Bedtime Stories

After a very long couple days with some very cranky kids (stupid bad weather mixed with three kids on antibiotics for ear infections), I experienced a bit of a miracle with both Ellie and Owen going to sleep around 6PM.  It gave me the rare opportunity to spend some time with just Annie and Isaac, and I just can't get over how much I adore the two of them together.  Annie's at her best 'big-sisterness' with Isaac.  After cuddling together for awhile, telling stories of Prince Isaac who went to battle a dragon and ended up making friends instead, I told the kids it was time for bed.  "Wait," Isaac perked up as he dashed out of the room and called behind him, "But we haven't read 'Go Dogs Go' yet!"  We then read it in English, then in Spanish.  Where Annie kept 'correcting' my rolling r's  . . .Annie rolls her r's to an excessive degree -- and anything short of it she corrects in my Spanish :-)  So a book about 'perros rojos y perros negros' and you better believe she took over and read for me, so those r's would be adequately rolled.  :-)  Four whole videos of basically the same thing is pretty overkill, but I can't get enough of these two.

My adorable monkey's before bed last night . . .

This picture is from a week or so ago, but it kinda makes me smile -- I feel bad he felt crappy still last week (he's back to normal now, yay!), but he just looked like such an adorable and GIGANTIC baby when he laid down on the floor and crashed with his giraffe blanket one afternoon . . .

During FHE last week, Ellie decided she wanted to write a "Jesus Poem" . . . she had Greg help her spell the words, but she was solely responsible for all the content -- including the pictures of our family with Jesus, where she happily pointed out, "LOOK! We're all dead here in heaven with Jesus!" Yay? :-)  She also wanted to draw an ark, complete with all the animals.

With Annie, I've started to read the Children's New Testament with her (and we try to open the actual Bible to read one or two of the references for each topic) and she's just started her 'scripture journal'.  Each 'chapter' we have a little picture and question and she loves pasting it up, reading her chapter and answering the question.

My sister Talina volunteered to watch my two middle kids while I took Owen in to get his ears checked (after multiple ear infections that aren't clearing up with drops, as well as some other symptoms, we had to start him on oral antibiotics -- bringing us up to  three out of four children with Augmentin prescriptions in the fridge right now).  Anyway, cousin Bailey had fun with her older cousins coming to visit on her own turf . . .

This week Isaac came across his Halloween bag, and has been scavenging the house for candy ever since . . .

And lastly, what would this update be without a little facebook status regurgitation:

January 29, 2013

Took twenty minutes to get Isaac all ready to play outside -- so I should've known that he wouldn't make it off the back porch and he'd cry until he came back outside . . .

 January 28, 2013

The great thing about Annie learning a second language, is she now can boss around her siblings in two languages. She just walked into the room, sighed and called out to Ellie and Isaac, "Silencio, por favor!"

Even better -- rolling her eyes at Grandpa Robert's antics, "Mi abuelo es muy loco."

After weeks of bad weather and horrific inversion:
Isaac looked outside this morning, shocked and a little horrified, "MOM! Why is it SO bright outside?!" I told him that was the sun. He looked confused and said, "Why isn't it all dark anymore?!"
Thanks a lot inversion, for screwing up my kid's sense of reality :-)

We have to take Owen in to the see the doctor, so I told Isaac we needed to get him dressed to go. He ran in and got a U of U sweatshirt and a pair of khaki shorts and some socks and sandals. This boy is such a Utahn . . .
(I'm making him wear pants -- mean Mom.)

January 25, 2013

My poor kids . . . I am the WORST at time outs. I forget about 'em half the time (or better.) Ellie just yelled from upstairs, "Um, Mom? Am I done yet?" Crap, she's been in there like 20 minutes . . . it was just so nice and peaceful down here, with nobody being made to cry, that I didn't even let myself think about letting her out of time out :-)

January 24, 2013

Dear Owen,
I don't know where we got our wires crossed on this, but let me be clear -- waking up five times in one night is unacceptable. Following such a night by waking up at 6AM, for good, is even more unacceptable. And being cute and cooing makes it all the worst -- if you were in pain, sick or uncomfortable, I would be able to justify in my head our frequent nighttime meetings -- but when you're cute as a button, it makes me want to sell you to the circus.
Sincerely,
Mom

Annie couldn't be more excited about lunch today -- she's squealing and dancing around the kitchen. This is what happens when she gets a mixed green salad with pomegranate AND blueberries AND strawberries AND nuts. I wish I got as excited about salad as my six year old does . . .