Fall 2011
Spring and Fall mark the time for dentist appointments. This was a first for Hyrum and Nathan's second time. I didn't know that Nathan liked the dentist but he filled Hyrum in on all the details. He explained the gloves, the bib, the drill sounding cleaner that polishes the teeth, the "sucky air" thing, the "water squirter" and of course the "duck lips". During Levi and Erika's first visit the hygienist labeled the fluoride treatment as duck lips and now it has been passed on to all the siblings.
Nathan went first and showed Hyrum that it doesn't hurt at all and how to hold the sucky thing between the duck lips and how to open his mouth reeeeally wide. Hyrum jumped up in the "magic chair" and did exactly as he was told, the way Nathan showed him. They both walked away with prizes, balloons, cool new toothbrushes, and their very own toothpaste and floss.
Nathan did have one cavity that needed a filling so on a follow-up visit he got to experience the excitement of laughing gas. He was a little more nervous this time but took Lambie for comfort. They put the gas on him and he laid there quietly for a few minutes. As he raised his arms up and said in a blubber "my arms are floating" we knew that the gas had kicked in. He giggled as he played with his fingers and tried to talk. Then came time for the work. He didn't flinch through the two shots, he didn't whimper during the drilling or placing of the new filling and he didn't squirm. He was quite happy.
They let him take home his laughy gas nose piece which he bragged about at home while asking when he could go back. He also got to pick another prize. He certainly picked one that marked the event.
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Our cat and bird have made friends. Well, mostly. The cat likes to sleep on Erika's bed during the morning hours while the boys are wound up and crazy. Then he moves to Hyrum's bed for nap time. For those hours while Harrison is napping on Erika's bed, the bird cheerfully welcomes in the morning with his chirping and singing. However, Harrison just wants to sleep so he has been known to meow his annoyance at Barbados (the bird). It has happened enough that Barbados now meows back at Harrison but Harrison has not picked up on the hint that Barbados wants to play. So, Barbados has started diving at Harrison while he is asleep. It's really quite funny to watch. Harrison lazily lays there and bats at him as he circles. Barbados is pretty darn lucky that Harrison is too fat and lazy to move from his napping position and he is de-clawed.
Harrison had finally had enough. As I walked past Erika's room one morning I could see Harrison and Barbados both sitting by the cage having a staring contest. I wasn't sure where it would go from there but I watched them for a minute. I couldn't tell who blinked first but eventually they both just stared out the window and seemed content to just be together. I quickly grabbed my camera to have a picture to show Erika after she got home from school. I took one picture and then called out "hey guys" and they both looked for the next picture.
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After reading about Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon the boys were in a path making phase. They would use books, blocks, toys, and towels. They always had their "iron rod" and worked together.
My favorite was when they were taking a bath in the big tub and built a path to the promised land with their bath toys. When I asked where the tree of life was in the tub Nathan responded with "the tap of life water".
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Our neighbor's daughter got married so they decided to take down the loft bed that her dad made for her when she was 12 and they brought it over to us. Derek took the wood from an old bunk bed that we had and built a frame for Hyrum to have a bed underneath Nathan.
That lasted for about 2 weeks until a sick night when, in the middle of the night, Nathan was disoriented and couldn't figure out how to get off his bed and vomited ALL OVER THE PLACE. It was everywhere! Derek and I had to carefully lift the mattress over the side and set it on the floor to clean up the mess and then I had to wipe down the entire bed and change Hyrum's bedding as well. That experience, coupled with the fact that I couldn't tuck Nathan into bed very well or occasionally snuggle with him, put a temporary end to the bunk bed and it became a loft.
The boys have enjoyed that even more than the bunk bed. We have since added walls (sheets) so that it is their own private clubhouse. There is room enough to have the small table and chairs for activities and lunches or we can clear out the space and throw in a ton of pillows to have movie time with the travel DVD player. One night they even had a "sleepover" in their fort with their beds right there in the same room with them.
