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Tired and Grumpy

Sophie had a particularly difficult day on Tuesday. There were several meltdowns and fits and proclamations that I wasn't her mom anymore. My great offences included asking her to get dressed so we could walk the kids to the bus, requesting that she brush her hair before preschool, and announcing that it was quiet time when we finished lunch. It wasn't too surprising that this was the sight that met me when I opened my door at the end of quiet time.

She was a very tired girl.

Make 'Em Laugh

One of the Women

Not only was this weekend General Conference, it was also Phoebe's first time attending the Women's Session. That particular session is for girls and women ages eight and up. Phoebe was so pleased to get to stay up late and watch with me.

Our Ward hosted an ice cream social before the broadcast. I contemplated going, but it was during the bedtime hour for Topher, and I'm an integral part of that process, so we stayed home. I could tell Phoebe was just a little disappointed, so I told her we would have ice cream at home while we watched. She was so shocked that she asked me who I was and what I'd done with her mother. I'm not usually the parent that gives sugar.

Conference Roundup

We had General Conference this past weekend. There were some major changes announced, which I think may be the new normal. As always, there were certain talks that stood out to me. They were from:

• Elder Brough (Best quote: Don't throw your food out the window.)
• Elder Rasband (I shed many tears during this one, but that's not unusual.)
• Sister Craig
• President Eyring
• President Nelson
• Sister Cordon
• Elder Holland (Of course. His talks are always at the top of my list.)
• Elder Renlund (I realized this time that his talks consistently speak to my soul.)

The kids and I all enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk. The kids especially liked the graphics that were shown while he spoke.

I was happy to see how excited the kids were in the days leading up to Conference. The Conference notebooks that I put together a few years ago really make the weekend flow smoothly. And having all seven of us watching and listening to the speakers made my heart happy.

During one of the talks on Sunday we were admonished to be peacemakers. Sophie gasped, turned to look at me and said, "Cooper's name means peacemaker!"

"Barrel maker, " I replied. "His name means barrel maker."

She wasn't quite as excited about that.

The Purpose of Drool

I don't yet have photographic evidence, but yesterday I made a discovery. Based on drool magnitude and fussiness, I knew that teeth were imminent for Topher. Sure enough, at not quite five months old he has cut his first tooth. I learned this while he gnawed on my finger yesterday afternoon. I could feel the top ridges of his bottom center-right tooth.

The big kids were so excited for him.

Goodness Knows

In the last few weeks I've had several people ask if Topher is a good baby. I understand what they mean: is he sleeping well, is he a good eater, what's his temperament like, that sort of thing. But I always want to answer, "Of course he's good, he's a baby. All babies are good. They can't talk back, they can't run off, they can't throw anything at you. Yeah, he's good."

Usually I just smile and say, "He's the easiest child in my house."

And that's true.

A Self-Portrait in Paint

Sophie painted this self-portrait at preschool last week. I love it for so many reasons, but one is her birthmark. I didn't even notice it until Sophie pointed out that she created the color for both the background and birthmark by mixing all the other colors she had used previously. I looked at the painting again and suddenly saw the mark. 

The other reason I love it? Sophie got to use paint and I didn't have to supervise!

Life as a Musical

Check out what I stumbled onto last week. I quickly pulled out my phone to capture the awesomeness for posterity.

Big Brother Skills