Daddy:  I love Autumn because she is the embodiment of the word exuberant.

ex·u·ber·ant [ig-zoo-ber-uhnt]     –adjective

Andrew:  I love Autumn to keep our house and temple clean.  (Can you kinda tell what our Family Home Evening lesson was about?)

Joshua:  I love that Autumn makes up great songs.  When she goes to the potty she sings and makes up beautiful songs.  My favorite is “Sunlight Over the Water”.

Autumn:  (*singing*)”I love my Heavenly Father…”

Daddy:  She does sing lots.  ”Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, “Jesus Once Was a Little Child”, “Beautiful Savior” and “I Love to See the Temple” are ones I hear lots.  (Those are her very favorites right now.)

Jacob:  I love that Autumn loves to have little parties and mini-campouts in her room.

Daddy:  That’s true.  There have been some good tents in her bedroom lately.

Andrew:  Sometimes I make tents for Autumn.

Mommy:  Autumn is my big helper.  She is always willing to grab a diaper or a kleenex or a drink of water for someone.  She is my biggest kiddo when the boys are gone to school and she really helps out.  I also like that Autumn tells and shows me what she’s learning in dance class.  She tells me all about her beautiful purple costume with white umbrella and I’m very excited she has a recital coming up.

We love our beautiful, silly, often loud, smiling, happy, dramatic, wonder of a little angel.

Drewby was talking in his sleep just now.  Just a-sleeping on the couch.  He said, “Is there anything on me that starts with the letter T?”  I said, “Nope.  No wait, you have toes … and they start with the letter T.”  He must be somewhat coherent because he said “Oh good” and fell back asleep.

Is it a sign that perhaps at least his subconscious is watching too much TV?

Daddy:  Duke is so loving and gentle with all of us.  He would never hurt any of us on purpose.  Katey is just the right height though and sometimes he knocks her down or hits her when he wags his tail.

Jacob:  Duke follows me where ever we go.  One time I went to a friends house and Duke followed.  He barked loud at my friends mom because he probably thought they were trying to take me.

Joshua:  He is a great guard dog.  And he goes with me on my chore to feed the chickens.

Autumn:  Duke is so fast.  I run with him outside a lot.  Like by the house and by the flowers that are by the house and …

Andrew:  I like when he’s outside with Autumn and me.

Mommy:  I love that Duke has a sheep dog instinct and herds all the children.  It comes in handy when they are wandering too close to the edge of our property.  I also love how he puts his paw up on my lap when I stop scratching behind his ears.  He is just sure I should not be done yet.

Katey:  (in bed again – but tonight when she was saying her prayer she blessed “Dukey” quite loudly)

One little funny fact:  Duke must have his food and water in the dining room near where we eat.  We tried the laundry room – no luck, the sun room and then the corner of the kitchen – nope on those.  He refused to eat until we moved it back to the dining room.  Silly pup.

We sure love our black lab and something mix of a sweet dog.  He is so patient and just a little bit quirky.  Perfect!

8 February 2010

Jacob:  Daddy and I both love electronics.  Taking apart things and making something out of them.

Autumn:  I like when Daddy reads me stories.  Like when he tucks me in bed – so snuggly warm.

Andrew:  Me too!

Joshua:  Daddy is a very great cook.  He makes german pancakes and french toast and grilled cheese and pb&j and hamburgers and cheeseburgers.  And when he makes cheeseburgers he puts in TWO pieces of cheese and when he cooks he even puts in a little love.

Andrew:  Me too!  Even I love cheese grilled sandwiches.

Joshua:  and Daddy is a genius!!

Katelyn’s turn, but she was sleeping already.  She loves when Daddy does “piggies” on her toes and she’s loves that he always does both feet.

Mommy:  Daddy is a great provider.  He takes care of us financially and he also provides us with lots of love.  Lots of hugs and kisses…

Daddy:  And don’t forget tickles!

and Caleb loves all the snuggles and that Daddy is very good at burping him.

Daddy:  You know, Katey also loves when I rock the Donald Duck talk.

Mommy:  That’s true.  You make us laugh lots – all of us.

Joshua:  Daddy – sing “Jingle Bells” like Donald Duck.  Now, “Silver Bells” …

Can you feel the love?

Thanksgiving afternoon I caught Andrew and Calvin finishing up the yummy Grandma Alder-inspired berry jello with whipped cream.  Yum!  I understand the desire.

The best part was when Calvin looked up, saw me and said, “We were pretending it was vegetable soup.”

Oh, okay then.  Carry on.

p.s.  Sam made the yummy jello.  He also made pistachio salad with colored marshmallows.  He said he wanted to be everybody’s favorite uncle.  I think it worked.  ;)

I know most of the past entries have been things Andrew has done/said lately, but he is just on a roll and I don’t want to forget these.  So funny, he is.

3 November 2009

When something (even semi-) crazy happens, Andrew slaps his forehead and says “Oh, Brother!”  with a big old eye roll.  Not sure where he picked it up.  I’ll update if I find out.  Anyway, this day he asked why I was going out to the other room AGAIN.  ”To do laundry bud” is what I said.  He slapped his forehead and said, “Oh Sister!”.  

I know, tell me about it.

4 November 2009

Andrew said his “billy button” has a nickname.  It is “Jelly Belly”.  We were eating yummy Coldstone-inspired Jelly Belly jelly beans at the time and I’m sure his billy button is now thrilled to have a nickname.

Andrew was trying on costumes and changing his mind multiple times – not allowed on Halloween Eve.  Especially since I stayed up late the night before making his pirate hat, sash, bandana and eyepatch.  But, nonetheless, that was his activity and entertainment for his aunty Liz.

He popped on his trusty pumpkin costume (two years running now.  Last year he wanted to be pumpkin pie though.  Cute – we went with it.  :) ).  This afternoon he sauntered up to Lizzy and said, “Do you love me?”  Her reply:  ”Oh yes, of course”.  His answer to that was “Do you want to eat me? …  Because I am a pumpkin?”

After much discussion between the two of us, it looks like this year he’s decided to be …  a pirate pumpkin.

edited to add:  Andrew decided at the last minute to just be a pirate like his brothers.  That was fine with me.  I think it might have had something to do with the very cool pirate swords we made Halloween afternoon that went in their sashes.  It still would have looked cute around his very ample pumpkin belly too.

Yesterday Autumn stared out the window at the lovely snow.  Okay, stared might not be the right description.  She glanced, let out a whoop and was ready to go out now.  I kept her inside for a whole list of reasons:  I had yet to unpack the boots, coats, gloves and hats.  Some of us were recovering from the sickies and the thought of cold was soooo unappealing to me.  Our yard is dirt right now – a lovely canvas for a beautiful new lawn in the near future – but a muddy base for snow right now.  Yup, we were staying in.

This morning the boys began discussing how exciting it was that snow was here early.  Before halloween and still on the ground from the day before.  As Autumn sat on a heater vent, she looked up at me and said, “I know Heavenly Father knows everything, but do you think he accidently snowed early?”  I assured her that he knows what is best for each of us and for the earth.  The early snow would help our garden in the spring and help other things to grow as well.  Launching into my scientific explanation of the water cycle, Autumn looked up at me with big eyes and said, “I know!!  Heavenly Father made it snow early so that kids could have fun.”

Needless to say, the late morning was spent unpacking and the early afternoon was spent outdoors building mini snowmen and forts.  Muddy snowballs flew and “icicle popsicles” were licked and enjoyed.  

p.s.  The recipe according to Autumn is to “just pick off an icicle and dip it in the snow”.

While cutting his hair this last Saturday, Andrew wiggled on the barber chair.  The noise was well, familiar, so I couldn’t resist asking, “Was that your bum?”  He immediately tried to convince me that it was his elbow tooting.  Silly guy.  

When I finished his hair cut I proceeded to vacuum up the hairy mess and asked, “Do you want me to get your toes too?”  ”No” he giggled.  Thought for a split second, and then said while shaking his head a little (a sure sign that he knooooows he’s being funny): “If you vacuumed my whole body up I would say ‘Who turned the lights out?”

Wow – I love my silly thinkin’ little man.

Naptime ….. again.  Andrew asked if he could please sleep on the floor.  Switch it up – why not.  I said yes.  He asked me to make a doggy house (he’s been a puppy for weeks now).  A simple sheet hanging from his brothers’ bunk bed over to his now empty bed.  Done.  

He then snuggled down on his pillow, looked up at me with his big ol’ eyes and asked, “Can I have lots of lollypops?”  I guess he thought it was worth a shot.  So did I:

He actually said I could have 3 shots – he was feeling generous.

Me?  Not so much.  Off to sleepy land with zero lollypops.  

He did get a really big chuckle out of me though.