Dandelions

My sweet, little Brigham believes that every dandelion should be mine. This was especially true a few weeks ago when they first started blooming. If he spotted one, it had to be picked. Now, the yellow weeds have multiplied and instead of a single bloom, I get bouquets of them. On our walks, he is constantly dropping his scooter to go pluck blossoms for me. And several times while driving he has eyed a few and asked me to please stop.

He is particularly protective of the dandelions in our yard. One of the neighbor girls made the mistake of picking one in our backyard. Through the open window, I heard him tell her they were for his momma. He took it from her, marched inside and gave it to me. I told him it was okay if she picked our dandelions, that we have plenty to share (unfortunately). But he insisted that if she did, she couldn't give them to her momma. Of course this rule seems to only apply to our yard. In fact, I can remember one afternoon last fall when Brigham was playing in our neighbor's back yard and he suddenly left his brothers and friends and ran towards the gate. I was watching the boys out the window as I did the dishes, I wondered what he needed. Not very many things were important enough to pull him from Avery's swing set. I figured he probably needed to use the restroom and was relucntant enough that now it was an emergency. When I heard him come in I asked, "Do you need to use the potty?" "No," he answered as he ran into the kitchen. Smiling he presented me with a single dandelion. I took it, told him thank you and gave him a kiss. And with that he was on his way - back out to play. I placed the dandelion on the window-seal and finished the dishes with a smile on my face. Then, I took a picture of the flower so I wouldn't forget.

Brigham gathered the bouquet pictured below on a jog Shane took him and Aaron on. When he gave it to me, he reminded me to cut off the ends before I put them in the water.

Jacob and Joshua used to give me dandelions (but not quite as continually as Brigham does).

Jacob - Fall 2005 - 3 years old

(Notice the shoulder pads.

They were made out of a corn flake box.

He wore them everyday for like six months.)

San Diego, California - Summer 2006

These flowers weren't suppose to be picked.

But, since they were . . . . .