No Food But Lots of Junk

I realized after reading a friend's blog that some moms are regular callers on the poinson control line. It has never occured to me to do that - though it probably should have about 100 times. Parker is not a good eater. I am working on it and he is demonstrating a very strong will. It amazes me that he can put up a 2 1/2 hour fight over noodles and corn, but he finds no problem putting disgusting things in his mouth all day long. I started to think about what Parker has eaten/put in his mouth just this week:
-a bar of soap (there were chunks missing and he actually cried for it when I took it out of his mouth - didn't that used to be a form of punishment?)
-tube of lipstick
-rubber band
-face foundation (and I had to wipe it out of his mouth)
-a green crayon
-blue playdough (a huge mess - even his teeth were blue)
-my under-eye lotion (one of his favorite things to swipe for some reason)
-pump top of the Johnsons baby soap
-and the standard assortment of rocks, leaves, toys, Mark's toothpaste and coins (regular occurances)

I know you may think that I never watch my children, but I swear they very rarely leave my side. He just puts things in his mouth so fast and he gets into absolutely everything. If Davis and Parker are in the other room, you can almost count on Davis yelling at some point, "Parker has a ----- in his mouth!" You would think he wouldn't have a sensitive pallat, but oh does he ever.

Out of the mouth of a child

I am sure that I will be able to make regular entries to journal all of the creative things my boys say.  Melissa has joked that Davis must lay there in his bed and come up with a new phrase that he wants to incorporate into his vocabulary at least twenty times per day.  The latest this week:

In a very dramatic fashion, he has only been asking for things by saying: "WHY won't anyone get ME some water?" or "WHY won't anyone help ME get dressed?".  We haven't been honoring him asking that way, but I have to laugh at his drama factor.  You would think he is completely neglected.

On several occasions, when talking about extended family, he will randomly use their "title".  I couldn't find Parker's other shoe and Davis said, "I know where it is.  He left it at your mother's house".   We were getting ready for Bible study and he said, "I am going to dad's mom's house right?".  Melissa called on the phone and he said, "I think your sister's on the phone."

I could go into great detail but basically Davis was having a conversation with a woman at our church who I have great respect for (and consequently really wanted my usually blunt child to be kind and sweet and respectful to).  Anyway, she is trying to give him some Biblical direction about helping around the house and being thankful for everything mommy does for him around the house ect.  Davis is looking at her like she has four eyes when he tells her, "If I make a mess my mom loves to clean it up".  This got worse when she asked him what he could do to help mommy and he bluntly responded "If my mommy really needs help around the house, then she can just call the cleaning ladies!".  So proud.

On the sweeter side, he has been telling me several times a day this last week or so "I had such a great time with you today . . . (eating breakfast, in the car, at swim lessons, ect).  It is usually the simplest of activities but he has been very sweetly saying that he enjoys being together.  Sometimes in his honesty, he can be very sincere and sweet.

Parker too has a new trick.  I have been pretty busy trying to get packed and if I am busy in another room and he is supposed to be doing something in his room he will call for me.  When I go to his room to ask him what he needs, he sits there and goes "um, um, um, um, um" until he can think of something to say.  Usually he doesn't even come up with anything.  This is not out of character for a child, but I was surprised that a seventeen-month-old could manage something like that for attention.

Coronado Trip Highlights

Our Trip to Coronado

We just got back from a beautiful week in Coronado, CA with Grandma, Papa, Gram, the Johnson clan and my Uncle Mike and Aunt JoAnn. The boys have the best time. The weather is so nice that they were able to be outside from sunrise to sunset which hasn't been possible in Phoenix for several months. For the 4th of July we took them to the parade - think small town parade with silly home-made floats, school bands, local residents and characters. The military does do several "exhibits" which the boys thought were really great. The Navy had lots of different vehicles out and one of them was dragging a large Navy ship on a trailer - a definite highlight for Davis. That night we watched fireworks over the bay which is my absolute favorite part of the day. The rest of the week was spent at the park, on the ferry to Sea Port village, and beach, beach, beach. They got to go to the beach almost everyday. Davis could live in the sand. Mark and Troy dug a huge tunnel in the sand one night that was all Davis could talk about for days. Parker, on the other hand, is freakishly afraid of the sand and only ventured off the beach towel the last day or two when he was wearing his crocs. Even then, he was really only getting off the towel to get the ball that was his favorite thing to play with on the beach. My Aunt and Uncle and parents very graciously kept all FIVE boys one night so that we could eat dinner out in downtown San Diego which was a highlight of the trip for us. We love to be there together - it is so fun to watch the boys make memories and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Doesn't he need another boy?

Doesn't this picture just scream "Mark needs another son?". In our wisdom we thought, why bring the double stroller to CA when we are already toting three suitcases, two carseats, a diaper bag, a carry-on for airplane entertainment and two crazy little boys. We knew it was a mistake as soon as we spent the first day carrying both boys. We did buy an umbrella stroller in CA so that I wouldn't go into labor with this baby before the week was out because I walked miles carrying one of the boys. Mark did most of the carrying this trip. I can't imagine what life will be like when we transition from man-to-man status to being out-numbered three-to-two! I guess the stroller + shoulder routine is good practice.

At the Del from 2002-2008

Oh How We've Aged . . . I Mean Changed!

So when I was looking at the Coronado pictures for like three hours (attempting to post my first album) I started thinking about how many years it has become a regular summer memory for us - even before we had kids. I started looking at the picture we took each year in front of the Del and after my first realization of seeing that I have aged about fifteen years in only six years, I realized how many blessings, particularly Davis and Parker, God has given our family. The first year, Mark and I were only dating. Then in 2003 we got engaged in CA. Each year after that our family continued to grow. It is crazy how fast the past six years have gone by.

Mark's Family

We actually got a family picture of Mark's family when we were together for Cyndi's wedding in Sedona. This is an accomplishment as we don't get to be together with the Johnson clan very often. We were very fortunate to get to be with April (Mark's sister), Clayton, Kara, & Clay for almost a month before they moved to their new "out of AZ residence" in Alaska. Everytime that the kids are together, I am more sad when they leave because they appreciate each other more and more as they get older. Davis still asks if we can go to Alaska after naps almost everyday. What a blessing family is . . . and particularly this one. My mother and father-in-law model God's love and grace to my kids and continually model loving, selfless service and friendship to us. They are always encouraging and faithful to pray for us. We are so thankful for them.