joys of motherhood: august

Crazy that this was my last month with only two kids. And crazy that I'm saying ONLY two when a while ago that felt like a whole lot!

-On August 4th I got asked if my kids were twins. I am shocked that I am STILL getting asked this question, and on a somewhat regular basis.
-Nolan calls eskimos kisses "nee nees" and it's the cutest thing. Also if he kisses one cheek he insists on the "udder one!"

-Nolan has started speaking in full sentences and asking lots of questions. He is really good at talking and sometimes it totally takes me off guard when he says things so well and properly. I can't always understand him but (like Caitlin) he will keep repeating something until he is sure that he has been understood and I repeat back and acknowledge what he's saying. There is no glossing over things. Luckily he is usually pretty clear. One of my favorite things he says though is "keebuz" = because.
-I'm sure little kids always struggle with the question of "where does daddy go all day while he's at work?" I visit Paul a lot for lunch and stuff so my kids definitely know his building when they see it but the question of what actually goes on there still seems to be a mystery to them. Caitlin asked why Paul always has to go to work and we told her to he could make moneys to do fun things and go to dance class and stuff. The other day she found a quarter on the ground and she said "Look! I found a moneys! Dad, did you make this one at work for me?" I started laughing at the mental picture of Paul over a desk with a little chisel plinking away to make a coin. She apparently took us very literally. Nolan on the other hand gets "work outs" and "work" mixed up. And to make it more confusing, Paul often works out before he goes to work so he is leaving the house in work out clothes. So Nolan thinks that Paul goes and works out all day at work.
-I've probably mentioned this before but Nolan LOVES his blankie. It's Paul's old blanket from when he was a baby and it is very tattered and has been well loved over the years but Nolan can't go to sleep without it and always keep tabs on it during the day. It's his ultimate comfort. Whenever I put him in time i out i always go back in to find him with his blanket. Or whenever he watches shows and sits on the couch he wants it with him. Along with plenty of other times too.
-Caitlin will absolutely "mother" anything she can. She loves finding little "pets" and taking care of them, like roly polys and flies and whatever she can find and she loves pretending to be a mommy and talking like a mommy to anything that will let her, or even not let her. I have to tell her "they have a mommy that can tell them" all the time.
-Whenever someone sneezes or coughs Nolan is quick to say "bless you" to them. And whenever HE sneezes or coughs he expects the same courtesy right away. Even if I'm in another room if he sneezes he will call out to me, "Say Bless you Mommy!"
-If you can get Nolan to hold still for long enough, he's getting real good at cheesin' it for the camera.

-I had to look through a bunch of quotes for something and a few stuck out to me that I really like right now:
"I know it's hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be Kind. Its a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. be cheerful. don't be a whiner." -Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"Remember that children, marriages and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get." H. Jackson Brown

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to us to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed,  but that our power to do is increased." -Heber J Grant

"What you do everyday matters more than what you do every once in awhile"