Signs of Aging (not me, my kids!)

In the past two days, two things have really changed with my kids, which makes me feel like they are growing up too fast. It started with my name. I was Mommy as recently as Sunday but as of Monday I was suddenly Mom. What's up with that? I even (sheepish admittance) found myself correcting Tyler, reminding him to call me Mommy. I complained to my sister about this and she didn't respond...as if waiting for a punchline. What's the big deal? I don't know! But there is something so endearing about being called Mommy since it's typically what little kids call their moms when they finally figure out how to say it (which, I must say is usually waaaay after they say Daddy). Emma started calling me Mom a while ago but it was ok because I still had Tyler to call me what I wanted. Now I guess I just have to live with being Mom! At least it's better than being Mother...

Also, Emma started taking showers today. Out of nowhere! One minute I was putting Tyler in his bed for his nap, and the next minute a naked Emma was asking to get in my shower! I figured she'd get in and not like the water splashing onto her head, and get right out. Oh no, she had the time of her life. I couldn't get her out! I'd go in every few minutes to check on her. She was wiping the water off the shower doors (pointless considering the shower was still on) the first time; the next time she was jumping back and forth over the drain. The next time she was lying on the ground, letting the water fall onto her tummy. That was when I made her get out. She asked for another shower later on that afternoon and in a way it's great because she's quiet and occupied for a full 20 minutes, but now I have to worry about my water bill!

I can't believe how fast they grow up, and how each milestone seems to happen so suddenly! It's so fun, but there's also a small piece of me that's sad to see it happen.

Emma the Storyteller

At night when Emma is going to bed, she asks, without fail, for me to tell her all the Princess stories. It's my own fault - I bought her these cute wall plaques with Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty, and she can see them from her bed. Tonight she asked for a story but I told her no (I'm tired and Spencer is out of town!). She asked if she could tell ME some stories. Of course I was wide open to that idea. So...for about 15 minutes she proceeded to regurgitate every single detail I've ever told her in my stories for the last year two years! It was amazing and also hilarious at the same time. I heard lots of "He (or she) was a naughty guy (or girl)," and "the Prince came and rescued her," and "They got married in the temple and lived happily ever after." I love having a girl! And I love that girl. Tyler just wants to hear the "Cars" story, complete with the "Life is a Highway" song and everything. Hmmm, I'd rather stick to fairy tales where everyone gets married in the temple and lives happily ever after, even if we have to eliminate a few "naughty guys" in the process.

The Color of Halloween

Let me preface this by complaining for a minute. It's "tax widow season" for me right now and although I see the light at the end of the tunnel (a few weeks), that doesn't make it any better. Well, maybe a little better since that "light" is the tropical island of Oahu... Anyhow, today was one of those particularly hard days where I have just had it and want to stick my kids in front of the TV, even though I fully realize that doesn't make them any better or happier. Every mom has plenty of these days, I just know it. Tonight both kids were in tears, and even went into hysterics. After calling Spencer at work to remind him just how unhappy we all were (poor Spencer) we had had enough of each other. By the way, Emma was the one who begged to call him and all she did on the phone the whole time was cry. I decided Emma needed to go to bed since I don't think she gets enough sleep (can you tell??), and I rocked Tyler (and cried for a few minutes) in the rocking chair. He calmed down but as I write this, Emma is crying in her bed. I must be strong!

(I know, complaining is totally annoying so I apologize, especially because I know plenty of people with equally absent, or more absent husbands...) So, on to what I really MEANT to write about when I sat down at the computer...

After Tyler was happy, and after I got my frustrations out through a few tears, I started pointing at things and asking him what colors they were. He knew my shirt was red and my pants were blue. Then I pointed to the orange on his PJ's and asked him what color. He said, "Halloween color!" I thought that was so clever - obviously orange isn't good for much other than for being the color of Halloween and he must be in agreement with my feelings exactly. Anyway, we worked on "orange" a few times but he still prefers to call it "How-ween." I'm happy because in exactly 19 minutes I can put him in bed and trust him to stay there and go to sleep. I can also trust that at exactly 3 a.m. I will wake up to find him on top of me, sound asleep...but that's a story for another time.

Because We Needed One More Thing To Do...

We finally found the time to work on our piano. It needed a little bit of touching up but Spencer has been at work almost 60 hours a week and I've been busy doing mom things. On Friday night we got started and didn't finish until we were satisfied, in the wee hours of the morning. It's all one color now and we swear it plays "Sweet Hour of Prayer" (easiest song in the hymnbook) better than ever! We are so proud that a little TLC made this look a whole lot better.

Here's a before-and-after

When Emma was born, one of my mom's first comments was "She has piano fingers!" We'll see if her fingers inspire her to start playing anytime soon. :) Otherwise, Spencer and I will have to brush up a bit so that "Sweet Hour of Prayer" isn't the only thing the piano gets to play.

We're still loyal fans!

My little future cougars were so excited to put on their BYU t-shirts this morning, and they even carried their BYU bears around all day. Spencer got these for them at a work recruiting event at BYU this week. Emma named hers Strawberry Shortcake and she also named Tyler's - his is Colin (?).

While our beloved Cougars gave it a great effort, they weren't able to pull off a win. We still had a fun time watching the game all cuddled together, especially with the luxury of DVR and fast-forwarding. We'll win the next one!

By the way, Emma chopped her own hair (AGAIN!) this past week and that is why she suddenly has bangs again. Parts are really uneven, and other parts are about as short as a bald man's hair, but I did the best I could to even it all out.