Winter Blues

The "stink" face. My boys have perfected this look. You have to have attitude, and this kid is full of it!

The blue eyes!

The gap tooth smile!

I got this idea from my sister. Bust out the popsicles in the middle of winter. Why not? I was done with winter this year on January 1st. Not good. It has been a looong one. This is Nathan with his first popsicle. I know I post too many pictures of my baby. I can't help it. I didn't have such a cool camera with my other babies. So, I guess our 4th child is actually going to have the most pictures taken of him. I am tired of long sleeve shirts. So, I went out and drastically highlighted my hair. Seriously streaky, with dark and blond highlights. Too bad the grammys are over. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I am going to try and rock the look anyway. I can pull it off. Right?? Whats that? You want to see a picture? Not likely!!!

Temple Grandin

Jeremy and I read this book about a year ago, but we finally got up the courage to watch the movie last night. It took me about 6 months to get the courage to add it to our netflix queue, and then 3 weeks sitting on our table before we finally watched it. You see it takes courage because watching and reading stories about autistic people can be really hard. Sometimes it is just too hard.

The book was so fantastic I knew we had to give the movie a try. Especially because it has been winning so many awards. In her book Temple so clearly explains what is going on her mind and how she processes information. She has helped unlock some of the mystery behind autism, not to mention her contributions to agriculture.

Anyway, the movie was good. It was an emotional roller coaster, and after it was over Jeremy and I just looked at each other and said, "We made it through the movie." Can I just say how painful it is to see how people treat people who are different? We all do it. Ugh. Through the years you learn to not think about it too much. I can't worry every second about Spencer getting teased at school. It happens. It will continue to happen. So, most days I just think about the good moments he is having at school. And thankfully, there are plenty of those too.

Of course for me the best parts of the movie were the angels that came into Temple's life right when she needed them. The roommate, the professor, the Aunt. We all pray for people to help our children when we can't be there. You celebrate small victories when you have a child with autism. You celebrate things most parents take for granted. What was so inspiring about this movie was that she had big victories too. Not only going to college, but graduating, and then going on to have a career. Which is why my motto has always been, don't underestimate my kid. Don't do it. He will show you every time. Every time.

Bath Angels

The Misters

Nathan is Mr. Demanding. We cannot figure out how a fourth child can be so high maintenance. I thought they were just supposed to blend in with the crowd. Not this one. He is taking steps, but not walking yet. He refuses to eat baby food anymore, or do anything but sit up to the table and eat exactly what we are eating. He is my first true blankie baby, insisting on taking that blanket everywhere he can. Nathan loves his brothers and feels very sad if he wakes up from his nap and they are all gone. That makes me sad too, because why is he awake when they are all gone?

Matthew is Mr. Techno. He moves from the wii to the ipad to the leapster to the computer. Trying to keep this under control has become a full time job for me. He is also very excited to learn how to read and is our first child to start making these efforts on his own. Matthew asks me every day to have friends over to play. He tries so hard to keep up with his older brothers. Matthew also goes around calling everyone and everything a weirdo. I'm hoping this phase will pass soon.

Sam is Mr. Imagination. You can always find him in his room telling stories he makes up to his brothers. They love to hear every day what he dreamed about. Apparently he has amazing dreams every night and he can turn them into full blown stories that go on and on. He has a great group of friends at school. They also make up elaborate games during recess. Sam is a whiz on his electric scooter. He is just waiting out winter until he can spend all his free time outdoors. He is so protective of all his brothers, and loves to carry Nathan around the house.

Spencer is Mr. Skier. He is spending his Saturdays on the slopes at Bogus in ski lessons. He is doing great, and really enjoying it. Spencer is having another great year in school and working hard to earn his Bear for Scouts. He is very excited for some new movies coming out this summer including Kunfu Panda 2 and Transformers. He has also gotten into music, and his favorite two songs are "The Cave" by Mumford & Sons and "Break Your Heart" by Ludicris. He likes to control the radio in the car now.

Jeremy is Mr. Busy. He is spending long hours at his job and teaching another semester of Business Law at the local community college. He is also excited to spend some time on the slopes this winter. Jeremy has been reading Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia to the boys every night and they love it! He also spends a lot of time going on dates with his wife, and she loves it!

Love Month

Jeremy and I went to lunch today and when I got in my car to go home I found this on my seat! Aren't I lucky? Matthew and I had a photo shoot, and then I accidentally deleted all but this one. So, this is what you get. And I get a perfect pink rose to start February. Thank goodness we have moved on from January!