3 Months, Nearly a Month Ago!

We are happy to report that these irresistible smiles are not hard to come by...

The picture below was on the actual 3 month date, but after taking this one "serious" shot, the camera turned off because it was out of battery!  One little girl has asked, "Does he blink?"  Yes, but his big eyes are so OPEN all of the time!  He looks like he's permanently surprised or shocked, unless he's smiling or laughing. We prefer the happy over the serious face.

Peanut Butter Lickers

This one's for you, Grammy!

I just can't believe how sneaky little Miss Brooklyn has become these days!  Her catch phrases are basically elusions of the truth.  Let me give you some examples:

#1Me: Brooklyn, are you touching your brother?

Her: Nope!...Not anymore!

#2Me: Brooklyn, what are you doing?

Her:  I dunno...

#3Me: Brooklyn, did you get your socks and shoes on?Her:  Almost...

#4Me: (As she's getting onto the toilet) Are your panties dry?

Her: Just a little bit wet.

Even worse, she has lied one occasion.  I am trying to make a HUGE deal about how aweful this is because it is a total pet peave of mine, especially when adults do this (LIE).  I get super upset when I know another adult is LYING to my face - Aaargh!

Another thing she does is SNEAK things that she knows are wrong.  She always does this when I am in the other room either feeding the baby or getting dressed, taking a shower, cleaning the kitchen, you get the idea.  So here are some of her sneaky moves, punishable by time-outs and with-holding of freshly baked desserts, and of course a stern, 10-second lecture.  I should preface this by saying this week we are house/DOG-sitting for one of Stephen's co-workers.  They have a nice house in Ocean Beach, and LOTS of toys for their two young children, one of which is close to Brooklyn's age.

#1 Getting into the art supplies and painting her face, arms, and some carpet RED.

#2 Writing on the AQUA DOODLE (a water-only, reusable kid-friendly canvas) with black and brown markers.  She was trying to lay on it and outline her body like I've done with her outside using side-walk chalk. Of course, these dark hues made it onto her off-white sweater.

#3 Eating a brownie bite that was on the counter, saved for after dinner because when they were fresh out of the oven, she was still busted for using the paint.

#4 This relates to #1, but it's a separate sneaky offense, so it deserves it's own space: Changing her red-painted clothes for a clean pair so as to try and HIDE the evidence!

#5 Asking to putting herself in time-out and apologizing profusely as penitence for an offense from which she desired forgiveness only in hopes of earning herself a brownie bite.  (Can you tell many of these insidious maneuvers all happened within the same hour?)

#6 When such treats are revoked from her, she predictably attempts to persuade me to "put some in a little baggie to save for later."  In the case of the brownie bites, she selected three separate small tupperware containers to put them in, one for Daddy later, one for me, and one for her.  Then, when the little sister of Brooklyn's friend started crawling toward her, Brooklyn said, "No, Lily, don't eat my brownies," as Brooklyn was rubbing the top of one brownie with her fingers.  As soon as I snatched the brownies out of her own hands, Brooklyn immediately licks the flavored fingers like an excited dog.  It's a good thing she's not yet arrived at the "age of accountability."  I'm already dreading her teenage years if this behavior is a foreshadow of things to come.

#7 Lastly, the case for which the post earned it's title and picture - creating herself a peanut-butter licker WITHOUT my permission. .  . thank you grammy, for passing along the gene that inspired you to create this special treat.  So I took the treat away from her and put her down for a nap.  Guess what did I do later on to relieve myself of the stress she caused me? I ate most of it for her.

Am I Just Cranky, or...

Is it really kind of mean to completely ignore a pair of bright blue, three-year old eyes begging you for a little ride on the swings?  

I was at the park this morning, and I got a little irritated by these two moms who kept ignoring Brooklyn. I was feeding the baby using my handy-dandy nursing cover-up at a park bench nearby, so I was unable to help her out myself.  She even asked them, "can you push me?" but was totally ignored.  The two girls and their moms then moved over to the tire swing, a three-seater.  Again, Brooklyn stared and watched.  I felt so bad!  Mind you, Brooklyn had just TICKED me OFF a mere moment before this incident, but suddenly I was her greatest advocate.  

After a few minutes, one mom walks over toward me where her stroller was parked.  Brooklyn followed the woman, hoping still to gain her attention.  As she followed her, the other lady back at the tire swing said to her friend, jokingly, "Look, you have a shadow!"  

Clearly, it was not as though either of the women has simply not noticed Brooklyn.  Finally trying to muster all the self-control I could, I said, "I think she wanted to get on the swing with the girls."

To which the woman replied "Oh, I would have put her on, but I have to keep my hands free to watch this one." She was referring to the 18-month old running around in the sand totally content by herself.

It wasn't as big of an insult as I am making it out to be, I am sure.  I easily could have pushed my child after feeding the baby.  However, by that time we were both done with the park.

Later that afternoon we visited another park and I pushed Brooklyn on the swings along with another little girl who we had just befriended.  I felt better. 

Now onto a more positive post!  

Thank You, Grandma Grace, for the...

Party Hats!  No party is complete without them!  What a hit!  I guess you still have the touch, after all those years!  You were right, I'm sure no website on the internet could demonstrate how to create something quite this cool!

So this was one of many birthday celebrations for Brooklyn's third birthday.  The actual day was the 9th of March, a Monday this year.  These photos are from a celebration we had the Friday night before at my mom's house.  The kids had a blast!  Thanks for the awesome "Mad Hatter" cake, Mom.  And Grandma, you know the kids loved your hat creations!

Aunt Pip, we loved the awesome treasure hunt.  Pure joy.
Grandma Grace, thanks for the other fun birthday traditions, in addition to the treasure hunt, like "Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?" and of course, thank you to Megan Tanner for "Don't Eat Pete."  Unfortunately, the game board didn't make it, but it was on the agenda and will definitely be played during our next visit!

Some of Brooklyn's AWESOME gifts included: sand toys, cute beach T and flip-flops, the Tinkerbell movie, a puzzle and matching book, and the Fancy Nancy game.

3 Cheers for the 3 Mouseketeers!

"I'm Free!" She'll tell you when asked her age.
I admit I'm not a huge amusement park fan, but when my mom said she wanted to take Brooklyn to Disneyland on Brooklyn's 3rd birthday, how could I possibly say no?  Then when we thought about it more, if I was going to drive Brooklyn an hour or more to Anaheim, I might as well get into the park too.  So, if I'm buying myself a ticket, wouldn't it be worth it to spend the extra $50 or so to get a season pass?  This is is why Disney is still in business my friends.  Did I mention that a ticket is magically free on your birthday?  Our story doesn't end here... Stephen called me up the morning of the trip and says "I think I'm going to take the day off."

To which I replied, "Don't you have stuff to do today, though?"

To which he replied, "Nothing I can't miss."

Fast forward to 11:15 A.M. we are parked in section 5 of Donald Duck and riding the tram to "the happiest place on earth."  So much for a low-budget birthday and a "free admission" on your birthday. (Did I mention that since she's now three, she's no longer free on every other day, so Brooklyn got a pass too.

She better be smiling!  (I know, I'm totally frugal and still slightly unconvinced that this was the right course of action.) In case you are wondering, STEPHEN insisted on buying the princess hat with mouse ears!  Secretly I think he may have been equally excited about this adventure with Brooklyn.  I wanted to surprise her, and he kept wanting to spill the beans.  I knew he was excited when he was getting all anxious in the parking structure with comments like, "Hurry up people! What's taking so long? The attendants are all escorting us to a row of spaces that we just pull in, one after another."
Caden, Caleb, Calvin, and Carol all have passes too.  They met us there along with my mom.  Calvin worked, however.  Good job, Calvin!  I'm glad someone takes his job seriously!  Just kidding! 

So the longest line we waited in was that of the Disney Princess Photo shoot.  I should post some pictures of Brooklyn in line and compare them with her subdude look in these ones.  I know she was convinced they were all the REAL DEAL.  (She also posed with Mulan and Snow White.)
All-in-all, we had a good time.  I think the best part was the bugs life section of California Adventure because the lines were short, and the rides were the perfect entertainment level for the pre-K audience that we had.  
Here's the goof troop with their fearless leader. 

I was just glad the park had a "baby station" at the end of Main Street where moms could nurse their babies and change diapers away from the regular public bathrooms and various attractions.  I also scored a cute pin at this place for Ian that says "First Visit."

Disneyland,  we'll be back!

Happy Birthday, Big C!

Don't be deceived by the horns, this kid is not only cute, but was and continues to be my favorite brother for endless reasons.  Because we are celebrating his birthday this month, I'll share a few things about him that make him special.  
#1. He always kept my sister and me in line, especially when the parents were not around.  He was the ultimate rule-reminder and enforcer.  I think if teaching doesn't work out for him, he may consider a career in law-enforcement!

#2 He coached me along with certain sports skills like throwing a baseball, shooting and dribbling a basketball, and how to defend a basket.  (Can you tell what he favorite sport is?) Some of this coaching came out of the need for a worthy opponent(which I never was).   
#3.  He was always a good friend.  Because we are pretty close in age, we did a lot of things together like drive to seminary, attend stake dances, and go out on "group dates," sometimes with each other's friends!  We always confided in each other too.

#4. He was my Dad's pride and joy and probably his source of sanity at times in a house full of three girls.  Calvin was my dad's privileged companion to many Laker, Dodger, and UCLA games as well as the annual L.A. auto show.  Calvin had his own reading material in our house, including several Calvin and Hobbs comic books, Boys' Life Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and of course, the Sports section of the LA Times. 
#4 It seems like both of us lucked out in getting more friends because we had each other.  This was sort of a problem in Jr. High and High School.  I sometimes suspected that girls wanted to be my friend because they thought I had a cute brother.  On the flip side of that, I got to know about some top secret stuff that he and his friends did at Scout Camp or Fathers and Sons outings.
#5. He showed me responsibility and the value of money.  One of his first jobs included mowing the lawn for Mrs. Hall down the street.  He's carefully stash away the small envelope of bills that she sent home with him each week.

#6 He taught me that the best gifts were thoughtful and home-made.  My most memorable birthday gifts came from him.  They included: letting me use his room for a sleep-over for my 10th birthday party. (My friends and I had a hay day taking pictures posing in various accesories we found in his room - a coon-skin cap, a leather whip, and various retro baseball caps.) Another favorite birthday gift from him was a birthday song that he composed for me and sang with my then-boyfriend at a BYU singles ward talent show.  Talk about guts!

#7 He gave me one of my favorite nicknames.  (If you don't know it, you'll have to ask him.)

#8 He is Brooklyn's favorite McKendrick uncle because he can always get her to laugh her irresistable cute laugh from lots and lots of tickling!  He also reads her stories with plenty of animation. 
#9 He is just plain hilarious when he imitates people in the stories he tells.  The retold event always holds a higher entertainment value than the incident itself.  Maybe he should extend his services at Northview High and become the drama teacher as well.  I'm sure Evelyn could give him some pointers!  

 

#10 He is an inspirational basketball coach who has been known to take his team members to the movies or just lends out his "lucky" shoes to a player in need.  

Basically I'm so lucky for all the ways my life has been influenced by him and sometimes I am so jealous that my sister-in-law scored the coolest husband ever! (Right next to my own man, of course!)

Sleeping with my Favorite Boys

I couldn't resist.  This is a typical late-night or early-morning scene in our bedroom.  Can you guess who's missing from this sandwich of Badgers?