Stories

The kids have done a few super cute things last week and everyone keeps telling me to write them down so here I go.

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Wednesday I was doing the dishes and Michael asked if he could go out back. They had been fighting all morning so I said, "Sure, Go ahead" anything to get them out of the house and to stop fighting. So here is the conversation that followed

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Michael - "Come on Vivian, lets go out back."

Vivian - "I don't want to go out back."

Grumpy Michael - "Fine, I will NEVER let you come outside with me."

Sad Vivian - "But I WANT to go out there."

Happy Michael - "OK, Lets go get our shoes on."

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Apparently my 6 year old already knows the art of reverse psychology. So they get their shoes on and go out back. Then I hear yelling about 10 minutes later and Vivian comes back in the back door.

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Vivian - "I don't want to be outside anymore."

Michael - "Come on Vivian.... I have a surprise for you."

Vivian - "Ok, I will put my shoe back on."

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So they go back outside as I am laughing at Michael's success in manipulation. About 5 minutes later...

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Vivian - "Mommy can you put me on the swing that Michael is saving for me?"

Me - "No Vivian, I'm doing dishes right now."

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2 minutes later

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Vivian - "Can you PLEASE put me on the swing.... I'll give you a hug!"

Me - "OK, Vivian, just a minute."

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It was too adorable to say no again. But they both know how to manipulate and I don't think that is a good quality in children. When I told Debra the story she couldn't get over the fact that Michael was 'saving' the swing for her... saving it from who?

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So they have watched Megamind about ten times this week and have started speaking in 'code' which in that movie is pretty much just saying the word "code" before you say what you are going to say. "Code: They are really cute"

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Also they have started playing Super Why "Code: Not so cute, but clever." For those of you who are not familiar with this cartoon it is about a boy named Wyatt and his friends that live in Storybook Village. They usually encounter a problem and they go to the Book Club to look in a book for the answer. They end up flying into the book and the story has the same problem they are having just in a different context. Usually the main character ends up saying at some point, "I have to ______ because it's in my story." So then Wyatt (Super Why) changes the story for them so that they can solve the problem.

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So she started playing Super Why when it comes to potty training. She said, "I have to pee in my underwear because it says so in my story." I jumped on that one and said, "Well I changed your story and now your story says you go pee in the toilet. Vivian has her issues with solving problems. Whenever she is playing barbies or ponies or make believe in general she always creates a problem and no matter how hard I try, she refuses to pretend to solve it. So she comes back with, "Only Super Why can change the story." So I said I WAS Super Why and she said I'm a girl and can't be Super Why because Super Why is a boy. So then Michael joins in and tries to change her story but it still didn't work because nothing works with her.

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(Any Potty Training advise is welcome)

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Saturday Michael freaked out about getting hurt while playing rough with Daddy and we told him to stop, he didn't so we sent him to time out. (I know we sound like horrible parents but if he is choosing to play rough then he is not allowed to get upset when he gets hurt because that is what happens while playing rough, obviously there are times when he is hurt bad and we don't punish but cuddle but for minor pains we don't want a whiny kid) So when we asked him why he was on time out he said, "Because I fruck out about getting hurt." We started laughing and he got more upset and so I said, "Michael, I'm sorry we're laughing but you said a funny word, you said fruck out instead of freaked out. Fruck isn't a word." They are so cute when they make up words. At least he gets the idea about past tense.

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Vivian wasn't feeling well the end of last week so on Saturday I wrapped her blanket all the way around her. After dinner she said, "Mommy can you snug me again?" She kept using that word, "I want you to snug me." , "I want to get snugged." It was adorable.

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Since Theodore wasn't mentioned in any of the stories above I thought I would include his latest news. First off.... he loves to dance now. Even a small jingle on a cartoon can get him moving. It is hilarious to watch. Last night when we were singing "Families Can be Together Forever" before the kids went to bed we were cracking up because he could not stop moving to the song. After we finally finished singing I pointed out that that was not a very good calming the kids down experience. So I took Theodore out of their room and John sang more with the kids to get them calm but it was fun to be laughing all together.

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He has also started to say a few words more regularly. I don't really count them as words until he says them several times and it's obvious he's gotten the hang of what something is called. So the one he's been saying the longest is probably "Bye" He learned this several months ago but gave up on it for a few months and just started using it again a couple weeks ago along with trying to say "hello" which I will not attempt to spell. He definitely knows "bath" but it turns out to sound a lot like "ba." Then his other favorite is "hot dog" which he pretty much thinks is anything that comes out of the fridge. I will ask him if he wants to eat and he'll walk over to the fridge and say "hok kog" or something like that as he tries to open the door. He also knows the sign for 'more' and 'all done/gone' He knows how to say "aw ga" but doesn't only use it for meals... he kind of goes around all day saying it so it's hard to tell if he knows what it means.

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He is really good at folding his arms for prayer now and attempts to say "amen" as well as gibbering through the prayer thinking it's his turn. He loves being up high and pointing at anything and everything.

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He used to be my obedient little kid by running to his room when it was nap time. As soon as we put the bottle in the microwave he would run to his room and wait for us. He also started a few weeks ago to lay down where ever he was at when he saw us coming with the diaper and wipes. But now... he runs away... he finds the farthest corner to stay in until we come get him. He used to give me back my phone when I asked for it... now he runs. But he does still take things where we tell him to for the most part. "Go give this to Vivian", "Go put it in the trash" This one cracks us up because right now we have the trash cans on the other side of our baby gate and if he's on his tip toes his finger tips can barely reach the top of the gate so the hope of him actually throwing something over and getting it into the trash is a waste but it's just so funny to watch him try.

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Since he was a few months old he has enjoyed hair. If it gets on his hands... he will stick it in his mouth and try to eat it. We were always wondering what he had in his mouth (because you can't see hair) so we would have to go up to him and inspect his mouth and hands until we found the culprit hair. Back then there were 5 girls in the house so it was all over. Now that Tammy and the girls have been gone it doesn't happen as often. So he has tried to get it from the source a few times by going up to Vivian and pulling her hair out. One night I was brushing and braiding Vivian's hair and he got ahold of the brush... his own brand of lollipop. I wonder when this phase will end because I don't want him to appear on My Strangest Addiction someday.

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That's all I have for now. I have a ton of pictures to post so hopefully it will happen soon.