Yeah. It glows.
[gasp! I know, right?! The nerve.]
Oh, and don't worry, this was followed up with ice cream and 3 hour naps for everyone.
Secret's out. Don't be jealous.
Reese's dimple is on the right side of her upper lip. When she is questioning something, she makes a face, and the dimple shows up. Reese is a thinker. It didn't take long for Aaron and I to realize that she is smarter and more stubborn than both of us put together. She will make an excellent chess player, as she plans out her every move in life about four steps ahead of everyone else. She is not an easy personality to read, but since I am and always have been an open book, I really admire this quality about her. It brings me total satisfaction when I am able to predict her behavior, not because it makes me look like a better parent, but because it means that I might have a fighting chance by the time she is a teenager. The other day, we were at the pool, and I noticed some people at the other end of the pool starting to pack up their bags. Reese watched them like a hawk, and the instant their children were out of the gate, she turned and asked me if she could go get the tiny chair they had been using. I laughed, because an hour earlier, Reese had asked for a tiny chair, but there weren't any available. So when I noticed these people leaving, I predicted to a friend of mine that Reese would be the first to the chair, even though she had moved on to other interests and was busy playing in the pool. I totally called it. I'm also not a patient person. Like at all. But Reese has no problem waiting until the circumstances are in her favor. While most kids might continue to ask for ice cream all morning after watching you put some in the freezer, Reese will wait until Quincy and Corbin are taking a nap, and THEN ask for some, because she knows she is at better odds for a positive answer. I love her. I love the way she thinks. She is so very smart. She is such a perfectionist, which can be a double edged sword, but I really think that, unlike me, she will discover her need for order much earlier in her life and find many positive ways to make her habits work for her advantage. I have learned so much from my poor guinea pig child. When I see her exhibit an ugly behavior, I can almost always trace it back to my own vices. Luckily for me, even though Reese rarely forgets, she often forgives. I am so glad that she is my oldest, because she allows for a pretty big learning curve. Reese is also a very responsible child. Observations of her interactions with her younger siblings tells me she will make an excellent babysitter and someday a wonderful mother.
Little Quincy has a dimple on the right side of her nose, up near her eye. This is a naughty dimple. It often appears when she is teasing or up to no good...which makes me love it more! Quincy has the. most. contagious. laugh I have ever heard in my entire life. It's almost a cackle, and it explodes from her and fills the room with even more laughter, as everyone in the room begins to giggle reactively after hearing hers. She wrinkles her nose and exposes her dimple when she says something funny (which is often, Quincy LOVES a good joke), when she is saying something snarky, and when she is surprised. She has a HUGE personality trapped in her tiny body and HUGE opinions inside an even tinier voice. But something I appreciate about Quincy is her ability to let things go. Even when 2 minutes before, she would have fought to the death for "the pink plate because I asked first", she can immediately and happily hand it over to her upset sister without another thought if it means peace. She is a good friend. She is a ...um...a... creative dresser, and has a style that can only be described as her own. I do wonder if I she'll end up a "never-nude" someday, and therefore avoid giving her denim cutoffs...just in case ;). Quincy is very gifted to be able to understand sarcasm at such a young age. It is incredible. I know many full grown adults who don't understand it and they don't mesh well with my often too cynical humor. Quincy laughs at everything, especially when people get hurt. It's a terrible habit that I feel totally responsible for passing onto her, but really, is there anything funnier than watching someone walk into a pole at Walmart? No. There isn't. Or how about the lady who's heel broke off her shoe and she slippy slid all over until catching herself on the cart? The kid who wasn't looking when dad hit a pop-fly that came down on his head and took him out? Thank goodness Quincy will always be there to laugh at them with me, or at me, since I am often the klutz that's ramming into something. But as much as she laughs, she will also come work her little loving Quincy magic to calm you and make sure you're ok.
And then there's Baby Corbin's dimples. Right on the outside of his big fat baby cheeks. I love them. These are the dimple I get to see most often, and the frequency pairs with Corbin's ever-present happy disposition. What more can I say about a sweet, bashful, loving little baby? He is a wonderful sidekick. He sleeps well, he snuggles well, we all know he eats well, he is as quiet as I could ever expect a 13 month old to be in church. He plays with his sisters, and he plays independently. He loves to read books, he loves to point out things she sees while you tell him what they are. He mimics, he blows kisses, he plays peek-a-boo and is THE all time reigning champion of the "drop something over the side of your high chair, just so one of the lazy adults in the room has to get up and give it back, then drop it again because they are idiots and don't realize you're totally messing with them" game. I just love watching his personality unfold into an adorably funny little guy. As if he couldn't get any cuter. His mellow attitude gives excellent balance in our over-dramatic home. I just love him so much and couldn't be more proud to hear him call for his Mama every time he wakes up from a nap.
Sunday Night games with my little family, and a delicious, spontaneous dessert.
So here we have Quincy proudly displaying her Princess Frostine Card, which, to her, means nothing more than that she drew "the princess one". To Reese, it means, Wait a minute, I have no chance of winning now. This sucks. As shown in the folded arms and cross face.
Blackberry Apple Crisp (modified from Better Homes and Gardens Fruit Crisp recipe)
Do you think she chose smileys as her subject to keep me from getting angry?
Have you read this book?
I picked nearly 20 squash (squashes?) two days ago.
Japanese Beetles, that is.
- I've saved this article from a Cottage Living magazine in my nightstand since 2007...which is when I first decided I needed a door in my kitchen, a patio, and a pergola. My pergola will be a little different, but hopefully equally as beautiful. Making it happen, baby.
I think the yellow is a little loud. Loud does not = Aaron, unless it's for the Lakers. Then that yellow is the perfect hue. I think he'd like the phrase on it. It's one that comes up often in our home.
Thanks for changing poopies, coming to Disneyworld, building/fixing stuff, babysitting, playing cards, being super fun, going to movies, spoiling our children, feeding us really good food, and a thousand other things.
and taken home to Nelson's house....
Good thing Fisher can.
and now...
Addiction formed=Success.
We took Corbin for his first trip to Culvers last week.
Then he tasted the custard, and immediately asked for more.
Then he DEMANDED more until there was none left to give.
Culvers induced coma=success.
Is there such a thing as "reverse pushing"? You know, like kids pushing things on their parents?
Lovers of donuts=Success.
Listen up, Corbin.
