Nature vs. Nurture...?

I was on the phone today with my dad and Arliss when Colton and Casey came running into the room to announce that there was a SPIDER!  In the BATHTUB!  (Or in Casey's words, 'Ladybug! Bathtub! Ladybug!').  I thought they were excited because, just yesterday, a spider came dangling down over the kitchen and I showed them how I could put it in a tupperware, trap it with the lid, and take it outside.  So I said, "It's okay, I'll help you with it in a minute."  Meanwhile, Arliss is saying "Oh, gross.  Just kill it!" on the phone, and I started my high-and-mighty explanation of how I'm trying to teach them to be respectful of nature and how I don't like to kill random creatures (except for that one spider last week when the boys weren't looking, because that fucker was huge, and he was watching me.)  Then, in the middle of my hippie sermon, Colton comes back into my room and says "Mom, we DIED him!  And we broke ALL his legs!  And we buried him under the Lightning McQueen mat!"

Yeeeup.  Nature, 1.  Mom, 0.

Shower Time!

Well... I should have taken more pictures of all the details that went into the shower.  I have a few (very dark ones) here:

But the food!  The food was delicious.  Cookie made enchiladas, beans & rice, and taco salad-- and there ended up being two cakes AND cupcakes.  Not to mention the baby feet cookies!  I think those must have taken some Saint's level patience that I may never possess. 

The family was more than generous with baby gifts.  Headbands, tutus, onesies, dresses (yah, with bloomers), cozy blankets, ruffle-butt pants... and a smoking baby from Uncle Tim:

Colton can't wait to light that shit up.  Oh, and speaking of Colton:

He provided the entertainment, as always.  And of course Casey had to have a turn, too.

Then, as the crowd thinned (and Cookie napped in a chair because I think she'd been working for 48 hours straight), we gathered up the Blue Shirt Group for a few pictures:

(A few too many, maybe.)     :0)

And Arliss sent a beautiful pink bouquet that I now have sitting next to my freshly painted wall, because Shawn spent the day at home FIXIN' stuff!! 

Anyway... I have a great family, right?!  Now I have to get to work on the thank-you notes!!

BLOOMERS

It's Spring!  Let's talk about bloomers. 

Baby Bloomers!  I could become an addict.  Believe me, there are plenty more that I've eyeballed, but passed up, due to sheer practicality.   

I almost wish she was going to be 6-8 months old this summer, so I could see some chubby, rolly-polly legs sticking out of the bottom of these things (although if she's another 9 1/2 pounder, she might be beefy enough after a month or so!).  However... she'll turn one next June and possibly be new to walking.  She'll still have stump legs, a fluffy diaper butt-- and the tendency to fall and/or climb a lot.  And what will I catch a glimpse of every time that happens?  BLOOMERS!

And yes, I actually carved time out of my day today to take pictures of baby clothes.  Don't judge the pregnant lady with the whacked out hormones!  

Motorboatin'-- the Kid Version

I had a sudden recollection today that made me laugh.  And since I haven't posted for awhile, I thought-- maybe it's time for some Fart Talk. 

It was a couple months back when I realized that my Preshus Widdo Boys can fart on command.  The night started innocently enough-- some dinner, some Hot Wheels on the road carpet, then off to the tub.  I was cleaning the rest of the bathroom while Colton and Casey sat in the tub and played with their bath toys, when suddenly I heard an earth-shattering rattle that just wouldn't end.  Like someone had just started a speed boat inside the bathroom.  I whipped around to check on the boys, and Colton looked a little concerned, but Casey... he just looked at ease.  Satisfied, you might even say.  Colton and I started cracking up when it finally dawned on us what we had just heard.  Then Casey figured out what we were laughing at, and it set them both off on something like a Farting Showdown with eachother.  And when they realized they could make their own bubbles, the situation only escalated.  I was afraid to touch that nasty, gassy bathwater when it was time for them to get washed.  At one point in all this, Shawn came upstairs because he actually heard the farting from the room where he was watching television.  (bathtub acoustics are pretty intense.)  Anyway... I'm sure it's one of those "you had to be there" things, but I haven't laughed like that in a long time.  And when we had all finally calmed down, Colton looked thoughtful and said "When farts die, do they turn black?"  Completely set me off again.  And this came two days after he said, "Do you know what a rabbit's fart says?  Maaaaaaailllll booooooxxxxx."

I'm not sure I'm supposed to laugh at this kind of thing or teach them the laws of etiquette instead... but for now, in the privacy of our own home, the laughing just comes more naturally to me.  I guess it might have something to do with being raised with two older brothers who used to have farting duels on our wooden chairs at dinnertime (unbelievably loud acoustics there).  I believe they totally broke me in and prepared me for this.  So, uhhh... thanks, John and Jacob!  I dedicate this post to you.