Each of my three children has developed some form of this, but none as complicated as Phillip. He’s developed his own code of speech that I like to call “Phillipese” (not to be confused with Philippines, which is a real country). Caleb told me that next time he stays with Papa and Grandma (or anyone else), I will need to make a translation sheet so they know what he is talking about. Here is a rough start:

“I want apple juice grape juice.” This could mean he wants apple juice or white grape juice. Since he can’t really tell the difference in taste, and the difference in color is nominal, I usually just give him whatever we have. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

“Do it little bit big.” This refers to how much liquid he wants in his cup. It just means fill it up as far as it will go without spilling over. At one time, he would demand that we fill it to the top then pour some of it out into the sink (I think this is a sign of OCD), until Lannie convinced him that there were poor children in the world that didn’t have any juice to drink so he couldn’t waste it by pouring it down the drain. I think that is a circular argument, because you don’t do the starving children any favors by drinking more of it yourself. Fortunately, Phillip doesn’t have a very high level of logical thinking skills, so that argument worked for him.

“Mommy, you prayed the wrong way. Pray the front in the back and the back in the front.” I have no idea what this means. He says it every time I pray with him. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

I asked her about her fashion rules, and she was happy to inform me:

1. Flowered clothes go together– flowers on your clothes go with flowers on your shoes, no matter what color.

2. Yellow and white don’t go together, but pink goes with yellow (and every other color).

3. No matter what you’re wearing, your red Sunday shoes go with everything!

Caleb seemed disinterested in it a few days ago until something the announcer said made him do a double take at the t.v.

“Whoa!” he said. “The pope used to be a Cardinal? What position did he play?”

I also felt a little more grown up– we’ve now bought and sold our first house. It’s always still a weird feeling to me to realize that I’m the grown-up.

We met my parents in Little Rock on Thursday to retrieve Phillip and were welcomed by a tornado. I believe that tornadoes follow me around the country. This is the second one I’ve been through in 2008. I hope I don’t meet another one, but as my mom pointed out, I’ve always made it safely through each one (so far).

Phillip is still thoroughly potty trained, and is now even more independent than ever. My mom and I commented that potty training seems to have given him a greater sense of self-control. He is (a little) less likely to throw a temper tantrum when he feels more in control. It does crack us up to see him (literally) crawl up on the toilet by himself. You’d think for sure he was going to fall in, but he never does!

Goodness, I missed that kid! A week is way too long for him to be gone!

We’ve been trying to do a few things that we haven’t been able to do with a two-year-old. We went to a movie on Saturday afternoon (non-animated!), and Elizabeth and I went shopping by ourselves Saturday morning while the boys were at baseball practice.

We also got up in time to go to the early service and Sunday school yesterday– a feat we’ve somehow been unable to achieve with all three kids. We’re hoping the jump start will help to make it a habit for us.

Friday night we ate a Japanese Habachi steak house. Lannie went with his office a month or so ago, but he was scared to death to take Phillip. An open grill just inches from a two-year-old’s hand is not a good combination. The big kids loved the “show” and the food. The Habachi chef cooked our steaks in a ton of butter. Elizabeth asked me, “Mom, why don’t you cook steak like that?” Because we would all weigh over 300 pounds!!

We went to Arkadelphia last Monday to move all of our stuff out of our house. It was weird to live here for two months without moving any of our stuff except clothes, toys, and a vacuum cleaner. I was constantly afraid that Ellie was going to grind pop tart into a rented couch, or Phillip was going to scratch up someone else’s coffee table by hammering it with his cars. When both of these things happened, I realized the fear of something is worth more that the actual fixing it or trying to clean it. Still, it’s nice to have our own stuff back, since I’m the only one who cares if it gets damaged by Hurricane Phil.

I like our house. We’re renting, and we’ll be here for a year, but as rent houses go, it’s pretty nice. It’s in a great neighborhood with good schools, which is the biggest draw, but it’s also a nice house. The only drawback is that the previous owners had cats, so I have to vacuum weekly with baking soda to try to get rid of the perpetual pet odor. I’m hoping to have it all out by the end of the month, when my dad spends a few days with us. He’s allergic to cats, and I’m afraid his head may explode if he has to sleep here.

One of the nicest things about the house is that it has four bedrooms, so the kids each get their own room– a luxury they have not enjoyed since Phillip was born. Although I’m of the mind that all kids should be required to share a room with someone before they go to college so they can learn the life skill of living with another person, it certainly cuts down on a lot of the arguing when they have their own rooms!