The mind of Shane, Anders' funnies, and Myann at camp

I know we talk about Shane a lot and the way his mind works, but really, maybe it is a first child thing, but he really blows us away.

Shane is not a diehard baseball player by any stretch, and we are waiting to see if he even wants to play after this year. Well, prior to his declining interest, I had already signed him up for the Gonzaga Baseball camp, and it is nonrefundable.  So when he told me that he did not want to go, the unfortunate response was, "Too bad. It is paid for and you are going."  He seems to be enjoying camp now that he is in it.  Though he said it is exhausting, and hot.  It has been 80 degrees, which is hot for here, but nothing compared to the Texas heat Brian and I grew up with.  Anyway, we were discussing his baseball playing and Shane said to Brian and I, "Why do you keep spending all this money on baseball and camps for me, it is not like I am going to play in college?" Seriously, what 6 year thinks about his baseball playing now having anything to do with college ball. 

Along the same lines, we were discussing him riding in a car seat.  He has really been pushing to sit in a booster, rather than his 5 point harness car seat. I told him that he was very special to me, and I wanted to keep him as safe as possible in the car and that meant a car seat. He then goes on to point out everyone he knows who uses a booster and then asks if their parents do not love them as much. Okay, not fair, but I explained that all parents have different fears and comforts and it did not mean they loved them any less if they let them ride in a booster, that just was not a fear they had.  Shane then responded, "Mom, you can't protect me by keeping me in a car seat forever. One day I will be a teenager and I will not fit in a car seat anymore." Hee, hee, little does he know that I will have to give up this battle long before he is a teenager. But what a wise statement, I can't protect him forever, but I am going to do the best I can for as long as I can.

Anders is not to be outdone, as he is proving to have quite the sense of humor and witty statements.  My little sweetie ran up to me before going to the store the other day and said, "I need a kiss and hug".  Of course the kiss includes grabbing my face and planting me with a big ol' kiss. Then he said, "And I will have fun with Dad while you are gone." I guess that comes from the times I tell him to have fun while I am gone or with the babysitter etc.  Brian said Anders promptly went to the toy box and pulled out a bunch of toys and proceeded to dump them in his lap.  Anders meant what he said about having fun with Dad.

Another Anders funny that is a tiny bit embarrassing for me is that when we were in Portland, Anders and I were doing the I love you more than game.  He said, "I love you from here to your bootie." My thought was, "ok, kind of odd." Then he clarified, "And you have a big giant bootie." Okay, ouch that hurt, though I guess it means he loves me a lot. Flash back to Shane telling me the same thing when I was pregnant with Anders. Way to give a pregnant lady a complex. 

Myann is in art camp this week and she is loving having something that is hers alone.  Shane is at baseball camp and Anders has school camp 2 days, and she loves that she has 5 full days of art camp. I thought it was going to be too much, but she is loving it.  She comes home and has to describe every project to me and enthusiastically at that. She also made a friend, and of course has attached herself to the teacher. Not sure why I was worried about her, she is loving it.  Grandparents, be on the look out for art projects in the mail. I told Myann that she was generating far too many for me to keep, so we would need to mail some out for other family members to enjoy.

One year ago today

Here we find ourselves at the end of another beach vacation, granted opposite coasts, but this was one year ago today.  We have really enjoyed ourselves, but for obvious reasons, it has been exceptionally hard for me.  I have found myself crying at night a little more than usual, just missing him and remembering what a great trip we had last year.

Always the hands-on Uncle Alex, taken 6/20/2010

For those who do not know, we had been planning that trip to Myrtle Beach for about 2 years. Honestly, I wanted to back out, because Brian could not take off work to go, and the thought of flying alone with 3 kids to the opposite end of the country did not sound like something I could do.  It was to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday.  It was April and the trip was planned for June.  I had flown to Dallas to spend a week in the hospital with Alex while he did chemo and to help take care of Lexi and Austin, and to give my mom and Danielle a little break from their hectic schedule. My kids were in Houston with my in-laws.  Sadly, I was whining about how miserable it would be to fly with 3 kids, while he sat in a hospital bed doing chemo.  Alex would not hear of me backing out and said we had to do this trip.  He told me to get to Dallas and then our two families would drive the rest of the way there, with he and Danielle helping me.  After some convincing, I agreed and we went on to have any amazing trip. The crazy long drive and the awesome week at the beach.  I am beyond thankful he talked me into it.  That trip will forever be one of the best.  Even my kids remember, because we have talked about it several times this week.  Shane said that it is so weird we are at the ocean, but it looks completely different. I had to explain the Pacific NW is quite a bit different of a coastline from the East Coast, and 2 different oceans of course.  Lots of other memories came up, and I loved that they still remembered so much of that trip and so much of Alex. I still miss him so much, probably more with each day, but wow we had an awesome last year with so many family trips.

Oregon Vacation - Seaside

The day after Shane got out of school, correction - we skipped the last day where they go for one hour because it was a snow make-up that I was not aware of when we planned our trip. So we elected Shane's last day to be Wednesday and we loaded the car and left town early Thursday morning.  The projected drive time is 7 hours, so I packed all of our food, hoping to make as few stops as possible.  By a miracle, our children were prefect angels the entire drive to Seaside and we made the entire trip with stops for gas and restroom breaks in just under 7 hours.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!  About 3 hours in I wanted to comment to Brian how smooth the trip was going, but I was so afraid to jinx us that I kept my mouth closed.  We enjoyed a peaceful ride with Shane having a Nintendo DS marathon in the far back and Myann and Anders eating from their lunchboxes and coloring.  It was not until we were 4 hours in and had stopped at a restroom that Anders asked for a movie.  I was shocked that they had not asked for movies up until that point.  We put in movies and they were content for the last 3 hours.

We arrived in Seaside and met the Prizeman family at the beach by their hotel.  The kids immediately ran towards the ocean and played in the sand.  When our house was ready, we headed a few block away and settled in. Kids enjoyed exploring the house and then we packed up for dinner.  Despite being beyond tired, they all did reasonably well at dinner. I was happy to get some seafood and then we tried out the local ice cream shop.

Day 2 we headed to Cannon Beach.  The drive up to the beach was gorgeous and took you on a road through lush trees and plants.  Then the beach was amazing with the large rocks covered with starfish and sea urchins. Shane's observation, "There is allergies growing everywhere."  Obviously he meant algae, but there were lots of allergies growing everywhere too. 

33 weeks

33 weeks - on our deck in Seaside, OR

Keeping track is so hard this time. Not positive that I am 33 weeks, but I think so. Still feeling good, really good actually. Indigestion is worse this pregnancy, but it is a blessing in disguise because it makes me eat less and make better choices.  Junk food in the evenings tends to set it off, so I know what I need to do to lessen the severity.  Quatro is on the move, a lot.  I see the whole belly move in waves at times.  I am trying to really appreciate and cherish these times, knowing it is the last time I will experience this craziness/miracle.  I am also enjoying all the extra attention the kids give the belly. Myann gives the belly kisses multiple times during the day, Shane is fond of hugging the belly, and Anders likes to pat my belly.

And for those who keep asking, still no baby names. Not a clue. I have liked a few, but Brian either refuses to discuss or shoots them down flat.  So we welcome any ideas. Still trying to incorporate a family name, just like we did with the other 3.  My focus has been mostly on girl names and I have not even spent more than 1 minute thinking of boy names, so we might be in big trouble if this is a boy.  This baby may end up being nameless for a while, seeing how I am normally indecisive and now I will have 2 days in the hospital to decide or not decide.

Myann "graduates"

Posing before ceremony

My ham who loves the camera now

Not wanting to be outdone by sister

Not happy, she missed rehearsals, and was a bit out of sorts

Saw me, so feeling more comfortable now

Reviewing her book of achievement made by her teacher

Myann with Mrs. Mary

Myann with Ms. Naomi - who was also Shane's teacher and we love her.

Myann has graduated from Pre-K1 and will be moving up to Pre-K3.  The graduation is more for all the kids graduating from preschool and going on to kindergarten, but unfortunately her December birthday means she will have to wait another year.  Instead, she will move up to the Pre-K class for older kids.  As much as she would love to start kindergarten, I think this extra year will be good for her. She has improved so much in just the past few months, but one year will give her such a good headstart. She went from randomly writing the letters in her name (often as Manny) to finally writing Myann in the correct order.  Honestly, her penmanship is better than Shane's, but she still needs help with recognizing her letters and numbers.

Dad and Shane conversation

I wanted to capture a discussion I had with Shane which I do not want to forget. This is an example of something Shane will throw at me weekly and I have already forgotten most of them already. I know they have happened but cannot recall all the details. Earlier this week after reading him books for bed he asked, “Dad, so infinity means something goes on and on and on forever right?” Dad, “Yes Shane.” Shane, “So then infinity cannot be a number.” (Stated as fact rather than a question). Dad, “Correct.” Shane, “So infinity will not be a number until the end of the World when God quits creating numbers right Dad?” (Again stated as fact). Dad stunned, “You nailed it Shane, now quit stalling and get your little butt in bed.”


As I mentioned this is an example of discussions we have weekly where it’s easy to forget he is only six. After time goes by I usually forget how his brain processed information at such and such age and my memory adds months or a year to his true age. If friends didn’t remind me of how he freaked them out with full sentences and thought concepts at pre-18 months, I would dismiss it as poor memory in my own mind. In this case he didn’t just memorize a definition, but he grasped the concept and thought it through to a conclusion. I tell people all the time, and I swear I am right, that the kid will soon pass me up and realize he’s smarter than I am. I am two years away from hearing, “Hey Dad, uhhh, nevermind. Hey, mom?”

Shane in case you read this as a teenager someday and try to hold it over me. Smarter and wiser are two completely different things. I have experiences, which include doing a lot of dumb things growing up and mistakes I continue to make, that have made me wiser, not necessarily smarter. I don’t care how smart you are, you won’t understand this concept until you have kids. That said, when referring to teenagers smart@#$% and wise@#$% are interchangeable.

Lady bug time

Partly because I wanted to see Anders' reaction and partly because it is just fun having 1500 lady bugs flying around, but I stopped at the store to pick up lady bugs for the kids.  Not wanting to waste 1500, we called the neighbors to come over and join in the fun.  Anders freaked a bit, but then relaxed and could even handle having one crawl on him for a second without screaming.

Baby Moon

Brian and I escaped for 48 hours to Cave B Inn at the Gorge in central Washington. It was perfect and just what we needed. Quiet, perfect weather, good adult food, and gorgeous scenery. We did not do much, outside of the hiking. We read our books and took long dinners and breakfasts overlooking the awesome view. The hike was a bit adventurous, we were dodging poison oak and looking out for the snakes we had been warned there were a lot of. In the end, we did not see a snake and seemed to have avoided the poison oak. Regardless is was enjoyable and made me feel like super pregnant lady, since it was 2 full hours of hiking. It should have been 3 hours, but we opted out of the steep descent to the river. Brian was not confident in his ability to get me back up to the top if I could not manage on my own, I think that was a crack on my 40 lb weight gain, but I let it go.

Our nice breakfast view each morning.

The Columbia River behind Brian

That is where we have to hike back up to. Last photo before we entered the poison oak and snake pit.

Taking a break on the way back up the hill.

Last dinner. Brian was more interested in the conversion going on next to us.

Evening hike, lead by the Inn's host. Seriously, we did not know where to turn and the dog would yelp and lead the way.

The Inn's host, Cuvee'. Brian was trying lure her into our room for the night with beef jerky.