Idiosyncrasies, Part Deux

I thought of some more "quirks" of my kids so I have to share :)

Here is Part 1 in case you missed it a few weeks ago: http://herestheamberdeal.blogspot.com/2010/09/idiosyncrasy.html

*Since Part 1, Audrey has decided she loves to swing! The fear has vanished making way for reckless abandon...especially with Daddy pushing her. She now insists on going higher and higher. Yes, her feet are kicking the branches of the tree here. It took 2.5 years to get her to stay in a swing for longer than 30 seconds, and now you can't get her out.

*Brenna Beth is obsessed with cold glasses of beverage. She wants to lick the side and rub her gums on the glass. The cold usually takes her breath away and makes her face red, but she grunts and whines for more whenever she sees you take a drink! *Audrey speaks very clear and has a good vocabulary for her age, I think. But there is one jumbled word she keeps hanging on to that throws people off when she is talking to them: "Cupeez".

Use your context clues to figure out what "cupeez" means: "I cried cupeez I got an ouwie." That's right. "Cupeez" means "because". She is big into asking, "Cupeez why? Cupeez how?" after many things that you tell her. For example, today I told her she had to wait to paint until after we ate lunch. "Cupeez why? Cupeez how?" Sometimes I find myself starting to say "cupeez"...usually with the answer, "Cupeez I am crazy."

*Brenna was born with several birthmarks. There is a red, splotchy one on the nape of her neck that is farely common in babies. Then she also has the common "stork-bites" on her forehead and edge of her nose that are really only noticeable if she has been crying. Then she also has a white mark on her shin that reminds me of a reverse birthmark or "strawberry". Finally there is also a small indention on her abdomen, too, that looks like a scar. All normal--and beautiful--of course!

*I am embarassed to say that Audrey likes a few flavors of baby food. We had, of course, kicked her off of these for over a year now, but I guess Brenna's meals have caught her interest again. She asks to eat squash and any of the purple fruits if she sees Brenna having some...but she always clarifies/justifies, "It not baby food" if we do let her have one. I usually just think, Why not...she is getting another serving of a fruit or vegetable! And I clarify/justify to myself, "It's fruit pudding!" (She doesn't know that I slip sweet potato baby food into her mac & cheese, too! Ha ha ha!)

*We have another TV fanatic. Brenna likes to watch cartoons with Audrey. I usually try to take her out of the room because she is glued to it, too. And believe it or not, she already has a favorite show! She shrieks and squeals when Kai-Lan comes on. And you can just say, "Ni hao, Kai-Lan," and she wheels around as fast as she can to see the screen...even when the TV is off.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such sweet special girls!

Stories to Make You Smile...or Even Laugh Out Loud

*At Sunday School yesterday, I took the kids out to look at God's creation. They carried a little bag to pick up beautiful things that God made: leaves, sticks, rocks, grass... And in our search, we discovered a dead mouse...and this became all they wanted to talk about, think about, or look at. Nothing tells God you are thankful for His creation more than poking a dead mouse to death...or further death.

*Someone/something hacked into my e-mail account and sent all of the As, Bs, Cs, Ls, Ms, and Ns of my address book an e-mail about discount Viagra. I noticed that one was even sent to my old principal whose name is Curtis (a C in my address book) and also my neighbor. Lovely. I obviously had to chase those e-mails down (if I ever want a job again) and change my password.

*Kinsey: "Let's play going to the doctor. I will be Dr. Seuss."

Me: "That sounds fun. Audrey can be Dr. Pepper."

Kinsey: "Ok! Come on, Audrey Pepper."

*We had alot of rain one night about a week ago...and I mean pouring rain...and it just so happened to be the night I absolutely positively HAD to go to the grocery store. So I waited until we were all fed, the girls were happy with Josh, and 30 minutes were wasted trying to get some coupons to print unsuccessfully...and I made a run for it. Soaked, I strolled through the cool grocery store getting the essentials: milk, formula, bread, diapers, chocolate syrup...And finally made it to the checkout. Apparently the cashier was mad at the bag-boy. He was too slow of a sacker. So she was set on teaching him how to bag the groceries speedily. In her attempt at schooling him, she almost broke my baby food jars (glass ones is all Brookshire's sells in our food stage) and dropped a large jug of apple juice before throwing it on top of the other groceries. She was fast but I was not impressed. Then me and bag-boy ran through the rain out to the truck. I thanked him quickly and was relieved to be going home since it was going on 8 p.m. I got home a few minutes later, ran the groceries in (several trips of course) and started unsacking...only to discover stickiness. You got it, the apple juice Miss Speedy Cashier dropped had busted on bottom. So it was back into the rain I went carrying an upside-down jug of apple juice. I walked into the store...and she knew. I didn't have to say a word. She ran down the aisle and fetched another jug for this sopping wet, tired mama, and I gratefully accepted and headed back into the rain. I finally walked back in the door of my humble, dry abode, and Audrey said, "Mama, you came back! You all wet. I want some apple juice!"

*The other day, Audrey got mad at Caden when he walked in while she was on the potty. She said, "No, Caden, don't look at my hiney-bo!" Today, different story. I hear them giggling in the Dora tent. I look in to discover they have both shed their underwear and are wearing them on their heads.

*Child 1: "I don't have water at my house."

Child 2: "That sounds like a big problem."

Child 1: "Yeah, it is."

Child 2: "I will get you some at the store if you want."

*Josh came in the kitchen the other day while I was warming some food in the microwave. He squeezed me in close for a kiss then whirled us around to push the stop button with 1 second remaining..."Bond style", he called it.

*And one that will forever make me smile...Brenna woke up early on September 11. I could hear her singing/babbling. Then I could hear clapping. I thought that maybe she had done this on accident or just happened to find her hands together...probably just a one-time random occurence since she had not yet mastered this skill. No, she clapped and clapped all day, so proud of her new accomplishment. And I could not think of a more perfect day to learn to cheer than a day marked with sorrow. It was symbolic to me that our country has continued to rise from the ashes of that day each and every year, forever strong and proud. And more importantly, her joy and praise through clapping was symbolic to me that Christ has overcome anything that has/will happen in this world, and He died so that we could have life more abundant and free!

Case of the Mondays

Only on a Monday can I...
...persuade a preschooler that 4:45 am is not a good time to get up to eat "panpakes."
...change a runny diaper and poopy clothes within five minutes of helping a constipated baby--both before 8 am.
...wash two pairs of wet tee-tee pants before lunch.
...clean spit up off the floor, my arm, and Brenna while blocking other baby from crawling into it and rescuing child from crashing over toy stroller laying in the floor.
...clean paint off three preschoolers, sidewalk, paintbrushes, shoes, and self before babies wake up from first nap.
...cook grilled cheese sandwiches and soup and coax children to eat during the longest lunch known to man.
...place stinky trash bag outside the door only to discover an hour later that cats and ants greatly enjoyed it before I could get it to the can.
...manage to soak in good scripture and post it before babies wake up from extremely short afternoon naps.
...change another poopy outfit and give an early bath while husband cooks supper for me.
...get third load of laundry washed--not folded.
...yet again coax child to eat, fix something else after she finally tasted it, heat more leftovers because apparently she is starved, and get through yet another longest-meal-ever...only to find that all of the dishes will not fit in the dishwasher tonight.
...try to get some computer work done and enjoy quiet time without falling asleep before 10.
...wake up with child at 1, 2, and 3 am and convince her it is not time for a bath or panpakes.
...wake up with baby at 4 and play possum hoping she will decide to go back to sleep, meanwhile hearing husband get up with previous child who needs to tee tee.
...doze off somewhere in there and wake to find husband already gone to work at 5:37 am.
...do all this and survive it to prepare for Tuesday...oh wait, it's already Tuesday.

Idiosyncrasy--

1. a tendency, type of behavior, mannerism, etc., of a specific person; quirk

2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity

3. An unusual individual reaction to a food or drug

Examples:

1. Brenna has started saying "Hi" in her own little way--mouth wide open often accompanied with a growl/hock/gurgling sound.

2. Audrey is an average eater, not as picky as some, and thankfully starting to try new things. But she is usually brand-specific! Nuggets have to be Pilgrim's Pride, carrots and green beans Del Monte, black-eyed peas Bush's, mac and cheese Easy-Mac, and fruit snacks Welch's Strawberry. Plus, she has never been able to handle big bites. Everything must be cut small because she has a high gag reflex.

3. Brenna is very active with her mouth but not to make much noise. Sometimes it looks like she is chewing on nothing or talking without words coming out. And when she smiles, she usually touches her tongue to the roof of her mouth.4. Audrey has recently developed some "imaginary friends" named Dut Da and Diwon. When she plays by herself, I hear her talking to them and asking them questions. She says Dut Da lives in Eastland with her mama, daddy, and sister, and then she gets really silly and embarassed when you ask her other questions about them.5. Brenna has already had an unusual assortment of ailments and reports in her short little life. First there was a negative PKU test in the hospital which thankfully turned out fine. Then she battled a reflux problem until just recently. Then at two and four months, the doctor picked up on a clicking sound in both her hips. We followed up on that at Cooks and discovered that her hips are shallow and will possibly wear out in her 20s if the angle does not correct itself. Then at 6 months, the doctor discovered a small issue with her bottom end that needed a prescription ointment for a couple of weeks. Then finally her recent ear infection required two different antibiotics to knock it out. For such a happy, healthy girl, she requires a lot of medical attention!

6. For someone who loves to do tricks and jump and climb so much every single day, Audrey does not like to swing!

7. So speaking of Brenna's medical requirements, I found myself with 5 different substances on my hands after getting her ready for bed one night: prescription ointment, diaper cream, neosporin, hydrocortisone, and lotion.

8. Brenna thinks it is hilarious to steal diapers away from me while I am changing her--the new clean ones, that is :) She grabs it so quickly and bites it really hard while laughing at me trying to take it back from her. Audrey likes to get in on the action, too, and then we are all laughing and being silly. I call them the "Diaper Swipers".

9. And speaking of diapers, Brenna is already one size away from Audrey's diaper size (which she only wears at night.) Audrey is doing very well with the potty training now. Sometimes she gets her panties a little wet, though, and comes unglued if you put them back on her, saying "These panties kinda wet!"

10. Brenna is always kicking her legs when she sits in the Bumbo chair or on my hip. Oftentimes I feel like a horse she is trying to spur to go, especially when she is hitting my shoulder at the same time. If she starts saying, "Hyah, Hyah", I will start to wonder. Maybe that is what all the mouth movement, growling, and Hi's are all about...

And she loves the company of her family...

I stole this title idea from my sister because the song lyric says it all about our weekend. My brother Austin and his wife Melinda came in from Georgia and we had a great great time seeing them.

Austin (aka Uncle Bub) met Brenna for the first time, and he and Aunt Mel got a full dose of their nieces and nephew!

Brenna, who acts like this when anyone but me holds her...

...actually took very kindly to Melinda and didn't fuss with her at all :) We think the glasses did the trick since they look like mine...

...so Austin tested the theory......and it worked!

I lie...Nana did get to hold her, too, because she is good at distracting her with the bird and outside!
In addition to baby-time, there was also hunting...

...riding...

...puppy-torturing...

...playing...

...and lots of eating and visiting!

We love Uncle Bub and Aunt Mel and can't wait for them to come back...to visit or live :)