Brags

Every child has his strengths and weak nesses; one of Baby Will's primary strengths has been his ability to speak since he was a tiny wee minky. From the beginning, he picked up on, internalized and then repeated every subtlety of speech. It wasn't "ball". It was "It's a ball".  It wasn't "water". It was "I want a drink of water please." He's been a full-sentence kind of guy since about 9 months old. At 16 months he was singing the entire alphabet song, and now at 21 months, we have the joy of just conversing with him and it's hilarious! Talking to a baby! Who knew? (Should "blogs" be called "brags"??)  BUT..... the ability to express all of one's two-year-old angst about life isn't always such a great thing. SO much about the world, he straight out disagrees with and he let's us know. For instance, last week in the car I said to him, "Will, look out your window - it's raining!" He came back with "NO! It's NOT RAINING!" Just go with it, buddy. Don't fight it. It's weather.....Or "Here's your chicken noodle soup, baby" is retorted with "NO! It's not chicken noodle soup! IT'S NOODLES!" Notice the volume, the passion, the conviction. This kid has the world DOWN at 21 months. It's probably a good thing that his older brothers have taught him to hold his own physically, because if he keeps up the verbal spats, he will definitely have to defend himself a few times. He is an absolute gem; this short post doesn't at all illustrate his quiet, sweet, shy side.......I guess I just introduced him with the Brags......it's a mom thing.

Jonah has, as always, been a delight the past few months. He has always been so serene and easy-going, and we are just now starting to see his very energetic, hilarious spunky side! He dances, sings, laughs a loud belly laugh and speaks his mind in a way that he used to be more quiet about. It is great! He is really getting a grasp on expressing himself and we are loving his spunk! His baseline is still very calm, and his motive is still peace. Lately when he accidentally hurts one of his brothers, he will cry and say, "I am a good brother. I am a good boy." It is sooo heart-wrenching and so cute at the same time. It is reflective of what we tell him when he intentionally fights/hurts someone (not very often) which is: Jonah, that is not like you. You are a good boy. You are a great kid.  It's nice that that message is getting through! He really is! Lately, he loves bug-catching, playing baseball, Superman jumping (on to mattresses), playing house (he plays Baby Dane's extremely nurturing daddy) and anything that involves painting. He is very verbal and communicative about things that he is thinking, and often surprises me with his extensive vocabulary and ability to use it. His heart is the size of Texas; last week he caught me crying over something and immediately tears welled up in his eyes. His strength combined with his sensitivity is a rare combo, and we cherish his uniqueness. Today after swimming lessons from Miss Drea, she gave him a thumbs up, which he studied and studied and then made his best thumps up attempt possible to return to her. So cute. 

More stylish HappyMe Headbands from the creative mind and able hands of Liza!

Liza got to hold all kinds of slimy scaley reptiles at Cousin Justice's 5th birthday party last week! Here she is seen wearing a headband that she created as part of her new company, HappyMe Headbands. Each one says a word on it. This one says LOVE.....love the snake..???

This post is the result of a major decision for me.....to blog or not to blog; that was the question......you see, to not post would be to let our blog die, but to post after 6 months of silence would be to re-awaken my blogging zest and re-commit myself to keeping current.  After much debate, and a dare from a friend, I chose the latter, and would like to say Welcome Back to My Life, Blog.  Facebook is fun and all, but it serves no purpose in memorializing the beautiful family we have been given and in the big picture, is often wasted time. 

Where to pick up? Let's start at the top: Liza......beautiful Liza. In January, she was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We have talked quite a bit since then about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and what that can now mean to her; it is amazing that at SUCH a young age these days, kids are barraged with all kinds of media, and using good judgment and the Holy Ghost to steer oneself toward or away from the songs and shows that are out there is totally key. 

This week, Liza was signed up for a summer hiphop dance camp at a local Bountiful studio. The first day went well, but the second day, she came home telling me that she was uncomfortable with her tattooed teacher and the rap music (it even swore) that she was playing for the kids to dance to. She felt uneasy enough that she told me she would prefer to skip the last 2 days of class and avoid that scene all together. I told her that I trust her sense and admire her ability to use her judgement to remove herself from situations that she doesn't feel right about. We called the studio, and they offered to let her take another course instead of hip/hop. It worked out beautifully and it was great to see Liza recognizing that unsettled feeling and then acting on it. Tolerance and perspective will come in time, but for Liza, who is learning discernment, and (as most children do) sees things as very black and white, I just want to give her that confidence that she can trust her gut. In time, she will learn that people who have made different choices than she has aren't necessarily wrong or bad to be around, but that will all be built upon (hopefully) a foundation of trust in her own discernment. Go Liza Go! 

So Hot!

One more hilarious Will story: 

A few weeks ago, I was so frustrated with the boys. The first time they had dumped powdered sugar all over the kitchen, themselves and their jammies, I thought it was funny and took pictures, but the second time I was miffed. I came down the stairs, saw the mayhem and took a deep breath. I blew out as much exasperation as I could and Will looked up at me and said, "So hot!" Blowing air like that means candles to him........darling......

Pie Fights

For the past few months, our boys have been obsessed with the idea of having a pie fight. It all stemmed from the movie they saw of a pie fight birthday party we threw for my dad a few years ago. Now everything has become a pie and is meant to be thrown at someone within your vicinity; snow, wipes, water, cookie dough, powdered sugar, and dirt have all been imagined into useable pies over and over again at our house!  It is hilarious enough watching Dane and Jonah pie fight, but when Will joins in, at a full 23 inches, get ready for some real belly laughs. He always starts out saying, "I'm papa" and then picks up the nearest "pie" and launches it, complete with splattering sound effects straight from his drool-ridden mouth. So cute.

The other day the boys were "cleaning up" the hallway.  Jonah and Will were picking up various items and bringing them to me, "Here, mama. Here towel.....Here mama, socks......" When they picked up a pile of baby wipes and came running toward me holding them with a smile as big as Texas on his face they said, "Here, mama. PIE!! "