Thumbs up.

I'm a sucker for a thumb sucker. I just think it's adorable. Abe and Ella have both been thumb (or finger) suckers and just this week Ashlyn joined the club. It has been lovely. She starts to cry, but it only takes a second for her to find that thumb and calm down. Happy birthday to me!

ABE

ELLA

ASHLYN

Calls it like he sees it.

Last night Gavin and I were sitting together and he held his hand up to mine to compare their sizes.

Gavin: "Mom, I bet when I am 18 my hands will be as big as yours"

Me: "I bet they'll be even bigger because I'm kinda small."

Gavin: "Yep, Mom, you're small and fat"

At church yesterday a friend of ours brought Gavin a chocolate cake. As we were packing up to leave (in a crowd people) I showed the cake to Gavin and told him who it was from.

Me: "Gavin, _______ made this cake for you."

Gavin: "Wow, she sure is elderly, but she's nice."

Luckily, she was not around, but the rest of the crowd had a good laugh.

Ella's mess of the day...

can of cashews.

apple juice.

combine.

dump on floor.

smear.

go.

Just in case.

I know you didn't believe me when I said Ella was

The. messiest. child. ever.

This is how I found her after her "nap".

That's diaper rash cream, which is basically the texture of

Elmer's glue and toothpaste mashed together.

When I asked her why she did this she said:

"I just love this beautiful cream Mama!"

I guess we know what I'll be doing for the next few hours.....

The new kid...

Last night Abe came up with the perfect nickname for Ashlyn.

Introducing............... Mrs. Chubby Chops!

Perfect!

Tip of the day...

Every morning, as soon as I get up, the boys ask me if they can play Wii after school. I almost always say "I'll think about it and get back to you later" and hope they forget to ask again. I don't love video games. This morning I came downstairs and had this conversation with Gavin:

Gavin: "Mom, can I please play Wii after school"

Me: "I'll think about it"

Gavin: "Well, you think about what you need to think about. That's important."

Me: "Thanks for the tip, Gavin"

Gavin: "Well, you give me, like, 1,000 tips a day. You could use a tip"

I know I should probably get mad when he says sassy little things like this, but it just makes me laugh! And, I probably do give him 1,000 tips a day.... maybe I should cut it back to 998.