In which I resurrect the dormant blog...

It's only been a couple years since my blogging fell by the wayside, and I've been meaning for awhile to get back into it. Even if I never have another blog follower in the world, I do miss writing, processing on "paper." And I love going through old blogs remembering, reminiscing, and reliving some of those moments. :)

So, here I am this afternoon after staying awake far too late last night trying to figure out how to import my old blog into a new blog, then format said blog, which included trying every font, color, and style available before going back to the first one I tried. And while this was totally not worth staying up half the night, I have to say I became so addicted to working in a peaceful, uninterrupted setting that I just couldn't stop. :)

And so today my brain is fuzzy and I'm fighting a no sleep headache-quickly-morphing-into-migraine-proportions. I must question if I made the right choice. I had every intentions of making my "come back blog" nice and snazzy, with thought provoking and life challenging words. BUT...good grief...I'm tired!

And clearly, the late night blogging mania snatched valuable hours of beauty sleep as well, which was evidenced when sweet, honest Ellie arrived in our room to cuddle at the very crack of dawn. As she snuggled up to us, she looked intently at our faces before saying, "Mommy's nose is much wider than Daddy's." She then pauses. Studies our faces closely. Reiterates, "Yep, I can see all the way inside Mommy's because it's so big." :-D

Parenting may not be so good for my ego, but it does wonders for my humility.

And...yawn...that's all I've got.

Welcome (back) to my world. :-D

Conversations...

...Heard around this place recently...

(Ellie) Thank you, Brandon! Thank you!
(Brandon) You're welcome! ... for what?
(Ellie) For putting my baby in jail! She was being very naughty.

(no, this is not an indication of our discipline techniques at home! ;-))


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(Ellie) Mommy, I'm gonna keep you forever!!! (Big hug)


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(Ellie - after observing a rather extended battle between mommy and Ethan, which FINALLY resulted in his obedience)
"Good job, Ethan!! You're my baby hero!!!!


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I came out of the kitchen to see all three kids sitting nearly on top of each other on the couch they were so close. Ellie said excitedly, "We're SNUGGLING together!!!" :-D



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(Ethan - after months of complete refusal to talk or even attempt verbal communication, he finally broke his silence on Sunday with the following words)
"Ball!" .... "Cheese!" ... "Teddy!"

He may not say much, but he's got the important words down! ;-) ;-)


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(Ellie) Brandon, will you marry me? (their new favorite game as of late! :-D)

(Brandon) Yes, but not right now.

(Ellie) Not right now? When?

(Brandon) Probably after dinner.

(The kid has his priorities straight after all.)




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(Ellie) Mommy, why are you wearing Daddy's shorts?

(Me) Ummm, Ellie? These are mommy's shorts.

(Ellie) Oh. Ok. Well, you look really pretty, Mommy.

(It's sort of difficult to accept a compliment prefaced like that, but I guess I'll take it. haha!)



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(Brandon - after working with he and Ellie to begin teaching them the books of the Old Testament in order, here was his first solo attempt...)

"Genesis, Exodus, Lettuce, Numbers, and (with gusto) DEUTERONIMOUS!!!" :-D

(A day or two later, we were reviewing the information we'd covered about the structure of the Bible...)

(Mommy) So, the Bible has two parts. The Old.....(long pause, waiting for the answer..)

(Ellie) The Olllld MAN!!

(Mommy) Not quite. The Old Testament. Good try though, El. ;-)

(Yes, we might need to review that info just a bit more.... :-D :-D)



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Brandon looked out the window to see our neighbor (an elderly man) on his roof.

(B) Chris is up on his roof. I wonder if he needs help.

(Li'l B) Daddy, you should go. Be a missionary. Save the world.



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Life with three kiddos is a lot of things, but it is certainly  NEVER dull. :-D So thankful for children that make me chuckle every day of the week. :-)

Quotables

I hear over and over again that I need to write down the cute things the kids say because I will forget them someday. :-) I recently looked back in an old journal and laughed aloud at some of the quotes I had completely forgetten. I'm so glad I wrote them down.

And so in the interest of keeping these documented, here are a couple that made me smile this weekend:

• While making homemade pizza for our family pizza and movie night, Li'l B was working with me to add all the toppings. His little mouth was moving far faster than his fingers as he chattered and asked me endless questions that I could never have possibly dreamed up concerning pizza preparations! My favorite question came as we spread the cheese on the pizza: (B) Mommy, is this pepper john cheese? (Me) Nope, not pepper jack, Buddy. It's mozzarella. ;-)

[caption id="attachment_20" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="B during a family bowling outing"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_23" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Sweet Ellie"][/caption]

• And then there is Ellie. She asks over and over if she can have "lemontines" for a snack. It's too cute to correct her that the fruit is actually called a clementine.


• I have the same response when Li'l B calls booster seats "blooster seats." It makes me smile every time, and so I just let it go.


• And while Ethan doesn't really talk yet, I hope I never forget how he frantically rubs his chest with his hand (sign language for please), while pointing frantically to what he wants so badly (yes, this is accompanied by grunts and groans as well ;-).) It's so stinkin' cute that I find myself wandering in an out of rooms with him trying to figure out what he so desperately needs. ;-) I'm not sure if he knows half the time, but he seems to enjoy having mommy in tow anyway... :-)

[caption id="attachment_21" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ethan and Mommy at the Children's Museum"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_22" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Speaking of Ethan, guess who's walking now?! "][/caption]

Somehow right now it seems insane to suggest that I could forget those moments. Somehow I know I will unless I make a point to remember. How I love those little crazies! :-D