Orientations and Promotions

Monday I thought I would trim up the boys' hair before heading to Todd's back-to-school dinner at HBU.  I had cut their hair days earlier, but kept seeing spots I had missed.  Caroline wanted me to trim her hair first, so I obliged.  Usually I either fake it with her, or just trim a little.  I thought I'd just trim a little this time.  That is until she would not keep still.  Every time I would start to cut, she'd whip her head around to see what I was doing.  So I kept having to even it up.  All-in-all I trimmed off at least an inch in some spots, an inch and a half in others.  After washing it that evening, it didn't look too bad, but it's definitely not "even."

All three kids are missing two top teeth each. 

While at the dinner, Josiah quickly noticed they had games for kids to play all around the room.  The boys first played a game where you had to toss dog toys (the small, squeaky variety) into dog bowls.  The boys played it twice and missed all 4 shots each time.  They were hardly focusing, though, because they had each just polished off a giant piece of cake.  Caroline stepped up to the line and tossed two of her four in the bowl.  Good girl.  :)  After a few more games, they had enough tickets to get a prize.  Caroline picked out a bouncy ball.  Henry picked out a small coloring book (which he thought was an activity book - this kid loves mazes and such).  Josiah picked out a plastic fish, the kind that has a hole in the end that can suck up water and have it squeezed out again.  He named it, "Ducky."  He comes from a long line of talented "namers."  My dad named his pet duck, "Duck," when he was a kid.  My sister had a bear that she slept with every night aptly named, "Bear."  Josiah has a dog that he named, "Josiah." Henry has a penguin named, "Penguin."  So, I guess in some respects, naming his fish, "Ducky," is thinking outside of the box.

Tuesday night  the boys and I went to their CC orientation dinner.  It was at a restaurant in which there was a waitress that seemed to constantly walk around offering fresh hot rolls.  So the boys ate a little chicken and a lot of rolls.  Our CC director was giving away door prizes.  We won two bars of scented soaps and the boys were very excited to win them.  The next day Josiah brought them up for bath time, unwrapped the bar, got his hands just barely soapy, and put them on his smiling, excited face.  And then he quickly learned that this was no Johnson's & Johnson's tearless baby wash as he whimpered that his eyes were burning.

Caroline got her new twin mattress delivered this week.  We were really hoping it meant that she would stay in her bed all night long.  However, she still seems to visit us early each morning.  Even now, it's 10:00 p.m. as I type this, and she is on the couch next to me, almost asleep.  Sundays are rough for her.  She always takes a long, late nap which throws off the normal bedtime.

This was Promotion Sunday at church, the day when Josiah's kindergarten class moved up to the first grade classroom, Henry moved up to pre-K, and Caroline stayed with her 2 year old friends.  Josiah acted a bit nervous about it at home, but once we got to church they had new bags for all the first graders who would be in 'Big Church' with their parents.  It had crayons, a blank notepad, and some coloring/activity pages in it.  Josiah drew people in the orchestra - a trumpeter and a drummer.  He then walked into his classroom after service without any problems.  Henry was not just nervous to go to his new class, he was defiantly opposed to even embarking on the car trip to church.  His new class was literally next door to his old class.  The doors are 6 inches apart from each other.  I hung out with him for a little while until a worker there took him to do a puzzle and I skipped on out.  I had those pangs of sadness and hurt leaving him there when he wanted me to stay.  The guilt.  Then I picked him up after church and he came to the door doing a goofy penguin walk.  Clearly, he had warmed up to the strange, new environment.

Josiah was able to see the drawing show again this week.  I've learned the name of it, Mike's Inspiration Station.  He saw it Wednesday night, and immediately drew the man in the moon picture Thursday morning.

Then Todd mentioned that the show came on again Thursday evening.  Well, of course, Josiah wanted to watch it again.  And he made it very clear to me all day long that he wanted to watch it.  I can remember telling him six hours prior to the five o'clock viewing that he still had a ways to wait.  By 3:00 p.m., he had his paper and marker ready to go.  By 4:00 p.m., he had set up his drawing station in front of the t.v.  By 4:30 p.m., I gave into him and turned the t.v. on so that he wouldn't miss the opening of the show.  This is his face when it finally came on:

This day the man drew Samson pushing down the temple pillars.  He made it look so effortless.  Josiah and Henry copied his every move and this was their result:


We have a big day tomorrow as it is our first day of CC for the new year.