How to Keep a Usually Restless 4 year-old Entertained for Two Whole Hours

Two.

Claire is two. And although she is cuddly and adorable, I hate the getting older. Birthdays should be mourned. Another year gone! I get all soggy inside just thinking about it.

But even if I do lament a year that takes her closer to independence, I only do it because I love being around her. And so I take the chance to remember Claire at two:

1. My children are not early talkers. I might even call them late. But at 22 months, Claire's little speech alarm in her brain informed her that it was time to talk, and her vocabulary exploded. Suddenly she can say half of anything. She generally cuts off the first several sounds. Or the last several sounds. Or she changes them. And she mostly avoids consonants. Where Grace added them, Claire deletes them. Thank you becomes "Tah oo," Signing Time becomes "i ee ime," Daddy becomes "Da eee," Grace becomes "Athe." Which brings me to another point.
2. She has a darling lisp.
3. She is a tease. She pretends to sleep so she can wake up and laugh when she sees she has successfully startled you.
4. Her hair is strawberry blond, feathery and soft, and she will sit still while I (or "Gama Bet-thee") comb it into pigtails or descending ponytails.
5. She is a self-entertainer. She enjoys a variety of self-motivated activities. Like shoveling spoonfuls from the sugar bin into her mouth. Or coating the hardwood floor in a nice thick layer of Head and Shoulders. Or brushing the carpet with half a tube of toothpaste. She has no trouble staying busy.
6. She loves her daddy. And misses him since he's been gone. Every night we gather each other for family prayer, and every night just as I'm beginning, she shakes my shoulder and forcefully cries, "Daddy! Daddy prayer!" as if we forgot to get him.
7. She loves counting. She counts to three alone. When led by a grown-up, her counting goes like this: "[Claire, say, one], un, [two], doo, [three], thee, [four], foa, [five], bithe, [six], nine, [seven], nine, [eight], nine, [nine], nine... You could say she has a favorite number.

Two came so fast. I hope this next year is longer.

BYU Crushes Sooners (take that, BCS!)

I dread BYU away games. I went to the TCU game last year, and I actually had to start listening to my iPod during the game because I was so stressed out.

So, tonight, as we headed to the new Cowboys stadium to watch the game, I counted on losing pretty horribly. And once I got into the stadium, I realized that we would lose and I would also be deaf afterwards. The stadium was FULL of OU fans. And we were surrounded by them. And they were very loud. And the stadium is enclosed.

But I must say that I turned the tables when BYU started pulling through. Single-handedly, I might add. I was hollering like a banshee. Brad and Reo (a friend of ours) sat, clapped, and looked at me like I was a lunatic.

And I guess I am. I was so excited to be at a winning away game, and screamed enough to prove it.

I have to also say that the OU fans, although heavy drinkers, are also a friendly crowd. We passed at least 5 OU fans on our way out who shook or hands or high-fived us or congratulated us and said, "Good job, you deserve it."

What a great game.

What's Really Going On

My sister-in-law (who I would link to, but her blog is private) has this cute side-bar on her blog titled "Top 5 New Things Going on With Us." I love it. Because that's really why I visit blogs. I want to know what's going on. 

That is also why I hate Facebook. It tells me nothing about anyone's life. All it does is show me that my friends have a lot of other friends. Ones that I don't seem to know. This fact is especially apparent on my Friends' birthdays when all the people they've ever "friended" visit their wall and type, simply, "Happy Birthday!"

I want to type, "Happy Birthday, and who are all these other strange people typing on your wall? How come I don't know them? Does that mean that there's other stuff going on in your life that I don't know about now? And if so, what exactly is the stuff going on that I don't know about?" 

I would probably get defriended.

So I just don't visit Facebook. I blog watch. 

Which, actually, now... sounds kind of... creepy... I'd rather keep --in touch-- with old friends by silently visiting their blogs than actually communicating with them. 

Okay. Well. Anyway, if you're weird like me and just want a quick overview of your friends' lives without having to ask, here are the top five things going on with us:

1. Brad has started school in Lubbock. I am still working in Dallas. He makes me laugh hysterically on the weekends when he comes home, and I cry every time he leaves. It's ridiculous and unsustainable. I don't know how army wives do it.

2. Claire just turned 2 on Monday. We told her "Happy Birthday," and then she started singing herself the Birthday song in her adorable lispy voice. But we didn't have cake or presents. Not yet. We just can't party without Daddy. We're celebrating on Sunday instead.

3. Grace started preschool today. Four days after the official first day. She couldn't go on the first day because she hadn't been to a doctor in over a year, and was missing five immunizations. Count them. FIVE. She got them all at once and didn't even whimper. I, however, was pretty much a wreck because what kind of mother forgets to take their kid to the doctor so they can make it to the first day of school? A bad one, that's what kind.

4. After a whole three weeks of attempting to be really good and healthy, I started eating ice cream again. A lot of it. It happened when Brad went to Lubbock. You could call me an emotional eater.

5. My mother is Superwoman. Not exactly news. But she has outdone herself lately. She prepares the house for several guests, unpacks boxes from storage, attends stake Relief Society meetings, chauffeurs children, maintains a Saint's portion of patience with my obstinate daughters, makes gourmet dinners, cleans up piles of sugar (and puddles of shampoo) that Claire has dumped (or smeared) over her hardwood floors, and sits down at the end of the day to crochet dishcloths. That's all in a single day, people. 

Five things. Short and sweet. What are your top five things?