I've decided to take the proper names out of my posts. So now the boy is "Pumpkin" and the girl is "Princess". I'll also be posting fewer pictures, for safety reasons.

We have a magpie in our house. Her name is Princess. She repeats everything you say, including the correct tone and inflection in her mockery. The thing is, though, I think she is learning what her words mean. She'll use them later in different contexts but with applicable meaning.

My current favorites:
-"Hey, I need that." taken from her older brother who "needs" whatever toy she's currently playing with.
-"I likeee Hippo." Hippo is her favorite toy and we tease her by taking it and giving it hugs until she grabs it back.
-"Mommy, I hurt my _______." Fill in the blank with whatever body part is currently hurt.
-"Sing to Princess Baby." A nightly demand where she lies lengthwise down my arms and asks for Baa, Baa Black sheep or Brahms Lullaby.
-"Push higher, push higher!" Also taken from her brother whose swing height never seems to reach his satisfaction.
-"Princess show thee." said to me whenever I can't figure out what she's trying to tell me. She'll take my hand and lead me to whatever she wants at that moment.

The other day she decided she was thirsty, so she pushed a kitchen chair over to the ice/water dispenser in the fridge, got a cup out of the drawer, and got herself some ice water. She was sitting on the chair, swinging her legs and looking very pleased with herself as she drank her water when I found her.

So, remember me mentioning (however briefly) Daddy's severe, debilitating, and increasingly frequent chest pains? Well, I did. Two posts back.

Those, coupled with some spectacularly awful rotten-egg burps he's had for about a year (once a month) made me do some online research to see if I could figure out what was wrong. I now deserve an honorary "House, MD" certificate. I performed a differential and managed to pull the right answer out of a hat. Or out of a chat room...whatever.

It turns out that Daddy has gallstones. He got an ultrasound today and the tech thought she could see at least 10 of them in there. Daddy's mom, aunt, and grandmother all had their gallbladders removed, and I think he's next.

The gallbladder is of minimal use in the body, basically just a holding tank for the bile that is produced in the liver and is on the way to the intestine to break down food. You don't really need it, thank goodness, but like the appendix it can be a troublemaker when things don't go right. The surgery is now done through laparoscopic surgery and the in-hospital time is overnight. Recovery time is usually less than a week.

So, yay. At least we know what's going on with him and it's something we can actually fix instead of just "treat". The surgery will probably be in a few weeks. Pumpkin and I got out my old Anatomy books today and discussed what was going on with daddy. He's a fairly intuitive child and is genuinely interested in what he sees in my books.

I'll let everyone know when the surgery is so you can be thinking and praying for us. Toodles.

I usually feel really guilty going to DI (the local "salvation army"). I haven't been there in years. I feel like the amazing deals there are for people who are less well off than me. We've got a great job and a great house and great insurance, etc. I feel like I'm stealing the funky dress-up hats and adorable child's papasan chairs right out of their hands. Whoever "they" are. I mean a $35 chair in the store is now in my living room for the low, low price of $3. Who could pass up a deal like that? We now have a big basket of dress-ups, compliments of Deseret Industries, for less than $15, as well. That includes the price of the basket.

Daddy tells me to think of it as a huge, permanent garage sale. I wouldn't feel guilty for getting a great deal at a garage sale. That makes me feel a little bit better. We went a little crazy and found lots of neat things, including a Spirograph just like I had when I was a kid. It has most of the pieces! Daddy was just as excited as I was when he saw that one. Yeah, we're kind of nerds.

In other news, if you couldn't tell from my last post, my little boy is really growing up fast. He has now graduated from The Backyardigans to Phineas and Ferb. He gets himself dressed most mornings. He sets the table for himself and Princess and clears his dishes, scrapes them, and puts them into the dishwasher. He makes jokes that actually make sense. He buckles himself into his car seat, and can buckle himself out if need be. He'll be heading to school in a year or two.

I just can't believe how fast kids grow up. Are your kids/nieces and nephews/grandkids/neighbor's kids growing up faster than you thought possible, too?

To whom it may concern,

For four and a half years now you've wrangled an arm and a leg out of me every month. It only got worse two years ago. But now I have thwarted you. You only wrangle a leg out of me now. My oldest is finally out of diapers. Completely. Sure, he was toilet trained a year ago, but up until this week he still wore diapers at night. We were still paying for a diaper a day. But those days are no more. Muah ha ha.

Sincerely,
This mom

We couldn't be happier, and neither could he. As a reward he decided he wanted "pirate treasure" that he could bury in the sandbox. I got him lots of pirate gold and some novelty giant coins. Now all we have to do is get the little girl to go in the potty. She's asked to a couple of times, but only because she sees her big brother doing it. She hasn't produced yet, but I admire her determination.

YYYYaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!