Josie Bean's 5th

I'm still playing catch up with all of the things with spring and summer. So, despite being 1.5 months late, here is a quick recap of Josie's birthday.

Chris was abroad for her birthday so no party this year. That didn't stop Josie from making invitations to at least three friends inviting them to a YMCA pool party. One was put in a neighbor's mailbox and I had to text the mom that there was no actual party.

The day began, as any good birthday should, with gifts.

Pikachu and Toothless. Toothless has the cutest growl/purr!

 Josie chose to go swimming at the YMCA, so I headed there in the morning with Josie, Xander and Hannah. Unfortunately, it was cut short due to a pool evac. In the afternoon we made cupcakes of Josie's choice. White cupcakes with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. We were going to go to Bob Evans for chocolate chip pancakes but I talked her into ordering pizza that night. We did Bob Evans the next night. Have I mentioned that the kids are pretty good when going out to dinner? Yeah, it went great!

Xander thought the sprinkles smelled funny.

Though I know Josie was a little disappointed to not have her friends over for a party, she did love receiving presents sent in the mail. Getting mail is gold in this house. The kids check every day for their magazines, so to receive boxes makes it, well, a birthday.

Celebrating with toddlers Elsa and Anna to the Frozen soundtrack.

Father Daughter Dance

The school and it's girl scout group holds an annual Daddy Daughter Dance. Chris and Josie got all dolled up for it this year. They joined another dad and daughter for a dinner out at the local hot dog joint where Josie was so excited/nervous that she may have thrown up her dinner. Of all of the traits to get from her mother....

A tie and flowers, it's going to be a fancy night out!

Josie wanted a close up with her giant flower hair piece.

As soon as they arrived, Josie ran off and left Chris awkwardly hanging out with the other dads along the sides of the dance floor. But he managed to get a few pictures and then get to the photo booth.

Too excited to stand still!

Caker's 2 Year Well Check

Hannah's nickname of Hannah Cakes has slowly become Hannah Cakers and now just Cakers. She can tell how much trouble she is in by if we call her Cakers or Hannah Hope. And she will burst into tears if we call her Hannah Hope and send her to the naughty chair. Such activities include, but are not limited to, drawing on the wall and pulling her sister's hair.

Hannah had her well check at the end of February. It was practically pointless as you can tell she is a perfectly healthy girl but it's still good to go in and hear about how awesome she is.

Weight: 28 lbs (73rd percentile)
Height: 36 in (94th percentile) She's already outgrown most of her Christmas and Birthday clothes. I'm forcing her to wear too small clothes for March until the weather warms a little.

(Xander's 2 year info: http://ringinginthenewyear.blogspot.com/2009/11/4-month-and-2-year-appointments.html)
(Josie's 2 year info: not accurate because we were in California and she didn't get checked until 2 months late and it was never published. For the record 27.4 lbs (55th percentile) and 34.5 in (65th percentile).)

I've had to explain to Josie that when she grows up, Hannah may actually be taller than Josie. I used Trisha as an example and then proceeded to draw a family tree where all of my younger siblings are taller than me.

Let's see, other Hannah news. Oh, she is in a toddler bed! She crawled out of her crib all of one time due to a temper tantrum. Chris and I just randomly decided to convert the crib one weekend. She's done better than expected. She'll get up if Josie gets up to go to the bathroom (they share a room). But really nap time and bed time goes pretty well. The hardest part is making sure the usual dolls are lined up and tucked in next to her.

Hannah loves playing on the family iPad. It is supposed to be for education with appropriate apps downloaded. However, Hannah has figured out the iTunes store enough to get to music videos and movie previews. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the Frozen preview. 

Hannah still loves to eat. She is willing to try almost anything. This is the spinach artichoke dip from Super Bowl day. She just pulled the entire dish over and dug in.

There's a little bit of potty training going on. I don't feel like going hard core yet but she is willing to sit there and listen to books and get a raisin as a reward.

And new words! 

Uh-oh-dilly-oh!  (Instead of just uh-oh.)

Okay, there aren't too many new words. The big thing is that she sings so many phrases. 

Bye-by!

Pease! (Please.)

Et it ooooh! (complete with hands lifted) (Let it go!) (I really need to get this on video.)

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.

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!"

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.

Mystery Virus Fever, Part 2

It began Thursday when I picked Xander up from his classroom and we walked up to my classroom to wait for the end of dismissal. The key word here is 'walked'. Xander never walks. He skips, he jumps, he runs, he races, he skips again. He does not walk. So the fact that he walked was the first clue that something was wrong.

The second clue might have been him saying his belly hurt during snack time at school. However, it is not uncommon for Xander to comment that his belly hurts.

The third clue was what gave it away. He quietly sat in my class after school. And then he said he was cold. Anyone who has met this child knows he does not sit quietly. He asks questions, tells you about the day, repeats facts that he has already told you five times. Also, my classroom is never cold.

We picked up his sisters and headed home where Xander spent the rest of the evening huddled under three blankets while his fever slowly climbed. It was definitely the same thing that all three kids had in February.

Xander stayed home from school on Friday. The fever persisted through Saturday and Sunday with little appetite and no energy. Monday arrived with a lower fever but then Hannah became warm. That is when I wrote this status update:
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 5: Xander seems to be recovering but that may just be a good night of sleep helping him through the morning. Hannah has succumbed to the fever and insists on cuddles. We forge on.

Xander was better on Tuesday but had to stay home due to school regulations (fever-free for 24 hours). So Josie stepped up to take over on the fever front. And she added a random vomit to the fun. Xander had complained about an upset stomach but hadn't gotten sick beyond spitting up dinner while coughing. No puke from Hannah either. Josie has her mother's weak stomach.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 6: Xander has returned to the Healthy Side, will resume active duty tomorrow. Hannah fights the temptation that is the Fever but Josie has gone over fully by embracing vomit.

In a moment that I'm sure will be hysterical to relive in five years, Josie freaked when she found an itsy, bitsy, little spider on her pants. I'm talking high pitched screeching sobs that she did not learn from me. I took care of the spider in short order. However at 5 am, Josie woke up with the same screeching sobs convinced that there was a spider on her leg. I talked her down and tucked her in but within five minutes there was more sobbing, so she was brought into bed with me. Chris decided to go for an early run rather than listen to Josie snore.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 7: Xander has returned to active duty allowing me to focus on his sisters. Both have shown signs of recovery. Hannah attempts to sleep off the effects. Josie has suffered fever-induced spider paranoia and had to have her sleeping quarters temporarily reassigned.

The spider issue has come up this afternoon, too. She saw it on her toes! And now it's in her bones! Yes, she was convinced the spider was crawling inside of her leg. I explained that spiders don't like being in bones because they can't make webs. Anyone who tells her differently will have to spend the next week sleeping next to her bed.

We have not been to the doctor about this because the fevers never reached higher than 103 and did not last more than 5 days. Since it's getting spread around it's some type of germ, presumably a virus. I tried to stick with the notion that the fevers were fighting the alleged virus so tried to avoid medicine to lower the fever unless a child was completely miserable or at bedtime so there could be some good sleep. Heck, Xander and Josie are so tough that they actually declined medicine when I offered.

Hopefully the girls will be over this by tomorrow (day 8!). The first time through this, Josie and Hannah both had it for a full five days. Xander had it for two days. I figure that is why he had it for five days this time. So just maybe the girls will be able to fight off the virus a little easier since they may have built up an immunity. Yeah, right, that is such wishful thinking.

Snow Day

Today is Sunday and the high is expected to be 64 degrees. This past Wednesday we had a day off from school because of snow. That's Ohio for you.

The kids were watching the neighbors out playing in the snow.

I was bound and determined to get Xander and Josie outside to play. There were a few snowfalls this winter but I usually stayed in with Hannah. So I gathered up our snow clothes and we played inside until Hannah went down for a nap. Then we suited up!

Xander really enjoyed making snowballs. I'm not sure if he was really aiming or just throwing but he seemed to hit a lot of things. In this picture, he is showing where his snowball had hit the cross bar on the clubhouse.

Josie had been saying for weeks that she wanted to build a snowman. This snow was perfect for it, wet and sticky. Of course, Josie did not build it, she just watched me. Then we added a carrot nose (Josie was adamant about it being a carrot), leaves for eyes and sedum for a mustache  I added the sticks for arms and Josie brought over another stick and started to put it in next to one arm. Xander became all bent out of shape because a snowman can't have 3 arms. I said it could be an alien snowman. With that thought, he gleefully ran off and came back to attach another arm.

Xander also excitedly asked to knock over the snowman. I told him to wait until we were done and had taken pictures. When I gave him the signal, he went at it like he'd been tackling all his life. Then he'd back up and tackle again. Then he took a few flying leaps to land on the defeated snowman like a pro wrestler.

Seriously, you couldn't even tell a snowman had been there by the time Xander was done.

Meanwhile, Josie must have missed the conversation about destroying the snowman because she became very sad.

So I talked with Josie and asked her if she'd like to make another snowman, maybe a miniature snowman? She instead asked for a snow buggie. Huh? So I asked if she meant a ladybug and Josie became super excited. I just made a ball for the body and Josie made one for the head. It wasn't big enough at first, but after some more rolling, they were just the right size. 

Then I had to explain to Josie that the snow ladybug might melt pretty quickly, probably by the next day. She made the sad face again and spent the next two days randomly running to check if the ladybug was still in the back yard. Fortunately by this weekend she was so happy to have the nice weather that she hasn't missed it at all.

Winding Down

While I wouldn't describe our lives as hectic, there is definitely some weeks that are busier than others. This week it included a broken garage door, beginning the search for a new dentist only to find out we could keep our current dentist, dance class, tutoring, soccer, pizza and game night with neighbors, mom's night off and overtime for dad.

Despite all of that, it has been a surprisingly nice weekend. Time to share some pictures.

We've had the fireplace going for most of the weekend.
This is the first we've had it going this winter and the kids loved it.

Watching the Super Bowl after trying a dinner of appetizers.
Xander's favorite part of dinner was dipping cheese puffs in pizza sauce.

Josie was not very interested in the Super Bowl so played with her My Little Ponies,
making her bracelets into necklaces for them.

Xander is happy that his new cousin will be another boy.

This is Xander's 'to do' list from a couple weeks ago, since I had my own list. He accomplished 'have fun' and 'play with Josie' but was unable to get to 'wrctgether' (work together).

Hannah's hair has grown long enough to be in her eyes. I'm not a big fan of bangs so tried barrettes, which did not work out. Pulling her hair up into a Pebbles Flinstone 'do is working much better. I sent Chris a text with this picture and said "You said I could be anything I want, so I became a unicorn."