Adoration

Bardo's Birthday

It's official: I have a two-year old, a glorious, independent two-year old.

The Warlock arrived home from a business trip in DC so we could finally celebrate the birthday the way a birthday is supposed to be celebrated, with our family, together. There was cake. There were candles, blown out three times. It was so much fun; how could we resist his calls of "more fire?"

We also tried to introduce Bardo to the big screen. That was a failure. He successfully got through the previews with much popcorn and switching from Mom's lap to Dad's lap. After he started "creating his own soundtrack," we decided to quickly remove him from the theater. Luckily our mall has a playground with thick, padded carpet, so I was able to witness his social skills in action. Thanks to his experience with Pippi, he does not allow big kids to take that truck steering wheel away from him. Unfortunately, he got a big glare from the mama of a 13 month-old when he tried to remove his hands from a piece of playground equipment the new toddler was hanging on to for dear life. Obviously, Bardo still has a thing or two to learn.

Announcement

For lack of a clever way to share the news: I'm pregnant! My due date is December 31st. We are all very very excited.

So so so so sweet!

Sometimes I think I may unfairly portray Bardo as a little scamp who gets into things and drives me crazy. He does get into things, but I love this little boy SO much. He gives so much love to us all. Right now he's trying really hard to communicate, and doing a great job expressing himself. He occasionally throws tantrums, but they are short-lived, and I don't believe I've ever seen him breathless with frustration. He also recovers quickly from injury favoring new-found words rather than cries to communicate his pain. Here's a list, for lack of a better way to do it, of cute things I've found Bardo saying.

1. When Bardo scrapes his hands or his feet, he cries for a minute. When I ask him what's wrong, he says, "fire ant bite."

2. "Take nap. Please." (This is my favorite thing EVER that he's said.

3. "Eat wunch now please." (The Warlock promptly bought him a hamburger.)

4. "Go see Damon." (or Sara, or Miles, or Isaac) This boy loves his friends, and all kids, really.)

5. "I need hammer."

6. "Ride scooter." or when Pippi's using her scooter he'll say, "Can I ride the scooter now?" (And he can, really, ride a scooter. I'm amazed by his coordination.)

7. "Becca did it." It's always Pippi's fault when he cries, and he doesn't hesitate to tattle...we're letting him get away with it for now because he's so cute. Today he also pointed to a small hole on his pocket and said, "Hunter did it."

8. "Hug," he'll say with arms outstretched.

9. Bardo also has some choice words to say to the dog. "Bad dog." "Go lay down." "Uh oh Hunter."

10. "Sit on motorcycle."

11. He also says "right there" every time he identifies something. "Becca's cup. Right there." "Bicycle. Right there." "Mommy's mascara. Right there."

12. Okay, so I'd better stop, but you get the idea. We think Bardo is the cutest most adorable sweetest almost two year old in the whole wide world.

Stacy's Birthday

June 16th was Stacy's birthday. Some may wonder how we spent this day. This year, her birthday was on a Monday, so we honored Stacy for family home evening. We took out the scrapbooks and looked at each picture and talked about Stacy, telling stories that we remembered. Pippi and I made a cake. Pippi stuck a candle in it. She told us to pretend she was Stacy blowing it out.

Tears were shed throughout the day. Pippi even participated in the watering this year.

The past few days, Pippi has been drawing pictures of her and Stacy. She puts wings on Stacy because she thinks Stacy is an angel watching over us. Pippi even made a paper locket that she wore for a minute around her neck with a picture of her on one side and a picture of Stacy on the other. This morning, when I came out of my room, I saw Bardo and Pippi on the floor with Stacy's picture. Pippi was explaining to Bardo how she and Stacy were chinese twins because they were born just a year apart.

Why Refrigerator Locks Are Essential At Our House

Kindergarten Wrap Up--The Last Walk Home

Tuesday was the last day of school. Pippi is a officially a first grader.

Pippi walked home with Jeffrey, who's going to be a world traveler for the next few years, for the last time. He will be missed. You know your child has a good friend when Pippi comes home saying things like, "Jeffrey's my friend, but he doesn't say I can't have any other friends." (Unlike many of the girls in her class.) Or "The other boys said it was a boys game, but Jeffrey let me play anyway." or "Jeffrey and I are working hard in school because we're gonna go to BYU."

Anyway, the kids truly enjoyed their last walk through "the woods" together.

They collected flowers.



They played with vines.
Vines make good tails, don't you think?
Of course, Bardo needed a "vine," too. By the way, you should hear the way he says "too." He's irresistable.
Ahem. That's an awfully big vine Bardo.
The children also found a baby tree. "It's a seedling." Jeffrey corrected.
And of course, what's a walk through the woods...

without a stop to climb trees....
And other things.Anyway, we'll miss Jeffrey and the rest of the Broadbent family. Don't forget us! But may you have many beautiful walks home from school with great friends wherever you go. And may you find even better trees (and other things) to climb.

The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Rebecca and I have spent many a too late school nights reading through the Pippi trilogy. It's nothing but fun. If you want a book that builds character, this probably isn't it, though you'd be hard-pressed to find a kinder soul than Pippi. I believe stories like these are perfect for children. Pippi is generous, fun, and just, qualities that I see in my own children. She doesn't have good manners, she can't read very well or do "pluttification", and she has a bad habit of lying (telling outlandish stories), and she wears funny things. Nevertheless, She comes off hero, and wins the hearts of most of the people around her. Who cannot help but love this child, and really, any child who we spend any time with at all? Additionally, I'll note that I found this translation better than the one that I read when I was a kid.


View all my reviews.

I'd also like to add for my friends a view choice experiences I've had with my own Pippi this week. This week Pippi asked me if I was making her go to bed because I loved her. My reply was something like this: "Yes! Almost everything I do is because I love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't stay home with you and Bardo. I would go to work so that I could buy lots of furniture. We'd eat every meal at MacDOnalds because I'd never want to cook. I wouldn't bother to read you books; instead, I'd make you watch TV so that I could do whatever I wanted to do. "

This was her reply: "Well, if you didn't love me, I would still love you. I would make you breakfast every morning..." And you know what, I believe her. I am so blessed to have this child in my home.

Also, today, while I was doing my own thing, Pippi helped tremendously with dinner by peeling 5 potatoes. She was kind of like Pippi Longstocking as she did it, chatting away, piling up all her peelings on the counter, a few peels flying to the floor. When she was done, she sighed contentedly, "Mom, I feel so good when I help you."

Pippi's Special Wishing Cake

1 graham cracker broken into four rectangles
Nutella

Spread Nutella on all four crackers. Then, put them together. Make sure the bumpy side is on the bottom and sticks to the Nutella.

This was posted at Pippi's request.