Jensen Moments: Tanner Starts First Grade and Turns Seven

Tan-Tan Quotes

Tanner: "Let's do this thing!" quoting Ratatouille.

We had a Taco Bell picnic on the deck yesterday. Tanner and C had earned it by being good. However, they had not earned their Red Box movie yet, and Tan was working very hard to do so. His prayer over the food encompassed the sweetness and simplicity of our lives right now -- something I know I will long for later:

"... Please bless me and Cedar to be able to earn Red Box, and we're thankful we can have Taco Bell for lunch . . ."

The other day Tan came down the stairs and very sweetly said: "Mom, maybe some day you should do some laundry. My dirty clothes basket is overflowing."

Against his better judgement, Ryon let Tanner eat an absolutely monstrous sized chocolate no bake cookie before bed because he ate all his broccoli. Ryon was tucking Tanner into bed.

Daddy:" How's your stomach, Tan? Are you feeling sick?"

Tanner: "No. There's a party party in my tummy tummy!"

Tanner and Daddy were trying to decide what kind of cookies to make one Sunday afternoon.

Mommy: "You could make snickerdoodles."

Tanner: "What are snooberdoodles?!"

We were all at Sara and Spencer's swimming. Tanner was having an absolute blast.

Mommy: "Tanner, are you having so much fun?"

Tanner: "Ya, I'm having like starving fun!"

Tanner: "Mom, I am going to be with you forever . . . until I start kindergarten."

Mommy: "Tan, I am going to miss you when you go to kindergarten.:

Tanner: "Mom, I'll see you on the last two days of the week!"

Mommy: "Tanner, how much do you miss Kimmie?"

Tanner: "All the way to my bones. All the way through my back to the bones in my stomach . . . and 155,000 and 7 degrees!"

Tanner is on the phone with Auntie Kimmie telling her that his pet fish had just died.

Kimmie: "How did he die, Tan Man?"
Tanner: "It got sucked up by the bubble maker."
Kimmie"Oh, Tanner. I'm sorry. Is he in Fish Heaven?"
Tanner: Giggles, "No, he has to get flushed down the toilet first before he can go there!"

I am putting my shoes and sweatshirt on in the morning.
Tanner: "Are you going running, Mom?"
Me: "Yup." Tanner starts running in place right there on the carpet.
Tanner: "Mom, you can just stay home and run in space!"

I am taking a nap on one end of the couch and Tan is playing quietly with his Bend-a-roos on the other end of the couch. My sleep is interrupted by his quiet voice: "Mom, I don't like your snoring. Just breathe."

Tanner comes into the office to show me he has put on his jammies after only being asked once. I pick him up onto my lap.
Mommy: "I love you, sweetheart."
Tanner, sticking his arms out to both sides as far as he can reach: "I love you this much, Mom, all the way to Heaven!"

Tanner, chewing on some ice while walking out of Costco:
"Mom, my teeth are the ice crushers and now it's snowing in my tummy!"

I look in my rear view mirror while driving in the car.
Mom: "Tanner, don't pick your nose."
Tanner: "But Mom, there's boogers and we don't have a tissue!"

Tanner, Cedar and I are driving down 217.
Tanner: "Mom, I want to go to Red Robins tonight for dinner." Mom: "Oh, that does sound good, Tan. But Mommy doesn't have money for Red Robin right now."
Tanner: "But Mom, you can just get some money."

Tanner and I are walking into Albertson's to pick up a prescription.
Tanner: "Are we getting your happy medicine, Mom?"

Tanner: "I love Cheetos, and they love me!"

I came into the kitchen in Melissa and Scott's apartment this morning and Tanner was playing with playdough and singing: "You make me feel like a natural woman!" Nice, Tan.

Grandma Neslen is grabbing a tampon out of her purse (sorry, Mom)
Tanner: "Ooooh, Grandma! Is that a cheese stick?"

Tanner, Cedar and I are leaving tomorrow for a month-long trip to Colorado and Kansas. In the car today Tanner asked Ryon:
"Dad, are you going to miss me when I go on the airplane?"
Dad: "Yes I am. Are you going to miss me?"
Tanner: "No. I'll have my chips on the airplane."

To understand this quote you have to know that we had an advent calendar filled with Christmas treats this year. Each day Tanner got to take a treat out. So one night Tanner wanted to help me say the prayer, instead of the other way around. We did all the usual thank you's for Mommy, Daddy and Grandma's and Grandpa's. Then Tanner said: "And thank you that when all the treats are gone it's Christmas." So precious.

Tanner comes down the stairs after Melissa and I have wrapped some presents and put them under the tree. I tell Tanner to go look under the tree and see the new presents. Under his breath and to himself he whispers, "Wow. That's a lot of presents." He is so excited!

Tanner: "Mommy, you're my best girlfriend."

Tanner and Aunt Sara are driving in the car. Tanner is asking Sara how to blow a bubble with his gum.
Sara: "Spread it flat with your tounge. Put it between your teeth and blow."
Tanner follows with loud sputtering and blowing sounds . . .
Tanner: "Uh oh . . . Hey, where'd my gum go?!"

Ryon and Tanner are driving past Intel.
Tanner: "Is that your work, Dad?"
Daddy: "Yup. That's my work."
Tanner: "I need to go to work."
Daddy: "You do?"
Tanner: "Yeah, but not yet. I need to get a computer first."
Wow, my son is a mini-me of his daddy.

Daddy: "Tanner, do you want nachos for dinner?"
Tanner: "Do I like nachos?"
Daddy: "Yup."
Tanner: "Are nachos vegetables?"

Tanner is standing by my bed nudging me while I am lying there loathing the fact that it's time to get up.
Tanner: "Mom, get up."
Mommy: "Okay . . . in a minute."
Tanner: "Mom, it's a sunny day!"
So . . . needless to say, the guilt got me right out of bed.

Tanner: "I don't want a hanguburger for dinner!"

Tanner's in his booster seat in Ryon's '94 honda early one Saturday morning. Ryon starts his annoyingly loud engine and Tanner instructs immediately: "Dad, shhh! You're going to wake the neighbors!"

We're all sitting on the airplane waiting for it to take off for Kansas. Tanner points out the window and says, "A airplane is like a school bus wiff wings!"

Quotes From Miss Cedar

We were driving home from school today, and Tanner recited all thirteen articles of faith. Cedar wanted to say something, but surprisingly waited patiently until Tanner was done. When he'd finished I told Cedar it was her turn. She responded with this:

"I bear my testimony. I know Jesus. And everybody likes me. [and something about scriptures and other random things]. In the name of Jesus Christ amen."

It's very sweet and I believe profound that Cedar responded to Tanner's articles of faith with her testimony.

Tucking CC into bed tonight:

Mom: "C, what song do you want?"

Cedar: "My Savior's Love. All three berses." So precious.

We were loading up the car to head to Spokane for the long weekend. Cedar some some neighbor girls down the street and started yelling to them:

CC: "Guys! GUYS! HEY GUYS! I go to Washington!"

We decided to drive home through the night from Kimmie and Kevin's in Spokane so we didn't have to listen to the kids the whole way. So at midnight when Cedar was still awake, Ryon and I were getting frustrated:

Mom: "CC, go to sleep!"

CC: You guys need a be nice to me. I'm your friend!"

Cedar, pretty much all the time following me around the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house for that matter:

"Mom, I need someping. Mommy, I just need someping."

After saying she was hungry for about 15 minutes before our pizza was out of the oven, C offered to say the blessing on the food:

"Heavenly Father. Bless the food. Jesus Christ, Amen."

C does NOT like it when I say anything like "My goodness" or "Oh my gosh" when I am frustrated with her. Tonight I was in the kitchen making pizza and CC kept reaching up on the counter and pulling pieces of dough out of the pizza and whining about everything:

Mommy: "Cedar, my goodness!"

Cedar: "I'm not a goodness! You're a goodness! Your're a big goodness! You're all the goodness!" It was hilariously awesome.

I was pouring some Diet Dr. Pepper into a cup. Cedar looked up at me from the kitchen table and softly said "Mommy, I'm sick. I need some pop." She is my child.

Ryon was making breakfast. Cedar: "Daddy, I want some hashbrownies."

Monday, December 26, 2011

Tanner Starts First Grade and Turns Seven

Tanner is one of the older kids in his class. His birthday is the in the end of September, so he turned seven about two weeks after he started first grade. Tan loves his school and loves his friends. There are only two classes in each grade at his school, so he was in kindergarten last year with about 50% of his class. And he knows the kids from the other class very well too. He's been to about four birthday parties so far this year. :)We'd just moved, and I was about to start school around Tanner's birthday this year, so a party with friends would have been pretty stressful and expensive. Tan was very sweet and fine with having a party at home with family. We got pizza and I made a camping cake for Tan. He wanted his cake to be a surprise, and he was so surprised! He loved it. It was so fun to make.
So yes, my Tanner is now seven and in first grade. He has turned into a great little reader and is such a good friend to his classmates. His teacher has told Ryon and me that several times. He struggles with talking in class too much, and he knows that. He is always throwing his hands over his mouth and saying "Oops! Oh ya, oh ya!"
There is not an unkind bone in his little body. He is genuine and tender-hearted, and he loves his family.
Tanner is my sweetheart. I love spending time with him. He is encouraging to me in my schooling, even though he misses me at night.I had school in the evenings this last semester, and so we missed several of our bed time songs and snuggles. It is Christmastime now, and we have made up for a lot of it.
I cannot believe he will be baptized in about nine months. He loves his Savior and has told us about times he has felt the spirit. That's really important to me. I want my kids to have their own testimony-building experiences so they can have strong relationships with Jesus Christ.

Tanner is in a Catholic private school, so there have been discrepancies between the Gospel and what he has been taught at school. We have had to explain why some people believe what they believe, why it isn't true, why sadly they don't have the whole truth, and why we are so blessed to have it. I've been impressed by Tanner's understanding of gospel truths, and I just hope he makes good choices as he gets older. I am grateful that he can say the Pledge of Allegiance, be free to worship Jesus Christ, and least of all, celebrate holidays in school.

I love my Tan Man. He is my little friend.