Alden

I did a post not long ago on Benson and have wanted to do one on each of the boys.  This post is dedicated to what Alden has been up to lately.  Alden is my boy who loves to create.  Almost every day he will make something..a book, some project out of boxes or wood, or something in the back yard.  There has been a couple of times where we have been out doing things most of the day and at the end of the day he says how it wasn't the best day.  I'll go through all the fun things we did and he'll agree that there were fun things but if he hasn't made something that day then it never is as good of a day as the days when he has.

Lately he has been into writing books. If you ever come to our house he will try to give you one.  He has written tons of books.  His dream is to have one published one day and have people check it out at the library.  He keeps telling me that his books are ready to be published so the other day we read up on it and how you have to rewrite and rewrite to make a book better and better to get it published.  I think he got the idea and is starting to ask for feedback on his books.

My favorite book that he has written was one he wrote one day after I had finished reading the BFG to him. (Michael and I have been taking turns reading some chapter books to him.) I think it was a day or two after reading the BFG, that I came up to read stories to the boys at night and Alden handed me this story he had written.  He had rewritten the main parts of the BFG but had used Calvin and Benson as the characters and had changed a couple of things.  Calvin was the little boy snatched up from his bed and Benson was the king of the land that Calvin and the big friendly giant went to see to get rid of the bad giants.  I thought it was a fun and cute little book and fun that he did it on his own without asking or telling me anything about it.

Many of the other books he has written he writes specifically for someone.  He made a flap book about shapes for Benson and one of Old McDonald Had a Farm.  The book pictured above is one that he made for Evan and I while we were in the hospital.  Alden also really likes to make to do list that he will put on my phone and check off throughout the day.  Weeks before Evan was born I noticed that one of the things on his to do list was to make a present for the new baby.  Later on that week I noticed it in his room.  He had made a card with a huge heart and inside it said, "I love you so so so....much".  He stapled the card to a big yellow bag that had one of his favorite stuffed animals inside with a couple of books.  One of the books was called, "The Mommy who got sick" and the other was "The Mommy who had a baby". I think he also had a shape book for the baby.  

I am often amazed at how much he thinks of others, his to do list are humbling to me.  Almost everything he puts on them is ways in which he can help others. Things that are often on his list are to read to Calvin or to Benson.  To help Calvin or Benson and almost always he has written on there how he wants to help Mommy with the things she does.  I have much to learn from this sweet boy.

Below is a present that Alden gave me the other day, it was a little box and inside were all these flowers he had colored and a card saying thank you for all you do and how he can help me with everything.

These are some TV's Alden and Calvin made.  Michael and I often joke about getting a TV.  Right now we don't have one and I don't really want one but have told Michael that we can get one once I get my piano. Michael will often look at TV's and research them so he is ready to buy the best one when we do eventually get one.  Alden and Calvin made these TV's and when they did were so excited because they knew Dad would be so excited to have a TV and that now he wouldn't need to ever buy a TV because we have not one but two!
They made remote controls for the TV's and then would do any show we wanted them to do for us.  They used puppets, pictures, and all sorts of things to do the different shows they did.

Just in the last couple of days Alden has been playing more with blocks and legos. Calvin is my big block and lego guy but Alden has been getting into a little more lately but anytime he makes anything he always grabs my phone and takes a picture, so these are a couple from my phone.

 Alden has also been into making games lately. Above is a game similar to ticket to ride and below is a game similar to uno.

 Below is another thing that Alden likes to make, it's a neighborhood to drive his cars on.

Evan!!

 Our Sweet Evan Park

7lbs 15oz and 20 in 

Evan is one loved little boy. Alden, Calvin and Benson were all so excited to see him.  Alden had made Evan a present with stuffed animals and books that he had written and a really nice card that said, "I love you so so so so so so so...much".  Calvin came hurrying in and wanted to hold little Evan right away.  As he held him he said, "He is so cute, he is so cute, I love you, I love you".  Throughout the visit he kept coming back asking if he could hold him.  Benson who is scared of all medical things was scared when he came in and wouldn't even come to me, after a little while he came up excitedly to look at an hold Evan.

 Grandma and Grandpa got here just in time for Evan's arrival.  It was nice knowing the boys were being well taken care of at home.

Evan's birth story:  In the morning I had done preschool, then drove to Mesa to get my Mom and Dad, as soon as we got home I had to go off to a doctors apt.  At my doctors appointment they put me on a monitor to make sure the baby was okay since I was past my due date.  When the nurse came in she said, "my guess is that we will be sending you to the hospital". The doctor checked me and said you are dilated to a 4 and the monitor had said I was having contractions every 3 minutes so he wanted me to go straight to the hospital.  (I on the other hand wasn't too excited about this because earlier that week I had gone to the hospital with contractions 3-5 min a part for a number of hours but didn't progress at all.) But he called in and said that they were waiting for me at the hospital.  Michael met me at home, we grabbed our bags and left.  Around 7 at night they got me on the monitors and monitored my contractions while giving me the antibiotic since I was strep b positive. Contractions were consistent but not painful at all and not really making me progress. Around 10:30 or 11 they started me on pitocin.  Then around 11:30 the doctor came in and checked me I was dilated to about a 6 and then he broke my water.  Around 12 contractions were really strong and by 12:15 I asked the nurse to check me she said I was still only like a 7, but she stayed in the room then sent for the doctor around 12:30 who checked me and said I was a 9 but was still really high up, but then I started pushing and he goes oh and there is the babies head.  He was then born at 12:34 a.m.   When his Uncle Jon heard this he said, it sounds as though he will be a good mathematician 1234! :)

Evan's Name:  One of the reasons we chose the name Evan is because it is the welsh form of the name Jon.  Jon is Michael's brother who brought us together! Also it was the only name I saw was on both of our lists.  I hadn't remembered putting it on my list of names but saw it on Michael's and then realized that it was on mine too.  Also while we were trying to decide a name I found that a number of times at church on Sunday we sung songs that were written by someone with the name of Evan or Evans. Park comes from Michael's grandfather.  We are all so excited to have sweet little Evan with us!