Bree's latest "infatuation"

Bree received quite a few Ever After High dolls for Christmas, which she was really excited about. They each came with their own short story (tidbits from the book series), and she has absorbed it all. The other night as I was tucking her in, she confided in me:

"I don't know what's come over me...it's Hunter Huntsman. He's like my dream come true. He's strong, brave, good with animals."

The Trump Card

Me, "Get off the table Lincoln."
Lincoln, "Why?"
"Because that's the rule."
"Why? "
"Because rules are to keep us happy and safe."
"Why?"
"Because that's what God wants."
*grunt*
I think he figured I had him there.

Mason's Latest

On our way home from school yesterday:
Mason: "Mom, I met a girl today who I want to be my girlfriend someday."
Me: "Oh yeah? What's she like?"
Mason: "She's, like, in 6th grade. She's SO beautiful. She has blond hair."
Me: "Is blond hair your favorite?"
Mason: "Yeah! She's the most beautifulest girl in the whole world....well, except for you Mom."

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I have grossly underestimated the rate at which my children would lose their sweaters and hoodies. We're not even officially into winter yet. Heaven forbid it dips below 50 degrees here...THEN they'll be sorry.

It's great to be eight!

When did I become old enough to have an eight-year-old? My first baby is a big girl. It's a bit overwhelming. Don't get me wrong: parenthood has been overwhelming from the get-go (This newborn depends on me for everything!...This toddler will form most of her neural connections before she's five!...Which school should I choose to help shape who she is as an individual?!). But turning eight means she is a full-fledged accountable person, ready to make baptismal covenants. And all we can do as parents is teach her the best we can, and hope we did okay.

This past year we've been focusing on helping Bree prepare to be baptized. Our daily scripture reading has moved out of "Book of Mormon Stories" (illustrated version) to the actual Book of Mormon. We've talked a lot about our testimonies, and Bree bears hers in Sacrament Meeting every chance she gets (although she has been doing that for years). She has taken an active role in our Family Home Evening discussions, and blows me away with her knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

She really was ready. Ready to turn eight. Ready to be baptized. Ready to make the choice to get her ears pierced. And ready to party.

The morning of her party, my mom and I took her to get her ears pierced. She had previously chosen the biggest, sparkliest pair of stones she could get. She was pretty brave. I think it surprised her how much it actually hurt.

For her party, she chose to have a birthday lunch at Panda Express with the family, then a trip to the theater to see a movie (When I first asked her where she wanted to go for her birthday, she said, "Disneyland!" When I asked her what her second choice was, she said "Go to the movie theater!" Done.).

Afterwards we went back to our house to enjoy the birthday dessert Bree had designed. Chocolate pie with layers of fudge, Snickers, pudding, and whipped topping, all in an Oreo crust. My teeth are aching a bit just thinking about it.

 

Then it was time for presents. Books from Adam and Heather (Bree LOVES to read). Earrings, a baby doll (with brown eyes and blonde hair...virtually impossible to find) and a white tiger (she is still in a stuffed animal phase) from Chad and me. A white sweater and a homemade personalized scripture case from my parents.

Bree is kind, thoughtful, smart, curious, empathetic, brave, and so loving and helpful. She can be precocious, moody, and dramatic. She certainly keeps life interesting. I look at her today, with her thick ponytail and pierced ears, and hear her spouting random facts using big words, and I think, "Who are you? My little girls looks like this:"

But the years ahead, though they scare the heck out of me, are going to be great. 

This was a big year for Bree. One to remember.

 Bree's 8-Year-Old Interview:
What is your favorite color? blue

What is your favorite toy? fashion sketch book

What is your favorite TV show? Animal Atlas

What is your favorite movie? Harry Potter

What is your favorite thing to wear? Shorts and tee-shirts

What is your favorite animal? giant panda

What is your favorite song? "I Like to Look for Rainbows"

What is your favorite book? Charlotte's Web

Who is your best friend? Cassidy (girl in class at school)

What is your favorite drink? strawberry lemonade

What is your favorite food? spaghetti and meatballs

What is your favorite breakfast? fry bread

What is your favorite game? Disney Trivia

What is your favorite thing to do? sketch in my sketch book

Where is your favorite place to go? the mall

What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving

What makes you laugh? when I'm tickled...I only laugh when I want to laugh

What do you do really well? draw pictures

What are you afraid of? rattlesnakes

What do you love to learn about? history and science

What do you want to be when you grow up? archaeologist

If you had one wish, what would it be? to always be with my family

Birthday boy

I still can't believe Mason is six. In so many ways he still acts like he's four. He is a little hyperactive, gets so easily distracted (no, really, it's ridiculous), and still has trouble playing nicely with his little brother without "accidentally" hurting him.

But when it comes to learning new things, he is amazing. His kindergarten curriculum has been crazy-advanced. He started the year not being able to even recognize all the letters of the alphabet. Now he's reading the scriptures with us, needing minimal help. And he's very good at math as well. I volunteered to help in his class the Friday before his birthday. He wanted to take strawberry cupcakes with blue frosting to share. After I finished grading tests, I snuck a video during a math lesson. Double-digit math problems in his head.

We had a small family birthday party on his birthday (which also happened to be Superbowl Sunday...and I had "coincidentally" decorated with blue and green birthday decor). He chose his favorite food for lunch: bean burritos. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Then it was time for presents.

It's so difficult to describe this boy of mine. I love him so much that it hurts, and I think he is easily the most adorable six-year-old alive. But when he is in "crazy-mode" it takes every ounce of my patience not to lose it. I am just praying that all that energy will find a channel someday. Because when it does...look out world.

Mason's Birthday Interview:

What is your favorite color? blue

What is your favorite toy? Mario Brothers K'nex

What is your favorite TV show? Mario Brothers

What is your favorite movie? Scooby Doo

What is your favorite thing to wear? "this" (light blue OP polo shirt)

What is your favorite animal? lion

What is your favorite song? "Everything is Awesome" (LEGO Movie soundtrack)

What is your favorite book? Thomas the Train

Who is your best friend? "There's this girl that gave me Cheez-its today, so her."

What is your favorite drink? root beer

What is your favorite food? tacquitos and bean burritos

What is your favorite breakfast? Quaker LIFE Cinnamon

What is your favorite game? Mario Brothers

What is your favorite thing to do? play with my Legos

Where is your favorite place to go? Lego Store at Disneyland

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What makes you laugh? myself

What do you do really well? my homework

What are you afraid of? crane-flies

What do you love to learn about? nothing

What do you want to be when you grow up? a worker (construction worker)

If you had one wish, what would it be? Super Mario Brothers on the Wii U

In Quotes

Right now Lincoln is napping, Bree and Mason are playing Legos together, and I am not breaking the "no electricity use between 3 and 6pm" rule (we're on a new energy-saving plan) because I'm using my laptop, and it's not plugged in. I did the dishes earlier, so I'm rewarding myself with some "me" time. I just finished reading another book, and am loving the quiet. It's flippin' hot outside, so laying on my bed under the ceiling fan is my favorite afternoon activity.

Anyway, to continue the randomness of this post, I'm sharing this little conversation that Mason had with Chad's dad last week:

Jim: "I know sign language." (sticks out his tongue and waggles his open hands on either side of his head)
Mason: "Well, this means 'loser.'" (makes an "L" on his forehead)

I also recently finished reading Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, a touching book about a boy who is physically different. It really resonated with me, and I found a couple new favorite quotes:

"...it's not all random, if it really was all random, the universe would abandon us completely. and the universe doesn't. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. like with parents who adore you blindly. and a big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. and a little gravelly-voiced kid whose friends have left him over you...maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end."

"...if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God."

What my kids think of me.

Bree and Mason came home from church on Mother's Day with questionnaires they had filled out about me. Here are the highlights:

Bree:
My mom is 27 years old.
My mom weighs 110 pounds.
My mom's favorite food is everything.
My mom always says, "I love you."
My mom cooks the best meals.
My mom's job is being Mom.
My mom laughs when I tell jokes.
If my mom had time, she would love to spend time with me.

Mason:
My mom is  7  years old.
My mom's favorite food is pizza.
My mom always says, "I love you."
My mom cooks the best noodles.
My mom's job is nothing.
If my mom had time, she would love to read.
My mom and I like to make muffins.
I love my mom because she is so beautiful.

I love being a mom.

A Few Tidbits

The other day Bree and Mason made us breakfast. They are obviously familiar with our eating habits, because when we came to the kitchen table, there was a spoonful of peanut butter for me, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (slightly mangled by Lincoln) for Chad. Our kids are awesome.

Lincoln is saying a couple new words: dog and hug. Actually he will only whisper them; I'm not sure why.

I finished reading The Power of Habit. It was really interesting reading about all the studies and experiments. It presented the idea that if you want to get rid of a bad habit, you can't just stop the habit-- you have to change it. Manipulate it into something better. Here's the framework:

1. Identify the routine (the habit I want to change)
2. Experiment with rewards (adjust routine so it delivers different rewards, then see if that "satisfies" me--if the urge for the habit is gone).
3. Isolate the cue (When the urge hits me, ask: Where am I? What time is it? What's my emotional state? Who else is around? What action preceded the urge? Then look for patterns)
4. Have a plan (when I experience ____ cue, I will do _____ routine to get _______ reward).

I should let Lincoln read it; maybe it will help him to stop sucking his left thumb.

Mason and Bree have just made a fort with blankets in the living room. They're singing a song, "We love the dark..." Actually Bree is making it up as she goes along, and Mason is trying to sing along. They finish the song, and Bree declares: "Nice singalong!"

Bree's latest spontaneous artwork, with explanation

"Cat plus dog (they're friends) equals love.
Cat by herself minus love equals sad kitty.

That helps us to remember you can never go alone."

Morning Snippet

Mason's first words to me today: "Mom, I have a drooling nose."

Portrait of a 4-Year-Old (with guest appearance by a 6-Year-Old)

SCENE VII

At lunch table.

BREE: Christmas isn't about the presents. It's about family, and love, and Jesus' birth.

MASON: Jesus lives at the South Pole. And sometimes, he's at the Bass Pro Shop.

MOM: I think you mean Santa.

MASON: Oh yeah! I meant Santa.

MOM: And the North Pole.

MASON: Yeah...

SCENE VIII

Bree, upon seeing a picture of Barrack Obama, and being told he just got re-elected.

BREE: For a president, he's just not that smart. He should go to president school. Why don't they have those?

MOM: I don't know, Bree. I just don't know.

Portrait of a 4-Year-Old (third installment)

 Scene V

"Obesity Foreshadowed"

MOM: You don't have to finish that second burrito. Make sure you listen to your tummy, and stop eating when it tells you to.

MASON: But I just can't stop eating--it tastes so good!

Scene VI

"The Passage of Time is a Difficult and Abstract Concept"

MASON: Is tomorrow Christmas?

MOM: No. Tomorrow is Friday.

MASON: You mean the next day?

MOM: Yes, the next day is tomorrow.

MASON: Well, when's Thanksgiving?

MOM: In three weeks.

MASON: I knew that! Thanksgiving is in... four weeks...Momma, is three... I mean, is four... three weeks...

MOM: It's okay, buddy, don't hurt yourself.

Portrait of a 4-year-old (continued)

Scene III

Scene begins with Mom watching the first 2012 presidential debate.

MASON: What movie are you watching?

MOM: It's the presidential debate. This guy (pointing) is the President of the United States, and he wants to be the president again. But he didn't do a very good job. So this other guy wants to be the new president. And I want to vote for him.

MASON: I want to vote for that guy, with the blue tie.

MOM: (aside) I wonder if Romney knew he was losing Mason's vote when he put on that red tie.

End Scene.

Scene IV

Mason monologues.

MASON: I hadded a nightmare. Well, I didn't have a nightmare, I hadded a bad dream. I just keep my eyes open when I sleep so I don't have a nightmare. Bree, she closes her eyes, so she has nightmares.

End Scene.

Portrait of a 4-Year-old (a skit)

SCENE I

Scene begins with Mason running in from the other room, screaming.

MASON: Mom, Bree pushed me and I hit my head on the wall!

MOM: Is there a reason why she did that?

MASON: I wasn't doing anything--I was just hurting her!

End Scene

SCENE II

Open on Mom, walking too close to the TV.

MASON: Mom, be careful. You'll get blind.

MOM: I'll get what?

MASON: You'll get blind. Daddy told me.

End Scene

Testi-what-now?

(During today's history lesson)

Me: When the Egyptian priests turned a body into a mummy, what did they do first?

Bree: They cut open the body, and took out its lungs.

Me: And its stomach, and liver, and...

Bree: Testicles.

Me: Intestines.

Bree: Right. Intestines.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

The sun'll come out tomorrow.
So your bottom better hang on 'til tomorrow.

-Bree

Bree at the Podium

Yesterday in church, Bree took her turn at the podium to bear her testimony. She's become a "regular." The first time she went up there was about a year ago, and it was a little rough because I had made it clear that if she wanted to do it, she had to be ready to do it all by herself. So I stayed on the pew with Mason and Lincoln, and after she started her testimony successfully, I watched with increasing discomfort as she stood there silently, not sure what else she wanted to say. The bishop knelt beside her and whispered a few things in her ear, but she just kept shaking her head. Finally she looked disappointed, said "Amen," and came back to her seat.  She's come a long way since then.

This is basically what she said yesterday, after marching up there and dragging the step stool into place herself so she could see over the podium:

"I'd like to bury my testimony. I know the church is true. Some of you haven't been here for a while. And you should know that the church is true. And we are all brothers and sisters. And I know my family loves me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Then she high-fived the bishop and the first counselor, and skipped back down the aisle to her seat. She's an example of bravery, determination, and is apparently not hesitant to call the congregation to repentance.

Summer School...Sorta

Bree will be starting first grade at home in August, and we've switched to Arizona Virtual Academy, which uses the K-12 curriculum. Bree has participated in a few live online classes, and after today's lesson on dinosaurs, she was given a dinorama assignment.

 She pretty much thinks it's the coolest thing ever, and is asking to keep it until she's seven.

Um, and also, her K-12 curriculum materials? Yeah, they arrived yesterday. Three huge boxes worth.

She's especially excited for science class, after seeing the goggles, scale, and graduated cylinder. And, let's be honest, I was pretty geeked out opening all those school books and manipulatives. I do love me some school supplies.

Mason's Excellent Adventure

Last year, Bree went to Washington with my parents for a fun-filled week. This summer, it was Mason's turn. (Our house was much quieter without our whirlwind of a four-year old.) When I asked him what he did on his vacation to Washington, he said went to the store and bought Legos. And he played with said Legos. My mom said that, although he had fun everywhere they went, he'd often request to go back to my parents' house so he could play with his Legos. It's an obsession.


At any rate, I'm posting all of the photos from his adventure, along with his narration. He didn't recollect all the details about the whats and wheres, and he often resorts to saying "I don't know," before he even thinks. Must be a boy thing. I really enjoyed reviewing the pictures with him, and I could tell he had a blast. Thanks Mom and Dad!

ME: WHAT WAS THIS FROM? 

Mason: It was from the park...I was sliding on the slide--two times!

WHAT ABOUT HERE? 

That is Washington...and I'm on the window. 

WAS THIS AT PAPA'S OFFICE? 

Um, yeah. 

WHAT DID YOU DO THERE? 

Um...I don't know.

WHAT'S THIS? 

Um, It's me in the log. It was an underground log.

WHERE WAS THIS AT? 

Um, I don't know. It was a park. Well, a different park that I said.

Hey, that's me in the whale.

That's me in the fireman's truck. AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING?

Driving it. AND WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? It's a fireman hat.

And here's the other one, we did another people. (Bree interjects: "Person.") I mean person...that's me in the bus. And it has a gas, so I could drive it. I was driving it too.

And this is me buying some food. But not real food. Fake food...And I was buying milk. 

AND DID YOU PAY FOR IT? Um, yeah. 

WITH REAL MONEY? Ye-, no. JUST PRETEND MONEY? 

Yeah. It was...I don't know what color it was.

Oh! That's me on the musical round.

(Bree interjects again: "I think you're on a girl horse.") 

That's a boy horse. It's a little guy.

Oh! That's the big-tailed macaw. 

A BIG-TAILED MACAW? 

Uh, no (laughing). What is it? IT'S A PEACOCK. 

I mean a peacock. Thaaat is a peacock.

Oh! Aaand I don't know what that is. 

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE INSIDE SOME KIND OF SEAT CREATURE. 

It is a sea creature. And there was a spider web there. And you gotta move there (a request to zoom in on the web-shaped climbing ropes in the upper left corner of the picture).

And that was me just feeding a animal. It was like in a barn. 

WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL? I don't know--It's a goat! A black one. And you gotta do the other goat now.

I was doing that goat too. 

YOU WERE DOING WHAT? I was doing that goat. 

YOU WERE FEEDING HIM. 

Yeah. 

HE HAS A BEARD. 

Hee-hee, yeah! Mm-hm, so weird! And he liked that food. It was...what kind of food was that? 

GOAT FOOD? 

Oh yeah, goat food.

And that was me dressing up in...sea...dresses...and I don't know what that one is. 

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE YOU WERE DRESSING UP AS? 

A squid...I'm like in a squid.

A octopus!

A shark mouth! Actually a dinosaur mouth. I'm gonna get eaten! I was gonna get eaten by the mouth.

And that's me at the zoo. 

(Bree: "What are those little things, I wonder.") 

Um, they're penguins.

And that's a ginormous seal. 

I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY A WALRUS. 

A warl-, yes that was a...walrus?

A shark! Shark! Sharks. Those are sharks. 

DID YOU LIKE THE SHARKS? Yeah! 

OR WERE THEY SCARY? 

They are scary! SO scary. SUPER scary! Rooaaaar! Hee-hee. Did I scare you on that one?

And that's me being on a horse. 

(Bree: "Was it named Rocket?") 

Um, I don't think so. 

IS THAT UNCLE BOB'S HORSE? 

Yep. 

(Bree: "So it IS Rocket. It IS Rocket, Mason.") SSSHH. 

It IS Rocket.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS PICTURE? Um, I'm...riding on the grass of the horse. Uh...Rocket, he has the hair gone over his eyes.

And that's me at the beach. That's me at the beach, Mom.

And I'm in the sand. That was me making a sand castle, but it keept making a point. 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT KEPT MAKING A POINT? 

Uh, I don't know what that means. 

Um, that's the sand at the beach. And we were going down under...even we were going down under the bridges (piers), where we could see WAY up high. Then we goded down.

AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING HERE? I was throwing rocks, and looking at the sea.

WHAT ABOUT HERE? 

That is just, I was looking at the rocks. And we were--Mom do the one that we were finding shells. (A request to see a nonexistent picture of him finding shells; though he did gather and bring home shells)

And that was me under the bridge (pier). That was me under the bridge, Mom.

And, I was wearing the Avengers shirt. Did you want to see the ones where we bought the Legos? But she (Grandma) didn't take a picture of me doing that. But she should of.

May 2nd-8th, 2012

Nutrition Lingo

Me: "What are you doing Mason?" (as he opens the pantry)
Mason: "Mom," (pointing to the cracker shelf) "I just want a carb."