31 May 2016

Bobo, talking to me as he's playing with Briar Rose, "She doesn't have me in her eyes!" i.e., she's not looking at me.

30 May 2016

 On my birthday, the kids and I went for a walk in the woods.  It was a lovely lovely day, so nice to be outside.

(a chipmunk on the path)

 Nut Brown was determined to climb out on this branch and jump on it, in spite of the fact that it was now in the middle of a spring pond about eighteen inches deep.  He was pretty confident of his balance so he made his way out there and only fell in the water once.


Walking again later in wet shoes and pants, he said, 'If I'd known I was going to fall in, I wouldn't have done it.'

Briar Rose snoozing through most of it.  She's learning to grab things, that's why there are ribbons on her car seat.

We had some munchies to keep up company, including pita breads.  Nut Brown asked for a pita and I said, I don't know how many there are, so please take into account that everyone will want some when deciding what to take.  He counted and there were (serendipitously) enough for everyone to have exactly one.  So he's munching on his and sings to himself, "My own... personal... pita..." and starts to laugh.  (Name that Depeche Mode song- again from the 80s)

The kids were playing a rhyming game with animal names.  Rose Pink asked Nut Brown to name an animal, and he said, "Elephant!"  So she sings, "I wish I were an elephant/Then I could be so benevolent!"

At a birthday party last month when they were playing Duck Duck Goose, she wanted to know why it couldn't be Shark Shark Tuna.

29 May 2016

Sometimes lovely things just happen.

28 May 2016

Star Wars passion continues unabated.  See above lyrics written by Nut Brown - to be sung to Johnny Cash's Burning Ring of Fire.

Mr. Brown listens to a lot of 80s bands, including The Smiths and The Cure.  There's a Smiths song that goes, "Some girls are bigger than others.... some girls' mothers are bigger than other girls' mothers..."  The other day Mr. Brown was looking at potato varieties online and he turned and said, "Some potatoes are better than others."  As if rehearsed, Rose Pink and Nut Brown responded, "Some potatoes' mothers are better than other potatoes' mothers!"

25 May (2) 2016

Tonight at dinner Bobo is telling me about the sign language that's used in his Sunday School class.  "This sign means water," he tells me, holding up a fist.  "And this sign," he says, as he gives me the bird, "this sign means that you need a helicopter."

25 May 2016

By Rose Pink

21 May 2016

Bobo's vocabulary has recently exploded.  It's as if a switch somewhere has flipped, and although he was talkative and vocal before, he is using more complex words and sentences to discuss his needs.  Words like "opponent" and "annoying".  He actually said to me the other day when he ran into some road block, "That's annoying, Mama."

20 May 2016

Last night, reading scriptures with Nut Brown, he announced that we were now 'floating in the foam' of his fluffy comforter.  We read while drowning underneath it, came up for air, and were gently swaddled in the 'sea foam'.  The sheer randomness of his imagination was so fun.

19 May 2016

Nut Brown, one evening, frustrated with his sister, produced the following:

Rose Pink was so flattered that she created the below in response:

18 May 2016

We heart Briar Rose!

We all love watching Mr. Brown bathe her...

Rose Pink loves dressing her and tickling her for smiles.

Lately she's become super chatty.  She's ready to talk to anyone who will look at her.  She smiles easily and often, and she laughed at Rose Pink the other day for the first time.  She's also figured out that her hands are under her control, and is practicing hard the grasping skill.  Her days as a lap baby at the dinner table are numbered!  She's adorably chubby and so good-natured.  She also really seems to enjoy being around people and being out and about.

17 May 2016

Rose Pink made a cake for the cake auction at church.  It was gloriously chocolate, and she frosted it with more chocolate and Andes mint bits.  We didn't end up going to the cake auction so we ate it ourselves.  The kids thought that it needed candles and they each took a turn blowing them out. 


Rose Pink has gotten more adventurous in the kitchen - ready to try new recipes and push her boundaries.  She made dinner the other night - broccoli and noodles in cheese sauce.  She also made tiny cheesecakes from a new recipe that turned out nicely.  I'm so glad she's exploring food and cooking while she has access to her father's advice and guidance.

8 May 2016

Rose Pink chose this outfit. It's too, too adorable.

We went for a walk.  My kids are so cool.

Bobo has this green sweatsuit that he loves so much.  None of my kids have ever loved jeans.

7 May 2016

A sweet note from Nut Brown.  I'm a little slow posting it but I love it!

5 May 2016

The other night, Bobo saying his prayers: Dear Heavenly Father, sank you for my birfday, and pyease hep me grow up.

Happy Michigan birthday to us!  We arrived here six years ago today.

4 May 2016

Mr. Brown and I got into a D&D plot via Google chat the other day while I was at work.  It involved mud monsters from the swamp that engulfed the unwary and carried them off, a poorly aimed fireball that set the tavern bar on fire, and fire called down from heaven that hardened the mud monsters into ceramic.  The kids were so inspired by the interplay that they produced the following artwork:

2 May 2016

Happy birthday, Bobo!  He's been so excited to turn four for weeks and weeks!  He came downstairs to our bed on the very day and said, It's my birthday!  So we sang Happy Birthday to him and he sang along and added, "Happy birthday to MYSELF!" every time.  Mr. Brown took him shopping for presents, and he was allowed to play Candy Crush before breakfast, and we all tried to make it a special day for him.  He chose what was for dinner, and then we had poke cake for his birthday with four candles and the train candle holders.  (Poke cake was chocolate with raspberry jello- yum)  After blowing out candles, Mr. Brown went out to the living room because he doesn't eat sweets.  We dished up the cake, and Bobo ran out to make sure that Mr. Brown knew he could have some.  Mr. Brown kindly declined, and Bobo came back to the kitchen saying that he wanted to share his cake "wif all my famiwy because I yuv dem all so much."


Rose Pink/Nut Brown went in together on a Camelbak water bottle for him so that he'll stop borrowing Rose Pink's.  Gia sent him four dollars, which he counted over and over and said, "I'll buy diapers for Kitty!  I'll buy a treat at the corner store!  I'll keep the other two dollars."  All four ended up going for treats at the corner store which were very much enjoyed.  His other grandparents sent some toys, including a Batman Lego set, which was a double win - Batman AND Legos, it can't get much better than that.  He very sweetly thanked Mr. Brown spontaneously for the toys that he bought for him.  He's such a dear little boy.