Growing Pains

Sometimes it's painful to watch your kids grow. I didn't realize that. Max is sitting on the floor playing with his dinosaurs and his train and a Little Mermaid camera. He is taking pictures of the dinosaurs riding in the train and then doing their voices for them as they all yell "Thank you Max!" I want to freeze time and keep him just like he is right now.

And Charlie isn't a newborn anymore and he doesn't fit laying on my lap the way he did a few weeks ago. I'm afraid that I'm not enjoying every moment like I should be.

Anna was at the store with me and she saw a Disney Princess Magnet Board that she really, really, REALLY wanted. I told her she could save up ten dollars and buy it, and she tried really hard not to cry. As we were in the checkout line, Anna made one more last effort and told me, "It is the best toy I ever saw and by the time I save up ten dollars I won't even be a kid anymore!" And I thought that it really does feel to me like it is flying by that fast sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes. I miss Anna as a baby already, and soon I'll miss her as a three year old.

I wish I could remember every hug and every word and smile. I know it is a happy thing to see my kids grow and learn, and it makes me happy. It is just surprisingly painful at the same time.

Golfing with Wes

I know that my blogging is a little out of control, but I am determined to catch up so as not to forget the last month which has been really worth remembering. One major highlight was having my little brother Wesley here with us for a few days. I think I mentioned before how helpful he was--he was also such good company and we had lots of fun talking. Max and Anna absolutely adore him and try to copy everything he does. They are lucky to have an uncle like Wes who is willing to play and play and play with them. While he was here we went miniature golfing and had a great time.

Sweet Baby

I am in love with this baby boy and I can't handle how fast he is growing! Charlie is such a pleasant, mellow baby. He lights up every time someone looks his way and he loves to cuddle. He is patient when Anna and Max are near--very near, and he smiles right up at them when they talk to him which they can't get enough of. I can't get enough of his adorable chubbiness and thumb sucking. He is a very loved in our family and we feel so lucky that he's ours.

Fancy Dinner Night

I have been feeling the lack of some very basic table manners at dinner time as of late, so we declared a fancy dinner night--Sunday dress and best manners, which means no running around the table eating your roll, and no dropping your food in your drink and stirring with your knife, and no deliberate crumbling of cake or bread. (Max likes to crumble for fun) I didn't take any good pictures of dinner since I was a little busy being on my best manners, but here are some pictures of how fancy we looked. I wish I would have gotten better pictures of Kellie and I because Anna did our hair and adorned us with many necklaces and scarves--fancy.

The Starfish Drama At Our House

Does this starfish look not-so-pointy? Yes. This story has just been begging to be blogged about, but I am behind in blogging (and life in general), so here I give you a copied and pasted account of The Starfish Drama at Our House from letters I wrote to our missionary brothers. . . .

"We went to the Bean Museum for fun, and it was fun. When we were ready to go, I let both of the kids pick out a sea shell from the gift shop--I thought that was very educational of me. Max picked a starfish and he held it in his little hands all the way home. Anna asked me on the drive if it was a real starfish and I said yes. "Is it alive?" No, I told her. "So it's dead?" Well, yes. She spent the rest of the drive home dealing with the fact that Max was holding a "real dead starfish". Later on, I went downstairs and found Max chewing something. I asked him what in the world he was eating.

"Um , me eat my starfish"

Get ready for this . . . He was eating his real dead starfish. He was chewing and swallowing his real dead starfish. He held up his real, dead, not-so-pointy starfish for me to see. I took it away, not sure if i should call poison control or google "I ate a starfish". And the unexpected part was that Max cried and cried and told me--"Me love to eat my starfish" I did not taste it myself, but apparently it was not so bad. He was beside himself for several hours, and we are still hearing the sad, sad story about how mommy took Max's starfish away and he loved it and he couldn't eat it. He's told on me to several people. . .grandma . .dad. . . in hopes of someone siding with him and his starfish that I am a mean mommy."

So there you have it . . . Max likes eating starfish. I'm sure they're salty. I'm sure they're crunchy. I'm sure someday it will be fun to tell Max this story of him as a crazy two-year old, but for now, oh yuck.

Bowling Night

So we took ourselves bowling for family night a few weeks ago, and Kellie and Travis came with us (which was very fun and extra helpful). Anna got a strike and it was very exciting. She also cracked us up with her victory dance after every turn. Woo woo. Max took the game extremely seriously and, in typical Max-style, refused to use the little kid ball ramp when he noticed how all the grown ups were doing it. With Max rolling the ball himself it took a WHILE for it to reach the pins every time. He sat very still and watched till it hit them going four inches per minute, then he jumped up and gave high fives all around. Ten frames took us a WHILE but it was a very fun night. Taylor beat me, but just by 11 points, and I am all the way over it now.

Counting my blessings today

One . . . I lived through the winter again--I love spring!
Two . . . Baby Charlie is a good sleeper, as far as babies go, and has started sleeping through the night occasionally. I feel so human when I get seven straight hours of sleep.
Three . . . I just shared a chocolate malt from Iceberg with my brother Wesley--the most helpful eleven year old I know.

Things to remember . . .

• Games. . .I love the games that Anna and Max make up together. The other day they were pretending to be Katie Davis and Taylor Davis--they were running around holding hands and telling each other--"We're going to be late!" We also love game nights--Don't Eat Pete with marshmellows, Simon Says games that burn more calories than running a mile (Max could be a personal trainer), Duck, Duck Goose, Red Light Green Light, and Mother May I.
  
• Stories. . .I want to remember Charlie's sweet baby talk--he loves to tell stories. Max is also a story teller--I stand at his door every night while he goes on and on, ending every sentence with "AND, YEAH!" which is usually the only part of his stories that I understand. I eventually say "I love you!" and shut the door with him still talking. And Anna wants to be an author and an Indian when she grows up so she is also a very good story teller. Our very favorite books are "Where the Wild Things Are, Fancy Nancy, Pinkaliscious, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, and Wet Dog.
  
• Songs . . . Anna and Max love to perform on our living room stage (the window seat). I spend a lot of time being the audience while they sing and dance. We love The Princess and the Frog Soundtrack, Jack Johnson's Curious George songs and Here Come the ABC's. We pretty much can't clean anything without some good music. And we definitely can't have naptime or bedtime without calm quiet music.
  
• Tears. . . things that make Anna cry . . . when her Ariel doll's head popped off, when she has bad dreams, when Charlie got shots. Things that make Max cry . . . when he lost his birdie blankie, when gymnastics class is over (every week), when Charlie got his shots. Things that make Charlie cry . . . when he is such a hungry, tired boy, and when he got his shots.
• Laughs . . . Things that make Anna laugh--Daddy, the way Max says purple, Max's knock knock jokes, Max's wiggle dance. Things that make Max laugh . . .Daddy and himself, Charlie when he burps. (we have funny boys in this family) And we're still trying to teach Charlie how to laugh, but we think the way he smiles with his tongue out is soooooo cute!