It's a night for random comments. Evidently pink and brown make silver . . . God told him that.

We're on our way to Boyd's parents' house and Dalton just had to explain something to me. He said that there's a little drop (like a raindrop) at the top of your throat. When you have a little burp, the drop shakes a little.

Snow

Dalton asked me on the way to school this morning if I would promise him that we would have snow next Christmas. I told him I couldn't promise that and only God controlled when it snowed. He said, "Yeah. God controls when it snows because He's got the power."

If the sickness doesn't kill you . . .

So, Tuesday night Dalton was up and down all night with a tummy ache. Early yesterday morning he was still complaining and said that he had swallowed a rock at school. Since we were getting on the road for the holidays, I called the doctor just to ask the nurse when/if I should be concerned. They said just to bring him in to check it all out. Well, we were getting an X-Ray and the technician was chatting him up while getting it all settled and asked him when he swallowed the rock.Wait for it . . . "It was the summertime."

Definitely a head-shaking moment.

To be one again . . .

While waiting to get in the car this morning, Maggie Anne started to ooh & aah, clap & giggle at something behind the car. I went to put her in and she excitedly showed me the smoke the car exhaust was making (from the cold, not a sick car). She thought it was the prettiest thing she has ever seen. To marvel at the simple things is a great thing! Merry Christmas!

We are driving thru the Burn's Park Christmas light display and were discussing the big Jack Frost that is blowing frost. Dalton put in that he thought it was God because he was making the wind. :-)

Feliz Navidad???

Dalton's been walking around the house singing, "Elise, da-di-da! Elise, da-di-da!" I asked him why they wrote a song about his aunt Elise and he didn't know. :-)

Christmas Picture Craziness

Can you tell that it's always an adventure around here?

Oh my! Dalton just yelled at a kid who was trying to hold her hand.

We are in so much trouble. Maggie Anne is the smallest kid on the Chick-fil-A playground and the only girl playing with about 7 little boys and they are all falling all over each other to help her.

Dalton said that Maggie Anne tried to come give him a hug today because she "misted" him.

"Tickle me mom . . . That tickles!" You were surprised? :-)

Too much time on the computer?

After the baby went to bed last night, I was checking in on my classwork and Dalton had his computer keyboard (it gets connected to the tv for learning games) out working on the other side of me. I thought this was cute, but when Boyd walked in the room, he said, "Hey Dad! Come look at the cool picture that one of my friends sent me!" He went on to describe the entire "picture." It was too cute.

It also amazes me because when I was 4, I didn't have any idea what a computer was. Dalton can already use a desktop or laptop like a pro.

Mirror mirror sauce = Marinara sauce

Dalton was having us look out for a 10-wheeler truck (you know, the ones with the big rectangle on the back). Well a Miller Lite truck passed and he said as it was approaching that it was a 10-wheeler. We were telling him that it was called an 18-wheeled or a big rig. He quickly told us, "No, that was called a beer truck!"

As we were leaving daycare just now, Dalton's (girl) friend Skylar asked Boyd, "Can Dalton come over to myyyyy house?" Boyd of course is proud. I'm wondering what in the world I'm gonna do with this kid.

Dalton Random Quote of the Day

"When you run into something, it is called a shreed." This is when I just smile and shake my head. Don't have a clue where he gets this stuff or what half of it means.

Maggie Anne enjoyed her first UALR basketball game. We had to go support our Lady Techsters when they were in town. 

Maggie Anne's new favorite thing to do is pass out doggie treats. She likes giving them to all three dogs, but before Cadi can have a treat, she has to sit up and say the blessing. Maggie Anne thinks this is hysterical and gets the uncontrollable giggles every time Cadi does it. As you can see, it is pretty adorable. 

On the way to school this morning, Dalton was telling me that Maggie Anne wouldn't play "chin chin." For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. When I asked him, he spelled it out for me, "A-ten-tion. Achinchin."

I had a sampling event yesterday at work and was able to bring home a sharable pieces of Copelands amazing white chocolate bread pudding. I surprised the family with it at church for our dessert after dinner. Of course Dalton was excited about dessert and kept nagging (I know. You can't believe he would nag.). Boyd was joking with him and told him that he wouldn't like it. He promised us that he would and Boyd reminded him that he has never had it. Dalton's response:

Well, I like bread and I like pudding, so I'll like bread pudding.

If I don't like it, then I won't like it.

But if I like it, I'll liiiiike it.

So the other night Dalton was rummaging through my bathroom drawers as I was getting ready for bed. He came across a sample female product that had been in there a long time. I guess he notices it because it has a hot pink wrapper and is different from everything else. Here is how our conversation spiraled:

What is this again?

Oh, just something girls use sometimes.

Are you ever going to try it?

Oh, I've tried them.

What are they called again?

(Listen as the mommy brain whirls weighing the consequences of telling the truth or just making something up. You KNOW I'm going to hear about this again sometime and goodness knows it will probably be in public. So I told him the first thing that popped into my head.)

It's a girl stick.

Oh. OK.

By far, the plane was his favorite part.

Good Timing

Got this shot just at the right moment. This was in the shark tunnel that the Dallas World Aquarium. Have not posted much about it because it was a trip with a great mixture of experiences - definitely not my son's finest moments. Will get more pictures uploaded soon. Still trying to recover. :-)

So Dalton and I are having breakfast by the window in the airport and he says "Look mom! There are the wings so the plane can catch the air and make it fly." I didn't tell him this so I was pretty impressed. That was short-lived when he asked me if we had to ride on the roof of the plane. :-)

On the way home tonight, Dalton saw a white "Bug Car" (VW Beetle) and said he wished he had one. He went on to say that he wished we would crash so we could get a new car. Bombarded with my explanation of how terrible a car crash is, he said, "If you crash on purpose, you go to jail." I guessed that could be right depending on what exactly happened, but I wanted to know who told him that.

"God told me. Yeah, God told me that."

We saw a car with some wood planks in the back so it had it's tailgate open. D said he wished that we could ride with our back door open. Then he said, "Never mind. He'll probably get a ticket."

Dalton's been on a roll this evening. He told me on the way home that ketchup was his very, very, very, favorite, favorite food . . . to dip stuff in.

Weatherman in the Making

Dalton has become very interested in the weather maps when it rains. We're getting a much needed shower this morning and he was asking me if we were in the purple part of the map. I wasn't sure but took the opportunity to give a very rough lesson on how rain is made. He listened and then told me, "No, Mom. God makes the rain." Glad that lesson stuck with him. :-)

Looks like a what?

So just now Dalton was in the bath and I was asking him about a new bruise on his knee. He told me that it wasn't a bruise, it was a pretzel. I was confused because it wasn't shaped like a pretzel. He said, "You know. You have them too!" I asked him where (always a dangerous question) and that is when he pointed to my arm and said "Look, you have pretzels all over your arm!"

Between giggles, I explained that those are FRECKLES, not pretzels.

"Oh, yeah! And you can't eat freckles."

If only we could, little man.

Talk about Specific

Dalton got a little cut on his finger yesterday. No blood. Just one of those that is sore for a while. He told me this morning that it was still cut. I told him that it would hurt for a while, but it would get better. He says, "Yeah. It will be better next Tuesday."

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

We went to Peebles Farm outside of Augusta, AR and the kids had a fantastic time.

Who says girls don't like to play in the dirt?

Smooth Talker

So, I'm finalizing the details for a trip for me and Dalton to Dallas so he can ride on a plane. This is for his birthday, but we are doing it early so the weather would be warmer. So I was asking Dalton a question about the hotel and when I was walking away, he stops me and says he has to tell me one more thing.

Mom, I love you!

You could all probably hear Boyd laughing from our kitchen.

When he didn't think anyone was watching, Dalton told his sister that he loved her.

Night at the Fair

We went out to enjoy a beautiful night at the Arkansas State Fair last night. Lots of fun for everyone!

D says the State Fair was "very, very, very, very, very, very . . . Interesting."

According to D, when ghosts get frustrated, they say "Wooooooooo."

We're on the road to Louisiana. A new song came on ad Dalton asked if it was "Money for Nothing?" Our boy loves his some classic guitar rock.

Now what was I saying?

Just a few minutes after he melts my heart while comforting his sister, Dalton spent several minutes explaining to me that it is easier for him to sit down to pee. We'll have to work on that.

Sweet Child of Mine

So as Dalton and Boyd came in from the grocery store, Maggie Anne was stirring in bed because she is trying to get some new teeth. Dalton went back with me to comfort her and as I rocked her, he fed me Skittles and patted his sister's bottom & back. While I love how they make me laugh, there are no words to express how much they fill my life with joy . . . just because.

New Way to Cool Down

He gets points for originality.

Hanging with Uncle Roo

New Food

Maggie Anne discovered ribs at our last home football game. She put a hurtin' on them which made her Grandaddy pretty pleased with his cooking.

Too Funny

We came back to Little Rock today to the delightful surprise that Fall has arrived. Windows open. Attic fan creating that amazing breeze. Our favorite time of year is here. I got quite a chuckle just now from Maggie Anne. After her bath, I picked out one of her new long-sleeve t-shirts. I was snapping it up and noticed that she was sitting there frozen with her arms straight out to her sides. I asked her what was wrong and she slowly moved one of her hands over and started to pick at the other arm's sleeve. She doesn't remember the cold from last year and wearing all those warm clothes. She's adjusted just fine, but it was a fun moment of rediscovery to go through with her.

Bed Head

Big guy is still the king of the bed-head nation.

Why a spoon?

Because it makes a bigger mess! Here's our recent adventures in practicing with a spoon.

Think you forgot

Dalton came to the table this morning and said he wanted some cereal. Boyd got him a bowl and poured him some. He poured the milk and was headed back to put it in the fridge when Dalton piped up, "Um, Dad. I think you forgot the spoon." Spoiled much?

Tolerance

So, we have reached the point where we wait until about the third time Maggie Anne screams at her brother (mad or frustrated, not crying) to investigate. You know, try to let them work it out themselves. Well, this morning she was giving him fits while they watched cartoons. Not long after we went to the kitchen, she started hollering at Dalton. Finally, Boyd and I in unison said, "D!" A little too quickly came the response, "I didn't do nuffin!" Why am I not convinced?

Good Advice

Every so often, you can catch a glimpse of what your child picks up from you. Sometimes it is scary, but tonight I had a sweet surprise. I told Dalton that I would try to play one of the video games that he likes, but he always plays with his dad. I told him that I didn't know what I was doing as we were getting set up. He told me, "That's OK. Just take a deep breath and do your best." I hope he can hold onto that attitude for the rest of his life.

My Friend Sandy - the Genius

My friend Sandy has listened to me complain about not being able to get Dalton to each vegetables. Well, she told me how she fries her green beans and that is how she got her kids to eat them. So I was giving that a try tonight. Well, once they were done, they looked more like fried grasshoppers than green beans. I said as much just as Dalton was walking into the room and he asked what we were talking about. I showed them to him and told him we were having fried grasshoppers with our dinner tonight.

Here's where I got a little lucky with how he asked his next question. He asked, "Are grasshoppers a vegetable?" Well, no Dalton, grasshoppers are not a veggie. I wasn't commenting on the fried green beans we were eating. I still had to cut one in half and feed it to him, but that would never have happened had he known they were veggies. His response, "These grasshoppers are good! Really good!" He proceeded to eat a few more on his own. Boyd and I were trying not to laugh.

Anyway, with Sandy's recipe and my creative name, we managed to get the boy who is "allergic" to veggies to eat some. Oh happy day!

Check it out and see what you think:

They were really good, by the way.

Dog Instructions

As Dalton is feeding the dogs this morning, I hear him tell them, "Dogs, you better come eat. Your peoples are leaving soon."

She's Ready for Some Football!

Bath-time Beauty

What am I going to do?

So Dalton has been saying for a while now that he is "allergic" to vegetables. Well last night, I wimped out on cooking dinner and drove through for Chinese. Dalton loves shrimp and he loves fried rice, but would not eat the shrimp fried rice I got for him because of the few green peas that were scatter through it. Even after I told him to pick them out, he still refused to eat it. He held out too - no snacks or video games. I'm running out of ways to hide them in his food. :-)

Dalton's New Favorite Phrase

Kiss me! I'm a pirate! (Boyd read this off a bumper sticker and he thought it was funny)

Long cut

Dalton took a shortcut through the living room to meet me in the kitchen and when I commented on his shortcut, he informed me that he had taken a long cut, not a shortcut. :-)

He's Such a Boy

So Dalton is playing in my dry shower. He hops out, gives me a mischievous look and quickly shuts the bathroom door. This can't be good. I hear the sink running and when I open the door, he has both bars of soap from the shower in his hand and he is hopping down from his perch on the toilet. I told him to put my soap back in the shower and he drops them on the shower floor and tells me, "I just wanted to go skating!" It seemed perfectly logical to him. When I told him he was going to break his neck, he quickly demonstrated how he was going to just "jump off" his skates before falling.

Such a mess!

After dark

Last night Dalton informed me of the following:

After it gets dark, when I say to make me some chocolate milk, you have to make me some chocolate milk.

Mixed Intentions

Boyd and I just got to watch the cutest brother-sister moment with the kids. Dalton is getting too big for his foot-powered toy truck. When he got out, Maggie Anne wanted to get in. He picked her up and put her inside then proceeded to push her up the hill and down the sidewalk.

It was so super cute, but we should have recognized the glimmer in his eye. When he made it back to our driveway (which has a pretty good slope down to the house), he turned her to the house . . . and let go. The worst part was that she laughed the whole way down. We had to stop him from doing it again in the yard.

For the grandparents reading this, no children were harmed in the above described occurrences.

Cool Dinner

My take on gourmet preschooler cuisine!

Nacho's Grade

Dalton has gotten accustomed to me being excited about getting good grades in school. A while back we started telling him that he gets an A (or A+++, the pluses are getting out of hand at this point) when he behaves really well while out at the store or restaurant. He's gotten really into it and always wants to know right away, "Did I get an A?"

Well all that to tell you this. Tonight Dalton walked away from a pudding cup on the coffee table (after being advised not to) and Nacho helped himself to the rest of it. As I was walking into the kitchen to investigate, I saw Dalton holding Nacho's head in his hand (not in a rough way, Nacho was letting him do it) and telling him, "Nacho, you do not get an A!" He looked up at me and asked, "Should he get a D?" I said maybe he deserves an F. Dalton decided, "Let's try a Z!"

Now that's pretty bad! I told him I was glad that he wasn't one of my teachers. :-)

FINALLY!

Finally got some pictures of my favorite little folks together. Of course, it's impossible to get them to both smile in the same picture, but they are good anyway. Can't deny that they are related.

Busy Night

Met Boyd and the kids at Target after work where Dalton loves to get the cheesy pretzel and an Icee. When we got back to the car, Dalton gave a very cranky Maggie Anne a drink of his Icee. I handed it back while I buckled her into her seat and of course, she let me know how displeased she was with me. Dalton said he was going to give it back to her after I got her buckled in "because I love her." I tell you, he's a wonderful boy.

Enough said

Spiderman is the boss

When I got Dalton from school yesterday, his face had been painted like Spiderman and he was really excited about it. He was trying to boss me around after dinner and I reminded him that he was not the boss. He quickly let me know how things were when he told me, "Today I am Spiderman and Spiderman is the boss." Guess he told me!

Funny, funny guy

So last night after Dalton's bath, he got distracted from his plan (footy pajamas, Popsicle, video games) to make a Lego spaceship for his dad who was at the grocery store. I stepped over to my room to read for a minute while he was playing. He came looking for me and was very persistent that I had forgotten to do what he had told me to do. I sat down on the living room floor to help with the pajamas and asked him if he thought he was getting a little bossy. His response:

"No. If I had said it ten times . . . If I had said 'video games, video games, video games, video games, video games (we are counting these out on our fingers), video games, video games, video games, video games, video games,' (breathe) then I would be nagging . . . and nagging is not cool."

That's a boy who get it!

Insightful little guy

So both the kids got sick today, and we were lucky enough to get them into the same doctor's appointment. Well, that's not the most exciting place for kids, but they were making the most of it playing together. Maggie Anne was getting dangerously close to the hitting her head on the corner of the table and her brother seemed to be waiting for the perfect opportunity to give her the nudge. I told him that I would not be happy if he pushed her into the table.

He looks up at me and asks, "Angry or sad?" I had to chuckle and tell him a little of both.

Precious girl

Our sweet, sweet baby girl walked into her daycare class this morning and found each baby that she could reach and gave them a hug. First time I had ever seen this and her teacher said she had never seen it either. If it were possible for a baby girl to be too sweet, Maggie Anne would be it.

New Toy

The city surprised the neighborhood yesterday when they just started digging sidewalks. We had a bigger surprise when we got home and found this bulldozer parked in our front yard. Of course there is a little boy who was on cloud nine and just had to know, "Where did you get that mom?"

Allergies

Our family is having a leisurely Sunday morning today cooking breakfast while Dalton is zoned out reading with his Leapfrog pen at the table. I was telling Boyd that I had to get up at 6:00 and give Dalton "booger medicine" for some pretty major sniffles in my face (his weekend treat is that he gets to sleep with us - it makes it slightly easier to keep him in his bed during the week).

Boyd is saying that he is afraid that Dalton is allergic to something in our house and hopes that it is Nacho (our grumpiest dog). I jokingly say that it must be our bed so he can't stay there anymore. We throw out a few more ideas and without even looking up from his book, Dalton says "It's veggies!"

We laugh and he assures us, "No really, I'm allergic to veggies."

Reminder that he's 4

Dalton's version of a knock-knock joke:

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Orange

Orange who?

Banana

I knew what he was going for, but he couldn't make it work. I decided to help him out with this one:

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Boo

Boo who?

Why are you crying?

He started laughing and wouldn't stop. "Tell it again!" "Tell it 3 more times . . . 2 more times . . . 1 more time . . . the 0 time!" He ends up laying on the kitchen floor laughing. Then he tells me, "Mom, you're funny!" I am? "Well, sometimes."

Watch out Beyonce!

So on our way home tonight, Maggie Anne was getting to listen to my "Guilty Pleasures" mix cd. I wasn't paying much attention, but all of a sudden, I heard Maggie Anne saying, "Uh oh" over and over again. After asking her a couple of times what was wrong (I could see that she still had her cup and toy in her hands), I realized Beyonce's Crazy in Love (Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no, no) was playing and she heard a word that she knew. She is an amazingly delightful little girl! Following in her brother's footsteps, she makes me laugh everyday.

Cyndi Lauper eat your heart out!

Our big birthday girl. The tutu weighs about as much as she does.

That smile

She can make anyone happy just with that smile. She melts hearts all over town. I've seen her melt ladies' hearts both young and old. But last night we made a stop at the grocery store for her birthday cupcakes for school and she stepped it up a notch. She not only charmed a big body builder (no seriously, he was huge), but also a couple of airmen from our Air Force base. The body builder got a high five from Dalton, but when he asked Maggie Anne, he got a decisive "Nnnnno!" Few minutes later, I couldn't figure out why she kept lifting up my arm at the elbow and peeking under it. Yep, she was making eyes at the airmen. What are we going to do with her???

Why did I think the smiles were cuter when they were toothless?

Sibling Adventures

While the offense did not happen at this occasion, I show the first three pictures so you can have an idea of how the injury in the fourth happened. The bump actually happened when they were playing together in a big cardboard printer box or their "space ship."

And no, we do not put our kids in the closet. We were just finishing pulling up the carpet in this area. They had quite a time playing in there. Oh, to be so easily entertained again.

Promise

I know I am behind on pictures. I have lost the cord that goes between the camera and computer. Because birthday pictures are going to be a must, I've decided that I'll have to break down and buy a new one tonight if I can't find the old one (this will ensure that I find the old one immediately after opening the new one).

Anyway, no hatemail please. You will be bombarded soon with the backlog from the camera.

Maybe I'm crazy

So Maggie Anne is the big birthday girl tomorrow. She doesn't have a big vocabulary, but she can definitely communicate. I won the race to get her this morning (the best smile of the day is that big smile before she sits up!) and when I picked her up, she was saying "Da. Da." Boyd came in so I asked if she wanted her daddy. She pushed him away with a "Na Dada" and pointed her arm to the changing table. "Da. Da." she told me again. Soooo, we went and changed her diaper. As soon as she was all dressed, she instructed me "Ba. Ba." So we went to the kitchen where she repeated herself until we found a bottle.

She defnintely knows what she wants. And she's so cute, she usually gets it.

Bubba?

It is official, Dalton has become Maggie Anne's "Bubba." I tried to blame it on the bath or the bottle, but now when she is asked where Dalton is, Bubba is the response you get. Don't know where it is coming from because we have never called him that. Perhaps they do at school. OR she is doing her best to copy her DaDa when he asks her where her brother is.

I survived being a Sissy, so Dalton will survive being a Bubba. :-)

When do we lose this?

Dalton had to take a dollar to school for a project today. Throughout the entire (7 minute) drive to school, he sang a theme and variation on "I've got a DOLLAR!" Fast, slow, soft, loud. Pretty sure there was some opera as well as some rapping.

I just couldn't remember when I last got that excited about a dollar. Maybe there's something to learn there.

News to us

Dalton asked to try on my wedding ring. I let him and asked him if he knew what it meant. He didn't and I told him that it meant that Boyd and I love each other very much and are married. "What! Dad's not married!" Hmmm, I'm pretty sure he is. There was no convincing him that his dad is married.

Curious of the answer, I asked if I was married. And he said yes. So I am married, but Boyd is not? Right. Well, who am I married to?

Elise (my sister)

Funny how little minds work!

Knows how to work me

Dalton just walked over and gave me an unsolicited kiss. I wowed at how special that was. His response, "Well, can I watch another Wubzy?" Definitely knows how to work me.

Growing Girl

Maggie Anne enjoyed her dad's birthday gumbo. Now each time she get a new "real food" (as Dalton refers to it) she eyes us down as if we've been holding out on her.