arms get a heavy slather of lanolin, get wrapped in gauze and taped. His jaw also gets a copious amount of lanolin smeared onto it. He takes oral antibiotics three times a day.

Day 7 of treatment

I wish there were a way we could cover the sore on his face. That's the one that itches him the most and also the one he can scratch (so, the bandages get scratched right off immediately). I diligently keep his nails trimmed and put socks on his hands when the nails aren't quite long enough to cut.


As you can see, we're making some progress. These pictures are just of his face, but his arms are making the same progress. They're harder to photograph because I keep Asher in long sleeves to keep the gauze on.

I'm bummed the CeraVe didn't work for Asher because it really is a great cream, so I've been using it for myself. On the other hand, lanolin is pure and is the only ingredient in the tube, so we'd know for sure if he were sensitive to it.

I don't know if me going off dairy for a bit is helping his skin at all, but it is certainly helping with his painful gas. Meanwhile, I'm starving. Almost everything I love to eat has dairy in it. I'll survive. I just have to get innovative with my meals.

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So, all in all, the kids are doing great. I'm really proud of them all and feel so blessed to be their mommy. Having three kids is harder than I thought, but that was a choice we made and we're not done having kids yet either. They are the light of my life.

At Least I've Taught Him Well

This morning, Moses was set up with some crackers and cream cheese to snack on. I was in the bedroom with the baby when Moses came in after a few minutes carrying a cracker and cheese sandwich.

"This is for you," he said as he held it out to me.

"Thank you!" I replied, feeling so touched at my thoughtful child.


Then, Moses replied authoritatively, "Eat it at the table."

 That boy makes me so proud!

Bathtime Woes

I have to get this one down before it escapes me.

Akiko and Moses were taking their bath last night. They'd been in there a while. The water had gone cold. They were done.

When Akiko asked to get out, I told her to wait just a moment because I was in the middle of something, but nearly done.

Then I heard her start singing to the tune of "Frere Jacques:"

I am co-old
I am co-old
Why are they doing-this-to-me?  
Why are they doing-this-to-me?


It made me laugh out loud so I missed the rest of the lyrics she'd made up.

Being five years old must be so hard. *Sigh!*

Happy 3rd Birthday Moses!

Today is Moses' 3rd birthday. I'm going to say this every year, with every child, but seriously, time goes by way too fast.

He was a delightful 2 year old. I really don't know what anyone means when they say, "Watch out for the terrible twos!" Ok, maybe Akiko was pretty hard as a two-year old, but, in her defense, that was also a difficult year for all of us. Moses was an absolute breeze.

I'm excited to see what happens in Moses this next year. He's a super smart kid. He's the kind of kid that watches very carefully before attempting anything himself. That explains why he didn't talk till he was nearly two, but when he did start talking it was in complete sentences. Dang! That was only a year ago?

I was afraid, at first, to have a little boy. When I found out he wasn't going to be a little girl, I was disappointed. You see, before Moses came along, most little boys I'd known were rowdy little bundles of stress. Here's the catch: I wasn't their mother. I wasn't around to see when they were being sweet to their siblings and sharing, or asking politely to be excused from the table. Having a boy is awesome! Besides, someday he'll hold the priesthood. What greater blessing is that? To be the mother of a man worthy to perform and participate in the duties of the priesthood has got to be one of the proudest moments I'll ever know.

Moses is the sweetest little boy I've ever met. He's obedient a lot of times and show concern for others when he senses their distress. He idolizes his sister and adores his brother. We get compliments every week when we pick him up from nursery. Apparently, he's just about the only kid in there who actually volunteers to say prayer.

I love being Moses' mother. I love watching him grow. I love watching him learn. I love getting to know his personality. I love how his personality compliments Akiko's. I love Moses.

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!

Moses impersonating Asher, or is it the other way around?

Halloween

Ahh! Sunday Halloweens. What the heck do you do when you don't live in Utah? Well, for starters, we will be skipping trick-or-treating. We will be handing out candy still, to anyone who comes to our door. We're not Grinches, you know.

That doesn't mean we didn't have fun this weekend, though. We had plenty going on last Friday and my children mistakenly thought yesterday was Halloween. I had some fun activities planned already and they were already warned that we wouldn't be going door-to-door.

So, what did we do, you ask? Well, let's start with Friday, the 29th.

So, Akiko's school has a uniform policy (which I love), but on the last Friday of the month is a free dress day. Convenient for October, isn't it? So, we got up early and dressed Akiko in her costume.

 

What a pretty little kitty!

Then the boys got to put their costumes on so we could go see Akiko at her school's Halloween parade.

Moses as Anpanman!

 

For the record, I did not pose this at all. It's all Moses channeling Anpanman himself. Totally cracked me up!

And here's Asher as a little mouse. His costume cost me only $7.60!

We then headed over to Akiko's school to watch her in the parade.

We had to wait a little while so they could finish getting set up, so here are the pre-parade shots of Akiko with her classmates.

Then the parade started. They went class by class (i.e. the 4th graders, the 2nd graders, etc.), so while we waited for the kindergarteners, Moses and our friend's little boy, J, ran around in the background. They kept making running passes. It was really cute!

I was also able to get an action shot of Moses' Anpanman's cape blowing in the wind and another of him getting ready to fly. (Moses insisted the whole time he was in costume that we refer to him as Anpanman.)

Then it was the kindergarten's turn to walk in the parade. They allowed younger siblings to join if the wanted to. Moses Anpanman was all for it, but then he seemed a little unsure about his decision afterwards.

Then, after all the kids had gone, they allowed staff and any parents that dressed up parade around, too. Since I dressed up, too, I decided I may as well. So, Moses Anpanman got one more go and Asher the mouse got a turn, too.

And here are the boys and me afterwards.

Later that evening, we had the ward party and trunk-or-treat. I was a single mom there for a little bit (Joseph's train was severely delayed) so I wasn't able to take a whole lot of pictures of this event. There were food, games... the usual.

Akiko the Cat caught Asher the Mouse. Anpanman caught a hotdog.

Joseph was finally able to make it! Just in time for another parade.

So, that was our busy Friday. Saturday, we did our tradition of baking and decorating sugar cookies. I kept it simple this year with only one batch and one cookie shape. 

The cookies I did for our Primary class.

The kids' masterpieces. Bet you can't tell which one I did!

Moses dug right in.

After we got the cookie fun cleaned up, it was time to carve jack'o'lanterns.

We let Akiko scoop the seeds out of hers. She was totally grossed out.

 

Sorry, the pictures are a little blurry and her hair fell into her face, but her faces are priceless!

The carved pumpkins.

So, one of the pumpkins we'd picked up had started rotting on the bottom, rendering it uncarveable. We sent Sam to the store to get a replacement. However, trying to find a good carving pumpkin on Halloween Eve is like trying to find the year's most popular toy for your kid on Christmas Eve. He got a really cool pumpkin though. 

It was not a carving pumpkin. It was so hard. We could hardly penetrate it. So, in order to decorate it, I let Moses paint it to death.

And like a true artist, he got paint all over himself. Even on his back!

Today, for Halloween, we're making pumpkin pie from scratch. Yeah, I'm talking about roasting and pureeing the pumpkin myself. And we're gonna do it again for Thanksgiving.

The Halloween festivities were a lot of fun. I really hope that my kids will have fond memories of these years when they're older. I sure have a lot of fun participating with them. I do feel bad that we're not trick-or-treating, but I tried to fill that void. We have the next five years in a row to go on Halloween night. Besides, Akiko is having a blast handing out the candy (she's doing so as I post this).