Catching up

The last couple of weeks have been a little nutso. I can always tell when something spiritually significant is coming up -- like the baptism or a Relief Society lesson -- because the week before is very challenging. Identifying the pattern has been helpful, but not in a make-life-easier sort of way. That's why I haven't been blogging much, but today I am trying to catch up.

What follows is a mish-mash of photos (in no particular order) that captures scenes from family life lately.

1: Gavin's potty-training has severely regressed. I throw away the poopy underwear after the third accident in a day. On the flip side, Gavin is thrilled with the re-emergence of "potty treats" when he has a successful trip to the toilet. The treats live in a Halloween bucket on top of the fridge. On this day, he got the bucket down by himself but lost his balance on the counter and let the bucket fly. He made short work of cleaning up the spilled candy and carried the loot around in his shirt for a while.


2. Football season offically ended with the team party last week at IT'Z, which is a venue like Chuck E. Cheese on steroids. It was crazy-expensive, so we just paid for Garry to take the big boys. The Littles and I stayed home. Zach and Tyler were thrilled with the adventure, and Zach loves his football trophy. Here is a photo and short video from the coach's ceremony.

3. When Zach got a new bike for his birthday, Tyler assumed ownership of Zach's old bike and we put training wheels on Tyler's bike for Gavin. The hand-me-down bikes are not in great shape, but they will do well enough this winter. Gavin's bike is a little big and needs new pedals, but he is enamored with his new form of transportation.

4. Our first snowfall of the season arrived last night. Zach and Tyler thought I was crazy for making them take coats to school in the sub-freezing weather. Our compromise was stuffing coats into backpacks. Silly kids.

5. Gavin and Lexi discovered a bin of blankets under Lexi's crib the other day and turned it into a reading nook for a while. So adorable. I wish these kids played well together more often!


6. Zach has moved into the Bear den in cub scouts. He loves it. On this night, he came home from scouts with a "Made in China" sticker on his forehead....and wouldn't take it off. He kept it on while finishing his homework. I finally made him remove it before school the next day.


7. Before I realized she had two terrible ear infections, I coped with Lexi's incessant crying by holding her all.the.time. We've had a miserable couple of weeks. Anyway, I attempted solo use of the Moby wrap one morning when at my wit's end. Lexi fell asleep in less than 10 minutes.


8. I am experimenting with letting Gavin walk when we go shopping. It's mostly disastrous, but he can wriggle out of buckles and climb out of the basket, so I don't have many options. Gavin is quick to recite the rules when walking at a store: "Stay by da cart and don't touch fings." Even Zachary has trouble following these rules! Maybe I should lower my expectations.


That's our life in a nutshell. (I'm tired.)