Life As We Know It

I wish OFTEN that I could capture more of the spontaneous moments with my kids that I love.  Not the spontaneous tantrums, er moments, that I don't love.  But there is something magical about childhood that creates out of thin air.  It's hard as an adult to sit down and play with my kids because I just don't have the magic anymore.  But I remember having it as a child.

This morning before school I practically ran to the computer to write down Megan and Abby's conversation about her sparkly boots because I knew that if I waited until after we got home from school I would have forgotten.  This is the jist of it -- it's still not quite word for word:

Megan: when your boots get too small then you can give them to William. And then when they get to small for William we can give them to someone else.
Abby: Well when they get to small for William we can give them to Aaron.
Megan: Well if you want things to go to heaven you have to pray for them. But you can't just pray for your boots to fly to heaven. Maybe you can give them to Ammon since you're going to marry Ammon and then you can see your boots again!

Ammon is a friend of ours who is 3, and bigger than Abby.  Probably those boots won't fit him after she's done with them!!  But I loved the image of those boots flying to heaven for Aaron to wear when he gets older.  I'm sure he would have loved them too!!

The other day I decided to give myself some more room for sewing because we don't have any guests coming for a while.  That means I took the spare bed apart and just propped it against the wall (I don't really have anywhere else to put it but it takes up less floor space) and William decided he needed to get in on the action.

He drives me absolutely bonkers right now.  He runs EVERYWHERE except to school.  On our way to school he stops to yell and point at airplanes, flowers, cars, school busses, dogs, bugs -- no wait, he gets onto his stomach to look at bugs -- and screams if I pick him up to hurry him along.  But he runs in stores or in the gym at school and I am constantly chasing him.  Constantly.  It's exhausting.  My trips out of the house are defined by the choice: chase him or listen to him scream.  I was looking forward to Abby being in preschool next year and shopping with one child except that that child is him and so it will not be restful.

This is a very long rather boring video unless you are me.  It's just Megan and Abby playing and me trying to get undercover video of their made up stories.  And William in a diaper.  Probably because he destroyed what he was wearing and it was just easier to leave him in a diaper for the time being.

What else?  Megan in the glasses that her friend gave her (3D glasses with the lenses popped out.  Cracked me up).

 Cute pictures from Sunday.  They did this on their own and I ran for the camera and managed to get them to smile.  Yes Abby needs a haircut but she got one the other day and is much cuter now.  Or at least has less hair in her face.

After church Chopper does the amusing while I cook dinner and all semblance of a quiet Sabbath day goes out the window.  That bar above the tv is one component of his new sound system (from his birthday) and so now the tv is loud all the time.  This particular Sunday he pulled up a video called Amazing diesel trains and another of amazing steam trains.  That's all it is -- trains going by.  Literally.  And William is glued. to. the. tv.

And a shot from another angle.  Mouth open.  Body frozen in this position.  He didn't move until Chopper changed the video and then he screamed until the next one came on.  This boy needs to talk.

Today was Megan's last awards ceremony for kindergarten!  She got a reading award, sight words award, and a kindergarten diploma.  It was cute.  And long.  So today's choice was strap William into a stroller and stuff his face full of candy to prevent him from screaming.  It worked but we went through a lot of candy in an hour! 

 It has taken a WHOLE YEAR but I finally got Megan to pose with her teacher and Abby had to be involved too of course.  She has made tremendous progress this year both academically and socially and I am so so so so so glad that we put her into school and that Mrs. McClure was her teacher.  All the kinder teachers are great but she has been fantastic for Megan and has celebrated all the little things with me -- she stood in front of the entire kindergarten yesterday to do their attention claps and she's been trying the monkey bars and recess and was trying so hard to be brave at the pool and jump in the other day.  Academically she's adding and subtracting and READING and writing.  I'm excited for our summer reading and activities starting next week (I can't believe it!).  Tomorrow is just a half day and part of it is party (which I'm still debating attending) and then she's a kindergarten graduate!!!

Oh and at home William pulled the doorstops off the wall and stuck them to his ears.  Goofball.