Where Are They Now? (Little Richardses Edition)

Lately...
TEAGAN

Teagan is Teagan. She is hot and cold, up and down, sweet and sour and I love her for it. If ever she senses that I'm exasperated or frustrated with her, she runs over and says "Mum, I just want to hug you." I stormed out of her bedroom the other night because I couldn't remember a time before I'd started putting her to bed and I just couldn't be nice anymore. A soft "Mom?" from the dark of her room and I snarled "WHAT?!" as I slumped back in one last time. "I just wanted to give you a hug" and she sat up and extended her arms and gave me the best, warmest hug ever. And didn't stop until I let go. It made me melt and taught me that I need to be more patient with this tender little soul.
She's incredibly bright and inquisitive and asks so many insightful questions that I wind up having to say "I don't know" a lot more than I'd like to. She's incredibly helpful when she wants to be and is often asking for jobs and I'm trying to be better about letting her help and being okay with a job that looks like it's been done by a 4 year old. She is learning a lot in Primary and from our scripture reading and surprises me all the time with her gospel knowledge and all the things that "Jesus made me to do" like not be sleepy. She knows almost all the letters and a lot of the sounds too. We are sounding out basic words and her rhyming is getting a little more accurate.
She's an amazing little artist and I will need to dedicate a room to all of her artwork as I can't bear to throw it away. She has real talent when it comes to drawing and writing and can be very critical of herself and her artwork, telling me it doesn't look cute enough and other such ridiculousness. I need to compliment more and criticize less, as I'm sure she has learned it from me. Nothing's sounds scarier than something you regret saying coming out of your child's mouth.
 I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that we have one more year until she starts Kindergarten and I won't see her for the better part of the day. I'm trying to do my best to imagine a scenario where I'll have the chance to miss her, because she always seems to be there. In fact, I step on her a lot because she hovers so close and I need to appreciate the fact that she wants to be near me instead of being frustrated that she's underfoot all the time. She is constantly asking me to play with her and while I try, it never seems to be the way she wants to play. I'm trying to teach her that when she plays with people other than me, she will need to make some concessions when it comes to the outcome of her role playing, but it seems a hard lesson for her to learn. I've committed to being more present and less distracted while the kids are awake and if I can just convince her to give me a half hour of alone time while Mason's asleep, that may be a lot more plausible. I love having conversations with her and often marvel at how grown up she seems already. I love my Little T.

MASON

Mason has developed quite a personality and is just now becoming able to express it in a more productive way than screaming and grunting - though he usually ends up doing a lot of that too. He's a talker. At just shy of 18 months, you will find him running around saying one or more of the following:

-a bite
-pease (often pronounced beedo. Yes, it's weird. I will have to warn the Nursery leaders at church.)
-nana, treat, nack, apple, bottle, moke, i geek {ice cream}...lots of foods, really
-belly
-butt (belly button - which makes it slightly more appropriate when we ask him to show us his butt)
-ella (outside or Ella Elephant on Disney - weird options, I know)
-bubble {Bubble Guppies}
-mimi {either Minnie Mouse or Mason (me)}
-titi {Teagan}

-papa {Grandpa}
-Peppa {Peppa Pig}
-food (he wanders around, signing food and if he isn't noticed right away, starts to say it in a super whiny voice with sad eyes - people are going to wonder if we feed him)
-yide {slide}
-babba {Jabba the Hutt}, Lando, PO {C3PO}, D2
-jeejee {Jesus or GG}
-pop ({G-Pop)}
-ya yu {love you}
-tita (teeth - he asks to brush his teeth whenever you pass the bathroom)
-binky
-MOM (always yelled)
-daddy
-jacob, mike, melia, ty, jaja, emma, ben, parker, jack, (cousins), matt, bippy {Tiffy}, Ta, Shawn (aunts & uncles) we are working on my side of the family while my sister works on a cousin for my side of the family ;)
-car
-beep beep
-mah nah {Mah Nah Mah Nah - a Muppets song}
-patole {Paw Patrol}
-football
-up
-animal sounds: moo, snort, meow, arf
-pay (play on a phone or iPad - the boy is obsessed) or pray 

He really is very vocal and quite bright for his age, which can be both frustrating and adorable. We've sent him into nursery at church a few times at the request of the leaders (bless their hearts) and I'm told that he can't contain his excitement when there are bubbles around and that when the music leader asked the children what they'd like to sing (most likely expecting a Primary song) he yelled Mah Nah. Like he does every time we get into the car and every time the song is over. He knows exactly when to chime in with "mah nah mah nah" when you sing the other part. It's a little big darling. By the way, the sweetheart music leader said "I know that song!" and they proceeded to sing it. Good women there. 

Every time we sit down for a meal, without fail, Mason reminds us to pray by yelling "Pay!" and holding both hands directly under his chin in what can only be described as a pose from the Glamour Shots playbook and squeezing his beautiful blue eyes closed as hard as he can. I'll admit there are times I forget to bless the food, so I'm very lucky (and humbled) to have this righteous little man around to keep me in line.

He's still slightly cuter than he is needy, so we're doing okay. Now that we can venture outside with only a thin jacket, he's a different kid. He LOVES to be outside. I'm talking, he's in the middle of a meltdown and you open a door somewhere in the house and his problem is 75% solved. It reaches 100% in the 10 seconds it takes him to find the open door and run out of it. It's scary up in here, people. We are on lockdown during his waking hours, but with what seems like hundreds of people in and out of the door every day (Grandma has an open door policy and you never know who you're going to get) I have some heart stopping moments when I realize the door is open and Mason is smirking at me from the driveway before kicking it into 3rd gear and hurtling as fast as his wee legs will carry him toward the street. Investing in some solid locks at the new house.

He still has a little angel face that he know will help him get away with murder and even when I'm exasperated and at my wit's end, his impossibly round cheeks, deep blue eyes, perfect lips, platinum hair and gapped teeth make me smile against my will. He is huggable (if you can catch him) and lovable and the perfect little addition to our little family.

TERRIFIC TWOSOME

There are three years and one week between these two.That's a big difference when you're 4 and 1. Teagan still thinks of him as a baby and can be found dragging him around against his will more often than not. She wants to feed him, carry him and mother him nonstop and he just wants to live life on his own terms. One day he will turn around and smack her and she will remember all of those times I told her that one day he will turn around and smack her. I love that she loves him. It's just a little too hands on for his taste at the moment. Perhaps I should just have another baby. That would solve more problems than it would create, right? I do love these two and nothing makes me happier than seeing them interact peacefully and play harmoniously. Both times, it was just beautiful. One day, three years won't seem like so much and they will be able to play side by side instead of hang by neck, but they're still so much fun to watch now.