Three or More

I am just discovering a few things about my new leap into the "big family" realm. This is why it works to have more than two kids: the 5-year-old is often actually helpful! I'm LOVING Henry right now and all he does to contribute to our family. He has taken it upon himself to be Sam's little buddy, and he'll jump at any chance to play with him and make him happy. He'll run all the way upstairs to fetch a pacifier before I even realize Sam needs one. He'll play and laugh and make faces at him to entertain him. He'll bounce the bouncy seat or rock the car seat. He'll protect Sam from the dangerous "I'm-going-to-step-on-your-head" Ellis. I love that these two are forming a good relationship already. I love seeing the sweet, willing-to-help side of Henry that he had not exhibited before. I love the thought of someday having another baby and having Ellis at this helpful age, and Henry at an even more helpful age. How wonderful this is for kids to serve each other! This is how people have more than two kids! I'm starting to get it.

Funny Moments

1. The day Ellis' jeans ended up in Henry's drawer, so he put them on, and they totally FIT -- just a little differently than his own jeans fit. I think he'll start a trend for fitted, capri-length pants in boys!

What do you think?

2. The day "Elder Hales" went missing . . . and was later discovered on the bottom of Mom's shoe! I did feel bad, because I definitely don't think apostles' faces should be trampled on, especially by me . . . and we have all been wondering if Elder Hales might be sick, since he didn't speak in General Conference in April (which is why his cut-out wasn't on the Conference Train with the rest of the Apostles and instead made it to the bottom of my shoe). Yes, I do feel some guilt about this.

And apparently Ellis ("Elder Nelson" today) doesn't approve either.

F.A.Q.

Q: Is there really a group called "Tabernacle kids" or is that Ellis' special name for his very own group? At first I thought you were kidding, but the multiple references has me doubting.

A: These are the children whom Ellis calls The Tabernacle Kids. Really, they are any group of children who have ever sung in the Conference Center. He watches all of their clips on YouTube and totally idolizes them.

Jenn

Mt. Auburn Cemetery

We had a feeling that Ben's parents might have a hard time returning to Utah from the breathtakingly beautiful and G-R-E-E-N Scotland. So we thought we'd help break them in slowly by taking them to the most enchanting place in our neighborhood: the Mount Auburn Cemetery. My pictures don't do it justice. The cemetery was absolutely gorgeous with all the spring blossoms in perfect bloom.

Ben's mom and dad couldn't get enough of the azaleas, rhododendrons, and flowering dogwoods, and they helped us plan out what we will plant in our future yard (someday!).

I adore all the details of this garden cemetery - from the ancient-looking headstones to the ornate little signs that mark all of the pathways. I wish I had more/better pictures -- especially of the angel statues that I would definitely choose over a slab of granite to mark my grave (remember that, friends).

We had a picnic here at the mount where we could see a pretty decent view of Boston. It was a bit chilly and overcast. We were commenting on how the whole experience seemed like something we would do in Scotland . . . when we heard the sound of bagpipes coming from below. A Scottish funeral was about to start in the chapel. Coincidence? [I think Ben must have paid them in advance.]

Here is the view of the city from the top of the cemetery's tower (yes, this picture was taken on a different, less-cloudy day).

The Warrens and I agree on names that sound good together, apparently.

Ellis used every spigot he saw as a "mikerphone" to conduct General Conference.

Here he is sitting down while waiting for the Tabernacle Choir to sing "Glory to God on High."

Here he found the perfect set of steps to be a Tabernacle Kid. He insisted on singing 3 verses of "I am a Child of God" at full volume.

And here's Henry standing perfectly still for a full 2 minutes. He was sure he heard the buzzing of a bee, and you never can be too cautious.

Blessed

Blessed:

• To have good friends who came to support us in holding Sammy's blessing at home (when Elder Perry's visit complicated our plan to have it at church yesterday)
• To have been able to share the blessing (and 3 blissful days!) with Ben's parents, who just returned from a very successful 18-month mission in Scotland
• Mostly, to have three wonderful, amazing, adorable boys -- especially our little Samuel Patrick. We love him!

Best. Day. Ever.

Today was a HUGE day for Ellis, a dream come true, really. He got to meet an apostle of our Church - Elder L. Tom Perry - for the very first time. Elder Perry came to our ward building today because he was in the area for something else and wanted to return to the Weston chapel where he attended church many years ago. It was exciting and created quite a stir for the entire ward, but not many people really comprehended what this day would be for Ellis. He has been idolizing the apostles and prophets for going on seven months now. He still watches his "Conference Show" every day. He still sings songs about the general authorities regularly. He has memorized the names of the First Presidency, Twelve Apostles, and nearly all members of the first and second quorums of the Seventy. For story time, he has been choosing the Ensign most of the time so we can "talk about those guys" and plan the trip to the Conference Center that we will surely make someday. Looking at a picture of the Conference Center filled with people, I asked Ellis where he was going to sit when we go to Conference. He's going to sit by Elder Gonzales. Yep, right there in those comfy-looking red chairs!

Anyway, so that is my boy and his ongoing apostle fetish. When we told him Elder Perry would be visiting OUR church on Sunday, he was thrilled. For two days he flung himself back into the game where everybody gets to be a general authority. Dad was Elder Bednar; Mom was Sister Wixom; Henry was Elder Hales; Grandpa was Elder Holland; even Sam got to be Elder Christofferson; and Ellis was -- of course -- Elder Perry. After spending the morning helping "Elder Perry" get ready for church, we finally arrived at the church parking lot, at which point the ecstatic Ellis exclaimed, "Now we get to see the REAL Elder Perry!" I couldn't get enough of Ellis as we walked into the building. His small footsteps were interrupted with irregular jumps and spasms of sheer excitement. He had the hugest smile on his face, and he kept stopping to clench and shake his fists and exclaim, "Yeah!!! Elder Perry!!!" When we got into the chapel and found a seat, he immediately looked at the men sitting on the stand and asked, "Which one's Elder Perry?" but Elder Perry wasn't there yet. We waited a few minutes and then saw him arrive. Ellis' gaze followed him all the way up to the stand (Is he shaking hands? Is he six foot three?), where he sat down just behind the podium, such that Ellis could only see the top of his head. Don't worry; Ellis could see fine as long as he could stand on our laps. So that's what Ellis did -- he stood up on one of our laps for the entire meeting and wouldn't come down. He was just absolutely beaming the whole time, watching and waiting for when Elder Perry would talk in the microphone. And finally he did, and it was a dream come true. Ellis gave a resounding "Amen." After the meeting, Henry and Ellis both got to shake hands with Elder Perry. Ben briefly explained how much Ellis adores him (how can one convey this in a few seconds?) and how he had been pretending to be Elder Perry all day, and Elder Perry was sweet and told Ellis to go and get ready to be a missionary!

We could have taken Ellis to Disneyland today and he couldn't possibly have been in a more euphoric state.

Now, let me delight you with a video presentation of Ellis, the Tabernacle Kid. For Ellis, any set of stairs can instantly become a set of choir seats, ready for a performance by the Tabernacle Kids. Really, his screechy singing voice is something you shouldn't miss:

Tabernacle Ellis from Jenn and Ben on Vimeo.

Mom of Three

This is exactly what I always imagined motherhood would feel like: me sitting on the couch with my arms full of little ones. Here we are, friends: my three boys, and me - a full-fledged mom!

Compromise

When you really love your brother, you'll find a way to compromise your interests in order to play TOGETHER.

One boy sets up the President Road.

Another boy drives his cars along it.

And for a brief moment, everything is calm, and everyone is happy (enjoy it while it lasts, Mom!).

Don't you kind of wonder what kind of obsession Boy #3 will bring to the mix?

Ellis-isms

"I wanna do . . . Dad gets home"

"Maybe I can ask Dad I'm a fighter-fighter" (translation: Maybe I can tell Dad that I'm a fire fighter.")

"Watch me how to jump!"

"Grandpa, where you are?"

"That's a idea, Mom." (in response to "Daddy's in the shower")

"Mom, if you don't come downstairs, I'm gonna . . . throw you in the garbage!"

"Ulysses S. Grant is kind of Woodrow Wilson." (translation: kind of like Woodrow Wilson)

"We're singing 'Go God, He Loves Us.'" (sounds like my kind of song!)

"Dad, guess what? I was doing in trouble, but anyway." (translation: When I did this earlier, I got in trouble, but now I'm doing it anyway)

COMMON PHRASES:

"I FOUND IT!!!" (every time we arrive at the church parking lot)

"Bye, Church! See ya next time!" (every time we leave the church parking lot)

"Who had fun at church?" (every week as we start driving home from church)

"What are we on?" (translation: What scripture story will we read tonight?)

"I wanna hold you/I wanna carry you."

"What I have?" (translation: Why are you washing my face? What did I eat that was messy?)

"I need your helper." (translation: I need your help)

"I'm too strong for that." (translation: I'm not strong enough for that)

"I don't want to . . . to clean up."

"I don't want you to . . . to do the dishes."

"I don't want to . . . to brush my teeth."

"Shot! Shot! Shot! I kill you!" (Seriously, where did this come from?)

"I wanna play in da playground." (i.e. the backyard)

"What the . . ? What the . . ? What the . . ? They are same kind!" (translation: I see two things that look the same -- like a picture in a book that looks the same as the cover)

"Any of doze?" (translation: Any opposed? This comes up a lot when we are playing the conducting-church game)

"Thank you that we can be here with us." (No one knows what this means. Ellis says it as a part of EVERY prayer, and usually it is the ONLY thing he says in his prayers. Ellis has recently been so excited about saying prayers that he will start praying as soon as the very idea of prayer is mentioned. No one has to ask him; he just starts praying! He'll often just say a prayer in the middle of a meal or a conversation for absolutely no reason. For a while, he was getting really creative with what he prayed for, which was quite amusing. But for now, he's just thankful that we can be here with us, or something like that).

Money Trading

Henry and Ellis love to get out their money boxes and count/play with their loot. Today I overheard what I thought was a suspicious scheme going on. Henry, who understands the value of money, was happily collecting the more valuable denominations from Ellis, who doesn't.

When I ran into the room to defend Ellis, he assured me that he knew what he was doing: "I shared my Abraham Lincoln to Henry!" I helped them to rearrange a few things, and everyone ended up happy. Henry got to keep the Abraham Lincoln ($5 bill), and Ellis got a whole stash of George Washingtons, Thomas Jeffersons, Franklin Roosevelts, and Abraham Lincolns that he can happily drop into the coin slot on his money box. It turned out to be totally fair, since Henry values a $5 bill for what it can buy, and Ellis values a few dollars worth of coins for the hours of amusement he will get from identifying, collecting, and counting the presidents. Works for me!