Things I need to get on video...

I am making a list of things I would like to record on video for myself. Unfortunately, I am always pulling Michael off of something or it is just too loud from all the wrestling/fighting/screaming/crying to get anything decent recorded. Le-sigh.

In no particular order, here's what I want on tape:

---Lily reading me books. We are back to loving the Elephant and Piggie books, after a brief respite...Lily managed to find the shelf that they are on in the library, and so now we are bringing home a book every week. (and by "we" I mean "Lily"...keep all rope and sharp implements away from me just before bedtime). Andrew really likes to read them all by himself, but Lily protests when just Andrew reads. So we've developed a compromise where he picks a character and then we each read our characters' dialogue (the text is all dialogue). So yesterday, we got a new Elephant and Piggie book and we read through it one time. Andrew went to the bus stop, and Lily got ready for "nap" (she has not actually slept for a nap since turning 3, but she still goes down for one...whatev-). Lily asked me if she could "read" the Piggie role. I said yes. And then was shocked and amazed when she did a great job...with feeling and expression and almost perfect accuracy. After one reading with Andrew. We did check this book out a few months ago and that time we read it about 56 times in one week, so she could still remember it from then. But it was so cute and endearing and amazingly wonderful, that when night-time came, I invited Andrew and Jeff in for our book reading. Andrew read Elephant, Lily read Piggie, and Jeff and I sat there and smiled and snuggled and enjoyed the little play put on by our children. Good times.

---Lily talking like a real, big kid. Sometimes I forget just how old Lily is getting. She is older than Andrew was when we moved here. She is older than Andrew was when she was born. She is becoming a real kid and leaving the baby farther and farther behind (or is it further and further?). Except for the potty thing...boy howdy...definitely NOT going on the potty anytime soon. I digress. Often during the day she will say things or have conversations that jolt me into recognizing that she is growing up. Yesterday I took out her French brain and it made her hair all kinky. I said, "Look, Lily, you have curly hair like Kiely." She ran around with her "curly" hair and showed Jeff and Andrew. Then as we settled down to change into PJ's, she said very seriously, "Mommy, I'm very nervous." "Why are you nervous?" "I'm nervous because my name is L-I-L-Y...not Kiely. I am Liddy, not Kiely." Or when we saw a goldfish at playgroup, and Lily said, "Mom, come look at this fish. It is huge! Gigantic! Humongous!" Or when she has the cutest grown-up discussions with Ryan, the other 3 year old that waits at our bus stop. "Ryan...are you listening to me? Listen to me...can I have that toy now." Ryan says yes. "Thank you, Ryan. That is very nice sharing." Or my favorite...when they were sharing some Cookie Crisp cereal that I brought down for Lily to eat while we waited for the bus.
R-What is that you are eating?
L-They're like little cookies. Do you want to try one?
R-Yes. (pause) Mmmm, that's good.
L-Yup. Do you see my bracelet? I got it for my birt-day.
R- Wow. That's really pretty.

Seriously. They are 3. It is the cutest thing ever.

---Michael blowing his food. I think I mentioned before that Michael is really into noticing hot things. His first encounters with the word hot were when he would approach the hot oven and I would wave him away and yell, "Hot! Hot! No touch...Hot!" So when he started putting it all together, he started waving and yelling "Haw! Haw!" Now he also blows off his food, which really just entails sticking out his lower lip in a big pout and sputtering as he pushes air out. Everything on his tray is "Haw Haw...thpppppppp". This has now extended past meal time, and when we read Good Night Moon, he points at the fireplace and tells me, "Haw! Haw!" and waves it away. But last night he also pulled the book up to his lips and blew out the fire. Have a candle lit? Michael will tell you 1,238 times that it is "Haw! Haw!" as he points frantically at it. Future fire-fighter, maybe?

---Michael and Lily drawing. Lily is really into drawing faces. Really. But in true Lily style, she makes up a whole story to go with these little circles and dots. Yesterday she was telling me, "This is Uncle Chad, he is a GIANT, see this GIANT face? and he is going into the spooky spooky woods and he saw MONSTERS and then the superhero chased them away and Uncle Chad went back to his family." All while looking at a big circle with two dots a squiggle mouth and some scribbles along the outside. Love it...love her imagination. But Michael always wants to do what Lily is doing, so he has climbed up onto a chair and is scribbling on a piece of paper (in between nibbles on that delicious wax) and pointing and gesturing to me to look at his picture too. This is so so cute...until Michael climbs up on the table and starts pointing at Lily's picture, which makes her very territorial and so then she starts screaming and shoving Michael, which makes him cry and flail and almost fall and crack his head on the floor. Moments, people...there are only moments...hence the name of this blog.

---Michael having a fit. Michael is getting quite opinionated and developing quite a temper. I mean...it pales in comparison to his harpie of a sister, but still. He wants to do what the big kids are doing...and if he can't, he throws himself onto the floor and cries. He arches his back and pouts. He also doesn't like to be told no. We were waiting for the bus, and he started walking toward the street after a football we were throwing around. All 3 adults yelled, "No, Michael". He burst into tears, and flopped down onto the cold wet grass. Refused to be comforted...just lay there with wet grass on his face. He falls constantly...off of things...onto things...whatever. And he gets so upset with that object...if he isn't hurt badly enough to need a cuddle, he just flops down and pouts. God, he's cute. Even when he's mad...cute.


Okay, so I feel bad that there isn't anything about Andrew on here. It's not that I don't want to video Andrew. I should get evidence of his talking non-stop about his helmets, or the play by play of this week's football game, or when he pretends to be Christopher Fox of the Rams (not a real player...just his imaginary football character). I should tape him pretending to act like he just woke up when he comes downstairs, even though I've seen his light has been on for an hour (does he think we can't see the light under his door). Or his face when I tell him he can stay up as late as he wants, but he can't come out of his room the next morning until that same time. Bed at 9? You must play in your room until 9 the next morning. It is the only thing so far that has worked to get him to go to bed. Argh.

Ah, speak of the devil. There he is now...jumping? Falling off the bed? What the heck does he play in there in the wee hours of the morning? Should be a great day...I heard Lily up and playing in her bed from 4:30-5:30, Michael cried out 3 times, and now Andrew has been up since 6 and playing in his room. At least they aren't bothering me, right?