Baby what?

I love that spring has finally arrived. We have been living outside all day everyday. When we are not outside you can see my kids standing on the window ledges with their faces pressed against the glass longing to be outside. Rylynn has been loving the dandelions which she calls pretty flowers and every time she picks one she insists that it go in her hair. Speaking of Rylynn I have been meaning to record some funny Rylynn stories for a long time. So here they are.

Rylynn got a pair of reindeer pajamas from Nana and Papa for Christmas. She loves these jammies and somewhere along the way decided that since she was wearing deer jammies she wanted to be called baby deer. She then started calling me mommy deer. I have to admit I did love that one, because it sounds like mommy dear. She still calls me this most of the time, but lately she has gotten creative and her newest obsession is baby and mommy butterfly. She has a little friend butterfly that has been in our yard for the last several weeks and she loves to run and chase after it. I swear it loves her too because every time we go out in the back yard it comes out to visit her. We even have to say goodnight to baby butterfly out her window at night. Anyway, she has tried out different animals depending on the book she is reading or the show she is into. For instance she tried out mommy dog, mommy cow, and mommy horse, all of which I immediately vetoed.

A side story which is also funny was that Rylynn was coming out of nursery on sunday because Garrett was in the hallway with Carter and she was mooing and saying Daddy I am baby cow. So Garrett was trying to catch up with her and called after her "hey baby cow". Unfortunately a friend of mine was also in the hallway and she thought Garrett was talking to her and she thought he said "hey baby cakes!" Awkward!

Anyway, I just love this little stage she is in. She makes sure whatever we are doing or wherever we are to point out a mommy blank, a daddy blank, a baby blank, and a Bububs (Carter) blank. I have to share this example even though it is kind of strange, but the other day after she had gone to the bathroom she called me in to point out the mommy, daddy, Rylynn, and Carter poops in the toliet!! At least with Rylynn we all feel included:)

Gender stereotypes

So I was a sociology major for a while at BYU, I ended up getting a minor in it, but the school of thought behind gender differences in Sociology is that they are purely socially constructed. So for instance we impose from the day that they are born that boys wear blue and girls wear pink clothes, etc. Well I think it is funny now that I am a mom of a girl and a boy to see how all these theories play out in my own children. So the other day I had to laugh because Carter has NEVER sat and watched any show or movie for more than 10 seconds before he gets bored and runs out of the room. Rylynn is more of a TV girl, but Carter has no interest in it. That is until the other day. Rylynn was watching Thomas during Carter's nap and when he woke up I brought him in to sit with Rylynn and me. I was totally shocked when he looked at the TV, pointed and started laughing and dancing! He ended up watching it for 20 minutes which is amazing for him! So I think it is a little humorous since I have never encouraged or promoted trains to him and yet he naturally loves that show! He also has always loved balls and anything that has to do with sports (that has been encouraged by Daddy though:). He carries Garrett's golf clubs around and tries to swing them at things on the ground (usually his binkies). I will say however that Rylynn loved balls too and she loves Thomas too, so who knows. I definitely believe there are some eternal differences, but it is very interesting for me to see how many of the stereotypes are proven and disproven by my little girl and boy. Luckily my kids are growing up in a world with lots of opportunities for both of them and I truly believe they can choose to do whatever they want to do. I am just loving having one of each!

A house full of monkeys!

I just had to post about this because I am amazed by how many bananas are consumed per week in our household. This week alone, I have purchased 7 bunches of bananas and we have already eaten 5 1/2 bunches!!! Now these are not the skimpy bunches with like 4-5 bananas in each, I'm talking about the huge ones with 8-10. I really think my children are monkeys in disguise. I call them monkeys because they climb and swing and jump and run everywhere, but now the nickname has new meaning!

just one more video

Sorry for the overload of video, but I haven't posted video of my kids in awhile and my family loves them, so this is the last one today I promise!

Rainy Day fun

Today is a rainy spring day and we are stuck inside. So I thought I would post some videos of some of the activities that keep the kids occupied on rainy days. Notice the random piece of hair on Carter's head that sticks straight up!

Here is a video of my little musicians! Nana gave this piano to Rylynn for her birthday and it has been a big hit among both kids. I think it is so funny that someone as little as Carter can make so much noise. Naturally the noisy toys are his favorite to play with. He LOVES playing the harmonica. He just carries it all over the house playing as he goes. Anything to keep him distracted from the fact that we can't go to the park today!


The kids have had so much fun playing outside the last few days that they were really sad to be stuck inside today. Hopefully Spring will really come to Cleveland soon! We've had glimpses, but we are ready for the real thing! I did see some daffodils poking through yesterday, so there is hope!

One fun thing in our family about the month of April is that there is a birthday almost every week! My mom's was on wednesday and my niece Thais turns 2 today! So happy birthday little Thais, we miss you and can't wait to see you soon!