Brings a Smile

• We were eating some really twisty noodles for dinner tonight and Sam all the sudden said, "I have a BOING in my mouth!" as he was using one noodle like a spring.
• Last night I had the kids try a bite each of refried beans.  Abby said they were too squishy.  Sam chewed it for a minute, decided he wasn't a fan, and leaned over to Abby's tortilla and deposited it there.
• Sam loves to say prayers now.  The other day he prayed while holding a car in his hand.  My missionary brother and the food each got blessed 3 times because he was so distracted.
• Lydia now loves to walk around holdings hands.  She's 9 months old now and I can hardly believe it.  She loves to scream at Abby and Sam and belly-laughs when they scream back.
• Lydia does this funny thing at meals where she turns her face upward and opens her mouth wide and makes a funny sound.  She does it to make us laugh.  It works every time.
• Abby can hardly wait for both Christmas and her birthday.  She still likes having a December birthday and is very caught up in planning every second of her celebration.  She cracks me up.
• Abby decided to teach Lydia how to clap this week.  She spent less than a minute and Lydia now claps a lot.  Abby is a really good big sister.
• Abby and Sam have had an especially fun time playing together and Lydia jumps in on the fun.  If they are  on the ground, she worms her way over to them and tries to tackle them.  If they are running around making noise, she squeals and laughs.  Abby and Sam are so good to involve her and usually come up with some role she can play from her mostly-stationary position.

Merry Christmas!  

One-liners

I feel like we have some really funny kids.  I love to capture those tiny moments that crack me up because they give me insight into the people I spend most of my time with.

Abby is growing up entirely too fast.  I am only partly joking when I tease her that she can't turn 5 on her next birthday.  She is so fun to be around, even when she gets on her joke-telling binges.

• While I was helping her get dressed for church recently she commented, "I like when you tie bows.  Dad doesn't really know how to tie them so well."
• She learned how to braid recently.  I have to note that Roy taught her how to braid.  She was so proud to show me the braid she did in Rapunzel's hair that I didn't even have a chance to step out of the shower before she burst in to show me.
• We went to a Tiny Tots concert that the high school put on.  The band played a bunch of Disney songs and various high school students walked around in costumes.  Abby was beyond excited to meet Belle, who was sweet enough to pose for a picture at the end.  We also got to meet Prince Eric and Ariel.
• I overheard Abby say this this afternoon, "Sam, do you want to snuggle under my blanket with me?"  I had a very proud mom moment rejoicing in the other room.

    

Sam is at this really funny point.  He talks so much and tells me about his day.  He confesses when he's done something he shouldn't.  He apologizes even if he doesn't have to.  He tells me how he's feeling (mostly when he's really, really happy or really not).  It is funny to hear him say, "I'm so angry!" mostly because I know the only reason he  knows that word is because of Angry Birds.  He also acts like you would expect a boy to act: farting and laughing, burping in your face, and smearing boogers on you.

• Today Sam told me, as he was stroking my cheeks, "I love your face!"
• While attempting to dress himself, he put his jeans on over his pajama pants.  Backwards.  He literally had to squirm around the floor to get them off.
• He gets really mad when Abby sings the "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" song and has to sing it extra loud by himself when she finishes.  Sam's version is: "Santa Claus is coming to store!"
• Sam's imagination is taking off.  In the first picture below, he is being Guido (from Cars) and fixing Abby's roller skate "tires".  He occasionally fixes our van tires on the way in or out of the car.

Lydia is also growing up too fast.  She is starting to realize that she can pull herself up to stand.  We've only had a couple of successes with that, but she keeps trying.  Lydia cracks up laughing when Abby and Sam are around.  She will ditch baby toys as soon as she sees a big kid toy available.  She loves me and kisses me in all her slobbery glory.  She will repeat "Bye-bye, Dada" when I ask her to.  I realize she doesn't really get what she's saying, but the sweetness of the moment wins out over logic.  I feel like a supermom when I walk by her or go get her from her crib and she smiles her big, face-encompassing smile.  I'm pretty sure I have a perfect baby in my family.