When I Grow Up

Ben takes a very realistic and cautious approach to the question: what do you want to be when you grow up? He usually answers something along the lines of "I'm not sure yet. We'll just have to wait and see."

Mitchell, however, is all over the place with that question. Lately though, he has set his sites quite high. He has decided that he would like to be an astronaut surgeon. Not a surgeon who only operates on astronauts, but an astronaut who also performs surgery in space. He'd also like to have a space dog to accompany him on his life-saving space missions.

Although this astronaut surgeon idea keeps coming back to him, he occasionally sees something that will change his mind for a day. A couple days ago, we had some men here cutting a tree down after the storm. Mitchell took one look at that truck and all the controls the man up in the bucket was using as he zoomed around in it with a saw on the end of a large pole and decided he might like to be a tree trimmer when he grows up.

He has also had garbage truck phases where he'd like to be the guy riding on the back of the truck and operating the "smusher." Our gardeners ride quite large mowing machines as well, which has gotten Mitchell thinking about a career riding a lawn mower.

At what point does the idea of being a garbage man stop sounding appealing to a young boy? When does riding a lawn mower become a chore and not exciting? Perhaps once he actually starts mowing and helping out more with garbage I suppose. But if trying things out is the way to eliminate them as an eventual career, how will we ever move on from astronaut surgeon?

One Thing I Will Miss

If you read my blog, you know by now that I am not one to get sentimental over my babies. I never wish for infancy to last longer. I never think or say "they are just growing up too fast!" I never wish for time to freeze and my children to stay little.

If anything, I tend to push progress. Although a pretty easy-going and laid-back person in general, I fear my kids are on to me and will take advantage of that if I am not purposeful about what I expect of them. Just yesterday, I almost had a tired Mitchell in tears (not a feat easily accomplished!) because of some homework he couldn't (I suspect wouldn't) do.

Should I defend my love for my small children here so that you don't think me a terrible person? Nah... You know me by now.

I do have to admit though, what got me going on this post was the sound coming from Jack's room early this morning as he woke from a long night's sleep. I just love it. Although a man of only a few real words, he sure has a lot to say! I love how he wakes up and just gets right to the talking. He lays in there for some time just babbling. It almost sounds like a real conversation that he is busy having with his stuffed dog and blankie, if only it were in English...

Experience with the other two boys who went through this adorable stage tells me that when his real words do replace his constant stream of babble, the talking to himself for long periods will come to an end and he will want/need someone to talk to. I love this phase.

Just Keep It Coming!

I am beginning to spend quite a small fortune at the grocery store every month. Every time I swipe my card, I think, "This just has to last us for a while now!" About 5 or 6 days later though, when I open my fridge and all that's left are a couple containers of left-overs, a zucchini, half an apple that someone gave up on before it was gone, and some condiments, I just can't believe we ate that much in a week! Unless Mitchell has resumed his habit of taking things out of the fridge and placing them in the garbage bin, the reality is that we actually are going through that much food! And my boys are all so young still! What am I going to do when I have three boys bigger than I am? Where will I keep that much food?

Today, as I tried to fill Mitchell's tummy, I got a glimpse of what it will one day be like to feed my ever-growing boys. We began with the usual: a whole sandwich, a yogurt, and an orange. When he finished that, he looked at me and said, "What else do you have for me, mom?" I then gave him a banana and a couple slices of cheese. "Can I have some more food, mom? I'm still hungry." Next, I poured him a bowl of cereal, thinking that would fill in the hollow spots. Nope. "What else can I have?" I finally gave him some strawberries and a mini bagel and told him he'd just have to wait for snack if he was still hungry after that. Well, he finished all that, washed it down with a full cup of milk, and didn't say anything else. I'm not sure if his tummy was finally full or if he just knew not to ask for more.

I really do feel like I spend so much of my time shopping for, preparing, serving, and cleaning up after meals! I basically have to just keep it coming and hope I'm not overfeeding them!

And as if the two big boys didn't eat enough already, this guy is working hard to catch up. Granted he is trying to gain weight and I wouldn't mind loosing some, but we often eat the exact same amount at meal time! Gotta love that jam face...

Fun With Dick and Jane

My biggest boy seems to get noticeable smarter every day. Not knowing many (or any, for that matter) kids older than Ben, I don't have anyone to compare him to, but I am pretty impressed with him.

One area he has just improved remarkably in is his reading ability. Although I think he took to it rather quickly, it still seems like not long ago we were struggling together through the simplest of books; he can now read completely on his own and will even read to his little brothers.

Part of his daily homework (from me, not from school) is to read a few chapters from a non-school related book. With his increasing ability to read quickly and comprehend at the same time, plus the promise of some sort of small reward for finishing a book, he is reading a lot now. I have him read to me while I make dinner. He reads to his brothers while he is playing "teacher" and they are the "students." He cracks up when something funny happens in the story and always chooses to read one more chapter if something exciting is left unresolved from the previous one.

For him, it is an issue of confidence: the more he reads, the better he gets, the better he knows he is, the less supervision he needs from me, the faster he can read/comprehend, the more interesting books he can read, the more exciting and fulfilling it becomes. He's blowing through all the chapter books I've gotten him.

His reward for finishing his last book, my old, battered Fun With Dick and Jane, was to go see Rango at the theater. I love taking Ben to the movies. It is just so rewarding: he literally sits on the edge of his seat, laughing and asking questions and repeating funny lines. While it was not my favorite movie, he loved it. "Mom, this movie is so perfect for me! It has all my favorites: lizards, snakes, bats, hawks... all it needs is a dragon!"

I realize that all kids learn how to read, and all parents, past and present, are impressed and proud of their own children's progress, but I just can't help thinking he is something special! Keep up the good work, my biggest!

Watch Out, World!

This post is a bit out-dated as this major milestone was passed a few weeks ago at about 7 months, but as I have nothing more important to write about today, I dedicate this one to you, Baby Jack!  Your funny bottom wiggling, push-ups, slithering, and rolling has finally all paid off!  All your hard work has produced one of the fastest crawls I have ever seen!  Ben and Mitchell crawled a bit earlier than you, but you have them beat in speed at this age!  

He really is a speedy little guy.  He no longer is content to be left alone in a room, but will crawl with all his might as soon as the action starts moving to another place.  The big boys can no longer just move their game to a slightly different location to escape his babyish pestering.  He moves when they do.  I have honestly never before used a baby gate in any of my houses for either of my other boys, but this guy can move so quickly, I felt it necessary to protect him in this way.  

I sometimes leave the room to get something from another room, and when I turn around to go back, there he is, slap slap slapping the floor, furiously trying to keep up and doing a fairly decent job at it!

Already, he is not satisfied with his new skill.  It is not enough to be mobile.  He thinks he can walk and tries to prove it every time he pulls himself to standing position, then turns around and lets go, crashing down each time.  I guess all that chub makes a pretty good cushion for such instances!

Good work, little guy.  We're all watching you, every step of the way!

When I Grow Up To Be A Man

Mitchell has a thought stuck in his head that he often brings up and wants reassurance about.  He is concerned about becoming a man.  It began with, "Mom, will I be a man?"  I assured him that he was, thinking he was excited about the idea, but his next question suprised me - "Do I have to be a man?"  Over the last week or so, he has been loaded with questions about "being a man" and he's just not sure it sounds like what he wants to be.  Some more of his questions have been "Why do I have to be a man?" and "What is a man?" I clearly have not made it sound like a good idea - this turning into a man business because after these sorts of questions, he makes statements such as "I don't want to be a man" and "I don't want to be a man, I just want to be Mitchell."  

I have been unable to figure out what his thinking is on this whole issue and what he actually thinks "being a man" means until he finally asked this question: "Can I turn into Mitchell again later?"  Ahhh...I think he believes that a "man" is something he will magically turn into, completely changing into something else like a dog or an ogre or a dinosaur.  Now that I have an idea where his apprehension is coming from, I can figure out better answers to his questions and more effective ways of painting a more positive picture for him.  

Because of all this "man" talk (he is talking to me about this instead of Matt because he has been out of town during this), I have had a song running through my head quite a bit.  I even sing it to the boys and while they only understand a little of the lyrics, they love it anyways because of the title and chorus:

When I grow up to be a man

Will I dig the same things that turned me on as a kid?

Will I look back and say that I wish I hadn't done what I did?

Will I joke around and still dig those sounds

When I grow up to be a man?

Will I look for the same things in a woman that I dig in a girl?

Will I settle down fast or will I first want to travel the world?

Now I'm young and free, but how will it be

When I grow up to be a man?

Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square?

When they're out having fun yeah, will I still want to have my share?

Will I love my wife the rest of my life

When I grow up to be a man?

What will I be when I grow up to be a man?

Won't last forever.

It's kind of sad

Won't last forever

It's kind of sad

Won't last forever.

-Beach Boys, "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)"

Oh, Mitchell, you have so much ahead of you!  Most of this song doesn't yet apply to you, but it will!  You will grow into a man, but still stay Mitchell and I can't wait to see how it all turns out!  You have a wonderful, strong, and confident daddy to guide you along the way and make the process exciting and meaningful.  "Becoming a man" might be scary at times, but Daddy will be there to show you how to do it!  Cheer up!