Update

My parents got their mission call! They are going to Boston, MA. They leave at the end of the month. We are so proud of them, and so excited for the people that are going to get to work with them! However, it will be tough to be without them. I haven't been away from my parents for an extended time since my mission. John's parents are on a mission in Florida, so we have to be careful, or we get feeling a bit sorry for ourselves. It's so good for my kids to be talking and thinking about missions so much. We are so lucky that both of us were raised by such great parents! We can share them for a year and a half, I guess. :)

I am way behind on journal updates on my kids. Read on only if you are interested.
Jonah-

Jonah has reached that word-explosion phase where he says new words all the time. Either hearing the words for all of his life is culminating in his saying them now, or he has just reached a point where he doesn't need a lot of repetition to be able to produce a word. Maybe both. Here are some of my favorite things he says:

-Chuck E Cheese (Shu she she)

-He used to bite me (not hard), and then he started coming up and asking me first. "Bite?" And I'd say, "No, we don't bite." Then he'd say, "Bite Dada?" "No, we don't bite Daddy." "Bite E-yi?" "Bite To-wi?" etc.

-Heavenly Father and Jesus (Hev Fadr and She-shu)

-In the car we sometimes play 20 Questions. Jonah will yell, "Turn! Turn!" And then we'll say, "Jonah, is it....Barney?" And he'll say, "Uh-huh!" and want to give us a high five. ("Five!")

-"I see ______."

-"I need ______." (Usually a treat.)

-"Eli be mean!"

-A lot of his words sound the same, so I have to figure them out based on context - like Grandpa and Baby Bop. (Kind of like bah-bah.)

Jonah is having a fairly hard time starting nursery. It's been a month and he still screams. Our other kids really didn't much, but Jonah has just reached a scared-of-strangers, clingy phase.

He loves Barney and trucks and trains. He gets very excited when we see buses or construction vehicles on the road - just like Eli did. Isn't it interesting that that comes so naturally for most boys?

He loves to imitate things that Eli and Tori do. Unfortunately, he has picked up on some of the grumpiness Tori has sent his way before. Sometimes when he's playing with something and Tori comes near, he'll put up his hand and do a preemptive "To-wi!" to her in a growling sort of voice.

Tori-

Tori is taking a dance class and loves it. I get such a kick out of watching her on parents' night or right before picking her up. Her class is tap and ballet. But mostly it seems like they do a lot of creative, fun, free dance. There is a song they play where the girls dance like the different animals in the song. They have a dress-up box with tiaras, sparkly skirts, etc., and they dress up like princesses and dance. I wish we could do this long-term, but, as with Eli's karate (that I'll write about for him) our plan is just to go a couple of months and give them the experience. I always assumed that it was normal to have your kids take classes and play sports, and the only issue was over-scheduling. But I didn't realize how expensive these things are! Music lessons are even more expensive. How does everyone afford all of these things? Actually, I have an idea for locals reading this, but I'll write about that in an email sometime.

Tori is a sensitive child. Right now she cries at the slightest offense. If Eli even gives her a mean look, she'll dissolve into tears. I have no doubt that it's just a phase, but it's a tough one. If there's something between Tori and Jonah, then they both start to cry and fight over who gets a hug from me. Crazy kids. Tori is very affectionate and always wants me to love (hug) her.

Tori is really into Aladdin right now. Jasmine is her favorite princess.

Eli-

Eli is taking karate and it really suits him. He was already doing all sorts of karate moves like Kung Fu Panda and the Power Rangers. The first day of class was parents' night. It is a very large class (with lots of instructors) and there were many parents. At one point, the master said, "Whose kid is this?" and pointed to Eli. I raised my hand, and he said, "He's new isn't he?" and I nodded. He told all of the other kids to sit down and he had Eli do some of the hits he'd just been showing. He told them all to watch how he "went after it" and how sharp his moves were. I was so proud I nearly cried. He likes karate, but at first he wasn't crazy about the stretches, because he said they hurt. I think half of the fun of karate and dance is getting the outfits and showing off at home. He loves his karate gee. (These pictures are poor, because he was on the far side of the floor, and the flash didn't reach him.

Eli is reading really well. He is off-track, so I've got him reading a Dick and Jane compilation book from my mom and doing some simple math books. Eli is bright, but sometimes working with him can be tricky. He is very sensitive, so if I correct him, it can upset him enough that he refuses to go on. Also, he sometimes just gets tired of doing something and wants to stop. Sometimes I can think of creative ways (or bribes!) to keep him going and sometimes I can't. Usually I just let it go, but that won't work as he gets older and has specific amounts of homework that need to be done. Does anyone else have kids with this temperament, and how do you handle it?

Eli and Tori-

Eli is really into coloring and drawing. It's interesting, because during preschool, he never showed all that much interest in coloring, and I assumed it just wasn't his thing. But then he reached a point where he was proud of coloring in the lines, and it just seemed to take off. Now we go through huge amounts of paper. He is always drawing or having me print pictures for him to color. He especially likes to do dinosaurs and superheroes. I just tried to scan some of his pictures, but it looks like I'll need John's help.

A few weeks ago, John got out a picture for Tori to color at church, and she said she wanted him to do it. He encouraged her, and she said, "I just scribble." It made us so sad. (Maybe praising Eli made her doubt her own abilities?) Anyway, later she tried coloring in the lines, and did a great job! So then she got really excited about coloring. She does such a good job that people at church comment on it. So she also colors and draws all of the time. She can draw cute little people and jellyfish. And she loves to color princesses. It's great for me because they can do that while I....do things other than the cleaning I desperately need to do. Oh, Jonah likes to color Thomas and Barney.

While Eli is off-track, we're doing a bunch of fun things. I love having him home. Last week we went to the Festival of Trees and to see the lights at Temple Square. Tomorrow we go to tour a candy factory with some friends.