Larson Boys

An older boy in our ward gave Ian this nice suit he'd outgrown. During quiet Quiet Time Ian got it out of his closet and dressed up to be a missionary. It was so clever how Ian tucked the too-long pants into his socks to keep from tripping. What a sight greeted me when I came in to get him!

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While at the dinner table Ian said "Everyday my nose just keeps on sneaking out boogers." It's true. But have you ever heard a cuter way of saying "runny nose"?

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Ian got a Handwriting Without Tears CD from his friend Kate, and Down on Grandpa's Farm has not stopped playing during quiet time for a solid week. It runs on repeat for a full two hours every single day. Is it the animal sound effects that he loves so much?

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Ian currently selects some blocks, cars, a CD player, his current favorite CD's and some books and holes up in his room (door closed) for two hours every day while Joseph naps. He usually makes a single potty-break request after the first hour. It's incredible. Right now Joseph naps every day from 1 pm to about 3 pm. I credit the white noise machine and blackout curtains for his excellent napping. I am positive this will all cease a week before the baby is born.

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Joseph has floor-length blackout curtains in his room that are covered in large giraffe print. Some mornings he tells me things that he "sees" in the print. Most often it's an "eagle" and when he leads me over to the curtains he'll usually point at the same spot. Recently he also spotted a "plane." I thought he might enjoy seeing shapes in the clouds too, but he doesn't understand what I am pointing to yet.

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Joseph coloring a Valentine, with his fingers stuck through his blanket. 

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Joseph still threads his fingers through his yellow blanket, and it is becoming increasingly threadbare. Recently the finger holes started becoming permanent parts of the blanket that don't get absorbed back in. The first morning I noticed this, Joseph came out of his room and explained: "Here is my soft hole" (for his thumb, which had made a large permanent hole to stick through) and "this is my ouchie finger" (showing how his pointer finger was forced through a new hole and was losing it's circulation.)

Fortunately the satin is still attached to the edges. We also recently started tucking him in at night, and he loves to use the BYU blanket Grandma Larson made for him when he was born.

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While playing at a friends house in the backyard, the boys captured a lizard and "played" with it on the trampoline. The friend let the lizard go back to it's home to "recover" after it was wounded, and the boys were all sad. Joseph came inside where I was making jewelry and said solemnly, "Da wizard is not a-wive anymore. It got brokened. It goed up to heaven. Jesus can hold it." He repeated variations of this and then with that same solemn face and big sad, blue eyes, went back outside. It was adorable!

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Decorating/Devouring Valentine cookies

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While we were walking into the grocery store one windy day, Joseph complained "The wind is coming on my head!" When the car windows are down Joseph holds his hair down with both hands (like he's holding down a toupe) and says "The wind is messing up my hair! Shut a windows!" (Lest you think he gets this from me, I must state that I haven't made this complaint since high school -- these days my hair spends it's time in a pony-tail.)

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I asked Joseph if he wanted to go play with some friends. He said "yeah, I'm gonna enjoy it." ("en-thoi it")

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Ian put on some safety glasses and "fixed the sink". Then he asked for payment. When I handed him some imaginary money, he refused it and said:
Ian: "More than that."
Me: "Wow. You drive a hard bargain."
Ian: "No. I drive a full truck. Full of money."

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Joseph is partial to a small stuffed dog we got at JoAnne Fabrics a year ago. (confession: I bribed him with it on a horribly long fabric-buying trip.) He calls it his "big doggie". It used to be light-colored and it's fur is matted with a bunch of greyish-blue  fuzz entwined in the fur. He also likes to sleep with a palm-sized dog that moves it's head up and down and wags it's tail when you stroke it's back. This one is known as "little doggie."

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Ian: "When I grown up I want to be a mountain owner."

Joseph: "I want to be a..... a..... a..... a missionary."

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