10. The kids love to clean. I'm delighted. They take a paper towel (or wipie) and scrub the floor or chairs or where ever they are directed. This weekend they even got a sticker for it.
9. Which leads me to, whoever invented stickers is a genius. And the Target dollar aisle. Granted our house is covered in stickers once the kids get tired of having them on their hands, but they are magical. We have used them for potty training extensively (1 for #1, 2 for #2), but now we use them for many purposes - they got one for following house rules, or for wining Simon Says, or you name it....
8. We went to Bray's big all employee party at the zoo Sunday. We are zoo members and the kids always jump at the chance to go to the zoo. But this had a cherry on top (minus the thunderstorm we got caught in). A BIG party in a BIG pavilion. The highlight, at least for the eldest and the little lady, was their first ever experience with FACE painting! What fun. She got a pink kitty cat and he got a blue elephant. Too bad they didn't last all day because they loved those characters. There was food, dancing to the dj, popcorn and snow cones, bubbles, bounce houses and more. Plus Bray got to show off what cute kids he has. It was so worth the big blister I have on my foot from wearing the wrong shoes!
7. We swapped kitchen tables with my mom this weekend. We had a glass one that could have shattered at any moment with all the abuse and mom had a wooden one. We'd been talking about it for weeks, but finally got out to her house. They kids were SO excited. They helped us clean the tables and set them up and immediately sat around the new table as soon as we had it in place and the baby announced, "I LOVE IT!" The little lady announced, "Whole family!" And the eldest shouted, "let's eat!" (We had already had dinner so I was a bit at a loss as to what to feed them...)
6. Which leads me to the baby's enthusiasm. He's taken to saying, "I LOVE IT!" I can't possibly capture the joy and staccato of his actual voice announcing it, but it is delightful. It could be a new book, our new kitchen table, or the rare treat of a cupcake or cookie. That really sends him over the edge. (Poor kid, got my sweet tooth.)
5. The eldest has taken to giving the thumbs up. Bray worked with him on it and he has it down (the others not so much). It's hysterical. Even while I was waiting for him to finish his business in the bathroom, he flashed me a grin and the big thumbs up - I knew we had success. The thumbs up always gets projected as far out as possible and is accompanied by a winning smile with pride and joy in his eyes.
4. The little lady loves to car dance. She dances to all sorts of music but is very particular about what she wants to hear. As soon as we get in the car, you hear a little voice say, music please mommy. Darling.
3. There is an insane amount of freedom in freeing a room of baby gates. As I mentioned, we got my mom's wood table for our kitchen area. We have an open concept house which for some time has been gated. The play room lost its gate months ago, but there are gates across the entrance to the kitchen/eating area, into our hallway, and at the kids room. I eliminated the kitchen gate when we moved tables. The past 12 hours I have been entering and exiting the kitchen area freely. I had no idea what a pain that had become (literally and figuratively - I've hit shins, toes, etc. on that darn thing) and how much more I can accomplish without having to open a gate!
2. The boys have become fast friends. For those of you following the disastrous nighttime sage, we went back to high cribs after the terribleness of the big kid beds, but they can climb Everest now so a measly crib is no obstacle. We are fully in big kid beds which means most nights they are not asleep until nearly 10. It is absolute mayhem, but we're hoping moving sister into her own room will tamp that down a little. However, it does let the boys play even more together and you can hear them laughing and giving each other orders. (Makes me feel better about moving her out because I think she's getting a little left out.) They've taken to wanting to sleep in the same bed. It. Is. Precious. Here's a few of the photos I snapped from the past few nights.
1. We had a great family weekend and this weekend I will finally get to live my dream and pitch my two books to three publishers at a writers conference in North Carolina. Ready or not, here I come.
No comments:
Post a Comment