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Calming Down

He got all ready to bat, but when he realized I had the camera out, he put the bat down and came over to pose.  Such a cute little poser.  : )

Dan has been keeping me thoroughly entertained as the big bro of the youngest set.  I do think of my children as two sets of two.  There is such a gap between Caleb and Daniel.  I tell you, if you can handle two little ones, you can handle four children.  By the very nature of it, there are still only two little ones, so it isn’t vastly different than it was when I just had Joshua and Caleb at this age.  The biggest change is that I have to constantly drag the two babes out a lot more in order to get Joshua and Caleb out to where they need to be (mostly school).
John David’s naps have been a joke since school started back, and I do feel so badly about that.  He is constantly being yanked from his bed to go pick someone up.  Poor little thing.
So this is our new baby monitor, my newest toy.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  The boys used to carry around the regular auditory monitor when I was in JD’s room so they could always hear me, isn’t that sweet?  I’m a little less joyful about their new ability to spy on me while I’m in there, though.

JohnDavid and I had our own little photo session last week.  I had to document the fact that I had actually managed to shower, fix my hair, and put on make-up, all before noon.
my little hand-sucker, chilling with Daniel’s toys…
I’m a little concerned about Dan and his toys that I’m trying to hand down to the baby.  Joshua more than happily handed any and everything down to Caleb.  Dan is way way more possessive.  He is constantly yanking things from the baby and saying, “No!  Mine!”  : /
 I do recall Karen telling me to watch out for third children because Hillary could be a real pistol when she was a toddler.  I remember Joshua, as a toddler,  didn’t stand a chance against her when competing over the toddler car at Alan’s grandparents’ house.  I guess Daniel is just following that rule.

Cute things I’ve seen and heard:
Dan now enjoys riding his scooter, only his endurance and speed aren’t great.  He wants to ride it to school, so what I’ve been doing is sometimes packing the scooter in the stroller in the morning and letting him ride it from the park to the house.  It slows us down a lot, but it’s good training for little Dan.
A couple of days ago, he was scooting down the sidewalk, when he spotted a worm.  Of course, he stopped and picked the worm up (I squashed my urge to say “ew”).  He held it for a minute.  Then he put it back down, got back on his scooter and started scooting, but he turned around and said, “Bye, Bye, worm!” and blew it kisses.  : )
  That’s why we love two-year-olds.
Sunday Caleb told me that he liked my dress.  Then he said that I look so good in dresses that I should wear them every day.  : ) Sweet, but dresses aren’t very work-friendly when you have to bend over 20,000 times/day and spend lots of time sitting in the floor.  Maybe when the kids are older.
********
Joshua is really getting back in touch with his inner book-worm.  When he was a toddler, he used to insist that we read him book after book after book.  I remember DaddyO babysitting and saying, “He made me read him 11 books in a row.”
Over the years, that love of reading has faded a bit, but this year his teacher really pushes reading, and it’s working beautifully.  One night I realized that Joshua had been reading for an hour, and that is straight- up weird for the King of the Trampoline.
I need suggestions for age-appropriate books that he will enjoy, though.  He is currently reading a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.  It seems just right for his level, and he thinks it’s pretty funny.  If anyone knows any great books for little boys, let me know!  I don’t know his exact reading level, but he is in the second grade.
*******
The other day Alan and I were eating dinner, and Alan said, “Wow, you seem so calm.  What happened today?  What’s different?  I like it.”
 ……..Wake-up call.  Apparently I need to chill.  I have felt more calm this week, but I don’t know why.  School starting back did really stress me out, but now we’re settling into a routine.
And by the way, skipping fall sports is the best decision we have ever made!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7)

aprilmomoffour

April is an upbeat, Christian, blog-obsessed, military wife, and home schooling mom of four little boys. She writes about education, travel, and humorous adventures in parenting. Follow along if you’d like a little bit of encouragement and a whole lot of crazy.

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  • I enjoy reading all of your posts so much. Watching Dan play ball makes me wish I was there to play with him. I think you would have been torturing yourself to try and do fall sports. You look great. Love you, Mom

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