It Flies By

Yesterday morning, Amelia flashed me the "I love you" sign as they pulled away drove away for school. For me, this 5 second sequence played in slow motion. I immediately flashed forward several years to her waving to me as she pull away for college. As crazy as that may sound, time with kids flies by so incredibly fast. I can't believe she's already 4 years old and getting reading to start TK at school. It seems like only yesterday that I was filming probably my favorite video of her ...

Losing Battle

I guess I always knew this day was coming. I guess I'm proud. I also guess I'm a little scared. It is official...my four year-old is smarter than I am...at least at emotional manipulation. In the last few days, she has come up with the following...

Me: How many skittles have you eaten?
Amelia: five
Me: I know how many were in there and I'm going to count how many are left. You're only supposed to have half the pack.
Amelia: six
Me: Let me see
Amelia: I ate all of them.
Me: Well, that really disappoints me. I'm upset that you disobeyed, but I'm really angry that you lied.
Amelia: You're not happy with me?
Me: No, I'm not happy.
Amelia: If you liked being angry, you'd be happy.
Me: (silence)

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Amelia: ( saying her prayers in silly baby talk)
Me: Dear Jesus, please forgive Amelia for being disrespectful during her prayers. Please help her understand it is mportant to be serious with our prayers.....
Amelia: Daddy, I have more prayers.
Me: (prideful about teaching her) okay, baby.
Amelia: Dear Jesus, please tell my daddy that all my prayers are good prayers because you love me no matter what...Even when I'm bad.
Me: Dear Jesus, thanks for helping me understand.

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Amelia: (crying for sympothy from me at dinner because her mom said she couldn't have dessert unless she eats her food)
Meggan: Randall, while you're up, can you get some napkins please?
Amelia: Daddy, can you please get me a napkin to wipe up all these sad tears?

Days of the Week

In another episode of What Did You Learn in School, we present "Days of the Week"....en Espanol (and yes, she once again resorts to her signature booty spank move while explaining what she learned in school)....

Corn

Everett goes through phases where he decides he is going to go completely overboard with his love for certain foods. Last night, he tried corn (on the cob) for the first time....



At first he tried to eat it like a banana....

Once he got a taste, he went nuts like a vampire on a fresh kill.... 

And by his second ear of corn, he was a total pro...

In The Toilet

Let this serve as a lesson to you parents who think you don't have to watch your 15 month-old as closely as long as you know he can't get to any choking hazards...sometimes, you may forget your toilet is open and even though you can see your son from where you are sitting, you may not know exactly what he is doing...and exactly what he is doing would be taking all the personal hygiene products he can find and throwing them in your potty. Luckily, he doesn't know about flushing yet...

Hungry

When I came across an offer on our peanut butter to enter an online code to donate one free meal to those in need, I decided it would be a good chance to give Amelia a lesson on those less fortunate. So, I let her type in the online code as I explained to her what it was for. We had a good talk about how lucky we are and why it's important to help people who have fallen on hard times. After we were done with the code, Amelia asked me what happens to the other kids who don't have any food. So, I told her that code was only good for one dinner, but if we gave some of our own money, we could buy a lot of dinners. Then, I asked her if she wanted to give some of the money from her piggy bank. After thinking about it for a second, she said "it's okay if I don't get a pinata right now (which is weirdly what she has been saving up for). We can give them money". I asked her how much she wanted to give and after consideration she said 6 dollars, which for a 4 year-old is roughly 7 million dollars. Now, I don't know how many meals $6 buys, but I know the gesture of a small child giving their own money for others is priceless. I also know that sometimes when you set out to teach your children, you are the one who ends up learning the most.

Cute

As a parent, you are always so biased you really can't imagine anyone not thinking your kids are adorable. I know this about myself...and I'm totally okay with it. I take pride in being a dad who holds his kids in disproportionately high regard. That said, I was still flattered when the woman I bought one of Meggan's Mother's Day gifts from asked if she could use the kids images for her listings.... (check out her link, she does some cool work)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/151747782/block-collage-your-own-photos-of-all-my?ref=shop_home_active

Furry Ones

Good friends of mine sadly had to unexpectedly say goodbye to their beloved dog today. If you aren't a dog owner or animal lover, it may not seem like that big of a deal. However, if you are, I think you can understand why despite her normal annoying barking, I spent some quality time with Sophie this evening. It is far too easy to take your pets for granted. So, if you have the luxury of being a pet owner, give them an extra hug, rub, or treat tonight. 

Strawberry Patch

Nothing makes a weekend nicer than a nice trip to the strawberry patch...well, maybe a trip to the strawberry patch when you aren't in a leg brace and crutches, but that's neither here nor there.

Ev is always happy to share

Amelia was the only productive strawberry picker of the family

Everett found it easier to load his basket by stealing what someone else had already picked

This picture is spot on for these two... Amelia is afraid to ride/try anything new while Everett thinks it is hilariously fun

Simon?

While playing Simon Says with Amelia today, as Simon, she said "Simon Says touch your nipples". It's safe to say I wasn't prepared for Simon to be so body aware/forward. It is also safe to say I hope she doesn't repeat this feat in front of her entire class at school. For those wondering, yes, I followed instructions....I don't like to lose...sue me.

Rain

Is it okay for a dad to hold his four year-old daughter over his head and use her as a human umbrella on the way to the car in a downpour? What if that particular dad could barely walk because he is recovering from ACL surgery? No, it's not? Hmmm, okay, I won't do it again.


For the record, she loved it.

Welcome Home

After being away from the kids for four days, I'm sure Meggan was very excited to see everyone. While Everett hasn't stopped smiling in two days, Amelia had this to say....

Amelia: Mom, I'm sooo glad you're home

Meggan: Thanks, baby

Amelia: I REALLY missed the IPad.

Ahhh, you have to love the honesty of a child.

Thankful

I am so thankful my family was able to come up and help while Meggan was away. My knee is improving each week, but I would have had no chance of keeping up with both kids this week by myself. I also think they kids really enjoyed having some new faces to play with (even Ev who has his own unique, tearful way of showing it).

Amelia checking out the baby ducks on a walk with her uncle "Butch"

Happy Boy

When Meggan left Everett home with me last weekend, this sad sight of him sitting quietly at the door waiting on his mom was what I was left with....

....she was only going to the store. So, I was pretty worried when she left for San Francisco for 4 days. While, he hasn't been too melancholy about her departure, his reaction will probably be reminiscent of the audience on set of an Oprah's Favorite Things episode.

Too Much

You should never underestimate how much your children know. Just last night, Amelia said the following...

Me: (to Meggan in reference to an airport) It's not a small airport like Savannah.

Amelia: What's a savannah?

Me: It's a city by where Grandma and Grandpa live.

Amelia: Noooo, it's not. It's a kind of place that is hot all the time ...(and then she said more stuff that I can't remember about natural savannahs like in Africa).

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Me: Mommy is flying on  a biiig airplane tomorrow. 

Meggan: Yep, I have to go to the airport really early and get on it.

Amelia: What gate do you have to go to?

So, as you can see, kids know things you'd never guess they'd know (like airports have gates since she's never flown and we've never talked about airports) or things you aren't 100% sure you knew yourself (like different natural environments around the globe).

For Sale

Look, if I have to buy my children's love and affection by virtue of offering them rides around stores in motorized carts .... I'm soooooooo not above it. They took turns riding in multiple stores yesterday and I'll be wearing this brace until it falls apart if it means I get to ride in the carts with them...

Happy Mother's Day

I normally write a long, mushy post about how awesome mothers are. However, this year we were actually too busy celebrating, shopping, and enjoying the beautiful weather for me to have time to post anything. So, as much as I adore mothers, I think we finally commemorated it the right way...by actively appreciating the time we get to spend with mothers instead of just writing about it.

Thief

When I stumbled upon Everett rummaging through my wallet like a pickpocket, I had to ask myself two questions...

1) How did he get my wallet in his high chair?
2) Do I need to check my statement for Babies "R" Us online purchases in case this isn't the first time he's stolen my cards?

Faces

Amelia has reached an age where I have to sneak up on her to take a picture or else she makes a funny face...and usually that doesn't even work...

Crutch

Amelia, in either a show of sympathy or lunacy, has now taken to walking around the house using a back scratcher as her "crutch" for her "hurt knee"...

Beach

After all this knee surgery, kid illness, and work stress, I am in desperate need of a trip to the beach. Unfortunately, we have no beach trip planned. So, if any of you would like to watch our kids, donate a beach condo, or be our stand-ins at work , please let me know. If that isn't possible for any of you, we would also settle for a large umbrella and a cooler full of alcohol in our backyard.

Smile

Apparently, you can disregard any smile pics I put on the blog. After Everett tricked us into thinking he was getting better last night, he was sick enough today for the doctor to tell us "If he doesn't perk up soon, you have to take him to the emergency room". Luckily, after barfing out a few demons, he did perk up a bit. We're still not sure what is wrong with him, but we're very glad we avoided the hospital for today.

Rarity

I got to see what has become a rarity tonight...a smile from Everett. The poor little guy has been having a really rough time the last few days with some teeth/mouth issues. So, in a week where he's basically been Grumpy Cat (Google it), a smile was a very welcome sight...

At Least It's More Current

Amelia's education on popular dance crazes has continued at school...apparently, today she learned Gangnam Style

Scared

Letting Amelia drive me around the store in a motorized shopping cart seemed like a good idea...until she turned around and shot me this crazed look....then, I got scared for me, other patrons, and anything else that wasn't bolted down or quick enough to dive out of her way....

True

Sometimes you struggle to find the words you want to share with your kids and sometimes you find them at the store and hang them on their bedroom walls...

Kids Everywhere

With Mother's Day coming up, Meggan probably deserves the best gift she's ever gotten. Of course, this is partially because she has a full year under her belt as a mother of two. That said, the real reason is she has a week under her belt as the mother of three. To my credit, I don't think I've whined nearly as much as I've wanted to, but I am nearly completely useless. So, she has to get them dressed, help me get dressed, give them a bath, help me get in and out of the shower, bring them their breakfast, bring me mine, get all their things ready for school, get all my things ready for work, etc., etc., etc. All of this and I didn't even go into any of the actual medical things she has to do for me like lug my ice machine up and down stairs, change bandages, and keep my medicines straight. So, as you can see, aside from missing my glowing personality, Meggan would actually be better off if I were out of town. Hopefully, I will be off crutches soon and will be able to carry more of the load around the house...until then, Meggan will have to continue double duty...and keep praying for her trip to San Francisco to get here faster.

Laugh a Little

I almost never post things from other sites, and I'm sure I'm the last person on the Internet to see this video, but I had to share it anyways. If it doesn't at least make you smile, you should probably be on some sort of bad people watch list.