3 Year-Old-isms I'll Miss

Crew has been coming up with some pretty cute 3 year-old questions and comments lately.  Thought I'd document a few because I know I'll miss them someday...

I was making pancakes this morning and he was watching me pour the batter into the pan and said, "Mom, dat's yisjustine!"  Translation:  Mom, that's disgusting!

Almost every morning we are home together hanging out he'll ask me for a treat or a cookie.  Sometimes, because he knows it's cute, he acts like a robot and moves his arms up and down like a robot and with a montotone voice says, "I a robot, gimme tweat (which means treat), I a robot gimme tweat." I try not to give in at breakfast time but sometimes, he wins me over. 

The other day his sisters got to go night skiing with dad while he and I stayed home.  I told him that we'd go run a few errands and I bought him a toy at TJ Maxx as consolation.  He chose a little tool set with work goggles (which he wore the entire night) and took it into every store. Before we'd get out of the car he'd say, "Mom, ca I kake my fixing tools?"  This morning after Jim took the girls to school he asked me, "Mom, we go TJ Maxx, get toy?"  I think he thinks that every time the girls leave with their dad, that's what we'll be doing.

He wanted some blocks that were downstairs this morning and wanted me to go downstairs with him to get them.  I said, "Crew, you can go get them yourself, you're big!" He said, "I not big, they monsters downtayrs."  I said, "There are no monsters downstairs, monsters aren't real."  "Yes, mom, dey are real, Daddy said so!" 

Lately, anything he wants to do he will follow up with "I BIG!  I do it, I BIG!!!"  It doesn't matter if it's doing something that requires him to be big or not.  For instance, he'll ask if he can have some chocolate milk and if I say "not right now," he'll come back with "I BIG!"

The other night, Jim was putting him to bed and he asked if he could sleep with Hailey which he often does.  However, for some reason, we wanted him in his own bed that night.  Crew asked Jim, "Dad, can I sleep wid Hailey?  Hailey nice to me.  I nice to Hailey, I not nice to Paige."  Which is pretty accurate at this point.  Paige and Crew do not always have the best relationship.  As of lately according to Paige, Crew is NEVER allowed in her room under any circumstances.  It's hard to blame her, he is destructive and mischeivious...he got into her secret stash of candy the other day and at ALL of it.

One of his best buddies is Indie.  I have never seen a dog who is more patient and tolerant with a roudy 3 year-old.  Crew rides her, jumps on her, pulls her ears and her tail, wrestles with her and the list goes on.  I almost worry that he's going to be torturing animals someday, he can be really mean to her sometimes.  Luckily, he's really gentle with my mom's dog who is much smaller and more fragile.  I guess he and Indie have an understanding.

Another favorite expression lately, "Dat ta awetome!" Translation:  That is awesome! 
His favorite show lately:  Calliou, hands down!  This is where he parks himself every day at lunchtime.


Favorite activies lately:  school, sledding, watching TV, playing with his trains and blocks, pulling his sister's hair, hide-and-go-seek, eating treats, playing with his "bet fwen Pawker" (best friend Parker who is actually Paige's age but Crew really likes him for some reason).  He loves to travel, he's always asking if we can "Go bat to hotew" (go back to the hotel).

Kind of a hodge-podge of thoughts, pictures and things about Crew's life as it is today.  And he sure is an awetome boy, we love this little (but BIG) guy!

My Studious Second Grader...

...looks more studious than ever!



Yesterday I took the girls to get eye exams.  Hailey has been complaining of headaches and that things are blurry so I figured with Jim's history (glasses in Kindergarten), that it was time to get them in to get checked.  Sure enough, Hailey is near-sighted and needs glasses for distance.  The good thing was that both eyes are equally deficient so she will only really need them for school.  Paige's eyes were near-sighted too, but not as bad as Hailey's.  Given her age, we're going to hold off and check her again in a year. 

I just can't believe how grown up Hailey looks! I think they're really cute and luckily, she does too so she's not self-conscious about wearing them.  I hope it stays that way! 

Here she is with her friend Rikkayla at school.  Rikkayla lives across the street and has been a good little friend to Hailey.



When I dropping off the glasses, we happend to run into Paige in the hallway.



On her way back to class...I couldn't stop looking at her!  I think she looks so cute!

Sick Puppy Leads to Sledding with Nanny!

A few weeks ago we had some doggie drama in our house.  Indie was a sick puppy and had awful diarreah all over the carpets downstairs....YUCK!!!  This was on Friday.  I immediately started calling carpet cleaning companies and asking if they could come out right away.  Luckily, I found one that could come at 11 that morning.  So I skipped the gym and spent all morning moving furniture around.  The next morning, I went downstairs to see if the carpets had dried and I could still smell the poop.......soooo gross and frustrating.  Jim and I knew we had to rip up the carpets and do a major deoderizing, sanitizing job.

Jim's parents happened to call and he told them what was going on. They showed up a little while later and offered to take the kids sledding. So, while Jim and his dad went to Home Depot to get some carpet laying stuff, Marianna and I took the kids down the gully in our neighborhood.

Crew was so scared at first.  I had to force him to go down with me.  After a while, we couldn't get him to stop!  I love that his eyes are closed almost every time he goes down!

Nanny is really hands-on, she gets right in there with them.

Hailey is so good with Crew, always helping him.

It wouldn't be like Paige not to shed a few tears.







And by the way, the smell is gone, thank goodness.  Anyone want a dog?

Sleepover in Crew's Room

Even though the kids have their own rooms, occasionally they like to have a sleepover.  Usually it's just Hailey and Crew but the other night, Paige joined in.  I wish they were always this peaceful when they're together.

Boxes Can Cure Boredom

For various reasons, we haven't been very busy this week after school.  Sometimes this is nice to not have to race around to different activities and relax and just be home. This week it seemed like every day we were home after school, boredom, piano practicing, homework and dinner time all sort of turned into an expolsion of drama and fighting. 

I got a Pilates machine a few weeks ago on QVC and Jim and I put it together the other night.  I've only tried it once so far but I think I'm really going to like it.  Anyway, the box has been sitting in the garage for a few days and as we were coming in from the car yesterday Crew said, "Is that a car?"  I thought, what a great idea, maybe this box can divert the same old normal routine and get their creative juices flowing.  So, as soon as the girls got home from school they saw the box sitting in the dining room, pulled out the markers and got to work.  It was so nice to see them all working together, and calmly and quietly cooperating.  Ahhhhh, bliss, no fighting, no drama.  I'm going to have to remember that sometimes, we just need to go back to the basics and reset ourselves.

Hailey's Special Night Out

There is a family here in Idaho Falls that has 10 kids.  These people must have been put on the earth to be parents because it seems they are doing an amazing job.  I'm always fascinated by these families, wondering how they have the patience, energy and stamina to do it.  I know that part of their routine is to take one child out every Wednesday, just the one child and both parents.  I thought this was a great idea and one we should incorporate into our monthly routine, even if we only have 3 kids!  Each child needs to have some one-on-one time to feel special.  So, we started this last night and took Hailey out.  She chose a little Japanese/Sushi place, pretty sophsisticated for a 7 year old!  It was really nice just to spend some time with her alone.  We talked about her upcoming baptism, school, friends, worries, what makes her happy, what makes her sad and more.  After dinner we ran few errands and then went to Cold Stone for ice cream.  It was a very nice night.  I love you Hailey!

Jim turns the big 4-0!!!

There is a lot of pressure on the spouse of someone turning 40.  I definitely felt the pressure, but not the kind of pressure to throw an extravagent over-the-top surprise party.  I know my husband well enough to know this wouldn't have been something at the top of his list to end his 3rd decade in life.  Or, at least he said he wouldn't enjoy it, either way, I was glad not to have to throw some big black-ballooned, this-is-your-life gathering.  So, about a month before the big day of February 16th, I was brainstorming ideas of how to pull the big event off .  Skiing, massage, nice dinner??? That would've been nice for say, 35, but not 40...I knew it had to be good.  So, I put our hard-earned Skymiles and my Priceline hotel skills to work and booked a trip to his (which happens to be mine as well) all time favorite city - NEW YORK!

 I could hardly contain my excitement in the month that followed.  It was hard to keep it a secret but I didn't spill the beans until Jim came home from work on Wednesday night, tired after a few nights of consecutive call, to a new suitcase with a red bow around it, telling him to pack for a cold weathered 3 days.  Needless to say, he was surprised and excited!  I was a little worried about how he would react.  He loves traveling, but does not love leaving our kids in someone else's hands...he's a worrier.  I have to admit, I was a little worried as well.  My dad, who has been known to instigate indoor water fights, food fights, and loves throwing children up in the air, onto couches, beds, dangling them over railings in a Michael Jackson-ish manor, purely to produce sheer terror from little children for his own entertainment, readily agreed to do the job for a couple of days.  Red and Marianna, Jim's parents, agreed to take the weekend.  My dad assured me he would try his hardest to be "responsible" and keep the horse-play to a minimum.  I wasn't sure how the kids would take this new side of Grandpa, seeing as how, he's always full of fun and games.  It was evident when he showed up and Paige jumped on his back and asked him, "Grandpa, are you available for fun?"

We left early Thursday morning and arrived in New York City around 3 in the afternoon.  We stayed at the Marriott Marque, right in Times Square - I got a great deal on Priceline!  We changed and headed out to find a place to eat and stumbled upon an incredible family style Italian restaurant just off Times Square  called Becco.  It was incredible food, definitely authentic.  After dinner we decided to walk around and check out the different shows and decide what we wanted to see while we were there.  People were just lining up for Billy Elliot, which I had seen a year before with my brother and LOVED!  I knew Jim would like it so we waited in line to see what kind of tickets they had for the next night.  They said they had 7th row seats available right then so we jumped on it and decided to go spur of the moment.  It was an incredible show, so much better in the 7th row.  Now I'm ruined.  I used to think nose-bleed seats were just fine!  Phil Donahue happened to be up in the first row on the side, our one celebrity sighting of the weekend.

The next day we slept in, had a really good lunch at Cosi and walked around, shopped a little.  We had Indian food that night and saw the show Memphis.  It was surprisingly good.  The singing and dancing was amazing.  Saturday we got up a little earlier and worked out in the gym hotel overlooking Times Square.  We headed out to the SoHo and NYU area to have lunch and to shop a little more.  Aren't I lucky to have a husband who will shop?  That night we had Turkish/Mediterranean food at a little place called Ali Baba with my brother Wil and his wife Alicia.  It was great to see them and we had a really nice time.  Sunday morning came too quickly and we started for the airport at about noon and didn't get home until almost 1 am Idaho time.  A long day of traveling but so nice to have time to just be together.

Jim's actual birthday wasn't until Tuesday and he had to work during the day.  I invited his parents and his sister and her husband to dinner.  I was all set to make my friend's amazing chocolate cake when the doorbell rang and a dozen cupcakes were delivered to me as a late Valentines Day present - how sweet! So, I skipped the chocolate cake and made steak fajitas with homemade guacamole and Bajio tortillas.  It was a nice night with family.  The kids and I made a card "The Top 40 Things We Love About Our Dad."

40. You tuck us in at night

39. You take us to school

38. You are fun

37. You take us skiing

36. You take good pictures

35. You took us on an airplane

34. Reading stories to us at night

33. You take us sledding

32. You took us to Mexico

31. You took us to Hawaii

30. You make good hot dogs

29. You are nice

28. You drive the car to Salt Lake

27. You push us on the swings in the summer

26. You play with us outside

25. You make good popcorn

24. You taught us how to ride bikes

23. You kiss and hug us

22. You take good care of me when I'm sick

21. You are a good doctor

20. You keep us safe from danger

19. You are funny

18. You don't yell

17. You got us a dog

16. You bought us a nice car

15. You try to air our the room when you toot :)

14. You help us with our homework

13. We love your beautiful gray hair

12. You care about us

11. You took me snorkeling

10. You are a good person

9. You gave us good stuff on our iTouch's

8. You are wonderful

7. You let us eat lots of candy

6. You always tell us you love us

5. You work hard so we can have the things we need

4. You are happy

3. You like to eat candy

2. You like to go on trips

1. YOU ARE THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

Special "thanks" to Grandpa Ron and Nanny and Papa Red.  I know it's a sacrifice to take time out from their busy schedules and to take care of 3 young, energetic and sometimes demanding, kids.  I know Hailey, Paige and Crew enjoy the time spent with them and am glad they get opportunities to learn and grow from all four Grandparents.

I hope it was a happy, memorable birthday.  I don't know if I could ever adequately express how thankful I am that I am married to such an amazing man.  He is truly my best friend, I not only am deeply in love with him, I am deeply in like with him.  I am so thankful for all of the sacrifices he makes for our family.  He is fair, sensitive, kind, thoughtful and trustworthy among many other amazing qualities.  I love you Jim!

Paige Turns 6!!!

I'm so behind on my blogging and the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that someday my kids will look back on this and remember the good things from their childhood, remember that they were loved and remember what made them who they are.  So, with that said, I'm gunna keep on trying to catch up!!!

On January 20th, Paige turned 6! Every year we say, this year is going to be the year Paige stops screaming, this will be the year she stops crying, this year she's going to grow up.  I think this is the year.  Although it's been gradual, there is definite evidence that Paige is growing up.  She is still herself, still volatile at times, still cries and storms off to her room in fits of irrational anger, yet she has grown into a little girl who cares about others, who has empathy, who is kind, who is outrageously funny, witty and charasmatic, not to mention beautiful and graceful.  She can read, communicate, use sarcasm, tell jokes and cry on demand (a budding actress I predict). People are drawn to Paige, she is a leader.

She wanted a birthday party at Leo's Place, which I must say, is not my favorite place in Idaho Falls but really, there aren't many other choices.  So, I let her invite her whole kindergarten class, plus a few other friends from church and the neighborhood.  I invited all these kids thinking that most would not come.  I was wrong, I think we had 18 or 19 kids running around Leo's and a mountain of presents.  She had a great time and it made me happy to see her surrounded by friends.  I hope she is able to make lasting, solid, good friendships with some of these kids.  I know from experience, there are no other friends like the ones you've had for most of your life.

Paige and Papa Red share the same birthday week so we usually have a combined family party.  Here we are at Red Robin.

Jim made a chocolate cake for his Dad's birthday.  I had to take  picture of his efforts.  Not to pretty, but it tasted really good!

And of course, we sang Happy Birthday.  I love this picture of Hailey and Crew looking up at Papa Red.

Happy 6th birthday to the most beautiful, spunkiest, funniest, smartest 6 year old I know!!!!  I love you Paige!