my little helper

This afternoon I was tired... okay, I take a nap almost daily. Isaac is great during that time. I turn on a kid tv channel and he plays with his Star War guys (Thanks Cody!!) or his PlayMobil castle guys. This afternoon he surprised me by cleaning up his mess of toys and he also vacuumed the kitchen and bathroom tile. (I also have to thank my mom for getting me the hardfloor vacuum. I told her I was fine with the broom and dust pan, but she insisted that having more kids, I needed this. Thanks Mom.) Here's a little clip my dad took. I'd show the other one, but it's too big (and you can see me on the couch sleeping).

Ethan

Ethan is too smart for his own good. He amazes me constantly. He is like his dad, that he is a creature of habit. He has his favorite foods. He loves to be active with his friends. He just tried playing airsoft wars and now knows what it's like to get hit with a BB. He is patient with Isaac and can get frustrated with himself when something isn't quite perfect. He tries his hardest to do the right thing and doesn't like getting into trouble. He is always trying to find a new adventure around the house, like taking a ride down the stairs. He gets bored pretty easy once he's figured out a game. Ethan is very independant, but is very responsible. He will call me if he is going to another friends house. He always lets me know what is going on. He loves to be with the bigger boys and learn about what the older boys are doing. He is interested in Parkour, (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of displacement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females. One of Ethan's friends brothers is heavily into learning Parkour. So you'll see Ethan jumping off of walls and trying to run a wall or doing flips on the ground.

I've been told by several people in the ward that Ethan is a leader amongst his friends and he sets a good example. The Primary chorister is our next door neighbor. She said that Ethan is always respectful and tells his friends to be good because she is our neighbor.

Last week Ethan learned how to write a report by researching his topic. His report was on Sharks. He is fascinated with them. He had to pick out pictures that went along with each page of his report. His class also had to get up in front of an audience (parents) and present the reports. Ethan did a great job.

Ethan is really a terrific kid. He is always happy and loving. He doesn't ever forget to hug me. Even though he gets to suffer as our first kid (aka guinea pig), he makes it pretty easy for us to be proud of him.

Isaac

So Isaac has had a pretty hard time leaving me... even when I leave him at home with Nathaniel he freaks out. Much of this I rationalize is because I had a car accident last June and then Sylus dying. Ethan got over it, but it's been lingering with Isaac a little too long. Yesterday he had the hardest time going to his Primary class. He cries and says he's scared. Most of what he says is an excuse to get what he wants. Well, I bribbed him to go to class by taking away his puppy for the day and he was okay with it... so off to class with dad he went. When we got home, Nathaniel and I talked. Nathaniel mentioned that he doesn't want to punish Isaac for not wanting to go to class. So we talked with Isaac and said that he'll have to stay hom next time taped to the bed so we would now that he's not doing anything destructive. We practiced last night with him by duct taping him to the bunk bed. He had to stay there during prayer and scripture reading. It still hasn't cured him of going to class by himself... so we are still working on being a little more independant.

Isaac is an active, rowdy boy. He has a mind of his own and an itinerary all his own too. He loves to have burping contests with his papa and Uncle Adam. He is very considerate and helpful. He is always thinking of others. Even checking out at the grocery store he wants to buy his papa a candy. He is even concerned about not being prepared when we see Sylus again.

He loves to jump off of anything and everything. NO FEAR!! He also loves his babies and puppy. He wants to be a dad when he grows up and work on computers and go through mail (he watches Nathaniel working in our home office). He adds a whole different personality to our family and we couldn't imagine life without him.