Alex's Play Time

Alex has never been much of a sleeper. Here's a few of his recent naptime antics: I know this one just looks like a kid on a dressing table. The question is, how did he get there? He was supposed to be taking a nap, and his calling for Daddy got more and more serious. Daddy finally went to check on him, and he was up on his dresser. There were no drawers open or boxes pushed near the dresser. Our best guess is that he climbed the handles like a ladder.

This one is from a week ago. I went to go get him for dinner, and I found him bleary-eyed and just waking up in his bottom drawer. At least he napped.

Astronauts

I could post a few links here of various space shuttle launches that are NOT the space shuttle launch that Adam watched at school today, but that would probably just lead to more frustration on his part that Mom is not cool enough to be able to find the exact same launch. If only the launches were searchable by random details noticed by a 4 year old. For example, I know that in this particular launch:

1. "They counted to three then said 'one, zero, blast off,' and then the rocket ship launched."
2. After it went up into the sky, there was one white part that fell off and then another white part that fell off, and then one other white part that stayed on for awhile and then fell off.

I also know that he is convinced of two hard-to-explain (and just plain wrong) pieces of information:

1. He watched the movie at school today, but then he was supposed to come home and watch it again. For kids who don't have the movie, it was just supposed to be on tv. (To prove to him that he was wrong, I had to read aloud the note sent home from school today, turn on the TV "just in case" there really were astronauts on it, and call his preschool to talk to Miss Jacque.)
2. He interpretted something that he saw in the video to mean that if he goes out in our backyard, astronauts will come down and take him up to space. (To prove him wrong on this one, I sent his cousins outside as test subjects. No astronaut abductions.)

And after all this, I've been reminded of two things that remain fairly constant around here:

1. Adam really has an eye (and memory) for details
2. I am ALWAYS wrong.

Babysitting Co-Op

Sorry - this is kind of just for the moms who live near me:

So, I recently read a magazine article about babysitting co-ops, and I think it is an awesome idea. What's even better, is there is a website that handles all the administration and makes it super easy. If you're interested in being a part of my co-op, send me your email and I'll send you an invite OR go to babysitterexchange.com, sign up, search for the group "West Valley Co-op" and request to join.

How does it work, you ask... Basically, you earn tokens for watching others' kids, and you then spend them when you need a sitter. I think this is a great way to get more time for date nights without spending money!

My New Dog Sadie

Well, we've taken a 6 month break from dogs after our long string of pets that just didn't work out, but we just have to face it. We're a dog family. This time, instead of getting a shelter dog and trying to train out its bad habits, we've opted for a brand new puppy that we can teach to be what we want her to be. So far, its working very well. She's had very few accidents in the house, and she is very good tempered. She even tolerates being toted around the house by 4 little boys who ADORE her.

The only issue is Alex's jealousy, but we figure that's a good thing too. Alex needs to learn sometime that the universe does not revolve around him. When we brought her home from the pet store, though, he made a decision to not like her. She tried to crawl up into his lap, and he folded his arms across his chest and pouted with this cute little look that said, "I will not like you. You are replacing me. I just know it!" But then when he wasn't trying so hard to dislike her, he absentmindedly reached out and petted her behind the ears. He has since reconciled himself to her being around, although he occassionally acts out to get the attention he feels should be his.

Anyway, here's some pics of my new baby, Sadie, who - by the way - is an 8 week old Jack Russell Terrier.

Uncle Christopher

Not every kid gets to be surrounded by people who love them. My kids don't just get their actual Aunts & Uncles, though. They are really blessed to have several additional Aunts and Uncles who shower them with love whenever they get the chance. A real stand out, though, is definately Uncle Christopher.

I was browsing through my 4th of July folder, trying to choose which pics to include in Alex's scrapbook, and I came across these great pics of Alex and his Uncle Christopher. I just feel so blessed that my kids get an extra Uncle like him, and I wanted him to know how much I appreciate him for being in their lives. You can just tell from the pictures that Alex adores him. Christopher, my kids are sure going to miss you when you go off to grad school.

6th Folder, 6th Picture

Okay, here's the idea... you just post your 6th picture in your 6th folder and tell us all what it's about. Here goes.




I keep all my old pics on my external hard drive, so you're all pretty luck to see this old pic. (I am catching up on some scrapping from the time when I'd given up on traditional scrapping and hadn't yet discovered digital, so some pics from when Adam was 1 are on my computer right now.)


I wish you could see the dog under the blanket. This was our favorite dog ever, Sam. We got Sam long before we ever actually had kids. He was a border collie/pit bull mix, which meant he was super smart and super stubborn. Sadly, he was allergic to grass and trees, which made him very expensive. Also, he was VERY needy and had to have attention 24/7 which became too difficult with kids. We still miss Sam, though.


Okay, I guess you all get a bonus picture because I'm going to have to post a pic where you can see our sweet Sam.