"Mom! Come downstairs! I have something to show you!"

 So I rush downstairs and encounter this:

"I'm Han Solo in carbonite!!"

 Without the blanket for the full effect. Atticus insisted on doing it again because Han doesn't have his mouth open big like that:

You'd think it was a still from the film....

May Update

 Atticus made me a birdhouse for Mothers' Day. We hung it up in the back yard. He's pretty proud of it.

 He insisted on helping James replace the parking stops. James appreciated the help, I'm sure.

 Preschool "graduation." He gets shy in front of crowds. Each child was invited to say something nice to his or her parents. Atticus said he liked it when I co-opped. His best buddy, Austin (with glasses), had both sets of grandparents and an older sister there, and he chose to say something nice to Atticus instead. He said that Atticus was his best friend, and he liked how Atticus made a book about him. Atticus and Austin are always the heroes in Atticus's books, and they're always playing Super Hero Squad.

 We have LOVED his teacher, Miss Stephanie, and are very sad to lose her. She is the rare combination of being excellent with the kids and with the parents. 

 Atticus finished his first round of swimming lessons today. He's come a long way in just a few weeks, from refusing to put his face in the water to floating/kicking on his stomach under water by himself. The goggles made a huge difference. Once he could open his eyes under water, he was unstoppable.

I love this kid.

In other news, James has finished his serious teaching for this school year. Next week he's showing a movie, and the week after that it's just cleaning out lockers and signing yearbooks, so even though he has to be there, he doesn't have to coerce students into caring about anything. Then he's FREE for two months. Yea!

Our only big plan for the summer is our family reunion in July. We're really looking forward to that, especially since all the out-of-towners will be here. James's mom will be in town for a few days in June, and it will be nice to see her and Grandpa Clarence. Other than that, we plan to visit lots of local parks and pools and spend time with friends. Maybe James will finally make it to the zoo. We do plan to hike, but we probably won't spend as much time in the big canyons. We're still a little freaked out by canyon driving. I also plan to pick up more hours at work if I can. We're planning to buy a house within the next year, and every little bit counts.

Here's to summer. :)

Atticus quote of the day

At a BBQ with James's coworkers:

"I don't know how to play baseball. Nevertheless, I'll try it."

May Update

I have a food hangover. I ended a low-carb diet a week ago, and though I was careful about reintroducing grains gradually, I've gotten back into bad habits. So instead of doing the dishes, I'm drinking "detox" tea on the couch, watching Highlander (the series--soundtrack by Queen!) on Netflix, and updating my blog. Not a bad way to spend my few childless hours.

Highlights from the last week or so:

Family: Saturday was a family party to celebrate two of my sisters receiving their masters degrees. It was a good party, with family members who don't normally spend much time together getting along really well. My dad grilled carne asade, and my mom made Riley cake. It was all delicious, and I ate way too much.

Work: Yesterday I kind of got promoted at work. I've been working as an independent contractor with the Missionary Department, writing for historic sites and visitors' centers. Now I'll be doing the same thing, just as an "on call" employee for the Publishing Services Division (PSD). The benefits of this change is that I'll get involved in more projects, get more hours, and get a small raise. I'll also get more training and networking opportunities, which will help if I eventually want to go full time.

Atticus: He's started taking swimming lessons. It took us two weeks to get him to put his face in the water, and now that he has goggles (reward for putting face in water), he's willing to put his head all the way under the water. He's gotten good in the tub, so we'll see how he does in the pool Saturday.

The biggest event of the past couple months was, of course, Atticus's fifth birthday. My boy is 5! At first he wanted to stay four, but now that he's older than some of his friends, he thinks five is pretty cool. The day of his party started with the St. Patrick's Day parade. His preschool had a float, and James brought the pram. I think Atticus would have rather stayed on the float, but oh well.

 

I wanted to keep the party fairly small but still fun, so we rented a bounce house. It was a hit.

The boys. Atticus's best buddies, Caleb and Austin.

The girls: Sonora, Clare, and Ellie. Clare is his Scooby-Doo playmate. He's Fred, and she's Velma.

The cake. Atticus requested chocolate cake with blue frosting and pirate candles.

He was really excited about this present.

He told me several times that day that is was his best birthday ever. And I'd have to agree. I wouldn't say the party was mellow, but it was definitely low stress. A few of the parents hung out, so we talked while the kids played both outside and in Atticus's room. 

So life has been pretty good. Daily life, ups and downs. The usual.

Strange Sadness

This week we've been saddened by the death of my nephew Tyler's fiance, whom I did not know well but whom we just saw at a family party Saturday. It's felt odd to go on with life as normal when Tyler's life has been turned upside down. It's hard to know how to react to someone else's tragedy, other than to offer love and prayers.

Then yesterday I discovered (via Facebook) that my niece Iuliana is engaged. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her father, so I rarely see her. I'm happy for her, of course, but it made me sad to realize how little I know some members of my family.

Life is strange that way. I promise my next post will be less somber.

Atticus-isms and December Recap

Yeah, I know February's almost over, but better late than never, right? December was a busy month. Atticus and I visited my sister Susan in Illinois for a week while her husband was on a business trip, and of course I forgot my camera. He had a great time with his cousins, even though he was a little sick. And he did great on the plane, except that he had to go to the bathroom 5 times on the way home. Our seatmate wasn't too excited about getting up all the time, but he was nice about it.

The fun part was getting to make "girl food" that our husbands aren't excited about, like tofu and quinoa and all those fun things. When Atticus and I got back to Salt Lake, it was after 10 p.m. by the time we were in the car. I was hungry, so I wanted to stop somewhere on the way home to eat. I asked Atticus what he wanted, and he said with enthusiasm, "bwown wice!" Mama victory! But also a failure because of course there aren't any drive-thrus with brown rice, so I said, "How about chicken nuggets?" *sigh*

Then about a week after we got back, we loaded up the car for our first road trip to visit James's family in Arizona for Christmas. I wasn't sure how Atticus would do for so long in the car, even though we were breaking up the drive by stopping in Vegas. I decided to take notes.

Friday, 10:40 a.m., driveway: "I want to stay home."

11:30 a.m., Orem: "I want to squirrel around like I'm not in my carseat!" (Blankie and pacifier calmed him down.)

11:40 a.m.: Atticus asleep.

3:15 p.m., Kanarraville: "Atticus, stop hitting yourself in the head with the dreidel."  "No, Mama, the dreidel is my friend and he keeps hitting me for something and he won't tell me what it is. Ow. Ow. Ow." (Dreidel got a time-out.)

5:01: "I feel like eating play-doh."

We finally made it to Circus Circus and settled in to our room. Atticus thought it was pretty cool. His favorite part was the lighted wardrobe: 

The next day we checked out all Las Vegas has to offer, which we concluded isn't much if you're not going to gamble, watch a show, or eat at fancy restaurants. Or shop in high-end stores. But we still had a good time. Here's Atticus on top of the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris casino: 

Sunday we stopped at the temple before hitting the road again. The  notes resume:

Kingman rest stop: (Said rapid-fire to no one in particular as he got out of his seat) "My body's saying POOOOOP! POOOOOP! My body's selling poop to anyone who wants some. They're poop toys."

Finally we reached Nana and Grandpa's house. It was good to see the family and spend Christmas with them. Here are some of my favorite photos:

With the saguaro next to Nana's house (the red roof is theirs) 

Making our gingerbread house.

Public art in downtown Mesa

With cousins Brian and Thomas. It took us about 5 tries to get Thomas's "action shot." Atticus was really sad to leave their house. He had so much fun with them.

Heading home. This time we stopped overnight in St. George. 

The night before we left, Atticus said, "I never want to leave this place." He had it all worked out how we could move in with Nana and Grandpa. He even claimed his bedroom. He was sad to leave, but he was happy to see his own room and toys again. I was happy about the box of lemons Atticus helped me pick from Grandpa's tree. They were gorgeous and tasty. One medium box gave us 1 1/2 gallons of lemon juice, most of which is in our freezer. We've been drinking it in water, club soda, and lemonade. Yum!

It was a good month. Lots of family, lots of travel, lots of love. 

Progress?

Atticus made his bed this morning. He was very proud.

He decided he needed only one blanket because the others were "too tangled."

Small victories. :)