Yes it was manipulation, but it was totally worth it.

Two things:

1. Addie hasn't told us she loves us in about three years.

2. We (Nils and I) decided about a month ago that we are ready to get a dog.

Long story short on #1, when I had Ava, Addie had a really hard time and was mad at me. She stopped telling me she loved me. This was, of course, horrifying to me and I took it personally and tried to pyscho-analyze her and define love for her, etc. etc. Over the last few years it has spread from me to everyone else. It probably sounds awful, but it's been long enough that now it's practically a family joke. Addie is a fantastic kid. She's sweet, funny, smart, largely cooperative, cuddly and extremely stubborn. This is a child that can't be forced or bribed. If I want to know how her day was, I can't ask her because she won't tell me. But, if she's sitting at the table or helping me while I'm cooking dinner, she'll talk my head off and I'll find out lots and lots of details.

So, Addie doesn't say "I love you", but she will say, "I really, really like you". Whatevs. We take what we can get. We look forward to the day that she realizes breaking her stubborn streak won't kill her.

#2 We bought a puppy. The litter is now about 4 weeks old, so it won't be ready to come live with us until mid-January. We decided to wrap up some dog paraphernalia and have the kids unwrap it as a Christmas surprise. Nils and I have been very excited, and it was hard to keep it a secret, but we managed, sorta. We have made it abundantly clear over the years that we will not be getting a dog anytime soon, so this was a big deal.

On Christmas Eve, we were making gingerbread cookies and enjoying a general festive day. My recollection is fuzzy, but time stood still when Nils said, "Hey Addie, if you tell us you love us, we'll get a dog." I backed him up right away and said, "We will. We will totally get a dog."

Oh, it was chaos and mayhem. I thought Addie's head was going to explode with internal conflict. Anders was begging her, "Addie, PLEASE! PLEASE say it!" Aani was saying over and over, "I love you guys! I love you!!" Addie was like, "I don't know. I don't know if I can", with a huge smile on her face. The power.

She and Anders went downstairs to practice, where she reportedly said it to the wall. She came upstairs with a note that said something along the lines of, "I guess I'll say I love you I guess." We told her it didn't count.

Back downstairs to practice. She came up a few minutes later and acted like someone who was having a stroke. "Ah luh-luh-luh-luh-luh. Ah-luh-luh-luh-luh-luh-luh." That went on for quite sometime. About 45 minutes into this we got a little squeaky, "I luh-luh-luh-luh-luhv you?" while she was hiding behind the couch. We were like, seriously child, if you want a DOG, you need to say, "I love you mom and dad" clearly and with volume, and it must not be a question.

At one point I muttered to Nils, "What are we going to do if she doesn't say it?" At any rate, she eventually said it to our satisfaction (after approximately an hour of painstaking stammering). She let us know that there better be a dog under the Christmas tree the next morning, but we one-upped her. We got all the dog stuff out and showed them a picture of our puppy.

This is our puppy. Her name is Pip.

They were confused. Then Anders said, "Wait, so you were going to give us a dog for Christmas anyway? ADDIE, YOU GOT TRICKED!" I covered his mouth and gave him a look of death, but it was too late. Addie was like, "We were getting a dog for Christmas? Oh. Okay, whatever." So that was that. They were excited and couldn't believe it. Ava looked really worried. We asked her if she was excited to get a dog, and she said, "The doggie's going to eat me?" After we assured her that the dog won't eat her, she was happy.

We got to take the kids to meet Pip the day after Christmas. Addie really was happy and just loved holding those puppies. 

In closing, I'd just like to say that manipulating your children is WRONG! But in this case, it was glorious to hear the words "I love you" out of Addie's mouth. And no, we never expect to hear them again. We're pretty much okay with being really, really liked.

Proof that we do stuff sometimes and take pictures

Nils built a bathroom in our basement over the last several months. We decided to bite the bullet and finish it.  The most glorious thing about having this bathroom is that we no longer have nightly scream fests from 4 kids  fighting over the same sink in our comically small kids' bathroom upstairs. Anyway, good job, Nils. 

The kids have taken to all sleeping in the same room lately. They've always sort of done this on and off, but we're a little surprised that all of them still do it, even the older 2. This night, Addie slept in Ava's bed and was happy as a clam being all scrunched up. Aani and Ava slept all night together in the recliner. Anders found a spot on the floor and was quite cozy.

 This was on election day, when I took these two to the school to vote and stood in line for over 2 hours. By the time it was my turn to vote, they were so frazzled and I was ready to go nuts. I can't even remember who  or what I voted for in a lot of the cases, I was in such a hurry to get out of there. 

 Halloween: Aani was a witch-bat, Addie a witch, Ava was Elmo, Anders a zombie soccer player. Because what else does a 9-year old boy want to be besides a zombie?

 Nils was a nerd for Halloween. I couldn't stop laughing. He's really, really good at it.

 I requested tickets for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert in, oh I don't know, September or October. I completely forgot about it, and then when I got an official looking envelope in the mail from the Church, I was a little bit scared that I was in trouble. I was thrilled to see that I got tickets! We got them for the Sunday morning concert. It was spectacular. Honest to goodness, those Mormons know how to put on a production. I cried more than once, and I've decided I have a disorder that makes me cry during live performances. It doesn't matter what it is, apparently; it can be a play at a high school, a program at the elementary school, or an amazing concert. I will cry, and I will try really hard to hide the fact that I'm crying. 

The best part of this morning was that Nils had a valid excuse to not go to meetings. 

You should go.