Little L turns 12

Well, the baby of our family turned 12 a few days ago. Only one more year until all 3 of our children will be teenagers! It doesn't seem possible. Some might think 3 teens at one time sounds awful, but I think it's great. There have been special things about every age, and now I enjoy the growing maturity in my kids. I love being able to have in-depth, meaningful conversations with them about topics from relationships to politics.

We began celebrating, as is our tradition, with a birthday breakfast chosen by the birthday boy: cinnamon rolls and bacon. It was great fun getting all 12 candles into his cinnamon rolls!



This has turned out to be the Nerf birthday. Our boys love to have "Nerf wars" with their friends. So, to add to the arsenal, we got him his first automatic Nerf gun. This thing actually has an ammo belt and, according to the instructions, fires "3 darts per second". He was thrilled:



But of course, it couldn't stop there. With his birthday money he had to buy the sniper rifle, another gun, and extra ammo. Which brings me to his "real" celebration. In a couple of weeks, he will have a group of friends over to have one of these Nerf wars. (We are waiting for soccer season and a karate tournament to be behind us in order to have the time for the party.)

Little L is a fun guy to be around. He has a sense of humor that I fear may someday surpass that of his father. I'm not sure my heart or my sides will be able to take it. He can mimic, mock, or impersonate others like you wouldn't believe (because he won't do it around anyone but us!). His wit is amazing. His energy seems to know no end. He doesn't miss a thing. And, he's an awesome cook!

But there is more to little L than fun and games. I am continually moved by his compassion and thoughtfulness. He loves to do things for others; when he gives a gift, he tries very hard, and succeeds, in giving one that truly fits the person he desires to bless (another way he takes after his dad). When things need to be done around the house, he's the first one to jump in and help.

He's a "man" of many interests: soccer, music, fishing, camping with Grandma and Grandpa, going to work and building things with Grandpa, and science. He is sitting in front of the TV with his dad tonight, coloring in an electoral map he made this afternoon. As I said in a previous post, Little L's life goal is to work for NASA. Any time we suggest things he'd be great at (such as comedian, politician, contractor, and on and on), he reminds us that he already has a plan for his life. And I believe he can become whatever he sets his mind to.



Little L, known to many family members as "the leader" (a very funny story that unfortunately would not be funny if I attempted to explain it in blog form), is a great kid. Even though he causes me to want to pull my hair out often more than once a day, I wouldn't trade a single thing about him!

H makes a joke

This morning as we were working on H's spelling list, I was choosing a few words to quiz orally before giving the written test. I do this because some are so easy they are not worth taking up space on the preprinted quiz sheet. Anyway, the point is, they were easy words for H and she was answering with lightning speed, creating kind of a rhythm of question/answer. At one point I slowed, looking for the next word to give, and said "umm". H chimed, "U-M. Um!", then laughed and preceded to explain her joke to me (in case I hadn't caught it!).

Anyone who knows H will understand why this silly little story is heartwarming to me. She may not get life like some of us, but she is sweet and fun and funny, and I love to hear her laugh, especially at her own jokes!

Coincidence?

Saturday, as rain from Ike fell all day, we decided to make a yummy carrot cake from scratch. The recipe promised it to be the most moist carrot cake ever--yeah, so moist the center would not get done. JRR decided to remedy the situation by scooping out the middle, which of course had to be iced. The results:




Coincidence?

Big L's idea of getting up. . .

Teenagers.

Hero, From Concentrate

This past weekend, JRR made a music mix CD to "inspire" little L on the way to his soccer game. Many giggles and belly laughs were to be had as the selected songs were revealed, such as "Barracuda", "Eye of the Tiger", and "I Won't Back Down". At the dinner table last night, H sang one of the songs quietly to herself: "He's a juice box hero, got stars in his eyes. . . ."

To our family members who love to have a good laugh with and at the expense of other family members (is there anything more fun?!!)--we have not teased her about this. She is in that very sensitive stage of life, so I must have my fun with this story through blogging only! She'll appreciate it someday.

The Scientist

Little L is our resident scientist. His passion is astronomy, and so far his goal in life is to build the first manned craft to Mars. He loves to get books from the library on astronomy and science experiments. Tonight he plans to stay up past 2 a.m. (if the sky clears), to see the meteor shower, Perseids, which is supposedly the most famous of meteor showers. He has been studying his constellation charts and reading up on the history of this meteor shower. To see his excitement, you’d think it was Christmas Eve!

The other day, as little L was digging around in our collection of science experiment books, Big L told him about an experiment he did in fourth grade:


The goal is to see how many pennies you can put in a completely full glass of water without breaking the surface tension, thus causing the water to spill over.


It is quite fascinating to watch the water level rise above the top of glass without the water spilling over.


Anxiously adding one more:


The tension was finally broken and water spilled after the 70th penny:


It is so fun to watch little L's enthusiasm. Before the experiment was over, this enthusiasm had drawn the whole family to watch the exciting conclusion.

Oh, we think his second goal in life is to be the next dog whisperer:


Jazz told him to stick with his first goal.

Pay No Attention

Early yesterday morning as we prepared to spend an entire day at the children's hospital for H's annual round of tests, H was surprised that her dad was going with us.

H: “Why are you going with us? It’s usually just Mom and me.”

JRR: “Well, I’m going, too, this time.”

H: “Ok, but I’m not paying any attention to you.”

And this from a daddy's girl. What a nut! Well, I can report that the "not paying any attention" was forgotten before we left the driveway!

To report on the day of tests (a CT brain scan, abdominal sonogram, lab work, and a doctor's visit), all went well. We've had a slight increase in seizures lately as she has been growing so rapidly, so we'll have a slight increase of medicine. There is also a minor dental issue that is not serious in any way, but we'll be consulting a dentist. Other than that, the tests confirmed there have been no changes (this is a good thing).

We left our home at 8:00 yesterday morning and did not return until 5:00, so it was a very tiring day. H did very well for each appointment until we went for the lab work. As this has always been a terrifying thing for her, she had been giving herself pep talks for several days before. It was the last stop of the day, so she was already exhausted. The technician (Sheila), whom we've seen a couple of times already and think she is great, had to call for someone to help hold H still. JRR and I decided it best for us to leave the room, as we totally trusted Sheila to handle it. Turns out they were able to draw the blood without holding her. However, when the test was done, H looked at Sheila, with a tear-stained face and voice still shaky from crying, and said "I want to do what you do when I grow up and see what it feels like to poke somebody else." Sheila burst out laughing and said, "Yeah, and I bet you'd like it to be me sitting in that chair." The staff at the hospital is so great. Though it was no fun having all those tests in one day, it sure beats having to schedule 3 different appointments on 3 different days, then waiting a week or more to hear back for the results! If all goes well, no more tests until next year!