Where Babies Come From

I was preparing lunch for the boys one morning and Tyler came to me and started begging to buy hot lunch at school. This is a morning ritual at our house. He begs, I tell him no. This particular morning, he proceeded to tell me about a boy in his class who always gets to be in the front of the line for lunch. He seemed to be a bit put off by this as though it was unfair. When I didn't react and validate his feelings, he went on to tell me that this boy was known to say gross things about how moms have babies.

Not wanting to pass up a teaching moment, I asked him to tell me what the boy was saying. He looked at me and said, "He says that babies come out where the mom's poop and pee." I asked Tyler how he thought babies came out of their mom's tummies and he looked at me with some apprehension and slowly pointed to his mouth.

I suppressed my desire to laugh and with a great determination to give him correct information, I decided to tell him how things really work. I told him that mom's bodies are designed in a special way to have babies. There is a place where babies grow and then there is a special place where babies come out. It is by where the mom's poop and pee but the place where the babies come out is only for babies, nothing else. I wanted him to realize that having a baby is not something "gross"; that they don't pass through the mother's bowels. When I finished talking, I was confident that I had inspired him and helped him to learn this in a very sacred way. He was looking at me the whole time, even nodding on cue. He looked like he was sick to his stomach, but he walked off to get ready for school.

The rest of the day, I was proud of myself for so eloquently teaching my six year old how babies are born. He was certainly going to go to school and tell that boy in his class how it really worked. Tyler was going to defend what his mother taught him and he was going to respect a woman's body for the special powers it has. I couldn't help but smile as I thought back on the conversation which would certainly shape his future opinion of mothers.

Later, Ryan told me that Tyler was talking with him and said that he knows how babies come out of the mom's tummy. Tyler said, "They come out where the mom poops and pees." Oh well, it's a start.

Olivia's Birthday

Olivia turned four!!! We had a party with Grandma and Grandpa Eden and Nikki. We had balloons, pizza and ice cream cupcakes. Does it get any better?

She got a lot of great stuff. Her favorite gift was a Ken doll that her brother's picked out for her. It is fun to have a child who appreciates getting clothes for her birthday and she does. She got a new summer wardrobe. We hope for warm weather soon to try them out.

She also got a much desired Princess booster seat. She is officially a big girl (if only in her own mind) because she gets to ride in a booster seat like her brothers. We had to put the booster in the van to try it out after her birthday party. It works.

We are glad to have Olivia in our family. She is a beautiful, smart girl and she adds a special spice to our life.

Pinewood Derby

Carter participated in his first Pinewood Derby. He designed his own car. Ryan cut it out and helped sand it and then Carter painted it and added the stickers. He didn't earn a place for speed but he tied for second place for People's Choice for design. It helped that he had a lot of family there.

He was a good sport and had a great time. He even made notes to help him do better next year.

Take me out to the Ball Game

Hilltop Elementary sponsored a night out at the Mariners game. Ryan and I went with Carter, Tyler and Olivia while Audrey was with Grandpa and Grandma Eden.

Our seats were up on the third level but we had a great time. We ate a lot of "baseball food" and were able to see some of Carter's and Tyler's friends. The Mariners won which made the game even more fun.

Audrey is eleven months old!!!

Please don't P in the ool

Olivia is in her second session of swimming lessons. She is doing great and really starting to pick up on some basic concepts. She has even become brave enough to go under the water by herself.

As part of the swimming lesson, she has a Playtime Passport which allows her to have fifteen minutes of free swimming time after her lessons. This has helped to build her confidence in the water on her own.

Today, I was holding Audrey while watching Olivia during her free swim time. With about seven minutes left, Olivia came to the side of the pool and mouthed to me, "I need to go potty." In times past, she has proven to have a strong bladder and because I didn't want to battle a baby while struggling to remove and replace Olivia's wet swimming suit with all three of us crammed in a small bathroom stall, I encouraged her to keep swimming so we wouldn't lose our time. She felt satisfied with that answer and swam off.

A few minutes later, she came over to where I was sitting and got out of the pool. I thought maybe she was going to jump back in so I smiled a large smile and gave her my utmost attention. I wanted the two mothers sitting next to me to know that she was my daughter if she did something impressive. She proceeded to press her thighs together and then she began to pee...standing on the side of the pool... in front of me and the two ladies sitting next to me. When she was done, she turned and jumped into the pool and swam off.

Easter

Easter morning was cold and rainy. What did you expect? We live in the Pacific Northwest. That meant that the Easter Bunny hid all of our eggs inside. We got a lot of candy.

We went to church wearing all of our new Easter clothes and then we rushed over to Grandma and Grandpa Eden's house to do the "real" Easter egg hunt. We got a lot of great toys and candy there. Dad even found the golden bunny which he traded up for a fantastic prize.

We are thankful for the real reason of Easter which allows us to trade up our faults for something better. The best gift of Easter is the resurrection of our Savior.

A Night on the Town

Ryan and I promised Carter a date for his eighth birthday. Since he is now 8 1/2, we decided we had better follow through with it.

Carter chose to go to a hotel in Bellevue. We went to Red Robin for dinner and then we had a exciting time at the Lego store and Build-A-Bear in the mall nearby. We then went back to the hotel and spent a bit of time swimming.

The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast at the hotel and came home. It was a great time and we enjoyed being with Carter. He is a great kid with a wonderful imagination.

When Mom isn't looking....

Carter documents his masterpiece.

Olivia's Spring over the Spring in the Spring