I a Wock Stah (I'm a rock star)

We went and looked at Christmas lights on Sunday night. As Calvin puts it, "dey awethome" (they're awesome)

As we were driving around I mentioned that next year Talmage might be able to play us some carols on the piano. At this, Calvin claimed his need for a piano.

Mom: Okay, Calvi maybe you can play a little piano.

Calvin: No! I need big piano! I a big wock stah!

It was one of those moments as a mother that I think surely I heard wrong. But nope, he told me again - he a big wock stah!

Yesterday, Calvin got to go into primary for the first time...he's getting ready to go into Sunbeams. This morning as we were playing legos I asked him how it went.

Calvin: It went dood (good.) I not punch anyone. I no kick anyone.

As if I automatically assumed he would :)

Typical.

"Sorry mom. My bad."

"I was going to put them in the bowl but it's just so much easier to eat them this way."

Nap Time.

Where do you want to go? Nowhere.

Who do you feel like seeing? No one.

Andy and I were laughing yesterday on our way home from church...typically, Elisabeth is exhausted after church and crashes as soon as she gets into her car seat. But yesterday, she just sat and stared at the side of her seat for several minutes before finally falling asleep. She looked so pitiful...

Tal and Naomi

Tal and Naomi are the best. Right after school started I walked past Tal's room while he and Naomi were playing. This is what I heard.

Tal: Naomi, if I walk past you at school you say, "Hey bro," and then I'll say, "Hey sis." Let's try it.

Naomi: Hey bro.

Tal: Not like that. That's too forgiving (clearly not understanding the word...) More like this, "hey, bro." (his best cool-kid imitation)

Naomi: Oh, okay. "Hey bro."

Tal: Hey sis. (literally shrugging his shoulders in his nonchalant, no-big-deal, I-run-into-my-"sis"-everyday voice)

It was awesome. I can't wait to see Tal practicing in the mirror.

Calvin.

Calvin: Mom, I not hab a dood feelin bout dis. (Mom, I don't have a good feeling about this)

Calvin said this on our way to Stake Conference... I never have a great feeling about taking four tazmanian devils to sit through a two-hour meeting either.

Calvin: Mom, I cidenty boke you watsh. Sawy. (Mom, I accidentally broke your watch. Sorry)

Luckily, for Calvin it was already broken. This was his first attempt at "accidentally"...not his first attempt at breaking something...he has a knack for that.

Calvin: Mom, Yisbef on de counta adain. (Mom, Elisabeth is on the counter again.)

He's so good to keep tabs on his little sister for me. I'm sure she loves it too.

I love this stage of Calvin's development. I understand most of the things he is saying - but he still says them in such a cute way!

I'm sorry.

Mom: Tal, I've been feeling badly about getting mad at you for peeing all over my toilet.

Tal: That's okay mom.

Mom: Do you forgive me?

Tal: I'll always forgive you.

There's no way I can measure up. Kids are just too good.

Love these girls.

I love my girls. Not only because it's fun to have someone to do "girly" things with but also because there is something so special between sisters. I love having three sisters and I am so glad my girls get to experience that special bond!

Funny Elisabeth

This girl is exploding with attitude. In the last two weeks she has mastered the art of standing with her hands on her hips and crossing her arms and shouting an emphatic, "No!"

It's really quite embarrassing. She doesn't really care who she's yelling at. If someone does or says something she doesn't like she is going to tell them.

Loves to be held.

Bad hair day.

Ice cream anyone?

Girly, girly, girly. Betti is very into her "pretties"

What do we do in the Summertime?

I found this video. It reminds me of what is great about the summer. And it makes me laugh.

We read you Zordon...

Those of you who know who "Zordon" is will truly appreciate our themed Halloween costumes this year.

Last year I knew that if I was going to convince my kids to dress alike again I was going to have to bring it to their level. I really love seeing my kids dressed alike so...Power Rangers Unite!

There are many, many different versions of the power rangers so we don't exactly match but it was close enough.

Apparently, there aren't very many 2 year old little girls wanting to dress like the pink power ranger so Elisabeth had to settle for being the hulked-up blue power ranger. She owned it.

Oh, and this was the first year we actually tried to carve our pumpkins. I got one of those carving kits on clearance last year...not too hard and loads of fun!

Hot Springs National Park

We hit our next National Park over Labor Day. We went with the Smith's our park-hopping friends who we traveled to Big Bend with last year. It is so fun to have friends willing to take these adventures with...and in this case friends who have done it before. They went to Hot Springs National Park last year and found Ouitchita State Park, a gem of a park to camp at. Hot Springs itself isn't much but that coupled with the great time we had camping and boating (we rented a pontoon boat) made for an unforgettable vacation!

Tal and Brooklyn tearing it up on the tube (did you know you could tube behind a pontoon boat)

Andy gave all the kids their official boat driving test.

In addition to tubing we took several swim breaks. Tal and Naomi both did backflips off the side of the boat! Andy and I had to step up to the challenge...even Calvin attempted a flip!

That look of concentration is priceless.

The obligatory family picture with the National Park sign.

Inside one of the bathhouses. These are pretty cool.

Love this shot of Calvin.

The gang.

Trying out a tub in one of the bathhouses.

On the road again. It's a 7 or 8 hour drive.

First Day of School.

I can't believe that two of my kids are already in school. The dynamic has officially shifted at our house as we learn to juggle the demands of mothering growing children. Tal started 1st grade. We loved his teacher Mrs. Hadley, but they dissolved his class after a month due to low enrollment. After a few tears he has settled into his new class with Mrs. Edson nicely. He did come home a few days after the switch with this story:

Tal: Mom, something bad happened today at school. (this is a typical beginning to his stories)

Mom: Oh, really? What?

Tal: (very sad) Well, I got left at recess.

Mom: What? How did that happen?

Tal: Well, I guess I didn't hear them call our class name. And I didn't realize my class had gone in until a long time after. Then I asked a teacher and she said I would have to wait and go in with her class.

Mom: (I could tell he was really upset) Did you cry?

Tal: A little. But I tried to wipe the tears away before I got to class so I wasn't embarrassed.

Seriously? It was just one of those moments you want to gather your kid up in a big hug and hold on to them forever.

Naomi, has done really well in Kindergarten. We weren't sure whether she would be ready for school but she thrives in structured environments where the rules are clear...so she has adjusted pretty easily.

Calvin is in pre-school and loving it. He cries everyday he doesn't get to go to school with Tal and Naomi but I have loved having some time with him.

Even Elisabeth is going to a Mothers Day Out one day a week at Calvin's Preschool. I don't know how she feels about it since she's short on communication but I am loving it. It's like finding an oasis in the middle of a dessert...just a chance to take a breath.

Ant Trap

We had an ant invasion in our home last week. Anyone who has been lucky enough to live in Houston knows that this is somewhat common and doesn't cause the amount of stress that infestations of other Houston-friendly pests would cause (read: rats, cockroaches, snakes, spiders).

Lucky for me, at any given time I have at least one kid who is crazy about bugs. Right now it is Calvin, "I yuv (love) bugs, Mom!" Talmage is also interested in them. Apparently his kindergarten teacher didn't want to kill any living things so he is always trying to "save" the bugs from Calvin who really just yuvs smashing them. Anyway, Tal and Calvin decided they could fix my ant problem. This is what they came up with:

I'm not sure what they thought ice, tin foil, and a dog blanket would do. But in case you're wondering: ants can freeze to death.

The Tooth Fairy.

We have a Tooth Fairy "situation" at our house.

We were excited when Talmage lost his first tooth in May. Knowing that the tooth would get lost quickly I told him to go put it under his pillow so that the tooth fairy could get it after he went to sleep. I forgot and changed his sheets in the middle of the day (what are the chances that he actually listens to what I say and I wash sheets all in one day). After scouring the floor for the lost tooth I assured him the tooth fairy was trained for these kinds of emergencies and that she would be able to find it. She must have found it because he got his money...problem solved.

Two days later, he unbuckled his seatbelt as we were driving home. I hit the brakes, out came tooth number two. So again he put his tooth under the pillow. The next morning, he came into the bathroom with the saddest look on his face and HUGE crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks. It took me about two seconds to realize that our "tooth fairy" had decided to hit the sack a little early and had clearly forgotten her duty. Tal was heartbroken! I tried to reassure Talmage that she was simply overbooked and that as long as his tooth was still there she would come the next night. THEN, he went to make sure the tooth was still under his pillow and found his first tooth laying on the carpet! What kind of a slacker-tooth-fairy do we have??

Luckily, she left a very nice note the next night explaining all about being overbooked and the difficulty fairies have locating lost teeth. She even left a bonus for the recovery of the lost tooth. What a smart fairy.

This is Talmage, huddled in the corner, "the morning after" the tooth fairy forgot him.

Dance Recital

Naomi had her second dance recital in May! It was so much fun watching her develop into a beatiful little dancer this year. Although I can hang with Kevin Bacon Footloose-style, I have to say she is much better at 4 than I am at 31. She and her bestie, Ava did a super-cute duet to Colbie Caillet's song, Bubbly. It was short but really fun!

Naomi's decided to try gymnastics with her brothers for a while, but I'm really going to miss watching her twirl.

Princess Catherine (aka Naomi)

Naomi really wants to change her name to Catherine.

Who can blame her? If ever there was a day for a 4-year-old (and mommy) to believe in fairytales and happily-ever-afters it was today. I even got out my wedding dress and let Naomi try it on...it was a big hit!

A Conversation with Naomi.

Naomi has developed a serious affinity for all things flowering. Today, she came in and excitedly insisted that I come and see the flowers that are blooming in our flower bed. I oohed and aahed with her and Calvin (who must do everything anyone else is doing) and then this...

Me: Okay, are you going to come in now or stay out here and look at the garden some more?
Naomi: I think I'll just sit here and watch the flowers grow.
Mom: Okay - let me know how that goes.
Naomi: I'll come in when they are big.

Love that girl.

Love.

A friend of ours, Megan, owns a beautiful online boutique that specializes in quilts and baby gifts (http://www.miadolceoriginals.com/). She is in the process of updating her website and wanted to add some pictures of different children with her quilts. So, since I've done such a stellar job contributing to the 1-6 year-old population in Houston she asked if the kids could be little models :) Jane Foster took the pictures (http://www.janefosterphotography.com/) and I have to say she did a awesome job of capturing some priceless moments...

(This is one of my favorite "Elisabeth expressions")