Our own little awards ceremony

In our house, we're all about patting ourselves on the back. We grew up in the era of the "You Are Special Today" plate . So, just so no one feels left out, we're going to put on our tuxes and evening gowns, drink some of that yummy sparkling pear drink from Ikea, roll out the red carpet in the family room, and give ourselves some awards.

In the category of "Most-thought provoking questions".....

....the award goes to:

Annie! The four year-old who keeps us on our toes with a seemingly, no an actually endless stream of questions. Just tonight, for example, she showed us all why she's a winner in this category with the following conversation:

Annie: Are we just the same Mommy?

Me: No, I'm Mommy, and you're part me and part Daddy

Annie: Why?

Me: Because we made you together.

Annie: Why?

Me: Because we love each other.

Annie: Why?

Me: It's a biochemical reaction.

Annie: What does that mean?

Me: It's science.

Annie: What's science?

and so forth....

In the category of "Best self-starter".....

.....the award goes to:

Isaac! Isaac is the kind of baby I expected to have when I was pregnant with my first child. He's easy and docile and wonderfully good natured. The only problem with his wonderful disposition is that he tends to be just slightly ignored, which means that he often, ever so quietly, makes major messes.

This afternoon, for example, my mom was sewing pillowcases for Annie's room and I was sitting on the couch eating bon-bons (making dinner). Judging by their screams, the big kids were wrestling upstairs. All was well in the world. But as I swiveled from my chopping block to flip the grilled cheese, I glanced into the family room to see the whole room covered in white. Isaac had found a bag of baby wipes, ripped them into shreds, and spread them like snow all over the family room rug (hearkening back to his Minnesota roots, perhaps?) . After my mom picked up the worst of the shreds, he spent the next 20 minutes purposefully shifting his piles of baby wipes to different locations around the room.

In the category of "Best Special Effects"......

.....the award goes to:

Bryce, who specializes in slooooooooow motion. It takes him fifteen minutes to eat five bites of cereal in the morning. Tonight while "brushing his teeth"I peeked in on him two or three times to find him doing a Risky Business-style dance in front of the mirror (green beetle undies though). When it's time for him to clean up his room, I'll always find him playing with his Star Wars figures or reading his animal books. He has even discovered that he doesn't have to pick up if he pays his little sister to do it. But he's just so darn cute, it's hard to be mad at him.

In the category of "Best Disappearing Act".....

Eddie! He worked all night Friday night and came home just in time to sleep through Annie's birthday party. He woke up in time for the most important event of the week: the BYU-UNLV game (go Cougars!) but was back at the hospital before anyone else woke up this morning. He came home for dinner, and just as he sat down on the couch with his food and flipped on the Pro Bowl, the pager went off and he turned around and drove back to the hospital. If things are crazy, he'll just sleep there tonight and we'll see him tomorrow night. It's a good thing I have a life, even if it's based in cyberspace..

And in the category of "Best blogger"........

Me! Because, well, I'm the only blogger. I figure this is the only way I'll ever win any awards.

--originally published 2/12/06