May 7, 2012

Tonight for FHE we played outside in the dirt.

Brandon was a weeding machine and when he was all done he planted my peonies (I hope they grow!).

Max tasted dirt for the first time (okay, honestly, we are in the middle of a renovation and so Max probably tasted dirt for about the bazillionth time)

A cute little Hispanic lady happened to walk by our house and she was enamored with our baby. He was clad in only a diaper, sitting in the flower bed, and drooling dirt.

"He's so cute!" she said in her broken English "Go get your camera and take a picture."

She was the cutest!

Also, she was very smart and so I headed her advice and got out my camera and took a picture (or a thousand)

 

A farmer in the making.

 

The face that started the madness

And we know Landon's got to get in on this... (however, he was done after one picture)

 Kami has decided that blowing a kiss is the ultimate best pose to strike for a picture.

 I, however, prefer this smile.

Kami was striking poses for the camera and Cooper had to join in. 

This is BY FAR my favorite shot from the evening! 

He kills me!

 

Of course, he couldn't stay "serious" for long.

In fact, it's nearly impossible to get a "normal" picture of this boy.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

 

...and C.

 

and D. (also known as "the ghost: OOOO!")

 

 

Want to know where he gets it from?

ShaZam!

 

Handstand.

 

Blurry deliciousness 

(and no, I don't believe in wiping my children's faces... or combing their hair... thanks for asking)

 

And that was the sign we had had enough....

 

In the words of Cooper:

"PEACE OUT!"

 

Mischief Max: a Children's Tale

Once upon a time in a very remote land there was a small little house with a dill pickle door. This small little house contained several funny creatures. Most notable (for this story in particular) was a small little boy. A baby, to be exact. A baby named Max.


There wasn't much to Max by way of size. In fact, of all the house creatures, he was the littlest. Even the dog outweighed him. He was a runt, if you will. But what he lacked in girth he made up for in seduction and appeal. You see, Max not only was smaller than most, he was also far handsomer than most. A trait to which you will soon see he was expert at employing.


But we will get back to that. Besides being blessed with innate charm and charisma Max had several other talents at his disposal. First and formost, he was a fantastic drooler. He held the record for the most ear infections in a month. And, he could wiggle his way out of any pair of pants, even skinny jeans.
But, it was mischief Max was best at. Max was a very clever boy. He knew where his strengths lay. For starters, he was tiny, and so he could maneuver in and out of tight places. He was quick, it only took him seconds to reach any given target. He had recently learned that by standing on his haunches he was far taller then he was on his kneecaps. And he could be stealthy quiet like a mouse or ear splitting loud like a siren. Best of all, as we've mentioned, he was ridiculously good looking and so could charm his way out of nearly any situation.


I found this post saved in my archives. Obviously I never finished it. But I'm posting it anyway. Maybe one day I'll remember the story I had set out to record. ;)

That Sneaky Max

Baby couldn't be expected to sit patiently in his high chair when there was cake to be had.

Touche

Today as I dropped the two learners off at school I showered well wishes on them as they climbed out of the vehicle.

To Cooper:

"I love you bud! Hope you have a good day. Make sure you use that good math brain I gave you!"
(Cooper is learning his addition. He really loves it. And, I have to say, his thinking face is one of my absolute favorites. Such a handsome kid.)

To Miss Kami:

"Kami. I love you. Good luck at school today. Have such a great time."

Kami decided to join in the well wishing and had some encouraging words for me as she unloaded.


"Thanks Mom, love you too.
Good luck cleaning the house today!
...Have fun with that."

Well played daughter.

Well played.

Thursday

Sometimes life is everything you imagined it to be. Most times, during those "sometimes", it's more.

Does that make sense?

Life as a mother is harder and different than I supposed.
Everyday is a blessing. But that doesn't mean I always see everyday as such.
But, sometimes, when I am most keenly aware of what I'm supposed to be doing and what really matters I see that life really is everything I imagined it to be. But it's not, it's so much better than I imagined it.

So much more!

Take for instance yesterday.

Let me preface this by saying something I can't seem to say or think enough:

Boys are weird.
Like fantastically... weird.

I, myself, am a girl. I don't think the way boys do. When I imagined what it would be like to mother boys I had ideas in my head of forts and ninjas, frogs and bugs, spinning and kicking and jumping.
And that's what it is. Exactly.

But SO MUCH MORE!

I love boys! I love MY boys! I love all the crazy boy things they do. I love that they love boy things. I don't understand the appeal sometimes but I sure do love the fascination I feel in watching them.

Boys are awesome!
Like fantastically... AWESOME!


Yesterday Landon convinced Brandon to play Power Rangers with him. (though honestly it didn't take much convincing)

According to Landon you play Power Rangers by "kicking and punching."

Be still my heart.

Landon saying "Megazord power!" to apparently "up" his power ranger abilities.

Max sat quietly in the corner observing.

and clapping

and laughing

and this is what Brandon calls the "My hero!" pose.

Then we brought Max up for a bird's eye view of the action.
Which he LOVED!

Go! Go! Power Rangers!

Company

Our favorite Bowens (or should we say Canfields) came to visit us on Sunday for a quick bit.


Unfortunately Max wasn't as impressed with their coolness as we were...

When I see this picture I imagine Max saying something snarky like:
"Can you believe this guy?!"


Wyatt is only one month older than Max... looks like some little runt has a lot of catching up to do.

I tried to get a picture of Wyatt and Uncle B.
It was a little difficult with Landon all up in his grill.


I did however manage these extra cute shots of Wyatt sans his adoring fans:

He is all kinds of adorable isn't he?

Mindi said when she did Wyatt's hair in a mow-hawk for church she had loads of people stopping her to tell her he looked just like Jack-Jack from the Incredibles


Now for the irony...

But first a back story:

Mindi was on her way to Grandma's but made a quick stop by our house because I had called her asking for a picture of Wy-guy for a baby faces book I was making for Max.
In my hunt for baby pictures of all the littles I stumbled upon a picture of Cooper.

Fast forward to the irony part... people used to always say Cooper looked like Jack-Jack from the Incredibles (especially because he turned into a bright red monster whenever he got angry)

Rewind back to when I saw this picture of Cooper:

First thought, no joke, "Oh my gosh! He looks just like Wyatt!"

Brandon's first words: "He looks like Wyatt."

Mindi's reaction: "Hey it's Wyatt."

Exhibit A: Cooper
Exhibit B: Wyatt


Fun stuff huh?

We are kind of secretly (and not so secretly) hoping these guys move closer in our direction (like to our stake) because we honestly can't get enough of this family.

Favorites

Some of my favorite things are....
elephants
strawberries
squirrels
and...
Kadon
He is the best. There isn't much more to say