Exactly enough time

That's exactly what I feel like I don't have enough of. Time. But if there's ever a moment in my day when I feel the noisy world fade out into someone else's direction, it's when one of the boys says something funny, or makes a new face, or touches my hand. Their skin is cooler than mine, and of course softer.

That's why this Brian Andreas print stopped me tonight.
I need to remember that.
So here's an update on our latest adventures and some KieranSpeak and ConnerySpeak. With a few photos thrown in.

We've spent more time in Tennessee during the past month or so, and it's been wonderful. I remember spending weekends and then weeks (months, even?) in TN when I was little. In fact, almost ALL of my childhood memories are there, while I remember very little of my neighborhood or friends here. I want the boys to know the country, to walk the same gravel roads I used to walk down...back when they seemed much longer to my little legs than they actually are. So I was excited to take the boys to TN for several days during Spring Break. And the weather was perfect for walks down to the barn and the cemetery at Granny Pugh's house. Connery got a little confused when I said we were going to see Grandpa Carson's grave--"Not GRANDPA Carson. CONNERY Carson." The boys helped Granny weed in the yard and showed off for Aunt Estella. She hadn't seen them since they were babies, so she was pretty amazed.

At Granny Roysden's, the boys stayed fully entertained by all the cousins. And Kieran LOVED Uncle Terry and Aunt Brenda's horses. He didn't recognize Cheyenne from the last time we saw her...when she was only a few days old. I've got TONS of pictures from the weekend, but I just got a new computer and haven't gotten many pictures transferred over. That's why the slideshow over on the right is from DECEMBER! Sorry.

CONNERYSPEAK
Das Fazy--That's crazy.
infeBiDles.--increDiBles.
a yil bit--a little bit. That's usually his answer when we asked if he got in trouble at school.
oppopus--octopus
heyo daryin--hello, darlin'
hey, fitty yady--hey, pretty lady
...and one of my favorite things he says, "Oo yisten to me, Mommy?" while he holds my face in his hands.
...oh, and how can I forget the night he dropped his spoon on the floor and said, "What in the head?!" !!!!!!!!!! My jaw dropped! And I had to turn my face so he wouldn't see me laugh. We asked him where he heard that, and he said, "From myself," so we may never know the culprit who taught him that. We're just glad he thinks it's "head."

As you know, C LOVES to sing, and often requests a bedtime song. One night, he told me he'd sing one. 'On Top of Spaghetti.' Gotta love that kid.

Oh, and he loves to take his clothes off. We've noticed that he takes his socks and shoes off in the car a lot. But lately, when he's home, he's not satisfied with being barefoot. One morning, I found him dancing wildly in front of our full length mirror. Stark naked. When I asked what he was doing, he told me he was Obi Wan Kenobi. Not sure which scene he's thinking of...

One night, Sandy caught Connery drawing on the floor. Of course, he got onto him...and then felt bad when he realized he had drawn "tick up, tick down, tick afoss"--an A. Sandy asked him what it said, and Connery told him "I love you." Poor Sandy got a full dose of Dad-guilt there.

KIERANSPEAK
He's constantly telling us something that impresses us. Like when he asked me to "accelerate" and knew what it meant. I asked where he learned that, and he said, "I heard it in my imedicination." Yes, folks, i-medicin-ation. It turns out he learned it from Ben 10, one of his favorite cartoons. one of the aliens' names is XLR8. Makes me feel a little less guilty about letting him watch so much tv.

He's been struggling with the concept of city and state. He knows we're in AL but gets confused when we say the city. And when we go to TN, we go to two different cities sometimes (Crossville and Chattanooga), so he asks a lot: "Are we still in Alabama or are we in Tennessee? Which Tennessee are we in?" He told me once that we were in California, Tennessee. I think a globe is our next purchase.

Sandy told him that he was going to buy him a new house. He replied, "Daddy, you can only buy a new house if yours blows up." We have just started our house-hunting, and I'm just a little concerned about how the boys will adjust. One day we pulled up in front of the house and he saw the realtor's car. When I told him why she was here, he said, "I like our house best. Not another house." That will be the sad part about moving. This is the only house they've ever known.

He asks us almost every day if it's "a stay home day." Even though on our "stay home days" we usually go somewhere.

One night, he told me out of the blue, "I love my daddy and all his clothes."

Our newest toy is a four-sided Lite-Brite. And the boys love it. It's the "Light Game." The first time they played, Kieran cheered "I'm winning" every time he put a peg in.

He's in this "smile like a freak" stage that cracks me up. I'm guilty of taking LOTS of pictures, and he's great about smiling for them, but oftentimes the smiles are so fake.
This is pretty much his real smile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This is NOT. ;)













They both loving watching YouTube cartoons on Sandy's iPhone. One morning, they were zoned out watching Thundercats. (Great blast from our childhood!) Suddenly, Sandy and I noticed that the cartoon was in Spanish. ha! The boys never seemed to notice.

Speaking of Spanish. Every day, we ask the boys what they did in school. Almost every time, Kieran says "I didn't do Spanish." Clearly, Spanish class is a highlight for him.

Kieran has started reading a few words! He's learned a few sight words like dog, clap, and cat. One of his favorite books is Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel, and he excitedly points out the words "kitty" "bad" and "good."

It's just hard to believe he's big enough for that.

I think that every day.