Today in a Nutshell

Got up and cleaned the bathroom. Got everyone up, dressed, fed and sent the boys to school. Did some exercise. Picked up Matthew from school. Ate and cleaned up lunch. Snuck in 30 minutes of quilting. Put Malia down for a nap and closed my eyes for 30 minutes. Got Malia up, picked up Daniel and Nathan from school, and dropped Daniel and Matthew off at home. Drove Nathan to the dentist. Sat and waited for nearly half an hour because they were running late. Spent ten minutes hanging around while Nathan got his stuff done. Changed Malia’s diaper in the back of the car with Nathan holding an umbrella over us because the bathroom at the dentist had no changing table. Got in the car to drive home. Got rear ended while sitting at a red light. Spent 45 minutes standing in the pouring rain getting info exchanged, pictures taken, phone calls made, etc. Spent nearly an hour driving home through horrendous rush hour traffic. Arrived home at nearly 7:00 p.m. Ate dinner. Called the insurance company and spent thirty minutes on the phone with them. Showered and it’s time for bed.

I’ve had nicer days. This one was super crazy. On the upside, I didn’t have to make dinner. Kev brought home pizza. :-)

In other news, Malia says “ipod.” Clear as day. Kid you not. And she knows how to run it. Talk about a techno-baby.

She’s Growing Up in a House Full of Boys

Malia’s newest language acquisitions include “uh-man” meaning Ironman and “saber” as in lightsaber. Yesterday she toddled around the front yard with Matthew picking up dried worms from the sidewalk. On the other hand, she still loves her babies and bows. I must conclude that she is going to end up being a well-rounded child with a variety of interests. And there is no bad in that. :-)

 Spending some quality time with Ironman.

Malia looooooves this super girly hat. It was a gift from my sister, Patti.

Pintsize Wordsmith

Malia has hit that stage where she is gaining new words every day. Many of those words are incredibly helpful in letting us know what she needs. Words like hungry, eat, up, down, out, cup, poop, diaper, and bum all help to prevent those toddler crying jags that occur when we just can’t figure out what she wants. Other words are not necessarily helpful, but they are fun. Some of those are belly, shoes, boots, baby, Woody, Elmo, hat and silly. But my personal favorite? When we get to the end of a prayer (either at church or at home) or a talk in Sacrament Meeting and everyone says amen, Malia consistently says, “Yeehaw!”

Kaboom!

Matthew is in the midst of a language explosion. He learns new words every day and will attempt to say just about anything. Many of his new words are helpful. Things like up, done, snack, milk, book, waffle, apple (his hollerings of "Appo!" made everyone within three aisles of the produce section smile) and blankie (my-ie) have helped decrease the bouts of shrieking that occur when we can't figure out what he wants. In addition to Mama, Daddy, Daniel (Danno) and Nathan (Nannan), he also identifies poppa, grandma, Jacob (Dudub), Drew (Dew), big boys (bee boy), Elmo (Meemo) and Thomas (Momas). Other new words make him more adept at conversing with others. Things like hi, see ya, night night, bye and where are you (Are you?) make him pleasant to have a conversation with. And then there are the words that are just funny.

Matthew: "Butt paste . . . butt paste . . . . Butt paste, are you?"
Me: "Do you have butt paste on your bum?"
Matthew: "No way!"

Kev: "Daddy's a wuss."
Matthew: "Wuss!"

Seriously, we didn't teach him either of those on purpose. Although I am proud that he has picked up on the superior quality of the Boudreaux's.
In closing, I will do as Matthew does as wish you all a very merry "Missmas"!

Little Linguist

When Matthew woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was not the typical, “Mama, are you?” It wasn’t even, “Daddy?” No, when Matthew woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was, “Woohoo!” Woohoo is one of his newest words. Matthew is at the stage where he is picking up new words every day. Some of his other acquisitions are ball, bus, mess, hot, phone, Woody, home, milk, rice, whee (which he only says when we are driving up or down a hill in the car) and die. And no, I did not teach my one-year-old to say, “Die! Die!” But his five-year-old brother sure did.