Lauren's "Disgusting" List

Lately everything for Lauren is disgusting. So, I thought I would make a list of things that she finds disgusting, as in "__________ is disGUSting":

• Milk
• Potty
• Josh
• Any mean words
• Any food that I make with the exception of chicken nuggets and tomato soup (not together)
• Kleenex
• Mud
• Bad guys in movies or tv shows
• "Cars"
• Her princess chair (she'd much rather sit in Josh's Cars chair because it bothers him)
• Dixie
• Poopy diapers (can't argue with that one!)
• Soap
• Naps

You get the idea. EVERYTHING that she does not want to do, say, look at, or deal with in general is "disgusting." This morning I asked her to go potty when she woke up and in her whiny three-year-old voice she said, "But I caaaaan't because the potty's disgusting" coupled with the foot stomp that seems to go along with everything she says and does lately. So, of course, Josh chimes in, "Disgusting, mommy, disgusting?" Hmmm. He's already walking around saying "Hannah Montana," now we can add "disgusting" on the list of words she is teaching him. I guess the second one advances quicker than the first....what will happen with Logan?!

Dog-Gone Dixie

So, Dixie tried to run away a few weeks ago. It was actually really hilarious! The neighbor girl came to the door to see if Lauren could play. Logan was sleeping, so Brian hushed Dixie quickly. Dixie's feelings get very hurt when Brian even looks at her crossly (any of you who have had experience with a Viszla understand this!). So, Dixie took off away from the front door to pout, or so we thought. She ended up going around the opposite way, through the dining room and hall to come to the front door once again. Only this time she didn't even stop to sniff anyone, she just kept trotting right out the door. Normally, if Dixie is outside leash-less she is wild. She acts like a maniac, sniffing here, peeing there, trying to be everywhere all at once. Not this time! She kept her trotting pace across the sidewalk, down the driveway and into the cul-de-sac, like she was determined to find a new home! Luckily, after about a dozen calls to her she came back in. I was laughing so hard! All she needed was a red handkerchief full of treats tied to the end of a stick and she would've been set!

Dixie getting ice cream on her birthday last May

Lauren's Dinner Prayer

"Thank you for this Jesus food, Amen."

Huh?

I decided that I would make a list of my catch-phrases in our house as of late.

• Stop bugging Dixie.
• Please be nice to your brother.
• Use your listening ears.
• Use nice touches.
• No hitting.
• For crying out loud.
• You're gonna be in big, big trouble.
• If you do _____ again, I will take away your B (blankie).
• If you do _____ again, I will take away your Lightning McQueen.
• No, we are not watching Cars.
• No, we are not watching Mickey Mouse.
• Get your shoes and coats on.
• Put your arms through your arm straps, please.
• Stop hitting your brother.
• Tell him/her how that made you feel.
• Stay in your bed or you will lose your B.
• Go potty.
• Wash your hands.
• Put your socks back on.
• Give him his toy back.
• That is hers.
• Stop chasing Dixie.
• Go downstairs if you want to run and jump.
• Please don't color on the chairs.
• We only color at the table.
• We only eat at the table.
• We do not jump on the couch.
• Come here.
• Sit down.
• WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

So, you get the idea. These are the things that are said MULTIPLE times in a day. This doesn't include the nice things that get said for doing nice things. These are the staples - like bread, milk, and eggs. I really try to be positive, but I get so unbelievably sick and tired of repeating myself!! I love my children very much. I also appreciate the time they are away from me as I can sit in silence and not have anyone saying, "huh?" or "what'd you say, mommy?"

Color Code

I was doing some color matching activities with Josh this morning. He is learning colors. Here is an exchange that I had with him the other day. It is SO very on point as to where he is at with his personality these days:

Josh: (holding up a yellow marker) Mama, it's yellow.
Me: Yes, Josh! Good job! You're right, it is yellow.
Josh: It's green?
Me: Well, no. It's yellow. You were right the first time.
Josh: NO! IT'S GREEN!

Josh is caught between being two and just being stubborn as a personality trait. He comes by it honestly! Anyways, going over the colors with Josh this morning reminded me of when Lauren was learning her colors. She actually associated colors with people. Here is the rundown of what everyone's color was:

Lauren: Pink or Red (of course!)
Daddy: Blue
Mommy: Yellow
Grandma Marcia: Green
Grandpa Smiley: Brown
Grandma Jane: Orange
Josh: Purple

I think Grandpa Larry also had a color, but I can't quite remember what it was. Anyways, this was Lauren's color palette. When she would see something, anything of a certain color, she would say, "Mommy, look, it's Daddy" or whatever color fit with that particular name. And she NEVER mixed them up. It was really interesting the way she associated colors. I had to explain this to her teachers as one day when I dropped her off for breakfast, she sat herself down on two yellow chairs at once and exclaimed, "Mommy, look, I have two mommies!!" I figured that it was time to let them in on Lauren's color code! Don't need them wondering what strange things are goin' on at the Kraby house!!

It was a very creative code she came up with. Sometimes, I miss her color code. I guess it is just an example of how time marches on.......

Logan

Logan will be four months old on Wednesday! These last four months have gone by very fast. It seems like he should still be a newborn sleeping and drinking little bits at a time. He now drinks a LOT of milk and will therefore be starting cereal very soon. I don't think he can consume much more milk before he will pop! He is playing with toys and loves to look at himself in the mirror. He is such an incredibly easy baby. I feel bad because I didn't really know him and his habits until just this past weekend. I spent all day Friday and Saturday with him and came to realize that once I got him one-on-one, he is the easiest baby ever born! Okay, that might be stretching it, but he is great. He eats every three hours on the dot between the hours of 8am and 8pm. He will sleep for almost twelve hours at night! And during the day he's a little cat napper - 45 minutes here, and hour there. And he's SO HAPPY!! He just smiles and coos and hangs out. He is so very laid back! The picture was taken this morning....he's rockin' a nice mohawk from his bath last night! Anyways, here are his four month stats:

• Weight: 17.7 lbs (97th percentile)
• Height: 2 ft. 2 in. (92nd percentile)

I don't really pay much attention to the percentiles probably because my kids have all never gotten out of the 90's. I just think it's funny that at four months Joshua weighed 22 pounds! Hopefully Logan will stay on his current weight gain and not cause his mother great back and arm pain at the age of six months like Josh did! Josh has spent a good amount of his life OFF the growth percentile chart. Man, I've got some big kids!! I love it! Happy four months Logan!

For Cryin' Out Loud

Lauren has been obsessed with Dixie lately, chasing her, trying to guide her around the house, laying on her and just generally bugging her. Whenever Lauren is playing with Dixie, she has this certain laugh. It is a really loud laugh with evil undertones and it is very annoying. So, last week when she was laughing this certain laugh and playing with Dixie, Brian told her to go down to the basement playroom to play with Dixie. A short while later we saw that Lauren had made a circle out of the wooden train tracks and heard her telling Dixie to sit in the circle. Dixie would not cooperate. We then heard Lauren say, and I quote, "You're in big, big trouble, Dixie. You have to sit for four minutes 'cause you are four years old. For cryin' out loud!" Brian looked at me and asked if I heard what she said. I said that I did hear her and those are all my words and my rules coming into her ears and straight out of her mouth, and I don't apologize for any of it! Especially not the "for cryin' out loud" part!!