Our Kids

Yes that is right, Landis asked for MORE broccoli!!!! Either my cooking skills have gone off the charts fantastic (doubtful) or she is finally coming around. I am surely not counting my proverbial chickens before they hatch but WAHOO! Two servings of broccoli in one day, sigh, sniff, sniff:)

It has finally warmed up to the temperatures where we only look longingly at the outdoors and try to spend as little time in it as possible. Today we had a play date with fellow twin friends Piper and Zoe, then we all headed to the library for a flamenco dancing show. When that finished we turned in our summer reading program, got our Diamondback tickets and headed for the border (Taco Bell that is). After that it is suffice to say we were PHOT. The girls are now playing on the porch with Corbin (friend/mother’s helper) with moon sand (worst invention ever), water colors and a dinosaur dig (Piper is excavating a Trex) with the occasional plop in the kiddie pool. Ahhh…..summer:)

Oh and Phoebe is resting peacefully under a fan in our bedroom after a busy morning. I wish I was resting:)

I can’t believe it is July already. I also can’t believe this is the girls last summer before they start school. Actually I haven’t even let that thought really sink in yet and I like it that way.

I was just thinking the other day that having four kids is not overwhelming but it is BUSY. So busy in fact that I forget to blog about all the absolutely adorable things all of the girls are doing all the time.

The big girls (Piper and Lela) are now doing the back and forth arguing that kids do that sounds like this:

Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No

They typically use the uh huh and un nah version and when I ask them to stop or go and do it in their room they actually smile at me and then go back to it in whispers. At this point I have to leave the room and giggle because even though it is annoying, them thinking they tricked me and doing it in a whisper is a stitch, especially since Piper NEVER whispers even when you want her to.

Landis is just the cutest thing and really has great natural comedic timing. She is also extremely kind. She is the first to offer a spontaneous “I love you mom, I love you dad,” as well as “please get me some milk,” “thank you mom,” and all the other melt your heart things that little ones can say without prompting. We have never made the girls say please and thank you and have tried very hard to model the behavior that we want from them, so when we get a spontaneous please and thank you it means so much more and makes you think some of it is sinking in.

Phoebe is just all smiles and really interested in what is going on, so much so that I think we are going to have to start solids soon. She doesn’t like to focus or take the time to nurse which is a big switch from nursaholic Landis. She loves to just sit and watch all the action around her, play with her toys and smile (with the occasional spit up and pooptastrophe).

There are just so many things that I am forgetting to blog about:( It makes me sad that I am missing the chance to save them here forever but happy that I am getting to experience them everyday.

Today I have a mother’s helper over and while she is doing science experiments and building race tracks with the girls I am cleaning out drawers, filing documents and getting ready to get something done.

Anyhoo, as I am cleaning out things I am struck by the volume of little things that Lela has made for me and for Jason.

Little eggs drawn on paper and cut out with zig zag scissors, drawings of birthday cakes carefully folded and tucked in to an envelope, a picture of the sun, a drawing of a heart and the word mommy on paper with pink trim and a rubber band taped to the top for hanging. The list goes on and on and I just want her to know that even though I can’t keep everything she makes me I do cherish it all for a short time before I “file” it away and it lives forever in my memories:)

Thanks Lela for being so true to yourself and for expressing yourself the way you do through your drawings, you are such a gift:)

The girls started the USTA Quickstart Tennis program today. Just like their music class it is all play based and they loved it. So they play chase and other games to help them build the skill set for tennis. They use over-sized foam balls that bounce lower, a child sized court, small/lightweight rackets and a very low net. We are so excited for them and for us because it gives us something else to do with them during the day (practice our tennis drills) and something for us to do as a family. Next up….golf!

I was folding Landis’ clothes this morning and thinking about what a year she has been having. Just looking at her clothes made me realize how much she has changed and how much change has been put upon her. So I decided to document it here before I forget.

So Landis here goes:

About halfway between ages 2 and 3 you decided you would only wear dresses or skirts. A lot of the time you want to wear a dress and a skirt. You are VERY picky about what you will wear and NOTHING can have a tag on it. If there is a tag anywhere you demand to have it removed. You don’t like to wear shirts to bed, you just wear pants, shorts or panties.

You love to have things put in your hair but you take them out about 5 minutes later.

Your vocabulary has increased tremendously. You are very articulate about what you want and you mimic all of us. Sometimes you echo Lela and that drives her nuts:)

You potty trained in about 5 days. You were pretty surly about it and did not want to wear panties and did not want to go back in diapers. You threw your diapers away and we never gave them back. You potty trained for the day and night at the same time.

You learned how to ride a bicycle with training wheels and skipped right over the tricycle.

You slept in your own bed for the first time right before Phoebe was born in February. You go to bed in your own bed every night but you end up in our bed at some time during the evening. You gave up napping and you only nap when you can’t keep your eyes open and that is usually when you are in the car.

You are very good at independent play and don’t mind playing by yourself. You also like to role play with your sisters. You are very loving to your baby sister Phoebe and can be found lying in her crib with her (something I try to keep you from doing for safety reasons).

You adore baby dolls and playing in your kitchen. You make tons of food for everyone including pizza, ice creams and soy chai or coffee drinks.

You are such a joy and delight and just looking at the tremendous changes you have been going through amazes me, no wonder you are cranky some times:)

EDIT: I had to edit this to include that you never met a green vegetable that you actually LIKED! I do get spinach and kale in to your smoothies and you will now eat broccoli in your eggs and pasta but that has taken monumental effort. You love to eat fruit, rice/beans and cheese (although I don’t give it to you often) and you love mints (any and all of them).

We have had one busy week. It did not start out to be a busy week but it ended up that way and we still have Friday to go!

Monday started with Great Play for Landis, a playdate with Kate for the girls and then open gym at Great Play for the girls. On Monday afternoon we picked up Corbin and Noa and we all went to Toy Story 3.

Tuesday we went out to get the oil in the car changed and played around the house. Jason and I went to see the Dbacks and the Yankees play and Kelly babysat the girls.

Wednesday we had a blissful playdate at Kate’s house that involved swimming in their supersized kiddie pool, imaginary play, making fish and everyone making their own pizza for lunch.

Thursday we got up and we went to see Sesame Street Live (why they make shows for little kids 2 hours is beyond me). They loved every second of it and we had awesome seats thanks to the DSMOM ticket getter:)

So tomorrow is Friday with Great Play class for Piper and Lela and then open gym for all the girls.

On top of all those things we made gloop (the girls love that), made and played with dough (and then threw it away), made cookies (and ate them) and did all sorts of fun things using just our imagination, a few cardboard boxes, some babies and some zhu zhu pets. As if that wasn’t enough Phoebe has decided that 5AM is when she is going to wake up every day AND I have started running regularly again.

All this excitement spells early bedtime for me.

Oh and I forgot about Saturday, Tennis lessons for the girls, golf lessons for me and Great Play for Landis. I already need a nap.

Well this will have to be quick because I can hear Phoebe calling me.

She had her 4 month appt and it went great.

She was 14#14 oz and 25.5 inches long. So she looks like she is going to be another tall one:) She sprouted up 3 inches in the last two months and is in the 90 percentile for height (not that I worry too much about percentiles:)

Healthy as a horse and happy as a clam.