Friday, March 27, 2009

Phoebe flair

your really are becoming the chatterbox, Phoebe. just a word here and there really, but non-stop. all of your words have an e added to them. like you want to sound italian or spanish or something. down sounds more like don-nee. up is up-pee. you will say bagel-ee. and sit-tee. i have to try hard not to say the words like you do because i do want you to know the right way of speaking. you are just so darn funny, it makes it very hard.

Vivi, you have just become the big sister in all ways. you have to help Phoebe out. pretending that it is such a nuisance to keep tabs of her all the time. telling Beatrice that her screaming is giving you a headache, it is sooo loud. (sorry if i ever gave you this idea. i am hoping this phrase came from school because headaches are like dreams. they are only there when you are sleeping in your consciousness.) And the other day Beatrice complained that Phoebe was saying mean things to her. i reasoned that Phoebe doesn't really talk yet. but you, Viv, explained that Beatrice could understand Phoebe's talk and that is why she knows what Phoebe was saying. well, could you explain her to me then, Beatrice?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

things that make us smile

Phoebe likes to dance and sing. she is appropriately named since there is such a thing as a phoebe bird. the phoebe bird says its name though and our little bird does not....quite yet. she does sing to us. "twinkle twinkle" mostly. Will was commenting the other day how all the girls did the same thing when learning "twinkle, twinkle, little star". there is a vague reference to twinkle and then they say star. Phoebe says it like "tar" and then she goes from "up" to "high" and the best of all they (all of them) have the "diamond" part down. she will also sing (sounds like humming) along with the others when they sing a song, any song.

Beatrice will sing songs quite a bit too. it usually involves the chipmunks which i find frightening. mostly because i think i dislike the chipmunks as an adult but also because B has a voice that is very unlike the chipmunks. it's almost baritone in comparison. and today she started a dialog with her spoon at dinner that made me have to look away so she would not see me spit out my food, laughing. i wish i could share it with you but it was all way too fast. Will and i have decided that when B flashes her dimple it is one of the best things in the whole world.

another best thing is when they all sign the ASL shortened version of "i love you" to me as i go off to work. Phoebe's looks a bit like just the "L" and V's is pretty much a mirror of mine. but not to be topped, B has to tweak both her hands into the sign and double "i love you" to me. i usually am late to work because i have to keep this pong game of "i love you" going for as long as i can. it's so great.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

kids will say the darnedest things

this week i received a box in the mail, but this isn't what the story is about. i just would like to clarify that i do not leave boxes lying about. then again i may not get rid of boxes as quickly as i should. so Beatrice decides that she is going to try to fold herself up in this box; this box that is too small for her almost 3 year old frame. B has been having a difficult morning. it's too dark out. she wants it to be morning (sunny, i suppose) time. it's cold. although it is not below freezing and beginning to show signs of sugaring time. i am quite sure the sap is running after this week. so it's quite comical to look down and see moping B trying to stuff herself in a not quite Beatrice sized box. i ask her if she would like me to ship her somewhere. she answers, "un-huh" in a classic Beatrice fashion. so i say "where" and she simply says "to the beach". i swear we have not been talking beach talk or even wish-it-were-warm talk. maybe she can read my mind. anyway it cracked me up.

Phoebe talks a lot these days. it's always in such a way that makes me think she truly believes that i can understand her. we will hold long conversations (a minute or so) where i say something and then she responds in her Phoebe-speak and back and forth. then we reach some sort of conclusion where i'm sure i just promised her a car on her birthday or something equally outrageous and she wanders off, satisfied with herself.

Vivi had her very first ballet class today. she learned how to plie and then apparently forgot it when i asked her to teach B. B was very sad that she is not old enough to take ballet. it is probably more like, she is very sad that she can not do everything that V does. B is not what i would call a ballet girl. although very athletic, i will probably put her in a gymnastics class since she is more climb and jump girl. she may surprise me, usually does. V was very excited about the class though and then not so excited when she heard her friend Sophie would not make the class. she chin-upped eventually and decided that she could check it out and then be able to show Sophie the ropes next week.

there is a music club near our house that actually gets some pretty good acts that want to play small venues. the owners must be with small child since we have seen Dan Zanes play there and they now do a dance party for kids under 8 about once a month. today we decided to brave loosing a child or two to be able to go dancing. Phoebe is my dancer. V sat on a chair to sulk and "wait for my friends to show up." Beatrice stood too close to me until a little girl in a big froufrou tutu came up to dance with Phoebe (scared her) and then tried B (scared her,too). but then after i pushed B away a couple of times, telling her to dance, she started holding hands with her new hovering friend and sort of tried dancing. when Paige showed up the three held hands and scooted, sort of morphed around the dance floor. finally, V had her friend Baxter show up and ran across to greet him (tripping on the way....my little dancer) then she ended up sitting on the chair again after about 10 min of running around with Baxter. not sure what happened but Baxter "doesn't like me anymore" what?? did i miss about 5 or 10 years? again, Phoebe Odette is my dancing partner.

won't do that again for a while.