Overheard: Oh Really?

There were 4 "C" Batteries on the kitchen counter. Sydney saw them and asked, "What are these?"

Before I could say anything, Emma responded, "Those are batteries."

I then heard Emma mutter to herself in the other room, "I know everything."

No Caption Needed

Our little witch trivia....

So, the answer is.....Emma on the left and Sydney on the right. Sydney is our easy going, flexible child. Emma, on the other hand, has to have everything just so. After she was done with her hat, I found a sticker on the floor and because it wouldn't fit in the line where it belonged, she had a melt down. Sydney was just happy to have stickers at all. Emma loves to have a to do list and check things off each day. She has to have her bed sheets perfectly straight-while she's in bed. If she makes a mistake doing crafts, we usually have to put them away because she just can't recover. I actually think Emma's life would be a lot easier for her if she would just chill out about things like her sister usually does. I wonder where she gets that?

You're a what?

It was quiet upstairs. Maybe a little too quiet. Who knows what kind of mess Sydney was creating? Suddenly she appears at the top of the stairs.

"huh?"

Without prompting she announces...

"I'm a ballerina cowboy."

Which Witch is Which???

We got the girls to stray a little this Halloween and not be princesses or fairies. Instead, they are sparkly Halloween witches. I know, I know, we didn't stray far. But, it's a step in the right direction. We got hats and then I added some sparkly ribbon. I gave the girls a pile of foam sparkly stickers and told them to decorate their hats. Then, I sat down on the couch and fed Aiden. My point is, these hats were totally their own creations. Do you want to guess which girl did which hat? Hint: They are very telling of their personalities

A new calling in life...

After about 2 years of faithful service I (Dad) have been released as the Sunday School teacher for the 14-15 year olds.

Would anyone like to guess my new calling? Leave your guess in the comments. Here are some hints:

1 - It is a ward calling.
2 - I don't think anyone is going to guess correctly. Ever. No matter how many guesses you get.

If, for some reason, you already know the correct answer, don't ruin the fun for the rest of us.

UPDATE
Well, those were all good guesses, but I was right. No one guessed correctly. I have been called as the Ward Choir Director. Don't laugh. This is serious stuff. When I told my Sunday School class about my new calling one of my students looked at me skeptically and said, "Do you even know anything about music?"

Overheard: A parable...

Both Emma and Sydney were crowding around Aiden this morning. They were talking to him and trying to get him to laugh. Sydney kept (intentionally) blocking Emma's view.

Emma: Mom!!! Sydney is not being a good Samaritan!!

Overheard: Self Esteem

As we were walking into a store, Emma says to me out of the blue:

"Dad, everyone thinks I'm wonderful."

Thinking things through with a 4 year old.

A couple of background notes...
Miranda is sick with a minor infection.
After Emma's Parent-Teacher conference this morning we took the girls to the grocery store to get doughnuts.

A few hours later, Emma and I had this conversation in the car on the way to the store.

Emma: Where is mommy? Isn't she coming?

Daddy: No she is sick. She is going to stay home and rest.

Emma: Is she going to die?

*At this point we have a little conversation on how death is somewhat permanent, and it is different then sleeping.*

After some thought Emma asks: When is Grandma going to die?

Daddy: Not for a long time. Grandma is healthy and strong.

Emma (after some thought): Daddy, did you have a doughnut this morning?

Daddy: Ummm... yes.

Emma: Hmmm... You aren't going to be very strong. I think you need to eat some soup.

Overheard: The Princess and the Pea

30 minutes after the girls have been put to bed I hear the patter of little feet on the stairs.

Me: Emma, It's bedtime. You need to get back in your bed.

Emma (in a sad voice): But Daddy, my bed is not very comfortable.

Letters Have Feelings Too...

This past Sunday, we sat down as a family to color. Church doesn't start until 2pm so we have lots of time. I drew a stick-figure picture of the family. (Yes, that is my art) Miranda was not in the best of moods so her stick figure had a bit of a frown.

Emma took my picture and added names. As you read in a previous post, she will occasionally just use the first letter to represent the names. D for Daddy. S for Sydney. E for Emma. A for Aiden. When she came to M for Mommy, she announced the mommy was grumpy, so she needed to make a "Grumpy M". Letters have feelings too. Who knew?

Fun With Stickers

Do you ever wonder what happens to the books and books of stickers that the girls get? Wonder no more.

My Sister is My Friend

Nothing makes us happier than seeing the two girls play well together. Lately they have been doing better. Emma can still be a bit neurotic. Sydney can still be a bit devious. But overall, they are really learning to work together.

Should I Be Concerned?

Too little, too late...

(click photo to enlarge)

This happened to Sydney during our 5 minute trip to the bowling alley. Out like a light.

I wonder... why didn't she ever do this during our 14 hours in the car when we road tripped to Utah last year?

The Best Big Sister

A question we often get asked is, "How are the girls doing with the new baby?" The answer is "Great!"

They really love their baby brother. I would comment that Sydney is a bit more fascinated with Aiden than Emma. Sydney loves to get down on the floor and talk to him (see photo). She loves to give him toys (not always a good idea). She loves to pat his head. She is really enjoying having a baby in the house. A common question she asks is, "Where is Aiden?"

Yesterday, during church, Sydney was sitting on my lap. She looked up at me at one point and said, "Daddy, I'm thinking about Aiden."

I said, "What are you thinking about?"

"How he opens and closes his eyes."

Face Painting

(click photo to enlarge)

One great thing about our community is that they always provide free face painting at community functions. As you cen tell, the girls love it. This isn't one balloon and a smiley face type face painting. This is full-on war mask painting.

Serendipitous

Occasionally, as a photographer, you can get the picture on the paper (or screen) to be as good as the scene you remember in your mind. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Sign Her Up for the Spelling Bee

Emma loves to write notes, but she doesn't know how to spell many words. What she does know how to do is sound out the first letter of the word. So if she doesn't know how to spell the word she just puts the first letter. Does that make sense? She just brought down a note that she wrote.

It says: "ILMOMNDADLEMMA"

If you add proper spacing, the note becomes: "I L MOM N DAD L EMMA" which translates to "I Love Mom and Dad. Love Emma."

Emma-isms

"Yikes Dad, There's a car heading for us!"

-This is what Emma said when she glanced out the back window as we were driving down the road. I guess it freaked her out a little to see a car following us.

"Is Taco Bell going to be for a long time?"

-One of the more frustrating things for a child is when they can't communicate. Emma said this as we drove. I wasn't sure what she meant, so I asked her to rephrase. It's difficult for a 4 year old to rephrase things, so all she could do was repeat (at ever increasing volumes to match her rising frustration).
"Is Taco Bell going to be for a long time?!"
"IS TACO BELL GOING TO BE FOR A LONG TIME?!!"

Of course what she really meant was, "Is it going to take us a long time to get to Taco Bell?"

The answer, of course, was, "It's getting longer and longer by the minute."