Things Taught In Primary

Daddy:  So Daisy, what did you learn at church?
Daisy:  Hmmmmmm. How to fight dragons and dinosaurs.

The Most Important Part of School

As Fred arrived home from school today I asked him how his day was and what he did at school. Excitedly he said, "We got to go to recess three times again today!" I chuckled to myself because that has been his first response every day for the past week. A short while later Fred sat down at the dining room table and opened his lunchbox because he said he was hungry. As I glanced to see what food he had left from lunch I quickly discovered why he was hungry. In his lunchbox he had a full sandwich and an unopened bag of chips. I said, "Fred, you didn't eat your sandwich? And your chips haven't been opened? What did you eat for lunch?" Fred replied, "My cheese." I guess the most important part of school to a new kindergartner is getting out to recess.

Just Like Daddy

As we were heading inside after returning home from church today Fred said that he wanted to look at some scriptures. Since he is only five and can't yet read we gave him a spare copy of The Book of Mormon. He made his way over to the computer desk and said, "I want to study my scriptures just like Daddy." A few seconds later Fred asked for a green marker determined to highlight some of the verses just like Adam does.

Date Night

Our kids love it when Adam and I go out on dates because we frequently trade babysitting with some of our friends who have children Daisy and Lucy's age. One Friday evening Adam and I had made arrangements for the kids to go to Lexie and Liam's house and they were looking forward to playing with their friends. Just as Adam was scheduled to leave work he found out that one of his OB patients was ready to deliver and that he would be delayed in returning home. Not certain if we would have time to go out as planned I contemplated calling our friends and cancelling. Just then Daisy asked, "Mommy, are you and Daddy going on a date tonight?"

Me: "I'm not sure Sweetie. Daddy has to stay at work a little longer to help one of his patients."

Daisy: "That's OK Mommy! 'You' could still go out on a date. Sometimes mommies go out on dates by themselves."

The Missing Binkie

Lucy has always loved her binkie but now we only let her use it at bedtime and nap time. Today as I went to put Lucy down for her nap I discovered that her binkie was missing from the crib. I said to Lucy, "Oh no! Where did your binkie go?" Lucy responded, "My binkie?............Maybe it in my tummy!"

Sharing Pillows

The other morning the girls woke up before I was out of bed so I had them join me in mine for awhile. I finally rolled out of bed and started getting Lucy ready for the day. Lucy said she wanted to try to go potty so I had her use the bathroom in our bedroom. As she sat on the toilet she had a clear view of Daisy who, still lying in bed, decided to change positions. Lucy yelled out, "Daisy getting down on 'my' pillow! Get her Mommy! Get her!"

Singing "Hinges" or is it "Ninjas"?

Fred (singing his new song): "I'm all made of Ninjas cuz everything bends. From the top of my head, way down to my ends. I'm Ninjas in front and I'm Ninjas in back. I'm all made of Ninjas or else I would crack!"

This version kind of works too, doesn't it?

The Meat Eater!

Fred: "Daddy, let's play dinosaurs. You be the plant eater and I will be the Raptor."
Daddy: "Hmmmmmmm, how do we play?"
Fred: "You pretend to be eating plants, then I will sneak up on you and eat you!"

Where's the Kitty Cat?

Tonight as we gathered for family scriptures and prayers Lucy was crying, screaming, and just being very difficult. Adam tried to point things out in the scripture picture that she might be interested in as he told the story of Rebekah at the well. She was interested in the camel for a few seconds but then started getting upset again. Adam then asked her to find the kitty cat (even though there wasn't one). She looked at the picture for quite some time while her expression became more and more confused. When Adam asked her again, "Lucy, where's the kitty cat?" Lucy very seriously said, "I not know!" I couldn't stop laughing. Thanks to Adam's tactic we made it through another night of scriptures.

Somethin' in your Nose!

The other night as Adam was lying on the couch after a long day of work Daisy climbed onto his stomach. After a few moments she worked her way up to his face and with a concerned look she said, "Daddy, you've got hair in your nose!"

Let's Dance

Daddy: "Fred, looks like you need to go potty."
Fred : "Daddy I'm just dancing, it's not the potty dance!"

Top Kids Quotes of 2010

Laurie - "Daisy, please don't turn the fan on, it's cold in here."
Daisy (As she turns the fan on) - "It's OK Mom, you have your jacket on."


Fred - "But Dad, you can go really fast... like a racecar. We're on the Free Road."


Fred - "Last one with their jamas on is a Rockin Egg"


Fred - "Mommy, we should grow a really big garden in our backyard with really tall corn so we can have a scarecrow. And we should make a store, and call it 'Fred's Garden Stand'. Then I can sell all of the vegetables that I don't like to eat.


Laurie - "Why do you think we put sunscreen on?"
Fred - "Cuz it 'tects our skin so we don't get burned, so we can go beaching."

Animal Sounds

Daddy: "What does a doggy say?" Lucy: "Ruff-Ruff"
Daddy: "What does a sheep say?" Lucy: "Baa"
Daddy: "What does a monkey say?" Lucy: "No mo monkey's jumpin on da bed"

Me Too!

This afternoon as our family was climbing into the car to head home from a Christmas activity I caught a whiff of a smelly diaper. Being right next to Daisy I asked her...
Laurie: "Daisy, do you have a stinky diaper?"
Daisy: "Nope."
Laurie: "Are you sure? I thought I could smell it?"
Adam: "Me too!"
After a brief pause...
Daisy: "Me too!"

Writing Grandma and Grandpa

The other day Fred told me that he wanted to write Grandma and Grandpa that have Buster and Bell. (For some reason our kids have a hard time remembering what last name goes with which set of grandparents and thus refer to them by the animals they own.) So Fred pulls out a piece of paper and says, "OK Mommy. I'll tell you what to write and when you are finished I'll write my name." Over the course of about 8 mins Fred dictated what he wanted to say; occasionally pausing to tap his chin as he thought what he wanted to say next. This is the finished product: (It's fun to see what is important to a four year old.)

Grandpa and Grandma-

I wish that you have a good weekend. I am happy that you let me play Mario Kart. We can play soccer together when I come to visit. I will help you feed Buster and Bell. I will stop playing Mario Kart when you say it is time to eat. I am happy to eat if you get me something yummy to eat. I like to go to your house when it snows so I can ride sleds or I can just ride sleds in my backyard. I am happy to play with you. I want to sleep somewhere else at your house....how about the living room? I am happy to be at your home. I like to run around when my cousins come to your house. Can we sometime go to the zoo?

Love, Fred Heddon (signed by himself)

Monsters Under the Bed

Fred - "Mommy, I have monster alarms in my ears and they wake me up in the middle of the night and tell me that I need to go in to your bed."

Shutterfly Christmas Card

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Wishes of Pets

The other day while shopping at Walmart Fred became fascinated with the fish. He fell especially in love with a fish called a Dragon Fish and was determined to bring it home. I managed to get him home without any tears and figured I had won the battle. Later in the week, however, Fred came home from school and proclaimed that he knew what he wanted for Christmas. He rattled off some type of toy and then said he wanted a Dragon Fish. With neither Adam nor I being excited about having animals anytime soon, I again went on to explain that I didn't think that getting a fish was a very good idea and that we probably wouldn't be able to get one this year. After a lengthy discussion Fred finally said, "Ok Mommy! I guess a puppy will be fine then."

Cold Days

The weather has started to turn cold here in Belleville, IL so we are being forced to wear sweaters and long sleeve shirts in the house. The other night was especially chilly but it didn't seem to phase Daisy one bit. As she was bopping around our bedroom she approached Adam at the computer desk and asked him to turn on the ceiling fan. Being in the same room and hearing her request I said, "Daisy it's cold. You don't need the fan on!" She turns to me and says matter-of-factly, "It's OK Mommy! You have your jacket on!"

Zucchini Bread

This morning we ate some zucchini bread for breakfast. Fred really seemed to enjoy it and gobbled down two pieces. When he was halfway through his first slice he held up a small green shred of zucchini and asked, "Mommy, is this the zu-kiwi?"

Catching On!

Lately Daisy has had the habit of falling asleep in the car. OK, so it really is mostly my fault because I will often keep driving until she falls asleep. With Adam frequently working through the night, bedtime can be a challenge on my own and it is much easier to get a sleeping Daisy in bed because she actually stays in bed.
Well, today as we were finishing up with lunch I could tell Daisy was getting very sleepy. I managed, however, to keep her awake until we dropped Fred off at Preschool. When we finally climbed in the car to drive home Daisy says to me, "Mommy can you drive home really fast so I don't fall asleep?" I had to laugh. She's caught on to me!

Oh, the Plans of Mice and Men...

So after debating all day long we thought that we had finally figured out how to deal with our dilemma of trick or treating this evening. Laurie and I went through all of the kid's candy that they had gleaned from our Trunk-or-Treat last night, a couple of work parties and school activities. We picked out all of the stuff that we didn't care for and put it in the kid's buckets and let them pass it out to the trick or treaters that came by. The kids loved it! It was brilliant! And we sat back, enjoyed how cute they were and munched on our favorite candies (even if you are an adult, what is Halloween without a belly ache?). We thought we had the perfect plan until our neighbor knocked on the door after all the trick-or-treaters were gone and told us that they felt bad that our kids were giving away all of their candy. They handed us a big paper sack filled with candy! Pretty thoughtful. Now we have more candy than we started with. All I can say is, Cast your unwanted candy upon innocent trick-or-treaters and ye shall receive ten fold!

I Want You to Hold Me!

Daisy is our girl that loves to be held; even now at three years old. All throughout the day Daisy will come up to me and say, "Mommy, I want you to hold me!" or "Mommy can you hold me?" The other day as I stopped to pick her up I asked her why she always wants me to hold her. She replied, "Because I want you to hold me Mommy. [Pause] Because I lub(love) you."

Head, Knees, Toes, Shoulders???

Disclaimer:

I am an alto, not a soprano!

Just make sure your volume is low. ;)

Fine Motor Skills

During the morning session of General Conference Fred was cutting out some finger puppets of the First Presidency. Considering they were of a small size he did a pretty good job until he had to round the head. At that point he turned to me and said, "Can I just cut it off and then tape it back on?"