Update

I was just replying to an email from my mom about jackets she has for Gracie and James and figure I should just copy and paste it since I've been doing such a terrible job of updating this blog.

Thanks Mom. James' jacket is starting to get a little small on him so he may be able to use Jonathan's old one. I just got two more of the bins I have up in Gracie's closet to store the boy clothes in. They fit great and I think they will be pretty useful. Gracie will be able to use a jacket for sure. Thanks so much. She is getting quite cute- very affectionate with all of us and saying "thank you" a lot. She qualifies for speech therapy but James doesn't. It should be an hour a week for her. Ryan (still getting used to the name) is doing pretty well. If he cries I usually can calm him down by holding him so that is nice. He is a pretty good baby but cries just enough to keep us humble. I think he will have pretty eyes. Ammon's family continues to be a huge help with Jonathan. Jonathan has finished the two first Singapore math books and has done a great job. He is very proud of himself. He enjoyed showing it off to Joseph. He has been showing a lot of interest in piano and I really need to get started with teaching him.... I am looking forward to my three hour "break" tomorrow when I'll drop James and Gracie off at the house of the lady in the ward. I am planning my errands so I can use each minute wisely. ;) I tried calling a few different times to reach Dad on Father's Day but wasn't able to get hold of him. I hope he had a nice one.

Love you,
Thanks,
Ruth

June Update

We had a baby three weeks ago. His name is Ryan Jacob. We enjoy having him although this getting up all night part is tough on me. Mostly just that I feel tired and less patient and occasionally emotional and overwhelmed during the day. My mom (Grandma D.) came out and helped babysit while I was in the hospital and helped in a million ways for the week after we came home. I went into labor the night of the 17th and decided not to wake her up to tell her because I knew she’d need all the energy she could get since she’d be watching the other kids. When she woke up she asked Mike (who had returned from the hospital) where I was not realizing that I had already had the baby. What a blessing it was to have her here helping, supporting and loving (meals, reading to kids, helping pack Jonathan’s lunches, even taking a nap with baby so I could sleep). It was nice just to have her around to keep me company since Michael has been so busy with school and work. The other children are adjusting fairly well in their own way. Gracie isn’t ready to give up her spot on my lap quite yet but is quite motherly with the little fellow and jibber jabbers in her a high pitched voice to him. James has been acting up a little more and had a little emotional breakdown with Grandma before we came back from the hospital repeating, “I only have one brother”, however, soon after bringing the new baby brother home he changed his mind and told us, “OK, we can keep my baby brother.” Phew, thank goodness we had his permission! He and Gracie especially like to hold him and Jonathan is helpful getting diapers for me and even pushed James on the swing the other day since I couldn’t. Jonathan likes to calculate how old baby Ryan will be whenever he is a certain age. He is adjusting the best out of all of us, I think. Michael was very supportive while I was in labor and taking a week off work to help out.

Jonathan continues to improve with his reading and math. Grandma D. taught him some piano while she was here and he really enjoyed that as well. He helps the kids around him at school. For Mother’s Day he made me a heart booklet saying sweet things like, “My mom is as pretty as a rainbow. My mom says the most important rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated”. My favorite was, “When I am at school my mom dazes in the sun”. He has started selling ink on eBay with Michael’s help and is enjoying that special job. The name he uses on eBay is Ink Boy.

James says he has a “flavor” instead of a fever. I had referred to taste buds and he thought I said “taste bugs.” He didn't like the idea of having bugs in him. We had a guy come and spray around the house on Friday because we’ve been getting ants in our kitchen. James told him all about where the ants were and how he and Jonathan would spray them with spray bottles. He told the guy a couple of times. “Now, member (his way of saying remember), it is my birthday in July and I will be four.” James has surprised us a couple of times with the details he remembers from a while back (who wore flip flops like his at the swimming pool months ago, an airplane logo he had seen months before, stories about Jesus making mud and healing a man’s eyes that he learned at church). He loves to ride his new bike with training wheels and a bell and tells people all about it, never forgetting to mention the bell.

Gracie loves to chase Jonathan and James around the house and tackle them with hugs. They try to get her to chase them and she happily obliges. She loves having Jonathan spin her around in Mike’s desk chair and could sit there for hours spinning if everyone were up for it. Her favorite song is Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree.