We resume our normal blog schedule even in the time of mourning the Rosa's imminent departure for California. Thank you for the comments and joining in discussion. The idea of moving with the Rosa's did cross our mind, but only for a few seconds. Unless they buy a compound with separate master suites, I don't see it happening because double the rent for the 4 Webbs isn't in the cards. Living by the beach next to our friends would be awesome, but I don't want to live in a VW bus.
The best we can hope for is a 12-18 month "career building" opportunity for Jason and then find a job back here in the land of the heat stroke.
This quote from a FB friend is intensely relevant for parenting: "Love is the root; obedience is the fruit." -- Matthew Henry
Some parents spend their day screaming, "Obey!" and the results are lack-luster at best. I see this while shopping all the time. The order is wrong and it's painfully obvious. The quote above is the better approach. If you show and teach love to kids, then they obey as a choice in their hearts instead of a result of fear or coercion. One of the visible signs of a child getting the concept is sharing. Layla asked for vanilla yogurt and Easton asked for strawberry yogurt. Even though both of them have tasted both flavors they were curious about each other's flavor. I caught the mutual sharing incident in pictures:
This is completely unscripted and unprompted. I just watched with pleasure as they chose to share out of love for each other.
In the past I caught myself saying, "You MUST share!" but then realized it was futile because unless their hearts are right obedience is just a forced action and not a natural expression.
This mutual exchange and sharing and love doesn't happen ALL the time, but it is the rule rather than the exception. For example, if Layla wants to share Easton's airplane while he's playing with it there will be an epic throw-down. Don't MESS with a brother's plane.
Layla received her first hair cut ever. She had almost no hair until she was two years old. Ever since the first sprout we've been cultivating her long brown locks. Kendra assured me Layla's hair was not "cut", just trimmed. Layla was a champ in the salon chair.
Easton's hair cut was business as usual. Thomas the train movie is playing as he rests comfortably with the sheers buzzing his ear.
We experienced a semi-cloudy day over the weekend which caused the day time high to be below 100 degrees. We celebrated by taking a short, sweaty bike ride to the mailbox. By the way, our yearly rainfall total this year is 1.4 inches. Welcome to drought-ville... Fall will be here soon and we will get back to our daily routine.
Of course, we still do lots of swimming and the twins are progressing very well. Both of them can touch the bottom of the pool now. Goggles are awesome as long as they fit right.
Easton's train tracks are regularly built in the front room. Easton is no longer a biter! Throwing his remote control Lightning McQueen in the trash appears to have done the trick. Layla is becoming a real ham by posing so cutely for pictures. I need to teach her the pageant wave.
Nana sat patiently teaching Easton how to play basketball. Her encouraging words sparked an interest. Now he wants to shoot baskets all the time. The best ball for the goal is a squishy soccer ball. I hope this doesn't cause confusion for him later in life. :)
The twins and I went to the hardware store for hummingbird food and to return a bunch of stuff. We walked by the indoor plants and I laughed out loud. Kendra and I have the opposite of a green thumb. We can kill a plant faster than a microwave. I'd like to bring Farmer Silas to our house for a consultation because we need some help. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to get Easton and Layla started early with their horticulture lessons. Easton chose a Monkey Tree and Layla chose an African Violet. The plants will add a nice touch to their rooms and hopefully live a long, fruitful life.
Although that leads me to ask the question, "What fruit does a Monkey Tree bear?"
Layla and I went for a Daddy-Layla date on Sunday afternoon. First stop was the Disney store where she waved the merchandise around the magic mirror. A short movie clip plays on the magic mirror related to the princess associated with the item. Layla is enamored by the awesomeness.
We found the Tinker Bell costumes and Layla wanted one of everything including the fairy wings.
She ended up with Ariel and Prince Eric dolls as a good consequence for her week-long marathon of obedience.
Then she wanted to ride the train merry-go-round because I promised to let her do that earlier. Two other random boys saw me loading quarters into the carousel and just hopped on. They just stared at me with a look of "hurry up and put the money in!" I was shocked by their lack of manners and overt entitlement mentality. I was so shocked my mouth just stayed closed. Nothing I said would have benefited anyone and Layla's fun would have been diminished. She said, "Hi boys!" and welcomed them aboard.
We wore out the mall so I took her to the Urban Tea Loft for a tea party. I learned she dislikes tea (lemonade will be on tap for the next tea party) and she likes chocolate cake. She scanned the dessert selection display and zeroed in on the chocolate cake. Our tea and cake were arrived at our table and Layla said, "This is the best day EVER!" I agree.
She dug into the mountainous piece of cake. I had to cut her off quickly because she was eating faster than me with no sign of stopping.
That was a double-full afternoon of fun with Layla. At home Easton received his reward for the week-long obedience. Kendra bought the Spy Jet last week and we heard several times per day from Easton, "When do I get my Spy Jet?" This was his big day and this is a genuine smile of excitement and anticipation.
Then I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get the package open. Ugh. I used a steak knife, two screw drivers, and a pair of pliers just to free the Spy Jet from the box.
There is no WAY Buzz Lightyear escaped from his spaceship packaging in the Toys Movie. I'm just saying... Easton proceeded to fly his jet around for hours. 3 hours to be exact.
I know that because after 3 hours of play, both rear wheels broke off. Cheap Chinese garbage... The crying and sadness cannot be weighed with a scale because it was so heavy. Luckily we had the receipt and the Disney store was cool about the return. Now we have to find a suitable replacement plane with solid wheels. Oh the joys of shopping.
See you soon!
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