Nearly Two (Buckle Our Seatbelts!)

My first two boys were the epitome of easy-going and mellow babies. My two girls were not, but that is another story. From the beginning Brennan has been determined to make his own pattern. He has been a funny combination spunky, snuggly, feisty, and sweet. He already has a terrific sense of humor, and he cracks himself - and us - up constantly. He likes to jump out from behind a door or wait for me in the pantry and then yell, "Boo!" If he gets bored he'll climb under a table and call out "Where Brennan??" He has a goofy game of pretending to be asleep while riding in his carseat, and he giggles when we all pretend to shush each other so he can sleep. He is talking like crazy now, and he has a LOT to say. And when he gets mad...Wow! Watch out! 'Sorry' was one of the first words he learned because he was constantly whacking someone in the head with a toy.

So I shouldn't have been surprised at the new phrases that have just popped up in his vocabulary recently. Such as: "My do it!" "No want to!" and "NOOOOOOO" as he runs full speed away from a diaper change, or shoes, or jacket, or vegetables. I remind myself that independence is an important developmental step, and a good thing. But that doesn't make it easier to deal with. Then he flashes me that impish little grin and I decide it's all worth it.

High-Flying Home Evening

We've had such windy weather lately, we decided that for Family Home Evening we would fly our kites. The kids looked forward to it for several days beforehand. I was secretly worried that the wind would fizzle out on us, but it blustered all evening. As soon as Dad came home from work, we grabbed our kites and headed to the park behind our house.



Unfortunately, all three of our kites broke within the first fifteen minutes. (I guess you get what you pay for when you spend a buck a piece on kites). But Kyler was undaunted. He must have run twenty laps around the park, dragging just a few feet of string and a kite which occasionally bounced up and caught some air.


THAT'S determination!
Eventually the activity turned into a game of family tag on the playground, and that was fun, too.

Wilson Pond

Saturday afternoon the weather was mild and we had some cabin fever, so we packed up some junk food and the kids and went fishing with the Williamsons. We headed to Wilson Ponds, just a few minutes from our house. Unfortunately there was not a fish in sight, but we did some bird watching, ate junk food, and still had a fun time. It was just nice to be out. We felt lucky to get a cool little spot all to ourselves, but now that I think of it, maybe no one wanted to come near the crazy people with nine children. hmmm. Anyway, the older boys tried fishing for a while. The younger kids didn't even want to pose with a fishing pole and the only shots I got of them were climbing trees - or eating.


Cool hat, Parker!


Brennan nabbed four cookies at once!





After a while we switched from fishing to tossing worms to the ducks. Then there was an interesting but R-rated incident with the ducks. It prompted some uncomfortable questions, "Mommy! What are they doing?!" Of course, Oscar got the whole thing on camera. I joked about whether or not to include that on the blog. Oscar said, "Oh, you KNOW it's going on mine!" So, if you are over 17 years old or accompanied by your guardian you may check out Williamsons blog for the details if you are curious. (Unless Vicki found out and unplugged the computer first. ha!ha!)

And then just as we were packing up and I was congratulating myself on keeping all nine kids from falling in the water, Shaylie fell in. She screamed hysterically, naturally, but since the water was only eight inches deep it didn't cause too much panic in the rest of us. She was completely soaked, though. Ah, well.

Grandma's Hungry Ducks

My wonderful mother has been sweet enough to keep my monkeys for me while I take an institute class every Tuesday morning. The kids cheer every time I tell them it is "Grandma Day." Last week I came back in time to tag along with them on one of their walks to feed the ducks. Grandma lives on a beautiful green belt. If I remember right it was 35 degrees that day. But the kids didn't mind, and neither did the ducks.

What shoe are you?

My calling at church right now is Activity Days Leader. Last week we held our special recognition night; our theme was a twist on the scripture in D&C 19:10. It was called "The Worth of 'Soles'." As part of the activity, we set up a display table and invited each girl to bring the pair of shoes they think best describes some part of their personality. There was a little card attached for them to explain. I had to do it, too. I had a hard time, but finally decided on a pair of hiking boots. I wrote, "I chose these shoes because like me, they like to be outdoors (as long as its sunny). And like me, they're not very stylish but they are made to go the distance."

When I came home, Carter had not seen what I brought and I asked him for his opinion of what shoe best describes my personality. He thought for a minute and then said, "Maybe your Uggs? They are warm and comfy, and you like to be warm and comfy." Hmmm. I suppose that's true, but I hope that's not the defining characteristic of me. I was also fairly offended that he picked such a big, sloppy, clunky shoe. "Is that how you see me??" I asked. Poor Carter...I don't know if there would have been a correct answer. He hates it when I ask him stuff like that.

So, just for fun, I'm opening it up to you. If you had to pick a shoe that describes some part of you, what would it be?