Milestones - 4th Grade, 2nd Grade, Preschool, and 11 Months

This was the 1st year in the Baum's history that these children weren't the new kids on the 1st day of school.  Wahoo!  Jace and I felt like real parents.  I dropped Noah off near the playground and yelled a farewell "Good Luck!" out the window.  Surely someone will show him where to find Mrs. Baldwin's classroom?  I love that kid.

But at the Intermediate school, when I started climbing out of the car, Macy gently let me know that I didn't need to walk her in this year.

"Are you sure?"

"Ya."

"Ok then.  Have a good day."

"I will."

"Be brave.  Smile.  You have everything?  See you after school.  Watch for cars.  Don't cry.  Look for other little girls that need a friend.  Mrs. Ward will be so nice, just watch and see.  Have fun."

I don't think she heard half of it.  Tears streamed down my face as I watched her walk into a new chapter of her life.  Why are girls so different?  I'm going to be a basket case if that girl ever decides to marry off.

And somehow I got suckered into participating in a Joy School group for this little guy this year.  I hope I'm still able to sing "Oh, boy I got joy!" after the first week of them at my house.  Why can't I be a good Mormon mom and speak softly to my children and set up craft time in the afternoon and teach them piano?  At times my weaknesses are made so clear to me (i.e. Joy School Mother's meeting).  But Ezra is having a ball.  I truly miss him and his clamming presence when he is gone.  I asked him awhile ago what me and his father did to deserve such a sweet boy?  He said, "nothing."  And he is exactly right.

11 Months

I'm so not ready for her to be a year old.

How did that happen so fast?

We still have so much to work on.  She still is not sleeping thru the night.  My jeans should fit better after a year.   She should love to eat regular food.  She should not be nursing 9 times a day and night still.  Her 3-6 month old clothes should long ago been put away.

I inserted myself into her milestone pictures this month.  It only seemed appropriate.  Me and Mikael.  We are thick as thieves.  When I'm on the computer - she is laying on the keyboard.  When I'm sweeping   - she is doing snow angels in the dirt pile.  When I vacuum, she is following while chewing on the cord. When I am showering - she is climbing the bathtub walls.  You get the picture.

I love this chic.  I know it sounds like I might feel sorry for myself a lot when I talk about this baby that exhausts a lot of my time and energy but don't pity me.  She is a ray of sunshine in our lives.  I married her father because of his enthusiasm for life, his curiosity, his desire to learn and be better and his love for me.  Mikael is her father's child.  She does not know how to sit still or sleep for long periods at a time.  There is so much to see!  And do!  I'm jealous and in awe of her spunk and her ability to steal the show at any given minute and make the room fall in love with her.  And I'm completely flattered at her love for me.  I'm a lucky girl.

Milestones

3 Months

What can I say about this gal? Blue eyes. Long eyelashes. So quiet. So content. Loves her Mother. Laughs at Noah. Smiles at her Father. She can arch her back and scoot herself down when she is in the swing....I have walked into the room multiple times only to find her laying on the floor. She is basically a gymnast. We love her so. Heavenly Father could not have sent a sweeter 4th child to my home.

9 Years

And what can I say about this gal that I haven't already said? She is still so sweet and takes such good care of all of us. She is right now talking on the phone to Grandma Mikey asking if she would like a group Christmas number with her brothers or would she prefer a solo for the Christmas Eve program? I love it. Macy got to take a couple friends to the movie for her birthday. That is the closest thing to a birthday party this little lady has ever had. And a funny thing about this picture. Macy has always known what she would like to wear and sometimes it isn't what her Mother would like her to wear. She cries because "everyone at school gets to wear cool clothes except me. (you know the High School Musical and Hannah Montana clothes) I have to wear shirts with birds on 'em. Not cool Mom." Guess what Macy got for her birthday? Yep. A shirt with a penguin on it. Oh what sad stories she will have to tell about her childhood. Love you Macy. You will always be way cooler than your Motherdear.

9? WOW. Are Jace and I really that old? Funny cuz I sometimes still think we are the newlywed couple in the ward.

Parties, Earrings, and Covenants

The day was cold and quiet. She wore the same dress I did when I was baptized by my father 20 years ago at the same building. She sang a primary song with Noah. She was worried her curls wouldn't make it all the way under and that she would have to be dunked again and again. But in the end, that would have been ok with her, the water was warm. She asked "backstage" in her dripping wet dress if she could swim a lap or maybe just to the steps? We ate her favorite roast beef sandwiches. I was so proud of her. And her Dad.

Turning eight at our house not only means baptism but also earrings. We have been talking about this day for years but in the end it almost didn't happen. Mattie held her hands. Macy cried and changed her mind. I held her head. And it was over before she knew it started. Five minutes later, she was posing in the streets.

Mattie, along with her Mom, Grandma, sisters, and cousins showed up on our doorstep the morning of her birthday. It was the best birthday surprise. It invoked tears, squeals, and hugs and then again when they had to leave.

I love this girl so much. She has grown up so much this past year. I love her sense of humor and how she tries not to laugh at her parents jokes. She is so thoughtful of her brothers and her friends. She is a rule follower and likes to be reassured that we are all on the right side of the law. Choosing the right comes so easy to her. She is my joy. We feel so blessed to have her in our home.

I used to wonder what in the world I was thinking, birthing a child this time of year. But maybe I was wrong. She is the perfect way to end a year and begin a new one. She has taught us so much and at times we feel like we are growing up along side her. I am honored to know her sweet spirit and how it reminds me how thankful I am to be a mother. Her mother.

My kids are still cute. Halloween 2009. Ezra turned 3. Thanksgiving 2009. We are still alive. In pictures. In no particular order.

Surprised you didn't I? I may or may not update this private blog after all.

When we grow up.

A treasure was rediscovered this week.

(When you move every 6 weeks like we do, treasures are sometimes forgotten about, packed, misplaced and then found again. It's almost like Christmas every 6 weeks. Almost.)

The treasure was promptly taped onto the boy's bedroom wall.

Did you know that Macy wants to be a Mom when she grows up?

Twins please. One boy. One girl.

Did you know Noah dreams of being an astronaut? Who knew, right?

Ezra liked the looks of this one. Perhaps he is missing the liberating days of diapers and being able to eat his toes.

And surprise! Jace wants to be a farmer when he grows up.

I dreamed my whole life of this job here. And it is the life.

I used to do this. Happy days.

I spend an awful lot of my grown up life here, at this job. My mac isn't nearly as cute as that green, vintage typewritter and I would bet she has her heels on, with apron tied around her waist, and that she just put her 1st batch of bread in the oven.

Remember when you thought that was what grown up life was going to be like?

Macy started gymnastics.

The coach told her wearing a leotard was optional. Optional? Right. You try telling the 7 year old girl that she does not need to wear her pink leotard every single week. I watched her prance/shimi into class today in her pink leotard.

Remember when you used to feel beautiful in only a pink leotard? Remember when you used to walk with your hands out at your hips as you pranced into a room?

Those were the days.

Then we all grow up.

MY PRIVACY CLAUSE: I love to talk to people. I love to drill them about their lives. So, I assume that you want to talk and question me in return, so instead of waiting for you to do so, I go ahead and spill my beans. All my beans. All the time. And lately, just every once in awhile, I'll be spilling about my life to a relative, friend of a friend, stranger, ect. and soon their head is nodding, they are smiling and I have this feeling like - crap! I already told them this story. I hate when I do that. But then the person will just say - "I read it on your blog." Oh. So technically, I am that person that repeats the same stories over and over. Crap. Are you tired of hearing my stories over and over? Are you politely nodding and waiting for this story to be over right now? Crap. We are going private. But you like the taste of my beans? And you have not left your email address for me here? Leave me a comment. Leave me your email address. Leave both if you like. Just don't say I didn't invite you to partake of our beans - our left over - repeated beans.

7 Years Ago (yesterday)

Jace left to work like any other regular day. I stayed home and mopped the kitchen floor of our tiny 2 bedroom apartment in Gilbert. Jessica came in the afternoon. She rode me to hospital. Jace came to my hospital room after work. Pitocin IV was administered. Epidural given shortly thereafter. Lindsay and Jace fell asleep. It was 3 in the morning when the nurse gently woke me up to let me know it was time to push.

"Jace, wake up. Wake up. It's time."

20 minutes later we had 8 lbs. 10 oz. of this:

She never made a peep. Not one cry. They washed her up and handed her back to me. The new family of 3 went back to sleep. Our newest member laying in my arms, in the bed with me. It was the kind of labor and delivery you would watch on any daytime soap popera. A dream.

Life resumed. Jeans slipped back on. Jace and I never skipped a beat. Baylor Macy Baum just rode along with us. Everywhere we went. Just content to be there. I'd place a bet you've never met a happier, nicer baby. Unnumberable fat rolls, her father's big lips, her mother's blue eyes, and curls on top. We fell hard. We had no idea what other parents were talking about. This was not only easy but very enjoyable. We were definately going to do this again. 11 times.

We did do it again. 2 years later. And 3 years after that. Life was soon teaching the overconfident Baum parents that most epidurals don't work, babies sometimes cry, jeans don't zip up for months, and not all babies enjoy going to Wal-mart or to the movies.

With the addition of two brothers, Macy learned quick how to be a mama and a best friend. She is still one of the happiest girls I know. Although, learning how to make her content is proving to be more difficult with each passing year.

We feel so blessed to have her in our family. She and I can't figure out who the boss is with Jace gone but she is the best help and loves to bring a smile to my face every chance she gets. I got two presents from her on her birthday. She taught Noah how to hula-hoop yesterday. She requested roast beef sandwiches for lunch. She got the lead role in Grandma Mickey's navtivity play:

Besides the cupcake walk, gingerbread houses, the pink iPod, the new Christmas dress, parties and phone calls with cousins, her favorite birthday moment was this :

Thanks Addie. Her dream of trading her curly locks for Mattie Claire's long, blond locks came true, if only for an afternoon. I can't believe my baby is 7. She still makes my job easy and enjoyable. I will tell her one day how she filled a hole in my heart and how she teaches me everyday how to be a more loving and fun mother. I have still yet to wake up from that dream 7 years ago..................I love you Macy Baum Baum.

Dear Grandma Mikey,

Did you hear? I had a pretty big weekend.

Mattie Claire stayed the night one last time. What am I going to do without her, Grandma? It will be fun to sleep in her bedroom while she's gone.

My mom tells me the story about when I was born. You and Papa were there. You bought me a special tooth fairy box and a pair of ballet slippers from the hospital's gift shop.Well, the day has arrived....I lost my 1st tooth!
I heard the tiny tooth fairy, in her tiny fairy shoes, crawl under my pillow and leave me $2 in my box. I think I look more like 7 now than 6, what do you think?

I gave it my all in my 1st organized sporting event this weekend. Dad and Uncle Jordy are my coaches. I ran and ran. My cheeks were red but I loved it. We are pretty much going to win every game this season. Will you come?

Oh yea, Noah played too....for about 3 minutes.

Mom was your substitute at Grandparents Day.

I'll sing the songs for you again. I love 1st grade.

I love you Grandma. Call me.

Macy