Bram Praying

Bram says very thoughtful prayers. Tonight, however, he said two things and was done. I told him he didn't bless very much, and he says, "and please bless very much." We tell him to start over and in the midst of his prayer he still remember to, "bless very much." I don't know if he is wondering what very much actually is, but he seemed satisfied with his second prayer. 

My clone :). She is so much fun. I cannot get enough of her!

Alba is David's dog. I am glad, but at the same time, it really makes me miss Camrose because she was totally mine.

Poignant Phrases from Toddler Boys

A phrase from Anders' prayer tonight, "And bless the missionaries to cut the arms off the humans." We do not watch violent movies. We have been reading the story of Ammon for family scripture study and Anders is totally enraptured by it. We explained that Ammon was a missionary, like our missionaries. 

When Bram got out of the tub, I heard him tell his dad, "She (our dog) is going to bite my penis off." And then he ran down the hall in a panic, covering his front with one hand and his bum with the other. So funny! 

Alba is a third dog, a third pig, and a third parrot. She totally runs around snorting like a pig and squawking at me like a parrot. 

Astrid can hold her own against her brothers. The other day there was a really loud grunting noise in the shower. Bram and Astrid were tugging on opposite sides of a toy and Astrid was not letting up at all. Then later, she had Bram crying because she took a toy from him. So much for her being our peacemaker...

Alba sleeps ALL the time and always wants to snuggle near me or David or Astrid.

When David dried Astrid after her bath, he created a masterpiece with her hair, obviously.

Albany Afton Wrinkles Bilodeau

We have a new member of our family! We asked the boys if they wanted toys or a puppy for Christmas and they were both adamant about having a puppy. Alba came to stay last Sunday. She is a great (if challenging) addition to our family.

Giggles and Rasberries

Astrid has hit the stage where she loves to make me laugh. She is currently blowing Rasberries on my arm to make me laugh. Then she pulls off and smiles, then blows another one as I laugh. Love this daughter of mine!

Golden Conversation

"We are going to go downstairs. I love adventures!" - Bram

"We are going down to the United States." - David

"Oh. We are going to go down to the United States. I love adventures!" - Bram

"What are we gonna do?" - Anders

"Go shopping, eat lunch, do some more shopping and come home." - David

"That's not an adventure." - Anders

This morning Anders told David what he wanted to do for the adventure today. He wanted his dad to stay home and then he could take the bus and metro up to David's school and come home on the train.

Astrid Milestones

This girl is so awesome. She is almost ten months, has four teeth (two top, two bottom), weighs as much as her brothers did. She is shorter than either of her brothers so she is just all chunky goodness. She is our drama queen when she wants to be, but for the majority of the time she is way easygoing. She is high movement and always wanting to being doing something. She can crawl, pull herself up into the standing position (which is a miracle if you see her proportions. She is so top heavy its amazing she can stand up at all). She loves to talk to mom. Her brothers are HILARIOUS to her. She loves being a busy body with dad. She can say mama and dada and up. She is always pulling all kinds of faces. She is our perfect little princess and we wouldn't trade her for the world. 

My Personal Stylist

Bram: "Mom, I am making you just like Elsa."

No Shame

Remember that crazy lady in sacrament meeting that was the sole leader to stand up during the sustaining of church leaders as part of ward conference. Oh wait, that was me! 

And Astrid loves to eat anything but food. She grabbed a water color painting of Bram's which brought about the picture below:

Bumblebee Heads

"Mom, can I have that [bumbo] so I can be bumblebee?" - Bram

I told them to go stand over by their dad so I could take a picture. They effectively hid their dad and Astrid without prompting.

Cleaning Up is Hard Work

'"We finished cweening [cleaning] up mom. Go wook [look]! - Bram

"I am running out of en-a-gy mom. I gotta wait to clean until I get some more." - Anders

Cleaning up faces:

Take 2 after seeing his brother take one.

He Gets an A

Bram. Mind blown. He did all of these during a relief society presidency meeting.

Stalker

I walked into the boys bedroom and felt like I was being watched. I was startled to look up into these big blue eyes!

Fishing

Bram begged me to go fishing. I pulled everything down for him, and he had to put the magnets on the paper fish by himself. It took him about five minutes. Then he scattered the fish on the floor. I looked up to see this adorable view:

Tantrum #11

Anders has out-grown showering with Mom, and he is not happy about it. It has been several months and he is still throwing fits about it. This morning he argued that Dad can shower with Mom. David told Anders that when he is grown-up and married, he can shower with his wife. He wailed, "I DON'T WANT TO SHOWER WITH A WIFE. I WANT TO SHOWER WITH MY MOM!" He then argued that he will be too big when he is five, but right now he is only four.

He then spent the remainder of the time I was showering on his bed, where he put himself.

Best Quote of Today:

"The rockets fly high up into the sky with Jesus. Ya, all the rockets are with Jesus." - Anders

Heart Song

It makes my heart sing when I see this:

Or these:

FANCY

This is what happens when Bram picks his own outfit for church.

Teaching Sensitivity

I was explaining to Anders how some people are fat or chubby, like Astrid, but it's not nice to talk to them about it. He asked why. I said it makes them sad. I asked him if I was fat. He said, "No, you're big." He then let out a giggle as he followed up with, "big and skinny." And then he laughed like it was the most hilarious joke.

I moustache you kindly not to laugh. <--- How polite was that?!

For general conference I made these poster boards. On the back of each picture I had a sticker or a number. Stickers were for treats, numbers were for activities. I then bought a bunch of random stuff from the dollar store for activities, like the moustaches above. The boys had such a blast this past weekend watching for the prophets and apostles. It was a really great experience for all of us. We may have only been able to catch the gist of most of the talks, but we were able to be happy and close as a family through all eight hours together. 

Astrid's First Words!

I walked into the living room after getting dressed this morning to find Astrid playing on the floor. She looked up at me and very clearly articulated, "Up. Mom, up." I just about died. How is my eight-month-old talking?! I went into the kitchen with her to tell David, and she very clearly said "up" again for him.

Daddy thought these spankies were shorts. He never ceases to amaze me with his outfit selections for our daughter. 

Skateboard

We were reading a book, and Bram says, "It's a skateboard." I laughed out loud when I saw the 'skateboard'.

Part of the program

So Syd says she wants to look into getting suits for the boys to wear, specifically so Anders can wear it for the sacrament program. Anders says: I love the program!

I asked him if he knew what the program was and he said he did. He said: like on monsters university. I am part of the scaring program....

Helpers

So I was about to get into the shower and I asked Anders to help Astrid if she started crying while I was in the shower. He looked at me like I had asked him to drive our car. I told him all he had to do was make sure she had some toys. Then at the last minute, I decided to put her in the jump up in the doorway to the bathroom. Bram had said he would give her toys if she started to cry, but I told him he could just relax, because he has a fever. 

I put in a movie for the boys, have Astrid in the jump up and hop into the shower. Two seconds later, Astrid starts throwing a fit which causes her to bump her head repeatedly into the door frame. I have to jump out of the shower while soaking wet to reposition her. I get back into the shower and she is still screaming at me. A few seconds pass and I hear a pitter-patter down the hall. When I peek around the shower curtain, Bram is bringing a huge toy for Astrid. For the next ten minutes that I am showering (which is a really fast shower for me), the boys bring toys down the hall for their sister. She stopped crying each time they brought a toy, but started again the minute they walked away. They were so sweet trying to help me and their sister. This is the result:

Too bad she couldn't actually reach any of the toys to play with them.

Spicy, Stingy Soda

We were having Sprite tonight with dinner because I have been fighting the stomach bug. Anders tells Bram that the soda's bubbles are spicy. Then later on they are describing the sensation of it "stinging" them as they swallow. I love how they describe their world!

I Want A Submarine

I wrote a story for my boys, about my boys as warrior brothers who have to save the princess, Astrid, from the dragon. I am now working on the illustrations for it. Originally the boys were going to ride horses, but then I had the idea to put Bram on a giraffe because he is obsessed with them. I asked Anders what animal he wanted to ride. He said, "I think a hippo. It walks like this (as he mimicked it walking). It walks slow and can go in water. It can go underwater like a submarine. I want a submarine." I reminded him it needed to be an animal. He reaffirmed, "I want a hippo. Then I we get to water, I can go in the water." Here is the picture. Nothing says warrior more than a hippo and giraffe.

Sharp Tooth

Astrid, my darling girl, your first tooth broke through the gums yesterday! We had a little dance party and the boys and I were screaming for joy for you. We all took turns feeling your "sharp" tooth. It is on the bottom left and the bottom right one is within days of breaking through as well. I didn't know it would be so exciting the third time around!

For those of you not familiar with "Land Before Time", sharp tooth is the name for the T-Rex in the movie. 

Powers of Persuasion

When Bram wants something and I am in the middle of doing something, he will come over and mumble in my ear and then give me a kiss on the lips as I turn to verify what I think he just mumbled. Just now it was, "can I jump on the cushions please?" Followed by two kisses on the lips to persuade me to say yes. 

My Celebrity Doppleganger

Apparently, wearing a striped vest makes me "look like Mr. Gru". (Bram really knows how to boost me up.)

And if I wear make-up, all day long he tells me I am a monster. That one is partially my fault because I always chase the boys down with the mascara running down my face when I wash it at night...they love it.

Poke A Hole

We were talking about activities we should do for Family Home Evening. I suggested bowling and Anders was enthusiastic about the idea. I then suggested mini-putt. And we explained what that was to the boys. Anders was sold on the idea. A few minutes later he asks his dad, "We going to go poke a hole?" 

Body Art

He even had the marker on his eyelids, legs, tops of his feet and back. This guy!

"I a Spider-Man!"

Celebrity Quotes

Since my kids are my favorite celebrities.

"Astrid is the best baby in the world because she chews on stuff" - Anders

"I love you Bubba!" I tell Anders as I am tucking him into bed.

He responds, "I not Bubba, I Anders."

I explain to him, "Bubba is what I called you when you were a baby."

He insists, "I just Anders."

I counter, "Well Bram is Brammy, Abraham, Brammykins and Bram. So you can have another name too. And you are bubba. It is your nickname."

He looks confused as he queries, "My Nicholas name?"

Bram tells me, "I don't want to do my soundbook. My back hurts, so I can't do my soundbook."

Peanut Butter Hair

"Mom, look pretty hair!" - Bram

He decided that the peanut butter on his finger looked like hair...

I Do Not Step On Babies

Bram: "What you do to our baby girl?"

Me: "I accidently hurt her."

Bram: "Oh, you step on her?"

She threw her face into my shoulder...

Tantrum #10

I not filled with much love yet!

They weren't on my bed when it was time to cuddle, so they had to go to their beds without cuddle time tonight. They have been especially obstinate the past few days so I feel like we have to really stick to our guns. Last time they were hiding in my closet instead of waiting on my bed, I explained that if they did it again, they would go straight to bed. So Anders was devastated and was screaming, "I not filled with much love yet!" Which means he doesn't feel loved. Sad night. Especially considering cuddle time is my favorite time with the boys each day.

Daddy's stupid

So Bram says to me, "but dad ... You stupid." 

I say: "that's not nice to say to people" and he gets a confused look on his face. Then he says it again and gestures

"Dad... You scoop it (pronounced stupid)"

We Don't Speak French

David took Anders with him to the video store. As David was checking out, the girl at the register was speaking to David in French. David understands and speaks enough French to get by. I don't. Anders turned to his dad as the girl was speaking and yells, "Dad, we don't speak French." He then turns to the check-out girl and whispers, "We don't speak French." David told Anders he could understand a little bit of French, so Anders turned back to the girl and whispers, "We speak a little bit of French."

Silly Juice Bram

"And then you can get died..." - Bram

For this picture I was telling Bram to smile, and he kept saying "CHEESE!" His head is in the arm hole.

Daddy here

Syd said to explain:

Owls eat butterflies so hunter and prey work for an outfit selection criteria right?