rees genre

I would like to add a new law of physics. Maybe this law doesn't belong in the general description and discussion of the laws that govern the earth, but it seems appropriate in the laws that govern the world of toddlers. The law is as follows: "What takes a toddler an hour to do will take Mom three hours to undo." My poor pregnant body hits about two o'clock in the afternoon and it cries for the mercy of a nap. Incoherency shuts me down and am forced to let my body rest in at least a semi-conscious state. Davin does not take naps anymore, but he is usually content to lay down on the couch with his blanket and pillow and watch a show, giving me at least 30-45 minutes of quiet time. Last week, I set Davin up for his "quiet time" and then I drifted down the hall to my bed. Floating in and out of sleep, I heard Davin up and about in the living room, playing with the video tapes. Later, I heard him enter the bathroom and sit in the sink, playing with the water. I...

Davin helps cookie-making by cleaning the beaters. I think that we are raising an elf. Have you seen the movie Elf ? Will Ferrell's overgrown elf character, Buddy, describes the elf diet: "So are what the four basic food groups? Well, as any elf knows, they are: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup." I think that Davin would eat this diet if we let him, especially the last item (he would eat gravel if we put syrup on it). We really try to watch his sugar intake and we know when he has had too much sugar consistently. He stops eating regular food and instead asks for sugary things constantly. We have to put him on a sugar diet and cut it out completely so that he will start eating normally again. When he is a good schedule, he eats like a champ, devouring broccoli, tomatoes, and steak. Hopefully we'll see that appetite return here soon. It may be his sweet personality that gives Davin his sweet tooth. The other night at dinner, Davin charmed our dinner guests Jason...

Here it is folks: Football Season! Occasionally I'll notice a little smile on Chris's face, and I know what he is thinking about. Nope, it's not me, it's a battle on a hundred yards of turf (plus endzones ), where sweat and blood make boys into men (and vice versa ). Chris has been tutoring Davin on terms that he needs to know for the upcoming season, such as touch-down, spread option, and 3-3-5 defense. I had a proud moment. Davin was walking down the stairs wearing his (only) BYU Cougar t-shirt (which is too small, btw , and he could use another one, maybe in 3T). He looked down and pointed to Cosmo on his shirt and said "Cougar." I knew that he was ready for the BYU season. Of course, his aunts Amy and Susan saw that Davin was well-prepared for the University of Texas season. Because of his full Texas wardrobe, he can recognize Bevo without hesitation. This season we should have a few more options for attending Wake Forest home games; Chris had a great t...

Our "city cousins", the Christensens of Jersey City, New Jersey, visited us during our last week in Raleigh, NC, and we had a great time showing them around our more "rural" surroundings. Raleigh isn't really that rural, but apparently the abundance of trees and greenery made Kaia (the Christensens' two year old) think that she was on a farm. We had a fun day at the beach near Wilmington, played at the pool, explored the natural history museum in Raleigh, shopped at the farmer's market, and just hung out together. Davin loved having Kaia around as a constant little playmate and we had a great time celebrating Asher's first birthday. It was a fun way to spend our last week in Raleigh before heading back to Winston-Salem and to school. We certainly appreciate our friends for using their vacation to visit us and we can't wait to see them again! For more pictures, please see our web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/katiearees/ChristensenSVisit

Though I don't claim to know the mind of God, I think that he asked us to be parents in this life so that we could understand his position a little better. This morning I made banana bread for breakfast. We had a couple of bananas that were past their prime, so the frugal little housewife in me decided this would be a good end for their use. Davin loves bananas. I have seen that boy engulf three whole bananas at a time. As a special touch, I included nuts in the bread and on top in a streusal topping; nuts are also a no-fail-make-the-toddler-happy food. Breakfast is Davin's meal; he often eats more than I do, which makes me feel like it is okay if he doesn't eat as much the rest of the day. The bread baked perfectly and I called the boys in for breakfast. Instead of shoveling the banana bread into his mouth, Davin refused to even try it. (I think that Davin woke up on the wrong side of the bed today; it has been that kind of a day.) He has had (and loved) banana bread befo...

Did Newton have a toddler? I was pondering the Newtonian laws of physics (something most stay-at-home moms like to do) and how they aptly apply to living with a toddler. Newton's third law states: "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." We recently packed up our Raleigh house and moved back to Winston-Salem. As I made great effort to put Davin's toys into their baskets and get them ready to load into the car, Davin made an equal effort to see that the toys were removed from their baskets, thus undoing everything I had done. This phenomenon also occurs when I do laundry. I change the pile of dirty clothes into clean clothes, then transform the pile of clean clothes into a stack of folded clothes, which then are placed in drawers. Davin takes the clean clothes out of the drawers, turns the folded stacks into piles, and then turns the clean clothes into dirty ones. As he is developing a stronger sense of his personal will, I can see that we will...

Chris + []' +-+ -.3-------------------------- I started this post and Davin decided to finish it for me.