Fuller has a bad habit of arguing with us when we ask/ tell him to do something. When we ask/ tell him to do something, he immediately launches into “But…” This past weekend Damon and I both realized (almost at the same time) we were tired of it, and have started combating the behavior.

He isn’t really getting the idea of “argue” and I was wondering how you combat this kind of behavior with your kid(s)?

I remember having a vivid imagination as a kid, creating my own world to live and play in. I would have imaginary friends and siblings to talk to, imaginary places to be, and imaginary careers to participate in.

Watching Fuller develop his own imagination has been thrilling. He plays with his cars, talks for people who aren’t there, and recently has decided his bathroom is an elevator.

While we were in Atlanta Fuller was encouraged to get to the elevator quickly and push the buttons. And I guess when we got home he saw the similarity between the sliding elevator doors and the sliding pocket door and the bathroom became the elevator. And now, when Fuller has to go to the bathroom, he stops at the door, presses an imaginary button and waits before opening the door.

Tomorrow it might be a rocket ship, but for now, I’m happy to let him pretend he’s in a elevator.

Over the weekend someone (not related to us) said “It has been so fun watching Fuller grow up.” I agreed and launched into my proud-mother routine. I rambled on and on about how Fuller has calmed down since around January. He still has plenty of energy and seems like he is in constant motion, but really there seems to be more focus in Fuller’s life.

Example: He sits still longer in church, sometimes making it all the way through the service with no melt down (or candy).

Example: He will sit, listen to a book, and then talk about the book later.

Example: We went to the aquarium with Aunt Stina today and Fuller sat on the floor during a scuba diving demonstration. He didn’t make it all the way through the demonstration, but it was the first time he ever showed any interest in watching.

It is fun to watch Fuller grow and change. It’s all coming into focus.

Technorati Tags: childhood development, three years old

I just looked out the window and realized it is snowing. Damon got a sunburn on his neck Saturday (he mowed the grass and did some prettying up in the yard). We had a fire on the patio Friday night. And now it is snowing.

Can I find a cave somewhere and hibernate until Spring really gets here?

I have no idea what the high temperature was today, but our overall perception of Easter has been “It’s chilly!” But I still made my family walk down the street to a green space with blooming Bradford Pears to get family pictures. As is the tradition (it is a tradition if I do it two years in a row, right?), Fuller and Damon are the solid colors, with me being the fun accent print.

Our Easter weekend has been just wonderful. Friday we did Easter eggs and played at the park. Friday night we went to our church’s Good Friday service, which lasted two hours. Fuller was a champ and several people remarked how good he was to sit quietly through the two hours. (My response was he did better than his dad.)

Saturday was fellowship with other church families at an Easter Egg hunt. A very nice family decided to host the hunt (hopefully they will every year) and it was such a fun way to spend Saturday morning. Fuller has the hang of looking for eggs, knowing there are goodies inside, and enjoying just hanging out. The bonus of having so many kids there was thrilling.

Our afternoon was spent doing some Spring cleaning and getting ready for my sister’s visit. Fuller has been attached to Aunt Stina since she arrived. We had fun sitting around the firepit last night, which gave Fuller a pre-Easter sugar rush from roasting marshmallows and peeps.

This morning we had a excellent church service (though we were disappointed Morning Son was not part of the service) and fun Sunday School. Fuller really loves his Sunday School class and I was thrilled when he showed me his craft and told me “Jesus is alive!” He came home with some jelly beans and the “Jelly Bean Prayer.” I’ve never seen/ heard it before, and thought it was a great way to talk about the Easter story with a little one.

Red is for the blood He gave.
Green is for the grass He made.
Yellow is for the sun so bright.
Orange is for the edge of night.
Black is for the sins we made.
White is for the grace He gave.
Purple is for the hours of sorrow.
Pink is for our new tomorrow.

Hope your Easter was a happy one. And if you don’t celebrate Easter, hope your Sunday was restful.

Technorati Tags: family portrait, Easter, Jelly Bean Prayer

Easter conjures a lot of different images for people- church, the cross, Jesus Christ, eggs, candy, bunnies, family, ham, lamb, and… well you tell me what else.

I guess my top three would be singing Morning Son by James Ward, eating a few a box of Cadbury eggs, and having ham with my Great-great-Grandmother’s mustard sauce.

Today I spoke to my Grandmother and asked her if she would mind me sharing this recipe with the internet. As far as she knows, it was a sauce her Grandmother (my Great-Great-Grandmother) learned to make and now it has been passed down to my generation. When I told her how much it the mustard sauce meant to me, she said I was welcome to share it.

I think I like this because of the hint of apple from the cider vinegar. And it is well established I love all kinds of mustard. If you choose to make this some day, please let me know how you liked it.

Great-Great Grandma Sanford’s Mustard Sauce all rights reserved
1 egg, beaten
1 T dry mustard (use good stuff, such as Coleman’s)
1 T sugar
1 T flour
¼ c cider vinegar and ¾ c water

Mix egg and dry ingredients well. Add liquid and cook, stirring constantly with whisk until thick. This does not take long – less than a minute.

Technorati Tags: mustard sauce, Easter food, family recipe