Matthias grabs things! And pulls his carseat toy! Life just got so much more exciting. The toy mat that we were about to phase out has become a favorite place to put him again because he immediately attacks the arch. He also has two flying saucers (we have one from the Kleins right now as well as our own) that he enjoys playing in. He is somewhat content to be left to his own devices for 15-20 minutes at a time.
Matthias is now proficient enough at rolling that he can roll while swaddled :( This is tremendously sad because it means that we can no longer swaddle him. Up until this week, he went to bed fabulously and always slept on his back with his arms tucked into the swaddle. Now he sleeps on his stomach (because he rolls over without thinking and doesn't roll back) and his pesky thumb attacks his mouth.
Matthias had a checkup. At 4.5 months he's 16 pounds, 7 ounces, and 26 inches tall. Kaitlyn also had a checkup because she's been more tired and cranky than usual. She is 29.75 pounds and has a virus, which means there's nothing to be done for her. :(
This week was largely consumed by cookie walk preparations. It doesn't matter how much we get done ahead of time, or how early in the season we do it (not early this year), the week leading up to the cookie walk is full of last minute touches. Tuesday was sugar cookie day, and several women from church came over to my house to decorate 40 dozen sugar cookies. Thursday was gingerbread day, and the same women came back to decorate 60 dozen gingerbread men. We also dipped 4000 buckeyes in chocolate, made 30 dozen Austrian chocolate balls, and drizzled glaze over 30 dozen lemon ricotta cookies.
Jacob and Katya came to visit on Friday night. We played games while I baked cookies. They also came to visit the cookie walk before Katya left on Saturday afternoon. Jacob stayed a little longer to play some more games and have dinner with us. I hear that Olivia convinced them to play her newest favorite game, Forbidden Island, several times on Saturday morning.
Pictures:
03 December 2017
29 November 2017
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 26
(We lock the girls in their room until they fall asleep so that Kaitlyn doesn't come out to wander the house. Consequently, we hear a lot of yells tattling on each other. The most common one is Gretchen telling us that Kaitlyn is in her bed, followed by a "nevermind" when Kaitlyn anticipates punishment and scampers back to her own bed. The other night, however, I heard this instead.)
Gretchen: Mommy! Kaitlyn's in my bed!
Kaitlyn: Nevermind!
Kaitlyn: Where we going?
Me: We're going to... the moon!
Kaitlyn: We not going to the moon, we going to grandpa's house!
Me: Oh, that's right. I forgot.
Kaitlyn, muttering: The moon's in the sky. We not going to the moon. It's not in a house.
Kaitlyn, hitting herself repeatedly in the face: Sun! Get out my eyes!
Me: No one likes to help you because you don't ever say "thank you." You complain and say mean things like "that's not what I wanted" or "I don't like it" or "you did it wrong."
Gretchen: I wouldn't say those things if you did it right.
(This happened some time after I taught the girls the pulling-off-your-thumb trick.)
Olivia: Gretchen wants to real take off her thumb.
Me: That would be painful and messy.
Olivia: And there is blood in her thumb, so if she took it off then the blood would fall out.
Gretchen: It would not fall out if we put a bandaid on it.
Olivia: We should not hurt ourselves to put bandaids on.
Gretchen: But I love bandaids.
Olivia: That is not a good reason to do it.
(We have four CDs with various Disney songs on them, but all four have some songs we don't care about. I got tired of switching CDs all the time, so I made a mix CD of all the good songs and told the girls that we had a new CD. Kaitlyn only cares about Elsa music right now (since Moana isn't a choice), so we usually start with Let It Go.)
*Let It Go ends and music from a different movie comes on.*
Kaitlyn: I want Elsa.
Me: We're going to listen to some other songs first. Elsa will come back.
Kaitlyn, crying: I want Elsa.
Me: Welcome to mix CDs.
Olivia: I did not hear any new songs yet.
Me, to Bryan: In all my endeavors, I try to make as many children as unhappy as possible.
Bryan: This might be your best work yet.
Me: I just thought it would be a good way to listen to Elsa AND other music. And also we don't have to listen to the dumb ones anymore.
Kaitlyn: ELSA!
Bryan: Listen to how happy your children are.
Olivia: Mom! None of these are new songs!
Bryan: I hope your blog contains some record of the titanic failure that was your mix CD.
Gretchen: How do we spell "while"?
Bryan: W-H-I-L-E
Olivia: How many letters is that?
Bryan: Five.
Gretchen: No, no, how do we spell "wiiiiiilD"?
Bryan: W-I-L-D
Olivia: How many letters is that?
Bryan: Four.
Olivia, after 20 seconds or so of thought: But "wild" has more sounds than "while."
Bryan: Yes, it does.
Olivia: Then how come "while" has more letters?
Bryan: Because English is stupid.
Gretchen, watching commercials: Grandma, I want that!
Gretchen: And that!
Grandma: You want everything.
Gretchen, slightly offended: I don't want everything.
Grandma: You don't?
Gretchen: No. I just want most of the things.
(Halfway through the night, Kaitlyn came into our room and rather than return her to her own bed, Bryan just moved to the couch and let her sleep in our bed. This conversation takes place in the living room the following morning.)
Me: Kaitlyn! Where are your pajamas?
Kaitlyn: Um, I don't know.
Me: I wonder if she wet her bed and that's why she came to sleep with us.
Bryan: Did you pee in your bed?
Kaitlyn: No! I peed in YOUR bed.
Bryan: In my bed?
Kaitlyn: Yes!
Me: What? I was right next to her. Wouldn't I have noticed?
Bryan, checking our bed: She definitely peed in our bed.
Gretchen: Well, I only have ten monies and it costs...
Olivia, in an awed tone: 79.
Gretchen: No, 1 and 2, 3, 4 --
Olivia, in the same tone as before: 12.
Gretchen: Mommy! Kaitlyn's in my bed!
Kaitlyn: Nevermind!
Kaitlyn: Where we going?
Me: We're going to... the moon!
Kaitlyn: We not going to the moon, we going to grandpa's house!
Me: Oh, that's right. I forgot.
Kaitlyn, muttering: The moon's in the sky. We not going to the moon. It's not in a house.
Kaitlyn, hitting herself repeatedly in the face: Sun! Get out my eyes!
Me: No one likes to help you because you don't ever say "thank you." You complain and say mean things like "that's not what I wanted" or "I don't like it" or "you did it wrong."
Gretchen: I wouldn't say those things if you did it right.
(This happened some time after I taught the girls the pulling-off-your-thumb trick.)
Olivia: Gretchen wants to real take off her thumb.
Me: That would be painful and messy.
Olivia: And there is blood in her thumb, so if she took it off then the blood would fall out.
Gretchen: It would not fall out if we put a bandaid on it.
Olivia: We should not hurt ourselves to put bandaids on.
Gretchen: But I love bandaids.
Olivia: That is not a good reason to do it.
(We have four CDs with various Disney songs on them, but all four have some songs we don't care about. I got tired of switching CDs all the time, so I made a mix CD of all the good songs and told the girls that we had a new CD. Kaitlyn only cares about Elsa music right now (since Moana isn't a choice), so we usually start with Let It Go.)
*Let It Go ends and music from a different movie comes on.*
Kaitlyn: I want Elsa.
Me: We're going to listen to some other songs first. Elsa will come back.
Kaitlyn, crying: I want Elsa.
Me: Welcome to mix CDs.
Olivia: I did not hear any new songs yet.
Me, to Bryan: In all my endeavors, I try to make as many children as unhappy as possible.
Bryan: This might be your best work yet.
Me: I just thought it would be a good way to listen to Elsa AND other music. And also we don't have to listen to the dumb ones anymore.
Kaitlyn: ELSA!
Bryan: Listen to how happy your children are.
Olivia: Mom! None of these are new songs!
Bryan: I hope your blog contains some record of the titanic failure that was your mix CD.
Gretchen: How do we spell "while"?
Bryan: W-H-I-L-E
Olivia: How many letters is that?
Bryan: Five.
Gretchen: No, no, how do we spell "wiiiiiilD"?
Bryan: W-I-L-D
Olivia: How many letters is that?
Bryan: Four.
Olivia, after 20 seconds or so of thought: But "wild" has more sounds than "while."
Bryan: Yes, it does.
Olivia: Then how come "while" has more letters?
Bryan: Because English is stupid.
Gretchen, watching commercials: Grandma, I want that!
Gretchen: And that!
Grandma: You want everything.
Gretchen, slightly offended: I don't want everything.
Grandma: You don't?
Gretchen: No. I just want most of the things.
(Halfway through the night, Kaitlyn came into our room and rather than return her to her own bed, Bryan just moved to the couch and let her sleep in our bed. This conversation takes place in the living room the following morning.)
Me: Kaitlyn! Where are your pajamas?
Kaitlyn: Um, I don't know.
Me: I wonder if she wet her bed and that's why she came to sleep with us.
Bryan: Did you pee in your bed?
Kaitlyn: No! I peed in YOUR bed.
Bryan: In my bed?
Kaitlyn: Yes!
Me: What? I was right next to her. Wouldn't I have noticed?
Bryan, checking our bed: She definitely peed in our bed.
Gretchen: Well, I only have ten monies and it costs...
Olivia, in an awed tone: 79.
Gretchen: No, 1 and 2, 3, 4 --
Olivia, in the same tone as before: 12.
26 November 2017
November 19-26
On Sunday, Bryan took Justine, the babies, and me to the Columbus airport for our flight to Denver. Despite the stress of airports (not actual flying, just everything associated with it), we made it through just fine. I did forget that I had pepper spray in my stroller, so that was a bit exciting at the security checkpoint. The agent held it up and, once I realized what it was, I exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot that was in there! I don't need it!" He gave me a droll look and responded, "Good, because you can't keep it." Whoops. Several people commented on how we had our hands full -- I guess two babies, two carseats, two diaper bags, two personal items, and a stroller does seem a bit unwieldy -- and we blithely replied, "We left six kids at home, this is nothing!" We did decide that traveling was much better with two of us.
Denver was pleasantlywarm not cold and it was wonderful to see family. We stayed at Grandma's house since that was where most things were happening. Justine and Dotti and Matthias and I were all supposed to sleep in the same room upstairs, but after the first few hours when Matthias and Dotti took turns waking each other up and then I surprised Justine in her sleep causing her to attack me, I decided it would be wiser to take Matthias and sleep in the den.
Except for Tuesday, which was the day of the funeral, things were relatively upbeat and normal. There were cookies and cake and games and a lot of visiting squeezed into too little time. Tuesday was a wet, emotional day, but that's only to be expected. Justine and I decided that it would have been nice to have husbands nearby for support during the funeral, but that it was nicer to not have the extra children around. I did notice that Will being there for Jacque somehow made it better. It's like he was the designated husband (and also holder of the tissues) for all four of the Fenton sisters. We sang the hymns that we could and cried through the ones that we couldn't. Grandma made me cry, I made Jillian cry, Jillian made Jacque cry, and everyone made Justine cry. It was one big crying circle. We all made it through, though, and after the burial things got a lot less weepy. By Wednesday our emotions were spent and we were back to visiting.
Justine and I flew out on Wednesday evening so as to be back home for Thanksgiving with our families. The lines to get through security were long, but Denver was prepared for huge amounts of holiday travelers, so they moved fairly quickly. The flight back was quite eventful for me since I was sitting next to a couple of rather chatty gentlemen who decided to take full advantage of the adult beverages offered on airplanes (why fly the budget airline and then spend $50 on overpriced beer and vodka?). Alan (who's real name was Anthony, but I guess he resembled a guy from The Hangover) and Ray provided a nice amount of in-flight entertainment, made more exciting by the fact that I was low on sleep. I impressed them both by correctly guessing that the city we were flying over was Omaha and then (quite by accident) getting a stewardess to confirm it by calling the cockpit to ask. I shocked them both when they realized that Matthias was nursing 75% of the flight as I tried to get him to go to sleep and stay asleep. Alan told an amusing story about flying with a lap baby he didn't know; Ray gave me his life story and I learned that possession of a gram of weed with a child in the car will apparently get you a year in a Texas prison. The flight ended with Ray telling Matthias "don't be racist, baby" and Alan panicking because he forgot that he put his duffel bag under the seat and then thought that maybe someone stole his clothes.
Alison and Eulalia picked us up from the airport just after midnight. Eulalia was SO EXCITED to see other babies. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time and kept trying to touch Matthias and Dorothea. Matthias gave her a concerned look and pulled away. Who is this crazy, happy baby in my face at midnight and why does she keep trying to touch me? Not to be deterred, Eulalia smiled bigger and touched him some more. After adequate sleep Matthias was much more open to being friends, and the three babies got to know each other while Justine and I got ready for the day. Joseph and the boys picked us up from Alison's house (they had been visiting his parents) and drove us down to Ohio.
We're to Thanksgiving morning, now, and the holiday meal was happening at my house. Bryan got the turkey going in the roaster, and Justine and I made everything else when we arrived. Joseph's parents and brother drove down to join us and we had a very nice meal that afternoon. I even thought to copy Now Thank We All Our God so that we could sing it before the meal, reminiscent of Thanksgivings at Uncle Ted and Aunt Ruth's house. The elder Bossards left in the early evening and we set about putting all the kids to bed.
On Friday afternoon, Bryan's family came to visit, bringing their leftovers to supplement our (very similar) leftovers. We played games and hung out and generally had a good time.
Saturday was Edward's birthday, so we turned leftover mashed potatoes into delicious potato soup for lunch, Justine baked a cake, and Edward opened presents. The Bossards packed up to head home shortly after lunch.
Also of note this week, our cat is no more. Bryan's parents found her dragging her back legs across the grass. She didn't seem to be in pain, but she had a sizable sore in the middle of her back and was clearly paralyzed from there down. Our best guess is that she got hit by a car. Bryan took her to a friend of a friend to have her put down.
Pictures:
Denver was pleasantly
Except for Tuesday, which was the day of the funeral, things were relatively upbeat and normal. There were cookies and cake and games and a lot of visiting squeezed into too little time. Tuesday was a wet, emotional day, but that's only to be expected. Justine and I decided that it would have been nice to have husbands nearby for support during the funeral, but that it was nicer to not have the extra children around. I did notice that Will being there for Jacque somehow made it better. It's like he was the designated husband (and also holder of the tissues) for all four of the Fenton sisters. We sang the hymns that we could and cried through the ones that we couldn't. Grandma made me cry, I made Jillian cry, Jillian made Jacque cry, and everyone made Justine cry. It was one big crying circle. We all made it through, though, and after the burial things got a lot less weepy. By Wednesday our emotions were spent and we were back to visiting.
Justine and I flew out on Wednesday evening so as to be back home for Thanksgiving with our families. The lines to get through security were long, but Denver was prepared for huge amounts of holiday travelers, so they moved fairly quickly. The flight back was quite eventful for me since I was sitting next to a couple of rather chatty gentlemen who decided to take full advantage of the adult beverages offered on airplanes (why fly the budget airline and then spend $50 on overpriced beer and vodka?). Alan (who's real name was Anthony, but I guess he resembled a guy from The Hangover) and Ray provided a nice amount of in-flight entertainment, made more exciting by the fact that I was low on sleep. I impressed them both by correctly guessing that the city we were flying over was Omaha and then (quite by accident) getting a stewardess to confirm it by calling the cockpit to ask. I shocked them both when they realized that Matthias was nursing 75% of the flight as I tried to get him to go to sleep and stay asleep. Alan told an amusing story about flying with a lap baby he didn't know; Ray gave me his life story and I learned that possession of a gram of weed with a child in the car will apparently get you a year in a Texas prison. The flight ended with Ray telling Matthias "don't be racist, baby" and Alan panicking because he forgot that he put his duffel bag under the seat and then thought that maybe someone stole his clothes.
Alison and Eulalia picked us up from the airport just after midnight. Eulalia was SO EXCITED to see other babies. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time and kept trying to touch Matthias and Dorothea. Matthias gave her a concerned look and pulled away. Who is this crazy, happy baby in my face at midnight and why does she keep trying to touch me? Not to be deterred, Eulalia smiled bigger and touched him some more. After adequate sleep Matthias was much more open to being friends, and the three babies got to know each other while Justine and I got ready for the day. Joseph and the boys picked us up from Alison's house (they had been visiting his parents) and drove us down to Ohio.
We're to Thanksgiving morning, now, and the holiday meal was happening at my house. Bryan got the turkey going in the roaster, and Justine and I made everything else when we arrived. Joseph's parents and brother drove down to join us and we had a very nice meal that afternoon. I even thought to copy Now Thank We All Our God so that we could sing it before the meal, reminiscent of Thanksgivings at Uncle Ted and Aunt Ruth's house. The elder Bossards left in the early evening and we set about putting all the kids to bed.
On Friday afternoon, Bryan's family came to visit, bringing their leftovers to supplement our (very similar) leftovers. We played games and hung out and generally had a good time.
Saturday was Edward's birthday, so we turned leftover mashed potatoes into delicious potato soup for lunch, Justine baked a cake, and Edward opened presents. The Bossards packed up to head home shortly after lunch.
Also of note this week, our cat is no more. Bryan's parents found her dragging her back legs across the grass. She didn't seem to be in pain, but she had a sizable sore in the middle of her back and was clearly paralyzed from there down. Our best guess is that she got hit by a car. Bryan took her to a friend of a friend to have her put down.
Pictures:
19 November 2017
November 12-19
Sunday -- After church we drove down to Bryan's parents' house. Steve and Murry watched the kids (all four of them!) while Bryan and I went to La Comedia with some friends. The show was good, the company was fun, and the night was otherwise uneventful. We stayed overnight and then went back home at lunchtime on Monday.
Monday -- Matthias is happy and smiling and generally pleasant to be around, and I think to myself that four months old is one of the best ages. Then he's cranky and won't take a nap, and I decide four months old isn't so great after all. I have a chiropractor appointment in the evening, which is really just a good way for me to get some quiet time to take a walk while I read a book (and I guess there's the important part where I wear a brace to straighten out my spine). After the other kids go to bed, Bryan and I teach Olivia to play Forbidden Island. She grasps the concept easily, although her cost-benefit analysis is a little weak.
Tuesday -- Olivia takes her first spelling test. She gets half of them wrong, but that's somewhat to be expected since we've worked on the words very little and she had no idea what was coming. I have her check her own paper, and she's excited to try again another day. Gretchen spells words under my direction and tries to sound them out. Then she spells them under her own direction and is disappointed when none of her letter combinations make actual words. Kaitlyn is alternately a superhero, a witch, and a dragon. Matthias poses for the most important picture of his life so far -- the book picture. In the afternoon, I head down to the basement to organize the dress racks so that the girls can pick out their winter clothes.
Wednesday -- Dentist appointments for me and the older girls today. This is Gretchen's first appointment, and she does great. Olivia's loose tooth is even looser, but will take a while to come out because her new tooth is coming in behind the old one instead of directly underneath. Her second big tooth is doing the same thing. Our dentist has a very small, kid-friendly office and with three appointments we have the place to ourselves. Kaitlyn plays with toys in the waiting room, Matthias sits in his seat in a corner, and Olivia accompanies Gretchen in one room while I'm in the other. Everyone gets a treasure from the treasure chest at the end. Today is the first day of the Advent fast, and a trip to the grocery store is required. We make it through fairly quickly, getting a few things for this week and also some new roses for our kitchen counter. In the afternoon Sierrah comes over to watch the kids while I sew for my upcoming craft fair.
Thursday -- We rush out of the house as soon as we are dressed so that I can drop the girls off with a friend before heading to baking day. The cookie walk is coming, and Matthias and I are needed to make cookies! After baking all day, I pick up the girls, visit the chiropractor for some work on my Aufdemberge slouch, eat a quick dinner, and speed off to Bible study.
Friday -- Earlier in the week I had asked Bryan to take off this afternoon so that I could sew. He accidentally took off the whole day, which works out for me because I'm not feeling great. I finish much of my sewing, and also squeeze in a nap. Dance class is very exciting for the girls because today is the day that their Nutcracker costumes are distributed. Gretchen is a lavender angel (side note: Gretchen now knows what color lavender is and uses it frequently as a descriptor) and Olivia is a wildflower. We have a fashion show while they try on their costumes and then a talent show while they dance in them. Kaitlyn is given a pair of tap shoes that are too small for Gretchen so that she will stop raiding the dance bags to steal her sisters' tap shoes. After dinner I head to Dayton to set up for the craft fair and then Matthias and I stay with the Kleins overnight.
Saturday -- Matthias and I go to a craft fair with Steph Klein. His smiles bring people over to our table but don't seem to influence sales much. By the end of the day I make back the table fee and then some, so that's good, but I am reminded why I don't attend many craft fairs. I have a lot of leftover inventory that I can now list on Etsy -- a silver lining to not selling much. Bryan is home with the girls and by the time I get back in the evening the Bossards have also arrived. Everyone seems to by playing happily, but Kaitlyn drops what she is doing to come over and greet me. "Mommy! I missed you so much! Can you pick me up?" She really is quite sweet when she wants to be, and we snuggle on the couch for a little bit while the other kids eat. Apparently Kaitlyn already had dinner. After some Pixar shorts, we settle all the kids in different rooms. I pack for Sunday's trip to Colorado, and then the adults play a few games of Dominion.
Pictures:
Monday -- Matthias is happy and smiling and generally pleasant to be around, and I think to myself that four months old is one of the best ages. Then he's cranky and won't take a nap, and I decide four months old isn't so great after all. I have a chiropractor appointment in the evening, which is really just a good way for me to get some quiet time to take a walk while I read a book (and I guess there's the important part where I wear a brace to straighten out my spine). After the other kids go to bed, Bryan and I teach Olivia to play Forbidden Island. She grasps the concept easily, although her cost-benefit analysis is a little weak.
Tuesday -- Olivia takes her first spelling test. She gets half of them wrong, but that's somewhat to be expected since we've worked on the words very little and she had no idea what was coming. I have her check her own paper, and she's excited to try again another day. Gretchen spells words under my direction and tries to sound them out. Then she spells them under her own direction and is disappointed when none of her letter combinations make actual words. Kaitlyn is alternately a superhero, a witch, and a dragon. Matthias poses for the most important picture of his life so far -- the book picture. In the afternoon, I head down to the basement to organize the dress racks so that the girls can pick out their winter clothes.
Wednesday -- Dentist appointments for me and the older girls today. This is Gretchen's first appointment, and she does great. Olivia's loose tooth is even looser, but will take a while to come out because her new tooth is coming in behind the old one instead of directly underneath. Her second big tooth is doing the same thing. Our dentist has a very small, kid-friendly office and with three appointments we have the place to ourselves. Kaitlyn plays with toys in the waiting room, Matthias sits in his seat in a corner, and Olivia accompanies Gretchen in one room while I'm in the other. Everyone gets a treasure from the treasure chest at the end. Today is the first day of the Advent fast, and a trip to the grocery store is required. We make it through fairly quickly, getting a few things for this week and also some new roses for our kitchen counter. In the afternoon Sierrah comes over to watch the kids while I sew for my upcoming craft fair.
Thursday -- We rush out of the house as soon as we are dressed so that I can drop the girls off with a friend before heading to baking day. The cookie walk is coming, and Matthias and I are needed to make cookies! After baking all day, I pick up the girls, visit the chiropractor for some work on my Aufdemberge slouch, eat a quick dinner, and speed off to Bible study.
Friday -- Earlier in the week I had asked Bryan to take off this afternoon so that I could sew. He accidentally took off the whole day, which works out for me because I'm not feeling great. I finish much of my sewing, and also squeeze in a nap. Dance class is very exciting for the girls because today is the day that their Nutcracker costumes are distributed. Gretchen is a lavender angel (side note: Gretchen now knows what color lavender is and uses it frequently as a descriptor) and Olivia is a wildflower. We have a fashion show while they try on their costumes and then a talent show while they dance in them. Kaitlyn is given a pair of tap shoes that are too small for Gretchen so that she will stop raiding the dance bags to steal her sisters' tap shoes. After dinner I head to Dayton to set up for the craft fair and then Matthias and I stay with the Kleins overnight.
Saturday -- Matthias and I go to a craft fair with Steph Klein. His smiles bring people over to our table but don't seem to influence sales much. By the end of the day I make back the table fee and then some, so that's good, but I am reminded why I don't attend many craft fairs. I have a lot of leftover inventory that I can now list on Etsy -- a silver lining to not selling much. Bryan is home with the girls and by the time I get back in the evening the Bossards have also arrived. Everyone seems to by playing happily, but Kaitlyn drops what she is doing to come over and greet me. "Mommy! I missed you so much! Can you pick me up?" She really is quite sweet when she wants to be, and we snuggle on the couch for a little bit while the other kids eat. Apparently Kaitlyn already had dinner. After some Pixar shorts, we settle all the kids in different rooms. I pack for Sunday's trip to Colorado, and then the adults play a few games of Dominion.
Pictures:
12 November 2017
October 15-November 12
A month of information and activities in no particular order:
Orchestra happened. Possibly twice. I had a week of rehearsals in October and then Bryan's mom watched the girls and Sarah watched Matthias during a Friday morning concert. I hurried down to Sidney to grab the girls before dance class, but they ended up missing class anyway because Olivia was sick (we found out at her yearly checkup that she had strep throat but it just wasn't bothering her). I had another concert that Saturday evening. Our theme was space and we played two contemporary pieces in addition to Holst's The Planets. One of the new pieces was written by our conductor and it was... an adventure. He described it as "chaos written down," which was quite accurate. Then at the beginning of November I had a week of rehearsal and another concert. I was quite relieved to see that the music featured in this concert was by a bunch of old dead composers. Hooray for Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart.
Orchestra happened. Possibly twice. I had a week of rehearsals in October and then Bryan's mom watched the girls and Sarah watched Matthias during a Friday morning concert. I hurried down to Sidney to grab the girls before dance class, but they ended up missing class anyway because Olivia was sick (we found out at her yearly checkup that she had strep throat but it just wasn't bothering her). I had another concert that Saturday evening. Our theme was space and we played two contemporary pieces in addition to Holst's The Planets. One of the new pieces was written by our conductor and it was... an adventure. He described it as "chaos written down," which was quite accurate. Then at the beginning of November I had a week of rehearsal and another concert. I was quite relieved to see that the music featured in this concert was by a bunch of old dead composers. Hooray for Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart.
Some Disney princesses came to the zoo in mid-October, so we all went as a family to see them. The girls wore dress-up dresses, but the day was quite toasty so Kaitlyn and Olivia ended up taking them off. Gretchen resisted all attempts to persuade her to lose the long sleeves. The zoo also had trick-or-treating stations, so we visited those. Very few animals were out. :( We stood in long lines for pictures with Cinderella and Moana, got candy in our buckets, and visited the fish in the aquarium.
Pinkeye went through our house. It started with Kaitlyn and then spread to Gretchen and Olivia. Bryan and I never got it, and Matthias only had it for about a day. Since his fingers aren't in his eyes much, he only needed one dose of drops to help his eyes clear up. When I took the girls in to get a prescription, Olivia still wasn't showing any symptoms, so they said I could call when her pinkeye appeared and they'd order a prescription for me. I was back at the pharmacy within 24 hours for her drops.
Olivia and Matthias had regular check-ups, and then Gretchen and Kaitlyn got checked when they had pinkeye, so I have stats for everyone! Unfortunately, they don't seem to get heights for pinkeye visits, so I only have weights for the two middle kids. Olivia: 45 pounds, 47 inches tall. Gretchen: 39 pounds. Kaitlyn: 31 pounds. Matthias: 15.1 pounds, 25.25 inches long.
Olivia has a loose tooth. One day about a month ago she complained that her tooth was hurting when she ate. Since then she has been telling everyone that she has a tooth that is "about to fall out." To practiced teeth losers, however, it's still pretty firmly attached, so we shall see when it actually happens.
Matthias can roll from back to front. He was trying very hard to make it over on Wednesday, October 25, while the girls and I cheered for him, but never succeeded in getting his elbow out from underneath him. Then on Thursday (10-26) he figured it out, and now his favorite thing to do is roll over and then yell about how someone had the audacity to put him on his stomach. He did roll one week earlier than Kaitlyn, who rolled about 3-10 days earlier than Gretchen. He can also roll front to back, though that's a more recently developed skill that he utilizes less frequently.
Matthias is in 6-9 month clothes. He has also started to appreciate his flying saucer. He does not yet reach for toys, but he likes chewing on bibs and burp cloths and he catches his own hands frequently. He is quite upset that someone keeps sticking thumbs in his mouth (spoiler: they're Matthias's thumbs) and he also panics at night when hands come bursting out of his swaddle sack to attack his face (another spoiler: they're Matthias's hands).
Olivia has started working on spelling. She now has five regular subjects that we work on: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, Reading, and Spelling. Some progress faster than others.
We had a discussion in the car recently about the timelessness of God. Olivia wanted to know if we are in heaven before we are born as babies. I don't know about all the theology of that, but if God works outside of time and we are in heaven after we die I don't see why we couldn't also be there before we're born. In a "time means nothing to God" kind of way. We also talked about how in heaven we will be able to see and hear Jesus, but on earth he is invisible even though he's always with everyone. Kids have a much easier time accepting all of this than adults because their brains don't have trouble with reconciling the concept of God being omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and outside of time with human limitations like time and location. They just accept that some "people" (God) can do that.
We took a vacation to Castaway Bay with Bryan's family. The girls had a great time splashing in the water. Olivia and Gretchen took a tour of some bigger water attractions, but returned to the toddler pool to play. Kaitlyn happily got as wet as she was allowed. There was an arcade there, as well, which was exciting, and a kid's club where they decorated cookies and watched a movie.
Halloween happened. We dressed up. Olivia wanted to be a unicorn and Gretchen was a dragon. Normally I like to make things for them, but I just don't care about Halloween that much. The supplies for costumes would have cost almost as much as fully assembled store costumes, so we just bought costumes. They were cute. Kaitlyn wore our standard two-year-old girl costume, which is a witch. She had a grand time being a "good little witch," a concept from her current favorite Sofia the First episode. Unlike Olivia and Gretchen before her, Kaitlyn found the broom both exciting and necessary. Matthias was a lion -- the first male to wear our male lion costume. :)
I've been visiting the chiropractor quite regularly in an attempt to fix my lower back. He has me walk on a treadmill using a spinal remodeling brace, which I think is great because I get a walk in AND I can read at the same time. I have some stretches I've been doing, too. I think the biggest benefit so far is that I'm more aware of my posture. I think my standing posture is improving (although it is hurt by the fact that I still carry Matthias around and I lean my hips forward and my shoulders back to do that), but my sitting posture needs a lot of work still.
I discovered that the new(ish) next door neighbors have a teenaged daughter, so I asked her to come over some afternoons to watch the kids. Sierrah now visits 1-2 times a week and keeps everyone happy for an hour while I sew and/or practice viola.
Grandpa Aufdemberge died early on Tuesday, November 7. It was both sudden and not sudden, and the weekend before was filled with phone calls and prayers and a lot of waiting for news. I tried to explain to the girls what happened, but their concept of death is a bit fuzzy (see the God discussions above). Since I don't see Grandpa that often, it hasn't really hit me yet, but I imagine the funeral will be a rather wet, emotional affair. Matthias and I will be flying out in a week.
Pictures:
08 November 2017
Bonus Post: A Day in the Life
This was Tuesday, October 31. There is no trick-or-treating at the end because Lima holds their festivities on the Thursday before Halloween, so by this time we'd been done with costumes for several days.
4:11 am -- Matthias is up. Sometimes he wakes up to nurse once in the middle of the night, sometimes he doesn't. He's pretty belligerent this morning, especially for someone who's getting a free meal out of the deal. Freshly fed, he falls asleep and I crawl back into bed.
6:27 am -- Do I hear yelling? Olivia is hollering, and I realize with a start that we forgot to unlock the bedroom door before going to bed last night. We lock it as the girls are falling asleep so that Kaitlyn won't escape. We've only forgotten to unlock it one other time; it worked out better then. I sprint through the kitchen and unlock the door. Olivia has to go to the bathroom. Kaitlyn was awakened by the noise and decides that she also needs to go to the bathroom. She is mistaken, but we try anyway. I put Kaitlyn back in bed and cover her up. Olivia moves to the couch because she claims she is not feeling well. I think she's just overheated, but set her up with a sheet and a bucket.
6:45 am -- Is it worth it to go back to bed for 45 minutes? Probably not. This day in my life is not starting at all how I had anticipated. As I fell asleep last night, I thought about how my post would begin with a calm, leisurely waking up somewhere in the 7:30-8:00 vicinity. C'est la vie. I might as well grab a shower before Bryan gets up. I clean the bathroom sink while I'm at it, and am completely ready for the day by 7:45, which is unusual these days. Generally I make sure the girls are ready before breakfast, but I don't tend to get around to dressing until about 10:30.
7:45 am -- Kaitlyn and Gretchen are in their room, presumably to get dressed. I hear an awful lot of jumping, though, accompanied by the song "Five Little Monkeys." I'm guessing that getting dressed is not high on their list of priorities right now.
7:55 am -- Gretchen and Kaitlyn have pink-eye, and today is their first application of drops. I call them in one at a time and each trustingly puts her head in my lap and looks at the ceiling. I'm guessing the next set won't go as well.
8:00 am -- Matthias is ready to be awake! I can tell by his thumping feet. Olivia used to do an excited wiggle dance when she heard me coming in the morning. Matthias alerts me to his state of awakeness by picking up his legs and slamming his feet into the mattress. Then he looks surprised when my head pops into view over the side of his bed. I grab my camera, and Bryan immediatly notices and says, "Is today the day in Matthias's life?" He takes a picture of me holding Matthias for posterity.
8:10 am -- Kaitlyn asks to watch youtube videos. I figure this might be a good time to get a little sewing done, so I turn on a Disney playlist. Gretchen plays with Matthias on our bed and keeps him happy. Olivia continues to be an invalid on the couch. I sew.
8:45 am -- Everyone (except Olivia) is dressed and we head to the oratory for prayers. Then the mad dash for spoons and cereal commences.
9:00 am -- Breakfast for Gretchen and Kaitlyn. Olivia watches from the couch and thinks maybe she could eat breakfast, but only if she can do so lying down. I tell her that if she's well enough to have cereal then she's well enough to get up and get dressed. She decides that she is not, in fact, well enough after all. Matthias chews on the edge of his flying saucer while I also get breakfast.
9:45 am -- Matthias is getting cranky, so I get him ready for a nap. Olivia informs me that she is ready to get dressed and eat breakfast. Matthias is sleeping by 10 and Olivia has her breakfast. We begin school at the dining room table.
10:45 am -- Matthias is awake. I wish I could say this is unusual, but short naps seem to be his default setting.
11:00 am -- We take a break from doing school to dance to Disney music in the living room.
12:00 pm -- Matthias takes another nap. My fingers are crossed for this one to last longer.
12:15 pm -- Back to school. We also read some stories.
1:15 pm -- Bryan comes up for lunch and puts a candle on the table, which is his signal to the girls that they're going to eat by themselves and leave the two of us alone for an in-house date. Usually we do these at dinner (about once a month), but this month our dinners have been too busy. The girls are excited because this generally means that they also get to watch a movie. Today is not an exception.
1:45 pm -- Matthias is up and happier than before. He and I bop around the house doing little chores while the girls finish their movie.
2:45 pm -- I notice Olivia's eyes oozing and call the pediatrician to request a third eye drop prescription. Since we were just there yesterday, they don't need me to bring all the kids in.
3:00 pm -- Sierrah comes over to hold Matthias and keep the girls (read: Kaitlyn) from getting into trouble. I head to my bedroom to practice and sew. Normally when she's over I try to practice my viola the whole time, but I have a craft fair coming up and not nearly enough inventory ready.
4:00 pm -- Everything falls apart. Sierrah leaves and Matthias is ready to take another nap. As I'm nursing him, Kaitlyn comes in. She needs to go to the bathroom. I put down and angry Matthias and put an already pooping Kaitlyn on the potty. I toss the dirty underwear in the diaper pail and scoop up Matthias while Kaitlyn finishes. She says she's done, I tell her to wait while I get Matthias settled. She doesn't. After I put Matthias down, I head to the bathroom to assess the damage. Smears of poop on the toilet (but nowhere else, so I guess that's good) and half a tube of toothpaste squeezed onto the stool. I clean up the toilet and the Kaitlyn, put the stool aside for another day, and give up on chronicling my adventures for the day. Bryan will be home soon, we'll eat dinner, and maybe everyone will go to bed well. :/
Pictures:
4:11 am -- Matthias is up. Sometimes he wakes up to nurse once in the middle of the night, sometimes he doesn't. He's pretty belligerent this morning, especially for someone who's getting a free meal out of the deal. Freshly fed, he falls asleep and I crawl back into bed.
6:27 am -- Do I hear yelling? Olivia is hollering, and I realize with a start that we forgot to unlock the bedroom door before going to bed last night. We lock it as the girls are falling asleep so that Kaitlyn won't escape. We've only forgotten to unlock it one other time; it worked out better then. I sprint through the kitchen and unlock the door. Olivia has to go to the bathroom. Kaitlyn was awakened by the noise and decides that she also needs to go to the bathroom. She is mistaken, but we try anyway. I put Kaitlyn back in bed and cover her up. Olivia moves to the couch because she claims she is not feeling well. I think she's just overheated, but set her up with a sheet and a bucket.
6:45 am -- Is it worth it to go back to bed for 45 minutes? Probably not. This day in my life is not starting at all how I had anticipated. As I fell asleep last night, I thought about how my post would begin with a calm, leisurely waking up somewhere in the 7:30-8:00 vicinity. C'est la vie. I might as well grab a shower before Bryan gets up. I clean the bathroom sink while I'm at it, and am completely ready for the day by 7:45, which is unusual these days. Generally I make sure the girls are ready before breakfast, but I don't tend to get around to dressing until about 10:30.
7:45 am -- Kaitlyn and Gretchen are in their room, presumably to get dressed. I hear an awful lot of jumping, though, accompanied by the song "Five Little Monkeys." I'm guessing that getting dressed is not high on their list of priorities right now.
7:55 am -- Gretchen and Kaitlyn have pink-eye, and today is their first application of drops. I call them in one at a time and each trustingly puts her head in my lap and looks at the ceiling. I'm guessing the next set won't go as well.
8:00 am -- Matthias is ready to be awake! I can tell by his thumping feet. Olivia used to do an excited wiggle dance when she heard me coming in the morning. Matthias alerts me to his state of awakeness by picking up his legs and slamming his feet into the mattress. Then he looks surprised when my head pops into view over the side of his bed. I grab my camera, and Bryan immediatly notices and says, "Is today the day in Matthias's life?" He takes a picture of me holding Matthias for posterity.
8:10 am -- Kaitlyn asks to watch youtube videos. I figure this might be a good time to get a little sewing done, so I turn on a Disney playlist. Gretchen plays with Matthias on our bed and keeps him happy. Olivia continues to be an invalid on the couch. I sew.
8:45 am -- Everyone (except Olivia) is dressed and we head to the oratory for prayers. Then the mad dash for spoons and cereal commences.
9:00 am -- Breakfast for Gretchen and Kaitlyn. Olivia watches from the couch and thinks maybe she could eat breakfast, but only if she can do so lying down. I tell her that if she's well enough to have cereal then she's well enough to get up and get dressed. She decides that she is not, in fact, well enough after all. Matthias chews on the edge of his flying saucer while I also get breakfast.
9:45 am -- Matthias is getting cranky, so I get him ready for a nap. Olivia informs me that she is ready to get dressed and eat breakfast. Matthias is sleeping by 10 and Olivia has her breakfast. We begin school at the dining room table.
10:45 am -- Matthias is awake. I wish I could say this is unusual, but short naps seem to be his default setting.
11:00 am -- We take a break from doing school to dance to Disney music in the living room.
12:00 pm -- Matthias takes another nap. My fingers are crossed for this one to last longer.
12:15 pm -- Back to school. We also read some stories.
1:15 pm -- Bryan comes up for lunch and puts a candle on the table, which is his signal to the girls that they're going to eat by themselves and leave the two of us alone for an in-house date. Usually we do these at dinner (about once a month), but this month our dinners have been too busy. The girls are excited because this generally means that they also get to watch a movie. Today is not an exception.
1:45 pm -- Matthias is up and happier than before. He and I bop around the house doing little chores while the girls finish their movie.
2:45 pm -- I notice Olivia's eyes oozing and call the pediatrician to request a third eye drop prescription. Since we were just there yesterday, they don't need me to bring all the kids in.
3:00 pm -- Sierrah comes over to hold Matthias and keep the girls (read: Kaitlyn) from getting into trouble. I head to my bedroom to practice and sew. Normally when she's over I try to practice my viola the whole time, but I have a craft fair coming up and not nearly enough inventory ready.
4:00 pm -- Everything falls apart. Sierrah leaves and Matthias is ready to take another nap. As I'm nursing him, Kaitlyn comes in. She needs to go to the bathroom. I put down and angry Matthias and put an already pooping Kaitlyn on the potty. I toss the dirty underwear in the diaper pail and scoop up Matthias while Kaitlyn finishes. She says she's done, I tell her to wait while I get Matthias settled. She doesn't. After I put Matthias down, I head to the bathroom to assess the damage. Smears of poop on the toilet (but nowhere else, so I guess that's good) and half a tube of toothpaste squeezed onto the stool. I clean up the toilet and the Kaitlyn, put the stool aside for another day, and give up on chronicling my adventures for the day. Bryan will be home soon, we'll eat dinner, and maybe everyone will go to bed well. :/
Pictures:
22 October 2017
October 8-15
This is a little obnoxious, but today's post is from October 8-15. Just pretend you're reading it last Sunday. Next week's post will cover some things that didn't make it into this post as well as the news from October 15-29.
I created a turn taking system that theoretically doesn't require the girls to stand next to my elbow pestering me while I put Matthias down for a nap. It is also meant to eliminate the constant ping ponging of my attention when we're doing school. So far it is doing a poor job on both counts. :/ I like the idea, though, so we're sticking with it for a while. I have a board with squares numbered 1-4 (and room for expansion). Each child has a sign with his/her name on it. When the girls need help, they are supposed to put their signs on the next number in line and then go back to doing something independently, with the understanding that I will come find them when I am next free. The main breakdown happens in the second step, since they invariably come inform me that they've put the sign on a number and then hang around waiting for me to come check the board. So far Gretchen uses the system to ask random questions, and Olivia uses it to put Matthias's sign on number 1 whenever he is crying.
Another recent craft was mailboxes. A while ago we read a Frog and Toad story about a letter, and Olivia and Gretchen spent the afternoon drawing pictures and writing letters to anyone who came to mind. Olivia's letters followed a standard "I hope you have a happy day" form, but Gretchen's were a bit more exciting. Anyway, they got few replies, but the afternoon did kick off an obsession with checking the mailbox for new letters. One day I suggested to Olivia that she write Gretchen a letter so that Gretchen could get mail. Gretchen of course reciprocated, and now they always want to write letters to each other. Since I didn't want them scampering out to the mailbox constantly, we made indoor mailboxes out of shoeboxes, wrapping paper, and copious amounts of packing tape.
Remember back in July when I detailed an adventure that happened to our friends while we were along for the ride? Their problem was that the alternator on their van died. I was recently remembering that post and thinking about how in later years that story would seem completely unnecessary and out of place. As it happens, it was neither unnecessary nor out of place, because the same thing happened to our van on Saturday. We were driving back from Fort Wayne and slowly lost power to the van. As Gretchen describes it, "we got slower and slower and then we stopped at a gas station and now the van is broken." It was, in fact, a pizza place where we stopped. We made it to within a mile and a half of our house, but a stop sign got us in the end since we couldn't get the van to go once we rode what little momentum was left across the intersection. I steered as Bryan pushed the van into the nearby parking lot and the girls marveled at his strength. We made it further than we thought we would, and the Weys were able to come get us and take us to our house. Josh (Hodges, not Wey) knows how to fix alternators, so Bryan went to buy one at the auto parts store and on Sunday afternoon they swapped out the bad one. Our van is now running again. Hooray. :)
Pictures:
I created a turn taking system that theoretically doesn't require the girls to stand next to my elbow pestering me while I put Matthias down for a nap. It is also meant to eliminate the constant ping ponging of my attention when we're doing school. So far it is doing a poor job on both counts. :/ I like the idea, though, so we're sticking with it for a while. I have a board with squares numbered 1-4 (and room for expansion). Each child has a sign with his/her name on it. When the girls need help, they are supposed to put their signs on the next number in line and then go back to doing something independently, with the understanding that I will come find them when I am next free. The main breakdown happens in the second step, since they invariably come inform me that they've put the sign on a number and then hang around waiting for me to come check the board. So far Gretchen uses the system to ask random questions, and Olivia uses it to put Matthias's sign on number 1 whenever he is crying.
Another recent craft was mailboxes. A while ago we read a Frog and Toad story about a letter, and Olivia and Gretchen spent the afternoon drawing pictures and writing letters to anyone who came to mind. Olivia's letters followed a standard "I hope you have a happy day" form, but Gretchen's were a bit more exciting. Anyway, they got few replies, but the afternoon did kick off an obsession with checking the mailbox for new letters. One day I suggested to Olivia that she write Gretchen a letter so that Gretchen could get mail. Gretchen of course reciprocated, and now they always want to write letters to each other. Since I didn't want them scampering out to the mailbox constantly, we made indoor mailboxes out of shoeboxes, wrapping paper, and copious amounts of packing tape.
Remember back in July when I detailed an adventure that happened to our friends while we were along for the ride? Their problem was that the alternator on their van died. I was recently remembering that post and thinking about how in later years that story would seem completely unnecessary and out of place. As it happens, it was neither unnecessary nor out of place, because the same thing happened to our van on Saturday. We were driving back from Fort Wayne and slowly lost power to the van. As Gretchen describes it, "we got slower and slower and then we stopped at a gas station and now the van is broken." It was, in fact, a pizza place where we stopped. We made it to within a mile and a half of our house, but a stop sign got us in the end since we couldn't get the van to go once we rode what little momentum was left across the intersection. I steered as Bryan pushed the van into the nearby parking lot and the girls marveled at his strength. We made it further than we thought we would, and the Weys were able to come get us and take us to our house. Josh (Hodges, not Wey) knows how to fix alternators, so Bryan went to buy one at the auto parts store and on Sunday afternoon they swapped out the bad one. Our van is now running again. Hooray. :)
Kaitlyn has updated her word for elephant from "enferma" to "eleferma."
School has been going well. Olivia's reading is improving by leaps and bounds. She's into consonant blends and seems to have no trouble remembering the wildly inconsistent rules of English. Olivia had started writing on her own, so I ran her through a couple of pages of "this is how to print letters properly" and now we're working on cursive. Her math is also going well. She has recently decided she can only add and subtract using manipulatives (blocks are her favorite, but fingers will work), so I'm looking for ways to slowly break her of the counting habit. It may not ever happen completely since I still count points on numbers when I do math on a piece of paper (in my head I'm fine, though!). Gretchen's letter recognition is nearly perfect (although she did somehow decide that W was P the other day). Other than letters, Gretchen's school work is mostly fun stuff -- mazes, stickers, and coloring sheets. She wanders in and out as she pleases, but generally at least starts the day's work with Olivia. Kaitlyn also wants to do school, so she has some coloring pages, a pair of safety scissors, and a dry erase marker that she can use on our wipe clean books. They are all kept out of reach when she's not using them. :-P
Pictures:
18 October 2017
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 25
Olivia, holding a toothbrush with the wrong end between her front teeth: It's like I'm a talented rabbit.
Kaitlyn: I get dressed and watch a movie and eat lunch.
Bryan: She has plans for the day.
Kaitlyn: Well, I need to watch a movie.
Bryan: You need to watch a movie?
Kaitlyn: I need to watch a movie Sofia.
Bryan: You have to watch a movie? What will happen if you don't?
Kaitlyn: I need to watch Sofia.
Bryan: But do you have to watch a movie?
Kaitlyn, pointing at her dress: Well, look at Elsa!
Bryan: That's your most compelling argument so far.
Kaitlyn: She's pretty!
Bryan: Elsa is pretty.
Kaitlyn, pointing at an icon: That's the Jesus!
Bryan: That's Jesus.
Kaitlyn, bouncing on the bed: That's mommy's bed.
Bryan: Yes.
Kaitlyn: So, I watch a movie on the couch!
Olivia: That was when we were all here but we did not have Matthias born yet.
Kaitlyn: She needs her pacifier.
Me: She's a he.
Kaitlyn: No, she's a Fias.
Gretchen: Olivia has to turn on the light.
Me: Why does Olivia have to turn on the light?
Gretchen: Because I didn't.
Me, absent mindedly singing: Bees will buzz, cantaloupe, dandelion fuzz...
Bryan: Did you say cantaloupe?
Me: Yeah.
Bryan: Cantaloupe dandelion fuzz?! Are you serious?
Me: Those aren't the words?
Bryan: Kids will blow dandelion fuzz.
Me: Really? Bees will buzz, cantaloupe, dandelion fuzz... That's not right?
Bryan: No! What is cantaloupe dandelion fuzz?
Me: It's a list of summery things. Like in The Sound of Music: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...
Bryan: I demand that you put this in your sound bites. Cantaloupe dandelions.
Me: It fits!
Me: You're out of luck, toots.*
Gretchen: I'm not a toots. I'm just a human and a Gretchen.
*I looked up toots, and one definition I found is as follows:
A term of endearment, roughly equivalent to babe, sweetie, or honey. Note: Only applicable if you live in a black and white movie.
Babysitter: Is Gretchen usually particular?
Me: Yes.
Babysitter: Very, very particular?
Me: Welcome to my life.
Olivia: Mommy, is 100 bigger than all the numbers?
Me: No.
Olivia: Turn off the music so Gretchen can hear you.
Me: *turning off music* No.
Olivia, to Gretchen: She said no.
Gretchen, to Olivia: She just forgot.
Olivia: What is this road called?
Me: Allentown.
Olivia: That's a nice name. Would it be a good name for a daughter?
Me: Not really. Town is a city.
Olivia: But August is a month.
*Note: August is also her cousin.
Olivia: You better hurry up and get there before I am starving.
Kaitlyn: I get dressed and watch a movie and eat lunch.
Bryan: She has plans for the day.
Kaitlyn: Well, I need to watch a movie.
Bryan: You need to watch a movie?
Kaitlyn: I need to watch a movie Sofia.
Bryan: You have to watch a movie? What will happen if you don't?
Kaitlyn: I need to watch Sofia.
Bryan: But do you have to watch a movie?
Kaitlyn, pointing at her dress: Well, look at Elsa!
Bryan: That's your most compelling argument so far.
Kaitlyn: She's pretty!
Bryan: Elsa is pretty.
Kaitlyn, pointing at an icon: That's the Jesus!
Bryan: That's Jesus.
Kaitlyn, bouncing on the bed: That's mommy's bed.
Bryan: Yes.
Kaitlyn: So, I watch a movie on the couch!
Olivia: That was when we were all here but we did not have Matthias born yet.
Kaitlyn: She needs her pacifier.
Me: She's a he.
Kaitlyn: No, she's a Fias.
Gretchen: Olivia has to turn on the light.
Me: Why does Olivia have to turn on the light?
Gretchen: Because I didn't.
Me, absent mindedly singing: Bees will buzz, cantaloupe, dandelion fuzz...
Bryan: Did you say cantaloupe?
Me: Yeah.
Bryan: Cantaloupe dandelion fuzz?! Are you serious?
Me: Those aren't the words?
Bryan: Kids will blow dandelion fuzz.
Me: Really? Bees will buzz, cantaloupe, dandelion fuzz... That's not right?
Bryan: No! What is cantaloupe dandelion fuzz?
Me: It's a list of summery things. Like in The Sound of Music: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...
Bryan: I demand that you put this in your sound bites. Cantaloupe dandelions.
Me: It fits!
Me: You're out of luck, toots.*
Gretchen: I'm not a toots. I'm just a human and a Gretchen.
*I looked up toots, and one definition I found is as follows:
A term of endearment, roughly equivalent to babe, sweetie, or honey. Note: Only applicable if you live in a black and white movie.
Babysitter: Is Gretchen usually particular?
Me: Yes.
Babysitter: Very, very particular?
Me: Welcome to my life.
Olivia: Mommy, is 100 bigger than all the numbers?
Me: No.
Olivia: Turn off the music so Gretchen can hear you.
Me: *turning off music* No.
Olivia, to Gretchen: She said no.
Gretchen, to Olivia: She just forgot.
Olivia: What is this road called?
Me: Allentown.
Olivia: That's a nice name. Would it be a good name for a daughter?
Me: Not really. Town is a city.
Olivia: But August is a month.
*Note: August is also her cousin.
Olivia: You better hurry up and get there before I am starving.
08 October 2017
October 1-8
Matthias has found his thumb. It does not work as a soothing device, but he is quite adept at yelling around it as he holds it in his mouth. He is also pretty good at scooting around on both his back and his stomach, though he has no knowledge of the progress he is making. This talent really shines when he is mad: he will put his face down and muscle himself across our entire queen sized bed if given the opportunity.
Kaitlyn can do a somersault. I'm not sure where she learned how to do it since the older girls don't do them, but she is excited about her new skill.
When Gretchen holds something up for me to observe, she sticks it right in front of my nose. So close, in fact, that if I breathe too hard then my nose will run into whatever she's holding. When I attempt to back up, she follows me, thrusting her prize in my face even more insistently, "Look at it, Mommy!" I'm not sure if she's extremely nearsighted or if she just thinks other people are. Or perhaps she's worried that if she doesn't take up my whole field of vision then I won't properly pay attention.
Olivia and Matthias are good buddies. Olivia always wants to help, and is very proud of her ability to hold him. Matthias, for his part, has decided that Olivia is the least of three evils and seems to know that she will keep him safe from the greatest of three evils. He smiles at her more than he smiles at anyone (except that car baby), and he is generally content to sit with her for a few minutes while I take care of other things.
Since we didn't know when in July Matthias would make his appearance, I had to find a way to let the girls know that not everything on their calendar was set in stone. I decided on parentheses, and after I explained them to Olivia she immediately loved them. She happily adds parentheses to activities on our calendar whenever it looks like we might not accomplish them.
We took one last trip to the zoo on Monday. It closes for the season today. Kara was able to meet us there, and we spent quite a pleasant day visiting Australia and Africa. We lingered over the reef since the fish are so visible and exciting. Normally we can only stay so long before the noise of a dozen or so children in the small, echo-y space drives us out, but this time we were the only ones there. After we saw the kangaroos, the girls wanted to see the lions and giraffes, so we took a rather speedier trip through Africa. Kaitlyn had a chance to feed a giraffe, but she panicked and threw the lettuce at its face rather than holding it still. Related note, giraffes do not catch food like dogs do. Her reaction is probably due to the fact that the last time she fed a giraffe (a few zoo trips ago), it licked her thumb. She's been traumatized ever since. After Africa, we sat down for a picnic lunch and then we headed home.
On Saturday we went to the park. There was another family there, and Olivia screwed up her courage and asked a little girl what her name was. They happily played tag together until a third family came. The third family had a little girl who apparently already knew the girl Olivia was playing with, and those two went off to play their own games. Olivia persisted in trying to join them, so points for not being scared off, I guess. When we went home, she told us all about her new friend and explained that even though the other girl came, they could still be friends all together (thank you, Sofia the First). She does want to write a letter to Arabella, and perhaps even visit her house. She does not understand that we don't know where this girl lives, or that the likelihood of ever seeing her again is slim.
Pictures:
Kaitlyn can do a somersault. I'm not sure where she learned how to do it since the older girls don't do them, but she is excited about her new skill.
When Gretchen holds something up for me to observe, she sticks it right in front of my nose. So close, in fact, that if I breathe too hard then my nose will run into whatever she's holding. When I attempt to back up, she follows me, thrusting her prize in my face even more insistently, "Look at it, Mommy!" I'm not sure if she's extremely nearsighted or if she just thinks other people are. Or perhaps she's worried that if she doesn't take up my whole field of vision then I won't properly pay attention.
Olivia and Matthias are good buddies. Olivia always wants to help, and is very proud of her ability to hold him. Matthias, for his part, has decided that Olivia is the least of three evils and seems to know that she will keep him safe from the greatest of three evils. He smiles at her more than he smiles at anyone (except that car baby), and he is generally content to sit with her for a few minutes while I take care of other things.
Since we didn't know when in July Matthias would make his appearance, I had to find a way to let the girls know that not everything on their calendar was set in stone. I decided on parentheses, and after I explained them to Olivia she immediately loved them. She happily adds parentheses to activities on our calendar whenever it looks like we might not accomplish them.
We took one last trip to the zoo on Monday. It closes for the season today. Kara was able to meet us there, and we spent quite a pleasant day visiting Australia and Africa. We lingered over the reef since the fish are so visible and exciting. Normally we can only stay so long before the noise of a dozen or so children in the small, echo-y space drives us out, but this time we were the only ones there. After we saw the kangaroos, the girls wanted to see the lions and giraffes, so we took a rather speedier trip through Africa. Kaitlyn had a chance to feed a giraffe, but she panicked and threw the lettuce at its face rather than holding it still. Related note, giraffes do not catch food like dogs do. Her reaction is probably due to the fact that the last time she fed a giraffe (a few zoo trips ago), it licked her thumb. She's been traumatized ever since. After Africa, we sat down for a picnic lunch and then we headed home.
On Saturday we went to the park. There was another family there, and Olivia screwed up her courage and asked a little girl what her name was. They happily played tag together until a third family came. The third family had a little girl who apparently already knew the girl Olivia was playing with, and those two went off to play their own games. Olivia persisted in trying to join them, so points for not being scared off, I guess. When we went home, she told us all about her new friend and explained that even though the other girl came, they could still be friends all together (thank you, Sofia the First). She does want to write a letter to Arabella, and perhaps even visit her house. She does not understand that we don't know where this girl lives, or that the likelihood of ever seeing her again is slim.
Pictures:
01 October 2017
September 24-October 1
How I greeted Bryan on Sunday morning--
Me: I have bad news. Kaitlyn threw up.
Me: I have good news. It was entirely contained to a towel on the bathroom floor.
Me: I have bad news. Matthias was on the towel.
At least that happened before his bath.
Monday was our seventh anniversary. Bryan was sick, which wouldn't have been a problem except that he took Nyquil instead of Dayquil and went to bed before the kids. As it was, everyone was asleep by eight, leaving me to my own devices for several hours. I made a double batch of runzas and put enough for seven meals in my freezer.
Tuesday I took the girls (and Matthias) to the zoo. We rode the train, which was exciting for the girls but disappointing for me -- it doesn't go past any animals! I'm not sure what they were thinking when they designed the train loop, but you see zero parts of the zoo as the train takes you down through some trees and back up alongside a lake. After the train ride, we stopped by the Indian Farm section of the zoo (also not very zoo-y). The goat pen is open for visitors, so we went in to brush the goats. Kaitlyn especially was excited about touching the goats. Gretchen like brushing their heads.
Tuesday after dinner I took the kids down to Sidney in preparation for visiting the Kleins the next morning. Since we started an hour closer to their house, we did get to see Eva for a few hours before she headed off to school after lunch. After we got back to Sidney, Matthias and I ditched the girls with Grandma and went home.
Bryan and I had schole (good conversation with good friends, preferably over good food) with our church friends on Wednesday night. We enjoyed the portabella burger recipe that Grandma Aufdemberge and I discovered back in 2008.
Murry said she'd keep the girls until Friday, so Matthias and I took Thursday to run some errands. I spent far to much time and money in a teacher supply store that I learned about recently. Despite my intentions, I did not get around to practicing for the upcoming orchestra concert, nor did I get any sewing done. I did get to go to my Thursday night Bible study without any children, which is a rare occurrence -- usually I take Matthias. He was sleeping when I left, but quite distressed by the time I returned home. :(
On a related note, I joined a Bible study. It's through the Catholic church we attend, although I convinced my Orthodox friends to join, too. :) We're going through a series called The Armor of God that focuses on a few verses in Ephesians 6. I'm finding it quite enjoyable.
Friday was a little bit crazy since I had to get the girls from Sidney in time to be back for Gretchen's dance class. We made it, though. The Weys came over in the afternoon to make playdoh and talk about shapes (two completely unrelated activities). Then Olivia went to dance. I have a feeling that Fridays will always be a little crazy since we have the two separate dance classes to attend.
Saturday was just lovely. Everyone was feeling better after their various ailments. I took the girls to Joann one at a time to pick out fabric for a Christmas present I'm making. The whole family went out to Bryan's aunt and uncle's house to pick apples. We enjoyed the fall weather and didn't get too annoyed by each other. :)
Pictures:
Me: I have bad news. Kaitlyn threw up.
Me: I have good news. It was entirely contained to a towel on the bathroom floor.
Me: I have bad news. Matthias was on the towel.
At least that happened before his bath.
Monday was our seventh anniversary. Bryan was sick, which wouldn't have been a problem except that he took Nyquil instead of Dayquil and went to bed before the kids. As it was, everyone was asleep by eight, leaving me to my own devices for several hours. I made a double batch of runzas and put enough for seven meals in my freezer.
Tuesday I took the girls (and Matthias) to the zoo. We rode the train, which was exciting for the girls but disappointing for me -- it doesn't go past any animals! I'm not sure what they were thinking when they designed the train loop, but you see zero parts of the zoo as the train takes you down through some trees and back up alongside a lake. After the train ride, we stopped by the Indian Farm section of the zoo (also not very zoo-y). The goat pen is open for visitors, so we went in to brush the goats. Kaitlyn especially was excited about touching the goats. Gretchen like brushing their heads.
Tuesday after dinner I took the kids down to Sidney in preparation for visiting the Kleins the next morning. Since we started an hour closer to their house, we did get to see Eva for a few hours before she headed off to school after lunch. After we got back to Sidney, Matthias and I ditched the girls with Grandma and went home.
Bryan and I had schole (good conversation with good friends, preferably over good food) with our church friends on Wednesday night. We enjoyed the portabella burger recipe that Grandma Aufdemberge and I discovered back in 2008.
Murry said she'd keep the girls until Friday, so Matthias and I took Thursday to run some errands. I spent far to much time and money in a teacher supply store that I learned about recently. Despite my intentions, I did not get around to practicing for the upcoming orchestra concert, nor did I get any sewing done. I did get to go to my Thursday night Bible study without any children, which is a rare occurrence -- usually I take Matthias. He was sleeping when I left, but quite distressed by the time I returned home. :(
On a related note, I joined a Bible study. It's through the Catholic church we attend, although I convinced my Orthodox friends to join, too. :) We're going through a series called The Armor of God that focuses on a few verses in Ephesians 6. I'm finding it quite enjoyable.
Friday was a little bit crazy since I had to get the girls from Sidney in time to be back for Gretchen's dance class. We made it, though. The Weys came over in the afternoon to make playdoh and talk about shapes (two completely unrelated activities). Then Olivia went to dance. I have a feeling that Fridays will always be a little crazy since we have the two separate dance classes to attend.
Saturday was just lovely. Everyone was feeling better after their various ailments. I took the girls to Joann one at a time to pick out fabric for a Christmas present I'm making. The whole family went out to Bryan's aunt and uncle's house to pick apples. We enjoyed the fall weather and didn't get too annoyed by each other. :)
Pictures:
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