1 little scientist + 1 little teen = 2 little rascals

The Alleged Rascals

We had stake conference today, and they dissolved our ward. Can they do that?! We are moved into a different stake and will attend a different chapel. It's called Capilla Church, and since "capilla" means "church" in Spanish, I will henceforth call the building "church church." I'm OK with change. We've been in the same place for almost three years, and that's the longest Dan and I have stayed anywhere in our marriage so far. We're selling our place and want to move anyway. But I'm still a little sad I won't work with the young women in Washington anymore, and I'll miss seeing so many good people from the Washington 2nd Ward.

Enough of the sob fest. My kids have cracked me up in the past two weeks. Sophia has picked up new abilities, including the not so pleasant exclamation, "It's MINE!" Even though Nathan is almost five, he cannot resist joining in the "mine" battles. He's so competitive, and I think he considers it a game. She says, "Look!" and points to something far off. When I try to grab her and she doesn't want me to, Sophie squeals, "Wait, wait!"
So I received this email on June 15 from Parenting that said, "Did you know that living with a 21-month-old means you are living with a scientist?" I wondered if this email could explain the huge shift in my baby girl's recent behavior. Read this:

Your toddler's entire day is spent experimenting. If he throws his ball into the toilet, will it disappear like other things do in there? If he unscrews his sippy cup lid, will the juice automatically pour out? If he stands in the shopping cart, how tall will he be? Just how fast can he run, how high can he climb, how loud can he scream? (Too fast, too high, way too loud.) A mad scientist you might say, but a seeker of truth and knowledge nonetheless.

Aha! That's it! Sophia's turned into a scientist! She had done all of those things in the past few days -- threw paper in the toilet, poured out juice from a cup, and stood up in a shopping cart. Today, in fact, she wriggled out of my arms in the car and headed to the driver's seat to play with the steering wheel, and I thought: "Aaaaahhh!!! This reminds me of Nathan as a toddler!" I love Nathan, but he was a handful and a half as a toddler. It will be easier with this girl; she's not as much of a daredevil/risk taker as her brother.

Do you ever have one of those days when the precocious natures of your kids drives you nuts? Well, this happened to me a few days before Father's Day. I was taking antibiotics and feeling sick, so I lost my patience more often when the kids were "naughty." On top of the usual shenanigans, Nathan refused to go to swimming lessons the day before his last day. I'm ashamed to say I lost it. I got really mad and told him he couldn't play any video games or watch any shows if he didn't go. I locked him in his room, and I think Dan thought I was about to go postal because he sent me a nice arrangement that afternoon of yellow roses and daisies. I shouldn't have let it get to me, but sometimes I get frustrated when Nathan won't do what I say -- it's like he's a little teenager. And I PAID for those lessons! Oh well. He went the last day, and the teacher said he did well enough that he's ready for Level 2 next time. We have gone swimming a few times as a family, and Nathan really enjoys the water. I decided we'll wait till next year for more lessons; right now it should be about having fun, right?

Those who know Nathan can attest that he is very loud. Well, I tried to get him to quiet down in the car by playing "Quaker Meeting." Have you ever played it as a kid? It's an ingenious way to get your kids to be quiet, and I fell for it every time when I was young. You tell the kids the winner is the one who talks last, and if you talk first, you lose the game. So I told Nathan the rules of the game and said, "Quaker meeting -- one, two, three," and motioned zipping my lips. Nathan mimicked me and within two seconds asked, "Did I win? Mommy, did I win?" Dan and I laughed. I explained the rules again, said, 1, 2, 3, zipped the lips, and -- this time a whisper after two seconds, "Who wins? Did I win? Mommy, did I win?" Dan and I were so amused; this kid really can't keep quiet and can't bear to lose. I told him Sophia and Papa won, and he yelled, "NO!!! They can't play, only I play! I win!!!" When he gets like this, it is just HILARIOUS. I'll have to take a video and post it to show what I mean.
#1 cutie pie moment: Nathan couldn't help but notice his Mom wasn't so happy with him for ditching swimming lessons (I could not carry him to the car kicking and screaming while I felt sick). He came to me later in the day and said, "You were a little upset. Now it's time for downset." He said it so solemnly with his puppy dog brown eyes. Priceless. Close second: Sneaking a homemade Oreo cookie from the counter for his little sis while Mom was in the other room.
#1 cutie pie moment: Sophia came up to me and said, "Poopy!" when she needed a diaper change. Why am I so excited? That's just one step closer to getting ready for toilet training! Close second: When I give Sophie something, she'll say, "Welcome, Mommy." She says "you're welcome" in place of "thank you."

(I stole Martha's idea.)

Dan's law firm had a summer picnic at a water park in Santa Clara this past week. The kids got excited about the pinata -- Nathan swung at it kindly with a bat and Sophie tried to whack it with her hand. They really liked the candy and toys that flew out.
I didn't write on Father's Day, so I'm catching up. I made a big breakfast for Dan, complete with bacon, hash browns, and toast with a heart-shaped egg inside. We enjoyed a great salmon and steak dinner at my parents' house, and I gave my Dad two fabulous books: "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" and "The Race," which is basically a great poem about never giving up. I think so many of society's ills would be solved by more great Dads. I'm grateful to my Dad, and to my father-in-law. And Dan, just so you know: As far as Dads go, you rock.

Summer is for swimming

Nathan started swimming lessons last week at the new community center in Washington. This facility is huge, and Nathan and Sophia love the indoor aquatics center that is reportedly the largest of its kind in Utah. It contains a cactus that squirts water, slides and a hydrotube. Thankfully, they have all of that turned off during the swimming lessons -- otherwise it would be next to impossible to get my kids to leave. Nathan's class only lasts two weeks, and he tells me that he has fun: "I kicked in the water and jumped like Tigger!" He missed one day last week because he refused to go; the night before he was up too late. Nathan has boundless energy. He takes no naps, and he keeps on going until his parents are ready to hit the hay. We put him to bed earlier, but he'll try to get out of his room until we lock the door. We went swimming in our pool where we live on Saturday, and Nathan loved wearing his green arm floaties. He said, "I'm not falling in the water!" He went to a birthday party earlier in the day for a preschool friend. They had fun at the water park, and every child got a water missile gun. Nathan liked attacking Dan and me with it in the pool. It was fun to watch Dan show Nathan how to kick in the water.

#1 cutie pie moment: I made eggs today for breakfast, and I asked my picky eater if he would like some yellow eggs. He said, "Mom, I only like green eggs and ham!" We recently checked out that Dr. Seuss classic from the library.

Sophia has entered a very mischievous stage. She tried to throw Nathan's towel into the pool today. She likes to prance around the kitchen table. She likes to get into the trash and play in the toilet (yuck!). Sophie got into the jar of peanut butter today too, and she had it up to her elbows. She likes to eat yogurt by herself, but more of it ends up on her bib than in her mouth. Sophie's a cute munchkin, though, asking for fruit snacks and saying, "I did it!" or "I got it!" (I think she picked up these phrases from Dora, one of her favorite characters now.) Sophia is more hesitant in the water than her brother. She prefers the warmth of the hot tub to the cooler pool, and she prefers to swim with her Papa. I get that -- Daddies keep their little girls safe.

#1 cutie pie moment: Sophia cried in her crib last night, and when Dan went to see what was wrong, I could hear her say, "A Mommy! A Mommy! A Mommy!" It's sweet to hear your child call out for you when she's not feeling well. Pobrecita.

Jump for joy

St. George now has a Barnes & Noble bookstore! When I spent time there Friday night, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I picked out a couple of books to give as presents, and I took Nathan there for story time the next day. They read Go, Dog. Go! and then the Cat in the Hat made an appearance. Nathan was excited but didn't want to get too close. While I read him a book, Clifford the Big Red Dog came up to us, and Nate hid his head behind me. I wouldn't describe Nathan as shy, but costumed creatures make him nervous. He got his face painted like a cat with a black nose and whiskers. Then I let him ride on a rocket toy in the mall.

We also have a Jumpin' Jacks in the area now, which has inflatable slides and bounce houses -- an active kid's paradise. I met with some friends on Tuesday, and Nathan had a blast. He goes for the largest, highest slides and will do it again and again. I just paid for him since Sophia wasn't that into it when we went in Springville. There were hardly any kids there, though, so she seemed to like it more. It's a great way to let the kids play while getting out of the heat in the summertime. I'll probably take them once a week before school starts for Nathan in August.
#1 cutie pie moment: Nathan calls Dan "Pop" now and Sophia "Babe." It's fun to hear him say, "OK, Pop!" or "Come on, Babe." He still calls me Mom and Mommy.


Sophia received a special gift from Grandma Drake this week: A baby doll umbrella stroller. She now wheels around her cabbage patch doll all over the house, stopping every now and then to feed her with the bottle. I knew she would love this gift; she goes up to strollers and car seats when we go anywhere and tries to buckle and unbuckle them. In fact, I was on the phone a few days ago at the water park downtown, and she pushed her stroller right into the water area. Luckily, it was in the shallow end, and none of the books fell out of the basket. She still dance-runs everywhere she goes, and she's really into the TV show "Dora the Explorer" now.
#1 cutie pie moment: Sophia received her first timeout from her Dad last week. She would get up from her booster seat at the kitchen table and stand on the table. He told her to get down, and she would dance and then lay down on the table. She got a timeout in her bedroom. Dan and Nathan counted to 60, and she was waiting right by the door, excited to get out when it opened. She still tries to do it. Nathan laughs and encourages her, and even I think it's funny, but we can't let her get away with it -- Miss Manners wouldn't approve.