Strawberry Picking

We are just back from a trip to the strawberry fields. It went better than I expected. All three kids helped pick and we filled 3 qt baskets and half filled the sieve I brought. We'll freeze a few and make some jam. Don't know if I will get out again before this short strawberry season is out but I might try if the kids are again agreeable.

Evelyn and Mira were both covered in strawberry juices. But Josh was great and didn't eat one! He waited until I gave him one. We are sitting down to lunch now.

Josh has recently taken an interest in learning Spanish. So, we are trying to support that. Mira's temper tantrums have tapered off since I have been getting down on her level and talking to her. Once she goes over the edge it is impossible to get her back so this has been quite a relief!

Evie is mimicking the older two more each day, which is certainly problematic at times. She can climb up into the playhouse now and on to the top bunk. She says 'kid swear words' - stupid, stinky pete and poopy head. She misses nothing. I can't believe that she is so close to being two.

Mira 3 yr check up

Mira was, of course, great at the dr's yesterday. She took her little dr. kit and checked herself and bear while the dr and nurse checked her. She weighs 29 lbs and is 36.25" tall. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

She got two shots and I told her she was brave but her response was, 'No I wasn't, I was sad.' Oh little one, you can be sad and brave, too!

She is fully potty trained now!

Warm Up? Maybe, Maybe Not

It was warm and not it is not so much but spring is on the way, the flowers are popping up, we've planted pansies, broccoli and peas. We've been spending afternoons outside and I love that the kids just put their shoes on and head out whenever they feel the urge. Josh and Mira have been playing outside together nicely and it is fun to watch them go and not have to set them in motion. Evie has been getting out and running around. I can putz around in the yard myself while they are at it.

Evelyn is starting into her terrible two's with a periodic temper tantrum and she sometimes pipes up with a 'stinky pete' here and there. (Baby swear words) Mira finally let me put her hair in pig tails again and she looks like a doll. Evie's pig tails stick out straight from her head and are absolutely adorable. Joshua has been moving right along with his reading practice and he does better and better every day. He is also more and more eating the dinner that is placed in front of him without complaining. It is quite a relief to not have to worry about what he is eating, finally!

I am toying with the idea of moving Evie and Mira in together in Evie's room and big, big bed. They are so close in size that I joint closet seems like it would be easier than sorting out their clothes every few days. I tried them sleeping in the same bed tonight but it didn't work out. I'll probably try moving Mira into bed with Evie when she is asleep. Once we do that, I'll bunk the beds for Joshie and he is really looking forward to that.

Spring Break

Jason was home from Friday to Thursday this last week and we had DADDY TIME! Wahoo! On Monday we went to Rumbleway Farm and saw all the animals. We stopped afterward for a lunch at a deli near PA. Unfortunately, they were only take out and it was too cold to eat outside so we had a picnic in the car. At the farm we found some very friendly cats that the kids really wanted to take home with us. "These cats are so much nicer than ours!" they said.

On Tuesday, we made our way down to the Aquarium for a few hours. Always a hit! They all love looking at all the fish, sharks, birds, frogs and insects. Mira was begging to see the jelly fish the whole time and Josh was eager to explore in the rain forest. We also got to see the puffins getting fed this trip and have an up close experience with a hissing cockroach. It was a great time!

Wednesday Jason went into the office but it was movie night and we enjoyed The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which Jason and Josh are reading right now. They just finished the Hobbit and Josh and I are working our way through Peter Pan. He LOVES to read!

Thursday on the way back to Philly we hit the 'Please Touch Museum', which is a gigantic playground for kids. Everything you could imagine and a carousel, too. They all so much fun just running between all the activities. We got a membership so that we can continue to explore that museum since we were not able to get through the whole thing before the kids started melting down.

We made Popsicles yesterday, which the kids are enjoying now. Joshua also had a parent teacher conference to followup with his preschool evaluation. The teachers were glowing when talking about how much Joshua has changed and improved. They said that the first thing he does every morning of preschool is head over to the bookcase and grab a book to enjoy. His writing is on a kindergarten or first grade level and he is curious and loves the projects that they do. He also recognizes a lot of sight words.

We are continuing daily home school for Josh and Mira, about 15 min each a day. Mira worked on the letter C and the number two this week. Her ABC song is MUCH improved since we started and she knows all her colors! Joshua is working his way through a kindergarten workbook, working on sight words and phonics. He is doing great and I have overheard him starting to read to himself. It won't be long before he is reading his favorite 'Jack and Annie, Magic Tree House' books on his own!

Evelyn is learning to count, she has 1,2,3 down. On days we go diaper-less she does really well taking herself to the potty. She has so many words and is very expressive.

Sunday Adventures

We are taking Sundays to explore Philadelphia and the surrounding areas and have family time as well. Today we checked out a National Wildlife Refuge. We just caught the nature center 10 minutes before closing but even still it was a nice place and there were wild turkeys just outside the window. From there, we started walking on one of the many paths. It was a busy day, I assume, because of the warmer weather. We saw lots of birds and there were trail markers with information about the different species of plants and animals that could be seen on the walk. We also spotted a dead frog and a couple of dead fish. The kids thought it was all great. I loved the bridge that crossed the marsh/pond we were walking next to. We even spotted deer and raccoon prints in the mud near the bank of a stream. It was a great time.

Evelyn always loves the chance to be free and she just ran along. Joshua, loves the outdoors and he ran ahead of us, sometimes too far, but he was getting exercise. Mira was split between staying near us and heading off with her brother.

Valentine's

On Valentine's Day we shared why we love each other. Here is what the kids and I came up with.

We love Mira because:
she is spunky
she came out of mommy's belly
We love watching movies with Mira & Evelyn and playing princess together.

We love Evelyn because:
She is sweet, nice & funny
She like to eat
Likes to watch/observe everything
She has a great sense of humor

We love Joshie because:
I love Joshie. He reads stories and goes to bed with me. I like playing princesses and Jack and Annie with Joshie. - Mira
He is imaginative.

We love Daddy becuase:
He gives me tickles & stories.
I like going to the ice rink w/daddy
He gets money for our food.

A cold winter's walk

It was a cold-ish day. Warmer that it has been at 40F but still cold. The kids need to get out anyway, cold or warm and we still have too much snow on the side walks. So we headed down to the promenade. There were lots of ducks, geese, gulls and water fowl out so we had a lot to see and Josh just ran and ran.

We came home to stew I had prepared the night before and had a nice warming dinner. We needed it too since we forgot our gloves!

We've started having daily 'school time' for all three kids. Evie plays puzzles or colors and I spend 15 min with Josh and Mira each individually. I am working on reading with Josh and letters with Mira.

It has been a lot of fun and Mira is really excited to be in school!

Evie 18 mos check up

I don't think I posted this:

2/10/11 27lbs, 33" tall she is in the 75-90% for both height and weight

Mira weighed 29 lbs at that visit.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Mira!

Mira's birthday was Tuesday but since she didn't know the date we were able to convince her that her birthday was Saturday without any trouble. Daddy was home from school and Mira woke up to find the grocery cart that she had been asking for waiting in the living room. She loved it!

We spent the morning preparing for her princess tea party with her cousins and two friends, aunts and uncles, Memaw, Grandad and Nanny. At 11:30 the festivities began. Daddy read two princess/fairy stories and then we had a tea party with little sandwiches, carrots, apples, gold fish crackers and jello squares. The kids all took the food their were excited for and ate none of it. Just too much excitement I guess. We made magical fairy wands next then had cupcakes and opened presents. The kids were all birthday'd out and the party was done at 1pm.

We put the girls down for a nap afterwards. When they woke up we used the Valentine's gift from Grandma and Papa to raid the candy store. Mira and Josh handled it rather well but Evelyn just went biserk and we had to take her bad to the car. They all came home with a few choices and got to taste them. It was a sweets filled day.

We ended the day with dinner at our neighbor's house, the kids watching movies and playing games. We were pooped!

The party was truly wonderful though and the kids were happy and well-behaeved throughout. Definitely an event to repeat if ever you could have a 'do-over' :-)

A warm day in February

I have been neglecting my blogging here and I am going to make an effort to jump back into it.

This week has given us a lot of beautiful, warm weather. So in spite of the muddy, mucky mess that we have outside due to the snow melting, I've been trying to get the kids out as much as possible. Every other house on the street has no snow left but we still look like we live in Antarctica because of the lack of sun at our house. Even up to early this week Josh was taking the sled out in this backyard and using the louge to speed down the hill.

Yesterday was THE day though. We went out for a 'walk' in the morning, rode bikes and spent time with our neighbors, then when I went out for work, the kids played with the sitter outside and when I came home I took them to the park downtown. They all had circles under their eyes from so much fresh air but it was much needed.

Joshua is on a streak of saying adorable things. Here are just two from this last week:
2/12/11 - Josh - First there were the dinosaurs, then the Indians, then the Indian women had babies and then they made movies.

2/15/11 - Josh - (speaking of a cross necklace) - Put this on your heart, I filled it with love.

Evelyn is starting to express her opinion with tantrums. The are brief fits of unpleasantness but I can see that she is heading in the direction of the terrible twos. Still for the most part she is a sweet little thing. Unfortunately it was Evie we trapped and not a mouse in the spring trap we had in the garage yesterday, ouch!

Mira's behaviour is evening out a bit had she tends to improve with Joshua. So if he is well behaved, she is, too. Tomorrow is her big 3 year old birthday party. Her birthday DAY was Tuesday but she doesn't know it. Daddy was not home so we decided to wait til the weekend to celebrate. Her Aunts were so kind to called and wish her a happy day. Her response? "My birthday is SATURDAY!"

Should we rename to the monthly?

I've been meaning to make this post for a while. Sometimes I even 'record' moments that happen during the day as if I were adding them to the blog, in my head. But they seldom make it from brain to keyboard. Mommy is just too busy. I am doing my best to keep this order: children, home, business, food-stuff, pool but what gets left off the list most often is blogging.

The first week of December, while Jason was away to Florida for a conference, which we survived, Evie sprouted molars. She is not enjoying them breaking through and often wakes in the night needing snuggling. She wished Dylan a 'Happy Birthday' today and spoke the words quite well. I used to enjoy Mira's 'Aboo BeeBa' for Happy Birthday but when Evie speaks she is very clear. We are working on 'up' instead of 'bup' but she is a little chatterbox.

Mira crawled into bed this morning with me. Josh and Mira often make their way to my bed around 6:30 am. I asked her what she was doing and she said in her little sleepy voice, 'I'm beeping...with you.' Well, Mira, I like to 'beep' with you, too! They are both snuggle-muffins in the morning. Mira is quite the talker and can say long, complex things but she still has her own 'language' at times that is easier to discern in person.

Joshua has been enjoying legos (of course) but also sitting for long periods of time cutting Kiragami. Usually he asks me to fold the papers but he is quite good at the cutting part. He has also taken to Indiana Jones in the last week or so and has been scared more recently of movies and stories and such than in the past. It seems his fantastic imagination is catching up with him.

Joshua is understanding the Nativity and can explain the story. He talks a lot about GOD and rules and such. He is doing well both in school and in Sunday School and we are working on manners, listening (and following) directions and treating people with respect. It seems we will be working on these things for a long time to come.

They are all super excited about Christmas and Santa coming. They visited Santa the first Friday in December and an elf has left activities for them to do every day such as make cookies, watch Christmas movies, see the Christmas parade, etc. They made their requests to Santa - a princess doll for Mira, a Bakugan Dragonoid for Joshua and well... Evie didn't ask for anything but we put a good word in for her to the big guy in red.

Evie 15 mos check up

The dr. was AMAZED at all the words Evie has now. I made a list in the two days before her check up and below are all the ones I collected. She weighs 23 lb 3 oz and the nurse measured her at 30" but that would mean she shrunk. I think I had her about 32". I can double check. She is definitely not shrinking. Her favorite new word is 'NO' and she loves to show her preferences... all the time.

mine
no
yeah/yes
uh-oh
pumpkin
daddy
mommy
hi
bear
playground
quack
cow
kitty cat
meow
jack
look
here
eye
thank you
book
read
bye bye
bottle
apple
night-night
cracker
baby
shoes
chair
fish
ball
outside
get down

Vocabulary Explosion

Evie is adding new words all the time now. Just today she has added, 'Bear, Mommy, and Bite" to her vocabulary. With Joshua and Mira I kept a list of what they said when. With Evie, that hasn't happened. It is ok, we still love her tremendously!

Josh has a birthday party today at a bouncy place that all the kids are invited to. They are so excited to be going. It is a cold, windy day so we haven't been outside to play.

Mira is trying to remove her nap from her day but I am not ready for that yet and I don't think she is either. Josh took a nap up through 4 and periodically until he was 5. I need my afternoon time!

Time to cook dinner so that Daddy can eat while we are away at the party.

Halloween

Halloween at our house is a much anticipated event. I held the kids off until the middle of October from decorating the house inside and out but we went on two hay rides to pick pumpkins and several hay and corn mazes. I love fall and I hope that my children will appreciate this season, too.

We carved our pumpkins a week before Halloween with Joshua picking a spooking design and making a drawing for a creepy, nashing mouth to adorn the big 44 pound pumpkin we picked and Mira drawing a funny face for her small pumpkin, the littlest one we could reasonably carve. On pumpkin carving day we roasted the seeds and enjoyed spiced cider.

On the school hayride Joshua spent more time hunting for bugs, which were abundant, than looking for the perfect pumpkin. Mira, again, find the smallest pumpkin she could. She prefers little things.

On Halloween, we had a dinosaur (Joshua), a fairy princess (Mira) and a scarecrow (Evelyn) out hunting for goodies. We hit the four cul du sacs that are nearest to our house and called it a night. Even so, without having ingested one bit of sugar the children were bouncing off the walls. They dug in and had several candies each and then it was off to bed.

Joshua's behavior, for the most part, is great except we he does get into trouble it is something BIG. We finally broke him of the habit of climbing on top of our armoire after writing about 60 lines over 3 days. But we couldn't keep him out of our room and our drawers. The door to our bedroom is now locked after an unfortunate event with a pocket knife and our foot board.

Mira is having better days consistently. She is such a wild card though when she decides to misbehave. It is hard to enforce rules for her because the situations often affect everyone else. I think that age 4 can't come soon enough! But when she is good she is very, very good!

Evie is adding words, words, words! She understands concepts that surprise me like when she wonders through the house with a bracelet showing anyone that she comes across with a, "Look! Look!". She says "Thank You" and "playground" and "pumpkin". Mandy is Candy. She brings people things that belong to them and tries (sometimes succeeding!) to put her clothes on and off.

crab

Today, since it wasn't a school day, we got dressed and went out for errands. We only had to run the movies back to the library but I was hoping to also stop at the orchard for apples and cider. The kids, however, voted for a walk down by the water. It was humid today but not unpleasant so we headed over to the park. Along the walk we saw a crab, geese, ducks, little fish and big 14" fish, a frog and a blue dragonfly. It was a lot of fun and the apples? They'll be there the next time we need an outing.

Mira has been doing a bit better these past couple of days without any major, spitting, hitting, kicking, screaming, throw herself on the floor and pee tantrums. Just minor skirmishes. Three days ago we started insisting that even if they were not asleep, the kids had to stay in their bedroom until 7am. These past several mornings have been more pleasant too since I can get up and take care of a couple of chores and starting breakfast before the wild rompus begins.

It is almost 12:30, Evie is down for her nap, Mira will be going down next and everyone is fed. Although we can get a good, full day out of Joshua with play time, quiet time and meals and even outings, the girls just can't handle it. They are good for a couple of hours at best doing any thing before they need a break. It would be easier if either of them could take naps on the fly but both prefer their beds. So we are left with a few hours in the morning after breakfast and then some time in the evening (as long as we include dinner) to do anything else. Definitely puts a crimp on the day's activities.

It is nice, though, having time during the day that is just me and Josh. Well, just me and any one of the children is nice. We are taking Josh out to see the Berenstain Bears tomorrow night. I know he is going to love it. Mira would probably like it too but the show is at 7:30 and we just never know how she is going to behave, she is a wild card.

The Monthly?

Maybe I should update the blog title to reflect how often I actually get a chance to sit down and write to this. Picture uploading on flickr is just as bad. However, I often think in blog posts, if only my thoughts translated into the computer in a blink of an eye....

Last weekend was our annual beach vacation. We usually go to Rehobeth but tried an RV campground in Ocean City instead this year. With Jason very busy at work and school all the preparations and clean up for the trip fell to me. It was very stressful. Add to that Joshua's first day back at preschool for the year, the day we left and Jason not being able to join us until the second day in the evening. I was feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacation! But, Jason WAS able to make it (there was a chance he was going to have to pass) and the weather was so fine while we were there. We had a little cottage within walking distance of the beach, bay side and could see Assateague Island while the kids played in the sand, hunted for welk's and hermit crabs and splashed in the water. Joshua and Mira took kites and were able to fly them. My parents, as a help to me, joined us Wed-Friday and we had a great time in their company as well as the Bowers whom we share our beach vacation with. We did hit the boardwalk and Assateague Island and we took a fun boat cruise getting to the Island. I just love to watch Joshua explore. He is so excited about finding fish, hermit crabs, bugs... just about anything that moves. We were leaving the beach on the last night we were there and I had to ask him to empty his pockets, which were full of hermit crabs, before we walked away from the water. Mira loved playing in the sand and on the play set the best. She got into the water a little but she was not as gung ho to swim as Joshua. Evie was fearless: running in and out of the water, eating sand and playing on the play set on her own. We came back Sunday night, had dinner and started getting back to our normal routine that way Josh and Jason only missed one day of school.

Joshua is doing great this year at preschool so far. He has had 4 classes and has no problem leaving me to go. I asked him if he had a good day at school on Friday and he said, 'Well, I didn't get in trouble!' He is generally well behaved. It is just the interactions with Mira and taking things that are not his that we really have problems with now.

Last night, we ordered Chinese food for dinner. Joshua, not knowing what I was calling to order said, "You ALWAYS order pizza for dinner." As if I ordered food every night and it was always pizza. Yeah right! We had mac and cheese from a box for the first time (to the kids) the other day and he said, 'This is better than any of the food that you make.' Wow! Thanks, Joshua, for that stellar comment! Kids have such short term memories at times. Joshua says the darnedest things!

Today, we loaded the kids and our bikes up and drove over to the dam where there is a nice rail trail along the water. We had the girls in the trailer and Joshua on his trike. He make it out a mile and back. It was a bit challenging on the way back for him but he did it and took a nap this afternoon.

Mira is having SERIOUS tantrums when she gets tired now. It is impossible to get her to sleep when she would like to go because that is 11 in the morning. But, if she doens't sleep at that time all heck breaks loose. Anything will set her off and what ensues is usually kicking, biting, screaming, spitting, scratching, throwing. She goes from this angelic looking child to hell on two feet in seconds and it lasts for minutes, sometimes and hour. Our trip home from preschool on Friday consisted of dragging Mira kicking and screaming back to the car from the school; wrestling her into her seat; driving off with her screaming at the top of her lungs; stopping twice to try and calm her and keep her from climbing out of the carseat. I managed to get us home by promising something, M&M's maybe, if she didn't scream anymore on the ride and if she could watch her show, Dragon Tales, for this same good behavior. She had started this particular tantrum when we had to leave her show to go get Joshua. She is a handful. On bad days, getting through the day is really rough and I need a quiet break at the end. On good days, we only have 1-2 big tantrums and when the children go to bed I enjoy the peace that ensues. She really is a wild card. What we do on a daily basis is dictated by Mira's mood and limitations.

Evelyn is walking like a pro now and saying (and copying) more words. She knows better what she wants and will get frustrated if you do not give it to her.

Well, I am falling asleep at the computer so I am done for tonight. More stories to follow.

Walking and Summer Adventures

Evie is popping up and sitting down, taking steps and getting all around. The most she has walked in a row now is 7 steps but she is really trying and REALLY wants to be down moving by herself. I guess it is time to go get shoes that fit her. Mira's shoes are too small for her I think she is a 4.5 or so but I have not measured.

Mira has been fighting a cold and has not been eating well the past several days. She is tired and irritable. I am to the point that if she doesn't start eating well soon she'll be on an ice cream diet just to get more calories in her. Maybe I will make yogurt tonight so that she will have some good food to eat... Even in her sickness she is supremely adorable. She has been asking for ponytails. So I put her curly top hair into two little bouncy pony tails. She is just so darned cute I could eat her up!

Joshua had his first sleep over away from home without Mommy and Daddy after Evelyn's birthday party on Saturday. He went home with MeMaw and Grandad and fell asleep on the drive home in the back of the car with Nanny. He stayed Saturday and Sunday nights and I picked him up on Monday afternoon. From all accounts he was very well behaved and had a lot of fun. They went to lunch on Sunday after going to church. They played with his cousins, swam, went fishing, read books, watched movies and had an all around great time. He even slept in a tent inside the house. He loved that!

He continues to be very interested in bugs. Tonight we spotted green horned worms on my tomato plants. Not only that but some other bug had laid eggs on two of the caterpillars. He explained that it was a wasp that laid the eggs and when the eggs hatch the babies will eat the caterpillar. We had learned that information in the DK Bug book that he reads over and over again. So we explored the horned worms for a while before I took care of them. Can't have them eating my tomato plants!! Earlier today we had a visit from Stephanie, Noella and Tia Amy. The kids played outside, we ate lunch and then we all went to the pool. I think the children are pretty much worn out today!

Evie is walking

As of her birthday, she took one step on her big day, she started walking. Tonight she took 3 steps. She can stand up in the middle of the room unassisted and if something is really enticing she will take a few steps towards it. So Jason wins! He said she would be walking by this week. :-) Best Daddy ever!

Happy 1st Birthday, Evie Joy!

Evie started out her big birthday day with a visit to the dr for her 1 year well baby check up. She weighs 21 lb 6 oz and is 31" long. She remains tall and 'slender' and right on for her milestones. She is ahead of the game with mimicking people: combing her hair, putting on necklaces, washing herself, etc.

After the dr we bought a balloon for her and met Memaw and Grandad back at our house. We played on the swing and then had lunch. Evie napped in the afternoon and then after nap watched Wallace and Gromit with Grandad and Memaw and played some more.

She had a big dinner of pancakes, eggs, sausage, blueberries, peas and water and gobbled it all up. She couldn't get enough! After dinner she opened gifts and then we went to the ice cream shop.

It was a busy and pleasant day and now my littlest baby is 1!

Piano Lessons

I started working with Joshua on the piano a couple of weeks ago. We sit down together at least once a week and work on reading music, learning the notes and playing tunes. I started teaching him the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" the other day and now he sits down several times a day to practice. He is learning three blind mice as well. And sometimes he just plays nice songs. It is really nice to hear him tinkering on the keys. The girls also like to join in but they are not quite ready to play.

On Wednesday we are having a piano repair man come to fix and tune the piano. It will be nice to play the notes around middle C again!

Summertime

Aunt Betty and Uncle George came into town for the weekend so we planned to meet them and the family for dinner last night at Memaw & Grandad's house. It really was the perfect summer evening. Everyone contributed to a delicious meal al fresco with music playing in the background and the kids splashing in the pool. We put Mira and Evelyn down for bed at Mom's house and let Joshua stay up and play. It was so nice to visit.

Evelyn has added words! She now says, Mama, Dada, Hi, Meow, Arf and Night Night. We have tried some signs with her but she is not as receptive as Mira was. She can stand on her own but has not taken any solitary steps yet. It won't be long though!

Joshua is getting lots of practice writing as we are using that to deter him from saying words we don't approve of. He is going to have fantastic writing and spelling skills by the time he goes to kindergarten if this keeps up!

Mira's speech and vocabulary improve every day. She is thoughtful in her word choice and speaks slowly. She loves to make up songs and dance. She is so head strong and independent but also loves to snuggle and give hugs and kisses. One day she will be president of the United States.

Conversations with Joshua

I wish I had a tape recorder for some of the conversations I have had with Joshua. But, today's conversation was really, well, remarkable. We drove past a restaurant where Joshua has ordered a shrimp basket before. Joshua LOVES shrimp.

Joshie: Mommy can we eat at that store that has the shrimp.
Mommy: No, we can't have shrimp right now. There was an accident and the shrimp were hurt.
Joshie: The oil spill, Mommy?
Mommy: (*thinks* We haven't talked to Joshua about it much but it has been in the news. I guess he's got big ears) Yes. Lots of animals were hurt: birds, fish, shrimp. And they need time to grow and get big and healthy again.
Joshie: Who did that mommy?
Mommy: Someone made a mistake. They were doing something they shouldn't have been doing.
Joshie: Then they should go away.
Mommy: (*thinks* Wow! That's harsh. I mean I feel that way sometimes but I haven't expressed that to Joshie.) Why don't we give them a chance to fix their mistake.
Joshie: Maybe they should listen to Jesus. I don't think they listened to Jesus.
Mommy: (*thinks* Where did that come from?) Yes, Jesus and God both say that we should take care of the resources we have.

I am drawing a blank as to what happened next. He just kept surprising me with each subsequent answer.

July

These lazy summer days are packed with activities and just fly by. Most are so busy that housework and cooking are put on the backburner to swimming, library and trips to everywhere. That is how it should be and I am glad we are not bored.

We just returned from a trip to Fairborn(Dayton) Ohio for our third family Mini Meet East trip. The event was a lot of fun with a visit to the Air Force Museum, road rallye, autocross, banquet, picnic, rc car racing (Joshua won an award!) and a visit to Young's Dairy. The kids were good travelers even if bedtime was a bit hairy. On our drives we stopped at parks to stretch and eat and made the travel part of the fun.

Upon our return, Joshua started swimming lessons at our pool. Day 1 - Joshua sat under the picnic table. Day 2 - I was able to get him in the pool with the promise of a great reward (he chose ice cream) and he bit the bait. Day 3 - Well, we'll see. His job today is to stay near the teacher. If he does we've promised to wake him up tonight when it is dark to catch fireflies.

We have started over with Love and Logic because things have been getting a bit stressful at home. Early results are positive. Little J was having a hard time with name calling and hitting so we are trying to curb those behaviors.

Mira is herself. She is better behaved when she gets enough sleep. She sings and loves to play dolls. She is talking up a storm. I can understand her but she does have her own laguange that takes some time to get used to.

Evelyn crawls like a speed demon and pulls up on just about everything she comes to. She will even climb up on things (the other two were walking so maybe this didn't seem like such a surprise) so she can get into quite a bit of trouble. She has started communicating as well with signs for more and bye-bye. She says, 'Hi', Bye, Mama and Yes. She likes to make up peek a boo games to play and is just an all around happy baby. Her most remarkable feature though is the amount of food she can devour. Often she eats more than her siblings and she eats just about everything we give to her. When Evie sees food her arms start swinging and she just about bursts with excitement. I hope it lasts!

June

Happy Father's Day, Jason! Jason went with Josh, Stephanie, Grandad, Tio Omar and Dylan out fishing this morning. They didn't catch much but they did have fun. Everyone came back to our house for a cookout (the wee ones were sleeping) and then Amy brought their slip and slide and that was a winner. Mira and Noella didn't go down it much but Joshua, Stephanie and Dylan had a blast. We loaded them up with pie and ice cream and then headed over to the pool for a swim. And here is the part that made my day, maybe my month... Joshua SWAM! I mean, went under the water, kicked his legs, moved his arms and swam. I am so proud of him. He has done great this year and we are only a few weeks into the swimming season. We try and go every day at least for a little while. Evelyn likes floating in the infant boat we have and Mira does, too. They are all little fishies!

Evelyn had her 9 mos check up a week and a half ago. She is growing and developing right on track. At 20 lb (exactly) she is 95th for height and 75th for weight. She is in 12-18 mos clothing now. Mira, weighed in at 25 lbs. We weighed her just for fun. She did have a growth spurt this past spring and is now in 24 mos-2T clothing.

Evie now has 5 teeth (as of last weekend), she babbles and likes to play peek-a-boo. She also eats everything in site and gets so excited when she sees food. She can sometimes use a fork and drinks water from a sippy cup. She is pulling to standing but not very interested in cruising. She gets around very well by crawling.

Mira is a take charge kind of gal. She is often the center of attention these days. No one seems to think that she will suffer from 'middle child syndrome'. I love my outgoing, cuddling baby girl but WOW the twos have been hard on her.

All the kids did great on our recent trip down to Athens/Atlanta, Georgia. We took two days to drive down staying with friends in Winston-Salem, NC on the way and a hotel on the way back. We enjoyed meeting all sorts of cousins from my Dad's side of the family and had Friday evening through Sunday morning to hang out and get to know them all. We were even able to squeeze in a visit with one set of Evie's Godparents, Reagan & David, in Atlanta. The drive home was long but we did stop at a crazy park called, Dinosaur Land in VA, on the drive home.

Well- bedtime is calling. Off to another busy week!

Out for a Swim

The weather has been hot and we had a long weekend so guess what we did all weeekend? Swam, ate, napped and stayed cool. Evelyn went swimming once already but we got her feet in on Saturday and then a lot more of her in today. She didn't like it. :-) But that is ok. We'll keep working on her. Joshua just jumped right in on Saturday even though the water was cool. We had my friend from high school and her two little ones over. Before the pool came a hike in the woods and after the pool came more swimming and crabs at our neighbor's. We've been wearing the kids out. It's great. You'd think they would sleep longer but alas...no.

Yesterday we all went to Target as a family so that Joshua could pick out a Bakugan he has been wanting. He saved all his pennies from last year in hopes of buying a water slide. But, then this past week he decided he wanted a Bakugan instead. He was so excited to use his own money to buy it. After that, Jason took the kids to another neighbor's to swim and eat, I joined them after my tour of duty at our community pool.

Today, we went to the community pool and are now fixing another bbq dinner and homemade ice cream, of course. Mira was in and out of the pool. She just needs a few days and I bet she will be jumping in the water.

Evelyn started eating with a fork today. I'd put the food on it and she'd put it in her mouth. She also got another tooth on the top. She had a fever this week but that cleared up. Thank goodness!

Better get going to the party!

Last Day of Preschool

Today, was Joshua's last day of preschool in the 3-year old program with Ms. Joan. The kids arrived at their normal time and then parents came back at 10am for outside play time, a picnic banquet and circle time with end of year gifts and remembrances. It was a nice day and Jason and I were both able to make it. We even had a bagel together before going back to preschool and a little Mommy, Daddy relaxing time! Ms. Joan pulled me aside to tell me that one of the top five highlights of her year was Joshua coming up to her one day, giving her a hug and telling her he loved her. I can understand how touching that moment must have been for her. Joshua, although he is snugly with me, is very shy around other people and very particular about who touches him. It took him a year and a half to make that leap with Ms. Joan and she saw just how important that hug was. This is why I think she is a great teacher! We will still see her next year when Joshua is in the 4-year old program but he will be moving up to Ms. Ellis' class.

This weekend we have two birthday parties to go to. Joshua is quite the socialite! Guess we are going to keep busy with his busy social schedule.

Evelyn crawls everywhere now. She pulls up by the couch, bathtub and step stool. She climbs the step between the living room and kitchen. She is really on the go and EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. It is fun to watch her explore her world. She is a happy baby and everyone is always remarking just how smiley she is. Just last Sunday she added another tooth on top (that's 3 total) and a week ago Thursday she drank water from a sippy cup by herself. She eats lots of finger foods now very well.

Mira is my problem child right now. She is so sweet and snugly. She loves to hug, kiss, brush hair, dress up and really just act like a doll. But in a heartbeat her mood will change and she will burst your eardrum with her scream, take off running down the street, fall to the floor and not get up or swing her new broom to whack her brother. She is hell on wheels. The moms at preschool laugh at her antics, I think in secret relief that they do not have to deal with her, and remark that Mira will never be a middle child wall flower blending into the scenery. Always the center of attention and trying to keep up with Joshua.

Happy Mother's Day!

Another year, another Mother's Day Tea with all the trimmings and time to thank my mom, grandma and sister for being great moms. We got in a bit ago from a long day of church, Dylan's confirmation and the afternoon tea. The kids had fun playing, of course. Joshua said his favorite part of the day was playing with Stephanie. I love that!

Joshua question of the day: "Are turtles ever allergic to people?"

Gone Fishing

We took the kids to fish last Saturday. It was a hit. Only daddy was brave enough to bait the hook with worms. I was very happy when we figured out that a cookie on the hook lasted longer than a worm. We caught two fish and Joshua was thrilled. The funny part was that he got a bit bored with the casting and the pole and asked, 'Hey, Daddy, why don't we just grab the fish.' I'd like to see that!

All the kids have had a cold this weekend and into the week. Mira spiked the highest fever but Joshua had a cough. They are all on the mend now. Thank goodness!

Evelyn is pulling up and standing next to furniture. She crawled over when I was giving Mira a bath and surprised me when I looked over to see her standing next to the tub. :-) She is eating feeding herself cereal bites and bits of sweet potato. She is still a tall, chunky girl. It is fun to see her progress!

Mira is an obstinate, demanding, charming, smiley, screaming two year old. She is like a waking advertisement for bi-polar medication. Ah, to be two. She says and does the cutest things and then turns around and acts possessed. Right now, she is sitting on my lap eating my breakfast for me. I love the snuggle time but would also enjoy my own food!

Waving

Evelyn started waving for real this weekend. Previously she had down a single hand gesture in the general direction of a person. But, now she takes one little cute hand, waves it up and down and sometimes ends in a little beauty queen flourish.

March of Dimes

We started off the week last week bright, early and cold on the road with hundreds of fellow walkers raising money for the March of Dimes, March for Babies. It was a good morning. Joshua managed most of the walk on his own with a little piggy backing and strollering towards the end. We brought the strollers for the girls and they were in and out the whole time.

Evelyn can now get herself to the step between the kitchen and family room and push to stand up. She still has noodle knees so I don't see walking next week but she is on her way. Evie is also now eating chunkier foods: oatmeal, quinoa, soups, etc. She can put away about a cup of food in a sitting and nurses in between. Her pincher grasp has developed and she can now eat little cereal bites, the ones that melt in your mouth. We have to watch the toys on the floor because she can get into everything now.

Joshua had a momentous event at school. He hugged his teacher! It only took two years but his teacher was beyond thrilled for this show of affection.

On Monday, Staci came over to help with the kids. She took them into the back yard and they searched for bugs under all the rocks (I mean all the rocks!) I am not sure how they moved some of the boulders. They came in excited to tell me about the ants, orange centipedes, worms and other critters they spotted. On Friday, we took Stephanie and Sam and went to Rumbleway Farm to pick up fresh chicken. They all had lots of fun exploring and seeing the animals there. The goats charged us and we saw freshly hatched turkeys along with a really friendly cat and lots of chickens.

Today we are supposed to go to a church picnic but it is raining so we will see.

Perfect Saturday

This morning we got up and out to the Farmer's Market. Mira picked out a lavender plant to take home and we got a handful of other items: bacon, cheese, green onions, and lettuce. The kids got chocolate and the table set up by the Master Gardeners.

When we came home we gather ourselves together and headed out again with Daddy in tow. We picked up sandwiches at Subway and then went to an estuary for a picnic and walk. We heard and then saw frogs just as we came in and took our things to picnic down by the water. Joshua ate lunch intermitently tossing seed pods into the water and watching them float. We made our way back to the nature center after lunch and did a couple of the observation stations on the way.

Inside the nature center some of the teenage volunteers were working with the wildlife there. There was a box turtle on the floor that sped over to our shoes to nibble on them. He was neat. And they had the snakes out to touch. One snake was being fed, a corn snake, but he wasn't very interested in the mouse that was running around in his cage. So they moved a black rat snake into that cage and within seconds the snake had caught the mouse and was constricting him. Minutes later the mouse was dead and the snake was working on eating him, whole. We saw a toad and several other kinds of turtles. Josh and Mira both touched the snakes and like watching the turtle speed around on the floor. They watched the snake eating the mouse with interest and were not upset.

This was our first time to the estuary and it was great. We will definitely go back! Yesterday and the day before were also full of nature as we had a picnic and visited the dam on Thursday and then went to the acquarium on Friday. Now it is nap time and we are all pooped!

Movement

Evelyn is on the go now. She started crawling yesterday. I guess the house is no longer safe. I was used to just plopping her down and watching her play, sit and roll around in mostly the same spot. Now, she can get to the other kids' toys. The end of an era :-) She is also starting to eat those little cereal puffs that are for infants. She doesn't like any food with chunks but we are working on moving things along from puree's to stuff with more texture.

Josh and Mira had a nice time running around in the backyard last night and playing together. It is a rarity. Usually they need mommy and daddy to help give them direction and act as referee. The weather has been glorious and we have tried to get everyone outside as much as possible.

Easter and Speech

Easter Sunday the kids were up bright and early, 6 am, ready to see what the Easter bunny had hidden. Thankfully, for Aunt Jill, we were able to hold them off until 6:45am. They gathered the eggs and ate a healthy breakfast of candy, hard boiled eggs and jellied toast. Then off to church at Memaw's to celebrate have ANOTHER egg hunt and then head over to Memaw and Grandad's for Easter Supper. It was a busy day and the kids were pooped at the end of it. Joshua was particularly affected in church by all the candy and was practically vibrating from the sugar. We were able to get Mira down for a nap, thanks to daddy. Jason did homework in the spaces in between activities and was able to turn that in this morning. Evelyn was her normal, cheerful self. She enjoyed the applesauce and mashed potatoes and also had a nap in there. She liked the plastic eggs to chew on and enjoyed her new picture book.

Last night, we had Aunt Carie over for dinner. She brought the kids chick-fil-a and that was a hit. The highlight was with Evie though. Jason mentioned that he thought she was ready to start baby signs. Carie offered some suggestion on how to make it work and I made skeptical comments that Evie was likely not ready yet. But, I tried anyway and showed her the sign for more by touching the tips of my fingers together, doing it for her with her hands and then giving her a bite of food. Then next bite, I showed her the food and said, 'more?' and she did it! She brought her hands together herself. So, we played this game throughout her feeding and again at breakfast this morning. I guess she is ready :-) Smart little cookie.

Visit and milestones

This week Evelyn was able to push herself to sitting. She can now roll both ways well and sit up. She is still SOOOOOO close to crawling but just has not do it yet. She is unhappy in any of the 'containers' that we have for her and would much rather just sit on the floor surrounded by toys. As long as she is content we are happy. She is eating lots of foods as long as they are pureed smooth. Any lumps and she gags and turns red and it is really quite a scene.

We had a wonderful visit from Grandma and Papa starting March 16 'til the 24. The kids would have been happy if Grandma and Papa had just announced they were staying here for good. The weather was fine and we were able to go to several parks and play in our backyard. We made it down to the city to wonder around and stop in a bookstore there so G & P could spoil the kids with lots of books. There were many highlights but I think what J, M and E loved the best was 1 - always having at least 1 adult to themselves at all times, 2 - listening to G&P read lots and lots of stories, 3 - playing games and taking walks with G&P. I should add that Joshie was thrilled to play Papa's iphone games at any chance he could get.

We are looking forward to Easter Sunday, eggs and candy. Today the kids made egg shaped sun catchers out of contact paper and tissue. The weather has been lovely so Joshie has been helping me to plant seeds. We will be dying eggs tomorrow and going to church and dinner at MeMaw's on Sunday. It will be a nice weekend and the girls have the sweetest dresses to wear for church :-)

so many details

there is just so much that goes on in our every day activities. So many funny things that the kids say or little moments. And I know when they happen they are so wonderful and I will never remember them as much as I want to. Sometimes I wish I could just have a video of everything, every moment and phrase and milestone to enjoy when I can totally pay attention to it. But I guess then I would be missing what was going on at that moment if I was always looking at the past.

Here are the highlights:
I forgot to mention that Mira has a slight heart murmur. The dr. picked up on at at her exam last week and said it is most likely a child hood thing she will grown out of.

I cut her hair for the first time this week. She now has bangs. The rest is the same but hopefully this will keep her hair out of her eyes or as Mira says, 'No ya my eye'.

Mira says her own name now.

Evelyn sits well and plays with her toys. She reaches and rakes things into her area. You can just plop her down and she'll hang out in the straddle leg position for quite some time.

Joshua had parent-teacher conference today and the teachers were so excited with his progress. They said that in the last two months they have really seen a change with his classroom behavior and how he interacts with the other children. He has friends at school that he plays with and talks about. He is initiating play with those friends and it is all very exciting.

We are looking forward to Grandma and Papa coming into town next week and the kids are counting down the days.

Today we went shopping with a gift card to Toys R Us that Evelyn received when she was born. We had SO much fun. The kids didn't go crazy in the store and the whole trip went better than I had expected. There were things that I wanted/needed for Evie so I picked those out first and then I told Josh and Mira that they could also pick something for about $10. Mira picked out a kite and a Play Mobile princess set with a carrying case. Joshua picked a Lego Atlantis crab and a foam rocket launcher. Joshua found many, many things he wanted but was thrilled with is choices and couldn't wait to show daddy. Mira was very specific in her choices but when she saw what she wanted she latched on. It was neat to watch how they approached the situation differently.

I made cream of carrot soup tonight. All the kids ate it and liked it, including Evelyn whom I think had the most of any of them! She has tried lots of foods now including oatmeal, pears, bananas and rice cereal most recently.

2 yr and 6 mos check ups

Mira and Evelyn had dr.'s appointments today. Joshua did a good job of prepping Mira so she went into the office saying, 'No Shot!' Thankfully, she did not need any shots. The girls did great. Mira impressed the dr. with the drawing she brought along and climbing onto the exam table by using the drawer handles. Little monkey.

Evelyn now weighs 18 lbs 9 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. Mira weighs 25 lbs and is 33 1/4 inches tall. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. Evelyn is right on the mark for her age and can sit well on her own and is so close to crawling. Mira, like Joshie, is off the charts. Her fine motor skills are that of a 3 year old as are her gross motor. She can count to two (count two objects) and knows the colors red, green, blue and orange. The picture though, that was her shining moment. The dr. said, 'You mean Joshua drew this.' I said, 'No, Mira.' She had no help, I just wrote her name and the date at the top.



What you are seeing is a smiling guy with head, eyes, nose, smiling mouth, ears, hair, arms, body, legs and feet.

Josh wowed the dr today with his knowledge of antibodies and t-cells. She said she hoped that we had their college funds well on their way.

So much time

has been passing. It is hard to keep up with the updates. In spite of being stuck in the house for a good part of the month due to snow and snow related issues, it has been hard to find time to sit down at the computer and write updates. The kids have been loving the snow but I think I am done with it. The biggest problem is that in spite of the weather being warm enough to go outside, there is no where to go. The sidewalks are all blocked and the backyard is poopy from Jack. So spring can't come soon enough. Then it will be a swamp! Oh well, a warm swamp anyway.

Joshua had a dental check up earlier in the month. He has a cavity but given the difficulty he has at the dentist, we opted not to fill it at the recommendation of the dentist. We are just going to try and brush better and keep an eye on it.

Mira turned 2 on the 15th and we had family and neighbors over to celebrate. She had a Toby cake (as in Toby from Thomas the Tank Engine) and received some of her favorite things: goldfish crackers, animal crackers, books, crayons, pretty hair things, clothes, etc.

Evelyn has been flying through milestones. She has two teeth, sits well on her own and now gets up on all fours rocking away. I know that first crawl is right around the corner. She also says Ma ma ma. and Da da da. She eats much better now. I was getting concerned because she wasn't moving the food to the back of her mouth and getting her tongue out of the way but she is, as of today, and plows through applesauce, avacado, sweet potatoes, rice cereal and peaches.

All the kids had a cold this past weekend but are mostly on the mend. We are hoping to visit Memaw tomorrow and then go on a little road trip on Thursday to an Amish market and train place. I see daffodils poking their heads through the snow and the weather was in the 40's today. I think there is hope.

snow, snow, snow

We had 6 inches of snow (an trecherous roads) last Saturday. Another several inches on Wednesday and starting last night into today we have had a blizzard. A REAL one with high winds and 20+ inches of snow so far. It is still coming down. Jason and Joshie went for a walk with the dog last night just as the snow was starting. Jason and the kids went out to shovel and play this morning. Mira stuck to the cleared parts and dug with her shovel and pail. Joshua climbed snow castles and made snow castles with the shovel and pail. We are enjoying it since we have heat and no where to be.

Everyone is napping now. Evelyn has come into a routine of a short morning nap, a long afternoon nap and in bed for the night at 8. She sleeps through the night and is up with the Joshua and Mira around 7. Feeding is coming along. She is moving the food to the back of her mouth and swallowing so I think we are getting in more than is coming out. She has now also tried peaches, in addition to the sweet potatoes. I saved some from this summer since I knew she would be starting to eat in the dead of winter when all that would be available would be someone else's canned fruits and veggies.

Mira is so deliberate these days with her sentences. They may take a few seconds to come out but she carefully chooses each word and we can understand most of what she says. She has been adding at least a word a day now. Her hair is also long enough that it is getting in her eyes so she is letting me pull it up in a whale spout on top of her head or clip it back with a barrette.

Joshua has helped us set a meal time routine and it is working very well. I think he and Mira are both eating more and meals are much more pleasant. He knows the routine and it mimics what he does at school so it is familiar. He is currently on a wait list for the 4 yr old program at the community college for next year preschool. We abandoned the idea of kindergarten for him next year. The cut off is Sept 1 and by all accounts it is not worth pushing him through since his birthday is Oct. The expectations are that of what we learned in first grade and there is little playtime. Preschool has now replaced kindergarten. We are looking into the preschool program at the elementary school but it is unlikely he will be allowed. It is a need based program.

Sweet Potatoes, Day 2

So, I think tonight went a little bit better in the feeding department. She gagged several times while trying to get the food down but she was moving it around in her mouth and trying to swallow. We got through the bowl I had prepared for her, about 1.5 Tablespoons. The kids were so excited to feed her but we are not quite there yet. Once she gets the hang of eating, then they can try their hand at it.

Today we had a fun playdate/brunch with friends from church. We also took some time to play outside. Everyone slept well last night and had a nap today. So, today has been good.

Mira has been going through most days in just panties, even when we are out. She wears a cloth diaper for naps and a paper diaper for bed. It is interesting, she makes it to the potty without fail if she has to poop. She kicks you out of the bathroom while she is going and insists that the door be shut. But, she can't be interrupted to go pee. So, we just set a timer and take her every hour. She did go to the bathroom today, grab the little potty, bring it into the kitchen and go. But that is the exception, not the rule. I can't complain too much. I really did not want 2 in diapers at the same time and for the most part I got my wish. We go through at most 1 disposable diaper a day.

On another Mira note, she is speaking in deliberate sentences now. She very carefully chooses her words such as, 'No light...off' and 'Daddy...wash...da-da (car)' She talks about everything: empty cups, trains, the cat, the dog, Joshua, milk, whatever. It is fun to listen to her budding language skills. Joshua likes to talk in Mira-ese, too. Only that is not so cute. It sure is hard being the big brother!

Swimming

We took the kids swimming tonight. They had so much fun. A nice mid winter break. Mira loved the baby pool. She just splashed and ran around. Joshua went back and forth between the big pool and the baby pool. He loved that there were foam water noodles there. Evie even got in and sat, splashed and kicked. She loves bath time so I figured she would also love the pool and she did. I'll put the picks up on flickr soon.

We left for swimming at dinner time and got home at bed time. Needless to say that were pooped. Hope they sleep well tonight.

forgotten stories

This week I learned the value of Bible stories. I always knew that many of the stories were allegorical. I just didn't realize that I could apply them so soon. Joshua loves to read about Jonah and the whale. Noah, too, is a favorite. And what do these men have in common? Ah, they listened to God. What happened when Jonah didn't listen? He was eaten by a fish. I went to town with that story citing the benefits of good listening and following directions the first time one is asked.

The second incident I would like to share happened on the why home from preschool on Wednesday. Joshua has been learning about dinosaurs in school. He looked out his window in the car and said, "I see a little dinosaur!" It didn't take long to realize that he was talking about the cloud shapes. He saw another and then asked, "Mommy, who put those dinosaurs in the clouds?" It was just the sweetest moment.

Off and running

Well, she's off! We started Evie Joy on sweet potato puree tonight as her first solid food. It went in, it came out. She made faces and mostly kept her little tongue poised so as not to allow any more of it to grace her pristine mouth. We, of course, video taped the whole thing. She did enjoy chewing on her spoons so in the end we allowed that and moved on to our own meal.

Since the temps have been above 20 for most days we have taken to afternoon adventures, mucking around in the backyard, exploring the plants that are setting out buds, walking, collecting pine cones, playing at the play ground. Joshua can now cross the monkey bars, unassisted, at break neck speed. Evie enjoys all these adventures perched on my back in the backpack carrier. Mira, grumpily, gets tucked into the stroller for the walks but otherwise, tags along bringing up the rear.

Today's adventure included pulling out my new gardening tools from Christmas to test them out. Now we are scheming of plants that we will start indoors in the next week or two. Joshua does enjoy gardening and likes to eat what he grows.

The Day

Today was one of those rare perfect afternoons. The whole day, actually, was pretty good. It started off well with the children getting up around 7. It is always a good day when I can get dressed before we head downstairs for breakfast and today I did. There were several chores that I needed to complete and I was able to, even with the kids 'helping'. Before lunch we drove to the dairy for groceries. It was already very nice weather out so the children ran a bit in the field outside the dairy and were relatively well behaved inside. Aside from meat and milk we picked up a quart of our favorite ice cream, 'dirt'. At lunch Joshua and Mira both ate well: meatballs, quinoa, brocolli and ice cream for dessert. Naps, were... naps... but we moved on and after the quiet time we spent the rest of the day outside exploring the backyard, running races and then taking a walk around the nearest streets in our neighborhood. We came in and washed the mud off with baths and pj's and now it is time to get ready to make dinner. The sun has almost set. I am not making dinner yet because I fear the nightly screaming battle that usually ensues when I turn on the stove just letting this moment linger a little while longer.

just going along...

The days are going by. Interesting things happen but with three now, it is hard to keep up with just the daily tasks let alone sit down and write about them. We celebrated again last Sunday with Grandma for her 90th birthday and this Saturday we warmed Amy and Omar's new house. The children love all the time spent playing with their cousins and it makes our lives easier when they are worn out from all that play time!

Mira had the thrilling experience of tumbling down the stairs. It must be a rite of passage that all children (with homes that have stairs) must experience. She was looking for me and I was downstairs washing dishes while Jason was busy putting Joshua to bed. As best we can tell, she tripped on her blankie and tumbled down the entire flight. She banged up many body parts and we looked her over carefully. We checked on her throughout the night but miraculously she didn't have a bruise on her little body come morning.

Thursday, Jill and I took the kids up to an organic Amish bulk food store in Pennsylvania and stocked up on all sorts of yummy things. Mira is currently nibbling on the dried figs we bought and the quinoa is going to be enjoyed tonight with our chicken. After reading both "Ominvores Dilemma" and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", I am convince we need to change the way we eat and that there are LOTS more yummy things out there to enjoy that we are missing out on!!!

The boys are back from ice skating, gotta go!

The big snow, Christmas, Ohio and New Years

At 11 pm when Jason and I went to bed on Friday, December 18 you could just barely see the snow flakes swirling around the lamp posts. There was nothing sticking to the ground and only rumors of the inches of snow yet to come. When we awoke on Saturday morning, there was already 4-6 inches on the ground. The snow kept falling through the day and night and next morning until we eventually had nearly 2 feet of it. By lunchtime on Saturday Joshua and Mira had already been outside 3 times to play. They helped me shovel, went sledding and tried to walk in the ever deepening snow. The idea of leaving our little corner of the world was laughable but thankfully we had no where to go and could just enjoy the beautiful swirling flakes. Saturday night was our neighborhood Christmas party, which ended up being a huge success thanks in large part to the snow keeping everyone home on our street. There was plenty of food and drink and the children played and watched movies. We had a gift exchange like the one at the big family Christmas party.

Sunday brought more snow play and shoveling as did Monday. It was nice to just bundle Joshua up and let him romp around out in the backyard. Everything is more fun when there is snow and I was even able to get out to sled with the kids a few times. Monday and Tuesday schools were closed and the last day before Christmas break was a two late entry. The snow stuck around until nasty rain on Christmas day washed all of it away.

On Wednesday, we enjoyed the Christmas lights in the neighborhood after sharing a meal and presents with the Andreens. It has been a long time since we all got together and so since to have the children playing. Jason and I were up late wrapping as many gifts as we could but did not finish and ran out of paper.

Thursday, Jason came home early from work and we went to the Carpenters for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. There was still much wrapping to do and other Christmas preparations. We had a letter and cookies to leave for Santa and our tradition of reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' to complete. I made the banana bread and Jason wrapped and we made it to bed before midnight.

Santa arrived sometime in the night and Christmas morning the tree was wrapped in gifts and our stockings were filled. Joshua and Mira were so excited. Mira emptied her stocking and then proceded to eat a breakfast of M&M's. Joshua emptied his stocking and played with a wind up airplane while I prepared our Christmas morning breakfast of toast, eggs and bacon. We all had a good breakfast before getting Grandma and Papa on the computer to share in opening gifts. Joshua received a robot from Santa that stayed by his side through Christmas and sat next to him on our drive to Ohio. Mira received a tea set from Santa and continuously poured Jason cups of tea. Evelyn received a see and say toy that she and Mira shared playing with. There was so much to open and the children were thoughtful in doing so. They wanted each gift opened, batteries inserted and played with before moving on to the next item. After finishing up with all the presents, we got dressed and headed out to Memaw and Grandad's for the rest of the day.

We arrived close to 2 and had a late lunch. Aunt Carie stopped for a few minutes soon after we got there and my friend Lisa came over later. Godfather was there for a while during the day and evening as well. After getting a little food in our bellies we started the gift opening again this time with the whole gang: Memaw, Grandad, Nanny, Aunt Jill, Tia Amy, Tio Omar, Dylan, Stephanie and Noella. There were SOOOOO many presents.

We had a nice Christmas dinner after the presents but Mira was just plain pooped by then and went to sleep. We all stayed over at Memaw and Grandads so that we could just relax and enjoy before heading home on Saturday.

We visited with Godfather's and Aunt Carie's parents on Saturday morning with the children. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and then repacking so that we could leave on Sunday morning to go to Ohio.

We were off and running by 9:30 Sunday morning and met with Memaw, Grandad and Aunt Jill in Somerset to continue the ride to Aunt Margaret's house. We only had to stop once to feed Evelyn and that was at a potty stop. Joshua, Mira and Evelyn all did great on the ride out. The only minor issue we had was when Mira begged to go poop on a mountain road with only emergency pull offs. We took one and then she didn't go. But she did end up going in her diaper moments before we reached Aunt Margaret's house. We had to open all the windows in the car to breathe. We stayed with Jeanne and Dave that night. They have a dog, Titus, who is not used to little children. He did ok with Josh and Mira but though that E was a tasty treat so we had to be very careful. It didn't even matter that we were holding her. The kids did great meeting all sorts of 'new' people. Joshua only flipped out a little bit when Aunt Margaret picked him up for a big hug and within two hours of any new stop, Mira warmed up to our hosts.

The next day, Monday, we visited with Aunt Janet & Uncle Bob. It started to snow the night before while we were eating dinner at Aunt Margarets and we still snowing Monday. That made for some interesting driving but we got where we were going and we see these friends and family so infrequently that we braved the weather anyway.

Tuesday we left Jeanne and Dave's for my godmother, Susan's, house on the way to Aunt Beth and Uncle Ray's. The last time I saw Susan we had no children and now we have 3! Mira came down with a fever on Monday and Tuesday but was feeling better by the time we made it to Aunt Beth's. Sleeping was difficult wherever we went. Josh and E seemed to be ok but Mira just has a hard time traveling and didn't want to sleep in these new places. She was up most nights every hour.

Janet and Matthew and Bill joined us at their parent's house Tuesday for dinner and visiting. Joshua LOVED having Matthew, 8, as a playmate. From the moment he woke up on Wednesday he started asking for him again. The kids all warmed to Aunt Beth and Uncle Ray quickly which made for nice visiting. Wednesday the kids played in the snow, played in the house and played and played and played. We opened gifts in the evening and let Josh stay up late with Matthew. It felt just like Christmases past.

Just before we left Mira decided to feed Uncle Ray's fish with the lid to the food can on full open just dumping the stuff in there. They were able to clean up that mess fairly easily, so they say. We got off by 10:30 am but it was a long drive home. We were all tired. Aunt Betty and Uncle George were actually on the same road as us, just a little ahead, coming from Indiana for Grandma's 90th birthday party so we met them in my parent's town for dinner. It was a good stopping point since Mira and Evie were both screaming and tired of being in the car. We had dinner with the gang at Panera and then made our way out to our house. We got home around 8:30. The kids went right to bed and then our friend Richard came over to celebrate New Years with beer, pina coladas, a bad game of Scrabble and the movie Underworld 2. We were ALL ready for bed as soon as the ball dropped.

New Year's day the little ones slept in and we made a family trip to Target. I think we spent more in that one trip than a majority of the Christmas shopping and it was all on batteries. We invested heavily in rechargeables and a charger to power all the new toys.

Saturday it was Christmas again as we picked up a box from Grandma and Papa and enjoyed opening the gifts with them on the computer. Saturday,after nap, we headed out to Eldersburg again for Grandma's birthday party. Aunt Betty, Uncle George and Aunt Jo were in town for the event and it was a nice evening. We are having another party for her this Sunday. Her actual birthday is Jan 11.

The days have been lazy and the kids are sleeping it. It is so nice to have Jason home. We just play games, do a little house work, run the required errands and there is no work or school or anything else to interfere. I could live like this. Ok so I wouldn't be able to put food on the table but it is nice!!

Evelyn is going through withdraw from having so many people hold her all the time. I suppose she is getting over it but she really was in her glory just being passed from adoring holder, to adoring holder. Mira is back on her sleep schedule and has been sleeping very hard since we got home. Joshua is himself just somehow sassier. He as acquired a glare and some talking back that are new and he knows just what he is doing.

We had a fun game of Memory tonight with Joshua and he would have cleaned house I think if the cards had been in rows.

4 month check up

Evelyn had her 4 month checkup yesterday. She is still off the charts at 16 lbs 6 oz and 26.25" tall. She received several shots and we may be giving her the flu shot when she turns 6 months. She rolled over from her front to her back last we so we had that to share and she loves to talk, laugh and get your attention. She plays with toys and puts everything in her mouth. She also pushes up very high when she is laying on her belly.

Joshua has started reading. He is recognizing words, spelling out things he sees and asking lots of questions about words. We are so excited for this next step he is taking and loving his enthusiasm.

Mira is a singing and dancing fool. She likes saying 'ho, ho, ho' and tries to say, 'Merry Christmas', too. It is a bit harder to recognize.

Om me I!

I hear these words a lot. In Mira-ese it means, 'Help me write!' Mira loves to draw and write and she is very precise. Today she can make circles with eyes and a mouth. Jill saw her add hands to another drawing that Jill had started.

Symptoms

How did I know Joshua was sick today? He ate 1/2 of 1/2 a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When we made cookies he took his one and didn't ask for another. The girls were screaming and he sat quietly waiting on the couch. Evelyn, who also has a cold has been sleeping through it. And Mira, also stuffy and sick, is weepy and irritable. But Joshua is taking a nap and saying please and thank you, waiting his turn and is generally agreeable. He must be sick.

Time Flies

I thought the time before Christmas would pass slowly but it is flying along. Everyday we open our elf box, check off a day on our calendar and hang an ornament on our advent calendar. We have been reading Christmas books, doing Christmas crafts, shopping and listening to Christmas music. Mira wants us to cart her around the room kissing all the Santas in the house and last week Aunt Jill played a bear hunt game with Josh. Now he wants to ride piggy back through the house looking for the bear (Jack) while listening to spooky music. Mira is afraid of the spooky music so it makes for an interesting time.

Last Saturday, amidst snow globe like swirls of snow, we ventured out to Macy's to pick our annual Christmas ornaments. It was beautiful and the children had fun choosing their ornaments. Mira picked a little white deer with a Christmas tree perched on its back. Joshua found a robot.

Next we went to Barnes and Noble to find a Christmas book to add to our collection. We chose the Nutcracker but before we found it we found an author signing beautiful books about dragons. We bought two and had them signed to Josh and Mira. We enjoyed a lunch out at Baja Fresh and then headed home.

Sunday, Jason and Josh took in the Nutcracker at our local community college. Joshua did well up through the first half and then got antsy sitting. The girls, Jill and I were meanwhile at Tia Amy's helping her to move between houses.

It has been a busy time but the kids are handling all the excitement well. We've cut out tv for the past week, we'd had tv overload, and are noticing much better behavior. I did let them watch and play games online this morning for a little while but then the whining ensued and it was time to turn it off again.

Jason's final is on Wednesday and we are looking forward to him being around more. He has off until early mid January.

The Christmas Season

My friend, Christine, gave us a great idea this year. Every night we leave an empty box under the Christmas tree. It is a green box decorated with snowflakes. Every morning when we get up there is something in it for us to do. On the first day, we had a paper inside directing us to go to the bouncy place, day 2 was writing letters to Santa and watching a Muppet Christmas Carol, day 3 was making oatmeal cookies. We are having a lot of Christmas fun and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. A little elf tipped me off that we would be going to the Christmas parade downtown and seeing Santa. Good thing we have our letters ready!

The tree is up. We decorated the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Most of the house is decorated. Joshua has been helping me with that this year. We are marking off days on a calendar and doing our advent tree. Lots of anticipation for the 'big day'!

Evelyn is so bright eyed now. She likes to talk to us kicking and flailing her legs and arms wildly. She sits well in the exersaucer and can entertain herself while the other two are playing. It is so helpful to not have to hold her all the time. She is waking up more in the night and I wonder if it is another growth spurt or something else since she was sleeping through the night a week ago.

Mira is MUCH better. She ended up on antibiotics for the enlarged lymph nodes and within 36 hours the fever was gone and about 48 the glads where going down in size. She will see the dr again on Monday but she is much improved. Given how much the dr's office has had us keep in touch about this one, I gather they found it to be quite serious. I am glad all turned out well.

Joshua LOVED the bounce place the other day and is enjoying all the Christmas books, movies and festivities. He is writing his name all by himself now and doing a great job. We are so proud of him! More discussions with his teachers and other people in the community are pushing us to wait until 2011 to start him in kindergarten. So I guess next year we will have another year of preschool. Then, it will be Mira's turn.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today was feast day at preschool. There were nods to the traditional Thanksgiving foods but the hits were chicken nuggets, grapes and crackers. Oh to love kid food. We took mac n cheese but since Joshie is a purest, he would not indulge. The event was lovely. Mira stayed back with Miss Jennifer and Evelyn napped the entire time. Joshua, although he did not sing, DID stand up in front of the parents with the rest of his classmates AND he did tap along with the sticks for another song. He even requested his favorite preschool song, the ghost song, not typically a Thanksgiving song but what the heck! And, he moved to the music. So much progress! He completed the craft, ate a great lunch and was generally happy. Such a good morning.

Mira had lots of fun with Miss Jennifer and the boys and everyone came home tired. Lots of great naps all around. Josh and Mira now have low grade fevers and Mira has an enlarged lymph node and so we'll keep an eye on it. Off to bed for now.

bowling

Joshua went to a birthday party yesterday and bowled for the first time. Somehow he already knew all about it and drew a picture on his drawing board of a lane, pins, ball and ball return. Was this just from the Wii? I don't recall him playing that game. In any case, he was holding the ball correctly by the end of his game and bowled an 84. Guess we'll sign him up for the team!

Evie Joy is sitting her batting at her toys in her rocking chair seat. We put her in the exer-saucer yesterday and she liked that. She is bigger than the other two were when we put them in it and could sit just fine without towels to pad around her.

Mira says everything we say now, 'Hon, Lego and Wiggly Woo' are a few of my recent favorites.

My Name

Joshua can now write his name all by himself. The s sometimes ends up backwards but otherwise he does an excellent job. We had parent conferences on Monday and Miss Joan said that Joshua is doing great. He knows his colors and shapes and is working on his alphabet which he gets right most of the time. Joshua's lego creations get more detailed every day and he can now help me with chores around the house. I love 4!

Evelyn is leaning forward when sitting in her rocker as if to sit up by herself. Won't be long! She laughs and smiles all the time. Now, she likes to just sit in her rocker and watch all that goes on in this crazy house around her.

Mira is adding new words all the time. She continues to be a good napper in the afternoon and goes to be easily at night time. She likes to wake up at 6:15 am but I guess we can deal with that. Especially since Evelyn sleeps through the night. Mira loves to sing songs to herself in Mira-ese. She will even make drums out of toys to add a beat to her music. She has started a bit of a hitting habit which we are not enjoying but I do recall Joshua kicking at this age.

Baptized

The weekend was beautiful. Reagan flew in from Georgia and joined us to celebrate Evelyn's baptism on Sunday. She is also expecting and 15 weeks along. We drove out to the 'burg and E was baptized at my parent's church. It really felt like we had come full circle to have been married there and then to have our last child baptized in the same church. Mom made a bonnet to match the baptism gown she made for Mira. I cried just to see her dressed and so beautiful, like a little china doll. I cried again walking to the font to the music, 'Going to the River to Pray'. It was just such a special moment. We have been so blessed!

Our neighbors, Cyndi, Staci & Stephanie, joined us, making the hour drive, as well as Jill, Amy (and family), Memaw, Grandad, Nanny, Carie, Chris, Reagan & Jessica (Reagan's sister) We had lunch back at my parent's house (tomato soup, quiches, mini sandwich rolls, cheese, crackers, cider & brocolli slaw). It was a lunch meant for a cool fall day but we lucked out with a 70 sunny day. The kids had a great time playing outside after lunch. Mira and Noella each had naps and we just visited and ate. We even stayed for dinner, can't resist Mom's cabbage rolls! Everyone was pooped when we headed home. But unfortunately we hit a huge amount of traffic and the drive took 2 hours. We narrowly missed two very serious accidents but made it in one piece. Thank God!

Attention

I think that the jealousy is kicking in for Mira. Jason and I were cooing over Evelyn this morning and Mira was standing at the table eating her breakfast. She suddenly hollared, 'Hey Mom!' to get my attention and some cooing of her own :-) Then when Jason was giving me a hug and kiss goodbye this morning I heard Mira in the background smooching her hand waiting for her kisses.

Happy Halloween!

Mira was Little Bo Peep, Evelyn was her little sheep and Joshua was a super ghost. He originally wanted to be Darth Vader but after explaining that he would have to wear a mask he opted out and just wanted to wear his costume from last year. Joshua had a party at school on Friday morning. It was this party last year where Jason and I saw Joshua's shyness really come to life. But this year was so different! He did the crafts, participated and really had fun.

Mira does not like scary things at all. Even last year, she was afraid of the Elmo Halloween movie. This year was better but she did get frightened while we were out trick or treating. She liked collecting candy though! When Aunt Jill and Kakuti tried to empty her little basket to make more room she just about had a temper tantrum. Joshua was torn while out whether to keep going and collect more candy or just take what he had and go home and eat it. His tummy won and we went home to enjoy the spoils of the hunt. It was a good thing too since Halloween happened to be a dark and stormy night!

Eveyln slept through it all.

We carved our pumpkin on Saturday morning. Joshua said, 'scarved' which was cute and he was really excited for the sky to turn dark so he could light it.

Other high lights...

Mira is adding about a word a day now with elbow and people being two of her newer additions. She also strings two words together: MY car, actually MY anything is a favorite phrase right now. She is quite opitionated and stubborn and we haven't figured out how to get her to stop climbing on the table yet. We have gotten her to eat more but alternating bites of food with chocolate chips or some other small desirable tasty item.

Evelyn has really lit up recently. She laughs, smiles and coos all the time when she is awake. She naps about twice a day with another cat nap in the evening. Now I am able to sit her in the baby rocker and she will watch while we eat or I cook. Josh is able to entertain her sometimes when she gets fussy and Mira likes to help out too. She brings the binky, rocks the rocker or pats Evelyn's head. She will even get our attention if there is something wrong. Lots of helpers!

Joshua is doing well at school now. Our next big dilema is what to do for kindergarten in the fall. We had hoped to start him next year but he misses the cut off (Sept 1) and the testing to get him in is absolutely insane. I don't know that I want to hold him back another year because I think he will be bored. We have a few months to plan and research options but private schools fill quickly so I better get on it! In the meantime, I am working with him in between school days on kindergarten skills just in case we do have him go for the test.

4 yr checkup & 18 mos checkup (a little late!)

Joshua, Mira, Evelyn, Aunt Jill and I ventured out to the dr.'s office again for well baby checkups today. We had the first appointment of the day and we made it to the office on time (a miracle!). Joshua did so well today. We have had lots of problems in the past with him even being weighed and when the dr. would go to look at him he would literally flip out. But today he was weighed (38 lbs) and measured (43.25 inches). He was in the 75% on weight and 95% on height. Tall and skinny! The nurse backed off after attempting to get his blood pressure and sensing the tension rising. Mira weighed in at 22 lb 3 oz and 31.25" tall. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

We had the dr. examine Mira first and talk about what is going on with the kids. Mira loves to be examined and didn't want to give up the stethoscope after it was all done. Aunt Jill took her and Evelyn out to wait for Joshua's exam. He did ok with the dr. looking at his body but the exam of his ears, eyes and mouth sent him over the edge. We did his shots (3 of them and a nose spray) and he was done. The poor little guy was very upset but honestly he did so much better than last year. It was just hard to hold him because he is bigger and much stronger than last year. We sent him out and brought Mira back in for her shots. She was a trooper (4 shots!!) and then we were done.

After all that, we took the kids to Baskin Robbins for ice cream to help them forget their shots and to help mommy bring her blood pressure back to human levels. It was only 10 am but we all needed it! Then we played outside, had lunch and took naps. Joshua didn't even argue. I think we wore him out. They all took good naps and I wish I could have had one, too but the plumber came today to checkout our broken toilets. Oh well. Joshua was achy after nap so we just relaxed and watched a movie then played more outside when Daddy came home.

It was a good but tiring day. Tomorrow is a field trip to the orchard with tractor ride and pumpkin picking, apple cider and other fun stuff. Should be a great day especially if we have weather like today! Happy fall!

2 mos. check up

Evelyn had her two month check up today and was off the chart for height and weight at 14.4 lb and 24.5 inches. I'll have to go back and see how she compares to Joshua. She may still be bigger. Everything else looks great and E will see the dr. again in two months. The kids go next week for 4 yr check up and 18 mos check up (a little off) and to get their flu shots.

Today is a nice rainy fall day. We are enjoying top your own waffles for lunch. Josh had pb and j, Mira had strawberries. There are lots of things I love to do on rainy fall days, most of them involve snuggling up under a blanket: reading a book, watching a movie, listening to the rain, sleeping in, cuddling with Jason. Unfortunately, it will still be several years before the kids can sit still long enough for these activities. But, we did have fun playing in the play room this morning and maybe this afternoon we will break out the tent and read books inside for a while after we pick up our veggies.

Tomorrow is a school day and then the clan is descending upon the house at night. We are going to have a great weekend with Stephanie, Noella and Dylan while the adults are up in CT. I can't wait! It will be our first sleep over with the girls and the first time I have gotten them all to myself. Yippee!

Happy 4th Birthday Joshua!

Joshie turned 4 yesterday. He had cupcakes with his classmates on Wednesday at preschool and then yesterday the fire department came. The kids talked to the firemen and got to climb on the truck. Everyone came home with a hat.

Memaw and Grandad took Joshua to the resturaunt of his choice (Subway) and then it was home for naps. We had a family dinner together (chicken nuggets, noodles, fries, whole raw carrots, corn on the cob) and then the Andreens and Carpenters came by for cake and presents. It was a fun filled, Joshua centered day. The kids went to bed late and were very excited.

Saturday we played with all the new toys in the morning and then went to Memaw and Grandad's in the evening to play and see Aunt Amy's Gang and Nanny. Another great day!

Evelyn is really holding her head up now, looking around, batting at things, smiling and talking. I LOVE this age!

Mira, when she is tired, really knows how to throw a tantrum. She falls to the ground, kicks and flails her arms. It is fun to watch :-D Now, we get to enjoy this until she is 4. Joy, joy!

daily life

The days are moving right along. Sometimes they feel 'doable' sometimes they are ridiculous but we make it through either way. Joshua is very excited about his upcoming birthday and has asked for a number of toys and a pinata. I wasn't planning on a big party for him this year since he has had one every year prior. We are just going to get together with the family. That is big enough! Preschool continues to go well and on Monday he danced in class! This is a miracle since he didn't dance even once last year.

Mira has added a few more words to her repertoire. She now says 'more, up, ice, cheese, juice, mine' and probably a few I am forgetting. She is also putting two words together into sentences. She is getting a little tiring with the climbing though. We can't eat a meal without her in the middle of the table through most of it and we haven't found any good way to get her to stop. We removed the chairs from the table for a while but we still need them at meal time. She is very loud about her desires and can be quite pushy when it comes to things she wants.

Evelyn is laying here beside me fussing away. It is her evening habit to sleep for 2 hours in the early evening. Be awake until about midnight and then sleep for a longer stretch before waking up a few times to nurse in the night. Mira gets us all up early so that provides for little sleep for mommy! Evie Joy is cooing and smiling a lot. Her favorite subject seems to be Joshua who is happy to be by her side. He calls her Joy Joy now. He is full of nicknames and antics! I believe she weighs at leat 15 lbs but that is not official. She is WELL into the 3-6 mos. clothes and growing like a weed.

oops

Joshua received and oops-a-gram at school today. Seems as though he is listening there about as well as he listens at home. We are working on it though. After we got home from school today we made a chart, like on the tv show he likes 'Sid the Science Kid' and put a check in one box every time he listened and followed directions and in another box when he didn't listen and follow directions the first time I asked. He ended up ahead tonight and earned a treat for it. He did some great listening, such as when his ball rolled into the street, but there were several 'lessons', too. For instance, he learned that his not listening can also hurt other people. He was walking holding Mira's hand, I asked him to slow down when he started running, he did not and Mira fell and scraped up her knees. He felt pretty bad about that.

There are moments when Joshua is such an awesome big brother and really helps out. He comes up with awesome, creative stories and songs. But he is so strong willed and has so much energy! It is hard to remember those awesome moments when he is being a big booger. He tells me every day that he doesn't like walks but we go for one almost every day and he has a great time. He observes the clouds and bugs and other cool things we see, he runs and jumps and we have time to practice all sorts of skills: listening, reading letters/words, playing 'i spy', etc. As long as we make it out the door, walks are usually pretty fun (and they spend a little bit of that energy)

Evelyn is really changing now and looking more and more like her own little person instead of just a newborn. She has started cooing, smiling, reaching toward her light up mirror and focusing on people. She usually has three long awake periods every day and likes to go to sleep around 9 in the evening if I can keep her awake enough in the daytime.

Mira has entered the 'terribles'. She is torn between her role as big sister and still wanting to be a baby and sometimes she just screams. It is hard emotionally to be in such a place and as much as we can we are trying to help give her skills to calm down. She is getting over yet another cold (this is after a high fever a week ago) and fortunately not too out of sorts because of it. I love how she says, 'I DO!' with so much excitement when you ask a question such as, 'Who wants ice cream?' or anything else. She is adding all sorts of words to her vocabulary but most noticeably is 'UP' which she uses when she wants me to hold her or carry her around. Her potty training is going really well and we have moved away from her saying, 'pee-pee' just to get out of doing something she doesn't want to do. She is catching most poos and pees in the potty. We are working now on how to pull the panties down since the weather is turning cooler and running around naked all day is not as comfortable.

The playroom is mostly finished and the kids are enjoying time down there. On non-school days we usually spend at least an hour or two in that room. They ask to play there. There are enough toys that each time we go down they can play with something new.

Everyone is asleep, except me, so I guess it is my turn to 'turn in'. Good night!

The Morning

The alarm goes off at 7am...and by alarm I mean Josh and Mira come running into the room. This is not a bad thing. They both have slept in. As I roll over, still groggy from the night before of E awake sleepy only 2 hours, I hear M say 'pee-pee' and the sound of one diaper side being removed. I sit bolt upright in bed but can't see without my glasses.

"Josh, did she poop? Is it poopy? Say yes or no!"

"Yes," he answers. I carefully place E in her crib and run to where M, her poopy diaper, and poop (on the floor) are. I get M cleaned up and start cleaning the floor. But in the meantime, Mira has gotten into an open medicine cabinet and pulled out cough syrup to play with. I put Josh on the job of closing and locking the cabinet. He does it.

"I got this from her," Joshua says as he hands me the tylonal that had been sitting on my bedside table but that M had found and was playing with. E is, by this point, screaming her head off in her crib. I put the tylonal away and get back to the poop.

The poop is cleaned up, I go to retrieve E to calm her. M is sitting on the bed with my thyroid medicine bottle... it is empty. I put the older kids back in their room and try to determine if M has eaten any or if they just fell. I find one of the two leftover pills. I go to retrieve the older children and enlist their help. Joshua finds the 2nd pill while I change E's diaper. Mira helps me wipe E and J whines that he didn't get to help wipe.

We start going downstairs and find that the cat has knocked over the flowers on the counter and soaked the pack and play we normally put E in in the kitchen. I find another receptacle for E, get J & M milk and go to the task of cleaning up the pack and play. E starts crying, again, I make breakfast, pick her up, nurse her and all is quiet... for now.

Back to School

Joshua started school on Wednesday (yesterday) and is going 3 days a week this year. He had a breakthrough moment and actually spoke up in class answering one of his teacher's questions. Aside from that he played in a corner while circle time was going on and when I threatened to leave because he was not participating he said, 'I want you to go Mommy.' Guess he is very comfortable at school this year!

Evelyn had her days and nights mixed up a bit earlier this week but Memaw and Grandad were here from Tuesday to today and they helped to straighten her out. We've had two good nights so I hope tonight will be a third! She is becoming much more alert when she is awake and can move her head side to side to follow a sound. She can even do it while on her tummy. She really doesn't look newborn any more.

Mira has come down with a fever and is not feeling well at all. She is mostly just drinking milk and clinging to me. This is quite a challenge with two babies to hold. I guess mommies with twins do it but I never wanted twins! I hope her fever breaks tonight or we may need to have her looked at. It is hard to tell if she is hurting anywhere. You can ask her 'Does your mouth hurt?' "Yesh" she'll say. "Do your ears hurt?" "Yesh" she'll say. "Do your toes hurt" "Yesh" she'll say. She'd probably answer "Yesh" if you asked her if her dinglehopper hurt. We knew she was REALLY sick when she turned down ice cream tonight. That is always the truest sign of illness.