Philip Snores.

Yep. LOUDLY.

He sounds like an old man. He must have inherited it from his Grandpa Norm. It makes sleeping in the same room as him difficult, as many of you know, or can at least imagine. 

I spoke to a doctor about it and he said it can be normal. I will ask again at his next check up. 

Philip currently has a cold so his snoring is exacerbated by mucous. I took a video of it for you so you can hear it. It's pretty unbelievable otherwise. He has been interrupting church with his loud snoring- people are always trying to figure out who has the gall to sleep so soundly during service. It's embarrassing, hilarious and very cute. I sure hope he grows out of it.

Sorry you can't see anything- I didn't want to turn the light on and the door was already open and the nightlight was on so this is as light as it gets (aka pitch black, haha). 

June is crazy!

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while! It's been a bit nuts-o around here. 

Here's a quick update on everyone:

Ezra- Ezra is now done piano and swimming for the summer, and this time he passed his lessons! He started soccer a few weeks ago and be absolutely loves it. We also started transitioning into quiet times versus naps back in May and it took a few weeks for everyone to adjust but he is doing great with it. He is really looking forward to starting school in Septmeber and recently I asked him what he was looking forward to most. His answer? "So I can get away from my brother." The love each other and I'm not worried about his comment, I know what he means (and even how he feels).  Current loves? Playing outside, reading, soccer, smoothies, cutting his own food, playing with Philip and having people over. Current struggles are: being bossy, teenager attitude and manipulating Silas (and others). 

Silas- Silas also passed swimming lessons! This means they will be in the same class again next time, which is convenient. He also loves soccer, even though he merely gets to watch. Since Ezra has been having quiet time in a different room, Silas has been napping longer- sometimes I go wake him up at four o'clock (he goes to bed sometime between 12:30 and 1). We will have to start putting him to bed a bit earlier soon because, in the fall, Ezra will be done school at 2:30 and we will have to go get him. His toilet training skills are not always the best. Some days he is completely independent and does fabulous; other times it's like he refuses to go on purpose. Occasionally I am not certain he knew he had to go until he's already gone. He wets the bed overnight about once a week, but that's not unbearable. He has day time pee accidents usually all in the same day and then goes days without any. Frustrating but it's the poop accidents that are the worst. Frustrating and gross. Not sure how to help him better with this (other than stay by his side 24/7). He currently loves: playing outside (he usually asks to go out right after breakfast), reading (he reads in his heart), playing pretend, snuggling, and he's learning his letters (finally!). His current struggles are: the potty training, he has extreme highs and lows (hmm wonder where he gets that?), cleaning up messes (making them is way more fun).

Philip- this baby is so funny. He is normally extremely relaxed and easy going. He is playful and also loves watching his brothers. He is trying to get places by rolling around, pivoting and inch worming. If he could coordinate his arms and legs at the same time, he'd be crawling. He's working on his first tooth and unfourtunately teething seems to be very difficult for him. He's also kind of a terrible napper. He sleeps for fourty five minutes, four times a day. He also has a cold and (combined with teeth, yay) so he hasn't been sleeping all that well at night these days either. But still, normally happy. There are days when he cries a lot more and such but those are rare. Soon we will start solid foods and move him to the boys' room. 

And, just for a fun comparison, here is each boy at five months old. 

Beach day!

No, it is not really warm enough to swim. 

But we had a fun picnic and play time together as a family. It is so nice to be feeling well this season. Last time the weather was this nice I was flat on my back with pregnancy. 

We love spending time together. These ages are very fun and our boys are good friends. 

Beach bum Silas. 

Cooooold water. Didn't stop our boys! Both got soaked. 

Tickles from Daddy. Philip is sticking his tongue out in response. 

Pip's first trip to the ocean! 

Goofy Ezra; laughing about something. 

Ezra Spells His Name

Last week at primary orientation, the principal went over things each child should know/do before September. The list of things seemed rudimentary to me, as it contained tasks such as "Independent bathroom use", "understand teacher is authority at school", "hold pencil correctly" and "know his or her own birthday". 

Really? Are these things not being taught to children before kindergarten? Really? 

Maybe I have high expectations. If I do, everyone should. But I digress. 

There was one item on the list I wasn't sure Ezra knew or not. "How to spell first and last name". 

This one seems a bit more unlikely for some children because they could potentially have a very difficult or complicated name. So today, I wrote out his whole name and asked him to copy it out over and over. I corrected any mistakes, he fixed them and then came the test. 

I'm such a good teacher. Pop quizzes at home? Haha! Gotcha! 

"Ezra, can you spell your name for me?" 

He got it right the first time. All three names. I applauded him, then asked him to do it again for a video. He did it right again. I'm going to check again after quiet time just to see if it stuck. 

Most adults can't spell our last name properly. 

Unfortunately I will not be posting the video I mentioned on the blog as this is a public web page and I do not need to broadcast my son's entire name to the unknown. However, if you'd like to see it, let me know and I will email it to you. 

Feeding wins and sleeping losses

Philip has quit being a good sleeper. I think he's teething. He's cranky all day, waking up every two hours at night and chewing on everything. Oh and drooling. My favourite. 

The good news is breast feeding is going the best it ever has with him. No longer painful (finally!) and he's only taken between 2 and 4 ounces per day from the bottle in the last five days or so. 

 

News for all three!

Today Ezra had orientation for kindergarten. The parents had a big meeting in the gym with the principal and the kids went off to color and play and make friends. It was a very information filled morning for me and very fun for Ezra. I simultaneously felt both very old and very young. Old because I do not feel old enough to have a child ready for school and young because I was one of the youngest parents there. There are 70 children registered for kindergarten at his school next year. Also, I want to articulate that while I feel too young to have a child in school, I do feel ready. So, so ready. 

Silas is doing really well with potty training again. He is back to fully trained, both day and night. He only wears a pull-up swimming, and only just in case. 

Philip can roll over both directions! Front to back and back to front. Yay!

Four Month Sizes

Philip had his shots today (cried a lot) and got weighed and measured. He is at 4th percentile for weight! He jumpd up the curve by two whole percents! 

Here are all three boys, for comparison. 

Philip:

Weight: 13lb

Height: 24.8"

Head: 16"

Silas:

Weight: 13lb, 3.5oz

Height: 24.5"

Head: 16"

Ezra:

Weight: 13lb, 8oz

Unfortunately I have no other data for Ezra. 

Interesting that Philip is taller than Silas was with the same head circumference. Almost the same weight too! He's catching up! Woot woot! 

Uncle Tim and Auntie Uncle

That's what Silas was calling them anyway. 

While we certainly all missed Seth and Asher, we had a fabulous visit with my sister Robin and brother-in-law Tim. We did lots of fun things and had lots of great conversations. Here's a photo journey for you of our long weekend together. 

Philip's Baptism

Today was a busy day. This morning at church we had Philip baptized. Then his daddy preached his first sermon! After naptime had a small party with some church family and cake! It was a great day having Philip join God's family. 

During the baptism, Philip screamed the whole time. The whole time. He hadn't slept in more than three hours and was very tired. There was nothing I could do. Oh well, just part of life I guess. 

Rob did great with his sermon. It was so fun for me to hear him preach the word of God. Many people complimented him on his content and delivery. 

Like I said, a very busy day. But it was very good too! 

We had a friend videotape the baptism for you. See if you want to listen to 7 minutes of screaming ;). And, of course, there are pictures. 

BAPTISM

Bless Ezra

Ezra has a huge heart. He is sweet and sensitive and kind. He loves to help people and puts other's happiness before his own, often to a fault. It is beautiful to see him love others so deeply and wholly. 

Yesterday with no prompting or conversation starting from me he pipes up, out of the blue, "I would like to donate some of my books and toys Mama." 

So I asked him why. 

"Because lots of other kids don't have toys and books and I have so many. So I would like to give them away to kids who need them more than I do." 

Oh, bless him. 

And for the next 45 minutes he went around the house choosing some of his most precious possessions, carefully deciding what toys would be best to donate. Not because they were toys he didn't like or didn't use, but because they were his favourites. 

I kept checking, "Ezra are you sure about [this item]?!?! You love it!" 

"I'm sure Mama. If I love it, maybe another kid will too." 

Oh, bless him. 

It ended up being a large box. I reluctantly removed a few items I was unwilling to part with (Philip hasn't even had a chance to play with them yet!) and he agreed that we could save a few for his brother. 

His dinosaurs. His Cat in the Hat Learning Library books. His stuffed gibbon mother and baby. His Bible. Things he loves. So willing and generous and altruistic and missional. 

Let's learn from him. Let's be willing to give up our best for someone else. Someone we may not know. Someone who may not have anything or anyone. Let's give our favourite things because we cherish them and others deserve to have something to cherish. 

Let's give our things. Our time. Our selves.