Hawkeye Wrestling-Smith style

We brought these mats in the house for Rebecca to have a soft and warmer spot to play in the basement, but they quickly became wrestling mats.

It looked like dad had the upperhand...


But the boys got on top...


and then dad didn't stand a chance.


PINNED

The Clever Tortoise

Today was Simeon's moment in the spotlight. He was the main character in the play "The Clever Tortoise." at the Iowa City Public Library. And you guessed it-Simeon was the Clever Tortoise.


The play was about an elephant and hippo who each thought they were the strongest, biggest and best animal in the bush. They fought all the time and the other animals were tied of it. Tortoise tricked them into a tug of war with mouse, when they were actually holding onto snake and playing tug a war with each other. It ended with the game being a tie and the elephant and hippo each so tired that they both fell asleep and the bush was quiet.

Simeon knew his part well and remembered all his lines. My favorite line was when he said "See what can happen when we all work together?"

Simeon had decided before this play, that he would be done with the group after this play was over. He enjoyed the group, but was also glad to be done.

Life is like an Airport

This morning as Rebecca and I sat in the Dallas Airport waiting to catch our flight to CA, we could see out on the airport gate area. There were dozens of gates for the planes to unload and load passengers at. On the ground there were driving lanes for the gas trucks, food trucks, luggage carriers and all the other support vehicles that were needed to keep the airport running. Above us was the train that took passengers from one terminal area to the other. There were 4 terminals for American Airlines at the airport, all far enough away from each other that a train was needed to get you to your next gate quickly.
As we sat and watched the movement outside I started thinking about my life. One of my resolutions was to have less in my life. Less "stuff" in my house (de-cluttering), less activities in my life, and a calmer house-less craziness with the kids.

There were times when 10 or more vehicles were driving around. Sometimes there were so many vehicles that they had to drive around each other to avoid a crash. Then there would be a few minutes where no vehicles were driving. And the train above was on time every 2 minutes going past. A plane even got into the mix driving through the terminal to the runway.
I started thinking that those vehicles were like my life. There are times where so many things are going on, that I have to quickly re-arrange something so I don't have overlapping activities -to avoid a crash. There are times when things are quiet and I can sit a relax, then a major event happens like the plane going through the middle. The train above was the things that have to happen on a schedule-meals, laundry, school, work, baths and sleeping. The things that need to happen on a schedule no matter what else is going on.
When we were on the plane and going out to the runway, there was an "emergency road" next to it. There are times I feel like I need to get onto the emergency road just to escape from the commotion and take a quick break before it get too overwhelming.
If you think about all those vehicles-the ones with luggage have to get from one plane to the next on time to get the luggage on the plane that the passenger it belongs to is on. It's like that in my life, if I don't get something where it needs to be on time, it gets forgotten and then when we get there we are left srambling. (This is why I pack things the night before and put them in the van to be ready.)
After watching all this movement it made me want to work harder to have less in my life. To have more of those times when there are no vehicles going so I can sit back and enjoy my children more and be stressed less.

Half a Year Old

It's hard to believe that our sweet little Rebecca joined our family half a year ago. She continues to bring such joy into our lives.


Rebecca this month has been becoming more vocal. She has learned to say "dada", "baba" what the kids say sounds like "hotdog" and she stills says "mama" mostly when she's hungry and wants it now. She has gotten good at whinning when she's in her highchair and wants her food now. We hear her jabbering to herself quite often. She likes to talk when we're driving and when she's playing in her crib.

This picture shows her little black eye and scrap on her nose she got from falling onto the box of a game we were playing.

She continues to love food. At the beginning of the month cherrios were too hard for her to munch, but not anymore. She eats Ritz crackers, bread, pieces of bannana, graham crackers in addition to jarred baby food. We've started using the baby food grinder and she is eating some table food like pasta with sauce and beans. She still isn't fond of liquids yet. She had he 1st bottle this month and took it just fine, while the older kids and mom & dad went sledding and out to lunch.


She stopped sleeping through the night. We think it was a combination of a runny nose and getting cold at night. She is still a good napper. Her 1st nap is about 45 minutes after Simeon & Corrine go to school and the house is quiet. Then she takes a long nap in the afternoon after I take Ammon to preschool. Her night nap is hit and miss depending on how long her afternoon nap is and when she took it. At the end of the month she was only getting up once a night and sometimes goes back down with just her pacifier.
This month she has learned to really use her hands to pick things up, pass them back and forth and the most exciting for her and us-she can get puffs and Cheerios into her mouth by herself. She gets 1/2 of them in which makes her so much happier that she can eat and not always wait for us.

She grabs everything within 2 feet of her, and it usually goes straight into her mouth! While sitting on the ground, she reaches out and can lay her stomach on the ground and get back up. She turns her upper body around to see whats going on behind her. She has started to get frustrated when something goes out of reach that she wants. She loves to scratch, bang on and swing toys around. If we're reading a book she does everything she can to grab it.

One of her favorite toys-dads Dance Marathon bracelet. If he's wearing it she'll try to eat in on his arm.

She is reserved with her laughs, but she has them. Her feet are tickelish as is her stomach. She loves when we blow on her face and head. She gives the best huge toothless grins to her favorite people aka-dad, mom, Simeon, Corrine and Ammon. She warms up to others fairly quickly if they are NOT holding her. She loves to grab at the kids and give them wet slobbery kisses. Ammon says she hurts him because she has sharp nails and likes to grab him. She likes to grab hair and ears and stick her hands in your mouth.


This month she had been very spitting up alot at times. We haven't figured out what makes her spit up so much. She also drools alot-but no teeth are coming in yet. Between those 2 things she goes through multiple outfits and bibs a day to stay warm and dry.
It's amazing how quickly the last 6 months have gone. Rebecca is at such a fun stage and is always so happy. People comment alot about how easy going and go-with-the-flow baby she is. She likes to watch what's going on and can play for long periods of time by herself.
This month she has also started to grow some hair and the hair that was there at birth is getting long-but really she is still bald.

2010-A New Year

To start the year we all made New Year Resolutions and a Motto for the year. The motto is something we need to work on collectively, and the resolutions are personal (with a little coaching from mom & dad on some of them.)

Family Motto: Kindness BEGINS with ME

Resolutions:

Johann-coming soon!

Kari-Less STUFF in our house
More patience with the kids (no more yelling)
Exercise 3-5 times a week
Keep in touch with family better (birthday/anniversary/Christmas cards)

Simeon-
Do better in school (spelling and math)
Keep my room cleaner
Be a better example to siblings
Not get in trouble at home as much

Corrine-
STOP sucking my thumb (night time is still ok)
Learn to tell time
Learn how to read better-so I can read chapter books
Keep my room cleaner

Ammon-
Grow big
Ride my bike without training wheels
Use kind words more often (mom coached)

Rebecca-
Be Happy
Sleep all night
Learn to crawl
Then learn to walk