Good & Bright

{So loose it was crooked!}

Right now I am in this weird place in parenting where I'm not needed like I once was (to help in the bathroom, to dress them or to feed them) but I'm also not quite to the point where I can get things done simply and without "help".

{"I crunched it out with that cookie!"}

{All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!}

 Instead of brushing their teeth, I am playing "Tooth Fairy."  Instead of airplaning food into their mouths, I am trying to shove kindness and consideration down their throats.  It's a bit strange.

They are more independent now than ever, and also more capable of pitching in.  But with that maturity comes some things I wasn't prepared for.  Embarrassment (for example, before we did the Just Dance game we borrowed from a neighbor, Jack insisted we close the windows) and also frustration (for example, when we tell them they have to do something they don't want to do).

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Lately there have been many days spent inside with cold and windy weather (but still no snow!) so we have pulled out all the stops.  Play Doh was my secret one afternoon.

I love how they will protest at first, but before they know it, they're making pizzas...

ice cream treats...

and candy to "sell".

We've also been doing a lot of coloring, which I enjoy.  We'll sit at the table, the four of us, with Christmas tunes playing in the background and we will color to our little hearts' content.  A favorite lately is our Elf on the Shelf color book that I got from Target.com and made copies of.

In addition to coloring and Play Doh, we spend a lot of time doing chores.  The boys have mastered putting away dishes,

and folding laundry.

They also take out the trash for me, and put the laundry in the wash.  I love how helpful they are, and that they are old enough to pitch in.  They occasionally complain, of course, and I remind them that in our family, it's all about TEAMWORK.  Daddy works to make our family money, mommy works to feed our family and keep the house clean, and their job is to help out wherever necessary.  This usually turns their attitudes around. 

I really want them to have a good work ethic, to not mind a challenge, and to dive into a hard job with a smile on their face.  One thing I do when they're working is let them listen to music, either on my phone or on the ipod we have.  I truly believe music can make a crappy job feel less crappy.

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Another perk of them getting older is that they are hilarious.

I taught Jack the word "jog" a few weeks ago when it was in a book he was reading.  He now consistently calls it "hogging" on accident, and I think it's hilarious. I was telling my sister-in-law that if he ever saw me jog, he might think it should be called hogging.
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We were talking about my grandma's sister who passed away, and Logan said if I died he'd kill himself to be with me.  It was so sweet how intense his eyes were, like that would solve the problem.  So we talked about how the people left on earth miss our loved ones, but our loved ones are happy in heaven with God, and that there is still joy to be found on earth.  Such deep talks I find myself having with that boy.
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One afternoon Wyatt wanted to know, "Mom, what does "pitied" mean?" I asked him where he heard it and he said, "The lion pitied the mouse."  He heard it from Aesop's fable on ABC Mouse.  So I explained (to my three year old) what pity is. This kid astounds me.

For probably a year now, Wyatt forbids kisses.  This of course, makes him seem more kissable than ever.  I will kiss his cheek, his neck or his owies, and he will proceed to "wipe them off" aggressively.  Then he says, "No kisses!"  Once in a blue moon he will kiss my forehead if I ask for a kiss, but never on my lips.  And rarely can we sneak a kiss on that doesn't get wiped off.
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One day while he was naked before baths, he asked, "What holds your body on? Glue?"  It was adorable.  I explained that our skin kind of keeps it all together.  Sometimes he stumps me.
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I was shocked the other day when the twins were talking to him about right & left (we talk about it a lot since the twins are mirror twins-- Logan is left handed and Jack is right handed.  In addition to that, Josh is left handed and I'm right handed, so we talk a lot about handedness) and we discovered that Wyatt knows his left & right! No one even taught him. He just picks stuff up!

He can also count out items, like crackers or guys.  He's not always accurate, but he's always enthusiastic.  "It's five. That's my favorite number!" is what we mostly hear him say.  Even if there are twelve. Or two.  He says, "It's five! Mom! It's five! That's my favorite!"

I said before that with Logan I often find myself having very deep conversations.  The other night at bedtime I was laying with him and he said, "If you started when you were young, maybe you could go visit God."  He likens heaven to another planet, thinking it is "light years" away and takes a long time to get to.  He reasoned that if he started really young, he would make it back before he was an old man, ready to die.  He is desperate to get to heaven to see Josh's baby sister Margaret.

Another night he asked me, "Does your belly stay big after a baby?" and also, "What if all three of us were in there together? Could you walk?" I laughed and said, "Barely, I bet!"

While it's true that most of my heaven and God talks are with Logan, Jack has been asking questions more lately as well.  I think it's all the talk of Jesus' birth in our Christmas books.  The other day, after my grandma's sister had passed and I shared the news with them, Jack asked, "Why can't God bring us back to life?"  I gotta tell you, this is the tough stuff of parenting.

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The next few pictures are from my *new* instagram account.
(Sorry for the repeat if you're a follower!)
I am so happy to have finally joined!
Check it out:
alaska_babyham

I bribe the twins with Wii time in the afternoons if they stay in bed until the light is green in the morning.  The light turns green at 6:15am.  It makes for some long days, but bedtime is at 7:00pm sharp, so that's a bonus!

They love Super Mario Brothers, which takes me back to my childhood.  We love Yoshi around these parts!

 The other day for school we did this awesome calendar that Kymberlee got us at the start of the school year.  This time we did the circulatory system.  We worked our way through the parts, naming them and learning their functions.  When I asked what the heart does, Jack told me it pounds.  And Logan said tentatively, "It's where the love is?"

Gah, I love that kid!

Wyatt has a queen size bed. Obviously not because he needs one.  It's just what they had here in one of the storage lockers when he outgrew his crib.  That kid uses every.inch, I tell ya!  He is never where I left him.  I wonder what he will do if we ever have to downsize him!

Last night Logan was telling us that he wishes he and Jack got to sleep in that bed.  I asked if he meant taking turns, and he said no. Like last summer, how they shared a bed. He wants to do that again.  When Josh and I asked him why, he said, "Because then if I have bad dreams, when I wake up, I know Jack is right there with me."

Heart.melt.

source

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PS- I noticed, looking back at my Ten on Ten post, that the twins dressed the same that day.  They did it on purpose. I love when they are adorable like that. For the most part, when we're in Alaska, I let them wear whatever they want. I don't care. Most of the time this produces different outfits.  But occasionally they will decide to match. They love it. It's so cute.