"Sick Day"

Spencer had his first (and hopefully last) day of feigning illness to avoid school. He had a very busy weekend last week and wasn't at home much. Going to school on Monday was fine, but Tuesday came and he said he wasn't feeling well. The symptoms were quite vague and he seemed all right, so I told him to go to school and if he still didn't feel well, he could call me. Sure enough, at 10:00, the phone rang. He tried hard to suppress a grin when he saw me come in. When we got home, he kept asking if he could come out and play with Carson. He also wanted treats throughout the day, but I told him I didn't think that was wise for an invalid. I made him lie down and rest in the afternoon, and he said that at precisely 3:30 (when school is out), he made a sudden and remarkable recovery. He's been quite healthy ever since.

Carson thoroughly enjoys his food and when he's eating something he likes, it is impossible to distract him. One night Andy came home from work after we had begun eating. He cheerfully greeted Carson and asked how he was. Without looking up, Carson said, "I'm HUNGRRRRY!"

Yesterday Carson was very tired and grumpy in the afternoon. He refused to pick up his Legos and had to go to Time Out. When he returned, he said, "I want to lay on something soft with a stuffed animal!" Don't we all?

When they are both well rested, the boys have a lot of fun playing together. Spencer found an empty box one day and began to fashion it into an airplane or a ship (I'm not sure which). Carson was sitting in the back and Spencer was steering. Carson experienced a loud passage of gas, and Spencer announced, "That was the engine!" Carson giggled and said, "No, that was my bum!"

Furry Friends

Here's a little update on our furry family members.

Dakota continues to enjoy all kinds of affection from the boys. She is looking forward to spring when she can lounge in the grass and the sunshine. I am looking forward to less dog hair in the house.

She's always good for a big, wet kiss on anyone within reach!

Note that Carson decided to stand up after the doggy kiss....

This is about as friendly as they get. Just one more benefit of warm weather: I won't have to spend so much time running interference between the pets!

Slippy is enjoying a sliver of sunshine while sleeping in her toy basket.

Andy recently became part of the leadership of our ward (congregation). Since it was a special occasion, our parents came to church with us. As my mom was leaving, she turned around and came back to tell me "There's a dog running around outside that looks a lot like Dakota." I thought she was kidding and I couldn't believe she was joking about the dog at a time like that. I looked out and sure enough, there was Dakota, running back and forth by the front doors of the church, tongue hanging out, having a glorious time. I don't know how many people she must have terrorized before we found her! Andy went out and threw a snowball in her direction and told her to "Lie down!" My mom said it was like her legs collapsed under her. She knew her "dad" meant business. Spencer thought it was hilarious that Dakota had come to church with us. (In case you're wondering how she got out, we have a weak section of fence that falls apart when the wind blows hard. I had tried to fix it, but apparently I didn't do a good job. She came to church because we often take her to play in the field right next to it. Andy has fixed the fence now so we don't have a repeat of the chaos that day!)

One closing thought: I was putting Carson's socks on this morning when he said, "I miss my toes when they're inside my socks." Do you ever miss your toes?

Guess Who?

I have found some different looking folks at my house lately. See if you can guess who they are....

Carson has a mild lazy eye, so we tried patching for a few weeks, to no avail. He hated the patch, and even though he was very good about keeping it on, he cried every time I put it on. So now he has glasses, and says he misses the eye patch! The lady who fitted the glasses on him was just dying over how cute he looked. She is putting his picture on their bulletin board as well as their blog. He doesn't seem to mind the glasses most of the time, but he insists on pushing them up on top of his head to take a drink. They are also constantly covered with little fingerprints, so I hope he can actually see out of them!

Who is this crazy character?? I belong to a neighborhood book club, and I was hosting one night. Spencer wondered if he could attend, but I told him it was only for ladies. He got a gleam in his eye and I knew what he was thinking! Before long, he came out looking like this! I assigned him to answer the door to our guests, and they all got a laugh. One lady called him "Miss Thang" all night. He was the life of the party!

This strange dude is my spouse! (What was I thinking??) He just finished a scuba diving course with the Scouts, and felt the need to purchase his own mask and snorkel. Dakota thought he looked really creepy with it on, and she kept barking at him.

Spencer built these Lego cars a while ago and took lots of pictures so we could show them to everyone. This one is for Carson.

And this one he built for himself. He used a variety of angles and lighting, but I think you get the idea....

Bunkbed

Okay, here are the pictures of the new bed....

I made Carson a Batman quilt since he is SO into Batman these days. He also has a Batman pillowcase.

He's had these pajamas for about a month now, but every night after dinner, he still asks if it's "time for jammas yet."

It was hard to get a good angle here, but this is a desk on one side of the bed set-up. The other side has a cupboard that is perfect to hold all their books, and behind that are some shelves for stuffed animals.

More big news... Spencer lost his first tooth last night!! It was loose for a loooonng time, and when he came inside yesterday it was hanging out at a right angle. He was very reluctant to let anyone touch it, but after much coaxing he let me pull it out if I promised "not to yank." No yanking necessary! It practically fell out in my hand.

Here is the tiny tooth. It's a little sad for a mom to see it fall out. I remember fondly when that cute little tooth came in. My baby is growing up! He was delighted to find a dollar under his pillow this morning.

Big Changes

The boys got a bunk bed a couple of weeks ago. (I haven't yet taken a picture, but I promise to post one very soon.) What a hit! Carson had been a little upset about giving up his bedroom, but now he won't sleep anywhere else. Spencer has the top, of course, and loves it. They enjoy their bed as much during the day as at night. It becomes a ship, an airplane, etc. I made Carson a Batman quilt, which made it even more fun. The night before the bed was delivered, the boys had a sleepover at Grandma's house. So I spent all the next day tearing into closets and cupboards, reorganizing things, particularly toys and kid stuff. I was amazed at how productive I can be without constant interruptions!

Spencer started piano lessons recently. At first he was against the idea. He didn't want to go to his first lesson and complained all the way there. But ever since then, he's enjoyed it more and more. Today he kept asking "how much longer" until his lesson time! I realize the excitement will probably fade, but I'm so happy that he's having fun. I told him he can quit taking lessons when he gets better at it than I am!

The boys have so much fun together. Today (the 20th--I'm doing this in a couple of installments) we woke up to several inches of new snow. They went out and played for a good hour and had a marvelous time. They said they played "The Adventures of Fat Men," which means they had so much clothing on, they could hardly move. They pretended to be hiking through the wilderness, and evidently having a difficult time because of their bulk! Then they played an old favorite, "Bones and John." Spencer is Bones, the dog, and Carson is John, his owner. John is also sometimes a firefighter. Bones had a wild good time romping in the snow, just like Dakota did earlier today. Now they will both be exhausted just in time for church!

As for the pets, they are mostly the same, except Slippy has become more actively aggressive toward the dog. If Dakota invades her "safe zone," Slippy no longer remains in place. Now she jumps off the bed, hissing, spitting, and growling and chases my 84-pound dog back out to the kitchen. Dakota just puts her head down and looks hurt. She just can't understand why that kitty is so hateful--she only wants to play!

New Pictures

Grandpa came for dinner one night and Carson showed him how to kick back and relax.

Crazy Hair Day at school! Spencer invented the style himself. He wanted to do it on a regular school day, but I wouldn't allow it! Luckily they have stuff like Crazy Hair Day occasionally.

Have you ever fallen asleep with your football helmet on? I bet not even NFL players love their helmets this much!

Spencer is becoming ever more proficient at reading. He's finally to the point that Carson will ask him to read a story if I'm busy. Convenient! It's also very cute to watch. They are the best of friends. They are both quite excited that Spencer is out of school for the next three weeks.

Carson has a phobia of pooping. He tries his best to prevent it and will resist for days. We have done our best to assuage his fear, but nothing is working, so we started bribing him. The deal is that if he goes on the potty he earns $1 toward a toy car (he likes to collect the ones from the movie Cars). So when we went to see Andy's new secretary at work the other day, the first thing out of Carson's mouth was, "I'm gonna go stinkies on the potty today so I can get Ramone!" She was a little taken aback, but amused.

Yesterday I had a lot of trouble spilling things. We went out for burgers at lunch time, and I spilled my drink all over my hand and arm. Then I dropped the cup of ketchup on my pants. Carson said, "Let's get out of here!" He's only three and I already embarrass him!

Carson loves dressing up as different characters. He changes his persona many times in a day--firefighter, knight, Lone Ranger, Buzz Lightyear, etc. He has been interested in Batman for a while now, but lately his infatuation has deepened. So when I found Batman pajamas on sale the other day, it was not just a want, it was a need! As I suspected, he is crazy about them. As soon as dinner is over he asks if he can have a bath and put on his jammies. On the second night of the pajamas, I was at a meeting, so Andy was giving the boys their bedtime snack. He gave Carson a white chocolate/macadamia nut cookie. Apparently Carson didn't care for it and gagged to the point that he threw up all over the beloved pajamas. He then exclaimed, "Mommy's cookies are NASTY!!" When I came home I heard all about it from each of the people present, especially Carson, who continued talking about it all the next day. I ate one of those cookies myself to see if they really were "nasty," but I found them quite delightful.

Cute Stories

I've recovered now from my frustration at my children. They really are very good kids overall. They're just normal.

So, where to begin? Carson is at the stage where he says hilarious things all day long. He is finally accepting that he is getting a baby brother, not a sister as he hoped. The other day he asked, "Mom, could you open your mouth so I can see Baby Brother?" He is so confused about how a baby could be in there. At one point he was worried that all the food I ate was piling up on the baby's head.

He just graduated from the Nursery at church and is now with all the "big kids" (ages 3-12) in Primary. I asked him which he liked better, Nursery or Primary. He said he liked Nursery. When I asked why, he exclaimed "Because they EAT there!!" (No more snack time in Primary!)

One day he brought his favorite blanket and pillow into the kitchen and laid on the tile. I said, "What are you doing? You don't want to sleep on this hard floor!" He told me he wanted to sleep in the kitchen so he would already be there for breakfast in the morning. He thinks about food a lot.

The boys are both into football lately, to their father's delight. They get their little helmets on and Spencer shouts instructions while Carson furrows his brow and runs helter skelter. One night Spencer explained that Carson should hold the ball down and say, "Down, set, hike!" So Carson made his football face, held the ball to the floor, and said, "Down, set, hike... Now what??" Spencer is a very patient coach!