Seth and Noah's Birthday's

So far, this summer has been CRAZY busy. Time is flying! We just saw school supplies in the middle of the Walmart aisles! How sick is that? Even sicker... we bought some. Caleb asked me to get him a couple more notebooks, and before we knew it, we had a cart full of crayons, markers, notebooks, pens, folders and all that good stuff. I'm sure we'll be starting up before too long...

Ahhh, on to the news... I have to do some catching up over the last month. If you haven't guessed, I not only use this blog to keep my posse (that's slang for you all :) caught up on what's going on in our world, but even more so, to keep a written "journal" of our family life that I can print out and put in binders to read later. Crazy thing is... when I print the recent ones out to add to the binder, I'll glance at the older blogs and don't even remember writing some of those things. I find myself laughing over and over again. What's with that? Good thing I'm writing 'em as I go, right?

Seth's 10th Birthday!

Oh, my little Seth. So much to say, so little room... I have said from before he was two that when he's happy, he's elated, but when he's upset, look out! It's still true. In fact, he has been a major chunk of my "home study course" on parenting for the past 10 years. I think I could spend the next ten years trying to figure him out and still not quite get it. I am progressing though :) By the time I'm, oh, say... 90, I'll have my Masters... maybe.

Seth truely is a sweet and caring kid. He's very helpful when asked. He's just starting to get the whole "doing things without being asked" kind of help (the best kind). He cares deeply about what other people think of him. If you let him know you appreciate and think the world of him, he'll live up to it... And the opposite is true. I suppose that's the same with most kids, but it's more evident in some. In my studies, I have observed that his language of love is with words of affirmation. When the kids all make cards for someone, he ALWAYS expresses his heart in his card. The other kids are not nearly as detailed in their wording. It's a reminder to me that I need to do the same for him, in cards, or just verbally.

Ok, so Grace came to me the other day and asked me if she HAD to marry "someone else". "Someone else? Like, not in our family?" I asked. "Yes." She got kind of sobby when I told her she couldn't marry her brothers. "You want to marry your brother, huh?" "Yes," She sobbed. "Which one would you marry?" I asked. "Seth." I don't know why, but that surprised me. Maybe it's because Seth and Ellie butt heads and agitate eachother all the time. I guess I didn't pay much attention to how well Grace and Seth get along. Technically, Seth is her big "buddy". He's supposed to make sure she has her shoes on and is buckled in the car when we go somewhere, and he's supposed to give her that bit of help at things when she needs it. I guess he's been doing his job and his little sis has admiration for him. Sweet.

(above) Meeting daddy at the park. Seth chose stuffed pizza for his lunch. Dee-lish!

(below) Seth and Noah at their co-birthday party with the extended family. Caleb made them a layered ice cream cake.

Noah is a sweet heart. Most of the time, he's content just to hang with the crowd. He's one of those kids who is going to grow up to be the guy that gives you the shirt off his back. He loves to give... and he loves sweets. If he can get the two to go hand-in-hand, he's in heaven. Lately he's been buying treats at the store... gum, candy, ice cream, whatever... and will proudly and gladly disperse it among his siblings. He just like to be able to give things.

He's such a cute kid. If he does something he's not supposed to, it's usually on accident or out of carelessness. It's not usually on purpose (unless it's in self defense, of course... and with two older brothers, who can blame him for that, right?). He also loves to help take care of his little brother Nathan. He's Nathan's big "buddy". Apparently this whole buddy system has a "family bonding" side benefit.

Out of all the kids, Noah has had the most trouble learning to read. For him, math is a breeze, but this reading thing... ugh. For a time I thought I was the slacker. I switched to different programs and put more pressure on the poor kid. I was trying figure out why both Caleb and Seth took off when they started to read and why Noah just couldn't get it. He knew his letters and sounds, but just had trouble putting them together. As Ellie is getting older, I am realizing that it's not my method that's faulty because she's picking up on it just fine. He's just needing more time to fine tune his skills. He's starting to actually like reading books now. He still struggles, but it's coming easier and isn't as much "work".

Noah's gift from Nathan (below) was a big bottle of that aerosole whipped topping. I think that may have been his favorite gift. He loved spraying it right into his mouth to create a giant foamy tower. In fact, since then, the older boys each have bought themselves a can to do the same! What a fun and totally yummy gift!


Happy Birthday boys!!