For Documentation....

*Yesterday I was talking to Landon about writing his name. He didn't want to write it, he'd rather have me do it for him. I kept pressing. Finally I just said, "then can you spell it for me?"
He replied, "Yes. I-r-o-n-m-a-n". If he knows how to spell it, how can I argue?

*Presley has started to ask us for things. Yesterday she found a clean sippy cup, and carried it through 3 rooms looking for help. She found Shawn. Then she threw the sippy cup at him and said "Mo" (sounds like muh, meaning more). I think we now need to work on polite ways to ask for things.

*Presley has recently discovered the toilet and that splashing is fun. And throwing things in the toilet is even more fun. I have yet to catch her in the act, but I can always tell when she's been "playing". Yesterday I found some of the garbage from my bathroom can in the toilet, with water sprinkles around the seat. I know when I find itty bitty toilet paper remnants on the carpet somewhere that it is a sign of something not pleasant. The kids have been instructed to keep the bathroom doors shut. But with 3 bathrooms, and 6 people using them, it's easy for her to find an opportunity.

*Jackson does not want to go to school. He'd rather stay home and play wii. Last week he refused to get out of the car Friday morning. So. I took him home. I set him on his bed, removed all things of any interest from his bedroom, banned him from TV, wii, Nintendo ds, and even leaving his room. And since it was Friday he would only leave Sunday for church then return promptly to his room. He knew at this point I meant business. After 30 minutes when he heard me getting ready to take Landon to preschool he came out and asked if I could please return him to school. I told him he was lucky this time, but if there was ever a next time he would not get the chance to return but would have to endure his punishment. This week he has happily gotten out of the vehicle as I approached his school. Hopefully he's learned his lesson. (And I learned that I hate being the bad guy, but if you get me mad enough, watch out. I'll follow through.)

*Presley is starting to try to talk. Bo (sounds like buh) is book, and she often throws them at us to get us to read to her. She loves to hear books. She yells "down" after various other attempts to get us to take her out of her high chair. She hates eating in her high chair. She would rather walk around at eat off everyone else's plates. She's obviously too busy to be strapped down. And I love it. I love her curiosity. Her rapid learning curve. And her chubby little thighs. Unless I'm in a place where she needs to be contained. Then I'd rather just leave her at home.

*Ethan got a tooth pulled yesterday. A molar. After some Tylenol with codeine he felt good enough that we went to Costco, Barnes & Noble, and Chick-fil-a together. Just us two. I enjoy my kids when we are one on one. I feel like I get a better grasp of who they are. I've known for awhile that each of our 3 oldest children would much rather be only children. That was just re-iterated to me again yesterday. I tried to convince Ethan that he wouldn't appreciate alone time with me if he was an only child. I think he's bright enough not to be convinced of that fact.

*I don't really have a story about Kennedy to share. She is a ginormous help around the house. Especially with Presley. In fact, Presley cries when she leaves. She has grown so much (in size) this year that we had to buy her all new clothes. I think she is going to be one tall girl. And a beauty for sure.