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Dear {6 yr old} Rowan

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Dear (6 year old) Rowan,

Wow, SIX YEARS!  And soon to be SEVEN!  I just cannot believe that time has gone by, (nor that our feet are suddenly almost the same size!)


It's amazing to watch you grow into a sweet, caring young man. It's also hard to watch you go through struggles to find your true self, but you're on your way.  


This year I've seen you finally break through that angry wall you put up to shield yourself. I've seen you accept yourself and your big heart and THAT is what I've been waiting for.  Now, you're getting to know you. You're embracing yourself and you're running with it. I'm learning to run with it too.


You LOVE to read. One day, you read to yourself for THREE HOURS straight!! Among plenty of other books, some of your favorites are Mom & Dad's Calvin and Hobbes collection. They crack you up (it's hilarious. I love your laugh.)  You've read 1-7 of the Amulet series....waiting for #8.  As a family, Daddy is reading Harry Potter books to you and I'm reading Charlotte's Web.  You totally pretend like you don't like Charlotte's Web, but you beg for me to read to you, knowing that I will it's the book I'm going to read and then hang on what will happen next. I love you.

You've told me this year, that you're more like a teenager. You've said it many times, but it wasn't said with any attitude.  Just a matter of fact statement.  To be honest, you're right....as usual.  You ARE more like a teenager than a 6 year old.  I guess I worry that you've missed out on your childhood because your brain is older than you are.  And I worry because teenage angst is too big of a burden for a young child to bear. And I worry because if your formative years were "teenage", then what will your actual teenage years bring?! Well, basically, I worry because that's just what moms do.  You are SO special to us.  I just hope you feel that.


You still play Pokémon on a majority of our Sundays.  This year, you also learned Magic the Gathering.  I wasn't ready for that.  Uncle Jim came to visit and handed down his entire collection of Magic cards, along with an encyclopedia of Magic the Gathering (which you are glued to, btw), and he taught you how to play.  No surprise, you are very good at it.  It's honestly too hard for the rest of us to figure out. Ok, Daddy has figured it out, but seriously, you're just as good as he is.  Settlers of Catan is another winner, and also Pokémon Monopoly.  You love being the banker, of course :)

The Ultimate Beastmaster is one of your favorite shows. I'm so happy that it's inspired you to be more adventurous and daring, and to get outside more. 


You and Cid joined Taekwondo and made it all the way to orange belts! SO proud, because you faced your biggest challenge there. You stood before a room of people and spilled your heart.   You were so brave.

You've been exploring the trails on our property and even started offering tours to the kids who have birthdays here.  It's awesome. We've found mushrooms, lady bugs, miner's lettuce, chickweed, pine needles, and endless secret hideouts.



You made some incredible friendships this year.  You've helped others learn the things that came so easy to you. You've stood up for what was right and remained honest. You had so many incredible ideas, it's hard for us to keep up! You've worked hard and tried tons of new things.




I know you get frustrated and I really do understand why.  You are so mature and responsible and you try so hard to do the right thing all the time.  It sucks to watch other people get away with things that you don't feel are right.  That will always suck. The world is not fair and for those of us who want it to be, that can be an overwhelming reality.  You'll get better at dealing with that as you realize how much happiness you can create inside yourself and the people around you.


Year after year, I point out what a great big brother you are.  This year is no different.  You are the most incredible big brother.  You care so much about Cid and Vada.  You are kind, gentle, and patient with them.  Seeing you guide Cid through the first few weeks of his new Kindergarten melted my heart.  As the oldest, you've always taken on responsibility and worry beyond your years.  We know that.  We love that, and we also do our best to make sure you know that you are still a kid - you don't need to carry the world on your shoulders. 


You're AMAZING, Rowan!  Six was great.  Seven is going to be even better.


I love you to the moon and back and around the galaxy 500,000,000 x ∞!

Love,
Momma

Baby Girl's Room - Reveal!

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It took us over a year, but Little V's room is finally pretty and polished and ready for the princess.

Are you ready to see it??


Come on in!




This room is tiny!  So I had to take pics of each corner. lol. 

You might notice that the wall color looks a slightly different color than in the photos I first showed you, HERE.

Unfortunately, that's not because of poor lighting or because of the other pieces in the room reflecting their own color onto the walls.... I HAD to repaint it.

I kept going back in that room and seeing lavender.  And while lavender is a fine color, it wasn't what I had in mind and it wasn't sitting well.  I wanted a warmer, pinker color.  So I went a little crazy, Centsational Girl style (Who's colors I always envy!).  I mixed about a 1/4 pint of a sample of Dust Bunny by Valspar with what was left of the SW Dreamy White (about 1/3 of a gallon).

If you're asking why I didn't go buy a better color, good question. It's because I have already spent a small fortune in sample, gallons, and even one 5 gallon (gasp!) buckets of paint in slightly different shades of similar colors that I'm hoping one of these days I'll find a use for. Rowan asks me, "Mom, why do you ALWAYS spend your money on paint".  That's how I know I have a problem.

Though still not exactly what I had in mind, I'm much much happier with color that came from that mix.  It definitely warmed it up. And I didn't have to spend more money on paint! Only down side is that it's not very match-able.

Anyone recognize the changing table?  I re-vamped the old one from the boys' baby days. This was the ORIGINAL table.  A little piece of our Cherrystone house sticking with us :)



That's dollar store wrapping paper I used for shelf & drawer liners!! Score!


Sweet dreams, Lovely Vada. xoxo



Dear {Baby} Vada

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Sweet Pea, in 6 days you'll be ONE YEAR OLD!  The time has flown by. You had a rough little start but now you've gotten the hang of this world outside of Momma, and we are already having trouble remembering those first few months when you were tiny, and sleepy, and crying all the time, but so so so  new and innocent.  

You bring your own little character to our family.


You give sweet hugs by just laying your little head on a chest or shoulder and sometimes wrapping your arms around and giving little pats on the back.


You love horses and dogs. Grammy says that's why you chose us.

If there is music, you are dancing.  Swaying back and forth and if the music ends, you'll sing some for yourself, little la la la's.


You use the "milk" sign for anything you want and you like waving goodbye, but not so much for hello.  Clapping your hands started at Christmas time when you were about 8 months old. We think you do it because you can get us fools to clap along too.

First steps started at the beginning of 9 months, but you weren't really feeling confident in walking until about 10.5 months.


You're first word was "bock", which is what you call chickens. It's still your only word so far.


You're sweet and sassy and you have all of us wrapped around your finger. And oh my gosh, your brothers are completely gaga over you. We love you SOOOO much!  We love watching you grow up into your own favorite comedienne. We love giving you kisses and making you smile.  You are the perfect addition to our family.  It just wouldn't be the same without you.


Thank you, thank you, thank you for choosing US!





Love, 
Momma and Daddy


Dear {4 year old} Cid

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Cid, you are an awesome little boy.


You're adventurous, and curious, and sweet.  We are in love with your little mannerisms, those cheekbones, and your infectious laugh. Oh my gosh, you still have the best laugh.

Right now, you look so much like grammy's side of the family.  I see a resemblance to your cousin, Xian Li.  Grammy says you look like a little Ruben.

Vada made you a big brother this year and you are so proud and in love with her. You still look to Rowan for reassurance.  Both siblings, and me & Daddy, sometimes leave you frustrated, and you're learning how to deal with your emotions on that.


It's hard for you being home all day, every day.  Grammy does some lessons with you to make sure you don't get behind on learning, but mostly you are just allowed to be a kid.  Some days when Rowan is doing his homework, you ask for some homework too. Don't worry, you won't fall behind.  Your brain is swelling with all the things you are able to do now. You learn in your own way; quietly, introverted, then one day you stun us with your knowledge and abilities that we never expected.  Like whistling, blowing balloons, writing letters, multiplication, and most recently, READING!!  You practice in utmost secrecy so that you can show us when you're ready, when its perfect.  In that way, you are so much like me and Dad.



Grammy loves your help around the farm.  You are good at scooping poops, making mash, riding in Grammy's truck. Grampy loves your visits and showering you with yummy snacks.

You're the king of ultimatums, pouting, and potty words.  "And else you don't get to play on your computer anymore, Mommy!" and "Dumb dumb, Mom" are some of the tops.  Oh, and let's not forget, "I quit this family!"

The good news is, you don't stay grumpy for long...usually.  It just takes an armpit or thigh tickle to get you rolling and a happy Balyon family member again.

Like it or not, you are stuck with us, Cid, and we LOVE it that way.

 ~Love Mom & Dad








Family Cooking ~ Sushi Dinner

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The boys love to eat sushi.  Well, they mostly love Tamago ("egg sushi"), soy sauce, and edamame. Though, they will venture a taste of salmon sashimi sometimes.  

We thought it would be fun to have our own sushi dinner, to give the kids an idea of how those fun little bite sized rolls are made.

Now, we don't have raw fish on hand very often, and even if we do, it's unlikely to be sushi grade. Since this was a spur of the moment idea, we filled most of our rolls with some unusual sushi choices.

We made three types:

1) Tomogo - Scrambled egg, rice vinegar, sushi rice, nori
2) Hamburger Rolls - Ground beef with (cooked), ketchup, mayonnaise, & mustard, sushi rice, nori
3) Salmon Patty Rolls - Salmon patty (cooked), mayonnaise, sushi rice, nori



We've made Tamago before, and as usual it was a big hit, *surprise*. Hamburger rolls and salmon patty rolls was also well received.  

Can't replace the real deal, but it was a fun family cooking event.

   

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