Fourth of July

 We love America! And our neighborhood tradition.

First came the pancake breakfast at 8 AM, then we came back to our house to kill time until lining up at 9:30. We piled Millie up with our decorations and took pictures of her in the grass.

This thing just gets larger and larger. Here we are in the crowd of bikes and scooters waiting for our turn to go.

JB decided to watch from the sidelines this year.  But it sure seemed like a lot more adults than kids were walking down the street -- and the trucks and cars that started it off were making Max and me nervous. We caught up to them, and I was watching Andrew and Max was watching James to make sure their little bodies didn't get lost or crushed.

Millie thought it was all white noise!

But she woke up at the end when the water from the fire truck came pouring down! I barely got the stroller out of the way but her feet and legs got wet.  Andrew and James liked it -- until they got cold! If you spot a boy in blue in the street in the picture below, it is Ben having a marvelous time.

We dried off with the popcorn and activities in the sun. And I was glad for the double stroller -- I put James's strider bike on it and he rode the long way home.

Then we basically stayed inside our air conditioned house all day, while JB smoked pork and brisket for the family BBQ that night. Before that dinner, we met good friends at 4 PM for yummy food, too, in their backyard.

Millie and I tried to go to bed like normal around 8:30 PM (I worked early the next morning), but this year Jamesy stayed up with his brothers to watch the fireworks at 10 PM.  I heard them all out the window -- the big show and the neighbors after that, as I drifted in and out of sleep.

The city does a huge fireworks show in the park just blocks from our house, and it can be seen from our friends' yard just around the block. JB says James and Andrew were running around all excited and hyper -- but about 15 minutes in, little J climbed into JB's lap and asked to go home. He was falling asleep as they walked home.  He normally goes to bed at 7:30 PM!  But with staying up late, did the little boys sleep in the next morning? Oh yes -- until a whopping 7:30 AM.

Previous Fourths of July:

2016 post (very pregnant with Millie, I watched from the side;  I thought the same things as this year about loud fireworks and crowds; Max and Ben seem to have the same outfits as this year)
2015 post (with such a blonde, curly 2-year-old James! And the same fire truck spray situation)
2014 post  (baby James eating ribs, cute Andrew in shades)
2013 post (first with four boys and they were sooo cute; nursing baby James on the sidelines)
2012 post (three cute boys and my Vote for Pedro shirt)
2011 post (in which baby Andrew and I went for a ride on a golf cart without the other boys)
2010 I didn't blog about it (I was pregnant with Andrew, we had two weddings in a month)
2009 we were in Kansas City
2008 post cutest baby Benny and toddler Max!
2007 No blog, but I remember Max caught a ride in the wagon of the lady who watched him in her home daycare. I was pregnant with Ben and stumbled and cut my big toe.
2006 I think we took almost 1-year-old Max in the single stroller. Ah, only one child.
2005 very pregnant with Max; I think we watched from the sidewalk -- I can't remember!
2004 moved in July 4th weekend, went for a walk and came across the bike and scooter parade!

Boys on a bike

I am so proud of our Andrew!  He can now ride a bike.

In the fall he was halfheartedly trying the bike we have with training wheels, but this spring after a few attempts to teach him to ride, he commandeered Max's scooter instead and really zipped around well.  So I thought we would just try again later.

Well, his friend Beck came by with his older brother - both on bikes, and before I knew it, 6 1/2 year old Andrew hopped on his bike and tore out of our garage like a bat out of you-know-where.  It just clicked!

I joke that I would like to outsource teaching my kids how to ride a bike, though I would miss out on some sweet moments if I did.

For instance, 4 year old James was practicing pedaling with me one afternoon and he kept saying, "Dad's going to be so proud of me, right Mom?"  And then I heard him say, "I am brave and talented."   He listens to me! I often tell the boys, "You are smart, you are brave and talented" when they are having a rough time with friends or schoolwork or their brothers or figuring something out.

James is fantastic on the balance bike/strider bike/push bike, so I thought he would jump to the regular non-training-wheels bike with no trouble. But he has a hard time steering and pedaling and balancing all at once. So I have been trying him on the bike with training wheels to master the pedaling.

James also pulls out ye olde red tricycle for bike rides, but it doesn't go as fast as his blue balance bike, so I get a repeat of the two older boys at this very age -- "WAAAIIIITTTT! ANDREW, STTTTOOOOPPPPP!"

Dads and Kids

The boys and JB went camping last weekend for Dads and Kids and had a blast! This was the earliest we've had it in our ward, usually it is in August or even September.  It was at the same place as last year.

There is a lake nearby at the property (but not near the camping area) where they went boating and splashing and stuff.

Max rowed the little boys, too.

Look how idyllic and beautiful. 

The zipline however was not ready for them, or didn't have a supervisor, or had adults using it -- something along those lines is what Max grumbled to me later.

JB says James was begging to go to the tent around 6:30 PM. He was tired! But once they got in the tent at 9:30 or 10, after Smores and stuff, they had a hard time falling asleep.

They came back dirty late Saturday morning.

Meanwhile,  I took a walk around the neighborhood and met two other moms who just had a baby at home because their kids were at the campout, so we stood and talked for a while.

After that I didn't do much besides read and watch shows and clean and do laundry in a VERY quiet house.  On the left, the TV show I watched Friday evening. On the right, the TV show I watched Saturday morning.

BTW, I will make you cookies if you can name the next-door neighbor on that show on the right. My girl kept looking at the TV, too.


2016 Dads and Kids (James's first)
2015 Mom and Kids (JB was sick so we were in the backyard)
2014 - no post, I'm not sure why. I remember taking baby James to dinner with other moms
2013 Dads and Kids (Andrew's first)
2012 Dads and Kids
2011 Dads and Kids (featuring wood-gathering)
2010 Dads and Kids
2009 Dads and Kids (then-Benny's first)
2008 post where I mention JB and Max at the campout but didn't put a picture

Eleven months

11 Months on Sunday this girl turned!

Millie claps, almost waves, gave a high-five yesterday, and laughs the loudest for her brothers. She clicks her tongue and sticks it out to copy you when you do it.   She started saying "yayayayaya."

Her favorite spot lately is by our side table, where she can pull herself up and gnaw on the wood. JB blocked her progress with his foot one night, and she sobbed like her heart was broken.

She loves to sit like this, with one leg out in front and one tucked behind. 

I think she's so flexible because when I ran out of prenatal vitamins, I used some of JB's multi-vitamin that advertised flexibility. He started taking it after his knee surgery.

She likes to twist around while nursing, or put her ankle up to my neck or touch her toes to my nose or her nose while she nurses.  JB says she does the same thing to him when he feeds her when I am at work. By the way the girl is not drinking enough of my pumped milk. If anyone needs any, I have a deep freezer full....

She sleeps best in her carseat.  I don't know what to do about it, but we keep putting her in there when she or we are exhausted.

Though she did fall asleep in the front pack one day.

It was a month of firsts, with her first time climbing up the stairs, going to Lagoon, and her first time swimming at the pool and wearing this swimsuit, which made me squeal a little when I put it on her (Look, honey, ruffles!)

Sometimes she gives us this deadpan, non-blinking stare.

Ok, another selfie. This one was at Lagoon during her first time there.

She is all about big people real food now. It must be those 8 teeth. She gnaws on carrots and loves picking up pieces of cheese and chicken and grapes and hashbrowns and beans and fruit leather and granola bars. 

I can't even get her to take a bite from a spoon most days. She tries to grab the spoon or knock it away, like the baby on "Storks."  Have you seen "Storks" yet? Because it is a favorite at our house. The big boys laugh and laugh, and say the baby looks like Millie.

father's day

This man is a great father.

It has been said that an earthly father's relationship with his children/example to his children, etc, can be the lens by which those children view their Heavenly Father.

In that case, then I believe our children are learning that God is kind, loving, good, is concerned about them, has time for them, and wants the best for them.

JB does so much for our family and for others, all the time.  And he's so handsome and funny to boot.

The boys often pop into the Bishop's office after primary to see daddy, get candy, and wait for me because it's right by Relief Society where the teacher sometimes goes long (ahem ahem -- I went long on Sunday (blush)).  We took a Father's Day picture there yesterday.  Max and Ben and JB have such good smiles! Millie's bow came untied and the youngest three never did really smile right at the camera, but I still really like how this turned out.

Summer so far, not bored yet

Yet.

The last two weeks, Max and Ben have been busy with the high school's basketball camp, scouting activities and neighborhood jobs.

Ben went to cub country this week, and last weekend Max and JB went to a 11 year old scout overnight activity.

Max has had several lawn watering/mowing jobs that keep him busy every day. Ben had a dog-sitting job and did very well.

Andrew and James have been busy with fighting and Legos and outside play.

Look at those summer legs.

Ben's legs aren't as bruised, but they have quite the sock tan.

I got Otter Pops and water balloons and that can keep us busy in the backyard. This series of pictures cracks me up, because it was only later that I realized Millie was trying her darndest to get that popscicle from Andrew.

Yesterday Millie climbed right up onto Max to grab his popscicle, too.

We went to the library and got all signed up for the summer reading challenge. You can fill out blocks based on activities you do and how long you read. Ben tried to get his tracker all filled out in the first week, and was mad at me when I explained it was supposed to last all summer; the library didn't want us to come claim all the prizes at once on our next visit.  

They do have some fun things at the library, like a magic show. The other three boys did not really want to get close, but Andrew sidled right up and then was chosen for one trick. It looked like he was spitting out quarters into the bucket.

And the library brought in a petting zoo. Andrew is fascinated by animals, so we have gone to see our neighbor's bunny a few times.

And a highlight so far this summer was all the Richards cousins together one Sunday. 14 of them! 

Most days the boys watch a movie at quiet time (and we have now banned other kids from coming over from 1-3pm. IT IS SACRED NAP TIME!).  The latest favorite is Storks.  Trolls, Moana, Sing, and other favorites come up again, too. Ben and Max like Studio C, Ben likes Star Wars the Clone Wars, Max loves Diners Drive-ins and Dives and Ginormous Food on the Food Network. The little boys still like Paw Patrol.

JB and I are watching This is Us on Friday nights when I can stay up later. Sometimes I sneak in an episode of The Pioneer Woman, or Good Mythical Morning on YouTube. I watched Anne on Netflix and was not happy at all with the interpretation. So I am reading the books again. I have them all on my phone.

James is 4

James turned 4 years old on Tuesday.  Sweet Baby James, please oh please be a happier boy now, mmkay?

Notice in the picture above, it says happy birthday on his shirt, and he is rubbing his outie belly button. His favorite thing to do.

On his birthday, JB took him to get donuts. 

We had a donut cake that night, and opened presents. He got a Batmobile car, and some inter-locking blocks. 

Then tonight after a quiet Sunday dinner with just us and Uncle Bart at Nona and Papa's house we had his cake. He requested Batman. I think the buttercream frosting freezer transfer method turned out great! (My first attempt with the technique was for Ben's 7th birthday, and I also did James's Daniel Tiger cake the same way.)  He ate a lot of the cake. 

 He got some birthday cash from his grandparents that made his older brothers turn quite jealous. I said that daddy would take only him to the store to pick something out, so he wouldn't get hustled by Max and Ben.

I was a little worried that he would be sad/mad he didn't have a party like 6 year old Andrew did in January, or a pinata that his cousin Phineas had last week with every single Richards cousin there. But he went to bed happy as a clam an hour ago, with his normal books and cuddles and songs and prayers.

James has been a loveable stinker his whole life. From colicky screaming until he was 11-12 weeks old, to scratching his brothers' faces just this week, he wants to be respected and wants things JUST SO and RIGHT NOW, etc etc.

He loves dinosaurs and can name plenty of them in his books -- long names. Favorite books include Little Critter, Arthur, anything by Eric Carle (he "reads" to me the Hungry Caterpillar), Mo Willems, and at the library he goes straight to the superhero section, though I checked out some Llama Llama books and talked about emotions with him this week, haha.

He loves superheros still, and they can be pretty violent. So we talk more and more about using our bodies to help others and be nice. Please.

He goes to primary now very well, but won't do anything into the microphone. It was his turn for the closing prayer and he refused to go up there today. But at home he screeches if it is someone else's turn and insists it's his turn to pray, any time we are doing it.

He is a good eater, if it's something he loves. He and Andrew get so snacky. They do have better times playing together lately. I consoled myself that depressing January-June of 2013 that he was supposed to come to be Andrew's friend, because Max and Ben had each other. But I know he is supposed to be here on earth for more than just that, and it's our job to help him reach his potential.

Just for kicks, here is his birth story (big stuck baby), his first birthday (a basketball smash cake because that was one of his first words), his second birthday (such curls!), and his third birthday (which I swear was just the other day).