2018 :: week 51

December 9

Man oh man! What to say about Elliott? He has been very difficult this week. We woke up Sunday morning to a family room littered with slices of bread and overturned yogurt containers and my purse with a bag of Chex Mix emptied in and around it. Later than day he got into a tub of Vaseline and used his toothbrush to "paint" the mirror and walls in my bedroom.  He committed other messy and or/destructive acts as the week went on, culminating in the unwrapping of several Christmas presents Friday. This is uncharted territory for us as parents, Will and Lauren didn't do stuff like this very often. I hesitate to say ever, but I really cannot remember either of them doing anything as purposefully destructive as the things Elliott did this week, but I may have just forgotten.

December 10

I love watching the kids play together after school. Now that football season is well underway and everyone in town has Chief-fever, several boys play touch football at the park after school. Will loves to participate! I think it is really cool that pretty much anyone can play--there are first graders and fifth graders in this picture (though the older kids monopolize throwing and catching the ball). We had a lot of sunny, relatively warm days this week, which means we played at the park after school almost every day.
 

December 11

Tuesday was dentist day for 4 of 5 Johns. Anthony went before work, then I took the kids during the morning. Everyone got a clean bill of health and new toothbrushes. Elliott kept telling the hygienist, "no thank you," and tried to squirm out of the chair when she was brushing his teeth. He thought the spinning brush tickled too much.

December 12

Elliott and I ran A LOT of errands Wednesday morning. We did some returns, made some exchanges, and picked up 10 gallons of OJ for the upcoming Dudes and Donuts event at OPC. Despite his shenanigans this week, I genuinely enjoy the one-on-one time I get to spend with him while the older kids are in school. We have a fun time together, and he regularly makes me smile with his quick wit and creative way of articulating his thoughts.

December 13

Lauren came home with a library book she just couldn't wait to read.  Her reading skills have skyrocketed this past month and it is fun watching her dive into her books. I've been doing a lot of reading as well. I've read or listened to all four book in the Lunar Chronicles in the past month--a fun YA story that kept me entertained.

December 14

December is the month of dates for us, and we went to an Ugly Sweater party Friday evening hosted by some friends in our ward. We raided my mom's old Christmas sweatshirt bin and found these beauties. We had a fun time eating yummy treats and exchanging white elephant gifts. Saturday evening we went to holiday party hosted by Anthony's work at Pinstripes. Good food and free bowling. We both bowled a few turkeys and strikes, but I also had my fair share of gutter balls, so Anthony beat me handily in both games we played.

Will had his last preseason game Saturday. His team didn't win but they played good defense and are definitely getting better at scoring.  Will scored several baskets and did a good job making adjustments and going to his left when his defender shut him down going to the right. In the afternoon Anthony took him to the aquarium for his birthday date. Will told me the coolest thing he saw was when a ray swam over the glass hallway while they were underneath.