Favorite animal

Today Mimi gave me cookies to give the kids, a giraffe and a lion. I picked the kids up from school today and when we got in the car I showed them the cookies. John asked "Can I pick which one I get?" I told him yes. He said "Can I have the lion? Cause I'm so brave!" (As he said this he flexed his biceps). Gillian didn't mind. I think she wanted the giraffe because it was a bigger cookie. As we drove home, I asked "Gillian, do you know what is Grandma's favorite animal? I'll give you a hint look at your cookie." Gillian was a little unsure. John shouted "I know! A giraffe!" Gillian said "I know!" (That's what Gillian says when she doesn't know).

I asked John, "What is your favorite animal?" He said "How many fingers do I have behind my back?" I cringe a little. I hate when he asks me that. I guess and say three. He says "No. I'll give you a hint. One has five." He has completely tricked me. He never puts two hands behind his back. So I guess and say two. He says "No! Six! I have six favorite animals!" I ask him to list his favorites. He says "Leatherback sea turtles, sea turtles, turtles, cheetahs, lions and the animal that Black Panther is." Let me take a second now and explain Black Panther one of Marvel's Avengers. I am laughing in the front seat as he is listing his favorite animals. I respond to John, "It's in his name, Black Panther." I say it slow so that he will listen to what I am saying. He says "I think it's a cat. You know what animal Black Panther is." I again say "It's in his name. Black Panther." John was a little confused. So I finally said, "He is a panther." I asked him  why he had three different turtles on his list. He said "Turtles have regular legs. Sea turtles have fins. That's how you can tell the difference. And leatherback sea turtles are black!"

I asked Gillian "What is your favorite animal?" She said "Giraffes and pandas and snails and bugs and spiders. I like spiders!" John says "I have seven now. I like spiders too!" We arrived home and Gillian waited for me on the front porch as I got everything out of the car. As I approached the porch she screamed "Oh no! A spider!" Guess they aren't her favorite after all. 

Cookie helper

I made cookies the weekend for John's kindergarten graduation. When I asked John if he would like me to make cookies for his class, he said "That would be great!" He wanted to help me decorate the cookies, but when he asked I was working on the outline for the caps and I told him no. Instead he stood over me while I outlined saying "Steady. Steady." As you can imagine, he was very helpful. But it didn't stop there, on the next cookie he said "Steady, steady. Whew, that was a close one. You know, I could help. It's going to take all night to do all of these cookies."  

Running Errands

Daddy and I had to run a few errands this morning. I got Gillian dressed. She was very excited to go shipping. John, on the other hand, was not happy to hear that we were going out. He asked "How many stores are we going to?" Daddy told him "Ten, maybe fifteen." This news did not improve John's attitude. "Come on! Really? Ten stores? That's going to take forever!" In the car on the way to Costco, John suggested "Maybe we could split up and Daddy and I can go to two stores and Mommy and Gill can go to two stores. That means we will go to four stores. Cause two plus two is four!" Daddy said, "You may be right. I think we will only go to four stores. But we aren't going to split up." John was not happy. But we got to Costco and his attitude quickly changed. He sat in the cart and asked for free samples. He didn't insult any of the employees. So all in all a successful trip out. 

Our next stop was Target. We only had a few things to pick up and we were only in the store for a little bit. On our way out of the store, John says "It's raining." Gillian says "Only a little bit." John says "No. It's raining a lot. We need to hurry up and get in the car." Gillian says "Only a little bit." My tough girl. But she was right. It was barely raining. 

We only stopped at one more store. And Daddy ran in and left us in the car. I am not sure why John was unhappy about running errands. I wish someone would push me around a store while I ate free samples. 

Firefighter

I made chicken tonight. Some of the pan drippings hit the bottom of the oven and the kitchen quickly filled with smoke. It also set off the smoke alarm. I had Daddy help with the smoke alarms while I called the kids for dinner. John came upstairs, waving his hand in front of his face and said "Can we turn the fan on?" He then pinched his nose with his hand and sat down at the table. Gillian, on the other hand, said "Oh come on Mom!" As if I stink up the house every night. I told John that it wasn't necessary to hold his nose. He said "It's like you burned down the house!" Daddy didn't miss a beat and  said "John, you need to get used to this if you are going to be a fireman when you grow up." John said "You mean firefighter! Girls and boys can be firefighters." He then proceeded to lecture Daddy on calling people firefighters verses firemen. Gillian listened to this entire discussion and said "I be a princess!" Yes, Gillian you can be a princess when you grow up. 

The goods

Tonight, we were talking to John about his day. John had Amazing Athletes today. He told us, "We did running today." I asked him if he won any of the races. He said "No. I wasn't one of the goods. The goods kept winning. We didn't win because one of my team was slow. I don't know his name." He was so angry.  I asked him to name all the kids on the other team and then name all the kid on his team. He kept saying "There was one slow kid. I don't know his name. He's in the dinosaur class." Daddy ask him "Were you the slow on one your team?" John whipped his head around to face Daddy and said "What?!?! No!!"

Everyone

Last week, Gillian wore a cute top with pink leggings. When Daddy picked her up from school, Gillian said "Everyone like my shirt!" While saying that, she would run her hands down the front of her shirt. She proudly told me the same thing that night. "Everyone like my shirt!"

Today, Gillian wore her new shoes to school. The shoes are black Toms. Daddy picked the kids up from school. He got Gillian first and they went outside together to get John. While Gillian was looking for Jphn, Miss Denise (one of John's teachers) said "Gillian, I love your shoes." Gillian responded by saying "Daddy, everyone like my shoes!"

Sunday adventures

This morning, we went to Mimi as Poppy's house for breakfast. Gigi and Pop-Pop (the kids great grandparents) were in town and breakfast was the perfect opportunity to get together. After breakfast the kids ran around the backyard blowing bubbles. I had to help Gillian with we bubbles. She has a tendency to spill bubbles. She wasn't happy with my assistance and kept saying "I do it myself." I finally caved and watched her spill half of the bubbles in grass. 

After breakfast we went to Uncle T and Aunt Missy's house. Uncle T, Uncle Kevin, Daddy and Billy (Aunt Missy's brother) were fixing Uncle T's boat. The kids were not too excited about fixing the  boat, they really just wanted to visit with the dogs. We were surprised to see Aunt Trish, Sammie and little Kyle there when we arrive. The kids were happy to see their cousins and they all played nicely on the boat. We also got to spend some time with the dogs. Plus, Miss Kalyn taught the kids how to weed in Aunt Missy's garden. 

Gillian and I beat the boys home. We decided to fill up the kiddie pool and get her dressed in her "bath-ing suit." Gillian was ready to jump in the pool when John and Daddy got home. John ran upstairs and got on his suit too. The kids played outside in the pool and with their water table for hours. 

Overall a busy but fun day! And a special thanks to my sister. She took the picture of the kids below!