Birthday Expressions

Christopher, on his third birthday, after the party, the presents, the food, the friends, as I was rocking him to sleep: "Mommy, me happy tonight."

Don't Eat That!

Five-year-old Sarabeth listened to me read an article about the evils of high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and food dyes, and then we looked at some food labels together.

The next day, when she asked for a snack, I offered her a Nutri-Grain bar. She was appalled, shouting, "Nutri-Grain bars are terrible for you! Do you know what they have in them?!? Were you asleep when you read that label to me?!? I am not eating that!" And she hasn't eaten one since....

Sweet Boy

My little two-year-old Christopher...
One morning when I was getting him out of bed, he pointed to my shirt and said, "shirt pretty." We sang the song "God Made Me," then Christopher pointed to himself and said, "God made Chifers." I just love him to pieces.

Father Knows Best

When Christopher was one and Sarabeth was three and a half, Christopher lost his cute little baseball cap while we were out running errands in Zeeland one afternoon. Sarabeth realized the hat was missing as we were on our way home. I turned the van around and headed back to town to look for it, but Sarabeth had other ideas: "We need Daddy to help us find it! He knows about hats."

P.S. Mommy found the hat. It was at the library. Sometimes mommies know about hats, too.

Gotta Dance!

When Sarabeth was two and a half, a brand new Street Performer Series began in Downtown Holland. It was held on Thursday evenings throughout the summer, and we took Sarabeth and newborn Christopher downtown for the entertainment quite frequently. Sarabeth was fascinated with all of the street performers, but she especially fell in love with the tap dancer, Rosie. Every week, we had to go find Rosie first thing. As the summer progressed, Sarabeth named one of her dolls "Rosie," and then she asked for her own pair of tap shoes, and then she wanted to wear her tap shoes downtown, and then she wanted to dance with Rosie. We got to know Rosie pretty well. She loved Sarabeth, and they had a lot of fun together.

We took a lot of pictures of Sarabeth and Rosie that summer. Unbeknownst to us, at some point a photographer for the city also snapped some pictures of Rosie and Sarabeth dancing together, and one of those photos was actually used to advertise the street performer series the following summer. Sarabeth's first brush with fame....

Yummy Stuff My Kids Won't Eat

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
(Easy Crockpot Recipe!)

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, diced
1 quart chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cream or half & half
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Optional toppings: additional cheese, bacon crumbles, chives, sour cream

Combine all ingredients except cream/half & half and cheese in crockpot. Cook on high 4 hours (or low 8 hours), until potatoes are tender. Mash potatoes in crockpot until coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in cream/half & half and cheese. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with toppings such as bacon, chives, additional cheese, and sour cream.

Recipe Source: crockingirls.com

Photo Source: Internet

Exhaustion

Four-year-old Christopher, after attending a Literacy Playgroup in Zeeland:
"Mommy, I want to lie on the couch and watch a movie when we get home. I'm just worn out after all that playing."