Kidisms

Nate: "Maple syrup comes from maple trees. Regular syrup comes from syrup trees."

Lucy, at a fall festival last night when she wanted to play a game that was decorated with cartoon mummies: "I want to do that one--the one with the mamas."

Nate, asking about communion at church: "Are we going to have the Lord's Suffer today?"

Now he can never be a nose model

Levi took a tumble last night (well actually, he was pushed, but we aren't exactly sure what happened) into the couch or the ottoman (again, not sure), and it looks like he might have broken his nose! He cried but was acting fine within a few minutes.

A few minutes after the accident:



We called our nurse practitioner friend from church, who said they don't do much for broken noses, except perhaps a couple of months down the line if there are breathing issues or cosmetic concerns. So we just watched Levi for signs of concussion (lethargy, dilated pupils, etc.), which he didn't have at all. He wasn't phased at all and looks pretty good today.

Tonight:

Vegas

We went to Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday nights with Neil and Casey. We split up the kids a little bit to make it easier on our sweet friends who watched them (Nate and Lucy went to Amy's, bless her heart, and Levi went to Janel's). We stayed at a very swanky place (major sarcasm here), The Riviera. We slept in, ate good food, toured all the hotels, gambled a little bit, went to a movie (The Social Network--liked it), shopped (I browsed mostly), and had a wonderful, relaxing time.

We got back, and Levi was mad at me. He wouldn't hug me or let me hold him for the rest of the day. I remember Mama saying Greg did the same thing when she went on a trip once. What's up with that? :)

I took barely any pictures, but here are a few.

Pumpkin patch

We took the kids to their favorite October destination, the pumpkin patch, on Sunday.

Crafting Grandpa-style

The Home Depot near us has free kids' crafts/building projects the first Saturday of each month (perhaps it's a national Home Depot thing; I don't know). We've gone a couple of times, and Nate and Lucy love it. Last time, Nate made a periscope, Lucy a butterfly house. This month's project was fire boats.

Posting from work

I thought I'd write a quick update on my working-on-Mondays schedule. I'm sitting at my Monday desk in Long Beach right now. I think it's my fifth Monday coming in, and I love it. Jennifer does a great job caring for the kids, so I come home to a happy household. I've been getting home between 4:00 and 5:00, so I have time to make dinner and do normal evening stuff. I'm enjoying the work here, and the projects are small and quick so that I never feel stressed or have to leave something unfinished.

Levi counting

I just can't get enough of this boy.

Hello first fall sickness!

We're dealing with sickness this week. Levi got it first, but just a touch. Lucy's in the throes now. I fear Nate might get it next, so I kept him home from school. Our kids, especially Nate and Lucy, get stomach bugs bad.

It's a rainy, dreary, movie-watching day over here.

Favorite things

I just got a hankering to write down my favorite things about each of our children. :)

Nate - 5 years 5 months old today. His freckles (oh, how I love them). How one eye is darker than the other. How gentle he is with babies. How he draws (it's the typical 5-year-old stuff with sticks for fingers, etc., and I love it). His natural leadership tendencies (a struggle sometimes, but will be a strength too).

Lucy - 3 and a half years exactly (tomorrow). Her foodar (i.e., like radar but for food). When she gets in dance-y moods. Her belly. How I will walk in a room and see the lights off, fan on, and a teddy bear tucked in bed, because she put it down for nap.

Levi - 22 months. The language spurts that occur each week. His one dimple on his right cheek. How he wants to do everything Nate is doing, even when he doesn't really know what's going on. How he calls his pacifiers "foffies." His infectious laugh. His comedic moods. How he says Lucy's name ("Ee-ee") and now has enough language to tell me when she has done something wrong ("Mama! Ee-ee did dat"). And while I do not love his dilly dallying every.single.place. we go, I do think it's cute (sometimes).

Here's how they were all sitting the other day watching a video. Funny.