Tough to be so Handsome!

At tae kwon do yesterday, Master Chang had the kids doing kicks with a partner. He was telling them to have serious faces and strong kicks and to try to scare their partner. Xander was teamed up with a little girl a year or 2 older than him. The girl said, "he doesn't scare me." Xander got mad and started trying harder. He was actually doing a really good job (even Master Chang said so) but the girl kept saying, "He's not scary." Finally, Master Chang came over and said, "It's because he's handsome boy. Handsome boy kicks and still never scary!" Poor thing...after class Xander wanted to know why he has to be so handsome! I told him he's just going to have to work even harder to make his kicks and punches strong so even if he's too cute to be scary that he'll still be impressive.

No More Spit Shines

I guess Grace and Greta are getting to be too big for a little spit shine. Greta always has a messy mouth and face. If I don't have a wipe or tissue handy, I've been known to do a little spit shine to make her presentable. Grace isn't usually as messy but I may clean her up here and there like that occasionally too. They really don't care. Well, they really didn't care until this week. Now, it's all, "Ewwww! Gross! Noooooo Mom!!" and tears, actual tears, because they are so grossed out all of the sudden. Is this some kind of developmental milestone to write down and remember? I'm going to have to control my spit shine urges from now on!

The Paci Fairy

The Paci Fairy is coming to our house tonight. In case you haven't heard of her, she takes old pacis from boys and girls who don't need them and cleans and gives them to new babies who need pacis. She leaves a gift for the children in exchange for pacis. Of course, Marie doesn't need any more pacis and is much more of a thumb girl anyway, so in our house, the paci fairy will only be making a pick up.

Why is the paci fairy coming??? Because Grace and Greta are paci fiends and unwilling to give them up on their own! I used to think I didn't want to bother taking them away because they'd give them up on their own eventually but eventually is turning out to be later than I'm willing to wait on. It seems that having Marie here has only increased their paci obsession and I may just take Marie's away too since she doesn't usually care much for them anyway. We've been telling them for 2 weeks that today is the day and they are prepared but not too happy about it. Grace is a little more excited than Greta. I asked them what they thought the paci fairy would bring them and Grace thinks maybe a ring and Greta said, "pacis." Poor thing. I have no idea what the paci fairy is bringing because she hasn't been to the store yet.

Cursed Clothes

I think some clothes must be cursed. I see it most frequently with baby things, but Xander and Grace and Greta seem to have a few cursed things as well. It seems that some outfits always get spit up on, diaper leaked onto it, or otherwise stained or made unwearable. It is almost always my most favorite things too! How can it be that 90% of the time they can all wear the same thing from breakfast to bedtime, but if I put a cursed outfit on, it always gets messed up! And, you can't try to outsmart it either. Marie really doesn't need too many changes of clothes, so if I do have to change her it seems unlikely that she'd need another outfit that day. But- if I try putting known cursed outfits on after she's ruined her earlier outfit (she won't have 2 blow outs in a day, right?), she will go through one right after another! And Xander really rarely messes his clothes up anymore. Except now, one of my new favorites of his has been stained by mid-day every time he puts it on!

So, if you got one of the kids something really cute and you never see them in it, most likely, it is cursed.

Miscellaneous

I can't think of any big theme for today's post, so I'll just ramble.

First, I just love this picture of Marie and Jon's Grandma! We had a good visit with her after Christmas. All the kids were being pretty good for her, but Marie was being especially sweet with Grandma.



And speaking of Marie, she is getting to be such a big girl! She has started sitting independently and while she's still a little wobbly, she's doing a great job! She can sit for a while if she's focused but if she drops a toy or is reaching for something she topples right over as she goes to grab it. I also hauled the exersaucer out today and she loves it! I'm not sure if she likes the actual toys on it more or if she's just so proud and happy to be able to spin around and see everything on her own terms. She tried her Nonna's exersaucer over Christmas and while she liked it, she wasn't quite steady enough to really get into it yet. She's definitely ready for it now!

I took the kids to the library today and let them all pick a book. I thought it was interesting that all 3 of them picked non-fiction books. Xander picked a book on the Earth and how it is formed, Grace picked a book on the anatomy of flowers (and is currently sleeping with it), and Greta wanted a book about birds and migration. I was so proud of how well behaved they all were- speaking quietly, staying with me, and no whining, crying, or fighting. Even Marie was smiling and happy! I wasn't sure about taking them all with me, but I think they've earned themselves a trip back.

And, lastly, I joined the new LA Fitness and started taking a few classes last week. Grace and Greta really like the childcare ladies and have started asking to go back and play. I'm a little worried about how I'll feel tomorrow after today's class. The instructor said, "I hope you all brushed your teeth before class, because you're going to have a hard time trying to do it after class!" So far, I'm just a little sore but I can already feel my arms and shoulders getting stiff! Hopefully, I'll quit getting too sore after a few weeks.

Snow and Discipline

We couldn't believe it- 2 days of significant snow in one week!! The first snow, the kids were excited and ran out to play. I had to drag them back in when it got too dark. Yesterday when it snowed, I think they were over it. Nobody tried to put their coats and gloves on to go out and they would barely go look out the windows when I pointed it out. I guess they've seen enough since they got to play in snow in KY too a few weeks ago. The locals, however, are going nuts! Xander has taekwondo next to the grocery store so he stopped in after yesterday's class. He said the lines were to the back of the store! Today, the roads are dry and fine.

Xander was talking about discipline today. He said it was going to be hard for his kids and his rules are going to be like lions and tigers and bears. He then said our rules are like bunnies and puppies!!

Sweetest Kid Ever!

Xander has to be the sweetest little boy ever! (when he wants to be, of course!)

Today, someone asked him, "So, what's it like to have 3 little sisters?"

Xander said, "It's like having 3 kinds of fun!"

Tears!

After what seemed like forever, Marie is finally making tears! I've been a little concerned because most babies start producing tears around 3-6 weeks and her eyes have been dry until today! Poor baby has had eyelashes stuck in her eyes for days because there were no tears to help work them out. Her eyes seem a little overly wet today but hopefully that won't last.

Also, she may be coming down with a little cold. She has her first runny nose and a little chest congestion.

Kitten's getting some claws!

Marie has started chewing on things. Unfortunately, one of them is me and she likes to do it when she's nursing. The others have done the same and it is usually a pretty short phase. In the past, I've said a loud "Ow!" and pulled them off for a minute. They would cry and get their feelings hurt when I did that and pretty soon they would almost never clamp down. Marie, however, isn't responding the same way. I say "Ow!" and remove her just like the others. But she doesn't cry. She grins and tries to do it again!! I think I'm in trouble with this one.

The House Beach

We have a picture that Nathan took of a beach house in our bathroom. It just fits there because of the frame and the colors in the bathroom- it's really a nice picture! Grace and Greta have gotten into the habit of commenting on it every time they go potty. It goes sort of like this. "Look- the House Beach!!" (I say, that's a beach house.) "Uncle Nate made it?!" (Yes, Uncle Nate took that picture.) "I like the House Beach."

So, Nathan, your work is being appreciated daily! I'm not sure if they just like the picture or are trying to tell me something about wanting to go back to the beach, but they are sure fascinated by that picture these days.

Dentist Visits

Xander, Grace, and Greta had an appointment with the dentist today. This was Grace and Greta's first time. I had expected Grace to be the uncooperative one but they said she did very well and she was all happy and smiling to show me her teeth when she came out. They came out to talk to me in the middle of Greta's session to tell me that she was being moved to the "quiet room." I wasn't sure what it was but Jon told me later it was the sound proof room! They were telling me that she was doing really well but was getting a little upset when they wanted her to open her mouth wider to get to the back teeth. She does have a problem opening her mouh wide and I'm surprised she didn't puke on them. I didn't get the impression that she was that bad but she told me they hurt her teeth (they had to do scaling) and she "wanted my mama!" Awww...poor Greta. She seemed ok overall but I'm not sure if she'll be better or worse next time. We talked about it tonight and she volunteered that she liked the waterfall (outside the building) and the turtles (in the tank inside the waiting room) so it couldn't have been that bad!

Both girls have no cavities or problems. They are getting an overbite so we are going to watch that. Xander had one cavity in a tooth that had been borderline for a while. He has a hard time because all of his teeth are so closely spaced with no gaps between them making it easier for cavities to form. The girls are lucky because they have space around all of their teeth. The dentist said we may see a lot of problems with Xander when he gets his adult teeth because of how little room there is in his mouth already.

They also did x-rays of all the kids and their tooth growth is very delayed. She said Xander's 6yr molars are nowhere close to coming in and they usually see them coming in at 5 (don't know why they call them 6yr molars!). He probably won't get his 12 yr molars until close to 15, and he has no signs of loose teeth and probably won't lose any for a long time because of how high his permanent teeth are. Grace and Greta's permanent teeth also appear to be growing in much slower than typical. This isn't a problem at all, just something to be aware of and that tends to run in families. I think I was the last kid I knew in school to lose a tooth and I was one of the oldest in my class, so maybe they take after me! She said kids who get their teeth late tend to lose them late but I have no idea when they got teeth. She did say average was 6 months and I know they didn't have teeth then but I'm not sure how much after 6 months they were. I'll have to pay attention to when Marie gets hers now! She's been drooling and biting and chewing everything she can so maybe her teeth will come in closer to 6months.

Quiet Day

We had a pretty quiet day today. I'm sick with some kind of sore throat virus so we haven't gone anywhere or done anything since Sunday. The kids have been very sweetly sympathetic.

Grace's new shoes came to fit over her brace so she had to wear it for a little bit today. She hates wearing it this time after such a long time out of it more than ever! The good news is that the second hour she wore it today her foot was easier to put in and she complained less so hopefully it will continue to get easier every time. She has to wear it for only an hour or two at a time for a while and slowly increase the time in it to break it in.

Both girls had the most fun this morning making fruit loop necklaces and bracelets. They probably worked on them for over 2 hours! They also were so cute dancing to their Bella Dancerella DVD.

A New Year

A New Year and a new resolution to update this more!!

We've had such a busy month with Christmas and traveling. We had a good trip to KY but it is nice to settle back down at home.

Xander has enjoyed being off school and I think he liked playing in the snow in Cincinnati more than anything. We headed back to school today but when we showed up we found school was still out until tomorrow! He was more than a little excited about that. He does seem to like going to school when he is there, but he likes not going more.

Marie is getting so big and fun. She's such a smiley happy girl- when I'm holding her. She was pretty good about being passed around while we were in KY but now that we are home she is clingier than ever. I'm not sure if she's just entering the separation anxiety phase now or if it is a reaction to being passed around so much last week. She'll be 5 months tomorrow and at John and Candy's house when we left she was right at 11.5 lbs. She's also confirming my earlier opinion that she is super smart by saying "Mama" tonight. She was laying by Jon and pitching a fit tonight because she wanted me to get her. I was trying to not hold her because I've been holding her all day and was a little tired of it. Jon was talking to her while she was whining and said, "What do you want?" She turned her head to look right at me and said, "Mama!" She said it a few more times while I didn't get her but I did eventually give in and took her back from Jon. How could I resist when she was asking for me by name?!