Kaitlyn's one-year check up was Tuesday. She's 21 pounds, 10 ounces, and 29.75 inches tall. The doctor speculated that perhaps Kaitlyn had been wiggling during the length measurement since her weight has been holding steady at 75% but her height has been swinging from 60%-80%. Otherwise all is normal. :) Kaitlyn is the exact same size as Olivia at the same age (if we give her a quarter inch of wiggle room). Gretchen was a tad thinner.
Olivia and Gretchen both walked late (14 months), but once they started taking steps they were walking and didn't really go back to crawling. Kaitlyn takes a few steps here and there every day, but has decided that crawling is faster and safer most of the time.
Kaitlyn has a fake "everyone else is laughing so I should, too" laugh. I believe the video was in last week's post.
For everyone hoping for the baby news they know is coming at any moment... there isn't any. :-D
When Kaitlyn gives hugs, she pats the huggee's back (or, more accurately, shoulder). It's pretty cute, and when she started doing it I remembered that Gretchen used to do the same thing. It was cute then, too.
All three girls lean in for forehead kisses. If I say, "give me a kiss," they'll run their foreheads into my mouth. Olivia still does that even now. Gretchen is the least likely to do it, opting instead for a real kiss, but I know she used to do it. Kaitlyn will sometimes lean in so forcefully that she's in danger of chipping teeth (mine, not hers).
Kaitlyn is ... wait for it ... sleeping in her crib! In her room! With her sisters! This development comes after three months of sleeping in a pack and play in the oratory that is connected to our room. She also spent about a week sleeping in the pack and play in the old workroom, during which time she also finally conquered sleeping all the way through the night! There's a very happy mama over here. No regressing now, Kaitlyn.
Gretchen "reads" several books. We have 24 books that come with an electronic reader that reads them aloud. It's pretty much the 2016 equivalent of books on tape. Olivia and Gretchen love all the books and read them to themselves before bed almost every night. Both of them quote large portions of the books throughout the day, but Gretchen took it a step further by "reading" the Cinderella book that she got from the library. Note that the book from the library is about 50 times longer than the one with the reader.
Most people needing to go to the bathroom will simply excuse themselves, walk to the bathroom, and take care of their business. Not Gretchen. When Gretchen needs to go to the bathroom, she immediately runs to tell me (despite the fact that she was playing less than five feet from her bathroom, the one with a step and potty seat already set up). Then she runs in increasingly frantic circles around the house -- to the bathroom, to me, to the living room for no apparent reason, to me, to the bathroom, through the playroom, back to the living room, to me, to the bathroom, into the playroom again -- until I either physically put her on the potty or she pees on the floor. "Well Johannah," I hear you saying, "just take her to the bathroom when she first tells you and the problem would be solved." That would be a fantastic idea, except that she tells me when I'm nursing Kaitlyn, or trying not to burn dinner, or changing a diaper. This in addition to the fact that she doesn't actually NEED my help. Most of the time she doesn't even want me to help her, she just wants someone to watch while she does it herself. Also, I'm trying to encourage her to take care of things herself. Because she CAN. She's doing better lately, for which I am grateful.
The end of last week was spent at a homeschooling conference. We haven't decided one way or the other about homeschooling vs regular schooling, so Bryan and I are both trying to be open minded. I'm heavily in favor of homeschooling, he's more interested in a traditional school experience. Regardless, this conference has many different kinds of talks and we went with friends (and without children), so it was fun. We learned a lot about various things and Bryan said he'd even go back again, especially if I let him walk across the street to get a beer when he needs a break to think about things. :)
Pictures:
10 April 2016
03 April 2016
March 27-April 3
I have found recently that I have little time for blog updates. Sorry about the lateness of, well, ALL of them.
This week's quick synopsis:
Kaitlyn turned one! Sunday's weather was beautiful and warm, so we took the cake outside and shesmashed daintily picked at it while a crowd of admirers looked on. Bryan says the cake destroying is getting better with each subsequent child, but he thinks there is still plenty of room for improvement. Kaitlyn did not have to worry about being able to blow out her own candle (she can't) because several of the gathered children blew it out before her cake got to her tray.
Kaitlyn's cake was entirely fast friendly. I have a good vegan chocolate cake recipe if anyone wants or needs it. WE need it, because I've just discovered that we only have one birthday that is not during a fasting period, and that one (Gretchen's) still falls during Lent about half the time.
Jillian, Jacque, and I went to a 2Cellos concert on Monday night. It was a lot of fun, although noisier than I thought necessary. I might be turning into an old fuddy duddy.
On Tuesday the girls and I took Jillian back to Michigan. We ate lunch on Oma and Opa's old porch while Jillian sorted stuffed animals for the trip back to my house. Then we dropped Jillian off at her current residence, visited the guys at Lube Cube (because the van needed an oil change), and were back on our way home.
On Wednesday we all traveled to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Bryan and I were attending the homeschooling conference in Cincinnati over the weekend. Kaitlyn got Grandma all to herself for a few days and Olivia and Gretchen had a two day sleepover with the Kleins.
Pictures and Videos:
This week's quick synopsis:
Kaitlyn turned one! Sunday's weather was beautiful and warm, so we took the cake outside and she
Kaitlyn's cake was entirely fast friendly. I have a good vegan chocolate cake recipe if anyone wants or needs it. WE need it, because I've just discovered that we only have one birthday that is not during a fasting period, and that one (Gretchen's) still falls during Lent about half the time.
Jillian, Jacque, and I went to a 2Cellos concert on Monday night. It was a lot of fun, although noisier than I thought necessary. I might be turning into an old fuddy duddy.
On Tuesday the girls and I took Jillian back to Michigan. We ate lunch on Oma and Opa's old porch while Jillian sorted stuffed animals for the trip back to my house. Then we dropped Jillian off at her current residence, visited the guys at Lube Cube (because the van needed an oil change), and were back on our way home.
On Wednesday we all traveled to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Bryan and I were attending the homeschooling conference in Cincinnati over the weekend. Kaitlyn got Grandma all to herself for a few days and Olivia and Gretchen had a two day sleepover with the Kleins.
Pictures and Videos:
27 March 2016
March 20-27
Though I haven't written an actual on time post in a while, there are a few bonus posts that have gone up recently, so make sure you catch Sound Bites 10 and March 6-20 Words. Also, if you're a reader who usually gets an email, you could have missed several months of posts due to a Blogger issue that appears to be last on the list of things they're going to fix (ever).
First, a confession: We did not fill out March Madness brackets this year. It was something of a tradition for us to have even the kids fill out brackets (you may recall the detailed process of Olivia's first bracket), but we've gradually lost hold of the tradition and this year didn't even notice that our chance had come and gone until it was too late. Oh well.
Sunday was our bi-monthly trip to La Comedia. We saw Fiddler on the Roof and it was sadly underwhelming. The poor singers just could not keep up with the pre-recorded music. If there's one thing I don't like about La Comedia, it's their lack of live musicians. It doesn't usually bother me much, but it was especially obvious in this show. That aside, Fiddler is a great show and we enjoyed ourselves. We spent the night in Sidney and then drove back home Monday at lunchtime.
Tuesday was spent making pierogis with people from church. None of us had ever made them before, but they're not too hard. We made several large batches and froze them so that we can use them throughout Lent.
On Wednesday I packed the girls into the car and took them to JCPenney to get Kaitlyn's one-year pictures. Here's a link where you can go look at them. At some point I should figure out how to put them right in my blog, but that's a project for another day. Olivia and Gretchen were incredibly patient, and Kaitlyn decided she'd rather walk than stand still. The photographer got some good shots, though, and now Kaitlyn can join the gallery on our wall. :)
Thursday was rainy and gross, but that didn't stop us from driving up to Michigan to pick up Jillian. She's on Easter break and decided to come hang out in Ohio for some of her time off. Jacob also came down later in the evening, and I was only a little bit sad about the communication failure that resulted in me fetching Jillian rather than Jacob bringing her.
Friday morning was Liturgy (for Annunciation) and it sounded like I'd brought my own choir to church with me. :) Shortly after we got home the Kleins arrived for a playdate. Two hours later brought Jacque to visit as well. We all hung out and had a good time until the Kleins had to leave, and then it was off to the Weys for our newly established recurring game night. We brought Jacque, Jacob, and Jillian with us, ate chili and kale salad, put the girls to bed upstairs, and played games. All three girls did well going to sleep at not-their-house and the transfer to the car and then to their own beds later in the night went smoothly, so we should be able to do this again. :)
Saturday was a rather busy lazy day. Bryan and Jillian ran to the store for fruit leather ingredients and we got the dehydrator started. Bryan did a lot of dishes and then weeded my raspberry patch. He reports that at least two of the plants are alive. He also noticed that four of our seven trees have green buds on them! I popped some beans in the pressure cooker (which is becoming less terrifying the more I use it) and when they were done Jillian and I went shopping for dinner ingredients and dress fabric. Sarah met us at JoAnn to hold my hand while I picked out material for the girls' Pascha dresses and Jillian helped me finalize decisions after Sarah left. I now have all the things I need to make what should be incredible cute dresses. :)
Today is Kaitlyn's birthday and we're having cake made with a Lenten recipe I just discovered. We'll have her smash a small one and hopefully someone will remember to take pictures...
Pictures:
First, a confession: We did not fill out March Madness brackets this year. It was something of a tradition for us to have even the kids fill out brackets (you may recall the detailed process of Olivia's first bracket), but we've gradually lost hold of the tradition and this year didn't even notice that our chance had come and gone until it was too late. Oh well.
Sunday was our bi-monthly trip to La Comedia. We saw Fiddler on the Roof and it was sadly underwhelming. The poor singers just could not keep up with the pre-recorded music. If there's one thing I don't like about La Comedia, it's their lack of live musicians. It doesn't usually bother me much, but it was especially obvious in this show. That aside, Fiddler is a great show and we enjoyed ourselves. We spent the night in Sidney and then drove back home Monday at lunchtime.
Tuesday was spent making pierogis with people from church. None of us had ever made them before, but they're not too hard. We made several large batches and froze them so that we can use them throughout Lent.
On Wednesday I packed the girls into the car and took them to JCPenney to get Kaitlyn's one-year pictures. Here's a link where you can go look at them. At some point I should figure out how to put them right in my blog, but that's a project for another day. Olivia and Gretchen were incredibly patient, and Kaitlyn decided she'd rather walk than stand still. The photographer got some good shots, though, and now Kaitlyn can join the gallery on our wall. :)
Thursday was rainy and gross, but that didn't stop us from driving up to Michigan to pick up Jillian. She's on Easter break and decided to come hang out in Ohio for some of her time off. Jacob also came down later in the evening, and I was only a little bit sad about the communication failure that resulted in me fetching Jillian rather than Jacob bringing her.
Friday morning was Liturgy (for Annunciation) and it sounded like I'd brought my own choir to church with me. :) Shortly after we got home the Kleins arrived for a playdate. Two hours later brought Jacque to visit as well. We all hung out and had a good time until the Kleins had to leave, and then it was off to the Weys for our newly established recurring game night. We brought Jacque, Jacob, and Jillian with us, ate chili and kale salad, put the girls to bed upstairs, and played games. All three girls did well going to sleep at not-their-house and the transfer to the car and then to their own beds later in the night went smoothly, so we should be able to do this again. :)
Saturday was a rather busy lazy day. Bryan and Jillian ran to the store for fruit leather ingredients and we got the dehydrator started. Bryan did a lot of dishes and then weeded my raspberry patch. He reports that at least two of the plants are alive. He also noticed that four of our seven trees have green buds on them! I popped some beans in the pressure cooker (which is becoming less terrifying the more I use it) and when they were done Jillian and I went shopping for dinner ingredients and dress fabric. Sarah met us at JoAnn to hold my hand while I picked out material for the girls' Pascha dresses and Jillian helped me finalize decisions after Sarah left. I now have all the things I need to make what should be incredible cute dresses. :)
Today is Kaitlyn's birthday and we're having cake made with a Lenten recipe I just discovered. We'll have her smash a small one and hopefully someone will remember to take pictures...
Pictures:
23 March 2016
Bonus Post: March 6-20 Words
Dear readers, I do still write posts. I intend to keep writing posts. And I feel silly making a bonus post to cover my normal posts that I haven't written in several weeks. However. Life has been busy and my blog got pushed to the back burner. So there you have it.
Way back at the beginning of March, we had our card club. Several months ago I printed out scorecards so that we wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel every time we played. The scorecards came with goofy names on them (Peanuts characters, pet names for a significant other, kinds of wine, etc), so I told Bryan to pick a theme. We ended up playing as 80s rock bands and then had the brilliant idea of making a playlist with songs by only those bands. If you made a loner called while your band was playing, you won a prize. No one succeeded, but it was a fun gimmick anyway, so we'll probably use it again. Bryan has already created the next playlist.
On March 6 we went to two open schools (whenever I call them open houses I get questions about moving...) to see what they were like. They were about what I expected from Catholic schools, although preschool has gotten more rigorous in the last 25 years. Olivia actually misses the Ohio cutoff by two days, so we have another year to figure out what's going on with kindergarten.
We visited the Kleins on March 8 and I seem to recall being able to spend quite a bit of time outside because the weather was so gorgeous. Olivia tried out Eva's two-wheeler (with training wheels) but had trouble making it move. I think she mostly wanted to ride so that she could wear the helmet. :)
I spent the next few days practicing for orchestra, which is something I rarely do. I'd been told I was sitting second chair for the upcoming concert, though, and I figured that was grounds to at least look at the music ahead of time. Happily for me, I ended up being third chair, where I am much more comfortable. Our concert was all Star Wars music, and we even got to perform three pieces from the newest movie. The new music became available on Tuesday morning, the conductor ordered it immediately, it was delivered on Thursday, and we saw it for the first time at rehearsal on Friday, so it was all very exciting.
The concert was on the day Daylight Savings began (or ended? I never know which half of the year is the savings half). There was a baptism at church in the morning, which meant liturgy ran long. Then the evening was the beginning of Orthodox Lent, so we headed back to church for vespers. My concert was sandwiched nicely in between all of the busyness.
The beginning of Lent is always church-heavy and this year was no exception. Bryan had to be in Springfield on Monday and Tuesday, so the girls and I got a ride to church for services those two days. Wednesday we all went together, Thursday I went alone (and it was wonderfully peaceful), and Friday I took the girls by myself again and we made it halfway through the service before we gave up and came home. :/ After the first week it gets less intense and there's only an extra service on Wednesday evenings.
Other happenings from these past two weeks:
-The girls didn't really participate in the time change since they were going to bed late because of all the evening services. They're still not quite fixed even now.
-We had some new people over for dinner one night. I met Ruth at orchestra and she and her husband and their two-year-old daughter visited.
-Voting happened on Tuesday the 15th, and somehow Bryan and I both managed to make it despite the fact that he and our car were in Springfield for most of the day.
-Women's group was dedicated to exchanging Lenten recipes, so I have a bunch of new dinner ideas to try. My goal this Lent is to create a full meal plan that I can just pull out on Cheesefare Sunday every year so that I don't even have to think about what to have for dinner during Lent.
-My peas outgrew the laundry room and got booted outside. I covered them with plastic to protect them from the wind and cold (and bunnies), but I think it also protected them from the sun because they started wilting and don't look too happy right now. I've since removed their cover, deciding that they'll just have to brave the weather in order to benefit from the sun and rain.
-Kaitlyn took her first steps. I suppose this should be a paragraph in its own right, especially since she's our earliest walker by at least two months. The monumental event happened on Saturday, March 19, and we managed to get it on video (I'll post that another time). Since those first steps she's been braver, but still finds it faster and safer to crawl.
Way back at the beginning of March, we had our card club. Several months ago I printed out scorecards so that we wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel every time we played. The scorecards came with goofy names on them (Peanuts characters, pet names for a significant other, kinds of wine, etc), so I told Bryan to pick a theme. We ended up playing as 80s rock bands and then had the brilliant idea of making a playlist with songs by only those bands. If you made a loner called while your band was playing, you won a prize. No one succeeded, but it was a fun gimmick anyway, so we'll probably use it again. Bryan has already created the next playlist.
On March 6 we went to two open schools (whenever I call them open houses I get questions about moving...) to see what they were like. They were about what I expected from Catholic schools, although preschool has gotten more rigorous in the last 25 years. Olivia actually misses the Ohio cutoff by two days, so we have another year to figure out what's going on with kindergarten.
We visited the Kleins on March 8 and I seem to recall being able to spend quite a bit of time outside because the weather was so gorgeous. Olivia tried out Eva's two-wheeler (with training wheels) but had trouble making it move. I think she mostly wanted to ride so that she could wear the helmet. :)
I spent the next few days practicing for orchestra, which is something I rarely do. I'd been told I was sitting second chair for the upcoming concert, though, and I figured that was grounds to at least look at the music ahead of time. Happily for me, I ended up being third chair, where I am much more comfortable. Our concert was all Star Wars music, and we even got to perform three pieces from the newest movie. The new music became available on Tuesday morning, the conductor ordered it immediately, it was delivered on Thursday, and we saw it for the first time at rehearsal on Friday, so it was all very exciting.
The concert was on the day Daylight Savings began (or ended? I never know which half of the year is the savings half). There was a baptism at church in the morning, which meant liturgy ran long. Then the evening was the beginning of Orthodox Lent, so we headed back to church for vespers. My concert was sandwiched nicely in between all of the busyness.
The beginning of Lent is always church-heavy and this year was no exception. Bryan had to be in Springfield on Monday and Tuesday, so the girls and I got a ride to church for services those two days. Wednesday we all went together, Thursday I went alone (and it was wonderfully peaceful), and Friday I took the girls by myself again and we made it halfway through the service before we gave up and came home. :/ After the first week it gets less intense and there's only an extra service on Wednesday evenings.
Other happenings from these past two weeks:
-The girls didn't really participate in the time change since they were going to bed late because of all the evening services. They're still not quite fixed even now.
-We had some new people over for dinner one night. I met Ruth at orchestra and she and her husband and their two-year-old daughter visited.
-Voting happened on Tuesday the 15th, and somehow Bryan and I both managed to make it despite the fact that he and our car were in Springfield for most of the day.
-Women's group was dedicated to exchanging Lenten recipes, so I have a bunch of new dinner ideas to try. My goal this Lent is to create a full meal plan that I can just pull out on Cheesefare Sunday every year so that I don't even have to think about what to have for dinner during Lent.
-My peas outgrew the laundry room and got booted outside. I covered them with plastic to protect them from the wind and cold (and bunnies), but I think it also protected them from the sun because they started wilting and don't look too happy right now. I've since removed their cover, deciding that they'll just have to brave the weather in order to benefit from the sun and rain.
-Kaitlyn took her first steps. I suppose this should be a paragraph in its own right, especially since she's our earliest walker by at least two months. The monumental event happened on Saturday, March 19, and we managed to get it on video (I'll post that another time). Since those first steps she's been braver, but still finds it faster and safer to crawl.
20 March 2016
09 March 2016
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 10
Olivia: Oh, how delightful!
Gretchen: Mom, I found something very amazing!
Olivia: Where are you going, Gretchen?
Gretchen: Um, to buy some gas station.
Bryan, to Olivia: You can have bread or vegetables. Which one would you like?
Olivia: Well that is a dumb question.
Gretchen: Daddy goes to work and you go to the store!
Me: What are you girls playing?
Gretchen: Just boi boi.
Me: What's boi boi?
Gretchen: Boys come and take us to their house.
Me: And then what?
Gretchen: I look out my window and in my bed... I say, "what are they doing," Olivia says, "I don't know"...
Gretchen: What is this?
Me: That's beer.
Gretchen: To get Daddy more beard?
Bryan: Yes, that's my beard juice. Whenever I need more beard, I just drink beer.
Gretchen: How does the fly and Tuesday song go?
Me: The fly and Tuesday song? I'm not sure I know that one.
Olivia: *to the tune of "Addams Family"* There's Friday and there's Tuesday...
Olivia: Can I pick first?
Me: Yes. You are the picker firster at lunch.
Gretchen: And I am the picker seconder!
Gretchen, standing right next to the dishwasher during its heated dry cycle: I am standing next to here to keep my ear warm.
Me: Gretchen, do you need help?
Gretchen: No, I was just panicking.
This conversation came after we visited two open houses for preschool. One school had cookies prominently displayed and available for snacking.
Me: What did you think of the schools?
Olivia: They were good, but I wanted to look around more in the other school for cookies.
Me: Yeah, we did not try very hard to find cookies in the second school. Which one did you like better?
Olivia: I like schools with cookies.
And two old quotes that I found jotted down when cleaning the car--
Olivia: We've been here for miles.
Olivia: My belly is not feeling good. How about I watch cartoons while I wait for it to feel better?
Gretchen: Mom, I found something very amazing!
Olivia: Where are you going, Gretchen?
Gretchen: Um, to buy some gas station.
Bryan, to Olivia: You can have bread or vegetables. Which one would you like?
Olivia: Well that is a dumb question.
Gretchen: Daddy goes to work and you go to the store!
Me: What are you girls playing?
Gretchen: Just boi boi.
Me: What's boi boi?
Gretchen: Boys come and take us to their house.
Me: And then what?
Gretchen: I look out my window and in my bed... I say, "what are they doing," Olivia says, "I don't know"...
Gretchen: What is this?
Me: That's beer.
Gretchen: To get Daddy more beard?
Bryan: Yes, that's my beard juice. Whenever I need more beard, I just drink beer.
Gretchen: How does the fly and Tuesday song go?
Me: The fly and Tuesday song? I'm not sure I know that one.
Olivia: *to the tune of "Addams Family"* There's Friday and there's Tuesday...
Olivia: Can I pick first?
Me: Yes. You are the picker firster at lunch.
Gretchen: And I am the picker seconder!
Gretchen, standing right next to the dishwasher during its heated dry cycle: I am standing next to here to keep my ear warm.
Me: Gretchen, do you need help?
Gretchen: No, I was just panicking.
This conversation came after we visited two open houses for preschool. One school had cookies prominently displayed and available for snacking.
Me: What did you think of the schools?
Olivia: They were good, but I wanted to look around more in the other school for cookies.
Me: Yeah, we did not try very hard to find cookies in the second school. Which one did you like better?
Olivia: I like schools with cookies.
And two old quotes that I found jotted down when cleaning the car--
Olivia: We've been here for miles.
Olivia: My belly is not feeling good. How about I watch cartoons while I wait for it to feel better?
06 March 2016
February 21-March 6
Gretchen can spell her name. She does not recognize any of the letters, but she can recite them in order. She can also recite Olivia's name, and she recognizes the O.
I ordered a bound version of my 2015 blog posts, but I mis-remembered the settings I used for the first four books and got small pictures instead of medium ones. :/ I am still deciding for sure if it bothers me enough to order another copy, but 75% of the time I think that I'll probably get a new one. Is anyone interested in a bound copy of my 2015 blog in the event that I do reorder? I've got a spare...
Since the new year, I've been working on instilling new habits. They're not really resolutions, especially since I've been adding them one at a time as I think of them, but the timing was convenient. I started by making sure the table was clear and the floor was swept after dinner each night. Two weeks ago, we had friends over for dinner and Sarah helped wash dishes while I was putting Kaitlyn to bed. I decided at that moment that I would take the base zero kitchen as an opportunity to create a good habit. I'm happy to report that every night since that one my dishes have been done before I've gone to bed. I spent a week sending pictures to Sarah as proof. I also told Justine about this project, and she began keeping her kitchen clean, too, so we send each other pictures of our clean counters, usually with some short commentary on the evening. :) Next project, conquer the laundry.
Another habit I'm working on is more complete dinners. It started as a joke with Bryan because he grew up with many sides and I grew up with complete meals in one dish (otherwise known as casseroles and stews). On and off throughout our marriage he's made fun of me for how I never really serve a true meal because there are no sides. Apparently I serve appetizers. Or snacks. So now he's getting two sides (most nights). AND a salad if I'm really on top of things. It's not as consistent as my clean counters yet, but I'd say I'm putting "real" meals on the table five nights out of the week. The goal, of course, is to make this an automatic thing, too. :)
I've started my garden. In my laundry room. I decided in January that I wasn't ready to start my own seeds indoors yet, but then I realized that next year (when I am ready) I'll probably have a newborn. Then February came and brought with it beautiful weather and I got antsy to be growing things, so the laundry room garden was born. I started broccoli seeds that I saved from my plants last year, but they didn't really take so I'll be starting some seeds from packets soon. I also planted 21 peas (in the box that Shar used to mail my newly rehaired bow!) and 13 are up and growing beautifully.
We visited Bryan's cousin, Amanda, and her family in Toledo last Friday. Her son, Dawson, is two months younger than Kaitlyn. We visited that evening, stayed overnight, and then drove back to our house after breakfast on Saturday. Apparently Dawson likes Mickey Mouse, so Olivia and Gretchen played with Mickey Mouse toys and watched Mickey Mouse cartoons. Bryan and I have been singing "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog..." all week.
Jacque's show in Dayton wrapped up last Sunday night, so she came to our house on Monday to reorganize her things before heading back to Chicago. She and I figured out the recording system and did eight psalms before she left. We also left all the recording equipment set up so that next time we don't have to mess with anything and can just start working right away. I might get to cross number two off my list yet.
Also on Monday, I managed to injure my foot in what can only be described as a fantastic display of grace and poise. I may take after my mother. It all started because I wanted something from the top shelf in my pantry... I pulled a folding chair (not one that collapses; one of the safe ones) over to the pantry and hopped up quickly, as I am wont to do when needing something that is out of my reach. This particular time, however, I must have hopped up too close to the front of the chair, because I managed to flip the chair over. I banged my right elbow, my right thigh, and the inside of my left foot on... things... as I came down. I'm pretty sure the door frame got my elbow and thigh, but I'm afraid I will never be certain what pulverized my foot. My best guess is the cardboard box of potatoes. Anyway, I immediately put my shoe on and tied it to provide some sort of compression and then, the pain having diminished somewhat, continued with my day. An hour later I couldn't stand anymore, and my foot was beginning to swell. I elevated it slightly, tied ice around it, and (of course) called my mother to ask if it might be broken. After a series of very scientific questions, guesses, and experiments, we decided it was NOT broken, and that I'd just crushed the soft tissues of the instep. As I write this, it's been almost a week and my foot feels fine except when prodded, but no bruise has appeared yet.
Ricky dropped in for a surprise visit on his way to Fort Wayne this past Wednesday. He got here around ten and hung out with us until 5ish on Thursday. Bryan and Ricky and I played several games of Dominion, Ricky and I talked books, and Ricky ground two hoppers full of wheat for me (breaking his previous record with a 13:54) and built all of our megablocks into a tower that touched the ceiling.
Bryan took the older two girls to Chuck E Cheese for dinner on Thursday night. Apparently they had a fabulous time running around and eating pizza. When they came home, Gretchen demonstrated the Chuck E Cheese dance for me (reminder to self: get said dance on video). Every time Olivia talks about this magical experience she puts her hands on the side of her face and opens her eyes wide with a look of dreamy excitement (note to readers: follow that link; it provides a remarkably accurate portrayal of Olivia's Chuck E Cheese look)(reminder to self: try to get a picture of the face, too). Also worth noting from the Chuck E Cheese expedition is this text that I received from Bryan: "Olivia almost died of happiness over whack a mole, but I can't get a picture because she's awful and keeps asking for help."
Also, my taxes are done. Neener neener?
I've been remiss about posting videos, so some of this week's videos are several months old. There should be another sizable batch of videos later this month as I continue to process the backlog.
Pictures and Videos:
I ordered a bound version of my 2015 blog posts, but I mis-remembered the settings I used for the first four books and got small pictures instead of medium ones. :/ I am still deciding for sure if it bothers me enough to order another copy, but 75% of the time I think that I'll probably get a new one. Is anyone interested in a bound copy of my 2015 blog in the event that I do reorder? I've got a spare...
Since the new year, I've been working on instilling new habits. They're not really resolutions, especially since I've been adding them one at a time as I think of them, but the timing was convenient. I started by making sure the table was clear and the floor was swept after dinner each night. Two weeks ago, we had friends over for dinner and Sarah helped wash dishes while I was putting Kaitlyn to bed. I decided at that moment that I would take the base zero kitchen as an opportunity to create a good habit. I'm happy to report that every night since that one my dishes have been done before I've gone to bed. I spent a week sending pictures to Sarah as proof. I also told Justine about this project, and she began keeping her kitchen clean, too, so we send each other pictures of our clean counters, usually with some short commentary on the evening. :) Next project, conquer the laundry.
Another habit I'm working on is more complete dinners. It started as a joke with Bryan because he grew up with many sides and I grew up with complete meals in one dish (otherwise known as casseroles and stews). On and off throughout our marriage he's made fun of me for how I never really serve a true meal because there are no sides. Apparently I serve appetizers. Or snacks. So now he's getting two sides (most nights). AND a salad if I'm really on top of things. It's not as consistent as my clean counters yet, but I'd say I'm putting "real" meals on the table five nights out of the week. The goal, of course, is to make this an automatic thing, too. :)
I've started my garden. In my laundry room. I decided in January that I wasn't ready to start my own seeds indoors yet, but then I realized that next year (when I am ready) I'll probably have a newborn. Then February came and brought with it beautiful weather and I got antsy to be growing things, so the laundry room garden was born. I started broccoli seeds that I saved from my plants last year, but they didn't really take so I'll be starting some seeds from packets soon. I also planted 21 peas (in the box that Shar used to mail my newly rehaired bow!) and 13 are up and growing beautifully.
We visited Bryan's cousin, Amanda, and her family in Toledo last Friday. Her son, Dawson, is two months younger than Kaitlyn. We visited that evening, stayed overnight, and then drove back to our house after breakfast on Saturday. Apparently Dawson likes Mickey Mouse, so Olivia and Gretchen played with Mickey Mouse toys and watched Mickey Mouse cartoons. Bryan and I have been singing "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog..." all week.
Jacque's show in Dayton wrapped up last Sunday night, so she came to our house on Monday to reorganize her things before heading back to Chicago. She and I figured out the recording system and did eight psalms before she left. We also left all the recording equipment set up so that next time we don't have to mess with anything and can just start working right away. I might get to cross number two off my list yet.
Also on Monday, I managed to injure my foot in what can only be described as a fantastic display of grace and poise. I may take after my mother. It all started because I wanted something from the top shelf in my pantry... I pulled a folding chair (not one that collapses; one of the safe ones) over to the pantry and hopped up quickly, as I am wont to do when needing something that is out of my reach. This particular time, however, I must have hopped up too close to the front of the chair, because I managed to flip the chair over. I banged my right elbow, my right thigh, and the inside of my left foot on... things... as I came down. I'm pretty sure the door frame got my elbow and thigh, but I'm afraid I will never be certain what pulverized my foot. My best guess is the cardboard box of potatoes. Anyway, I immediately put my shoe on and tied it to provide some sort of compression and then, the pain having diminished somewhat, continued with my day. An hour later I couldn't stand anymore, and my foot was beginning to swell. I elevated it slightly, tied ice around it, and (of course) called my mother to ask if it might be broken. After a series of very scientific questions, guesses, and experiments, we decided it was NOT broken, and that I'd just crushed the soft tissues of the instep. As I write this, it's been almost a week and my foot feels fine except when prodded, but no bruise has appeared yet.
Ricky dropped in for a surprise visit on his way to Fort Wayne this past Wednesday. He got here around ten and hung out with us until 5ish on Thursday. Bryan and Ricky and I played several games of Dominion, Ricky and I talked books, and Ricky ground two hoppers full of wheat for me (breaking his previous record with a 13:54) and built all of our megablocks into a tower that touched the ceiling.
Bryan took the older two girls to Chuck E Cheese for dinner on Thursday night. Apparently they had a fabulous time running around and eating pizza. When they came home, Gretchen demonstrated the Chuck E Cheese dance for me (reminder to self: get said dance on video). Every time Olivia talks about this magical experience she puts her hands on the side of her face and opens her eyes wide with a look of dreamy excitement (note to readers: follow that link; it provides a remarkably accurate portrayal of Olivia's Chuck E Cheese look)(reminder to self: try to get a picture of the face, too). Also worth noting from the Chuck E Cheese expedition is this text that I received from Bryan: "Olivia almost died of happiness over whack a mole, but I can't get a picture because she's awful and keeps asking for help."
Also, my taxes are done. Neener neener?
I've been remiss about posting videos, so some of this week's videos are several months old. There should be another sizable batch of videos later this month as I continue to process the backlog.
Pictures and Videos:
21 February 2016
February 14-21
There's a story Mom and Justine like to tell about some social readiness (or was it school readiness?) quiz that was given to me when I was four. As an experiment, the same quiz was given to two-year-old Justine. The questions posed different problems and challenged us to provide a solution for each one. Justine's answers were varied and thought out: "I'd give it to Mom, she can fix anything!", "I would crawl around the tree to get the ball.", etc. Having had two two-year-olds now, I do wonder if her answers were as complete and understandable as we've been led to believe. Regardless, the gist is clear. My answers for each question were all identical: "I would cry." There has been some debate about whether those answers were more due to my personality or my age. I tell you all of this to reflect on the current behavior of my own four-year-old. I'm not sure Olivia would admit that her solution to every problem in her life would be to cry (do I get retroactive points for honesty?), but she does burst into tears an alarming number of times each day over seemingly insignificant obstacles. Gretchen closed the door (Olivia was already out and besides, she knows how to open it). Kaitlyn took a toy (that Olivia was not playing with at the time). Mom told her to eat another bite of carrot even though she already ate three bites (okay, maybe that's worth crying about). You get the point. My one consolation is that I grew out of this stage, so presumably my daughter will do the same.
Kaitlyn is our messiest baby. This is discouraging because it means that they've been getting messier as we progress, which does not fit at all with my idea that each baby should be an improvement on the one that came before. Every meal ends up in her hair and she's constantly dripping with slobber and/or snot. The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that she recently discovered that her finger fits perfectly inside her nose.
The girls got Twister for Christmas and we played it for the first time on Thursday night. They're actually pretty good at it. Bryan declared himself the official spinner and said I had to hold Kaitlyn as a handicap. He did allow me to use a wrap, but the only one I had available wasn't fabulous, so he rescued her when she began to look uncomfortable. The new and improved Twister game has two new options on the spinner: Air and Caller's Choice. What sadistic person puts "air" on a Twister spinner?
Our friends the Creightons brought over a couple of little boy dress up outfits so that all the little boys who visit can wear something other than fancy dresses. The girls also think it's great to dress up as Captain Hook and Peter Pan.
Pictures:
Kaitlyn is our messiest baby. This is discouraging because it means that they've been getting messier as we progress, which does not fit at all with my idea that each baby should be an improvement on the one that came before. Every meal ends up in her hair and she's constantly dripping with slobber and/or snot. The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that she recently discovered that her finger fits perfectly inside her nose.
The girls got Twister for Christmas and we played it for the first time on Thursday night. They're actually pretty good at it. Bryan declared himself the official spinner and said I had to hold Kaitlyn as a handicap. He did allow me to use a wrap, but the only one I had available wasn't fabulous, so he rescued her when she began to look uncomfortable. The new and improved Twister game has two new options on the spinner: Air and Caller's Choice. What sadistic person puts "air" on a Twister spinner?
Our friends the Creightons brought over a couple of little boy dress up outfits so that all the little boys who visit can wear something other than fancy dresses. The girls also think it's great to dress up as Captain Hook and Peter Pan.
Pictures:
14 February 2016
February 7-14
I promised you a story about Kaitlyn and her standing skills. She can indeed stand unassisted for short periods of time. Whenever we catch her standing, we make a big deal about it and cheer for her. As a result, she knows that she can stand and that this is something of which to be proud. She's developed a game of sorts, pulling herself up and then letting go with both hands for a second or two while looking triumphantly at the other people in the room. After this brief moment of euphoria, she immediately throws her hands back down to safe anchorage. This will be repeated any number of times in one session. :)
A common word around our house is "great!" I don't think Bryan and I use the word great a lot, but perhaps I am mistaken because both Olivia and Gretchen use it on a regular basis.
Kaitlyn seems to have two consistent words. One is "gog," which means "dog" (or, in one case, "large button that I am going to eat"). The other, more frequently used word is "dada," which means "parental unit." At first it seemed that just Bryan was Dada, but we have come to realize that Dada also refers to me.
An amusing note: Olivia's most common song of choice when going to the bathroom is "Let It Go."
I went on an organizing spree this week, probably because I didn't really have the time to be organizing and so of course I was motivated. :/ I've started alphabetizing all the books Dad left here so that I can list some of them for sale and repackage the rest in some sort of easily referenced order. I also rearranged the workroom-turned-Jacque's-bedroom so that her things and my things are separate and the bed is no longer in the direct center of the room. I wish I had taken a "before" picture so everyone could properly appreciate the progress. The picture below DOES have a clearly defined line where the bed used to be, and you'll just have to believe me when I say that there used to be only about a foot and a half of walking space on three of the sides (the last side had no space). It looks much better now. :)
Last week, Fr. Mark mentioned in his sermon that happy, well-adjusted children sing. I decided to try an experiment on myself and sing whenever I wanted to yell at the kids. I didn't worry about tune or rhyming but instead made it all up as I went, giving them directions in song. It worked remarkably well, and I sing often enough over the course of the day that the girls didn't even seem to notice that something might be amiss. The one downside is that once I start singing I find it difficult to stop...
I had an orchestra concert yesterday. The music was Mendelssohn and Beethoven and it was refreshingly familiar. :) Next month is our Star Wars concert, where we play selections from each of the first 6 movies.
Pictures:
A common word around our house is "great!" I don't think Bryan and I use the word great a lot, but perhaps I am mistaken because both Olivia and Gretchen use it on a regular basis.
Kaitlyn seems to have two consistent words. One is "gog," which means "dog" (or, in one case, "large button that I am going to eat"). The other, more frequently used word is "dada," which means "parental unit." At first it seemed that just Bryan was Dada, but we have come to realize that Dada also refers to me.
An amusing note: Olivia's most common song of choice when going to the bathroom is "Let It Go."
I went on an organizing spree this week, probably because I didn't really have the time to be organizing and so of course I was motivated. :/ I've started alphabetizing all the books Dad left here so that I can list some of them for sale and repackage the rest in some sort of easily referenced order. I also rearranged the workroom-turned-Jacque's-bedroom so that her things and my things are separate and the bed is no longer in the direct center of the room. I wish I had taken a "before" picture so everyone could properly appreciate the progress. The picture below DOES have a clearly defined line where the bed used to be, and you'll just have to believe me when I say that there used to be only about a foot and a half of walking space on three of the sides (the last side had no space). It looks much better now. :)
Last week, Fr. Mark mentioned in his sermon that happy, well-adjusted children sing. I decided to try an experiment on myself and sing whenever I wanted to yell at the kids. I didn't worry about tune or rhyming but instead made it all up as I went, giving them directions in song. It worked remarkably well, and I sing often enough over the course of the day that the girls didn't even seem to notice that something might be amiss. The one downside is that once I start singing I find it difficult to stop...
I had an orchestra concert yesterday. The music was Mendelssohn and Beethoven and it was refreshingly familiar. :) Next month is our Star Wars concert, where we play selections from each of the first 6 movies.
Pictures:
07 February 2016
January 24-February 7
Saturday (the 23rd) was Eva's birthday party. Bryan was on a retreat with the guys from church, but the girls and I attended the event before heading over to the Klein house for dinner. The party was at Run Around Fun Town, which is pretty much an indoor playground for kids. There were bounce houses and slides and lots of toddler sized playthings (kitchens, grocery stores, tiny treadmills, etc). Olivia and Gretchen stuck together like glue, apparently by mutual consent. I think Gretchen was overwhelmed by the number of people and Olivia felt it was her duty to take care of her younger sister. At one point I took Gretchen to the bathroom, and when she came back she couldn't find Olivia. She turned in aimless circles, searching, while I pointed Olivia out, to no avail. Finally, I caught Olivia's attention and told her Gretchen was looking for her. Olivia immediately ran to Gretchen and jumped in front of her. Gretchen threw her arms in the air with a joyful exclamation and gave Olivia a hug for a good twenty seconds before Olivia grabbed Gretchen's hand and led her off to the bounce house. :)
I think the next big thing was on Thursday when I drove up to Ann Arbor to take care of various musical things at Shar. My bow is now rehaired and I have new strings on my viola. I got an old violin appraised (found in mom and dad's basement when they moved), and learned that it is a German commercial model, probably worth repairing someday but not now. The bow that was with it would apparently "make a wonderful tomato stake."
On Friday, I left for a two day trip to Toledo. One of my Christmas gifts from Bryan was a nice hotel room in Toledo and an overnight trip with some friends from church. The only child invited was Juliana, who is three months old. Bryan and the other men took care of the rest of the kids while the mothers vacationed. We got massages, enjoyed the heated pool, ate ice cream, watched movies, played games, visited a tea shop, and saw a musical. We had a lot of fun. :)
Sunday night was Jacque's play and she was fabulous, of course. The whole play was quite amusing. Bryan and I have season tickets to this particular theater, and our friends the Creightons, the Kleins, and the Alison were able to join us. We made sure to cheer loudly for Jacque at the end and pay special attention to her when greeting the cast after the show. We even went through the line twice.
Other notes:
-Olivia and Gretchen call Alison "Alice."
-Kaitlyn claps her hands and stands unassisted. Story about the standing next week.
-Shadows are "shades" in our house. This was first noticed over Thanksgiving in Florida when Olivia was jumping on Oma's shadow and talking about how she "got your shade!" I was reminded of it this week when my shade was gotten. :)
Pictures:
I think the next big thing was on Thursday when I drove up to Ann Arbor to take care of various musical things at Shar. My bow is now rehaired and I have new strings on my viola. I got an old violin appraised (found in mom and dad's basement when they moved), and learned that it is a German commercial model, probably worth repairing someday but not now. The bow that was with it would apparently "make a wonderful tomato stake."
On Friday, I left for a two day trip to Toledo. One of my Christmas gifts from Bryan was a nice hotel room in Toledo and an overnight trip with some friends from church. The only child invited was Juliana, who is three months old. Bryan and the other men took care of the rest of the kids while the mothers vacationed. We got massages, enjoyed the heated pool, ate ice cream, watched movies, played games, visited a tea shop, and saw a musical. We had a lot of fun. :)
Sunday night was Jacque's play and she was fabulous, of course. The whole play was quite amusing. Bryan and I have season tickets to this particular theater, and our friends the Creightons, the Kleins, and the Alison were able to join us. We made sure to cheer loudly for Jacque at the end and pay special attention to her when greeting the cast after the show. We even went through the line twice.
Other notes:
-Olivia and Gretchen call Alison "Alice."
-Kaitlyn claps her hands and stands unassisted. Story about the standing next week.
-Shadows are "shades" in our house. This was first noticed over Thanksgiving in Florida when Olivia was jumping on Oma's shadow and talking about how she "got your shade!" I was reminded of it this week when my shade was gotten. :)
Pictures:
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