Problems

I haven't taken many pictures lately, so I had to dig through some old ones to find some to post today. It seems like we have all been dealing with our own issues lately and thought it would be a good idea to document here. So forgive the hodge podge. 

McKAY-McKay probably has the fewest problems of any of us. His biggest one is that Kyla STILL won't leave him alone. She wants to hold him all the time and was thrilled beyond belief when she got to bring him for show and tell at preschool and he got to stay and read books with them on the carpet. Fortunately, McKay is pretty cooperative and loved all the attention.

CARTER-Carter has developed a bit of an attitude lately. He thinks he's two already, but he still has four months until that milestone. He has started telling me "no." He thinks he knows best and wants his way. Especially when it comes to food. He wants to tell me when and where and what he'll eat. But he can't talk very well, so he gets frustrated. And if I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do (like kindly take his banana into the kitchen instead of eating it on the couch), he gets mad, yells "MO," and runs away. Or throws his food.

Carter's other big problem is his separation anxiety. Last night I had to take Damon and Allie to parent/teacher conference and Carter wasn't happy about being left home with dad. Jeff told me he found Carter walking up the street, crying for me. So, not only is he getting harder to leave, he's also feeling more brave in wandering from home. We're in for it with this one, I can feel it.

KYLA-Kyla has become very sneaky. And sometimes a little sassy. Yesterday, she found two Polly Pockets I had in my closet (bought for cheap and saved for birthday parties the girls get invited to) and asked if she could have them. I told her no. So she went into the closet while I was distracted and opened BOTH of them. Dang girl. She now has 10 jobs she needs to do to work off her "debt," and I'm not going to let her keep either of the Polly Pockets (although I guess I will give them to the girls for Christmas, since I can't use them for birthday gifts anymore).

Kyla has also become a little less unsure about herself, and it's sad to see. She has never really cared about what anyone thought of her, but was happy to do as she pleased. Now she's self-conscious and scared and trying to figure out where her confidence comes from. I'm thinking it is just a phase and will pass.

ALLIE- Allie has always had an issue with time management, but we have really been stressing it lately. She just seems to have no concept of time. Even though she has 30 minutes to get ready for school, make her bed, her lunch and be waiting outside, I will find her trying to get into the shower. Or playing in her room instead of getting dressed. And inevitably, she is rushing around at the end, blaming everyone else for her being late. 

The other problem Allie is dealing with is a big increase in her anxiety. She is still terrified of spiders and wouldn't sleep in her own bed for weeks after she thought she saw a daddy longlegs crawling across the comforter. She completely panicked about the fact that her top two teeth were loose, and told me she never EVER wanted to lose them. I don't know what she was afraid of: that it was going to hurt or that there was going to be a lot of blood, but we were treated to many, many screams at the top of her lungs as she let us know that "Daddy is not going to pull my tooth out with those dirty tweezers!" (NOTE: They were pliers and she originally wanted Jeff to pull the teeth out. She quickly changed her mind, though, when the pliers came out). During General Conference, we were attempting to listen to President Eyring and he mentioned something about anxiety. Allie said, in all seriousness, "he has anxiety like me." 

I am seriously wondering if we should take her to see someone. I have spent a lot of time talking her down from her panic attacks, and usually I can get her to relax and wind down, but I just don't know what is typical childhood anxiety and what needs professional help. 

DAMON-Poor Damon still has no friends in the neighborhood/ward. It's not his fault at all. He is the only boy his age in our ward (except for one other 9 year old boy who is autistic and doesn't go to his primary class or scouts). Jeff and I had a long discussion about him the other night, wondering what we can do (if anything) to help him. He has two things against him. 1. It's just not easy here, when his school friends live far away and there isn't anyone next door or up the street that he can play with. And 2. He doesn't love big groups. He is much better in small groups or one on one. If we are all together with Jeff's family, he will usually play by himself instead of going with all the boys. If there are one or two boys, he can handle that. But he just do well in big groups. 

I completely empathize with what he's going through, because it was like that for me growing up. I wanted a friend desperately (I wanted someone to move in next door that could be my BFF), and it just didn't happen easily. I had to make and remake friends every year, based on who was in my class at school. And my saving grace was playing sports, because I had ready made friends every season. I sure hope (and pray!) that Damon will be able to make friends at school that will help him all throughout his life. It's so important.

KRYSTAL-My problems, as you can probably imagine, have to do with my kids. I worry about them and want what's best for them. Also, I have demands on my time and attention that I am trying to balance. AND I'm working hard to try to get my body back after my last 2 pregnancies. I have been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and have been getting stronger every day. I've worked out 19 out of the last 23 days (M-F) and I'm hoping that in two weeks, when Jeff and I leave for vacation, I am not embarrassed to get in a swimsuit.

(Carter and McKay kind of look alike in this picture. Must be the angle--taken from below by a child--, because they don't really look alike in real life)

JEFF-Jeff bought the Provo practice a couple of months ago, and now he's the boss. It's all on him. It's great, and the next step he was waiting for, but it's still stressful. 

So, we all have problems. Thankfully, nothing serious. Just part of this phase of life, I guess.