Cracked

Me: Krista, you crack me up.
Krista: No, I crack you DOWN!
Me: Okay... Mr. T, now I'm worried...

Krista's Song

Oh my darlin', oh my darlin'
Oh my darlin', Clementine...
You were lost and gone forever,
You're a scarecrow...
That's not the words.

After Krista sang those exact words in the car in tune to the song, Josh and I couldn't stop laughing.. I think she changed the words again to say she was sorry she lost her at one point, too. And then when she realized we thought it was funny, she started using the tune to sing about Gabriel and anything else she saw.

Popcorn

I made a quick microwave bag of popcorn for a midday snack yesterday. Grandpa will like this: I found out that Gabriel likes it and Krista can't get enough of it! I poured a bunch on her plate which she consumed one bite right after the other and then she came over to my bowl and was grabbing handfuls to stick in her mouth as quickly as she could. I told her that next time she was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, she would have to ask Grandpa to make her some popcorn. So get ready and stocked up, Grandpa!

Tall Bed

After spending time at her cousins' house, Krista could not stop raving about Kaitlyn's "tall bed." She kept saying, "Kaity has a tall bed. I want a new tall bed, too!" Little did she know, but it was already in the plans, since baby number 3 is on the way. So I began shopping around for bunk beds on the internet.

I knew I didn't want a metal bed and I knew it had to be twin over twin for space. The crib is white, so I was hoping to find a bunk in white as well. For some reason, bunk bed's range in price from $200-$2000. Most are over $1000 and I knew we could never swing anything like that for a piece of child's bedding that would most likely get beat up over the years. I found one at Walmart.com for $220 that was perfect, but the white was sold out and I would have to settle for the darker wood color. I found one for $700 at another online retailer that was beautiful and would match the details on our existing crib, but it was still a little expensive for us.

I knew Shopko had limited furniture in store only, so I decided to head over there next. They had a white bunk bed almost identical to the one at Walmart.com for less money. So later that night, I took Josh and we made the purchase of the last one in stock. Two days of putting the bed together around naps and bedtime later, Krista now has her very own "tall bed." She slept two nights on it and loves it! She wants to go to bed early, just so she can get in her new bed. Now, she just wants some new bedding to complete her fairy tale, pink of course!

Sweet Dreams

I put the kids to bed most every night around 7:30-8pm. We have several rituals we go through, including brushing their teeth, kissing Papa goodnight, getting tucked in, and singing our special bedtime songs. After our last song, I tell them, "Sweet Dreams," and ask Krista what she will dream about that night. She normally responds, "I will be a ballerina. Kaity will be a Princess and Alex will be a Prince and Gabriel will be a Prince, too. I will wear a sparkly pink gown." Sometimes she is a Princess, too, or even a beautiful pink butterfly, who will fly to the moon with Gabriel, the brown butterfly. It's so fun to see what her colorful, or more accurately, pink, imagination will come up with next.

Nice One

That little lady called Krista has been awfully grabby and selfish lately - especially in sharing toys with her brother. However, she shocked me today with a moment of pure giving:

After going to the potty by herself *yay*, she gets two pieces of candy of her choice. "I want jelly beans!" Well, sweetie, there are only two left - a yellow one and a black one. She takes them happily. Gabriel enters the kitchen, looking for his piece of the loot. Sorry, no more jelly beans buddy, would you like a Reese's Pieces? Mr. Pouty Lip shakes his head "NO!" and starts to walk away whining. Krista, without any prompting or expectations, walks up to Gabriel. "Gabriel, you can have my yellow jelly bean." Gabriel is now happy as a lark, with a wide grin, and consumes his jelly bean.

Krista's Advice

Krista gave us some advice yesterday that I would like to share:

If you see a monster coming...
Watch out for monsters!