Robbie lately

Robbie is such a fun kid. He is pretty intense and really likes things to be done a certain way ("Hey! I was going to close the door!" when I close it without knowing he wanted to), but he is getting better at letting go when things don't go the way he wants. He is very passionate and gets quite upset when Henry gets into his stuff, but he can also be very sweet with Henry and help him when he is in distress. Yesterday I wanted to rest on the couch during Henry's nap for a few minutes after an early morning, and he ran upstairs to get his blanket and then tucked me in and even let me rest for several minutes without bothering me. It was so sweet.

 I love reading books with him--he loves the Lego early reader books, Star Wars books, Elephant and Piggie, and Franklin books. I also really appreciate his episodic memory and how he can not only remember events in the far past (vacations we went on a year or two ago) but also share experiences that have happened recently in order. He loves being outside, although he isn't super interested in ball play right now. He is a great jumper, runner, and likes playing with other kids (especially older boys). Quiet time has been a struggle for him since he is outgrowing naps, but the past week or so he's enjoyed listening to short audiobooks during quiet time on the CD player.

Robbie has also really gotten into superheroes--Superman, Batman, the Green Lantern, and Iron Man.

 The other day, Robbie came down in his Superman costume for me to velcro the back. Then he ran upstairs and came back downstairs with a Sunday shirt, frustrated that he couldn't button the buttons since they were super tight over the built-in muscles. I helped him button them, and he was pleased with himself being Clark Kent before he takes off his shirt and turns into Superman. Pretty sweet.

Robbie says so many interesting and creative things--I wish I could record them all. Here are a few:

"Should we go play bat?" (baseball)

"Please bless Mommy to have courage to pop another baby out." (No idea where that came from, especially that wording!)

To Dad: "Your tummy is different from my tummy." (Hmmm...)

Robbie calls the ceiling fan in his room a "fan-on" because every time I put him down to bed, I ask him, "Do you want the fan on?" to which he always responds, "Yes." 

"Mama! Should we make a pickle tree from these seeds?" (after eating a pickle last week)

"I wish I could have my own truffle." (after seeing Clara using my iPod shuffle)

"Stop coughing me!" (telling Henry to stop copying him in the car, with Henry is giggling in response)

Yum, kids for dinner!!

 Today out of the blue, Robbie told me in distress, "Mama, I don't like it when you leave and go somewhere and not take me and Clara and Henry with you. I don't want to get married when I'm twenty (!!) and move to another house and have a wife. It's too far away! I don't want to have a baby. I just want to stay here with you." I held him on my lap (much to Henry's dismay) and told him that he couldn't grow up and that he had to stay four years old forever. He then informed me that he had to turn five. After sitting quietly in my arms for a minute while I held him, he then popped up happily and said something like, "Do you want to go play in the playroom?"

Robbie also told me tonight while I was singing to him that he wished Jesus could be right next to him and that he wanted to see him now.

He is getting quite creative in his play lately, sitting in one of the brown living room chairs with the cushion up, imagining it is either his "office" or his "Superman mobile." His stories are very elaborate and entertaining. He also enjoys taking my phone and making videos of himself making silly sounds and saying potty words like "poopy" and "poopy butt" (he knows I don't like that word) and then replaying the videos.  Awesome.

We are so thankful that Robbie is part of our family!

Clara's twelfth birthday

It is hard to believe, but Clara is now twelve years old.

It was only yesterday that she looked like this.

And now she looks like this, growing into a beautiful young lady. I have lots of thoughts on Clara and this important time in her life (she went to New Beginnings on Wednesday!), but I'll blog about that later.

Her special day began with breakfast in bed with her requested cereal, Lucky Charms.

Michael made her a sweet card to go with her breakfast.

Starting the day off right.

After school, we were outside and Robbie ran out to meet Clara, and she ran to meet him after she got off the bus. They gave each other a big hug. That was seriously the best part of the whole day.

Clara was excited to receive some birthday phone calls (one from Nana and Bapa, and she got to open their special present on Facetime--so fun!!) and also from our sweet neighbors, Sheryl and Shirley Tonini, who brought over a giant brownie cake and a card. Cards in the mailbox from our neighbor and another sweet older sister from church, plus other notes/texts, also made her so happy. I am humbled by and so grateful for all the kindness that so many people show her.

After her requested dinner (chicken azteca with rice), we hid her presents and she got to play hot and cold to find them. She was most excited about these Heelys shoes (the kind with the wheels on the bottom). She realllllly wanted them, and despite my reservations but also after learning you can use them without the wheel, we got them for her. She's working on balancing on them.

 One fun gift that we got her was a Body Sox, and we also got ones for Henry and Robbie. It's basically a big stretchy Spandex pillowcase that you stand inside and can stretch around in. It's a sensory thing to help you feel calm, centered, and to feel your body in space. She likes it, and I'm excited to have them all use them.

Robbie really likes his!

After opening the rest of her presents, we sang and Clara got to blow out her candles. That cake just gets brighter every year.

She requested dark blue frosting, and I didn't have any food coloring gels to make it crazy dark, so I just bought some.

Man, I didn't realize how yucky store-bought frosting was. It kind of ruined all my hard work on the checkerboard cake. Live and learn.

Henry gave Clara a sweet hug before bedtime.

Happy birthday to our sweet, fun-loving, creative girl. Thank you for being you and for being part of our family!

Second Annual Weiler Family Awards Dinner

On January 2nd, we celebrated 2016 by honoring each other at our family awards dinner.

 First, we enjoyed dinner (broccoli, homemade mac, rolls, and cake) using my mom's beautiful china. We talked to the kids about using our best manners, and they did a good job being polite and respectful. They loved drinking the Martinelli's.

Then we handed out the awards.

 Michael gave me the award for compassion for reaching out to those in need, and Clara took a nice pic of us smooching. I gave him the award for service, for helping us at home and also with church members as they progress along the covenant path.

 Henry got the award for cheerfulness, as he is our happy boy who makes everybody smile.

 Robbie got the award for thoughtfulness, for his unique creative ideas when he makes up stories and his good questions and thoughtfulness in thinking about others.

 Clara got the award for independence, for being independent in doing her chores and learning to do more on her own with her school work, etc.

 After the awards were handed out, we enjoyed a beautiful slide show that Michael made of a compilation of our 2016 happenings. It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of how happy we are, despite my tendency to focus on my concerns and what isn't going well.

We topped off the night with a dance party, made more fun by a little disco light ball we got.
Party time!

One of my priorities as a parent is to help each member of our family feel valued and important for who they are, to be uniquely loved and to realize that they are an essential part of our family. I hope that this family awards dinner reinforces that. Plus it's fun, too!

NYC trip part 2

And some more pics:

Michael's NYC trip

For reaching their yearly production goals, Michael took his staff on a weekend trip to New York City. He wanted me to come, but I wasn't really in the mood to do NYC in January, and I just didn't want to find childcare, etc. He and the office staff had a terrific time--they saw Wicked, went to Pizza School (where Michael had gone with my siblings a few years ago), ate yummy food, etc. Here are a few pics from his phone to get a glimpse into their fun.

December: celebrating the good

Christmas break, or really this December, was been a mixed bag. I could easily focus on the bad and say, "So glad that month is OVER!" Some choice remembrances might be the two-week cold Henry had with the numerous breathing treatments. Or the time in Sacrament meeting when Henry threw up (and I tried to catch it in my hands but there was too much overflow, and it dripped onto my tights and squelched in my shoe, splashed my cell phone (which wouldn't work temporarily but fortunately rice did the trick), in my church bag, etc.). Or possibly the other fun time when Michael got sick with weird aches and a fever on Christmas Eve and was in bed most of the day on Christmas (one of the few Sundays he didn't have meetings and might have even been able to sit with me in Sacrament meeting). Or that time when Robbie, Clara, and I got sick with the stomach bug--twice--(sure loved cleaning up throw-up and plunging clogged toilets) and Robbie missed being the wise man in his first preschool Christmas play. Or I could talk about Clara's IEP meeting and focus on the challenges that I see with Clara socially, academically, physically, organizationally, and anxiety-wise at school and at home or the deep, soul-pain I felt as I heard Clara try to make conversation unsuccessfully with a friend in the car.

Yes, all those things happened. And more. But there was a lot of good that happened this month, too, and frankly, while it's sometimes easier to be negative, it's also easy to find lots of wonderful good things that happened. Plus the craziness makes for good stories, so that's always a plus.

First of all, my goal was to get all my Christmas shopping done by December 1st. I didn't entirely succeed, but this year my December was a lot less focused on gifting and more on other things. That was a blessing.

One good thing is the wonderful experience we had orchestrating, organizing, and assembling needed household items for a refugee family who arrived here from Congo a few months ago (they had been in a refugee family in Tanzania for nearly twenty years--mom, dad, and five kids). There was a huge outpouring of generosity from members from both wards.

Our basement was full of donations--in fact, there was overflow that we were able to give to the refugee office to help other new families. They were so appreciative of the household items as they begin their new life here (both mom and dad work different shifts at the chicken plants--no car but he rides a donated bike several miles--at night--for his shift; she can walk to hers). I especially enjoyed showing the dad the automatic nightlights, seeing his dawning comprehension when I showed him how to use deodorant ("Ahhh, it's like perfume!"), and seeing the kids' serious interest in the Bandaids and Neosporin and the wonder of the Aquafresh toothpaste dispenser.

Michael delivered all the Christmas presents, and it was a moment really too special to capture in a photo.

Other positive moments were the kindnesses rendered to us by others: one friend cleaning up Henry's throw-up on the pew at church after I'd taken him out; another friend bringing us some chicken noodle soup the following Sunday when I was sick; lots of yummy goodies delivered to us, etc.

I was on a treat-making kick and made lots of goodies to deliver, too. We had a great time on Joseph Smith's birthday eating ham and johnnycake and then caroling with our good friends, the Robertsons, to some people at church and the Spirit was there as we sang together--the kids had great attitudes, which was so nice.

What a blessing that nearly all of our sickness occurred when there was no school or work so we could all recover and help each other. A rewarding moment was the hard work that paid off when the sextet I had been practicing with successfully performed "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" a cappella at the ward Christmas breakfast.

We also enjoyed a safe and meaningful trip to the temple for Michael to witness the sealing of a couple he had married a year ago and also enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights.

After the sickness around Christmas, we enjoyed little outings, like going to a trampoline park in Charlottesville (Henry couldn't get enough of the sponge pit) and going on a short cold hike in West Virginia.

It was fun to see the kids' expressions at the crazy tricks our hibachi chef did when we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner after the hike. Clara talked about it for several days afterwards.

Michael went golfing twice over break, and Robbie was a trooper tagging along, too. One ball landed in the water, but it didn't sink--the pond was covered in ice. Pretty funny.

For New Year's, we had our traditional Chinese take-out, and we celebrated with friends, Carina and Dathan Young. Their genius idea was to celebrate on London time, so at 7pm EST we watched the fireworks explode off the London Eye and the kids blew their horns and noisemakers (which I threw away later because they were driving me nuts).


Happy New Year!

Christmas 2016

Minus all the sickness, Christmas was great.

We enjoyed making graham cracker houses for Family Home Evening before Christmas.

 Ready to go! This was my first year making them in advance, which I definitely think was a good idea.

 One of Henry's favorite pastimes is climbing up on the counter. It drives me nuts and boy, he sure loves to do it. Clara wasn't really into doing hers (see the house in the back with the blog of frosting on the roof and five candies on it), but that's okay.

 This year for the first time, the elves brought Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve while the kids were taking baths upstairs. What a surprise! Maybe they'll do it every year. I meant to get a pic of the kids in front of the tree . . . oh well. The boys were both kneeling so reverently that Michael had to snap a quick pic before we said the prayer.

  We enjoyed our Joseph and Mary dinner on a sheet by the fire, read Luke 2, and sang Silent Night. We didn't have any meat or hummus, so it was a fairly mess-free and simple meal. We felt the peace and warmth of the Holy Ghost, and it was special.

 The kids didn't wake up earlier than they normally do (between 6:30 and 7:00), which was nice. Clara was already dressed! We opened stockings on the bed first as usual. Clara had written a note to the elves making sure they knew not to put chocolate in her stocking (she's not a huge fan in general of chocolate). They honored her request.

 Robbie was super stoked about his Spiderman wallet and his Rescue Bots in his stocking.

 Henry's favorite gift was this huge apple. Seriously, he ate it entirely down halfway by the end of the morning--seeds and all--right in half.

 Opening presents one at a time. Henry got a little pop-up toy, a popper push-toy, and a big stuffed dog.

 Clara got a purse and hoodie, some books, and a container of Jelly Beadz to expand and play with. In her purse she discovered two gift cards to Claire's (one from Nana and Bapa) so she could get her ears pierced (which we did the next day)!

 Making some good progress on that apple, buddy.

 Robbie got Legos!

Clara really wanted a personal letter from Santa--perhaps next year. Santa is so creative with his magic green and red marker.

Here are the Jelly Beadz--before and after about six hours in water. Robbie also has his own container. Sensory fun!

I was super excited for the Bosu ball that Michael got me as well as some great houseware items (like some Silpat mats). Michael's main gift was a gift certificate he'd already purchased for snowboarding lessons at Massanutten. We enjoyed a few family gifts as well, like some games and Magnatiles. Very blessed.

Church was a little stressful with my singing in the choir for some of the time, and the kids sitting alone (a young woman watched Henry in the hall) but it all worked out. We had had oatmeal for breakfast that morning and then enjoyed our traditional Christmas breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls for dinner that night. Michael stayed home and rested during the day but was fortunately feeling much better by Boxing Day. Sadly, Robbie threw up that night so we had to cancel our Boxing Day bash. But that's okay! Merry merry Christmas!