School Talent Show 2011

Benjamin finally danced in the school talent show.  Sorry for the quality of the video.  I can assure you he was great and extremely poised on the stage.  It was fun to watch!  (also, you can hear Lilyanna trying to say "Benjamin" on this video.  Adorable!)

Peck Peck Peck!!

This is a picture of my daughter.  And a chicken.  The chicken is currently living with us.  It is a special needs chicken.  The other chickens it used to live with knew this and tried killing it on a regular basis.  Other than the fact that she can't get herself up when she falls over, and looks pretty beat up, you wouldn't know that she had issues.  Lilyanna loves the chicken.  They spend a lot of time hanging out next to each other when I'm gardening in the back yard.  Usually Lilyanna is fully clothed for these things.  This Saturday, however, she followed me outside wearing just her diaper.  

In typical fashion she went over to the chicken and sat down for a good conversation.  (Pick a little, talk a little!)  This was fine.  The chicken went about eating grass and bugs.  And then she found something that looked like an irresistible treat.

  Baby toes.

Lilyanna was NOT pleased with the results.  The chicken wasn't overly pleased either.  She got screamed at and pushed away AND didn't even get to eat the yummy looking things.

So now she's just back to bugs and chicken feed.

Brotherly Dynamics

Nathaniel and Caleb are about as different as two brothers could possibly be.  Coloring, body type, personality, interests (with the exception of Legos and Pokemon) are all opposite.  It often leads to arguing all day long and in fact over spring break I was sorely tempted to put them in separate rooms for the duration and not let them out until Todd got home from his business trip.  I didn't, though.  So instead I spent all of Spring Break mediating fights between the two of them.  I'm sure anyone who has more than one child has had those moments.  And most of us manage somehow to not eat our young, though it makes me more understanding again of those animals that do.  

The other night we went out to dinner for Caleb's birthday.  The children were brought cups with plastic lids on top "to keep them from spilling" which has never prevented my kids from spilling in the history of ever.  But I digress.  Somehow, halfway through the meal Nathaniel lost his straw.  I'm not sure how it's possible to lose one's straw while one has it right in front of one, but nonetheless, the straw went missing.  And my genius child looks at the cup with the plastic lid and says, "Well now how am I supposed to drink??"

Caleb regarded his brother without rolling his eyes and without sounding like a know-it-all said, "Nathaniel, take off the lid."

To which Nathaniel responded, "Oh.  Yeah.  That would work."  As if that idea had never occurred to him.

I guess it's a very good thing that they are totally different kids.  Otherwise, Nathaniel might have died of thirst .