Picture Update

 Top Eagle Award

 Lincoln and Abby Squirrel

 Top View of Lincoln's TMNT cake

 Venice and Grandma Venice

Keller!

Yesterday Levi was up before six. Wes got up with him and they had all the boys out of the house before 7:30. They returned with happy yellow daisies and a large chocolate bare (which is now gone…). Wes basically gave me a day off—I don’t know that anything got done, but I really appreciated it. I’m spoiled. Levi has been cutting out hearts and writing Valentines.

Venice has two teeth to gnaw on the world. One had receded earlier, but it is completely out now. She seems to be working on a few more; how can she be so pleasant about this? We’re impressed. She figured out how to bounce-scoot herself to the bottom of her bouncy seat, roll over, then carefully and slowly lower herself to the floor where she spins, shuffles, and rolls to get whatever has her attention. She kicks with exuberance. I’m sure she’d be moving all over the place if I gave her opportunity to practice more; alas—I’m trying to keep her alive.  She showed us that she can get angry on Thursday when she didn’t nap for longer than 15 minutes at a time due to house hunting and school pick-up. When she went to bed, she rolled on to her side and sighed as if to say, “Please, just let me be!” Today during sacrament meeting she squealed, squealed, SQUEALED. Her happy squeal doesn’t actually sound happy, then you look at her face. It’s kind of hilarious.

Keller is a “scary monster” who cuddles, sits on his sister, and gets her a toy or binky if ever she can’t reach. During lunch we (I) sometimes sing and dance around. One day was the introduction to “Eye of the Tiger.” When I put him down for his rest he started belting it all out and pounding walls to the rhythm. Each repetition increased in volume. He’s also quite sneaky. He wears swimming goggles everywhere he can—so much that we have to take them away at night. I came in around 2 a.m. one night to find his goggles firmly on his face. He’d hidden them under his pillow! Even at that hour he had the energy to chuckle at his cool trick and that he’d been sleeping in them for hours. The next morning he had a mild black eye, even after I confiscated the goggles! He likes to read to himself. He discovered the alarm clock has a button that lights up and he pushed the button to look at a page during bedtime. Pushed it again. Turned the page. Pushed it again. When Wes took the clock, he looked up forlornly: “But I can’t read in dark, Daddy!” Oh yes, and we can’t keep clothes on him. Shoes and socks are a bother—no matter where we are. He even dropped his socks in the unflushed toilet then brought them to us. Thank you!

Lincoln explained to us that his name is Super Fire; he’s a donkey with a cape and wings who flies around with an axe and saves people from fire and shoots fire at the bad guys. Just so you know. One of the houses we saw had a ledge that came above my waist. We found Lincoln sitting on it. Of course he had pulled himself up/scaled the wall! He convinced Keller that firemen use port-a-potties and that Venice’s Bumbo is theirs. It’s hard to stop the firemen’s pretend flow. When my visiting teachers told him they’d see him Sunday, he grabbed his sword and responded menacingly, “No. No, you won’t!” Granted, he had the lesson for FHE and re-enacted a man falling in a hole then yelling for help. His friend (Levi) helps him out by lowering a ladder. The two of them explained that when we make mistakes we call for help and Jesus will help us out. Lincoln added that even when we’re muddy Jesus will still give us a hug and is happy to pull us out of the hole. He also requested his own copy of The Book of Mormon. This gives me a lot of hope.

Levi is currently singing, “Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning!” He insists every week that we attend choir. At parent-teacher conferences, Mrs. Games and I brainstormed how to challenge him more and help him move forward while balancing his perfectionist tendencies. She reports phenomenal behavior: which explains the extra need for decompression at home. Aiaiai—seven hours is too long. He and Lincoln had back-to-back dentist appointments on Monday. We prayed that it would all go well—and they both did great. Levi organized their prize bags and contents. He encourages us all to floss regularly. Yesterday he helped Keller up from falling, read books to us, and listened really well. When we went to Xander’s house, he was very respectful and they played joyfully. We’ve had some difficult moments, which we’ll figure out. He’s so aware. Once he concludes something is a problem, he changes it. I am grateful for that about him.

Wesley has been reading The One World School House by the creator of the Khan Academy. Between our concerns about education (spiritual, social, emotional, academic, etc.) this book, Robinson’s The Element, and other stuff we’re concluding that the traditional school model doesn’t work for us. We don’t feel like homeschooling is right, either. We trust the Lord to help us through this one. What an adventure. How do people go through mortality without prayer?

We love you!

Cole Crew

P.S. I’m reading a great book with a terrible title: These Is My Words by Nancy Turner. Highly recommended.