Everyday stuff

About a gazillion times a day, I think, "Oh, I wish I could write that down/take a picture of that/take a video of that so I could remember it forever." Because these are precious times, as we are often reminded when others face tragedy. So while I have a few minutes, I'll capture a little bit of everyday life these days.

Luke has really changed recently as he approaches 3 years old. His language has developed and he can actually argue and tell you explicitly why he is throwing a fit. He's a passionate kid, that's for sure. He loves his siblings fiercely, but unfortunately the way he communicates can be frustrating to them: whatever they are doing - he wants to do it. Just. like. them. If one of them brings home a new stuffed animal? He has a meltdown until he can have a turn with it, then he begs to sleep with it/eat dinner with it/play games with it/take it in the car/take it in the stroller, etc. And the whole time the birthday kid (or the preschool student who got the animal as part of a class project) is fighting and crying because Luke won't take turns with THEIR animal. It goes on for days usually until the owner gives up and moves on. Then Luke moves on, too...to whatever is their next interest. I understand that this is the biggest demonstration of love and is completely age appropriate.

Lukey Loo also:
- love his friends Landon, Frank, and Maggie
- loves his grandparents (although he gets all of their names mixed up)
- refers to a smaller version of anything as "The Lukey Loo" (i.e. the half gallon of milk is the Lukey Loo milk while the gallon is the Mommy milk.)
- still fluctuates between completely potty trained one day to constant accidents the next.
- gives Anna random kisses as he runs by at full speed, stopping to insert her paci if she is fussing.
- loves watching the 1960's Spiderman cartoons on Netflix.
- everytime we sit down to eat, he says, "Hey Mommy, guess what? I went to Katy's school today!" He started saying this after we were all talking about our days at the dinner table. Now he says it so frequently that Brian teases him by saying, "Lukey guess what? I went to Katy's school today!"


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David is sweet, wild, and so proud of his accomplishments. Teachers from the elementary school came to do a home visit because he is entering kindergarten. They brought some early reader books, the most basic level, and sat down with David to read them. To my surprise, he was able to read them! He was SO proud of himself - reading those books over and over to anyone who would listen over the next several days. Recently he's also been proud of learning to pump his legs on the swing and follow instructions to put together Lego sets.

He also gets so excited about things and does them passionately for several days. Currently he's on a watch kick. He's wearing his watch 24 hours a day, constantly reporting to me what time it is, checking to make sure that it matches the other clocks in the house, etc. We watched the Kentucky Derby this year, and when it was over both boys disappeared into the playroom. Brian said, "Watch, they are going in there to get play horses so they can play horse race." Bingo.

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I think Anna might be my best smiler baby. Every time you look at her, she smiles. And lately she has started laughing to, especially when she's tickled or when someone else laughs.  I also think (knock on some wood, will ya?) that she's been overall my best sleeper (after a rough start the first couple of weeks). The others have all had major setbacks in sleeping when they had to be taken out of their swaddlers. But she? First night out of it, she slept straight through, and she still isn't rolling over, so that's sleeping on her back! God bless that little thumb of hers - such a great comforting tool. I LOVE my finger-sucking children! So at this point, she's going to bed sometime between 7 and 9pm (I wish it were more consistent, but it varies based on naps) and getting up one time to eat most nights. But I can rock her for a few minutes and lay her down awake and she goes to sleep without crying (I really can't leave the other 3 kids unattended to rock her for 20 minutes anyway). Naps are all over the place, but I know that's normal for her age. Usually there's one long one in her crib at some point during the day.

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I asked Katy if she wanted to get her ears pierced for her birthday, and I could tell she really wanted to, but she was afraid of the pain.  On her birthday, she opened a box of earrings from us and looked confused. I said, "Have you ever heard of clip-on earrings?" She was beaming. My favorites are these little cherries. I totally had a pair of cherry earrings when I was little.

First grade has brought with it so many "big girl" types of things. She got exposed to Taylor Swift during the school talent show and came home and borrowed the CD from Aunt Mel. At first I cringed at the thought, but then after listening together for awhile, I can jam with Taylor. She's not a bad first exposure to pop culture. Even the boys know the words to some of the songs.

I've also been so pleased at how she has made some really nice friends through school, several of whom live close by. I remember being disappointed at the beginning of the year that all the kids/families that we knew from last year seemed to be in different classes. But I didn't realize that 2 really nice families had moved in over the summer and another one with TWIN girls lived right around the corner and I never knew it. Now...the challenge is that Katy desperately wants to play with friends pretty much every hour of every day. She begs and begs me to set up playdates. And I do, but setting up one or two a week is about as much as I can handle. That leave 5-6 other days that she's begging and crying and begging for playmates. It would be ideal if some of these girls lived across the street or in the backyard so that she could just run and knock on their door to see if they want to come out. But we don't have that. We've had a lot of conversations about deciding to be happy on days when we can't have friends over. Deciding not to base your happiness on whether you have playmates. We've made lists of all the fun things you can do without a friend. I'm a little worried about long summer hours ahead. But I'm hoping she'll get better with practice? I really think this is the way she's wired, though. I try to make it a priority to sit down and play games with her, but those other 3 kids require constant attention, too... lately I have noticed that she is really upset for awhile, but then she rallies and figures out something to do. So let's hope she can hone that skill this summer.

I'm proud of how she came through this one. She's gotten into reading chapter books at bedtime. I keep telling her that she is always welcome to read if she ever can't find something to do. She also kept saying that everyone (exaggeration) has some kind of device (iPod touch, Kindle fire, DS, etc.) and she reeeealllly wanted one for her birthday. I reeeaaaallly didn't want to give her some kind of gaming device that would just cause more battles for screen time, etc etc. Then Opa asked about giving her a Nook Simple eReader. It's just an eReader - no games, no apps, no access to the internet (and you can get books from the library). Just for reading books, but it's a device. She and I talked about how reading is healthy and playing too many video games isn't healthy for your mind. I told her that there were eReaders that were just for reading books. Two days before her birthday, she said, "I decided that I don't want a device with games on it because it isn't healthy for my brain. When I go to so and so's house, they play games for a really long time." Oma and Opa gave her a Nook Simple, and she's thrilled with it.  I know we'll be revisiting the electronics thing over and over and over again through the years, but I'm happy with the way this one played out for now.

This got long...especially all the big girl issues. Those are the ones I'm working through for the first time so it takes a lot of my brain space. Thanks for reading...

May is the new December

I keep thinking that we're just really busy right now, and it will lighten up soon. But then I had a thought the other day: what if this is just how it is with 4 kids? What if this is the new normal?

I've been saving any extended computer time lately for finishing my OT coursework. I finished (!) and actually learned quite a bit of interesting stuff. I do enjoy the information. Moving news...as of Mother's Day weekend - my mom and Greg are all moved in with their belongings and Greg is an Ohio resident too. Still lots of unpacking and finishing work being done, but things are settling down. Also...Melanie is planning to move out in a few weeks and move in with 2 close friends of hers. She'll be about 13 minutes away. We will miss her terribly, both for her company and for her assistance around this house. 

Let's see...how about just a photo dump...

I attended a zoo fieldtrip with Katy's entire first grade. We were assigned to groups and Katy had 2 of her best little buddies in her group, so she had a blast. I really must get around to asking permission to post photos from all these new school friends because it really limits what I can post these days.

Brian ran the Cap City half marathon with his friend Brandon. He and his wife Melanie came to visit the weekend of the race and it was great to catch up with them. We just barely missed seeing them cross the finish line (it's so much harder than you think it is to navigate downtown around the race pushing/dragging 4 kids), but there was a great after-party down there. (And Brian went home and shaved afterward. He knows that made me very happy. :)

David "graduated" from preschool. He really had fantastic teachers this year and had a very positive preschool experience. It was sad for me, not only because it's the end of that era for him, but also because I don't think we're going back to that preschool for logistical reasons. And the staff there have loved on my 2 older kids for 4 years, so we will miss it.

Such a great dad, my husband.

The kids love this statue of Jesus on the preschool grounds. I always feel a little disrespectful letting them climb on Jesus like that, but ironically, that's exactly the point of the story (and the statue), right? Let the little children come to me, He said. 

 

This is my favorite thing to receive on Mother's Day.  A few of the best ones are: "My mom makes the best...brown beof strognof."{ground beef stroganof} "My mom's favorite TV show is...weel of forche." {Wheel of Fortune. Not really.} "My mom's favorite store is...Oldi." {Aldi. The girl knows me.} "My mom always...loves me."

Our Girl Scout troop had its' end-of-year party at Build-a-Bear. They got a bear with a Brownie uniform! Matching troop number and everything! My co-leader Wendy and I about choked on the pricetag, but they loved it and they sold so many cookies that we could afford it.

Anna is 4 months old! She is such a happy girl...lots and lots of smiles.

I'm glad that I have this "before" picture of the red rash all over her face (which was also all over her body). The dr. gave us his "magic creme" and it was gone in 24 hours. I couldn't believe it! And I'm so excited that when I nuzzle her little cheek, it's soft and smooth again instead of scaly and rough.

For Katy's birthday, instead of a friend party, I told her that she could invite a couple of friends to go and do something fun. She chose the butterfly exhibit at the conservatory, and we got ice cream afterward. The girls had a blast - and Katy was THRILLED when this first butterfly was willing to climb onto her finger. She kept gasping - it was so fun.

Anna looks huge here, but she's not! At 4 month check, she weighed 12 pounds, 13 ounces (20%'ile), and was 25" (70%'ile).

This little leaf blower is so easy to use, Brian literally gives it to Luke as his "job" to clear the driveway. He runs around with it like it's a very important job.

Seven years old! How did this happen?!?!

Her request: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob (she was born on the wrong side of the Mason Dixon Line). And for her cake: chocolate with chocolate icing, "no characters." I wonder if she has realized that when you get a character cake, the icing is always white that has been colored, and it doesn't taste as good as straight up chocolate.

It's been several years since all 6 grandparents were in the same place at the same time, but the stars aligned this year for Katy's birthday. We had a nice time celebrating together and of course, had to capture a photo.

And one with each set of grandparents with the FOUR kids. Grammy and Papa John...

Grandpa and Grandma Sue...

And our new (almost) neighbors...Oma and Opa.

We are so fortunate to have so much loving family around. And to have so much life going on. It really is a good thing. Maybe June will be a little more relaxing?

A little bit cray cray

Holy cow, things have been busy here.

(Ha! I wrote that first line 3 days ago and it's been sitting there all lonesome ever since. Case in point.)

I don't even know where to start.

*Back on April 12th, Mom and Greg closed on their house (did I mention that it's ONE mile away? Amazing.).  Greg is still working back in Pittsburgh and trying to sell their house (original contract fell through), so he's gone during the week. Brian is playing a big role at the new house, fixing up as much as he can and helping my mom hire out the rest, spending many of his non-work hours over there getting things arranged. I spent some time over there painting this weekend - it was a nice change of pace. The end result will be awesome - having Oma and Opa close by (as well as the house will look great), but in the meantime it's a lot of work.

*Sometime during that week, I hurt my back and was in a lot of pain for several days. It was a combination of wearing the Baby Bjorn and helping Luke on the potty and I felt something pop. Things are much better now, but it made for a challenging week, and I'm still trying to fit in some appointments to see my dear friend Kate's family practice of chiropractors.

*Speaking of Luke on the potty, one day last week he decided he was done with the plastic potty (which he previously refused to use anything but) and wanted to use the big potty. He's been doing really well with it lately. It's been 5 months since we started...is it possible we're close to being done?

*There's lots of end-of-year stuff going on for school, Girl Scouts, and church (MOPS, AWANA). Can you believe that David's last day of preschool (ever!) is next Thursday?! Oh, man...letting that sink in. Katy's done a couple weeks after that.

*I took this picture of Anna when she turned 3 months, and now the poor baby is approaching 4 months before I get around to posting it. She is super sweet, lots of smiles, nice temperament. We think she rolled over yesterday, although none of us actually witnessed it, she was just suddenly on her tummy when we hadn't put her there. She's sleeping in the pack n' play (still in our room) because she outgrew the bassinet. (Aunt Mel is trying to decide if she might move out sometime soon, so we're holding off on moving Luke...it's easier this way). She's hit that stage where she wants to be rocked to sleep and put down in her crib. Both of which are difficult with 3 older kids. So I'm up and down the stairs a lot, fighting with her to nap/stay asleep/get up to pick someone up from school/go back to sleep/stay swaddled/try it without swaddling, etc etc. It's exhausting, but I know it's a stage.  Oh, and I think she has eczema, so I'm trying to increase her bath frequency to use the special cream to lock in the moisture.

*In lieu of soccer this spring (thank the good Lord we aren't doing soccer! that would have sent me over the edge), Katy and David are doing a once a week rock climbing class at the rec center. They both really like it - Katy passed levels one and two on the first try and has been working on level 3 for a couple of weeks. David is getting almost halfway up level one these days, which is progress for him, and he's proud of himself for this accomplishment. He's working hard.

*Last weekend, we took a break from the house stuff and took a girls' weekend to Pittsburgh. Katy, Anna, and I drove over (with Greg's daughter Mary) and we all stayed in a hotel, which is Katy's Disney world. The purpose of the trip was to attend a Victorian Tea where my mom received an award in recognition of all the volunteer work she has done for Sojourner House over the last 5 years. It was a great honor to be there for her, and to hear about all the great work that the organization does. I didn't fully understand until I saw it for myself. Oh, and you were supposed to wear "your favorite spring hat."

Katy won "best hat" for our table. She borrowed this from her friend Rachel.

Greg (Opa) and his daughter Mary

For obvious reasons, I had to borrow a hat from my mom.

So proud of Oma! She has given hours upon hours to the cause!

*Our Girl Scout troop bridged up from Daisies to Brownies. We had a beautiful night at the park for our ceremony and the girls were SO excited to receive their new sash and officially become brownies. 

One of the moms (more creative than I) made these brownies.

Skipping across the bridge as a brand new Brownie!

*Both kids have fieldtrips this week. I'm still working on my OT coursework. Brian's doing a half marathon this weekend and we have friends coming to visit. David's getting over strep throat and I think he has seasonal allergies. I could go on, but you get the idea. "Jerry, you are hanging on by a very thin thread. And I DIG that about you!"