Liv Said

This blog is really just for me so that I can remember the precious, the funny, and the inspiring things that Olivia says.

I SAID- "Liv will you put your shoes on?" from the other room. Apparently she was one step ahead of me, because she had already put them on. "Mom, everything you say I always undo", she said grumpily. She looked so serious, but I laughed because it was cute. I think she meant to say that everything I say she always does, but she said undo, which is sometimes just as true. :)

I SAID- "Liv I'm going to go downstairs and start making lunch, can you keep an eye on Buster"? SHE SAID- "I'll watch on him". 

A few weeks ago we were headed to Pike's Market to go see the fish be thrown, eat some fun international food, and enjoy the Sound.  We had been listening to some music from the I-POD, and LIV SAID- "Hey Dad, can we listen to that one song? It's either about a helicopter or a skateboard I can't remember which". Now to me the next part of this story is quite miraculous, because then, JARON SAID, "Is it the yellow submarine song?" Then, SHE EXCLAIMED, "YES! That's it!". I've always known Jaron and Liv had a special connection, but I didn't realize it was that strong. I still have no idea how on earth he guessed that one. How on earth do a helicopter and a skateboard relate to a submarine? Well I guess they are all modes of transportation. Either way, I had no idea what she was talking about. Luckily one of us did.

SHE SAID- "Mom, do you know what my most favorite days are"?  

I SAID- "No Liv, which one's are your most favorite days"?

SHE SAID- "Christmas, Easter, Sundays, and Temple Days. Do you know why"?

I SAID- "Why Liv?" 

SHE SAID- "Because those are the days that we celebrate Jesus". 

 SHE SAID- "Mom, I want to be a person that draws pictures in picture books when I grow up". 

I SAID- "That is called an illustrator Liv".

SHE SAID- "OK, I want to be an illustrator when I grow up".  

I tell you. I love this girl. She is growing up so much. She is getting smarter every day and more and more inquisitive. She is helpful and sweet, and has a zest for life that both energizing and on some days draining.  I have thought a lot about homeschooling her, because all day kindergarten just sounds so long for a little five year old, but for Liv I think being in the social atmosphere of school is what she wants and needs. And J and I both feel that she is going to do great in school. She loves people. Her friends can all attest to this. I'm so glad I kept her home from pre-school this last year, and I'm going to try to soak up every last minute with her until she goes to school in the fall. 

Nap Time

This is what my kids are usually doing at 2:00 in the afternoon on most days.

Getting cozy for quiet time. Liv likes to get every soft blanket she can and crawl underneath them with a good book.



I almost always find Warner asleep with a book on his chest. I love it.
 

And when I'm lucky enough and I feel like I need it, I get to go cozy up to my favorite little babe and take a nap, which is what I'm going to go do now.

 

 

Sicklies

Just got back from the doctor today.

The Diagnosis: 

pink eye,

a double ear infection,

and

hand foot and mouth disease * 2.

There is the list of the little germs that have decreased both of my boy's happiness as well as my sanity.


The past year has been a very healthy year for the Brown family, so, I guess it really is our turn.


Poor boys though. Especially Buster. He is the one with the double ear infection; Warner the pink eye. One can't see and the other can't hear. Thankfully Olivia is still completely healthy.


On a side note, (and this is just a little indulgence to squelch the anger that is seriously boiling inside of me right now), if one runs a pediatric business, don't you think that one should hire nurses that are kind to kids and babies?

Furthermore, DOCTORS who are CONDESCENDING and BELITTLING belong in outer darkness. 

Happy Monday.

I'm 9 Months Old

While my Mom turned her back to sneak some chocolate from the pantry, I decided to seize the moment and commandeer her blog for a little while to give you an update on yours truly, a.k.a Buster, a.k.a Bussie, a.k.a. Moose. 

Let me first say that this here little body is not so little anymore. I know because whenever Mom carries me anywhere in my carseat she stoops over like an old lady and gets out of breath really easily. And furthermore, she can't fit me in my car seat when I'm wearing my winter coat anymore. 

In other news, I sprouted two teeth awhile ago. I use them to eat food. They are great new tools. They especially work great on cheerios and star puffs.

Speaking of food. I LOVE it!  I love it so much in fact that when someone is eating something that I want I lunge for it and try to grab it as fast as I can. I'm fast. Some say I have cat like reflexes. And well, I actually I agree with them.  My favorite foods are sweet potatoes and bananas.  I don't like peas though. Yuck. They make me gag.

 
As for my activity level, well, up until about two weeks ago I got away with just sitting around. Literally that was all I did, was sit up. Well, and occasionally, fall over. I figured the less I moved the more others would have to do for me. Can you blame me?  After months of living the high life a.k.a. the lazy life, I decided a little independence didn't sound so bad, so I decided I would try  my luck at rolling over.  I found it works great and once I did it I just couldn't get enough of it.  However, I quickly found that I could only get to my toys by rolling if they were to the side of me. When a toy was just a few feet in front of  me rolling  was not getting me to my toy.  So, now I'm trying my luck at crawling, and I'm getting pretty close. I can lunge forward onto my hands and knees from a sitting position. Then I rock back and forth a little, until I give up and land on my belly, then I squeal and Mom rescues me. I'll keep trying.

As long as I am fed, I'm a pretty happy and content little kid. It makes me really happy when I see Mom coming to get me from my crib. I wiggle and squirm and try to lunge my stomach upward because I think it will get me into her arms faster.  I do the same thing when Dad gets home from work. Usually he comes in the garage door to find me on the floor just inside playing with my toys. I get a big smile on my face and my spine starts bobbing up and down because I'm so excited to see him that I just can't stay still. 

Mom and Dad both think that they are my favorite, but really the people who make me smile the biggest are my siblings. I am happiest when they are playing with me. Don't believe me? See for yourself.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uh oh, gotta go, here she comes. 

The Kirby

We bought a Kirby.

Yes its true.

No I did not sell my diamond ring to buy it. We found it from a sweet old lady out on Mercer Island who said it was in tip top condition, but was just too heavy for her to carry around.

She sold it to us at an offer we couldn't refuse.

What do I think?

I'll tell you what I think.

I love it.

For one simple reason:

HE LOVES IT.

You know what that means?

No more vacuuming for me. I love you Kirby.  Oh and you too Jaron. :)  

 

Curly Sue

 

Good Morning Snow

The other day I woke up and went downstairs and found Warner like this on the couch.

He was eating blueberries and just watching the snow fall outside the window.  Just happy to be watchin and eatin at the same time I guess.

 

 

A Snowy Day in March

 

 

 

Warner's First Performance Accompanied by Liv on the Violin

Sibling Intuition

Olivia and I were downstairs in the play room picking up the toys. Actually "picking up toys" makes it sound so much less-burdensome than it actually is. What it really is is restoring order to demolition. Every month our play room gradually turns into nothing short of something comparable to say the aftermath of a large hurricane or tornado.  This is a result of both lazy parenting on my side, because really it is just easier to kick the toys in the play room at the end of the night, and squeeze the door shut on the mess then it is to try to oversee my kids while they clean it up.  The hurricane is also a result of Warner's most recent fedish; building what he calls "fires".  These so called "fires" as he calls them, entail dumping every possible toy basket out until the pile reaches a satisfactory height. He then rubs his hands together and sits by his "fire" to warm up, while I sigh.

With that elaborate explanation of what Liv and I were doing I will get on with my story.  So, Liv and I were doing some tiding and I realized that Buster was making some strange noises from upstairs.  I had just laid him down for a nap when I heard some loud, and what I thought sounded like angry cries.  Not very characteristic of  my boy B, so I said to Liv "Whoa, why is he so mad?".  "He's not mad Mom", said she "he's just quacking". 

I kind of laughed as I made my way around the corner and up the stairs to go see what was going on with Buster.  As I entered his room, he was there, on his back where I had left him only minutes ago in his crib. He had his feet in his hands and he was rolling back and forth making a low and quick grunty noise.  He didn't look sad, or angry, but he wasn't smiling either. He just kind of looked perturbed. The more I listed to his little grumpy grunt the more I imagined bothered little duckling.  So I agree with Liv, he was not angry he was just, well, quacky.

I'm going to use that on the kids the next time they think I'm grumpy, I'm going to say "Don't worry, I'm not grumpy, I'm just quacky". Thanks for the idea Buster. 

The Apple Tree

Once upon a time there was a little girl, who like to eat apples, so she went to the fridge to get an apple. She ate and ate and ate until the apple was almost all gone. When she got to the very end of her apple she noticed the core had seeds popping out. She then banged her apple on the table to get all of the seeds out.  She looked at the seeds and then back at the apple core, and then she had an idea. She knew just what to do. She ran to the pantry to get a cup. She ran outside and got some dirt to put in the cup. Then she made a few holes in her dirt and put the little tiny apple seeds in the cup. She watered the dirt and placed the cup in a spot in her house where the sun would come through a window to help the plant grow. Then she drew a picture and handed it to her Mom and said, "Look Mom. I planted these seeds and I'm going to grow an apple tree. Here is what it will look like when it gets big. There is our family underneath the tree, and there is the rain that will help our tree grow, and there is the monkey that will live in our tree to keep it happy".

This is not the end, in fact it's just the beginning for the little apple tree.

Hair Cuts

First this happened. . .

Then consequently. . .

this had to happen:

And then I cried me a river. 

At least it wasn't Liv, but I liked Warner's long hair. :( 

Naughty little toad.

Trying to take a picture of Warner

Is like trying to get a Sea Hare (Dolabella auriculari to be precise) to ink with slippery hands. And if you've never had the fortunate experience of trying to get a Sea Hare to ink, then I'll just tell you, it is a very tricky task.