questions from a three-year old

Linus, with Bluey, the plush fish Todd brought back from his conference in Charlottesville: “Did you get Bluey at a far-away land, where you had to ride three airplanes to get there?”

Linus, with a pretty bad case of bed-head: “Daddy, can you make my hair not look like a chicken?”

On Friday night, Linus asks Todd, “And tomorrow can you not totally go to work?”

Linus: “Hey! Public and Lilac rhyme!” Pretty good for a three year old, I’d say.

peek-a-boo

Earlier this week, Mason was blocking the path between rooms and Casper started whimpering at me to rescue him. I told him to hiss at Mason and then demonstrated hissing. Casper looked right at Mason and hissed! Mason was unfazed, of course, so I still had to rescue the boy. I’m proud of Casper though; around here you’ve got to learn how to deal with that grouchy cat at an early age.

Casper says “Gwennie.”

When you ask him where his ears are, Casper covers his ears with his hands.

four years ago today

pox on you

So far this year, we’ve had two opportunities to catch the Chicken Pox and have passed them both up because of Casper’s young age. I’m a tiny bit obsessed with it, and even though I haven’t talked about this with the children, they’ve apparently picked up enough to be a tiny bit obsessed as well:

Todd: Gwennie, are you going to have children when you’re older?
Gwennie: Maybe – if I don’t have chicken pox when I’m a grown-up.
Linus: Can you only have chicken pox one time?

[and a completely separate incident:]

Linus: We’ll all die one day, won’t we?
Mama: Yes, we sure will.
Linus: And we’ll get the Chicken Pox.

all on the floor

Gwendolyn: Daddy, you and I are a lot alike. Both of our toenails fall off a lot and we’re both collectors.
Todd: What do you collect?
Gwendolyn: All kinds of things.
Todd: For example what?
Gwendolyn: Things that people don’t need. Like stuff I find on the floor.
(Really, she pilfers stuff from other family members and adds them to the "craft drawer" in her bedroom vanity which is full of paper clips, cotton balls, ribbon and yarn scraps, buttons, used greeting cards and the like.)

oh brother

Linus is at a stage where he wants to construct elaborate buildings and stage complex games with every single toy truck or car in the house. Casper is at a stage where he wants to destroy everything in his path. So these two boys have a lot of tense moments throughout the day. Earlier, as Casper bulldozed his way through a line of Linus's cars, I heard Linus mumble, "You stupid little Rito." ("Stupid" is, of course, prohibited language in our house, but "Rito" is one of our many nicknames for Casper -- as in Casperito -- though the kids usually call him Casper.)

Check out those ears.

church lesson by letterpress

laughing bear

Nougat the bear doesn't say much, but occasionally Linus will try to increase popular support for his positions by playing the ventriloquist and speaking for his bear in a squeaky little voice. More often, Nougat just laughs, as Linus wiggles him back and forth while saying "Heeheeheeheehee!" Last night before I went to bed, I checked on Linus, who was sleeping soundly. While I turned off his night light, I heard Nougat laughing and looked over, expecting to see Linus awake. Instead, he was wiggling that bear in his sleep. I was laughing so hard I could hardly tell Todd about it.

casperito

Casper turns 11 months old today.

Once again, he been a little cranky and sleeping poorly but tooth number five emerged this week and we expect number six at any moment.

He’s a screamer. Really, a shrieker. Very loud and ear splittingly high pitched. It’s especially bad when he shrikes at Linus and then Linus bellows back at him.

He's recently learned how to clap his fat little hands together.

decimation

So this morning I heard more trucks out back, but I was busy with kids and visitors and didn’t think much of it until I looked out the kitchen window and saw a backhoe ripping trees and shrubs off of my property! I ran out there and told the guy to stop, that he was on my property line. He tried to argue with me, but I stood firm and then he asked, “Don’t you want me to clear this stuff away?” No! I don’t want you to clear out the trees and bushes in my backyard, thank you very much.

To say that the children were devastated is an understatement. When Gwendolyn went outside she began crying so hard she could hardly breathe. After asking me which is more important – letting a living thing live, or building houses for people – she has decided that she will grow up to be a veterinarian or a park ranger.

Linus, who loves all construction trucks and is forever talking about being a “worker” immediately abandoned that idea. He seems upset at all diggers and announced that he wants to be a bear when he grows up. We explain that he can’t change species, so he settles on being a “bear worker." “Won’t the bears be so excited when I pick them up in my truck?”

I was livid, but most of the damage is already done. Todd came home for lunch and was able to talk with one of the supervisors of the construction company. Todd showed him our property survey and the damage that was done to our landscaping. The construction company didn’t admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to get some surveyors out look at property lines.

In the meantime, I called the city and filed a complaint. I talked to three different people in the civil engineering office and they were all amazing (friendly, helpful, well-informed). One of them, the engineer overseeing the building of the condo complex, even came to our house to view the damage and property lines for herself. And this all happened this afternoon! I’m blown away at the promptness of it all.

Anyway, the construction company is at fault. In some places, they dug five full feet onto our property. That’s five feet of trees and shrubs and vines and wild honeysuckle that would have blocked our view of the travesty that is being built behind us. Gone. We’re fighting this. The construction company or property owners are now supposed to contact us so we can negotiate damages. I want all the wildlife back. How do you put a price on that?

checkmate

Linus, to Todd: “You’re big and strong, because you’re a daddy. When I’m grown up, maybe you’ll be a little boy. Or maybe you’ll be a grandpa. Maybe.”

Linus: “I wish we lived in a robot house. Then we would have a robot potty.”

backyard wasteland

We decided to walk through the bulldozed forest behind our house tonight; the children wanted an adventure. It's only possible to see how much space this wild area occupied now that the trees have been organized into several large piles. By the end of our walk, Linus was so turned around that when I led him into the back yard, he was entirely surprised to find himself back home.Note Gwendolyn's hilarious outfit, including the color coordinated exploring princess cape.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home . . .

Hooray! Todd is back and we are all so happy. I don't enjoy running the house by myself and honestly, the kids missed their daddy almost as much as I did (Gwennie had a hard time falling asleep last night, wanting to stay up and wait for him. Casper woke up in the middle of the night to nurse, realized Todd was in the bed, and then couldn't fall back to sleep. I actually slept well for the first time in a week, knowing that my sweet husband was right where he belongs -- in my bed). I'm pretty sure Todd is also happy to be home.

In other news, I also have my laptop back, electricity in the house and phone/internet service (which I didn't have yesterday)! Perhaps this week, the blog will be a little more than just eye candy for the grandparents. Until then, here's some eye candy for the grandparents:

kiki the monkey

Is today pioneer day?

At our house, pioneer children wear Doc Martens. Here's our pioneer girl showing off the candle, biscuit (or "cat cookie", as she calls it) and jam she made at a recent primary activity.

tried and true

For the past few days, my friend Erin and her kids have been staying with us before they leave on vacation and it has been such fun (except for the no power/air conditioning incident). I was a little worried that Gwendolyn's passionate personality might bring a little too much drama into the mix, but the girls were the best of friends. They played so sweetly and were so funny together.Linus adores 8-year-old Graham and multiple times a day would announce, "I love you, Graham!" Graham was so sweet with both the boys -- reading books to Linus and playing peek-a-boo with Casper.I also throughly enjoyed having Erin here, as she is always such good company and was such a help to me with the kids and cooking and such. We stayed up far too late talking each night, and I'm glad.

After we said our good-byes this evening, my children were so sad about their friends leaving for their vacation. For a good half hour, all I heard was, "I want Annie." and "I want Graham." Then Linus came up with the perfect solution: "Let's play a game! It's called, 'Annie and Graham!'"

welcome to the neighborhood

Our house backs up to a utility easement and behind that is acres and acres of wilderness. We love this about our backyard -- lots of wildlife, privacy and quiet. The past couple of days, we've heard a lot of trucks back there but haven't thought too much about it until 8.30 this morning when one of those trucks hit the power line/telephone pole in our next door neighbor's yard causing it to split into pieces and knock out power on the street for the entire day.
Crews were working all day to dig up the old pole and put a new one in and we had electricity by 5pm. But since Texas in July is hotter than the 9th degree of hell, we spent the day at the children's museum and with our friends.

I spoke with my neighbor and found out why all those trucks have been back there. A condominium complex is going up. I walked back behind our yard and later drove by the other side of that large empty lot and all the trees and native shrubs are gone. I'm heartbroken. I'm sure many animals were killed, habitats destroyed, green space demolished and (on a more selfish note) I will soon have loud college students for neighbors.

sunday drama

It was a hard Sunday for Linus (and for Mama who is flying solo this week while Todd is away at a conference). He was taken out of Sacrament Meeting twice today when he began throwing fits (once because he missed the Sacrament bread when he was too busy lying on the chapel floor being stubborn and once because I fed Casper one of his goldfish crackers) and shouting that he didn't love me anymore. His ultimate insult to me was, "I'm going to walk home and put my sleepers on and then come back to church and show you!" I suppose he thinks I'd be deeply offended if he showed up at church in pajamas.

I call the big one "bitey"

25 pounds :: 7 quarts, 3 pints

to the rescue!

Mama was sick today and spent most of the day in bed, so Todd came home from work at noon and rescued us all by taking the kids to the children's museum for a couple of hours. My hero.

sno-cone night

Linus: “We sing the Hinge Song in Nursery. It’s called the Hinge Song.”
Todd, singing: “I’m all made of Nougats, ‘cause everything bends.”
Linus: “No! Not nougats – nougats break.”
Todd: “Nougats break?”
Linus: “No, Nougats get fuzzied up. If you’re made of that, you’d get all fuzzled up. And you’d never be seen again.”

Linus got mad at Mama on Sunday for escorting him out of Sacrament Meeting after he misbehaved. He told her, “I’m going to unhook your necklace so you won’t be pretty anymore.”

dress up hijinks

Gwendolyn isn't one for playing with dolls or dressing them up, but she does like to pretty up her stuffed animals, and when she gets bored of that, there's always a little brother hanging around . . .

snaggletooth

After suffering for the last four days and nights, poor little Casper finally cuts tooth number 4: top left.

Casper also has some moves! If there is music playing (or sometimes if you just tell him to dance), he'll sway his little hips back and forth.

This little baby also knows how to give kisses. If you request a kiss, he'll come at you with a wide open mouth and plant one on ya!

profiles

Linus told us that he wanted to wear his "portaboys" today. We were confused until he found them and put them on, and we discovered that is what he calls corduroys.

Linus also referred to his little brother as "hermit-face" today. That's probably an original insult, but I guess it's possible that it's a term of endearment.

portrait series

Gwendolyn has gotten really good at interacting with Casper (Mr. Grabby) when he decides to go after her toys and art supplies. Today, she responded in a robot voice: "I-am-Destructo-Baby . . . I-will-tear-up-your-artwork!" (Why a robot? Well, I guess it has to do with his compulsion to manhandle her most precious belongings whenever he sees them.) Then she picked him up and delivered him to Mama -- a great improvement over some of the freakouts we've seen. If only we could get her to react as calmly with her other brother.

Linus recently invented his own imaginary land, which he calls "Honk Ray Honk." (I'm not entirely sure how it should be spelled, actually -- Hancré Hanque?) It may be the first instance in which he's led Gwendolyn in imaginary play -- typically, he's the sneaky monkey to her captured princess, or the good wizard to her superhero, or whatever. But she's gotten into the byzantine culture and customs of this country, which as parents we can't manage to keep straight -- we've offended them several times through our ignorance of Honk Ray Honk decorum. If you're around our place, better watch your manners.

candy floss with nougat

flying

Linus, in the middle of a story Todd is telling, “Can you push pause?”

Linus sings while sitting at the table for lunch. “Spring has brought me such a nice surprise: Chips! And then I took one and ate it.”

Gwendolyn: “This salad dressing tastes funky.”

Casper cut his third tooth last night (and what a rough night it was): top right.

thirty-five

Happy birthday, my dear sweet Todd. I am so thankful for you. How blessed I am to be married to my best friend and soul mate. I love that you are always so supportive of me, so nurturing and attentive to my physical and emotional needs. You are an example to me of how one should treat their spouse. Thank you for always trying to put my needs before yours.

You are such an amazing father, Todd. Even on nights like tonight when our kids give you the unwanted birthday gift of getting in and out of bed for a full 2 ½ hours after we put them down, you are nurturing and loving and patient as you try to determine the needs of each child. I love that you can jump right into complex imaginative games with Gwendolyn and Linus and that every single night, you are cuddled up with them, reading or telling story after story.

You are one of the most intelligent people I know, so creative and ambitious. I know that through your talents as a writer, academic, artist and teacher, you have blessed and will continue to bless the lives of many, many people. I love to watch you work and be able to be a part of your creative passion in some small way. I’m continually amazed at how easily all of this writing and creating comes to you. You are inspired.

Thank you for your love of the scriptures, your devotion to the Lord, your subtle spirituality. I admire your commitment to the Priesthood, your willingness to serve, your eternal perspective. Thank you for the example you are to our children and to me.

There are so many things I adore and appreciate about you. I am so thankful for an entire day to celebrate you. I love you.

independence weekend

For the long holiday weekend, we had visitors! Auntie Tiffany, Auntie Heather, Uncle BJ, and Sophoebia (that's cousins Sophia and Phoebe) traveled down from their homes elsewhere in Texas.
On Friday morning, we attended a church breakfast, complete with a patriotic parade which the children participated in. (Note Todd's patriotic shirt, a gift from Jeffrey -- in Texas, he's gotten more favorable comments about this than any other shirt he owns.)
Entertainment this past weekend included water play, both in the backyard and at the pool, two separate trips to the movies, and of course good company.
The night of the fourth, we attended a small festivity which had been mentioned to us by one of our mechanics (we've spent enough time with them to get all kinds of good recommendations). The celebration was held in the third-largest town in our Texas county (population, 287). They are serious about their patriotic parties, however, and put on a really good show -- vendors with all the best kind of foods on a stick (turkey legs, sausage, even ribeye steak), watermelon and cherries, ice cream, and cotton candy -- the whole family ate for something around twenty dollars. And then the volunteer fire department put on a fireworks show for a good hour. Aside from the fire ants (who targeted Tiffany) and Casper's panic at the fireworks themselves, it was a great evening.

Photos courtesy Uncle BJ and his fancy Nikon dslr. Thanks, BJ!

baby post

Casper just turned 10 months old. Wow.

While in Rexburg, Casper started to stand unassisted for 5-10 second stretches. He hasn't been as interested since we got back to Texas, but he's the fastest crawler I know and he loves to climb.

Casper is so chatty! In addition to Mama and Dada, he says ny-ny (night-night) and by-by (bye bye) while waving. In fact, one day, he waved at Todd and said, "by, Da!"
In addition to his righteous indignation, this little baby has no fear and is perfectly able and willing to stand up for himself. The other day, he began playing with one of Linus's trucks and big brother came up and bellowed, "No Casper!" Little brother then pulled himself up onto his knees, getting as tall as he possible could, looked right at Linus and then yelled as loudly as he could. He's feisty. And has a bit of a temper. I'm going to have my hands full.

Casper recently started doing this funny thing where he gets bug-eyed and shivers, usually while eating. It is the funniest thing.