Recent Happenings

Look how chubby those cheeks are getting already!











Don't worry...no one was harmed as this photo (below) was taken! Both kids are actually very sweet with Reid. I just think this picture is funny...I'm not sure what Damon was trying to do here!


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Sweet Reid

A couple of weeks ago I had my friend Audrey snap some photos of Reid. I love how they turned out! He is so delicious!












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Proud Mama

Not many almost-four-year-old girls beg to hold spiders. Or ants. Or snails. Or beetle larvae. But mine does! Malia is a little entomologist in the making and I couldn't be more proud! While we were out in the yard today, Malia found a snail. It poked its head out from its shell and, in a very serious tone, Malia asked: "can you talk?". I would have loved to hear that conversation.




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Fun Stages

There are so many fun things about our kids at these ages that I hope I will always remember. I know for that to happen, I need to write them down! I've been meaning to actually post this for weeks...

Damon:
-Obsessed with stars. A few months ago, literally EVERY time he saw a star, he would sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", but his version was more like: "Kinko kinko widow dtar, how I wonder E E are. Up abuh the wor so high, wike a diamon ih da sky". Unfortunately, he doesn't sing it very often anymore and I've been unsuccessful at getting footage of him singing. It is so stinking cute.
-He has started to put some words together. For instance, after opening the door to let someone in, he'll say "Come on in!" with such enthusiasm. He also says "Weeeah (Malia)! Where are you?". Luckily he asks for "help" often, which is vastly different from Malia, whose favorite phrase is "I'll do it myself!".
-He misses Malia when she's at preschool. When they reunite (after only 2 hours, twice a week), they are both very hyper and excited to see one another.
-Highly addicted to his "soo soo". I'm afraid for the day when we have to break him of his pacifier habit.
-Loves going to the gym and church. The ladies that take care of him say he is so pleasant and well-adjusted. It's nice to know he's having a good time and I don't have to worry about separation anxiety.
-Is very affectionate. He loves to cuddle and do running hugs. When he wants to be held he says "hold you"
-Loves to be chased (especially on hands and knees) and tickled. His laughter is such a great pick-me-up. It makes up for his screams. (Although I think he's screaming less and less these days...that, or I'm just so accustomed to it that I don't notice it as much anymore).
-Makes typical 'boy' noises. At play group a couple of weeks ago, he came downstairs with a light saber (sp?) and while swinging it, made the light saber noise. He'd never seen one before- he just intuitively made the sound. Pretty funny.
-Is a challenge to feed. Like many toddlers, I imagine, he loves one thing one day, and hates it the next. It wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't so tiny! (He weighed in at the 6th percentile (a little shy of 24lbs) at his 2 year check-up, but the doctor was pleased with that!). But one thing he consistently loves is smoothies. I pack most of his nutrition into that one morning sippy-cup, and feel good that at least he got some healthy, non-dairy, non-cracker calories to start his day. He is also notorious for throwing his food. Every. Single. Meal. You'd think by now I would have figured out how to stop that behavior, but no--I've just accepted that my kitchen floor will always have traces of Damon's rejected food. (I guess it's a good thing that the floor hides dirt well, and that I've never been a super tidy person anyway).
-He is crazy about shoes. Or all forms of footwear, for that matter. In any place where there are other people's shoes available, he will take the opportunity to try them on. Adult/child-sized, masculine/feminine, sparkly/boring, heeled/flat...it doesn't matter!

Malia:
-Loves to meet and play with other kids. At the park, she'll treat a stranger like her new best friend and say things like: "we'll come back another time!" or, "see you next week!", when it's time to go home.
-She speaks often and fondly of her favorite people (Laurel Lee & Robert, Grandma and Grandpa 'Birgil', Cole & Ally, Anna, Barbara, etc.).
-Loves to change her outfit multiple times a day. If she so much as gets a drop of water on an outfit, there is no convincing her that she should continue to wear it. She loves to wear dresses, swimsuits, and stretchy pants (no jeans for her!). It amazes me that she can be perfectly happy to wear a swimsuit and nothing else in our basement when it is probably close to 60 degrees down there in the morning when she wakes up.
-Has an insatiable appetite. I swear that girl is never full! It's quite the contrast to Damon and the amount of food he eats. Some of her favorites are: pickles (eaten with Kurt), dried fruit, pizza, and lucky for me- V8 (she even takes it for snack-time at preschool).
-Is into all things princess.
-She likes puzzles
-Likes putting all of her "guys" down to nigh nigh with "quash qwoffs" (washcloths, aka blankets).
-One of my favorite phrases of hers: "Swallow your mouth, Mom!" (She has said this a handful of times when she didn't appreciate being disciplined).
-Loves music. I found a Disney mix CD and we've been playing that in the van while we're out and about. It's very amusing to hear both kids try to sing along, even though they get many of the words wrong. She has become quite the back seat DJ!

He's a Saint!

I was talking to Malia about seeing Santa in person (we were planning a trip to see him). She tells me, very matter-of-factly "Santa's not a person, he's a saint!".

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Holding Baby Jesus

I love how the Christmas season gives us the chance to talk more about Jesus. Malia is really starting to pick up on it (in addition to all the talk of Santa and presents, of course!). Here she is, holding on to her new favorite toy, a tiny stuffed baby Jesus. Even though he is already 'wrapped in swaddling clothes', Malia thought a pink washcloth would provide some added warmth. She loves to carry that little doll around!


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Laughter is the best kind of medicine

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Living in the dark

The rains have returned to Portland. Luckily, we had a bit of a break today (partly cloudy, with a little sun).
Malia excitedly looked out the window and said "Mum! The sun is on!". Too bad she won't be saying that much over the next six months.

Even Pumpkin Thieves Deserve the Benefit of the Doubt

This morning Malia peered out the window and with a look of horror on her face exclaimed: "what happened to Damon's pumpkin?!". Earlier in the week we had purchased a family of four pumpkins and placed them on our front steps (that's about all the Halloween decorating I do around here). This morning, "Damon's" pumpkin was missing. "Uh oh," I said. "I think a not very nice person took it from our house." I scanned the driveway and road, expecting to see it smashed somewhere. I looked at Malia's face and could see that she was trying to process what I had just told her. In disbelief that something so terrible could happen, she responded: "It's okay, Mom. They didn't mean to take it. It was yucky and they put it in the garbage." As she explained this to me, the look of concern dissipated and all was well in her world again. I love that now that she can express herself, I get glimpses of how she thinks. She continually surprises me and I love it!

Well that's a relief!

This morning, after giving Malia a hug and kiss I said: "Malia, I love you."
She responded with a big smile and said: "I love you too, Mom. You don't scare ME!"

No, but nice try

After getting nicely tucked in following the full bed-time routine tonight (including extra books and songs), Malia asks: "Mum, can you go get my doll house?".
Nice try sister!!!

Brother of a Sister

Helper Heart

Yesterday we went on a "hike" at Tryon Creek. Malia happily jumped out of the van, sporting her sweet ladybug backpack, and was anxious for an adventure. Within two minutes of our hike, she bit the dust. On a very bumpy, gravelly path. Even after kissing the owies better, she didn't quite have the same enthusiasm for the trip. So, we tried to find lots af distractions along the way (I wasn't about to head home!). Quickly we found a giant snail crossing the trail. Malia was engrossed...for about thirty seconds. Then she wanted me to carry her. On occasion, I do sport the "super-mom" look: Damon strapped to my back, with Malia clinging on my front. But I wasn't about to do that on this trip. So it was on to the next mini-marvel. We saw lots of dogs, plenty of birds, and I think 6 GIANT banana slugs. They are awesome. One of those unfortunate souls hadn't made the cross-trail trek successfully and had been unpleasantly discharged under someone's shoe. Upon seeing this squished slug, sweet Malia exclaimed: "we need to help him!" .....if only we could. Later, while pointing out some of the awesome trees, I said: "Malia, look at that tree that fell over! Check out those roots sticking out in the air!". Again, her response was (and it was with genuine concern): "we need to help him!".

Nyalicious

Malia was gently petting Nya and being quite lovey. She then proceeded to kiss her repeatedly.
Malia: "I'm having fun with Nya. I give Nya kisses. I taste her fur. It's really yummy!".
I, too, think Nya is delicious....but not that way!

Photo Dump

I remember loving dressing up Claude when I was little...I had to relive that moment. I actually can't believe it took me this long!

What a good helper I have! I love how the bowl is sitting precariously on the edge of the table.

Poor Damon! I don't know what's worse...the fact that he got pummeled, or the fact that I documented it instead of intervening!

Can you find the kitty?

Song of the Day

Malia is starting to make up her own songs. Today she was singing: "Nya's grown up and she's gonna get married..."
I have no idea where she gets her stuff!

Birthday Boy, Bye-bye Binkie & Hello Big Girl Bed!

It's been a busy few weeks in the Plaster household. The title of this post says much of what has been going on. I'll spare you the details and give you pictures instead!

Here's Malia playing "I'm gonna get you!" with LL. She insisted we have party hats for Damon's birthday dinner.

Here's the whole gang...

My little sweet boy! I can't believe he's one year old!

He got a night lamp that shines stars on the wall that matches Malia's ladybug one.

It took him a little while to catch on to the cake!

Kurt caught Damon sleeping while sitting up. He was rocking forward and backward while sleeping, resting his face (and then back of his head) on side of the pack-n-play.

Precious cat time...

Right before a much needed hair cut:

Gettin' into trouble...

The 'cage' has reappeared in our basement since Damon has become mobile.

Malia finally moved to a toddler bed. The transition came two days after we said goodbye to her soother. It was going so badly that I decided we would just add the bed switch to the mix- get this misery out of the way as soon as possible! Needless to say, none of us (except Kurt!), has been sleeping as well since the change. I'm hoping she'll get back to napping so I can get some things done in that precious time! The first night we got rid of the soother, I cut it the tip off and handed it to her. She put it in her mouth, pulled it out, and said "It's broken, Mama. We need to fix it!". After telling her we couldn't fix it and that we didn't need to because she's a big girl now, she said "We need to get a new one!". I put her in her crib at 7 pm, and she didn't fall asleep until 11:30 pm! During these 4 1/2 hours, I gave her 2 bandaids (for imaginary owies), said 5 prayers (she'd say: "Mama, c'we have a prayer?"), got in her crib twice (yes, you read that right), sang I don't know how many songs, and wished during the entire time that she would just fall asleep. Finally she relented, but if you saw her today, you'd see the bags under her eyes. Poor thing!

It has been too long!

Malia throws as many toys as possible into her crib so that she can be entertained before (and after) she actually sleeps at nap time. In this severe case, I removed some items so she would have some place to lie down. I am not ready to move her to a big bed! It is so nice to have her contained, and she still loves her crib.

Here are the sock monkeys I made for the kids for Christmas.

Here's Malia playing with her doll house on Christmas day. It was just as much a gift for me as it was for her. Luckily she loves it!

Damon loves the vacuum! Even while it is on! Here he is chasing it.

Malia is a good kitty mama. She likes to make sure Nya has blankets and a pillow so she can go "nigh nigh".

Malia loves being a princess. Thank you for the outfit, Liz!

I love watching Malia interact with other little people her age. It's so fun to see her play with friends.

Here she is trying to catch some snow on her tongue.
The kids love playing in forts! (Damon just dismantled one in this picture.)

Poor kitty...

More fort fun!

This was our first snow shoeing trip as a family of four. It was fun to get out!

Yes, we had to bust out the soother. It was a weak moment. But look how happy she is!

Fun times at the zoo.

This bird let us stand within about 18 inches.

Other fun tidbits:

-Last week Malia busted out with "Jingle Bells", except her version was "Tinkerbell", pronounced "Dingabell".

-Damon is getting into everything! He finally started crawling this month and he has really taken off. Malia will sometimes cheer him on and say "You're doing it Damon! Good job!". I love the look of satisfaction he has on his face while he's on the move.

-A couple of times Kurt has put Malia to bed (after saying a prayer with her), only to have her cry "Mama!". When I come in, she asks "Mama, can we have a prayer?". So I say a prayer with her, and then kiss her goodnight. On one occasion, I heard her say her own prayer after I had left the room, listing some things/people she is grateful for (including her favorite nursery leader).

-Yesterday I almost had to take one of the kids out of sacrament meeting because they were making each other laugh. It's hard to get mad about that!

-We've been talking about Damon's upcoming birthday. Malia insists that he needs a birthday hat. Stay tuned for pictures of his birthday!