May 8-22

It seems I have a lot of Gretchen updates this week.  They will make up for the fact that I generally have little to report about our poor, neglected middle child.  To begin, she had a checkup recently so I know that she weighs 34 pounds and is 38 inches tall.  She was willing to follow all the doctor's directions and was relieved to learn that she would not be receiving a shot.

You know the part in The Little Mermaid where Ariel has to sing for Ursula as she trades her voice for legs?  Somehow that scene made such a big impression that the "wah wah wah" song is now background music for every change that Gretchen's dolls make.  Anna turns into Elsa, Sofia becomes a mermaid, Rapunzel changes her clothes...  Gretchen holds the character up in the air and sings "wah wah wah, wah wah wah, wah wah wah, wah wah wah..."  Judging from the amount of time she spends singing, we've decided that some changes are more difficult than others.  Gretchen's sense of pitch isn't particularly well developed yet, so the resulting incantation is quite exciting.  She does let her pitch rise somewhat incrementally, but when she hits the top of her range she just continues singing yelling a monotone "wah wah wah."

Gretchen cannot stand still.  She is constantly fidgeting, even walking in large circles around the living room while she and Olivia discuss who is going to play which part in their games.  She does moderately better at sitting still, but even then is prone to constant readjustments.

Gretchen has a method for choosing things: When asked to make a choice, she says, "um, whichever one I touch."  Then she wobbles back and forth between her decisions saying, "I touch...  I touch..." before finally picking something.

"Powers" are a physically visible thing in our house.  This is a result of two barbies that we have who came with accessories meant to represent their superpowers.  Elsa has an ice clump that shoots from her hand and a superhero has a splash of purple magic.  Now when Olivia and Gretchen play, they say things like "I take my powers off.  I give my powers to you."

Kaitlyn has a few things she says, but the most common ones recently are "no", "stop it", and "don't do that".  The last one is admittedly a stretch, but that's what her babbling sounds like and the meaning is clear.  This must be what it's like to grow up with two older sisters.  Sorry, Jacque.  :)

The biggest house news this week is our new driveway.  We had a company come out and cover our loose stones with asphalt.  Our driveway is now wonderfully paved and smooth so that the girls can ride bikes and cars won't get stuck in the winter.

My snapkins got mentioned in an online article recently, which was pretty exciting.

This weekend we are in Michigan to attend Jillian's graduation and visit with family.

Pictures and Videos

Vimeo Videos (password BarhorstBrewed):
Jump!
More Cup Stacking (I'm not sure you've seen the first part of this video yet...)
The Refrigerator Box 1
The Refrigerator Box 2
Kaitlyn's Bathtime

Pictures:
This is what happens when you give a one-year-old a piece of ice cream cake:

Our driveway, in the process of being improved:

Kaitlyn loved watching the trucks:

Hot and tired girlies, just after spending a day at the zoo: