Cancun was our birthday stuff this year. But don’t worry, Micah still made out like a bandit. We spent Saturday at his parent’s house for a celebration. Then on Sunday, I made a huge birthday dinner for him and Grey who had his birthday two days before. (For the record, it was my first attempt at roast and mashed potatoes, and I hit it out of the ballpark!) And then on his actual birthday of the 26th, my mom took him shopping to get him whatever he wanted. We headed to South Coast, and up until the time when we left, Micah was a little anxious. Shopping is not his thing, and he even pulled out catalogs and a Sharpie to mark stuff the night before. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, “It isn’t like I can just go to the mall and walk into a store and not have any idea of what I want.” I think that is funny. Browsing is part of the experience — right?! Anyway, we headed out, and hit up Nordstrom, J. Crew and Banana Republic. He didn’t do too shabby, and actually turned into a good shopper. Maybe even too good! We had to drag him away to get dinner. Then we headed to Indian food for dinner and it was yummy. And finally, we ended up at the Tackalacks to show B. Tacky (who had been waiting on pins and needles all day long to see what Micah got) the loot. We got approval, and Micah was floored at B. Tacky’s knowledge of every item we pulled from the bag. He knew every detail — where it was purchased, the name of the item and the price. We were dying!
Happy Birthday!
XOXO
Can’t wait until you shave that pretty little face of yours!
I don’t know where Scout picked up on the word “humble”, but he has been putting it into full use lately! But the best, was when I was telling him that when we say our prayers, we need to really think about what we say instead of getting in a habit of becoming redundant. So one night, he really changed it up a bit when he unfolded this little gem – “Please help the humble hearts to soften the sickness.” He literally took about 30 seconds to get it out because he was trying to come up with words to finish his sentence. I was dying! Tristen and I were both dying! I then explained that his prayers didn’t need to be fancy, just thoughtful. So now he frequently talks about our “humble food” and our “humble home”.
This kid is great!
Icka’s favorite saying lately is, “Don’t see me.”
So when she doesn’t think I am looking:
I see her pick her nose and eat it.
I see her sneak a candy necklace she isn’t supposed to have.
I see her bite her fingernails and toenails.
I see her take five brushes instead of the one I told her she could get.
I see her sneak out of bed.
I see her climbing Nonnie’s shelves to get licorice she has been forbidden from.
You get the idea.
But she would be way better off saying, “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy” a thousand times, because that is when I am really good at tuning out!
Scout knows most of his nursery rhymes by heart thanks to Nonnie who has recited them to him since he was born. Somehow Icka fell through the cracks, and doesn’t know any. So in an attempt to get her up to speed, I have been working with her after we drop Scout off at preschool. It goes a little something like this:
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Mommy: “Twinkle twinkle little ______” (I pause while she fills in the blank)
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Icka: “Not star.”
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Mommy: “How I wonder what you ________”
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Icka: “Not are.”
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Mommy: “Up above the sky so ______”
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Icka: “Not high.”
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You get the picture.
Oh yeah — that’s how she slipped through the cracks.
I have never been known for my time management skills. But even when we are running late, Scout gets his morning prayers in. How sweet is this little boy!
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. I am a huge sucker for costumes. So when Britni came home from her month-long stay in Utah with treats for my kids….and they were these awesome capes, I was in love. Scout got a dragon slayer/knight in shining armor cape, and Icka got a princess one which she paired with her Belle dress. Icka went in to put a little princess make up on, so I told Scout he could go and put some face paint on with my eyeliner. He came out looking good.
Here is his pose to show off his cape.
Icka’s cape was off because it was a little too high on the neck…….
And I didn’t want the rest of my entire eyeliner pencil to get all over it.
Introducing the fiercest dragon slayer who ever lived, and the bearded princess he protects.
Nonnie was saying how it was going to be really hard to make a yummy dinner without a kiss from Icka. When Icka just stared her down, Nonnie shrugged her shoulders and went walking. Then Icka ran after her and yelled, “Come here you little stinky head” and then she planted one on Nonnie.
Scout has patiently tried to fly a kite with his dad for over a month now. Unfortunately, there has been no wind, and they can’t seem to get a kite going. So for family night, we headed to the Salt Creek hill — where there is always wind.
The Tackalacks and later on the Packers joined in on the fun.
Scout was able to fly a kite the whole time, and was in heaven.
Icka was even in on the action — until Broccoli (or should we call her BOSSoli) wanted to take over!
So she moved on to sweet little Auggie.
B. Tack got innovative.
Sissy got caught in the ropes.
And Scout almost got lost a billion times, as he ran like the wind to keep his kite up.
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Disclaimer — Notice all of my pictures that are blurry. I’d like to thank my kids who like to open the lens cover to my camera and put their grimy little fingers all over the lens. Unfortunately I caught it too late this time around.
We got the art table out this morning to play with our bendaroos.
Scout immediately started a project, while Icka admired and did some stuff on her own.
He put together a bouquet of flowers for Bella and Nonnie. But by the looks of his fingernails, you would have thought these were real, and not wax sticks.
About an hour into it, I heard Icka say, “I am so happy, I am so happy” about fifteen times in a row.
I have always known it, but nothing makes this little girl happier than her big brother.
Pretty sweet.
Scout is and has always been spotless. He never required a bib, he is always tidy, and he washes up if needs be. Icka on the other hand is the complete opposite. (Although, she loves the washing up part, but it doesn’t make her cleaner — it makes things dirtier. As she has bubbles above the rim of the sink, or she decides to paint the mirror with the soap.)
Let’s take an hour of time on a standard Sunday afternoon.
We started with a “big dinner”. This is not a posed photo, this is really how she was eating. Yes, she knows how to use utensils. No, she doesn’t actually use them.
Sticky rice — the worst for cleaning up!
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Then Scout talked Micah into watching him toss his boomerang around. Icka wanted to watch, so she grabbed herself a seat.
She just climbed right up and plopped herself down.
I called Bella out to see what Icka was up to. Notice, Icka isn’t scared of Bella!
After we took her off, she told Bella that she “could climb back up.” And that is just what she did. Unfortunately, we laugh at her antics sometimes, so she thinks it is all fun and games!
It was fitting that Icka would pick the dirtiest car on earth to climb. When I told Bella, “Look at how filthy she is!” Bella said, “it isn’t like I invited her to climb on top of my car…..I guess that is karma!”
So riding on Micah’s shoulders finally enticed her to get off.
And a bath finally got her clean.
Thank goodness for one clean child, and another who can really tap into the pig species.
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