Update on the kids

Its been too long since I’ve devoted some serious time to each of the kids on this blog.

Ethan (5.5 years) is doing wonderful with homeschooling. He gets a lot of pleasure out of doing his schoolwork and because the lessons are short and to the point, he doesn’t have any problem keeping focused and on task. Usually lessons take anywhere from 30-60 minutes and the time just flies. He’s still very much into Star Wars and Lego and my days are peppered with questions like, “Who is stronger, Yoda or Boba Fett?”. At any given moment you will see him bouncing around the house with a light saber or toy gun playing Star Wars. He’s even gotten his little sisters into it! He recently started calling us Mom and Dad, which gave a little pang in our hearts. We weren’t ready to give up Mommy and Daddy! He loves to cuddle, and he’s often very intuitive and will know when you need a hug or encouraging word. He still loves to organize and be in charge, which are traits we noticed in him since toddlerhood. He is often slow to warm up to people. Suffering from shyness (just like me!) often makes it difficult to make friends and play easily with others. We’re working on that. Physically he’s getting so tall its unbelievable! I’ve always joked that by 10 he’d be taller than me. Recently I’ve been wondering if perhaps it’ll be even earlier than that! I’ve been so proud of how he’s adapted to his diet of no dairy or eggs. I expected a lot of complaining and trouble because he had to give up basically all his favorite foods. Instead, he’s been very conscientious and checks that all his food is safe, and even last night told me that he liked being on his diet because it made him feel better. Although he’s growing up so fast, he still is happy to curl up on your lap and snuggle. I cherish this, as I can see he simply won’t fit on my lap much longer.

I remember reading that one of the definitions of the name Gwendolyn is “bright”. This sums up our Gwennie (4.5 years). She is enjoying her pre-k class and easily picks up the material they cover. She is into all the usual girl stuff… princesses, horses, flowers, anything cute! She has many dollies that she tends to and its not unusual for her to recruit big brother in the mornings to carry her babies down the stairs and set up a little home for them first thing. She is sensitive to other’s hurts. A few days ago I had to reprimand Elsa sharply for pulling Gwen’s hair. Elsa started crying, and so did Gwen! She couldn’t bear to see her little sister getting in trouble. She is a compulsive snuggler and if your lap is free, she will spot and quickly occupy it! She was my smallest baby at birth, but she’s caught up, though her frame is so light that people always think of her as smaller than she is. She’s average in both weight and height, and is surprisingly strong! She loves her dance class and is often twirling and swirling around the house. She makes friends easily and people seem drawn to her vibrant personality.

Elsa (17 months) is our little rebel baby. She’s been so unlike our other two kids in both appearance (bright blonde hair?) and personality that we sometimes feel like this is the first time we’ve taken a baby through toddlerhood! She is speaking very well… what seems to us much better than the other kids at this age. She’s full of courage and fearless. She keeps up with her sister and brother in almost every way. Once those legs grow a little longer she’ll be able to really keep up! She also loves babies and if she sees a doll lying around, she starts pointing and yelling, “Baby! Baby! Baby!”. She enjoys talking on the phone and sometimes will bring the phone to me and ask, “Nana? Jenni?” until I call up Nana or Aunt Jenni and ask them to talk to her. She is, of course, curious about everything and we are in that stage where my cupboards are emptied frequently! Elsa is now sleeping through the night and napping twice a day… a feat we didn’t think we’d EVER reach when she was an infant. She even sits patiently in her crib until you come and get her. She’s a tiny little peanut, taking after her older sister that way. Despite being my biggest baby at birth, she, like my others, grow slow at this stage. Many people think she’s around 9-12 months and are shocked that she walks! I have to admit, even to me she looks far too little to be walking :) She’s also a cuddler, but only when the timing is right. There is so much to see and do that many times she’d rather be anywhere but your lap. We can’t believe how time has flown with our little Elly-belly.

So there, an update on our three munchkins. Hopefully it won’t be so long until my next one :)

I’m getting terrible at this!

I feel bad that I’m not blogging more often. Most of you readers probably follow me on Facebook, so you’re staying informed. But I want this blog to be a chronicle for myself and the kids down the road and Facebook just isn’t gonna provide that. My current blogging rate isn’t gonna provide it either though :\

So, working backwards, I’ll tell ya what has been going on.

We went to a Mariners game with the kids and took the train from Everett to the stadium. Totally fun and the day was simply beautiful.

The cotton candy might have been the highlight for them :)

The kids love Ichiro and every player *was* Ichiro. If someone got a hit, “Yay Ichiro!”. If someone caught a ball, “Good play Ichiro!”. It was pretty funny,.

Mmm, peanuts.

 

Gwen goofing off

The lovely Safeco Field.

 

We had a good time. Gwen is definitely more interested in the game than Ethan, though he’s the one that is interested in playing it. Maybe once he starts baseball watching the game will hold more appeal.

Earlier this week we attempted to go apple picking. We went to South 47 Farms in Redmond and found the trees bare. I wasn't too happy about that as I’d called a few times, mentioning that we were coming to pick, and when we arrived and got our gear for picking, no one said a thing. They let us tromp down there with 6 little kids to find 6 edible (edible, but beat up and ugly) apples . We did find some organic heirloom tomatoes and picked some of those. They were delicious, I have to say. Overall it was quite disappointing though. Luckily, Aunt Daralyn, who lives in an apple growing area, is bringing me a box of apples next weekend so we’ll still get our fix.

Yesterday we did something very unlike us and took off at a moments notice to BrickCon (i.e. Lego Convention). I had heard about it from a friend on Facebook and thought Ethan would just love it. So down to Seattle we went.

Waiting in line. It was a very long line and it was a good thing we let Daddy hope out early and wait for us while we parked.

Smith Tower, in Lego.

Random Lego pieces that people submitted for showing.

 

Yes… that is a bra and underwear constructed of Lego!

Jason says this is Voltron (I have no idea…)

I thought this was very clever.

Gwen playing in the Build Center.

Elly spent her time playing and/or trying to escape.

You might wonder, hey, you went for Ethan… where is Ethan? Well, something about the convention did not mesh well with him. It was extremely crowded and noisy. Hard to move. He kinda had a meltdown and despite lots of distractions, he never really relaxed enough to enjoy himself so we left after an hour and played outside in the Seattle Center for a little bit. Next year we want to go again, though we will be there when the doors open so we can beat the crowds.

We’ve been pretty busy running Gwen to  pre-k 3x a week, doing lessons, and dealing with the everyday stuff. We’re getting into a groove now, which, if not making things easier, does make it more familiar. One thing I’m VERY happy to start up next week is sewing classes. The only thing I’ve sewn at all this summer is Jenni’s Sith robe. I don’t think I ever posted a picture of that… She looks very appropriately evil in it. It was both simple and complicated and I will never ever make another one again!

Anyway, I’m anxious to make Gwen some dresses, finish up that quilt I promised Shelly & Peter and maybe even make a few things for myself! I’ve determined not to buy myself any new clothes until I reach my goal weight, but I can make myself some new things to fit the new and improved body :)