We officially have a 5 year old! People always talk about how fast time goes. I don’t know how we’re here already!
I’m pretty sure this was just a few days ago, wasn’t it? 🥺
Quinn wasn’t feeling the greatest on his birthday, but he still seemed to have a good day. We let him open his gifts from us, and his Nanna and Juju came to visit and let him open their gifts. His birthday was on a Wednesday, so we didn’t have his party until the Saturday after. We left to go camping the day after that, which wasn’t my best idea ever 🫠. I didn’t initially plan it that way, it just happened due to the availability of the yurt we stayed in, and me forgetting that I wanted to do his party on the day I booked it 🙃. Oh well, it all worked out.
Quinn wanted to have a ninja themed party, and if you’ve been a loyal reader, you know that was problematic. All he wanted was a new ninja costume for his birthday 😑. Philip and I discussed it and decided to buy him one, knowing full well it could be used for leverage purposes 😂. He only had it two days before he stomped (yes, STOMPED) his brother while he was laying on the ground. He knew he messed up because he didn’t even argue with me when I took it from him. He got it back the next day and then jumped on Ash while he was laying on the couch, breaking two rules at once—hurting his brother and jumping on the furniture. That was several days ago and he hasn’t even asked for it back. Maybe he knows he can’t control himself while wearing it. Or maybe he’s tired of losing it. Or maybe he forgot he even has a new one. My bet is on the last one 😆.
I got them matching ninja shirts to wear to Quinn’s party 🥷 🥷
Although the ninja costume was all he said he wanted, I think he likes the Spiderman costume that Mandy’s family got him even better. He passed his old one down to Ash, a move that made Ashy very happy.
Slingin’ webs 🕸️ 🕸️
We waited until after his party to open gifts, as is our tradition. I like for them to open one gift at a time so I can see what they got and from whom, so that I can properly thank people, but Quinn tore through them with a fury and I was left guessing 🙄. I think he was afraid Ash would open them if he didn’t do it quickly, and he wasn’t wrong 😂. However, he was a generous big brother and designated one for Ash to open. Unfortunately for him, two year olds think if they open it, it belongs to them, so Ash fully believes the Spiderman shirt and rain boots Mimi bought are his 🫠. I had to put the boots up because he kept wearing them and then falling down because they’re too big 🤦🏻♀️.
Peep the center pic 👀
Despite waiting until the last minute to start making the decorations and activities for the party, and then shopping and packing for camping, my stress level wasn’t nearly as high as it usually is, and I think we all had a good time. I’m going to write a separate post about camping because I don’t want this one to be a novel.
Ninja tattoos, color a ninja star, defeat the ninja bad guy, and grab a balloon sword and go to battle. Haleigh even turned a few swords into balloons dogs 🎈🐩
😆. Recycling to the rescue!
My cupcakes melted in the heat 🫠😭
I had hoped with the turn of Quinn’s fifth year maybe his attitude would change, like it did right before he turned three, only in the other direction this time 😂. I know, I know, wishful thinking. It didn’t happen naturally, but we may be making some progress. I’ve adopted a “take no shit,” attitude in regard to his behavior because I’ve finally hit my breaking point. Leading up to our camping trip, his behavior got continually worse, but I could easily write that off as wanting attention because, obviously, I was busy getting things done. However, I had hoped having a few days where, for the most part, Philip and I were undistracted (minus meal prep) and could give him undivided attention would help. I’m not saying he behaved terribly the whole time, but he was fussier than we would’ve liked. When one person is having a hard time, it puts a damper on the whole family. We try really hard to not let his mood dictate ours, but I’m especially bad at absorbing it 🫠.
Anyway, once we got home and we were on like five straight days of attitude and whining, I had finally had enough. He ended up being put to bed one day, and unsurprisingly, he napped for 2.5 hours. He had been refusing to eat anything of sustenance, which is all about a power play, I’m almost sure. I’ve tried and tried to help him understand and tell me what it is that’s making him so moody, but he usually doesn’t know or isn’t interested in fixing the problem. The day I sent him to bed, he actually did tell me he hadn’t slept well the night before. I said, “Okay, that’s an easy fix,” but he didn’t want to nap until he no longer had a choice in the matter. I told him that I want him to be able to spend time with us (me, Ash, and Dad), but he has to follow the rules and speak kindly to everyone. He can choose to do those things, and we can all be happy, but if he chooses to break the rules and/or be rude to me, he is choosing to spend time alone in his room. He’s on notice and I’m not tolerating his disrespect anymore. For some reason, whenever I send him to time out, he thinks he has the option to say no or argue about how he didn’t do whatever it is I know he did. He doesn’t hesitate whenever his dad tells him to go, though. Bath time has been a long time struggle. It’s like whenever he gets in the tub, he completely loses his mind. It got to the point where I wouldn’t give him a bath anymore, he had to either take a shower or ask his dad to supervise his bath. But one day he had an accident when he waited too long to seek out the toilet, and he really needed to take a bath. I could’ve made him take a shower, but he doesn’t like to and I didn’t want him to feel like he was being punished for having an accident. I begrudgingly said I would let him, and Philip was on his lunch break, so he told Quinn that if he misbehaved, he was going to be in big trouble. That was an ambiguous threat because neither of them knew what that would entail 😂, however, it worked. Whenever we finished, I thanked him for following the rules (no splashing me or yelling, getting out when told, etc.) and he said, “You’re welcome. I always do when Dad tells me.” I asked, “Why do you listen to Dad and not me?,” and he said, “I don’t know. It’s weird.” 😑😑😑. It’s convenient having the Dad Enforcer when I’m ready to lose my shit, but it also kinda pisses me off 🤣.
Another system I’ve put in place the last couple of weeks is using positive reinforcement by having a reward chart for good behavior. It’s working really well, which is great, but also frustrating because that was a common solution I suggested to many parents when I worked as a Parent Educator 🤦🏻♀️. Why it took me this long to try one, I don’t know. Quinn (and Ash, but he isn’t particularly motivated by it, of course) get to color in a dot each time they complete a task that I’ve deemed rewardable, such as putting their toys away in their rooms once the baskets in the living room and kitchen are full, putting away their clothes, and for Quinn, taking a bath and following all of the rules. While this ensures their chores get done, perhaps the more motivating factor is the fear of losing a dot due to bad behavior. Their reward charts have three checkpoints and Quinn got to his first one. He would have been there sooner, but he lost a dot two times for hitting his brother. We’ve been working on cleaning up their diet because they were surviving solely on chicken fries, cheez its, and anything with sugar. We’ve restricted all of the sugar for now, so Quinn chose his first reward to be a trip to Stalder’s. He loves ice cream and he was excited to go.
Coloring in the dot for his first reward 😃😃.
Spider-Man eating Superman ice cream 🍨. It was even better going with friends! 😊
He’s been a completely different kid with my zero tolerance policy and new boundaries in place. He’s not always a “give an inch, take a mile” kind of kid, but he was getting there. He straight told me one day that he was trying to see what he could get away with 😑. I’m not sure if he was repeating that as something he’d heard or if he is really that self aware 😅. Either way, it was true.
I’m hoping this new improvement plan is successful and I can start enjoying him again. It feels like the last two years have been more stressful than not. He claims to have all kinds of new skills and abilities now that he’s five 😂. Harper taught him to climb the doorway, so that’s his favorite thing to do at the moment 😑. He gained the courage to play in the shallow water at the pool without his Puddle Jumper, and to try holding his breath underwater. He practices holding his breath in the bathtub, too, and doesn’t want to take a bath with Ash anymore, so he has more room. Ash was upset when Quinn wouldn’t let him get in one day, and I told him Quinn just wanted to take a bath by himself. Quinn said, “But I still love you.” 🥰🥹🥹.
🫠🫠🫠
He really thinks he’s big stuff now that he’s five. One day, I was changing Ash’s diaper and he said, “My butt hurt!” I said, “I’m sorry.” Quinn told me, “At least put some cream on it!” I told him it wasn’t red, cream probably wouldn’t help. He said, “Damn it.” I said, “What did you say?” He repeated himself. I said, “You say, ‘Dang it.’” He asked why, so I told him, “Some people think that’s a bad word and only adults can say it.” He said, “I’m five now, bro, I’m allowed to say that.” 🫠🫠🫠🫠. The “bro” moniker is killing me. Even Ash says it sometimes 🙄.
Due to Quinn’s behavior, we’ve stopped attending story time at the library, at least for a while. I’ll take Ash back in the fall once Quinn goes to school. He didn’t do anything terrible, he just consistently didn’t pay attention while Miss Tella was reading and distracted Asher. I got tired of it being a source of stress, so I stopped taking them. The last time we went I reminded Quinn of the rules and told him we would leave if he didn’t follow them. It didn’t take long before he started talking and putting his hands on his brother, so we left. He fussed and threw a fit for a minute, mostly because it wasn’t his idea to leave, but when I told him we weren’t going back, he said, “I don’t even like going.” I believe him because his actions backup that statement. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll try again sometime. I hope school helps teach him to cooperate in group activities better. If not, I’ll just have Philip tell him to get it together 😜🙄🤦🏻♀️.
Several weeks ago, Quinn was pitching a fit about having to put his bike in the garage. Philip told him he would go with him, thinking he was just scared to do it alone.
Quinn: “No, I want Mom to come!”
Me: “Okay, I can.”
Ash: “Mama, I want milk.”
Me: “Ash, Dad can get your milk.”
Ash: “No, I want you get it!”
Me to Philip: “Don’t you wish you could be as cool as me?”
Philip: “No, I’m good with my status. Not only do I have a Dad voice…”
Me: “For real. You have a Dad voice and no one wants you to do anything for them. What bullshit.” 🤣
It’s nice to be loved but holy shit, if they don’t stop yelling for me every 2 seconds, I’m gonna lose my mind 🤯. They have their own version of Life360, where, instead of stalking me electronically, they just say, “Mom!,” anytime I’m out of sight 🤬. They don’t even want anything except to know where I am or what I’m doing. Seventy-five percent of the time I’ve told them where I’m going (ex. upstairs to do xyz, or outside, etc.). It’s annoying as hell.
Ash is still full of love and appreciation for basically anyone he encounters. Harper’s best friend, Rowan, comes to play with her pretty often, and they usually end up at our house at some point. Everyone ends up here eventually 😂. It’s like a party every day 🤪. Anyway, Ash told Rowan he loved her toenails and her eyeballs the other day 😆. Lincoln was down one day and Ash was laying on him. Linc told him to get off and Ash said, "No! I love you!" Lincoln said, "I love you too but get off of me" 🤣.
Poor Lincoln 😅.
Philip called Ash “cute face” one day, so now he randomly tells Philip, “I love you, cute face!” He and Quinn tell each other they love one another all of the time, but Quinn gets mad when Ash tells him when we’re taking a walk and he’s tired. He often falls asleep in the stroller. I don’t know what we’re gonna do when he outgrows it, which won’t be long 😬. Anyway, Ash was loving on Quinn one evening and Quinn got mad and yelled, “Stop, Ash!” I asked what was going on and Ash was indignant when he told me, “Mom, Quinn tell me stop and I pet him!” 🤣. Have you ever had to tell your kids not to pet each other? 😅🤦🏻♀️.
That side by side stroller provides way too much opportunity for them to annoy each other. Ash learned from Quinn and told him, “I not even touching you!,” one night when Quinn was fussing at him. He probably was, but it was amusing he said that. He picks up lots of things from Quinn, like, “That what I talking about!” It cracks me up when that’s his response to me deciphering something he says.
Ash usually speaks relatively clearly, and I know what he says, but one annoying habit he picked up is baby-fying words, which confuses me. He randomly started calling milk “milky,” and juice “juicy,” and tells me he wants “uppy.” I knew someone who used baby talk until they were like 12 whenever I was growing up, and I think that has scarred me. I was completely annoyed by it, so I don’t find it endearing when an actual baby does it 😅. I’m not even sure why he started it because he obviously didn’t hear me say anything like that.
I’ve never really baby talked to my kids and I think that’s part of the reason both of them talk too much 😂. I used to think Quinn was bad, but Ash talks even more than him, I think. He’s very expressive with his needs. I touched his leg and asked him what happened to it and he said, “That a boo boo, don’t touch it!” 😳 I was like, “Okay, I’m sorry!” After seeing me give Tylenol to Quinn, Ash told me, “I need medicine, my belly hurt.” He doesn’t miss a thing.
He can sing familiar songs, like Happy Birthday and the Finger Family Song. Sometimes he just makes up his own. He wouldn’t stop interrupting Philip and me while we were trying to talk one night, saying and then singing, “Wanna hear a song? 🎶 Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin hanging in a tree. 🎶 Is that a good one?” He always wants to know if it’s a good one when he’s done 🤦🏻♀️.
Between the two year old and newly five year old, I can’t decide who thinks they’re most independent. I went to strap Ash into his car seat one day and he said, “I not need help! Only baby need help!” 🙄🤦🏻♀️. Stahhhhhp.
He’ll let you know when he can’t do something, though, with a misordered imperative—“I not can!” He tells me that when he wants me to do something he’s capable of doing and I tell him he has to do it himself. Ex.:
Ash: “Mama, I need water.”
Me: “Okay, you can go get a cup.”
Ash: “I not can!”
🙄
He made the same mistake when Quinn accused him of throwing the couch blankets on the floor. He heard Quinn come to me to tattle and Ash said, “I not did that!” He was likely telling the truth. Quinn never makes a mess 🙄, just ask him.
Ash accuses Quinn of being a werewolf or zombie and gets himself all worked up about it. Quinn has certainly helped grow Ash’s imagination. He routinely comes to me and Philip with his hands behind his back, and tells us he’s going to surprise us. He never has anything in his hands, just an imaginary prize, like a dragon he wants you to pretend to pet 😅. You never know what he’s going to say.
They’re very good at pretending together. Dr. Spiderman was checking Ash’s teeth. That tote was waiting to go up to the attic and became a dentist chair 😅.
Ash’s most frequently asked question is about everyone’s ability to do a backflip.
“Mama, Quinn do a backflip?”
“Lincoln do a backflip?”
“Spider-Man do a backflip?”
We were at Dr. Nichols’ office for Quinn’s five year well check and a man in the waiting room started talking to the boys. He asked Ash how he was doing and Ash said, “Hulk can do a backflip?” 🤦🏻♀️😅🙄.
He always has a lot to say, and he won’t be ignored. If I’m holding him and talking to someone else, to get my attention, he’ll physically turn my face to his 😑. It’s annoying but it’s cute at the same time 😅. I told him to stop and it was rude but he said, “It not rude!” 🙄.
Another annoying thing he learned from my brother is saying someone’s name, and then when they respond, saying, “Never mind.” 🙄🙄🙄. Greg thinks it’s hilarious. Maybe I’ll get his kids some glitter to thank him for teaching my kids to do that 🤪. Just kidding, Lori. I wouldn’t do that to you.
We’re having a great summer, but I’m worn out by the end of the day. My blog entries are becoming farther and farther apart because I have no energy left to write them once the boys go to bed. It takes me weeks to get one written, with a little here and there during the day when they’re occupied 😵💫.
Here are some things that have been keeping us busy at home:
Water slide surfing 🏄♀️😅
We made a DIY firepit for roasting smores. The kids didn’t even like them 🙄. They all just wanted to eat the chocolate and raw marshmallows.
We watched Lincoln and Oliver one day so Lori could go somewhere with Coen. I amused myself by making them all pose for this pic 😅.
And took lots more of the baby 🥹.
We did a sink or float or balance experiment with animals and foam shapes in the water table. Ash was psyched when he finally got one to stay on.
We made a mess with baking soda and vinegar volcanoes 🌋. Kiki gave us a set of beakers and they were perfect for it!
We tried out a recipe for butter slime. It is very cool!
Watercolor painting attracted lots of kids to our porch, including 4 teenagers 😆.
I asked my favorite kids to paint a sunflower rock to adorn my sunflower garden in the backyard. I got a late start on planting them and can’t wait until they bloom 🌻🌻🌻
I taught a yoga class on the night of the full moon in June. We all wore glow bracelets and necklaces, and stayed out late, waiting for the moon to show itself over the hill. Ashy passed out on Harper’s mat about halfway through, but Quinn got to try to capture the moon 🌕. We missed in the pic, but it was the best we got 😅.
We made the most of the rain on the 4th of July by rolling out the Slip n Slide, and slicking it up with some Dawn. That totally counts as a bath, right? 😅. They needed one for real after painting themselves with bath paint sticks!
They’ve had a renewed interest in puzzle and matching games. Ash, especially, loves matching pictures, and Quinn likes playing memory match. I made them a set with pictures of some of their friends and cousins 👧 👦.
I’ve been doing my best to try to sneak in a few letter or number activities where I can, hoping to retain something Quinn has learned 🥴. They played a Roll and Color game with Harper. Getting their friends involved usually helps maintain their interest.
We’ve joined a bicycle gang 😆😉. There were 16 kids riding bikes 🚲 the other day! Quinn thinks he’s big now that he can ride Lawson’s 16” bike, and Ash is always popping wheelies, but he calls them “cartwheels” 😅.
Here are some of our adventures:
We visited the Pleasant’s County Aquatic Center with Kiki, Lilly, and Luka. Their splash pad area was fun, with a pirate boat slide and 12” pool. They also have a lazy river, which would be awesome on a less crowded day (and without kids 😅). However, the main pool’s swimming area was too deep to comfortably stand and keep the kids afloat. Even with their life jackets, I didn’t feel like it was a safe situation at my height. The other swimmers seemed to feel the same way, as everyone hung out around the perimeter of the pool and almost no one in the middle. The most shallow part (3’) was where the water slide emptied. The location of the lazy river is, I’m sure, why it was put there, but they really should consider moving it elsewhere.
The boys had their first trip to a movie theater. The theater at the highlands was offering a free showing of Paw Patrol, so I figured that would be a great opportunity to try it out. Quinn chose to go to the highest level possible to sit, but then got scared when the lights went out and cried about how he was going to fall 😑🤦🏻♀️. I got him settled for a bit, long enough to eat some of his popcorn, and then eventually even put him on my lap. We made it about halfway through the movie before Ash started to get antsy, too, so we left. I was glad I didn’t waste money on tickets 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ at least 🙄.
Another first was watching fireworks 🎇. We had put off some at the old house before, but we had never gone anywhere to watch a big fireworks show. Mostly because Quinn was scared of them before. Both of them seemed to enjoy them, at least for the first 10 minutes. After that, Quinn kept asking when they would be over 🤣. They were the ones at the end of Back Home Festival, so next year’s show could be shortened and I bet no one would be sad about it 😆.
Speaking of Back Home, we went there, too. It was hot and I spent $52 on greasy food and overpriced toys. Good times 😑.
We went to the Arts in the Park 4th of July Celebration and played with bubbles, stilts, balloon creatures, and games hosted by Haleigh as part of her job with Parks and Rec this summer 😊.
We got to celebrate Fern’s 85th birthday!
We went to watch Harper play in her championship softball game. They played a good game, even though they didn’t win. She brought over the ring she got for playing this season, and when she opened the box to show Ash, he said, “Wow!,” which was exactly the reaction she was hoping for 🤣. I love how much they love each other. Harper is definitely one of Ash’s favorite people ♥️.
Check out my next post (in a couple of days 🤞🏻🥴) to read about our camping trip!
Sophie PUPdate 🐾
Sophie is really warming up to Quinn. He loves her so much, but he said when we get another dog one day, he wants a small one like Ellie (our neighbor dog) so that he can pick it up 😅.
💋 👅
This used to be a rare occurrence that only happened when it was storming, but now she randomly sleeps with him sometimes on clear nights. Isn’t their wallpaper lovely? 🙃. When it cools down again, I’ll be spending my days ripping it off.
Quinn was sure Soph wanted to be covered up the other day when it was storming 🙄🤦🏻♀️.
She’s always reporting for vacuum duty when Ash is eating 🧹
And kitchen duty when anyone is cooking or washing dishes. Her primary task is being wherever we don’t want her to be 😑.
In her off time, she likes to ensure she has an even tan all over, sunning different parts of herself throughout the day 🤭.
I call this a Sophie Catcher. Maybe next time she’s underfoot in the kitchen, I’ll just grab a towel or blanket and lay it out somewhere else 😅.
