Sleeping

All the kids are sleeping now. All of them. It is very quiet. As much as I enjoy the kids, I still relish the quiet when they're sleeping. Abby went to bed around 7, and she chatted to herself for about 15 minutes before nodding off (I assume, since she's been quiet for the rest of the evening). The boys and I got ready for bed about 7:30 and calmly read stories in Sam's bed for awhile. Usually group storytime isn't so calm as the boys have a hard time sitting still for any length of time when they are together and prefer to run around, jump and touch each other. While they will sit still for indeterminate periods of time when I'm reading stories to them each alone, together is another story. I started using towels for storytime before naps (and bedtime when Jason's gone) so they each get a towel and have to sit on their towel (which I space a few feet apart from each other) while I read stories. It works pretty well (those preschool teachers know what they're doing) and has done much to alleviate the storytime craziness. So we read stories, prayed and sang our night night songs then the boys went to bed.

And I went to the master bedroom to do some work on the computer. Then Matthew started "Momomomomom!" He wanted to tell me that he wanted to go to the zoo. And the children's museum. And back to the zoo. And he asked if there are kangaroos at the zoo. And he kept throwing out random statements and questions until I finally told him to go to bed and left his room. So back to the master bedroom to work on the computer. Then Sam came in and said BaaBaa want to give me hugs and kisses. So he did, and then Sam told me that BaaBaa wanted to stay with me and Sam kept talking about something or another. I told him to go to bed and he kept talking. I just have a hard time getting the kids to bed when they just keep talking. Anyway, he finally left (and left BaaBaa with me with the instructions to bring him into Sam's room after 3 minutes) and I got back to work.

So after a few more interruptions, the kids finally fell asleep. Every night before Jason and I go to bed we sneak into Sam's room and shut off his lamp and I enjoy so much seeing him sleeping. He has all sorts of various positions for sleep, although his favorite seems to be on his back. It's not that I'm grateful he's finally asleep, there's just a surge of love and endearment that I feel when I look at him sleeping so peacefully. Matthew has started sleeping with the door to his room open, so I usually sneak into his room to peek at him too. The kids are just so cute when they're asleep. Matthew sleeps in various positions too, usually covered by or sleeping on top of books. I don't usually get to see Abby before bed as she sleeps with her door closed and I don't want o disturb the little princess. But I get to see her sleeping when I get her up sometimes when one of her naps is going too long. She seems to favor sleeping on her tummy with her legs tucked under her and butt up in the air. I remember the boys sleeping like that sometimes too.

Anyway, the kids are all sleeping and all is quiet.

Raking

Sam needed to redeem himself after the last pictures I posted of him, so here is a great one of my little four-year old sitting in a pile of pine needles after we had raked them up. Yep, that one's going in a frame. Anyway, about raking, Jason and the boys were outside raking when it came time to load up all the needles on a tarp to drag into the garage until their final destination-the dump. Jason pulled out the tarp and flattened it out, then the boys started throwing it by the arm-fulls onto the tarp. After a minutes or so of that, Jason got the idea that using wagons might be helpful for the boys so they both got a wagon and started loading it up with needles, pulling it over to the tarp and dumping it out.

Here's Sam and his wagon (with Abby helping???).

And then he finished off his load with a big effort-filled heave.

Matthew had a wagon that we got from Grandma Sue and he was making the most of it.

On a different note, today after church I brought Abby home for her nap while Jason stayed at the church with the boys so they could go to Sunday School. Anyway, it was around 10AM, which is normally Abby's nap time, so I took her upstairs, read a few books and put her down for her nap. I then went downstairs to clean up, look at the paper, and relax in my quiet and almost empty home. However, Abby did not want to go to sleep. I could hear her chatting over the monitor and she talked and talked and talked. She wasn't fussing, so I just let her go at it and she continued chatting for at least 30 minutes. I wondered if she was ever going to nap. Finally, it was all quiet. Then the Kirchhoff men got home.

So when noon came around I decided it was time to get Abby up in the hopes that we'd have some overlapping nap time in the afternoon.  If she sleeps beyond that, she generally won't take an afternoon nap and although that gives me a lot of quality time with her, mentally, I really need a break in the afternoon. As I was making lunch, Jason ran upstairs to get Abby. Moments later, he came down and said I had to come upstairs and see something. We gingerly entered Abby's room and saw her sitting, but leaning forward with her head propped up against the slats of the crib, sound asleep. After all her chatting, she had apparently fallen asleep sitting up. When Jason got her out of her crib she had a good sized crease on her forehead. At least she got a nap in.

I'm like you, Mommy!

Today after I put Abby down for her nap the boys and I were upstairs in the master bedroom as I was trying to get ready for the day. Sam first got out my tote of wrapping paper and gift bags and picked one out for cousin Josh while Matthew was playing on the bed, and then playing with curling ribbon. He was fully engrossed in the curling ribbon and left quite a mess of it in the bedroom, but at least I was able to get ready without interruption (yeah, in like 5 minutes).

And then there was an interruption. Sam called out to me, "Mommy, I'm like you." I was in the bathroom so I came out and there was Sam, without a shirt, but wearing my eye mask (which I use when I try to take a nap in our very bright bedroom) around his chest. Here's a look and there's Matthew enjoying the curling ribbon.

Big blue ball

Today the boys were outside playing with their two big blue bouncy balls. They were both straddling their balls and bouncing on them when Matthew's basically split into three pieces and he fell to the ground. He was unhurt and just a little surprised and nonchalantly got up and went about playing with other things. Sam, however, was devastated by the loss and threw his head back and cried about the broken ball. He repeatedly asked me if we could get another to replace it. After a few minutes of mourning, the boys picked up the pieces of broken ball (two of which were very large), covered their heads with them and began running around and chasing each other. Abby even discovered how much fun the broken rubber ball pieces were and exerted herself in trying to get one (i.e. she cried very loudly...see the picture below).

Later in the afternoon Matthew was preoccupied with his snack and Sam was playing with the remaining inflated ball. He looked so cute and "senior-photo-like" that I grabbed the camera and took his picture playing on the ball. Then I asked him to make funny faces and he offered me his sad face.

Then it was Matthew's turn for the ball. Sam was ok giving up the ball for Matthew to take pictures with, so he handed it over and Matthew began bouncing on it.

My last great idea was to have both the boys sit on the ball together (hoping it wouldn't break like the other one), with their backs together and faces toward me. Wouldn't that be cute? So I told Matthew I wanted him to make room for Sam to sit on the ball too. Well, that didn't work so well. Matthew picked up the ball, hugged it and ran around the yard screaming, "No, it's my turn!" He basically threw quite a loud fit and didn't stop until I told him that I thought I saw the neighbors staring out their windows at him, wondering at the noise. Matthew and Sam both really like the neighbors, so that stopped his crying, but he was certainly in no mood for sitting on the ball with Sam for a picture. Maybe another time.

Check up

Sam had his 4-year check up yesterday. The morning started off with him saying that he wasn't going to go. Then when it was time to go, Sam went into hiding. I got Abby and Matthew in the car and found him upstairs. He was not happy about the prospect of getting shots. He was quite distraught and crying on and off during the morning and on the way to the doctor's office. I had visions of him screaming, "I hate the shots! I hate the shots!" when it was time for his shots as I had heard a kid screaming that in another exam room on a different check up. However, once we got to the office, he calmed down mostly and was just quiet and anxious (chewing his fingernails/hands). He said he had to go poopy when we got there so I started off with him toward the bathroom and was stopped by the nurse who said he needed to give a "sample" so she gave me a little cup. Since Sam claimed he had to go poopy he sat on the toilet and I held the cup for him. I made the mistake of standing in front of him as he was a little overzealous in "aiming" into the cup and instead, sprayed me on my bright green shirt a few times. At least it didn't get in my face. But I had two very distinct lines of liquid across my shirt. And I mean lines, not drops. Fortunately, I was also wearing a white cardigan (one without buttons, unfortunately), but I was able to hold it across my shirt for awhile until the pee dried.

Sam has excellent vision and hearing, is growing like he should and seems to be doing pretty well for a 4 year old. When it was time for the shots, Sam got a little teary and his lower lipped quivered, but he "took it like a man" and afterward he said he was very brave and didn't even cry. He did have to take off his bandaids soon after the appointment as he associates "shots" and "pain" with the bandaid and not necessarily with the puncture from the shot. Someday he'll figure it out, but for now, taking off the bandaid produces a nice placebo effect.

Here are his stats:

Height: 41 1/2 in., 75th percentile
Weight: 35 3/4 lb., 50th percentile

The kids have been bathing together lately (I know we will get ridiculed for this by the children when they are older) and this is what they look like. Aren't they cute? And they are all looking at the camera! Wow.

And here is  our four year old with his new bike. He was shocked when he saw it and didn't really respond immediately. I wonder if he even thought it was his bike because it is so much bigger than his old bike. But he can ride it and he looks like such a big boy on it!

Sam got another Cars cake this year. He continues to be enamored by Cars. Although we don't own the movies and he's only seen Cars maybe two or three times (and Cars 2, once, unfortunately), he just loves Cars.

Although Matthew handled Sam's birthday pretty well for a two year old, he also had some unhappy moments. However, today when we got back from a quick trip to Iowa Sam was preoccupied with his new toys so Matthew got all the other toys to himself which he seemed happy about. 

Sam is 4!

Sam told me he didn't have to stand as tall to see himself in the mirror when we were in the bathroom yesterday. So, wow, our little boy is 4 years old (yesterday). And while he makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes, he can also be a sweet, polite, helpful little boy. So about the sweet and helpful part, sometimes he helps Matthew take his shoes off. He puts away his own clothes, helps make the bed, puts away some of the dishes, clears the table, is an excellent toy picker-upper (especially when motivated to do so before watching a cartoon)...and on and on and on!  He is also pretty organized as he was telling me on Thursday his plans for his birthday. He was going to get up, turn off his fan, change his clothes, have breakfast, play a little bit, go to the Y and tell everyone it's his birthday, come home, have snack, play, watch tv, have lunch, nap, then birthday! Yes, he really went over that entire list with Jason and I. Anyway, here is Sam.

September 21, 2008

 December 2008. Sam's love of everything TV began at an early age

March 2009

July 2009. His habit of chewing/sucking on a finger started at an early age (and continues today)

Christmas 2009

April 2010. Big brother.

September 2010

October 2010. Sam the walrus.

Spring 2011. Catching bubbles.

Summer 2011

December 2011. Big big brother.

Spring 2012. 

Come again for pictures of Sam's birthday party so you can see what a 4 year old looks like.