first day of swim lessons

T figured out how to ride a two wheeled bike tonight for family home evening.  H has been riding his bike down our driveway for a couple of weeks but not with his feet on the pedals.  But now he has got it!  I sent J off to chase him and W on their bikes around the trails while E and I threw rocks in the water.  Suited everyone pretty well I think!

They had their first day of swim lessons.  They did much better at it than I would have guessed, considering all the nightly fights of water anywhere near T's head.  W said she really liked that teacher because she made it so fun for her to learn.  She did!

The teacher commented that she noticed how they feed off of each other to get better.  So having school together in the same class could be good.  W is good at following directions and reminding T what to do.  She is also a little bit more brave with jumping in the water and swimming to the deep end.  T was good at reminded W what to do after she reminded him a few times to stay on task.  He was also telling the teacher all sorts of things that she really doesn't know about nor needs to know about, but since she asked his name, he thought she would want to know.

I'm just glad T got in the water because all day he was telling me about how kitties don't like water and he is a kitty.  You mean, you don't like water on any part of your head and you don't want to blow bubbles in the water.

Yeah.  The other kid in their class is 3, almost 4.  He has had lots more swim lessons, but today he started off the first day of this cycle by jumping in the water near the teacher without any floaties at all.  Right.  Not my kids.  Hopefully him being brave will rub off. 

During swim lesson time, E and I get lots of one on one.  We played trains and putting the trains in toys that are meant to have balls to roll down slides, but we had fun!  I guess he was having so much fun that he couldn't settle down to take a nap today, even though he was in the car for 30 minutes.

We had good dentist appointments.  Well, at least better than last year.  W only has 2 cavities this time.  I think I'm going to ask for sealants for her baby teeth.  She also has broken off almost all of her fillings somehow.  The dentist says he thinks she grinds her teeth.  Most likely.

J got them Crayola crayon toothpaste.  They love to brush their teeth with it lots.  They also decided to brush this stuffed animals teeth with it too.  Now it looks like the stuffed animal has grey teeth because all the colors are mixed together.

I can't keep up with E cuteness.  There are sooooo many pictures I wish I could get on film.  He went to the park and ran from one end of the big kid playground to the other including running across the bridge without even pausing. 

There was also a cute pic of him poking his head through the kitchen window at the pool play area.  And of course just listening to him add a word a day to his vocabulary. 

He doesn't like new clothes.  Whenever I put something on for the first time he throws a huge fit.  He didn't like flip flops the first time I put them on.  Same with his swim suit.  He informed me it was too tight. 

I figured out E's accent.  He says the letter a in front of almost all of his words in a sentence.

W and T learned about cowboys at preschool.  They came home with a wanted poster.  They had bars drawn over the face.  They said they drew it that way because then it looked like the bad guy was already caught.  One bad guy had a beard.  They both had ugly faces.  One bad guy had a mushroom in his jail cell. I asked W what that was about. She said it was bad mushroom.  Hahahaha!  There is a mushroom stuffed animal that E calls bad mushroom.  I guess that's it's name.

E loves to be a ghostie.  He asked me to cover him up at night by saying ghostie.

E picked W a dandelion for the first time tonight.  She loved it. 

T told me the other day that he needed to remember to tell Papa thank you for his legos.  I asked him why he wanted to say thank you.  He said it is so Papa knows how much he likes legos so that he will get T some more the "next Christmas".   We had a discussion about liking the toys we have.  W pointed that she had the same problem because she just wants more and more my little ponies like T wants legos and it "must be a kid problem.  I told her it is an adult problem too, to want more stuff. 

I guess T must have also overheard me say "Is it Christmas every time I leave?"  Because they get new toys every time I'm gone for the weekend.



I came back to find that W had pink pony legos and T had built a tractor. 

First swim lessons

E feasting on the gold fish diet while I was gone

Cute E

E playing ghostie

E reading the how things work book on the race car page

This week is the week of the countdown to Easter!!!


T in the tree

 

 

middle of march

I feel a bit out of it in that I have taken two continuing education courses two weekends in a row after the weekend of being gone with my hubby on his trip.  So I only know mid week stuff.  But here are few basics.

Cute E

The hyacinth bloomed.  W loves the smell of them.  She is laying on the ground sniffing them sideways.  The flag is up to protect them from getting trampled

E trying to copy the big kids doing the splits

He lost his balance

The big kids doing splits

Shortly after they learned to climb the tree.  W remembered that climbers wear helmets

We went for a stroll in the gardens.  J caught a great action shot of W jumping from rock to rock

 

This is T's work.  One day for some reason, he decided to really work hard on art in school.  This was a lot of work and he skipped free time

W has started cutting things out to "make them more real"  They play with these paper objects she creates like toys

E helping me with the dishes now.  He is fairly good at doing this

Cute T

Cute W

There is a pic of W drawing on the summer bench.  This is what she drew.  A pine needle falling from the sky

The birds and cats around here are getting huge

All three playing together.  W was blowing bubbles for E and over the truck.  The truck was getting a wash in the "car wash"  E was permitted to stay and watch

E walked a long way holding on to Papa's hand. 

W and T by a bush I like

On a suspension bridge

T taking a rest from running across the bridge tons of times.  Still likes a good mommy snuggle when tired

All three at the end of walking around at the gardens

A pic of T giving me a flower.  I want to remember when T wanted to give me flowers so much

They figured out how to climb the tree.  The big kids, not E, although E did make an attempt to climb the smaller tree.  This means that any free play time has essentially consisted of pretending to be cats, birds or bugs in the tree.  After standing below the tree for three days certain they were going to break their necks, I feel like they have gotten down some good motor skills and balance down.  But it still freaks me out.  I told my hubby our first broken bone has got to be somewhere around the corner.

I let them, though, because I have so many fond memories of tree climbing myself.  I also remember feeling more sure footed in a tree because bark can give much better traction than playground metal or plastic.  Hopefully that is true.  And no friends are allowed up there with them.  They haven't wanted to play with friends this week.....

The other thing is having lots of papa time.  I'm not certain of minute by minute happenings with Papa, but I know one of them was learning to climb the tree.  Another one is told to me by Ethan.

I know they have had access to lots of good food at the bar, not the table together.  E climbed up on the bar stool Monday morning and started listing off all the stuff he wanted to eat.  Goldfish, pizza, strawberries, milk, grapes, etc.  I must admit it is really cute.  But he has been eating very little comparatively speaking this week.  I'm not sure if it is because he has had so many more calories than he is used to and just isn't too hungry or if he is trying to hold out for stuff he knows he likes better. 

While the kids are in the tree I've been doing some yardwork.  W found me some "girl weeds!"  They are flowering right now before going to seed.  I thought that was pretty cute of her.

We also did get a little family time going to the local gardens.  Ended up being beautiful after a week of some really heavy (needed) rains. 

W had her first hair cut at a salon.  She was smiling the entire time.  Well.  I know what she will be spending her babysitting money on.

We have a week of really exciting stuff.  A visit to the dentist.  They like it.  I am wondering how this is going to be because I'm testing to see how their hygiene habits are.  And the first day of swim lessons!!!  Can't wait.  Spring equinox is here and ready to be celebrated.

Grandma again!!!!!

Exhausted from playing so wild.  This is what I came home to.  Happy kids!

1 of 2 pics taken while Grandma was here.  She had her hands full.  Too hard to think of pics

The other pic from Grandma being here.  W was so kind to let her brothers ride up here together. 

Purple blossoms!  I knew W would love them

The bunches are not mistletoe.  They are all butterflies!

"My family"

"me"

I love how well my hubby takes flower pics

I didn't realize the monarchs had polka dotted bodies.  Even cooler

Grandma got to come back to play about a month after leaving.  J invited me last minute to join him on a trip, so I called my mom to see if she could come stay with them.  She did!  Here are a few memories told by her and the kids.

First memory was the dishwasher bubbling over.  W was super helpful to Grandma and offered to start the dishwasher for her.  Except W hasn't done it before and just grabbed the closest dishwasher soap.  It was the regular soap.  So of course you know what happened.  Bubbles oozing out everywhere!  The story is told a little different by everyone.  Grandma says E came around the corner and said "Oh my goodness!  Bubbles!".  Sounds like him.  T says Grandma said "what is this on my feet?  Oh!  Bubbles" and that he slipped on the bubbles in his kitty fur (he likes to call his fuzzy blanket kitty fur).  W didn't say much.  I think she felt a little bad.  But they all thought it was funny!!  Mina said she would have been mad about it.  They were late to preschool, but for a funny reason!

This memory is told my mom.  Mina set off the smoke alarm with burnt toast in her kitchen area.  Neither my mom or Mina could get the off button to work or how to get the battery out, so my mom put it in her freezer for the night.  When I got home, we tried it out and sure enough.  The off button doesn't work.  You reset it by taking the battery out.  Whatever.  Got everyone's attention.  My mom must have told several people that story with the kids around because they told me about it, too. 

Some other adventures that the kids didn't really tell me about include going shopping with Grandma and getting spoiled for sure.  W has new shoes, a shirt and a new dress.  Haven't seen those around before!

They played in the water in the driveway a ton.  My mom mentioned it but the kids haven't.  I think it is because they know it is too early in the season for swim suits and water, but they did it anyway.  It has taken me a week to untrain them again.

I know they planted a bunch of plants because I have all my pots revamped and beautified as well as a few other plants in my garden.  Can't complain about that! 

They told me they went to play with some friends.  I guess they got to go on a hike to a park with them.  I was surprised that T wanted to go play with them because the other boy is 1 1/2 years older than T, but they must get along well if T wanted to play with him.  Good to know!

Church was a great success.  The teacher must have done a great job teaching about repentance.  W wanted to leave her repentance band aid on for 2 days and T gave the repentance lesson in FHE

No one has mentioned what they ate, but all the food I prepared is pretty much all still in the fridge or the freezer.  I guess my mom and the kids both don't like my cooking and need a change.  Good to know for next time.  I know they got some blueberries with breakfast one morning.  There was a ton of super creamy mac and cheese with non wheat noodles left over in the fridge.  I also know they got some frozen yogurt because they have new stuffed animal bears they got from the store.  One of the young women I work with let them take something from the treasure box because she knows them.  Surprisingly the pudding and ice cream is also still in the fridge.

My mom said she only took a couple of pics.  No surprise there!  I don't have many pics because I know that I'm mostly not hands free.  I get it!

But hey!  They had a blast!  They were super happy kids when we came home.

We spent a ton of time investigating how things were in the city and surrounding areas.  I told my hubby I wanted to go on a hike while we were there.  So he planned extra hard to bring me to a place to hike.  And he wanted to surprise me that there would be tons of butterflies!  It is the last month of them being there in Mexico before they move north again, so it was really fun.  And I've never seen them all bunched together.  I think my favorite part was being able to listen to them fly.  Sounded like the wind.  That would have never happened if we had driven straight there. 

We took a detour.  We didn't think it was a detour, but it was.  Oh well.  Signs are not as plentiful or similar as to what we are used to.  Finally found the sign spray painted on a wall behind some trees at an intersection.  But we got there right at the end to be the last people up for the day.

And of course we ate lots of good delicious food. 

Ummmmm.... February just went by. I think it went that way

W drawing while looking at stuff outside

Pony wars start up again.  T and W did this in memory of Papa doing it to W one day.  They thought it was so funny

I am remembering now how I didn't really get stuff done until the oldest were around 3.  And I remember now why that was.  constant non stop cuteness on the move.

But before some of the adventures.  E talks so well.  It still continues to amaze me.   Here are a tiny few of the phrases he says repeatedly.  "arriba!  abajo!". "good morning". "no more donuts". All in context.

T loves to change E's diaper.  Wants to do all diaper changes.  And now E has started saying "Thank you Tucky!"

E loves songs.  He really likes the 5 little monkeys.  The CD we have has a version of it that says 1 little mommy jumping on the bed.... no more mommys jumping on the bed.  E loves to say no more mommys jumping on the bed.  At random.

His favorite songs also include ABC and Brother John.  I often hear him singing those phrases.

He points out what he sees around town.  He likes to point out tractors, bus (school) and city bus.  He actually says city bus and tractors.

All this cuteness involves constant attention.  He is getting more maniac as we speak.  I think I have days left of crib time.  I can tell he is physically strong enough and tall enough to crawl out.  I think the only reason he hasn't done it yet is because he doesn't like sudden movements still.  So suddenly flipping over to get out is a bit much for him.  I make sure he always has socks or footed pjs on when I put him in there.  I think it makes a difference in his bravery.

But he does plenty of other stuff.

He loves chapstick and I am constantly taking away chapstick from him.

He loves to play in the water and goes and turns the sink on after he has pushed the stool over and climbed up on the counter.

He always wants to watch, meaning pulling the bar stool over to whatever I'm cooking to watch.   Wants to stir things in, work the toaster and the blender, open and shut the microwave, and open egg cartons to get eggs out.  The eggs got out all right.  Right on the floor.

I've had my bath poops twice so far with this child.

What kills me is that I am usually right next to him with him doing all this crazy stuff.  It happens so fast!  I can't imagine what could happen with little or no supervision.

One morning I went to wake up little E.  He said "hey!" and pulled the covers over his head again.

He has a spot during scripture time.  He wants to sit on the couch.  With his blanket.  And he can't be helped up.  He has to get up himself.  He cries my spot my spot.if someone takes the spot.  Then he grabs the scriptures and starts flipping the pages.

Around December W put her name on her door to label her room.  A few days later T thought he would put a label on his door.  It is his address.  His address is about 30 numbers long.  E noticed it and points to it saying address.

T and W like to play "bashing buffers".  This means they take the outdoor furniture couch cushions I have stored inside and run, slamming into my legs that has a buffer inside of it.  These cushions are pretty long.  They are the size of a couch cushion, just lighter.  And E does the same thing just like the other kids. 

T and W continue to make up play games left and right.  They buried some treasure (toys of theirs) in the yard and pretended the trailer was the pirate ship with the neighbor boys.

They played pretend primary.  They set up their stuffed animals on top of the lego bin stack as the podium and had them give talks and prayers.  This was shortly after W gave her first talk.  They repeated the talk she gave about moses over and over.   They also told the wild kids to be reverent.

W was pretty nervous about giving her first talk.  She didn't want to at all.  I think the reason was knowing what to say.  T told her not to worry.

A few days later W had the stomach flu for a bit.  I had her in the bathroom sleeping on the floor once she was able to get back to sleep.  T kept checking on her.  When she woke up he went in their.  I asked him why he went in even though she was sick.  He said because he wanted to keep her company.  And she wanted the company!!  Good thing she was done throwing up because there went my quarantine.  It was so cute how he wanted to care for her.

Look!  Summer!  Not really.  It was cold but they insisted it was warm enough to be in short sleeves

It's pics like these that remind me that this is just a crazy time of life.  Look at how many small kids there are in the pic!  But it is just me and my friend Emi with our kids.  It didn't seem hard at all, but lots of fun

Kai looked away that silly.  But we got one of W

E was jumping from step to step and having a blast, but it looks more like he is celebrating the end of church.  I have to agree some days.  Such a workout

T spends hours and hours in this place.  It is where he builds legos

All of them were running up and down this hill.  it was great! 

All three kids at the fountain

T posing for his pic with the daffodils.  This is how he wanted his pic

W with her daffodil pic

They climb even better now.  Tops of playgrounds are the new goal.  Waiting for the broken bone visit

E looking out at the water

E is very very happy to be eating in Papa's lap instead of in a high chair.  He was quite the good little kid in this place

At the park.  E was banished from the hill

Everyone working on planting trees

T pulling Rickie and plants to the spot they needed to be.  He loved the wagon this day

T got a watch for him.  And one for Whitney.  He loves his watch.  It is waterproof.  He also tells me I have plenty of time or don't have time to do various activities.  He submerged it in the bath because it is so waterproof.  It isn't water proof.  But Papa fixed it by putting it in rice so all is good again.

The heater broke.  The fan motor went out again.  Probably.  We use the heater 10 months out of the year.  Gets more use than others.  J figured this out and went to get the park with T.  Then they put it in together.  That was the best thing J could ever do with T.  He was so in heaven working with Papa on fixing something mechanical.  E was very interested too.

T has been making "semi trucks" with mega blocks.  One time E wrecked one of these creations.  I was so proud of T.  Instead of getting mad, he paused and said "that's ok! Good thing I like building!"  That only happened once, but I'm still glad he said that.  The rest of the time he gets really sad or yells or hits E.  The usual.

We have an annual tree planting activity in our church congregation.  When they announced it at church, W got really excited and told me she wanted to go.  I was surprised she remembered it and was glad she wanted to go.  When we got there she chowed down on donuts and then said she was ready to go home, that she didn't want to stay and help.  Hahaha!  I remember now.  At church they had announced that donuts would be served.  It's ok W.  I went for the treats for a lot of years.  T loved the treats and wagon.  He loaded plants and pulled them around on the wagon a bunch!

The other day W was trying to cut something on her plate and started using her spoon because she was having more success.  She exclaimed, "look!  I'm eating like a Thai person!"

We went on a hike during mid winter break.  Kind of like spring break so those of us living under constant clouds can get out and see some sun elsewhere.  But this year the sun has been shining much too much for these plants.  It has been beautiful!  So we had a great time on our hike with Milli.  Good to have fun with friends!