Super Space Celebration

Tyler's fourth birthday party was one rockin' event.

It featured a giant rocket ship...


...throwing foam rockets deep into a black hole...


...doing the "moon walk" and dodging "asteroids"....


...attacking a rocket-shaped pinata...


...collecting the spoils...


...posing for a photo op...


...singing to the birthday boy...


...and devouring dessert.


Not pictured: opening presents (technical difficulties).

Not forgotten: the fun and fabulous time had by all!

Zach's corner of the world

This was a "Monday week" for Zachary at school and we were all glad for it. Although he complains every morning about going, he's always happy after a day of kindergarten. This week Zach came home with fun stories about gym activities, story time, and recess. He even came home one day with marker lines all over his face. He insisted that drawing all over himself with a black marker was an accident. Is that really possible for a six-year-old???

At home Zach spent lots of time working on Valentines for his classmates. He received the assignment to address all his Valentines several weeks ago since his teacher wisely assumed the task would require several sittings to complete. The Valentines we bought this year fold into little baseball or football games, and Zach figured out how to fold them all just right before addressing them. He also enjoyed covering and decorating a cereal box to use as his Valentine mailbox at school.

Grandma Bartle sent the boys an awesome package this week that they have enjoyed. It arrived just before Zach got home on Thursday, and he was thrilled to put up his feet, watch his new Charlotte's Web DVD, and eat some fun treats that afternoon. Thanks, Grandma!!

We've been working on some positive-reinforcement and incentives with Zachary to help him work through his tendency to lose control of his emotions. Talking about tantrum alternatives sometimes helps, but the behavior is so engrained that Zach can't quite imagine reacting differently in some situations. Before allowing him going to Casey's house this afternoon, I made him promise that he wouldn't throw a big fit when it was time to come home. Zach really had to think about it; he wasn't sure it was possible to be happy when the time came to leave. He asked, "Can I whine a little?" When I told him that wasn't OK, he started to cry just thinking about it. Oh, boy. As it turned out, Zach did cry when he had to leave Casey's house, but he didn't totally lose it, so we considered that progress.

Zach is super excited about Tyler's birthday part tomorrow. Between the rocket in the garage, the party favor bags on the counter, and the cake we decorated this evening, waiting until 10:00 tomorrow morning is almost more than the boys can bear. Tomorrow will be an exciting day for everyone.

Dinner conversation

Tonight at dinner, Garry mentioned that being settled in Colorado was on his mind today. He said how much he wishes we could just be there and have all this upheaval and uncertainty behind us. I wholeheartedly concurred. I wish I didn't have to go through all the hard stuff between now and the time that we are eventually settled in our new home and town. I want to skip that and get to when life will be "normal" again. The most difficult part, I continued, is that there is a huge hurdle (meaning the sale of our home) between now and when we can start muddling through the hard stuff -- and getting over that hurdle is 100% out of our control.

Zach piped up from across the table: "What's a hurdle?"

Before we could respond, Tyler said (with a very grown-up vocal inflection, a shrug in his shoulders, and his palms turned up), "That's just how life goes. It doesn't go very fast. Life is just work. You just can't do things faster than you can. So, it's just this way. Life can't go faster. Nobody can make it faster. That's all I know in my life."

We all paused to digest his sage comments (and I grabbed a pencil to write them down).

Then Tyler added, "And I want to be at Colorado, too."

From the mouths of babes come the greatest gems.

I really needed this laugh today

Many thanks to my friend, Krista, who sent me this hilarious video. The featured comedian does a masterful job describing the fundamental differences between male and female brains. The sketch is truly delightful in all its accuracy.

On Tyler's terms

When I started the blog in lieu of our traditional newsletter, I vowed to continue individual updates on the kids and to post pictures of each of them at least weekly. It seems fitting to post a Tyler story today since he has the biggest news: I withdrew him from preschool. Oh, the turns life takes! I never imagined I would do such a thing -- or that Tyler would want it.

In early November, Tyler started being naughty at school. He was being mean to the other kids, not obeying the teacher, and being a general disruption to the class. I got negative reports from his teacher after every class for weeks, right up until Christmas break. I attributed the behavior to Gavin's birth, although it was obvious that Tyler didn't understand the connection. I expected that a break from school would do him some good, but when January came he started complaining about going to school every day. This behavior escalated to the point of major tantrums in the car and even a huge one on the last day of school before our Arizona trip two weeks ago. He just didn't want to go to school.

Yesterday was the worst day yet. Tyler hadn't been awake for ten minutes before the whining started. As we drove to school he started to cry, and that turned into yelling at me. Apparently I was a "mean mom" for making him go to school. I tried reasoning with him, tried talking to him about what was really bothering him, tried encouraging him that school was so much more fun than time at home. That just made things worse. I'm not usually one to back down or to let tantrums intimidate me, but I already felt so defeated as a parent that I started getting emotional myself. I had to physically drag Tyler into class. He was kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs. I was crying, too, and we made quite a spectacle. In the midst of such drama, it occurred to me that I ought to just eliminate this fight in my life.

I called Garry for reinforcement. He listened patiently as I blubbered through my description of our morning. We wondered aloud what had happened to our happy little boy. And then we decided to let Tyler choose whether to continue at preschool. I really hoped he wanted to quit.

But he didn't.

When I talked to Tyler (who, by the way, stopped crying about 30 seconds after I dropped him off and had a wonderful, marvelous, exciting, happy day) about quitting preschool, he said, "But Mom, I won't learn anything if I don't go to school!" He wanted to stay, and he agreed to be happy about going. Begrudgingly, I went along with his plan.

Today, however, Tyler started in on an early tirade about going to school tomorrow. I stopped what I was doing to have another heartfelt conversation. Together we agreed that Tyler is going to take a break from preschool for now. He will start again when Zach starts first grade in Colorado. And in the mean time, he'll get to play at home on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

A few months ago, I would have viewed this situation in terms of how having Tyler at preschool or not impacted my free time. I know I will miss those hours twice a week when I am alone with Gavin, but right now I am so relieved to know that tomorrow morning at least one of my children will be happy! He'd better not change his mind...

Chunky monkey check-up

Gavin had a two-month checkup yesterday and weighed in at 15 pounds. He's 24.5 inches long and has a head circumference of 16 inches. Not surprisingly, those measurements are in the 95th, 95th, and 50th percentiles, respectively. Sometimes I wish I were a baby because chubby thighs on infants are absolutely adorable! Dr. Nash said Gavin's development is going well. Gavin's ear infection from a couple of weeks ago has cleared up, although he does still have a little fluid in both ears. A mild case of cradle cap is the only cause for concern. That is easily managed.

We finished the visit with a bunch of immunizations, which made Gavin the third child in the family to offer a screaming fit that morning. His was the only one I felt was justified, but hearing him cry still made me sad. Luckily Gavin offers coos and grins that light up the room. I was so happy to capture one of his sweet smiles on camera!

I noticed when we were in Arizona that Gavin is starting to interact with toys and objects around him. In my haste to pack up the house a few weeks ago, I boxed up all of our early-development toys and now I'm really regretting it! Those boxes are in the back bottom corners of our storage unit and won't see the light of day until we move. Bah! The little bouncer Gavin uses does have a little mirror that arches over his head. He has discovered it this week and it's fun to see him checking himself out! He's such a cutie.

Zion or bust

It was a rough day in the Bartle household. I'm always a victim of what a good friend terms "vacation depression," or the emotional letdown that inevitably comes after a fabulous period of rest and relaxation away from home. While I wouldn't characterize our latest excursion as restful (what with very late nights, a nursing baby, and wild children), it was extremely enjoyable and hard to give up. Coming home to laundry list of house selling/moving to-do's, a showing appointment, piano lessons sans babysitter, and general responsibility strained my already-reduced coping abilities. As a result, I was a bad wife, parent, and human being today.

However, today was Monday. I figured that holding Family Home Evening might salvage what was left of our Very Bad Day. Tyler picked a lesson kit about Book of Mormon stories, and as we sat around the coffee table guessing what character, principle, or topic corresponded with each letter of the alphabet, I felt like I ought to share something I heard about yesterday related to The Book of Mormon.

The prophet and president of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, died last week. As a tribute to this beloved leader, some wonderful soul created an online challenge to read The Book of Mormon in 97 days (one day for each year of President Hinckley's life). My parents and siblings sent the information to me, and since I always need a little external motivation to keep the commandments, I opted to join the challenge. Having the support of family members and feeling united in a worthy goal made me happy. Though not as formal, this is reminiscent of the time a couple of years ago that President Hinckley issued a church-wide challenge to read The Book of Mormon in four months. Our little family participated and really enjoyed the experience.

It wasn't until tonight that I considered involving Garry and the boys in the challenge. I had only planned to participate on a personal level. But as our Family Home Evening proceeded and I saw my boys soaking up the lessons of the scriptures, I asked them if they would like to commit to read The Book of Mormon in 97 days. I was sure they would balk at the commitment, but they surprised me. They were excited and wanted to start right away, and so we did. Our morning scripture studies have gotten us to Alma 52, so we decided to start there and loop back over the next three months. One day down, 96 to go.

As I was explaining the challenge to the boys, I found myself bearing testimony of the power the scriptures can have in our lives, and how obeying the commandments can bring amazing blessings of the Holy Ghost. I confess that I hoped the boys would be open to the challenge simply because our little family could really use an extra dose of the Spirit these days. We need to figure some things out and make life work better around here, and hopefully this project will help.

My dad was inspired to institute the goal of being a "Zion Family" in 2008. Every week he sends out a quote from the prophets on a different theme. The very first one is from Joseph Smith, as quoted by Joseph Fielding Smith:

"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness; and keeping all the commandments of God....

"... [A]s God has designed our happiness—and the happiness of all His creatures, he never has—He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances."

I have taken those words to heart, hoping and praying that they are true. We're on the path, just trying to keep up. Hopefully we'll get where we want to go!

There's no place like home (except Grandma's)

Zachary, Tyler, Gavin, and I had an uneventful trip back to Portland today. Saying good-bye to our Arizona family was hard, but not nearly as traumatic for the boys as I anticipated. Aunt Angie packed special airplane goodie bags for Zach and Tyler that made for a wonderful surprise as soon as we boarded. And then, miraculously, all three boys slept for most of the trip! I was so grateful.

Driving up to our house was bittersweet. I was so happy to be home, but I know it is probably just a transitional arrangement now. Seeing a For Sale sign in the yard was so strange, and walking through the house in its staged state was even stranger. I feel like I'm living in a hotel where I'm afraid to break the decorations. My blood pressure rose 20 points as the boys explored every room and touched every new thing. So begins life in a house on the market! At least we can sleep in our own beds!

Yikes

So this morning I woke up to the sound of Gavin's crib making loud thumping sounds against the walls in his room. Very groggy, I ran into the study and found Gavin grinning as Tyler stood on the crib rails, rocking the crib back and forth. Tyler was "rocking the baby to make him happy" (and waking up the whole house in the process). Apparently the boys had all been up for a while because two huge bins of blocks and toys were strewn about the room and trailed down the hall.

Gavin hadn't eaten for four hours, so I decided to ignore the mess for the time being and nurse. I sat at the computer and finished up my last blog post. It was 7:30 a.m. All of a sudden I heard Eric yell from the upstairs bathroom. "WHO CLOGGED THE TOILET????" I interrupted Gavin's breakfast to investigate. Eric, clad only in a towel, was plunging the toilet as water poured all over the bathroom floor. Then he and Holly thundered downstairs to collect old towels to mop up the mess before the flood could seep through the floor to the ceiling below. Unfortunately, their collective efforts were not enough; soon water began to drip through the ceiling downstairs. Zachary, the culprit, looked on. Zach clogs toilets at home on a regular basis, but he'd never seen one overflow before. He seemed oddly fascinated by all the hubbub.

My parents could not have been nicer about the mess and the property damage, but I was determined that the least Zach could do was clean up the mess. He certainly wasn't happy about cleaning a poop-smeared bathroom, but if ever there was a natural consequence for bad behavior, this was it! Hopefully the rest of the day is less eventful, but maybe we'll end this trip with a bang.

Friday Night

Friday's events made for good blog fodder. The morning offered adventures in homework for Zach (why, oh why did we neglect his monthly calendar until this week?); a lovely picture of a girl in a garage and grass from Tyler (the result of "please draw a 'g' picture"); an unfortunate series of events involving a haircut appointment, a horrific Wal-Mart excursion, and a foiled cousin playdate; lunch at Devlin's house; a phone call from Garry about possible buyers for our house; a Mommy meltdown (related more to Wal-Mart than the house); and a rescheduled and successful cousin playdate. It would be too exhausting to include all the details, so that's the bare bones version of the day.

The evening is much easier to talk about. Zach and Ty slipped into dreamland rather quickly (insert Hallelujah Chorus here) and Gavin took up residence in the swing, leaving me free to chat and relax with the fam. Topics of discussion: politics, funerals, scar stories, garbage collection, the telecom industry (see Mark for a detailed history), David Hasselhoff at the ASU bookstore, Angie's weird neighbors, and someone whose middle name is really Danger.

In addition...

Dad helped Ryan with his Friday night accounting assignment.

Chloe entertained us with her hysterical chatter and loving attention to the "beebee." She got in and out of this car seat about ten times.

She also loved a new book from Granny, but wasn't too thrilled about going to bed.

Gavin slept the evening away. This photo makes his hair look red, but it isn't.

Eric and Myron discussed something important before Eric abandoned us for a social event.

Not pictured: Myron running to the grocery store for treats, Holly making popcorn, Dad doodling on cereal boxes, and Amy leaving for California for the weekend.

For more photos of this week's events, see Angie's blog and Rachel's blog. Boy, we're popular...