Annisia's braids and books

Annisia is 18 months old and her hair is growing so fast. On Monday, she actually stood long enough (and still enough) that I could french braid her hair. I usually stand her in their bathroom at the sink because I like to wet her hair most of the time. Then she plays in the sink and I do her hair. OK, so this is a weird post, but I had to record it somewhere!

Then Annisia followed me upstairs while I did something and saw this baby jumper seat and had to have it. So she wanted locked in it and looked at a book. So I complied! What mommy isnt' going to? I mean, they can't get into trouble that way, can they?! hee,hee

Jonathan sings the ABCs

Jonathan does really well with the ABCs, especially since we were given a set of books that tells all about one letter per book. Watch the video...he has been skipping WXYZ. I compliment him on what he sings, then remind him about WXYZ. See what he does here. It's pretty cute!

Thermopolis Hot Springs...

We packed up one Saturday morning a couple weeks ago and headed over the mountain to the hot springs in Thermopolis. The kids had a blast! I have had them both in a parent/tot swim class, so they have been exposed to pools. And they were both wearing life vests (although they were too big!). Finally, Jonathan allowed us to let go of him and he paddled around. THEN, he didn't want anything to do with us!

And this was about 15 minutes after pulling out of the Star Plunge parking lot! Hee Hee! That's one way to get them to nap!



This is at Powder River Pass on the way home. It was a cold day, but beautiful and sunny.

Prince Jonathan

This was from a while back. Jonathan occasionally wakes and is cold in the morning. So he grabs a blanket and wraps it around himself. This was after breakfast and the kids were just playing around. I was amazed at their balance...they walked from the kitchen through the library without falling! Notice, Annisia already has a wrench in hand. She's ready for work.

Playing Meeting!

Here are the kiddos playing meeting. They are pretty cute. Jonathan commandeered their snack cups for the bread and wine.



Here Jonathan's reading from "Jamberry". You'll have to listen hard and turn up the volume.

Hats, Helmets & Boots!

Suffice it to say, my kids like wearing hats. Jonathan has received several cowboy hats from Gramma and Papa, which Annisia is growing into. She likes them too. "Hat" was one of Annisia's first words. She likes cowboy hats, stocking hats, baseball hats, sun hats, construction hats...you name it, she likes it.

Not only do they like wearing hats, they like wearing boots too. Annisia has on Jonathan's old pair of cowboy boots...Chet has a pair like them too! I was tickled when Jonathan held the pose I placed him in...quite the dashing fellow, eh?

Then they had to get their bicycle helmets on next. We decided we had better get them helmets to wear when they are in the bike trailer, but considering the way they race motorcycles and trikes down our inclined driveway, maybe I should automatically put them on when they go outside!

Aren't they cute?

More Snowy Days

How dreadful! The go go car is stuck in the big snow drift. Never fear, the kids are on the job!

Daddy is good at building tunnels. We get a great drift over our front walk. This time it was a little icy, so Michael named it the "Icenhower Tunnel". Annisia thought it was cool to crawl through.
Then she got her first taste of snow. She likes it! Now she grabs pieces of snow every time we're outside playing.

Jonathan thinks it's good too, but he's likely to stop sooner. Annisia, on the other hand, is thrilled when I get crushed ice from the refrigerator and hopes some falls to the floor!

Jonathan has a lot of work to do, doesn't he? This backhoe loader gets put to work many times a week.

Funny things the kids say.

For a month or so, after we give thanks for a meal, Jonathan has been saying, “Food doesn’t go to our knees. It goes to our bodies!” And then he kind of laughs, like we’re pretty dumb adults or something! We tried to figure out where that statement came from, what prompted him to say that. Finally, one morning, we figured it out. Michael prayed, “Please bless this food to our bodies needs.”

Jonathan has a placemat with Sesame Street characters on it. Every time we say, “That’s Cookie Monster,” Daddy says, “Cooookie”, like the Cookie Monster. Annisia has learned this. If we offer her a cookie or she sees a picture of the Cookie Monster, she says, “Tooookie.”
The other day, when we were having that cold snap, Annisia had taken her socks off. She was pattering around in the kitchen, and our kitchen floor gets cold because it’s tile. We found her socks and I sat her on my lap to put them on her. To my surprise, her feet were warm! I said, “You’re just a little heat monster!” And she said, “Tooookie!”

One day, Jonathan took Annisia’s hand and led her down the hallway to the bathroom (a sweet picture, btw!) Since then, he has discovered imaginary friends. They come in the shape of animals; anything he has been exposed to recently (or not so recently) either in books, conversations, or nature. Deer, antelope, mountain lions, alligators, dogs, wolves…and most of them are friendly. “Mommy, come and see my friendly deer. Isn’t he nice? Pet him, Mommy. He has nice teeth, doesn’t he?”
So, these days, it’s one of his friendly deer or mountain lions he leads down the same hallway, looking over his shoulder to make sure they’re still following him. He says, “Hey, friendly mountain lion, come see my new compressor. It’s down in the shop,” as he leads them down the hallway to the bathroom. He enters the bathroom and flushes the toilet. “That’s a nice, new compressor, isn’t it, friendly mountain lion?!” Can you tell he’s around construction and ranching?

This morning, I complimented Jonathan on going through another night without wetting his pants. I said, "What are we going to do with all those Pull Ups you have left? Maybe we'll have to give them to Chet for when he potty trains." And Jonathan said, "No, we'll just have to hang them on the tree outside." HUH?!

Here's what's been happening...

Well, I haven't blogged for awhile. Here's what's been happening since I last posted.

Annisia has discovered her favorite book and song is "Hush Little Baby" by Sylvia Long.
You may be familiar with the song from your own childhood, but this is a different take on it. Instead of offering the baby comfort by promising to buy lots of things (a diamond ring, a horse and cart), it encourages children to find comfort in natural things.
“Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s going to show you a hummingbird.
If that hummingbird should fly, Mama’s going to show you the evening sky…
…When that story has been read, Mama’s going to bring your warm bedspread. If that quilt begins to wear, Mama’s going to find your teddy bear…”
Get it and enjoy. Annisia loves it and so do I!
Here she is, carrying the book around and singing.
And here she is showing off her belly button!

Jonathan has a good time at MOPS. This is after our January 16 mtg. He was so tuckered out he fell asleep on the living room floor while I was putting Annisia down for a nap.

Annisia enjoys her snacks, wherever she can have them.

And Jonathan loves falling asleep in Daddy's arms. This is after a long day.

Jonathan got some sores on the bottom of his tongue and they were really bothering him the morning of January 26. So Michael took his wooby (pacifier) away. "Jonathan, your wooby is making your tongue sore and making you sick." Well, Jonathan didn't realize the ramifications of this until nap time. I laid down with him and counted to 100, and down! He must have gotten bored because he finally fell asleep. Same thing that night. The next morning, he cried all the way to meeting because he "needed wooby". Then he fell asleep in meeting without it. Despite being reminded he was napping and falling asleep without his wooby, he said he couldn't do it, and would fuss every day when it was time to sleep or he needed comforting. Then he decided he couldn't nap without wooby, so he stopped napping. ARGH! He's taken 3 naps since we took it away; one while we were driving back from the hot springs and he couldn't keep his eyes open, and one in meeting this morning. How does Mommy feel about this? Let's not go there, OK?

The downside of this whole thing is since Jonathan's wooby has been removed, he no longer hums. He'll sing while he's playing, and he's started occasionally singing along when we sing a table grace, but he no longer hums himself to sleep. He says he can't hum without wooby. Hmmm...