Grammar according to Elmo

Have you ever heard Elmo?

Elmo loves flowers!

Elmo is going to the shoe store.

Elmo wants a carrot.

My youngest speaks just like Elmo - including the tiny up-swing in the pitch of her voice each time she mentions her own name. She refers to herself in the third person almost exclusively and I love it. She sounds so very TWO and I know that this sweet stage won't last.

The problem is that I am now doing it.

Mommy has to go to the car.

Can Mommy take your picture?

Mommy loves you.

In context, with my little girl beside me I can almost get away with this, but I just caught myself speaking this way to a friend ... AFTER all of my kids had been sent bed.

It is kinda' like the infamous mommy-bounce. You hold baby, sway and bounce, and baby falls asleep ... Repeat endlessly for years ... Until one day you realize that you are swaying and bouncing 5 pounds of sugar in the grocery checkout line and a stranger is working very hard not to laugh at you. It only takes one glance to see either the abject confusion or the amused sympathy in their eyes. You know instantly whether they are a parent.

Living with a 2 year old offers some very amusing challenges.

Sticks and Stones

My kids come from a long line of collectors. Stamps, shells, stickers, tools, nothing is safe with us. Their daddy once even owned a stump collection (yes, STUMP, as in the bottom of a tree, and he posessed several).

Each child has found something that they love and they happily squirrel away bits and pieces. My son loves bottle-caps, and his older sister is well known for her nature discoveries that she keeps in her own museum.

My youngest, well, she is well on her way to becoming a rock collector like her grandpa.

No gravel driveway is safe with this little girl around. And my washing machine isn't safe either. The poor thing has taken some very LOUD beatings recently (Eeek! Just realized how terrible that sentence is. Edited to clarify that it is the washer, not the child, that is being beaten up.)

I think my little girl and her grandpa are going to have lots in common.

Including heavy pockets.

Family

Do you know what this family photo is missing?

These three boys.

They are our new cousins and we simply can't wait until my sister and her husband are able to bring them home from a very sad and dangerous situation in Eastern Europe. Read all about their story at FillingTheHouseWithBlessings.blogspot.com.

I Y my family, even the ones I haven't met yet, and would appreciate your prayers for them to come home soon.

1st Cmas catalog

Our first christmas catalog of the year arrived this week.

The kids spent well over an hour circling their favorite items and I spent that hour drinking coffee and reading.

Aaahh...

Towel Fashion

Dear daughter,

When I asked you to help your little sister find something to wear, I didn't realize that you would take me seriously. I expected that you would find something in her closet to dress her in. I did not mean for you to have to create your own clothing out of dishtowels and office supplies.

I will attempt to be more precise in my requests from now on.

That being said, she seems to be comfortable in her new outfit. Nice job kid!

Your loving mom,

5,4,3...

Nothing beats a good box.How else would you get to the moon?

Now that we have this nice giant box (courtesy of the dishwasher delivery men), we may just need to have another party devoted to the greatest invention EVER.

2, 1, Lift Off!!!

Scouts

Does this little guy look proud in his new uniform or what?

You should see his daddy's face.