Caroline funnies

A recent conversation with Caroline:

C: "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to have 2 kids.  A boy and a girl."
M: "I think that sounds nice."
C: "Why do you have so many kids?"
M: "Um, I guess I just wanted to have three. Do you think that's too many or not enough."
C: "Definitely too many!"
M: "So who should we get rid of?"
C: smiles "Nevermind."

Caroline has also recently been enjoying pretending that she has a baby in her belly. This weekend she kept coming into the kitchen as I was doing the dishes, hiding a baby in her belly. Then she would tell me to look away so the baby could come out. She had 3 babies in the span of 5 minutes. When I congratulated her on triplets she corrected me by saying they were all different babies but that she didn't keep them, she liked giving them away.

A few weeks ago we met up with Ellen and Briggs at the pumpkin farm and then went to lunch with them afterwards. Ellen was encouraging conversation between Caroline and Briggs by having them discuss how their preschools were the same and different. While Briggs was trying to give an example to Caroline on how his preschool was different than hers, Caroline interrupted him by saying, "Briggs, you should really chew your food before talking. I can't even understand you!" Through my own laughter (and Ellen's) I corrected Caroline by making sure she knows that its rude to tell another person not to talk with food in their mouth unless they are the persons mommy or daddy. I know exactly where she got this table manner lesson; it's something that we say to Liam on a daily basis. Kids hear and see everything!

Piano

We are about a month into Liam learning how to play the piano. I would say he is doing extremely well so far. He has mastered where all of the white notes are, he has great rhythm and has already memorized some of his pieces. He understands the difference between forte and piano and his teacher says he is very aware of what he is doing while she is working with him. It helps to have Grandma Fink give us all sorts of tips as well so that our practicing sessions are great!

Liam practices about 5-10 minutes each day which is just perfect. He is beginning to understand that while a new piece may be difficult at first it doesn't take long for it to sound the way it should if he works hard at it. 

His teacher is just a few short blocks away so every week he and I get to take a walk together.  (without the girls!) I've discovered that these walks may be one of my favorite times of the week as Liam is usually very talkative about school or even just about anything. Last night we discussed the differences between crickets and grasshoppers and then about how the moon is getting larger every night. 

I cherish this one on one time with him. Even if it is just for 5 minutes. It helps me appreciate his personality and his thought process. I'm sure he doesn't think too much of it but he still wants to hold my hand which I know the time is ticking away for my little boy to think that that is no longer something to do in public with his mother. 

Maybe one day when he's an adult he'll look back at these walks and understand just how special they are. I already know.

Too strong

M: Caroline please finish your milk.
C: I can’t do that! If I finish my milk I’ll be TOO strong.

A couple of big kids

It's official! I now have a 2nd grader and a preschooler.

Caroline started preschool two Friday's ago and while I was nervous about her being shy and only wanting to hang around the teachers I was pleasantly surprised by her sitting right down with a group of kids and starting to do puzzles with them before I even left the room at drop off. She told me at the end of the day that she loved preschool and all about her new friends and what she did all day. She loves to say, "I learned that in preschool" even if she has only been a total of 3 times.

Lucy, however, has had a much harder time transitioning to a daycare center. She tends to be clingy or cry whenever we drop her off at the nursery at church and daycare has been no exception. I know that the teachers are trying to work with her but it will just take some time. Apparently when all the parents start picking up their kids and its not her turn she cries, and then when we do finally pick her up she cries as well.

I started the girls two Fridays ago so that Liam and I could have a day just to ourselves before school started. We got donuts at Donut Experiment and went bowling at Bass Pro Shop. Their underwater bowling alley is right up this 7 year olds alley! He loved all the sharks everywhere but did not understand why he couldn't throw strikes. (despite this only being the 5th time he has bowled in his life) He tried to have fun anyway and it was just spectacular to hang out with him without distractions.

Liam is now a 2nd grader! He has several of the same kids in this class that were in his 1st grade class (although not his best friend who moved away). I imagine that this year may be challenging with math as they have explained that they will be teaching him several different techniques. Reading hopefully will be much easier as Liam has really taken off and loves to sit down and read. A Diary of a wimpy kid book is something that he can finish in 3 days now by himself.

There were no tears from me this year dropping Liam off and I thoroughly enjoyed my day with the girls without fighting and yelling. I may have been a little choked up about Caroline but quickly got over it when Liam and I were eating our donuts.

I'm excited for this school year and can't wait to see how all of my kids learn and grow!

Interview with a 4 year old

What's your favorite food? Tacos! (not true)
What's your favorite color? Pink
Where do you live? I live in Bloomington
Who's your friends? Ava
What's your favorite dessert? Chocolate
What are some of your favorite toys? My stickers, Calico critters and Barbies
What kind of person are you? Happy
What do you want to be when you grow up? I would like to be an animal doctor
If you could learn how to do anything what would it be? Gymnastics (this is far from the truth)
What is something that makes you happy? Giving toys to me
What is something that makes you sad? Taking away toys
What are you going to do now that you're four? chew gum (this is also far from the truth)
What's your favorite song? Blackbirds (Beatles)
What is the best thing about your family? when we are all nice
What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy? play blocks
What's your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go swimming
What's your favorite thing to do with Lucy? play baby toys with her
What's your favorite thing to do with Liam? play Legos
What's your favorite animal? cow (this is a surprise)
What does love mean? It means kiss.


Can't imagine life without this one! She's a keeper!

Caroline funnies

On Fathers Day after repeatedly telling the kids not to wake Dad I discovered that Caroline was missing from the downstairs. Later I found out she had gone upstairs to let Evan know (or wake him up) that we would be putting a cinnamon roll in his bed.

I love when she calls the air conditioner “cold heat” 

She also says Thank you in the cutest way “Nank you” 

I’ve been trying to work on her with her name, spelling and writing it. But in true Caroline fashion if I ask her to repeat the fun song I made up of spelling out her name she just stares at me and when writing her letters if I told her to start at the top and then draw a line to the bottom she would do the exact opposite of that.

Yesterday she got two shots at her wellness visit which she tried to be brave about in the beginning but as we were leaving the office she was dragging one of her legs behind her and crying pretty much the whole way home. Once I gave her Tylenol her complaining was less but then later that night she refused to bend her leg at all. (this is normal behavior for her after getting her vaccines which just surprises me and make me chuckle. I mean she broke her clavicle and still ran around and was jumping off things with no complaint. I would think a broken bone would be worse than a little muscle soreness)

Caroline at 4 years old

Caroline turns 4! We just had her wellness visit yesterday and so Caroline is 3 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds. She can still wear her 3T clothes but fits more comfortably in many 4T shirts. She still loves to wear dresses and frequently asks to have her nails painted.

Caroline is still quite stubborn, usually doing the opposite of what we ask of her (if she's made up her mind that she wants to do it a certain way first) although she rarely gets in trouble as she will usually see that the way mom or dad asked her to do it was a better choice in the first place. Caroline is very smart and can identify all of her upper case letters, some numbers and can count up to her 40's. She still has trouble in the teens though. She can say her ABC's but slows down at TUV because she knows its there but wants a little reassurance to remind her. I've recently been working on her with spelling her name. I try to turn it into a song so she can better remember it but as she is stubborn many times she won't sing it back to me. We are also working on her writing her name which for now consists of me drawing dots for her to trace.

Caroline still enjoys the princesses and for her birthday we got her a Barbie doll which I think she enjoys playing with as well. She still enjoys playing with her Calico Critters but also is fascinated with Shopkins toys as well. Really any little figurine she loves.

She will sit down to watch a TV show with Liam but is usually not particular in what they watch. If Liam is not around or it is not suggested to her she is fine with not watching TV at all. But on the rare occasion if Liam is not around she enjoys watching Moana, Sid the Science Kid, Care Bears and recently The Gruffalo.

Caroline is a pretty good big sister to Lucy. She likes to play with Lucy quite often but occasionally we will see her knock Lucy down just because. She still knows how to get under Liam's skin very well without having to do too much. She uses this to her advantage sometimes but we are trying to  be more aware and now if they are fighting they both will go to timeout or have a consequence. Taking away desserts is still a great threat for her to see mom and dad are serious.

Caroline is mostly a great sleeper. For awhile she was waking up in the middle of the night always saying the same thing that bugs were crawling on her. Evan would usually try to put her in bed with us but she is always too restless to fall back asleep so she can either sleep on the floor next to us or back in her room on the floor. Thankfully she hasn't done that in a couple of months now. (one suggestion to us was that it was the different shapes on her sheets that were causing this although our pediatrician also said it could be restless leg) She is still most definitely a night owl and likes to lay awake and sing or talk to her stuffed animals but usually falls asleep before 9 pm. If she is allowed she really enjoys sleeping in although I always wake her up by 8:30 am.

Caroline is a fairly picky eater although I would consider normal for a 4 year old. Her favorite foods include PB & J, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and Spaghetti O's but she will usually eat what is on her plate. We have to continue to encourage her to eat throughout the meal and sometimes threaten the loss of dessert but eventually she will eat what is put in front of her. She loves her desserts!

She really enjoys animals. She always talks about getting a cat or a tarantula for a pet. She enjoys the chore of feeding Butters and giving her good belly scratches.

Caroline does not take a nap but instead has quiet time for an hour where she can play quietly in her room by herself. With Liam being home from school, this summer has resulted in their alternating who gets to have quiet time in their room. Liam and Caroline still share a room but most likely in the next 6 months or so we will move Lucy into Caroline's room and Liam into Lucy's room.

Caroline is excited about the idea of preschool for next year. We currently have her signed up for a half day program through our church in the afternoon although due to some changes with our babysitter we may just take all the kids to Rogy's daycare center where she will do preschool curriculum there.

Caroline really enjoyed Cubbies this past year and loves swimming lessons! She was not a fan of gymnastics but we may try again this next fall.

Caroline is a real joy to be around. She says the funniest things without trying and has such a loving heart. We can't wait to see what 4 will bring!