3.08

The kids like the Cedarmont Kids Gospel songs tape we have in the van.  It's really cute to hear them singin' with a little soul!

Jax:  "Gwory Howieyooyah, I shall not be moved!
          Gwory Howieyooyah, I shall not be moved!...."

It's funny to hear them singing about laying down their burdens at the riverside.  :)

And  "Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart...."

And when Jax was 2:  "Wade in da watuw-
                                  Wade in da watuw, chwidden,
                                  Wade in da watuw, God's gonna twubble da watuw."

*******

4.10.08

Jax's words to "Undignified"

"I'll ---- become!  even more diggafive am pwants...."

Gotta make a concert cd or dvd!!

*******

4.09.08

At bedtime I sent Jax and Mia downstairs to get a diaper so I could change Eli.  They were gone for a long time, so when Jax finally came back upstairs I asked what took so long and he said, "We were watching the Food Network."

At naptime earlier today I went to get Jax a bandaid.  He didn't hear me come back in the room.  He was laying in bed listening to a Praise Baby CD and singing along- "God of Wonders beyond our gawaxy- You are howy, howy...."  in the sweetest little sleepy voice you've ever heard.

*******

4.10.08

Mia knows a lot of words but often gets compound words backwards or other words mixed-up.  Today she came down to our disaster area living room and said "Mommy, look at this house room!  It's a wreck!"

Other mix-ups:  beltseat, tiebow, Suepel or Puesel (Pelsue)

*******

Mia's VERY into role-playing.  After almost every story we read, she immediately assigns parts.  Last night she gave me the part of Goldilocks, Jackson was Little Wee Bear, and she was Father Bear.  A lot of times she assigns parts unrelated to a story- "You be milk and I'll be juice" or "You be the sun and I'll be rain."  Funny girl.

*******

4.10.08

Eli is changing almost daily as far as what he is able to do.  Over the last few days he's started spending a lot of time standing up against something.  His favorite three places to stand and play are the little yellow Jack and Jill rocking chair, the LeapFrog table, and the train table.  He likes banging things together.  He also loves to study things- really doesn't matter what- just whatever is in his hand.  It's so precious to see him pinch a teeny tiny object between his thumb and forefinger and bring it close to his face to study it, lips pooched out and brow furrowed.  Oooh-  so cute.  He also likes sticking his finger into holes- the holes of the big plastic pop-a-beads....

2.25.08

Jackson keeps a really busy concert schedule.  He's always on his way to Indianapolis or somewhere to do a concert, so I was surprised when he grabbed his guitar case today and told me he was going to see the Tarheels.  "Why are you taking your guitar?" I asked.  "I'm going to play my guitar for Rameses.  He's gonna like my music."

*******

2.27.08

Much of the time, Jackson isn't Jackson, he's Uncle Aaron.  Today he leaned over to love on Eli in his swing and Eli got his hair.  "Did you pull my Uncle Aaron hair?"  he said.

*******

2.29.08

Jax, Eli and I got up before David and Mia this morning.  Jax wanted me to go to the bathroom with him so Eli and I went in and sat down on the stool while he pottied.  "Jax, can you tell Eli how to use the potty like a big boy?"

He started explaining, and when he got the toilet paper, said "You hold it on your dingle for 40 days and 40 nights."

*******

Mia names the four season:  Potassium, Judges, Winter, Snow

*******

2.08

David took Jax on a "date" one Saturday to Joseph-Beth to see a drumming demo.  On the way Jax commented on a "white man" he saw on a billboard.  That's the first time we've heard him comment on skin color.  Later that night we were driving home from church.  David was goofing off, doing something crazy, and Jackson said "Daddy, you are a silly white man!"

*******

3.10.08

We went to Em and Aaron's for an extended weekend.  Mia was playing with a plastic baggie , so I told her to put it down because it was dangerous.  "Just trust me, Mom!"  ("What did she just say???"  I'm thinking to myself.)  "Trust me, Mom.  Just trust me."  I still made her throw it away.  By the way, a lot of people comment on how tall she is.  I'm starting to think not really....for a 15-year-old.

*******

On the way home from the same trip, I suggested that we maybe should turn Mia's TV screen around so Eli could watch something.  Of course she flipped out.  Jax didn't go nuts but did calmly disagree with me.  "That will be too weird Mom.  It'll be weird if you slide her TV screen around.  We might get nervous if you do that."

*******


3.08

Mia got mad at JJ, pointed her finger at him and said, "PEACE ON EARTH!"

*******

3.24.08

Jax came to our bed in the middle of the night again.  David said, "Jax, you need to go sleep in your bed."  Jax replied, "I just need a short break."

The next morning he crawled in again.  He looked over at me and said "Mommy, your hair is beautiful."

*******

Now that he's learned to tee-tee like a big boy (standing up, "like Daddy does it"), he's serious about the matter.  I was getting ready to give them baths, so they were both naked in the bathroom.  "Y'all need to go tee-tee before you get in,"  I said.  Jax proceeded to put his boxer 'greasers' (briefs) back on so he could pull his dingle through the hole- tee-teeing the big boy way.  Wow.

*******

One day last week Mia was in our bed in the morning.  She heard J stirring in his room.  (GASP)  "I hear my boy!  My boy is awake!"

1.30.08
Today we went on an adventure. I took all three kids to the Don Jacobs dealership to get the brakes inspected (they squeak horribly). They did great while we waited, thanks mostly to the big basket of DumDums in the waiting area (3 each!). After that we went to Sam's for some picture enlargements and pita chips. Of course we had to eat hotdogs there, too. They LOVE Sam's hotdogs. On the way home, Jax said from the back,


"Mommy, when I grow up I wanna be a rock start. But when the rockin' is over, I wanna be a firefighter."


Mia: "And i want to be a doctor when I grow up."


Jax: "And when my guitar gets sick, Mia can put new strings on it and make it better."


****


Jax was snuggling with us in bed one morning last week. He put one arm tight around David's neck and one arm tight around my neck and pulled us close.


"I love my Daddy. I love my Mommy.
Daddy, you are my sweet boy.
Mommy, you are my sweet girl.
I love you guys."


****


12.07


What should we get them for Christmas?.....


Nor: Jackson- snowflake pajamas Mia- pink ice-cream


Pop: - snowman pajamas - motorbike
- a pan to cook


Chris: - a dollar - motorbike


(They ran off to play before I could get to Jen, Gracie and Isaiah)


****


2.10.08


Jackson was in our bed, and I said "Do you want me to take you to your bed?" and he said, "Yes, I have some more dreams left."


The kids were listening for the first time in a while to Five Iron Frenzy's "Suckerpunch"....a few seconds into the song Jackson said "It's Ernzy!" and Mia said "It's Fruit Punch!"


Jackson took a silver streamer and put it underneath his nose and said "I've got a breathe". I said "Where have you seen one of those?" and he said "Jackie". (Referring to GongGong's sister Jackie who he'd seen at the Christmas Eve party a couple months ago.)


****


2.11.08


It started snowing a little while before we took the kids to Yvonne and Gladys' house. By the time we got there, there might've been 1/4" on the ground. Jackson jumped out of the van, laid down on the driveway, and started making a snow angel. :)


****


2.12.08


My sweet JJ snugglebabied with me this morning. He was as close as he could get to me with his arm tight around my neck, twisting his head and working to readjust his shoulders for optimal snuggling. We were both quiet until he said "Mommy, you wook wike an angel. (pause) Mommy, you wook wike gwory to God in the highest."


****


2.16.08


We took the kids to see Clifford the Big Red Dog at Joseph-Beth today. They had a lot of fun- hugged Clifford, got faces/hands painted, balloon animals, blow-up obstacle course, made a necklace...Afterward we went thru the Chick-fil-A drive thru and ate in the van. All of us were quiet, eating, when Jax said


"Mom?"
"Yes, Jax?"
"I love this."


Sweet little grateful heart.


****


2.18.08


Mia said "Mommy, you need to take a picture of me in the morning."


"Why?"


"Because I'm so cute!"


****


At naptime today I put Eli and Mia down at the same time in the same room. I reminded Mia not to talk to Eli and to be a good girl and show Eli how you should lay down and be quiet to take a nap. A few minutes later I could hear the 2 of them having the time of their life. "Aaaaaaah.....Giddy!!" she'd say, and he'd cackle at her, over and over. They love each other. (and I let it go, by the way. It was too cute.)


****


2.23.08


David took Jax out for a "date". While Mia was at home with me, we talked to Nanny on the phone, who'd been at Charlotte's house the last few days. I told Mia that Poppy had been at home by himself....


"What should we do?" (thinking she'd suggest calling him....)


"We should send Nanny back to him."


****


Mia wore a new dress with leggings today. She brought the dress to J's attention he looked at her and said, "Mia, you look WONDERFUL!"


****


Jax saw some competitive skiers on TV. They were all wearing ski gear and all happened to have on black pants. One was wearing a red shirt, one yellow and one blue. He asked, "Mommy, those are the Wiggles?"


****


On the way home from church David was joking around with the kids. Jax said "Dad, you are a silly white man!" (That's the first reference we've heard to a "white" man!)


****


On their date, Jax and David were walking into a store. J spotted a lady and said "Hello, friend!" She looked at him and said he was a cutie. Then he looked at David and said "Did you see, Dad? I said hello to the nice girl."


****

Mia's killing us using "CHUCK-O!" as a cuss word toward Jackson when she's mad.

December 3, 2007
When you what Mia what she's doing and she tries to answer "nothing"- she usually answers "anything!"
***
We're working to fill in all eight slices of a pizza picture to earn a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Slices are earned by staying in your OWN bed all night. Needless to say, Mia has earned 4 of the 5 potential pieces this far. One night Jackson came to our bed around midnight. David was explaining to him that had had to go sleep in his own bed if he wanted a slice of pizza. "
"I just wanna snugglebaby for 1 minute, Daddy!"
and he crawled over and clued himself to me. He did go back to his bed but was back with us before the sun came up. A couple nights later he came again. David went through the deal again, concluding, "so don't you want to go back to your bed so you can get a slice of pizza?"
In his sleeping stupor Jax answered,
"I need to fink about it."
The snuggles won out.
***
January 7, 2008
Eli makes the sweetest sing-songy breathy baby noises. I love it.
His favorite thing to look at is the couch and loveseat material.
His favorite thing to chew on is his toes.

Eli's nicknames:
Ewi
Ewee
WeeWee
Mr. Littleby
Wee Guy (Poppy calls him that)

from Jackson and Mia:
Geegee
Giddy, sometimes "Gid"
Mr. Giddy
Giddy Boy
Giddy Boo
***
January 20, 2008
David, Jackson and Mia are curled up together in the recliner watching a Hillsong United worship DVD. A few minutes in Jackson said "I like it, Daddy!" They kept watching- there were a lot of people on the stage. David said "Look at all the people worshipping God with their hands" (in the audience). When it panned back to a guy on stage Jackson asked,
"Is that God?"
"No, buddy, that's not God. We can't see God- He's not a person. He's our Creator. He's invisible. We just talk to Him even though we can't see Him and have faith that He's there."
"Faif? What is faif?"
David and I looked at each other like "how do we explain?"
Jax cont'd thinking aloud. "Faiful."
(Repeating it as he heard it in a song.)
David said "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Jackson had no idea what that meant, but the answer seemed to satisfy him- for now.
***
January 22, 2008
Jax came down the steps this morning telling me he needed help because his button came untied.

Our toilet was out of order today so I told Jax he couldn't use it.
"I fink you need some new batteries, Mom."

Mia was downstairs in the living room with me while Jax was upstairs playing. She looked at me and said "I'm gonna go upstairs and check on Jackson. You stay here and watch da wedder." (weather)

Roofers came to fix a couple places on our roof. Jackson and Mia are always excited for anyone to come to our house. J said- "Those men are gonna like Giddy."

Mia's cusswords:
DUNGO
MINKY
JUKA
CHUCKO
GONGY
PASQUALE
BOO-PAH
NOOKAH
PEACE ON EARTH!
FLEA MARKET!
and Aunt Emmy's favorite- "SHADRACH!" as she walked out of the room after not gettting what she wanted.

November 2007

I thought it would be fun to see what Jackson and Mia thought we should buy some of our family members for Christmas. Here's what they came up with:

Jackson's List:

Eli: snowflake passy

Emmy: ballerina clothes

GG: stand for T-Bird's cage

Nanny: microphone

Poppy: a microphone, too

Pam: a bow

Drew: a rockstar guitar

Aaron: 2 rockstar guitars

Mia's List:

Eli: a bottle

Emmy: ballerina clothes

GG: tweezers

Nanny: for her tongue to feel better

Poppy: rockstar pants

Pam: a ballerina dance

Drew: rockstar pants

Aaron: purple pants

Nov. 27, 2007

Jackson walked into our bedroom in the morning, climbed into our bed, looked Eli in the face and said "Hello, my friend!" Then he turned to me and said "He is so sweet."

Nov. 28, 2007

Jax came into our room and patted his hand over the sheets. He was looking for Eli. When I asked what he was doing, he said, "I wanna see my sweet precious baby boy."

Nov. 30, 2007

I put Eli down for a nap. He was crying as he tried to go to sleep. David was sitting at the computer and heard Jax start up the stairs.

"Where are you going, Jax?"

"Upstairs."

"Why?"

"My buddy is sad."

November 11, 2007

Jackson, trying to open playdough can, said "I can open it 'cause I'm a STRONG BOY!"

***

Jax is always making up or substituting words in familiar tunes. This morning I suggested we all go back to bed (since The Wiggles concert was last night). Jackson said he'd go back to Mommy's bed and started to sing (to the tune of the Choo-Choo Soul theme song): "All aboard to Mommy's bed, All aboard to Mommy's bed, All aboard to Mommy's bed, All Aboard-All Aboard!!"

***

We've discovered it's hard to get the truth out of Jackson and Mia about who committed what offense when you ask yes or no questions. This morning they were upstairs when Jax called down to report that Mia was jumping on the bed.

"Mia, come here."

They both came scrambling downstairs.

"Who was jumping on the bed?"

In stereo, "Mia was."

Just to make sure Jax wasn't guilty, I said "What were you doing while Mia was jumping on the bed?"

"I was wooking in da mirror at my Wiggles shirt." (he was still dressed like Murray from the concert the night before.)

***

November 12, 2007

***

Jax came walking into our bedroom in a daze around 11:30 p.m. He grinned a sleepy face grin and said "Hello, Mommy! Hello, eddyone!" and then he snuggled up tight to me and said in his stupor, "I wuv Poppy. Poppy is my friend." Then this morning he came and climbed in again, snuggled up to me and said, "I'm mommy's wittle buddy."

***

Jax was in the bathroom, Mia and I were in there too. I looked at her and said "Mia, you're so beautiful- are you my little princess?"

"Yes, and this (extending her arm to Jax) is Joseph."

Me: "Hey, Joseph."

Mia: "This is baby Jesus (cradling an invisible baby in her arms). Would you like to pet Him?"

Me: "Sure."

(And I reached out to love on Baby Jesus.)

Mia then laid the invisible Baby on the floor and proceeded to bend over. She was facing the floor, shaking her head back and forth.

Me: "What are you doing, Mia?"

Mia: "I'm rubbing noses with Baby Jesus!"

***

November 13, 2007

***

Brooke was at our house this afternoon. We were at the table eating supper when Jax must've looked at the refrigerator and seen the picture with PawPaw in it.

"PawPaw's in heaven," he said, talking to Brooke. "He's with Jesus. I'm gonna go see Jesus, too. When I go see Jesus, PawPaw's gonna get on the microphone and he's gonna say 'Introducing-

JEEE-SUUUS!!!'"

***

Both say "Let my do it" for "Let me do it"

***

Mia says "cuge" for "huge".

***

Jax suddenly stripped off his pj's one morning and put on his Murray clothes. As he was changing, Mia said "You funny, Jackson!"

"No, I not funny. I'm Murray."

Oct.28, 2007

On the way to church:

Jackson: "Look, Mommy, the sunshine came out! This is our day."

Mia walked into the living room where Eli was laying on the floor. In a sing-songy voice she said "Well, bless his little heart."

At Fazoli's today, Mom brought some croutons to the table.

Jackson: "Well, wook-ey here. Wook-ey here! Wow! Thanks, Nanny."

Oct. 27, 2007

Mom, Jackson, Mia and I went to Target. Jackson must've said 35,000 words while we were in there. "Mommy, I see VACUUM CLEANERS!! Wook, Mommy, I see Dora! And Thomas! There's the Wiggles! Wook, Mommy, I see a PUMPKIN. Over there is a CHWISTMAS TWEE!"

He talked CONSTANTLY.

Other people were noticing. My ears were exhausted from overload. Whew.

Mia calls a smoothie a "smoodie" and a mermaid a "wermaid."

They're into drawing right now. Jackson draws a lot of little circles, side by side. He also likes to draw clowns. Mia likes drawing rainbows (rows of straight lines) and spiders (a circle with 15 lines around it). I love it.

Jackson sings:

"Shout unto God

Da boice ub twiumph.

Shout unto God

Da boice ub praise.

Shout unto God

Da boice ub twiumph.

We liftcha Name up

We liftcha Name uuuuuup."

Mia was in the bathroom poo-pooing today singing "Joy to the World."

Nov. 4, 2007

I put Mia in her bed for the night.

"Where's the sun, Mommy?"

"The sun is resting from shining on us all day."

"I wanna touch the sun."

"The sun is too hot. It would burn your finger if you touched it."

"I wanna touch the moon."

"Okay, Mimi, maybe someday we can touch the moon."

""I'll say, 'Hi, Moon!' and I'll tickle the moon!"

Jackson was pressing on the toes of his brown boots as we were getting ready for church, as if checking to see if they fit.

"How do they fit, Jax?" "They fit.....nicely."

Jax calls boxer briefs "boxer greasers" and Five Iron Frenzy "Fire Fire Ernzy".

October 2007

I was putting Mia's socks on her feet; I'd scrunched them up but not quite enough, as about an inch was hanging off the end of her toes. She looked at it and, genuinely concerned, said "Oh no! It's melting!"

---

Mia asked me a question- can't remember what it was- but she liked my answer. She pointed her finger at me and said "ABSO-WUTEWY,, Mommy!"

---

Oct.9, 2007

I took all 3 kids to the dr. today for Eli's appointment. Wow! I felt like I'd put in a full day's work when it was over. They took their MagnaDoodles and honestly, did pretty well. But the Dr. suggested that Mia go ahead and get her flu shot. I waited a while to tell her (didn't want to trick her) but not long enough- the nurse was taking FOREVER to come in! She was screaming and crying about not wanting the shot, Jackson was screaming and crying because he didn't want Mia to have to get a shot, and Eli was crying from exhaustion. What a morning!

---

TRIP TO NC WITH POP

We met Pop in London so he could take Jax and Mia to Winston-Salem for a week or so. Half would be with the Joneses, and half with the Wilsons. As Pop was driving he was suddenly aware of Mia's head right beside his. "Hi, Pop!" she said. She had unbuckled herself and hopped down from her seat for a friendly little interaction with Pop. They then stopped for re-buckling, also for pottying. As they were walking out of the bathrooms, Jax spotted a picture of ice-cream. "I think I want some ice-cream." So ice-cream it was.

---

Also, in Winston, Pop took the kids to see NorNor at school. They walked into the classroom and Mia said "Hi, NorNor. This is my friend Pop." Jackson announced, "My name is Jackson David Jones and I'm a rock star!" The class thought it was hilarious.

---

Oct. 26, 2007

Mom and I went to KMart and DQ around the kids' bedtime. Jax was so sad- he cried while we were gone, wanting the kiss Mommy promised when we'd return. When we got home, he was on the loveseat laying down and Mia was on the couch, also laying down. David said "Mia, tell Nanny and Mommy why Jackson was so sad."

"Jackson missed Nanny and Mommy."

Just then Jax put one arm around my neck and one arm around Mom's neck. He pulled us close to him and said, "You are my sweet girls."

---

Oct. 27, 2007

Jax and Mia went downstairs for breakfast with Nanny, then Jax came back up to our bed for snugglebaby-ing. He gave David a kiss and I said, "Jackson, are you just full of love?"

"No, I'm full of Pop Tart."

funny pronunciations:

Jackson: orchestra- "o-piskwa"

" I can't be-WIEVE it!!"

Mia: pay attention- play appention

---

...Mia never answers a question with a simple "yes" or "no". Every question that starts or ends with "do you...." is answered with "I do...." or "I don't..." So very proper.

---

Sept. 30, 2007

Mia drank the last sip of a McDonald's Sprite through the straw. David took the lid off for her to see if there was any more left. She looked down in the cup and said "Hmmmm, this is gonna be tricky."

---

Oct. 1, 2007

Me: "Hey Jax, you know what we need to do? We need to clean up these blocks. Can you help me?"

Jax: (picking up his guitar) "Uh, no. I think I'm going to worship."

---

Oct. 3, 2007

Mia asked me if she and Jackson could sleep in "the really same room" tonight. Since they did well at naptime, I said "Sure!" and she said "You're so wonderful, Mommy!"

---

Both kids, when we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, think the caterpillar spins a raccoon.

---

Jax answers a lot of questions by starting with "Well...." or "See...."

---

They love to watch Yo! Gabba Gabba. The main guy on the show is DJ Lance Rock, but to Mia he's BJ Lint Rock.

---

Jackson's shoes were untied; he was freaking out like he does sometimes when something is broken, torn, incomplete, etc. I told him to sit down so I could tie his shoes. He put one of the up toward me so I could tie it, put is hands on his head and said "IT'S RUINED!!"

Sept. 2007

Jackson talks a lot about "our famawy". He thanks God for our famawy, and today he also thanked God for "Uncle Drew rocking Jackson baby".

---

Sept. 15, 2007

The Carmichaels, Doerrs and Chris all came to our house today. Within 2 minutes of their arrival Jax and Mia broke out in a concert- Jax on his new acoustic cowboy guitar and Mia on the blue electric guitar. It was quite a concert! Everybody watched in amazement- Ethan was grinning from ear to ear and the other kids were speechless. The other adults think they're a hoot. So do I.

---

Jax spotted a roofer on top of a house behind ours while we were all in the back yard eating. He waved his little arm and yelled "Hey! Hey!" to the roofer (who remained unaware of the greetings coming in his direction). What a friendly little guy.

---

Sept. 2007

Zacchaeus was the topic of our "Bible Words" book the last few nights. Last night David was reviewing and said that Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house. "What did they do there?" he asked. With no hesitation, Jackson said, "They played the GUITAR!"

---

Sept. 21, 2007

Jackson came and got in our bed this morning. He's had a runny nose and was a little stuffy. He said "My nose stinks. It smehws wike Buckwey's poo-poo. (Pause) Stop poo-pooing on my nose, Buckwey!"

---

Later..."Daddy, I want to go downstairs." I said, "I'll take you, Jax." "No. I want Daddy to take me. Daddy is a sweet boy."

---

Mia got a doctor kit for her birthday, along with a personalized doctor coat. She loves being the doctor or the patient. She told me that she was sick and needed to go to the hospital. "What's wrong?" I asked. "My fingernails hurt...my armpits hurt....my pajamas hurt." Poor Mimi.

---

The kids watch me give Buck an allergy pill in the mornings, and I've explained to them before that it's because his paws itch. Sitting at the table the other day she told me she needed some medicine. "How come? What's the matter?" I asked. "My paws are itchy!"

little loves and trip to Indy

Aug. 2007

Jax came into our bedroom- David and I were in bed. He climbed up on our bed and pulled our heads together for a group hug and said "Mommy and Daddy, I wub you forebber."

---

Mia looked at Eli and said "I lahv (love) your toes. I lahv your black hair and your red mouth."

Aug.31 - Sept. 3, 2007- trip to indy

Jackson and Mia LOVED swimming! I remembered to bring their suits with floaties in them and that made things a lot easier in the pool. They could doggie paddle with them on by themselves and keep their heads above water.

---

Saturday: Jackson was in the sunroom watching Aaron through the screen door as he threw horseshoes. He had been following Aaron around constantly, telling him how great he is, etc. He was yelling "AARON! That was great! You are da man, Aaron, you are da man!"

---

I peeked in at the two of them after I laid them down for a nap. Jax was sitting up on the edge of the mattress so I told him to lay down. I looked at Mia, who was laying down like she should've been, so I said "Mia, you're being such a good girl." She looked at me and said "Thanks, Mom."

---

They had to pee constantly because they drank so much pool water. Jackson would take his trunks completely off and stand on the brick ledge facing away from the pool and toward the rocks. He'd take the stance, spread his legs, tighten his cheeks, lean his pelvis in and pee away. One time he reached his little left hand up to the imaginary handle on the imaginary toilet and flushed. Good-bye, tee-tee.

They performed in the foyer of East 91st after church for people who were still hanging around a while after church let out- Rhett, Mandy, Joe, Dave and others. They hammed it up to the max.

---

There's a Mama cat and 2 kittens under Em and Aaron's deck. Jackson thanked God for the mama kitty in his supper prayer.

---

Gary, Nancy and Emily Pelsue kept Jax and Mia so Aaron, Em, David and I (and Eli) could go out. When we got back they said they'd watched a Barney video. When asked "How was it?" Mia said "It was pretty good." Could a 3-year-old really have seen enough material in her life to judge a Barney video as just "pretty good"?

---

Unfortunately, Aaron decided to wear his speedo to swim on Sunday. When he took off his shorts to reveal his regrettable choice of swimwear, Jackson took a good look and said, "You got your pull-up on, Uncle Aaron?"

Sept. 7, 2007

Mia's prayer at lunch:

Dear God,

Thank You for my potatoes.

Thank You for my snake (country style steak).

Thank You for my salad.

Thank You for my dress-up (dressing).

Thank You for my corn.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

---

Jackson always misses Daddy when I punish him or vice-versa. Tonight he was in trouble with both of us at home so he said "I miss my famwy in K-Cawina! (North Carolina)"

---

One evening Jax was in bed with David when his thoughts drifted to thinking about people's eye colors (for some reason he's really into that right now).

"What color are your eyes, Daddy?"

"Brown."

What color are Mommy's eyes?"

"Green."

"What color are Eli's eyes?"

"Blue."

"What color are Mia's eyes?"

"Brown."

"What color are Tiger Woods' eyes?"

back to business

After a short breather of 7 months I think I'll get back to this blogging thing. A couple nights ago there was a journal-worthy incident that I had to write down, and after it was written I couldn't help but flip back through the polka-dotted book where I write down all the gems, or at least some of them, that come out of those unpredictable little mouths. But alas, you'll have to wait for the most current entry, as I decided I would just start at the beginning of that journal- July 2007- and make my way through it until I am current on this blog. So the kids you'll read about here are two-and-a-half years younger than they are now. Some of the entries will be funny, some sweet, some just written down so I never forget the mayhem of the first few years, but it will give me a great sense of relief to have this treasure chest of things they've said and done recorded somewhere else than a little journal that could be lost or destroyed. I hope you have as much fun as I do. July 2007: Jackson (age 2) kept getting out of bed one night, so finally David let him lay in our bed with him while he read. Jax laid his head on David's chest and said "Daddy, I love you SO much." A few minutes later I came up, David told me what Jax had just said to him, and then he looked at me and said "Mommy, I think you're so precious"- OH MY WORD. I thinked him and then crawled up beside him to snuggle for a minute. He continued, "Mommy, I think you're so cute." I was thinking he'd just landed himself a lifetime pass to Mommy and Daddy's bed whenever he wanted. August 2007: I was putting away clothes in our bedroom and Mia (age 2- almost 3) was watching me. Pretty soon she picked up a hanger of her own along with a pair of Jackson's Diego underwear and proceeded to thread the top of the hanger through one of the legholes. As she hung it on there she sang, "Won't you be? Won't you be? Please won't you be my neighbor?"

whirlwind

It's taken me three days to get around to my second post. I've been recovering from Tuesday since, well, Tuesday. That morning we took Eli to the doctor. It's not always my first choice to take siblings to the doctor, but since we had other errands to run, I thought I'd muster the gumption and do it. Eli was unassuming, not knowing that his appointment involved needles. Jackson and Mia were excited to be along for the ride and especially excited that their time at the doctor would NOT involve needles. Anyway, the trip went fine until Eli got his shots, at which point he and his empathetic sister both bawled. Jackson declared it the BADDEST DAY EVER and huffed that the nurse could do such a thing to his brother. Lollipops at the checkout desk....happy again...on to Target. The trip to Target would be a quick one- all we had to do was exchange a couple pairs of shorts for Eli. As I looked over the shorts selection, Jackson and Mia busied themselves looking at the racks and racks of stuff and aggravating each other. With great urgency Mia suddenly declared that her poo-poo was "about to come out right now". So I recalled quickly where the bathrooms are in Target and we made a mad dash for the potty. She has a knack- as I'm sure many kids do- of waiting until we're at the farthest point from the restroom to announce her need to go. So we made it and in we went, but our usual handicap stall was occupied. Jax and Mia dropped their drawers and went to separate stalls. As I stood outside Jackson's door, Mia yelled "HEY MOM!! Come look at my poo-poo! It's all different colors because of all the different colored foods I've been eating!" The lady at the sink chuckled, I wiped her, we washed our hands and made a fast exit.

mouthful of sweet

Just 68 more days until Mia's 5th birthday. 97 days until Jackson turns 5. And I'm coming around to thinking that maybe the two of them really are funny. I mean I've always thought they are, but I just thought I was biased; people tell me they are, Em tells me they are- even that people ask if she has any new Mia and Jackson stories. So I thought I'd quit writing all the funny things said and done in my little notebook, and put them somewhere other people can laugh along with us. Today it's nothing really funny, just sweet. Tiny, but- in my book- worth remembering. Today is Uncle Aaron's birthday, so we called to sing to him. First we got his voicemail, so Jackson and Mia serenaded him with great gusto, signing off with "I love you! Happy Birthday!!" As soon as we hung up, Eli (who we usually call Giddy) came running over to say he wanted to sing to Uncle Aaron. And so we called back and left birthday greeting voicemail #2. It was precious, and Eli's doting big brother looked on with delight as the tiny one sang "Happy Buhday to A-wunnnnnn...." We hung up the phone, and Jax, curled up like a little monkey in my lap, looked up at me and with a mouth full of sweet said "Eli sure do has a little voice....(pause)...a sweet little voice." Honestly I can't believe he'll be 5 in September. I thought surely I would've eaten him up by now.