Next thing you know, they'll be asking for liver and lima beans.

The other day we were all driving home from somewhere, we had the following conversation:


Leah: Are we doing anything else fun today? (this is a standard ANNOYING question, which usually makes me threaten to have her scrub floors all. day. long.)
Me: Well, you and Daddy are going to the dentist later this afternoon...
Leah: Oh YAY!!!
(Aaron and I exchange highly amused glances.)
Ben: Church? Church?
Me: No, Ben, we're not going to church today.
Ben: Proceeds to throw a fit as if we'd refused him candy.


Let me explain why my kids love the dentist and going to church. It can be summed up in just a few words: princess toothbrush, lots of friends.


Our dentist (Skari, of Lundstrom & Skari) has totally got kids figured out, because not only do they give them a character toothbrush at the end of the visit, but Leah informed us that she had cookie dough toothpaste for her cleaning and a banana split fluoride treatment. AND then she got a sticker and a pack of Trident gum as a prize. How could she not love going?


Ben LOVES church. In fact, when services were cancelled this Sunday because of the blizzard, he was heartbroken, and came up to me every hour asking, "Church? Church?" I finally had to make up a little game called, "Nobody's there!" We eat dinner there Wednesday evenings before Awana, and it's literally the highlight of his week. Even if he doesn't actually eat any of the meal.
Who cares about food? There are friends everywhere! Let's go play! You shove me, and then I'll shove you! WHEEEE!

Off the topic, here are some other things Leah has said lately:

To her grandma: "Sometimes in the evenings I like to sit on the couch under a blanket and look at books."

To me, after taking a golf tee out of a basket on the desk this morning: "Mom, why are these called tees?" (I don't know - ask your dad.) "Maybe it's because of the tee boxes." (Hmm, maybe...) "Or maybe these were named first, and they named the part of the golf course after them?" (Ding ding ding! We have a winner! I was pretty proud of her thought process.)

On getting ready to head out this evening: "I really don't like wearing my sneakers with tights. They make me look like I have clown feet!" I reassured her than no one else would think that unless she said it. And what do you think was the first thing out of her mouth when she saw friend Anna at church? Clown feet, of course. Middle school is going to be so much fun.

Ben says all the names of his Sesame Street ornaments - Ernie, Elmo, Cookie- except Big Bird, which he refuses to even try. He is, however, saying more useful words such as "help", and "hot", and "marker" and "drink". And these little words help oh. so. much.