John, Becky, Kevin & Adam Bunting

The highlight of our New Year’s weekend was that John did not have to go to work on Friday or Monday. We were not happy this morning when John had to go to work. When Kevin got up this morning he said, “where’s Daddy?”. He was so upset when I told him daddy had gone to work. I told him to say “bye bye daddy” and he waved down the stairs at the door and with a pout said bye bye. Maybe that’s why he was grumpy all day today.

As for the weekend, we spent time at home and some time looking at a house we’re hoping to buy. Yikes! And exciting. We were all sound asleep by the time midnight rolled around, we’re pretty exciting aren’t we? Now I’m asking John what else we did…

Oh, yes, after John did some work from home we saw “The Muppet Movie” on Friday. We were going to go to a theater in one part of town but when we got to the ticket window they said they could only sell us one ticket. I asked John if I could just take Kevin but he said no. He didn’t want to hang out with Adam for two hours. But we found another theater and there was hardly anyone there. Weird! John got some of his favorite new movie snack, nachos. Kevin and Adam pigged out on popcorn and soda. Kevin enjoyed most of the show, but Adam got kind of bored so he did a somersault down the stairs. I had to hurry and carry him out! The boys and I really enjoyed the music, but John slept through a lot of the movie so I’m not sure what he thought of it.

On Saturday after looking at the house we took the boys out to dinner at this really fancy restaurant called Chili’s. Yum yum!

Sunday morning we actually ate breakfast before church since it started at 11 instead of 9. Even though we always have sacrament meeting first, Kevin seemed really upset when we got there. He was adamant that he should go to nursery first thing. I had to walk around the hall with him and show him there was no one in the nursery room. I was finally able to calm him down by reading “Curious George”. We made it through the rest of the meeting without having to leave. John did take Adam out to try to get him to go to sleep. His normal nap is at 10 am but he did not go to sleep until we were driving home from church at 2:00. It’s about a 3 minute drive and he was out before we pulled out of the parking lot.

Overall, this weekend was just our speed. It was really nice to be all together for a few days but now we are back in the swing of things. Sort of. Now it’s almost midnight so it’s time to get to bed! Happy New Year everyone!

Our photo gallery just got updated. We now have Kevin’s 2 year old pictures up and more family pictures. Also have Adam’s 1 year old pictures. We got some cute boys.

For some reason I didn’t get to sleep in today. It’s worth it.

This boy only wanted “gook” (milk) and McQueen this morning.

This boy knows he’s not really big enough to go down the stairs.

I was collapsing this diaper box and it made me happy. Do you know why?

If anyone else decides to get out of bed they can share this German pancake with me. (I know, it’s a little dark, but still good.)

In the meantime, we’ll enjoy the Christmas Tree on our own.

Kevin is growing up way too fast. But it’s adorable. He spilled some water on the floor, then grabbed a towel to clean it up. He used that same towel to try to open a bottle – a trick I showed him yesterday. He puts things away, including dirty clothes and garbage. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it until today, but I asked him to carry his dirty dishes over after lunch and dinner and he did it. He loves to help me cook. We end up with messes all over, the ingredients don’t always make it in the bowl but he loves to pour and stir. Tonight at dinner he actually folded his arms (that’s like the third time in his life) but this time he kept them folded during the prayer and bowed his head and squinted his eyes. I think it was because I asked him to show Adam how to fold his arms. After the prayer he said “eyes”, meaning that we should close our eyes when we pray. Then I asked him if he wanted to say the prayer and I repeated a short prayer line by line. He said a couple of the words. This is huge progress for him.

Adam is growing and changing every day too. Walking is now his preferred method of transportation. He can now crawl down the stairs all by himself, but I only know that because we were all upstairs and I was in my room and when I came out he was downstairs. My heart skipped a beat. I still don’t like him going down and luckily he doesn’t do it much.

After dinner tonight I was going to have the boys watch Wheel of Fortune with me. (in case you didn’t know, that was my mom’s favorite show and I’ve seen it a lot and I’m pretty good at it. But, they both headed straight upstairs to play so I joined them. They were a hoot running all around chasing and laughing at each other. I started thinking of two songs. One of them I sang in a choir in Salt Lake. It is called “Turn Around”. The other one is a country song that used to be on the radio called “Let Them Be Little”. Both are reminders of how precious this time is. I pulled up a music video and Kevin curled up to watch it with me and then I started to cry! I’m such a sap! Don’t get me wrong, these days can be hard. This morning especially when Kevin was screaming and having a fit over everything (the toy tractors wouldn’t sit neatly on top of each other!) and Adam won’t let me set him down for anything. But, the moments are fleeting and so special. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

“Let Them Be Little”
(Richie McDonald/Billy Dean)

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand
Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you’re changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon

So let them be little ’cause they’re only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

I’ve never felt so much in one little tender touch
I live for those kisses, prayers and your wishes
Now that you’re teaching me things only a child can see
Every night while we’re on our knees all I ask is please

Let them be little ’cause they’re only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

So innocent, a precious soul, you turn around
It’s time to let them go

So let them be little ’cause they’re only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

Let them be little

“Turn Around”
(Harry Belafonte, Alan Greene & Malvina Reynolds)

Where are you going
My little one, little one
Where are you going
My baby, my own

Turn around and you’re two
Turn around and you’re four
Turn around and you’re a young girl
Going out of the door

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you’re a young girl
Going out of the door

Where are you going
My little one, little one
Little pigtails and petticoats
Where have they gone

Turn around and you’re tiny
Turn around and you’re grown
Turn around and you’re a young wife
With babes of your own

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you’re a young wife
With babes of your own

Where have they gone
My little ones, little ones
Where have they gone
My babies, my own

Turn around and they’re young
Turn around and they’re old
Turn around and they’re gone
And we’ve no one to hold

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and they’re gone
And we’ve no one to hold

Where are you going
My baby, my own

My Little Ones

Photography by Katherine Jenkins (didn’t she do an awesome job? We were taking Adam’s picture and Kevin walked back behind him and sat down!)

I took the boys to Costco and Walmart today (5 days before Christmas!). We left the house at 12:30 and arrived home at 5:45. We survived. Barely.
We almost didn’t make it when Kevin wanted to trade his toy truck for Adam’s toy car. Adam did not want to trade. We found Kevin a car and he was very content the rest of the time.
Then we almost didn’t get to check out because the Walmart checker shut off his light and said, “you 4 people have to go get in another line”. Excuse me? I’ve already been waiting in this line for at least 5 minutes. There was no way I was leaving. Poor guy, he was supposed to be off at 5 but my transaction did not end until 5:18. Sorry dude, but you need to shut your light off before your shift ends.
Costco was great on the other hand. I don’t know how they do it, but I’ve never had to wait there, and that place is always so crowded.