And That Laugh...

I think we found her song.  She's been dancing this morning with mom and then dad to a song that fits her perfectly (it will be the one we use for her "first years" video) - Frank Sinatra's "The Way You Look Tonight."  She definitely has a charm and that laugh that wrinkles her nose.  And she's so lovely, if I should say so myself.  :)  Here are some old and recent photos of her little wrinkled nose grin:

Should I Be Worried?

Lately there has been some questionable behavior with Shealyn that has got me thinking, "Should we be worried?"  I mean, is this going to be indicative of how she will act in her older years?  For instance, on the 21st we ate at the college cafeteria and they had a Mardi Gras menu and decorations. The kids loved it and came home with lots of loot (beads, squeaky toys, masks, coins, etc). But Miss Shea had way too much fun dancing on top of her chair to the music.  She also flirted with a couple of the college guys and won some beads from them.

On a tamer but just as concerning note, Shealyn has been afraid of Bible class in the past few weeks and fusses or even cries a bit for a few minutes when we arrive.  On the way there she often tells us that she's scared and that her tummy hurts (when all else fails).  Is this what we should expect when she's older and not wanting to go to school?  Actually, she's been very needy lately (perhaps a delayed reaction to the birth of Andrew?).

On the 16th I broke the cardinal rule of punishing. I couldn't help myself - I just had to laugh. It started when I couldn't find Shealyn anywhere. I called and called out for her and still nothing.  It was too silent.  So I went searching and decided to open up the door to the dark and quiet closet.  There she was.  In the dark. About to cry because she knew she was going to get into trouble, for on the floor behind her was a peppermint candy from the forbidden kitchen drawer (that she had obviously dropped when she heard me coming). She had done into hiding to eat it because she knew it was off-limits.  Oh brother!

He's Bouncy!

Andrew is 3 months old today!  It's also Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, which is quite fitting for him, as he is quite chunky.  After all, he's wearing 6 months and 6-9 months clothes.  He's looking a whole lot less like Granny but still has an "alfalfa sprout" on his head. He loves to blow raspberries and bubble.  Actually, he's a big drooler so we're wearing some bibs (which our other 2 never had to do), and he has an ever-increasing love of bouncing and jumping.  He's our Tigger (hence the name of the post). And the wonderful thing about Tiggers is he's the only one! :)  Maybe it's because we've just finished reading and then watching the Winnie the Pooh movie.

At Bible Class for the first time:

Holding a toy and passing it from hand to hand (probably by mistake or just a bit of luck each time):

He's so incredibly snuggly with his chunkiness. I love it!  He is so sweet when he wakes up - all smiles.  All I want to do is hold him, and Derek feels the same way. We are thoroughly enjoying it this time around and don't care as much to get things done.  It must be because he is so sweet, smells so good or perhaps because he might be our last one.  In any case, we have to savor it.  Even though he spends zero time on his tummy and only a few minutes a day on his back, he is almost rolling over from back to tummy.  He's got some strong stomach muscles and he contracts them to turn himself over on his side.

He flirts with his sweet little eyes and tries desperately to get our attention with his shrieks and squeals.  He also giggled at the other 2 kids when we put his little legs in the bathtub with them on the 20th for the first time.  

On the 16th he first really took notice of the dogs - he laughed and squealed at Zuma for a prolonged period.  Of course he stopped when we got out the camera.  Andrew was also imitating my squeals (I was trying to get him to giggle and talk - apparently it worked).

On the 17th he wore shoes for the first time - red Nike sneakers that Jacob never really wore because his feet were so wide.  Even though he still has his own set of new clothes, it's been so wonderful to see him in all of Jacob's old clothing. It brings back memories.  

How Do You Love Me?

I recently read the love languages book for kids, so I was curious to find out what all of our love languages were.  For Derek and I, we took the online quiz.  Derek's is "words of affirmation" while I am stuck with 2 - "acts of service" and "quality time."  Both of us scored a whopping ZERO on "gifts" so we knew that we know nothing on the subject.

However, we suspected Jacob's might possibly be "gifts."  (Shealyn is still too young to assess.)  So I probed him.  I asked him how he knows that we (his parents) love him.  He answered, "You buy me things, you hug and kiss me.  You take me to the museum and to Chuck E Cheese."  Then I asked him several either or questions, even gave him the online kids quiz.  It was confirmed - he is also 2, "physical touch" and "gifts."

Now I need to put these into practice so they fees the most loved!

Happy Heart Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!  

The kids made a heart mobile yesterday and we hung it up for the occasion.  They woke up to a "heart attack" on the wall that I made for them last night.  We made heart-shaped cinnamon roll pops for breakfast, they (paint) stamped hearts from folded toilet paper rolls, ate heart-shaped sandwiches and brownies plus a few other "red" food items for lunch and snacks - yea, I think we about covered it with hearts today. Actually, we've been making a lot of cinnamon roll type treats lately.  Friday we made mini cinnamon rolls that were so yummy and easy, Derek wanted to have me make them the next day during the team breakfast.  It was a good breakfast morning with the team - they helped play with the kids and tired them out.

Here's our Big Master Chunk o' love

The heart mobile the kids helped make:

"Heart attack"

Heart-shaped cinnamon roll pops ready to be dipped

Licking the brownie batter

Today was also productive for Shealyn.  She can now add "plugging and unplugging the charging cord on the computer with her toes" to her list of talents. And saying "Jo Kite." (She apparently thinks it's a talent and is proud of herself.)  Unfortunately, she has complained about her ear for the first time ever (with Jacob I'm sure he had had his billionth earache by now).  I really don't think it's an infection, though. Perhaps all the massive amount of ear wax is finally bothering her.  Still, it's sad. 

After Jacob changed Shealyn's diaper and Shealyn changed Andrew's diaper on the 12th, I thought I was officially out of a job (what would I have done?).   Thankfully it was only a fluke and they need lots of management to get them to be any kind of productive.  Whew!  That was a close call.  Maybe it was because it was a beautifully snowy day with big, beautiful flakes (all day long).  Things might have just been "off" the norm that day. ;)

Settling In

I think we're starting to settle in to this 3-kid deal.  It's not always convenient but we're managing like we're used to it now.  I've been slowly returning to homeschooling the older ones, and we even have some really productive days on occasion. On one day, we played Bingo and did some word games with flashcards, matching games and sequencing games (both of which Shealyn is good at - who knew?), had some cooking "lessons," and made colored rice for play time.  Although it looked fun, the rainbow rice idea is messy.  I spent a good hour cleaning up the (5 pound bag of) rice Shealyn drug around the tile floor.  Rice is so stinkin' hard to clean up.  But it was a hit. They played nicely for over an hour and wanted to keep going.

I have also been finding a renewed sense of happiness about baking and cooking and making fun stuff for and with my kids lately due to Pinterest. Despite what "they" say about it (how we "pin" ideas that we intend to but never actually do), I've actually been putting a lot of those ideas into practice!   So many ideas, so little time.   Just to keep up we've had to do one fun snack per day, which unfortunately has meant sugar overload!  But we've made fun things like made homemade banana "ice cream," apple "sandwiches," Valentine marshmallow pops, Valentine jelly pops, S'more pops, homemade gummy fruit snacks, banana split bites, monkey muffin bites, energy bites, mini cinnamon rolls and much more!  I've also managed to plan our whole month's menu plan this month from there.  Plus we've also gathered simple craft and activity ideas.  It's been fun I must admit, even though I avoided Pinterest on purpose for months!

The kids decorated their own S'more pops

Andrew is growing, wearing size 3 diapers (we're not currently cloth diapering him for a few reasons) and 6 month-sized clothes.  And like our children before him, he's had good head and neck control since birth and never gets on his tummy long enough to practice any amount of rolling.  That's not because he won't tolerate it - it's because we're too busy keeping S away from him.

Playing instruments at the children's museum

Climbing the rock wall

Another gorgeous winter day

Homemade sidewalk paint

 They dressed themselves this day (head to toe).  Complete with arm tattoos.

Wearing her first adult headband

They are forming a new rock band.  I think they need to work on playing TOGETHER.

Shealyn's obsession with the T-Rex puzzles me.

I think we have a future hula dancer. Shealyn shakes her hips in hula fashion all the time, but especially when she hears island or surf music.  This worries me.  Speaking of dance, here are a few dancing clips (no hula):

Andrew's first pool visit was on the 4th at just under 11 weeks.  He was subdued but seeming to enjoy kicking his little legs. Shealyn continues to love it all (going under the water, jumping in, any craziness), and Jacob didn't want to do much of anything without someone holding him. I guess we have one of each - a land baby, a fish, and a neutral one. 

Our land boy holding on for dear life:

On the 6th Jacob had a rough night and gave us quite a scare. We can't decide if he had croup or an asthma attack, as it sounded like croup but he had trouble breathing OUT.  The steamy bathroom and cold night air didn't seem to help but the albuterol-filled nebulizer did eventually.  The next morning he still had a raspy-ness to his voice.  After a bit of research, we did find that there have been cases of croupy cough with a certain type of asthma (more upper respiratory).  And we found out that eczema is often a precursor to an attack (and it makes one more prone to developing asthma).  That day before his "attack" he had "itchies" on his back and face, and a small patch of red, dry itchy spot on his hand.  Definitely an allergic reaction coupled with the dry air.  Let's just hope it was a fluke and he doesn't develop asthma.  :(

On a cuter note, it absolutely melted my heart to watch Jacob help Shealyn wash her hands on the 7th. He got behind her on the stool and explained to her how to wash them properly, then lifted her up to rinse them off, and dried them for her. So sweet.  Maybe I only really have to teach one child everything and then he will in turn teach the others? That would be nice, wouldn't it?  I have been a witness to that sort of "osmosis" learning happening around here.  Just recently Shealyn showed of her alphabet reciting and counting abilities (she can count to 20, though she misses 15 and another number in there on occasion).  I didn't teach her - she picked it up from Jacob.

I celebrated my birthday at a hibachi grill for lunch on the 9th. The kids enjoyed the chef's show and the food without disturbing the night crowd.  Besides, we spent $30 total (with tip!) and had leftovers when we would have easily spent $25 per meal at night.  

I'm happy to report we have been clicking right along with my resolution of reading read aloud chapter books with the kids and have gone through 10 of them so far! Both kids have been enjoying them and LISTENING - without pictures! I'm flabbergasted!  

Great pillow talk with the kids on the 10th- worth the "late" bed time. I've been doing the 21 days of prayers for sons as another part of my resolution, and a couple of times per day I will pray over the kids (S included) in the given format out loud. It sometimes opens up some good discussions with J. Tonight was about avoiding foolishness and being wise. We talked about the differences and making good choices.  He asked about Satan and told me about a man he saw with smoke coming out of something in his mouth (cigarette).  We talked about our bodies being temples and how we need to keep them healthy in every aspect and the reasonings behind it. We sang the wise man/foolish man song and he prompted yet another discussion about heaven. It's so very sweet. I treasure those moments dearly - moments that hopefully will stay with him throughout his life.

At our house, scotch tape = (unnecessary) bandaids for those "owies."

Our house is filled with sound effects ALL. DAY. LONG. everyday. From gun noises to complex beat box rhythms - it's like having the radio or TV on all day thanks to Jacob. And now Shealyn is picking up on it as well.

Jacobisms:

• When asked "If you could eat only one piece of candy in the whole world, what would it be?" Jacob answered matter of factly, "That one." 
• Jacob and Shealyn love to play under our covers on our bed and can do so for 30 minutes + if you let them. Every once in a while you hear Shealyn crying because Jacob took the covers off of her. When asked why he does it, he answers, "I don't want her to get trapped and suffocate and die so I have to let her out every once in a while."

Our January

Here are the kids drinking their morning chamomile tea (not customary thing) by the makeshift window seat like grownups

He is no longer our frump baby. He is EXTREMELY happy and smiley, the smiliest of all our children.

Her pig tails are getting longer!!

The weather here over the winter is phenomenal - we get snow but we also get lots of sunny, warm days.  Here is a day we went outside to enjoy. Jacob drew his family on the sidewalk. For a boy that never draws or colors, I think he did pretty good. (Ignore the scribbles from Shealyn - she's been moving from her curly-q movement to a straight line period.)

Zuma is the small one and Kona is the big one

Shealyn playing with her doll house

Like father, like son. They sit in the same fashion while playing the Wii.

NOT happy

Happy

Jacob likes to swing around his (many) pistols on his finger and snap it back like cowboys do (he's a sheriff, he says).  He's also getting into non-animated movies (a couple of years ago it was Homeward Bound, now it is Home Alone, Benji and Secretariat).

Our (2 older) children have their own language with each other. It's all gibberish, but at least they can understand each other.

On the 4th Jacob said that he wanted to marry Emma Tremaine but needed to get a ring first.  He had me call her parents to ask for her hand.  Silly boy!

On the 5th he nicknamed us Fuzzy (he's been calling dad that for days), Spikey (himself), Curly (me), Fatty (Andrew) and Bean (Shealyn).  And the new one will be fussy. New one?  Yikes!

We knew Jacob needed an upgrade on his violin (from a 1/32nd to a 1/10th) this month, but we had been avoiding it.  When Derek took him to his lesson on the 6th, he forgot to bring his violin. Fortunately for us this was a blessing in disguise.  His teacher let him borrow her daughter's old one until he outgrows it.  It's SO much better sounding, so he played so much better and was much better focused during the lesson. He was so excited and LOVES it.  She had it re-strung for him, shined it up and put his name on the case.  He says he wants to play it all the time and it sounds just like his teacher's.  Now Shealyn gets the old violin, so she's loving it as well.

We (finally ) got to help out at the local Children's Home on the 7th.  We toured the facilities, found out ways we could help on an ongoing basis, the kids played with a few of the kids, and we donated items we've been fortunate to receive (for review) from my other blog.

On the 8th, I actually started and finished an entire book, Heaven is For Real. Okay, so it's an easy read and not terribly long, but I can't remember the last time I read a book from cover to cover!  And in one afternoon!

Listening to S play with her dollhouse on the 9th, she said her mom doll poo-pooed on the carpet. Not sure where she saw/heard that one, but I promise NO ONE in this house has ever done that on the floor (even when potty-training). Not yet anyway.

On the 10th my sweet 4 year old boy was staring and smiling at me while he was taking his bath. I asked him why he was doing so, and he said, "I just love you." But I knew something was up, some ulterior motive for that cute little smirk of his, and thinking he did something wrong, I asked again. He told me, "I just think you're so pretty with your hair like that." (I had just taken my curly hair down from my ponytail I had all day.) How sweet is he? Made my night!

After watching Meet the Robinsons for the 1st time on the 12th, I look over at J, obviously upset. When I asked him what was wrong, big tears and sobs gushed out. He was upset that the main character didn't end up with his birth parents. He's such a sensitive little guy. Oh, how I love him so. Fiercely. All 3 of them.

Gold chocolate coins + homemade treasure map = loads of fun for 2 little ones!

Old makeup containers painted with nail polish = loads of fun for a little girl + mom's makeup gets left alone!

I've noticed that Andrew has traded in his red coloring for a more yellowy one. Here are some smiles, talks and giggles (though we missed his first real giggles right before this video. It's hard to hear him through the other kids' laughter.

We received glowing reports from Shealyn's Bible Class.  She apparently prayed in class, and is, according to the teacher, the first of her age group to do so in all her very long, long years of teaching.  We also found out that she's a good gyrator when she tried to imitate a Tahitian dancer on TV.

The night before he had to do the violin group lesson play-in on the 21st, we reminded Jacob that he had to lead 2 of the Twinkle variations (C and D, or Down Pony-Stop Pony and Wish I had a watermelon) for the rest of the kids (all older, and some preteen aged) to follow. He got all giddy and said, "You mean I get to be the leader?" Why yes, you do. He wants to be the conductor eventually. Like next year. Here he is leading the group:



After a handful of attempts at giving S some gum to chew and not swallow, she finally chewed for a full 20 minutes on the 25th.  (Jacob was doing this for a solid 2 hours at about 18 months of age.) We're pretty sure she'll have several mini gum trees in her stomach in the next coming months.

More on the 25th:  We signed Jacob for soccer in March!  S sang the funny, abbreviated version of "Hakuna Matata" on the way home from church.  Several days later we caught her on tape.  I played "peek-a-boo" with Andrew for the first time and he loved it.  Poor third child gets ignored a lot.  We hardly play with him at all.  :(  Here is some silliness:

Shealyn, pointing to all of Andrew's face parts on the 29th, said "Baby's chin" (pointing to his chin), "and baby's 'nother chin" (pointing to his double chin). Yep, our boy is chunky!

It is definitely confirmed on the 30th that A is teething. It may take a couple of months for teeth to show, but he is furiously (and fussingly - is that a word? It should be.) chewing his hands and our fingers, biting down hard, and slobbering buckets. Poor thing.

I can't remember the last time we were so productive with homeschool and such at home (post-baby, that is).  On the 31st, we did a bunch of schooling - our usual calendar time, taught J to skip count by 2's to 100, started the water cycle and learning continents, reviewed a couple of consonant blends, did some writing with J and prewriting with S, cutting practice (S freestyle and patterns with J), wood polishing or J while S napped, and outside play for pouring/scooping/spooning practice.  Apparently we also needed to do "shooting" practice - Jacob shot about 150+ rounds of caps while we were outside.  On another note, Big Mac weighs 15 pounds!

Now S also hates to stop at red lights. She keeps insisting that I go, while J constantly asks to not only beat but also bump other cars.  I fear for the time they actually get to drive.

Though she's really good at it and happy to oblige, S belligerently likes time out.  She'll say with a big smile, "Shealyn go to time out in the corner over there?"  I might need a new form of punishment for her hitting her brother.

Shealyn no longer says "yap" for her "yep" or "yes."  It was cute while it lasted.

Sometimes, especially at the end of the day, I have a tendency to get short and impatient with all of the little fusses of my children - I want more water, my blanket is not on right (for the 1000th time), etc. Then I pause for a moment. These are the easy days when we as parents can "fix" things for them and make it ALL better with just a simple act. Later in life it won't be that way. Sadly, we won't be able to fix much of anything. So I carefully straighten out the blanket for the 1000th time, wipe away the frustrated tears on my sweet 2 year old's face, and watch her happily settle into sleep.

In case you are wondering why we go to collegiate basketball games... Because Jacob needs to sit with (and pretend that he is playing with) the band and Shealyn needs to go up and down the stairs the entire time.  That's why.

Talkin' Trash

I'm not sure I'm liking this whole video game thing.  Every time D and J play Mario Kart on the wii I hear J saying things like, "I left you some presents, dad" (aka obstacles like bananas) or "I'm gonna cattywompus your keister." "I'm gonna get your taters and ambagooslum."

That Charlie Brown

That Charlie Brown, well he's no clown.  Why is everybody always (kissin') on me? (Ahem, Shealyn and Jacob)

Our frump face boy looks a lot like Charlie Brown, don't you think?  Maybe that's what he'll be for Halloween next year...

Though he's an easy and complacent baby, we will have to work hard to make him smile.  He already seems to be a very serious little person, a realist that sees the glass half empty.  I try hard to make him smile and he just stares back with a "Is that all you got?" look.  Eventually he smiles. Probably to get me to stop.

Shealyn says he has a monkey face when is frumpy-faced or crying.

I've come to the conclusion that he looks very similar to Shealyn's early baby photos.  He also has lips like her, has long, curly eyelashes and shares eyebrows with Jojo (so does Shealyn, whereas Jacob's are like mine).  Their fontanelles have all been superbly different.  Jacob's was "normal," Shealyn's was "abnormally" (gapping) large and Andrew's is "abnormally" tiny. 

Growing up, I associated that quintessential baby smell with Johnson and Johnson products.  But now that we go all natural, organic and unscented for our babies, I have come to really know what babies smell like.  And I LOVE baby smells not tainted by (harmful) J&J products so much better.  Oh, baby smells are perfect, and Andrew is no exception. I can't get enough of his little scent. I smell the top of his head or kiss and smell his little neck ALL. DAY. LONG.

We took S for her 2 year check-up and A for his 2 month check-up at the same time, though he was not quite 2 months (he was 7.5 weeks - a whole 9 days shy of his "birthday"), so the numbers are a little off:

Shealyn: 25.3 lbs, 33.7 inches

Andrew: 12.7 lbs (or 12 lbs 11 oz), 22.4 inches