Don't be fooled by his rugged exterior

Sure, I have to tell him daily not to tackle his sister unless she’s okay with it. He throws everything. He swats things down and just yesterday Greg and I witnessed a Jackie Chan-like move where he came running from across the room, and flew through the air, feet first, in an attempt (successful) to knock over a fort Kate was building. He’s a boy. I wouldn’t expect- or accept- anything less.

But I must say, this boy of mine has such a sweet heart. And it is never more evident than when he prays. Just a few tidbits from the past few nights:

“please bless we can be useful” (like Thomas, the train I’m guessing)

“please bless we can play the numbers game. please bless we can play anoner game. please bless we can watch Thomas. please bless we can watch anoner movie. please bless we can play anoner game after that.”

“thank you for rainbows”

“please bless us to be good and nice and healthy”

“thank you for chickie. thank you for tortillas. thank you for cheese. thank you for avocado. thank you for tomatoes. thank you for corn. thank you for milk.” (tacos for dinner)

“please bless we can go to the airport tomorrow and go to california” These ones are my favorite. He always throws in one of these. Maybe we need to teach him the difference between asking for a blessing and asking for a dream. The faith of a little child...

Orange hair courtesy of Chik-fil-A family night: Rock stars and Divas

3 months

This kid is the happiest little dude I’ve ever seen. Even if he’s crying for food or sleep, you can still get him to smile. It’s like he can’t help it. I can’t figure out why, but every time I change his shirt lately, he laughs. He’s no champion sleeper, that’s for sure, but when he’s awake, he’s an all-star. I think we’re going to keep him.

Baby Giggles

This was taken a few weeks ago, but I just can’t stop watching it. Nothing sweeter than a baby’s giggles.

31 Flavors

... but all you really need is 2: blue and pink.

They really threw us for a loop, though when they offered 2 kinds of pink. Strawberry or cotton candy? What’s a girl to do? Taste test them each twice, of course. I think in the end, she felt good about her decision.

You can just save those comments about how beautiful I am without washing my chlorinated hair or wearing make up for about a week. I already know.

Dramatic, are we?

The other day, Kate took a pretty big spill, so I was holding her. After a couple of minutes, she stopped crying (mostly) and let go of me. With (dramatic) sadness in her voice, she said, “I’m okay... I sure do miss my daddy, though.” This is not the first time we’ve seen her dramatic side, nor will it be the last, I’m sure. She often uses words like incredible, fantastic, wonderful, terrible, disgusting, and phrases like, “my favorite in my whole world,” “this is the best. day. EVER!”, “why did you___? That hurts my feelings and makes me VERY sad!”, “OH! What am I going to do now?”, and “I’m a genius!” She often can’t do something that I ask her to do, because, “I’m too busy.” A couple of minutes ago, she told me, “I have all this work to do, can you help me go potty?” Sentences usually start with, “Well...” or have at least 2 “so”s (This girl is going to love exclamation points!). For example, “since I was so so nice, can I please have a treat?” How can you not give in to that logic? Ethan has his moments of drama, too. When trying to prove a point of sadness, he’ll often say, “look how sad my face is!” and “but that’s not my favorite!” (what kind of mother am I? I don’t give him his favorite thing every time! Of course, I have to give him credit. When it is his favorite, he’ll shout, “yay! that’s my FAVorite!”). I also get, “my tummy doesn’t feel so good. I need a little snack” at least once a day. He tells stories with sound effects and hand gestures and when he’s trying to show me how hard he’s trying to do something, he’ll close and squint his eyes. When he’s about to get what he wants, he’ll shout, “Thank you! Thank you! I’m so exCIted!” I imagine it’s a phase all kids go through, but it’s a funny one no less.

Brothers

Unless Ethan learns to eat, it will only be a matter of time before the little one becomes the big one.

Caitlin, is this the onesie you were talking about? If so, yes, I took a white onesie, some rit dye, freezer paper, an exacto knife, and fabric paint, and “made” it. Just call me Martha.

It was bound to happen

Ethan is a better artist than I am.