Funny child vs. Stubborn Mom

So Micah's figured out he's a third born child, and desperate to prove that he too can participate in the jolly chaos of the home, has adopted a new face:

 Boy does that face make us giggle!

He uses is for all sorts of attention getting...like when he's in the church nursery and spots me through the window. On one particular Sunday most of the row behind me was holding in their laughter as this little clown stared me down with this face. HOW could I NOT go pick him up?

He's also learned to use this face for evil and not for good by becoming the 'class clown', so to speak. 

"Micah!" I say sweetly, secretly...okay, not so secretly... hoping Micah will learn to talk one day because we ignore him so often, "Micah, say MA. MA. Mama. Say Mama!"

Micah:

"No Micah, that's super cute and silly, but say 'Mama'. C'mon! MAMA! Mama!"

Micah:

He gets us every time. He's been doing it for two weeks and we still laugh.
I truly thought that he'd forever think that the goof face and 'mama' were one and the same ...

Until yesterday. He said it! "Mom. Mom. Mom." He had a plugged nose so I wondered if that had something to do with it and it was some sort of fluke.  He still has a plugged nose, and it could still be a fluke, except he says it when I pick him up and he hugs me and touches my hair and says, "Mom. Mom. Mom." And suddenly all those wiggly diaper changes and sleepless nights and shnotty noses and food on the floor and puked on shirts are just WORTH it. He knows who loves him.
Mom.

True, I'd prefer 'Mama' or 'Mommy' or something that indicates he's 11 months old and not a small, army-crawling teenager, but hey, beggars can't be choosers! :)

And so...stubborn mom wins again!

P.S. That was supposed to be the end of this post...but then Micah added a new element to this act.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you
Funny Face Meets Dinner and a Nasty Cold Virus! :

 Check out the snot mixed with spaghetti sauce. Yummy.

Dinner is great, Ma! Just great!

 I love you to the moon and back, Micah!

One very quiet Quiet Time...

Yesterday after one very quiet Quiet Time, I saw this little face smiling at me through the window of the toy room door:

I went and had a good belly laugh privately and then put on my best stern face and went downstairs. Josh was hiding behind the couch. He has a decent conscience.

When he popped his head up all he had to say was,

"Yeah but Mommy...I wanted to be a lion!"

(Note: It was washable.)

(One more note: He did it again today.)

Micah on the Move!

Well, this post (like all the upcoming ones) is a little overdue, since Micah's been on the move for nearly a month. Ever loyal to the Balfour way of doing things, he's late at learning to move, and he's adopted the army crawl as his means of doing so.

I actually don't mind one bit that he's a slow learner.

Because he's really mischievous!

Outlets and staircases, for instance, are his favourite.

He's starting to rock on all fours now, and I know I'm going to be in real trouble when he actually starts crawling!

Yesterday I let Josh and Ellie each play with ONE marble on their marble race track. That equals TWO marbles. Easy to keep track of, right? WRONG! I ran upstairs to get something, then ran straight back down and said, "Where's your two marbles guys?" We found ONE.

And I looked at Micah.

Who smiled at me with a slightly bulging cheek.

Little Stinker.

Yes, folks, Micah's on the move.

And so is his MOM. :)

Poetry

Finally! I figured out a way to get a video on my blog! In celebration of this accomplishment, here's a video that makes me giggle every time I watch it (but I'm his mom): Josh, reciting a poem with a severely plugged up nose.

Party Time

Since Ellie's been talking about her 5th birthday party for at least half a year, I figured it deserved a post all its own. After much deliberating, Ellie and I agreed on an Easter theme for her birthday party this year. (Thanks, Dollarama, for putting your Easter things out insanely early! You saved us from the inevitable fairy/princess theme!)

I think it was all Ellie hoped it would be!

It was really tough for her, but Ellie finally picked 5 of her many beautiful friends to invite (I'm not a huge screaming girl party fan..5 seemed reasonable. Selfish? Maybe!)

Regan, Ellie's "best cousin" and a sure friend to have hours of uninterrupted fun with!

Erica, fellow princess and a precious spitfire of a girl!

Chloe, special friend since near-birth and fellow classmate at our homeschool co-op.

Acacia, only 3 1/2 but going on 5...just as chatty as Ellie and super sweet!

And last but not least, Alexandra, another sweet friend since birth and

always sure to make up a game Ellie didn't think of. :)

The day before the party Josh received this purple shirt as a gift. Recently he's declared that pink and purple are his new favourite colours. So he fit right in, no problems.

After some Easter egg painting and an easter hunt (too busy to take pictures!), we opened gifts. Ellie couldn't have been more pleased with the gifts her friends kindly brought. She was especially pumped that one 'somehow' knew to bring the fake flowers she'd been hoping for:

It was almost magical watching the expressions on her face!

After all was said and done, Ellie turned to me and said, "SEE Mom? I TOLD you this would be the best birthday party in the whole world!!"

Phew! Mission accomplished! :)

Ellie turned 5 two days ago, and I love her more than ever.

Here are just a few of the many things (in pictures)

that make me celebrate this little girl gift from God:

Since she was 18 months she has seldom spent an entire day in regular clothing.

And even if they were regular, they are likely not found on the correct part of her body. How can this not make any day...better?

Her big eyes that notice everything. And remember everything.

Her crazy side.

That look she gives me that tells me everything is sentimental and worthy of keeping. Cards, wrapping paper, broken pieces of a wreath, a feather, you name it. Drives me crazy and makes me love her.

Life is one big dance to her.

She is my best babysitter.

The times we have on this bed. Tears, apologies, frustrations vented, giggles, chapter books read, 'gross' kisses and lots and lots of tickling.

She won't let me wash off month-old tattoos (which her cousin Regan kindly and secretly bestows upon her on a regular basis). :)

She has so many friends we don't know how to plan a birthday party without tears. She would invite her dentist and the store cashier if she could.

When she makes her bed she sets up her animals for their portraits to be taken. Often. I wonder who her mom is? :)

She is (often) kind and tolerant towards her silly, teasing little brother and they are best friends. He would like to marry her. I don't blame him!

She spends her allowance on things like this.

I can only imagine what her room will look like in a year!

She's brilliant and it makes no difference to her.

She has a relationship with Jesus. I pray she always does.

She loves dates as much as I do. 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea! 

I love you more than words...or pictures...could ever say.