Zane Receives a Revelation

It appears to be a happy one.

My Girl

Workin' out in the ExerSaucer

We got this hand-me-down exersaucer from some friends before Zane was born.  We never had one before and I never really understood the appeal.  But now I totally get it.  Zane LOVES this thing.  He goes totally nuts throwing his body around in it and slamming it against stuff.

(Note: I'm talking on the phone in the background so ignore the audio.)

Boys Picnic

Here are some random shots of a "Boy's Picnic" we had in the backyard this week. Zoe was too busy playing legos inside.  She missed out on all the fun! (And crackers!)

Rabbit Stylin'

Does your kid go out in public looking like this?  Because mine sure does.

Good Dreams

Zoe didn't wake up at all last night!  Oh how joyful is a night without "der buggies!" When she danced into the living room this morning, she had a happy smile on her face.
"Zoe, did you have good dreams last night?"
"Yes, mommy!"
"Tell me what did you dream about?"
She smiled a secret, dreamy, happy smile, and said:
"Mythbusters!"

Scary Spray Paint

Jed creeps into the hallway approximately 10 minutes after being put to bed. Michael wasn't too pleased to see him.
"Jed, you haven't even been in bed long enough to have a bad dream."
"Yes I have!  I had a bad dream!"
"Well tell me about it."
"No, it's too scary"
"If you tell me about it, it will go away."
"I had a dream... that somebody had some spray... that turned people and things green!"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Michael attempts to restrain his laughter.
"Hm. OK give me a hug and kiss and go to bed."
"Where's Mom?"
"Putting Zane to bed, go to bed."
"My nose is running."
"Get a tissue."
"OK."
And then he left.

Silly Kids

Zoe's ideal perfect outfit:

1. Pink Swimsuit with fluffy tutu
2. Hoodie with "hat" and pockets

If someone developed a pink tutu swimsuit with hat and pockets she would be in heaven.
________

Yesterday, while riding in the car, Jed said:

"Mom, you know I'm really growing up now!  Because I have whiskers growing in on my cheeks already."

I looked in the rearview mirror at his grinning face.  Really?  Whiskers already, huh?

He pinched his cheeks in emphasis.

"Yep, I have six on each cheek!"

Commando

So on Sunday, after a flurried and blurry Easter morning wherein we had to be at church early and somehow getting up early is never early enough, we made it on time for choir rehearsal and then settled into our usual pew.  Towards the end of the meeting, Zoe crept up to me and then whispered loudly, "MOM, I have to go POTTY!"  I took her out.  When we got to the bathroom in the nursery ("I love this potty, this potty is just the right size for me!") I pulled up her fluffy sequined pink dress and pulled down her white tights to find... nothing underneath?  What?!  My little girl was goin' commando underneath her sheer patterned tights.  What a lovely Easter treat.  Thank goodness I had yanked a slightly-matching set of bloomers (and by matching I mean "not really but there was some pink on them and we were in a hurry") over the top before we left.  Clearly I should have taken a little more time and observation, but at least the cutest bum in town was modestly hidden from view during the last two hours of church.

After church, on our way home, I asked Michael if he had put her tights on.  "Nope."  Me either.  Well, I guess that solves that mystery.  Little Miss "I-do-myself" had taken things into her own hands.

We got home and I ordered the kids to go strip their church clothes off and put them on their beds, then get dressed for lunch.  Jed, in the midst of a long monologue that simply couldn't be interrupted, started to pull his suit off right there in the living room. He looked so handsome in his suit, I thought to myself. Then he unbuttoned his pants and... we all saw there was nothing underneath.  That's right, NOTHING.

BOTH MY CHILDREN WENT TO CHURCH COMMANDO FOR EASTER.

When I asked Jed where his underwear was, he said he couldn't find it when he got dressed.  I saw one clean pair sitting on the couch, and another on his bed later that day (right next to Zoe's) so I would just like to say, it was NOT my fault.

Kid Measurements

Jed is 5 years 2 months and at 46 1/8" at the 93rd percentile for height.


Zoe is 32 months old  and at 37 1/2" at the 75th percentile for height.


Zane is 8 months old and at 28 3/4" at the 76th percentile for height .

Father/Son Date

Michael took Jed on a father/son date last week.  Jed was SO excited and insisted on wearing khakis and a blue button up - just like dad.  Here they are with the little monster truck Dad picked up for Jed at the store. What a matched set, eh?

Musings

Last night Michael left the bedroom in the middle of the night to go check on something.  He opened the door and nearly tripped over a little bundle of girl, curled up just outside our door on the hallway floor.  She looked up at him and said in a small voice, "Buggies."  He picked her up with a hug and took her back to bed.  Poor Zoe has had the worst nightmares lately.  We're at our wits end on how to help her. Some nights she is up six or seven times screaming. She's just super out of it at night and none of the usual suggestions seem to work.  I think she's growing. But in the meantime, between the baby and the buggies we are all very tired.
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Zoe attended her first all-by-herself all-girl birthday party this week and I almost cried after I dropped her off.  She is so different from Jed, when I asked her if she wanted to stay by herself, she gravely nodded yes.
"You can stay and play dollies with your friends?" Nod yes.
"And watch the movie and play games?" Nod yes.
"And have cake and ice cream?"  Double nod yes.
"Ok, then, give mommy kiss bye."  A grave little kiss on the lips and she turned around.

I'm not ready for this growing up thing.  The very thought of my children leaving me behind fills me with the greatest dread.  I understand my mother so much better now.  I feel really bad about not answering her phone calls freshman year at BYU. You hear me mom?  I am REALLY SORRY!  (Even if they were at an unholy early hour, I should have answered!) My mom is owed a lot of kisses and phone calls. Because being a mom is hard on the heart.
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Meanwhile, Jed is tall and strong, riding his bike out on the road and engaging the mail lady in embarrassingly long conversations every day at the mailbox.  (I bet she really does not look forward to our house.  But hey, what a monster-truck education she is getting!)  He loves playing pictionary and singing songs and begs me to draw out battles from the war chapters in Alma (in the Book of Mormon) again and again and again.  None of his clothes fit right, they all seem far too big or far too small for his long, lean frame topped by a rather large noggin. He got his head stuck in a shirt twice yesterday.  He loves looking at the globe and has a special fascination for the north and south poles.  We have been reading "Winnie the Pooh" and "House at Pooh Corner" and together we giggle and giggle and snort and laugh at the funny antics of those silly little animals.  I do think, though, that poetry is still is favorite.  He would sit quietly at my side as we read poetry for hours, if my voice could keep up with his attention.  I don't think he understands half of it, but he loves the way it sounds.
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Zoe likes to read little kid books with me, but she isn't quite as attentive as her brother was.  Her mind wanders a hundred directions.  Today she was laying on the floor as we read, flat on her back and rolling around back and forth while softly singing an Easter song and flapping a board book in the air. She likes the tradition of our reading time, even if she isn't really paying attention half the time. She loves Maisy books and we get two of those every week, and read them every day. Zane likes reading time, too.  I prop him sitting up over by a pillow and he gnaws on whatever his siblings have handed him to play with.  He likes listening, and I reach over every so often to gently pull him back into place from wherever his little chubby body has listed or lurched or sank while his waving hands have tried to grab mommy's book.

Beautifying

 I recently reorganized the bathroom cabinets and now Jed and Zoe have their very own drawer.  Which means that now Zoe's frills and furbelows are all ready at hand for any moment when she feels the need to be beautified.  Jed is always happy to oblige as her fashion consultant and facilitator. As you can see, here he was making a few final adjustments for the camera.

 Ah, that's better. As you can see, she is wearing ALL her adornments at once, which made them both beam with pride.  Later that day when we went out, she turned heads among all the old folks at Aldi.  Who wouldn't be turned by this little head?

A side view

And one little adornment for the handsome boy. "That's all, mom, just a ring for me."