And happy birthday Mr. Anderson

Anderson's 1 year old today. He still mainly crawls but he did take his first steps a couple weeks ago but I don't know exactly when (such the third child. Had he been the first, I'd not only have posted what day and time he took them, I'd also undoubtedly have learned how to upload video on this thing. Oh well.). Let's see, he now says Mama, Dada, Bye-bye, and Nana (banana). He says bye-bye a lot when he's looking at me. He might think it's my name or he might just think I'm always leaving, which I usually am. He also waves and says bye-bye pretty much whenever anyone gets near a door. He loves cars and trucks and he got lots of them for his birthday. He also likes giving gross kisses by slobbering all over our faces. He even crawls up to other babies and does it. Isaac's afraid of him because of it. Hmm . . . what else? Oh, little people, he loves little people (the toys, not the midgets) and he also likes a couple books. He's very particular about them. If I take out a book he doesn't like, he continually closes it or swats it out of my hand but if I get "where is baby's belly button" or "listen peter rabbit" he smiles and laughs and lets me read at least half of it before he hits it.

The other day I was talking to Walker about the Browns. He told me he wishes it was 2007 again so the Browns could be good.
Me: Yeah, me too. And guess what happened in the Bills game. Brady Quinn broke his finger.
Walker: OFF?!?

Happy Birthday, Miss Ellie!

I just called Ellie from work to wish her a happy birthday. Carla knew it was coming so she let Ellie answer.
Ellie: Hi.
Me: Hi, is this Ellie?
Ellie: Yeah.
Me: Hi, Ellie, it's Daddy. Happy Birthday!
Ellie: Happy birthday.
Me: Umm . . . So, do you feel like a big three-year-old now?
Ellie: Yeah.
Me: Are you wearing the birthday crown Grandma got you?
Ellie: Good.

We let her get her ears pierced for her birthday this year. She was pretty excited about it till we told her that it would feel like a little pinch when they pierced them. For the next couple of days leading up to the piercing she kept saying that she didn't want to do it - "I don't want the pinch." Well, we made her do it anyway because we wanted her to be afraid of birthdays forever. She cried for a couple minutes but then she was fine and she really likes her earrings. Daddy's still on the fence.

Walker woke up at 6:55 this morning and came out of the room crying.
Carla: What's wrong, buddy?
Walker: I don't like to wake up in the high sixes.
Carla: Why?
Walker: Because it wastes my day.

Then, later: Mom, do I have to take a nap today since I woke up in the high sixes?

Spectatorial (an editorial about being a spectator)

It's fun watching the kids when they don't know it and just seeing them be kids. Ellie likes cooking in her kitchen, changing her baby dolls' clothes and diapers, and singing them songs. Sometimes they're songs we've taught her and sometimes they're just random words strung together nonsensically. Sometimes they're not even words at all, sort of like she's speaking in tongues. I guess she can at least get in to apostolic Heaven.

Anderson loves cars. He sits and rolls them around and supposedly can even make some car noises, although I still haven't heard them. He also likes bashing his head into the floor really hard for some reason. It's funny because he can go from a sitting position to hitting his head on the floor just by leaning forward. It's scary because, well, he's bashing his head on the floor.

Walker plays football constantly, either with someone or by himself. When he's playing by himself, though, he commentates. The other day I watched him throw (oops) himself a pass, catch it and run toward the end zone. The commentary went like this: "He catches it, past the tackle, steptoe, touchdown!
I said, "Steptoe?"
His reply: Yeah, that's when you step on some one's toe. But it's not a penalty.
Me: Where'd you hear of that?
Walker: From the NFL. Cleveland Browns.

Walker told me he wanted peanut butter and jelly for breakfast one morning and I thought I'd have some fun with him.
Me: Did you say tuna fish and jelly?
Walker, smiling: NO!
Me: Oh, you want peanut butter and tuna fish, then?
Walker: NO!
Me: OHHH . . . You want Tuna Butter and Jelly Fish!
Walker, laughing at me like I'm an idiot: No, Dad, people don't eat jelly fish. Only leatherback sea turtles do.

The daddy weekend

I had the kids alone all weekend while Carla went on a much-deserved trip to Amland to scrap book with some of friends (because, if you're going to scrap book, you better drive 50 miles and get a hotel room . . .). Some of the highlights were:

• Ellie crying for mommy at lunch on Saturday because I yelled at her for acting like she was going to punch me for yelling at her for not eating her food.
• Ellie crying for mommy before bed time because she couldn't find her purple care-bear
• Walker crying before bed time because Ellie was crying
• Getting up at 5:30 Sunday morning to make it to church by 2 till 9 only to find out that I should have been there at 8:45 because I had baby-sitting duty. (Next time I'll listen to Walker when he tells me he can't wait for me to be his teacher in sunday school, even if I had no idea I was supposed to).
• Anderson crying for 1/2 hour after he woke up from his nap after church because, well, he's a baby and that's what they do, I guess. Except for when Mommy's home.

But actually, we all had a lot of fun. It was a nice weekend so we spent a lot of time on the trampoline and swing set (even Anderson - he loves the trampoline). We also watched a lot of football and Ellie and I made a (real) pizza together. I let her do everything from mixing the dough to helping spread it on the pan to putting sauce, cheese, etc. on it. She smashed the pepperoni down into the dough really hard and got sauce everywhere but she had fun. Then she refused to eat it at lunch and ended up crying (see above). Oh well.

Ellie and I also had a breakfast date on Sunday morning. I said that, on a breakfast date, we're supposed to eat cereal and talk about politics, so I asked her who she liked better, Barack Obama or John McCain.
Ellie: Barack Obama. I like Walker's team.

Also, thanks very much to the parents and in-laws for watching the kids a little so I could meet Carla for dinner on Sat. night and clean the house on Sunday afternoon.

Me, in sunday school because we were playing number games: What's 6 plus 2?
A nameless kid in the class: Nine!
Walker: No, It's 8! I know football scores. A touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Same nameless kid: [My name] rhymes with [something that's kind of close but doesn't actually rhyme]
Walker, to the kid: You don't know anything.
We had a talk about that one.

From a few weeks ago:
Ellie, from the kitchen: Daddy, I spilled my water!
Me: Do you need new clothes?
Ellie: Well, my pants are a little bit spilly.

Carla asked Ellie what she wanted to drink one morning and Ellie told her apple juice. Carla then finished up getting the food ready and asked Ellie again because she didn't hear her the first time or forgot.
Carla: What did you say you wanted to drink?
Ellie: Apple juice! How many times do I have to say you?