Rachel had a moment of depression today. I went into the kitchen where she and Oliver had been coloring at the counter, and she was just sitting there with her chin in her hands and a glum look on her face. Oliver was gently patting her back. I asked what was wrong, and Oliver said that Girly was pretty sad because she didn't think she was a very good artist. I picked her up and gave her a hug and told her I thought she was a great artist, and she said, "no I'm not, Mom, because I always just scribble-scrabble."
"Scribble-scrabble" is the term my kids use for scribbling. I'm not sure where it came from, but I suspect Tristan learned it somewhere in kindergarten. He started saying it the first week of school, and whenever he used it in a sentence ("Mrs. Garza really liked my drawing today because I didn't scribble-scrabble at all) he would say it so seriously with a straight face, so it made it seem like maybe it was the official term they use at his school.
Has anybody else heard it before? Anyway, I always think it's kind of funny to say, so I say it to my kids now, and it seems extra funny to me because when I say it I am always laughing inside to be saying "scribble-scrabble" but they don't think there is anything funny about it - they think it's a very real and serious word, like "calculus" or "democracy".
Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Oliver's Stack of Drawings
Oliver is so funny with his drawings. He used to do a few drawings a day, and I would keep them in a cupboard in the kitchen and then every once in awhile I cleaned out the pile of drawings and put the "keepers" in his art book.
Somehow, at the beginning of January, he started a new system. One day he made several drawings and he lined them all up on the counter. Then whenever he made a new drawing, he added it to the line. It quickly got too long for the counter, so he started stacking them instead.
Well, somehow since then, Oliver's stack has obtained a life of its own. It's seriously like a fifth child. Each morning he comes downstairs, gets the stack out of the cupboard, and puts it on the counter. He then spends all day creating drawings to add to the stack.
He's very particular about where it goes on the counter, but I don't really know the rules about where it can or can not be. Sometimes I have tried to move it over to a corner when I'm cleaning up, but it always ends up back in his special spot. I also am not allowed to tamper with the stack - sometimes I have taken a drawing that I particularly like out of the stack to hang it up on the fridge, and the next time I come into the kitchen the drawing is off the fridge and back in the stack.
I didn't know it mattered what else was on the counter with it, but apparently it does - a few days ago I came in and set all the mail down on the counter, and he came rushing over all concerned, lifted up his stack, and then casually asked me how long I was going to leave "all that stuff" on the counter. I said I didn't know and asked why it mattered, and he said he just didn't think the counter looked that good with the mail on it. As soon as I cleaned up the mail he put his stack back down.
I guess eventually we'll have to sort through the stack and put the good ones away and get rid of the bad ones. I counted yesterday and there were 116 drawings.
Somehow, at the beginning of January, he started a new system. One day he made several drawings and he lined them all up on the counter. Then whenever he made a new drawing, he added it to the line. It quickly got too long for the counter, so he started stacking them instead.
Well, somehow since then, Oliver's stack has obtained a life of its own. It's seriously like a fifth child. Each morning he comes downstairs, gets the stack out of the cupboard, and puts it on the counter. He then spends all day creating drawings to add to the stack.
He's very particular about where it goes on the counter, but I don't really know the rules about where it can or can not be. Sometimes I have tried to move it over to a corner when I'm cleaning up, but it always ends up back in his special spot. I also am not allowed to tamper with the stack - sometimes I have taken a drawing that I particularly like out of the stack to hang it up on the fridge, and the next time I come into the kitchen the drawing is off the fridge and back in the stack.
I didn't know it mattered what else was on the counter with it, but apparently it does - a few days ago I came in and set all the mail down on the counter, and he came rushing over all concerned, lifted up his stack, and then casually asked me how long I was going to leave "all that stuff" on the counter. I said I didn't know and asked why it mattered, and he said he just didn't think the counter looked that good with the mail on it. As soon as I cleaned up the mail he put his stack back down.
I guess eventually we'll have to sort through the stack and put the good ones away and get rid of the bad ones. I counted yesterday and there were 116 drawings.
Being Brave
Yesterday we were working with Rachel on being brave, because I discovered that she is terrified to go into a room if the light is not turned on, even in the middle of the day. I asked her to help me carry some laundry into my bedroom and put it on the bed so I could fold it, and she couldn't do it, even if I was standing in the doorway watching her. She finally did it, after about 10 minutes.
Then last night we did lots of "bravery missions" - she would run from the game room into her room to grab something, and then run back out and bring it to us. Every time she did it, she got a smartie. She seemed to get a lot better by the end of the night, and she likes to talk a lot now about how brave she thinks she is.
Then last night we did lots of "bravery missions" - she would run from the game room into her room to grab something, and then run back out and bring it to us. Every time she did it, she got a smartie. She seemed to get a lot better by the end of the night, and she likes to talk a lot now about how brave she thinks she is.
Well, today she and Oliver were playing with a bunch of toy food, and they kept making me little "snacks" and bringing them to me to eat. Most of the snacks were desserts and fruit, but then Rachel brought me a plate with a big fake pile of peas on it and said, "Mom, just be really brave and try a bite of the peas! C'mon, you can do it. Just be brave! It's okay!"
Monday, January 22, 2007
I dare you!
Today I caught Rachel "daring" Oliver to do things ("Ollie, I DARE you to stick your hand in this dinosaur's mouth. Ollie, I DARE you to jump off the couch.")
I'm not sure where she learned it, and it makes me wonder what other kinds of dares have been going on around here.
I've attached a drawing that Oliver made today of our family. I thought it was pretty cute. My favorite thing about it is that he drew me wearing earrings, and they look just like the ones I wore to church yesterday. I guess he noticed them and liked them enough to include them in the drawing.
I'm not sure where she learned it, and it makes me wonder what other kinds of dares have been going on around here.
I've attached a drawing that Oliver made today of our family. I thought it was pretty cute. My favorite thing about it is that he drew me wearing earrings, and they look just like the ones I wore to church yesterday. I guess he noticed them and liked them enough to include them in the drawing.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Sister Trip in Utah
Every year my five sisters and I get together with our mom for a fun "Sister Trip" weekend, with no husbands or kids (although babies are allowed). This year it was at my mom's house in Orem, Utah, which was fun because I hadn't been back to Utah since we moved to Texas. I took Elizabeth (7 months) with me, and the older three kids stayed home in Texas with Daniel. It was so fun to see everyone!
Monday, January 1, 2007
Family Christmas/New Year Letter
Dear Family and Friends, Happy New Year! We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season.
Here’s a little summary of what our family has been up to.
We started out 2006 with Daniel accepting a job offer from Dell. A few months later Daniel and I flew down to Austin, Texas to do some house-hunting. We found a new home that we loved in Pflugerville, which is a few miles north of Austin. We bought the house and then went back to Provo for Daniel to finish up his last semester of school.
In April Daniel graduated from the MBA program at BYU. We were all glad to be done with that stage of life. After graduation we headed up to Yellowstone National Park for one last big trip before our move to Texas. In the middle of May we packed everything up and Daniel and our two boys started the long drive to Austin, taking Daniel’s brother Nick along with them to help out. I was 8 months pregnant at the time, so I flew with Rachel and met the boys in Texas.
Daniel began working at Dell a few days after we moved into our new house, and then our fourth child, Elizabeth, was born 3 weeks later. Life got a little busy with a move, a new house, a new job, and a new baby all at once, and I think we’re still waiting for things to settle down a little bit.
We do love our new house, however, and we’ve been having a good time in Texas. We made it through the hot summer, and we’re enjoying the Texas “winter”, if you can call it that (it’s 70 degrees outside today). We love having visitors, and have had a great time showing family members who have come to see us all the fun things to do in the Austin area (SeaWorld, Six Flags, live bands on Sixth Street, bats at Congress Bridge, Rudy’s BBQ, etc.)
Now for some notes about the kids:
Tristan, our oldest, just turned six a few weeks ago. This last year brought a lot of new things for him. In August he started playing on a flag football team that Daniel coached. He had a great time playing and has already started planning his high-school football career. Tristan also started kindergarten in August. He loves school and has been doing very well, impressing his teacher with his math skills. He can do pretty complex math problems in his head, and he always asks us to make math worksheets for him. He loves learning new things, and nothing gets past his quick mind. Tristan is a great artist and spends a lot of time drawing and making creative art projects. He also loves Legos and playing Stratego with Daniel. He’s happy to finally have a backyard, and likes spending time outside climbing trees, catching crickets, and hitting balls over the fence. Tristan is a very pleasant and obedient kid and a good helper at home.
Oliver turned four in August. He is possibly our most stubborn and independent child, but he also keeps us entertained with his creativity, story-telling, and sense of humor. Oliver loves quoting funny lines from movies; Napoleon Dynamite is one of his favorites, and I’ve been told several times to “knock it off and make myself a dang quesadilla!” He spends his days drawing (he, too, is a very talented artist), playing with Rachel, and asking me when snack time is. I have been giving him daily reading lessons, which he loves and is pretty good at – he’s starting to give Tristan a run for his money. He also loves singing and listening to music (he listens to Primary songs before bed, and I often hear him belting out “Scripture Power” long after the other kids are asleep). Oliver is just as solid as always, and watching him run down the hall and knock Daniel flat is a sight to see – that kid is a freight train, and he loves to tackle! On a more gentle note, Ollie really appreciates beautiful things, and he’s been having the time of his life with all the Christmas decorations this last month; he spent a lot of time sitting in front of the Christmas tree, “setting up” the nativities over and over again, and telling me that it’s all so beautiful and exciting that it makes his stomach hurt.
Rachel is almost 2 ½ years old. She is quite a dramatic little girl with a big vocabulary and she thinks she is in charge of the family. She loves playing with Tristan and Oliver, and can hold her own in any sword fight or wrestling match. She also loves her Dad, and likes to pretend that she is Arwen, and Daniel is Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. As much as she likes “her boys”, as she calls them, she also loves her new sister. I think adding another girl to the family has opened up her eyes to more “girly” things – she has become interested in princesses, babies, Dora dolls, and getting married. Now when she plays with “fighter guys” they have friendly discussions with each other in high voices, and when she plays with toy trucks they are often driving to a party. Rachel loves parties.
Elizabeth is now sixth months old. She is quite the explorer and started moving around much earlier than our other children did. She mastered crawling a few weeks ago, and has started crawling all over the house looking for things to get into. Lizzy is a very happy baby and a lot of fun. She smiles at everyone and has a great laugh. She also has enormous thighs.
Thank you for your love and friendship. We wish you all the very best.
Love, Daniel, Joanne, Tristan, Oliver, Rachel, and Elizabeth Mott
Here’s a little summary of what our family has been up to.
We started out 2006 with Daniel accepting a job offer from Dell. A few months later Daniel and I flew down to Austin, Texas to do some house-hunting. We found a new home that we loved in Pflugerville, which is a few miles north of Austin. We bought the house and then went back to Provo for Daniel to finish up his last semester of school.
In April Daniel graduated from the MBA program at BYU. We were all glad to be done with that stage of life. After graduation we headed up to Yellowstone National Park for one last big trip before our move to Texas. In the middle of May we packed everything up and Daniel and our two boys started the long drive to Austin, taking Daniel’s brother Nick along with them to help out. I was 8 months pregnant at the time, so I flew with Rachel and met the boys in Texas.
Daniel began working at Dell a few days after we moved into our new house, and then our fourth child, Elizabeth, was born 3 weeks later. Life got a little busy with a move, a new house, a new job, and a new baby all at once, and I think we’re still waiting for things to settle down a little bit.
We do love our new house, however, and we’ve been having a good time in Texas. We made it through the hot summer, and we’re enjoying the Texas “winter”, if you can call it that (it’s 70 degrees outside today). We love having visitors, and have had a great time showing family members who have come to see us all the fun things to do in the Austin area (SeaWorld, Six Flags, live bands on Sixth Street, bats at Congress Bridge, Rudy’s BBQ, etc.)
Now for some notes about the kids:
Tristan, our oldest, just turned six a few weeks ago. This last year brought a lot of new things for him. In August he started playing on a flag football team that Daniel coached. He had a great time playing and has already started planning his high-school football career. Tristan also started kindergarten in August. He loves school and has been doing very well, impressing his teacher with his math skills. He can do pretty complex math problems in his head, and he always asks us to make math worksheets for him. He loves learning new things, and nothing gets past his quick mind. Tristan is a great artist and spends a lot of time drawing and making creative art projects. He also loves Legos and playing Stratego with Daniel. He’s happy to finally have a backyard, and likes spending time outside climbing trees, catching crickets, and hitting balls over the fence. Tristan is a very pleasant and obedient kid and a good helper at home.
Oliver turned four in August. He is possibly our most stubborn and independent child, but he also keeps us entertained with his creativity, story-telling, and sense of humor. Oliver loves quoting funny lines from movies; Napoleon Dynamite is one of his favorites, and I’ve been told several times to “knock it off and make myself a dang quesadilla!” He spends his days drawing (he, too, is a very talented artist), playing with Rachel, and asking me when snack time is. I have been giving him daily reading lessons, which he loves and is pretty good at – he’s starting to give Tristan a run for his money. He also loves singing and listening to music (he listens to Primary songs before bed, and I often hear him belting out “Scripture Power” long after the other kids are asleep). Oliver is just as solid as always, and watching him run down the hall and knock Daniel flat is a sight to see – that kid is a freight train, and he loves to tackle! On a more gentle note, Ollie really appreciates beautiful things, and he’s been having the time of his life with all the Christmas decorations this last month; he spent a lot of time sitting in front of the Christmas tree, “setting up” the nativities over and over again, and telling me that it’s all so beautiful and exciting that it makes his stomach hurt.
Rachel is almost 2 ½ years old. She is quite a dramatic little girl with a big vocabulary and she thinks she is in charge of the family. She loves playing with Tristan and Oliver, and can hold her own in any sword fight or wrestling match. She also loves her Dad, and likes to pretend that she is Arwen, and Daniel is Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. As much as she likes “her boys”, as she calls them, she also loves her new sister. I think adding another girl to the family has opened up her eyes to more “girly” things – she has become interested in princesses, babies, Dora dolls, and getting married. Now when she plays with “fighter guys” they have friendly discussions with each other in high voices, and when she plays with toy trucks they are often driving to a party. Rachel loves parties.
Elizabeth is now sixth months old. She is quite the explorer and started moving around much earlier than our other children did. She mastered crawling a few weeks ago, and has started crawling all over the house looking for things to get into. Lizzy is a very happy baby and a lot of fun. She smiles at everyone and has a great laugh. She also has enormous thighs.
Thank you for your love and friendship. We wish you all the very best.
Love, Daniel, Joanne, Tristan, Oliver, Rachel, and Elizabeth Mott
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