Waterfalls and baby lambs

One of the blessings of getting to be a stay-at-home-mom is that I get to come up with all sorts of exciting ways to learn and have fun. This past week, the weather was uncharacteristically sunny and dry for Oregon, so we spent much of our time outside (hoooray!) We were able to have some "daddy time" with Christian at a park, which was fun
for the whole family (Christian was able to lay aside his studying and get some sun and fresh air!)

 Later in the week, the kids and I met up with Don and Elena (Christian's parents) at Silver Creek Falls. The kids really enjoyed the little hike around and behind one of the larger waterfalls in the park....Josiah was much more timid, but Judah had no problem getting close to the edge!

On Sunday after church, we visited a friend's farm. They had just had some baby lambs born and wanted to show the boys. They enjoyed seeing the lambs, chickens, and geese. Judah enjoyed the farm so much that he shoved a dirty, chicken-pecked corn cob from the chicken coop into his mouth and chewed on it. I have yet to figure out what would posess him to decide that it would be in any way tasty! Fortunately, he didn't have any issues being sick later in the day. Toddlers have resiliant little tummys!

It's so exciting to watch the boys experience life each day.....learning and encountering things they've never done before. My goal is to take each of those new experiences and turn it in to a positive time for them to learn and grow!

Funny sayings....things I want to remember that came out of the boys' mouths!

This is a record of funny things the boys say....I know I'll never remember them if I rely on my brain...so this is a place that I jot them down for future laughs!

*"Hello, oh yah. They split the nanas. Ok. Goodbye. Adios. Au revoir." -Judah's pretend phone conversation

*"Can giraffes see God, mama?" -Josiah while in the car

*"Is it dark inside a dinosoar's tummy?" -Josiah, concerned about being eaten

*"Don't throw garbage on the ground! How does that make God feel!?!" -Josiah after seeing me miss the trash can when throwing something away

*"Why do flies like rotten compost bins?" -Josiah randomly

*"Why don't people have fur?" -Josiah while riding in the truck to Target

*"Bad people hurt him.....bad people hurt him....bad people...hurt him.....and he came back to life!     
                           -Judah explaining the Easter story

*"These are the girl cars, and these are the boy cars."  (Josiah showing me his hot wheels that he had organized into two lines) I asked "What makes these ones girl cars?" "Cuz they're so colorful. They're like a rainbow."  "And what makes these boy cars?" "Cuz they're new."

*Josiah was looking at a vase full of dandilions he had picked for me today, and he asked, "Why are dandies called dandies? Is it because they're hairy, like all the other lions?"

*Josiah asked, "What kind of cows make chocolate milk?"

*Josiah said to Milo, "No, don't eat mommy's paper...she'll be THRILLED!" -12/11

*We were out this morning and everything outside was covered in frost. Josiah looked out the truck window and said, "Doesn't it look like the world is a white wedding dress?!" -12/11

*deep thoughts from my 5 year old today, "Mama, you know, sometimes love hurts." -12/11

*last night I told Josiah we'd be making handprint wreaths today. This morning he asked me, "Mama, when are we going to make the coral? You know, the coral reefs? With our handprints?" -12/11

*Judah just asked Santa for "twelve hundred monkeys". -12/11

*Me: "Boys, we're going to go to a playdate today!" Judah: "Is dere gonna be girwuls (girls) dere?" Me: "Yes, I think so." Judah: "*gasp* I gotta bwing my sword! Cuz I don't wike girwuls!" -11/11

*‎7 a.m. logic from my 5 year old: "God made the first bug, right? And then those bugs became mommies and had more bugs, and then more bugs, until there's lots of bugs. So, God didn't make all the bugs, He only made one....." -11/11

*the boys and I were talking about how some people decorate their houses "inappropriately" for Halloween...and Judah asked me, "How would God decorate for Halloween?" and I told him I thought God would use brightly colored leaves, etc to celebrate his beautiful world. I asked him how he thought God would decorate for Halloween and he said, "He would use the sun. Because the sun lights up the whole world!" ;) 10/11

*Judah just asked me if we could call the puppy "Perfecto" -09/11

*I sent Josiah to his room for a time-out and he yelled, "Well.....you're not a very fancy girl!" -09/11

*Dropping Josiah off for the first day of Kindergarten. And on the way home, Judah said "Mama, you can twy in the twuck, but NOT at the library, otay? Because you has me. Mama, pwomise you won't twy in the house, otay?" 09/11

*showed my 5 year old a picture of a backpack on a website, and I asked him if he liked it. His response was, "Is it cheap?" 08/11

*I heard Judah quietly counting to himself, and all the sudden he exclaims, "I have four fingers and five thumbs!!" 08/11

*Josiah: "Mama, there's the biggest 'mergency EVER! There's a BUG in the TOILET! We have to hurry, it's spreading germs EVERYWHERE!" -08/13

*Josiah's playing outside and I just heard him gasp and say "My pupa's GONE!" -07/11

*Judah came up to me, upset, and said "Josiah talled me a femayow (female)! And that means gu-wuw (girl). And I'm NOT a gu-wuw (girl)!" -07/11

*Josiah asked me, "Mama, some people don't have kids??" I answered, "Yep, some grown ups don't have any kids" And he said, "so...they don't have much work to do?" -07/11

*Judah asked me, "Mama, when will I be a daddy?"
I answered, "When you find a girl you love, and marry her, and then have a baby...then you'll be a daddy."
Judah was silent for a moment and then said, "I wuv Ana."
Me: "Well, Ana is your cousin, so you can't marry her."
He was quiet again and then said, "Mama, I wuv YOU!"
Me: "You can't marry me, I'm your mama!"
He thought one more time, and said, "I wuv Tayore! (Aunt D Taylore Ives)
Me: "No baby, she's your Aunt. Maybe you should wait til you get a little older to find the girl you love."
Judah got frustrated and wailed, "But what if I forget?!" -07/11

*Josiah says he wants to be a "bug nurse" when he grows up. -06/11

*Josiah is taking his role as a 5 year old seriously as he stubbornly argued with me over why he was not allowed to have his ant farm be the centerpiece at the dinner table... 06/14/11

*I tucked Josiah into bed and he said, "Mama, I love you more than all the beetles in the whole earth!" :) 06/11

*Judah gave me a big hug and said, "You get the hugs and kisses, and daddy gets the wrestling."06/11

*gave Josiah a kiss on the cheek, and he wiped his cheek and said "mama...when I wipe off the yuckiness, then the love goes into my heart." -05/11

*I told the boys that I was getting McDonalds for lunch for a treat...and Judah exclaims, "Mama! You are SO PRETTY for getting me Old McDonalds!" -04/11

*Me:Where do babies come from, Josiah?
Josiah:The Baby Store. And they got carts that have baby faces on them.
Me:How are the babies made?
Josiah:God made them and put them on the shelf. And, there's free sample babies.
Me:How much does a baby cost at the baby store?
Josiah:-They cost $1. Okay, mama? (As if I even needed to ask!)
Me:Can you return the babies?
Josiah:Only one you can return back. That's just the rule.
Me:Can you pick which baby you want?
Josiah:Yah. There's boys, and girls. And there's even baby toys there, at the store too. It's full of baby stuff, with babies too. -5/11

 

 

Happy Love Day!

This Valentines day, we made "love day" cards for the boys' cousins and grandparents, and it was fun to watch as I let Josiah have free reign over the glue stick for the first time...to paste his construction paper hearts on to the cards. Although the cleanup wasn't quite as enjoyable, it was worth it :) The kids recieved sunglasses, stickers, and candy from us for a Valentines gift. Judah put his sunglasses on and refused to take them off.....he wore them throughout our entire time at church (the nursery workers said he kept nodding off....probably because it's so dark under those glasses, lol! hmmm....maybe a napping technique for the future??)

I was particularly thrilled this Valentines day because of the totally sweet gift I got from my husband! He surprised me with this beautiful, hand-drawn brown paper bag, which I thought was sooo cute! It contained a cd I had been wanting (Taylor Swift), and a big Reeses PB heart (which PB is a big treat for us as we don't normally have it in the house due to Josiah's allergies!) I just loved how sweet and thoughtful it was from him, and the personal artwork just topped it off! He is such a hardworking, dedicated guy and I am VERY blessed to have him!

It is so neat as a parent to teach our children the Godly way of things....throughout Valentines day, I encouraged the boys to show God's love to others, as God shows love to us. It's really cool to see the questions that come up in the process of teaching them....like how Josiah wanted to know if God loved "bad people" too.  

 **Break in typing as I have to stop Judah from shoving tiny Legos in his ear....I knew there was a reason I don't let him play with those!!!**

Anyways. I just really can't get over what an honor it is to be the very first to introduce our children to God and His love for them. Although I don't feel worthy, I am taking it head-on, and will do the best that I can!! :)