Blankie

i have always been a “blankie” person.

i’d rather curl up with a blanket than a pillow.

so when andrew was a baby, i conducted an experiment.

i tried to get andrew attached to a blanket.

i picked out a soft, blue and yellow blanket.  and as he grew i always had the blanket close.

and you know?  my experiment worked!  he was attached. 

he also had a binky.

and the two went together.   

but the blankie wasn’t just a blankie.  it was a blankie with a tag. 

andrew would play with the tag as he went to sleep.

i began to think he was more attached to the tag then the blankie.

it was pretty cute.

 

well, when the binky “broke” the blankie wasn’t as needed anymore.

which was fine.

but every once in a while, andrew still asks for his blankie.

   and the tag.

the tag is just harder to find now.

but he does.

i'm not sure how.

Ironic

A couple of weeks ago Andrew’s preschool group took a field trip to the fire station.

We looked at the fire trucks, equipment, and where the firemen live.

I’ve always been a person extremely paranoid about house fires.

So I went throughout the day with :fire: on my brain.

Are the kids prepared?  Have we tested the detectors lately?  etc.

Then I went to bed.

 

Darrin woke me up about 2am telling me that there were fire trucks outside.

The neighbor’s house was on fire.

No one was hurt.  Everyone was fine.

 

But, man, it shook me up!!

Ironic. isn’t it?

Work

Before I had kids, I promised myself that I would teach them how to work.

Helping around the house would not be an option, and it would be something everyone was expected to help with.

Now I am a mom.

And sometimes it’s much easier to just do the job myself rather than teach and help a child do the same job.

And usually I can do it much better than they can.

But what would they learn if I did it?  or if I fixed everything they did?

This is a drawer of towels that Andrew folded.

He did a great job for a four year old.  I was very proud of him.

When I open this drawer and see the uneven fold lines and chaotic piles,

I remember what’s important.

Teach them to work.

Mario and Luigi

Our kids are obsessed with the Wii game Super Mario Brothers Wii.

When they are not actually playing the Wii, they are using animals and other toys to act out the game. 

They even hum the songs as they play.

One morning over Christmas break Darrin and I were trying to sleep in, and when we came downstairs Josh and Andrew were gone and

Mairo and Luigi were here instead.

I thought it was pretty clever.  Luckily Josh and Andrew came back later that day.

                           

Last week Josh was going around the house playing with toys and growling.

After awhile Andrew turned to him and said sternly, “Stop doing that you’re reminding me of Bowser!”

Andrew is scared of Bowser.

Monkey see, Monkey do

Luke is at a very fun age.

He is learning tons of things everyday, mostly by watching us.

In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that whenever he’s in the bathroom when the toilet flushes, he puts his hands on his face like so.

 

This puzzled me for a couple days, and then I realized why he does it.

We were in the restroom at the public library.  Andrew used the toilet, and then I flushed it for him, because he refused to do it himself.

Andrew hates loud noises. 

So he proceeded to cover his ears with his hands, and Luke did too…only he missed his ears.

I guess Luke thinks that’s what your supposed to do when you flush the toilet.

Hilarious.  I laughed soo hard when I figured it out.

I still am!

I did it!

Last night I did something big.

I did something for me.

I signed up for my first BYU online class, so I can “finish at home what I started at BYU.”

I am a tad nervous and a lot excited.

Last 35 credits here I come.

And in honor of this exciting announcement, I wore this appropriate shirt today.

Happy Birthday Darrin!

This weekend we celebrated Darrin’s birthday.

It was a weekend filled with fun, food, and family.

It was a great time.

This t-shirt was the best present of the birthday.

It was made, I’m sure, with love by our awesome friends.

We tease Darrin a lot that he looks like Toby from The Office.

Darrin begs to differ.

I guess you can decide for yourself.

Thanks guys.  You always keep us laughing!

Happy New Year!!

We celebrated New Year’s Eve with the Oregon Hancock’s as well as Darrin’s parents who are in town.

The kids love hanging out with their cousins and last night was no different.

We let this little boy stay up until midnight and this is what he looked like as we were watching the ball drop.

Needless to say, he was T.I.R.E.D.

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m excited to find out what this year has in store!