Our Kids

Landis is learning to sign! She is picking it up a little quicker than the girls did but I also think she will be talking sooner. She can do the sign for more, all done and milk. She also says “da” when she is looking for or at Jason, it is the sweetest thing. I guess you can say her first word was Dad:) She also knows that the Otto is the dog, she does the sign for dog by hitting her chest instead of her leg and she quickly gets distracted by her tummy which she loves to rub (also cute).

Tonight we asked her to get her shoes and put them away and she went and picked them up and started over to the shoe box. The other day she climbed up on to a stool in the bathroom, opened the drawer and got out a comb, looked me right in the eye and started to brush her hair. Today she was so tickled because she fed herself some broccoli and potato soup. Whenever she got that spoon to her mouth she just grinned from ear to ear before she shoved it in. She is very independent, very attached and very stubborn (should be fun when she is 2 and 3).

The girls have moved into the land of choice! It is a good thing. Now we are able to say to them “if you choose to do x, then y will happen.” I am excited because just like when we moved into the land of compromise I think they actually get it. AND the best part is that 99% of the time they choose to do the right thing! Isn’t that exciting? I am so happy to see them growing so well and learning so much, I am so excited to see what their lives will be like, what paths they choose and I am honored that we get to be there along the way to watch them. Whether they succeed or fail, run or walk, fly or sail I am blessed to have been given the chance to see them blossom and grow.

Now don’t get me wrong they can be real stinkers too! They are a bit puny right now so if I don’t keep them constantly entertained they are at each other nit picking each other to death. It can be a bit tiresome but we make it through. Here was a bit of our day today:

I get up and run come home and Piper is eating bfast
I drink my coffee and then
Get all the girls dressed and ready for the day
I gave them a toy I bought on ebay because I knew it was going to be a tough day, it was a used rescue center from Go Diego Go
They played with that with minimal fighting
I played with Landis
Got them ready for a movie (this in itself is exhausting to do in an upbeat positive way with no yelling)
We get to the movie, get our seats, get them settled with popcorn and water, get their ear plugs in
Put Landis to sleep in movie
Come home from movie, Lela is cranky
Feed them lunch
Noa comes over, we drag out the easel and markers and play school while I entertain Landis so she doesn’t “bother” them
Then we go to the park to find pinecones
Come home and make pinecone turkeys
Then we go outside and play baseball
We imagine we are on a ship
We swing
We get in a fight with each other, we come inside
More Diego play while I hold Landis (all 23 lbs) and cook dinner one handed
I set the table, Jason comes home, he gets Landis, I finish dinner
Dinner, bath, more fighting, brush teeth, read books
Jason puts Landis down
Jason and I clean kitchen

I am a vegetable and tomorrow is looking a lot like today without the movie and adding in gymnastics and swimming. Cripes I am tired already!

So although I love this life I have chosen and the path I am on, I am wee bit exhausted:) But…..happy.

Well girls this was quite a day for US history. The country elected its first African American president! I am so excited for what is to come for the us as a nation. I hope this empowers minorities everywhere to believe they can be whatever they want to be. I hope it inspires you to believe in change and to hope no matter how things look. I am proud and was more invigorated by this election than any election previously. Partly that is due to your Uncle JJ and partly it is due to coming into my own with my own ideas and my own feelings about what is right.

I am hoping to take away from this how important it is that your dad and I teach you about voting as soon as you can understand it. I know you told us you knew what was going on and you knew who you wanted to win but I know that you did not really get it. So here is to change and here is to the future.

LOL! Jason that is. The girls have some really funny things they say using the wrong words for things, mispronouncing words, it is all really cute.

One thing they say is splintern for splinter and Piper is convinced a blister is a splintern. They both say where is the gremote for remote. We were playing Go Fish this weekend and they would say no I don’t have any so goldfish.

Now for the running so fast part of the story. We were working out in the garage this weekend and I asked Lela where Piper was. She casually said, out front playing with Daddy’s ipod. Quick like lightening Jason ran from the house, jumping a box of toys to get his beloved iPhone from Piper. When he hurled around the corner he was greeted by a smiling Piper playing with Daddy’s TRIPOD! She had the tripod for his camera and it was so cute. Jason sighed relief and then went to find his true love (his iPhone) to make sure she was indeed safe and had not fallen into the clutches of his grubby handed angel (Piper).