The destructor and her sister

We all know that Abby and Ashley are just 2 different peas, but I assure you they are from the same pod. Here is one defining example. Andy got me roses for mother's day, and on day two, I found them picked apart, pedal by pedal, on the dining room table. I didn't even need to ask who had done it. Of course I asked "why" she did this, and her response was the same as always. "I dunno". Fast forward to later that day, Ashley got home from school and saw what Abby had done. While I was putting Abby and Charlie down for naps, Ashley was hard at work on a craft in the play room. (not unusual) Only this time, she was gluing my roses back together. She even made a new center thing where the pollen is or whatever. She obviously knew it was supposed to be there.

It was very sweet.

Inside the mind of a 3 year old

Ok, keep in mind this particular 3 year old is Abby. I was braiding Ashley's hair this morning, being the outstanding mom that I am, and the phone rang. I yelled out to Abby and asked her to please bring me the phone. This was during ring one I you have 4 rings to get to the phone. I counted 2, 3, 4 rings, and heard lots of hustling, but no Abby with the phone. When it stopped ringing I yelled, "Abby, what happened?" A few moments later, here comes Abby around the corner, arms loaded with phones, face downcast, and she said, "I couldn't do it, mama. They were all ringing." Ashley and I just laughed. I don't think Abby quite saw the humor in us laughing at her efforts.

First bath

Charlie finally had his first bath! No, no, no. Not his first bath ever, but scary some of you would actually believe that. He had his first solo bath in the bath tub. We have proof he's been cleaned before. Who could forget his first bath:

We tried to cover it up in the picture, but he is actually being bathed in the Goldman's corningware dish. Lindsey had brought us over a meal and we decided that it was about time for his first bath and her dish seemed just the right size! Don't worry, we rinsed it out before giving it back. :) And for exhibit B, proof he has had at least 2 cleanings:

And that's about all I have. But hey, he's only 5 months old. So, I decided to try out the bath seat that the Mays gave us before they left. (for Kenya which is a long, long ways away) Charlie loved it! And he actually did a great job of sitting up.

He loved the attention too. Everyone was gathered in the bathroom cheering him on. Next thing will be getting all 3 kids in the bath at once. The girls can't wait, but I'm trying to protect Charlie from the madness.

He is saying thank you. :)

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up

Last day of school

I started this blog on the last day of school, but I think I got caught up in summertime early because I left it half done. Anyway, going back to last Friday...


The girls were very excited for the big day - they even slept with curlers in their hair so they could look their best.

I do not have an after picture because it failed miserably. I was never trained to do curlers. I can't even do the curling iron. I need help.

Ashley was very excited for her last day. Abby was very excited as well. I made them cinnamon toast for breakfast. I did it in the oven because that's how my mom made it for me when I was a kid. After burning the first batch and the second batch being hardly cooked, the third set was good. I guess I need more practice in that too!

Ashley was excited to get to school for her last day. The biggest part was they already removed all of the name tags from the desks so they could sit wherever they wanted to!!! It was quite the decision and after being in there for a few seconds watching 14 six year olds trying to decide where to sit and changing their minds again and again, I was overwhelmed and left Ash to her fun.

Somewhere in all of this I got the idea to keep track of all of the questions that Abby asks. I'm not sure why, maybe just to prove that she asks A LOT of questions. She is 3 after all. I got tired of writing after about 4 minutes. Here is what I got (starting from the moment we left Ashley at school):

are we picking up ashley at school today

what are they making right there

what are they doing there

why

are we going home now

is that where you got your hair cut

is that where you got your hair cut

which house you get your hair cut

is my hair curly

why

is it still gonna be curly when grandma and grandpa come

are grandma lindy and grandpa chuck coming today

what are grandma lindy and grandpa chuck doing right now

is ashley eating dinner today

is Sharlie* asleep

why

why the other babies not napping

did you bring the diaper bag

why is that orange umbrella there

is it ok if I take off my buckle now



*Sharlie = Charlie, formerly Carlie. We're getting there.



The reading teacher was in tears when I was thanking her for all the work she did with Ashley. If you had asked me 6 years ago, I would have NEVER guessed that I would be so sentimental about my kid finishing Kindergarten and moving onto first grade. It's just been such a great learning year for Ash, and with her also making the move to public school next year, it just feels like she'll be all grown up overnight. I had a half-second image yesterday of what it will be like packing her up for college. Maybe she'll stick with her plan that she doesn't want to go to college, just live at home and be a cowgirl. We'll see. It is great though to see her eager to meet new friends and try new things.

Stoughton shower

A couple of you were saying you couldn't tell what the Stoughton shower was. Here is a better picture.

It's amazing how clean you can get with a powerful blast of air. It doesn't do much for the smell, but we just wait for someone to offer to watch our kids and they usually end up giving them a bath out of the goodness of their hearts. :) It obviously wasn't good enough for Jackson, but his mom is kind of a clean freak, if you know what I mean.

Memorial Day weekend

It was a packed weekend. Andy's parents came up from Bend on Friday, Ashley's graduation was that night, a friend and his kids stopped by on Saturday to help Andy with the patio and provide the kids with an unexpected all day play date, and my Aunt from West Virginia who I hadn't seen in over 4 years came through town on Monday. The weekend was all fun, but was overshadowed with sadness as we learned on Saturday morning that the husband of a girl we knew through our former church had died in a plane crash leaving behind his wife and their 4 kids. It really is just heart wrenching to imagine what their family is going through and the tough road that lies ahead. It definitely drives home how temporary our lives are and how people like this ache every day that we don't even know. We are doing whatever we can to help, but mainly praying for peace. For those of you local, here is some info from Jenni Clayville on how we can help. http://www.jenniclayville.com/the-resnick-family-how-you-can-help/ Here is a picture of their sweet family:

And a couple of pictures from the weekend - Ashley with her Kindergarten teacher at graduation:

And Ashley with her reading teacher who is absolutely amazing:

And my Aunt Sharon holding Charlie. (I had to peel him from her, Erika. I think she would have taken him home) Charlie loved the attention and turned on the charm as usual.

Twice the fun

Life with a 3 year old (and a 6 year old and a 5 month old) is fun. Life with TWO 3 year olds (and a 6 year old and a 5 month old) is even more fun. We had our friend Jackson over today, and nothing quite beats the questions and the activities of a 3 year old. It's fun for Abby to have a friend over because it's usually Abby trying to crash Ashley's playdates, so this was a good break from that. Jackson likes to talk as much as Abby, and he asks before he does EVERYTHING, which is a nice change from Abby who just does. Anyway, after naps and homemade apple juice popcicles (MOTY) Jackson and Abby went outside to play in the sandbox. I really don't like the mess of the sandbox but the kids love it and it kept them entertained for almost 2 hours. Anything that keeps 3 year olds entertained that long is a keeper:

When Ashley found out that we were having bean soup for dinner, she was SO EXCITED! (I told you we'd turned over a new leaf here) She was so excited in fact that she wanted to help me make it.

So Ash and I made the soup while the little kids played, and Charlie tried to keep up, or something.

When it was time to eat, the kids took a Stoughton shower and came inside.

Jackson's mom is such a clean freak, she probably gave him a bath last night anyway.

It had to happen at some point

So, Charlie made the big switch today from the bassinet to the crib. I put off the move for as long as I could, and am pretty proud to say I was able to keep him in there for 5 months (Ash was 3 mos and Abby was 4 mos). Despite my reasoning, Andy said that it was time and he couldn't grow any longer. What do you think?

This is a picture of him during his first nap in the crib - clearly too small for a bed this large.


I guess my resistance is just that this is one of the many milestones that shows he is growing up and becoming independent. Not that having him in the bassinet right by our bed (as I snooze the night away) proves that he needs me more, but it helps. Also like if I pretend to sneak out of the house when I leave him with Erika so he won't see me leaving and freak out, even though he couldn't care less, it helps. Me mentally. Which is a big thing. Anyway, I consented to the switch, now maybe in the next 5 months we will actually disassemble the bassinet and store it away. Another traumatic day, I'm sure.

One down, 12 to go

Ashley will be an official Kindergarten graduate on Friday. I can't even believe it. Where did the last 6 years go?? This has been an amazing year in growth for her. Her reading skills have sky rocketed, math is more than just counting now, she's grasping the concepts of time and money, and with the units they did on the seasons, ocean life, insects and weather, she's teaching me stuff that I didn't even know (which isn't tough) like how to classify an insect, the different types of clouds, that Hawaii isn't really in a box - wait I did learn that on my own a few years ago. Anyway, she has also gotten a lot stronger on her biking skills - we went on a 3 mile ride a few nights ago and last summer she could barely make it the tenth of a mile to the park. She has become a fast eater in the last 2 weeks (which still counts for this year and we are planning on that sticking). She is really just maturing in many ways and it is so fun to see. It is sad for me to think of her gone all day next year and possibly even riding the bus to first grade, but it has really been amazing to watch her grow this year and I know each year will hold its own rewards. We are so proud of her. Way to go, Ashley! (the glasses help her pull off the smart look, don't they) :)

Taking charge

We had our friend Brooklyn (18mos) over this morning to play. It was fun having just Abby and her so Abby could feel like the "big kid" for once. She played the role well, telling Brooklyn to sit in the baby chair so she could "feed" her. Brooklyn brought dry cereal. It was more like a 1 for you - 2 for me type feeding, but I don't think Brooklyn minded sharing (I don't think she had a choice). The best part was when I was trying to fix the baby stroller that was broken and Abby quickly volunteered "Brooklyn broke that." (Abby actually broke it yesterday, but Brooklyn was the last one to touch it, so therefore, it's now her fault) She then turned to Brooklyn and said "Brooklyn, you broke that. I am VERY disenpointed in you." Believe me, it could have been A LOT worse what she chose to repeat, but I'm glad she chose that. Brooklyn seemed unfazed.

We are looking forward to an 80 degree and sunny (forecasted) weekend. We have friends right now in Mexico, Hawaii, Disneyland and Kenya, (as long as we are counting hot places) but Beaverton in 80 degree weather is basically the same. Right???

A day in the life

Today was the second (and last) singing performance for Abby's "play dough" bible study. It went pretty much like the first. She was so excited to "sing for all the mommies" and begged and begged to wear her "wedding dress", so I agreed, thinking if she looked the part, she might play the part.

I was motivating her the whole way there telling her that she had to sing really loud so the video camera could hear her and daddy could watch it tonight. She seemed to be buying it and I reasoned that since she is a full 6 months older than last time, she would probably be more into it. HOWEVER, I was wrong. I should have known from the moment all the kids came out and stood directly on their line, and Abby walked to the end, sat down, and started sucking her thumb. There was a nice lady who sat down next to Abby and tried to coax her along with the hand motions, but Abby would have nothing to do with it.

On another Abby note, our friend Erika brought over some pjs for Charlie (she thinks ahead. WAY ahead) Well Abby decided to claim them for now since they fit her. She came out last night proudly sporting her new pjs. Andy asked where she got them from and I started to explain, "Erika brought them over for Charlie" when Abby interrupted by running over to Charlie about 1/8" from his face and shouted "BUT NOW THEY ARE MINE!" (insert evil laugh) I think Charlie agreed she could keep them if she would just back off.

To not play favorites, I'll share an Ashley moment as well. She has been thoroughly enjoying reading and re-reading the mother's day cards I received, and has "memorized" several of them. Her favorite one to recite is the one that she, Abby and Charlie got me. She loves to run around chanting "our mom is cool, our mom is fun, our mom thinks she's number one." (the card actually reads our family thinks she's number one, but it has already been ingrained in her head) Oh well, she's not actually that far off. :)

Competition

Yesterday marked day 20 that Charlie had not gone poopy. (Jen, if you are reading this, you will regret it). I knew that he was developing a tendency to go longer in between messes and he could not possibly be constipated because he is only eating breast milk, so I wasn't that concerned about it. Around day 14 I decided to be a little proactive about it and started giving him some water (which he does not like therefore does not drink much of but it had done the trick in the past) and also used a thermometer for something I will not describe, but nothing worked. I was determined to not make it to 3 weeks, so on day 19 I broke down and bought suppositories (don't worry, this has a point other than to gross you out). Needless to say, the suppository did not work. How can a suppository not work?! Anyway, so on day 20 I called the dr to see what else one can do to make the poopy come out. They were baffled so they asked me to bring him in. Keep in mind the kid did not seem to mind not going for 20 days at all. Still happy as a clam and laughing at our antics. So we get to the dr and she says that Charlie has set her record! She has never had a kid not go for 20 days before. Not that it is a competition, but it is.* I think I read about some kid on the Internet that went for 30 days before, but this is one area I can resist setting the record in. So the doctor checked him out and thought he looked normal, so she said to try another suppository. She went to go try to find one, and as soon as she left the room, you got it, 20 days of stored up, you know, all over the doctor's table. When she came back in she knew from the smell what had happened. It really couldn't have been planned better since he was naked (and on someone else's furniture) so we didn't even ruin an outfit! I cleaned it up the best I could while the girls were holding their noses and telling me how much it stunk. It was really a memorable moment.

*I'm a proponent of the theory that anything can be made into a competition. I have a friend, Natalie, that is genuinely, honestly not competitive. I used to think that all non-competitive people were really competitive people that just couldn't win until I met her. She honestly doesn't care and I have yet to successfully get her to bite on a competitive challenge. Anyway, competition was thick in my family. Not just in sports, but everyday rituals. How fast can we get the chores done, how many girl scout cookies can we sell (good thing my sister didn't like doing door to door). Keep in mind the other person does not have to accept the challenge - or even know about it - in order for it to be a competition. Well, I am learning that Ashley does not have this competitive gene so much. She begs to bag the groceries for us each time we go to Winco (if you have not had the pleasure of shopping there, yes, you bag your own groceries, and they have 2 lanes side by side for each cash register. I'm sure all the cashiers are competing to see who can get more people through.) Ashley is not aware of the fact that it is a competition between the customers at each lane to see who can bag their groceries first. AND, it's extra points if you pay second but get your groceries bagged first. This is not something that can be explained at the time as 1)that would take even longer to stand there and talk, and 2)the other person might hear and step up their bagging speed. So, we will do some off-site work to ramp up Ashley's sense of competitiveness. When Abby's hand/eye coordination gets more refined, I think she will be able to take on any bagger at Winco. She's got the desire. Charlie is still TBD, but with his latest effort to go for the not pooping record, things look good.

On the Move

A big first today - Charlie rolled over for the first time! He's been close, but was just now able to get that arm out of the way and make it over to his tummy. He'll be making his way around the room in no time.

Yes, I realize that this angle accentuates his big head. I had a complete stranger the other day tell me he looked like Charlie Brown. Don't worry. No offense taken.

Another new thing for Charlie is he now sucks his first finger. I have to say it looks a little odd, but he is much more consistent with his sleeping, so it's worth it.

It kind of looks like he's pointing to where the milk is supposed to go, because, as you can tell, he needs more milk. :)

At least he has a sense of humor about it.

Mays Toys

The Mays were kind enough to leave some of their toys behind for us to keep watch over while they are in Kenya. We are the proud caretakers of their xtracycle. The girls and I tried it out last night (haven't quite figured out where to put Charlie yet). ;0) We started off with a fun ride down Park Way, then realized I would be the one biking them back up (to the tunes of "go faster, mommy"). We had a blast. Living in a neighborhood like this, most people know who this xtracycle belongs to, so we will enjoy having the extra chance to talk about Ian and Anne and explain that we are just borrowing it while they are gone.