show me your muscles

Suppertime at our house involves more than just eating. For the past few weeks we've had nightly "muscle checks" at the supper table. Braylen and Kaleb will sit side by side and show each other their muscles, while Derek and I tell them to keep eating. Aaron joins in as well, and this happens not just once during the meal. Oh no. It happens MULTIPLE times! Our boys are fascinated by this. I just sit there and laugh, all the while reasurring them that yes, their muscles are indeed getting bigger and bigger every day.

Tonight when I was tucking Braylen and Kaleb into bed, they wanted to see my muscles. After saying no and then giving in, I made a muscle for them and they...laughed at me! They laughed and laughed and said, "Wooohoooo!" I don't know if they were impressed or if they were expecting me to have bigger muscles or what! When Derek came in they convinced him to show them his muscles, and when he did they said, "Whoa Dad, yours are huge!" Derek told them to just keep on thinking that. :) These sons of ours just keep giving us plenty of things to smile about. I am truly enjoying this: watching these little boys become more like young men right before my very eyes.

warm and fluffy

Thursday night is leftover night at our house. Every Thursday I let the kids pick out what they want from our leftover selection, and usually they are happy with what they've picked. Well last night, they were so busy playing with Daddy that I picked out everyone's leftovers for them. When we all sat down to eat, Aaron decided he didn't like his meal. He ate his rice and his applesauce, but he wouldn't eat his casserole. I helped him pick the ham out of it and he ate some of the ham. When we asked him why he wouldn't eat the rest, he said, "My casserole is too warm and fluffy. It's getting fluffier and I don't like that." Where do kids come up with these things?!

On another note, my sister-in-law recently dyed her hair red. When Kaleb saw her hair for the first time, he asked her how her hair turned red. She told him she dyed it. He then got real sober and said, "Aunt Sarena, how did your hair die?" Kids take things literally!

girl trapped

This morning I learned the age that boys start having girl troubles. Ages 6 and 8! Our 6 year old didn't want to bring a lunch from home, because he said whenever he does that he has to sit at the cold-lunch table and he's girl-trapped every time! He enlightened me that none of the boys in his class EVER bring a lunch from home. Hmmmm. End result? He brought his lunch today anyway.

Our 8 year old son is having issues with another 2nd grader that really gets on his nerves. Yep, it is a girl. She makes faces at him when he gets a wrong answer, she teases him at will, and purposely slams doors in his face. He has asked her to stop and she doesn't. He told me this morning that he'd really like to punch her; she makes him that mad. After a nice long talk with Daddy tonight, Braylen is now ready to handle this with a bit more grace.

On another note, our 3 year old Aaron couldn't love the girls in his life any more than he already does. He's been saying this to me lately: "Mommy, I love you and I like you." He says it during the day, and he even woke me up at 4am the other day to tell me that. He said he was having a dream about how much he loves me and he wanted to give me a big "leg hug." I call it a monkey hug, since he hangs on me like a monkey with legs and arms wrapped tight around me! His cousin Analise is the other girl in his life. While she is at our house a lot more often nowadays, he told Daddy that he wishes she was part of our family. Daddy told him that she is, and Aaron said "I mean I wish she was part of our family who LIVES with us all the time." How sweet to see one of our sons still having a good time with the females in his life! Of course, I can never get enough love from my boys. There is just nothing in the world like it!

A first time for everything

I'm creating this blog to keep my family connected across the miles. I hope to post funny things my boys say and do so they can be enjoyed by my family and friends. Now it will be up to me to remember to do just that! I will learn this process as I go along.

Today is a blustery winter day, and I am glad to be inside. This morning Aaron and I went grocery shopping and to the barber shop. His hair was floppy, and his dad wondered last night if I'd like to braid Aaron's hair! That means haircut time. While I cut my other boys' hair at home, I treat myself and pay someone else to cut Aaron's. He sits there in the chair and doesn't say a word. It is the only time in 8 weeks that I see him like that. To me that is worth $8!