Cute

Lately I've been noticing this word running through my mind a lot, thanks to the three little angels that live at my house! There are times here and there when they remind me more of little devils....but for the most part, I look at them lately and think Cute.

I've decided I better really pay attention to these moments, look for them, remember them, make a little collection of them. Most of the time I'm excited about the two new little ones that are on their way, but sometimes I think about the details too much and I start to hyperventilate. Then I just think how CUTE they'll be. And it helps to see that they're still cute when they're eight, six, and two (especially two--I love two year olds!).



Look at these six little legs. Two little skinny sets and one short chubby set. I've always thought Isaac's little girly legs are so cute. (We get to see a lot of his girly legs since he doesn't believe in wearing pants.)

I've been cleaning out closets and re-arranging stuff like crazy. I just got done with Isaac's room and my kids think it's so much more fun to be in there now! At least a couple times every day I see the three of them crammed onto Isaac's little toddler bed, with Madison in the middle reading stories to them. First I think "How cute!" and then I realize, "Wow, I should be the one reading to them...." (I do, but not three times a day.) Madison is the greatest big sister.

Our favorite thing to do for Family Home Evening is read stories out of the Friend magazine. So last night we read about a lady who had lost her vision. Then we talked about our senses and all the things we should be grateful for. I told the girls to write down their favorite thing they can see, hear, taste, etc. This is the list that Emma wrote: See the stars, hear when people are happy and laughing, smell clean laundry (That was MY favorite smell that I think she copied because I KNOW laundry is Emma's most HATED job on earth...I highly doubt she loves that smell like I do), taste medicine, and feel my mom when I hug her. I especially liked the last one.

And now I have to list a few things about Isaac that are just darn cute. Let's face it, two-year-olds are my favorite. There is no such thing as the "Terrible Two's", I don't think.

1. Lately he's been spending most of the night sleeping the hallway or other various places on the floor. So I've been noticing when I stumble over him in the middle of the night that a lot of the time I can hear this little sucking noise. Then I turn the bathroom light on and see his little lips sucking on this imaginary binky. It's been a year since he's had a binky to sleep with--so I don't know where that's coming from but it's kinda cute.

2. When he gets in trouble or gets his feelings hurt, he runs as fast as he can to his bedroom, grabs one of his favorite blankets, crashes onto his bed, and THEN finally, we hear the wails and cries. Then a couple minutes later, he's back happy as can be. It's kinda sad for a minute but cute too. (I know you're getting sick of the word cute...I'll start abbreiating it or something.)

3. He likes to help me with putting laundry away. So I give him a little pile and tell him where to put it, and he says "Ok, bye mom, bye" and then blows me three or four kisses on his way down the hall. Then he comes back for another pile and we repeat the process. Laundry is so much more fun this way.

4. His speech is coming along SLOWLY but surely. Lately everything is plural. He says "Whys, whys, whys" after everything you say to him, 100 x a day. Or "I sees" or "Me toos" or "Come heres", etc. Kinda c. (abbreviated)

5. He's trying really hard to understand all the "baby" stuff ever since the exciting news went down. So about once a day he'll come up to me, rubbing his belly and say "Babies?" I say, "No, there aren't any babies in your tummy." Then he points to mine and says "Babies?" And when I say "Yes" he says "I sees" and lifts my shirt up, so confused. The poor thing. And then I try to convince him that he's still my baby and he just runs away before I can grab him.

6. He must have seen people yelling with their hands cupped around their mouths. So now when he yells, instead of cupping his hands he just covers his mouth completely with both hands. And then he yells as loud as he can and all you hear is muffled loudness. He gets pretty into it, spends a lot of energy trying to get his point across, and it's pretty funny to watch.

7. We can't say the blessing on the food without him snitching. I guess we need to start praying BEFORE we dish up his plate, but it's just habit to get the kids plates ready first. Isaac is so focused on his food, he closes his eyes tight and folds his arms, and about three words into the prayer he's shoving food in his mouth. Just before the prayer ends, he folds his arms back up and pretends that he's been that way all along.

8. My favorite lately--his shoulder shrugs. Whenever you ask him a question, especially if it's something like "How come you're so smart?" he does this little triple-shoulder-shrug thing that is just so c.

So Madison agrees with me, as she says almost daily, "Isaac is the cutest boy that ever lived." I know we're a little too fond sometimes which is why he believes that the sun rises and sets for him, which is also why his world is going to come crashing down on him in about five months. I am trying not to spoil him too much! I hardly ever pick him up anymore (just to get him used to that) but I guess we ALL need to stop convincing him that he's the center of the world. If he wouldn't be so c. all the time it would be a lot easier.

Anway, thank goodness kids are cute.....at least sometimes. (Now I don't have to feel so bad tomorrow when I write about how they're driving me crazy.)

Playing Catch-up after a LONG Blogging Absence

Hallelujah! The "All Dogs go to Heaven" post has finally been replaced. Kelly will thank me. I know that I am an annoying blogger.....posting once every four months...you can remove me from your list if you'd like, but here are some highlights from the summer since it's almost over!

(Hint: If by chance you get bored while reading this post, before leaving just quickly catch the last highlight at the end....it's kinda cool.)



Sandbox fun--I am so glad we put this sandbox in last summer! Plus, we added a trampoline to our toy collection this summer so my kids have been enjoying the lazy days of summer mostly from home. (No broken bones yet...) Thank goodness they have each other and sand.




Emma's Birthday--# 6! What a cutie she is! She got heelies for her birthday (something she's wanted for a long time) and she has been practicing on them quite a bit. She's gotten so good that she can even spin in a full circle while rolling around.

For one of her birthday celebrations we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for cup cakes and ice cream.



Something looks familiar in this picture......maybe the one in the middle....since you had 4 months to look at the post of our dog who died in April, you might notice that this dog is a younger version of Radar. Yes, we lasted about two months without a dog. We meant to wait quite a bit longer but here's the story: On Emma's birthday we were wrapping her presents in newspaper (ran out of the real stuff) and lo and behold front and center on her biggest present was an ad that said "Male Boxer, 10 months old, family is moving and needs to find a new home." Kelly perked up at the 10 month old thing. Neither one of us wanted a brand new puppy to potty train. But we did miss having a big energetic dog for the kids to chase around. So Emma actually got an extra--furry and slobbery--present on her birthday. His name is Gunner. He's been very fun to have around except for the fact that he chews everything to shreds. The kids love him, and Kelly and I are kinda fond as well. (PS--we were camping in this picture...Emma was protecting her head from mosquitoes or something I guess.)



Another camping picture. We've been three times this summer now--since we purchased ourselves a nice little camper trailer last fall--it's been pretty fun. This last time we took a little day-trip to Bear Lake in the middle of our camping trip and it was great. Forgot the camera for that (typical of myself) but the kids loved it. So I guess camping is going to be on the agenda for many summers to come.



There were many pictures to choose from of Isaac in his underwear, but I wanted one that wasn't too revealing. Kelly's choice would have been the one of Isaac with his camoflage underwear on bottom, a "wife-beater" tank on top, and his precious dollar-store rifle in his hand. Isaac actually disappeared one day (chasing after our dog) and we found him (and the dog) clear down the street in exactly this outfit--the camo-wife-beater-rifle one. It's a great picture but maybe not for the blog.

Anyway, this picture is here to document the fact that Isaac is potty trained! It went so easily, I still can't believe it. Basically I bought him some underwear, I told him we're going to start going potty in the big-boy toilet, and then he potty-trained himself. He'd just disappear down the hall every so often and I'd follow him and watch him climb on the toilet and do his thing. He even knew how to wipe, flush, wash, etc. The only problem is that he doesn't even ask for help when going #2....he just does it all himself....which doesn't work out so well sometimes. I really have to be aware so that I can catch that, but overall--easy as pie!




Emma played T-ball again this year. She was such a cute T-ball player, although not her favorite thing in the world. We'd had about one practice and one game when she started saying "I don't want to go to T-ball...." At least she had lots of neighborhood friends on her team to distract her from her boredom.



Madison and Isaac are enjoying their brownie and ice cream at one of many family get-togethers. We really haven't done much or gone many places this summer (besides camping) but we always seem to have lots of family stuff going on. We've seen lots of both Kelly's family and mine and we always have a lot of fun. I am so thankful that we live close to family and that my kiddos can play with their cousins, see their grandparents often, etc. We are very blessed!



Speaking of blessings......don't skip over this last little image--this is what FINALLY convinced me to blog since this is worth blogging about for sure! It's actually a picture of the two newest blessings in our family. Did you hear--TWO! Yep, you'll notice in this (very low-quality) picture that there are two little blob-looking things: Baby A and Baby B!

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! Kelly and I just went to the doc a couple of days ago for my first appointment. We knew I was getting an ultrasound and it was early in the morning so Kelly decided to accompany me before heading off to work. Good thing he was there for the news. I was sort-of suspecting something because of the incredible amount of morning sickness I've had, and especially the incredible amount of clothes that I already don't fit into (pretty much all of them). I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.....but it looks like Kelly is getting his wish of 5 children after all. What an adventure, huh?