Birds & Bees... kind of

Jo: Why don't Sam and I look the same?
Me: Well... because... (idea!)... because you and Sam were made out of different material.
Jo: Material? Why?
Me: Well, it's kind of like when you make a collage.
Jo: A collage?
Me: Yes, you make a collage out of scraps of red paper, and then you make a collage out of yellow paper. Both of the collages are yours, you made them, but they look different.
Jo: Oh.
Me: So Sam and you were both made by Daddy and Me in my tummy, but we used different material for each of you, so you look different.
Jo: In your tummy? We were made in your tummy?
Me: Yes. With Daddy's and Mommy's material.
Jo: How did it get in there?
Me: (Why did I say anything!) (dodged this one) We put the material in there, some of Daddy's, and some of mine, and it made you.
Jo: And what did it make?
Me: It made your brown curly hair, and your blue eyes, and your pale skin.
Jo: And what else?
Me: And your chin that is my chin, and your eyelashes that are Daddy's, and your feet just like mine.
Jo: And was I really tiny?
Me: Very very tiny! And you were in my belly, and I ate food to grow your body, so you would get bigger.
Jo: So I ate what you ate? I ate your dinner?
Me: Yes, you did!
Jo: So you ate your dinner and I ate it after? How?
Me: Well, it went down my mouth and into my tummy, and then from there it went into your tummy.
Jo: And did I poop?
Me: Yes, a little. But mostly the food made your body. Just like how we eat food now, so that we have energy and grow.
Jo: Did I wear diapers?
Me: No, you were naked.
Jo: I wasn't wearing anything?
Me: Nope. You were totally naked and curled up and when you came out, we put a blanket around you.
Jo: Why?
Me: To keep you warm when you came out! And then you nursed and drank my milk, and you had hiccups and Daddy talked to you.
Jo: And did I cry?
Me: A little.
Jo: And did I start with a J?
Me: Yes, because your Daddy and I decided to name you Josephine.
Jo: Will I have a baby when I grow up?
Me: If you decide to, you might.
Jo: I will decide to.
Me: Well, we'll see. You may not want to.
Jo: I want to; I want to have a baby.
Me: Well, you have plenty of time to think about it.

---
Jo: Mommy, when will I be five?
Me: Next year.
Jo: I want to be five now.
Me: Why?
Jo: Because I have too many time-outs, being four.
Me: You know what? Even grown-ups take time-outs.
Jo: They do?
Me: Sure! Time-outs don't mean you're bad. They mean you're taking some time to calm down and remember how to listen and be a kind person. I take time-outs when I get grouchy sometimes.
Jo: Oh.

--
Jo: Mama, is your Daddy died?
Me: Yes.
Jo: Why did he die?
Me: Well, his body was sick, too sick to stay alive anymore, so he died.
Jo: And where did he go?
Me: um...
Jo: Did we bury him in the ground?
Me: Yes, we did, didn't we? You remember? We put him in the ground so he could be part of the earth as it continues.
Jo: But why did he get sick?
Me: Because he was old.
Jo: You're not old.
Me: Not very old, no.
Jo: I'm not old. You're not old. We're young.
Me: That's true. We won't be old for a long time. But we do get older. Everyone does. I used to be as young as you, for instance, and now I'm older.
Jo: Where was I when you were young? Charlottesville?
Me: No, you weren't here yet.
Jo: Where was I? In your tummy?
Me: No, I was a little girl.
Jo: Where was Sam?
(Don't remember how I got out of this one...)

--
Jo: Mama, when is Tomorrow?
Me: Tomorrow is tomorrow.
Jo: Is Today Tomorrow?
Me: No, it's tomorrow. We don't ever get to it. It always stays - tomorrow, the next day.
(later) Jo: Mama, tomorrow isn't happening anymore.

Despite the Cold...

...we're having fun...

Christmas Gifts & Hair

P.S. About the scissor picture: It looks more wild and scary than what was actually happening... which is probably why I thought it endearing... I did teach Jo to use scissors only under supervision. She tried to get me to allow her to cut her own hair, but I said no...

a) A big hit: New umbrellas. They play with them at Mama's house constantly. This morning, Sam put Jo under his umbrella and Jo said, "Oh, he loves me!"
b) Sam's big pompodour - when you brush his hair out, it is WILD
c) Finally trimmed Jo's very long hair - it was getting knotted all the time - it looks so cute! She also got lots of stockings and fancy socks for Christmas, and boy is she ever putting together some stunning outfits!
d) When Jo started playing with the tinker toys she and Sam recieved from Santa at Daddy's house, she started to work right away, "Look, I'm a FAMOUS ARTIST!" she declared.
e) Fifth picture down: Jo on the phone to Grandma Helen
f) Sam's new dog toy - which actually Jo has claimed for her own
g) Third picture up - Jo in her dressing gown (I found it at the thrift store)

- This morning Jo woke up in excitement: "I had a good, a lovely dream! I found my slippers and I got to be on STAGE and I made NEW ballet friends and I wore stockings and she wore them, too!!"

- Last night at around 11pm (yes) Jo the chatterbug was telling me, "I stay up very late and watch the stars and count every one of them"

- She got a papercut on one of her new Ella the Elephant books, and cracked me up when she said, "I need to tell Sam how I got my cut" and proceeded to very seriously tell him - as if the kid is listening - funny how she takes him SO seriously -

Jo said her favorite gift this year was the dress-up she got that is now at Daddy's house ("finally!" she exclaimed).

They turned my fridge off the other day - went to get them milk in the morning and it was WARM. Noticed the dial had been turned to Off. These two, when they get together on something, are quite the impish force...

Thanks to everyone for such lovely gifts!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 will soon fade into memory, and hopefully both Josephine and Sam will remember it fondly. They began with Mommy taking them to church, and then were dropped off at my house. We left cookies and Mommy's bourbon balls for Santa, and then were off to a very late bedtime. And then, magically there were presents under the tree when they woke up!


We waited for Mommy to come over before opening the major presents, but went ahead and opened the stockings first.


While we waited, Sam and Jo eyed the presents with glee.

Daddy's version of Santa got each child a box of Legos.

Sam's favorite present for the first part of Christmas was this dragon.

After opening presents at Forest Hills, we drove in the rain to Lynchburg to see Grandma Phyllis and Granddad. They were happy to see us.

Then we opened up more presents after Auntie Sandra, Uncle Scott, Ryan and Allison arrived.

They enjoyed this present that Allison got from Grandma and Granddad, with Jo pointing out the Mona Lisa.


Of course, it would not be a Christmas without something mermaid related. This year, something for daddy's bathroom.


This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.

And, of course, there's always Jo White.


Finally, the day ended the same way it began - with stockings being unwrapped. Sam was absolutely exhausted, as you could imagine and as you can clearly see here. This was his first real Christmas, and I'm so blessed to have been able to spend it with him.


Yet, seconds later, look how his face lights up at the prospect of yet another truck!

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, and a happy and peaceful 2010 to all!

Big Snow

The photo just above is what the FIRST snow looked like, a couple weeks ago... and the ones above show what happened this last weekend - a couple feet at least buried everything... as you can see in our picture of the snow girl, my car behind it... the snow just about reached the top of my thighs... Sam was more content to play the harmonica on the doorstep than go forth into the cold...
Also pictured: Jo making a garland at the McGuffey Museum open house craft day...

The Holiday Time and Wishes

A few pics from our day at the Richmond Children's Museum over Thanksgiving weekend...

Apparently, from Santa Claus and Fairy WinterSnow, Josephine wants:
- a nutcracker
- a nutcracker doll
- a nutcracker dress
- a wig
- a pinata
- a ball for Sam
- a nutcracker for Sam
- a donkey for Sam
and, for me, Mama - a sleigh (does this translate to a new car?!)

We sat down and wrote a letter to Santa today and that was the gist... too funny...

We were also talking about what to do for Daddy for Christmas: Jo wanted me to KNIT him a bathing suit. Oh, if I only could!

We Have Poo!

Whomever thought a frog posing as a potty was a good idea was CORRECT. Sam loves sitting on his frog, and without any diapers eventually something got in the frog... pretty exciting.

Today, Jo said a prayer before breakfast:
God is Grayson
God is good
Let us think him for our food
OH MAN!

We've also been playing with the bean bag creche a great deal, and I was telling the story of Christ's birth. Jo wanted to know, "Is Jesus still a baby?"
"Uh... no..."
"Well, where IS he, then?"
"Um... some people say he lives in everyone's heart."
"Oh! He lives in MY heart!"