The 20 foot Tall Woman

Megan and Michael LOVE the preview for 'Monsters vs. Aliens,' especially the part about "Susan," the ginormous woman. Meg loves both her swimsuit and mommy's boots. A frequent combo.

Ballerina Sweet Potato

This little lady. She cannot change clothes enough. If you consider these clothes. She is so into the glam, yet can throw on what she calls "the rock star look" and really slam some air guitar.

Funny Faces

The kids were being too funny the other day. I asked for a cheek to cheek picture and I go a bunch of craziness.

Oh My Michael

Ahhhh...

This girl. Cute. She likes to layer her tutus. She also reads to her babies now, although that is not Megan reading. It is Barbie Mariposa.

Funny, Kid. Funny Kid.

Michael is so funny sometimes. So awful sometimes. And so sweet sometimes. A very complex young man.

He is a little bit obsessed with what he eats. He is very interested in how his body works and how to best feed all the different systems. I could get him to eat almost anything by telling him "this is REALLY good for your eyes" or "these help your joints move so it makes it easy to run and play" or "your mitochondria really appreciate you eating this." A few weeks ago, when we were discussing the ways brushing your teeth helps your body, he turned to me and said, "Man, taking care of your body is a LOT of work."

Being that he has learned a lot about being healthy and eating different things to help different parts, he is QUITE concerned with his sisters propensity to not eat dinner. I think he is afraid she will just fall over, or her bones will get mushy or something. A few nights ago, she refused dinner (gasp!) and then asked for dessert (good luck, sweetheart). I of course told her no, and we carved a notch for another night of Megan not eating dinner.

That night, as I put Michael to bed, he said, "Mom, sometimes, maybe if Megan doesn't eat her dinner...ok. Let's say Megan does not eat her dinner and you say no dessert for her. But I EAT my dinner and you let me pick a candy. Maybe if I just make the DECISION to share it, she can have it. Right?"

Me: Well, no Michael. She can't.

Michael: Well, what if you and papa go in the other room and aren't listening to me and I make the DECISION and I share with her?

Me: Well, Michael, I hope you wouldn't do that after mommy told Meggie no dessert. That would teach her that she does not have to feed her body before she feeds her sweet tooth (sidebar: total hypocrite).

Michael (visibly agitated): I just wish I could make Megan be like, PART of me.

Me: Are you worried about the food she eats and her not getting enough energy and things like that?

Michael: Yes.

Me: Well, that would be handy if she could be part of you, since you are such a good eater. But unfortunately, it doesn't work that way and you will always be two people.

Michael: Well, but...can't you just like, SEW us together?

Me: Umm. No.

Michael: Well, could you take off her head and put it on my neck next to my head?

Me (visibly agitated): No.

Megans' Prayer (Last Night)*

Now I lay me, down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Guard and guide me through the night,
and wake me with a morning light.
AAAAAmen.

God bless mommy...God bless daddy...God bless Michael...God bless my bunny...God bless my bear...God bless my pink blankets...God bless my flower bed...God bless my two pictures...God bless my two windows...God bless my closet...God bless my door...God bless my lamps. Thank you for waffles for dinner...thank you for syrup...thank you for sleep...thank you for...no, no, God bless waking up...God bless the world...God bless EVERYthing!

The end.

* This is almost verbatim. Perhaps I got one out of order, but this was pretty much it.

Randomness

I have been slack about posting cause I always want to write, too, but never have time. This will tide you over.

Princesses

Meggie, Molly and Mia (3M) at Disney on Ice.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Well, my dad and I put up the big girl bed. It is all pink and pillow-y. Megan loved it, however she balked when it was actually time to nap in it. This was due to the fact that I banned paci use outside of the crib. So moving into the bed means that she must give up her biggest vice. I moved her back to the crib, so she could have the paci and the crying began. Then the climbing into the big girl bed started (I had the crib pushed up against the foot of the bed) to which I responded by moving it away from the bed. Then I left her crying, only to start hearing her bedroom door open and close, open and close. Apparently she can now reach the doorknob.

I think we're going to have to rearrange and then live with a crowded room for months until she sorts it all out.

Here she is, jumping for joy in her new awake spot.

Pretty Sure

Megan will work at Disney someday. The girl is very against wearing clothing other than underpants (which indicates a very different future profession, but...read on) as it impedes her quick changes into princess/ballerina garb. Or concoctions like this, which can be really quite creative.

Farewell Front Four

The last of the four front teeth came out...I don't remember when. Thought you all might like to see it. We can fit M&Ms right through there!

Christmas Number 3

The kids have so many Christmases...this was the last one, in Kansas.

Star Destroyer Success

Thank you, Grandma, for providing several hours of brain-racking, toe-tapping fun with this Lego set. Dan slaved for an eternity while Michael stopped by frequently to check on his progress. He then of course posed for the photo as if he himself had built this mighty ship. I might be exaggerating...perhaps he put a few pieces on.

Preschool Sing-Along

So preschoolers are not the best at following direction and completing a task as a group. But my girl was a STAR. Her teacher even asked me about a month ago to start bringing her twice a week so she wouldn't miss any practices for their little show. She said Megan is quite the singer. Megpie didn't let us down, belting them out practically alone and not missing any of her little hand gestures. Way to go, Peg.

Oh. My. Cuteness.

So Meg went a REAL salon and got a REAL haircut today. Cute, cute, cute.

My dad and I also finished cleaning and fixing up the antique bed I bought for her and got a mattress and all the bedding. We will set it up tomorrow...I am dreading it, cause she'll look so big in there. Photos to come.

Addendum

PTAETOS (POTATOES)
TRCEE (TURKEY) PI (PIE)
SEE IS MEE (?)
GEL EE FICH (JELLYFISH)
KRIL (KRILL)
BLOW HLS (BLOW HOLES)
GOOS (GOOSE)
DOFLIN (DOLPHIN) MEE (ME)
BLOOG WAL (BELUGA WHALE)
BEENS (BEANS)
NORWOL (NARWHAL)
SCRPEEIN (SCORPION)
LOBSTR (LOBSTER)
UNEMUNEE (ANEMONE) A TRIP TO THE ZOO STICKER
CRAB (YAY!)
ORCU (ORCA)
DINUSOR (DINOSAUR) SUOOID (SQUID)
BLOO WAL (BLUE WHALE)
SPRM WAUL (SPERM WHALE)
FLIPR (FLIPPER)
WILEE (WILLY)
MOBEE DIC (MOBY DICK)

Forgive the boy his 's's. We're working on it.

Dad Entry #39

Time to gush about Michael. My man wrote a story! How awesome is that! Here it is:



Translation: “There were lava. There were bionicles. There were mountains. There were rocks. There were volcanoes. There were (Michael doesn’t remember and we can’t decipher this word) bionicle. (And then – it appears – a partial signing of his name.)

I love him. He’s a little writer now! Not bad for a five-year-old. FYI, bionicles are robot-like toy figures. A favorite of his, obviously. Michael handed this to Sara and said, “Read my story to me, Mommy.” Sara said she panicked a little until the words, sentences, cadence began to take shape as she studied the letters. Hey, translating is fun; it makes me think of pictures I’ve seen of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Bible manuscript fragments. Those were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek though, much tougher than ‘Michael’. Last week I typed up and printed out an original Star Wars story. I wrote it because we tell stories at night and sometimes the creativity just doesn’t trickle out, doesn’t flow. So I wanted a story to fall back on. He liked it. Maybe that sparked his new hobby. But we tell stories together at bedtime; it’s a collaborative thing, Michael chimes in with details and direction. So he’s always been storytelling, but now he’s story-writing!

Dad Entry #38

Meggie wants to go to the movie ‘heater’ to see Madagascar 2. Funny. Michael had a hard time yesterday with ‘Pot Belly’, one of our favorite sandwich places. He kept asking for a chocolate shake from ‘Hot Belly’, even after we corrected him. I’m sure his focus was on ‘chocolate shake’; he said those words perfectly. Megan proudly declares herself a “‘naken’ girl” just before getting clothes or jams on. California Pizza ‘Chicken’ is a favorite restaurant of hers (in case you aren't familiar, it's California Pizza Kitchen). Hey, whatever works. We understand each other. Megan refuses to recognize ‘brown’ as a color. Maybe the way the Iran refuses to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation. Brown is ‘chocolate milk’. We color with the chocolate milk crayon, “I’m going to wear my chocolate milk shoes, Dad,” and so on.

Michael's bed is so comfortable. After books, prayers, and stories, I fell asleep beside him the night I returned from Iowa. And I stayed down. That means I went to bed at 8:00. Yes. I was exhausted from hunting. It was tough tromping this year as the weather didn’t cooperate. I can’t wait to bring Michael with me some day.

It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet but the catalogs are out and little brains are agonizing over Christmas lists. They're including tons of things, of course, way too many things, but there's always more to consider, more lego sets, more toys. What to add, what to leave off? How to decide? The agony!!! Contrast this with a story I heard from a hunting buddy this year. He said his great-grandmother had kept and passed down a letter to Santa written by his grandpa. So this letter was written by a little boy about a hundred years ago. The boy – who became ‘Grandpa Don’ to our friend and has since passed away – asked for a piece of fruit and new boots. That's all. He needed new boots because his old ones were worn out and he couldn’t go out to milk the cows in the morning anymore. Wow. But I'm not criticizing my kids, or even the times. No way. I shopped the catalog too at that age; I circled everything, dog-eared every page. I didn't get it all, but I got more than an apple and a pair of boots. And so will M & M.

Faux Faux Hawk

He finally relented. Michael has been "growing his hair out like a rock star" for many months now. I finally talked him into a cut...we had hit the not short/not long lousy stage of growing out hair.

Livin' in a Box

So I got two big boxes in the mail and we turned them into houses! They started simple and are now getting pretty tricked out. We're talkin' window boxes. I will post again to show off the final creations.

Who Else is Sick of wall•E?

Please note how dilapidated the box is looking. It has become the Velveteen wall•E.

Oh, for Pete's Sake

This face. It's so cute it is ridiculous.

Identify That Substance

On this face I can confirm the presence of: marker, chocolate, snot and dirt. A trailer park? No, we live in suburban Chicago, why?

So I WAS Proud of this Costume...

until I had to look at it for 96 hours (more or less) straight. I am wondering if I will ever see my daughter, Megan, again, or if I am stuck with wall•e.

Happy Halloween!