Little Fishies

Mason and Carter started swim school last night... a first for both of them. Mason loves it. He even went under water several times tonight, which is a HUGE accomplishment for him. He says he can be baptized now :)

Carter, on the other hand, may be expelled from swim school. He's terrified of the water - just like his older brother was until VERY recently. He screams so loud that the owner of the school offered to give me my money back. We'll try one more lesson tomorrow, but I'm betting he'll end up a swim school drop-out. That means my 40 minutes of peace and quiet may be a thing of the past. Darn! I had just gotten used to listening to audio books on my new little pink iPod (my Mother's Day present). I knew it was too good to last!

A Picture's Worth 1000 Words

Here's what I see when I look at these 2 pictures I took on Monday:

1. The sun does shine sometimes in our backyard (couldn't tell it today).

2. Girls eat much slower than boys. (check out their napkins)

3. I need to do a better job of teaching Mason to put his shirt on the right way.

4. I LOVE having a patio table on the deck. (when it's not monsoon season).

5. M and C love playing with their "sisters" Kaylee and Destiny in the backyard.

6. Mason carried his Gideon Bible EVERYWHERE the day after he accepted Christ as his savior. (see it on the table?)

7.They were all playing "boat" on the deck, but Mason was a pirate, Carter was a shark, Kaylee was Nemo, and Destiny was a mermaid. The Nemo and Mermaid version of the "boat" game didn't really mix with the pirate and shark version. The pirate and the shark had to sit in time out several times for attacking Nemo and the mermaid.

Must be All the Rain

I guess the cloudy, rainy weather has affected our mood around here. Mason woke up spouting hateful words, and Carter...well, Carter just threw his usual 25 fits that he throws every day. Carter's consequence is easy...I put him on his bed until he quits crying. Mason's, however, is a bit more of a challenge. I finally resorted this morning to the June Cleaver style lecture. "Now, Beave, you can't go around telling people you hate them. It isn't kind, and you're a kind boy. Run along now and remember the golden rule." Okay, so it wasn't quite that hokey, but it was close. And it obviously didn't work because he told our friend Kaylee that he hated her on the way home from school. SO I skipped the second lecture and made him pick out some "treasures" from his room that he could wrap and give to her as an apology gift. (His future wife can thank me later.) Then I picked out the next two things that will become apology gifts if he should decide to tell someone else he hates them. And should the trend STILL continue, he gets to use his allowance money to BUY apology gifts. Something tells me that Bill Cosby would be very proud of me.

Forgot to mention: Carter has started imitating me when he gets mad. He wrinkles up his nose and says, "I not very happy wif you!" I don't laugh, but it's really funny. Those are the things you wish you had on video to laugh a later...when it's not a discipline issue anymore!

Sweet Dreams

I just rocked Carter to sleep. He usually goes to bed by himself, but he was extra tired and clingy tonight. So I held him and patted his little baby back for about five minutes before he was sound asleep. I could see the clothes hanging in his closet while I was rocking him, and they looked so small. He seems much bigger during the day when he's demanding his way and playing like a big boy. But at night, he's my baby for just a little while longer. (And, no, I still don't want another one :)