No Pics but a Pick

This post will not have any pictures for two reasons:

#1) I couldn't take one because my hands were full, literally (I'll explain later)

#2) Aaron broke our camera today and between all the other expenses we've had lately, it will be awhile until we replace it. Sigh. So no pictures for a little bit - let me know if you happen to want to rid yourself of a camera =)

Anyway, the weather around here has been super dry and even fairly windy on and off. This creates a problem in the area of the nasal passages with very dry, crusty, boogers. Sometimes throughout the day, I can see Aaron has some situations developing and my only way to help resolve it is by picking his nose for him. I know its gross, but I feel sorry for him as it has to be uncomfortable and I'm not sure how else to get those stubborn things out. Anyway, today he was eating in his chair, and started sniffing and sort of whimpering and whining. I'm not kidding - he then said "Mama?" and grabbed my hand and wanted me to .....PICK HIS NOSE!!!! And so I did and got out a huge booger. And he smiled and then continued eating - Obviously, because he was much more comfortable without that giant thing blocking his oxygen.

I promise I wash my hands thoroughly afterwards every time.

Learning Curve

Have you seen the Bounty commercial that shows little kids spilling everywhere and the narrator says, "It takes a certain strength to let them learn on their own...." ? I totally identify with that expression....

"Fall" in AZ....

Ahhh, you can sense the change of season in the air....

Since we live at the end of the street along the block wall, once the wind gets blowing, it creates almost a wind tunnel up to our front door. And with the bougonvillea bushes blooming and shedding their petals and leaves, this time of year provides a nice pile of "Fffffsssss" (Aaron's word for leaves) for him to stomp around in....

I think that this is probably as close to any "fall" that Aaron will experience....

Firefighter Wanna be

After a long day shopping for a new fridge (sigh....), we got to hit up Golden Spoon with our friends, the Bakers. I didn't know it was possible to be in a bad mood at Golden Spoon, but Aaron was (double sigh). Fortunately, a firetruck showed up and the firemen stopped and got out. They even gave Aaron and Keith special hats! (Sorry - the pics aren't so great of quality with the cell phone)

Anyway, Aaron was in heaven with his new hat and getting to go in the truck. We had a good time with our friends, and fortunately, tomorrow is a new day with a new fridge on its way..... It will be nice to not have to live out of the very small ice chest anymore.

Two Weird Things

#1) Aaron finished cutting all his teeth several months ago EXCEPT for the left tooth that is right next to his front tooth. We kept waiting for it and waiting for it and the doctor even mentioned that maybe he was born without it. It decided to pop through finally just a few weeks ago, quickly followed by one of his two-year molars a week later???!!! How can you be late and early on teeth at the same time? (That's right - I've become that mom that thinks blogging about my kid's teething may be interesting to other people.)


#2) For some strange wonderful reason, Aaron has been sleeping in between 6:45-7:15am every morning for the past two weeks - SO MUCH better than seeing a 5 as a first number on the clock. In honor of this joyous occasion, I have decided to write a poem:

What a strange feeling it has been
To wake up and get out of bed
And find that you are still fast asleep
Oh I hope it's a habit you keep

I can actually take the time
to rub the sleep out of my eyes
Empty the dishwasher or get my Bible read
Before you begin calling "Mama" from your bed

To have some thoughts to myself
before grabbing Cheerios off the shelf
You are such a morning person, you see
And your mom, well, sometimes she is grumpy

I'm sure like all things good and bad
This too may pass and I will be sad
For now I will enjoy the fact you've overcome your sin
I love you Aaron, and PLEASE KEEP SLEEPING IN!

(I'm not superstitious, but this better not jinx it!!!)

Friends

We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many friends....

Sometimes our friends can't play so we find new ones in line at the grocery store....

Especially if they are cute little girls..... Those kind are the best =)

Communication

For some reason today, Aaron woke up from his nap with lots of tears and grumpy feelings....

I finally told him he needed to stop fussing and "use his words" (all 15 or whatever of them) and tell me what he needed. Finally, he told me that he needed "Candy."

Hey, whatever keeps the lines of "communication" open. And funny enough, it seemed to help him snap out of it...

College Retreat

We had our annual spring/winter college retreat this past weekend - definitely a bittersweet time as it our last major event with our college kids before moving on to Harvest C.C. in a few short weeks.... The exciting thing for us is the fact that my younger bro Kyle and his wife Sarah will be moving to Mesa this summer to take over this particular ministry for us, so we know we are leaving them in very capable and awesome hands!

Aaron definitely had fun this weekend and it is such a cool thing to see him really begin to enjoy and warm up to other people - he has always been so anti-stranger as an infant so it is fun to see him ham it up with the students....

He even found himself a girlfriend this weekend - our high school pastor's daughter, Ivana.... In fact, this was often the scene when they were in the same room together....
He did very well with the crazy schedule and lack of sleep. Out of the whole weekend, there was really only one rough spot with him in an afternoon that contained a long-lasting temper tantrum. Eventually, it was cured after getting outside for a distraction and throwing rocks in the pond with Dad.

We love our students and will miss them greatly. Thanks for a great weekend guys!

Sun Fun

It has been super warm this week (I don't say hot until triple digits) so we decided to try a "Go Diego Go" Sprinkler from Grandma Debbe a little earlier than I expected....

This next picture cracked me up when I downloaded it later....

"I ain't afraid of YOU Diego. C'mon what's up?!"