Straight 4s

Hank and Max both brought home straight 4s on their report cards so we decided to cash in their perfect grades for free donuts at Krispy Kreme and free tokens at Boondocks! I think this just might become a new tradition! Keep those 4s coming!

Challenges

The logical, reasonable side of my brain knew that when we received the results from Ben's audiology exam, confirming severe unilateral hearing loss, that I shouldn't feel upset because this isn't new information (the injury causing the hearing loss occurred four years ago). But the mommy side of my brain, which has clearly taken over all other higher thinking parts of my brain, just hurt for the little boy who already battles so many challenges. My stomach felt punched and the deck seemed stacked. I still haven't fully digested what this new diagnosis entails and how it will unfold in his continuing development, but it has made me look at Ben with an even deeper sense of pride and admiration. Ben just keeps trucking right along, completely and mercifully unaware of his own hardships. Yesterday he opened his "suitcase" and put on his own glasses and stated, without the least bit of self-pity or bitterness, "my glasses help my eyes to see." I pray everyday that his burdens will be made light, but I'm beginning to understand that this may be one of those instances when the Lord has chosen, instead of lightening the load, to strengthen Ben's shoulders...in part by blessing him with four loving, kind, and compassionate brothers.

Score!

When I signed Ben up for an Itty-Bitty Ball basketball class, I knew there were several different ways this class could turn out. I was prepared to have to hold his hand the entire class while he warmed up to the coaches and new surrounding. I was expecting to have to bribe him to participate with M&Ms. I was planning on him refusing to leave the security of a chair and his beloved Legos. But I was NOT prepared for him to forget all about me and run along and join all the other kids like it was no big deal, running, laughing, and having a great time! Half the time Ben preferred to roll on top of the ball on his tummy rather than shoot it in the basket...but it's ok because we didn't sign up for basketball to play basketball anyways! We signed up for basketball so that Ben could enjoy some physical activity, develop confidence in himself, gain more experience practicing his social skills, and because I wanted him to feel like he has his own "thing" that merits our support. The fact that he has a pretty solid little shot is just a bonus:)

First Steps

Most kids follow the standard developmental progression of milestones from crawling, to pulling up, to cruising, to finally walking. Rocky did the crawling and the pulling up, but he decided to throw in a little extra milestone into the progression: hopping. After anxiously watching Rocky find his balance we prepared to witness his first steps. Instead of putting one foot in front of the other, he bounced himself forward on two feet in a series of cute little bunny hops! What a funny boy! With the hopping only getting him so far, he's finally begun to take real steps! I'd probably feel a little woeful about my baby becoming a walker if it wasn't the cutest thing on earth to watch. 

Fang

Before we had kids, Aaron and I used to joke that with the orthodontic issues between our two families, chances were good our kids' teeth would grow in with the bottoms on the top and the tops on the bottom. Miraculously, our boys have lucked out with beautifully spaced, straight baby teeth...until now. Rocky's bottom two teeth popped up right on schedule around 11 months, but then right on Halloween Day, he cut his first upper tooth: a fang! No front teeth, just one little sharp fang in the corner. In the past few weeks, the fang has dropped into place nicely and the second upper tooth, the right front tooth, has also cut through, but he's still missing one front tooth! I'm only partially joking, given the genetics at play, about being concerned that his left fang and right center tooth ARE his two front teeth. I love this quirky little smile!

Halloween Bonanza

Prologue: Some friends of ours invited Aaron and I to an adult Halloween costume party. Now, I like to think of myself as a fun, semi-outgoing person, but I immediately felt anxiety about this event. Aaron and I are not Halloween people. We don't hang cobwebs and creepy spiders from our front porch, we don't enjoy spooking ourselves with haunted houses (I still have nightmares from the scariest movie I've ever watched--Jurassic Park), and just don't like the dark vibe of the holiday in general. Added to that, the thought of dressing up in a goofy costume goes against my firm personal rule about avoiding embarrassing situations at all costs. Misgivings aside, I really didn't want to disappoint our friends and I knew we'd take some heat if we didn't attend. And so we stewed about it and debated about it...what should have been a really fun thing became something that we agonized over: torn between the primal instinct to avoid foolish situations and the desire to reciprocate friendship. We dragged our feet long enough that the decision to skip the party was made by default. Sitting alone in front of the tv, while a killer party was raging next door, I realized that we'd had the perfect costumes all along and never even knew it! We could come as we are, dressed in our sweat pants and hoodies, and go as anti-socials! It'd fit us perfectly! This anecdote has absolutely nothing to do with tonight's trick-or-treating bonanza, but I thought it would provide insight into our attitude towards Halloween...no thank-you on the creepy/tacky decorations and foolish costumes, yes please on the candy!

The boys got warmed up for trick or treating at Nana Grover's ward party, our ward party, and Nana Grover's neighborhood trunk or treat. By the time the main event rolled around, we'd already amassed an impressive amount of candy and even the little guys were getting the hang of trick or treating. 

Halloween may not be my most favorite holiday, but I did love watching the magic and wonderment as the boys raced from house to house, like slipping down the rabbit hole, where for one day you CAN dress crazy, eat whatever you want, and stay out late. 

Can you tell which candy was Ben's favorite? If someone handed him anything other than an M&M, he'd decline and hand it back.

Grover Special

You know how when you go to In N Out there are just five things on the menu? Don't ask for a mushroom Swiss burger or a bacon guacamole burger because they don't have it. Nope, they just stick to what they know and focus on doing those few things really well. If you want gourmet you have to go somewhere else. Well, that's kind of how it is with Aaron as our pumpkin carver. You've got five basic carving options: round, triangle, square, diamond, and crescent if he's feeling really creative. Other people may be ripping off ideas from Pinterest or downloading templates on Google, but Aaron just likes to crank out the tried and true jack 'o lanterns. I'm not really in a position to complain since I deemed pumpkin carving a "dad job," and the boys seemed pretty pleased with their generic pumpkin faces, so I guess I'll just order up the Grover Special and be happy.