Ace turned 2

Happy Birthday Alton!

Hooray for Ace!  We love this little boy.  He brings us so much joy.  We call him *fire and ice.*  Two examples: At the library they call him Smiley Boy because he is so happy during story time.  In nursery at church, he cries the whole time (he's getting better.)  He's growing up so fast and I'd like to share some of his incredible talents and abilities that blow us away everyday.

1. He's becoming very good at taking his pajamas and diaper off in his crib.  So, if we don't pin his jammies closed, I usually find him totally nude in the morning.

2. He's finally started saying words.  He can say Cookie, No, Elmo, Movie, and Mom!! (what can I say? he's a typical male.)

3. He has discovered an new method of relaxing and watching movies (refer to picture below.)

4. He has amazing banana-eating skills.  Check out this video and see for yourself.

5. You can have a whole conversation with him and he will never even open his mouth!  He can mumble like nobody's business.

6. He runs like an Ewok.  Strangely, he is the most athletic of us all!

We Love YOU, Ace!

Why I don't like Ham

Last Saturday, we had a very special day.  We went to Houston to a writing conference where Wilson received an award for a state-wide writing competition (Texas is a big state--there were probably a thousand entries or so.)  He received 1st place in the Pre-K to 2nd grade category for his prose entitled "Why I Don't Like Ham."

We were soooo proud of him!  He was a little nervous to get up in front of that big room full of people, but of course he conquered with flying colors.  His teacher entered him into the contest and she was so supportive!  It was a very memorable moment for her and for Wilson.  Not to mention all the emotion and tears displayed by me--the mother.

To read Wilson's award-winning entry, just click on the title of this blog post, and you'll go right to it!

After the ceremony, they honored the winners with an ice cream reception.  Everyone enjoyed that!

 

On our journey home we stopped at Incredible Pizza and pigged out.  We'd had a long and exciting day and we were hungry.  It was pretty uneventful except the token catastrophe: Ace had a MASSIVE blowout and pooed all over his pants.  So I had to wash them out in the "Family Bathroom" and he had to go pants-less while we played mini-golf while under the black lights ambiance.  So white trash--but totally fun.

Okay, so one more quick story.  Wilson received a medal for his achievement and he really wanted to wear it to church the next day.  We told him he could show it to his class and then he should store it in Brett's bag so it didn't get lost.  Well our friend said he saw Maisy at church wearing a medal around her neck (she must have sneaked it out of Brett's bag.)  He asked her what she did to win that medal.  This was her reply: "Oh, I won a swimming contest!"  He was so impressed and then he asked her if she got first place (because the medal says 1st place.)  She replied, "Yes!  I swam on my belly and there were lots of other kids and I beat them all!"  I just laughed and laughed when he told me this.  Where does she come up with this stuff?

Uncle Troy's Visit

Why Uncle Troy is the MOST Eligible Bachelor:

1. He went bowling with us and didn't care that the bumpers were engaged.  And every time Ace ran into the lane to chase the ball--he chuckled and affectionately interceded.

2. He attended the Family Valentine's Dance with us.  He was Maisy's little side kick and held her most of the night--putting her on his shoulders so she could see the principal kiss a frog!  He even danced a little.

3. He introduced us to Honey Nut Chex cereal.  The children could not stop talking about that sweet rice goodness in a square!

4. He read stories with Maisy and sincerely encouraged her--helping to further her literacy.

5. He watched Wilson play Plants vs. Zombies on the computer, helped with dishes, helped with groceries, bought us lunch and much, much more!

So THANK YOU Uncle Troy for visiting us!  We had so much fun with you and can't wait for you to come back!  We LOVE YOU!!

Ninja Destruction

So, we learned Ninja Destruction from our great cousins the Gudmunsons on a weekend trip to Austin.  We played it for a solid hour and had a great time.

Brett decided to introduce the game to his 3 Spanish II classes as an event in his annual "Senor G Olympics."  Little did he know how popular the game would get at the high school. Within a matter of days of introducing the game to his students, Ninja Destruction swept through the high school like wildfire.  Kids were playing in the hallway between classes.  The football team was circling up and slapping each other before and after football games.  Teachers were challenging students to duels in the middle of class.  The principal even officiated a Ninja Tournament for the seniors!

The game then traveled down to the middle school, were it was quickly banned because of its violent potential and lack of academic focus.  Oh well.

Here is a video Brett and his brothers playing Ninja Destruction in an Arizona mall parking lot.



And now our kids playing their own version of Ninja Destruction.

And Ace and Brett competing to win:

Banana Mystery

"What is that??"   You might be asking yourself that question.  I was asking myself the same question.  I found this under the couch.  Then I found another one a couple days later under the crib.  A few days later, behind the flower vase in the kitchen--hey, yet another sticky, crusty banana.  Behind the clothes hamper and in the guest bathroom trash can are just a couple more premeditated locations in which I found an old banana.

When I confronted Wilson and Maisy, they just looked at me.  "Oh yeah, sorry Mom."  With my head in my hands I wondered where do I begin to explain how wrong this was!  The Banana Mystery still remains a bit of a mystery...

But Good Ol' Uncle Jaron is no stranger to the banana (I'm referring to Cameron thinking your leg was a banana in his half-asleep-condition.)  Jaron, my brother, visited us last weekend and the kids are still talking about him.  Here are a few quotes relating to Uncle Jaron:

Maisy: "Where is Uncle Jaron going?  Who is going to play with me now??"

Wilson: "Everything is better with Uncle Jaron."

Thanks for coming to visit us Uncle Jaron!  We love you!  

A little miracle

Brownies/Rice Krispie Treats + A Red Wagon = $101 for the People of Haiti

 

How did we formulate this little equation?  Well, here is the story:

Wilson saw a commerical on TV from the Red Cross about the earthquake in Haiti.  He turned to Brett and said, "Dad, did you hear about the earthquake in Haiti?" 

Brett said, "Yes." 

Wilson replied, "That commerical said I could go to redcross.org and find out how to help.  I really really want to help!"  He was very adamant about it.  So I brought up the website and we read a little about what was going on in Haiti.  We saw some touching pictures.  We then went to the church website and read some more.  Wilson was very touched by the images he saw and the things he read about the people of Haiti.  He read that you could donate money.

"I want to donate money!" he exclaimed.  "But I have no more money.  I spent my last four dollars on Club Penguin Cards!"  He then started thinking of ways he could make money like having a toy sale or selling hot chocolate.  Watching his thought process and seeing his enthusiam made us very emotional, so I suggested we have a bake sale.  Then all the money we made, we would send to the people of Haiti.  

The first day the kids went out was great. The people of our neighborhood were very generous. We knocked about 15 doors and came away with $58. It was incredible, considering we would have been really happy with about $20-30 total. However, the kids wanted more.

That night Wilson said in his personal prayer that he was thankful for the money that had been earned, but he wanted to get more for the people of Haiti. So he asked Heavenly Father to help him and his sister get a total of $100.  We (Brett and Kasia) looked at each other incredulously and shook our heads.

So, we went out again the next day. We had less brownies left (and a little less focus from the little ones), so we didn’t hit as many doors. However, the people were still very generous, and we ended up with a total of $91 dollars. Brett thought that was amazing and a job well done--he had forgotten about the $100 request that Wilson had raised up to the heavens last night. The brownies and RKTs were gone, so we started for home.

When we were about two houses away from our own home, a minivan pulled up right next to us. A lady rolled down the window, and a man whose door we had knocked the day before poked his head out of the window. He had told us to come back and he would give us money, because he didn’t have any cash at the moment. Well, they had been waiting for us at their house, and happened to see us walking home run while driving down the street. His daughter reached out of the back window and gave Brett a crumpled up bill. Of course, it was ten dollars, bringing our total to an unbelievable $101. At that moment Brett remembered Wilson’s prayer.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to blog about this because it is such a tender moment in my journey of motherhood, but I didn't want to forget this little adventure and miracle!  I wanted to document it and look back at it on those "rough days" (you know what I'm talkin' about.)

My children touched my heart in a very special way with this experience that I will never forget it and I'm totally humbled.  I love my sweet children, but let me lessen the sweetness for a minute.  Wilson a couple times asked us if he could keep just FIVE lil' ol' dollars??  Then after seeing Brett and my extremely stern looks he would blurt, "I'm JUST KIDDING!"  Uh-huh, ya right.