Holy Crap. My precious little boy is a four year old now. How did this happen? Next year he'll be in kindergarten. I can't believe it. I know I have a just turned 6 month old at home, but sometimes Seth still feels like my baby boy. I still baby him sometimes when Jacob naps, I'll pull him on my lap and hold him and tell him stories, and I still sing him to sleep at night. I've always had a really strong relationship with my Sethie because his imagination and the way he plays is like looking back on my own childhood. Seth is always inventing exciting stories in his head. Sometimes it's frustrating when I'm trying to get an accurate account of things, like when he has a bruise on his leg, and I ask him how he got it, he will usually tell me a fantastic story about how he got in a fight with a monster. Very creative, but not exactly accurate. Then I remember the stories I made up in my head as a kid about being a gifted cook who just had to make pies out of my dads glue and shampoo or world hunger would continue to plague the earth. Recently Scott and I were looking out the window in the backyard to see Seth talking to and dancing at a bush in the backyard. At first I thought he'd lost it, but then I remembered the ol' faithful tree that grew in my elementary school playground that was my friend who I talked to. Anyway, even Scott admits that Seth has a lot of 'de Hoyos' in him, and even though there is definitely some 'Itri' in there too, the 'de Hoyos' seems to dominate as far as personality quirks go. He's okay with it though, because Crystal acts a lot more like him than she does me, and so he can relate to her quirks extremely well. Who knew the girl would end up like the dad and the boy would be the mom? Ha.
Anyway, Seth was really excited to celebrate his birthday this year. He got to celebrate at the place of his choice, Chuck-E-Cheese's. Normally I avoid this place like the plague, but for my birthday boy, anything. We met up with my parents and siblings who also wanted to celebrate with him.
Here is my brother and sister teaching him how to shoot aliens:
Crystal always gets a kick out of watching Seth getting excited.
Here she is looking amused. Oh yes, we also got her glasses a couple of days ago. I caught her squinting at picture at the wall so we took her to the eye doctor and sure enough, she's near sighted, just like me and Daddy.
My parents are all about helping my kids get as many tickets for scoring high scores at the games as possible. Here they are cheating at the whack-a-mole game to help Crystal get some extra tickets. Yup. Those are my parents:
Seth also got a lot of tickets for doing well at some games. He was really proud of this particular strip of tickets because he earned them without help:
One of the rides/activities, prints out a little black and white picture of you sitting next to a figure of Chuck-E-Cheese while sitting in a car. For some reason Seth thought this concept was fantastic, and totally worth using a token on:
The funny thing is that as thrilled as he was to take this little picture next to the figure of Chuck-E-Cheese, Seth was actually terrified of the actual Chuck-E-Cheese mascot. Every time Mr. Chuck-E tried to approach Seth, he would run away in terror. He told me that he didn't trust him, that he was POSITIVE that it was just a man in a mask who was trying to trick him. He kept saying "I don't like that guy mommy. He's just a weird guy in a mask." Fair enough.
After about an hour of hoards of children fighting over video games, we all went to lunch at the Texas Roadhouse, then we went back to my parents house to sing happy birthday and open presents.
Making a wish. (The wish is always the same wish. He always wishes he can fly.)
Present time!
These Hulk gloves and also the Hammer of Thor were his favorite gifts.
Yes, I had to post at least two pics of my youngest son, who as you can see enjoyed Seths's presents as well.
At the end of the day, Seth said he had a great birthday. As a bonus, he got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room, which he is constantly asking to do every night, and we always say no, but on his birthday, he got to sleep in a little mattress on the floor next to our bed, and he loved it.
I love my little Superhero. I love the songs he invents, and the soundtrack he invents to his life. (He is always humming some made up, intense tune to his actions throughout the day. It's hilarious). I love hes huge dimples and his sparkling blue eyes, and I love that he's such a momma's boy right now. I love that when he has a nightmare he screams for me to come and save him. I know that's a little selfish, but I love being the center of his life, I love it.
The older my kids get the more bittersweet I get about their aging. I love my little babies, and even though I'm super excited for their birthdays and getting older, I get sad when I think that they won't always be my little babies, and that they will be teenagers who won't want to hold my hand anymore, or tell me every thought in their head. It was sad for me to see Crystal go into kindergarten because she was no longer a 'baby' anymore, and when she goes into Jr. High, it will be harder for me, because then she won't be a little kid anymore...she be an adolescent. (cue scary music). Now seeing Seth getting bigger and only a year shy of entering kindergarten himself, it all seems like it's going way too fast!! Ahh!
Truly though, I find joy in their joy, and happiness in their happiness, and I know that the only way for them to experience true joy is for them to grow and progress, so I know that when they grow older I will enjoy it as well.
For 5 and a half years of Crystal's life, there were two things she swore she would never ever do no matter what.
1) Cut her hair
2) Pierce her ears
Scott and I had just accepted that there was no way we could get her to do either, because for the longest time she loved her long hair more than anything, and the terror of having holes poked into her ears was just unthinkable. Then, randomly, a week after her kindergarten graduation, she changed her mind.
She figured it was time to look like a "big girl" and told us she wanted a haircut with her ears pierced. Scott and I agreed since it was a great opportunity to celebrate her graduating from kindergarten and becoming older.
To tell you the truth I think I was more anxious than she was when it came to the haircut. Even though I didn't show it, something made me a little sad about seeing her long girly locks get cut off. In part it was because she's growing up, and I want her to stay little forever, but also because I actually love doing her hair. I love putting braids in it and trying out hairstyles on her. However, I was 100% supportive, because it's what she wanted, and she's a cute girl so I knew it would look good on her. All I'm saying is that I miss playing with her hair.
Like I said, I knew she'd look beautiful no matter what.
So next was to get the ears pierced. She was a little nervous, but she was willing to be brave. I was going to post a video, to show that she didn't cry, but some people might still find it a little sadistic to show a little girl getting her ears pierced. Basically she made a shocked face with no sound, but as soon as she saw herself and her ears in the mirror, she smiled and was happy. She was so glad she did it. I was also six years old when I got my ears pierced, and I remember the day even now. I felt like I could relate to her.
She chose to have her birthstone as her earrings. Blue topaz crystals.
It was a really fun day for everyone, and Crystal loved having a day dedicated just to her. She showed off her new look to her friends in church the next day and her best friend couldn't stop asking her about what it was like to get her ears pierced. I think Crystal felt like a movie star.
I'm always busy these days, which I guess is a good thing, but it leaves little time for web surfing and blogging. I'm going to try my best to talk a little bit about what we've been up to this month.
1) Scott owns his own business now
Scott still works a lot even though tax season is over. He is in the process of opening up his own tax accounting firm. It's kept him insanely busy, but we're hoping that the as busy as he is right now, it will pay off in a couple of years. I'm really proud of him for all his hard work in supporting his family, and we would have never guessed that he would have had the opportunity to own his own firm at 30 years old. Hopefully this works out.... It's kind of a risk, but also a great opportunity if it's successful.
2) Crystal was in her kindergarten talent show
Crystal's class had a kindergarten talent show where all the kids were able to share a talent. The kids and the talents shared were all super cute. One little boy blew a bubble with bubble gum, another little girl did a cartwheel, another little boy built a tower out of legos, another little girl could hula hoop for a minute straight, etc. Crystal chose drawing as her talent because she loves to draw and spends all day at home drawing pictures and practicing her drawing skills. So for her talent, she presented some of her artwork and explained how she drew the pictures, then she demonstrated to the class how to draw a flower.
I was so proud of her for being brave enough to show off her talent in front of her whole class. She was a little nervous, but did a fantastic job.
3) Mother's day
As always, I enjoyed mother's day. It's nice to sit back and reflect on what it is to hold somebody's life in your hands, and it also intimidates me when I think about how much their futures, their self esteem, their habits, and their mental health depends on me. Motherhood is both wonderful, and overwhelming, and intimidating, even though I have three now, I still feel like I'm learning as I go. I stay up late in bed sometimes thinking about each kid, and whether or not I'm giving them all the love and attention they deserve. Scott always tells me I worry too much because of how much sleep I loose thinking about what I could have done better to be a better mom to them. If I have a day where I'm frustrated with one of them and snap at them, I go to bed feeling guilty until I can apologize to them. I know Mother's day is a day to be appreciated for the work I do, but for me it's also a day to keep myself in check, and for ME to appreciate these three beautiful, perfect little people who make my life wonderful. Also, I got flowers to make my home happy. Who doesn't love flowers?
I love Sunflowers. If it were up to me I would always have fresh sunflowers in my home.
Crystal also brought me a gift that she made me in her kindergarten class. She brought me these lavender smelling bath salts:
and, my favorite, a hand made card:
She drew her and I together on the cover
"To Mom. I love you. I think you are the best mom ever. I will always hold you in my heart. I love you more than anyone in the whole world. I will always love you."
THAT is why I feel like the most blessed and luckiest woman alive. To have my child write me notes like that and mean what they say.
Seth also decided to draw me a picture for Mothers Day, and so he drew me this dinosaur:
He was so proud of himself because he thought to glue pencil and crayon shavings on top of the dinosaur to decorate it. The best part of it was seeing how proud he was of his artwork. He was so excited to show it to me.
Jake gave me a gift too. His perfect smile!
It was a great Mother's Day.
The last thing that was important for us this month is that
4) Crystal Graduated Kindergarten!!!
For her graduation she had a kindergarten Hawaiian luau party with the class and all the parents. It was so great to see her perform, she was so cute singing and dancing with her class. She was so excited to wear her Hawaiian looking clothes for the party.
Here she is, sitting with her class waiting for the program to start so she can start singing:
Singing the itsy bitsy spider
My favorite was her classes dance number to the beach boys. Here is a short clip of all her cute little dance:
My petite little pixie is SO darn cute!!! I love her so much! Cutest dance ever!
Crystal is really sad that she had to say goodbye to her teacher, Miss Johnson. Here she is in a picture with her so that she can always remember her:
Here is Crystal with her best friend Taylor. Taylor lives down the street and since they've been in kindergarten together they play at each others houses and find each other as quickly as possible during church activities so they can play. Sometimes they get in some pretty silly fights, but they always end up friends again. Taylor didn't want to smile for the picture because she was too embarrassed to smile.
Here is Crystals other good friend, Daniella. When Crystal first started kindergarten she was terrified of Me and Scott leaving her alone in the hands of people she didn't know. She was terrified that I'd forget to pick her up when school was over, and because of it she would have a lot of anxiety when I would try to drop her off. Daniella helped Crystal feel better. She would hold Crystals hand and tell her it was okay and walk her into the classroom with the rest of the class. Crystal was thankful for a friend like Daniella to help her get over that first week and a half of school when everything was so intimidating.
Last but not least, we have Crystals "boy who's a friend" David. The story of David is hilarious. He and Crystal first spoke on picture day during the first month of School. Crystal showed up in ringlets, a silky shirt and a cute little knit vest and when David saw her he approached her and said "You look so Beautiful!!" She responded with "I don't know you." and turned the other way. David was persistent over the next couple of weeks though. He would always try to sit by her, talk to her, and I would always see him say hello and goodbye to her every time I dropped her off or picked her up from school. One time after he said goodbye to her after school and she got in the car, she complained to me that he always followed her around and talked to her and that sometimes it was annoying. I told her it was important to be nice to everyone. Over the school year they became friends. This David kid was a crack up. He told Crystal that at his birthday party, Crystal needed to come dressed up as a princess and he would make all the other girls dress up like pigs. I don't know where a kid that age comes up with that stuff. The funny thing is that when I was Crystals age I hung out with a little boy too who everyone called my boyfriend, and ironically enough, his name was also David. Anyway, here they are together, and he's showing off his missing tooth in the pic:
Here they are chatting. He is telling Crystal the story of how his dad pulled out his tooth with a piece of tissue paper, and Crystal just can't believe how crazy that is.
It was a great day. Crystal is pretty sad to leave kindergarten though. When we were in the car going home, she started to cry a little bit because she was going to miss her teacher and her friends, and because first grade just seems too scary! I did my best to tell her that she would love first grade just like kindergarten and that she'd see a lot of the same kids.
Words cannot describe how I feel about my beautiful little girl. The very second I heard her little cry on the day she was born changed my life forever. She is my princess, my friend, and my angel. Scott and I were so proud that this weekend we took her to the store and bought some pretty hair bows some other things and gave her a "big girl makeover". Stay tuned for those pics in the next post.
