Afton-isms

Only our youngest would be capable of playing peekaboo by herself. She tosses a rag or something cloth-like on her head so that it covers her eyes, then runs around saying "Peekaboo!" until she slams into something. She'll rip off the covering and laugh hysterically, then do it again.

If you ask her, her favorite vegetable is "bloccoli." Say it out loud. It's funnier that way.

And a recent conversation:
Daddy: "Tell Momma what you ate."
Afton: "Jellybeans!"
Momma: "Who said you could eat that?"
Afton: "Jesus!"

There may have been a picture of Jesus nearby and she may have pointed to it, but that would ruin the punchline, don't you think?

FHE: Personal Grooming

So we had a brief lesson and a long activity last night. The lesson was along the lines of "Our Body is a Temple" and then we talked about how we need to do more than just bathing to keep our bodies looking nice like the temple. I'm grateful that when there's a three-year-old and a one-year-old present, you can keep the lessons short and sweet.

Anyway, the results of last night's activity:

My toes and Annika's, with sparkles!

We tackled Afton and got her toenails painted too. Afton's foot is up top and Annika's is on the right. Don't they have the cutest feet?


AAAAAAAAAAND we cut Annika's hair. For the record, Annika said I could cut it that short. She's got good instincts--her hair is adorable like that. Daddy got a haircut too, but wouldn't let us paint his toenails. I think he wishes there were a few more boys in the house....

What to do, what to do?

O.K., I'm looking for some good comments here. Thanks to a couple of generous birthday gifts I have a little bit of money to spend on myself. The problem being that I really don't know what to spend it on. I'm hopeing that some of you might have some suggestions for me. I'm trying to think of something fun, that I can enjoy for a while, and comes in under $100. And no fair going after the easy things like DVD's, CD's, and clothes.

-Mat

Annika-isms

From the trip:
Annika was playing with her new markers and started mixing them.
"Momma! Momma! Pink and blue make purple!"
A few minutes later I heard:
"Momma! Momma! Orange and green and red make brownish-black!"
My future artist in the making, indeed.

Home from the trip, talking about being a family:
Annika will switch whom she wants to be stuck with (we tell her she's stuck with us when she tells us she doesn't love us anymore). A few days ago she was telling me that she was stuck with me and Afton was stuck with Daddy because I'd had Annika in my belly and Daddy had Afton in his belly.

While making Mat's birthday cake:
"We should have chocolate every day!"

Last night:
We said family prayers by Annika's bed, as always. She helped me out with the prayer and did a great job. After the prayer, I stayed on my knees for a minute. Annika patted me on my rear and said "Good prayer, Momma."
Perhaps we have a future coach in the making.

Making Memories

First, the reason for our hasty trip last weekend:

I'm not quite sure who all the people in the picture are, but just behind my twin cousins are my Grandpa and Grandma Fackrell. Fifty years! I am impressed.


This is Annika posing at the open house. I love the scrunched up face!


Meet Tank, our nephew. Real name: Brett.
Time before he outweighs his 2 year old sister, Mouse: Less than one year.


Sleeping Tank. He's feeling ferocious about something, can't you tell?



Attack of the Girl Cousins! Must shove fist in mouth to prevent screaming.



Goodbyes from the Mouse to her most favoritest cousins in the world. Granted, we had to catch Afton first and explain why Bree was giving out hugs. Afton just wanted to jump on the bed. They ALL just wanted to jump on the bed.




Life returns to normal. This is Afton's TV watching pose.




And Afton enjoying her angel hair pasta.




Annika, post-birthday-cake-making. She was quite helpful, as you can tell from the batter smeared all over her face. Later, at dinner, we found more batter on her eyelid. She REALLY enjoyed helping me. We made a red Waldorf cake. Can't recommend the frosting, but the cake is Mat's favorite.

Feeling my age

June is usually a month of celebrating milestones for me, but this June brings more weight than usual. The festivities began on the 9th when Karie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (certainly nothing to feel aged over, I know). Although this year we ended up celebrating on the 8th, which is my sister Jessica's wedding anniversary, and we later found out that she and her husband John celebrated their fifth anniversary (congratulations to them) on the 9th.

Usually the other day of milestone in June comes on the 20th when I celebrate my birthday. However this year the 18th also brought me to reminisce, as it marked the 10th year since I walked through the doors of the MTC. I don't know how signifigant this would be to most people, but it has caused me to look back on what I have done with myself in that span. On the positive side I finished that mission to Los Angeles honorably, got sealed to my favorit person in the whole world, earned a Bacholer's degree, had two children (who tie for second on that favorite persons list), and am 2/3rds of the way through a Master's degree. I think the only thing that I am dissapointed over is that during all that time I have struggled so much with deciding what to do for a career, that we are still living the poor student life. It is, in the grander scheme of things, a small dissapointment though, since I am now heading in a firm direction, with a plan to boot. I do like to take jabs at myself by pointing out that I will be graduating only two months before my 30th birthday, but I guess I can't be too picky.

I am also led to think about my brother Sean as he is in the MTC right now, and will be heading out to Seattle in July. Writing him letters and reading his letters has brought back a flood of mission memories. Many of which involve my good friend Vladimir Paje, whom I was blessed to come to know during that MTC and mission experience, and have fostered a great friendship with ever since. He has been more than helpful in reminding me of this anniversery, which becomes all the more meaningful as it is also the anniversary of our friendship. I also hope to be able to relive some of these memories with my mission president, Milo Lebaron, soon; as he lives nearby in Mesa, and his wife recently got in contact with us to suggest that we get together sometime. The strangest part of that being that we have become relatives of a sort thanks to my marraige, Sister Lebaron is the aunt of Karie's step-mother.

Finally, I stare down tomorrow, my 29th birthday. I am entering the last year of my twenties. I know that there are many of you rolling your eyes at me right now, but this also brings me to think more about my life goals, what I have obtained, what I am currently working on, what has been forgotten, and what might need to be added. Thankfully I can only find myself feeling generally satisfied with what life has brought me and optomistic about the future. I'm sure that this might suprise Karie, as she spends alot of time listening to me gripe, but it is true. That is most in thanks to so many of you who have been good friends and loving family. Besides I can't afford to waste time feeling down on life, I've got to devote that time to reminding Karie she only has seven months left in her twenties, at least I've got a full twelve!

explanation, credit, and defense

First I thought I might add my thoughts to Karie's last entry:
For those who are not aware of all our family names, Omay is our children's name for Karie's Mom.


Second, I want to make sure that credit is given where credit is due. Karie's brother Paul spent nearly as much time as myself going up and down the stairs at the church building last Saturday. He did a great job bonding with Afton, and it is very obvious that they are good friends now. The best evidence of this lies in my observation that on Friday he was asking us how we were able to understand anything Afton says, but on the trip home on Monday I heard them having a conversation and he seemed to be very well versed in Aftonese. It is pretty funny to hear Afton try to get his attention, her attempt at saying Uncle Paul comes out more like "Apple" while she points excitedly and tries to squirm out of our arms to get to him.


Third I feel that I need to defend myself in Karie's description of my driving. Lest anyone get the impression that I was driving at dangerous speeds, I want to make it clear that I am just willing to keep up with a 75mph speed limit, while Karie would be one of those drivers the rest of us are cussing at because they obviously think that the speed limits are still 55mph. And she would much rather stay behind a semi-truck moving at 45 even if it were 100 miles before the next passing lane, rather than even entertain the idea of passing it. Well, I might be exaggerating on the speed a little, she might be willing to go up to 65. ;)

Apologies and a Long Trip

Firstly, a massive apology goes to all our friends in UT whom we did not see this weekend. We went up to Layton for Karie's grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration. It was a whirlwind trip and we only had time for the family activities planned on Saturday and Sunday. So though we love and miss you all, come visit us in Arizona sometime instead! Thought not right now, as it is currently 90 degrees Farenheit outside (at 9 am--it's indecent!) and will be hitting 113 degrees by Thursday. But it's lovely in December!

On to the trip itself:
We left bright and early Friday morning. The children did not sleep as expected, but were remarkably well behaved. Their good behavior was aided by watching some of their favorite DVDS on our recently-purchased refurbished laptop.

We were especially grateful to finally arrive at Jess and John's home after dropping Omay and Uncle Paul off at the Fackrell homestead. There was some construction on the main drag between the two homes and after much maneuvering to get headed in the right direction, Mat let loose a very frustrated "Oh my gosh!" From the back seat, in Afton's tiny voice, we heard an almost perfect imitation "Oh my gosh!" She repeated this a few times as we laughed and laughed.

The next day was spent in pursuit of many celebration-oriented activities, most of which involved better food than I will ever make in my lifetime. Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa looked fabulous and seemed to be having a wonderful time talking to all of their friends. Karie got to catch up with her cousins while Mat ran around the building with the girls, keeping them entertained. They found a set of stairs at one of the building that were nearly as fascinating as the stairs at Jess and John's house. Mat watched them go up and down, up and down, until Afton was wobbly enough to cause concern. Then he handed off child-wrangling duties to Karie.

The next day we went to church with Karie's extended family. Afton caused a minor stir in the middle of the meeting by chucking her stuffed Tigger first at her first cousin once removed Peter's face, then smack in the middle of someone's back in front of her. No toys for her after that! We headed home for naptime, praying that Afton would nap, as both girls hadn't been sleeping well. She did and we were able to spend a pleasant afternoon at the Great-Grandparent Fackrell's home. There was much conversation with the adults (the kind that all children find boring) and playing outside with various degrees of cousins (Peter and Jacob and Uncle Stephen were quite thoughtful, occasionally tossing the frisbee or the football in one of the girls' direction. Mostly Annika and Afton were happy to be running around).

We also consumed vast quantities of fried chicken and other goodies (Aunt Anne, I still want that dressing recipe for the strawberry spinach salad!). Then we took the leftover fried chicken to Jess and John and had it for dinner. That was a lot of fried chicken. I may have eaten my fried chicken allotment for the year. But it was good!

We got up ridiculously early on Monday morning and this time the girls did sleep. It was nothing short of miraculous--we think we may have actually exhausted them! The trip went quickly, due in part to the fact that Mat drove the whole way. He's more courageous than Karie is about speed and passing people. We were especially pleased with Annika's bladder control on this trip. She only had one accident and that wasn't in the car!

It was fabulous to see everyone we did during this very short trip and renew those family ties. But we're also very glad to be home. And now Karie must catch up on all the errand running she missed yesterday. At least we know the van can handle it!

Afton-isms

These aren't new, but continuing hilarious behaviors from our youngest child. When she pretends to take a nap in her sister's bed, as pictured in the first entry, she will snore. It's the fakest snore ever, and she does it with her eyes wide open, but it is so cute!

Also, she can't go to sleep at night until two things are accomplished:

First, she must be laid on her pillow, covered with her blankets, and given her teddy bear.

Second, she must toss all of these items AND her pajama pants out of the crib, and then she falls asleep.

Piggy-back rides

Yesterday Annika asked Afton for a piggy-back ride. Afton refused, so Annika gave her one instead. I *wish* I had a picture, but they refused. Anyway, their version of piggy-back is for Afton to walk behind Annika, her arms wrapped around Annika's waist as far as they'll reach. It is so cute!

In other news, I finished the H. Potter reread and I'm a good ways into New Moon. I'm going to be done by the end of this month, if not earlier! What will I read to keep myself from going nuts until July 21st?

Picspam! You have been warned.

So we had the camera out, which prompted a rather unexpected response: "Momma, take a picture of me!"




We have here a lovely portrait of Annika,age 3, and her tongue.














Keeping with our theme, we have Afton, age almost-2,
also with her tongue.

















"It's so hard to find good help these days."
















"See the crown? I'm the queen!"


















The queen takes a rest.

















The queen waves absentmindedly to her loyal subjects.

















"What, you're taking more pictures? I'll wave!"


















Princess Annika joins Queen Afton on the royal throne.

















The Queen is done. The Princess is overjoyed.





















Princess Annika, sitting portrait. (On the other side of the camera is former Queen Afton, poking the LED screen and saying "I wan' see!")
















The Princess decides to run.













The conversation may not be accurate and possibly enhanced for comedic purposes, but the self-appointed titles were not. Again, Afton takes the dominant position. Hm....

Six Years and Counting

Well, we've done it. Mat and I have lasted for six years.

I remember the day in bits and pieces–sitting in the celestial room, talking, before the actual sealing; finding the room we were supposed to be in by spotting my cousin's face; grinning 10,000 watts and not hearing a word Mat's Granddad was saying; taking pictures in the noonday sun; dipping the sleeve of my wedding dress in the cherry sauce of the luncheon cake; and so on.

Mat remembers waiting for me after the ceremony, thinking "Where the heck is she?"; going through the picture-taking very quickly; and me sticking my arm in the red sauce at the luncheon. Thankfully, we have a wedding video, courtesy of Mat's uncle, that reminds us of other pertinent things. The sleeve-dipping made it on there too.

I'm glad I married my best friend. Five moves and two kids later, we're doing just fine.

Dominant Child?

This morning the girls were playing Fetch with a tin lid from a wafer cookie can. Guess who was the thrower and who was the puppy? If you guessed Annika was the puppy, you'd be right. Oh yes. She was fetching for Afton. We'll see if this is a pattern for the rest of their lives.

Annika-ism

"Momma, I want some yummy bears!"
She was introduced to the goodness of Gummi Bears yesterday.

I also learned yesterday how tolerant the children are, because we had an hour to kill while waiting for new tires to be put on the van. So we walked to the Walgreen's across the parking lot, spent some money, got candy (including the aforementioned 'yummy bears') and travel items, then went into the Joann's next to the tire place. This Joann's was quite boring for the littles, as it is moving on June 15th and they're liquidating and it was practically empty. Afton kept divesting herself of her sandals--that child will NOT keep them on. But we got through the hour and then some without major whining on anyone's part, including my own. Well, I might have said something about the sandals. So as a treat they got to share Gummi Bears and orange juice with me. I have to say, as kids go, they're not so bad.

In the Beginning and Other Unbelievable Things

The Sleeping Beauties, In the Wrong Beds, Of Course







Also, They Are Pretending

There seem to be more than a few people interested in the mundane doings of the Crawford family, so we have created this blog to cut down on the email forwards.

To bring one and all up to date:
Mat's in the Master's of Counseling program at ASU. He'll be entering his final year this fall and will be taking five classes a semester, as well as fulfilling his internship. It is our firm belief that we'll be able to survive on recently-discovered grants and loans for this period of time, as Mat will not have time to work. He might not have time to sleep, either, but at least this way he's not obligated to give up sleep to work. Sleep is important.

Karie stays home with the girls, doing her best to keep them out of trouble and relatively unscathed. This involves preventing Afton from jumping off the couch on a regular basis, and preventing Annika from hurling herself into walls while in a tantrum. She also reads like a madwoman: Currently she is in the midst of a Harry Potter reread, but hopes to finish Half-Blood Prince soon so that she can turn her attention to Twilight and New Moon (by Stephenie Meyer) before Eclipse comes out.

Annika is pretty much potty-trained--hurrah! She is also learning to read from a Hooked on Phonics set that Mat got from work (long story short: The daycare was switching from HoP to their own reading lessons and were just going to throw the unused kits away. Score!). She enjoys reading time with Karie while Afton is down for her nap. And having recently attended the baptism of a neighborhood friend, Annika announces daily that this is the day she is going to be baptized. We've tried to explain that there's a little more than four years left before the great event happens, but she refuses to believe us.

Afton still takes naps! Annika had given them up a bit before her 2nd birthday, but Afton shows no signs of relenquishing naps anytime soon. This makes for a nice 2-hour break during the day, in which Afton is not climbing on things, experimenting with sippy cups, or calling for another showing of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree or another reading of "Cindelella" or "Rella" (Cinderella). This is a kid who knows what she wants.



And now to explain the title of this blog: Karie bought a watermelon this weekend at Annika's insistence, not checking anything but the price. Later, we decided to have watermelon for dessert. Mat sliced open the watermelon and shouted in surprise. It was bright yellow! Apparently this was intentional--the sticker on the watermelon said "yellow meat," but we weren't paying attention to that, because, well, a watermelon's a watermelon, y'know? But it was new and interesting--ordinary on the outside and unusual on the inside. So enjoy the pictures, enjoy the colors, and enjoy this slice of the Yellow Watermelon.