Oranges and Belly Buttons

Nicky has discovered two things he loves: oranges and his belly button.

With oranges he goes back and forth all day long, alternating between eating them, rolling them, sitting on them, and eating some more.

His belly button is just like Calvin's belly button phase (minus the belly bumping). He rubs it, shows everyone, pulls up everyone's shirt to look at theirs, and sticks his finger in it while sleeping.

I'm not sure whether perpetually squashed oranges or fingertips of belly button lint disturb me more.

Hat Thursday

Today's Dr. Seuss celebration involved hats!

Here's Autumn:

Every few weeks I help out in Autumn's classroom, and I was at the school today, so I got to snap a picture of both of the kiddos together. 

Calvin was trying to be Freddy Fazbear:

He was disappointed. People kept calling him Abraham Lincoln.

And, Nicky's current collection is this colorful variety of woodland creatures:

Fish Baby and Matchbox Cars

He'd rather be in the tub than anywhere else. He'll stay there for hours, until the water is frigid and his skin has turned to prunes. If Autumn or Calvin try to get in with him, he screeches like a banshee until they get out. He needs his space. He needs his water. He's our little fish baby.

The collection of the week is the matchbox cars. They are in a giant Ziploc baggie that must go everywhere--to bed, in the tub, in the car. He won't let us leave the house without them. And if he's in the car and they spill, they need to all be picked up and repackaged before he will exit the car. He's a particular one, this little guy!

Snow Day!

 It's always so magical having the first huge snowfall of the season! The kids are dying to get outside and play in it.

Nicky doesn't remember ever seeing anything like it. He is thrilled! It takes about 40 minutes to dress them all in warm winter gear, and they rush out the door, happy as can be:

They take their new sleds and dive into the powdery soft goodness of the fluffy snow:

They eat snow and pull each other on sleds:

And 15 minutes later, they stand at the bottom of the stairs and sob until I come get them.

To be fair, Calvin and Autumn played for about an hour, but Nicky did about as well as the rest of them did at his age. So he came inside and we packed away all the wet clothes we'd just taken out. Hooray for snow days!

The Hoarder

One funny thing about Nicky is that he doesn't like to do things one at a time. He likes collections. Collections of Squinkies. Farm animals. Matchbox cars. Whatever. He puts them in buckets and carries them wherever he goes. He won't let them out of his sight--even at bedtime.

For bed, he takes whatever collection he's into at the time. His kitty and tiger. His bedtime books. And right now he's got a small collection of Christmas ornaments and snow globes sitting on top of his bucket full of farm animals. They must all be strategically placed before he'll go to sleep. Every morning, we have to unload all of it--including his pillow and blanket--right when he gets up.

Also, a few nights ago around 3am he was crying and yelling my name. I went into his room, and he said, "Pillow." He'd never slept with one or asked for one before, so I went and found one. He groggily said, "good boy, Mom," then went immediately back to sleep.

He's a quirky little kid. We love him. 

Dear Grandma and Grandpa:

Thank you for religiously checking the blog, even though we're so bad at maintaining it. One day, I swear it will be caught up. Maybe not someday soon, but someday. Until then, here's a glimpse of the kids right now.

 Calvin lost his fifth tooth this week. He's obsessed with all things Pokemon, but especially collecting and trading the cards. He refuses to eat more than half a sandwich at lunch because eating cuts into his recess time. He makes his mother angry because instead of coming straight to the car after school, he feels the need to hold the door open for all the kids. He's a sweetheart. He's very funny and a know-it-all and has matured a lot in the last few months.

 Autumn is a the best big sister. She sings Nicky lullabies and plays with him whenever Calvin's at school. She is constantly begging to play with friends and is definitely the most social one in the family. This week, she beat her entire class in a rhyming game. She won a prize and talked about it for hours. She's smart and creative and sweet and helpful and a joy. She loves making people happy and proud.

This kid. Where to even start? Nicky is a Tasmanian Devil, but he destroys everything with a smile. He's such a cheerful little thing, and I would squeeze him and love on him and kiss him every second of the day if he would let me catch him or hold him long enough. He's behind on speech--won't say more than three words. He would spend the entire days outdoors, preferably wet, and he's obsessed with any type of vehicle. I wish I could keep him exactly the way he is forever.

There you go, Grandma and Grandpa. That's a glimpse into the kids right now. Just because we're bad at calling, bad at updating the blog, and bad at taking time to talk often, it doesn't mean we don't think of you often and love you and miss you! 

And there's your blog post for another month. ;)

XOXO,

All of Us

Creeper and Steve

Just another Minecraft dress-up party at our house.

Little Creeper:

 Baby Steve:

The pictures are blurry--he moves too fast!

A New Perch

Almost daily I walk into a random room or closet and find a little munchkin hiding in an unexpected place. Today I caught these gems:

Putting Away Christmas

There aren't many things to love about January, but one thing that I do love, is getting the house cleaned up after Christmas. Today was the big day!

I had a big helper:

Until he got too tired:

Then Trigger the trucker showed up to sweep me off my feet:

And he hauled everything back outside into storage.

I love that there are little baby ghost footprints on top of the dusty containers:

Andy kept the kids downstairs, and I got to listen to podcasts and disassemble, dust, vacuum, and shine. Christmas was wonderful, but it's nice to be back to normal.

Counting Down

We're all on break from work and school, just hanging out and waiting for the big day. 

Eating noodles:

Making arm extenders with empty wrapping paper rolls:

Hiding with oven mitts (and watching One Magic Christmas in the background):

Throwing nativity parties with loads of celebrities in attendance:

And after the kids were nestled all snug in their beds, Dad and Mom stayed up late to wrap presents:

 

 It's been a very good day.

Bonding and Sitting

Sometimes the kids are indifferent to each other or at each others' throats, so I love those quiet moments when they sit together, shoulders touching, and enjoying each others' company. Even if it's doing something simple, like watching TV.

Nicky's sitting on his own! He's not completely stable yet, so he's practicing with Dad, but he's getting lots better!

He was fascinated by the wooden beads!

1/2/14

Rocket Ship

Autumn found a box. She colored the inside to look like a rocket ship and took her brother to the moon. They came back from the moon sooner than their mother would have liked.