This post is already late and I'm writing it on my phone, which is an obnoxiously slow process, so it's going to be brief.
Kaitlyn has a couple of new teeth. One top tooth poked through early last week and the other followed quickly. She's up to four now.
Gretchen loves to copy everything Olivia says and does. I find myself regularly testing to see if our house actually has a previously unnoticed echo, but always come to the conclusion that the only echo we have sounds suspiciously like Olivia's every word proceeding forth from Gretchen's mouth.
Olivia had a check up on Tuesday. She weighs 40.4 pounds and is 42 inches tall. Stubbornly shy as always, she refused to show the doctor any tricks (walking on her tip toes, hopping on one foot, etc), even when asked. She WAS the cutest little picture of bravery as she went with barely concealed trepidation into the hallway (alone with the nurse) to be weighed and measured.
After two days of driving, we are now spending the week in Florida with my grandparents and my dad's whole family. Next week's post may also be late due to traveling back north to face the cold once more.
One Video:
22 November 2015
15 November 2015
November 8-15
Playtime around here has become very scripted. Olivia is the writer, director, and producer of everything, and Gretchen is the aspiring actor. Large chunks of playtime are dictated, and Gretchen does her best to accurately copy the words and emotions. Bryan and I are less obliging, but that doesn't keep Olivia from trying to sneakily influence us by giving multiple options with slightly different wording.
We had to have a chat this week about how "if it's on the floor, it's Kaitlyn's toy." One traumatic morning in the playroom seemed to be enough to drive this lesson home, and since then most of the big girl toys have been kept either in the cage or above crawling level and put away at the end of the day. Perhaps we can keep the "put away" part going? Happily for everyone, Kaitlyn's movement preceded her pincer grip, so she doesn't have the dexterity to either pick up or eat small objects she might find. She gets close enough to cause the older girls to panic, though, so by the time her motor skills improve they should be properly trained in keeping small things out of reach. In the meantime, I can leave her unattended in the playroom and she will happily amuse herself with baby toys for quite some time.
Earlier this fall, we bought some fruit trees to plant in our backyard. They arrived on Friday and Bryan planted them yesterday. We won't see any fruit for 3-5 years, but when that time comes we are excited to have pears, apricots, plums, and cherries. :)
Pictures and Videos:
We had to have a chat this week about how "if it's on the floor, it's Kaitlyn's toy." One traumatic morning in the playroom seemed to be enough to drive this lesson home, and since then most of the big girl toys have been kept either in the cage or above crawling level and put away at the end of the day. Perhaps we can keep the "put away" part going? Happily for everyone, Kaitlyn's movement preceded her pincer grip, so she doesn't have the dexterity to either pick up or eat small objects she might find. She gets close enough to cause the older girls to panic, though, so by the time her motor skills improve they should be properly trained in keeping small things out of reach. In the meantime, I can leave her unattended in the playroom and she will happily amuse herself with baby toys for quite some time.
Earlier this fall, we bought some fruit trees to plant in our backyard. They arrived on Friday and Bryan planted them yesterday. We won't see any fruit for 3-5 years, but when that time comes we are excited to have pears, apricots, plums, and cherries. :)
Pictures and Videos:
11 November 2015
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 7
Gretchen: Mom. Mommy.
Me: What's up, Gretch?
Gretchen: Don't say "what's up, Gretch," say "what do you need, Gretchen."
Gretchen: Sleeping Beauty touched the spinning wheel and died into a deep sleep.
Olivia, running out of the room: I'm going to touch the boat!
Olivia: Are you married?
Jacque: No.
Olivia: When are you going to get married?
Jacque: When the good Lord sees fit.
Gretchen: When are you going to die?
Olivia: I will be the princess and you can save me from the dragon. And if it gets me, you can cover me with bandaids! Okay, go out there!
Gideon: If I go out there, the dragon will get me.
Olivia: No, the dragon is running away because he thinks you are a monster. You have to go chase him to tell him you are not a monster.
Gideon: Okay! *runs out of the playroom and sprints through the kitchen, yelling* I have to chase the dragon to tell him I am not the monster!
Gideon, returning calmly to the playroom: I killed the dragon.
Olivia, dramatically: Thank you!
Olivia: Did my daddy die?
Me: No, your daddy didn't die.
Olivia: He is just at work?
Me: Yes, he's just at work.
Opa: What was the other option?
Me: Death.
Olivia: When mommy and daddy die then I will be lonely.
James: You won't be lonely because you'll be married.
Gretchen: We will marry you because you're a boy.
Olivia: I won't marry you, I'm going to marry Gideon.
**In the weeks since the above conversation took place, Olivia has also considered marrying Isaiah. She is currently thinking that she doesn't want to get married at all.
Opa: What does Olivia call you?
Gretchen: Don't know.
Olivia: Kiki.
Gretchen: Olivia calls -- LOLLY calls me Kiki.
Olivia: Is Gretchen a human?
Me: Yes, she's a human. Are you a human?
Olivia: No.
Me: What are you?
Olivia: A frog. Ribbit.
08 November 2015
November 1-8
We had some excitement this week: our friends the Hodges had a new baby and we were a third of their babysitting plan. The baby made her big arrival on Monday night, so Isaiah stayed with us Monday through Wednesday before going back to his house. Due to juggling of schedules and babysitting duties, Isaiah was not the only spare child running around the house. When everything started on Monday, Presbytera (who happens to be the grandmother of all the extra children) brought the (two) Creighton boys and a couple pans of lasagna over while she went to pick up the (three) Hodges boys. All five boys (and Presbytera) stayed for dinner and then she took two Hodges to stay with the Weys. The Creighton boys were picked up by their mother an hour or so later, and I put Isaiah and the girls to bed. (Are you following all of this?) The next morning, I was already supposed to be watching the (two) Wey boys, and the Weys were two-thirds of the aforementioned babysitting plan, meaning I was possibly getting four extra kids (in addition to Isaiah) for the morning. Presbytera took the youngest, though, so I only got two Weys and one more Hodges. Four hours later, Elesha (Wey) came and picked up ALL the children that didn't belong to me and took them to the hospital to see the baby. The girls and I ran out and got flu shots and then came back in time to receive Isaiah again. Wednesday there were no extra extras, and we did our normal errands with a spare child, but otherwise uneventfully. Isaiah went home just before dinner, but then we picked up the Wey boys and their father so that they could eat with us before Seekers' Group that night. After Seekers', everyone went home and our family was back to its normal size. :)
A note about the flu shots that I mentioned in the previous paragraph: Kaitlyn got a shot. Gretchen got a mist, about which she was immensely relieved. There was a moment of panic when the receptionist told us that mists were only for those three and up, but the nurse said that two year olds with no asthma symptoms could also receive the mist. Panic is probably not the best word to use there. Olivia was gleefully pointing out (repeatedly) that Gretchen had to get a shot, and Gretchen was resolutely insisting that she only wanted a mist, thank you very much. Olivia's disappointment when Gretchen did not have to suffer through a shot (the way Olivia had earlier) was almost palpable.
I had orchestra this week, so Bryan was in charge of putting the girls to bed most nights. I'm always hopeful that a week of Daddy doing bedtime will get Kaitlyn is used to putting herself to sleep and result in her sleeping through the night. Friday night was a success in that department, so we'll see if it sticks.
Bryan likes to pick up the girls and ask for a big kiss and a big hug. Olivia almost always starts negotiating, "no, a little kiss and a little hug." Once the terms have been agreed upon, exactly one kiss and one hug are imparted. Gretchen, on the other hand, will give Bryan a kiss and then proceed to kiss every identifiable part of his face, usually while naming them out loud. Eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, ears, forehead, chin, beard (the last two are always separate but get kissed in the same spot).
Kaitlyn has two more talents that I haven't mentioned yet: clapping her feet and waving. Neither of these is new this week, but I keep forgetting about them. I'm not sure if the foot clapping is just a baby thing or if it's a result of me absentmindedly patting her feet together when she sits on my lap. She's quite good at it, though, and practices frequently. The waving she does less as a wave and more to mean "I want that." My mom discovered this the day we visited. Mom was eating a sandwich and Kaitlyn was opening and closing her hand. When mom waved back, Kaitlyn stopped. When mom held out the sandwich, Kaitlyn began waving again. I've since noticed Kaitlyn waving at toys and at the dinner table.
A unique thing I forgot last week:
Olivia and Gretchen use the word "ask" to mean both "ask" and "tell." I'm going to ask Daddy that I got a shot today.
Pictures and Videos:
A note about the flu shots that I mentioned in the previous paragraph: Kaitlyn got a shot. Gretchen got a mist, about which she was immensely relieved. There was a moment of panic when the receptionist told us that mists were only for those three and up, but the nurse said that two year olds with no asthma symptoms could also receive the mist. Panic is probably not the best word to use there. Olivia was gleefully pointing out (repeatedly) that Gretchen had to get a shot, and Gretchen was resolutely insisting that she only wanted a mist, thank you very much. Olivia's disappointment when Gretchen did not have to suffer through a shot (the way Olivia had earlier) was almost palpable.
I had orchestra this week, so Bryan was in charge of putting the girls to bed most nights. I'm always hopeful that a week of Daddy doing bedtime will get Kaitlyn is used to putting herself to sleep and result in her sleeping through the night. Friday night was a success in that department, so we'll see if it sticks.
Bryan likes to pick up the girls and ask for a big kiss and a big hug. Olivia almost always starts negotiating, "no, a little kiss and a little hug." Once the terms have been agreed upon, exactly one kiss and one hug are imparted. Gretchen, on the other hand, will give Bryan a kiss and then proceed to kiss every identifiable part of his face, usually while naming them out loud. Eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, ears, forehead, chin, beard (the last two are always separate but get kissed in the same spot).
Kaitlyn has two more talents that I haven't mentioned yet: clapping her feet and waving. Neither of these is new this week, but I keep forgetting about them. I'm not sure if the foot clapping is just a baby thing or if it's a result of me absentmindedly patting her feet together when she sits on my lap. She's quite good at it, though, and practices frequently. The waving she does less as a wave and more to mean "I want that." My mom discovered this the day we visited. Mom was eating a sandwich and Kaitlyn was opening and closing her hand. When mom waved back, Kaitlyn stopped. When mom held out the sandwich, Kaitlyn began waving again. I've since noticed Kaitlyn waving at toys and at the dinner table.
A unique thing I forgot last week:
Olivia and Gretchen use the word "ask" to mean both "ask" and "tell." I'm going to ask Daddy that I got a shot today.
Pictures and Videos:
01 November 2015
October 25-November 1
We came back from Sidney Monday night, beating Jacque by a matter of minutes. She was coming back from Michigan with a van load of stuff for the basement. On Tuesday she drove the empty van back and then returned Wednesday with Mom, Donna, and two more vanloads. The girls and I took her back to Michigan on Friday, spending the day hanging out at the house and visiting Mom, Dad (briefly back from California), James, Jillian, Josef, Jacob, and Donna.
Thursday night was trick-or-treating and Saturday was a Halloween party, so the girls got to dress up twice. Olivia was a mermaid and recovered nicely from her initial disappointment that resulted when she discovered that I merely constructed a mermaid tail skirt rather than turning her legs into an actual mermaid tail. Gretchen wore the witch costume that was Olivia's two years ago, and Kaitlyn took her turn as a lion. I found a wonderful zebra robe at Wal-Mart so that I could carry Kaitlyn around in a sling and pretend she was a mighty hunter on the Serengeti.
Kaitlyn is very talented lately. This list covers several weeks of recent accomplishments. She sits well enough that I no longer worry about leaving her alone on hardwood floors. She's trying to crawl and can successfully get up on her hands and knees. Her progress in this area has slowed recently since I've been putting her down sitting rather than on her stomach. However, she has managed to discover that she has forward movement, although it's still only effective if the desired object is no more than six inches away. Anything beyond that is insurmountably far.She eats varied purees and small bits of soft foods. She knows the sound "pbbbt," and especially likes practicing it during meals. She tries to help put clothes on. Her arms are actually pretty useful, but her leg and head movements are more of a hindrance than a help.
Unique things the older girls still say:
Strapen - verb, to tighten the strap on a carseat - Mom! You forgot to strapen me!
Skatings - noun, roller skates - She has purple skatings.
Unbutton me up - phrase meaning "button me"
Mines - possessive - That's yours and this is mines.
Pictures:
Thursday night was trick-or-treating and Saturday was a Halloween party, so the girls got to dress up twice. Olivia was a mermaid and recovered nicely from her initial disappointment that resulted when she discovered that I merely constructed a mermaid tail skirt rather than turning her legs into an actual mermaid tail. Gretchen wore the witch costume that was Olivia's two years ago, and Kaitlyn took her turn as a lion. I found a wonderful zebra robe at Wal-Mart so that I could carry Kaitlyn around in a sling and pretend she was a mighty hunter on the Serengeti.
Kaitlyn is very talented lately. This list covers several weeks of recent accomplishments. She sits well enough that I no longer worry about leaving her alone on hardwood floors. She's trying to crawl and can successfully get up on her hands and knees. Her progress in this area has slowed recently since I've been putting her down sitting rather than on her stomach. However, she has managed to discover that she has forward movement, although it's still only effective if the desired object is no more than six inches away. Anything beyond that is insurmountably far.She eats varied purees and small bits of soft foods. She knows the sound "pbbbt," and especially likes practicing it during meals. She tries to help put clothes on. Her arms are actually pretty useful, but her leg and head movements are more of a hindrance than a help.
Unique things the older girls still say:
Strapen - verb, to tighten the strap on a carseat - Mom! You forgot to strapen me!
Skatings - noun, roller skates - She has purple skatings.
Unbutton me up - phrase meaning "button me"
Mines - possessive - That's yours and this is mines.
Pictures:
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