I need a bandaid...

This is TMI, but Bennett was having a hard time doing his #2 today, and he came out of the bathroom and said, "Mom, it hurts... I need a bandaid. Put something on my bummy". 

Marriage...

I need to start writing down more of the things the boys say cause they really crack me up. Usually, at night, they each pick a book, and after we've read those, and a bit from the kids' Book of Mormon and after they've fought over who gets to say the prayer, then the three of us all lay in Lincoln's bed in the dark and snuggle and sing songs before they get a kiss and sent off to sleep. Bennett always chooses the Rainbow Song. Not sure what the actual title is but you know the one. And Lincoln rotates between "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", "Book of Mormon Stories", and "Once there was a Snowman", and more often than not, he tries to get me to sing all three. We sang our songs and as we laid there, somehow the topic of marriage came up. I tried to explain what I could about marriage. I told Lincoln that when he gets big and tall like daddy, he can find a girl and get married and have a family. He asked me, 

"What girl, mom?"

"I don't know, you'll have to choose a girl". 

"What's her name?"

"I don't know, I haven't met her yet, you'll have to tell me". 

"Oh. I'm going to marry Alice"

"That's good".

"Alice will be my FAVORITE girl". 

Then Benny chimes in:

"Can I get 'marry' too?"

"Yes you can, but you have to wait till you're big and tall".

Lincoln says, "What girl is Benny going to find"? 

"I don't know, we'll have to see". 

Then Bennett says, "Is daddy going to watch?"

"Yes, daddy and I will come watch you get married".

"Oh," says Lincoln "Will you come watch me too? and Benny too?"

"Yes, I will, and daddy and Ben-Ben will come too, and you'll wear a handsome suit and the girl you marry will wear a pretty white dress..."

Then Lincoln takes over, "...and there will be flowers, and everyone will take pictures of us". 

(HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT???)

Then he squealed, and announced, "I'm so excited!!!" 

Then Lincoln went quiet for a while while Bennett asked me, 

"Mom, who did you get 'marry'?"

"Mommy got a pretty white dress and flowers and mommy married daddy. I'm daddy's favorite girl". 

"OH!!!", they both said.

Then after a little bit of thought, Lincoln said in a somewhat frustrated and put-out tone, "But I don't know how to get big!!!"

I told him, "Well, you have to eat good food, and exercise and then you'll be big and strong". 

He brightened up and started listing things he'll do by himself when he's big, "...I'll wash my hands (probably rejoicing in the unaided aspect of it), and I'll help people (glad to hear that)..."

Then we went through all the couples they know... "Who did grandma marry?"

"Grandpa!!"

"Who did Nick marry?"

"'Negen'!!!"

Then we talked about how Laura has a baby in her tummy and that after you get married, you can have a baby. Bennett asked me if Laura "has milk", cause he knows probably too much about nursing. Then he asked me if he had milk, and I said, no, only mommies have milk. Then Lincoln informed me,

"I want three babies. I want a girl baby". 

I said, "Me too". 

And that was that. That is marriage... you grow big and tall, find your favorite girl, wear a suit, have flowers, people take pictures of you, then you have babies, and mommies have milk. The end.

p.s. Moments like that really make me love being a mom. 

p.p.s. It's really weird to imagine my sweet little smiley baby boys with soft cheeks and curly hair growing up to be burly men, off to find their favorite girls. Good thing it happens slowly.

4 Months

"I'm 4 months!!"

Eldon is 4 months now. I haven't even done the 3 month post but I will. I just measured his stats at home:

Weight: 15 lb 2 oz

Height: roughly 24"

He's almost exactly the same as Lincoln was at this stage, although Lincoln was an inch longer. Benny was over 16 lbs at three months, so Eldon is my smallest baby so far, but only by 2 oz and an inch.

He grabbed his first toy today unassisted. He has been rolling onto his right side, but hasn't quite figured out how to get all the way over. He is quick to smile, and laughs a lot when you pull his arms out to the side or throw him in the air. The boys love him and are always trying to "help" with them. Bennett says, "Eldon's so cute" about 50 times a day. He's getting to be a bit of a better sleeper. He'll do 5 hours about every other night. Getting into a solid two naps a day stage, which is nice. Love having him around!! 

We might wait a while longer on the solids... he's got a strong tongue thrust still, as you can see.

"Whoa, what's that?"

Don't ya think he looks a lot bit like the following baby??

Lincoln at 4 months

So sad...

Schramm, Brittany Anne was welcomed back to her Heavenly home on January 4, 2013. Brittany was born December 27, 1982 in Phoenix, AZ. She graduated with honors from the University of Utah, with a degree in chemistry and was accepted into the University of Utah Medical School. Brittany, however, knew that her hopes and dreams lay in raising a family, so she chose to forego medicine, marrying her sweetheart, Jeffrey Schramm, December 17, 2005, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Her dreams came true with the births of Alexis (5) and Jackson (2), her two cherished children, whom she taught by example to love, dance, sing, and laugh. They lived in Utah and Texas before moving to Arizona. Brittany enjoyed playing the piano, biking, and jogging. She had an innate ability to care for and love others even in times of great personal adversity. While training for a triathlon in April 2012, Brittany was involved in a biking accident which left her paralyzed from the chest down. Brittany spent the next 9 months learning to care for herself and family, despite her handicap, struggling with great pain and difficulties. She was a shining example of courage as she surmounted great obstacles, learning how to sit up on her own, do pushups, and drive the car, all while continuing to be an amazing mother and wife. She lived her life strong in spirit and love. She vowed she would walk again in 2013; and she is walking now. Brittany was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is survived by her husband, Jeffrey Schramm; children, Alexis and Jackson; her parents, Greg and JoRita Nielsen, one sister, Jennifer, and a brother, Eric. Services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 12, 2013, at the Salt River LDS Stake Center, 6942 East Brown Rd, Mesa, AZ, with a memorial gathering from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Friday, January 11, at the same location. Arrangements by Bunker's Garden Chapel, 480-964-8686 

Recovering from all the fun...

We had a fantastic Christmas in Guam with my family. Much, much more on that later.

As you can see, we're still recovering from the jet lag. When I have the time and energy, I'll do a thorough post. 

Life is Short

A friend from high school passed away today. We weren't best-ies, but we sure spent a lot of time laughing together during the days we spent together. I don't know all the details of her passing yet. She had a terrible bike accident earlier in 2012 that left her paralyzed, so I imagine it was something related to that, but it just seems strange that she's gone. I was just stalking Facebook to try to figure out what happened, and there were many regrets from others posted on her page, and then below all that, just yesterday, she posted as her status,

"The puppy's already had 3 accidents this morning in the house. The worst part, I dropped my phone in one of her puddles. Yuck. Luckily it landed face-up, so just the case got wet."

Yesterday she was worried about house training her puppy, and today she's gone. So odd. She has two little kids, and prior to her accident she competed in marathons and triathlons. She is a lil' Miss Sassafras, full of life and laughter. It's hard not to see a lot of myself in her. I cannot begin to imagine what it might be like to be looking down from heaven, watching my little babies growing up in the arms of others. My little guys sure drive me bonkers much of the time, but I'm glad to be here in the midst of it. I'll leave the guardian angel thing to my grandma.

This last General Conference, one of the talks that touched me the most was "Of Regrets and Resolutions", by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I have read it a few times and it has come to my mind on several occasions  Today was one of those. Over the holidays, I quizzed my family about what their resolutions might be for the year. I have had a few in mind, but haven't committed to anything yet. In President Uchtdorf's talk, he goes over the regrets that many people that are close to death have had. They are

• I wish I has spent more time with the people that I love

• I wish I had lived up to my potential

• I wish I had let myself be happier

I think living each day like it is my last might be too exhausting for me to keep up with, but I can do better than I am. I think these three things will find their way into my resolutions in some form for this year. God bless my friend and her family and God bless us all in 2013 and every year of our lives thereafter.