Two...Three...Four

I could sit and listen to Olivia talk all day long!  Oh wait, I do!!!  :)  This little miss is quite the talker, and to make it even better, her facial expressions and waving hands tell a story all their own!  I really should get it on video to post on here so you can all experience it for yourselves, but for now, a few of my favorite moments will have to suffice!

Picture this...

I go to get Olivia out of bed the other morning.  She is standing in the corner of her crib, her hair is CRAZY as all get out (as it is every morning!), and she is holding her wrist and scowling.  I asked her what was wrong, and she peers out from under the waterfall of bangs (that we are desperately trying to grow out), has a small, sad little frown and proceeds to tell me, with waving arms and pouty lips that her stuffed frog that she had been sleeping with had bit her just before I walked in.  It was complete with her pinching her wrist to show me exactly where and how it had happened and with a few withering glances at poor froggy now banished to the corner.  Then she asks "Pweez me have a win-baid"  Translation: Please, can I have a band-aid! 

And another...

Anytime Olivia is referring to things in multiples or extras or anything like that, it is always said, "Two, Three, Four".  She wants two cookies instead of one..."Pweez me have two, three, four?"  She wants to go down the slide again..."I go down two, three, four!"  It is by far my favorite little phrase!  

How I love this sassy little girl!  I can't imagine life without her and I constantly feel so incredibly blessed to have her...healthy and happy and eager to learn.  I know every mom feels that way about their kids, but sometimes, this little miss makes my heart skip a beat when I think of how incredibly blessed we have been with her and her non-anticipated/way-too-early beginning!  

Reminiscing

So, I am all alone tonight and watching Disney's "Pete's Dragon", which KBYU was kind enough to air for my viewing pleasure!  I haven't seen this show since I was probably 10 years old when it was absolutely my  favorite show in the entire world.  :)  I'm laughing at myself at how giddy I've been knowing that my lovely DVR was gearing up for this recording...all day long, I have been counting down the hours!  I told myself I'd just turn it on to have in the background while I cleaned the kitchen...for no reason other than to see if my kiddos would like it...but now I'm a half-hour into it and can't stop!  Kinda silly (or borderline pathetic???)...but I have never been happier, reliving the good ol' days!  

On a similar note...I showed my kids the old version of "Absent Minded Professor" last weekend and they adored it!  They laughed soooo hard at all the funny scenes and about fell out of their chairs at the bouncing basketball players jumping through the rafters.  They loved it!   "Swiss Family Robinson" is also a huge favorite!!!

So give these old classics a shot, if you're ever looking for a fun movie to watch together.  :)  And hope and pray that your kiddos are as easily entertained as mine!  

Crazy Hair

My little boy is growing up.  He amazes me each and every day with how he is growing into the most responsible and wonderful young man.  As much as I am wanting him to stay little (how is it even possible that I have a 9 year old?!?!?)...it is amazing to watch him grow!  

Today was crazy hair day at school, and Garrett wanted to go all out.  This, in and of itself, is a HUGE milestone.  Usually Garrett is a tad on the reserved side...not wanting to stand out in a crowd for any reason.  :)   (hmmm...wonder where he gets that from?  It scares me to death to see how much alike he and I are!!!)  But today, he wanted his hair standing on end...spiky all over!  And a last minute decision to add some hair color to the mix was just the icing on the cake!

 

How I love this crazy kid!  

for Mom...from Olivia.

Olivia just walked up to me as I was making dinner and handed me a flower she had made out of some straws and connectors that the boys have been playing with lately.  It was completely her own design...which was cute because it actually looked like a flower!  Proof that she is truly out of the same DNA that my creating/lego-loving boys are!

She handed it to me, mid stride...on her way to see what the boys were up to next.  Over her shoulder she offered the following advice:

O - "It's a fwower, for you mom."  (slight pause).  "Uh, don't eat it."
Me - "Huh?  Don't eat it?"  (another slight pause of my own)  "Wait.  Did you try to eat it?"
O - "Yeah.  I wicked it (licked it).  It's yucky!"

Well there you have it.  Don't eat plastic flowers.  They're yucky.

Warning...Slightly Out of Order

Because the completely logical post a week after Christmas, is the Halloween pics that someone may or may not have JUST uploaded from a spare camera...get ready for some trick-or-treating!  Here are those elusive Halloween shots that never seemed to make it to the blog this year.  Not that much of anything makes it to the blog these days anyway!  :)  

Just know that this blog is truly a look into my scrambled brain...completely all over the place and full of all the pure randomness and joy that is our lives!  And one day, I will finally get around to printing off said crazy blog, and I will want these pictures included!  SO, you get the pleasure of following our journey, in no orderly fashion.

Halloween was a bit crazy this year.  Steve and I escaped to Denver the last weekend of October and I made it back just in time to go trick-or-treating while Steve stayed in Colorado for a business conference.  Thanks again, Grandma for watching the kiddos!  :)  

Olivia was a princess.  What else would this thoroughly girly-girl want to be???  A dear, sweet and amazing friend made this dress and passed it down to Olivia.  She could not have given it to a more grateful little girl...Olivia was on cloud nine to be wearing a REAL Cinderella gown!!!   

Ethan was determined that he would be a ninja turtle this year..though I didn't even know he knew what a ninja turtle was!!!  And as I LOVE the challenge of trying to create something that I can picture in my mind, mixed in with my flat-out refusal to pay money for a store-bought costume if I can at all help it...the poor kid got the brunt of my creative attempts this year.    But he was patient with me, and at least told me he loved his costume.  We'll see if he lets me experiment on him again next year!?!?  That will be the true test!  And yes, I had to post the 'texting' Leonardo' picture!  How funny is that!?!

Garrett was a ninja.  No turtles for this kid...he was a warrior through and through. And he pulled it off like a pro...Stealth is this kiddo's middle name!   On a side note, who knew you could tie a t-shirt around your head and feel as though you've completely morphed into a full-fledged ninja!?!?!  I may or may not have tried it out myself...who wouldn't?  :)

  

Me, much to my kids dismay, dressed up as a mom and graced the neighborhood in my usual attire.  Ethan says that I'm no fun...but I'm okay with that!

Visit from Santa

We had a special visitor a few weeks ago...Santa himself stopped by to personally check on the kids!  They were surprised and excited...and scared out of their minds - the way we tend to be around any holiday figure!  :)  He did bring candy canes, which quickly won over the kiddos, and eventually they would at least sit on the same couch.  

We all SCREAM for ice cream!

The other morning, while taking a shower, I hear someone on the other side of my door banging and yelling.  Not the most uncommon occurrence in our household since everyone seems to think that Mom needs absolutely no privacy what-so-ever and that whatever they may be doing or thinking ranks WAY higher on the importance scale than anything Mom may be doing...but I digress.  :)  So here I am rushing through rinsing my hair and hurrying out of the shower, just in case this time it's something important.  As I shut off the water, I can finally hear who and what is the culprit this time.  Olivia is on the other side of the door...banging/knocking somewhat impatiently...waiting for her turn.  When I ask what she wants, this is the response that sweet girl gives me, "Uh Mom?  Tan (can) I have ice cream?"  WHAT?  It's 7:30 in the morning and she already wants ice cream?  Although in actuality, it's no surprise...this girl is all ME...and this just proved it once again!  :)  But still, the answer is no, which I told her.  But, when I opened the door, she was still sitting there in front of it, hugging a box of ice cream cones from the pantry.  "Pweez, Mommy?"  Still no...but at least she got a hug and tickle on the way back to the pantry to put the  cones away. 

This was not that morning...but she did get an ice cream cone eventually!  :)  Persistent little thing!