Bits and Bites

I pulled out the camera to upload pictures before blogging, and realized I have taken absolutely no pictures lately. I did snap this one of Addie after her recent injury filled week. It kind of captures them all, though it is hard to see specifics. On Wednesday, she was playing in a box with a toy knife and I looked over to see blood running out of her mouth. Did she bite her lip, cut her lip, or lose a fight with the box?
I lean towards the biting option since that was the theme of the rest of her injuries. On Thursday, we went to the library for storytime and then played in the park afterward. She was swinging when she caught sight of the dog sitting with its owner 2 feet from the playground. Addie immediately got very excited, as she does whenever she sees a dog, so I asked the owner if it would be okay if she said hi, and if his dog was good with kids. Almost immediately after she started petting him, the dog turned and snapped at her face. I have never had time freeze like that for me before. Images of gaping wounds and reconstructive surgeries filled my head as I grabbed her away. Fortunately she escaped with only a red mark and bruise over her left eye, but it was incredibly scary. I just wish I knew why that man thought it was appropriate to sit that close to a playground full of kids with a dog that could have a reaction like that.

Friday we went to play at our friends', the Mills, house. Addie and Parker were playing in the sheer curtains, hugging and kissing and being very cute. Until Addie started crying and we realized Parker's kiss had turned into a snack. Addie ended up with a set of upper teeth marks right under her eye, and lowers by the corner of her mouth. I know I myself often just want to take a bite of her cute meatiness. I guess Parker couldn't resist either. Thankfully we survived the rest of the weekend without further injury to her face.

Bracken's face has also improved considerably.
He decided it was finally time for the moustache contest to come to an end. And he has stopped looking at me like that anymore.

My favorite story from the contest came from his co-competitor. Shaun was teaching the young men at church and they were giving him lots of grief about how bad his moustache looked, pressuring him to get rid of it. Bracken popped his head in to collect the roll, the boys said nothing, and then they resumed teasing Shaun. He said, "What about Brother Mannion? He has a moustache, too?" The immediate reply? "Yeah, well he looks good in it." I'm not sure I agree, and it sure is nice to get a kiss without getting poked by little hairs.

Chloe continues to make me laugh. The other night after I finally got the pork roast on the table (The power went out in the middle of dinner prep, and I had to transfer everything to the grill. It was special.), Chloe said, "Mom, I sure love this chicken." "But Chloe, this is pork. It comes from a pig. It's a different kind of meat." "Okay Mom, but it's still chicken on the inside." I guess there's no such thing as the 'other white meat.'

She loves making up songs right now, and singing them passionately. There tend to be great building swells with repeats of, "I love you" or, "I never," or some other dramatic phrase. We went out to water the flowers the other morning and she spun in circles, singing lines from songs from Enchanted. She is just such a little lady right now. In fact she can be better behaved than her parents. On Sunday, she gave her second talk in Primary. I was teaching Relief Society, so I couldn't be there to hear her, but apparently, Bracken got the giggles in the middle of helping her, so bad that he couldn't even talk, and she just waited patiently for him to compose himself.

Truthfully, she was the only who really managed to behave the whole time in church. Addie and sacrament meeting are not a good combination. She just has no comprehension of how to be quiet. She wasn't fussy at all. She just can't turn the volume down. Even if we manage to get her to focus on something, she immediately starts making her 'concentration' noise of, "Errrrrrrrr," so we've gained nothing. Though we were sitting on the second to last row of pews, she managed to entertain the organist with her giggling fit. And the whole time I was trying to keep her quiet, she was working equally hard to pull my skirt up, or my top down in order to further humiliate me as everyone turned to see where all the racket was coming from. It is such a relief when the meeting ends and we get to drop her at the doors of the nursery and run.

Addie is very into books right now. Her favorite book is a 5 pound compilation of princess stories that she loves to carry around, drop corner first right onto my belly or some other sensitive area, and then ignore once I actually start reading to her. That book is currently hiding on a top shelf in my room. After church on Sunday, with our aerobic Sacrament meeting and teaching and everything, I was resting on the couch. Okay, so I spend a lot of time lately just resting on the couch, but I had earned it this time. Addie came up to me, handed me a book, then took the remotes for the TV and moved them to the other side of the room and came back. That kid knows what's up.

She has been sleeping at night in the bottom bunk in Chloe's room for over 2 weeks now. I had no hopes of getting her out of the crib before the baby came, but she has been doing incredibly well. She's only ventured out a couple times, and the half an hour of singing herself to sleep every night doesn't seem to bother Chloe at all. I haven't gotten her totally transitioned to naps in there yet, mainly because I haven't gotten my act together enough for Chloe not to need to go in there while Addie's sleeping.

As for me, I am 32 weeks pregnant, and feeling the limitations that brings so much more this time around. I worked really hard the other day, mixing up a soil blend and filling my new garden boxes, doing various jobs around the yard, etc. I felt great that I finally had a day where I had used all of my time well. Until I sat up all night with various cramping and pains, and my allergies freaking out. I really am and all or nothing person, and trying to find a middle ground of how much I really should be doing is super hard for me. That said, I think I'll go lie on the couch some more.