Everett

Today Everett just cracked me up all day long. This morning, I was in his bedroom which we had cleaned together earlier and Everett was working hard building something at his tool bench, standing up, his back to me. I looked down and saw a pair of underpants on the floor--suspicious. I asked him if he was wearing any. He simply bent over, pulled down his pants, revealing a full moon, pulled them back up and went back to work. No flinching, no words, no looks, no acknowledgement. Too funny.

Later on, he told me that he is really hungry, but that I shouldn't worry. If he gets hungry, he'll just eat his buggers. He can be tough about that.

None of my other kids have been as excited about potty talk as Everett. I am correcting him all day long on potty talk and he is constantly trying to figure out where I draw the line. I told him that it is ok to say poop or pee pee or underpants or any of those words if he is really talking about them. If he is just trying to be funny, they are potty talk. Now, he always starts his potty talk with "I'm not joking around mom." And then proceeds with serious potty talk: "Cooper poopy pants eats underwear on his bottom!" Then he laughs and laughs.

Today he asked me about all kinds of words: "Is 'Wa' potty talk?"

"No."

"What about kleenex?"

"No."

"Toilet Paper?"

"Probably."

"Bottom?"

"Yes, unless you need to use the word, not just joke around about it."

"What about bottom for breakfast?"

"Yes, that is potty talk."

"Oh man!"

Tonight in his prayers, Everett thanked Heavenly Father that "our salad was so delightful tonight and that we could have so much broccoli to eat. Also, thank you for our bones and lots of sugar!"

He is growing up so fast. Just enjoying the fun of having a 3 year old while I've still got one! They are the best.

A few stories to share

My kids all just ran upstairs and are playing superheroes nicely, so I thought I'd take advantage of the time to share some recent stories. We'll see how long I get here.

Everett's favorite thing in the world this summer is our vegetable garden. He goes out several times a day to check out how things have grown. He always comes running in the house yelling that there is a tomato on the bush! or there are flowers on our beans! or there are weeds in the corn! I love watching him watch the growing of the garden. There is something so symbolic about it, because I feel like I am watching him grow with the same excitement, enjoying the thrill of realizing he can buckle his own car seat! or he can read the word "sit"! or he is almost ready to ride a bike without training wheels! I love watching all my children grow and learn--especially to watch them learn to help each other.

Well, I'd better go. I've been interrupted about 22 times while I tried to write that last story, and now Everett is standing by me naked and crying, telling me the story of why he is crying (which I am not listening to yet), and Cooper is standing on the other side of me holding a superhero mask that he wants me to wear so I can be the bad guy for their game. Actually, while I was typing that, Cooper came over and asked Everett if he was crying because someone kicked him in the butt, which threw Everett into hysterical laughter because using the word butt because we don't say those words at our house due to a strict rule about potty talk. I thought I might be able to type a little more, but now Everett is back to me asking me to find his mask for him, and Cooper is standing here saying over and over, "When are you going to play with me mom? When are you going to play with me?" and shoving my superhero mask in my face. He has a pouty look. Looks like the mom is being called to duty again!

Our exciting arrival!

On Sunday, in the middle of the night a 9 week old black lab puppy arrived at our house. She is the cutest thing in the world. Her name is Lucy and she is very loved by my children! The first day she was here, she went to bed for the night at 2:00 in the afternoon! My kids just wore her out! I cannot tear Sammi from her side. Even when she sleeps Sammi is there laying by her. No disasters so far...

You'll notice that there are not any pictures of Sammi with the dog. That is because Sammi is always the one taking pictures of the dog. She thinks that every little thing she does is worthy of a picture, so she is often grabbing my phone to take her picture or take a video of whatever adorable thing she is doing. A dog was never so loved!