Dyeing Easter Eggs

Mouths of Babes

When I started the whole "Mouths of Babes" aspect of my blog, I thought it might be a great way to record and share some of the funny things that my kids say on a frequent basis. I did not, however, anticipate needing to record such a literal translation of "From the Mouths of Babes."This was knocked out of my barely three-year-old's mouth on Monday.

It all started when I decided to take a quick shower after breakfast, before getting everyone else ready for the day. In doing so, I told Abigail to go downstairs and watch the baby to make sure he didn't eat anything dangerous or climb up the stairs. I guess she took this responsibility to include watching over the three-year-old Owen as well. In her efforts to corral Owen and bring him downstairs with her, a game of chase ensued.

After a couple of gleeful laps in and out of my bathroom, the third lap ended with Owen colliding into the bathroom counter and screams of pain. I hopped out of the shower with my soapy hair after Abigail proclaimed that Owen was bleeding. Expecting to find a cut lip I started to wipe him up with a tissue. But when I couldn't quite figure out where all the blood was coming from, I looked a little more closely and saw that he was missing a tooth! Sure enough, there it lay on the floor.

I panicked (immediately imagining a future where all children run away scared of my sweet toothless freak, scaring him for life), called Alec at work, and put the tooth in milk (I thought I had remembered reading that somewhere). Alec was kind enough to race to my rescue, since it would have taken equal amounts of time for him to come home, as it would be for me to finish my shower and get everyone dressed and to the dentist's office.

Long story short, he has no front tooth, could be losing the one next to it, and now has a slightly odd vagrant look about him. (But, perhaps the look will give him some street cred in Nursery or something.) Anyway, I'm grateful he was not injured more seriously. We are now looking into cosmetic dentistry options and learning to love this smile--that perhaps only a mother can love!

As a post script, Owen keeps asking if he can put his tooth back in now.

And I suppose I need to find out what the going rate is for the Tooth Fairy.

Mouths of Babes

Me: "Owen, did you just hit your brother?"

Owen: "No! I was just feeling him really fast."

Happy Birthday, Alec!

Alec is 31 years of age today. Although I have only known him for 12 of those 31 years, I would like to share 31 things I like, love, adore about my hubby.


1. He is calm and rational.

2. He knows a lot of "true facts and information" (that's what Abigail likes to say).

3. He is passionate about the Spurs.

4. His enthusiasm about life is contagious.

5. He bought a head lamp to read with, so he wouldn't bother me with his late night reading in bed.

6. He can read a book in like a day. (I can never keep up with updating his current read on the blog.)

7. He likes to cook and is good at it, too.

8. He does the dishes after I make dinner.

9. He loves to listen to music and make special CD mixes.

10. He is friendly and outgoing.

11. He has surprised me so many times with gifts and special outings, that I have completely lost track.

12. He enjoys shopping for clothes for the kids.

13. He is silly with the kids.

14. He's not afraid to take care of a newborn baby.

15. He lets me beat him at Scrabble.

16. He gets the kids ready for Church on Sunday mornings so I can actually do my hair (sometimes) and makeup, and still be early for Primary.

17. He cleans up barf in the middle of the night (with his handy, dandy head lamp).

18. He's always willing to pick up McDonald's on the way home from work if I'm not able to get to the grocery store.

19. He never gives me a guilt trip.

20. He likes watching American Idol and Extreme Home Makeover with me.

21. If I give him a honey-do list, he always accomplishes it (and without much grumbling!).

22. He arranges for a babysitter so that he can take me on dates.

23. He's my sounding board.

24. He always writes a thoughtful card or note on special days (i.e., birthdays, Valentine's, Mother's Day, anniversaries).

25. He is the packing master--he has expert skills at finding just the right configuration for things to fit in a trunk, a closet, or a suitcase.

26. He loved my mom and misses her with me.

27. He makes me laugh every single day.

28. He has fun teasing people, but knows when to stop.

29. He's confident.

30. He is tall, dark, and handsome.

31. He loves me unconditionally, is a wonderful father, and is my best friend. Happy 31st, Alec!

Slim

This is a common sight in our house....Nate doing the commando crawl and leaving his pants in the dust. He crawls right out of his pants! Hopefully when he starts walking, his pants won't be down around his ankles all the time. {Although, Alec's mom informed me the other day that Alec had to wear suspenders often when he was a boy, because he had the same loose waist problem.}

Today is my mom's birthday. She would have been 64 today. I love her because...

...she always encouraged me to strive for excellence
...she taught me how to be nurturing
...she was interested in people and their lives
...she knew how to laugh at life
...she was completely dedicated to her role as a mother
...she made me feel loved and adored

My younger brother forwarded along this quote today. I liked it very much and thought I should share.

"Surely those who have passed beyond, can see more clearly through the veil back here to us than it is possible for us to see to them from our sphere of action. I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separated from them. We are closely related to our kindred, to our ancestors, to our friends and associates and co-laborers who have preceded us into the spirit world. They can see us better than we can see them--that they know us better than we know them. I claim that we live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; they can comprehend better than ever before, the weaknesses that are liable to mislead us into dark and forbidden paths. They see the temptations and the evils that beset us in life, and the proneness of mortal beings to yield to temptation and to wrong doing; hence their solicitude for us and their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves.
--Joseph F. Smith

Owen turned three....

....and we threw a little party! Complete with sausage pizza (Owen's favorite), chocolate cake (his one and only birthday request), and decorations that Abigail and I had fun putting up while the boys were napping.

He also got to open a box bigger than himself,

which contained this:

But of course it was more fun to play with this:

So in honor of Owen's third birthday, here are just a few of the many things I love about him....

Things I like to hear Owen say:
"space shittle"= space shuttle
"Dr. Germs"= Dr. Durham (the pediatrician)
"bonk bed" = bunk bed
"hair-a-cut"= haircut
"shasheege" = sausage
"finger minger" = doesn't mean anything, I just like it

Things I like to watch Owen do:
Keep his big boy pants dry, act like a superhero, and shows off his muscles while lifting weights


Act like a dinosaur

Bow and say "Thank you! Thank you!" to the applause after he sings something

Go barefoot (his feet are huge)

"Read" books (he does quite a realistic reading of "Hop on Pop")

Eat with a Happy Meal box on his head (he is completely serious when he does this)

Happy Birthday, Owen! Thanks for making us smile everyday. We love you!!