Variations on The Gingerbread Man
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
(Premiere of "Variations on the Gingerbread Man" Tuesday, December 27!)
We hope everyone has a wonderful and happy Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Three Girls and a Guy
Pyper
Often times, I carry Pyper around in my wrap. She bundles up quite well in it, and she really likes it. This time, her little hand escaped. Every time I lifted my arm, her hand would brush me. I loved it.
Pyper had a bit of baby acne, as well as a rash on her face. We tried changing our laundry soap and other things, but not much helped. (This picture is on a good day.)
With time, her face is looking better. 
Babies (and children) are such angels when they are sleeping. There are many times when we will peek in on the girls, just to enjoy the peaceful beauty of them. So precious! (This picture was taken this morning.)
Claire
Claire is becoming so funny these days. Yesterday while we were driving, Summer saw a large Christmas tree with lights. She said, "And there's a bird on top!" Claire responded, "No, Tummer--(she's progressed from "Nummer" to "Tummer" now)--No, Tummer, I don't sink so." Her voice inflection with that statement was hilarious. Summer responded, "Yes it is Claire. It's a bird on top." Claire said again, "No, Tummer. I don't sink so. No bird." They argued about it for about ten minutes. It was so funny to listen to.
This is what we see every single night. We'll be up watching a movie, working on stuff, or just talking, and we'll hear this huge thump. Sometimes, she inches her way across the room, other times she just hangs out there. We don't know how it happens, (and how she doesn't wake up!), but she sleeps through the night. So we're not complaining!
Sometimes when Claire talks, she scrunches her nose up. I'll ask her a question and she'll respond with crinkled nose, "'Cause." It's like she's really thinking about it too. So cute.
Love my blue eyed girl!
Summer
Summer is impressing us every day. She's really enjoying drawing, writing, and "typing letters." Occasionally, I'll open a word document and let her practice typing her letters. She knows quite a few--S, U, M, R, T, D, P, O, L, A, X, and C. She enjoys practicing her letters. Here is a picture of her writing her name. You can see her S's, her M's, and her U's. Pretty good, eh? (And love the guy at the bottom!)
I found these Care Bear workbooks at the dollar store that had good activities for the girls to do. I was going to save them for when the girls got old and could actually do them, but Summer wanted to try them out. Here's the maze she did. I explained how to do it, and this is what she did. I was impressed!
The other day, she drew this: Nemo with lip gloss. This one's a keeper!
And here is a picture of her coloring and scissors skills. This was in one of the Sesame Street workbooks. It's a pirate hat for Elmo. After she had colored it and cut it out (with her scissors), she said she wanted to send it to Elmo. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to satisfy her insistence!
What a clan!
Often times, I carry Pyper around in my wrap. She bundles up quite well in it, and she really likes it. This time, her little hand escaped. Every time I lifted my arm, her hand would brush me. I loved it.
Pyper had a bit of baby acne, as well as a rash on her face. We tried changing our laundry soap and other things, but not much helped. (This picture is on a good day.)
With time, her face is looking better. 
Babies (and children) are such angels when they are sleeping. There are many times when we will peek in on the girls, just to enjoy the peaceful beauty of them. So precious! (This picture was taken this morning.)
Claire
Claire is becoming so funny these days. Yesterday while we were driving, Summer saw a large Christmas tree with lights. She said, "And there's a bird on top!" Claire responded, "No, Tummer--(she's progressed from "Nummer" to "Tummer" now)--No, Tummer, I don't sink so." Her voice inflection with that statement was hilarious. Summer responded, "Yes it is Claire. It's a bird on top." Claire said again, "No, Tummer. I don't sink so. No bird." They argued about it for about ten minutes. It was so funny to listen to.
This is what we see every single night. We'll be up watching a movie, working on stuff, or just talking, and we'll hear this huge thump. Sometimes, she inches her way across the room, other times she just hangs out there. We don't know how it happens, (and how she doesn't wake up!), but she sleeps through the night. So we're not complaining!
Sometimes when Claire talks, she scrunches her nose up. I'll ask her a question and she'll respond with crinkled nose, "'Cause." It's like she's really thinking about it too. So cute.Love my blue eyed girl!
Summer
Summer is impressing us every day. She's really enjoying drawing, writing, and "typing letters." Occasionally, I'll open a word document and let her practice typing her letters. She knows quite a few--S, U, M, R, T, D, P, O, L, A, X, and C. She enjoys practicing her letters. Here is a picture of her writing her name. You can see her S's, her M's, and her U's. Pretty good, eh? (And love the guy at the bottom!)
I found these Care Bear workbooks at the dollar store that had good activities for the girls to do. I was going to save them for when the girls got old and could actually do them, but Summer wanted to try them out. Here's the maze she did. I explained how to do it, and this is what she did. I was impressed!
The other day, she drew this: Nemo with lip gloss. This one's a keeper!
And here is a picture of her coloring and scissors skills. This was in one of the Sesame Street workbooks. It's a pirate hat for Elmo. After she had colored it and cut it out (with her scissors), she said she wanted to send it to Elmo. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to satisfy her insistence!
What a clan!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Birthday Claire!
On Tuesday, we celebrated Claire's TWO year birthday! I can't believe she's been with us for two years. I was scheduling her pictures at JCPenny, and I actually said it was her one year birthday! After her pictures were taken, I looked at them and thought--"Who is this girl? She can't be mine! My Claire is still little!" But the girl in the pictures looked so big and grown up. I couldn't believe it.Claire has been such a blessing in our lives. She is so sweet and tender-hearted (most of the time). I still remember when she was just a baby and Summer would tease Claire by making Summer's baby doll cry. Claire's eyes would just well up, and she'd start crying too. She's also so motherly. The first few days of Pyper's life, Claire would just sit by her and softly touch her arm saying consolingly, "No fry, baby. No fry." (No cry baby, no cry.) And Pyper wouldn't even be crying. :) So sweet. But when Pyper does cry now, I'll notice Claire sitting by her saying, "Sh. Sh. Sh. Sh." She loves taking care of her little sister.
Claire also loves watching movies. The first thing she says every morning when she walks into our room is: "Watch a movie? Watch a movie?" She's also picked up on saying "Never!" from Summer. I don't think she gets what it really means though; she just knows to say it when she wants to express something with force. Sometimes, she'll ask me to get her something, and I'll say, "Just a minute." Then she'll furrow her brows, pretend she's mad, and say forcefully, "No! Never!" I can't help but laugh.
Claire weighs 20 lbs and is 30 inches tall. She is in the 80th percentile for height, but completely off the charts with her weight. Her doctor also mentioned that she is impressed that Claire is speaking in complete sentences now. She said that's really impressive for Claire's age.
In the past couple weeks, any time we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she'd say, "Chocolate birthday." I think she kept meaning chocolate cupcakes. But when it was time to eat the chocolate [black bean] cupcakes, she just ate the frosting off. I think she was mostly excited about the cream cheese frosting. Who wouldn't be?
For her birthday, we ate dinner, then had her cupcakes. Then we had a little "party" for her--just our little family. We played the "Humpty Dumpty" game (keeping Humpty Dumpty from falling on the ground to the Humpty Dumpty song), and then we all got some bells to jingle while we sang along to "Jingle Bells." Then Claire opened her presents. (We did Humpty Dumpty to our Christmas tree lights, and then I realized the camera was super blurry so we turned the lights on.)
Sweet, sweet Claire Bear. We love you!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Gum and Other Things
For a really long time, we wondered if Summer had sleep problems. She would wake up multiple times in the night, call out to us or sometimes end up in our room, always saying she was thirsty, or had to go to the bathroom, or that she just wanted us to hold her. She would be wide awake, and when we'd put her back to bed, she'd just lay there with her eyes open--not even tired.
Well, with Pyper around, Summer's "sleep problem," and Claire always falling out of her toddler bed, we have gotten NO sleep.
I addressed Summer's problem with her pediatrician. We talked about it for a bit and she asked if Summer was the oldest . . . yes . . . is she head strong? . . . yes . . . does she sometimes not want to do things because you want her to? . . . yes. The pediatrician then told me about her own daughter--same situation. She said sometimes, if they are headstrong and stubborn, the only way you can get them to do something is if you can help them want to do it.
So we did this: I got a piece of paper and drew three boxes in it. Rhett picked up some "special stickers" on his way home from work, and we told Summer about her new sticker chart. We told her that if she stayed in bed that night and didn't get up for anything except to go potty, she could have a sticker for her sticker chart. Once she filled in her sticker chart, she would get a dollar to go to the store and buy her very own gum.
She stayed in bed.
The next morning, we made a HUGE deal about it. We were so excited. And she got to put a sticker on her sticker chart (and I put four more boxes on her sticker chart!). The Good News: Out of the past 8 nights, she has stayed in her bed 7 times. (Once, when dad was putting her down, he said he'd give her a dollar for staying in bed, but she said no, she wanted stickers for her sticker chart.)
Well, yesterday, she earned her dollar (actually two dollars once we got to the store and I realized gum was more than a dollar. Where have I been???) Anyway, we made it a special outing as her reward--just Mom and Summer. I gave her the money before we left and she stuck it in her pocket. On the way to Albertson's, she said, "Oh mom! We forgot a bag!" I then explained to her that when she bought the gum, the lady at the store would give us a bag to put it in. She was okay with that.
We got to the store and found the gum section. She browsed the different flavors, picked out Polar Ice (the "spicy" kind), and then we went to check out. The lady at the register was fantastic. She talked to Summer, asked her how old she was, how she earned her money (to which Summer replied proudly, "I stayed in my bed."), and told Summer good job and to keep up the good work. Summer was beaming. As we walked out of the store, Summer swung her bag of gum around. It was so cute I almost cried.
Since it was a little late when we ran to the store, I told her she had to save her gum until the morning. And this morning, she ate the whole package. She gave two pieces to me, one to Rhett, three to Claire, and she ate the rest. At one point, she stuck five pieces in her mouth! I let her enjoy it.
Other things going on around here . . .
Lots of lovin' with Pyper.
Pyper's growing:
And Face Painting with Dad:
And Summer's been learning: (We LOVE school!) I have no idea where Summer came up with this "Rono" thing. And Rachel--I see a slight resemblance. :)
Well, with Pyper around, Summer's "sleep problem," and Claire always falling out of her toddler bed, we have gotten NO sleep.
I addressed Summer's problem with her pediatrician. We talked about it for a bit and she asked if Summer was the oldest . . . yes . . . is she head strong? . . . yes . . . does she sometimes not want to do things because you want her to? . . . yes. The pediatrician then told me about her own daughter--same situation. She said sometimes, if they are headstrong and stubborn, the only way you can get them to do something is if you can help them want to do it.
So we did this: I got a piece of paper and drew three boxes in it. Rhett picked up some "special stickers" on his way home from work, and we told Summer about her new sticker chart. We told her that if she stayed in bed that night and didn't get up for anything except to go potty, she could have a sticker for her sticker chart. Once she filled in her sticker chart, she would get a dollar to go to the store and buy her very own gum.
She stayed in bed.
The next morning, we made a HUGE deal about it. We were so excited. And she got to put a sticker on her sticker chart (and I put four more boxes on her sticker chart!). The Good News: Out of the past 8 nights, she has stayed in her bed 7 times. (Once, when dad was putting her down, he said he'd give her a dollar for staying in bed, but she said no, she wanted stickers for her sticker chart.)
Well, yesterday, she earned her dollar (actually two dollars once we got to the store and I realized gum was more than a dollar. Where have I been???) Anyway, we made it a special outing as her reward--just Mom and Summer. I gave her the money before we left and she stuck it in her pocket. On the way to Albertson's, she said, "Oh mom! We forgot a bag!" I then explained to her that when she bought the gum, the lady at the store would give us a bag to put it in. She was okay with that.
We got to the store and found the gum section. She browsed the different flavors, picked out Polar Ice (the "spicy" kind), and then we went to check out. The lady at the register was fantastic. She talked to Summer, asked her how old she was, how she earned her money (to which Summer replied proudly, "I stayed in my bed."), and told Summer good job and to keep up the good work. Summer was beaming. As we walked out of the store, Summer swung her bag of gum around. It was so cute I almost cried.
Since it was a little late when we ran to the store, I told her she had to save her gum until the morning. And this morning, she ate the whole package. She gave two pieces to me, one to Rhett, three to Claire, and she ate the rest. At one point, she stuck five pieces in her mouth! I let her enjoy it.
Other things going on around here . . .
Lots of lovin' with Pyper.
Pyper's growing:
And Face Painting with Dad:
And Summer's been learning: (We LOVE school!) I have no idea where Summer came up with this "Rono" thing. And Rachel--I see a slight resemblance. :)
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