First Day of School - Finally!

The Sweet family treaded through a long and sweaty summer break with one bright light to keep our hopes alive: the first day of school.

Paisley was too excited to stay out of the picture, and Des was too sleepy to smile!
August 12, 2015

During the summer, Des was enrolled in two programs - one was a tuition-free Kindergarten prep program that went four days a week for three weeks, and helped kids adjust to an elementary school environment. Des got Mrs. Cullymore, just like Aislin did when we first moved to AZ...and just like Aislin, he later got her as his official Kindergarten teacher. We are a family that loves Mrs. Cullymore :) The other program was expensive and met every Saturday morning for six weeks. It was a reading readiness program that I had initially felt was a rip-off, but later realized how helpful it really was. Des learned a number of sight words and was reading by the end of the program!

Both Aislin and Des also had "homework" throughout the summer...to keep them from strangling one another, and me from strangling them. For a few minutes each day, at least five days a week, Aislin did pages from a 2nd grade workbook while Des practiced his handwriting, letter/number recognition, and reading. He now has stellar handwriting and writes "s" like an "s" and not like a "2," and he holds his pencil like a pencil instead of like a paintbrush. These are remarkable accomplishments :)

Since Des's programs kept him busy for most of June, Aislin wanted something that was just for her. So she agreed to start piano lessons! At first, I thought I'd just teach her what I could until the baby came in November, and then find another teacher to take her from there...but we've made such progress together and have enjoyed our lessons so much that I'm starting to rethink that plan. Sure, we'll have to take a little break after the baby's born, but I think I'll continue teaching her piano until I have nothing left to teach her!

As for the start of school, their weekdays now look like this: they drowsily get out of bed, agreeing to do so only after being reminded that we have to pick up our neighbor, Aubry. They dress according to their school's "color of the day," and then head to the kitchen where they slowly eat their waffles or cereal while I pack their lunches. Then there are shenanigans while they wash their faces and brush their teeth, and usually something to argue about while they put on their shoes and grab their backpacks. Finally, they clamber into the car with Paisley, who navigates from the passenger seat, and we pick up Aubry from across the street. I drop them off beside the Kindergarten playground where Aislin's old teacher from 1st grade greets students coming out of their cars, and the three of them clamber out with their big backpacks and bouncy shoes. At the end of the day, Aubry's mom picks them up and drops Aislin and Des off in front of our house where they run across the front yard, excited to share news of their day and raid the pantry for whatever snacks dad had bought from Costco.

Thank heavens for school :)

Happy 7th Birthday, Aislin!!

Wow, this kid is 7! That means 2nd grade and one year away from being baptized (which she eagerly reminds anyone who asks about her age).

7 also means losing your two front teeth (the dangly one was extracted by string just a few days later)
August 3, 2015

Aislin has been asking for a birthday party since she could speak...but as you all know by now, I don't do birthday parties. Maybe when she and her brothers hit those milestone birthdays, but for now, we try to make their birthdays special in other ways. We decorate the dining room the night before since it's the first area they see coming down the hallway in the morning, and we set their gifts on the table. And this year for Aislin's birthday, we made it a day of experiences. Basically, I indulged her in the things I never wanted to pay for her to do before.

She got to bounce on this thing at the mall...

...and ride this thing at the mall too.

I finally let her get something from Build-a-Bear...






...and Tim bought her a gun. Thus begins the Sweet family tradition: each child gets a rifle on his/her 7th birthday. On the following day, Tim took her to a gun safety class with his Scout troop where she answered questions faster than most of the teenagers!

At the end of the night, we all had dinner at Peter Piper Pizza (which is like Chuck-E-Cheese). The kids got tokens for games and prizes, and they had the place mostly to themselves since it was a weeknight!

Before bed, Aislin said to me, Thank you, mom, for the best birthday ever. 


Dear Aislin,
We love you so much, and we are grateful for your strength, wit, helpfulness, and kindness. We are grateful for the example that you set for your brothers - most of the time- and how you naturally take on that role of big sister, leader, and protector. We're even grateful for your unabashed voice, your strong will, and how you come up with your own ideas...even when they're sometimes contrary to the directions given to you. We're proud of you for your many achievements in these seven years, but most of all, we're proud of you for trying your best every day to choose the right, for already living true to the gospel, and for being the loving person that you are. 

xoxo,
Mom, Dad, Des, Linc, Paisley, and Baby Brother #4

Happy 5th Birthday, Des!!

May 31, 2015

He's 5-years-old, people! That means KINDERGARTEN!!

He's enjoyed riding his bike in the patio and around the driveway, but sadly his birthday comes just before the summer heat. At least he will have a bike ready for him come winter ;)

Although his birthday landed on a Sunday, he still appreciated all the singing and birthday wishes, the special treatment, the brand new bike, and the cake! His baby brother didn't quite understand who's birthday it was and took a swipe of frosting...to which Des responded, "LINKY! It's not YOUR birthday!!" I guess everyone appreciated the cake ;)

Desmond...is growing lean and tall. He loves to play video games, just like his dad, and even beat his first game (multiple times) when he was still 4! He's independent and knows how to take care of himself, and although he hardly ever asks for anything, he's started to develop likes and interests. In the past year, he has asked me for a pair of Batman sunglasses, soccer ball wall stickers, and a birthday party. I indulged him in the former two. (Clearly, the thought of planning and executing a child's birthday party still freaks me out.) He's still temperamental and moody, but he's learned that only tired and cranky people behave that way...and tired and cranky people must go back to bed. His attitude usually changes after that reminder ;) He and his sister are still thick as thieves, which means they're always in each other's space, quick to defend one another and quick to attack one another too!

He loves music and he loves to dance. When he hears a song in the car, he'll hum to it and sing what he knows. And when he hears music playing from the iPod at home, he'll dance ;) Tim and I always say that we should put him in a hip hop dance class...

Our dear sweet Desmond, we love every kind, affectionate, ornery, hard-working, intelligent, giggly, antagonizing, goofy molecule in your body. May you learn to fold your arms for prayer before stuffing food in your mouth, and may your fifth year of life be full of laughter, kindness, understanding, obedience, fun, and love.

xoxo,
Mom, Dad, Aislin, Lincoln, Paisley, and #4

Here Comes the Caboose

6 weeks
(taken in April)

8 weeks

Sweet Baby #4 is due on November 28th of this year, and we're having a BOY! Holy moly, three boys in Scouts...and one girl to rule them all - bwahahaha! We've made a number of jokes about this, including how Tim was, for the first time ever, WRONG about the baby's sex; how the Lord must've known we could only handle one girl; how getting pregnant just before the start of summer might not have been the best idea; and how Tim was wrong :)

We feel like this baby will be our last, mainly because my health gets a little worse with each pregnancy (but only during pregnancy...and yes, I'm talking about gestational diabetes), but also because I've reached the point where I'm just not having fun anymore! Pregnancy used to be very exciting, even in the first trimester...but now I find myself focusing on the inconveniences and discomforts more than the incredibleness of it all. I feel like I've "been there and done that," which tells me that this chapter in my life is coming to a close.

12 weeks

However, I will never forget sitting with Tim inside the Mesa Temple and praying about whether or not we should try for another child sooner, later, or not at all...and we both received the same answer: that the Lord would take care of us - my health, our finances, our needs - should we have another baby. Two months later, we received a Sweet blessing :)

24 weeks

So here's to our caboose, the butt-end to our loaf of banana bread, the tail to our 6-piece dragon costume...whatever his name may be!

Welcome to Thirty, Tim!!

Finally, the big 3-0 for the gentleman :) Welcome to the Big Kids' Table! xoxo

February 12, 2015

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you :)