Zoe - 5 3/4 Years Old and Mia - 3 1/2 Years Old - Mid Year Update

Zoe, this has been an explosive time for you. You are intent to try anything and everything new that comes across your path. Skateboarding, football, swimming tricks, bike riding without training wheels, new languages, math games, etc. It doesn't matter what the venue or activity. If it's new, it piques your interest and you want to give it a try. Your curiosity and drive are infectious. I hope this love of learning and interest in all things continues.

Mia, you are more confident and comfortable every day. You eagerly approach new play dates and activities without hesitation. You have become a puzzle master, and will sit for long periods of time doing puzzles in the morning and at night. You have also become totally independent on the swings and can keep yourself swinging by pumping your legs for long stretches. You feel very proud of that. The other day you fell from a pretty high spot at the playground. You sat with me and dad for a while until you felt better, and then you asked if I would come stand with you while you tried the feat again. I'm always impressed with your perseverance. You are ready to try things again even when you've had a challenge the first (or second or third) time.

There are some things that you've begun to do together that are especially fun to watch. You can sit together for long stretches doing puzzles. You often bring puzzles in to Sophie's room if she's playing in her crib and sit down on the floor and do puzzles while talking to her about them.

You also spontaneously sing together while you're playing. Often they are songs I've never heard of that you've somehow picked up from the radio or an afternoon activity. You don't talk about it; you just start singing together while doing whatever else you were doing.

Climbing trees is still a passion for you both. You run towards a tree and then take turns climbing up.

And, you are jokesters. Anything for a laugh. You'll put your shoes on backwards, talk silly, make up knock-knock jokes, etc.

You are each starting to get more focused about upcoming birthdays. After last year's multi-month birthday lead-up party planning obsession, I have vowed to not start birthday planning until no more than two months before each person's birthday. Zoe, you've got until September 7th before we'll plan. Mia, November 25th. Looking forward to celebrating each of you soon!

Love,

Mom

Pool Update

If you can't stand listening to parents gush about their kids in a nauseating, syrupy way, I urge you to read no further. I've spent the past hour with a smile pasted on my face watching the girls at swimming. I am still amazed.

Zoe, you jump and attempt diving off the diving board with complete comfort. You were nervous but very much wanted to try it, so we went to the pool before your regular swim lesson to meet the dive coach and talk about diving. After a couple of jumps and dives off the side of the pool, you got right on the diving board and went for it. The dive teacher simply said "Zoe jump," and you did. You couldn't have smiled any bigger the whole way to the side of the pool. Here's your first ever dive off the diving board.

After that, you wanted to go again and again and again. Figuring out how to keep your head tucked down while diving proved tricky, but you were willing to try all sorts of things to help you go in head first.

You looked like you were working so hard each time you swam to the side of the pool after a jump or dive, but you insisted that you were having a blast and didn't want to take a break.

Meanwhile, Mia you were taking swimming lessons with kids who are in earlier stages of learning. You each take turns with an instructor using kick boards. You seemed really comfortable kicking, using your arms, going under water, and blowing bubbles. You will jump in from the side of the pool too (sometimes a little too closely to the wall).

I was very surprised when I glanced over at you while you were waiting for your turn with the instructor. You were not hanging on the side, but doing this:

Swimming! You were doing the doggy paddle up and down the length of the wall. Pretty soon the instructors noticed too, and they stopped relying on the kick board with you. You spent the rest of the afternoon showing us how you could swim without touching the bottom. Woohoo!

And Sophie, you were only too happy to join the mix. Daddy got to give all three of you rides on his back around the pool while trying to keep Sophie from tasting the water. Yuck!

I grew up in and around the water. Watching all of you take such big leaps in your comfort and fun in the water was hugely fulfilling for me. I can't wait to go back tomorrow!

There was some yelling,

but only a little bit.

Scott's begun traveling for work, so I've been holding down the fort. It's hardly solo parenting because Ruth comes in the morning when I go to work. Managing mornings and bedtimes, getting all the camp supplies ready, packing lunches, preparing bags for swim lessons, and coordinating meals are the main events. Every body has been getting where they're supposed to be, I haven't lost any clients, and there was only was accident (not my fault) and everyone is ok.

I count this as a success.

I would rather have Scott here than not any day, but I'm more up to the challenge of being alone with all three than I thought.

Next trip is Dallas. Bring it!

Sophie - Sixteen Months

This month greets you with two new teeth, shoes and a big fall.

First, the teeth. You are up to eight now. They bother you when they're coming in, but you love using them to eat more easily. We're pretty much done spoon feeding you, as you want whatever we're eating and you want to feed yourself.

You also walk full time now. If you're on your hands and knees, it's only because you're playing on the floor with something enticing. You can walk around the small pool, up and down the two steps to the living room, and you've tried to go up a full flight of steps several times. It was only after being at a park that was really muddy that it dawned on us that you really needed shoes! So, you have two pair of shoes now, and you love them. You shriek every time you see them and take off walking around as soon as they're on your feet.

However, when you get walking, sometimes you go faster than the rest of your body is ready to go. One time, you grabbed for the back of a high bar stool, lost your balance, and the stool came down on top of you. The slat of the bar stool cracked in half and you got bruises above and below your eyes where the two slats landed on you. Ouch! Keeping ice on a bruise is hard work though. I had three bundles of ice going trying to keep something cool on your face because you kept wanting to hold the ice in your hands and your mouth.

You take music class once a week, and you attend story times or music times at the local libraries pretty regularly. You spend much of your time at the pool or at a park. You love the water and will approach sprinklers, spraygrounds, the ocean, or the pool with equal enthusiasm.

Everything goes on your head. Zoe and Mia's head bands, costumes, hats, etc. You also like putting things on your wrists and arms. Let's just say that you are often heavily adorned.

New words continue to pop up. You try to imitate most sounds, and are getting more proficient with words like "book" and "daddy" as well as your signs. You also clearly understand what other people are saying. You answer questions with simple "yea" sounds to indicate agreement or not, and you mimic songs. I love watching you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and clap your hands and stomp your feet to the music at the right times.

You still love to be around your sisters and often want to join their play. They feel the same way and often hang out in your room when you're in your crib. I'm also happy to see that you have your own voice. If they're doing something you don't like, you let them know and they stop it. I really like that you all have your own rhythm. Here you are at the 4th of July parade and playing Ring around the Rosy with me.

This week, we got out of the car, and you walked all the way from the car and in to the house on your own. That was the first time I've come in the house with all three of you when I was not carrying one of you. Amazing.

Happy 16 months little babe.

Mom

Rehoboth Beach, DE - July 2011

Thanks to Michele and Julie's awesome beach house, our trips to Rehoboth have become somewhat of a tradition. We've been going for 5 or 6 years now.

You all typically want to go down to the boardwalk and Funland as soon as possible.

There are a slew of rides for very small kids that you enjoy. Sophie can do several of these too now.

Sophie especially loved watching the swings. This expression is paired with shrieks and giggling.

But, as much as you like the smaller rides, you want to graduate to the bigger ones. Dad has declared himself "not a ride person", so I am the one getting nauseous on the rides with you.

There are some restaurants right on the water in Dewey Beach just a few minutes down the road. You all like to play in the sand while dad and I grab a drink before dinner. It makes for a great night out. You are especially entertained when there's a volleyball match going on like there was this night.

Zoe and Mia, you've both gotten so much more comfortable on your bikes. We spend a good amount of time riding on the boardwalk.
We also like going out on the family bike. That's Sophie tucked in between Scott and me.Then we go right to the beach.

Zoe, you wanted to challenge yourself. You wanted to go deeper in to the water, further away down the beach on your own, and approach new kids to make friends. The beach is a great place to make friends!

Mia, you liked to bury your legs in the sand turning yourself in to a mermaid. You would have us fill your cup with water over and over again so you could keep hydrating your tail because, of course, mermaids need to stay wet.
You also played some type of worm dance game that meant you slithered your way across the sand on your belly from where our towels were down to the ocean. You were working hard and really concentrating on this one.Ah, made it!Sophie, the beach was magnetic for you. No matter where you were, you reoriented yourself towards the sea and tried to make your way down to the waves.

Looking forward to going back next month. Come join us!

Funny Mia

The list of funny Mia moments is long, but here are two quick quips.

Mia: Approaches me with her arm flexed and says, "Mom, feel my elbow! I'm so strong!"

Mom: I reach to feel her bicep muscle and she replies urgently.

Mia: "Nooooo! Feel my elbow! I'm so strong!"

So, I felt her elbow.

___________________

While visiting a friend's house, Mia was curious about a decorative face on the tree in the backyard. It was one of those tree faces made of garden stone that attach to the side of a tree. After looking at it for a bit, Mia says:

"Look mom. I thought it was doggie doodie, but it was just art."

Then she went to share her thoughts with Zoe and dad.

Mia Rocks at the Doctor's Office

Today we took you in for a follow up appointment at the ENT. You have had some recurring issues that the pediatrician wanted us to check out. First of all, you really liked the ENT. Dr. Bahadori is so reassuring and has a great bedside manner without being too goofy. He always wears a bowtie so it looks like he's wrapped like a present.

After he looked at your ears, nose and throat, he suggested that we take a movie of the inside of your nose. Your were in a great mood and seemed very relaxed and agreed to the little procedure. They brought us to another room. I was asked to sit in a chair and hold your arms while a nurse positioned your head and held it. The doctor then stuck a camera shaped like a spaghetti noodle and about the same length, completely up your nose. They had described it all to you in advance. I could not believe how still and relaxed you sat the entire time. I didn't have to restrain your arms at all. The doctor said he was able to look even further down since you were so accommodating. Hopefully we'll avoid any kind of future sleep studies by having done this.

Fortunately, the movie showed us that any blockage in your adenoid area is within normal range. So, if there is more sleep disturbance, we're assuming that it's related to allergies or that there is something else non-adenoid related going on, and we'll consider a sleep study as a last resort.

When it was time to leave, Dr. Bahadori told you that you could take home as many stickers as you wanted because you were so patient and easy going during the visit. You took him up on it. I think you took a dozen or so. The prize though was the Ariel sticker. Way to go Mia!

Zoe's New Pool Trick

Ack! I don't have a video! I didn't even bring a camera!

Zoe was messing around in the pool this afternoon and did a backwards summersault underwater. She popped up and looked at my with huge eyes. "Did you see that?!" I told her I did and that she did a backwards summersault. I wish I had a picture of her clenching her fists and saying "I did it!"

Then she did it several more times, and swam to the deep end and back. Pool trips are so different with kids who can swim. Fun!