With the lovely, warm weather and Kaleb anxious to try out his new pack, it was high time the DuRees did a hike.
We headed down the road to Swan Falls.
I loved the warm sunshine on my back, holding little hands, singing songs.
I loved Kaleb's discoveries: tiny shells, furry leaves, new rocks for his collection, a spider.
One part was steep and I asked Eliza if she would catch me if I fell. She thought about it for a minute and said, "No. But I would miss you!"
I don't think the landscape could be more different from Seattle.
Braydan wouldn't let me carry the girls. He said, "I'm training!" I don't want to know what he's training for now .
I had to keep reminding myself that it's winter and everything is dead. It has it's own kind of beauty though. I love the huge open blue skies, the meandering Snake river with the glorious sun reflecting off it.
I guess it's a good thing my kids have birthdays or this sad, little blog would be totally neglected.
Kaleb turned 6 last week! How lucky we are to have this special boy in our family. Just to give you a glimpse of his awesomeness, here's some of his birthday wish-list: (when I say some, I mean that it changed from day to day)
Needless to say, I left Braydan in charge of getting him presents this year.
Kaleb woke up at 4am on his birthday, whispering excitedly, "Is it time to wake up yet?" I tried not to sound grumpy when I replied, "go back to bed!"
I'm not sure if he did, but he didn't come back and get us until 7:30. By then we we ready to give him his 6 kisses, hugs, spanks, pinches, and tickles. He wanted German pancakes with strawberries and buttermilk syrup for breakfast. He was very disappointed that he still had to go to school. For weeks he came close to tears every time he thought about getting "the birthday pencil at the office." I guess at school you get a special pencil from the secretary, but you have to walk all the way there by yourself to get it. That wasn't an exciting prospect to Kaleb. However, he came home happily carrying his pencil without too much trauma.
He got to open presents in the morning and Braydan did good. I'm not sure a 6 year old needs a Marmot sleeping bag
and fancy backpacking backpack,
but Braydan reassured me that they would put them both to good use.
He also got beef jerkey (sticking with the camping theme), a cactus, (not sure how that fits),
headlamp, and cool camping utensils. Kaleb is opposite of Eliza with clothes. She is so excited when I get her anything. He was almost offended that I got him "boring" clothes.
We picked him up at school and surprised him by taking him out to lunch at Chick-fil-A. They got to play and then we went to the store so he could pick out a toy with money from Grandma. On the very first toy isle he saw these
and that's all he wanted. I made him walk down all the isles, look at legos and other toys, but he wasn't interested.
We picked up his friends Jace and Belma on the way home and they had a blast playing outside.
It was a beautiful day. At one point, I looked out the window and Belma and Jace were swinging and jumping on the trampoline,
but Kaleb was crawling on his hands and knees with his net, searching for bugs. He came in discouraged, "I looked for like 2 hours and I only found this dead rolly-polly bug!"
Braydan got home early and told him that he would do anything he wanted with him for an hour. He gave him lots of ideas: bike ride, legos, soccer, etc., but Kaleb wanted to clean the fish tank with him. He loves his fish! Any time he earns a little money, he wants to add to his collection.
Kaleb wanted "pepperoni pizza" for dinner and requested the Corsons to come over for cake and ice cream.
I stink at cakes (it's a fish if you can't tell)
They are too nice and got him a razor scooter! He was shocked as much as I was. He rides that thing all over the house now
At one point in the day he said, "my birthday wasn't as big as Lainie's." I could tell he was a little disappointed, but I reminded him that he didn't want a big friend birthday. I'm not sure what he envisioned, but by the end of the day he was tired and came crying to me, "I'm just sad cause I don't want my birthday to be over!"
He asked if he got to stay up later since he's 6 now. Braydan told him, "yes, you can stay up until 8:31." I'm pretty sure Kaleb hasn't learned about time yet in school because he responded with a big, "YES!!!"
Dear Kaleb! You are the cutest little boy. Last year was hard on you, but you are doing so much better in this "new Idaho State" as you like to call it.
It makes my heart happy to see you laughing and playing with new friends and learning so much at school. Miss De Marco picked you to represent the class in the character assembly.
She said, "Kaleb demonstrates the character trait of respect each day in kindergarten. His positive attitude and kind ways are truly remarkable. Kaleb is respectful to all around him. Thank you for all that you do, Kaleb! You are amazing!"
Kaleb started piano in January and is doing so well! I teach him a lesson every Thursday and we pretend like I'm someone else. He calls me Miss Jessica and he even pretends to pays me fake money for the lesson. It makes him giggle when I ask how his practice is going at home and other questions. The rest of the days, Braydan sits with him to practice. So far he loves it.
He loved his night skiing date with Braydan! I'll have to post more about it later.
Some more things about him:
His favorite show is Man vs. Wild. He wants to be a zoo keeper when he grows up. It makes him happy when he has friends to play with.
Belma, his favorite buddy
It makes him sad "when he has nothing to do." (those are dangerous words in this house!) He loves baby Jane and is the cutest with her. He loves to do crafts. He likes to fight with Eliza (and occasionally play with her). He loves to do tricks on the trampoline and just be outside exploring.
He loves to read and be read to. He loves playing games. His favorite is chutes and ladders.
Baby Jane! You are growing up so fast! Stop it. Right now. Please!
You've learned quite a bit in these past few months.
Like rolling over. Oh man, Mom is behind! You learned this at 4 months, back to front.
You hardly ever roll front to back. Of course, you don't get much of a chance to practice because some people (can't imagine who) are always picking you up.
Sitting in a highchair.
Just chillin'
And eating baby food!
Kaleb and Eliza were slightly excited when I brought home your new recliner. First they laid out bibs, spoons, and baby food all over the table. Then they asked every 5 minutes if it was time to wake you up. When I finally did, they fought over who got to feed you first. They compromised and took turns giving bites. You're very patient with their less than perfect spooning. They just keep shoveling it in, not realizing that most of it is coming back out.
Real food =Real Diapers. Nuff said.
The head wobble, a special talent.
This makes Kaleb and Eliza laugh till they cry!
Jumping. I knew you would learn to love it.
Found your toes.
My favorite: when you see me your whole face lights up and your body can't contain the excitement, so you wiggle and jump around.
Thumbs up
Baby Jane! We might just have a major crush on you!
Just have to add your stats: 15 lbs (29%), 25.5" (38.83%) HC 42.5 (50%)
Eliza is 4! I think she had a good birthday. When I asked her what she wanted she said, "balloons!"
Well, we had lots of balloons for her when she woke up. She also had a princess bike waiting at the bottom of the stairs (given to us from Belma).
She rode it around the house with Kaleb pushing her on the carpet parts while we made her crepes with strawberry sauce, her breakfast request.
It was my week to host playgroup and I thought it would be perfect for everyone to still come on Eliza's b-day so she could play with all her friends. Correction: it was crazy! She wanted pink cupcakes, like the book Pinkalicious, so I had to hurry and finish frosting them, clean up breakfast, get dressed, do Eliza's hair cute (essential on her birthday), and try and take care of Jane in between getting Kaleb off to school.
Friends came, kids ran around, Eliza got hurt (not sure what happened) and I found her up in her room alone. After some coaxing I got her to unlock her door and come back downstairs. As I carried her down, I realized that she would've been happy just playing dolls with me on her birthday. I vowed to give her that wish the next day.
She did love everyone singing to her, in an extremely shy sort of way :)
That night we took her out to dinner at Rumbi Grill and she loved having her own kids-meal with pop, a rare treat. I think she mostly just drank her pop and played with the chopsticks.
Then she got to pick out a present at Target with money from Grandma. I let her put lots of ideas in the cart, reminding her that she just got to buy one thing. When we were done perusing, we displayed them across the aisle and asked her to choose. To our shock, she bypassed the barbies and baby dolls and picked . . . . a little shopping cart.
The first time she used it, she filled it to overflowing with all her kitchen food and I, as the cashier, had to ring up about 100 items. I can see why some cashiers get carpal tunnel.
After dinner that night, we had cake and ice cream and I love our tradition (handed down from the Dyers) to make a wish for her. Kaleb wished that she would have fun at preschool. Braydan wished that she would make lots of new friends and love learning. I wished that she would see how beautiful she is and be confident and happy with who she is (something like that . . . i got a little teary).
On Thursday we got to celebrate again. I kept my promise to play dolls with her and she got her presents finally! I ordered most of her presents on Amazon and they shipped to Monroe! I was so sad when I found out and kept lamenting to Braydan that her birthday was ruined! But, it all worked out fine. She would've been perfectly happy with her balloons, pink gum and bike.
However, her princess CD is pretty awesome. The first time I turned it on. She laid on the floor and listened to every single song. I showed her how to skip songs, but she said "No Mom! I want to hear all of them!"
She listens to her CD many times a day and sings along. If I look at her or even give a hint of a smile, she stops singing. I have to be a spy sometimes :)
Dear Eliza,
Thank you for being my sweet daughter! You are so kind and loving to your family, especially to Jane. You want to hold and play with her all day.
You talk in a cute baby voice to her and your favorite is having Jane sit in your lap "backwards".
You love playing with Kaleb and especially playing dolls with me, when I will actually sit down and do it! You love to dress up pretty and get your hair done ("no buns Mom").
This is how you request it lately
You love cheese sticks, cereal (not oatmeal!), ranch dressing, gum, and all candies and desserts! You have an amazing imagination and you can entertain yourself for a long time (bless you for that)!
You like going to preschool. You still love to suck your fingers and hold your blankie when you're sad or tired.
You had your first day of primary today! You were brave getting up when they sang you the birthday song. You miss your friend Addie a lot. You love to jump and swing, which is why you got a swing set for your birthday too (it's covered in snow). You love to color pictures and watch movies. You can write your name.
You started piano and love it!
I'm amazed how fast you can learn. You love to cuddle with me to read books and take a nap (although I'm cutting your naps shorter)! You love to play duck duck goose, go fish, old maid, candyland--pretty much any game if we play with you. During scriptures every night, you ask me to "pet" you :) So, I take your hair out and play with your hair and you love it. You're an amazing little woman and I'm so blessed to have you in my life! We love you Eliza Sue!
This year has been a crazy, emotional roller coaster. It's been hard for me to blog, trying to put into words all the things we're going through. But, here's to a new blogging season! I guess a Christmas letter is a good place to start.
So like I was saying . . . this year has been challenging: selling our house, moving, having a baby, Braydan starting in a new office, Kaleb in kindergarten, and figuring out life in a new state. Even though my heart still aches for my friends and neighbors we left, life is finally starting to settle down. Kaleb's school routine gives us some structure and Jane is easing into her own schedule too. It's nice to have Braydan home more and the house is very nice and roomy. I really like Boise-- the mountains, the farms around, the fall was gorgeous! It's almost always warm enough for the kids to go out and play.
I love how pretty our neighborhood is and the park close by. I've loved being close to my cousin. I love that it's sunny most days and that Kaleb made a good friend, Belma (she's our Bosnian neighbor). I wish that for Eliza too, but she's gotten kinda shy.
She loves going to preschool, a co-op we started in Sept. She seems fine with all her preschool buddies, but no one plays with her like Addie. Those two were like peas in a pod. She talks about Addie every day and her and Kaleb ask to go back to WA a lot. I hate when they do this because it stirs up all sorts of emotions in me. Moving is just plain hard!
My cousin has been so kind and invited me into her playgroup. It's like I instantly made 5 friends. There's a fun book club once a month too. My neighbor and I started running in Oct. and we're supposed to do work out videos in the mornings at her house (it's hard to get up sometimes).
I get to volunteer at the school and it's fun to see Kaleb working at his little desk.
Miss DeMarco says she loves Kaleb and her class wouldn't be the same without him. It's still hard for me to watch him walk across the big field to school. Sometimes I have to pull over and soak it in. He seems too little to be going to school!
He and Jace (a boy we carpool with) crack each other up, which cracks me up. He says they play zombies at recess. His favorite "special" is computers. He is slowly learning to read. He and Eliza go through stacks and stacks of paper at home. They draw me all sorts of pictures. They love my closet and they've turned it into their personal fort, much to my dismay.
I didn't really want to start teaching piano again, but I couldn't say no to Carly. She's a sweetheart 12 year old that babysits for us almost every weekend. She brings a whole tote of crafts and fun things for the kids to do! They are spoiled!
Jane is still the easiest baby. She loves her jumperoo. She loves spitting and squealing really loud. She loves rolling over! One day I laid her on her back to play on the floor and the next thing I know she had rolled over and scooted to the Christmas tree and was eating one of the presents! She is so cute! We all can't get enough of her and fight over kissing and holding her.
Cooking and cleaning up after this crew occupies most of my days, but it's happy, fulfilling work. I love our Sundays together especially. We have our Sunday tradition (passed down from Grandma Blodgett) to have popcorn and smoothies. We love it and the kids get out games and we munch and play until it's time to call Grandma and Grandpa Barrett on the phone.
We've really been so blessed and I know I need to keep working hard and have more faith in what the Lord has in store of us here. I'm so grateful for all of you and hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
