When my first child was born I decided I was going to write about my pregnancy and delivery and the funny things he did. As a first time mom I was incredibly detailed and it took until my second child was born to move on! I believe it's very detailed and then suddenly stops and says, "Then you were born. Labor was long and hard but you were a great baby the end! Caleb your labor was short and you were/are a TERRIBLE baby!! The end!" Then I started just writing in the funny things they did and said. Kind of like a journal I guess but not super detailed. By the way, he was a terrible baby... that's me being nice!
The funny stuff doesn't happen much until they start talking or another child joins the family so I guess when Carter was around two we started filling it in. The kids never knew I did it until they were probably around 4 and 6 I guess. One day they asked me what I was doing and I started reading some of the funny things they did and they were rolling on the floor laughing. I was surprised they found it so entertaining but they were pretty funny and after all it was all about them! Thus began the tradition of reading our "Funny Story" aloud every month or so. Sometimes we'll forget but usually someone asks every month. They really do know most of the stories by heart but that doesn't seem to matter.
A couple favorites... When Hannah was around two she wanted to sit like a "big girl" at the table but she couldn't quite say "big girl" so it would come out sounding like "bugar" and the boys would say, "Hannah, a big girl or a bugar like in your nose??" And she would say, "Ah bugar, yeah, in a nose." She had no idea she was being funny but they died laughing every time and still do when I read it. Another one was Caleb who was slow to talk and once he did, he had this funny way of twisting his words and sounding like he was Yoda! While on the trampoline he would say, "Jumping I am!" They like that one too. This week I entered Elijah telling me he was going to cheat on his math using a calendar (he meant a calculator) and Hannah was pretending to drive and told me she was putting it on onomatopoeia instead of auto pilot (only a homeschooled 5yo would come up with that one!).
I don't write often. In fact there are times I'll miss a whole year but I will just sit and reminisce and they will come to me or the kids will remind me. Now with five kids it seems there's always something funny so I keep it on my bedside table and grab it when I think of it. We read through it again last night because I needed to add that not only did my lovely boys teach my sweet baby girl to shoot people with her fingers and hilarious noises, after seeing them fall injured and moaning she now joins them complete with a dizzy head look and falls to the ground saying "ohhhh ohhh oh" and then lays like a limp rag doll for a minute before jumping back up to join the battle! Weirdo!
I do know looking back that these times go by so fast! I'm not sure I'd ever remember them without writing them down. And something about sharing them together seems to make us all feel closer, like yes, this is MY family, I am an important part and I add a lot here. We have almost filled a one subject spiral notebook so that's how little I write... that's at least 10 years worth of memories but oh, they are so sweet. If you've never done this there's no time like the present! Just start writing! After awhile it will be a great way to gather as a family making new memories as you laugh at old ones.
Fridays at Our House
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