February Family Updates
Our very dead Christmas tree is still up. I cooked for the first time in months (Peruvian chicken, Mexican Picadillo, chicken tortilla soup) and this crew must be desperate for home cooked meals because they haven’t stopped raving about it weeks later.
Jer has taken on so much at home to help me as we care for Baby Henry who is still tube fed and going to lots of medical appointments. I am the LUCKIEST Mama to have these amazing children and partner.
Some highlights, and a focus on each kiddo:
Violist
It’s concert season so our gorgeous violist had many field trips and even played at her brothers’ elementary school! We spent an hour curling her hair, and she thought it turned out well.
She practices every day, works on music theory, and spends hours listening to her pieces. This is her 4th full year of playing viola, so she has earned a seat on the stage at her school’s Advanced Orchestra. She plays so clear and confidently from even a year or two ago.
I hardly ever see her in action during concerts, regardless of where I sit or what time I arrive. She’s usually just out of view in the very back behind the giant basses and cellos, or within rows of other strings.
We happened to be very early to her Call Time before a performance, so I was lucky to capture the above photos of her tuning her instrument.
I asked her if she’d like to stick with playing in the orchestra during high school later this year or if she wants to try something else, and looks like she wants in keep up with her viola. We are so proud of her dedication and love for music.
L has decided to attend the high school her father teaches at. She’s interested in trying out for the swim team, taking a driver’s ed class, and maybe joining the social dance club outside of her studies. She chose not to do her last soccer rec team season so she could concentrate on supporting the YW activities in her calling since there are scheduling conflicts, and also to help out with Baby brother. They are each other’s best pals, and she is a huge help with holding him to give Dad and Mom a break.
Trailblazer
F visited the orthodontist for the first time and is so excited that braces are in his future haha! Not for another 6 months at least, to give his baby teeth time to fall out and less time in braces. He has one tooth that will likely need a surgical exposure and a chain to move it to the correct spot. Both sister L and Jer had to have this procedure, so maybe it’s all the kids’ destinies. F got to have a 3D scanner create a digital version of his mouth, and also got X-rays.
F won a contest in art class. “The winner gets something. It’s a taco that smells like cupcake!” He held up some kind of squishy, and just imagine the biggest smile you can on this kid. I put his winning picture of a natural landscape in pencil on the fridge.
F is such a big help in the mornings making lunches, feeding his lizard and preparing Lizard Salads, emptying the dishwasher, and more. He told his teacher that he’s learning to make a load of laundry and is so excited to clean, so she jokingly asked if he wanted to come help her next.
It’s been tough for him to decline invitations to play with friends after school or attend birthday parties. We’re trying to limit exposure for Baby Henry in cold/flu/RSV season, but F our social butterfly still needs an outlet. We changed our family rules to allow him to play video games daily with his brother and Dad, or watch movies even on school nights. He was really loving the game “Just Dance” with Lily and Mom, and talked it up to his friends at school who tried and enjoyed it because of him. F has also been leading us in Uno game nights, with Uno Attack and Uno No Mercy as the favorites.
F volunteers on Saturdays to grocery shop with Mom and Lily. That also means he gets to stop by at the library beforehand and check out new video games, movies, and books for the week. He’s such a big help at the store picking out the best fruit, pushing the cart, saying hi to his friends we bump into at Costco (haha this kid knows everyone!), and helping unload and put away groceries.
Wit
W lost his front tooth at school! He came home with it in a tiny box around his neck, and even though he forgot to put it under his pillow the Tooth Fairy left him a dollar so he was baffled. Jer said it must have been for another previous tooth.
This kid is so quick with a quip. The one that Jer witnessed was this exchange between the brothers…
I admit that I didn’t do the greatest job on W’s haircut but he would rather grow it out than let me fix it.
F: “Ok, priest” referring to W’s monk-like hair cut.
W: “Hey so how are things with (name of girl)?” Referring to F’s crush but also the current love triangle he is part of.
My jaw is on the floor.
Apparently W loves the winter and the snow, becoming more like his Mountain Man father every day. When we briefly had snow he wanted to be outside nonstop to build forts and throw snowballs. He hoped that it would snow all day.
He has become such a serious thinker.“Nonfiction only” is his motto at the library, though I sometimes see him enjoy a graphic novel. He told me recently that he’s lost interest in coloring because he prefers all the nuances of grayscale, including the shading and shadows.
He is usually up before his brother in the morning, and helps me take the dog out and feed her first thing. He makes time for Roxy and will log out of video games to “give Roxy loves” letting her lick his feet. She only does that with him (probably because he’s the only one who lets her), and they have that special bond.
When Jer comes home, W is the first to volunteer to give his Dad massages. He gives me kisses every day and I love that!!
Baby Henry
This kid has his own post! Here.
Love, Kat
