Watch out bad guys, these boys are tough

A lot has happened since I last wrote so I'll just warn you right now that this will be a long post. I haven't written in like six days though, so maybe you are dying to hear about our happenings in the last few days?

Elijah is walking. He has been taking steps off and on this past month but on Wed. while I was gone at church he took five steps to Mike. They all screamed and shouted and celebrated while I missed it. But since then he's been walking and walking. I can't say he's a real walker yet. He still can only take about 5-10 steps before falling but he is walking.

I am coming to the realization that my little baby Isaac isn't a baby anymore. Somehow he became a little boy without me even knowing it. When did he become so independent? He gets himself dressed. he drinks out of a big boy cup with few spills, he talks in paragraphs and pretends. He knows how to use the mouse. He is not potty trained yet but he is trying without a lot of help from me. The other night I walked by the bathroom to find him sitting on the potty trying to poop. He was so determined to go that he sat on the toilet for 40 minutes. We tried telling him that sometimes there just isn't anything to come out. Finally, we promised him candy if he'd get off so we could read scriptures and get ready for bed. It's so interesting and exciting to see the way his mind works and the things he is able to do but it's also sad to think that he isn't a baby anymore.

I don't have much to report about Will except that he has an amazing pain threshold. Everyone was sick for a few weeks and then got better, I thought. One night he kept waking up and finally he told us his ear hurt. I got him in the next day and the doctor asked when it started. I told her it started the night before and she said, "Uh, this didn't start last night. He's had an earache for a long time. It is a really bad one. He needs an antibiotic and some pain reliever drops for his ears." I felt really dumb. Shouldn't I have caught it earlier? Will just never complains about being sick.

Mike won two awards and might win two more. He won CGO (company grade officer) of the quarter twice now and is having to fill out an application to win on the next level. The other award is the Jr. Military Engineer of the Year. He has a big lunch some time this week or next to see if he won on the next level. He didn't want to go but I told him I'd personally pay for his lunch and then his boss sent an email around telling everyone to come support him at the luncheon so now he has to go. The cool thing about it to me is that his bosses have to nominate him for both of these awards so it is really nice to see that his co-workers recognize what a good worker he is and what a good engineer he is. He is really anxious and excited to move and start his Masters.

We got an offer on our house this past week. The couple wanted to come see the house again with their parents because they couldn't afford the house and wanted their parents to help pay for it. The parents told them they already paid off the couple's car and couldn't afford to help them buy a house. Really? It's about time they said no to their kids but my feelings on that would be an entirely different post. We are sad they can't buy our house so we can sell it but can't understand why someone would try and buy it if they can't afford it in the first place. And why are their parents paying off their married children's car? Enough said about that for now.

This weekend gave me a taste of what it would be like with a disabled husband and four kids. I didn't handle either very well. Mike hurt his back and was out of commission. The couple was coming to look at the house and I had a fourth kid (a baby) to watch from 2-10. I really needed Mike's help and I was mad he wasn't available to me at all. I couldn't cut it by myself so I caved in and called a babysitter (thank you Taylor!) to help for two hours while I went to the grocery store. So, if I want a fourth baby, all I need is a babysitter.

The baby, however was amazing. I am just wondering if she is normal or just exceptionally good, or just a girl. All I can say is that I've never experienced a newborn like that. My babies have been completely opposite from her. She rarely cried and when she went to sleep she just went to sleep--on her own! Unbelievable. I am really glad we were able to watch her for our friends. They have done so much for our family that I almost feel like I'd have to watch Kaylena every day for a year to even make up what they have done for us.

I didn't realize how much I depend on Mike's help, even just to grab a diaper for me. He said, "You can't be mad at me." I wasn't mad at him but I wasn't very sympathetic either. I should have waited on him and asked if he needed a drink or a back rub or something but I was frustrated with my load of tasks to do without his help. I realized that I appreciate the little things Mike does for me that lighten my load and that I have a long way to go before I could ever handle something like a husband that has a disability with grace.

While this instant replay is boring to most people that read this and some would accuse me of being a "dummy-mummy" for having nothing to write but our day-to-day happenings, I figure that the day-to-day happenings are what life is about and if you made it through this entire post you are a true follower of The Richards' Family Blog.