Instructions for a Two-Year-Old's Prayer

1. Learn the routine and habit of having family prayer morning and evening your whole life.
2. Get excited about family prayer.  Realize that after morning prayer, the big girls leave for school, so you get to watch a movie!  Evening prayer is right before bed, and you learn to get excited for bedtime, too.  As soon as family prayer is over, you run for the stairs yelling, "Bedtime!"
3. Surprise everyone one morning.  As we gather for family prayer, instead of wandering around the room, fold your hands in front of you, bow your head and say, "Heavenly Father, Thank you (mumbling) Bless (mumbling) Amen!"  Then smile and act cute when you are praised.
4. Assert your independence by saying, "Ah, No!" to most requests for you to say the prayer.  But remember to occasionally give in so the parents will keep asking.
5. After you have refused to say the prayer, remember to give cues to the person who is giving the prayer whenever there is a pause by saying, "Food" (for any prayer, not just mealtimes) or "Jesus Christ" if you think the prayer has gone on long enough.
6. Remember that cuteness is a must!

Rebecca's Baptism Day

Saturday, March 6, 2010 was a special day for our family as Rebecca was baptized.  Rebecca was so excited and happy for this opportunity to covenant with her Heavenly Father.  Jack baptized her, and she had to go under twice because the first time Jack was raising his left hand instead of right.  (Oops!)  I asked Rebecca how it felt to be baptized, and she said, "Cold!"  The water had been in there for a while-- another ward baptized several children before Rebecca, and there was another baptism after Rebecca.

We were grateful for all the family that came to support Rebecca at this special time.

Mom, Rebecca, Miriam, Joseph, Dad

Aunt Carri, Samantha, Derik, Uncle Aaron, Rebecca, Maren, Ali

Rebecca & Uncle David

Grandma Michele, Ann, Rebecca, Grandpa Mike

Grandpa Crews, Rebecca, Grandma Crews

Nicole, Brittany, Rebecca, Aunt Christine

Rebecca & Grandma Debbie

New Scriptures

For Rebecca's 8th birthday, she got her own set of scriptures.  Well, she really got a scripture case with a note inside telling her she could pick out her own scriptures.  So we went online and looked at all the options.  One book or two.  Maroon, Forest Green, Black, Blue.  Snap closure or no.  And she decided on what she liked.  One book, Forest Green, Snap closure.  And that's what she got.  But she had to wait a week for it to be shipped to our house.

The Sunday after her birthday, which was also the day before Jack left for London, and also before the new scriptures came, she didn't want to take her old Book of Mormon to church with her.  So Dad proposed a deal.

If she didn't take her scriptures to church, she would have to read the first 50 pages from her new Book of Mormon before Dad got back and then be able to summarize it for him.  She agreed.

Rebecca was so excited when her package came in the mail that Monday.  Miriam was watching on as she opened it.  They were thrilled to see the scriptures and try out the snap.  She started reading right away.

That was a week and a half ago.  Jack returns home tomorrow.  She has read over 50 pages and has copied the chapter heading of each chapter into a notebook to help her remember what the chapter was about.  When she talks to Dad, he asks her about her favorite parts.  She has talked about the Liahona and building the ship.

I hope she keeps this excitement for a long time!

Escalator Escapades

(Or Mom and Joseph go to the Nature and Science Museum)

This morning when I looked at the calendar, I saw that it was a free day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  And there was nothing else on the calendar.  So I decided that rather than go to the gym and then go grocery shopping, I would take Joseph out for a little one-on-one fun time. 

Rather than try to negotiate the stroller through the museum, I thought this would be a good opportunity for Joseph to have some freedom and get to explore the museum at his own pace and direction. 

He loved it!  Of course, the first thing he noticed was the escalators.  He was fascinated.  He probably would have been thrilled to go up and down them all day.  He did a great job getting on and off them as well-- I remember being nervous about them as a child, but he just stepped right on and then wanted to climb the steps while they moved.  Great fun.

Joseph also enjoyed the animal exhibits.  He called lots of the four-legged animals sheep.  They must all look the same when you are 2...  He also liked the bears and the kangaroos.  He probably especially liked that they were stuffed and didn't move when he came close.  You can see them a lot better than at the zoo!

It is so fun to watch Joseph learn and grow, and really develop his own little personality.  I love seeing his curiosity for the world around him and his happiness at the experiences life brings.

Casa Bonita

Since Jack was out of town for a week, home for a week, and then heading out again for two weeks, we decided to take the kids out for a fun family time at Casa Bonita on Saturday.  The kids have a great time here.  They love the cliff-diving and the shows.  They love wandering around all the maze-like corridors.  They love to hit the pinata.  They love the haunted cave.  They just love this place.

For the first time we actually got the kids tokens for the arcade.  They had fun trying to do the Ski Ball.  Luckily, the lane right next to us was broken, or else there might have been bodily injury from this game.  It was obvious that my kids have never been to an arcade before.  They had a hard time with the concept that the ball was never supposed to be airborne.  Jack scoped out the place and found some better games for our skill level-- stomping on spiders and catching popcorn.  Since Jack was such an expert at the Jackpot game, the girls were each able to pick out 3 different prizes with the tickets we collectively earned. 

Rebecca and Miriam each got a turn to hit the pinata.  They were excited to get chosen to have a turn.  When it was time to get candy, Joseph wasn't too sure what he was supposed to do.  I had to show him where a couple pieces were that were away from the crowd of kids, and then he went over and picked them up.

We were glad to have this fun time together as a family!

Translation Error

This week I realized that I have made a serious translation error from Joseph-ese to English.  I realized that this mistake I've made has probably added to my stress level and trouble with my youngest child.  And I'm glad that now I am aware of my error.

Often Joseph says something along these lines:  "Duwa Bo Biler?"  or "Duwa Track?" or "Duwa Tos a Tain?"

And my translation has been:  "Dora, Bob the Builder?" or "Dora, Track?" or "Dora, Thomas the Train?"

Then this week I realized that Joseph hasn't watched a Dora episode for probably a year and a half, ever since we cancelled our cable.  I have a hard time believing that at 2 1/2 years old he has that kind of memory or brand loyalty. 

I also realized that he doesn't end there.  The complete statement looks like this:  "Duwa Bo Biler?  I wa Bo Biler."  So for at least 6 months, I have been thinking this child has been saying, "Dora, Bob the Builder?  I want Bob the Builder."  Like the first sentence is where he is laying out the options and then he is deciding on which one is best. 

And then the light comes on.  Ah!  "Duwa"  is Joseph-ese for "Do you want"!!!  So he isn't weighing the options, he's trying to convince me that I want to watch that particular show, and that's great because he does, too.

Jack says that Joseph needs a lesson on content communication already.  Just say what you want instead of asking what I want, buddy!

At least now I can stop mentioning Dora to him all the time, especially when he's really asking for something to eat or a certain toy to play with!

Jetlag

Jack has been struggling with jet lag more than he normally does this week.  This could have to do with going across 10 time zones instead of just 7.  He has been waking up between 3 and 4 am and then being totally exhausted by about 5 pm, when he dozes on the couch for a while.  Then he goes to bed at 10 and starts the whole process over again. 

Monday during Family Home Evening, Miriam was in charge of activity.  She wanted to play Hide and Seek.  Jack was exhausted, so he found some hiding places that allowed him to rest while participating.  Unfortunately, he was always the first to be found!  (I, on the other hand, found an excellent place!)

Hiding under a pillow.

Hiding under another pillow.

Hiding on the floor.