APRIL 23rd --HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY, TATUM!

Our youngest granddaughter, Tatum, turned six years old this year! We have told her to stop growing up, but she doesn't listen! (You never listen!)
We weren't able to go to Reno to be with her on her birthday this year, but we did talk to her that evening.
The week-end before, she had a party with her friends at Chuck-E-Cheese, and went to see the movie, "Earth." They had a fun time, and I wish we could've been there with her. (At least I had almost two weeks with her and Ariel here in Utah.)
She's our little "alien pizza" as Monica and Ariel call her. She is such a unique little character. She is so full of life, full of energy, (and full of apple juice--she loves it).
She loves her big sister, Ariel. They have lots of fun together. Ariel has always been her little Mom--helping Monica take care of her. Ariel has always been so sweet to her, and has really taught her so many great things. They are both little angels, just like Monica.
Tatum is in kindergarten, and will soon be in first grade. All of the kids love her, and want to be her friend. She's so sweet and loveable! She is our Mini-Monica. When you see the two of them walking together, you'd think they were twins, with their long blonde curly hair, and skinny bods...except for the fact that one is more than four feet taller than the other one!
She is so much fun, and so smart!! She really does have an adult sense of humor. She never ceases to surprise us with some of the things she says.
I decided to write down some of our "Tatum-isms" this year. We are always amazed by her, and how she thinks and communicates those thoughts. There are hundreds of them, but here are a few: (some of them make sense to us, but they all make sense to her!)

**one of the times the girls visited, Tatum saw a picture of Jesus with little children. It was on a table in the living room. She said, "I know who that is, that's Jesus. I used to live with him...he's nice!"
{one thing you have to remember about Tatum is that she has gone to church with us maybe twice, and never attended Primary!}
**Tatum came into the kitchen one day while Bob was doing dishes and got an apple juice box out of the frig. She then said, "Bob, you need to get more of these-this is the last one." She said it so "in charge" and cute that Bob was laughing. Noting that he was laughing, she said "NO SERIOUSLY!"
**Ariel was sad and crying one night because she missed Monica. I was telling her not to cry; Tatum said, "I don't cry when Mommy is gone...I really miss her, but I don't cry."
**One day, Ariel took her glasses off and said, "I can't see a single thing!" Tatum thought that was funny, and (with her front tooth missing) started going around saying, "I CAN'T THEE A THINGLE THING!" When Papa Joe was here, he got so tickled at her saying that and couldn't stop laughing and joking with her about it. Now, every time we call him, she says that to him just to make him laugh. He really gets a kick out of her!
**When Ian was over at our house one day, he said to Tatum "Why do you say 'DUDE' so much? She said, "Cause I'm a dude girl!" I said, "Good answer!" Then Tatum replied, "I'm cool, I'll tell you that much!"
**Bob was out of town, and Tatum said, "Oh my gosh...I can't stop thinking about Bob. I just love him and miss him soooo much!"
**Tatum was bugging Ariel one day, and Ariel told her to knock it off. Tatum pointed at Ariel and said, "You used to love me when I was a baby...you used to hug me...so why don't we do that now?!? Ariel wouldn't hug her, so Tatum threw fruit snacks in Ariel's lunch!
**One day, I made Ariel laugh really hard at something, and then Tatum started laughing and said, "I don't even know what that means!!"
**Tatum was not telling me the truth about something that happened. I said, "Tatum, look me in the eyes and tell me the truth." [I always said that to Ian & Ariel, and they could never look at me and not tell the truth.] Tatum started laughing and said, "Well, I'm only smiling a lot because I'm happy." We all started laughing with her; then she said, "I'm smiling because I'm beautiful!"
**Tatum and Ariel were fighting and Tatum called Ariel, "stupid!" Ariel said, "What did you say?" Tatum then replied, "I said it to the wall!"
**Once when we went to pick Monica up at the airport, Tatum and I went to the bathroom. I told her to stay close to my stall or some one might kidnap her and take her away from me. I then said, "That's a funny word, huh Tatum?" Then she said, " Yeh, it sounds like a kid is going to take a nap...it should be called 'kid-grab-nab'."
**Monica, Ariel and Tatum were laying in bed one night reading books. When Monica was finished reading, Tatum said, "Hum...am I American or what!?!"
**Tatum and Ariel were drinking their bottles of water really fast, having a contest to see who could drink the fastest. Tatum stopped and said, "Well Grandma, water is good for you and that's why we drink it...and because Jesus wants you to."

None of us know what goes on in the minds of these little children and how they perceive the world around them. The way they express themselves sometimes amazes us and always makes us laugh.
Tatum is such a unique little individual, and we love her so much! She has been such a happy, crazy, goofy, nutty little person ever since she was born. We haved missed a lot of her growing up since they live in Reno. But, she knows how much we love her. We talk on the phone a lot, but we wish that she was here with us every day.
Sorry we missed being there on your birthday this year, and hope you had a fun day!

Monica has done such a wonderful job raising Tatum and Ariel, mostly by herself and while having a full time job. She's a great mother! Thanks for having these beautiful children. We cherish them and you!!!!