Jaden

one thing is certain about jaden: he has a cyclical personality. for weeks he'll be super nice and sweet and then...not so much. (maybe it's normal but we really notice it in him).
and some weeks we REALLY. really. ReAlLy. really like him.
of course we always LOVE him but sometimes it's just so easy.

for example(s):

to kick-off this holiday season, I asked the boys to go through their toys and collect some that they would be willing to give to children who don't have nice toys like them. when they called me in to see their pile, it looked like a small toy junkyard: three-wheeled cars, bug catchers with no lids, guys with missing appendages, etc.
I say, "okay, so when someone opens this up, do you think they're going to be so excited to see what they got?"
jaden hangs his head and then runs out of the room calling, "I'll be right back."
he returns with his Scooby Doo video game (the kind that plugs into the TV) and says that he thinks "someone would really enjoy THIS! and since I got Pac Man for my birthday, I'd like to give this away."
YES! that's the spirit my boy!!
and beckam finally contributed some nice race cars after I vetoed many of jaden's toys that he was trying to "get rid of." I added some things and then shipped it off to grandma kippy--along with all the loot the candy fairy got.

last night, as we were reading The Polar Express, I asked Jaden what he would ask for if he were picked to get the first gift of christmas. his response:
"I would ask for enough toys to give to all the children who don't have any."

then tonight, we had the sister missionaries over for dinner. jaden comes into the living room hiding something under his special blanket. he unveiled his advent calendar (unopened even) and presented it to the sisters as a gift.

also tonight beckam was sent to bed without a story and was truly heartbroken about it. as jaden was heading off to bed, he said that first he needed to write down all the words he knew on pieces of paper and make them into a book so that he could read it to beckam for bed.

and oh how he loves baby asher!
what a truly SWEET and thoughtful boy!!
and such a good reminder to me of how he shows his love and affection.

It's Official

CONGRATULATIONS
are in order for
Micah has PASSED the
Bar Exam!!!

he's a bona fide attorney at law.
and I LOVE him and am SO proud of his hard work!!!
he so deserved to pass.
yippppppeeeeeeeeee

happy birthday

jaden boy
I'd like to share
"Jaden's Better-Two-Months-Late-Than-Never-
Birthday Wish Poem"
written by the incredibly lovely
Amy Nilsson Maughan
for Jaden's 1st birthday

because he's still doing a great job
raising his parents 5 years later

"You've learned so much and come so far,
Made mom and dad real proud--
Now keep them on their toes this year,
Be busy, and active, and loud!

Keep them running and a-chasing,
Give them lots of messes to clean.
Open doors and climb on chairs;
Throw some tantrums in between!

Cause it's your job to teach them all
They'll need to know to parent.
You've got to make them WORK--and show
Your commitment to help them learn it!

It's really not that hard, you'll find
Quite naturally, it will come.
You'll be a pro in no time flat--
A handful, and then some!

You're walking, running, learning words--
Becoming a definite champ!
Now stir things up, don't be too good
This is serious parent Boot Camp!

And when they come to their wit's end
You'll know things are coming to pass
But don't stop yet, keep wearing them out...
We're looking for total collapse!

You've got some mentors to follow
Staten, Bradon, to name a few...
They've paved the way to show you
All the marvels that you can do.

Us parents get a bit confused
And think we're raising our kids.
But we are quickly finding out
Who the teacher really is!

Keep up the good work Jaden!
You really are raising great folks.
The hard work all pays off in the end
And that, my friend, is no joke.

You have good roots. Hawaiian born
Which makes you all the better
Prepared to take this challenge on
And have the greatest year ever!

So here's to you and this next year
And the great things that will be
Remember ONE is a perfect age
To train and guide and teach.

Isn't she good. and isn't it SO TRUE.
I know Jaden has a specific purpose
being our first born.
He's so good at it!

we LOVE you jj!
and can't wait to see what else your life has in store.
we celebrated!
all these little crazies came over after school today.
then we went and saw Bee Movie--it was cute, entertaining and appropriate for this age.
they were so well-behaved!
after the movie, we came back home for some pizza, cake and ice cream
and lots and lots of presents. I think we can skip christmas gifts this year.

I just wanted to say

that I'm loving the time change. is anyone else with me?

I know the kids are waking up SO early but I'm liking my day starting earlier. (I never thought I'd say that. I am not a morning person!)
and somehow it's easier for me to wake up now. at 6:30 instead of 7:30!?
and we're not rushing around like mad trying to get jaden out the door for school with me screaming orders at him like a drill sargeant.
I've even managed a shower a few mornings before 7am, which really gets me moving.
we were out one day by 9:30 starting errands. that's good for us. (you see, I have this problem. If I don't have any time committments, I have to get all my "chores" done before I can leave the house. and if I do have time commitments, I have to get as many done as I possibly can before I leave. now you know why I'm never early. and usually a tad late. no matter how hard I try, I can't just leave until things are in order. for the most part. it can be really annoying. I think I have my mother to thank. sound familiar mom? I truly think it's genetically encoded in my DNA because I don't remember "learning" this from you.)
and because he wakes up at 6:30, beckam is ready for a nap by 12:30 and goes down SO easily.

I'm feeling on top of my game. it was good timing for our family!
thank you father time or whoever it is that's in charge of daylight savings.

The Candy Fairy...

she visited our house last night.
jaden left her a note beside all of his halloween candy
(of course there has to be a note, as jaden pointed out, so she doesn't just take anyone's stash)
and viola!, it was all gone this morning with cold hard cash in its place!!
thank you ixchelle for the great idea.
(forgot to include that earlier)
I asked jaden what he thought the candy fairy did with all the candy: "gives it to children who didn't get any."
hmmm...yes. she'll deliver it to his grandma kip in south africa and she can see to it that it finds a good home.
(although after he enthusiastically runs into my bedroom this morning to show me that "she'd" already come" and what she'd left him,
he says, "but you guys really did this because there's no such thing as fairies." we've never talked specifically about the fairies, santa or the easter bunny but we have about spiderman and other super heroes. interesting how intuitive they are.)

micah couldn't get over how much "good" candy people give out these days.
looks nothing like what we used to get--mini candy bars sure beat smarties.

FYI

this is a belated post but I believe the information contained therein could be useful to you at some point in your life.

rewind to september 22. I was 38 weeks pregnant. we were in bakersfield to watch my nephew's football game (he scored a touchdown!) and The Great Kern County Fair just happened to be in town so we went (sheerly coincidental I assure you). I really love the fair. okay, I really love the food at the fair. besides the baked potatoes and yummy yams from the boy scouts booth, the taquitos and sometimes corn dogs, funnel cake and old west cinnamon rolls (but not this year. that was a little much on the pregnant belly), the apple dumplings are a MUST! papa dave even requested that we bring one home to him. so as we were leaving, after 6 hours of walking, micah said he would run and get the dumplings and meet me at the exit. upon his return, I see him carrying TWO apple dumplings. I quickly did the calculations in my head (one for papa dave. one for micah. and where's mine?) and realized there wasn't quite enough to go around. upon questioning him on the matter, he informed me that he thought, "we could share." excuse me?! NO corn dog. NO funnel cake. NO old west cinnamon rolls. and he wants to share the apple dumpling?! I apologized for not specifying that I wanted my own and offered to go get it myself and meet him at the car. being the gentleman that he his, he refused my offer and asked me if I would be able to find the car. we'd parked in an obvious location (or so I thought) so I replied in the affirmative, took the fob (keyless entry remote) from him along with both apple dumplings, forks and knife included and he set off for another apple dumpling. so here I am: 38 weeks pregnant. pushing an umbrella stroller with one hand (not an easy task) juggling the apple dumplings whilst trying to keep jaden close-by so he doesn't get kidnapped or run over by a car as we s-l-o-w-l-y maneuver through the parking lot in. the. dark. to the car. after going down the aisle I was sure we'd parked in twice, I decided to try the previous one for lack of a better plan. all the while I'm hitting the panic button on the fob just hoping that the alarm will go off and save us. at this point jaden is on the verge of tears. as I'm explaining to him that crying won't solve anything and that we just need to work together to find the car and that if we don't find it, daddy WILL find us (which is why I LOVE my husband so much. because I'm SO confident that he'll always save me or the kids no matter what kind of trouble we're in), two police officers drive by and ask if we need any help. To which I reply, "Oh, you know just trying to find the car." I wonder what they must be thinking. this crazy lady: two kids, one on the way, no husband, by herself at the fair at night, can't even keep track of where she parked AND she had to have TWO apple dumplings. I tell them that I know the car is somewhere around here. at least I think it is. but it's not responding to the panic button so maybe I'm way off. then I assure them that my husband is here, too and he'll find us eventually if we don't find him first. and then I ask them check back on us. so they do one lap and come back. the driver asks me what kind of car it is. I tell him. he then tells me that he knows a trick. I look at him confused wondering if I really look like I'm in the mood for tricks. he says, "no, I"m serious. just trust me. it works for me every time." I raise my eyebrows conceding to listen realizing I don't have any better options. he proceeds to disclose "the trick": touch the fob under your chin while you push the panic button.
me: trying to decide if he's for real or just trying to see how ridiculous he can make me look to his friend, "seriously?!!"
him: "I'm serious. trust me."
burning with embarrassment, I very reluctantly raise the fob to my chin just waiting for them to burst out in laughter and push the panic button. suddenly w-a-y off in the distance I hear the faint sound of a horn honking. the police officer smiles, "I told you." I profusely express my astonishment and gratitude and we quickly, slowly set-off towards the honking. as we approach the car so does micah, jogging and out of breath without an apple dumpling wondering where we've been. beckam has just dropped his ice cream so I can't explain over his sobs nor do I bother to ask about the apple dumpling at this point . beckam's also had to go to the bathroom since we left the fair so I pull him out of the stroller, take him around to the front tire to relieve himself, get him buckled into his car seat and get into the car. when micah opens the car door to get in, he's laughing and holding the apple dumpling. I look at him totally unamused and ask him what he could possibly find so funny right now and wonder where the apple dumpling came from?! the apple dumpling? well, he'd hid it beside the front tire when he went back to the fair entrance to look for us. luckily it had a lid. and I ate it happily!!!