first braids, first bike and...i'm out of alliteration

Not amazing, but it's something. Three box braids to be precise.




Mr. Brian brought over his motorcycle and let Cal sit on it. Later that week Mr. Brian let Cal play with his sword from the Marines. Calvin thinks Mr. Brian is just a little awesome.




Hallie accessorized herself. We don't normally keep ear-warmers on our kids when they are inside.

something

skh says I need to get over how many things I'm not blogging and just post something. So here is something. Two somethings, actually.

Hallie is potty trained. Mostly. Yay! I took a couple of pictures of the trainee.



By the way, on a mothering note...it adds an exciting and mind-challenging twist to potty training when your subject doesn't speak any recognizable language. The listed definitions for "Mo' mo' mo'" in the Hallie dictionary are getting out of control, and this presents a problem when one of meanings is a very urgent "I need to be put on the potty NOW, immediately, post haste, hurry hurry hurry, can't go fast enough". We're working very diligently on "peeeeeeepeeeeeee" as her next word, but so far it sounds a lot like "Boppa".

Potty princess has a pretty cute little sister. Keekster freakster is 5 months old. Actually, she's almost 6 months old, but we'll pretend that's not true.




You know, every time I post something, I think about how much I enjoy blogging. I really do. Too bad that I can't keep any thoughts in my head for longer than 3 minutes.

i can't wait any longer

We're not ready to really post anything yet, but I can't stop myself from putting this picture up before I go to bed. She's just too cute. Love her so much my head might pop off.

the costs we've been cutting

I'm not sure how I haven't posted this yet, but here's a little something that's been keeping us busy around here.



The fundraiser is next Saturday, May 15th, and I was just saying that I've begun feeling exactly like I did at the end of Calvin's pregnancy. I really, really, really just want to have this baby. Even if it's an ugly baby.

In all seriousness, we are so excited by what God has already done and can't wait to see what He has in store. Our passion for adoption continues to grow and we are thrilled to get to be a part of helping make this a reality for Ben and Katie. Hope to see you all at The Farm!

watering can purses and flower girls

It's like a garden theme. But not.

Here's Hallie, modeling a new-to-her dress passed down to her via Maggie. This dress was a gift from Grandma and when Maggie fit in it, she loved it too. We almost missed the window for Hallie, though - I keep forgetting how much bigger she is than Maggie was and as a result, this will probably be the only time she wears it.

The watering can is not a hand me down but is an Old-Navy-clearance-rack-Easter-basket-turned-purse-slash-diaper-bag. Hallie absolutely loves it and whenever she thinks there is a chance we are going somewhere, she runs to get her bag and then stands at the door, ready to go.



Both girls are going to be flower girls twice this summer, once for Ian and Kimmy and once for Uncle D and Clarissa. Maggie couldn't be more excited and Hallie has no idea what is going on. However, she does like to try on her dress and spin around in it. I think she'll look lovely even while screaming at the all of the strangers in attendance. Here she is with some residual annoyance at me for making her stop spinning to pin the shoulders...don't worry, I used safety pins.



And finally, here's one I just love, blurriness and all.

easter kids

Is it too late to post Easter pictures? I'm not sure of the protocol here.

Well, either way, here are the kids, all clean, shiny and coordinated. I'm not sure how those skirts got done, but I can tell you that a lot of gathering is a close relative of love. Kit got a skirt too, but it was late and I forgot the rick-rack. See?



Also note that Kit does not have a green sweater. That is because Children's Place doesn't make matchy-matchy things in Kit's size...and apparently no matter how hot the dryer gets, you just can't shrink a sweater for a 6-month old to fit an American Girl doll. I'm sure if you weren't starting this process at 8:30 on the Saturday night preceding Easter you would be able to cut the sweater up and sew it to fit the doll...but I wasn't in that category. Kit also went to church shoeless as no one knows where her shoes are and I drew the line at her wearing Strawberry Shortcake's pink booties.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I heard over on Facebook that Cal's tie is "tight" and "ballin'"...and now my vocabulary is "fresh".

For any interested parties, these Twirly Skirts are pretty easy to make. It's the same skirt I made for Maggie's 6th birthday...and it works with a tutu under it for the poofiness that is much desired at a tea party.

if you can get past the wal-mart attire...

...this is oddly enjoyable.

I'm not sure, but I think Hallie's pants were rolled up like that because we'd been trying on sandals. Maybe.

If you're really sad that video is done and you're wondering what to watch next, here's another. I wish I'd caught Calvin's expressions the first few times skh did this. They alternated between horror and glee as he tried to figure out what was really going on.

And it's always fun to end a post by asking the baby where her armpits are, right?

hello? any femina partygoers?

I didn't really expect traffic via the Femina blog party, but was pleasantly surprised by a commenter (Hi, Marty!), so I wanted to extend a friendly hello to anyone that stops by!

Well, I guess it's technically Hallie extending the hello. Either way, welcome! Maybe I should start posting again. :)

i lack the perseverance

Our friend Sarah came up with a great idea for a blog post after hearing a little about why I am never, never, never, ever bored around Calvin. She suggested that I write down every question he asked me throughout a day and then post them all for you to enjoy.

So I tried.

It was really hard.

I can't write that fast.

I don't think the internet can hold that much information anyway.

Here is the first attempt. I didn't remember to do it until we were part way through the day...I think we were at the end of lunch, heading into naptime. This series accounts for about 15 minutes, tops. If I have a comment for you, it follows the question in italics.

• Have you ever been here before? Not sure if "here" is the table we sit at three times a day or the universe at large.
• Have *I* ever been here before?
• Who was I when I was a baby? This one hurt my brain.
• Still Calvin?
• Are quesadillas heathy for you?
• But not all people?
• Does he really get germs with it?
• Why are you having some?
• Because you wanted some?
• What is he? What is he? What? Who is he and what do you mean what is he?
• Mama will you turn the hallway light on?
• Will you leave it on?
• Will you tell me about the fish not playing drums? Part of the sleeping routine for Cal, made up by Dada.
• Can I play with that when I get up?
• Can I... This one was cut off by my yelling "I LOVE YOU! GO TO SLEEP!" through his already closed door.

Okay, so the next day I thought I could do it. I was prepared for a lot of writing this time around. Here is the fruit of my labor...oh, and these are pretty straightforward, so no notes.

• Can you get me some clothes?
• Can I wear my basketball shirt?
• Can I play with this flashlight?
• Can I get my cowboy stuff?
• Where's Maggie?
• Can I go potty?
• Can I take my socks off?
• Can I go get my police stuff?
• Can Maggie go out to play?
• Can I get my 'struction stuff?
• Since my hardhat is in my room, can I go get it quietly?
• Where does my meatball go? Okay, this one does need a note. This is actually a plastic boulder that goes with a toy dump truck. He is sure it's a meatball.
• Whatchu looking at?
• Can I have water?
• Can I have ice too?
• Can I get my water?
• And ice too?
• Can I get some of my cars?

I think I lasted for about 6 minutes this time. I couldn't figure out how to do this and actually continue to answer the questions and, you know, care for the other children as well.

If someone out there has a plan for me to follow, let me know, cause I do think it would be funny to have an entire day of his four-year-old questions documented for him to enjoy later.

mutton bustin'...

...is awesome. It really is.

About a year an a half ago, the very kind Vanderbeken family took our kids for a few days (with about an hours notice) while we went to our annual Elder's retreat. The most talked about portion of their visit was how they got to watch Mutton Bustin' on YouTube and thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.

Fast forward to a month ago at the HigLig dinner table. Somehow Mutton Bustin' comes up, as it has many times since the kids first learned of it. Geet and Bop decide to declare (out loud and everything) that we should all take Cal to go Mutton Bustin'...mind you, this is before we even knew this was a publicly accessible activity. Calvin could not contain his excitement. Fortunately, Google was able to help us find some Bustin' at The Puyallup Fair the following month.

Since Calvin had never been around livestock of any sort, we did take him to a smaller fair before committing to the event. We stuck him right next to a sheep, had him grab a handful of wool and he acted like everything was totally normal, no hesitation of any sort.

On to Puyallup!

We asked a few of Cal's friends to join him as well. Aaron Vanderbeken thought it would be awesome, and we sort of talked Sam Rothenberger in to it as well. To be honest, we didn't think Sam would actually ride, but he did want to come. (When his mom asked him, "But Calvin is going to do it, don't you want to too?", Sam replied with a very final, "Mom, we will sit on the bench and watch him.")

I don't know who was more excited, the busters, the siblings or the parents.

So Monday we all headed down to Puyallup (our van took two potty breaks on the way...that's a detail to make you feel like you were there). As a side note, the Puyallup Fair is killer. Puyallup might be the dumbest city name I've ever heard, but the fair is fabulous. We got the boys signed up and got ready for some bustin'.

I don't know what cowboy first had his kids prepare for bull-riding like this, but Tommy G has turned it into a great show. All the people the kids encounter are great at what they do. Everybody has fun...what isn't fun about little kids riding terrified sheep? It's hilarious.

Here are a few shots before the riding got underway for the three from our posse.

Sam was up first. We weren't sure he was going to go, even here.

But he did!

And he did awesome.

Then it was Calvin's turn, and he was ready to go.

Our boy is bustin'!

Cal's ride ended with a nice face full of dirt.

He kind of looks irritated here as he looks back at his wooly nemesis. He thinks the sheep won since he didn't last the six seconds.

Aaron was last from our group to go, and I'm not sure he was ever nervous; he's been waiting for this!

Bustin' his mutton.

Aaron's dismount was my favorite.

We also ran into some friends who were there separately, the Mallory family. They had two riders from their pack of five future men. These are the most manly boys I have ever met. Which is a good thing as one of their two had his sheep roll on top of him. I cannot believe it, but my camera malfunctioned during his ride, so I have no photo-documentation. I did catch his brother, though...

Click here if you want to see all of the bustin' pictures. (There are a lot.)

Moving on to the video department, I have two perspectives on Cal's ride.

The official Tommy G footage...

Calvin Bustin' Mutton from Sean Higgins on Vimeo.

And the official Higgins-Flip-Video version...

Calvin Bustin' Mutton (Flip) from Sean Higgins on Vimeo.

Eventually I'll be able to post the rest of the kid's rides, but I have to go pack for the big-time date skh is taking me on, and this is not an egalitarian blog.

But here's a great way to end the post...look at all these cuties!