I can ride my bike with no handlebars... I mean training wheels.

This weeks 5 things:

1. We were driving by the Wallsburg turnoff the other day, and Isaac asked where that road went. I told him that's how you get to Wallsburg, and that we use to live there before he was born.
"Can we go there someday?", he asked.
"Sure", I said.
"Do they speak a different language there?", he asked.

2. Asa is getting louder and LOUDER. He has this insane squeal that he does that makes me think he is going to be just as loud as his brothers. I guess he's learning from the best.


3. I received the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from Luke:


4. With the recent loss of our beloved dog, Grandma Loveridge thought the boys needed some new pets to help take their minds off of him. It just so happened that she had some right in her garden:

Anybody who knows me, knows how FREAKED out this makes me! But, I am determined not to make my boys as paranoid of bugs/slimy things as I am. So, I put on my happy face, and politely declined all offerings to hold the snails.

5. Isaac can officially ride his bike without training wheels. He's been wanting to try, so I took them off and headed over to the track for our first lesson. Our first attempt left me thinking that it was going to take a while to master a 2-wheeler. Well, tonight we all went back over - this time Adam was there to give his expertise. Apparently, Adam said or did something that worked, because Isaac made it around the entire track pretty smoothly (I still think he just needed time for my lesson to sink in and his confidence was ready). By the time we were leaving, Isaac had figured out how to start and stop (sort of) by himself. He kept asking us, "Are you so proud of me?". And, yes I really was. I love these moments, as a parent... to see your child so proud of himself for learning or mastering something.

I hadn't been on a bike since selling mine to pay for my baby Isaac. Nice to see that I've still got it.

soccer mom?

Isaac participated in his first team sport this year... soccer. It's funny, I wasn't sure what to expect from him, but once I saw him play his first game, I wasn't surprised. Granted, he had never played soccer before, he is only 4, and he had never played in a team sport, so you wouldn't expect a (insert any famous soccer player's name here) performance. He was pretty much in la la land... running around in the general vicinity of the group of kids, looking everywhere except at the ball, occasionally sitting down mid field or running over to me at the sidelines to tell me he loves me. I'm not trying to sound disappointed, because all that matters to me is that he had fun... which he did. I'm not sure if it was just the anticipation of snacks after the game, but he was definitely excited for each game. The best part is, at the last game he actually made a goal! I even captured it on film. I finally remembered my camera at the last game so that I could show my family how funny it was (again, not making fun of him, he just makes me laugh). Instead of being like every other game, he actually put some effort into it - keeping up with the kids, kicking the ball in the right direction a few times, and then making the big goal. What a way to go out! Now we will just have to see if he liked it enough to do it again next year... I'm really eager to be a soccer mom.

A good soccer mom would have had her child's soccer attire ready for his first game. Luckily, he doesn't care about that kind of stuff and he still had a blast.

5 things

So, when I use to email my little bro on his mission, I would make him a list with 5 things that had happened during the week; to force me to come up with something to write. I usually had to stretch to come up with 1 or 2, let alone 5, but I made it happen. I have recently gone back and looked at some of those emails that didn't end up deleted. It was cool to read about some things that I had completely forgotten about... which is why I am kicking myself for not starting a journal sooner (my blog is pretty much my journal, until I can really get my act together). I can't stand the feeling that I have forgotten so much about my boys when they were younger (my oldest is only 5!... my memory sucks!) So, I'm going to start making my lists again, and I will be digging deep into my brain and writing down anything that I may remember from the past.

5 things from the last couple of weeks (other than the major one of Luke pooping on the potty. I already covered that):

1. While driving home the other night, Isaac and Luke were talking about poptarts. Isaac asked Luke if he liked poptarts, and Luke's reply was, "No. I like tuna fish".

2. The boys were eating some Spongebob fruit snacks (thanks, Grandma Pulley), and Isaac was lining all of his up to see which characters were in his bag: Mr. Crabs, pineapple, pineapple, pineapple, Patrick, pineapple, Squidward... no Spongebob. As he is holding Squidward he says, "I bet he's glad there is no Spongebob in here" (Squidward can't stand Spongebob). The two thoughts that went through my head at that moment are, "What a clever boy", and "We watch way too much Spongebob!".

3. Asa finally cut his first tooth. I guess 9 months isn't all that late for teeth, but my other two were both 6 months when they got theirs.

4. We took the boys on a couple of little "hikes" to enjoy the wonderful weather we have had. I love how fascinated they always are about EVERYTHING that they see. Flowers, cactus, horse poop, rocks, dirt, lizards, ants... it's amazing stuff! They LOVE picking flowers as they walk. I finally had to tell Luke to leave some for the deer to eat because it was literally taking us 15 minutes to walk 20 yards.

5. My favorite one: Tonight, as I was in my room folding clothes, Adam was taking Luke to his bed, and I hear Luke say, "Mommy's eewee (really) cool." If that didn't just melt my heart...

Isaac and Luke had to have their backpacks for our big trek.

heartbroken

So, we have been missing our dog, Drake, since Sunday (we suspect someone took him... lame!). Of course, this breaks our hearts. He is a great dog, and most importantly, he is GREAT with our boys. But, what really breaks my heart is how sad this has made Isaac. With each passing day I lose more hope, but not Isaac. He keeps saying that maybe whoever finds him (we didn't tell him that we think he was taken) will somehow know to drive by our house. And, to help them if they do, he made this today to hang on a tree:

He also set up a "contraption" that will somehow lure Drake back home. He's frustrated that stray animals keep eating the dog food that is suppose to make it work:

Every prayer he says, he asks for Heavenly Father to help Drake come home. And if someone else is saying the prayer, he makes sure to remind them to do the same. Tonight I heard him in the other room talking, then I realized that he was saying a prayer. I only caught a little bit, but this is sort of what I heard: "please help the people who find Drake to drive by our house and see our note because I love him and want him to be back in his kennel." I have tried to explain that he should also pray for Heavenly Father to help him feel better if Drake doesn't return, but he prefers to stay optimistic. Oh, to have the faith of a child. I hope there is a chance of his return, but if not, we are sure going to miss our Drake.

a birthday note

Yesterday was Adam's birthday. We didn't do much... just went to dinner at the Happy Sumo (one of Adam's favorites) and then back home for some cake with the boys (or skor bar dessert, also his favorite). Although we tend to keep things pretty simple birthdays and/or holidays, we love each other very much. So, I decided to make a note of the 5 things I love most about Adam (warning: what you are about to read may contain some level of cheesiness):

1. Adam is great at making me feel loved and appreciated. He tells me, he shows me, and has proven this over the course of our marriage. He is definitely better at this than I am. And, I need to do a much better job at expressing my love and appreciation to him.

2. He loves and adores our children. My love for him has grown so much as I have watched him as a father. It gives me the greatest peace, knowing that my kids have a father who will always be there for them. He is a great example of integrity, honesty, love, and drive for them to follow.

3. He works very hard to provide for our family and never complains about it. He's good at getting things done (unless it's yard work) and can figure out how to do almost anything... he rarely gives up on a problem.

4. He enjoys life and doesn't waste a lot of time. He enjoys a few different hobbies, which help him keep his sanity. And the time he spends with family and friends is very important to him.

5. He's a pretty easy going and mild tempered person. He is hard to offend, and quick to forgive. But, he is definitely not afraid to speak his mind on something.

I guess that wasn't too cheesy. Now, I'll list 5 things that bug me about Adam... just kidding, I'll keep this positive. I truly love him, and consider him to be my best friend. And, I still feel blessed to be married to him after almost 8 years of marriage.

success!

I'm still in a state of shock at the moment... the most unbelievable thing happened in the Pulley home today. My little Adam Luke Pulley pooped on the toilet! Twice! The 'big thing' that I have been putting off and putting off, because of total fear, actually happened with very little stress or mess. I guess all it took was the right bribe... gum!

Luke actually decided to start peeing on the potty months ago. He wanted to do it, so he did it... that's Luke. That was pretty surprising to me at the time and should have motivated me to move forward with potty training, but no. I was not mentally ready yet. I thought about it often, but just the thought would make me break into cold sweats. Luke has had a history of playing with his poop!... I have a story about that I will document. How was I going to do this?!

Well, like most things that I have put of because of fear, this has turned out to be easier than anticipated. He had the peeing part down , so it was not too hard for him to figure that he could poop there also... he just needed the right motivation. I've been promising M&M's for months now. Every day he says, "Poop on toilet, get emyems", but then comes back in 5 minutes and says, "I poopy"... so that didn't work so well. So, I tried promising new spiderman underwear if he would poop on the potty. Again, he acted excited about the idea, but nothing. Then, it dawned on me... Luke is OBSESSED with gum. He is constantly raiding my purse, when left within reach, and steeling my gum. Once the promise of gum was made, we had success within the hour! And he got lots of M&M's, a piece of gum, and we are going shopping for some new undies tomorrow. Now, I just hope and pray that things will continue in a positive direction.

a few little notes

Here are a few things I want to write down, because they made me smile:

Last night Adam made himself a protein shake before he went to basketball and gave a little bit to Isaac. Adam said he was standing there when, all of a sudden, Isaac comes running around the corner, right into him. When asked what he was doing, he said, "I was seeing if I could run faster".

This morning Adam witnessed an unfortunate accident involving a car and a kid on a bike in front of our house (don't worry, he's alright). Isaac quickly noticed the police cars and ambulance, so he watched the going on's out the window for a while. As he was watching, he looks down at Asa and says, "It's good you can't see this, it's very sad".

One last Isaac moment: During his prayers tonight, Isaac asked Heavenly Father to help his owie get better, as he points down to his side to show Heavenly Father and says, "right here".

My next moment involves Luke and gives me hope: So, last night I had to give Asa some tylenol and use some ear drops (the ear infection that won't die). Apparently, in my sleepless state of mind, I left them out where Luke could get them. This would usually have a very predictable outcome, BUT something unusual happened today. Instead of running to some hidden corner in the house and emptying both bottles (childproof doesn't apply to Luke), I heard him say, "Oh, mommy", and he comes running into the kitchen and handed me both unemptied bottles. He definitely got a sticker for that one.

Lastly, I just want to write down a little about Asa at 8 1/2 months. He almost makes me believe that we have evolved from apes. He has this grip that would be comparable to a baby monkey holding onto it's mother. And, although he has probably ripped half of my hair, and numerous pairs of earrings out (which I hardly where anymore), I love it! He grabs a handful of hair at the back of my neck, and pulls his face right against mine (this doesn't hurt, it's when he grabs little strands around my face, that brings tears). It's like he's putting all of his effort into an enormous hug and it makes me feel important.

You do have to be careful about laying on the ground with him in the same room, because he immediately crawls up, and grabs on to your hair, face, or ears and squeals like a maniac. Isaac and Luke always find this funny until those little fingers won't let go.

Although I don't seem to get as much done as I would like with Asa always tugging on my leg, I get overwhelmed with love when I pick that little guy up and get to comfort him. He is such a sweetheart... a needy one, but still a sweetheart.