Me: Don't make a mess.
Kaitlyn: But I want to make a mess.
Me: No, don't make a mess.
Kaitlyn: I want to dump them everywhere.
Me: Please DO NOT make a mess.
Kaitlyn: Well, I will hide so you can't see me dump them.
Gretchen: Eek! My house is haunted!
Me: What makes you think it's haunted?
Gretchen: I saw an ant.
Olivia: What is Kaitlyn doing?
Me: She's using her plastic snack cup like a kazoo.
Kaitlyn: I'm making the food dance!
William: Dorothea is one!
Me: Yes, she's so old.
Gretchen: She is not so old! You are not so old until you are 31.
Kaitlyn: When I'm a baby then I am so whiny.
Jacob: When are you going to be a baby?
Kaitlyn: When I grow up.
Kaitlyn: I want to go over another bridge.
Me: I will let you know if one comes up.
Kaitlyn: And we can see the water.
Me: I don't know if there will be any more bridges.
Kaitlyn: Are you sure?
Me: I am sure that I don't know if there will be bridges.
Kaitlyn: No, are you SURE?
Me: Yes.
Kaitlyn: Then don't even bother me about bridges.
Instances of "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means"
-My blanket is so spicy.
-I don't like walking on the grass; it's spicy.
-Are we almost there? I'm getting too comfy.
-I don't want to be comfy.
25 July 2018
01 July 2018
June 10-July 1
The older girls had VBS June 11-15. They learned about being superheros for God (I think?) and now we have a new Bible bop CD to go with our one from last year. Kaitlyn was very sad that she didn't get to go.
Matthias is scared of the DVD player. He likes to stand next to the xbox and push the green button to make it turn on and off, but every now and again he hits the eject button. The DVD tray shoots out, and Matthias plops to the floor and cries. He has a similar relationship with the printer. He once made it copy a blank page 11 times and the resulting output was terrifying.
The baby cage is officially a baby cage again. It began life as a cage to keep Olivia in, but then evolved into a cage to keep Gretchen (and then Kaitlyn) out. A few weeks ago I moved it from the playroom to the living room and put all of Matthias's toys and books in it so that he can be contained sometimes. He knows how to work the latch, so he's only stuck if someone locks it. He is often content to play in there, slightly removed from the chaos but still able to see everyone.
I forgot to mention in the last post that Gretchen had a tick. We get the big dog ticks, not the little deer ticks, but that doesn't make them any less gross. The tick story is pretty predictable until the end when I didn't know what to do with it (crushing it in a kleenex didn't work), so I put it and its kleenex in a glass bowl and set it on fire. Justine told me afterwards that I could just flush it down the toilet, but that doesn't sound nearly as fun. Anyway, Gretchen has now added ticks to her list of reasons to not go outside.
We visited Cleveland for Rudy's birthday last weekend. It was spa themed, and the girls got sparkly fingernails and fancy temporary tattoos. We tried to do animal inspired little kids face masks with them, which turned out okay. They were funny, but also kind of terrifying. Pictures below. After Cleveland we swung around to Pittsburgh and visited the Bossards for a few days. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside and the adults played board games every evening. :)
Olivia has turned into a reader. She is seldom found without a book nearby. She usually claims to just be looking at the pictures, but she knows little bits about the stories, so I know she's reading some of them. Kara gifted us some American Girl books (including two full sets), and those were the most exciting things ever. We're reading the Samantha series together, but Olivia is reading some of the other ones by herself. Olivia also likes to draw pictures andwrite dictate her own books. I made a cover for one once and wrote "by Olivia Barhorst" under the title, which was game changing. She's written three books since then and always asks me to write "by Olivia" on them.
I've been noticing recently that Gretchen is getting very responsible and grown-up. It's harder to notice with the second child since there's a first child around being older, but Gretchen has matured a lot these past few months. She's very helpful and often does things without being asked. She does still need to be reminded to stay on task for a lot of things, but every now and again she gets super intensely focused on whatever it is that she's doing. She helps Kaitlyn with little chores and is often instrumental in making sure Kaitlyn is ready when we need to go out the door. She plays with Matthias to make him happy and is delighted to sit and feed him at the table. Gretchen is very concerned with being stylish, and she's constantly designing the perfect dress/shoes/hair accessory.
Kaitlyn is getting better about playing with Matthias. I think the main difference is that he's getting bigger, actually. He fights back, and she lets him (actually, his first steady steps were made in an attempt to pull her hair). They have a lot of giggly times together; I recently heard them laughing from the kitchen while I was in the bedroom putting clothes away. Then I began hearing the fridge water running in between bouts of laughter. I came out to a pretty big mess and a soaking wet Matthias. In other news, Kaitlyn desperately wants to be one of the big girls. She is insistent that she can do anything they can. She plays pretty well in their games until she gets mad that no one will take her bossing seriously. She has learned to ride a bike (with training wheels) and loves to spend time outside riding on the blacktop.
Matthias points at things. He does not clap, despite efforts to teach him. He can use a sippy cup and a squeezy pouch (with supervision), but not a straw. He is very interested in using a real cup, but he dribbles a lot. His favorite toy currently is his set of stacking cups (nesting cups?) which he happily unnests and renests. He attempts stacking, but they fall down a lot. He has also tried to stack mason jars that he found in the kitchen. He is interested in cupboards and is confused by the few that are babyproofed. He likes chasing a ball around and he also enjoys wrestling.
The biggest news on the Matthias front is that he can walk! I'm putting it at eleven and a half months, which is the earliest any of our kids have walked. He's been taking steps here and there since ten months, but he didn't really get confident until we returned from our trip to Pittsburgh on the 27th. As of this writing, he can get to standing in the middle of the room by himself, and he walks about half the time, reverting to crawling only if he wants to get somewhere quickly. He's got a cute little rolling swagger that looks very unstable and makes every completed journey seem somewhat miraculous.
Pictures:
Matthias is scared of the DVD player. He likes to stand next to the xbox and push the green button to make it turn on and off, but every now and again he hits the eject button. The DVD tray shoots out, and Matthias plops to the floor and cries. He has a similar relationship with the printer. He once made it copy a blank page 11 times and the resulting output was terrifying.
The baby cage is officially a baby cage again. It began life as a cage to keep Olivia in, but then evolved into a cage to keep Gretchen (and then Kaitlyn) out. A few weeks ago I moved it from the playroom to the living room and put all of Matthias's toys and books in it so that he can be contained sometimes. He knows how to work the latch, so he's only stuck if someone locks it. He is often content to play in there, slightly removed from the chaos but still able to see everyone.
I forgot to mention in the last post that Gretchen had a tick. We get the big dog ticks, not the little deer ticks, but that doesn't make them any less gross. The tick story is pretty predictable until the end when I didn't know what to do with it (crushing it in a kleenex didn't work), so I put it and its kleenex in a glass bowl and set it on fire. Justine told me afterwards that I could just flush it down the toilet, but that doesn't sound nearly as fun. Anyway, Gretchen has now added ticks to her list of reasons to not go outside.
We visited Cleveland for Rudy's birthday last weekend. It was spa themed, and the girls got sparkly fingernails and fancy temporary tattoos. We tried to do animal inspired little kids face masks with them, which turned out okay. They were funny, but also kind of terrifying. Pictures below. After Cleveland we swung around to Pittsburgh and visited the Bossards for a few days. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside and the adults played board games every evening. :)
Olivia has turned into a reader. She is seldom found without a book nearby. She usually claims to just be looking at the pictures, but she knows little bits about the stories, so I know she's reading some of them. Kara gifted us some American Girl books (including two full sets), and those were the most exciting things ever. We're reading the Samantha series together, but Olivia is reading some of the other ones by herself. Olivia also likes to draw pictures and
I've been noticing recently that Gretchen is getting very responsible and grown-up. It's harder to notice with the second child since there's a first child around being older, but Gretchen has matured a lot these past few months. She's very helpful and often does things without being asked. She does still need to be reminded to stay on task for a lot of things, but every now and again she gets super intensely focused on whatever it is that she's doing. She helps Kaitlyn with little chores and is often instrumental in making sure Kaitlyn is ready when we need to go out the door. She plays with Matthias to make him happy and is delighted to sit and feed him at the table. Gretchen is very concerned with being stylish, and she's constantly designing the perfect dress/shoes/hair accessory.
Kaitlyn is getting better about playing with Matthias. I think the main difference is that he's getting bigger, actually. He fights back, and she lets him (actually, his first steady steps were made in an attempt to pull her hair). They have a lot of giggly times together; I recently heard them laughing from the kitchen while I was in the bedroom putting clothes away. Then I began hearing the fridge water running in between bouts of laughter. I came out to a pretty big mess and a soaking wet Matthias. In other news, Kaitlyn desperately wants to be one of the big girls. She is insistent that she can do anything they can. She plays pretty well in their games until she gets mad that no one will take her bossing seriously. She has learned to ride a bike (with training wheels) and loves to spend time outside riding on the blacktop.
Matthias points at things. He does not clap, despite efforts to teach him. He can use a sippy cup and a squeezy pouch (with supervision), but not a straw. He is very interested in using a real cup, but he dribbles a lot. His favorite toy currently is his set of stacking cups (nesting cups?) which he happily unnests and renests. He attempts stacking, but they fall down a lot. He has also tried to stack mason jars that he found in the kitchen. He is interested in cupboards and is confused by the few that are babyproofed. He likes chasing a ball around and he also enjoys wrestling.
The biggest news on the Matthias front is that he can walk! I'm putting it at eleven and a half months, which is the earliest any of our kids have walked. He's been taking steps here and there since ten months, but he didn't really get confident until we returned from our trip to Pittsburgh on the 27th. As of this writing, he can get to standing in the middle of the room by himself, and he walks about half the time, reverting to crawling only if he wants to get somewhere quickly. He's got a cute little rolling swagger that looks very unstable and makes every completed journey seem somewhat miraculous.
Pictures:
20 June 2018
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 33
Kaitlyn, on a freeway entrance ramp: Oh no, here comes that! I think it's going to bonk our car!
Me: I think we will be okay.
Kaitlyn: There it is! I think I'm going to bonk to it.
Olivia: I neeeed screen time.
Gretchen: When you are a grown-up, will you know how to do it?
Me: I am already a grown-up.
Gretchen: No, I mean when you get to choose when you want to do.
Kaitlyn, to me: I'm mad at you. I'm not going to marry you because you are a mean girl.
Gretchen: If we do not get another baby then we will not have any more brothers and sisters.
Olivia: We will get another baby. I just know it.
Gretchen: I hope it is a girl baby. Or a boy, as long as he's cute.
Gretchen: Kaitlyn, sorry is not a magic word that will make you not get telled on.
Kaitlyn: When I'm feeling blue, I go with Rudy and get in my pool.
Gretchen: Mommy, I've never seen you all dressed up like this. It's like you're a new girl.
Me: Thank you.
Gretchen: Why did you say thank you?
Me: ...I assumed it was a complement.
Olivia: If you say sorry three times then I will not tell on you.
Kaitlyn, to Olivia after Olivia had been gone all day: I am playing with Gretchen and we are doing just fine, we don't need your help.
Gretchen, discussing hair salons: I want my hair styled a new way.
Me: How would you want it?
Gretchen: Can they shave it like a star?
Bryan, taking a bite of a vegan brownie: These aren't brownies, these are lies.
Kaitlyn: Can I go outside and find Jesus and kill him?
**Note -- She's been very interested in Jesus's death recently, particularly the part with the nails.
Gretchen: Do you know how to make little plastic people that we can paint?
Me: Nope.
Gretchen: Do you know how to make real people?
Me: ................................No.
Olivia: No, they did not get married. They just kissed each other because they wanted to.
Me: Do you want warm pizza or cold pizza?
Kaitlyn: Warm pizza. Actually I want hot pizza. But I want it a little cooler. But hot.
Me: I think we will be okay.
Kaitlyn: There it is! I think I'm going to bonk to it.
Olivia: I neeeed screen time.
Gretchen: When you are a grown-up, will you know how to do it?
Me: I am already a grown-up.
Gretchen: No, I mean when you get to choose when you want to do.
Kaitlyn, to me: I'm mad at you. I'm not going to marry you because you are a mean girl.
Gretchen: If we do not get another baby then we will not have any more brothers and sisters.
Olivia: We will get another baby. I just know it.
Gretchen: I hope it is a girl baby. Or a boy, as long as he's cute.
Gretchen: Kaitlyn, sorry is not a magic word that will make you not get telled on.
Kaitlyn: When I'm feeling blue, I go with Rudy and get in my pool.
Gretchen: Mommy, I've never seen you all dressed up like this. It's like you're a new girl.
Me: Thank you.
Gretchen: Why did you say thank you?
Me: ...I assumed it was a complement.
Olivia: If you say sorry three times then I will not tell on you.
Kaitlyn, to Olivia after Olivia had been gone all day: I am playing with Gretchen and we are doing just fine, we don't need your help.
Gretchen, discussing hair salons: I want my hair styled a new way.
Me: How would you want it?
Gretchen: Can they shave it like a star?
Bryan, taking a bite of a vegan brownie: These aren't brownies, these are lies.
Kaitlyn: Can I go outside and find Jesus and kill him?
**Note -- She's been very interested in Jesus's death recently, particularly the part with the nails.
Gretchen: Do you know how to make little plastic people that we can paint?
Me: Nope.
Gretchen: Do you know how to make real people?
Me: ................................No.
Olivia: No, they did not get married. They just kissed each other because they wanted to.
Me: Do you want warm pizza or cold pizza?
Kaitlyn: Warm pizza. Actually I want hot pizza. But I want it a little cooler. But hot.
10 June 2018
May 13-June 10
And the words from the last post...
Our washing machine stopped spinning on (Orthodox) Good Friday. On Saturday morning I called a technician and made an appointment for Monday. The tech came, examined, the washer, and told me that it would cost $600 to fix since the transmission had pretty much dropped out of the middle. I didn't understand the explanation, but the washer was only $350 or so new, so we ended up buying a new one. The old one got hauled to the scrap metal yard, which was a new and interesting experience for me.
The kids and I took a trip to Pittsburgh in April. I remember that the weather was incredibly unpredictable. It was 80 one day and snowing the next. The goal for the visit was to play duets, and Justine and I managed to play a little bit every day. We also discovered table music, which is one sheet of music played from opposite sides of a table. Will has a new composing challenge. What else? We went to Music Together. We went on a hike and remembered that my girls are not very outdoorsy. Neither is their mother. They did stop to examine every tiny flower along the path, though. The big kids played Sleeping Queens and Robot Turtles with no adult supervision. Matthias climbed up the two steps into the playroom and then rolled back down them several times a day.
The Bossards came to visit us in May. The goal for the trip was to see Olivia and Gretchen dance -- check. The cousins are more comfortable with each other each time we get together. We didn't get any group pictures this visit due to lack of Bossard cooperation, but an attempt to all be grumpy together led to the invention of the Bossard Flop, which my girls happily demonstrated for a picture while the originators slid off the couch lest they be captured by the paparazzi. Oh! We visited the zoo with Kara and got the first complete third cousins line-up!
My post a few months ago mentioned several skills that Matthias has picked up. As of that post, he also waves, does high fives, and tilts his head to the right, but not the left. When he wants to tip his head to the left, he ends up leaning with his whole body. Nothing has really changed in that regard; he has the same skills, although he uses them more frequently now.
Our zoo membership expires at the end of August, so I'm trying to get in as many zoo visits as possible. We've been three times already since it opened for the season at the end of April.
Matthias had a 9 month checkup on April 12. 20.7 pounds, 28.75 inches long.
The kids really enjoy going to Music Together when we get a chance (with Justine's kids or when Jacque comes and does a mini class), but the closest studio to us is 50 minutes away. We did check it out once and I was unimpressed with the teacher -- definitely not worth the drive or expense. I decided it would be more worth it for me to just take the training myself, so I signed up. On the form they ask if you're willing to open a studio and I marked 'yes' since I would have to open a studio if I wanted to teach. This set off a whole chain of events involving a lot of calls from higher-ups in Music Together. I asked the girls' dance teacher if she'd be open to me using her studio to teach. As soon as I got confirmation on that, the training I was originally set to attend got canceled, I was given a scholarship to attend a free training somewhere else (providing I get there myself), and I applied to open a licensed studio. It's all coming together rather quickly, especially considering that three months ago I wasn't even thinking about taking the training. My training session is in July now, and then it looks like I'll probably be opening a studio in the fall.
After I finished Gretchen's patchwork dress, I found a great dragon remnant at the fabric store and then discovered the novelty aisle where I picked up some cute prints for the girls. I was a dress making machine for a while and all three girls got new dresses. I have one more cut out to sew still, and the fabric for probably nine more stacked up waiting to be used. I've also made a dress for a doll. Gretchen chose and arranged the fabric herself.
Olivia had her make-up shadow day at school on April 24. When I woke her up in the morning, the first thing she said was, "Is it snowing?" It was not, so she got out of bed and got ready to go. I dropped her off with the guidance counselor, waved goodbye, and watched her head off to the kindergarten classroom. After a very peaceful day at home, I picked her up and casually asked, "anything I need to know?" The reply was a very unsatisfactory, "We'll give you a call." Boo, hiss. I quizzed Olivia about her day on the drive home, and she was not as helpful as I would have preferred. Since she didn't know the names of any of the teachers she saw, I pulled up the online directory and showed her pictures of the teachers so that I could piece together her day. I still don't know for sure what she did, but here's my best guess: She started the day in a kindergarten classroom, and then got pulled out for an individual assessment. She had to read a book about insects and do some writing (not in cursive, though -- she asked). At some point, she told the evaluator that she was tired of doing school. After lunch, she went to a different classroom, most likely first grade. She went to a special (probably music), visited another classroom with the same after lunch students (the first grades switch for one subject), and then went back to the original after lunch room. Having deduced all this, I thought it likely that they would recommend that she be in second grade next year (why else would they have her shadow in first grade after her assessment?). After impatiently waiting a week, I called to ask. They recommend first grade next year, noting that she'll be at the top of her class but that there should be a few other students there with her. (Note: This past week I did get confirmation that she spent the afternoon in first grade. No explanations were offered, but I was proud of my sleuthing skills.)
Gretchen had a birthday! She's five now and suddenly seeming very old. I made her a chocolate cake and she decorated it with m&ms and pink candy pearls.
The girls had their dance recital. Gretchen danced to the song "Dance a Little Polka." Her dance moves were okay, but her facial expressions were fantastic. She's so fair skinned that stage makeup really makes her features pop and she hams everything up. Olivia is old enough that she is in TWO dances now, one ballet and one tap. The ballet was "A Million Dreams" and they did fancy things like splitting the class into groups that do different moves at the same time. Tap was to "76 Trombones," which was very exciting to me. She's a very fidgety dancer with a lot of nervous leg scratching and face touching and hair smoothing. When she wasn't fidgeting her dancing was lovely.
Since the recital, we started listening to The Music Man in the car. Once the girls were familiar with the music, I let them watch the movie. Olivia loved it even though she understood very little. Gretchen and Kaitlyn were less impressed, but they seemed to like it okay. More importantly, the seeds have been planted!
Gretchen has desperately wanted to have her ears pierced for some time now. Last month she decided she was going to be brave and she drew a picture on the calendar for me to take her to get her ears pierced. As we were getting ready to go out the door, Olivia asked if she could come, too. I almost said no, guessing what would happen, but I let her hop in the van. Gretchen's bravery was not so strong that she was willing to go first. She generously gave first crack to Olivia and happily wandered to the other side of the store to look at pretty earrings. Olivia squealed when the piercing happened, and Gretchen popped out from behind a display, eyes wide as she covered her ears with her hands and shook her head. Olivia recovered quickly, but the damage was done. Olivia is very happy with her newly pierced ears, and Gretchen stalwartly refuses to let any piercing guns near her, even with the incentive of ice cream afterwards.
Kaitlyn loves bananas. If given the chance, Kaitlyn will eat an entire bunch of bananas in one day. I know this because I once found a neat little row of five banana stems on the counter. She peels them herself and had remembered to throw away the peels but apparently forgot about the tops that she'd pulled off. Any bananas that we buy (few, to say the least) now reside in an upper cupboard where I promptly forget they exist until Kaitlyn reminds me.
One weekend in May the women from church took a trip to Holy Transfiguration monastery in Pennsylvania. Matthias came with me and made friends with the nuns. It was a relatively peaceful weekend (as peaceful as a weekend can be with a ten month old in tow) and someday I'd like to go back with the girls one at a time.
Matthias has four new teeth. Three popped through his gums during a very unhappy trip home from the monastery. This brings his grand total up to ten.
Gretchen and Kaitlyn had their yearly checkups on May 22. Kaitlyn is 33.5 pounds and 37 inches tall. Gretchen is 41 pounds and 44 inches tall. Gretchen also got her 5 year old shots. It took three people to hold her down to administer two (simultaneous) shots while she cried and yelled about how she didn't want a shot. The yelling continued even after the shots were done. Once she'd recovered from her panic, she said, "I didn't even feel when they gave me the shots." She also asked later why they couldn't have pierced her ears at the same time. Pediatric piercings should be a thing.
Kaitlyn says "fof" instead of "of" sometimes. This is best illustrated in the phrase "Let go fof me!" She's so cute and angry. She also uses "lasterday" and "lasternight." They refer to some previous time that is probably not yesterday.
The Barhorst pronunciation of "ridiculous" is "redickleus." Olivia and Gretchen both say it. I have no reason to believe Kaitlyn and Matthias will fare any better. Also heard is "accilently" instead of "accidentally."
Kaitlyn still struggles with the word elephant. She usually says "eleferma," but has recently noticed that her pronunciation is incorrect and the corrected version comes out "eltafence."
When the girls talk about a group of people, they tend to just add "-ers." A group of eight-year-olds is "eighters." Ballerinas are "balleters." Soccer players are "soccer..ers." Bryan's favorite manifestation of this habit is their word for students: classers.
I've had pretty bad headaches frequently since January. They're enough of a problem that I'm finally seeing a doctor to see what can be done. It figures, since we banked on this being a non-baby year and went with the high deductible insurance. Oh well. I had bloodwork done (normal), got a CT scan of my sinuses (normal), and went to the eye doctor (no appreciable prescription change, yay!). Since the headaches have been less severe this past month, the current approach is to wait. If they get worse again then the next step would be an MRI. Bryan is convinced that they are related to my borderline anemic state -- all the pertinent numbers were on the lowest end of normal -- and has been encouraging me to eat an iron rich diet. I don't know that it's helping, but it's not making anything worse.
Matthias howls like a wolf. I'm not sure how or when it started, but it's really funny and super cute. We all howl back at him. So far I have not been able to get a video of his howl, but there is a picture below.
We took a vacation to Sidney the last week of May. The girls got to visit Grandma and Grandpa and stay up late and watch movies, but we didn't have to pay for a hotel or deal with all sleeping in the same room. We took two day trips while we were there, visiting the Ohio Caverns and Scene 75 (an arcade with a bounce house and mini bowling inside). Murry watched Matthias when we went to the caverns, which was useful. She also watched all the kids one day while Bryan and I drove to Cleveland to buy a new (to us) van! It's a 2015 Honda (dark blue, eight seats) and promises to be much more reliable than our poor struggling Dodge.
Matthias has taken steps. He's become very comfortable with standing over the last week or so (since the vacation to Sidney). Generally his steps are more of a controlled fall into a waiting pair of arms (the most fun game ever!), but every now and again he maintains his balance for a step or two. A few days ago he took two steps without even wobbling in order to more effectively pull Kaitlyn's hair. The sibling rivalry is real. Crawling is still his preferred form of forward progress.
Gretchen has been able to read for a few months now. She is slowly working her way through the primary books we have. She can sound short vowel words out but has not progressed beyond that yet. She's also very interested in school things recently, and pulls out workbooks to do random pages that look fun. There's no rhyme or reason to the order in which she completes her work, but she seems happy reading sentences and drawing pictures to go with them.
The first week of June is learn to swim week at the YMCA, so we signed up for "don't be afraid of water" classes. The three girls practiced blowing bubbles, kicking feet, moving arms, and NOT getting their eyes wet. :/ Gretchen does a pretty decent back float (with someone standing right next to her, of course), and Olivia follows directions well. Kaitlyn alternated happily jumping in when prompted with clinging desperately to an instructor in two and a half feet of water. Matthias spent the week exploring the observation deck above the pool, being mad that I wouldn't put him down near the water, and suffering from constantly interrupted naps.
Pictures:
Our washing machine stopped spinning on (Orthodox) Good Friday. On Saturday morning I called a technician and made an appointment for Monday. The tech came, examined, the washer, and told me that it would cost $600 to fix since the transmission had pretty much dropped out of the middle. I didn't understand the explanation, but the washer was only $350 or so new, so we ended up buying a new one. The old one got hauled to the scrap metal yard, which was a new and interesting experience for me.
The kids and I took a trip to Pittsburgh in April. I remember that the weather was incredibly unpredictable. It was 80 one day and snowing the next. The goal for the visit was to play duets, and Justine and I managed to play a little bit every day. We also discovered table music, which is one sheet of music played from opposite sides of a table. Will has a new composing challenge. What else? We went to Music Together. We went on a hike and remembered that my girls are not very outdoorsy. Neither is their mother. They did stop to examine every tiny flower along the path, though. The big kids played Sleeping Queens and Robot Turtles with no adult supervision. Matthias climbed up the two steps into the playroom and then rolled back down them several times a day.
The Bossards came to visit us in May. The goal for the trip was to see Olivia and Gretchen dance -- check. The cousins are more comfortable with each other each time we get together. We didn't get any group pictures this visit due to lack of Bossard cooperation, but an attempt to all be grumpy together led to the invention of the Bossard Flop, which my girls happily demonstrated for a picture while the originators slid off the couch lest they be captured by the paparazzi. Oh! We visited the zoo with Kara and got the first complete third cousins line-up!
My post a few months ago mentioned several skills that Matthias has picked up. As of that post, he also waves, does high fives, and tilts his head to the right, but not the left. When he wants to tip his head to the left, he ends up leaning with his whole body. Nothing has really changed in that regard; he has the same skills, although he uses them more frequently now.
Our zoo membership expires at the end of August, so I'm trying to get in as many zoo visits as possible. We've been three times already since it opened for the season at the end of April.
Matthias had a 9 month checkup on April 12. 20.7 pounds, 28.75 inches long.
The kids really enjoy going to Music Together when we get a chance (with Justine's kids or when Jacque comes and does a mini class), but the closest studio to us is 50 minutes away. We did check it out once and I was unimpressed with the teacher -- definitely not worth the drive or expense. I decided it would be more worth it for me to just take the training myself, so I signed up. On the form they ask if you're willing to open a studio and I marked 'yes' since I would have to open a studio if I wanted to teach. This set off a whole chain of events involving a lot of calls from higher-ups in Music Together. I asked the girls' dance teacher if she'd be open to me using her studio to teach. As soon as I got confirmation on that, the training I was originally set to attend got canceled, I was given a scholarship to attend a free training somewhere else (providing I get there myself), and I applied to open a licensed studio. It's all coming together rather quickly, especially considering that three months ago I wasn't even thinking about taking the training. My training session is in July now, and then it looks like I'll probably be opening a studio in the fall.
After I finished Gretchen's patchwork dress, I found a great dragon remnant at the fabric store and then discovered the novelty aisle where I picked up some cute prints for the girls. I was a dress making machine for a while and all three girls got new dresses. I have one more cut out to sew still, and the fabric for probably nine more stacked up waiting to be used. I've also made a dress for a doll. Gretchen chose and arranged the fabric herself.
Olivia had her make-up shadow day at school on April 24. When I woke her up in the morning, the first thing she said was, "Is it snowing?" It was not, so she got out of bed and got ready to go. I dropped her off with the guidance counselor, waved goodbye, and watched her head off to the kindergarten classroom. After a very peaceful day at home, I picked her up and casually asked, "anything I need to know?" The reply was a very unsatisfactory, "We'll give you a call." Boo, hiss. I quizzed Olivia about her day on the drive home, and she was not as helpful as I would have preferred. Since she didn't know the names of any of the teachers she saw, I pulled up the online directory and showed her pictures of the teachers so that I could piece together her day. I still don't know for sure what she did, but here's my best guess: She started the day in a kindergarten classroom, and then got pulled out for an individual assessment. She had to read a book about insects and do some writing (not in cursive, though -- she asked). At some point, she told the evaluator that she was tired of doing school. After lunch, she went to a different classroom, most likely first grade. She went to a special (probably music), visited another classroom with the same after lunch students (the first grades switch for one subject), and then went back to the original after lunch room. Having deduced all this, I thought it likely that they would recommend that she be in second grade next year (why else would they have her shadow in first grade after her assessment?). After impatiently waiting a week, I called to ask. They recommend first grade next year, noting that she'll be at the top of her class but that there should be a few other students there with her. (Note: This past week I did get confirmation that she spent the afternoon in first grade. No explanations were offered, but I was proud of my sleuthing skills.)
Gretchen had a birthday! She's five now and suddenly seeming very old. I made her a chocolate cake and she decorated it with m&ms and pink candy pearls.
The girls had their dance recital. Gretchen danced to the song "Dance a Little Polka." Her dance moves were okay, but her facial expressions were fantastic. She's so fair skinned that stage makeup really makes her features pop and she hams everything up. Olivia is old enough that she is in TWO dances now, one ballet and one tap. The ballet was "A Million Dreams" and they did fancy things like splitting the class into groups that do different moves at the same time. Tap was to "76 Trombones," which was very exciting to me. She's a very fidgety dancer with a lot of nervous leg scratching and face touching and hair smoothing. When she wasn't fidgeting her dancing was lovely.
Since the recital, we started listening to The Music Man in the car. Once the girls were familiar with the music, I let them watch the movie. Olivia loved it even though she understood very little. Gretchen and Kaitlyn were less impressed, but they seemed to like it okay. More importantly, the seeds have been planted!
Gretchen has desperately wanted to have her ears pierced for some time now. Last month she decided she was going to be brave and she drew a picture on the calendar for me to take her to get her ears pierced. As we were getting ready to go out the door, Olivia asked if she could come, too. I almost said no, guessing what would happen, but I let her hop in the van. Gretchen's bravery was not so strong that she was willing to go first. She generously gave first crack to Olivia and happily wandered to the other side of the store to look at pretty earrings. Olivia squealed when the piercing happened, and Gretchen popped out from behind a display, eyes wide as she covered her ears with her hands and shook her head. Olivia recovered quickly, but the damage was done. Olivia is very happy with her newly pierced ears, and Gretchen stalwartly refuses to let any piercing guns near her, even with the incentive of ice cream afterwards.
Kaitlyn loves bananas. If given the chance, Kaitlyn will eat an entire bunch of bananas in one day. I know this because I once found a neat little row of five banana stems on the counter. She peels them herself and had remembered to throw away the peels but apparently forgot about the tops that she'd pulled off. Any bananas that we buy (few, to say the least) now reside in an upper cupboard where I promptly forget they exist until Kaitlyn reminds me.
One weekend in May the women from church took a trip to Holy Transfiguration monastery in Pennsylvania. Matthias came with me and made friends with the nuns. It was a relatively peaceful weekend (as peaceful as a weekend can be with a ten month old in tow) and someday I'd like to go back with the girls one at a time.
Matthias has four new teeth. Three popped through his gums during a very unhappy trip home from the monastery. This brings his grand total up to ten.
Gretchen and Kaitlyn had their yearly checkups on May 22. Kaitlyn is 33.5 pounds and 37 inches tall. Gretchen is 41 pounds and 44 inches tall. Gretchen also got her 5 year old shots. It took three people to hold her down to administer two (simultaneous) shots while she cried and yelled about how she didn't want a shot. The yelling continued even after the shots were done. Once she'd recovered from her panic, she said, "I didn't even feel when they gave me the shots." She also asked later why they couldn't have pierced her ears at the same time. Pediatric piercings should be a thing.
Kaitlyn says "fof" instead of "of" sometimes. This is best illustrated in the phrase "Let go fof me!" She's so cute and angry. She also uses "lasterday" and "lasternight." They refer to some previous time that is probably not yesterday.
The Barhorst pronunciation of "ridiculous" is "redickleus." Olivia and Gretchen both say it. I have no reason to believe Kaitlyn and Matthias will fare any better. Also heard is "accilently" instead of "accidentally."
Kaitlyn still struggles with the word elephant. She usually says "eleferma," but has recently noticed that her pronunciation is incorrect and the corrected version comes out "eltafence."
When the girls talk about a group of people, they tend to just add "-ers." A group of eight-year-olds is "eighters." Ballerinas are "balleters." Soccer players are "soccer..ers." Bryan's favorite manifestation of this habit is their word for students: classers.
I've had pretty bad headaches frequently since January. They're enough of a problem that I'm finally seeing a doctor to see what can be done. It figures, since we banked on this being a non-baby year and went with the high deductible insurance. Oh well. I had bloodwork done (normal), got a CT scan of my sinuses (normal), and went to the eye doctor (no appreciable prescription change, yay!). Since the headaches have been less severe this past month, the current approach is to wait. If they get worse again then the next step would be an MRI. Bryan is convinced that they are related to my borderline anemic state -- all the pertinent numbers were on the lowest end of normal -- and has been encouraging me to eat an iron rich diet. I don't know that it's helping, but it's not making anything worse.
Matthias howls like a wolf. I'm not sure how or when it started, but it's really funny and super cute. We all howl back at him. So far I have not been able to get a video of his howl, but there is a picture below.
We took a vacation to Sidney the last week of May. The girls got to visit Grandma and Grandpa and stay up late and watch movies, but we didn't have to pay for a hotel or deal with all sleeping in the same room. We took two day trips while we were there, visiting the Ohio Caverns and Scene 75 (an arcade with a bounce house and mini bowling inside). Murry watched Matthias when we went to the caverns, which was useful. She also watched all the kids one day while Bryan and I drove to Cleveland to buy a new (to us) van! It's a 2015 Honda (dark blue, eight seats) and promises to be much more reliable than our poor struggling Dodge.
Matthias has taken steps. He's become very comfortable with standing over the last week or so (since the vacation to Sidney). Generally his steps are more of a controlled fall into a waiting pair of arms (the most fun game ever!), but every now and again he maintains his balance for a step or two. A few days ago he took two steps without even wobbling in order to more effectively pull Kaitlyn's hair. The sibling rivalry is real. Crawling is still his preferred form of forward progress.
Gretchen has been able to read for a few months now. She is slowly working her way through the primary books we have. She can sound short vowel words out but has not progressed beyond that yet. She's also very interested in school things recently, and pulls out workbooks to do random pages that look fun. There's no rhyme or reason to the order in which she completes her work, but she seems happy reading sentences and drawing pictures to go with them.
The first week of June is learn to swim week at the YMCA, so we signed up for "don't be afraid of water" classes. The three girls practiced blowing bubbles, kicking feet, moving arms, and NOT getting their eyes wet. :/ Gretchen does a pretty decent back float (with someone standing right next to her, of course), and Olivia follows directions well. Kaitlyn alternated happily jumping in when prompted with clinging desperately to an instructor in two and a half feet of water. Matthias spent the week exploring the observation deck above the pool, being mad that I wouldn't put him down near the water, and suffering from constantly interrupted naps.
Pictures:
13 May 2018
April 15-May 13
Pictures from the last month. We'll see if I'm on top of things enough to add words by next week.
Cousin pictures in Pittsburgh:
Matthias sleeping:
Gretchen in her new patchwork dress:
Matthias examines Gwen:
A balloon as big as Matthias:
Olivia made glasses:
My fabulous hairdo:
Olivia plays soccer:
Kaitlyn and Walter:
The Barhorst girls do the Bossard flop:
Matthias and I were matching:
Oatmeal for everyone:
Kaitlyn and Walter played especially well together this visit. They loved to swing and jump on the trampoline:
After getting great pictures of Kaitlyn/Walter and Matthias/Dorothea, we tried for an Olivia/William shot:
Big kids playing with locks:
A towel elephant!
Cousin pictures in Pittsburgh:
Matthias sleeping:
Gretchen in her new patchwork dress:
Matthias, eating a pebble:
Matthias examines Gwen:
Pictures from the zoo:
A balloon as big as Matthias:
Olivia made glasses:
My fabulous hairdo:
This giant pink ball is tasty:
Olivia plays soccer:
Kaitlyn and Walter:
Matthias and Dorothea:
Matthias and I were matching:
Attempts at a cousin train:
A Barhorst train!
Oatmeal for everyone:
Matthias and Dorothea were meal buddies. Matthias would sample everything, and once Dorothea was confident it wasn't poisoned she would eat as well:
Kaitlyn and Walter played especially well together this visit. They loved to swing and jump on the trampoline:
After getting great pictures of Kaitlyn/Walter and Matthias/Dorothea, we tried for an Olivia/William shot:
Big kids playing with locks:
Another zoo trip, this one with the first complete third cousin line-ups:
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