I began writing this post last week chronicling things the kids were up to. If I don't post it all together right now, I may never get back to it (like other drafts I have of them hanging around in blogger). This is pretty much for the grands!
Our Future Engineer
Let's start with McKay, oh my McKay! He's into building stuff lately. Legos are fine for quiet time in his room, but with all the fun boards and big stuff to build with at the kindergarten, he's begun to search out building materials at home. The current favorite is trains. Last week saw a couple different versions like the prototype above, a series of bins.
One morning when he woke up at 5, I went back to bed kinda dozing off since I was also listening to Morgan tottering around after him. By the time Ryan and I got out of bed to officially start the day, McKay had dumped out most of the toy bins to build this "train" below. Each compartment had at least one occupant, even if it was just a fist sized stuffed animal. Finding all three kids playing and having fun together that morning sure made it hard to feel like breaking up the party to get them ready for school!
Once the boys were at school, Morgan sure enjoyed herself with those bins, filling them with her favorite stuff and honing her climb-in technique! Her legs are just long enough to climb in but she can't get out. When she first started playing with them, she'd forget to put her blanket or a sippy cup or her favorite bear in an adjoining bin and she'd start hollering for me to come help her since the elusive item was in sight. I'd hand her the item and she'd just grin and hug it to her chest then sit herself down in her bin happy as a clam. Oh she's a funny girl! By the end of each "session" she had all her favorite stuff in bins around her that she'd just pull to her to grab what she wanted. That was a good cleaning day for me while she was so happily occupied!
Close to lunch time one day, McKay told me he needed a "wutewwa sanwich 'n' injury white now." Translation: The boys have discovered peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches. The "injury" McKay was asking for is energy which he says comes from chocolate. He'll hunch over with a feigned sigh of exhaustion and call out for some "injury". It's hilarious! And white now is obviously "right now."
One afternoon McKay said, "Mom, when the bad guys get out of time out we have to fight them, right?" I'm still puzzled by this because there was no other comment after that. He's a thinker and a gabber lately with quite the imagination!
A New M.O.
We are entering a new phase of diapering and dressing Morgan. She used to always run away but now she'll often go grab the changing pad and elaborately lay herself down on it so you're sure to catch her drift. It's so funny to me and a relief that she now likes to be a big helper rather than turn tail and run!
After changing Morgan and returning from washing up one day, I found Morgan trying to diaper her dolly on the changing mat. I got down and we diapered and dressed her dolly together. She paid very close attention as I showed her how to put the dolly's sleeper on, we love velcro! This dolly thing was new territory for me. My boys didn't really do dolls and they sure weren't interested in clothing them, that's for sure! Lately, Morgan won't let me dress her unless I show her the entire outfit and say how cute or pretty it is. Then she comes running with a big happy grin pointing to her favorite item of the ensemble, usually a flower imprint. Come to think of it, McKay was the same way - showing how cool his shirt was helped ensure his cooperation. Easton never cared as long as he liked the feel and fit of the outfit.
Back to Morgan's diapering instruction, I ran to grab my camera and in the 15 seconds it took me to return she'd accumulated a pile of wipes around her as she began wiping the dolly like a crazed zealot! She's the fastest wipe dispenser I know! I can't tell ya how many times she's emptied a container in a sitting before I can catch her in time!
Once we finished dressing the doll, I got up and moved on. In five minutes time, she figured out how to strip the doll and demand for me to reclothe it not less than ten times since she's honed her skills. She takes the doll from me, wrestles her to the ground on the changing mat usually with a kiss and hug, rolls baby over and rips that back velcro enclosure apart, and practices refastening it a couple times until that gets old. Then it's naked time! Baby's undressed in a series of grunts and breathless intervals until held up to me to begin again.
Brotherly Lovin'
Morgan likes to love on Easton and McKay but often catches them in less than amorous moods. If they're sitting in their camp chairs watching a show and she's bored, they're toast! She loves to stand in front of them and lean in for kisses and hugs much to their chagrin. I used to think if they gave a quick hug and kiss it'd suffice but she wants more and more! Poor guys! If they don't give in to her demands, she starts whacking at them. We've got a hitter here folks! She's just real lucky they haven't started hitting back! Much.
Ward Banshee
Our ward meets at 11am each Sunday this year. Until last (last) Sunday, we'd typically managed to keep Morgan contained in our pew for the duration of sacrament meeting. Yesterday she harnessed her belligerent screaming power at just the right pitch. It all started upon arrival when she saw her favorite baby Sophia lounging in her car seat and wanted to stay and play with her. Morgan wouldn't budge and refused to follow the family to our seats. It went down hill from there and she spent almost the entire meeting in the foyer.
Apparently I didn't have a diverse enough smorgasbord of snacks to her liking. My favorite is when she's got a mouth stuffed with string cheese and sees a different snack in the bag either from her own or her brothers' digging. She spits out the wad o' cheese and squeals demandingly for the next snack immediately. Once the snacks to her liking were gobbled up, she was ready to burn off those calories with a walk about. She summoned Ryan to follow her in no uncertain terms.
I got my turn later. It's so fun to restrain your kid sitting in your lap in the foyer screaming so they think behaving in the meeting is the better option. She kept up her performance all three hours. That's stamina! Ahhhh, one month and she's in the nursery for the second and third hours! Ryan and I will be high-fiving and doing a happy dance in the halls!
This past Sunday we got the front row. Front row = stairs to pulpit and a nice aisle view for the congregation of our battle of wills, alternating defiant grins, furrowed brows, and looks of death.
Howdy Handsome!
Easton has been asking me to come eat lunch at his school with him. I bit the bullet and went after my cross-fit class today even though I looked worked over. He was so excited to see me and Morgan that he kept showering us with hugs and kisses over and over!
It was not my favorite lunch experience, however, because of all the wriggling little boys discovering and showing their abilities to burp at will, snorting milk through their straws, peeling an egg shell into the tiniest pieces and sharing Eggbert's remains with all those in closest proximity, or the real highlight. The little boy behind me told me what I have under my shirt. Boobies. And he wanted to tell me that I was wearing, "booby holders" (aka a bra). Seeing that he didn't get a response from me because I was trying to corral Morgan at the same moment, he branched out to a wider audience. Boys will be boys I guess, but it sure made me want to throw Easton over my shoulder and make a run for it to preserve his sweet innocence!
Daddy Time!
On Saturday morning, Ryan built the kids a fort. In the picture above, McKay's under the bed howling because we took away the tunnel entrance they were fighting over. Morgan's fresh out of the bath she demanded after breakfast and is lovin' on her daddy in the fort. And then there's Easton's just having the time of his life being with all of them. This picture makes me laugh because it depicts such a familiar scenario! It's a rare moment indeed when everyone is all smiles! But these kids sure love their daddy and he loves to be right in the middle of it too!!! It's often one of the kids climbing up in his lap after work that seems to melt away the day's cares for him.
