halle & jacob, annie, maisy & lucy

3 going on 13, part 2

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:43:21 -0900

On the way home from preschool I typically ask Maisy very specific questions about what she did at school. The other day I asked her the question that all kids (except Annie) hate, “What did you do at school today?”

Her response: “I’m not telling you. Just drive.”

And because I laughed at this and she overheard me telling Jacob about it, now I get the same response to just about any question I ask. Even if we’re not in the car.

Proof that winter is too long

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 22:22:04 -0900

Conversation with Annie at 1:45pm

Annie: Why do the trees look all yellow and white, mom?

Me: You mean the snow on the trees?

Annie: No, that yellow in the sky. What is that?

Me: Sunlight!

Fast Car

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 14:33:27 -0900

Jacob took Maisy with him when he went for an oil change on one of the 2 no sickness days we had last week. The wait was longer than expected so this is how they passed the time. I’m not sure if he made her wear her hat and jacket the entire 2 hours.

More Flu

Sun, 8 Jan 2012 14:42:44 -0900

After Annie was back to normal it seemed that none of the rest of us were going to get sick. And then one night I heard Maisy get out of bed, go into the bathroom for a while and then go back to bed. I didn’t think anything of it. Then she came into our room in the morning and I went to pick her up and she had vomit all over her. She had thrown up in her bed, gotten out of bed and then back in and slept for the rest of the night. So I cleaned up the mess and pampered her for the rest of the day.

A couple days went by and I awoke to Jacob shivering beside me. He spent the night throwing up and the next couple of days feeling lousy.

The next night Lucy was crying in the night. For some reason I was feeling sympathetic so I went to calm her down. She was covered in vomit. I cleaned up the mess and tried feeding her. She threw up all over me. Then she threw up on me once more. We spent a few hours playing downstairs, after I showered, before I finally swaddled her like a newborn and put her to bed for the rest of the night.

There were a couple of days in the mix where I swore I was coming down with the flu but it never materialized. On Saturday afternoon it finally materialized. Miserable.

So it took 11 days for this bug to run its course. If I could have my way I think I would choose to be sick all at once like last time. A day or two of misery and life goes on. This way meant a whole lot of staying home and endless laundry.

This pic is from when Annie was sick and Maisy was pretending to throw up like her big sis.

Lucy at 11 months

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 11:01:52 -0900

• cut her fourth tooth, #e
• is choosing to walk more and more, though crawling is still her forte
• is our snuggliest baby yet and will put her head on your shoulder occasionally
• loves to dance and wave her arms in the air
• had her first bout of the flu
• signs more and cheese
• loves baby dolls
• her babbling sounds like yodeling
• is still such a screamer
• has a sweet spot on the back of her neck that lulls her into submission
• loves looking out the window
• usually smiles at folks who smile at her
• still doesn’t like to be held by strangers
• is a really good stair climber
• knows when she needs a new diaper and crawls over to the diapers and grabs one (okay, so she only did this once and it could have been a coincidence, but I don’t think so)
• hates being put in her carseat, but is quite happy in the car as long as we are moving.
• is happiest when her sisters are around

Flu

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:34:13 -0900

Annie started throwing up this afternoon. And once she starts she doesn’t stop. She’s really good about getting it in the bowl since she’s such a seasoned vomiter. Poor little miserable girl. Maisy just wants to be like Annie and claimed she was sick and needed a bowl too. I’m just happy that we got through Christmas before this hit. It should be a memorable way to ring in the New Year. Good thing we have a slew of new movies.

Free to Explore

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:13:47 -0900

Now that our kitchen and dining room are mostly in order, we opened the gates that used to trap Lucy in the living room and play room. She is loving her newfound freedom and putting it to good use reorganizing the tupperware cupboard.

Lucy’s First (and last) Oreo

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:17:31 -0900

31

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:11:37 -0900

Annie made me the swell hat. Jacob bought me the swell cake. Sarah made me the swell necklace. Shauna made the swell banner. It was a pretty swell birthday, as far as Christmas birthdays go.

Jacob steers pretty clear of the kitchen with the exception of cereal, renovations and dishes. So it came as a surprise to me that Jacob had planned to make me an ice cream cake this year. He bought a truckload of Tillamook ice cream but was unable to find a fun-fetti cake mix like he wanted. I laughed at his plan. I enjoyed his backup plan.

Floating Lights

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:05:55 -0900

On Christmas we lit the sky with floating lanterns with our neighbors. The big girls thought it was pretty great. Lucy thought it was pretty cold. I thought it was both.

Santa’s Big Score

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:17:56 -0900

We opened all but the Santa gifts on Christmas Eve per Clark tradition. This year we gave the girls mostly activities, books, and games rather than more toys to clutter up the house. The girls loved all their gifts.

Legos for Annie, an addition to the dollhouse for Maisy, and a Noah’s Ark playset for Lucy were the intended Santa gifts. The letter he received from Annie the week before Christmas caused Santa to deliver one additional joint gift for all the girls: a set of 5 princess dresses and accessories. It was the winner for sure.

Here Annie is using a spell to turn this gift into what she asked for as Maisy witnesses the magic.

Expelli-marmus

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:15:52 -0900

Annie loves Harry Potter. Therefore, Maisy does too. Santa left wands for the big girls this year. Maisy runs around yelling “Expelli-marmus!” Annie studies the list of spells and uses an appropriate spell with correct pronunciation, which must be the reason Santa chose to give Annie Hermione’s wand.

Opening presents as the parent of small children

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:57:24 -0900

This is how all of my gifts got opened this year.

Builder, Bander, Filler, Sander, and Painter

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:53:47 -0900

For my birthday Jacob worked tirelessly to complete our cabinet doors. We took the doors off and painted the frames over a year ago and had been dragging our feet ever since. On Christmas Eve I went to bed around midnight and Jacob spent the night finishing and installing the doors. In the morning when I came downstairs I found all the doors installed and the mess in our dining room all cleaned up. Best birthday present ever! Now we just need a little more paint and trim and the kitchen is finished!

Pie, Chocolate Milk and a Mike and Ike

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:23:22 -0900

We realized after we came home from eating dinner with friends on Christmas Eve that we hadn’t made any cookies for Santa. But we had made some pie and I managed to convince Annie that Santa likes pie more than cookies. She insisted on also leaving a piece of candy. Santa snapped this picture with our camera after he started writing a note of thanks on the back with a red marker.

So we do not have to keep this paper forever, this is what Annie wrote:

LIFT NAPKIN SANTA
DONT EAT THE CAROTS SANTA THEY ARE FOR THE RENDEER SO DO NOT FORGET.
WE LEFFT YOU A PECE OF CANDY.
THE TREE IS IN THE LIVINGROOM.
GO IN THE KICHIN IN THE KICHIN THEIR IS PIE AND CHOCOLLET MILK.