It is the Small Things

As I sit and listen to my kids play together I thought about the sweet and sometimes humorous things I overhear them say as they play with one another. So I thought I would share some of these random conversations with you.

One evening things suddenly were quiet in Alaina's room and as all moms know quiet is usually NOT good. I tiptoed back to her bedroom to find the two of them laying on her bed with the light off allowing only the bathroom light to shine in so that she could "read" him some of her books.

Just the other day as I ease dropped on them I heard Alaina saying, "This little piggy went to the market. . ." as she touched each of his toes. Then he would say, "Gin Lana, gin."

Now it is not all sweet. Along with their new found friendship and ability to play together comes the ever frequent disputes and arguments where I am the referee and try to persuade them to share. Which sometimes results in one or both of them in time-out. So as I sent Alaina into time-out one day she decided to come out early to tell Will she was sorry. As she walked up to him he pointed right at her and said, "No Lana, go back to your bed!" (This marking his longest sentence to date and so passionately stated!)

We have recently purchased a van preparing for the upcoming arrival of our third child. The side doors open and close with the push of a button and to make it more fun for the kids I have them say the magic words, "close doors close." Daddy didn't know of this new tradition and he closed the doors without using the magic words and realizing this Will said, "Daddy push the butt?"

Often times the two of them like to turn on the music in Alaina's room and dance. While accomplishing this ritual Alaina often says, "Willll! When I play music, you have to dance!"

Sitting at the dinner table, I asked Alaina to finish her dinner and she said, "I will." As Will heard this he said, "No, I'm Will." Alaina then replied, "No, I will." Will seemingly angry responded by saying, "No, I'm Will and you are Lana!!"

Trying to teach a my children manners I often have to remind them to say "yes ma'am & yes sir." Alaina now says to Will when he is not doing what she wants, "Will, say yes ma'am."

Once while riding in the car Alaina was proclaiming once again how she likes girls and Will likes boys. At a little pause in her conversation with herself Will says in a quiet voice, "baby boy." Causing both my husband and I to laugh!

While visiting family in Winchester, the kids and I went to eat at Olive Garden with my brother Brandon and his family. When leaving Alaina ran into the parking lot. I quickly explained to her that if a car hit her she would go to Heaven and I would not see her for a long time. The next day while driving around town she said, "Mommy be careful if a car hits you we will go to Heaven and WE DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE!" I immediately started damage control...I explained to her that we DO want to go to Heaven, but not until Jesus wants us there.

This last one was told to me by Aaron. One time when I had gone into a store to shop, he and Alaina decided to wait outside and sit by the fountain. As she looked into the water seeing all the coins she wanted to throw some in also, but when she asked Aaron he didn't have any money. She then turned to him and said, "Why don't you just go buy some?"

Hopefully you have enjoyed reading these as much as I have enjoyed recounting them. As you listen to the funny (or not so funny) things your kids do and say try to write them down, they will love to hear about them when they are older.

Stuffed Animals, Zoo, and a New Baby Cousin

My mom and sister, Artea, came for a visit last week. Mom wanted to relax and have fun so we decided to go to Build-A-Bear, where we had never been before. For those of you who have not heard of this store it is quite an experience. First, you pick an un-stuffed animal. Second, you stuff the animal, give it a heart then sew it up. Third, you give it a "bath" by brushing it under a stream of air. Fourth, you pick out an outfit and shoes and dress it. Last, you name it and get its birth certificate.

Now for Alaina (who is 3) this was an experience she enjoyed from beginning to end, however, Will (who is 1) was ready to leave after 5 minutes. In the end we brought home two new members of the family. Will's new pal is Chip, a monkey in a NBA basketball uniform and tennis shoes. Alaina's new friend is Ella, a unicorn wearing a Cinderella dress and glass slippers. They are cute and we had a lot fun. Thanks Meemaw!

So the next day we headed to the Richmond Metro Zoo for a day of animal seeing and feeding. The highlight for me is always the giraffes, they eat right out of your hand, or cup if you don't want to get slimy from their long tongues. This time there were two new things to do, so of course we had to try them out. We got to go into an enclosed bird area and have them land on our fingers and popsicle sticks of food to watch them eat. Then we hopped onto a train to tour around the Africa Area of the zoo. This by far was Will's favorite part. He was saying, "Chugga chugga choo choo" all the way around the area. We also watched the penguin feeding time. So the whole day was a huge success!!

On Wednesday we got the call from Aunt B and found out that she was going to be induced the next day and we would be meeting our new baby cousin soon. We decided to go that very night to Winchester. We spent the next several days at their house in West Virginia with Parker and Camden. Thursday night at 7:22 Baylee Joy entered the world weighing 8.8 lbs and stretching out to be 20 3/4 inches long. Friday morning we got to meet her and she is absolutely beautiful! Congrats Beth!!

This was very exciting for all of us, especially since we found out on Tuesday of last week that we were also expecting a baby girl in January! Even though when we ask Will, "what's in mommy's belly?" He still says, "baby boy" about 90% of the time. Alaina, on the other hand is so incredibly thrilled that we will have another girl joining our family. Now the name choice begins...