The Value of Love

So, a little backround info...
There has been this kid, Braxton, in Abby's class who seems to be "courting" her. Here are some of the reasons why I believe this is true:

• Within the first couple months of school, Abby came home and told me that "Braxton keeps chasing me around at recess, and whispering in my ear that he thinks I am pretty."
• Abby came home from school a little while after that and told me, "Braxton kissed me on the blue rug when Teacher wasn't looking." (To which Blair responded, "Do I need to go to school and kick this kid's a**.) Probably not.
• While picking Abby up from school in January, Braxton asked me if he could move into my house. Again, Probably not.
• While helping Abby clean out her cubby one day at school, I notice she has some change. When I asked her where she got it, she replied, "Braxton just keeps bringing me money." When asked "Why," she just batted her eyes and said, "I don't know?"

Today:

Abby walks to my car after school today, as usual -oh, but today, she was not alone. Braxton opened up the car door for her, waited patiently as she climbed in and "buckled up," and then said, "I hope you have a good day Abby." He then very gently (and with a very suspicious grin) closed the door. I looked at Abby who had the funniest, little, crooked "I don't want to smile, but I can't help it" smile on her face.

I then became concerned...This kid might appear to be a gentleman, but he has also asked to move in with us. Maybe he does need a good butt whooping.

I asked Ab, "Abby, do you like Braxton. He seems nice..."

Abby thought about it for a minute and then replied, "Well, I like that he brings me money." And then she opened her hand to reveal a nice, new, shiny penny.

It was then I realized that Braxton may be in love, but to Ab, he is just a sugar daddy.

Good Girl.

Whatever Works...

(That is shoe, not a wild animal. Not so great of a picture :)

An actual conversation with Abby last night as I was putting her to bed:

Abby: "Where's my blankie? I need it!"

Me: "You must've left it at Grandma's today; Can I get you a different blanket?" (in a loving tone)

Abby: "No!!!! Nothing is the same exact size and color."

Me: "That's true, but what can I get you to sleep with because I am not driving over to Grandma's right now." (in a not-so-loving tone)

Abby: "My shoes."

Me: "Oh...What shoes do you want to sleep with?"

Abby: "My pretty new ones."

Me: "Okay."

Nothing warms the soul quite like a new pair of chocolate brown, peep-toe heels.

I have no idea where she gets it from.

She slept quite well (Yes, that pillow does have a picture of Zach Efron).

Love that girl.

Killing Time

I have discovered a major problem - Well, not actually a problem for me, but possibly for my financial well-being.

Here's the situation:

Abby has ballet at 3:00. It ends at 3:45. By the time I drive home and unload Deakon, I have to reload Deakon and drive right back. I don't enjoy that. I'd much rather spend money.

You might think - "Hey, doesn't she have a life, or errands, or something?"

Sometimes I do...but sometimes I don't want to do them.

So, what do I do? I choose to drive aimlessly around Kaysville and the surrounding cities searching for the "winner" of the week (AKA the store/gas station/restaurant that will recieve my money). Sometimes all I need is a Diet Coke and I'm good. Sometimes (as was the case today) I spend close to $100 in 15 minutes. That's right - a big fat "C Note"... at your neighborly Distribution Center; buying Mormon underwear and a DVD of the Testaments to show to my Primary class.

I have such an exciting life. Maybe I'll try exercising next time. Or not.

(I must admit, some of that money was spent across the street at Bed Bath and Beyond. I could spend a lot of money in that store. I felt like I "needed" every item on every endcap. I left with towel racks, a shower curtain liner, and a really cute dishwasher scrubbing thing.)

Easter 2008

Easter was pretty awesome this year. We kept it low-key and hung out together as a family a lot. I even made Easter dinner, including a homemade glaze for the ham.

(I impressed myself and congratulated myself out loud for about 24 hours - you can ask Blair; he might've gotten a little tired of it).

The cute kids on Easter Morning.


Deakon taking a bite out of his swimming suit - Good thing they are waterproof.

Abby with the loot.

Dying Eggs

(I'll have you know I took this picture with the thought being: "That would be a good picture for the blog." Blogging should be listed under *other alongside controlled substances (such as Heroin or perhaps, even crack.) I am not kidding.

And then there was a word...

Today is a really good day...Exciting for all parents, but really, really cool for us.

Deak has had quite the range in noises since he has been born. When he was born he would make these sounds that (I kid you not) sounded an awful lot like a fish blowing bubbles. He didn't babble or do the regular baby jabber. In fact, Deakon pretty much didn't have anything to say until he got tubes in his ears at 15 months. We figured out then that he really hadn't been hearing a whole lot.

Once he began hearing, he began making sounds - but still not very typical. More like "Uhhh" (Sounding at times like wild animals). He has learned how to communicate quite well using no words, and we have figured out what his sounds mean for the most part.

Well...a couple months ago he recieved a toy which made a monkey sound. This was apparently very inspiring for him because he has done nothing but make monkey noises since recieving this gift. He has created many many words using monkey noises. This was a good sign for us though because we knew he was hearing and mimicking his world around him.

On to tonight...Deak has had a busy day and was extremely tired. We were at Blair's parents' home and I began to rock Deakon to sleep. As I rocked him, I looked at him and said "Night, Night" several times. Then all of the sudden, he turned and looked at me and said "Ny, Ny." No one was around and I thought no one would believe me. I turned and walked upstairs and told everyone thinking he probably wouldn't say it for them. Ten minutes passed and I lifted him up to go and said "Night, Night Deak." He looked at me again, and with the cutest face I have ever seen, said "Ny, Ny." (In front of everyone, including his Grandma who is a Speech Pathologist and exclaimed, "Yes, it had clear consenants and vowels.")

It is nothing short of amazing -truely.

Most children who are born with Chromosome 18 abnormalities suffer some sort of major speech impairment. Most communicate, but most do it in different ways then we might be used to. Language and Auditory processing are extremely difficult for many children. Deakon also has a cleft in his palate which makes producing sounds even more difficult. To be quite honest, I never expected to even begin worrying about speech with Deak until he was at least three years old. Here he is, not even two - and has said his first word. I am so lucky to witness this miracle which has been given to me every day...His future is so bright; I can't wait.

"Ny, Ny" to you all. My dreams are looking good tonight.

Proud to be an American Today

I know this is a little bit of old news, but I still had to mention something about it, with a disclaimer: I am in no way going to pretend to be a political "know-all," I am far from that. That being said, I'll continue.

We all know the drama associated with the newly resigned Governor of New York, and his professed "moral" campaign and office term (a moral man who spent upwards of $80,000 in prostitution). In the midst of what seemingly appeared to be a tragic indication of our society - something really, really cool has happened.

David Paterson who was Lt. Governor of New York, became Governor of New York. You might be wondering why I care; I don't live anywhere near New York. In fact, I have never been there (would love to go there though). Gov. Paterson is legally blind. He became blind as an infant, and has grown to become this incredibly intelligent and "able" man. Gov. Paterson openly talks about his struggles growing up, how others' made fun of him, and what he has overcome to be who he is today. (If you are interested in learning more about him, click here for a good story.)

How freaking cool is it that someone who society typically views as "disabled" is now running one of the most influential states in our country!?! *Answer: Very, Very, Freaking Cool.

I watched a clip Governor Paterson being sworn in on the news a couple of nights ago and it brought tears to my eyes. What an inspiration this man has become to me, and will become to my very "able" little boy.

Today is a good day to live in America.

Commonalities

So my sister emailed me a bunch of National Geographic "Pictures of the Year", and I had to share what I discovered while viewing them.

The most precious kisses come from slobbery, chubby-cheeked, little people.

But, we all already knew that.