The big 5

It was our anniversary last week.

5 years.
4 moves.
3 kids (well, almost - #3 coming December 1st!).
2 lovebirds.
1 blissful marriage.

Okay, the truth is I wanted you to think this post was about something completely different than the fact that we're having a baby, but there you have it.

And to be fair, I do have a blissful marriage that I have thoroughly enjoyed for the last five years. Here's to many, many more.

Payoffs Part III

Before we get to Truman's latest zaniness, here is the promised pic of my first-ever sewing project. Did I take a 'before' shot? No. Just imagine peeling black vinyl (?) on a recliner. You can also imagine how black would make the walls look gray instead of sage - I think the floral really warms up the room.

As for T-Biscuit...

On guns:
I told Truman about the game Chutes and Ladders, and a few minutes later he asked if we could play "that game Ladders and Guns."

After the military salute (read: guns being shot) at Grandpa's gravesite, TERRIFIED: "Why did they shoot him? Are they gonna shoot him again?!"

Important questions:
Sucking nitrous oxide at the dentist: "Mommy, I'm flying. Are you flying with me?"

"What is my friends made out of? Fingers and hair and shirts, just like me?"

One Sunday morning: "Daddy, why do you have to go to meetings and meetings and meetings?"

"Why am I asking 'why' all the time?"

Clearly, he's missed something:
"Mom, we're on a date. That's where you go to the top of a mountain and look for a big, big, big, big, big, big pool."

Looking at the 'wedding wall' of newlywed photos at Grandma Patti's, he counted "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...(pause)...mmmmmissionaries and princesses!"

During a guessing game, Truman knew that Uncle Jordan was thinking of a big cat with hair around its face, that roars. Jordan tried to help Truman with "A li..." and the boy shouted, "A LIAR!"

Explaining traffic lights to his Hot Wheels: "This light means you hath to stop. And this one means you hath to go super fast cuz the light is gonna turn red. And this one means you hath to go swimming."

"Mom, can we go to B.O.?" "Um, you mean DI?"

On growing up:
"Look how tall I am! Soon I'm gonna be a missionary!"

"When you were a little girl, did you throw snowballs at your mom?" "No, I wouldn't do that." "I would! I would throw snowballs at your mom!"

When Daddy asked if Truman was going to stay in his bed all night long, he replied, "I'm still learning. Maybe when I'm 17 I could stay in my own bed."

On gender confusion:
"Mommy, kiss me and I will turn into a princess."

Truman's superpowers, according to him, are "making stuffed animals, books, and flowers, and putting water on buildings so they can grow."

Standing on the arm of the couch: "I am Mrs. Queen of the Mountain!"

Daily life:
Looking at a family picture: "Mommy, you're not mean to me in this picture. But you're mean when you're a real mommy."

While Mommy was changing Caleb's diaper: "EW! It looks like chocolate, but it's poo!"

From the back seat of the car: "Keep it down, you guys! I'm trying to pull my socks up to my knees!"

Wearing Mommy's glasses, looking in the mirror: "I look like someone who doesn't know me!"

Truman wouldn't talk to anyone at a wedding reception one night. Later, when we asked why, we were told, "They had feet sticking out of their pants and I didn't want to see their legs!"

So much...

...has changed since my last post. Sure, it's been almost three months, but still, we're talking CHANGED.

First and foremost, three people I love have recently been diagnosed or resumed their battles with cancer: my sister-in-law, my nephew, and a good friend in my ward.

My prayers have become a lot more heartfelt, for obvious reasons.

Truman is now, erm, closer to being potty-trained than he was three months ago. It's kind of a two-steps-forward, one-step-back kind of thing.

As of last post, Caleb was taking a few steps. Now the child runs away from me (gleefully, I might add) at the mention of the words "diaper change" or "bedtime."

We own a van now. Two kids, a mortgage, and a minivan = real-life boring adults. (Just kidding, our swagger wagon is sweeeeet.)

I started sewing...sort of. This is a big step for me. I made a slipcover for the recliner in Caleb's room which was, in Matt's words, an 'ambitious' first sewing project. Indeed. I ripped out a lot of seams and probably could have spent a couple [dozen] more hours on it, but it turned out pretty well. I'll post pics (maybe) when Matt brings the camera home. I've also shortened a skirt, hemmed a pair of pants, and mended a couple of Matt's suits. At this point, I would have no idea where to begin if someone put a pattern in my hands!

I guess the only constant thing in life is change. And that Truman is bound to say outlandish and wacky things. Stay tuned for some more gems from him, coming soon.

Stats

Between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm last Thursday, Truman asked me "why?" 68 times.

Caleb takes a few steps at a time now, with the current record holding steady at 7.

Truman has tipped over the Christmas tree twice this season.

I have found Caleb standing on top of the toilet seat three times in the last few days. (The kid can climb!)

The earliest that Truman has woken me up this week asking for his chocolate (the little waxy kind that comes out of the advent calendar) is 5:23 am. Let me tell you how long the day gets when the boy is asking every three minutes or so from 5:23 am whether it's the next day yet so he can have his next chocolate...

Caleb has tried four times in the last hour to wake up a sleeping Truman on the couch (mostly by sticking his finger up Truman's nose). And given the wailing coming from upstairs, I guess he finally succeeded.

Happy Halloween

...and may The Force be with you.

Payoffs Part II

The important questions:
"Mom, what sport are you gonna be when you're gonna be a player? If the football guys hit you in the face, do they have to have a time out?"

"When you were a big boy and I'm was a mommy, could you not break the slide?"

"Wuh...wuh...wuh...woot beer. Mom, does woot beer start with a W?"

"Where's daddy's machine for his face [electric razor]? I'm just gonna use it to get the pokeys off your leg, okay Mom?"

"Who just puts gas in my diaper?"

"Do you want to help me finish my ice cream juice [melted ice cream at the bottom of the bowl]?"

In his dreams:
"You hath to wear a cape or you can't fly when you're Supermom in your dreams."

"There was a voice in my blue dream."

"Mom, in my dream you were playing a game and the robot taked your hand. I think he doesn't like arms on people."

"In my bad dreams, I'm was shooting a gun and I shooted my head off and my arms."

Trumanisms:
"To infinilly and beyond!"
"lellipop"
"It's my turn to sing the prayer."
"Light Me a Queen" (Lightning McQueen)

How could I possibly keep this stuff to myself?

The Up Side of the Flu

And you thought there WAS no upside to the stomach flu (other than the up-chucking part, which we also had...) but here's why this bout really could have been worse:

1) Matt came home from work early yesterday and stayed home again today, so I've seen more of my husband in the last 36 hours than in the last three weeks combined.

2) The total bliss of feeling normal again after only 12 hours of wanting to turn myself inside out.

3) Little Caesar's and donuts for dinner tonight - after all, I was still too weak to cook, and we were trying to make up for lost calories.

4) I could no longer avoid washing Truman's sheets. And blankets. And dust ruffle. And carpet.

5) Matt's virtual golf swing is really showing some improvement, thanks to Tiger Woods 2011 for the Wii.

6) Caleb didn't get sick. At least, we don't think he did. He never threw up, anyway.

7) Something to blog about.