Cuteness Contest

Contender 1
In this corner is the 4-year-old girl who has learned to skip and hasn't stopped since. Watch out for the bouncing blonde spiral curls as she flies by you. She has been known to ask Mom to skip with her.

Contender 2
In this corner is the 21-month-old who tucks in her big sister at bed time. The blankets must cover her sister just so, each pulled up individually. Then the big sister must gently be kissed on the forehead and hugged. The routine is complete when the toddler stands up and grins at her parents and heads to her crib.

Contender 3
Not included in any corner of this Cuteness Contest is the big brother. He arrives in his mother's classroom after school each day and commonly distracts any students staying after for tutoring. Conversations he has with the students include, but are not limited to, that he pooped at home that morning.

Light up the Sound

Last night, out of nowhere, Xander grabbed his guitar and started to make a song. He then grabbed some paper and wrote down the song.

After that one performance, Josie wanted in on that action. Xander freaks out because she is replacing the word 'sound' with 'sun'.

Sticky Fingers

Chris thought it was no big deal that Hannah did this until he found out it was $10.

Update - Hannah Style

Oh, how the little ones grow. Hannah is trying so hard to rush past this toddler phase. She so badly wants to be like her big sister. She wants to sit on the potty (and has successfully used it a couple times), she is reading, watching television, follows directions, laughs, dances and even occasionally speaks.

I'm continually surprised by how 'girly' Hannah can be. I guess I thought one of our daughters would be a tomboy. And while they are active and enjoy the rough-and-tumble games, they both love to dress up in play clothes, other people's clothes and with as many accessories as possible.

The thing that gets me about Hannah is she is very meticulous and wants to have things just so, even at the tender age of 20 months. She rearranges her food, fork and drink when we sit down to dinner. She rearranges her blankets when I tuck her in at night (though Chris claims she does not do that for him). If she wants a coloring book, Hannah will take every single one out of the cabinet and then decide which one she wants. 

Clearly the oven mitt belongs in the kitchen.

I have way too many pictures of my children sleeping.

Hannah has developed attachments to many of the friends (aka stuffed animals) in our house. After much fighting over the special few (most are free-for-all, but a couple are just Josie's or Xander's), I took the kids to Build-a-Bear after dropping Chris off at the airport for a three week work trip. Xander and Josie helped to make Hannah's special friend, Misty. Misty, named after the Pokemon trainer, was an instant hit. So much so that Josie keeps stealing her away from Hannah. Boy, did that plan backfire.

Hannah spends a lot of time mothering all of these special friends. She carries them, gives them bottles, feeds them, pushes them in a stroller, tucks them in, shushes them, etc.

Hannah has also discovered the thrill of art. Meaning she scribbles and then chews on the marker or crayon when you look away. If you are totally gone from the room, tattooing ensues. I thought Josie did this, because have you seen her art, but after another episode I realized Hannah is just really talented at drawing on herself.

She is also talented at singing; thought indecipherable it is very melodic. She even sings some of her words like "Thank you." Super cute.

And finally, she remains the most squish-able thing ever.

Update - Josie style (with Well Check!)

We finally had Josie's 4 year well check. It's a few months late because insurance won't cover it on her birthday (due to being in California a couple years ago) and then I completely forgot to take her in when I did get the appointment scheduled. Oops. Since there were no concerns about her health, it took another month to get her in for her check up.

Weight: 35 lbs (42nd percentile)
Height: 40.5 in (53rd percentile)

This is where I would link to Xander's 4 year stats, but apparently I never published them. He was 46.6 lbs (98th percentile) and 42.5 in (94th percentile). So despite Josie being middle of the road, she seems dainty by comparison.

We answered all of the doctor's questions and then she received a couple vaccinations. We had talked about it before hand and I promised her chocolate milk for lunch. She grimaced and yelped but didn't cry. I told her she was super brave and the nurse gave her sparkly band-aids and two stickers.

Meanwhile, Josie is an inquisitive sponge. She asks about every other sentence that comes out of my mouth. "What does 'that's cool' mean?"
"How are houses made?"
"How are beds made?"
"What's 'a minute'?"

S'mores!

She declined additional s'mores because they were so messy.

Hannah has to join in the picture fun.

We've held off on nail polish until this summer.

She's still my little sleeper. She doesn't need a nap most days but occasionally she'll disappear
after school and I'll find her snoring away.

She still loves drawing and any kind of art or craft. 

No dance class this year, but that hasn't impeded her flexibility.

"Mom, take a picture because I'm so bea-u-tiful!"

Speaking of drawing.....

When I asked her why she drew on the wall, she replied "It's so cute!"

Update - Xander Style

What has Xander been up to? Let me wander through the photo archive and provide some visuals.

A new school year has begun. He is not a fan of homework.

Star Wars super fandom continues. He has seen the six films and reads the kids books he finds at the library.
Play time often consists of pretending to be some character from Star Wars. He also created a puppet show.

He lost 4 teeth in 4 weeks (only three missing here). 

He turned 6 years old! No big party this year but he received a new bike.
His favorite feature is the kick stand and he describes the picture on it as
"a skull with wings for it's ears!"

Xander asked for the Chuck (aka the yellow Angry Bird) on his cake.

A new soccer season has begun. Chris is coaching again.
Xander is not falling down nearly as often as he did last year.

Tales of the Trio

Xander

     While doing the back to school shopping we picked up a pack of new underwear for Xander. The store didn't have the briefs with cartoon characters in his size and he was disappointed that he couldn't get Star Wars Lego underwear. We managed to agree on some plaid boxers and went on our way.
     After getting the new boxers washed, they were the first thing Xander picked to wear all week. Last night at bath time he announced that he was out of boxers. I said to grab some Spider-Man undies and he got this sad look on his face but turned around to go back to his room. So I told him I would be doing laundry in the morning. That cheered him up.
     Next thing I know I'm coming out of the bathroom and tripping over his laundry basket. He put it there so I wouldn't forget to wash his clothes.

     Xander loves to read at bedtime. While Chris was gone I'd gotten in the habit of putting the kids to bed at the same time but letting Xander stay up and read a little longer. Now that school is in session, I have to remind him to put the books away and go to sleep.
     Last night, after the laundry basket incident, he was reading this large book that was the alphabet with super heroes. I told him to put it away and he looked around, plainly trying to figure out where to put it and what to use as a bookmark. Finally he twisted around and picked up his pillow, laying the book down with the pages open to where he was. I nearly burst out laughing because I clearly remember hiding books under my pillow as a kid, though I don't think I started that until I was a couple years older.

Josie

     Josie has spent this morning pretending to be a teenager. She didn't say that but she is certainly acting like it. She was talking on the play phone when I tried to tell her that I was going upstairs to shower. She didn't even look at me, just held up one finger in the 'just one minute' gesture that I give her when I'm on the phone. She chatted for another minute as I stood there with my eyebrows up. She finally hung up and explained to me that she was talking to her (imaginary) boyfriend and was going to go babysit him in the afternoon.
     As the morning has progressed she has texted her boyfriend and sent him pictures. He was supposed to come over but became ill. His dad is giving him medicine and she is still going to babysit this afternoon.

Hannah

     Earlier this week I dressed Hannah in some clothes I'd pulled out of storage. The top was an empire waist with straps and embroidery passed on by a friend. It was a little big but I didn't think too much about it. Within an hour Hannah was pulling the straps down and off of her arms and the shirt would bunch at her waist. She proceeded to pull it down and run off giggling.
     After putting the shirt back on and having the same scene repeated, I told Hannah "You need to wear a shirt, you don't see Mom walking around naked." To which she responded by throwing her little hands in the air and yelling "NAKEY!" and then doing her dance of joy which involves running in place with high knees. Another moment where I had to try my darnedest to keep a straight face.

   

Fairies and Gnomes Welcome

At the beginning of the summer I began a 'Summer Bucket List' (for lack of a better name). With Chris expected to be gone for the first three weeks I wanted to have a collection of ideas for what to do with the kids. When it is spur of the moment, my mind is always blank. My list includes daily activities (exercise, read, etc), weekly fun (experiments, art, geocaching), and general ideas (blow bubbles, fly kites, bowling). I kept this list together with flyers for various activities for the library and local events. My goal isn't to complete the list but just to have ideas. It has been a lifesaver, especially since Chris's travel time was extended and has totaled nearly eight weeks.

On the general list was 'Make a Fairy Garden' which I added for Josie's benefit. I planned on using one of the garden boxes Chris made a few years ago. Josie helped me pick out some plants at a couple local stores. I found a little fence to put along the edges. I have bags of decorative glass pebbles that we put down as a path.

I figure this is trial and error with the plants. I'm not sure what will work well together or will do well in this fine Ohio weather. 

The funny part was that Josie kept wanting to buy a little fairy statue to put in the garden. She doesn't seem to believe that a fairy will really come live in it. Since we put it out, little wooden flowers have appeared as decoration. We've bought a bench and a little 'house' to put out, but there isn't enough room for the house. We'll figure it out.

Of course Josie having a fairy garden meant that Xander wanted one also. There was a second garden box, so that wasn't a problem. I did want it to be different so I suggested Xander make a Gnome Garden which he readily agreed to. We picked out his plants but two of them died before we planted them. Surprisingly, they were the same that were planted in Josie's garden. I'm guessing being in the back of the house instead of the front made a difference. 

Xander used red glass beads for his path, which I think makes a world of difference in appearance. We planted the dead plants with the rest just to see if they'd come back. 

Xander also has a bench to put out and a turtle to put up as decoration. We'll see what else comes of it.

Josie turns 4

Josie tried to have a party for her 4th birthday but, with Chris gallivanting across Europe (or stuck in some lab in the UK, whichever), I wasn't having any of it. I knew I could organize and invite and bake and decorate but I also knew I would try too hard and drive myself to a yelling, sobbing mess. So my gift to Josie was to not be a yelling, sobbing mess. That didn't stop her from randomly telling me who she wanted to invite to her (nonexistent) party and what gifts she wanted.

She did get gifts and a cake, I made sure of that. Her Grandma also made sure to get gifts to her in time to open on her birthday.

Birthday morning hair

Focus, careful!

Finally, Applejack!

Someone is a MLP fan. 

I treated Josie to some special time together by getting a sitter for Xander and Hannah and taking Josie to paint pottery. I had once painted a butterfly bank for Josie and Hannah broke it. Since Josie loved the butterfly and loves to paint, it made sense to let her make her own.

So many colors to choose from.

Josie requested a strawberry cake, so I whipped up a two layer cake. She requested purple frosting (which looked pink until you cut open the cake). We did not finish it ourselves but brought the unfinished 3/4 to a friend's house the next day to share with the kids there. 

She blew them out in one try, I wonder what she wished for?

Once Dad returned from his trip (with the European version of My Little Ponies), Grandma and Grandpa visited with their gifts. I can not tell you how many times I have read her this Fancy Nancy book (Fanciest Doll in the Universe) to her. Every time she points out something new or has a question about the story. Maybe this will be her new obsession. I almost hope not because this house is inundated with My Little Ponies that need to be played with first.

No update on her stats until September.

Look! No (training) wheels!

It's been a long time coming. Xander loves riding his bike. He gives the balance bike a go every once in a while. He LOVES going on the trailer bike with Chris. So Chris decided to take off the training wheels and see how Xander would do.

Pretty good for the first time!

A Month Gone

I was doing so well with updating the blog a few times a month. Then Chris up and left for five weeks right as summer began and something had to give. I did take lots and lots of pictures so I'm hoping I will be able to go back and give recaps of what the children have been doing. With that in mind, Chris will be leaving for another long trip and I signed up for an online class. We'll see how July goes.

Chris has been home on vacation between his trips so, without further ado, here are Slip'n'Slide pictures!

Josie couldn't get much momentum going.

She insisted that Dad help her go faster.

Xander had no problem throwing himself down.

Since it is technically Chris's Slip'n'Slide, he joined in the fun.

Hannah, despite loving baths, still does not like water outdoors.

She finally learned to put her hand in and splash around, but she mostly stood around watching the fun.
(You can see her in the background of some of the other shots.)

Baby curls!

Hannah at 15 Months

Hannah turned 15 months two weeks ago and had her well check one week ago. After two bouts of  the mystery virus fever, one in February and one in April, she is finally a healthy girl. Except for the occasional runny nose. And the small rash on the back of her neck. But neither of those things bother her, so I (and the doctor) declare her healthy!

Weight: 20 lbs, 12 oz. - 19th percentile
Height: 31.75 in. - 86th percentile
Head: 18 in.

While she has gained weight, it's not as much as we expected due to being sick. You can see at one year she was in a higher percentile. The doctor was not concerned since she is getting taller and her head circumference is fine. She also passed all of the questions he asked with flying colors. Does she walk? Does she talk? Does she cook a three course meal and set out the forks in the appropriate order while setting the table. You betcha.

But seriously, it seems Hannah is just so smart. Of course, then I reread my post about Josie at this age and things are about par for the course. I think that, despite having had three of them, I just don't know what to expect of babies kids toddlers at this age.

Hannah has figured out how to sit in chairs. It's a struggle to get herself pulled up onto some of them so sometimes her little legs flail as she squeals for help. When she gets up she will usually sit there contentedly, kicking her feet. Oddly, if I am there, that is when she will try to get on the table and will throw a fit when I pull her off. The best was the time she climbed up onto the bench at the table. I heard Josie yell "Mom!" and I turn around to see Hannah on the bench holding Josie's cup of water. And of course time slowed as I headed toward her and she lifted the cup with a big grin on her face. Then the water tipped over onto her and the face registered shock which quickly transformed to terror and screaming. Even Josie started to cry. So imagine me standing in our dining room with one screaming toddler soaked in water, one sobbing preschooler and water dripping off of the bench to the puddle on the floor.

Hannah's vocabulary is slowly improving. She seemed to stop talking for a month and just squealed and cried when she wanted something.  Now things are really rolling. Sure, most of the words sound the same, but I know what she means. For instance:
-A couple weeks ago she would pull up her shirt and pat her bottom and say 'psss' and I know she was saying "I peed, change me woman!"
-This morning she pointed to her toothbrush and said 'psss' and I knew she was saying "Please, may I have my teeth brushed."
Same word, a world of difference in the meanings.

Hannah is also super observant and a big believer in routine. When we are getting ready, she gets her shoes and gives them to me. Great! Then she goes to her coat and tugs on it insistently until I put that on her. Since the weather has turned warm and she doesn't need a jacket, there is sometimes a fit thrown when no coat is put onto her.

Yesterday, Hannah was sitting on the coach with Josie when Josie found them each a pillow to sleep on. So Hannah got off of the coach, went over to the buffet, opened it and pulled out a blanket, and walked back to the coach with it. I stood there for a moment wondering how Hannah even knew the blankets were there.

Her 'no's are plentiful and enthusiastic. They just aren't as cute as her 'yes's. My favorite thing she does right now is say 'yes' while nodding her head. Except it sounds like a quiet 'essss', almost a hiss.
"Would you like your water?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
"Would you like more food?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
By the way, this kid loves to eat. I tried a new recipe that turned out horrible (Chris actually spat it out) but Hannah still went to town.

Hannah is also excellent at 'uh-oh' and I think she likes saying it just for fun. She uses it appropriately, usually when she drops something. Sometimes she'll find the gate at the bottom of the stairs open and will say "Uh-oh!" and swing it shut. She also uses it when other people do something wrong. It's rather hysterical when Josie has spilled something and I only know because I hear Hannah say "Uh-oh."

Uh-oh, that smile just melted my heart.