So Cruel

Footage of the fact that Gabe loves his Daddy

Happy Birthday to a Boy Who Knows Just How to Make his Mommy Smile

Six random remarks made by Micah over the years, to celebrate your 6th birthday:

1. (Background: the boys were at the kitchen table, drinking juice and calling each other names. I told them if they couldn't say something nice to each other, they should just say nothing. ) On my way to the laundry room, Micah says, "Nothing, Jonah." -- 2-1/2 years old

2. (Micah had taken off his diaper and was trying to change it himself. Clint said he thought Micah was ready to be potty trained.) Micah furrowed his brow, scrunched his nose, and - in his angriest voice - retorted, "Daddy, I not potty train!" -- 2-3/4 years old

3. Micah: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, introducing the best - the greatest - the BOOGAR MAN!"
Jonah: "Uh, I think you mean the Boogie Man."
Micah: "Oh... the BOOGIE MAN!!" -- 3-1/2 years old

4. (Micah said he had black spots on his hands & asked me why.) Before I could look into it, he said, "Maybe I'm TURNING BLACK!"
I looked at his hands and said, "It looks like you drew on them with a black pen."
To which he responded, "Oh ya. I did." -- nearly 4

5. (Micah asked to borrow my mirror. I walked by him as he looked into it.) To himself, he said, "I think this is my mirror, because... Mommy's not in it." -- also nearly 4

6. (Pointing to his hind quarters, either meaning his pants or underwear.) He asked me, "Do you know why I put these on? ... Because then my poop will say, 'Oh my gosh! How do we get out of here!? We're stuck!" -- 4-1/2 years old

Thanks for making me laugh, Micah! I love you, and hope you know what a precious treasure you are to me.

The World of Scouting

Well, we're finally here. Scouting. With Jonah's 8th birthday came parties, a baptism & his much-anticipated scouting debut. For the first month of scouting, he had 0 meetings. They did have 1 meeting scheduled, but it was canceled due to a massive outbreak of the flu. So last Thursday was his first Scouting event...the monthly pack meeting/Pinewood Derby. Here he is right before the meeting began:

He looked so proud and grown-up carrying the scouting flags at the beginning of the meeting. Then they weighed and adjusted the cars, and here he is showing off his little number:


He could hardly wait to test her out. Unfortunately, he lost all four heats he raced in. I guess he needs graphite for the tires next time. It was pretty bad... after all that excitement, he was crushed to lose every race.

But Jonah was cheered by his trophy...best craftmanship (which was extra special since he did design the car himself.) And he was ecstatic about learning to tie knots at tonight's meeting. Good thing kids are such resilient creatures!

Baptism Day

Jonah has been looking forward to and preparing for his baptism for years now. This was completely his decision, and he has tried hard to study and learn as the time drew closer. What a tender experience to watch my first child be both baptized and blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost. He has always been a sweet boy, always willing to help when asked & often without even needing an assignment. Having a boy first sort of concerned me; I was worried he might be a bully. From a young age, I taught him the roles of an older sibling: 1. to protect 2. to be nice. He has taken those roles seriously, and I think he is following the examples of Jesus Christ and Hyrum Smith (the ultimate big brothers) very well.



We were able to have a separate service (as opposed to the group, or stake, baptisms they usually do where we live), and that was extra special because he knew and chose everyone who participated in the baptismal service. We felt grateful for friends and family that took the time to be there. It meant a lot to him, and to us. And of course we enjoyed eating and visiting with everybody at our house afterwards. My only regret is not taking more pictures of friends and family... oh well!

Saying goodbye. Is it just me or does Nana look a little too happy about this? She was in sort of a hurry to leave this time. Hmmph.

A friendly game of war with Papa


Autumn keeps talking about that cute baby Sam, who is younger but bigger than her little brother! (She's having a hard time reconciling that one.) ;)

Daddy's Boy

On one of several car trips today, it was just Gabe & i. We'd dropped off who needed dropping and had some time before we had to start picking up (would've just said picking, but then you might get the wrong idea.) Anyhow, he was just chattering away in the back. I started listening, and realized he was mentioning his Dada. He loves his Daddy, and says all the variations of Dada he can say at his tender age... Da-da, Dad-ee, Da-dee, & Da. He would jabber about something else, but kept coming back to talking about his Dad. I'll admit it, I was starting to feel a little jealous. Why, just this morning, I brought him into bed with me. He practically plowed over me on his way to Clint's side of the bed (Clint was playing church basketball at the time.) He pulled back the covers, calling for Da-dee, then whimpered when he couldn't find him. It took a few more seconds of searching before he finally accepted that Dada wasn't there. Anyway, back to the story. He really began talking a lot about Clint, and I finally decided to look at him while we were stopped at a red light, and see what was prompting this discussion. Did he have his toy phone in hand or was he looking at Clint's coat in the back? As I turned, I saw him flipping the pages of his favorite book:



The pages are filled with illustrations of monkeys and gorillas; and, for once, I was glad he wasn't uttering the scarcely-heard "Mama." :)

Happy Halloween!

I tried to convince them to go with the "Snow White" theme. Autumn was temporarily on board; this happened during an exhausting trip to a GARGANTUAN mall while we waited for a plane that had room to take us home from CA in August. At the Disney Store. So she was stuck. Gabe really had no vote, but ended up loving his Dopey hat almost as much as his prop the spoon (too bad I don't own a wooden one. For the first time in 10 years, I needed one.) But Micah would have NONE of being his sister's prince. (He said she might kiss him.) And Jonah could not abandon the hope of impersonating his hero H.P., even though the lure of a dagger-wielding woodsman was strong. So, here they are, the way they were either forced or at some point chose to be:



Micah did follow his pre-Halloween costume selection process. First, he chose a typical Halloween character (a ghost this time.) Then, he firmly decided to be a character completely unrelated to Halloween, got super excited about the idea and told EVERYONE (a chicken... smothered in white feather boas, donning yellow tights and rubber glove feet), and for the final days before the main event his costume ideas switched on the hour...until I finally set a deadline. And he chose to wear what Jonah did last year. One less costume for me to make...thanks, bud!!



Here's proof that Gabe actually did enjoy dressing up (he's just not big on picture-taking):


Autumn before I took her to preschool. I really should have worn my sunglasses, even though it was quite overcast. I tear up EVERY year at the sight of little ones all dressed up on Halloween. I was totally blubbering when one of her teachers opened the car door and unbuckled her seat belt. Embarrassing.



S.W. & her sidekick, again



Just look at those eyes... and I hadn't noticed Autumn's artwork before looking through these pictures. Nice drawing of Daddy.



And, in case you were wondering....

still crawling!

Mawwiage

So, unless you've been living in a bubble for the last few months, you've heard all about the upcoming votes in California (Prop. 8), Florida & Arizona on same-sex marriage. I've thought a lot about how to add my voice to the support of these measures, being as how I don't live in any of these states. And I think my little part is to blog about it. In a world that is shifting daily on a million fronts, I am thankful for the stability my home and marriage bring to me, to my husband and to our little ones. I think of times when the only word to describe how I have felt with my family is "heaven," and know that those same experiences could not be recreated had I married a woman. Without passing judgment on those who are living alternate lifestyles, I believe in safeguarding traditional man/woman marriage.

I agree 100% with this position, clearly explained in great detail, and released by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is worth the minute or two to read over why a non-political Church has devoted many resources in support of Prop. 8, in particular. And, lastly, I was especially relieved to hear both Palin & Biden (in the VP debate) reassure us that neither administration would support same-gender marriage, and that they each agree with extending rights, such as those mentioned in the press release I linked.

Ok...thanks for letting me get that off my chest. More light-hearted, birthday, family visiting, and such posts to follow!