Ammon marks his territory

Welp, summer is officially over, the kids are back in school, and Ammon is an only child, part-time. I needed to walk Grant to his kindergarten class this morning, so we parked and walked in together. I say together, but what really happened is that we walked together until we got on the sidewalk and then Madison and Logan sped up until they were 10 feet in front of me. I tried to call for them to come give me a hug and to tell them good luck and good bye, but all they would give me was a look over the shoulder and a fast, "bye mom." Grant stuffed his backpack in his cubby and then hurried over to a table covered in play-doh and cookie cutters. He let me take a quick picture and didn't even acknowledge I was leaving. Agh! Growing up is so wonderful and exciting and sad all rolled into a big emotional ball! So I got in the car and put on my sunglasses to hide the leaky mascara.

So far Ammon and I have played with friends at the playground, gone shopping, put away groceries, played puzzles, read books, watched a Barney episode, ate lunch, cleaned up the kitchen, and now it's nap time. It's so quiet!

Ammon did better than I expected; of course, we left the kids instead of the kids leaving us, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

The best picture I could get. I wanted to take more, maybe even individual pictures, but Madison told me that was enough and climbed into the van. 

Ignore the shoe rack and focus on the ready-to-go backpacks. 

Madison's baptism actually deserves its own blogpost--but it might not happen.

Madison was baptized on Saturday with four other kids--four girls and one boy! It was such a fun, special day, although she barely ate anything and said she didn't feel well for most of the day. She looked beautiful in the white dress that her Aunt Rachel and she picked out. Both sets of grandparents and her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Aaron were able to attend. So many friends and families of the five families were there that the chapel and cultural hall were packed! Many people were left standing in the back. Luckily, I had a front row view of the ordinance, and I felt so grateful to have such a special little girl in my life.

And there she is in her baptism jumpsuit! 

So now that my busy week is over, I am wondering what I'm going to do with one child. Ok, not really! I have a feeling Ammon is going to keep me very, very busy.

Last night I gave Grant and Ammon a bath together, and then we went to their room to get dressed. The two naked little boys were laughing and pointing at each other saying, "You're naked!" "HAHAHA!" "I'm going to pee on you!" "HAHAHA!" "No, I'm going to pee on YOU!" I was sitting on the floor trying to get Ammon to come over to me to get dressed. He walked up behind me and gave me a hug. At least that's what I thought he was doing. Then he stepped back and started laughing really loudly. I felt a strange sensation on my back and felt it to see what it was--warm and wet. My life went into slow-motion as I connected the wetness with what the boys had been talking about.

. . . . . . .

I don't spank. I really don't. I'm against spanking. But I swatted that boy's nakey bum and said, "Ammon, we do NOT pee on people. That is NOT appropriate."

His eyes got all big and tears started sliding down his face (I think he was more surprised than hurt), and he said, "I'm sorry, Mama." So we hugged and made up and I told both the boys that there would be no more potty talk. We'll see how long that lasts.

I can usually find humor in things pretty quickly, but this one has taken a little longer. I was able to finally laugh about it last night when I recounted the story to my dad and Joe, who had been at a stake priesthood meeting.

So yes, I think Ammon will keep me busy. Among other things, I look forward to getting back on my treadmill, completing my English classes, swapping with parents to help out in classrooms, and going to the temple more regularly. I am not looking forward to football season. ;)