Tinnie, Minnie, Miney, Moe and More

     A year or so ago, we realized that Kelsey had some imaginary friends.  Their names were Tinnie and Minnie.  I have no idea where they came from other than her imagination.  Tinnie and Minnie are two bears that live in the woods.  The other kids found it quite humorous and asked her lots of questions about them, which she was pleased to answer.  She always seemed to know that they weren't really "real" but she liked pretending they were there.  Over time, she has stopped talking about them.  In fact, I think I would have forgotten all about them if it weren't for the fact that instead of "eeny, meeny, miney, moe" Kelsey always says, "Tinnie, Minnie, Miney, Moe."  She uses that a lot when she has to pick which book to read before naptime, although I suspect she already knows how it's going to end up before she starts.
     Nathan is definitely a little man in this house!  I am always entertained (if not overwhelmed) by his little boy antics.  He likes to pretend to be a dinosaur (I was so excited to find a dinosaur costume for him for Halloween, which he gets out often).  He is always running or jumping anywhere he goes.  But there are still some signs that he is growing up with 4 big sisters.  The one happening most frequently these days: While driving in the car, Nathan will break out into singing the Selena Gomez song, "Who Says?"  He basically repeats over and over again, "Who says you're not beauty? Trust me. Who says you're not beauty? Trust me....etc."  It cracks me up!
     Usually Kelsey and Nathan are the ones doing funny things for me to blog about because they are little and home most of the time.  But even Natalee still does and says some hilarious things.  Part of their Beauty and the Beast costumes was to wear skin-colored panty hose.  I bought some knee-highs for them to wear.  I'm not actually sure if they make panty hose in children's sizes.  Probably, but I decided to go with the knee-highs.  On Thursday they were getting ready for their performance.  They hadn't performed since Saturday night so I had been able to wash all the knee-highs in the meantime.  I didn't know which ones belonged to Haylee and Natalee so I just put them all in my sock drawer (it's a big no-no to leave panty hose out in our house!) and told Haylee to get a pair out of there.  Natalee hadn't heard me and apparently she could only find one in her drawer so she came out dangling it and saying, "Haylee, where is the other panty hoe?!" It makes perfect sense that panty hoes would be the plural of panty hoe. :)

Haylee and Mackenzie

      For months, I had to wonder why we even had bunk beds in Haylee and Mackenzie's bedroom.  For awhile, Mackenzie had her own bedroom but she never wanted to sleep alone.  So we put a queen size bed in there and moved Haylee into the room.  It was WAY too crowded!  We ended up moving them back into a bigger bedroom with the bunk beds and put Nate by himself in the smaller room with his toddler car bed.  But still, sometimes they would sleep in the top, and sometimes the bottom, but ALWAYS together!  I took this picture August 22, and then I told them about it.  Their mouths dropped open and they acted slightly offended that I had done this. Hahaha!  For about a month after that, they did sleep in different beds.   But they still didn't like sleeping in different rooms.

      One night, Haylee was gone to play practice and didn't get home until after bedtime.  Mackenzie was not happy to be sleeping alone.  Neither was Kelsey, since her roommate Natalee was gone at play practice too.  So I gave Mackenzie permission to get into bed with Kelsey.  Haylee wasn't too excited when she got home to find out that she would be sleeping alone.  She also wanted to climb into Kelsey's bed which I told her she absolutely could not do since there would not be room for 3 in that bed.  Natalee was not excited by the idea either.  The next morning, I found Haylee sound alseep in Nathan's toddler bed with him.  I guess this girl really doesn't want to sleep alone!

September 28, 2012

     But now they're back to sleeping in the same bunk bed with each other again.  I think I finally convinced Mackenzie that she should not be the one to share a room with the new baby.  She would be so sad if she coudn't sleep with Haylee anymore!

October 2, 2012

Best Friends

     I love how Nathan and Kelsey are just best friends with each other.  Nathan misses Kelsey so much when she goes to preschool.  When she gets home, she tries to teach him the things she learned that day.  One day she came home and tried to show him how to play duck-duck-goose.  It was hilarious watching them play it with just the two of them.  She would walk around him tapping his head and saying 'duck' over and over again and then finally she would say 'goose.'  Then she would tell him to chase her so he would but she would quickly sit down.  Then he would just tap her head over and over again saying 'duck' but wouldn't circle around her.  It was pretty adorable.
     Nathan likes to copy whatever Kelsey does.  One day she grabbed a pillow and blanket and a book and situated herself on one end of the couch.  Nathan grabbed the same items and situated himself on the other end of the same couch.  Wish I'd had my camera out for that one!  Nathan also likes that Kelsey can help him do things.  Sometimes as soon as she gets home from preschool he will grab her hand and say, "Come on Kelsey!" and start pulling her into my bedroom.  He wants her to turn the TV on for him so he can watch "Go, Diego, Go!"  In the mornings when Nathan first wakes up, Kelsey will go into his room and he'll yell, "Kelsey!" and spread his arms out for a hug, which she immediately gives him.  I hope they always keep this sweet sibling friendship!

Beauty and the Beast, Closing Night!

     Mackenzie was so excited for her date!  I think she was especially excited for a good excuse to wear her glasses.  She ended up wearing them quite a bit more than I believe was necessary. :)
     Our date was for the very last showing of Beauty and the Beast, Oct. 20, 2012!  It was such a great night!  Because of the success of the show, all tickets were sold out days earlier and so they got permission to sell even more tickets for the last two shows.  So it was really a full house.  On our way to the show, Mackenzie and I stopped at the store to pick up some flowers for our little actresses.  I knew the girls would appreciate them and that Daren would prefer not to get any. :)  We picked out two beautiful bouquets and headed off.  We got there about an hour early to make sure we got good seats.
     Mackenzie got her light-up rose as well so that she could help the beast change into a prince too.  She was also excited to get her picture taken with Belle but she also wanted a picture with Babette.  I have to say that Babette and Lumiere were definitely a highlight of the show. :)  Natalee had strict instructions to be outside waiting so I could get some pictures of her this time.  Because it was the last show, Daren had to stay later to help take down sets.  So Mackenzie and I hung around to wait for Natalee and Haylee to change.  We went back into the theater and Mackenzie got to go on stage to get a picture on the set.  Then she and her friend Mallory were big helpers and helped find trash to throw away so that we could go home sooner (since that was Haylee and Natalee's job).
     Like I said before, it was an awesome experience for the kids.  I think Daren enjoyed himself too.  But it is a relief to be done for now and it will be an amazing memory.  We're definitely buying a DVD of the show.

Natalee and Haylee got flowers from their best friends, Katie and Grace Cannon

 

Natalee with one of the friends they made during the show. (Blake?)

 

With Babette

Mackenzie and Belle

 

Me and Daren (I decided I should get in at least one picture!)

Macknezie in the castle!

Beauty and the Beast Opening Night!

Mommy-Daughter date, Oct. 12, 2012

     If you remember, I blogged some time ago about Daren, Natalee, and Haylee auditioning to be in the play, Beauty and the Beast.  After months and months of rehearsal, it was finally time to perform!  As wonderful as it was, I am so relieved it's done because the last couple of months have been the hardest.  They started practicing for 2-3 hours every night!  Luckily the kids only had to be there 1 night a week but it was hard to have Daren gone all the time.  But their hard work paid off and the show was amazing!  Daren, Natalee, and Haylee all played townspeople.  But Daren also played a spoon in "Be our Guest" and "Human Again."  He was also one of the guys in the tavern during the "Gaston" song.
     I was having a hard time deciding when to go to the play.  I finally decided to go twice, once with Kelsey and once with Mackenzie.  I picked up tickets for opening night and closing night.  Kelsey got to be my very first date.  It worked out perfectly because Mackenzie's glasses came just two days before the last show so she was able to see the play much better when she went.
     The play was a fundraiser for the music and arts programs in the schools, and another way they made some extra money was by selling light-up roses during intermission.  Anyone with a light-up rose was supposed to raise it up high to help the beast transform back into the prince.  I figured since it was a special date night, I could get Kelsey a flower.  She was so cute holding it up for the beast to change.
     We weren't allowed to take any pictures during the performance, but the cast came outside after the show to visit with the audience.  Since it was my first time going, I didn't realize they were going to do that and I tried to see if I could go backstage for pictures.  They told me to find the cast outside.  By the time we got there, Natalee had already headed back to the dressing room to get changed.  So, Kelsey only got pictures taken with Haylee and her dad.  She was also happy to get a picture with Belle.  At first she was shy but then Belle started talking to her and thanked her for helping the beast change back into a prince. :)

Haylee's good friend, Samantha Rodriguez, came to see the show.

     Mackenzie and Nathan hung out at my mom and dad's during the play.  My mom recently learned how to make Gak, so she made some for them to play with.  Apparently it entertained them for quite some time and they were still playing with it when I got there to pick them up.  Nathan was so proud of his snake and he held it up and said, "Look at my snake Mom."  Mackenzie made a heart out of hers.

This was him 'smiling' for a picture.  He wouldn't open his eyes so I had to catch him off guard with the next picture.

More Glasses!

     Mackenzie is the next in the family to join the blind! :)  She had been complaining to her teacher at school that she couldn't read the board from the back of the room.  The teacher moved her up front and told her to tell us she may need to go to the eye doctor.  Sure enough, she needed glasses.  They are just for reading long distances though.  She has almost the exact same prescription as Haylee, and was given the same instructions: Don't wear them all the time or her vision may worsen faster than if she doesn't wear them at all.  But she needs to pull them out whenever she needs to read something at a distance.  They told me her eyes are bad enough she wouldn't be able to drive without glasses but that's not an issue since she's 7. :)
     She picked out these very colorful glasses.  It's hard to tell in the picture because they aren't super bright colors.  But she is in love with them and that's what matters.  This picture is from Oct. 9, and she finally got to pick them up on Oct. 18, just a few days ago.  She has been so excited and she is probably wearing them more than she should but I know from Haylee's experience that it will wear off and soon she'll only be wearing them at school.  They do look adorable on her!

Religious Prejudice

 

     A couple of weeks ago Daren told about being asked by the principal to talk to Haylee about talking religion at school because it was making her friend's family uncomfortable.  He joked that he was just going to high five her but we really did tell her that she should respect their feelings.  It was a long weekend because of Colombus Day so the kids didn't go back to school until the following Tuesday.  This is the note Haylee got from her friend on Tuesday.  It was followed by another sticky note that said, "I can still talk with you but I can't 'be friends.'"

     I didn't see the notes until Wednesday because Haylee didn't bring them home until then.  I saw her looking at them in the car and asked what they were.  She tried to hide them at first but finally let me see them.  I was very upset at first.  I think more upset than Haylee was.  I posted a picture of the note on facebook to vent a little to my friends.  I got some very comforting responses, personal experiences, and words of advice.  Some people suggested delivering cookies with a nice note to the family.  I don't know this family at all and didn't think Haylee could probably bring cookies to school, but I thought the note was a great idea.  I figured it was a misunderstanding and if she wrote them a note apologizing for making them uncomfortable and told them she really valued their daughter's friendship and wouldn't discuss religion with her anymore, they would let their daughter be friends again.

     Unfortunately I was wrong.  Haylee came home from school the next day even more upset than before.  She didn't write the note like I had suggested.  But she did talk to her friend.  She told me that she told her friend it wasn't right to judge people because of their religion.  Her friend told her that her mom watched a video about Mormons and it tells the truth, the things Mormons won't tell you about themselves.  Therefore, her mind was made up.  This seemed to upset Haylee even more and I have to admit, gave me little hope that this problem would be resolved.  I figured if their family was watching anti-Mormon videos, they were pretty poisoned against us.  I felt really sorry for Haylee and asked her if she wanted me to talk to her teacher about switching seats.  She said she did.  I did talk to her teacher and he was so apologetic that this happened to Haylee.  He said he had never encountered anything like this in over 20 years of teaching.

     I am sorry that Haylee had to go through this but it has definitely provided us with lots of teaching opportunities.  First of all, we told her to not hold this against her friend.  It would be sad if her friend grew up feeling the same way about Mormons but it is what her parents were teaching her.  We told her to continue to be nice to her. (Hopefully I can follow that advice myself if I'm ever in a situation with the mom!)  The best way to refute whatever it is that video said about us is to just be kind and Christlike to others.

     My favorite comment on facebook about the note was from my friend Becky Trimble.  She said, "A very similar thing happened to me when I was 8.  It was confusing and sad at the time but also one of my earliest memories of being comforted by the Holy Ghost.  Prayers for you and your sweet child."  I talked to Haylee about that and I hope that she has felt the Spirit comfort her through this and that it has made her stronger.  It's been almost 2 weeks now and she seems to be doing okay.

Religious Freedom

On Friday, I was working at Pierce and the principal, Mrs. Barnes, asked me to come to her office and talk to her about Religious Freedom.  I was excited to think that she might be wanting to learn more about the church.  Once I was sitting down she told me that Haylee had been talking with one of her best friends, Destiny, at school and had invited her to church.  Her friend told her that she was a member of another church and Haylee said, "That's okay, you can to change your religion." 

Destiny's mother was concerned that some kid at school was talking to her child about religion convincingly.  I guess Destiny indicated to her mom that it was a good idea.  She asked the principal to talk to Haylee's parents about it saying that the Mom felt that religion was a private thing.  I told Mrs. Barnes that I would talk to Haylee at school about the importance of keeping religion confidential but that when I got home I would be complimenting her for being willing to share her beliefs with others.  She indicated that I might just want to wait until I got home to talk to her.  Her teacher, Mr Williams overheard the conversation and indicated how impressed he was that Haylee likes her church enough to invite friends to come to it.  He also indicate that Destiny does not think it was a big deal and that it does not appear to have impacted their classtime friendship at all.

I checked with Haylee and she said that Destiny had asked her if she was a Mormon.  She had told her that she was and had invited her to church a little bit latter.  Destiny knows that Tyler Allen is a Mormon and asked if she knew him.  She said, "I might" since there was a Tyler in her class at church but that she did not know his last name.  Then she saw his last name at church and learned that she knew him.  She said that the conversation had occurred in the bathroom.

I am very proud of my bathroom missionary and her confidence in religious freedom.

Find a Penny...

     It was bound to happen eventually, but we finally had a child swallow money.  Daren asked me yesterday evening if Kelsey had informed me that she had swallowed a penny.  She had not.  But I told her that I was sure we would be seeing it the next day.  Daren explained to her that it would just come out in her poop.
     This afternoon, I changed Nate's poopy diaper before putting him down for his nap.  The poopy diaper reminded me about Kelsey's penny problem.  I asked her if she had pooped it out yet.  She said no but that she would go do it right now.  Just as I finished tucking the little guy in bed, I heard her yell from the bathroom, "I pooped!"  I went to go examine and see if the penny was there but she didn't want me to look yet because she said she still had more to come.  I convinced her to let me take a peek but I couldn't tell for sure if it was there.  So I told her to just sit on the toilet until...  I guess I got distracted and didn't finish my sentence right away so Kelsey finished it for me.  "...until I make a penny?"  "Yes," I agreed.  "Sit here until you make the penny."
     Sure enough, she made the penny. :)  Thank goodness we know it's out and it's not like Nate's marble saga from last year.  The moral of this story is "Don't put money in your mouth!  You really have no idea whose poop it may have been in!"

Cannibals?

     Haylee has been invited to a play date and dinner this evening.  As she and Kelsey sat and ate breakfast this morning, I decided to coach Haylee a bit on her dinner manners.  I gave her the scenario, "What if they serve a vegetable that you don't like?" She said she would eat it anyway because once they invited us to dinner and were having cucumbers so she just decided to try them and she liked them.  Then we discussed if she should ask for seconds or not.  Next I told her that she needed to be sure and thank them sincerely for the meal.  Haylee added, "And say, 'That was delicious.'"  I agreed that she should tell them how delicious it was.  Suddenly Kelsey piped up, "But what if they put humans in it?"  After Haylee and I finished laughing hysterically, Haylee asked her why they would do that.  Kelsey was quite pleased to get such a good laugh from us.  I know she's going to be the comedian in our family.