First Week of May

Life has been busy this week. I don't like the word busy nor do I like being busy. I dont want life to be busy because then the important things get forgotten or overlooked.

Monday was Eerika's last day of gymnastics for a bit. She liked it overall, though she had some tears over how bridges were hard and she would get distracted at times when she was supposed to be working "independently" at a station. However, she learned to do a good bridge and she could climb up the rope all the way to the ceiling.  It was interesting to notice that she had a bit of a hard time doing vault and figuring out how to use the spring board. We would just stay at the gym and watch her practice; sometimes it meant extra screen time for Saku, sometimes I had to entertain Aleksi a lot but overall, the boys did really well. We will see if Eerika is interested in starting up again after the summer.

Saku didn't have piano lessons on Tuesday so we went to park and had a good time enjoying the spring weather. Saku and Troy practiced soccer. Aleksi wandered around doing whatever perked his interest and Eerika used her awesome imagination and played on her own. 

Saku told me today that he had "a sweet life because he got two new video games (free games to the iPhone)" He gets 15 minutes of video game time each day after he has done his homework and piano practice. And then he talks about the planes and battles a lot. I need to learn to get interested in this type of stuff.

The other day he actually put an alarm at 5 am so he could play some storm raiders before school. So both kids were up, dressed and had brushed their teeth just little after 5 am. By 7 am, Eerika started to fall apart and we made a rule that this wouldn't be happening again. Now they have to wait until the sun comes up to get out of bed. It is nice though that they dont always automatically wake us up when they wake up in the morning. 

We went to have lunch with Saku for the first time this year.  It was fun to see him in his school environment. Eerika was excited to be at the school and Aleksi didn't get too frustrated that he couldn't get to the balls. It was a pretty hassle free experience so I will try to do it more next year. It is good to see Saku with his friends and see how the school staff knows him.

Yesterday Eerika had Ivy and Sophie over for a play date while Jess had a PT appointment. Then she went to Grace's birthday party at the park for a bit before heading over to Clara's house for a play date. What a blessing to have so many awesome friends. 

 Because of all this social stuff, Aleksi didn't get down for a nap at his usual time, so I texted Betsy, our neighbor, and she came to sit at our house for 20 minutes so I could pick up the older kids without waking Aleksi up. I am glad that I was bold enough to ask for help and I am so glad that she was able to help out. 

We are so blessed. That is the bottom line. Our house in Tucson doesnt have renters right now. It is occupying a lot of my mental space but I try not to stress over it. I have to keep telling myself that money is just money and this is why we save so we don't have to worry about money when things come up. 

Aleksi and Eerika

Eerika takes such a good care of Aleksi. Most of the time, she is willing to play with Aleksi to distract him when he is being needy and wants me to hold him while I need to do things such as make dinner.

On most mornings, she asks "can I get Aleksi when he wakes up?" and she loves to walk into his room and in a sweet voice talk to him.

She often offers him things like milk, tutti etc to appease him even when we don't really want him to have them. I think her favorite is "Aleksi wants a movie" in the car because she wants it just as much or even more but it makes it look better when she is taking care of his needs. 

She will often get down from dinner table when Aleksi wants to play with balls. We have to remind her to stay and finish her dinner.

Of course she gets frustrated when Aleksi comes and messes with her toys and there are plenty of times when she closes the door and Aleksi cries a sad cry outside.

However, the years between them and gender difference haven't affected their friendship. 

End of April

Past week was full of fun things. 

Saku didn't have school on Wednesday so I took him on a special one-on-one date to bowling and lunch. We had a babysitter come over, and Saku and I enjoyed two hours of being together. We bowled three games; I won two out of three but Saku ended up with the highest score of 112. He did bowl with bumpers. It was funny to see his "cool dude" attitude when he played. He didn't get upset when he missed bins, which was a huge thing. We enjoyed some pizza at Costco and few samples. 

I also gave in and let Saku play one game of car racing at the bowling alley. He was just so interested in it so we spent 50 cents on it. I didn't have two quarters so I had him take my dimes and nickels to the clerk to change into a quarter.  It took me a long time, and I still dont love it, to get used to talking to strangers or asking for information or help, so I am trying to have it be a natural thing for our kids.

Missie organized a girls' night for my birthday. It was so sweet of her to think of me in that way. We went out for dessert at Marigold Cafe and Bakery; it is a French restaurant that everyone seems to love. It was delicious. I had Creme Brulee and brought Raspberry Cheesecake home to share with Troy and the kids. Our party crew included Missie, Nicole, Jess, Saralyn, Kym and myself. Since it was a school night, there were some other scheduling conflicts but I truly felt so blessed to have these girls come and spend the night with me. We stayed half an hour past their closing time. I am looking forward to an excuse to go out there again.

Since things "have" to be equal around here, I ended up taking Eerika on a date on Friday during Saku's soccer practice. We went to Target during the day to choose an art project to do and chose some new nail polish colors. Once the boys left, we painted "Eerika" on wooden letters and painted our fingernails in matching color. Then we dressed in very similar outfits, wore a bun and headed out to get some frozen yogurt. A random woman came up to us and commented how she loved our matching outfits. We also saw Nicole and her family, which was fun. 

 Saku has gotten quite good at chess so it is a fun way for the boys to spend time together. Aleksi has mastered the art of climbing on the stools. Now he even wants to sit on them for meals. This morning I let him eat his fruit loops on it and when I went to get a

Easter Egg Hunt in Gilbert

I snapped some pictures at Trent and Regina's Easter Egg hunt. As always, Regina was such a gracious host with plenty of delicious food and each kid ended up with so many eggs. 

Since the kids are the youngest group with their cousins, with the exception of Cambree, it gets a bit tricky as the older kids get older. Right now Aleksi is the biggest hit as McKenna likes to take care of him. Eerika seems to notice it the most as she likes to tell us "no one is playing with me" and she really hopes that Cambree could be in Phoenix when we visit Grandma. 

My Hockey Husband

Troy is a hockey player. A very beginner one but he plays once a week in a beginner's league. Our friend Corban invited him to join and it has been great for him. I am proud of him for trying out something new and hard. 

We haven't been able to see him play yet because the games have been after 8 pm so far, but we are looking forward to cheering for our hockey star.

Saku's Third Lost Tooth

Saku has had a wiggly tooth for a while now. True to his personality, he wouldnt want to pull it out and I had no desire to go anyway near his tooth. Tonight as Saku wrestled/tickle battled with Troy the tooth ended up coming out.

Saku was a bit shocked. There were no tears but a definite mixed feelings moment as he was having a bit of bleeding. He also did not like the feeling of the big gap from the lost tooth. It seems like a huge gap. 

He has changed the place of his tooth several times in order to trick the tooth fairy. I pretended to go in and look for it. Saku said he wasn't fooled. Then he said he was missing the tooth and I mentioned that maybe Tooth Thief came along and just took the tooth. We looked for it for a minute or so and then he sneakily smile and said "oh now I remember where it is" BUT he wouldn't tell me.

He also asked me "if I lose all my teeth before you die. Can you tell me who really takes them?" I promised that when he becomes a parent, he will know the magic of Tooth Fairies.  He is on the fence about believing in these magical childhood characters.

Our kids

As I was singing to Eerika "Child's Prayer", and when I sang "Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray" and Eerika said "I really do feel it" with such happiness in her voice.

Aleksi says the word "ball" about 200 times a day. No joke! Anything that is circular shape is a ball. Satelite dishes, balloons, traffic lights.

Aleksi wants you to throw hoops with him. He will come and find you. Say "Ball" and when you respond that you will play with him. He will skip happily to the hoop, sit in front of it and expect you to sit there on the floor and play with him. It is actually a quite enjoyable game with a 17 month old. 

Saku is obsessed with storm raiders video game on the iPhone. He will talk about the battles and airplanes forever. Troy is good about engaging in these conversations. I need to work on caring about his interests more. As much as I dont like video games, it is a great incentive to get him out of bed and ready for school if we promise that he can play 5-15 minutes.

Saku finished reading the Harry Potter series the second time. He has surprised by his speed in running. He ran to the park, around the park while playing with friends and home the other day. 

I was working at the Y on Saturday due to the snow storm and Troy tried to call me. There is no reception by the treadmills so Troy couldnt get hold of me and was frustrated as he thought I had let my phone battery die. Eerika heard his frustration and said "what do you expect? she is working out."

Eerika also informed me that we will have five kids because she is praying for twins. And she informed me that she is praying in the morning too. She really wants a baby girl.