A Fly on the Wall

Recently, I found a 30 minute long video on my phone. The average length of a video on my phone is about a minute. I couldn't wait to see what was so important. As soon as I started watching, it was apparent this was Fin's film making debut. He didn't realize it was recording, and neither did I when I took the phone from him and placed it on the charger in the kitchen. The video went black but there was still audio; compelling audio. Have you ever wished you could watch yourself at work as a mom, just to gain a different perspective? Well, perspective gained. It just happened to be a stressful Sunday morning, with Jimmy at early meetings. At one point I leave the room and come back to Fin in tears, and I have to figure out which story to believe. I got it right!! And at another point I'm snapping at Duncan to change his attitude and even do my best whiney Duncan voice to show him exactly what I don't want to hear anymore. After Duncan whines (and don't get me wrong...there was incessant amounts of whining) over what cup I am putting his hot chocolate in, I lose it and the anger in my "I'm SICK OF IT!" is shameful. So I've come to some conclusions: I am patient with a lot of things (a lot more patient than I thought) but I have "triggers" that push me over the edge and I get nasty; both boys are huge whiners; Duncan has a real problem with name-calling.

The Happy Family Song

Lately Finlay has been requesting the "Happy Family Song" aka "Families Can Be Together Forever" for naps and bedtime. It warms my heart to see his sweet smile as I sing, "...I always want to be with my own family." Thank you, Sabrina, for capturing our happy family so well.

Duncan Said...(It's a good one)

The other day we were in the car when Finlay asked me if our car gets shot at. Interesting question that lead to an interesting discussion on guns. Duncan declared that he didn't need guns because he has other TACTICS. To which I, in serious curiosity, replied, "What kind of tactics?" He went on about kicking and punching and...stabbing? But then he got serious and said, "...and I believe there is a GOD. That's the most important thing I have." Wow..another deep one from the 5 year old. He must do a lot of thinking alone in the back of the minivan. A few weeks ago, out of the blue, he announced that he had decided a better day for New Year's Day would be the first day of spring. It made no sense to him why we would be celebrating the start of a new year in the middle of winter. I had to sorta agree.

Give Me 5!!

Big kid in his MacD bow-tie.

A birthday present. It's a hit. Great game. Duncan loves it. Finlay is learning his letter and it has just enough strategy to keep us old folks interested.

Cheesy grin at Soup Plantation. In attendance: Uncle Rob, Aunt Joan, Stephan, Saul, Kian, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Sabrina, Savanah, Uncle Matt, Grandma and Grandpa Riley, Mom and Dad, Finlay and Ewan

Handcrafted Birthday Shirt

I can't believe I have a 5 year old, even though a lot of my friends have 10 year olds! Ha ha...we're a funny bunch, us mormons. Sometimes I think it would've been really nice to start my family at 21 and be done by 30. A friend from high school actually posted on facebook how happy she was to be out of the minivan phase and here I am just buying our first. Ok...sorry Duncan, this is supposed to be about you. So here we go. A "few" things about YOU,

DUNCAN MICHAEL.

Mr. Dunks, our Duncan pie, our Big D, our FIRSTBORN. You love being the first and I've even heard you, on several occasions, tell someone, "I was my mom's first child." I know you think this a good thing, but I often pray that being our guinea pig doesn't leave any permanent emotional scars. You were born, old -if that makes any sense. You looked at us as if you were figuring us out and well, I think you have. We now know your little brain was probably working on overdrive, even then. You've been amazing us with your gift of learning for some time now and now, here you are, 5 years old reading gigantic words and doing math. Come on kid...slow down. The other day you shocked me by answering my "trick" question. Yes 4 minus 5 is negative 1. Your brain is awesome but you're so much more than smart. Your sensitive and affectionate. I remember when you were not quite two and sitting in the hall playing with stuffed animals. You were petting one, as if you were comforting it, saying, "It's ok. It's ok. I'm here." And then you started crying. I'm guessing you were crying for that little animal that "really" was sad. You get that over-empathetic gene from me. Sometimes it's almost debilitating...sorry. You love to cuddle and I'm sorry I don't snuggle more. You love to play with hair....still. The women in your life love this! You have a genuine in interest in soooo much. I think you may be Grandpa Riley's favorite person to talk to. You are one eager learner. You can be so kind. I especially notice this with people outside your family (don't worry...this is normal). Your interests haven't changed much over your tiny lifespan. You still love animals, fortunately a subject on which there is enough information to keep you occupied for at least another year. You love reading, especially graphic novels, and non fiction books about, you guessed it, animals. You also love looking at maps and you could probably beat me on a world geography quiz. You are freakishly flexible and like to fit yourself into tiny spaces. You love to play board games and are so excited when we play you are practically bouncing off the walls in between turns. You CANNOT sit still. In fact, whenever you're trying to tell me something, you pace back and forth, twirling your hair or fidgeting with something. You're still super sensitive to shows. You run out of the room whenever there's anything, scary, awkward or uncomfortable. We've gotten into the habit of reassuring you that it all turns out good in the end. The other day, I heard you telling Finlay, "Don't worry, Fin. They're going to win." That made me smile. I love it when you treat your brother kindly and am seeing a lot more that lately. He wants to be your friend so badly and I hope that you let him be. Yesterday Dad saw you playing with one of the gifts I bought you for your birthday (a interactive TAG board all about space), and noted that I really do know you well. I had to admit to this. I think I know YOU better than I know anyone else in this world. And I LOVE knowing you. You are an amazing kid!

A VERY SERIOUS New Year's Resolution

One of my new year's resolutions is to NOT eat this guy. It will be hard, but I'm going to try with all my might not to sink my teeth into those juicy thighs.

A New Blog to Stalk

Just found the Momastery blog. My kind of Mom. I related completely with this post.

2011 Lesson #2 : Don’t Carpe Diem

One Reads and One Makes Up Funny Stuff

So here is our video proof of Duncan's mad reading skills. I know someday when he's all grown up and bringing some cute girl around, I will, undoubtedly, brag about how Duncan could read at two. I'll whip this video out as proof, pointing out that if he could do this at four (nearly five) it's not hard to believe he could read three letter words at two. And then when Finlay brings his special someone, I'll get it out as proof that he's been charming and fun since the day he was born. I just have to add that the reason I started recording was actually to get Finlay's "turn" on video. Last night he made something funny up about the the Holy Ghost running away. I was hoping to get a repeat performance.