Concerned Girl - Superhero Agnes

When we go out and do our shopping trips as a family there are usually a couple stores that just Rebecca or I will run in to for a quick browse or to pick just an item or two. When I run in, I almost always come back to a car of laughing or singing or some other merriment. When Rebecca runs in, Agnes immediately starts crying and I spend the time trying to soothe her and am counting down the seconds until she comes back (at which point Agnes quickly settles back down).

Today as we were shopping I dropped Rebecca off to get her hair cut (it looks spectacular if you were wondering), while I took the rest of the kids to the store to start on the groceries. When she stepped out of the car Agnes started her usual cry. But then I put the car in gear and started driving and she took it to another level. She was so panicked at the idea of leaving mom that her usual protest was not adequate and she screamed like I have never heard her scream before. Luckily she wore herself out by the time we parked the car and she ended up doing really well on the rest of the trip.

Agnes (1) is my superhero today for loving Rebecca so much, but also for settling down in time for me to take her in the store.

It may not work, but I have tried to include a video of her crawling, a talent she has recently picked up.

Friendly Gal - Superhero Agnes

Rebecca had a Thanksgiving get together with some friends in the area who have children the same age as ours. She reported to me that Agnes did a great job at the party - She didn't fuss at all when some of the other moms or even some of the other kids wanted to hold her, she played well with the other little kids that were also her age, and she had plenty of big smiles to share. One of the other moms had watched Agnes the other day while Rebecca was at the dentist and I was teaching a class. The other mom told Rebecca that Agnes had gotten into crawling position, and when her daughter (about 5 months older than Agnes) saw it, she went over to hop on and get a horsey ride. The mom made sure to report that she intervened prior to her daughter hopping on. When I heard the story I remember that I caught Chrisitan and Elliott gently sitting on Agnes earlier that day. She is definitely a tough girl and I don't think she would have minded if the other girl had done some rough and tumble play with her.

Agnes is my superhero today for playing well at the party.

Birthday Girl - Superhero Agnes

Agnes turned one today! I don't have any particular stories of acts of kindness that she did today, but she brings so much joy to our family that I thought I would do an extra post about her. It seems like she had a great day and was mostly all smiles. We tried to think of her favorite dinner and we came up with spaghetti and meatballs. She ended up eating a ton, so maybe we got it right. She also got to try her first sweets and thoroughly enjoyed that.

Agnes is my superhero today for bringing joy to our family.

"There never was such devoted sisters" - Superheros Julia and Agnes

I had a fun time today watching Julia (7) and Agnes (1) play with each other. Agnes often just goes along with whatever activities Julia is having her do. In addition to playing games with her, Julia often voluntarily takes care of her by picking her up when she needs attention, picking out clothes for her, and sometimes even changing her diaper. Today, Julia was helping her practice crawling. Agnes is getting really close, but it might be a few more days still. Agnes does get around somehow, but it can't quite count as crawling just yet.

Julia and Agnes are my superheros today for being great sisters by playing with each other and helping each other out.

Sleeping Beauty - Superhero Agnes

This afternoon I was working from home, trying to finish up with a review of a student's dissertation. Rebecca was helping Julia and Ethan do their homework and Christian, Elliott, and Agnes were playing with Legos on the floor. Agnes (1) must have noticed how tired I looked and thought I needed a break because she started to stare at me with a glazed over look and droopy eyelids. I picked her up to help her get to sleep and went back to work with her taking a nap on my shoulder. However, she was so warm and comfortable that my eyelids soon became heavy too and the words on the computer became a blur. Before I knew it we were both snoring on the couch.

Agnes is my superhero today for helping me take a break and get a little snooze in.

Preparing for Choir - Superheros Julia, Ethan, Christian, Elliott, and Agnes

Rebecca started conducting before church choir practice today. I thought it went pretty well. It seemed like a good number of people showed up, and from where I was sitting, they sounded really good. Perhaps one other reason why I thought it went well is because with these before church choir practices I end up getting the morning off. Since I have meetings in the morning, there is just no way for me to get home in time to help get the kids in the car and back to church before the start of choir. That means Rebecca has to get all of the kids ready for church on her own.

Although Rebecca did do a lot of work getting everyone ready, she did report that all of the kids were a big help. Not only did they do well in bathing, getting dressed, eating, and getting in the car, they also helped her prepare for the choir. In Julia and Ethan's after school choir they have to go to study hall if they are not listening or participating as the should. So all of the kids made study hall passes for Rebecca to hand out to anyone who needed a time out during the ward choir practice. There were a few older sisters in the choir who I thought came close to getting one :), but luckily the passes went unused.

Julia, Ethan, Christian, Elliott, and Agnes were my superheros today for helping get ready for choir on time.

Headlock Hugging - Superhero Agnes

Elliott loves to give Agnes (11 months) hugs. However, he doesn't always remember to do them soft enough yet for her. The hugs sometimes end with distressed screams on her part, me or Rebecca coming to the rescue, and Elliott looking confused about why his hug didn't turn out better. Today he was hugging Agnes by putting her in a headlock and squeezing her close. Although he was just as rough as usual, for some reason Agnes was able to endure it well. Each time he pulled her close, she smiled and giggled away.

Agnes is my superhero today for enjoying the tough love from her brother.

Dada - Superhero Agnes

Over the past couple of months Agnes (10 months) has been saying her first words. She started with "mama" and that eventually turned into "mom." Then it was banana, or as she says it "nana." She is actually pretty cute with that one and will excitedly repeat it over and over whenever she sees someone eating or hears someone talking about that fruit. It seems that maybe she has been studying some of Dad's psychology textbooks as she got the words associated with her physiological and safety needs (Maslow's hierarchy of needs) mastered first.

Over the past week or so she has been experimenting with the da sound. At first I was getting excited, but then I realized that she was just indiscriminately saying the sound. However,  "da" has now turned into "dada" and she now seems to say it in reference to me. Today we were playing a game where she would say dada a few times and then stop. I would then say it and she would repeat a few more time, then me, then her, then me again, and so on (looks like she has moved up the hierarchy to social needs).

Today Agnes is my superhero for learning how to say dada.

Kind Playmate - Superhero Agnes

One of Rebecca's friends is out of town for the week and so Rebecca and I offered to watch their two sweet children for a couple of days while their dad is at work (it is really all Rebecca watching them, but I am working from home these two days so I can be an extra set of eyes and hands if she needs them). Having the two kids over actually works out well because their oldest is a boy that is right in between Christian's and Ethan's age and their youngest is a girl that is just a couple of months older than Agnes. So although every once in a while there is a conflict over the toys or which games to play, for the most part they all get along great.

The day started off with some Duplos. Agnes (10 months) isn't mobile yet, so she just sat and played with the few that were around her. Our friends' daughter on the other hand is mobile, and she was crawling all over the place. When she saw Agnes with the Duplos she must have thought they looked fun because she crawled right over and grabbed one out of her hand. I thought Agnes was going to cry (that is what she usually does when her brothers take something from her), but instead she just picked up a new one and started playing with it. A little bit later, the other girl had dropped her Duplo and came over to grab the new one that Agnes was holding. This time Agnes held it out to give it to her. Then Agnes picked up another one and with a smile, held it out to give it to her as well.

Today Agnes is my superhero for doing a great job sharing with our guests.

Daddy Daughter Outing - Superhero Agnes

I had a minor crisis today. In the middle of working on a few research projects from home my jump drive stopped working. I couldn't figure out what happened (maybe it was the multiple times of forgetting it in my jeans and having it go through the wash or the years of ignoring the eject warning or the mud that would get caked on it when I would ride my bike to work in the rain). Whatever the reason, it stopped working today. I knew I backed it up on my work computer about a month ago and so no tears were shed, but I still hated to lose a month of work. I was anxious to get to my office to get the back up files, but I didn't want to leave Rebecca home alone to help Julia and Ethan with their homework, hold Agnes (she was a little fussy), and prepare dinner. So I decided to bring Agnes along with me.

Agnes (10 months) was the perfect companion. She was perfectly quite and occupied herself while I downloaded the files I needed, she went along happily as I ran a few other errands, she looked really cute wearing a "Daddy is my hero shirt," and she gave me lots of smiles.

Agnes is my superhero today for keeping me company on my outing.

Cleaning Helpers - Superheros Julia, Ethan, Christian, Elliott, & Agnes

Once every three months we have the opportunity to help out in cleaning our church. Today was our turn. All of the children woke up early excited to help out. After a quick breakfast we rushed out the door. I am not sure if they got a lot done, but they were more than happy to help out in their own way - they helped with the dusting and with the mopping. They even did a good job sharing the cleaning supplies with each other without fighting too much about whose turn it was to do what. Even Agnes did a great job hanging out in the baby sling while I worked on the bathrooms. As we were finishing up, the children disappeared for a little while. I found them in the gym with a couple of chairs set up facing the stage and the lights off. They asked me to sit down and then they presented a short play of kung fu fighting.

Today, all of the children are my superheros for happily doing their part to help clean the church.

Time with Dad - Superhero Agnes

In a previous post I mentioned that Agnes prefers Rebecca over me - and how could I blame her? Today when I came home from teaching a class Rebecca was holding Agnes with one hand and trying to cook dinner with the other. I offered to help by taking Agnes, but as soon as I reached for her, she turned away from me and held tight to Rebecca. I don't want to give the wrong impression - Agnes does like spending time with me. However, if she is tired or hungry or upset, then she just wants her mom. I tried a couple more times to reach out to her, but kept getting the same reaction. Finally, after giving her a hug and kiss, I just took her. She cried for a second and looked back longingly at mom, but then she was a good sport and we had a good time together. I know it is a little thing, but her going with me freed Rebecca up so her arms wouldn't be so tired, and so we could all eat dinner in time (we had some plans for later that evening), and so I could have some quality bonding time with her.

Today Agnes is my superhero for spending some time with Dad.

Great Little Sister - Superhero Agnes

When we lived in Oklahoma we had a cat that always came wandering around our house. Julia was 2-3 at the time and she loved that cat and thought is was her own. She would pet it and hug it and sometimes pick it up and carry it around by the neck. I am surprised that the cat kept on coming back, but it must have really liked the attention that it got from Julia. Although we aren't really pet people, Rebecca and I had a lot of appreciation for that cat for all that it patiently went through so that our daughter could be happy.

Luckily for Julia, she has four younger siblings who have taken the place of the Oklahoma cat. Today she was looking for someone to play with and she found Agnes (10 months) occupying herself with Duplos. She decided to get one of the toy bins and turn it into a baby something - whats the word for a cradle, castle, and race car all in one? She padded it with blankets and pillows all around, and then plopped Agnes inside. She then zoomed her around the room, built up forts around her, and tucked her in so she could sing her to sleep. I am not quite sure if Agnes knew what was going on, but I swear her facial expression was the same one I saw in that cat all those years ago. Julia is a wonderful big sister, but I think Agnes is also a wonderful little sister for patiently going along for the ride as Julia plays with her like she is her little doll.

Agnes is my superhero today for humoring her older sister as they played together.

A Smile to Save the Day - Superhero Agnes

As babies, each of our kids has had their preferred parent. Although I was the lucky one for Julia, all of the others have preferred Rebecca over me to varying degrees. With Agnes there is no question at all about who she likes best. Sometimes I will be holding her and I think that we are having a good time, but as soon as Rebecca comes in to the room I find out she was only tolerating me because mom was not around. Without fail she will cry until I give in and hand her over. She frequently does play a fun little game with me though and today it really cheered me up. It usually starts when she is across the room and I will try to get her attention. Then, when she sees that I am looking at her she gives me a big smile. I smile back really big and then she looks away. Then she will look back to see if she still has my attention and then gives a big smile again. I smile back, she looks away, and so on. In playing this game I think she is trying to say "I love you and am happy to see you, just don't try to come take me away from Mom." Whatever she is thinking, the smiles I get always brighten my day. Today in particular the other kids were extra grumpy (perhaps from camping out on Friday night and staying up late to watch a movie last night), and so Agnes' smiles really kept me going.

Today, Agnes is my superhero for sharing her smiles with me.