Blossoming

Here's my hilarious boy playing in a big tub of dirt, enjoying this fall weather that's letting him play outside more often. Huston has truly been blossoming lately and becoming more outgoing and less afraid. I think a big part of that is due to preschool, which he has been loving more than I could have ever dreamed. Tonight, while Clarke and I were at a new Bible study, we dropped him off at a house with two baby sitters and the other kids from the small group. The old Huston would never have allowed such a thing, but the new Huston didn't even blink. I mean, not even a whimper when I left him there. And before we left the house to go, he was saying "You're ready to go to that house now. You're ready to go play with the boys and girls." I could hardly believe it. When we picked him up, he was happy as a lark, talking about how they had a playground with rocks in it and how his "teachers" told him it was time to go upstairs (he seems to see everything through his school vocabulary). He just seems so grown up.

Clarke and I went through the drive through to pick up dinner after Bible study, and while Clarke was ordering, Huston rolled down his window (which he can reach with his foot) and started ordering out of it, saying, "Umm... you just want a chicken plate..." It was pretty hilarious.

One final Huston moment from today. Clarke came home and was asking Huston how his day was, and Huston was being stubborn and not responding. Clarke threatened to take away the ipod that he had let him hold if Huston couldn't be polite and respond to him, and Huston starts holding back sobs and in a weepy, quavering voice, says, "You just had a great day!"

He's a little character.

The Dress my Mommy Made...

Since who knows when I'll sew again, I made Clarke take a picture of me with Arden in this little dress I made for her. I don't even really feel like I can say I made it, since I needed step by step help from my mom, but I did do all the actual sewing, so I guess it's okay.

Isn't this just the cutest picture of Clarke with Arden?

We were on our way to our friends' Zeb and Ally's house to hang out when we took these pictures. Huston got to hang out with all of our friends' kids, and had the best time following Enoch around the house. He thinks anything that Enoch does is awesome, and at one point during the party Huston came up to me and said, "Enoch said 'I'm Spiderman!', I'm going to be Spiderman, too!" He then started singing, very seriously, "The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout...."

Sound Theology

Before I forget this hilarious tidbit, I better write it down. This past week Huston has started talking more about Jesus being in his heart. One night at bed he said, "Bear Bear has Jesus in his heart," and I said, "Oh really? Do you know that you can ask Jesus into your heart and he'll come in and stay there forever?" Huston then squinched his eyes shut and said, "Please, Jesus, will you come into my heart?" This was immediately followed, however, by, "No, Jesus! No! You don't want Jesus in your heart." I didn't push him because it was obvious he was looking to pick a fight.

The next day we were outside playing and he just randomly started running around saying, "No, Jesus! Go away! You don't want Jesus in your heart!" Again, since he was just trying to get a reaction out of me, I just ignored him.

But later that same day we came into the house and he had Bear Bear and Blankie on the couch, and he said, "Bear Bear has Jesus in his heart." We talked about it a little bit and then he said,

"For Bear Bear take a bath, Jesus just got all wet! For Jesus come out of his heart he got all wet!"

Now that is some sound theology.

Preschool Man

Here's my big man eating breakfast before his first day of preschool yesterday (September 8th). My mom took him to school and they managed to get out of the car and into the school during a lull in the torrential downpour that lasted almost all morning. Huston didn't seem all that nervous leading up to school starting. I expected him to be saying "No, Mommy, Huston doesn't want to go to preschool," but every time we talked about it, he would just say, "You're going to preschool. Grandma's going to take you." He didn't cry when Grandma dropped him off. She said he just walked in nervously, kind of chewing his shirt. But when she picked him up the teachers did suggest that he bring something special next time because he was kind of whimpering for awhile. So Bear Bear might get to go to school next week.

Here he is standing in front of the door to Saint Stephen's. I loved the little snippets I got from him about school. He has a cubby hole with his name on it. I asked him what he put in his cubby hole and he said, "Oh, your backpack." (Almost every sentences starts with "oh" these days). He said, "Did they turn the lights off," and indeed they did turn the lights off for nap time and my mom said Huston was still sleeping when she came to pick him up (he was one of three kids still dead asleep on the floor while they other kids played). Never would I have expected that!

He came home with a heart sticker on his hand and based on the little "recipe" cooking activity he brought home, I deduced that they read The Kissing Hand, a sweet story about starting school. The little heart sticker is supposed to represent a mom's kiss that stays with you all day at school. He got really upset when his heart sticker fell off at home, and this from a kid that never wants to wear stickers for more than 3 seconds.

He told me they had circle time and he also told us "The music didn't work. Did it go 'mmmmmmmm'," so there must have been some kind of technological mishap that made an impression on him. And then late last night he suddenly bust out with, "At your preschool did they sing 'Days of the Week, Days of the Week.'" I found the Dr. Jean song on my ipod that I think they might have sung and he got really happy listening to it.

So, a fortuitous start to the school year. I hope he loves school and I can't wait to go up there and meet his teachers and see his little class.

Random Updates

I just had to record, so I don't forget, that Arden waved for the first time yesterday, September 4th. Clarke and I took the kids to the park because the weather was so nice in the morning and Arden saw a lady walking three dogs and she got so excited. (Her first real interaction with a dog was at Huston's birthday party with my brother's dog, Pup. She loved Pup and followed her around making happy sounds during the whole party). Anyway, she stretched out her little hand and started waving it up and down while she kicked her legs and strained to go see the little doggies. The rest of the day she would occasionally move her hand up and down or open and close it while she watched it, as if she was thinking, "Oh, so that's how you do it."

Although she's not walking yet, she took her first steps about a week ago, on August 26th. It is so fun to set her a few feet away from me and let her toddle over. She looks just like Frankenstein with her arms outstretched and her lurching, lunging motions. She can easily take 5 or 6 steps in a row, but usually lunges towards you at the end and still doesn't really try to walk by herself.

Huston and Arden both had check ups last week (Arden's 9 month and Huston's 3 year). Arden is now 29 inches tall, which is 90th percentile, and 18 pounds, 12 ounces, which is 50th percentile. Huston is 38 and a half inches tall, which is in the 75th percentile, and he weighed 31 pounds, which I think is 50th percentile.

Okay, that's all the updates for now.

THREE!

Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet boy! I can't believe you're already three! You're an adorable, hilarious mess of a kid. You love windshield wipers and garage doors and are never happier than when you're allowed to push all of the buttons in a car or open and close a garage door. Today at your party you got to play with lots of windshield wipers and you told me, "Did you get to do Grandpa's wipers and Mimi's wipers and Uncle Jay's wipers!" You were not interested in opening your presents and, in fact, only opened them all because you were told you could play with windshield wipers after you opened gifts. You're so silly! Everything in the world is either a garage door or a windshield wiper to you. You use combs and straws from Chick-Fil-A as wipers, and the little "roll-top-esque" door on our hutch as a garage door.

You are afraid of the "knobs" on the end of your bed and always have to be reassured at night that they won't do anything to you. We cover all four of the posts up with blankets and you say, "The knobs don't have faces. The knobs can't talk to you. Bear Bear will help you. Jesus will not let the knobs talk to you." You sleep with Bear Bear, Blankie, and three real windshield wipers (two front and one back) every night.

Your favorite book of late is "Blue Goes to School" (as in Blue's Clues). You'll be starting preschool in two weeks and Mimi bought it for you to help you get ready. You have the whole thing memorized and can recite it.

You love the video "It's a Dad's Life" on You Tube and always ask to watch it on my ipod. You can sing almost the whole thing from memory and Daddy just told me today that when he gets you down out of your car seat you start to sing the part that says "my whole entourage hops out the minivan." You are fascinated by minivans and think that the dryer lint trap is just like a minivan door. I think you wish we had one so you could push the button to open and close the door. You love the way it slides closed.

You are completely dependent upon your little white chair that you push around the house that allows you to reach all the switches for the lights and the fans. The other day you turned our thermostat up into the 80's and almost sweat Grandma out of the house while she was watching you. You also knocked over our new computer while you were trying to "plug it in" as you said. You're a little more mischievous lately.

Here's some pictures from your party today. Happy birthday, Huston!

You had a great time at your party and loved the train cake Grandma made for you. You only freaked out when we sang the first few words of "happy birthday" and then you started screaming and crying so we had to stop. Still hate that song, I guess. Maybe next year...

You parked yourself by the Chick-Fil-A nugget tray and helped yourself to them. You had fun seeing all of our sweet friends and family and playing with everyone.

Comic Relief

Some days are just harder than others. On those days when I want to simultaneously pull my hair out and hide under the bed, I am grateful for the little things that make me laugh. These adorable pictures of Huston and Arden playing the piano provided me with just such relief the day they were taken (this past week). They are both without clothes in these pictures because during the course of the day, Huston had peed in his underwear while sitting in time out for pushing Arden and taken his pullup off during nap time and peed on the floor. Arden, in turn, had peed and pooped all over herself and the floor while sitting in her high chair because (it turns out) her diaper wasn't fastened well and had come undone. Huston clued me into this catastrophe by yelling, "Mommy! Is there water on the floor!" Unfortunately, it was not water.

I had about had it with poop and pee by the time the day was over.

The pictures below were taken Sunday, after our sweet friends, the Browns, came over to spend the afternoon with us. During the course of playing with Ezra, Enoch, and Marta in his room, Huston pooped (and peed) in his underwear twice. He broke the lightbulb in our new lamp after having been told two times not to touch it. And he took his pullup off again during nap time and peed on the floor again.

Thank goodness these kids are hilarious and I love them so much, or some days I really might buy a one way ticket to a deserted tropical island.