It's hard for me to believe that it's time again to sit down at my computer and catch you up on our 2007. It really seems to be true, that the older you get the faster time seems to move.
To begin, the kids are great. They are fun, gaining independence, and still laugh at my jokes. What more can a person ask for?
Bobby is now ten. He continues to grow at warp speed. Last year I reported how he was wearing my shoes, socks and sweatshirts. Well, those days are over. Bob and I are slowly going broke trying to keep him in clothes and shoes that fit him. Unfortunately, his sizes seem to change once a month. His feet are only three sizes smaller than Bob's if you can imagine, and he's only a few inches shorter than me. Yikes!
He began fourth grade this year and it's been a tough transition for him. Not only did he have to change schools, but he's experienced his first tough teacher. We've all had them, but it sure is hard as a mother to watch your child deal with that. He has adjusted beautifully, though, and is really making the best of the year.
This fall he had an awesome opportunity to play on a travel soccer team. Bob and a family friend co-coached the boys. The kids on this team were amazing and they ended the season undefeated.
Soccer is his first love, but he also plays basketball in the winter. He is currently playing on an Optimist league which he really enjoys too. The same kids seem to rotate throught the different sports, so it has been really fun to watch how they have learned to play with each other over the past couple of years. I find that I have to watch myself from turning into "that mom" at his games. They just get so exciting that I can hardly sit in my chair.
Bob and I now walk the fine line of being an embarassment to Bobby. I asked him last week if I could come to school and have lunch with him and he got the most pained expression on his face. He's a sweet kid and would hate to hurt my feelings, so I asked him if he would be a big dork if his mom came to lunch. "Totally" was the reply I received. The other day he and I were upstairs together when he asked me, with a smile on his face and an incredulous voice, why I had married Dad. The question was well placed, you see, because he and I were currently listening to Bob belt out an old Bon Jovi song downstairs....at the top of his voice...offkey. It made me stop and pause a minute...
Bobby is sneaky funny. He's doesn't perform for laughs like Carter does, but he slips in very dry wit when it is totally unexpected. The other night we had gone to a favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. We were chatting and eating when out of the blue he nudges Carter, and in his best British accent, says to him, "would you do me the honor of taking a sip?" He had put two straws in his drink and bent the to straws to make it so they could drink it together. His favorite joke, to tell is the following: Your mama's so fat that she sat on a rainbow and skittles popped out! Sadly, he usually tells Carter these jokes. I have reminded him, with a "my butt's not that big!" screechy voice, that Carter has the same mother as he does. He just smiles and nods.
Bobby and Carter could not be any more different. Bobby is very much a "typical" first child. He's organized, neat and would iron his underwear if I let him. Carter, who is now eight and a second grader, is wild, unpredictable and full of joy and orneriness. Vacations and holidays about send him over the edge. He looks forward to them with unabashed anticipation and is crushed when they are over.
A favorite pasttime for him is antagonizing Bobby. Carter, knowing this, wears Bobby's socks and underwear at every opportunity. Neither fit him, mind you, but it gets such a "sweet" (Carter's word) reaction out of Bobby that it's worth it. Besides it keeps Carter from having to actually look for his own. The other morning Carter walked out of the bathroom after taking his shower with the most ornery look in his eye. He strutted, with his chest jutting forward, into the bedroom that he and Bobby share. Carter, you see, had put on a pair of Bobby's underwear, which were huge and hung almost to his knees. He was delighted when he got the anticipated response of, "Carter, you idiot, those are my underwear! You don't wear another man's underwear!" I could hear his delighted giggle clear through the house.
Anyway, he is loving second grade. He has a great teacher who is warm and fuzzy and sweet. Carter loves her. He is doing very well. It seems as if he developed Bob's math brain, for which I'm thankful.
He also loves playing in all the snow we've gotten. He is my only child that can go outside and play for hours in the cold and be totally oblivious to the temperature. He is totally in his element when outside.
All the kids have begun music lessons. Bobby does it grudgingly, for me. I have told him once he has the basics he's off the hook, but the other two really enjoy them. Carter practices and practices and has become pretty good at both the guitar and piano. He wears his Led Zeppelin shirt with pride and can rock out some songs on the electric guitar. We have developed quite an array of musical equipment this year. We have had the piano for years, but we added an acoustic and electric guitar to the mix. Carter is asking for a drum-set from Santa. I'm wondering if Santa is really that crazy? If so, I would appreciate if he would leave this mama some Prozac for her nerves.
Carter too loves basketball. He loves it even more that his dad has coached him every season. What he's not so thrilled about is the fact that his little sister will be on his winter team.
Carter and Josah have fine-tuned their love hate relationship over the past year. They constantly pick at one another and tease each other ruthlessly. I was encouraged and frankly shocked then, by a recent occurrence. Much to Carter's chagrin he and Josah's classrooms are next to each other at school. They go to lunch together and even share one recess, even though Josah is a Kindergartener. This has given Carter's friends ample opportunity to get to know Jo. One day after I had picked them up from school, Carter remarked that his friend had called Josah a "weirdo". I steeled myself for the knock at Josah's character that was sure to come, but instead he nonchalantly reported that he had told his friend, "Dude, you don't make fun of someone's family no matter how weird they are!" Ahh, brotherly love.
Let's now move on to the word "dude". Little did I know that having sons automatically qualifies one to become a dude. I often look over both shoulders when talking to the boys to see what "dude" they are addressing. Often I am said "dude" and have now come to respond to the name. It's just easier that way. Otherwise there is a lot of eye rolling and huffy breaths.
Speaking of huffy breaths...Bob and I have a daughter and her name is Josah. Josah is the queen of huffy breaths. As I mentioned earlier, Josah started Kindergarten this year. She has learned many things in Kindergarten. One is the placing of both hands on her hips with a fancy "oh no you didn't" head shake. This is the response I often get when she is asked to make her bed, brush her teeth, put on her shoes, etc. You get the picture. Another favorite is the brazen answer of "NO" I receive when asking her if she did, in fact, brush her teeth, make her bed, etc. This is followed by the "what are you going to do about it" look. Together these are a winning pair. For those of you who have read the Junie B book series; we live with Junie.
Truly, though, we have great fun with Jo. She does get in these moods, (heaven help us in ten years), but mostly she is funny and sweet. She also has a very developed dry sense of humor that keeps Bob and I laughing. She has already learned to read and is blowing through the curriculum for Kindergarten. This is probably our problem; she's smarter than us.
She too, is tall and lanky and is built like a gymnast. She flies across the monkey bars and back with ease, does more pull-ups than either of the boys can, and often beats them in foot races. She is spirited, independent, smart, and beautiful, and quickly giving me gray hairs, but Bob and I wouldn't trade her for the world and love her deeply.
Bob has again changed positions at Eaton Corporation. He is now the Operations Manager. I am so proud of him. He is also going back to school in the fall to get his MBA from Creighton. He is excited to be a student again and looks forward to the challenge school will bring. In addition to all of the above, he has coached almost every sport for one child or another this year. The kids love his presence and sharing their cool dad with their friends. The kids are truly blessed with an excellent father.
I am still attending UNMC nursing school. I just finished finals this week and am thrilled with the wonderful feeling that comes with being done with a semester of work. I had rotations in OB, Pediatrics and Oncology and will begin Geriatrics, Community Health and Psych in January. Two more semesters to go. I think I can...I think I can...
All in all we have had a wonderful, blessed year. I hope that your families have been blessed as well. We feel so fortunate to have such kind, wonderful people surrounding us. Our family wishes you all the merriest of holidays and a safe and healthy 2008!
