Baby-zilla!

It has begun.  We all knew this day would come:  Mobility.  I am proud of Anderson and Caleb; they have already shown a great deal of patience with ‘Baby-zilla' and his super-human wrecking abilities.  I am quite paranoid that Clark is going to choke on one of the lego blocks that have infiltrated the nooks and crannies of my home.  I collect stray Legos in my pockets throughout the day.  If we had girls instead of boys, what would I collect?   Polly Pocket pieces?  Beads?

A Few Facts About Each of Us.

     Caleb is a ladies’ man.  He has been for a number of years.  When Anderson tries to tease him about liking a girl, he just shrugs and says, “Yep, I like her.”  End of teasing. 

     He has kissed several girls, and often makes comments such as, “I hope ____ (insert girl’s name) likes watermelon, because I like watermelon.  When we get married, we are going to eat a lot of watermelon.”

     When I picked Caleb up from kindergarten today, he announced that he has a new friend, "Her name is Jordan.  Can we go to the store so I can buy a necklace for her?”  (See, this 5 year old already realizes that women like jewelry… this boy is a natural.)  We went home and made a necklace for Jordan.  During bedtime, he pulled it out of his backpack and proudly showed it to Chad.  During the day, I heard him say Jordan’s name a few times…. Just to hear the sound of it, I guess.

    

    Tonight, I watched as Anderson stepped up onto the toilet seat, balanced with his feet on the sides of the rim, lifted one leg and flushed with his foot.  He did this all without touching the toilet with his hands.  I was speechless.

     When you have a 5-year gap between children, you forget a few things.  I forgot that the dishwasher is the best toy in the house.  Clark will come crawling from anywhere in the house when he hears it open. 

Clark has the same gimpy crawl that Anderson and Caleb had.  Check it out:

Don't let us fool you... all that sleeping was a lot of work!

We're Famous!  That is, if you watch our local station.

Our family was recently recruited to film some commercials for our local furniture store.  We got to work in our PJ's and jump on beds.... what could be better than that?!  I hope this is our "15 minutes of Fame."  With 3 energy-packed boys headed toward their teenage years, I feel like we're a ticking time bomb of potential news headlines.

  Check out these fun commercials:

https://www.box.com/s/e9478fbbe957e2469cef
https://www.box.com/s/d0808e318603e4017add
https://www.box.com/s/ca535bba65c3fe403d6b


Thanks to Vivid Frame Media for a fun experience.

Tidbits From My Day

     I have a new toothbrush. It is electronic with bristles that spin. When I walked into the bathroom this morning, I found Caleb using it to massage his back.... his bare back.  This is a child who is only forced to bathe on Sunday mornings. Today is Saturday. Yuck.

     I wish he would put a toothbrush in his mouth more often.  The other day I walked into the kitchen to find Caleb shoving a heaping spoonful of sugar into his mouth.  I asked him how many spoonfuls he had eaten.  His mouth was still full of sugar so he held up fingers.... 10!  Now I know where he gets all his energy.

Caleb- Party Animal

     Anderson's prayer at dinner: "Please bless that it won't rain on my birthday so that I can launch my rocket into space.  Please bless the food.  Amen." 

Rocket Plans- a work in progress

The look Anderson gets when he is devising a plan.

     Anderson wants a metal detector for Easter.  This request prompts a response I find myself giving every year: "The Easter Bunny doesn't bring big things.  The Easter Bunny can only bring things that will fit in a basket." 

     Do you think the Easter Bunny is male or female?  Some would argue that it is a 'she' because she lays eggs (huh?) and delivers them to children.  But, since we all know that it is impossible for a rabbit to lay eggs, it must be a rabbit that steals eggs from chickens.  And, statistically speaking, most criminals are male, so the Easter Bunny must be male.  What's your opinion... a mutant female or a thieving male?  Anderson would vote male because males are, in general, stronger than females; so, a male Easter Bunny would be able to deliver him a larger gift... a metal detector, perhaps.

Clark: cuteness personified.  Yes, he is wearing safety glasses.  These glasses are one of the many non-toy items I rely on to entertain him during church.  Have you ever noticed that babies don't really like to play with baby toys?  They like to play with turkey basters, metal canning rings, whisks, medicine droppers, and safety glasses.

Cultivate Your Talents, Part II

For those of you who read my previous post "Cultivate Your Talents," here is the promised update on Anderson's harmonica playing:

Anderson was very excited to try out for the school talent show.  When he told me that he had been selected to perform in the talent show, however, he no longer sounded so enthusiastic.  "I feel like I just got 20 detentions," he told me.  I was a little surprised that my confident, assertive Anderson was feeling nervous.  "I hope no girls fall in love with me because of this," he said in a gruff voice; I stifled a giggle and hid a smile in the corner of my cheek.

Clark's bedtime schedule didn't coincide well with the talent show, so Chad took the older boys and Clark and I stayed home; I was torn between my sadness at missing a special moment in Anderson's childhood and my relief that I would not be sitting through a 40-act talent show (apparently the 'try-outs' merely ensure the acts are school appropriate).  Anderson did a great job and didn't show his nervousness at all.

Anderson must have felt like quite the celebrity, because the next morning he wanted to wear his costume to school.

The best part of this whole experience came the afternoon after the talent show.  Our local paper featured a large, front-page photo of Anderson performing at the talent show!  He was so excited.  He put on his entire costume and sat on the front step to read his article.

I am so proud of Anderson.  He accomplished his goal, despite his nervousness and the sheer terror of 'a girl falling in love with him.'

     "Second-grader Anderson brought a new talent to the show this  year. Wearing a cowboy hat, sunglasses and rubber rain boots, Anderson played a song he composed on the harmonica.

“That's a first for us,” Ferguson said. “We've never had a harmonica in our talent show.”   -The News Review

Clark Update

Clark is quite the celebrity in our home.  He is constantly entertained by his four adoring fans (Anderson, Caleb, Mom, and Dad).  His brothers are the first to rush in his room the moment he wakes up.

He is now sitting on his own and should be crawling in a month or so.  While he is sitting, he will lean himself way forward and rest his weight on his hands; that is, until the weight of his large noggin pulls him forward and he face-plants onto the floor.  Have I mentioned that all our floors are hardwood?  Poor Clark.  He is quite the drama king when he is injured.  I think he cries more from the insult and embarrassment of the whole thing than from any real physical pain.

I want to break him of the habit of falling asleep with a pacifier, so the other day I placed him down for a nap without it.  He fussed without really crying for about 10 minutes before he quieted down.  “That was easy,” I thought to myself.  I counted myself lucky until I peeked in his room later: he had turned, rolled, and wiggled his way to the end of his crib where he discovered his pacifier.  He had plopped it into his mouth and fallen asleep with his hand still clutching it to his face.  Apparently, I have some work ahead of me.

Clark has such beautiful eyes and such long eyelashes.  I continually get compliments on "what a pretty little girl" he is.  I just smile and say "thank you."  Perhaps Clark will not appreciated that I have recorded this for posterity.

Cultivate Your Talents

     The other day, Anderson discovered his harmonica behind the microwave.  I don’t know how Anderson's noisy instrument ended up way back there… it’s so odd.  He started to play and I plastered a smile on my face (Anderson is a great harmonica player- it's just so loud).  After a few songs, I encouraged him to play outside so the neighbors could enjoy his music also (insert sinister laugh).

     He took my suggestion very seriously.  He put on his harmonica-playing attire (see photo) and headed outside.  After playing up and down the sidewalk a few times, he started to knock on our neighbors’ doors to give them a personal performance.  Through my living room window, I noticed their plastered smiles and nods of approval (insert evil chuckle).

     We went to the park that afternoon.  Anderson brought his harmonica… and a jar.  I was torn between amusement and embarrassment as he settled himself on the edge of the playground to play for money.  This was one of those times when I had to stop myself from discouraging him simply because he was doing something that was out of my comfort zone.  I noticed quite a few chuckles being shared by the other parents at the park; he earned three dollars.  As you can imagine, he was quite thrilled. 

     He now has plans to play the harmonica for the school talent show… I will keep you updated.