As promised - the antedote to the "Mom's Worst Top Ten" list
(a bonus one) 11 - When they eat all their dinner and they like it
10 - Nap time! Even when my kids look like this I know that nap time is just around the corner. When they wake up everything will be happy again!
9 - Austin's laugh - it's contagious, I just LOVE it.
8 - Cooking with them - My kids love to cook with me. I love it too because it doesn't seem like such a chore. I think they like it so much because we are usually making cookies when they help, but they're great at peeling cucumbers and carrots, stirring, and mixing, and filling pots up with water.
These are banana bread muffins that the kids helped me make. YUM!
7 - One on One time. I love to spend time with each kid alone. It's a whole new world of insight into their little minds.
Landon came in our room last night and "hung out" with us just after the other two kids went to bed. We had a great conversation, filled with Star Wars stories, questions about life, tickles, who Landon's new best friend is at school and things like that. It just doesn't get any better.
This what Cameron and Landon built during their "one on one" time - a ferris wheel that really turns
6 - Snuggles
Austin is the best at this. He comes and snuggles all through the day. I just love it. He usually jumps in my lap and says, "snuggle Momo" the only time he calls me "Momo" (another thing Austin is great at - making up nicknames)
5 - Hearing how pretty I am!! Ha Ha I know, I know, VAIN, right?!
But seriously, I got my hair cut the other day (it's above my shoulders, the shortest it's been since Beauty School) and Landon looked at me and said how beautiful I was. Then at church the next day he was telling his friends how great my new hair cut looked - they didn't care, but Landon made sure to tell me often at least for a few days.
4 - Hearing them say how much they love me! Another self indulgent one!
It just makes it worth all the hard work when they tell me they love me.
3 - Helping them with homework, housework, or other work that's challenging to them.This may sound a little odd because it's more work for me, but helping and teachimg them to do something is so neat to watch. I love how excited they get about what their doing and the final result. I love watching Landon scratch his head trying to think of an answer to a question. Or see Austin's face when he exclaims, "look at my 'S' it's not sideways!" Or listen to Isaac point to each animal in a book and say, "woof woof".
2 - Watching them play sports
There is something special about a kid's smile after a game. They feel so proud of themselves for doing a great job. They love being part of a team. I love watching them acheive goals and get better at something. It's amazing the difference they show from the first game of the season to the last. It just makes me so proud of them. Landon is playing flag football and baseball this Spring and Summer and Austin is finally old enough for T-ball. I can't wait!
1 - Watching their unique personalities develop
Landon is turning out to be quite the social butterfly. He has lots of friends and gets along easily with kids younger and older. His confidence is improving and he's becoming a little leader. He is always the first to tell me he loves me. He is such a little peacemaker; as soon as he feels tension in the air he starts doing all the things he can think of to make things better, from telling me he loves me to rinsing off his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. He won't leave the house without his hair done or at least a baseball hat. He loves to play Wii, read, ride his bike, play sports, watch Star Wars, and play Legos
This is Landon before school. He wears his hat that way so his hair won't get messed up. He likes it flat on top and spikey in the front.
Austin is also, quit social. His friends argue about who is going to sit by him during primary. He's very diplomatic too, as seen in this conversation:
Austin, "everyone dies"
Austin's friend Josh, "no they don't. They live forever."
Austin, " Josh, yes, when people get really old they die"
Josh, "no they don't"
(yes they do, no they don't repeated repeated repeated)
Austin, "ok, Josh, fine. In your family no one dies. In my family we die when we get old. Ha Ha"
Austin can find something funny in any situation. He is constantly making us laugh. He LOVES music. During Sacrament he wants us to tell him the words a few lines ahead so he can sing the right words. During primary he's always belting out the songs. In the car he always wants the music louder. His favorites are Safety Kids, Charlotte Diamond, Hey There Delila, Hairspray soundtrack, and pretty much anything by Taylor Swift.
Austin writing his name on his Valentines - this was supposed to be a picture for #3 but it's out of order. We've been working on this for quite some time. I'm proud of him for finally being able to and
wanting to write his name.
Isaac is growing up WAY too fast. I love how much he's talking lately. He still uses the sign for "more" but he says "pase" (please) and "ta-EEEE" (thank you). He loves to dance. I love it when he pokes his head around a corner and says, "Hay-Yo". I love when he puts his sweet little head on my shoulder at the end of the day and snuggles into his blankie. He will repeat almost anything you tell him to. He is fasinated with balls. He calls anything round a ball, from the freckle on my hand to the buttons on his shirt. His favorite thing to do is play catch and he always tells himself, "ga cach" (good catch). He will play "peek-a-boo" on demand. He thinks it's hillarious to turn off the TV when the big boys are watching it.
This is Zac dancing to "High School Musical" - family movie night last Sunday.
This is the best picture I got of Landon during his play. This was the opening song. After that he had to stand on the risers and ended up behind the curtain for the rest of the play. If we tilted our heads we could catch glimpses of him during some of the songs. Too bad. Finally, Cameron stood on the side and could see him well. Each set of "animals" had there own song so I just sat there waiting for the "ducks" to do their song. Apparently, though, the ducks were the only "animals" that didn't get to do their own song. Landon, did a great job, though - at least the few times I caught glimpses of him - he was smiling and singing and doing the actions!
Landon named himself "Comander Quack". I got a picture of him with his "feather gun" in his class room after the play.
He LOVED wearing his costume. It even had duck feet that he wore over his shoes. The costume turned out great.
After a great week with Grandma I promised the kids I'd do something fun with them after we dropped her off at the airport. Since we were in Denver I couldn't resist a quick trip to Nordstrom. After walking around the mall, playing at the play place, and lunch. We were all too tired for the museum we had talked about going to. So we decided to stop at Build-A-Bear instead. After Austin chose his stuffed puppy (he named him Land-o) he said, "that was WAY better than I thought it would be!" Landon was excited that his "High School Musical" bear (he named him "Fire Fox") came with a necklace. And since the HSM shirts were on sale for a dollar they both got a T-shirt for their new stuffed friends. Okay, so it wasn't intellectually stimulating like the museum would've been but who cares? We had fun stuffing, dressing, and naming bears and dogs. Can't beat that, right?!
St. Patty's day was fun too. Cameron was leaving for Atlanta so I wanted to have a fun dinner before he left. Green Fruit salad, green "leprechaun bread sticks" and Cheddar Broccoli soup is what was on the menu. The kids loved the green bread sticks. Austin was sad in this picture because I told him to move the bread stick away from his face. He wanted it in the picture. I guess I should have let him - it would have been better than the frown!
