T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Me:  "That's a BIG mess, did you make that big mess?"
Franklin:  "I, little boy.  You, big mommy, (pointing) big mess."

Me:  "Are you poopy?"
Franklin:  "No, I not poopy"
Me:  (checking) "Oh, you're right, you're not poopy.  You're a smart boy."
Franklin:  "No, I little boy."

Franklin:  "Milk.  Please."
Me:  "You have to wait a minute."
Franklin:  "Milk!  Please!"
Me:  "Just a minute.  You're going to have to wait."
Franklin:  "Milk!  Please!"
Me:  "YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. HAVE. TO. WAIT. A. MINUTE!"
Franklin:  "NO! MILK! RIGHT! NOW!"


F-R-A-N-K-L-I-N is how we spell trouble around here.

Appropriate, isn't it?  Thinks he's in the driver's (or pilot's) seat

When the girls found out we were having a boy, they said "now we'll have our prince to dance with!"  He's finally big enough, but he's the one wearing their ballet shoes . . . . 

Franklin loves to sing several songs in "staccato", Twinkle, Twinkle is his favorite

Long weekend

Stephen and the girls had a four day weekend, so we tried to make the most of it without actually going out of town.  It's much nicer to sleep in our own beds at night we've decided while Franklin is so little.
See the Picasa Web Album HERE.  I actually took 307 photos over the 4 days, so be happy the web album only has 44 . . .
We took the ferry and drove to Sequim and walked along the Dungeness Spit for a little while.

 Then drove up Hurricane Ridge which was amazing and just the burst of sunlight we were craving.

  Had some good seafood before heading home.

Saturday Stephen fixed some plumbing problems we've had for going on 2 years.  Hip hip hooray for not having to call a plumber!!!
Monday we finally used a voucher to go to the Museum of Flight- Stephen is such a plane nut, he knows them all!  The kids loved it and Odessa wants to have her 8th birthday there now.  Who knew?

What I heard this week

I must have done something that I was pleased with and said "yay" or something because Franklin responded with:   "Good job. (pause)   Good job mommy, good job."

We have to be creative at keeping Franklin at the table- he never eats dinner . . . 

Ada forgot the snack she fixed for herself inside the house.  I had reminded her once and I am trying not to remind my kids of everything 15 times- it drives me insane and I don't think it really helps them remember . . . So as I was pulling out of the driveway, I was calmly telling Ada that remembering her snack was her responsibility, not mine.
Me:  (seeing the neighbor's house)  "Oh crap, I forgot Brenda's thank you notes"  (pulling back into the driveway)
Ada:  (without missing a beat) "Well, remembering the cards was YOUR responsibility.    While you are in the house, you can get my snack!"

The girls like to have us quiz them with simple addition and subtraction problems, Odessa is practicing for Math in a minute tests at school.  So a lot of meals are spent doing math.  This morning:
Me:  (to Odessa)  "What is 7 minus 4?"
Franklin:  "Free!"
We all laughed and laughed.
Stephen counts with Franklin when he wants him to wait (like while getting his diaper changed).  So through repetition  he knows some numbers.  The following happened while getting shoes on for school.
Ada:  "what's 1 plus 1?"
Franklin "One!"
Ada:  "No, what comes after 1?"
Franklin: "Twoooo!"
Ada:  "So what's 1 plus 1?"
Franklin:  "Twooooo!"
Ada:  "What's 1 plus 2?"
Franklin: "Twooooo!"
Ada:  "No, what comes after 2?"
Franklin:  "Freeee!"
Ada:  "So what's 2 plus 1?"
Franklin:  "Freeeee!"
Ada:  "What's 3 plus 1?"
Franklin:  "Freeee!"
Ada:  "No, what comes after 3?"
Franklin:  "Freeeeeee!"

And they were stuck at "freee" until we headed out the door.

Things we got last week

Don't get excited, Lucky is a "loaner" while her owner recoups and Lucky finds a permanent home.  She is old and deaf and tolerant for the most part of the kids.

We also got our tickets to go to Scotland last week.  My parents are serving an LDS mission to Scotland and (in full disclosure) offered each of us kids financial help to come see them.  Well, in the final 4 months of their mission, they are getting visitors Feb, March and April!  I have planned and accumulated credit card rewards for this trip ever since they left in October of 2011.  I never thought it would really happen until I bought the tickets.  For the first week, I looked up the itinerary every day just to "pinch" myself that this was real.  We are going to be in the UK for 10 whole days not including travel time, so that is a long time away from the kids.  Any tips on "not worrying" about them are appreciated.  But mostly, I CAN'T WAIT!!

What will you cling to?

Yesterday at church a visiting member from Victoria BC told us of a quote he'd heard that profoundly impacted him and it really struck a chord with me too.  His eldest daughter got married last weekend and the person who sealed them in the temple ("married them" in non-church venacular) gave them some advice.  One thing he said is that your spouse is sure to hurt and offend you.  You can either cling to that hurt or you can cling to your spouse.  I think that's so true.  Figuratively and literally, you have to make conscious efforts to cling to one another rather than all the little things that bother you.  This visitor also went on to say this applies in nearly every walk of life.  In a church congregation, you are sure to be hurt and offended by others.  You can cling to that hurt or you can cling to the gospel of the church.  You often have to choose whether you are going to cling to one thing vs another, there are so many instances when you have to let go of pride to retain friendship or hurt to obtain peace and forgiveness or loneliness to obtain fulfillment.  The list goes on and on and I wish I could have put it so eloquently as our visitor.  I am glad he came to church and chose to share with us and I am glad I chose to go to church and ask Stephen to stay home with a very sick Franklin.  With Stephen and I having some heavy callings, when we have sick kids we have to sometimes call the Bishop and ask "who would you like to have at church today?"  ha ha.  I was glad to be there, I needed it.

And so we move on to a few holiday leftovers- the kids in their Christmas Eve PJs- they are posing that way to show off the "ROCK" on their legs (Ada's split chin and bandage really pull down her face here).

Franklin loves being on "sissy's" desk

 And here are too many pics of the girls in their Christmas dresses.  We all stayed home with a sick Odessa last week, so yesterday was the first day they wore them.  Flash vs natural light- makes a real difference!

And more Franklin cuteness- feel free to skip if you are not a grandparent :  )

What I wished I had on tape was the night when Stephen yawned while reading the words and Franklin copied the yawn right along with it.  Now THAT was cute.

Recent conversations with Franklin

This is how we get Franklin to eat something green . . . 

Like father . . . 

. . . . . like son.  Franklin fell asleep on his toast after church

As this is by default Franklin's baby journal, I want to post some of the things he's been saying lately.  We are not sure why he is so verbal.  We planned on him being slower than the girls, but I actually think he is ahead of where they were at this age.  We haven't read to him more or let him watch TV less but he has 2 big sisters to listen to.

Early Saturday morning he got up before everyone else and I was rocking him in the hopes that he would go back to sleep.  He would raise his head from my shoulder to ask me these questions.
Franklin:  "Daddy, gone?"
Me:  "No, Daddy's sleeping"
Franklin:  "Daddy, work?"
Me:  "No, Daddy's sleeping."
Franklin:  "Daddy sleeping."
Me:  "yes"
Franklin:  "Amy house, play trucks?"
Me:  "No, not today, we can't go to Amy's house."  (she has 2 boys and a bin of trucks, Franklin has spent 2 blissful mornings there recently and asks regularly to go, even getting his shoes on and trying to leave by himself.)
He continued to ask a dozen 2 word questions, but I have forgotten the details.  It was quite a lovely dawn conversation.

At 4am Christmas morning, he woke up crying and I picked him up out of his crib, he asked for his milk, so we headed to the kitchen.  I knew I could not sit with him in the living room which was full of toys, some wrapped and some not.  Another problem was that there was a bike hiding in the kitchen, but  I hoped he wouldn't notice it.  He had his head on my shoulder and he sat up and said "look, bike."  When I ignored him he said "mom, look bike!".  So I had to acknowledge it!  Thankfully he went back to sleep.


Later Christmas day I could hear him whining from the table.
Franklin:  "Fall down, koclate milk!  Fall down, koclate milk!"  He had spilled his (now cold) mug of hot chocolate he had tried to reach.  Somehow it had not all spilled and he was taking drinks in between exclamations.  So funny.

Today he overheard me tell the girls if they made their beds, they could then watch a show on TV.  After a few minutes, he ran into the kitchen from the living room and said:
"Mom, where da mote?"  (remote)
I was so surprised, I asked him "did you just ask me for the remote?!"
He gave his new favorite answer to everything "no please!"

Christmas fun 2012 with flashback

Ada and Odessa, Christmas 2007

Some of you may remember this horse.  We bought it in Chicago off Craigslist and although it was a little worn then, it has since gone way downhill.  Stephen decided to fix it up for Franklin for Christmas.  He got an old broken bridle from a co-worker who has horses and sized it down, we did research on how to sew yarn hair.  He sanded and stained and painted.

Merry Christmas everyone!!