Cheeky Addie - Part 2

We went to the farm today for a day of play. It is about a 15 minute drive home. We were having such a good time that we stayed quite late and didn't leave until 1:30. Addie usually sleeps from 12:45 to 2:45 so I was really worried that she might fall asleep in the car on the way home.

Given that Charles is out of town I am very in need of my own rest time so I wanted to prevent this from happening at all costs. Therefore, in effort to make this less likely, I stopped at the gift store on the way out of the farm and bought a small box of jelly bellies. I told Jack that he should give Addie one whenever it looked like she was about to fall asleep. I told him that he could also have some himself and share with Theo of course.

About two miles from home I heard Jack say very authoritatively from the back,

'Theo, there are only six jelly beans left. I am most concerned about Addie so I am going to save all six for her. Theo you don't even sleep during your rest time any more so really these should all be for Addie since she is the one we are most concerned about falling asleep.'

Obviously, Theo was not too excited with this plan. I was sympathetic with Theo. Given that we were about four minutes from home I thought this might be a bit extreme, although I appreciated how seriously Jack was taking his role in this endeavour.

I then said, 'Jack I think it would be okay for you all to split the last six jelly beans. I mean, how is Addie doing, is she about to fall asleep?'

Jack then told me very forcefully, 'yes, she is closing her eyes every minute.'

I kid you not. I turned around to see for myself and she was doing that 'tight squint' that little kids do to pretend they are asleep. I am fairly confident that Addie was 'faking' being asleep because she had heard me tell Jack to give her a jelly bean every time it looked like she was going to fall asleep. Priceless. Absolutely priceless. The things she picks up from Charles....


Addie from the front today:

Addie from the back today (thanks to my Mom for those lovely curls):

Cheeky Addie - Part 1

I am afraid we have a cheeky little lady on our hand who likes to be teased and tease others. I know she gets this completely from her father.

A few days ago we had a little paddling pool out in the orchard and she was more than happy to get in with just a regular nappy on which of course meant it weighed loads when she got out. She was not the least bothered about this so she just ran around the orchard with her really droopy diaper on and shoes (which I put back on her to protect her feet). I wished I had a camera out with me at the time as she was hilarious driving a big John Deere play tractor around in just her nappy. I decided it was worth getting a picture of her afterwards when we were inside. You can tell she is more than pleased to play a game as I try to film her - maybe it is that she is modest? I doubt it.

It is almost like she is famous and is running from the paparazzi.

Enjoy the video:

New Shoes

As Charles is away in America visiting his family, we have looked for 'activities' for each day. I have been aware that almost all of our kids are on the verge of needing new shoes so I decided this would be a good week to go shoe shopping.

As such, we took off down the long hill to our favourite shoe shop and shoe lady - Marie.  I so love having her. She is the first shoe lady I know that will turn you away if your kid's shoes still fit or if she doesn't have anything that fits them properly.

I prepped the kids that it could be possible that not everyone would get shoes. I made it clear that we would not be buying shoes just to buy shoes but that if they had outgrown their shoes then we could look and see if Marie had any in stock that would fit them properly. They all seemed satisfied with this.

Theo went first and as expected he had outgrown his last pair (which were bought in August of last year!). I told Marie that we needed a pair that were incredibly easy to do up himself . The last pair had proved difficult with one of the straps coming out of the loop-hole quite easily. (Ed Note: Theo has made huge strides in dressing himself as well as putting his shoes on which is a goal we set before this baby was born - he doesn't know that though!).

Marie came back with two pairs - one red and one blue. Theo seemed really keen on the red pair. After consulting with Marie and getting her advice that they both fit equally well, and there was only a £2 difference in the two pairs, I decided that he could make the decision. I was sure he was going to go with the red pair when all of a sudden he said very decisively, 'I want the blue pair'. I was a little shocked and asked why he had changed his mind. He very quickly said that the English wear red and Americans wear blue. This all comes from the Liberty's Kids dvds on the American Revolutionary War that he and Jack are obsessed with. I know Theo well enough to know that the decision was done and blue it was going to be!

Next up was Jack. His last pair of shoes were bought in October. Marie measured him and said that he was still okay in his old pair. She told us to come back in 6-8 weeks. Jack was a real champ and didn't get upset at all which was nice to see!

Last was Addie. She was so chuffed with getting to try on different shoes. It was hysterical. She is such a little girl in the way she loves shoes  and clothes. We found her a very cute little red pair. She has been walking around in them since showing them to anyone who will look.

Three cheers for new shoes, Marie, and Jack who showed great maturity!

Here are pictures of the new shoes:

And then I asked where is Mom (in an attempt to get them both looking at the camera):

Happy 12 Years!

Charles and I had the privilege of celebrating our twelfth wedding anniversary by going to Canterbury. Some friends donated a night in the cathedral lodge in the College's annual auction to raise money for our seminary partnership in Africa. At the last minute Charles and I bid on it and won it - and we are glad we did!

It was a great night away. The lodge was actually a very nice hotel on the grounds of the cathedral with views of the gorgeous cathedral from our window. We were waken in the morning by bells going off for the first morning's service which was quite different than the sound of a six or three year old calling your name as a wake up call! 

The town itself was very quaint and rivalled some of the most picturesque I have seen in England with meandering streets and fun boutiques to look in. We found a wonderful Belgian restaurant to eat in that night which had literally a book of beers that made Charles one happy man. A different pint was suggested for each course which Charles happily took part in. We even stopped in the next morning to get a couple bottled pints of what he had had on draft the night before to take home to some beer-loving friends.

The night away would not have happened had it not been for the lovely service of some of our friends at College to look after our three. Duncan and Rebecca Bell were a great blessing to us as they came to our house and stayed with our kids while we were gone. The kids had a blast and have asked many times since we have returned when Duncan and Rebecca can come back to spend the night. This is the first time we have left our kids with someone outside of family, and it couldn't have gone better. We are very grateful to Duncan and Rebecca.

One funny aside, Rebecca told me that Jack came in in the morning to talk to her as she lie in bed still waking up. She said they were having a really lovely in-depth conversation when Jack stopped and said, 'I am sorry, but what's your name again?' It looks like he may take after his Grandad in this area!

Pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Picture of cathedral:

Erin inside the cathedral

Looking out of the cathedral gate

Taking our own picture (I didn't realise until I was home that this is the only picture we have together - kind of pathetic since it was an anniversary trip)

View from our room

Jack's Letter

Earlier today I heard Jack up in his room really working on something. This is not that rare of instance so I just enjoyed the peace and went about my business downstairs. A few minutes later Jack came down and asked me if we had any envelopes. I told him yes and where to find them. A few minutes later still and I heard Jack go out the front door and then heard the noise of some post slipping through our door slot. I went to the door and collected the envelope (which had obviously been posted through by Jack). This is what I saw, an envelope addressed to 'Erin' with the following letter inside:

Basically Jack had acted as though he was my mom Julie or 'Jooly' and had written me a letter (if you double click the picture you can see the lettering more clearly).

He then asked me how the spelling was. I told him I thought it was very good, but there were a few places that he had misspelled a word. I pointed those out and then he proceeded to go upstairs and rewrite a new letter doing his best to correct the misspellings on the second one. This perfectionist tendency is a trait he definitely gets from Charles - I don't have itt (but I do have a sense of humor)!

He then brought the new version down and asked which one I liked better. I told him that I liked the first one best because it was the first one I had received and I really enjoyed the creativity he had put into it, but I then praised him for wanting to get better and try to improve his spelling. He seemed content with that answer.

From a mother's perspective, I will never throw away the first letter - it is now in my keepsake box with others of my favourite letters.

Jack, the dropout

Today we were reading Ramona the Brave and got to the part where Ramona becomes a kindergarten dropout. The boys didn't know what the word 'dropout' meant  so I gave them a quick definition 'it is someone who use to go to school and doesn't anymore'.

At this moment, Theo quickly piped up and said, 'Jack is a dropout. He use to go to my pre-school and he doesn't anymore.'  Before I get cross-examined by the Department of Family Services or the Homeschooling authorities, I should point out that Jack still goes to school it just isn't at the church pre-school anymore - it looks like my brief definition of dropout was a bit too basic to capture the true meaning for Theo!

Theo, potatoes, and pain

We had a student and his son over to dinner tonight as his wife is out of town. I cooked some sausages and roasted some potatoes. The potatoes were incredibly hot and Theo didn't plan for this when he bit into his. He quickly spit it out and started crying.

We were all very sympathetic and tried to comfort him. Charles asked him, 'Oh Theo are you in pain? That must have really hurt.' To which Theo replied, 'yes my nipples hurt.'

WHAT? We all looked around, including our friend and Jack (who mind you is six) and burst out laughing. I am just glad that our dinner guest was a good friend and not someone we were trying to impress!  Never a dull moment at the Anderson dinner table!

Jinx

For a few months now the boys have been calling our baby Jinx. This is largely due to two reasons.

First, they love to play the jinx game where you yell jinx after you say the exact same thing as someone else and can then only be unfreezed (and allowed to talk again) when someone says your full name.

And second and slightly more important - Charles often reads the Freddy books to them (a series of like 20 books he remembers reading as a young boy). The boys have been amused because two of the main characters in these books are Jack (a dog) and Charles (a rooster). Then out of the blue a character name Theodore (a frog)  has arrived which has gotten everyone in our family very excited. [Ed note: We are still waiting for an Adelaide - we may be waiting a while!] So at dinner a couple months back we decided that the baby should have a name of one of the characters from these books as well. We contemplated Freddy (a big pig), Henrietta (Charles's wife, a hen), Simon (a rat - but he is kind of rotten). But none of these compared to Jinx (a cat). The boys were then set that the baby should definitely be called Jinx. We have indulged them to this point. I hope they aren't disappointed on the actual day when the real name is revealed!

It is not unusual for Theo especially to say things about our baby, but he always says 'Jinx', not 'our baby'. For example, 'this will be Jinx's room' or 'this will be where Jinx sits'. Today he even told me that Jinx means 'gift from God'. I think he got this confused with Theodore! 

It has just dawned on me that this has taken off so much that this baby may have a nickname the day he is born! I guess that is one of the privileges of being a fourth child. There are worst things . . .

More Theo Quotables

Often on Sunday morning we let the kids have a 'fun treat' for breakfast. Today they asked if they could have cinnamon toast. I told them yes they could have cinnamon and sugar on their second piece of toast but their first piece of toast would be a normal piece. Very optimistically, Theo then said 'okay can I have my second piece of toast first?'

Oh the logic of a three year old!  Love it.

MIZ-ZOU

We are cheering on the Tigers from London today:

Quotables from Theo

Theo is at a very lovely age. The age where you just want to write everything down. Here are two 'quotables' from today:

1. After cutting an apple for the kids to split today, Theo asked if 'he could please have the piece that looked like Bunker Hill.'  Of course, he meant the piece that had the rounded arch on it. Ah, the influence of Liberty's Kids. The boys absolutely love it.
2. Today Theo came in from playing outside and told me that he acidentally stepped on a worm. He told me 'it was moving and then I stepped on it and then it stopped moving.' I told him to try not to do that. He then followed that up by saying, 'Yeah cause worms are lovely.' Not exactly, but I agreed anyway!

Library Days

I spent ten minutes upstairs by myself today checking email and was struck by the beautiful silence. I heard nothing downstairs. I did not have a two year old climbing on my lap, or a three year old yelling he needed help in the bathroom, or a six year old trying to show me a magic trick. I soaked up every one of those ten minutes...and then I ventured downstairs to see what the three rascals were up to expecting that the silence was probably a sign of 'up to no-good'.

This, instead is what I saw:

The three kids were happily sitting on the couch reading one of the books that we had just returned with from the library. This is really what I needed today. The three of them sitting happily on the couch together really was what I needed. It seems that far too often lately we have sat on that same couch with one of them arguing with the other for sitting too close, or fighting over who gets to sit next to Mom, or complaining because their books wasn't read first. So I am posting this picture to remind me that these moments do come. I am sure we will be back to the clamouring on the couch before I know it and when we are I will pull up this blog post and smile. I sure do love library days.

Theo's Show and Tell

Theo was assigned today at pre-school to bring something for show and tell. We went through a long list of things he thought he might want to bring, ranging from Jack to the refrigerator. He finally decided on his meme (blankie). According to his teachers, he told them that he brought his meme because he 'loved to hold him, he was really soft, and he kept him safe at night.' He then proceeded to pass the meme around the circle so all the kids could feel how soft he was. After many washings, Theo's meme is not as soft as it was originally, but it is truly loved.

Enjoy these pictures while I go wash him again - I cannot stand the thought of how many germs were gathered on it by passing it around a circle of three-year-olds! Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Karen for these much much loved blankies.

Grandmother's Gun

In an effort to teach our kids to share and think of everything as gifts from God, we have often rejected the idea that their toys are 'theirs' but instead we have described them as 'God's or Jesus' toys that are entrusted to us. He gives them to us so that we can enjoy them and share them'. It breaks down a bit theologically, but to a young child helps a bit (I think).

Well today Charles was telling Theo to pick up his cars and take them to his room for his rest time. The following conversation took place:

Theo: They aren't my cars. They are Jesus'.

Theo then bends down to pick up a plastic water gun too and now his hands are quite full.

Charles: Do you want me to carry the water gun for you. Is the gun Jesus' too?

Theo (very matter of fact): No, it is Grandmother's gun.

(Ed note: They water gun was given to Theo last summer by my mom).