Tub Time

This week has been perfection. Truly. Sunshine every. single. day. 80 degree weather. Parks. Parks. More parks. Happy little souls running around my house. And a lot of convincing myself that it's okay Sterling has worked alllllll day long for the past two weeks. Oh hey, the audit is finished TONIGHT (he thinks he'll be at the office until midnight) so hurrah! --sidenote to the nasty vice president that didn't do her job and got fired two weeks before the audit was due and made everyone work overtime for two weeks...I really, really, really don't like you. 

Other than that we have had some CRAAAAZY evenings. The car we had been using since Sterling got this job died, and even though he only needs it for four more months, he really needs it. So we put out the word and luckily for us our favorite Miami car man came through for us (counselor in the bishopric). I REALLY don't know how people survive in the real world without the church. We had gone to two dealerships where they had not given correct years for the cars, things weren't working which meant it wouldn't even pass inspection, etc. They all said it could be fixed of course, but it wasn't really inspiring any confidence from our end. Lets just say, we are really blessed with the car we got and grateful to my sister for helping me with our taxes so we can get it! Haha. We have had two vehicles for about six months in our entire six years of marriage---that was right before we moved to Miami and we got a minivan knowing we would sell the car. It's a pretty liberating thing! 

The kids, bless their hearts, have been saints when we kept them up WAAAAY past bedtime and whisked them all around the city. Lets just say there were a LOT of fries and twizzlers vacuumed up yesterday from their car seats. :)

I know Will looks drugged here, but this is the VERY FIRST TIME I have ever looked at a picture and thought that Ruth and Molly look similar. Haha. Just the exact same smile.

Bubbles. My kids have been on a HUGE bubble kick this week. Which has kept them endlessly entertained in the back patio. Poor Will accidentally dumped all of his out today, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

Ruth's cheese face. Wowza. 

I got a new piano student this week. Ummmm...not much more to expound upon there, haha.

This next picture of Molly and Will. Heart eyes all around. Those two are the CUTEST. Ruth and Will play and play pretend and I love that. But Will ADORES Molly. Which is hilarious because its that whole I-love-you-but-I-don't-know-how-to-show-you. He hugs Molly, she screeches, he kisses her, she screeches, he shares with her, she pushes him away. But Molly thinks he is HILARIOUS and is constantly around him to be hugged, and kissed, and bugged. Haha. They are so funny. He is really good about getting toys down for her that she can't reach and helping her wrap her dolls in blankets. I just love watching them.

Ruth came downstairs today and threw her hands up and said "We were upstairs cleaning up and I started reading Will a book and then his eyes closed. He fell asleep!!! He must have been so tired!" Then she giggled like that was the most hilarious and unbelievable thing she had ever witnessed. I laughed so hard. Oh my goodness she is the greatest helper in the world. She is such a sweetheart. Although, at the beginning of that same clean-up session, after hearing some crying, I called them both downstairs to sort things out. Will was all upset that Ruth was "licking" him. When I looked at Ruth she looked ready to bust up laughing. Haha. I told her that if he was crying, it wasn't ok. She looked pretty sad, but I still think she thought the whole thing was hilarious. Haha.

Cutest ever.

Will's favorite book right now is Red Hat, Green Hat. He reads it out loud to himself  all the time and laughs and laughs. Ruth always points at the chicken and says "He's such a funny little guy!". Because of that book Molly says 'oops' except she pronounces it 'pssst' like she's telling you a secret, and I just LOOOOOVE it.

Molly is picking up words crazy fast. She can now say Will, Ruth (pfoof), Clarke (gark), bubbles, thank you....I can't think of any others right now. She is also queen of getting out a five gallon bucket and following me around in the kitchen. She pulls my hand towards whatever she wants me to do for her. She still snuggles before and after sleeping---which I want to last forever. She does routines like a boss-morning time, she goes straight to her drawer for clothes, then to the bathroom for hair and teeth, then downstairs for breakfast. She also has started bringing me her diaper and wipes when she is stinky and they are upstairs playing so I haven't noticed right away. She sings along with the kids in the van at top volume, and she actually gets tunes really well. She is just so smart. She copies the kids in everything and gives her big cheese face when she accomplishes it. 

Sweetest angel baby.

Lately I have just been in a true soak-it-in mood. All the time. I just can't get over the fun stages my kids are in and I want it to last forever. Ruth is getting SOOO smart. She asks me about letters and numbers, days of the week and month. She asks me about the food we eat (the hairs on the strawberry) and the 'why' for everything. Will is so sweet and always the first to give me a hug, tell me he loves me, and make sure I'm happy. He's always playing and singing and is just so much fun. He loves running and balls and cars and all things boy and I just want it to last forever. And Molly. Like I said above, she is just learning so much and is so crazy independent and tiny and  perfect for snuggling and rocking. Can we stay like this forever, please?

Recipes

I titled this 'Recipes' yesterday when I uploaded the photos. It was to motivate me to find all my new gluten-free crockpot recipes and post them here for my sister, who is looking for crockpot recipes. 

But it's late...so...

Here's a picture of the cutest boy in the WORLD! 

And a picture of the most HILARIOUS girl in the world who can do a somersault about 25% of the time. HAHA!

Luckily, she gets full points for effort and being the cutest one out there.

And additional points for being the CRAZIEST!

Those eyes. Oh, how I love that little lady!

Our friends gave us this wooden table a little while ago because they didn't want it. Since our little Ikea table bit the dust,  it has been so nice to have. Will has recently become obsessed with puzzles, so he has a semi-safe place to put them without Molly terrorizing him. Also, Molly has a shoe fetish and wears everyone else's shoes around. In this photo-Will's church shoes.

She also has no fear, crazy hooligan.

Big brother to save the day!!!

The other day we went to the zoo and I brought graham crackers with icing in the middle. It was one of my favorite childhood treats. I forgot we live in Miami and icing melts in .2 seconds. Molly was a huge fan though!

This was hilarious. My friend's son Clarke wanted to see the monkeys, but none were around. So Tricia started making monkey sounds (these are howler monkeys so it is loud and annoying, haha) and then convinced my kids that if they kept making the sounds, the monkeys would come out. Luckily for us, they totally did! Ruth thinks she is a bonafide monkey trainer now and has all the magic. HA! Those howler's stayed out and chatted it up for quite some time though. Definitely a highlight of the day.

I don't remember what was going on here, but Ruth's laughing face!!! I just want to frame it forever! 

Ruth was trying to be nice and let Will on for a ride too, and then she got stuck. And all I could do was laugh!

Here's a nice shot of my new/used stroller because my last one bit the dust. I'm slightly/crazy in love with it. Oh Phil and Teds, I don't know how mothers live without you.

Here's a different day at the park. Ruth had full dance attire on at the house, but after seeing one skirt wrecked my her bike tire, she changes on her own into shorts when we bike. Sweet girl. Hilarious outfit. Sometimes I used to look at perfectly matching children and wished Ruth wasn't quite so headstrong about dressing herself (or Will and his mono chromaticism) but in all reality I LOVE it SOOOOO much!

My crazy climber.

Not much else on the front over here. I made homemade granola yesterday that turned out DELISH (after I burned the first batch to a crisp) and we ate it this morning with my homemade yogurt. I felt pretty proud of myself. But even MORE excited for Sterling to have a quick and easy gluten-free breakfast to take with him when he's in a rush. 

It's been in the mid to upper 80s all week and while I'm basking in my re-vamped chaco tanline, I am NOT excited for the upcoming heat wave. Okay maybe a little excited for pool days. But really Miami, we could keep it here indefinitely, please and thank you. 

The kids are hilarious. Ruth and Will are SUPER into pretend play lately. Specifically princesses, mom/dads, and playing with their babies/stuffed animals. Since they are usually much more into their blocks, trains, little people toys, and dressing up just for the sake of dressing up, this feels pretty exciting. They keep each other entertained for HOURS and I enjoy listening to them so much. And as long as Molly has a baby doll to hold, she just follows along with whatever they are doing. Or emphatically does her own thing. Either way, haha. 

That girl is growing up by leaps and bounds and is getting way too smart for her own good. She's picking up new words every day--her vocabulary is just exploding--and she understands EVERYTHING. Ruth asked if she could take a book to bed with her last night and I said "Just one." and Ruth headed down the stairs. Molly didn't even stop to breath, she was following right after, ripped several books off the shelf to find her favorite, and tromped up the stairs with a very smug look on her face, haha. She definitely knows our routines, too. Once her pajamas are on she immediately trots over to the bathroom and pulls the stool over to turn on the light and starts trying to reach for the toothbrushes. When I say it's time to go get the mail she's the first one to race off to find her shoes. When I ask someone to say the blessing she doesn't even wait for Ruth and Will to start first, she immediately waves her arm in the air and chants "Me! Me! Me!". It's just crazy to me how much she picks up on our everyday life and how much energy that crazy little fireball can throw into an activity. She is definitely the life of the party here and everyone loves her. Usually all the screeches and yelling are from the kids trying to hug her (mostly Will) and kiss her and she doesn't want to, and me telling everyone to stop touching the baby! Will always protests "But I just love baby Molly!". As do we all. 

And this from Facebook:

Playing games in the van:
Will: "I spy with my little eye...MODOR DRAGON!!!!" (Komodo Dragon)
Ruth: "I am yellow and black. I have wings."
Will: "BEE!"
Will: "I spy with my little eye...A BEE." *claps. cheers*
Will: "I spy with my little eye...A BEE." *claps. cheers*
Will: "I spy with my little eye...A BEE." *claps. cheers*
Anyone else feel like you are watching Brother Bear right now?

Ruth: "I can spell my name. R. U. T. H. R. U. T. H. R. U. T.H."
Will: "STOP SAYING THAT RUPEE!!!!!"

Ruth: "I am round and I pop when I hit the ground."
Will: "BUBBLES!"
*Points to both kids for thinking outside the box (we'd only done animals thus far) and for totally getting each other!

Also, HILARITY when we sang If You're Happy and You Know It and instead of clapping we randomly yelled out kids' names. Will laughed so hard at this pretty soon everyone was just laughing at him laughing.

I know, this post is getting ridiculously long, but today I asked Ruth if she knew the real meaning of Easter because she was talking about the easter bunny. She said no. So I told her that it was about Jesus. That He was perfect and that He died, but instead of staying in heaven, He was able to be resurrected. She asked (all by herself!) "Do we get resurrected?" To which I said "YES! Thanks to Jesus, because He died and was resurrected, we get to be, too! So we get to come back to earth and live with our family forever!" I thought it was totally over her head but at least a plug in the right direction. Later tonight I told Sterling that Ruth knew the real meaning of Easter and she said "Yeah, Jesus died, but the next day He lived and was resurrected and that means we can be too!" Awww, happy moment. That girl is so sharp. 

Which reminds me (longest post ever, but hey, it's my record keeping) the other day I was talking to Sterling while driving home from Ikea and therefore we missed our exit. Twice. The second time he was not very happy about it. I said "Hon, don't be angry, it'll be fine." (although, he's the one who had to stay up til midnight working, so I can see his point.) To which Ruthie piped up, "daddy? I know what to do when you're angry, do you want me to tell you?" And because Ruth could soften daddy's heart in the worst of times, he immediately smiled and said "What baby?". "Well, I was watching Tiger Daniel's Neighborhood and they sing a song that tells you exactly what to do. You breathe and then you count to four. Do you want me to sing it to you?" "Yes, baby, I would like that very much." Cue Ruthie singing a song about breathing, one, two, three, four. Which she sang twice and was adamant he joined in. It was the sweetest, most heartwarming moment ever. Also, she has gotten after Sterling (and I! Oops!) for staying 'stupid' twice in the last couple days. Nothing gets past her! Haha.

Okay, recipes sometime.