A Good Sense of Smell?

My last day in Texas a couple weeks ago, Shelby took the kids to Chick Fil-A for lunch at the mall. As soon as they got into the car Lennon said "Ummmm, I can already smell Chick Fil-A!"

Later that same day as soon as they pulled up at the airport he announced "I can already smell Mommy!" When they relayed that story to me at baggage claim, I asked, "What do I smell like Lennon?" And without missing a beat he declared "Potatoes." Well, of course.

Chef Lennon Makes Some Soup

Yes, Your Majesty

"Mommy, I want a snack." Said Lennon

"How bout we make smoothies?" Mommy suggested

"Yeah! Smoothies!" Both kids cheered

Ten minutes later. Smoothies are devoured.

"Mommy," Complained Lennon. "Mommy. A smoothie is a drink. I said I wanted a snack."

Mia chimed in, "Well, I do agree with Lennon, but they smoothie was very refreshing. And good."

Sir Daddy saves the day with a bowl full of crackers. Is that a proper snack?

Fly Me To The Moon

Ever since potty training, Lennon has been pulling some bedtime shenanigans with us over suddenly needing to "go potty on the potty." Or sometimes he has already peed and needs his diaper changed even though when you bring him the new diaper, there is just barely evidence of a single drop of urine in the old diaper.

I've been trying to combat this by talking through it with him the last couple of nights before he goes to bed.

"Okay, Lennon. Don't drink too much water, it's just in your bed for taking sips if you need them. If you drink too much you'll have to pee and I don't want you to pee until you get up in the morning and pee on the toilet." I obviously don't care if he pees once he's asleep, I just don't want him to pee before he goes to sleep. He usually just says something like "okay."

Tonight was a little different.

Me: Okay, Lennon. Are you going to pee in your diaper tonight or wait until the sun comes up and pee in the toilet?

Lennon: I'm just going to pee on the moon.

Me: What?

Lennon: I just need to pee on the moon.

Me: Well, you're only supposed to pee in the potty.

Lennon: If we want to, we can get on an airplane, fly to China, build a big staircase, climb way way way way up it - and pee on the moon. That's what I'm going to do.

Oh my. BTW- Anderson is leaving on Thursday to go to China, hence the reference to China by Lennon.

The Owl and The Moth

Lennon's current favorite bedtime story is a Winnie The Pooh story where the whole crew goes searching for Christopher Robin, who they think is captured in a place called - skull. At one point the book says..."but before Owl saw them off, he gave them a very special map." At which point Lennon always asks about "the moth" that Owl saw.

"No, bud. Owl didn't see a moth. He SAW THEM Off."

"What moth did he see?"

"He didn't see a moth. He, um...well, he watched them leave."

"When did he see the moth?"

No matter how much I explain he just doesn't believe me. Tonight he was looking at the page wondering where the moth was that Owl saw. "Where is the moth Owl saw?"

I think it's a lost cause.

Boys.

Tonight's dinner will surely be a night that will live in infamy for years to come. Not because of the cuisine, which was fare at best. Frozen buffalo burgers from Trader Joe's - not the delicousness we expected. Not because of the grand conversation, which was fine. But, tonight's dinner will live on in our family history because tonight was the night Lennon officially initiated himself into manhood, or, well, from being a baby to a boy who loves all things "potty humor." As we were all finishing up our dinner Lennon stood up in his seat, leaned over - staring with intensity -and belched. Without so much as a pause, he muttered "spicy!" ???? Where he learned that I have no idea. I definitely don't ever say spicy when I burp - which is not infrequent I must admit. The only person I think I am sure I've heard say that is Jim Carrey in the movie The Mask, which Lennon has certainly not seen. But wait - there's more! A little while later he again leaned over, this time his head hanging low and holding onto the edge of the table. This time he tooted and then said "Oh yeah!" Follow that up by a short groan and you pretty much have exactly what his father does when he toots. Nice. Thanks for that little legacy Shelbs! It probably didn't help matters that the whole group of us was hysterical laughing. Yes, I know, we are just filled with class. I just could not believe that my tiny little guy was being such a gross boy. I didn't think that kind of stuff started until 10 or so. 2 1/2? Really? Mia's not any better either. Last night she and Shelby were moved almost to tears when they each passed gas within seconds of each other while we were tucking her into bed. I'll admit that gas can be funny, but they were almost hyperventilating. Really? Is it that funny? They are a bunch of nerds and I love them dearly.

If We Were Wild Animals, I Would Have Eaten You Long Ago.

Claire, Mateus and Biance got back from Brazil today. Only about a week later than they had planned, but still, they made it home. We saw them briefly in the early afternoon and everything went well. We should have left well enough alone. Amy, wanting to see Claire after more than a month of her being abroad, came over to my house for a pizza dinner which we all shared. By 5:30, the pizza was here along with 6 very hyper, very excited to see each other children. I think it had just been so long that I forgot how poorly Lennon does with big crowds. The whole night was completely miserably for both of us. He was either crying hysterically or screaming or demanding something of me that was completely out of the realms of something I could even do for him if I wanted to. For example, he wanted me to let him watch a movie which we did not have. He hit Michael at one point and it seemed at least as if he was trying to defend Miranda, but then later, he hit Bianca and his reason was "She was standing there." He was totally horrible and the pizza was freakin' expensive, I know, I'm cheap. But, I paid like $35 for two stupid pizzas and I think that's ridiculous. Sure, it fed me, Claire, Walderi, Amy and all our kids, but it was money I didn't plan to spend. Anyway, by the time I was finally able to get everyone out of my house, Lennon was a wreck, I was a wreck and poor little Mia was just confused as to why I was being such a monster. I need to remember not to host ANYTHING at my house with small children. Lennon can handle being with other kids at their houses, but when there are too many kids at our house and the energy is too high, he just breaks down.

The most horrible and stressful night I can remember having in a long time. Lennon has been such a joy lately, and after just one evening of him being horrible I feel like I need a vacation. Thank God he is not miserable all the time anymore. Ahhhhhgh, I think I'll go to bed.