New Logic

We were getting in the car.  Getting Eve to get into her seat and buckle up is a struggle.  Not that she doesn't want to do it, just that it takes FOREVER!!!  Anyway, we were getting in the car, and of course, the subject of who's first and who's last comes up.  John said, "I'm first!".  Eve, "I'm going to be last."  John, "No, you're least.  Mom is last..last but not least."  I suppose from now on I know it's better to be last than next-to-last, i.e. least.

Eve and I went to return something at a store and pick up a movie.  She wanted to go to the movie store (Blockbuster...I only include this because when she reads this she'll probably not even remember there was such a thing).  She asked if she could go in.  I said, "Of course you can go in.  If I go in somewhere it's not safe for you to stay in the car by yourself."  She replied, "You're right.  It's not safe for me to stay in the car.  If you go in without me you might get lonely."  As long as she follows the safety rules, she doesn't quite have to understand them...right?

Lectures in Theology

I love hearing children lecture each other.  Today was a great example.  Eve had something that John wanted, so he gave her a lecture something like this..."Eve, you shouldn't be so worried about things.  Things aren't important." (Translation: You shouldn't be so worried about your things that you won't let me play with them whenever I want to.)
Minutes later, Ellie had something that Eve wanted, and she wouldn't share...hmmm tables turned.  This lecture went something like, "Ellie, you need to share.  When you don't share, it makes God sad.  God wants you to give me those glasses.  If you don't, you're making God sad."  I asked Eve if she was more concerned about getting the glasses, or about Ellie learning to share.  I explained that if she was more concerned about getting the glasses, then she was being selfish and that also makes God sad.  Of course, she said she was more concerned about teaching Ellie to share.  (Translation: You need to give me whatever you have that I want whenever I want it, or else I'll try to make you feel guilty.)
Funny, we never have these theological lectures from the other perspective, i.e. tables are turned and now you've got the toy someone else wants.  Is God still sad if that toy isn't shared?  My guess is no.  He clearly wants the lecturer to have the toy, no matter the circumstance.
I'm pretty sure it's a theology we never effectively shake, unfortunately, but in the context of 1-5 year-olds (particularly when Ellie repeats everything in a similar tone), it's quite comical.

Go Gators!

Never thought I'd say, "Go Gators," but then Eve and John were put on the Alligators for soccer this season.  The first practice was Saturday.  Eve was super excited for her very first practice.  John was excited to get back into it.

 Eve was mostly excited about her ball.  So much so that she didn't want anybody taking it.  It was so cute to see John and Eve pair up on their own, but protecting the ball by sitting on it isn't a soccer tactic that's conducive to the rest of the game.

 The team this season looks to be mostly new kids that have never played.  It was fun to see John run down the field with the ball looking like the professional on the team.  He did really well.

Ellie enjoyed yelling, "Go get the ball!"  She must've heard it a few times.  Partway through the practice the coach said, "What have I gotten myself into?", and we decided it might be a long season.

When Mom Says...

When Mom says, "Don't get dirty"...

This is what happens.  We almost had a bath-free night, but then, we didn't.  I had to wash it off, then run the bath water again for actual bath time.  Really, I can't blame her.  Squishy mud is really fun.

Fun Friday

Last Friday was full of lots of fun!  First Ellie, Grandma, and I went to John's class.  I read the Lorax to the class and we planted mini Truffola trees (otherwise known as Marigolds).  It was so much fun!  Then we quickly moved to Eve's class for her St. Patrick's Day party.

 I made rainbow jello again (and was guilted into making some for John's class too).  It was so funny when I went through the register line at Walmart with all that jello.  The cashier thought I was going to have quite the party!  It was also pretty funny when all the kids in Eve's class tried to drink the jello.  I didn't realize what a mean trick I was playing on them.

 We made necklaces with green noodles.  From the left clockwise: Benjamin, Alex, Brantley, Reid, Kinsey, and Brooklyn

 Having Grandma read the story was a HUGE hit!

 Miss Douglas (here) and Miss Gray had fun hats.  They always go all out.  They really are fantastic.

 I guess I didn't get a picture of everyone since they moved around for snack, but here, from Ellie clockwise: Ellie, Lilly May, Melia, Eve, Alex, Brantley, ?, and Claire

 Ellie always benefits when there's a party.

Claire, Eve, and Brantley

Friday night while the kids were sleeping the leprechauns came and caused mischief in their room.  St. Patrick's day, they woke up to a doll tea party, toys strewn about, stuffed animals over the curtains, and the letters in their names rearranged on the walls.  John quickly cleaned up the toys that were on his bed, and fixed the letters, so we didn't get any pictures, but it was fun.  Well, it was fun for John.  Eve didn't much appreciate that they messed up her name.  So funny.

Yeave Me Ayone!

Just like John did, Eve has trouble with some letters.  One is "L".  I remember working with John on it a bit, and he picked it up just fine.  We've worked with Eve on switching her "s" sound blends, i.e. gsool instead of school, and she's corrected it, I think.  So, lately we've been working on "L"s.  Yesterday I heard her say "yeave me ayone!" to John.  I told her to look at me, and I said "Leave me aLone."  Little did I know she'd be practicing that over and over, and Ellie would pick up on it too.  She's doing well with those "L" sounds, but it sure would be nice if I could think things through before they came out of my mouth.

Oh My Word!

Eve was invited to a birthday party at a place in the mall called Club Tabby.  I think the invitation said, "nails, hair, and makeup galore".   It was for one of her favorite school friends, Brantley, who is destined to be a cheerleader...you can just see it.  She's a sweet little girl, and although the makeup bit made me a little nervous, I couldn't say "no".  Eve mentioned the party at least 30 or 40 times a day for a solid week.  She was so very excited.  The party did not disappoint.

 The girls were led back to a room where they could choose dress-up clothes, boas, jewelry, etc.  Then they were brought to the "spa" where they got their nails, hair and makeup done.

 Yep, that's either hair spray or spray paint.  Eve wanted all of her hair pink, but she didn't want it up.  When she was done stating her desires and opinions, the sweet lady doing her makeover let her down and said, "My, you're quite a little girl" in an "I'm not sure what to do with you" type tone.  It was pretty funny.

 So, here is made-over Eve and her sweet little friend Brantley.

They all got to walk/dance on the runway.  Eve followed directions once or twice, then lost interest and moved back to changing dresses and necklaces for the rest of the time.  She had a great time and is determined to have her party there.  All I could think the whole time was, "Oh my word!"

Spring Hike

We may not have gotten to use our sleds because of our warm winter, but that also means we got to celebrate our snow days!  The kids had Friday and Monday off school.  Since it was a nice day, I took the kids hiking in Conestee Monday.  We had a blast!

John took some of the pictures.  He's really getting pretty good.

 Hiking?  Yep, this is how we hike.

 The sand was a huge hit, so we didn't actually hike very far.

 This picture of Eve cracks me up!

 John and Eve did awesome hiking, and loved it!  They ran ahead, but not too far.  They wanted to keep going when we were done, but Ellie was having a hard time keeping up (mostly because she was interested in so many little things on the ground) and she didn't want to be carried.

At the end they went "exploring", i.e. climbing up the bank by the trail.  That was a highlight, too.  What a fun and beautiful day!

Love Notes

John is always working on projects.  He loves doing anything with paper, markers, scissors, tape, glue, stencils, etc.  He's a very prolific artist.  He's often writing me love notes or drawing pictures of me and him doing something together.  He even left me a note in the bed while I was sick.

I have no shortage of these notes, and it makes my heart happy!

Don't Worry 'Bout a Thing

After recovering from the stomach bug, I decided to stay home from the gym and spend some time with Ellie.  Poor thing, the last she remembered of me was me pushing her away screaming as I knelt by the toilet.  She didn't handle that well, then didn't see me for the rest of the week because I was in bed most of the time.  It took a while for us to be friends again, but she and I had a good time playing dress-up in the play room, and she reminded me how care-free life should be.

I put the pink pants and striped shirt on her.  The rest was her creation (including fairy wings that you can't see well).  I told her to pose for me, and this is what I got.

And she needed a hat too.  Don't stress, man.  It says so in the picture.  This girl just cracks me up!

Exciting News!

I mentioned it was a long story why I hadn't posted in a while.  Here's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it (at least this time)...

That's right!  We're so excited!  We found out a few weeks ago (Feb 20 maybe?).  Unfortunately a week later I was hit with the bug of the century (at least according to me).  I was so worried it was excessive morning sickness, but fortunately after a week of feeling horrible and not eating, I returned to normal, and Buck was able to return to work finally.  Normal never felt so good.  We told the kids by having John read a paper that said, "God has put a baby in Mommy's tummy.  In October we are going to have a new brother or sister."  After he struggled through it, the kids seemed to not really care.  Since then, though, they've become very excited and enjoyed telling people, which has been fun.  Now we'll have a full boat (minus coxswain)!  The unofficial due date is October 28.  God has truly blessed us time and again!

Never Turn Your Back

Sometimes you just can't watch them all the time.  In our house, you never know what you'll find if you take a minute to put the trash out, or step into the bathroom.

Can you see Eve in there?  At least they were both laughing and enjoying themselves.

Average Day Outside

With the beautiful weather we've had, we've been spending a good amount of time outside.  We've tried to clean up the back yard a bit so the kids can play outside even when I need to be inside cooking dinner or what-not.  Here they are, you know, just your average day outside...

 Transformers, Fairies

 And Princesses

The most fun change has been putting a slide we were given by some friends up on the porch.  It's pretty steep, so, as you can see, we've piled up live jackets at the bottom to cushion the blow.  I'm not sure Ellie has braved it alone yet, but John and Eve, I mean Optimus Prime and Sleeping Beauty, have enjoyed it.

Impressed!

OK, so I'm way behind again...long story.  I'm ready to start catching up on the long story and all else that's gone on, but I'll start with something that happened today.
I've been noticing a big difference between Ellie and John and Eve.  John and Eve have always been excessively independent.  We've worked so hard on getting them to say "help please" rather than pitching a fit because they can't do something (not so much John anymore, but we're still in the throws with Eve).  They just want to learn and do everything on their own, which is great, except when they clearly need help and won't allow it.  Ellie, on the other hand, has always had someone to help her.  I still think it's why she didn't roll over for so long.  Why bother when someone will always bring you what you need, right?
I started to notice that Ellie always says, "help please", and doesn't often try things on her own.  I'm not good at comparing ages (thankfully), but I'm pretty sure John and Eve had both climbed out of the crib by this point, and were probably at least undressing themselves if not working on dressing themselves.  Ellie has just started putting very loose shoes on herself, but doesn't even take her socks or pants off, and hasn't (to my knowledge) ever tried to climb out of the crib.  While these things don't worry my, and it's certainly easier with her not taking off her pants and removing her diaper to smear mess all over the wall, I was thinking we should start encouraging some independence.  My first try was to help her undress herself before bath time.  I was talking her through it, helping her grasp the back of her pants, etc., and of course John came up behind her and lended a hand.  So sweet, but a little counter to my purpose.  So anyway, the goal now is to try to get her to attempt some things before asking for help.
Today, though, I was impressed.  Eve was playing a game where she put a magnet as high as she could on the refrigerator.  It was really fun until she put it higher than she could reach.  Being independant, and quite the drama queen, she started pitching a fit because she couldn't reach it.  Being the great mom I am, I ignored her.  Surprising me, though, I heard Ellie banging around in the bathroom.  A few minutes later she emerged with the bathroom stool and brought it to Eve.  She may not be able to undress herself, but she sure is a problem solver!