Toepick!!

I am having a rare quiet moment, both Marianne and Beau asleep...I rushed and rushed this morning to get my house from "dirty/smelly" to "decent/clean" for Beau's preschool group so it's nice to relax for a minute. I have pictures to share, but mostly I just want to air my thoughts for a minute - it may be boring to you but there are some things I want to remember...
This morning Beau sat by the window in Bekah's little purple rocking chair, holding his dad's bird book. I think I've shared that Rus is a bird geek. Beau has been paying attention; he kept turning to pictures, looking outside, and saying, "There's a new bird!" It was really cute. Beau is so fun to hang out with one on one. He is talkative and perceptive and has lots of questions. He is also super imaginative, which really makes legos/ninjas/a spoon fun. (Do you sense a "but" coming?) But when he gets around Bekah and Jacob he turns into the stereotypical little brother "pest." He knows everyone's buttons and how to push them. He knows that if he walks by Bekah and pinches her or bumps into her, or blows a raspberry in her general direction she will fly off the handle. Bekah is pretty easy to get, I admit, but he even knows Jacob's buttons. I don't even know Jacob's buttons. If it wasn't my own life, I'd think it was pretty comical. As it is, I usually find myself telling Jacob and Bekah to "toughen up." How horrible is that. I am also constantly reminding them to be his friend and include him, because if they do he is much easier to deal with. It is hard though and I understand it although I pray that Beau won't be the pest forever. ;)

On to Marianne. This little chub just has me wrapped around her finger. She is so sweet, and again (I've exhausted this word, I know), so squishy. She is starting to sit up better, although she needs help to stay like this:

and not this:

I love her smiles and she gives them pretty freely. She's also really ticklish, especially around her neck. She can be really talkative at times and it is such a happy sound - somewhere between a coo and shriek. I have her sit on the counter in her bumbo (under close supervision, believe me) while I make breakfast/lunch/dinner and it turns out she loves to munch on kitchen utensils... 

...and the bread bag. And the pretzel bag. And cups. Everything goes to her mouth. She still loves to lay on the floor and play with toys and man can she get around. It's mostly just rolling and a tiny bit of scooting, but she is getting up on her knees more. I might just have an early crawler - this is bad news because I am not good at keeping my floors clean and my floors are mostly just concrete.

Now Jacob and Bekah - They both participated in the school's science fair last week. Rus was so excited to do projects with them so we struck a deal: Rus did the project, compiled the data, took pictures, made sure the kids understood their projects, and I helped them do their boards. This worked out great for both of us, I think. I made my kids hand write their boards (which the judges loved for Jacob, but didn't for Bekah), and this was a small form of torture. We all survived. Barely. Bekah's project was "Why Stuff Floats,"

and Jacob's was "Which Fuel Boils Water Fastest?"

They both received ribbons for participating and Jacob was so proud of his he taped it to his board. We went to the science fair to see their boards on exhibit and I had to laugh at some of the other projects, especially the one entitled, "Which Kind of Gum Do I Like Best?" My favorite was one a third grader from our ward did, "Which is More Effective at Crime Scenes, Dental Records or Fingerprints?" She then had her family members "steal" cookies from the table and she used the different methods to identify who took what. It was very original.

Other news: Rus and I have started working out more. He and his dad are trying to lose a bunch of weight by this summer. I'm cutting down on cookie production and increasing veggie intake as a way of being supportive. Rus might contest that all I'm doing is giving him gas. He's been running and biking, I've been running and playing hockey, (hence the "Cutting Edge" reference in the title). Inline hockey. (Roller blades, not ice skates). I joined an inline adult recreational hockey team. It's coed, 16 and up, and we play games only (no practices), on Monday and Wednesday nights. It is SO FUN. My sister thinks I'm crazy. Rus is mostly supportive (just not of the bruises and sleep deprivation because games go late). But seriously, I am super grateful to have something to do that is just fun. Wondering where the pension for hockey came from? Me too. I did it because I love to roller blade, a favorite childhood pastime, and because I like team settings. I played street hockey one summer with my brother and some friends when I was younger. The team that I am on now has all skill levels and they are really patient and supportive. I'm not the only girl - our team leader is a woman maybe in her late thirties.
Anyway...that is the news of late...what fun things are you up to?