Before I forget...

Conner just celebrated his fifth birthday. It was so fun watching him all day and listening to him talk on the phone to everyone. The first words out of his mouth in the morning were "I've got myself in a situation here. Landon is chasing me with a stick" (he says while running down the hall). I laid in bed smiling thinking about way he has always been with words. Then his first phone call with his dad (Nathan had left before he woke up) brought a smile to my face. I had told Conner when he woke up that Nathan had said to me "Have a fun day with Conner". And Conner on the phone had to thank him for it and told him he wished he could be at home with him. The boy loves his dad dearly. Then while talking to my sister Kelsey he says "Yeah, I just keep getting older" (in the tone of a thirty-something). And he had to tell everyone the three meals he chose for the day (apple-cinnamon pancakes, hotdogs & pizza for dinner). While telling his grandpa Tom about the pancakes, grandpa had responded "Well I want some pancakes" so Conner told him he should make some. Tom said "well I don't know how". Conner replies "Grandpa, sure you can make them, you are a good cook". Tom then says "no I'm not, grandma is the good cook". Conner than says "Grandpa, you need to learn how to cook. If you don't start now, you'll never learn". I was laughing pretty hard listening to that conversation. Anyway, the Connerisms just kept coming, one after another. I wish I could follow him around with a recorder so I could one day listen to them. But such is life, it will all soon fade away. I need to journal more. Hence the reason for yet another 'dear diary' post. I figure why not combine journaling with blogging.

The boys have really been thriving in the imagination department. It's been such a pleasure listening to them play together. They are in "bad guy" mode big time. Today they were all three running to the window to shoot the bad guy (aka the guy mowing the lawn next door). I'm sure he was wondering what was going on as he watched three boys pointing fake guns at him from the window.

The kids & I took a road trip back to Indiana a couple weeks ago. It was a last minute decision and I'm so thankful I seized the moment because it was so worth it. Lots of laughs and good conversation with my family, more memories at the farm (my in-laws) and lots and lots of outdoor play time for the boys. I barely took any photos but just soaked in all the time. It was lovely. My parents have chickens and I brought back with me a couple dozen eggs. I have just a few eggs remaining and I'm so bummed. It's been so fun cracking each of them open with their hard shells & bright orange yolks. And it brings back the memories of the boys getting excited watching them graze my folks backyard and nibbling on scrarps. I really need to find a local egg source. That or buy some land and get me some chickens (kidding Nater). Nathan's mom sent me back with a bunch of peppers. If we only lived closer (15 hours) I could be mooching off of them alllllll the time.

The weather has been perfect for outdoor time and leaving the windows open until dusk. Then we shut up the house (except for our bedroom) and I put on my sweaters and wrap up with a blanket. It's the perfect 70's and sunny during the day and 40's at night.

Landon is fully potty trained during the day but wearing diapers at night. Unfortunately that is when he does the nasty duty of pooping. Like most children, I still face the crappy task of getting him to actually start pooping on potty. He tells me every time he has to pee but he has zero desire to go no.2. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, I'm loving the fact that he's running around in undies during the day. We are slowly on our way to a diaper free house!!

Biruk has been "Buddy" free for a couple months now. For those of you who are unaware, Buddy was his yellow doll that he has been attached to since he got home from Ethiopia. We feared the day we'd lose Buddy. But with Buddy came the finger sucking. Every time Biruk had Buddy, his pointer finger was in his mouth. Causing quite the overbite and surely a visit to the orthodontist as he got older. Well one day B couldn't find Buddy. Nathan and I had him go to bed that night without him and he survived. A couple days passed and I found Buddy in the guest room so I quickly tucked him away for Biruk's memory box. He asked about him for a couple weeks and now he occasionally mentions him. The day Buddy disappeared is the day B quit sucking his finger. The callous on his pointer is slowly going shrinking. And B is doing fabulous without him! In fact, I think he's needing him mama a little more (instead of running to find Buddy when he got hurt). I'm enjoying the cuddle time as a result :)

Well my eyes are burning and my tea is getting cold. Speaking of tea, I've tried Nathan's several times and never liked it. My mom was drinking it one night while I was home and I tried a sip. And I loved it. Just simple green tea. I'm hooked!! So now I have my coffee in the morning and the evenings for tea. Life is splendid! Night all...