My New Favorite Family Portrait

This is my new favorite family portrait. Jackson drew this masterpiece and it has been on our fridge for a little while. Jackson is the one wearing a red shirt (his favorite color). Mikey is holding Jackson's hand, and he has orange hair with something that looks an aweful lot like horns. Jeff is the tiny blue guy on the right . He is standing in front of "Cruiser" the purple car. Interesting that he couldn't find a purple marker, so he mixed pink and blue. I am very proud of his color theory! I am the one on the far left with the Madusa hair. I am holding baby Charlotte. I am happy to see that we both have 5 fingers.

He also drew our "Big Blue House" (Bear in the Big Blue House reference), our lawn, our stepping stones through our yard, and our fish pond (smaller stones) complete with a waterfall and the "Stone Lion who protects us all." The stone lion is a new fixture in our front yard. He was a gift from my parents after their building's fountain was remodeled. More on him later.

Mikey's First Instant Message With Dad

Have you ever tried to have an adult conversation with a couple of preschoolers in the room? It's almost impossible. I just tried to have an IM conversation with Jeff, and thought I'd share the string. I told the boys that Dad was on the computer, and I could type what they wanted to say to him. The following is a slightly abridged version of what occurred next:

sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "My mom put a balloon on Chawatt's fing."
Jeffrey Sweat: a balloon?
sunny_cannon: Yes. She was getting angry in her swing, and every time I bopped her in the head, she would laugh. So, I tied one to her mobile thing, so every time it swung that way, it would automatically bop her.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "Dad, are you
sunny_cannon: on th
sunny_cannon: e computer?"
sunny_cannon: He found the ret
sunny_cannon: u
sunny_cannon: r
sunny_cannon: n
sunny_cannon: key
sunny_cannon: "It goes pop pop pop"
Jeffrey Sweat: that's awesome.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says
sunny_cannon: "That's the popping button" and
sunny_cannon: laughed
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "I had
sunny_cannon: A burrito for lunch."
sunny_cannon: more maniacal
sunny_cannon: laughing
sunny_cannon: Jackson says: "Dear Jackson, love Dad" (laughing)
sunny_cannon: ..I
sunny_cannon: .w
sunny_cannon: ant
sunny_cannon: t
sunny_cannon: o
sunny_cannon: tell Jackson loves Jeff
Jeffrey Sweat: ah...
sunny_cannon: Mikey
Jeffrey Sweat: they love the return key, don't they?
sunny_cannon: also found the period if you couldn't tell.
sunny_cannon: ..mIk0e0y
sunny_cannon: fo
sunny_cannon: und the 0 also
Jeffrey Sweat: what did you do today?
sunny_cannon: Jackson is currently riding Mamie
sunny_cannon: ..... Jackson0 says: "Richard hit my head and bothered me"
sunny_cannon: he also rode little bikes at school.
Jeffrey Sweat: that sounds like fun.
sunny_cannon: I asked Mikey what fun thing he did today and he said: "EAT!"
Jeffrey Sweat: that's my boy...
sunny_cannon: Jackson " Is butts are questions and stinky th
sunny_cannon: s butts ar questions and stinky things?
sunny_cannon: I mean: "Is butts are qu
sunny_cannon: questions and stinky things?"
Jeffrey Sweat: what?
sunny_cannon: I can't get through a sentence with Mikey here!!!!
Jeffrey Sweat: I get the sentence, but it's warped.
sunny_cannon: Jackson was trying to ask you a question. He is trying to be funny.
sunny_cannon: He is a warped kid.
Jeffrey Sweat: is he talking about two meanings of butts"
sunny_cannon: What would the other meaning be?
Jeffrey Sweat: "but?" and "butt"
Jeffrey Sweat: I don't know about the question part.
sunny_cannon: Maybe? He left, so I don't know.
sunny_cannon: He was looking at his homework
sunny_cannon: and it was a practice sheet of
sunny_cannon: question marks. He asked what they are.
sunny_cannon: Maybe he thinks the question mark looks like a butt in profile?
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "Give it a break, Mom. Give it a break."
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "I want to tell my Dad on my computer that popping means STOP. A
sunny_cannon: nd popping goes u
sunny_cannon: p
sunny_cannon: in
sunny_cannon: the a
sunny_cannon: ir and into the grass.
Jeffrey Sweat: I just saw this: Mikey says: "Give it a break, Mom. Give it a break." Hilarious!
sunny_cannon: Mikey Says: "The bubbles pop out of the buttons. Leave the vonice alone. Vonice means don't touch it. Because the Mamas will be sad."
Jeffrey Sweat: what's vonice?
sunny_cannon: I asked him to tell me what it was and I wrote his response.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "I had a bath and eggs and marshmallows. I want to tell him that. Now please don't put balloons on that fing."
Jeffrey Sweat: tell him, i like eggs and marshmallows, too! But not baths.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "Why don't you like baths?"
sunny_cannon: "Pop the balloons mom!"
sunny_cannon: because I'm too tall for the bath tub.
sunny_cannon: Now he is squishing my pudge and saying "push the button, push the belly button."
Jeffrey Sweat: he's got a pudge fetish.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "Dady, I
sunny_cannon: am
sunny_cannon: not too
sunny_cannon: ta
sunny_cannon: ll fo
sunny_cannon: r the
sunny_cannon: ba
sunny_cannon: th
sunny_cannon: "
Jeffrey Sweat: I know. You are just the right size.
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "I want the tall one, and the bath one, and the food one."
sunny_cannon: I asked him "does that mean you want Daddy to come home?"
sunny_cannon: He hugged my leg and said: "Mommy I missed you, don't go away."
Jeffrey Sweat: never have to pressure that kid to express his feelings.
Jeffrey Sweat: it's awesome.
sunny_cannon: "let
sunny_cannon: me do that
sunny_cannon: ha
sunny_cannon: a
sunny_cannon: ha
sunny_cannon: haa
sunny_cannon: ha
sunny_cannon: a
sunny_cannon: ha
sunny_cannon: a
sunny_cannon: ha
sunny_cannon: a
Jeffrey Sweat: tell him that when he does that, it makes it look like the computer is laughing. ha ha ha ha.
sunny_cannon: Hey said: "It goes up up up up like an elev
sunny_cannon: at
sunny_cannon: or
sunny_cannon: "
sunny_cannon: .
Jeffrey Sweat: cool!
sunny_cannon: Mikey says: "May I go pee pee so I can have some marshmallows?"

And off we went to the bathroom.

Charlie said "MAMA" and "MOM" today!!!

After an especially hard night with Charlotte, we DID NOT want to get out of bed for any reason at all this morning. Jackson jumped in and tried to get us to read stories. Mikey actually volunteered to use the toilet and had to get his own reward. Charlotte had been babbling in her bed for about an hour. The babbling started to get more urgent. She finally yelled "MAMA! MAMA!" I was up and running the second she said that! When I picked her up she just beamed at me.

Later this evening, I was working on a quilt for a friend and I was almost at a stopping point. Charlotte started getting annoyed that she wasn't getting enough attention. Just. . . one. . . more. . . seam. . . I kept thinking, hoping her growling wouldn't turn into screaming. Then she yelled "MOM! MOM!" perfectly clear. She got her wish, and the quilt top went unfinished for the evening.

That's my girl! She's now 8 months today.

Charlie the Newest Top Model

I finished this hooded towel a few days ago for my Friend Val at work. Her baby girl is due in a week or two and her last day at Giant was yesterday. Before I give away anything I make I like to photograph it to document it. Lucky for me I had a perfectly willing model! I think Charlotte was excited because she thought she was going to take a bath or go swimming! I really enjoyed making this (and it's matching bat mit), and I think I may start selling them on my Etsy site. Don't be surprised if you see it there!

Let's give this a try

I've been threatening to start a blog for a while now. Now that I am officially a stay-at-home mom, now is the time to try. I am going to attempt to document the life and times of a mom of 3 precocious kids.

Jackson, Mikey, and Charlotte were all in the living-room a little bit ago watching Ice Age (one of their favorites). Jackson disappeared for a while and came back dressed as Superman. Next thing I knew, the boys were taking turns "rescuing" Charlotte, which involved pushing her then catching her before she hit the ground. YIKES!!

Thursday we were planning on meeting my sister-in-laws Christina and Aprilanne at the Zoo with their kids. By the time all of the naps were over, we arrived just after 4pm. It turns out they close at 5pm and most of the animals were being put away. The kids were especially bummed because Spider City (their favorite exhibit) was closed and is leaving the Zoo on Sunday. So, in true Jackson form, he invited himself over to Ethan's house "in the nighttime." We didn't have anything else to do, and Christina didn't mind, so off we went. While we were there, and the older kids were wrecking the place, Charlotte grabbed a book and said over and over "ahh--boo-boo-boo. Ahh-boo--boo--boo" while she slapped the cover of a book. At one point it even sounded like she added a "K" to her babble. I think that may be her first word! She is turning 8 months on Sunday.