The Night Owl

Well, I guess the "early bird" I talked about a couple posts ago couldn't have all the attention, so last week we got to see the "night owl."

I got home from mutual and practicing a musical number at almost ten PM, noticing as I drove into the garage, that the light in Dallen's room was still on. Terron had put him down for bed at seven and Dallen had apparently waited until he went downstairs to turn the light back on and throw a party of GINORMOUS proportions. Check out the pictures of what I found when I opened the door and what the party animal was doing.

He totally trashed his room! We had a MAJOR cleanup the next day.

Loving these boys.

And The Worst Mother Of The Year Award Goes To...

ME! J/K. Or maybe you won't think so after you hear this one! A couple days ago we were driving on the freeway when Dallen started crying about a "pokey booger" (hehe) in his eye. There was really nothing I could do about it, so I waited for him to work it out. He got more and more upset and eventually hysterical about how bad it hurt. I had to GET OFF THE FREEWAY, pull into a store parking lot and go around the car to see what had him SOOO upset. The poor kid had the entire top row of gorgeous long eyelashes folded INTO his bottom eyelid. Well sure, THAT would hurt! See ladies, who are constantly telling us how beautiful our boys eyes are, long eyelashes are not ALWAYS a benefit! Luckily it wasn't very hard to flip the eyelashes out and back into place, instantly removing the pain. Poor kid. The bad part? When we were still on the freeway and I was saying things like, "Dallen, that's enough. Crying isn't going to make it any better. Seriously, that's ENOUGH, Dallen. That's ONE!" See...I'm horrible. :)

Loving these boys

The Early Bird

This one isn't really that funny, but it makes me smile. Ever since we took the front of Dawsen's crib off he can get himself out of bed. He's pretty excited about his newfound freedom and has been getting up earlier and earlier each day. He'll come in our room , sucking on his blanket, and stand next to the bed staring at me until I open my eyes. I can A) get up with him, or B) pull him up into the bed with me so I can sleep a few more minutes. The only way Dallen would ever hold still for me to sleep longer was if I'd turn the TV on really quietly. Dawsen is totally opposite. He'll lay there, sucking on his blanket, completely still and quiet for a half hour to an hour! The part that makes me smile is that he'll lay there like that, but staring at me the whole time, waiting for some sign of me being ready to wake up. If I shift my position or anything he'll go up on one elbow like, "Is it going to happen? Is it time?" He'll wait for a minute and then lay down again to patiently wait some more. As cute as it is, we are hoping that the newness of setting himself free in the morning will wear off and he'll decide it's fun to sleep in. Or does that not happen until he's a teen?

Loving these boys.

Where Do I Even Begin?

I hate messes and letting kids feed themselves is one of the hardest phases (so far) for me. Apparently I was unclear on HOW to eat a yogurt using a spoon. I stepped away for a minute and returned to this mess. Errr... But how can you stay mad at this face?

Loving these boys.

It Had to Happen Eventually...

This is how I caught Dallen after my shower a couple days ago. Silly Boy.

Loving these boys.

Disappearing Dawsen

Terron took the front off the crib and replaced it with a bedrail of sorts so Dawsen won't fall out, but he can get out if he wants to. A couple nights ago Dawsen cried for a couple minutes in the night and then went back to bed. It was short enough we didn't even go in to check on him. In the morning I could hear him humming so I went in his room to get him. The humming stopped and I scanned the room...no Dawsen. Blankies on the bed...closet doors closed...nothing unusual. Then I heard the humming start again UNDER THE BED! I think he woke up in the night, got out of bed and was too disoriented to get back in so he slept UNDERNEATH. I got down on the floor, lifted up the bedskirt and said, "Hi, buddy! Whatcha doin'?" He just gave me a sly smile.

Loving these boys.

Welcome Home...

Terron and I were in Arizona most of the week--withOUT the boys. Yesterday started out a bit crazy back at our house in the usual routine. At one point Terron was doing homework and I was reading on the couch while the boys played trains. Apparently Dawsen decided he wanted to read too. He got the music book off my piano and plopped himself down on the floor to "read" it. And did I mention it was upside down? Surprisingly he lasted a few minutes before losing interest. Of course when I pulled out the camera he noticed and said "cheese!" ruining the whole thing, but it was still super cute.

And then I noticed that my cell phone was missing. I asked Dallen if he knew where it was and he turned his bottom towards me to show me that it was in HIS back pocket (which is where I keep it on myself). Funny boy.

Loving these boys.

The Seven Dorks

I've got two this time! Yesterday I was working upstairs and could hear the boys laughing. Best sound in the world if you ask me. The sound I didn't want to hear? Splashing water. I ran out to the stairs and looked down to see Dallen holding the button down to let the water pour out of the fridge while Dawsen filled up his little cup and then threw it across the room over and over. It was one of those times where I swear they were only out of my sight for a minute, but the entire kitchen was already covered in water. Although I would never have let them know, it actually really amused me. Let's just say they were in their rooms for quite awhile so I could clean it up. The best part was seeing them slip and slide trying to get out of the kitchen.

Then...today Dallen was watching Snow White during Dawsen's nap. After getting a bunch of things done I made the mistake of actually thinking I might be able to rest for a couple minutes before the movie ended. Dallen came and snuggled me...actually there was a lot more wiggling than snuggling, but it was still nice. He told me all about Snow White and all the animals and the seven dorks. Awesome.

And today I'm thankful for THOSE moments. The quiet ones where Dallen and I can talk about the day, silly things, church things...anything really. THOSE are the moments that I feel a real connection with the him. Those moments are different with Dawsen since he's still little. With him I love when he's just waking up or when I'm putting him to bed. He'll lay in his crib chewing on the edge of his blankie and give me his FULL attention, which is saying something for a 20-month-old. It's amazing how you can make more of a connection in thirty quiet, focused seconds than you did through the craziness of an entire day. I LOVE, look for and definitely look forward to those quiet moments.

Loving these boys.

Just For Kix

A few days ago Dallen finished one of his sticker charts and earned a prize from our prize box. He picked poppers. You know...those little things you buy with fireworks that the kids can throw on the ground or stomp on to make them pop. The boys got a total kick out of them and LOVED to stomp them. The next morning I poured the boys bowls of Kix for breakfast and headed up for a shower. When I got out I could hear lots of crunching and laughter. Yup. They discovered that the Kix were WAY more fun to dump onto the floor and stomp on than they were to eat. Someday that'll make me smile, right?

Loving these boys.

The Power of God

A few months ago Dallen asked me if he could use the broom so he could be God. Again...the confused face and a few, "What?" 's. I scanned my brain through every movie and church conversation WE've had with him, then imagined what in the world his nursery leaders might have said that could be twisted into it. Nothing. So I went along with the plan. Give him the broom and watch him play. It only took a couple minutes until he struck his staff in the ground and said, "By the power of God, LET MY PEOPLE GO!!!" OH!! Moses! Okay...we have the Prince of Egypt movie...must be that. It was followed by, "By the power of God!" again striking the ground and then sound effects and hand movements showing the parting of the seas. Yup. Moses. Problem solved. Well, after explaining that he needs to tell me that he wants to be a PROPHET of God and not GOD himself.

Loving these boys.

Groping Cowboys

Today Dallen walked through the kitchen with a big rubber snake telling me something about how he was going to grope a cow. "You're going to what???" After hearing his answer a few times I realized he was trying to tell me that he was planning to use the snake to go ROPE a cow. Thank goodness! I couldn't figure out where he'd learned the word GROPE!

Loving these boys.