Horn iPad

Anders built this with Lego blocks and says, "Mom, it's an iPad. But it has horns on it, so it is a horn iPad." I guess that is one way to use your imagination.

We Like to Walk, We like to Talk

My favorite quotes while we walked home from dropping David at the bus stop:

Bram telling me why he couldn't throw a rock down the storm drain, "It's too an-er-ous [dangerous]. It get lady bugs on it. And it be roas [gross].BLAH!"

Anders telling me how close we were to home, "We are almost home. It's a little bit too far away."

Bram looked up at the overcast sky and exclaimed, "Uh oh, summer's gone!"

Anders describing a motor vehicle with three wheels, "Look! A totercycle."

Bram and Anders were telling me about stuff they would see. So Anders would say, "I see a tree!" And Bram would point out something right after. Well, Bram pointed out a walled planter and said, "I see...that." 

Bram saw all the trash cans out for pick-up and would say, "That one for Mom. That one for Dad. That one for Anders. That one for Bram!" Cause who doesn't dream of having their very own trash can?

I LOVE the talking the boys do while on walks!

Easter

Yesterday, we did a little egg hunt in our living room for the boys. They got some bubbles and sidewalk chalk in their baskets. It was simple and perfect. The boys loved it. Bram was not super into it because it was too similar to "cleaning" up the living room to him. He was very happy to find the candy in the eggs at the end. It worked out nicely, since Anders wanted to get as many as he could and Bram could care less. Next year probably won't be such a breeze.

We went to the park after church today to try to fly a kite with the boys for the first time. It wasn't quite windy enough to work well. The boys tried keeping up with their dad as he ran as fast as he needed to to get it up. Anders was yelling as he trailed thirty feet behind his dad, "Too fast dad!" And Bram was yelling the same thing as he trailed another twenty feet behind his brother. I was trying to capture all of this on camera, while holding Astrid, the camera and Camrose on her leash. Camrose was trying to run after David and the boys, and Astrid was screaming about having the sun in her face. It was glorious! 

Astrid fell asleep after about five minutes and then I was able to take pictures to my heart's content. Today, on this Easter Sunday, I couldn't be more grateful that Christ's resurrection means I can be with my perfect little family forever. 

Astrid's Communication Skills

Shock/hurt: if she gets scared or hurt she has her saddest cry that just breaks your heart.

Tummy ache/colick cry: This cry is more of a scream and our least favorite and most often heard.

Hungry grumble: it almost sounds like she is "oinking".

Cooing/talking: She is a chatterbox.

Complain: She is hilarious with this one. She will have her mouth wide open, and scrunch her face and make "wah" sounds over and over again.

I have started to see a huge difference in having an infant girl. She is so much more interactive than her brothers were at this stage and she is much farther along with her motor skills. She has been able or purposefully grab her Dad's hands. She is so fun too. She doesn't just demand I hold her, she also makes it clear that she expects me to make eye-contact and talk with her. My boys NEVER demanded that.

Overly Obnoxious

I had just finished showering and started to make lunch for the boys. Bram comes into the kitchen, looks me over and states, "Mom, you look diff-rent." Then he follows up with, "It's a good diff-rent," He said it to me another four or five times as he watched me make lunch. 

David was calling for Bram to come into our room for family scripture study. Bram wasn't listening so David started to count to three. Bram's little voice from the other room carried into ours, "four, five, six..." It was so rude! And so cute. That guy!

Anders and I were going to go on a date last night because a visiting teaching appointment I had made fell through. At the last minute, as I was about to leave on a date with Anders, my visiting teachee changed her mind, after Anders was stoked to go on our date...

So I brought Anders with me so we could do a mini ice-cream date afterwards. I took my visiting teachee to the temple for the first time. We gave the message in the waiting room, where Anders was so adorable as he sat on a couch by himself and read a FRIEND magazine. We ended up getting ice-cream with my companion and teachee, but it was still a great mini-date for us. Anders is such a sweet and enthusiastic kid. I love him to pieces!

Superheroes

Me: Anders, who is your favorite super hero?

Anders: Um, I don't know...(long pause)...will you help me?

Me: You want me to help you pick one?

Anders nods in the affirmative.

Me: Okay. So there is Iron Man.

Anders: No.

Me: How about the Hulk? He is green.

Anders: No.

Me: Well, there is Captain America or Superman.

Anders: Um, Captain...wait, Incredibles.

Me: Oh, you want to be like Mr. Incredible, or Dash?

Anders gave me this look like I was crazy.

Anders: I don't want to be like anyone! 

Me: Oh, sorry. Well is your favorite the ice-guy, who freezes stuff?

Anders: No.

Me: Do you like Mr. Incredible the best? The guy that is super strong?

Anders: No.

Me: Dash, who runs really fast?

Anders: No.

Me: How about the mom that stretches really far?

Anders: Yah! I like the mom that stretches!

Me: Okay! So your favorite is Mrs. Incredible?

Anders: No, I like the mom!

Me: Elastagirl?

Anders: Yah, Elastagirl.

Maybe this was a shout out to me, that I am really his hero? Or my kid is just super random in his choice.

Bram is my super hero! Here he is after trying to put on a pair of Anders' basketball shorts all by himself. He had them twisted up pretty good.

Elevation Changes Hate Anders

Anders describing his hiccups today, "it helps jump me." (I love the way his brain describes life.)

So remember that time we were on an elevator in the mall and Anders got lost. We almost had an experience to top that one tonight. 

We went to a different mall than the one Anders got lost in tonight for an FHE treat. After we got icecream we took the elevator downstairs to walk around. When we were ready to leave, we took the escalator back upstairs. Bram tried to do it himself, but only took a step on with one foot, so he ended up doing the splits. We helped him recover quickly and finished the rest of the way up the escalator without incident. Bram wanted to go back down the escalator, to which I had no objections because I wanted him to practice so he wouldn't be afraid of escalators. We were going back down and I was focused on Bram. Anders was behind me, and David and Astrid were behind him. Very abrubtly the escalator stops a few feet from the bottom. I step down the rest of the way with Bram when I suddenly hear Anders start to scream. We turn around to see his rain boot has been partially sucked into the escalator WHILE HIS FOOT IS STILL IN THE BOOT! David had to stretch the boot to pull his foot out. He was devastated about his boot and was inconsolable about the fact that it was stuck in the escalator. I kept explaining to him that we could replace his boot, but not his leg. We climbed up the stairs of the stalled escalator to the nearby store that sold his boots to get him a replacement one. 

It was a very traumatic experience for him and he kept crying every time he talked about it. As we were walking out of the mall and he was wearing his new rain boots he said very matter of fact "Dad saved my life." Unfortunately, and to Anders great dismay, we were unable to save his boot. 

Anders has formally requested that we not get icecream or go to that mall anytime in the foreseeable future.

What the boot looked like before and after:

Looking at the boot I am so grateful he didn't get seriously injured! I didn't even know that could happen. What David and I surmised is that he must of lost his balance and as he leaned, his loop of his rain boot caught the edge of the stair and then got sucked down. 

Scar Face

On Friday, David was helping me get out the door to go to a play date. He took the boys out to get them loaded into the car, and Anders was running backwards with his hands in his coat pockets. He tripped and face-planted it on the concrete. David brings the boys back in and Anders' face is covered in dirt, and there was blood all over his bottom lip. I wiped up his face and mouth and dusted off his jacket, then we all loaded up into the car. A few minutes later his face was red, and scratched all over the place. It wasn't immediately visible under the dirt I wiped away. Poor guy. I forgot to get a picture, so this description will have to suffice for the future.

Miss Astrid - 2 Months

Weight: 13 1/2 lbs

Height: 23 inches

She is still holding her own against her brothers. She is so much chunkier than they were though (except for Bram's cheeks. I don't think anyone can beat Bram's cheeks). She is getting over her colick, is a pretty good sleeper, has started charming us with her smiles everyday (eyes squinted and all). She is just too cute and it is hard work being that cute, so she has to sleep a lot.

Boy Make-Up

So we have crayons made for coloring on the windows. The boys love coloring on the windows. Bram also loves using the crayons to color on his face. Or putting his face against the window to get color on it. The picture below is a result of the latter.

Parenthood at it's Finest

Monday night, Astrid didn't sleep very well. I was up with her for several hours in the night, and so I was pretty tired by Tuesday night. David helped make it possible for me to go to bed early and slept on the couch with Astrid, so I could get as much undisturbed sleep as I could. I was almost asleep when I heard, "Momma...MOMMA, MOMMA!" coming from David. I struggled out of bed and into the living room. 

Anders was there with David, both of them frozen in place. Anders had thrown up all over the floor, and David's pajamas pants, and the sheet and blanket David had on the couch. I grabbed everything we would need to clean up the living room, started the shower and went to grab Anders and carry him to the shower because his feet were covered in throw-up. 

David cleaned up the living room. Anders stayed in the shower while he cleaned up, and I cuddled Astrid, who had been colicky all day long. 

David came back to grab Astrid, put Anders back in bed and I started winding back down for sleep. Until a few minutes later when Anders started screaming for his dad cause he felt like he was going to throw-up again. I dragged myself out of bed, and made a make-shift bed for Anders in the living room, so he could get his Dad's help without screaming and waking me or Bram up every time.

Anders threw-up one more time and passed out. Unfortunately, Anders and Bram both talk a lot in their sleep and loudly. So Anders kept sleep-talking, but he would call for his Dad in the sleep-talking, so David didn't have a very good night sleep.

I was stilled wiped out from the night before, and got some sleep, but not enough to feel caught up. David planned to give me a second undisturbed night, which I desperately needed after another long day of Astrid screaming most the time she was awake, all day. So we almost had the boys ready for bed last night and Anders comes and puts his head on my shoulder. He NEVER does that. So I feel his forehead. He has a slight fever. We give him medicine and David gives him a priesthood blessing. David also gives Astrid a priesthood blessing to help her with whatever is going on. 

Now, today, we have her two-month shots. Heaven help us! Keep us in your prayers.