Visualize Yourself Clean

Jack is on a roll lately, at his ripe age of 3.  I made fresh pasta yesterday, and he wanted to help me pull it off the drying rack.  He had been playing with his tractors outside in the dirt.

"Jack, are your hands clean?"
"Yes."
"Did you wash them?"
"No."
"Then how do you know they are clean?"
"Because I want them to be!"

 

More Kid Talk

I keep a journal of things the kids say that tickle my ears.  I share some on Facebook, but here are some recent ones, for your reading pleasure:

Owen: 
After school announcement.  "I got really dehydrated today.  My blood was really dry.  I didn't get much water to drink."

"me-pointment"  (appointment)
"meh-partment" (apartment)

to Jack: "I am NOT happy with you.  That was a sin."  (Jack had thrown a book at Owen "just for fun.")
to us: "I think Satan was attempting him.  It hurt my feelings, and it broke my heart."

to Jason:  "Did you eat steak with a handle last night?"  (correlation to chicken on the bone)

"Dad, that soap smelled like cinnamon, so I tasted it.  It was NASTY!  It would be good for punishment.

Helen:
"Mom, you know what I did?  Jack dropped some of his candy corn into the trash, and I gave him two of mine.  And I said, 'That's what a friend is.'"

dreaming: "Daddy, your boobies are really small!  When I get big, my boobies are gonna be HUGE!"

praying: "I love you Jesus and God.  And please, sometime, send Satan to hell."

crying: "This stamp is RUINED for the rest of my life!"

decoding hype: "Mom, I know what your shirt says.  It says, 'Together we can stop diabetes.'  But really, we can't.  Because David has diabetes forever."

a goodbye ritual:  "A kissy-kiss and a huggy-hug!"  Also:  "Here's a squeeze....and a kiss for the squeeze."

in a local restaurant, loudly:  "Mom, can you help me wash my hands?  And get my wedgie out?"

about her self-chosen outfit:  "Well, it looked good in my wonder."  Me:  "Wonder?"  Helen:  "Yeah, What I thought it would look like."

Jack:
"Dad, what do it does?"  (insert parental grammar correction) "What do it do's?" 

"Chucker Cheese"

"It is Harst Day?"  (Harvest Day)

"Mom, I'm gettin' sweatin' of coloring.  I'm sweatin' of coloring." 

Me:  "Jack, why is your finger in your nose?"  Jack:  "Because I have to get some energy."

"I want Waisin Bran wif NO waisins." 

"windchipers" or "wine schwipers"  (windshield wipers)

to Jason:  "It's stinky under your nose."

Our Two-Month-Old

Can't believe this little sweetie has been here for two months already!  In some ways, it seems so much longer than that.  But sleep deprivation has been known to mess with my perception of time, among other things.

In two months, Henry has climbed from the 25th to the 50th percentile for weight, and now is 11 pounds, 11 ounces.  He does love to eat.  My goal was to give him a bottle feeding every evening, to keep him "sharable."  We started out great with that, but I forgot to keep it going.  He will still take a bottle, but he dribbles and messes around with it instead of getting down to business.  In the meantime, I forgot how active one can be while nursing a baby.  Manage the DVR recordings?   Sure!  Read MOPS training manuals? No problem!  Take something out of the oven?  Think I can manage that.  Get up and answer the phone?  Nah, they can leave a message!

His brothers and sister still adore him.  Helen is especially great at calming him, and takes a lot of pride in doing so.  Lately she told me, "Mom, I had to lift his head twice."  I didn't think much of it until a little Mommy-alarm went off in my head, and I asked her to show me how she had done it.  My five-year-old, while sitting, had scooped him up and bounced him, then clunked him back down on the floor.  I, with breath in check, calmly told her that was not an independent activity.  Little Mommy repeated a variation of that yesterday, which may have been worse.  I heard some small bonk-bonk-bonk that sounded like, and turned out to be, a tiny head tapping the floor.  Imagine that.

Henry just began to like the Exersaucer.  I was so happy to find a new (used) one on our church's yard sale.  So far the new toys have been attracting the older kids rather than entertaining the baby.  I had to remove the most obnoxious ones and hide them.  What is it with that?! 

I am so grateful for a happy baby.  We had a little taste of horrible fussiness when he got his immunizations. It lasted for two days.  I was ready to pull out my hair, or at least huddle in a corner and cry my eyes out.  Chocolate was definitely consumed.  This morning, that cranky baby changed back into my smiling sweetheart.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

A parting question:  What books are you reading right now?  These 15 to 20-minute feedings aren't going to go away, and I really should be using the time to expand my mind rather than drool over HGTV.

Jack and the Monster Combine

Life is flying along, and all the kids are growing.  It's great to see them gradually, although reluctantly on their parts, becoming more responsible.  They are reaching new privileges.  But it's bittersweet to see them sprouting up and outgrowing their clothes.  I just sold a bunch of Helen's old outfits on a yard sale, and the memories!  I'm a sentimental sap for sure.

I even had to part with some of Henry's tiny baby things!  The little guy is out of the newborn stage, and at his 2-month well-baby check up today weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces.  He's still not totally excited about the Bumbo seat.  It's a good thing he's oblivious to the fact that it's purple, or he would really hate it.  It's also a good thing his daddy is color blind. 

Jack hit a first lately--his first purchase!  He was with Jason at Hendrix Tractor Supply, and his eyes caught a...MONSTER COMBINE!!!!!  (Written in my most awe-inspired tone.)  Since Jack couldn't forget about the toy, Jason called the dealership and got a price on it.  They mistakenly gave a price that was out of the range of Jack's piggy bank, but Jack was determined to do some work to earn the difference.  He was even asking me for chores!

Jason double-checked the toy the next time he was in the store for farm business, and saw the mistake which was grossly in Jack's favor.  At the next opportunity, he took Jack and his money into Hendrix, and returned with one little pleased customer.

Jack is still convinced that everyone on the face of the earth is extremely interested in his monster combine.  He will boldly inform anyone who will listen of his fine purchase.  He also has a realistic fear that it might get broken by rough play, and so, without much tact, will warn some people that he doesn't want them to have it because he doesn't want the auger to break.

His baby brother is still a safe admirer, and so he took some time to demonstrate its capabilities to him.