More Crazy Things They Say

I offered to do something for Russell, and he said "ok."  Then he changed his mind and ran away from me saying "NO-K!"

We were about to go in a store and I nicely told the boys, "My patience is running out, so please, behave yourselves."  Caleb said, "I'll try to get your patience back for you."  It made me laugh, and then he said with a big smile, "See, did that give you a little patience back?"  It sure did!

Russell:  Mom, I think a red wall in the basement would look good.  (We were watching Fixer Upper.)

Russell:  Mom, I wish I didn't have a nose so I couldn't smell stinky stuff.

Caleb, holding a half-grown little chicken:  It's ok, it's ok, Papa has you, Papa has you.

Russell, snuggling a dog that we were dog-sitting for the morning:  It's ok, Mommy's here.  [Referring to himself as Mommy, of course.]

I was telling Russell how lucky he is, because Caleb is only a big brother, and Zach is only  a little brother, but Russell is a big brother AND a little brother.  He said, "No, I'm a medium brother!"

Russell:  Mom, if the world were upside down, we'd be walking on the ceiling.

Russell, crawling on the floor following me:  Mom, I'm going to be like Dolly, because Dolly follows you.  [It's true.  Dolly can always be found at my feet.]

Caleb asked if plants go to the bathroom.  I taught him about photosynthesis.

We were talking about what it would be like to live in Narnia, where animals can talk, and I told Caleb that I always wondered what Hank would have to say.  Caleb said, "Dolly might have a very beautiful voice."

Caleb:  Mom, blink your eyes.  [I blink and he runs around the corner.]  I'm gone!  So fast you couldn't even see!

Caleb:  Mom, if there ever were a WWIII, I would definitely fight in it.

Caleb:  Mom, there's this store called Ross and if you go there you can buy shoes that make you run REALLY fast.  That's what Blake told me.  It's a secret.

Neighbor boy:  Yeah, my dad is really smart.  Caleb:  Smarter than my dad!

Caleb:  Mom, can we make a robot for Granddad that will do everything for him?  Like clean, and make dinner?

Russell, talking about Spot It, a game where you try to collect cards:  One time I played by myself and got TWENTY CARDS!

Caleb:  Mom, it's just a miracle that life is real!

Caleb, upon finding a penny on the parking lot ground:  I guess it's my lucky day!

Caleb:  If Auntie Jenna never has kids, we should give her someone.
Me:  Who would we give her?
Caleb, thinking:...Maybe I'll give her me!!

Russell:  What if this was a rule, if everyone found a bug, they would be their pets!  What do you think about that?

Russell:  You know what happened?  I found so many bugs today!  I think today is Bug Day.

Caleb:  Mom, we're lucky that we don't have to be eaten, because lots of other animals have to.

Russell:  Mom, I just feel like I need to draw beautiful things.  [Then he drew a necklace.]

Caleb was telling me that our neighbors feed their chickens watermelons, and I said our new ducks might like watermelon, too.  Caleb said:  Oh!  We should trial foods with them!

Russell:  Mom, if you lick your elbow, it tastes like chocolate!  That's what Joey says.  [Joey is a preschool friend.]

Russell:  My pocket smells like centipedes!  [Guess why....]

Kid Quotes Again!

Caleb, asking for my help catching Zach before he got to the stairs: "MOM!  We need you!  You save all the days!"

Caleb, while trying unsuccessfully to open the child-proof cap on the gummy vitamins:  "How does it know I'm a CHILD?"

Caleb's favorite movie is Milo and Otis.  It used to be on netflix, but they discontinued it some time ago.  We checked it out from the library, and Caleb was sad when we had to return it.  He asked Nate, "Can you invent it to come back onto Netflix?  At work?  On Monday?"  (Sorry, Cal, I know Daddy can do lots of cool things on the computer, but Daddy doesn't work for Netflix!)

Russell, out of thin air, "Mom, if you see a poptart on the road, you should crash into it."

Caleb:  What would be crazy is if I had the stickiest feet in the world, as sticky as the stickiest gummy bears, and the stickiest ice cream, and I could climb on the ceiling.

Caleb:  Mom, does it take longer for you to grow up if you were a preemie?  [Yes, Caleb, it does!  What a clever little thinker!]

Caleb:  Dogs only have first names.
Me:  Dolly's last name is Purser, because she's in our family.
Caleb:  But what about a middle name?
Me:  We can give her one!  How about Face?  Dolly Face Purser.
Caleb:  Haha!  But she needs to be named after someone.
Me:  We could name her after you!
Caleb:  Dolly Caleb Purser.  But that won't work because it says 'Caleb Purser,' and that's ME!
Me:  Dolly Cal Purser.
Caleb:  YEAH!

Russell:  I think the moon is happy because the moon is smiling!

Russell, in a condescending tone:  Mom, Skye [a girl in his preschool] says "roof" when she's being a cat.

Caleb:  My mouth is getting sore from talking!

Caleb:  I have an anger and sadness core memory.  Russell and I were fighting over hotwheels in the front room.  But when I get baptized, that won't be a core memory anymore, because when I come out of the water I will only have happiness memories!

Russell:  Mom, sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach so when the baby sea turtles hatch they don't even know which sea turtle is their mom.  Isn't that sad??

We were talking about what it would be like to live in Narnia, where animals can talk, and I told Caleb that I always wondered what Hank would have to say, and Caleb said, "Dolly might have a very beautiful voice!"

Russell is 4!

Happy 4th birthday to Russell Sprout!

Four just seems so old, doesn't it?

Here is what Russell is like these days:

• He weighs 28 lbs 1 oz, which is around the 10th percentile.
• He measures 38.5 inches, which is also around the 10th percentile.
• He wears 2T clothes.
• He's obsessed, I repeat, obsessed, with animals.  Pygmy hippos, regular hippos, and rhinos are his favorites, but there isn't an animal that he doesn't like.  Sometimes he says he doesn't like "bad" animals (aka, predators), but most of the time he's still a fan.  
• Loves to tell jokes.  His most common joke goes like this: Why did the chicken cross the road?  To make friends!
• His favorite lunch is hot dogs and steamed carrots.  The only food he doesn't like is avocados.  He's a very adventurous eater and even enjoys spicy foods.  If his picky side ever surfaces and he starts refusing foods (it only happens when he's in a bad mood), we just remind him of our family rule:  We will put the food on your plate, but you don't have to eat it.  He always ends up eating it anyway!  He just needs to have a little control, that's all.
• His favorite snacks are fruit leather and a piece of bread.
• He can zip his own zipper, but has recently convinced himself that he can't.  Same goes for doing up his own car seat buckles.  
• He wakes up early (ugh) and makes his own pop tart for breakfast (nice).
• His hair is wavy and pretty thin.  I think he likes being the blond one in the family!
• He is very thoughtful and is great at sharing with Caleb.  
• He adores his baby brother and knows just how to talk to a baby.  He always makes Zach smile when he interacts with him in any way!
• He is very, very...shall we say "strong-willed."  Ok, ok, he's stubborn.  Sometimes he'll have a fit over something small, like when we ask him to clear his plate, and it'll escalate to needing to scream it out in his room for 20 minutes.  But what he doesn't know is that his mom will always be more stubborn than him.  I learned a long time ago that one key to parenting is to be more stubborn than the child.  ;)  He's not going to get away with anything on my watch!
• The most common source of distress (read: tantrums) for Russell is when we request that he change out of his pajamas.  He strongly prefers to wear pajamas all day, and refuses to wear clothes that aren't "comfortable."  I'm not sure if I should pack up all of his pajamas and make him sleep in regular clothes, or just choose not to fight this battle and let him wear pajamas all day every day and hope that this is just a phase.  I do let him wear pajamas most of the time as long as we're not leaving the house...after all, I would do the same thing every day, if I could.  ;)
• At times, when he's having a tantrum, I've been able to say to him, "Russell, do you think you'll get what you want if you cry?"  And he realizes that crying won't work on me, and he stops.  Clever little manipulator.
• He is also very clever in other ways.  He makes the most witty jokes, and notices the most obscure details.  I love that about him.
• The dentist has been telling us that Russell has a small mouth and his teeth are close together and that he needs to floss better than other kids his age (which isn't a problem, Russ loves flossing) and that he'll need braces.  Yes, we knew when our kid was three that he'll need braces.  Real fun.
• He has told me many times that he doesn't like being called Russ or Russell Sprout.  Only RUSSELL and SPROUT.  I still call him Russ all of the time, and he never corrects me, but if you have that conversation with him, he'll tell you he prefers Russell.
• He gets a lot of compliments from strangers on his eyelashes.  Somehow all of my boys have lovely eyelashes.
• He is very attached to Baby Bear, his small stuffed black bear.  He sleeps with him and brings him places when he's nervous (like to Church) and even uses him to wipe his tears.  Literally.

Russell, I'm glad that you're making up for your difficult infancy by being a wonderful preschooler.  You are full of whit beyond your years, you have an amazing brain for storing animal facts, and you are one of the most caring, giving, and gentle little kids I've ever met.  Russell, never change your gentle ways or your goofy personality.  We love you exactly how you are!

And now for an interview with Russell:

Crazy Kid Quotes

Russell--Mom, what are those rat things that aren't wearing any clothes?
Me--Naked Mole Rats?
Russell--Yeah.

Caleb--Mom, I was watching you from behind when you were going up the stairs, and I thought, even from behind you look like a princess!

Caleb, thinking to himself as he tries to figure out where I am--Where is my beautiful mother?

Caleb--You eat your eye boogers like me?!  Mom, Russell eats eye boogers like me!!  (while I try not to puke)

Caleb--I like playing with Chelsea because she's really easy to catch.  I like playing 'boys chase girls' on the playground.  Mom, we should play that, then we could chase you!

Russell--Your eyes look like sunshine.

Russell--I can spell BYU!
Me--How do you spell BYU?
Russell--B/Y/U!

Caleb and Nate went into a restaurant bathroom and they were out of toilet paper.  Caleb said, "I'm going to do something that will make them so happy!" and he went to the cupboard underneath the sink and pulled out a new roll of toilet paper.  He then put the toilet paper completely on the holder and Nate told him, "That was so nice of you!  I bet they'll really appreciate that."  Caleb replied, "I do what I can."
[Caleb always voluntarily puts the toilet paper on the holder at our house.  Always.]

Russell--How does Santa know what toys to bring me?  [He was concerned that Santa wouldn't bring him "kid" toys.]
Me--Well, I guess it's because Santa knows everything.
Russell--Like girls do?!  [Caleb and Russ often ask me how I know so much, and I tell them it's because moms know everything.]
Later that day, I told Nate about what Russell said and Caleb asked what we were laughing about.  I told him the story, and he didn't laugh.  I asked him if girls really do know everything, and completely seriously he said, "No, but moms do."  I've trained them well.  ;)

Caleb wrote me a note that said, "I love you, Mom."  He told Nate that he wrote it because I was being mean and he wanted to show me how to be nice (I kept getting after them during quite time because they were being anything but quiet!)  That night, I made them cookies.  When I gave them the cookies, I said, "I made you these so you can't ever think I'm a mean mom."  Russell said, "You should make us cookies every day so we don't ever think you're a mean mom."

Russell--I want all the food in the whole house!....So I can have a tummy ache!

Russell--Why did the chicken cross the road?  To make friends!

I got the hiccups one morning and Caleb told me, "Mom, the way to stop hiccuping is you hop on one foot in a circle while counting to ten."  I asked him where he heard of that and he said, "I thought of it in my head."

Russell--Mom, you have to eat a pineapple so you won't have hiccups.  [Apparently he got that from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.]

Zachery--laughs when I hiccup.

When I told Russell that pencils work in outer space, he said, "Yeah, and you can play connect-star.  Like connect-the-dots."

Russell--(holding up a twizzler) I think these should be sucky-twizzies, not "twizzlers" because they don't TWIZ!

Russell--I feel sad for flies, because chameleons eat them, and so do spiders, so they might go extinct!  [No one else in the world is concerned about flies going extinct except my Russell Sprout.]

Russell--Guess what?  The Gila monster, they have a venomous bite.

Caleb--Isn't is sad that sometimes people kill pigs to eat them?  Is that why farmers are around, to save the pigs?  [LOL!  I can hear my granddad, a pig farmer by trade, turning over in his grave.  We need to move to the country STAT!  These kids need to be taught some life lessons!]

Caleb--Isn't that crazy that so many people were praying for me?
Russell--Yeah.  And they didn't even know you!
Caleb--Yeah.  Some of them did.  And I'm glad, because I didn't want to have heart surgery.
(I told him recently about how he almost had heart surgery as a baby.)

(Russell was playing with his animals and a shoebox, pretending that it was Noah's Ark.)
Me--Wow, Russ, there were t-rex's on Noah's Ark?
Russell--Yeah!  And then they ATE HIM!

Russell--Mom, what's a "dame?"  (from BaBa Black Sheep)
Me--A dame is a lovely lady.
Russell (thinking...)--Mom, you're a dame!

Caleb--Feel my heart!
Me--It's pounding!  Maybe you should take a break.
Caleb--No, I don't want to!  It makes me feel alive!

Russell--Mom, I love you 100!  Daddy, I love you 39....

Caleb--Did you know what?  Firemens even break stuff, that's why they like their jobs so much.
[Turns out that's exactly what the firemen at Caleb's field trip said...but it was still funny coming out of his mouth!]

6th Annual Pumpkin Patch

2010, 2011, & 2012
2013
2014
2015:

This year we had six adorable little boys in the pumpkin patch.  Two 5-year-olds, two 3-year-olds, a 7-month-old, and a 5-month-old.  Perfect best friends!

 The mandatory picture with this jacket on.

 Betcha can't tell which ones are brothers!  ;)

 My boys and me.  :)

 The weather was unseasonably warm this year.

School 2015

My boys are growing up!  *tear*

 Now that my big boys are in school (Caleb in half-days kindergarten and Russell in preschool 2x/week) this little guy and I get four hours a week with just the two of us!

[Also, you'll notice that our front door has undergone a transformation between Caleb's first day and Russell's first day.  You're looking at Minwax gel stain in Hickory.  It went on evenly, even though I didn't remove the old, patchy finish from the door.  It certainly brings out the lovely details and makes the entrance to our home feel much more clean and welcoming!]

Brothers at 2 months

Caleb at 5 months (2 months adjusted for prematurity):

Russell at 2 months:




Zachary at 2 months:




You tell me: Which brother do you think Zach looks most like?


PS: What sweet, adorable little boys I've been blessed with!

The things bouncing around inside of my head....

If I were to die tomorrow, Nate would certainly win an award for best single father.  But one thing that I'm just not sure he could handle is switching an entire child's wardrobe up a size.  What an ordeal!

Speaking of switching a child's wardrobe up a size, it's unfortunate that Caleb wore size 18m clothes during the summer and Russ will be wearing size 24m clothes this summer.  I'm just not sure how it's going to go having a baby in June when my other two were born in the winter!  I don't want to have to buy more clothes.  We have a ton already!

Is it normal to have pain in your rib cage, right where the gallbladder used to be, a month post-op?  I don't know.

The other day on a preschool field trip, at the museum where they were giving a live animal show, the presenter asked the kids to tell her magical words (like Abra Kadabra).  Caleb piped up and said, "Expecto Patronum!  Wingardium Leviosa!"  Oh, Caleb.  You are so awesome.  :D

Caleb noticed his feet falling asleep for the first time a few days ago.  He described the feeling as "glitter."

Whenever Russ is sad, he asks for Dolly.  A Dolly snuggle always makes him feel better.

Whenever I try to get Russ dressed, he tells me, "But I want to wear pajamas all the days!"  Seriously, how can I argue with that?  I feel the same way, bud.  So we both pretty much wear pajamas on days that we don't have to leave the house.  I like to use the excuse that maternity clothes make my incision hurt (it's true!  Honestly!).  His excuse is that he's an independent 3-year-old.  So don't judge if you stop by unannounced.  ;)

Speaking of Russ getting dressed, he's super picky about his clothes.  He only wants to wear "soft things."

Russ is like a mini Caleb when he's sleep deprived.  Wild and crazy.  You don't want to be in our house on days like that.  If it's a zoo on normal days, just wait until Russ only gets 8 hours of sleep and refuses to take a nap!

I had a dream the other night that I gave birth--to two baby goats.  One boy and one girl.  I was pretty upset about it because the doctor had told me that I was having two girls (but never said anything about them being animals...apparently that doesn't matter to my subconscious as much as gender does).

Russell is THREE!

Happy third birthday to my little Russell Sprout!

Russ is a pretty chill kid.  He completely skipped the terrible twos.  (But yeah, the threes were more terrible for Caleb, so I'm not holding my breath.)

Here are a few things about Russell these days:

• He weighs 25 lbs 7 oz ( 4-pound gain in the past year) and measures 35 inches tall (a 3-inch gain in a year).  He's one pound heavier than Caleb was at age 3 and is a quarter of an inch shorter than Caleb was.  Russ sure is a shorty!  He doesn't have his check-up until next week, so I'm not sure where he lies on the growth charts, but I'm fairly certain he isn't on the charts at all.  I think that's where his "healthy" is, though.  I'm more than ok with his weight, hydration, willingness to eat, etc.  I guess I just have small kids!
• 
• He wears size 18 month clothes.  Most of them fit him just fine, but a few of the shirts are getting small and a good handful of his pants fall right off.  Some 2T shirts look just fine on him, but he's just not quite ready to take the leap and wear all 2T clothes.
• 
• Speaking of growth and eating, Russell is a fantastic eater.  He loves every kind of fruit, veggie, and meat.  He is a super adventurous eater and willingly eats things like curry and spicy foods (he loves to have Tabasco sauce to dip his foods in).  He demands to have his own green smoothie at lunch when I make them for myself (with apple juice, carrots, spinach, chia seeds, strawberries, and blueberries).  He always wants to snack on things like nuts, fruit leather, and applesauce.  He's a seriously healthy eater.  But he also has a sweet tooth that's hard to ignore!
• Sometimes when I'm telling Russ what he can have for a snack, he'll tell me, "I don't want that because it won't make my hungry go away."  He wants something more filling.  What a cute way to say it!  When he's done eating, Russ will declare, "My hungry is gone.  I'm done."  And he always clears his plate from the table without being asked, which is greatly appreciated.  
• Speaking of food, Russell appears to have outgrown his corn intolerance!  A few months ago, we reintroduced corn into his diet (we added gluten back in earlier this summer) and he had no problems!  His stools have been exactly the same as they were without corn (when he was intolerant to corn he had blood and mucus in his poop and complained of tummy aches all day long).  It's amazing to not have to worry about what I feed him!  Although, he has been complaining of tummy aches for the last few days, such as when I offered him a piece of toast (which he had the morning before) and he said, "Yes!...No, I don't want it.  Yesterday when I ate it it made my tummy hurt."  He has said the same thing about other foods, too.  I don't know what the deal is, but I don't like it!  He's very in tune with his body--always has been--but I'm really hoping it's nothing.  Coupled with the super dry skin on his chin, I worry, naturally.  But I'm hoping the rash is not food-relates and is just from the dry weather and that some moisturizer will take care of it.
• Speaking of eating anything, before I came down with awful morning sickness Russ and I would go out to eat once a week while Caleb was at preschool.  Let me tell you, this kid was the best behaved 2-year-old I'd ever seen in a restaurant!  He always behaved like a little adult, making polite requests of the waitresses all by himself and everything. 
• A few weeks ago, Russ learned how to climb out of his crib.  We converted his crib to a toddler bed and the first few weeks were torture.  He would not sleep.  Naps were done with.  Bed time took forever.  We would check on him and find him dilly dallying around his room and when asked why he wasn't asleep he would say, "My eyes aren't tired and they won't shut!"  After two weeks of this we finally decided he needed a "motivator."  So we told him, "If you stay in your bed and don't turn on your light, you can have a skittle in the morning/when nap time is over."  It worked like a charm and he's now napping better than he was when he was in his crib!
• He's been potty trained for 11 months now.  That's so crazy to me!  He's completely independent in the bathroom these days, able to do everything on his own without prompting.  It's dreamy.  :)
• Russ is already facing forward in his car seat.  We made the switch this summer.  We switched him much earlier than we did Caleb, but it's working out fine.
• 
• Last Sunday, on the way home from church, Nate asked Russ how his day was.  Russ answered, "I had a rough day."  When Nate asked why, Russell said, "Because they didn't have bubbles in nursery."  The kid loves bubbles!
• Russell is super excited to be a big brother.  Without prompting, he has already started caressing my belly and giving the baby kisses through my belly and talking to the baby.  The other day he was rubbing my belly and then snapped his hand back and said, "Ouch!  The baby bit me!"
• He is in a super obsessive animal stage.  He pretends to be an animal almost all day long.  Lately it's been turtles.  Russell is a turtle and Caleb is his owner (brings him food and water, keeps him in a "cage" with toys as a fence, etc).  The other day, Caleb let his turtle out for a walk and the poor turtle somehow got flipped over on his back.  Russell the Turtle had to lie there with his legs up in the air until his owner flipped him back over.  Poor Turtle would have died there on his back if someone hadn't flipped him over!  It made me laugh so hard and I eventually learned that the boys have an app on the tablet where they're veterinarians and have to help wild animals--and there's a turtle who is stuck on its back and you have to help it by turning it over.  Russell is so clever to have thought of that!
• Russ is super boyish these days.  He loves to make jokes about poop.  Poop!  Where did he get that from??  Caleb never did that.  Russ will literally pick up a brown crayon and say, "Mommy, this crayon is like poop!  HAHAHAHAHA!"  Anything is made funnier to him by saying "poop" or "poopy."  We have to remind him all of the time that it's "inappropriate to joke about poop."  Mostly when he calls someone poopy (nicely, of course) then laughs his head off. 
• He has had two haircuts in his life now, and both were exclusively to get rid of wispies over his ears and the wispy mullet.  I'm happy to say that his hair seems to be thickening now that he's gained those most recent two pounds.
• 
• He's a huge fan of jumping lately.  He'll jump off of the couch and land on both feet, jump over a throw pillow on the floor, clearing it completely and landing on both feet, etc.  He's a very good jumper!
• Russ also likes to rhyme.  He notices when words rhyme and he makes up words all of the time to tell us that they rhyme (thinks like, "Caleb and Baleb rhyme, Mom!").
• He's also a super good communicator.  Talking has always been a strong suit for both of my kids, and this kid just blows me away with some of the sophisticated things he comes up with.
• I'm pretty sure he's tone deaf.  It makes me a little sad, I must admit.  The only two songs that he knows all of the words to are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and I Am a Child of God (because he used to request that we sing them to him every night).  By this age, Caleb knew the words to a ton of songs, and could sing them without missing a note.  Russ enjoys music, but he doesn't seem to enjoy singing.  He maaaaybe gets a few notes right when he sings Twinkle Twinkle.  But not more than a few.  
• 
• In my mind, Russ has some qualities that make him unique from other kids his age.  The biggest one is his desire to seek harmony and avoid confrontation.  For example, if I'm bringing a blue cup and an orange cup to the table, Caleb will automatically tell me that he wants the color that I'm about to hand to Russell.  If they both declare that they want the orange one, Russ almost always changes his mind to say that he wants the blue one.  He absolutely does not want the one Caleb wants, because that would cause a fight.  How many 2-year-olds are that mature?  And he does that with so many things.  As long as he's not in a super tired/cranky mood, he mostly lets Caleb take toys from him.  Whenever I see it I make it right (I absolutely don't want Caleb to think that's ok), but for the most part Russell couldn't care less.
• 
• Russell has a "friend" that goes with him everywhere.  It's a little black bear that he calls Baby Bear.  He went through a phase for a few days where he changed his name to Baby Jesus, and today he started telling me that it's just Baby.  He would bring Baby Bear with him everywhere if he could, but he's pretty good about when he needs washed or when I tell him he can't bring his bear with.  He also has a favorite blanket, just a soft brown baby blanket with an elephant on the corner.  He's pretty attached to both his Baby Bear and his Elephant Blanket.

And now for a fun tradition that I started when Caleb turned 3!  Here's an interview to show you what 3-year-old Russ is like!

I've never known another child so young who is so in tune with the feelings of others, so aware of himself, so pleasant, so mature, and still so silly!  You bring balance to our family, Russ, and I'm so glad you joined us when you did!  Happy birthday!

Happy Halloween!

We happened to be at Costco when their Halloween costumes had just hit the racks.  When Caleb fell for the fireman costume, I asked Russ if he wanted to be a dalmation, like Duke (our next door neighbor's dog).  He jumped on the idea.  I love that my kids are still young enough to be persuaded to wear coordinating costumes.  I think it's adorable.  But I couldn't find a decent dalmation costume to buy, so I had to sew one.

Good thing I was on a roll and made it two months early!  When that morning sickness stuff hit there was no such thing as productivity.

I used some well-fitting pajamas as a template and whipped it up in no time!  It's far from perfect (only the second zipper I've ever sewn), but it did the trick with no complaints.  :)

I must say, these two were a pretty adorable duo!

An update on Russell's food intolerances.

Remember how Russell would complain of tummy aches many times daily?  And how he was so very bloated?  And how his poop was...not right?  And remember how his villi in his duodenum were mildly damaged, so we thought taking him off of gluten would be the best next step?  Then when he went off of gluten, everything got worse?  He didn't want to eat and he had blood in his poop?  So with a strike of mommy inspiration we decided to take corn out of his diet and everything got better?  Remember that?

Well, after many months of having him off of gluten and corn, we decided to try giving him gluten again in hopes of getting him to gain weight a little easier.  His weight gain didn't improve, but he didn't have any tummy aches or other problems with gluten, so we called it a success!

Then, a few weeks ago, I slipped up and gave him some cereal that was made out of corn.  Oops.  But he didn't have any problems with it, so we decided to let him trial corn.  He has since had lots of corn--straight corn, corn cereals, corn chips, corn tortillas, popcorn, etc.  And he hasn't had a single bad poop!  No blood, no mucus.  He still complains that his tummy hurts a few times a week, but that's usually because he needs to take a trip to the bathroom (which we discovered before he even started trialing corn).  And his bloating never went away (not even when he had been off of gluten and corn for many months), but as long as he's not in pain then I don't think it's a big deal.

So it's safe to say that Russell has officially outgrown his corn intolerance.  I wish we had discovered it sooner (he was almost 2 before we finally figured out why he had been in pain his whole life), but let me tell you, it's great to have a kid with no food restrictions!!  It's like a whole new world.

Stuff

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Caleb prefers to eat the crust off of bread, the skin off of potatoes, and the burnt pieces off of meat and grilled veggies.

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When Russ goes #2, he kindly tells me, "Mom, can you leave?"  He likes privacy in the bathroom.

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Ever since Meggie died, every time I make a noise (chuckle, sniff, sigh, etc.), Caleb asks me if I'm crying.  He's turning into a sensitive, sweet boy.  I also mentioned once how he left his feeding backpack on the floor by the bed, and every time I walked past it I had to take a second look because I thought it was Meggie sleeping there (that was where she would sleep at night).  So he said, "Maybe from now on I should leave it in my room so it doesn't make you sad."  His sweet hugs got me through some rough days.  What would I do without that kid?

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Many times now, Russ has said, "Mom, I LOVE YOU!  So can I have a skittle??"  Keep up with developing the art of flattery, Kid.  It will serve you well!

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Every single night, Russell lays his head on my shoulder (or Nate's, depending on who's putting him to bed) and requests his two favorite songs:  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and I Am a Child of God.  

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We got some new colorful plates, cups, and utensils from Ikea.  The boys like claiming which color they want at each meal (they can only pick out of the ones I take off of the top of the stack).  Caleb has quickly learned that Russell's favorite is orange, so now of course that's Caleb's favorite, too.  When Caleb and Russ claim the same plate, Russ almost always ends up changing his mind so as to avoid a fight.  How is my 2-year-old so mature??

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Caleb's favorite movie is Milo and Otis (which he pronounces Milis and Otis).  He would watch it 20x a day if he could.

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In Russell's prayers, he always has to thank God for animals.  It usually goes something like this: "Dear Heavny Father, thank dee for Mommy, Daddy, Caleb, animals, Auntie Jessica, Mommy, Caleb, Daddy, giraffes, elephants, Jesus, Amen."  [Auntie Jessica is my sister-in-law and her dad passed away unexpectedly almost two months ago and my boys still remember her in every single prayer.]

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Russell is in the habit of putting his shoes in the coat closet as soon as he walks in the door.  That way, he's able to find them easily when he needs them later.  Caleb is the opposite.  He will often kick a shoe off as he's walking to another room, only to kick the second shoe off in the next room.  It takes us forever to find his shoes when we need to go somewhere!  How are two brothers so completely opposite?!

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When Caleb is in preschool, once a week Russell and I like to go on a lunch date together, which is something we are rarely able to do with Caleb because of all of his food restrictions.  He is so good in restaurants!  He always says thank you to the server, and asks for whatever he needs ("Can I have some water, please?")  And he's a pro at flirting with waitresses, even telling me as she's walking away and still in earshot, "She's so cute!"

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Caleb loves to match Russell.  Caleb usually gets dressed before Russ, but if I dress Russ in something that Caleb has a same-colored shirt or a matching shirt for, Caleb will go back to his room and change so he can match his brother.  He even does it to match me sometimes.

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Russell pronounces most things very clearly and properly, but he calls balloons "bum-a-woons."  It's adorable.

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When Nate told Caleb that Taysom Hill (BYU's quarterback) broke his leg, Caleb said, "Aww, nuts.  That's not good.  At least we still have Jimmer."

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Russell will often ask a person's name (the checker at the store, the doctor, etc).  When they say their name, "My name is Dave,"  Russ replies in his goofy voice, "That's a funny name!"

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I was getting out of the shower and Caleb was talking to me from the other side of the door.  He said, "Are you going to wear the towel on your head?  Because I think you're cute with the towel on your head."  Then when I got dressed and came out with the towel on my head, I asked him if I was cute.  He said, "You have to smile...[I smiled]...THERE!  Just like that!  You look cute with a towel on your head and a smile!"

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Auntie JB was visiting and Russ said, "I have to tell Auntie something."  I said, "You know she's in the shower, right?"  Meaning, uh, you'll have to wait until she gets out of the shower.  He said, "Yeah." and went upstairs.  I later find out that he walked right in on Auntie JB in the shower, pulled back the shower curtain, and said, "Auntie Jenna, I love you."  It was that important that it couldn't wait.

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Minnesota Vacation!!

I had already been to Minnesota four times since March.  What's one more trip?!

We decided to drive this time, since four plane tickets can get spendy.  And since we had expected to live there by this time, we weren't able to buy plane tickets in advance, which makes them even more expensive.

So we drove.

Through Yellowstone.

 The boys watched DVDs (this was only our third time using the DVD player since buying our van a year ago).  This was how they looked through the snow monster scene in Frozen.

 Once we got to my hometown, we took pictures with Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  Classic.

Russell picked Babe's nose while simultaneously picking his own nose.  Also classic.

 My little lumberjack and my little ox.

 Nana's farm is the best.  

Granddad's farm is also the best.  This is my favorite view!

We did some exploring.

Some tree climbing.

And some feet-kicking in the lake.

 We went to the county fair, which was the reason for our visit (all of my siblings came home for the fair this year, so we certainly couldn't miss it!).

 I even brought a jar of homemade apple butter that I canned last fall from the apples on our Utah trees.  I entered it in the fair, and I got second place!  I expect my $2 prize check to arrive any day.  ;)

 Russ was sick the whole time with a fever up to 103 and a horrible cough.  He didn't eat or drink well and lost over a pound.  Other than lamenting "I don't like to be sick" when he would have a coughing fit, and needing lots of snuggles from Mommy, he was still a happy boy and a great sport.

 The highlight of the trip for me was when Caleb rode my horse Hank in the Judy Pittman Memorial Tiny Tots Show.  Judy was a great mentor to me in my 4-H days and I miss her dearly.  It was so special to me to see my son riding the horse that I showed so competitively in my youth at a show devoted to her memory at our old stomping grounds.  Once upon a time, Hank and I owned this place.  I miss those days!

 And Caleb and Hank did so well!  They got 1st place in horsemanship and key race, 2nd place in trail, 3rd in pole weaving, and 6th in barrels.  They were just one or two points away from winning a giant trophy!

 We took family pictures.  These are all of the cousins!  

This was them the last time they were all together!!

 And we took pictures of all of my siblings, their spouses, their children, and my parents.  (This picture has my dad missing, but believe me, we got some with him, too!)  The only one missing is my Grandma, and she lives in Missouri.  Seriously, can you believe we got a shot like this with everyone looking?  It was a miracle.

And in Minnesota, you drive tractors.

 See?

I can honestly say that every minute of this trip was enjoyable.  You wouldn't think that a 20-hour car ride with a 2- and 4-year-old could go smoothly, but it truly did!  The whole trip was blissful.  We made so many great memories.  I love my family!