Cousin Time

Rachel and Skyler were in the middle of grading papers and finals. We got to take cute Eliza for part of the day. Here is a picture with the girls at the farm.

Little Gabe

Here is our newest little extended family addition- born on Easter morning!

Congratulations to Emily and family!

Little Miss Mischief Crosses the Line

Little Miss Mischief (aka Malia) is having a great time. Her game: hiding her siblings valuables. Pencils for school end up missing and found neatly stacked next to the water heater, pokemon cards hidden under the couch, littlest Pet Shops and Calico Critters hoarded under beds and bookcases.

Monday, she crossed the line. Oh yes. Mark's iphone was missing! We tried to call it, but she had turned the ringer off. We lined up the kids. "Where's Dad's phone?"

"I don't know."
"I don't know," said the first two.

Followed by little Miss Mischief's giggling, "You're phone is hiding from you! You get to go find it. (lots of giggles) This is sooooo fun!" We scoured the house. She couldn't remember where she had 'hidden' it. Finally found, wrapped in a pillowcase in her basket of doll accessories.

Tuesday, she REALLY crossed the line. What was missing? My wedding ring! Gone from the bathroom counter while I was in the shower. I looked for it in all the usual places. Not anywhere. Mark hadn't seen it. The kids, of course, didn't know where it was. I knew it had to be in the house.

Wednesday, I decided to offer a bribe, a king size candy bar to whoever finds my ring. What did the kids do? Malia giggled, danced and sang about the ring hiding, and the other two went to all of Little Miss Mischief's favorite hiding spots.

Found: one wedding ring in the closet behind Brooklynn's dresser.
Moral of the story: never underestimate this pint-sized bundle.

A Week in Review

The first few days this week were 'virtual' snow days. Our modem wasn't working. I called our Internet provider and ran through all of their tech stuff. Needless to say, we had to wait a few days for a new modem. In the mean time, the kids couldn't do their online school work. I had them review math, read books about sea animals, and practice their handwriting.

Tuesday, Malia woke up and Brooklynn told her that it was the day to be potty trained. She is a big girl and is going to wear panties. (All of her previous potty-training desires had only lasted a day or so.) I can tell you that she has only had 2 accidents since and has woken up every morning dry!! Brooklynn was truly her inspiration and helper. Malia told me on Thursday that she wants to be a big girl for Brooklynn. But, she still wants to be my baby. Interesting to see her internal conflict. We talked about how she will keep growing up and doing great things. And that she'll always be my little sweetheart no matter how big she gets.

Other big accomplishment for the week: Malia figured out how to use the computer mouse?!? She has been so frustrated lately wanting to do her 'school' (starfall.com) yet not able to control the mouse. Mark and I have talked about getting her an ipad so that she can touch the screen to control the program. I thought it would be a few more years before she had the coordination. I can now scratch that idea.

First Boyfriend

"I have a boyfriend. His name is Peter and he lives in the mountains. When I grow up he will come get me and we will get married and kiss on the LIPS! Our kids are Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. He is Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater. We will live in a pumpkin shell. Hehehehehehe."

Yes, life for the two year old is figured out.