Having Babies

I am about to relate a story that makes me glad so very few people read my blog. I feel like it is an important story for posterity's sake, but be forewarned that involves the word "vagina" and concerns the process through which babies are born. Consider yourself warned...

Lilly asked me last week if Emmy was going to have a baby someday. I told her she probably would, but not for a long time. There was a pause, then Lilly asked "am I going to have a baby someday?" I didn't want to pressure her so I told her she could if she wanted to. She said "I don't want to...does the doctor take the baby out of your tummy?" This caught me off-guard. I quickly contemplated the effects of telling my 5-year-old how babies are born and decided honesty was best. "Sometimes the doctor takes the baby out of your tummy but usually the baby comes out of your vagina." Lilly got a panicked look on her face and decisively said "I don't want to have a baby."

Speaking of great parenting, I took Rachel and Lilly to see Avengers a couple of weekends ago. First of all, they both asked questions throughout the whole movie. I finally had to tell them no more questions because I was afraid we were being a distraction. After the Avengers save the world, Samuel Jackson's character tells the counsel that the Avengers are taking a deserved break. Rachel leaned over to me and said, "When Power Rangers save the world, they take a deserved break too!" On the subject of Avengers and Rachel, she got me in serious trouble. I told her my favorite character was Hawkeye, but she misunderstood. When discussing the movie with Shelby she told him her and Lilly's favorite Avenger was the Hulk, and my favorite character was "the Hot Guy".



Carson's hair cut (and muscles)



Carson cut his hair by himself. Short. And just in the front. Luckily we were taking him to get his hair cut by my neighbor the next day. I usually keep it a little long on top and short on the sides, but because of his first hair cut we had to buzz the whole thing. His little friend Ian has a similar hair cut, so while she was cutting, she said "Do you want your hair cut like Ian's?" When it was over, and he looked in the mirror he was devastated. He cried and said "I don't want to look like Ian!" By the time we got home he was fine, but the minute we walked through the door he ran into the bathroom to have another look. He started crying again and told me "I didn't want to look like Ian, I wanted to look like ME!" For the record, he looks really cute with his hair so short. I am posting a picture, but I should note when I asked him if I could take a picture of his hair he said "no". So I asked him if I could take a picture of his muscles, hence the pose.



My poor sick little baby



Emmy is sick. She has a typical winter cold, but because of her little heart it always worries me more when she is sick than it does when my other kids don't feel good. Let me just say, she is not a trooper when it comes to physical ailments. Everything is devastating to her. I guess this is how I feel when I am sick as well. Part of me likes it when my kids are sick. They are more cuddly, and it brings out my nurturing side.

One more Lilly story to end on. She went fishing with Shelby, Rachel, and Cody on Saturday. If you have been following my blog at all you can probably guess how this story is going to play out. When Lilly agreed to go, she did not realize what was involved in fishing. She caught the first fish and when Shelby asked her if she wanted to keep it or let it go she said "keep it!" Then Shelby explained that it wasn't being kept as a pet, and if they kept it we would eat it. She decided to let it go. This all would have been fine except Rachel also caught fish. And Rachel has no moral qualms about killing fish, so she decided to keep hers. The minute they got home from fishing Lilly went down to her room to weep for animals everywhere. It really is a sad thing to witness. I want her to hold onto this tenderness she possesses, but at this rate she is going to spend her life lamenting the pain of animals everywhere.

Picture Day!



Lilly's picture day outfit of choice, minus the butterfly shirt



The night before picture day, I sent the girls down to pick out their very cutest outfit. "Remember, this is for pictures so it has to be super cute" were my only instructions. Of course I should have been more clear. I guess I forgot I was not talking to adults. Rachel came up with a skirt and a cute, albeit forgettable top. Lilly brought up a leotard, a butterfly shirt, and a pair of underwear. When I broke the news to her that the leotard would not work for school she argued that it would be fine because she was going to wear underwear with it. After a hilarious few moments of debate in which Shelby and I tried to suppress our laughter, it was decided that I get to pick the school picture outfit. Much to Lilly's absolute horror, I chose a pair of jeans and a simple pink t-shirt. She was beside herself. According to her, the outfit was boring because it didn't even have butterflies on it.

On the topic of butterflies, Lilly is obsessed. I said in a previous post that she is my morning girl. I would like to add that she is my morning girl only if she is allowed to wear something with butterflies on it. She will settle for something extra frilly if no butterfly clothing is available. Today she wore pink pants with lace trim on the hem, a blue skirt, and her new brown t-shirt. She looked like a birthday cake gone awry. I made the decision to sacrifice fashion for a more peaceful morning. But back to the butterflies. Last week, Shelby sent Lilly out to pick up some toys in the back yard. She went willingly, but was gone forever and kept coming back empty-handed. Shelby would ask, "what about the toys?" And she would happily go back out to get them. Watching her from the back door, we laughed as she would run out to pick something up, get sidetracked by a fluttery thing, and then go chasing after butterflies. Occasionally we would call out the back door to remind her about the toys. She would say "Oh, yeah..." and refocus for a moment, until she would see some other fluttering thing. She also likes moths because "they are almost like butterflies." Her grandpa says she is going to be a flower child when she grows up.

Carson is such a boy. Last week we were walking home from the neighbor's house when we saw our garbage truck. Carson was mesmerized.  We walked behind it for several houses, watching them dump and smash the garbage. I thought Carson's interest was adorable, but the garbage men did not seem amused. They must get a lot of little boys following behind them. This morning, our neighbors were pouring a concrete driveway. Once again, Carson was totally fascinated. He wanted me to go out with him so he could watch the cement truck. We sat and watched as long as I could stand it (I don't find trucks or concrete the least bit interesting).

One other cute Carson story. He has a little friend named Ian. A couple of days ago Carson asked Ian if he wanted to sit on his lap. Without hesitation Ian told him no. Carson looked shocked for a moment, then said "But I washed my hands!"

As challenging as Emilia can be, she sure has her own fan club. All she has to do is look like she wants something, and everyone in her little world comes running in an attempt to appease her. And heaven forbid she should not get what she wants. That girl can throw a tantrum! I am unamused by these little fits of hers, but her aunt Merry thinks they are adorable. She was visiting the other day, and every time Emilia even looked like she was going to start crying, Merry would say something akin to "You are so cute! Want to come home with me and be my baby?"

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel...I am afraid she might be getting past the whole saying-cute-things phase. She is starting to seriously grow up. When I asked her a question the other day she actually responded with "because that's how I roll." What?