Family Home Evening -- Lesson by Two Year Old

Well after assisting in the preparation for two Primary talks (both by Jaxon) recently, I decided we could make it work for Jinaya to give the FHE lesson. Last week she was to give the lesson and with no preparation Daddy helped her read us a story. Jinaya was very lucky and her name got drawn to do the lesson again the following week. She loves to take her turn standing in front of the family.

Jina's lesson was on Families. I printed off the little family coloring page from the manual "Behold Your Little Ones." (a brief insert: I am totally impressed with everything you can find on the LDS webpage. ...and it just keeps getting better!!!) Anyway, I asked her to color the family. She called it her "Family Homework." Then I cut out the people. I also printed off the words "I love my Family" our family name "Sharp" and each of our individual given names (to take the lesson a little farther.) During her lesson, Jinaya put each member of the little family up on the magnet board (or whatever you have.) She told us who they were (Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister, Baby) and talked about loving her family. She stayed and rearranged the people while I talked with the kids about different kinds of families and sizes. By this time Jinaya was "in and out" (meaning, I think she went to play in the bedroom, then came back a few times.) We also talked about our family name SHARP, then had each child come up and talked about where they got their name. I also taped their name to their shirt. For our activity we played "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar." It was a first for my kids and we all had a great time. Boo was a little nervous to play at first, because she knew that is was wrong to steal and didn't want to be the one picked.

So if you don't already know, I have a very strong testimony of Family Home Evening. I know it is important and helps us form those strong spiritual bonds. There are times when we don't have it every week...it's like church if you miss one week, it just keeps getting easier to stay home. When Mommy was really sick for a few months we missed out and after a while our kids started begging us during the week to have "that time where we learn about the scriptures and stories and stuff." So a few times we had it on a different night.

My children are young, but growing older and that does make it easier. In the beginning our entire FHE was 10-15 minutes. We had prayer, song, Scripture, teeny story, and coloring. Eventually our kids learned to sit longer and pay more attention. We used to have them copy what we said as we read the scripture (as if learning to pray). The more frequently we have FHE, the more reverent they learn to be. They also learn to do their best to ignore the two year old and try to focus on the teacher. If you are wondering where to start with your family...JUST DO IT!! Start small. Another thing to keep in mind....it is YOUR responsibility to keep it going. In our house Mommy prepares (or assists) for FIVE lessons and Daddy does one (usually something already laid out to teach).

Allright....summer is coming....keep it together!!! Ready, Set, GO for Family Night!!

I can do more, cuz I am FOUR!!!

Boo is also known in our family as the "I Love You Girl". She tells everyone "I love you" so often. Out of the blue, when you are mad, sad, happy, when she's in trouble, and when she just can't think of anything else to say. Boo tells me at least 3 times per day...and I know everyone in our family hears it just as much. We sure do love our Boo.

Jazmyne "Boo" turned 4 on April 26. She had a very special day with her birthday on Sunday. After the countdown for Jaxon, Boo was very anxious for her big day. She didn't know quite what to expect, but she had a great day. For her birthday dinner, we ate Mac & Cheese. Then she opened presents from Mom and Dad. She got a Barbie house and it has been awesome! All the kids have shared and played with this together. They are also getting very good at picking up the Barbie stuff when they are done. Boo can do it better now because she is four. Her most common quote is, "I can do that now, cuz I'm bigger, I'm four."

Favorites:
Color: PINK
Food: Mac & Cheese
Toy: Hannah Montana and Barbies
Treat: "I like treats"
Movie: Barbie Thumbelina

Boo is always asking when she is going to be as big as Jaxon. We just tell her how great she is. :)

We also had birthday cake on Boo's birthday, since we did the party on Jaxon's birthday. We had a yummy Pampered Chef Oreo cake! Since it was "fluted", we put the candles for the kids on their own piece. Jinaya is a little confused as to where her cake is, but we all ate cake and enjoyed it.

We had a wonderful time together, thanks for all the gifts, cards, and birthday greetings.
Loves to all!

Ultrasound

Well...the time is getting closer....4 weeks left. So I thought I would blog about the ultrasound.

Although I wish I'd have done it sooner and been able to remember a lot more things said, some is better than none.

We had our ultrasound in January 2009. We knew that the kids would be excited, so we took the big adventure together. The kids were very curious, although they weren't quite sure what they were looking at, even when the tech pointed things out. But my most favorite quote of that day was when Boo said, "Mommy you have a baby in your tummy and I have a Teddy Bear in mine." After that day I asked her so many times what was in her tummy just to hear Boo talk about her teddy bear.

Then the tech turned on the heartbeat. It was very loud....Jaxon covered his ears. After that Jaxon and Boo were talking about where the baby's heart is and where their own hearts are. Boo pointed to her tummy and said, "My heart is down here." After we regained ourselves from laughing long enough to explain things to her, she understood. Boo talked non-stop the whole time, and everything she said was hilarious, but I just can't remember it all. After the tech turned off the heartbeat, the kids begged her to turn it back on (even Jaxon). They danced to the beat and talked about they baby and all the parts we could see. We had a great time together and are we all are getting anxious for the time to come.

I am not posting the pictures, because I have a few as the header. Take notice of the baby making the "Hang Loose" sign. Can you find it? This little angel is going to fit in our family perfectly! :)

Teething...Still

Well...apparently Jinaya is still getting some teeth. She has two i-teeth on top still coming in, one is barely poking through...and well maybe this is the cause of all the extra "tantrums". If we keep her happy (Orajel or Tylenol) before the "tantrums" start, then we seem to have a happy home. The older kids are also trying to remember not to "take things away" and a new level of sharing. :)

Bedtime Struggles

Well...I really am going to post about Boo's Birthday, but I want to find the camera first and I have to remember to ask Josh where it is. Remembering is the tricky part. :)

Please be aware the following contains a "not so happy" personality for one of my children, and I do love her so dearly. She is a very happy, beautiful girl and makes us laugh constantly. She does deal with life a little more strongly than others. I could change the names...but really we would all know anyway.

Things are pretty much the same around here. Although Jinaya is going through a "new" developmental stage I have not dealt with before. She does NOT like to go to bed (yah what kid does). Well she will scream and hit things and just be so crazy. It is not easy to deal with. I have learned that she just needs to be loved no matter how loud she screams.

We have been dealing with this for a few nights, each time doing something different (sleeping in the living room, sleeping in the bean bag, sleeping on our bedroom floor, etc.) But yesterday we tried many approaches. Keep in mind she was screaming at us the ENTIRE time. The first was spanking. There were no results. Next, I told her to get in bed or I would put her there (with counting). She got out of bed faster then I could put her there and well I just didn't have the energy to keep up with her. Next, I told her she needed to get in her bed or I would shut the door (again with counting). She did scream louder (a result). She also told me, "You're not leaving me." "Don't shut the door." (I will admit, sometimes these things can be funny, but with the frustration, Mommy stuck to her guns.) We did this for quite a few times as I thought I was getting somewhere. After a while I decided she was getting confused and maybe only hearing "get in bed and Shut the door" not the whole of the sentences. So next, I went with her into the bedroom and shut the door, I sat by the door. I told her that when she got into her bed, I would open the door. I told her this a couple of times. By this time she was mostly just crying, not screaming. Then I turned on the broken record and very calmly told her to "Get in your bed" I did this over and over for every response. After a couple of minutes she had stopped crying and went to bed. I tucked her in and as I left the room I opened the door as promised. She immediately yelled at me, "You're not Leaving, SHUT the door." Um??? So I went back in and she was still in bed....gave her kisses and Shut the door and left. She was asleep in seconds. Although we did not dare check on her for a while.

As parents we have come to the conclusion that Jinaya is afraid to go to bed alone (even though she sleeps with Boo?) It is a little like "stranger anxiety". Also, she gets so angry she doesn't know what she wants to do and of course needs to calm down before any of her own choices can be made. She wants to be held and snuggled, but she can't get comfortable and doesn't go to sleep. She also has been going to bed "big girl style" for quite sometime now. Many kids make their own solution to this problem, with a blanket, bear, binki, etc. Jinaya does not really form attachments like that. Our next step is to try and encourage an attachment for her. We have a few ideas, but do welcome suggestions. We will not let her sleep in our bed, nor in our room. She did sleep on our floor once this week, but with a baby bassinet there just isn't room.

So...why post this? I think there are many times when mommy's deal with new things and situations and kid styles. The same things don't work for every kid. Sometimes the kids just don't understand. Plus I like to learn from what has worked for others...so there :-P

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