A Two Year Olds Mind

A few days ago I was going to let the girls go swimming in their little pool.

Me: "Gabriella, go get your bathing suit."
G: "Okay!"
From her room I hear rattling and her grunting. She runs back into the kitchen where I am.
Me: "Gabriella, where's your bathing suit?"
G: "The drawer is not sharing with me!"

I call Jeremiah "little bub" and a lot of times when he cries Gabriella will scream out to him, "I'm coming little bub." Well yesterday she was climbing on her bed and hit on bottom on the wood railing and she started crying. I asked her what hurt and she said, "my bub." I asked, "your bottom (she was rubbing her bottom)." She responded, "No - my bub." I asked her, "Your butt (figuring she'd heard Clay or I call it that)." She said "Yeah - my bub."

Apparently she thinks I am calling Jeremiah "little butt."

Then today I was changing Jeremiah's diaper and Gabriella is rolling around on the bed where he's getting changed. She looks at him and says, "Whats that? What's that? (pointing towards his penis.) I tell her, "That is his penis."
Gabriella: "Peanuts?"
Me: "Penis."
Gabriella: "Peanuts!"

Well, she might be a little confused next time we ask her if she wants to eat peanuts!

Bluebonnets

We were out at my mom's this weekend and we got some pictures of the girls in bluebonnets that I thought I would share. My brother is also in some of these with his "pet' turkey. My parents are raising some wild turkeys. This turkey follows my brother everywhere he goes. My dad says that Payt is her tom. The tom my parents had died awhile back and this particular turkey is wanting to lay eggs. So, instead of having a tom to mate with she chases my brother everywhere. He can even ride in the mule and the turkey will run alongside the mule right next to Payt. It is quite a sight!

Great Books

I was listening to a past talk by Nancy Leigh DeMoss on parenting and having great literature in the home. She highlighted a ministry, Lamplighter Publishing that is republishing books from the 1800's as well as publishing new books. These books teach character and they have picture books as well as novels. In other words, there is something for everyone. Check out this ministry. I am pretty sure that any of you who actually read this blog will find something on their sight that you would really enjoy reading. Also, I encourage you to listen to Nancy's talk if you are parents or plan on becoming parents at any time.

Meet the Ingalls Clan

We have been T.V.-less for over a week now. And it is going great. I have wanted to get rid of the T.V. for months now because I really felt like the kids were watching too much t.v. But in truth I was not ready to do that when it took all I had to wash two loads of clothes a day, do a load or two of dishes, and fix dinner. I was just not up to finding more ways to entertain the kids. So the t.v. stayed - though in my heart I hated that we had it - and really felt like it was becoming an idol in my children's lifes. But once I had the baby - I had tons of energy - and a lot more patience than I have had in months. So, praise the Lord for that! And praise the Lord - the t.v. is out of the house for now.

We went to the library and brought home 30 new books (not as if we have shortage of books here - but I wanted to give the kids something new to read). Now most of the time when I sit down to feed the baby, I also sit down to a stack of books to read to the girls (by the way I am learning things about insects and dogs that I had no idea about - like some grasshoppers have wholes in their legs which allow them to hear!). One of the books I got for them was Little House on The Prairie. I read it to them and their daddy at bedtime (we have to catch daddy up for the chapters he misses while he is at work and I read to them at nap time). The girls love it!

In fact they love it so much that Daddy, Mommy, Micah, Gabriella, and Jeremiah no longer reside at our house. Instead we have, Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and Carrie (I refuse to call Jeremiah Carrie - but the girls call him that). The girls respond better to their new names and are much more cooperative when I call them by their Little House on the Prairie names than when I use their real names. They also get upset when I forget to use our character names.

It has been much fun to pretend to be these characters. However, it is rather amusing to Clay and I as we laugh about the time period differences. For example, last night I told the girls that Ma was going to set her timer for five minutes while the girls picked up around camp. At one point I asked Mary "Micah" to pick up her phone. In which she responds, "Okay, but its my sister's cell phone."Though it may only be amusing to us - it is something we will always treasure. Clay and I are very thankful that we have gotten rid of the T.V.

Thought I would share some pictures of life on the "prairie" with Mary, Laura, and Carrie.

Mary, Laura, and Carrie in the Camp.

The girls went out to chase gophers in the prairie.

Mary
(Note that her hair is braided: She never likes her hair fixed but wanted it braided because Mary's hair is braided in Little House on the Prairie.

Laura

3 Weeks

Jeremiah is doing great. He is eating and growing well. At his two week appointment he was already 10 lbs 1 oz. He will outgrow his 0-3 month clothing in no time at all. He is starting to smile more, loves to be carried by mommy, and enjoys swinging in the swing. Now if his tummy just would not hurt throughout the night - then daddy and mommy could sleep at night!

A good reminder

I read this somewhere awhile back. I have needed this reminder many times today.

"In parenting the days are long but the years are short."

Growing Up

Jeremiah is changing fast. On Monday he weighed 8lbs and 15.5 oz. Today he lost his umbilical cord. He is starting to stay awake a little bit longer. We are enjoying him very much.

My little man

Micah adores him.

Gabriella adores him too. In her defense he had already started to fuss before she came to love on him. But she is rougher with him than Micah is, so we have to watch her very, very closely.