Saturday, August 29, 2009

tinker bell

i know that i shouldn't put you girls in front of the t.v. as much as i do but it is such fun to sit with you as you watch tinker bell and hear you explain to me again what is happening in your oh-so-excited way. you tell me who's who and explain what is good and bad. i love that. i'm happy that you can get sooo excited about things and begin to understand what is happening. i'm glad that you identify with the good.
we started netflix finally and our first film is for you. tinker bell. it's a simple story of how tinker bell came to be and what the fairies do. how to work together and help one another. how to identify who you are and be true to that. very imaginative and pretty.
you have become somewhat bored with it. you walk in and out of the room and get easily distracted from it. i guess 8 times in about a week and a half is overkill. time to send it back and get the next one.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

just to catch you up

Beatrice, we are working hard to see you as you are. sometimes this little creature appears out of nowhere and roars an ugly roar and doesn't listen very well. or listens and then does the opposite. we know this is not you or who you are. you can banish the creature anytime.
Vivienne, we are making progress on your being "too" sensitive. you are mostly agreeing to put your hair up so that you don't unconsciously suck on it. thank you. and you let me floss your teeth last night mostly without struggle. you do not have to be afraid. you always have Love and where there is Love there is comfort and peace. look to that and you will be fine.
Phoebe Odette, you will never catch up to your sisters although someday you may surpass them in many of the activities that you all do. no need to be frustrated with what your little body can't quite do. you always have what you need at the moment. let's be happy with that. and just because your teeth are coming in doesn't mean that you have to prove it to us by biting Beatrice. (even though sometimes it's probably that little creature that shows up that eggs you on. don't be provoked by it.)and maybe "no" isn't the answer to all my questions. you might miss out on something like chocolate.
you girls can be a handful sometimes. the constant wants, needs, questions and complaints are often seemingly over-whelming. it doesn't have to be. i DO take delight in your activity and marvel at your ability to process and understand. i need to be reminded to be more like you girls, open and resilient. but we could all do with a little more volume control. when it seems like i may not be listening. it could be that i choose to not listen. or i may be wearing my ipod. maybe you should check.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

go Phoebe go!

yesterday Vivi wanted to "help" Phoebe go to the potty. so Will got Phoebe all set up with the dora potty seat close by and left. Viv got Phoebe out of her diaper and onto the dora seat and coached her on going potty. much to our delight V really did "help" and PO went poopee, V wiped her and they flushed and yelled to us and the world "Phoebe went poopee!". then we all celebrated and P got m&ms. all day long she used her diaper instead of wanting to go potty. but we've started. i am told that before bath time she did use the potty, sort of, a little.

this morning when i got up and went potty i asked P if she wanted to try. she said "on the dora seat." so we got her set up and she went, really. and her diaper was dry. we celebrated and she got m&ms. we are very excited that soon we may be a diaper free house and moving on to just pull ups during sleep.

Phoebe Odette you will get anything you want for your 2nd birthday if you potty train before then. (good thing you can't read yet, but i'll throw a rockin' party for you, for sure...with lots of m&ms!!)

Saturday, August 8, 2009

swingin' uh-huh

my birthday week was spent building this swing for you. your dad is a trooper. you see, we work best together. i look at the instructions, agree that it makes sense and then tell him how to put it together. (i'm usually not capable of climbing ladders and tightening things safely) so i started him out but then ran off to work and he spent the rest of the day reading instructions and second guessing them, therefore reading them again. he's a perfectionist, that's what he does. so i bought a kit because i priced it out and it was slightly cheaper. only the kit was for a slide too and we didn't want to labor over a slide. we don't get that much time off together. so we build it over two days and get the thing upright only to find that without the slide portion the set sways left and right. and so i go in search of the green brackets that now adorn your set. i go to lowes and they have only one. now we live exactly in between two lowes so i have the store call the other one. they have three. don't you know i picked the wrong lowes. so i have them set one aside for me and go to pick it up. when i get home we find out that the one that was set aside has two of the same bracket (not opposing ones) and i have to go back in search of another. by now Will, who has taken the morning off has to go to work. so he puts up the good set of brackets and drills holes for me to put up the second set, given i find them, and leaves. i get a good set of brackets and go to put them up and he has drilled the holes on one slightly at an angle so i can't get the back to fit. the carriage bolts are also stuck so i go knocking it with a hammer...still no. i decide i have to take out the bolts. one comes out great, the other, i get a screwdriver that i'm using to drive it, stuck. ugh! while i'm perplexing Big John yells over to ask how you girls like your swing... to which he gets the full sad story. he comes to the rescue. (sorry he asked, i'm sure) but he fixed the bracket and Will got up early to finish the job (i can't be trusted, apparently these things need a perfectionist) and get you girls swinging. we still have not secured the darn thing so it won't tip forward. it seems safe though.
you love it. B, it took you a bit of time to figure out how to do little back flips on the trapeze bar but you nail it now. it's interesting how frustrated you get when it doesn't just happen. you are that way writing your name and still haven't given it a fair try. V, you are tall enough to have that in your favor. you just keep pulling yourself up to sit on the bar and then get stuck, scared really. B comes in to tell me that V needs me... she is stuck up on the bar again. you'll figure it out though. and PO you are an angel flying on the swing. you constantly ask "underdog, mom" which i try to oblige without sending you too high. i'm not sure if your squawking is because i don't send you high enough or that you are a bit scared of the motion. you won't get off the swing though.



this is Beatrice on one of her first attempts that stuck. she was so excited but now she just wants to climb up on the bar like V does. she just too small yet. although i have been told by the neighbors that she climbs up on their's which is closer to the ground. no problem. she will run off to the circus one day. i will try and be happy about this.



Viv figured this out easily enough although doesn't sport the same upper body strength as B does so not as consistent. you do use your height to your advantage. if you keep this dress thing up though, we will be wearing bloomers.