So glad that I am still enamored with the "growing" process.

Aaron will be 2 in 3 weeks. I still have no idea when we are actually going to get to celebrate his birthday as a family since every single weekend in February one of the parental units is traveling and on his actual birthday I have the Annual Business meeting at church, which is kind of a required thing for staff to be a part of.

It's so funny though, because even though this kid is really bright (he knows some colors and some of his letters and is SUPER coordinated, giving even this relaxed mom of boys some mini heart attacks with his bravery), I still get worried about his general skills. I could be remembering this wrong, but Nathaniel was saying two word phrases by this point and Aaron is still pretty much just one word at a time (although, he does have plenty of words and never fails to get his point across). Part of it is being the second child, I think. Nathaniel really does most of the talking for Aaron. Plus, he is super content to play by himself, even going so far as to leave the room while Sam was trying to play with him one night. Sam found Aaron sitting in his bedroom reading books by himself. I guess the kid likes his alone time! (Note: I'm not worried about any developmental disabilities because he totally engages with people, looks people in the eyes, isn't afraid of touching others, etc. He has zero flags for autism or anything like that).

With that, I'm totally enjoying this season of new discoveries for Aaron. I love it when he suddenly starts saying a word clearly. Elmo is no longer "Melmo" but is actually "Elmo" (which actually makes me sad!) and Nathaniel is no longer "bubba" but "Naniel!!" (which is pretty good considering most of Nathaniel 4-5 year old friends still call Nathaniel "Mathaniel"). The parent of choice is still Daddy, but I do get the occasional cuddle time where Aaron drops all that he is doing to cuddle up on the couch with me for a few minutes. I cherish those moments because they are fleeting.

Last night we went to Disneyland and Aaron was officially tall enough to ride the Matterhorn. I was slightly nervous for him, not wanting to totally traumatize him, but Sam took him and Nathaniel and I waited on the side. I was greeted exuberantly by Aaron when he got off of the ride. He was giggling and running and pointing to the roller coaster and telling me about the monster. That makes me super happy.

Nathaniel has his moments. Last week was a rough one for the family. It's like he's taking every boundary we have ever set up for him and pushing it. We had a few days where he was lying about nearly everything, so we told him that if he lied again he would have to face the punishment (which is a spoonful of vinegar). Lo and behold, he did it again and fought us like crazy about the punishment. So, he went to bed after knocking the spoon out of my hands and then had the vinegar in the morning. Since he also was not listening, yelling at mom and dad, calling people names, and throwing fits at every turn he lost pretty much all special privileges. No t.v., no Disneyland, no friends over...it was a pretty rough time for him. But, as soon as his attitude improved, the special things came back. After the vinegar incident he was truly repentant and the minute a lie started to come out of his mouth he quickly stopped, apologized and told the truth. He is even saying, "Mom, I'm going to pretend now!" Then begins his stories. His attitude is much better this week, and we've been quick to point it out and praise him for it. Last night after Disneyland we stopped for Jamba Juice as a treat/snack and I asked Nathaniel if it was more fun to listen and have a good attitude or throw a fit. He agreed that listening was better.

That's about it here. Sam's thinking of planning a Superbowl party since his team made it (boo). I think it will be fun and maybe we can celebrate Aaron's birthday a week early since I will actually be home from camp early in the afternoon. Hmmmm....

The pregnancy is still going well. I had some pretty bad aches this past weekend, but I think it was round ligament pains and the general "getting bigger" aches. After a few days of moving around more I feel much better and slept better too.

Oh, and as if life isn't going super fast anyways, Nathaniel's school has a new parent meeting in a few weeks! I can't believe we're prepping for Kindergarten!! (Nathaniel will be attending Bethany Christian Academy in the fall since that is where I also teach so it will be super easy to drop both kids off at the same place I work while keeping the baby with me until he's big enough for daycare/too big to not be a huge distraction while I work).

New Year equals new adventures.

It's a brand new year here in the Grummons' household and we are ready to face this year head on. It's going to be super busy (I think I'm already internally panicking with everything that is taking place between now and May), but there are many adventures on the horizon.

Sam is currently doing the full time Army gig with Los Alamitos base working on setting up a Domestic All-hazard Response Team (meaning, if we have a natural disaster, we have to have a plan in place so that we don't have another Hurricane Katrina-like outcome where everyone gathers and then sits around with their thumbs up their butt wondering what to do. Sorry for the crass visual). He is also currently teaching in intro to Philosophy class for Ashford University online. The classes run for 5 weeks and can be a bit stressful at times making sure everything is up and running, but it's a nice way for him to use his degree and keep himself in the Philosophy world for now.

I'm still doing my job at Bethany Bible Fellowship and mostly loving it. I think that ministry always has a dichotomy of "I love these people so much and I love my job" and "What the heck am I doing?" feelings. At least that's what other pastors tell me. I always have to be absolutely certain that I'm tracking with my own personal studies and connecting with God before I can lead these students through the murky waters of being a Junior High student. It's incredibly difficult at times. Especially when the kids are in a "we're not listening to YOU" mood. I sometimes fluctuate between wanting to throw things at their heads or burst into tears and run from the room. I'm not sure which one would get their attention more. But, I really do adore these students. They make me laugh way more than they make me cry, and there are times where they get it. Yesterday we were reviewing the first part of Romans and I reminded them of a few illustrations that were used, and they immediately remembered the point of those lessons. It was kind of cool. In February we have winter camp, and I'm going to help with the high school winter camp as well and I start co-teaching the Bible Elective at the Academy. I will also be organizing a TON of stuff as we prepare to add another darling little boy into our family. I happen to be due right around the time of our Beach Weekend camping trip, so there is a lot of planning going into this right now so that I don't leave my leaders high and dry.

The boys are in for a huge year of adventure and change. Nathaniel is starting violin lessons this week! These lessons are per HIS request. I promise I'm not turning into a crazy parent. He's seen me playing my viola for different church events and always wants to play with my instrument. I told him he's not allowed to touch my viola, but that if he wanted to he could learn how to play his own violin. He's pretty excited (although, he suddenly changed his mind and wants to play drums. I told him he has to be 10 to play drums) and I've worked out an exchange with my friend. She is teaching him violin while I teach her daughter viola. :) Nathaniel also starts kindergarten in the fall, which is exciting, but super sad for me too. He will be at the Academy so he'll be right on campus with me most days (except for the days I don't work, then he'll be on his own). I guess I'm sad because it's a new stage and I know that once school starts, life goes zooming by.

Aaron is all set on the road to becoming a "big boy". We're going to go get a toddler bed for him this week sometime and transition him into Nathaniel's room. Along with that he's potty training (which is going fairly well!) and he already moved up to the 2-4 year old classroom in Sunday School. He turns two next month and he was the biggest kid in his class so, per the request of the nursery, he moved up. His mind is a steel trap and he is still one of the most sweet natured kids I have ever met. When he's disobeying all I have to say is, "Aaron, do you need a spank?" and he shakes his head no and stops doing whatever it is he's doing. (Time outs don't work for him, he enjoys them, but the lightest little tap on his diapered butt causes him to cry as if he's incredibly offended, so we do what works for him). I'm anticipating a little bit of a regression here since there are so many transitions happening at once, but who knows. Maybe he will surprise us! In June he will start up at the preschool at church for daycare. It will be nice to have all of the kids in one spot since I will be returning to work sometime but will be keeping the baby with me for the first 3 months.

That's about it here. Lots of changes and lots to look forward to. Hope everyone has an equally exciting new year planned! I know that many of my friends are expecting new additions to their own families, which is super exciting! 4 of us from our group of friends from high school are expecting kids. It makes me SO EXCITED! (My friends are awesome parents and they make incredibly cute kids too).

Happy New Year!!

Dealing with the fat man.

I have a confession to make.

Even though we try to do everything we can to point our children towards Christ, especially around this time of year, we observe the tradition of Santa Claus.

Yup. We tell our kids that on one magical night a man dressed in red with *gasp* flying reindeer brings them a present.

Of course, we have altered the myth a bit. For instance, Santa Claus does not know if you have been bad or good, nor does he see you when you are sleeping and awake. That smacks suspiciously of God and Santa Claus is NOT God. We also tell the boys that Santa only brings a gift for the stocking because it lightens his load.

It was so cute to watch my boys approach Santa at Disneyland this year. Nathaniel confidently told him his name, and his brother's name and then told Santa he wanted a rocket ship. Then Santa turned to Aaron and said, "And what would you like?" Aaron said, "Truck!" When Santa repeated it, a panicked look came into Aaron's eyes as he started frantically saying, "Choo choo!! Choo choo!!"

Almost as if his little brain was saying, "I didn't mean a truck! I take it back!" Very much like little Ralphie in a Christmas Story when he stops himself on the slide to tell Santa what he wants. At least Santa didn't tell my kid he'd shoot his eye out.

But, on the other hand, Nathaniel seems to be too focused on Santa and less focused on the other portions of Christmas.

I admit, we've dropped the ball this year and have been super busy and unfocused. I meant to do an Advent calendar, but never got around to getting one. And so on and so forth...

At one point, Nathaniel and I were talking about favorite Christmas carols and he said that Jingle Bells was his favorite (and why shouldn't it be? It's a great song!). I pointed out that it was more a winter song than just Christmas because it just talks about snow and sleigh rides. Nathaniel was convinced that Santa was mentioned in it, which made it a Christmas carol. I almost blurted out that Santa wasn't real.

I'm just so sick of the commercialism that surrounds Christmas. I love spending time with family, I love decorating and doing stuff and giving gifts to people, but when that's all people think about, I get discouraged. I don't want my children growing up feeling entitled to things. I don't want my kids to write wish lists that are miles long and then expect every thing on their wish list. I had a student ask me today what the boys were getting for Christmas and when I told them the one large gift we got for them (a playhouse for the yard) and then said, "And a few things for their stockings" she said, "But what else did you get them?" and couldn't believe it when I said, "Nothing, that is enough for them."

sigh.

So, Sam and I do our part to combat commercialism surrounding Christmas. We're more careful about t.v. time and toy commercials. We talk about the birth of Jesus and all of the different aspects surrounding it. I even told Nathaniel today that if we couldn't have presents or cookies or lights or trees, that it would still be Christmas because Jesus was born and that is what we are celebrating. That we are so blessed and lucky to have all of those extra things. We also talk about the real St. Nick and what he did for people.

I think he's getting it.

At least, I hope so. And he still believes in Santa for at least another year.

Call me crazy.

This morning I took a crazy step. I boarded the potty train with Aaron, the 22 month old.

This meant that this morning we put on underwear and got out the sticker charts and the super excited attitudes.

I don't know what has come over me, but he seems super ready. He either tells us before he poops or right afterwards that he has pooped, and he even goes for other people (he has impressed his baby sitter by using the toilet). So, this morning we changed his morning diaper and put a new one on him. 2 hours later (while I was cleaning the bathrooms) he walked into the bathroom and said, "pee!". So, I placed him on the toilet, noticed that his diaper was dry, and saw that he went and was happy to do so.

Of course, when he does that (uses the toilet) he throws a massive fit if I try to put anything but underwear on him. So, on went the underwear and I decided that we would fully embrace this today. That means every 30 minutes we're going to the bathroom to try. It means getting out the m&m's and stickers. And it also means cheering wildly for every type of movement made.

Yup. I have my Master's degree, and I cheer wildly for pee and poop and do a happy dance.

But, he kept his underwear dry all morning, and even when we went over to a friend's house he still kept the pull up dry. He finally peed in his pants during lunch time, but other than that, complete success. I'm proud!

Plus, it might mean a few months of being diaper free in our house before little baby Grummons is born. That would be a much welcome break!

Not that too many people care, but I will keep tabs on his progress and let you know.

Christmas Card 2010

In His Name Religious Christmas Card

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In spite of his brother's efforts, he speaks!

Aaron is slowly adding words to his vocabulary. Up to now it hasn't been enough for him to truly communicate a complete thought process. Mostly he says things like, "Oh!!" and I ask him what he would like and he says, "Ummmmm...." and I have to guess until he nods and says, "yeah!"

Of course, there are the unmistakable words like "No!", "more", "dog" (followed by "woof woof woof!"), "juice!", and the gleeful "Blankie!!!" But this morning he had a verbal breakthrough.

We were getting our shoes on this morning and Aaron was in the living room looking for his blankie. Suddenly I here, "uh-oh!" I asked Aaron what happened and he said, "drop!" I then asked him what dropped and he said, "juice!". Sure enough, Nathaniel had left his juice cup on the arm of the couch and Aaron accidentally knocked it to the ground (it was empty). So, he picked it up and brought it into the kitchen for me. Hooray for communication!

He is also saying, "poo-poo", "trash", and "night night" clearly, along with a bunch of other words, but who wants a list of toddler words? Although, if I could get a recording of him saying, "Thank you" I would. It's said with the cutest little inflection that is impossible to capture in any sort of font.

Everything else is going well. Sam gets back from what we hope is his last business trip for awhile tonight. Nathaniel has his Christmas program tonight, and today I went for my first run in over a month and managed to run 2 miles almost without stopping! It was slow, but I'm not going for speed, I'm just trying to get moving a bit more before the belly grows too much.

Oh, and I do go in for the big ultra sound in a little over a week, but I will not be announcing the gender of the baby until after Christmas so we can tell family in person. Just in case anyone was wondering. :)

Our lives are a musical

Most days around here it feels like there is a narrator narrating our lives. Of course, that’s what we get with an incredibly verbal four year old. One who also loves to sing. Most mornings my drive to drop off children and go to work is punctuated by a running dialogue mixed with song. It’s great.

Of course, convincing Nathaniel that he doesn’t need to speak for his brother is difficult. Nathaniel was teaching Aaron baby talk last week, saying things like “Wa wa” and “Bubba” instead of “water” and “brother.” I told Nathaniel that he needed to use real words or else Aaron would never learn how to speak right and he would be 20 years old saying, “wa wa”. With a mischievous look in his eyes Nathaniel said, “Aaron! Wa wa! Wa wa!” *sigh*

Here are a couple of videos of Nathaniel singing some Christmas songs and Aaron just grinning along happily.