Question of the Day

What single event in the life of a first grader makes her choose to wear her favorite cardigan with her dad's reading glasses while wishing we had the foresight to buy gray hair spray and curlers??

Dressing like she is 100 for the 100th day of school

Briggs Says...

Briggs is continually cracking me up with the cute little things he says.  He's got lots of cute mispronunciations and misconceptions and misunderstandings.  He's at a really fun (and funny) age.  I know that some of these may not translate well into writing, but I want to archive them here to help me remember this time in his life.

Briggs has cute little ways of saying lots of things.  He calls lollypops "wallypops" and his humidifier is his "sumidifier."  He says "lello" for yello, "farkley" for sparkley, and "sings" for things.  He also sometimes drops first syllables of words, like saying "brella" for umbrella and "struction cones" for construction cones.

Briggs often makes one syllable words into two syllable words by saying the "-ed" at the ends of words.  For example, he will say "I bonk-ed my head" or "I dropp-ed my cup."

Briggs likes to help in the kitchen.  If someone is cooking in the kitchen, Briggs will say, "I want to help make."  He doesn't say "make dinner" or "make cookies" or "make lunch."  Just "I want to help make."

The other night, we were talking about Paris and Europe.  Briggs was confused, thinking we were talking about carrots and syrup.

Briggs loves to make his sisters laugh.  Unfortunately, he has realized that "potty talk" always gets his sisters giggling.  He is now constantly talking about pee-pee and poo-poo and tooting and bottoms and being naked and shaking his bootie.  He has also learned how to make himself burp at the dinner table.  I blame his Y chromosome.

If Briggs is playing with something breakable or one of his sister's special things or something really small, I often tell him to be careful with it so it doesn't get lost or broken.  The other night I was putting Briggs's lotion on him after bath.  He said, "Don't put lotion on my tummy."  When I asked him why I couldn't put lotion on his tummy, he said, "Because it's small and special and glass."

Briggs gets many of his clothes as hand-me-downs from his cousin Liam, who is 7.  The other morning Briggs told me, "My shoes are too tight so we can give them to Liam."

The other day I was telling Adelie that she was going to Melody's house for a playdate.  Briggs asked if he was going to.  I told him, "No.  Only Adelie gets to go."  Briggs responded, "Maybe I can go when I'm a girl."  I guess he's blaming that Y chromosome too.

I love this little guy and all the ways he makes me smile.

Those ways include the pajama-rainboots (on the wrong feet)-balloon ensemble.

Learning Time

I recently made an alphabet matching game to help Adelie recognize her lower case letters and match them with the upper case letters.  She played a game of it yesterday with Zach.  After the game, we had this conversation:

Me:  "So who won the matching game?  Did Daddy win or did you win?"
Adelie:  "I won.  I think I got 71 cards."
Me:  "I don't think you could have gotten that many.  There are only 52 cards in the game, so you couldn't have gotten more than 52."
Adelie:  "Oh yeah.  Now I remember.  I think maybe I got 60."

I guess next I have to make a math game.

Childhood

It's easy to fill up our children's lives.  Birthday parties.  Playdates.  Family outings.  Sports.  Activities.  Homework.  Art projects.  Structured family time.  As a parent, I often feel compelled to make sure I'm helping my kids create memories or build skills or foster relationships.  I often feel like it's my responsibility to make sure their childhoods are filled with fun, happy memories.  And then my kids remind me that they are very capable of creating memories and building skills and fostering relationships all by themselves.

Staley and Adelie spent over 4 straight hours this afternoon setting up and playing doll hotel.  They had the best time!  It wasn't my idea.  I didn't help them figure out how to arrange the furniture.  I didn't suggest decorations or scenarios.  I didn't show them how to use scrap materials, headbands and bandanas to make doll clothes and bedding.  I wasn't involved in their play.  They worked together to create a whole new doll world in the basement.  They helped each other, shared, compromised, and had a great time together in the process.  This is memory creating at its finest, and it never would have happened if I had planned out their day for them.  Sometimes I need the reminder...

...that this is what childhood is all about.

Seven Years Old

As hard as it is to believe, my Staley is already 7 years old.  As is my tradition, this is my yearly blog post about Staley at her new age.  At 7 years old, Staley is 46.5 inches high and 48 pounds.  Clothing sizes vary at this age, but she is primarily wearing size 6/6X/7 clothes and size 12 shoes.  Staley has lost 6 teeth, although only 2 of her adult teeth have come in.  Her teeth are very close together, so we are going to see an orthodontist next month to determine how we can make enough room for her adult teeth.  Staley is in first grade with Mr. Garber as her teacher this year.  She is currently enrolled in Stage Kids (preparing for a spring performance of Mulan, Jr.) and Broadway Dance (a new class Staley is trying instead of her show choir).  She also attends Awana on Wednesday nights at a church here in town.

So many missing teeth!

Likes:  Staley loves school.  She loves singing, dancing, and performing.  At home, she and Adelie often put on costumes and perform original plays, generally directed, designed, and starred in by Staley.  Staley enjoys cooking, arts and crafts, drawing, writing stories, and generally engaging in creative pursuits.  Staley and Adelie enjoy playing American Girl dolls and Barbies together. She loves imaginative play--playing school, house, pet hospital, hotel, fairies, mermaids,...  It doesn't take toys for Staley to create her own fun. 

Staley and Grace

Staley loves to read and can often be found reading to her brother and her sister.  She is an excellent reader, and current books/series that she's been reading are Beezus and Ramona, the Wellie Wisher books (to Adelie), and the Horse Crazy series.  Zach is also reading the girls the Frog Princess series.  (They are on the 7th book in the series.)  We don't watch TV or movies very often, so Staley doesn't really know what shows are on.  If we do watch a television show, it is generally Dora, Paw Patrol, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which Staley still readily watches with her brother and sister.  She remains very sensitive to "scary" movies and shows, but she really enjoys the American Girl movies.  Staley loves to play games.  Favorites include Apples to Apples, Ticket to Ride, Shut the Box, Spot It, Tumble, Authors, and Connect 4.  When we get to play outside (it seems like its been forever), Staley enjoys riding her bike, riding her scooter, climbing trees, and doing monkey bars at the playground.  She also loves to swim. 

My little reader

Staley is generally a good eater, eating most everything I make except for veggies.  She really likes grill food, tacos, pizza, many casseroles, meatballs, pancakes, fruit, and most sweets (except cake).  She is pretty adventurous now with eating hot lunch at school most days.  Staley's best friend from school is Reese, who was in her class last year.  They generally play together at recess and go to Awana together on Wednesday nights.  Staley has a wide circle of other friends that she spends time with at school and church and Stage Kids and in the neighborhood.  Her siblings and cousins still remain some of her best friends.

Sisters make the best friends.

So do cousins!

Dislikes:  Staley is still sensitive to many things.  Although we rarely have clothing drama like we used to, Staley is still picky about her clothing.  Unless it's required for a play or performance, Staley will not wear jeans, tights, shirts with appliques, lace, or anything binding, itchy, or uncomfortable.  She is sensitive about having her teeth cleaned/brushed, shots, and splinters.  When it comes to pain, tough she is not.  Staley does not always like when things are not her idea, although has been getting better about that in some ways.  She does not usually cave to Adelie's ideas or younger playmates, but will sometimes concede to older playmates (like older cousins) or me.  Staley continues to demonstrate anxiety about new situations or settings.  She does not handle it well if we are not somewhere to pick her up immediately when something is over or if something isn't going how she expected it to.  She often is in tears if she doesn't see us during the closing time at Awana or if our Sunday School class gets out a little after hers.  She also still has a weird anxiety about a movie/show ending and the credits beginning.  Staley does not like vegetables.  She will not wear a life vest or floaty.  She is sensitive to smells, often complaining about smells that no one else is aware of.  Although Staley still has her sensitivities and anxiety and a mind of her own, most of her days now are free from tears and drama. 

Skills:  Staley may not be the most coordinated child, but she is very determined.  She can ride a bike without training wheels, do all the monkey bars at school, swim pretty well, and jump rope.  She draws pretty well and has nice handwriting.  She loves to do craft projects, and has recently learned to make rubber band bracelets and tie crafts. 

Staley making rubber band bracelets.

Staley is very helpful and independent.  She can cook with very minimal assistance (mostly for the oven and making sure she is measuring the correct amount), supervises clean up time, will help set/clear the table, can remove her sheets, and is a great help with her siblings.  Staley and Adelie play really well together, but Staley is always very sweet and helpful with Briggs.  She can get him into and out of his crib, and will try to help him get his socks or shoes or coat on.  Not only does she play well with her siblings, she also reads to them, supervises them, and gets great enjoyment out of the cute or funny things they do.  She will even make them behavior charts or provide them positive reinforcement for doing something good or nice.  She is just a great big sister!!  Staley gets herself dressed, takes her own bath/shower, brushes/flosses her own teeth, combs/parts her hair, and coordinates her own outfits.  (She still sometimes needs prodding to move things along as quickness is still not a strong suit.) 

What a great big sister!!

Staley remains very bright.  She is able to read almost anything, although still loves to be read to.  She masters math facts very quickly, and can do addition, subtraction, simple multiplication, and simple division.  She can also tell time on a analog clock and is beginning to learn money values.  Staley learns things quickly and has an amazing memory.  For Awana, Staley has already completed a book and a half this year.  She memorizes her verses very easily.  For example, she memorized the books of the New Testament in about 5-10 minutes and the 23rd Psalm in about 5 minutes...and then remembers them weeks later.  She also has no problem memorizing lines for her plays, often learning all her lines within the first week of getting a part.

Reading to Adelie

As a quintessential first child, Staley is a rule follower and a pleaser.  She never wants to be in trouble and is quick to point out when others are not following the rules.  Staley is still quick with an excuse or an explanation or a shift of the blame when she is getting in trouble.  She has a mind of her own and knows exactly what she likes and doesn't like.  Staley is very sweet and cuddly, still liking to sit on my lap, cuddle on the couch, give me hugs, and hold my hand.  She gets excited when I come to help at her school.  Staley is more happy to be at home than on the go.  Even though she enjoys school and Awana and Sunday School, Staley is never too sad about missing activities if it means she gets to stay home.  With her anxieties and sensitivities, I think home is just a safe place for her...and I love my little homebody.

Time flies and 7 years has gone by in a blink.  So much has changed, but many things about Staley remain constant.  She has always been my sweet, sensitive, loving, smart, helpful, independent, amazing little girl.  I can't wait to see where this life takes her!

I sure do love my 7 year old!!

The Dentist: A Tale of 3 Kids

Once upon a time there were 3 kids who had to go to the dentist.

The oldest said, "I don't want to go to the dentist."
The youngest said, "I don't want to go to the dentist.  I want you to play with me."
The middle said, "I LOVE the dentist!"

The kids went to the dentist.
The oldest cried quiet tears as she tried to be brave.
The youngest clung to his mother.
The middle was as happy as she could be.

The kids got their teeth cleaned.
The oldest was anxious, fearful, tearful, and held her mother's hand the whole time.
The youngest screamed every time he had to lay back, even though he was sitting on his mother's lap.
The middle didn't care that her mother wasn't even in the same cubicle as her.

The dentist examined their teeth.
The oldest opened wide with fearful eyes and held her mother's hand.
The youngest opened wide so he could scream.
The middle happily complied with anything anyone wanted her to do.

The kids finished their visits.
The oldest picked two prizes because she was scared but did her best.
The youngest picked one prize that he didn't deserve.
The middle picked the messiest prize because that's just who she is.

After talking with the dentist, two of the kids have baby teeth really close together, indicating the probability for extensive orthodontic needs.  The other one is fine for now.

Seven years later, there were 3 kids.  2 of them dreaded going to the orthodontist every 3 months.  The middle one cried because she didn't get to go.

Birthday FUN!

In lieu of a birthday party this year, we instead planned a birthday activity.  And what an activity it was!!  Staley, Adelie, and I were joined by Zach's sister Jill, her two girls, and both grandmas for a girl's trip up to Chicago to the American Girl store.

Instead of driving up to Chicago, we took the train from Bloomington.  It has never been easier getting my girls out of bed before 6 a.m. than by telling them we had to get ready to meet their cousins at the train station.  I wish I could use that as motivation every morning.

The girls had lots of fun together on the train.  We secured this little alcove where the girls could roam and play.  They snacked, visited, played games, looked at the American Girl catalog, and even found the time to write, practice, and perform a play.

There was plenty to see and do, and none of us had to drive in downtown Chicago.  Winner, winner!

The girls were so excited to arrive at the American Girl store.  It's truly an experience!  The girls explored the whole store, making sure to see everything before deciding what they wanted.  Each girl had some money to spend, and everyone was so excited with their purchases.

After all that shopping, we then enjoyed a special lunch at the American Girl Café.  It was so cute! They had chairs for the dolls, each doll got a teacup and saucer, and the napkin rings were hair bows.  

What could be more fun than eating a fancy lunch with your cousins and your dolls??

Topping it off with dessert, of course.

After lunch, we spent a little more time at the American Girl store.  When it was all said and done, we spent about 4 hours there!

And this face says it all.  Such a great experience!

We rounded out the rest of our afternoon with a stop at the Lego store...

...and the Disney store.  I love how the girls took over the little Disney castle to play with their dolls.

Since we didn't want Briggs and Zach to miss out on all the birthday fun, they then drove up to Chicago with my dad to meet us for an overnight while Cathy, Jill, and her girls took the train back.

When you go to lunch with Daddy and Grandpa, this is what you get.  And yes, apparently he ate almost the whole thing.

After checking into our hotel, we met Uncle Ethan for dinner at the Rainforest Café.

Briggs was scared of the animatronic snake...and gorillas...and the thunderstorm that occurred every hour.  Other than that, the restaurant was a big hit.  And it was nice for our 3 tired kiddos who had gotten up early and/or hadn't gotten a nap that we were eating someplace where they didn't have to worry about being too loud or fidgety and where walking around while waiting for dinner was encouraged.

After a good night's sleep and a quick breakfast in our hotel room, we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry to round out our Chicago fun.

The kids really enjoyed the museum.  The Idea Factory was a children's play area that all 3 kids really enjoyed.  They also liked the Fairy Castle Dollhouse, the baby chicks, the fun house mirrors, the farm area, the weather area...  Each exhibit we visited had lots of hands-on fun that the kids enjoyed.

Briggs loved the huge model train set.  He would have been happy doing nothing else.  Zach really liked the submarine.  In the same way that Briggs could have spent hours watching the trains, Zach probably could have spent hours checking out the submarine exhibit.

We filled our morning (and early afternoon) with museum fun before heading for home.  What a great week-end we had.

I think this birthday girl (and her dolls) would declare it a huge success!!

Birthday Fun

Staley's 7th birthday was fun, fun, fun.  It started the week-end before her birthday with a family brunch to celebrate Staley and Liam's 7th birthdays, as well as Evan's birthday.  Evan's birthday is the day after Staley and Liam's, so it generally gets lost in the shuffle.

Blowing out the candles in the birthday blueberry muffin.

There was brunch, playtime with cousins, and presents.

It was a fun way to start off the birthday celebrations.

On Staley's birthday, she enjoyed taking treats to school (Oreo balls). I enjoyed being her lunch date in the school cafeteria, and she thought it was great that I brought Subway for us to enjoy rather than having to choose either hot or cold lunch.  That evening she got to share her birthday dinner of choice (Daddy's cheeseburgers, grilled out in the very cold January weather) and dessert of choice (Oreo balls and Uncle Bob's Moosetracks ice cream) with both sets of grandparents.

What a loved little girl!

She opened a few more presents...

...including a very sweet book that Adelie made for her.  The book was all about Staley and included sentences like, "Staley is very sweet and kind.  She's my superstar."  And "She shares really good and she's really good at playing."  And "Staley is perfect to be my sister."  Love it!!

However, Staley's biggest present from us that evening was revealing her birthday activity.  I had informed Staley that instead of a birthday party this year, we would be doing a birthday activity.  So on her birthday, I used her secret code kit to write out a reveal in code that she had to solve.  And the secret birthday activity was...

A fun girl's trip up to Chicago to visit the American Girl Store!!

It was such a fun trip that I think it deserves its very own post.  So stay tuned...

Interview with a 7 Year Old

Favorite color: Coral
Favorite food: Daddy's cheeseburgers
Least favorite food:  Vegetables
Favorite restaurant:  Cornerstone, Pizza Hut, Culvers
Favorite dessert: Ice cream and oreo balls
Favorite toy: Haley and Grace (American Girl Dolls)
Favorite stuffed animal: Teddy (formerly known as Yellow Bear)
Favorite animal: Horse and kitten
Favorite game: Authors
Favorite movie: DC Superhero Girls, Boss Baby, Zootopia
Favorite sport/activity: Stage Kids
Favorite thing to do at home:  Play with Adelie, cook, sing
Favorite thing about school: Reading club
Favorite place to go:  Disneyworld
Favorite thing to do with Adelie: Play American Girl Dolls, do funny things
Favorite thing to do with Briggs: Read to him
Favorite thing to do with Mommy: Watch movies, cook, read books
Favorite thing to do with Daddy: Go fishing, do projects, read
Favorite book: all the frog princess books, Beezus and Ramona
Favorite princess:  Belle and Merida
Favorite superhero: Bumblebee because she finds a way to do everything even when she's losing her superpowers and is the size of a bumblebee
Favorite outfit:  My pink shirt and jeggings and matching outfits with my doll
Favorite pajamas: Brrrr and Dreams can come true
Favorite play you've been in:  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

What are some things you're excited about doing when you're 7? Second grade and going to the American Girl Doll store in Chicago
What are you scared of? Broccoli because it's so disgusting.
What's the best thing about you? I was born first so I'm the big sister and I have the most responsibilities so that's pretty awesome.
What are you good at? I'm a really good cook, I'm a really good actress, and I'm a really good artist.
Who is your best friend? Reese, Adelie, Briggs
What do you want to be when you grow up?  I want to do something with babies, but I don't know what yet.

Happy Birthday, Staley!

My baby girl is 7 years old today.  How did that happen?

From the moment Staley was born, my world changed.  As a newborn infant, she began teaching me so much.  She taught me that I can have a fierce and unconditional love that supersedes any of my selfish desires, and that there is nothing I wouldn't do to love and protect my children.    She taught me that everything I thought I knew about parenting is a mere speck compared to everything I don't know about parenting.  She taught me that someone else's successes and failures can mean more to me than my own.  She taught me that I cannot be the mother I want to be all the time, but that she will continue to love me just the same.  And she taught me that life is sweeter...and better...and fuller...and happier with her in it.

Staley has been teaching me for 7 years, and I still  have so much more to learn.  But one thing I know for certain--I couldn't love this girl any more.

Happy birthday to my amazing baby girl!!!

Snow Much Fun

For the record, I am not a cold weather gal.  I don't care for snow.  I would be fine if our coldest days were 50 degrees.  And, if I'm being picky, I'd be fine if our hottest days were 85 degrees.  Obviously, Illinois and I are not the best of friends when it comes to weather.  But since I have kids who do enjoy a good snowy play day, I try to embrace it as much as I can.

We got snow on Christmas Eve, and 3 weeks later, it's still here.  That is because it has been FRIGID outside.  And since the temperature has been hanging out in the single digits, I have not taken the kids out to play in the snow.  (Refer to my first sentence.)  Today with the weather reaching a balmy 33 degrees, I decided I could brave the cold to accommodate the playing-in-the-snow request that my kids have been making for the past 3 weeks.

The 30 minutes it takes to get everyone bundled up and ready to head outside is a little more worth it now since we played outside for about an hour and a half.

Unlike last year, Briggs was able to walk around in the snow without falling down.  And, also unlike last year, when he did fall down, he didn't cry about it.  Winner, winner!!

We made a snowman.  (Well, mostly me.)  I pulled them around the backyard on a sled.  They had great fun sliding down our super slippery slide into a big snow pile.  And they used shovels and buckets to make snow castles.  All in all, it was big fun...and the best workout I've had in awhile.

We topped off our snowy fun with hot chocolate, cookies, and a warm play bath.

After the 30 minutes it took to get ready, the long time we spent outside, and the great fun the kids had playing in the bath, our morning flew by.  We had to rush to eat lunch and get Adelie to pre-school on time.

Now that we can cross snowy fun off our list for the winter, the snow is welcome to melt.  Maybe we can do this again one day next year.

This Girl

Staley is 5 days away from her 7th birthday.  Today she told me, "I can't decide what to wear today.  I don't want to look like I'm almost 7.  I want to look like I'm already 7."

I think she accomplished her goal.  She looks 7 to me.

Love this girl!

They Say...

This morning when Staley was getting ready for school, I told her to make sure to dress warm since it was going to be so cold.  I said, "It's -9 degrees out right now."  Staley asked, "What's the windshield?"
#windchill

Briggs doesn't say "my sisters."  He always says "the sisters."  As in "Are the sisters in their room?"  Or "What are the sisters doing?"
#notclaimingthem

Around Christmas, the kids loved to drive around town looking at the Christmas lights.  Or the "farkly (sparkly) lights", as Briggs called them.  All the kids had special requests for specific houses or lights they wanted to see as we were driving around.  One night, Briggs asked to go see the "projector robot."  We had no idea what he was talking about, but he was so insistent.  He said it was a robot that had colors in it's stomach.  When we told him we didn't know where it was, he said, "It's outside.  It's at a house."  When those very specific descriptions didn't help, he kept saying, "It's far ahead!  Go far ahead!"  Even with all his helpful directions, we couldn't find it.  We looked for the projector robot on multiple occasions with no success.  Finally, on Christmas Eve, we were driving around out by the lake and we passed a house.  Excitedly, Briggs shouted, "The projector robot!!!!"  In front of one house was an inflatable snow globe.  The snow globe had a projector that swirled different colors.  The top of the snow globe did look sort of like a robot head and the handles on the sides looked like robot arms...it really did look like a robot with swirly colors in it's stomach.
#Christmasmiracle

Hello 2018!

There are big ways to say good-bye to a great year.  Watching the ball drop in Times Square.  Going out with friends.  Hosting a big party.  Traveling.  But as I spent my New Year's Eve on the couch with my husband, I said good-bye to 2017 in my own way.  I cuddled with the man I love.  I savored the silence of my 3 soundly sleeping children.  I took the night off from folding laundry to just relax and reflect on how blessed my life is.  And even though I had to say my good-byes to 2017 around 11:30 (since I didn't quite make it to midnight), I am so appreciative for the healthy, happy, fun-filled year we had.

There are big ways to say hello to a new year.  Fun family outings.  Grand resolutions.  Races.  Polar plunges.  But we welcomed our new year with a warm, fun, lazy day at home (while the frigid negative degree weather stayed safely outside.)  We cuddled and read books together.   Stayed in our PJs all day.  Ate chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast so late that we just skipped lunch.  The kids played really nicely together.  I cleaned out and organized.  It was a perfect way to spend the first day of this new year.  And I resolve to enjoy many more of these kind of days in 2018...with the family that I love!

Happy New Year!!