I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say....

I have been keeping track of funny or interesting things that my kids say for about a year now. Not perfectly, but enough that we will have a record of their cuteness and amazing creativity.

But I have also noticed that I find myself saying things that I never thought I'd say. And these little quotes also indicate some things that go on in my house, so I've started keeping track of those too. Here is a random sampling of this new list:

"We do NOT stand on people's heads!" (to Eden.)

"You may not lick the toilet" ... "my jeans" .... "my neck" (To Bash. And this list could go on awhile.)

"Let me check your bum for noodles." (To Eden after she eats spaghetti or lo mien. Just as a disclaimer, this means her bum on the outside of her pants....)

"I know you want to, but we don't actually touch other people's eyeballs, Sweetie." (To Sebastien.)

"You may not take Baby Jesus from your sister/brother." (To either of the twins.)

"No, Honey, God is not going to switch your legs while you are sleeping tonight." (To Eden.)


That's all for now.  I'll end with a picture.

Christmas Card 2011

Merry Montage Christmas

Create personalized Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Family Photos

We had our family pictures taken this fall by our dear and talented friend Sara Leo (see link to her photog blog and The Peasant Posy on the right.) We are so thankful that she does this for us a couple times each year. One of the reasons that it always goes so well is that she just lets the kids play. She gets great pictures of them in their element. Then we pose for a few shots, then the kids play some more, then we pose... It also goes very well because she takes her hubby along, and my kids think he is hilarious.

This post is dedicated to some pics that are a little more candid. I just love the different ways that these pictures show off individual personalities.

The books and TV show "Huckle Cat" has a Pig Will and a Pig Won't. Sebastien, ever the actor, loves to do the Pig Won't face.

This one is hilarious because we were trying to get them each to hold on to the bar and hold hands with each other... like Eden is doing with the bar, and trying to do with Sebastien's hand. Our little direction-follower. Sebastien is just being a goof-ball, and not following any directions. 

We were being bears. 

And this one illustrates what our kids look like when they are sad. So sad that they have to leave the park and so sad that Uncle Josh and Aunt Sara have to go back to their house.

This Happened Tonight

Tonight I could hear Eden crying from the bathroom, where her daddy was overseeing bath time for Sebastien and her. I could hear the crying, but couldn't tell the cause. Honestly, it is not that rare of an occurrence, so I was not alarmed. Curious, and of course concerned, but not alarmed. Naps don't happen as much anymore for S & E, so by bath time, both of the twins are about done with their day, and their fuses are short. Tears are easy to come by.

She came out, and I helped her get her jammies on. She was clearly still shaken. She cried on and off for a bit, so I held her and helped her take her deep breathes. Once she was calm, I attempted to help her to talk about whatever had happened. No-go. She wanted to sit on the couch with a blanket. Her eyes were still watery and she was very quiet. She wanted space, she said. Ok.

So Adam comes out and there's some time before bed, and he sits next to her, and he takes her in his lap.

Adam: "Can I tell you a story?"
Eden nods.
Adam: "Once upon a time, there was a little girl named...."
Eden: "Eden."
Adam: "Yes, Eden. And Eden was very..."
Eden: "Sad."
Adam: "Oh, yes, she was very sad. Eden felt so sad because..."
Eden: "She was taking a bath and her daddy was washing her hair so fast. So fast that Eden wanted him to go so slow."
Adam: "Oh, so she wanted her daddy to go slow?"
Eden: "Yes, and so she asked him to go slow but he still went so fast."
Adam: "Oh. I think that daddy thought it would be better to hurry and get it done, since Eden doesn't like her hair to be washed."
Eden: "But Eden wanted her hair to be washed slow and her daddy washed it too fast."
Adam: "Oh, I think that this daddy must be very sorry for washing Eden's hair too fast. And next time there is a bath, that daddy will wash Eden's hair more slowly."
Eden: "Yeah!"

Eden gets off of Adam's lap. She smiles the first real smile since the bath; her eyes light up. "That story made me so happy Daddy!"

She comes over to me and sits on my lap. "Mommy, I feel all better now!!"

And this mommy (and therapist) beams with pride. Then decides to blog about it.

Family Resemblance

Everyone asks us who Violet looks more like - Sebastien or Eden. I don't know. We have had so many people tell us that our kids all look so much alike.  I have never been able to see it. 

So I decided to do a side-by-side comparison. 

(Eden at just under 13 months)

 (Violet at just over 13 months)

 (Sebastien at 13 months)

Of course, had I been able to find pictures of all 3 kids in the same position with the same expression on their faces, it would have been better. But each of these expressions very well represent each child at this age. Eden, with her delightful little grin, Violet with her big, joyful smile, and Sebastien in the middle of babbling something, barely still long enough to grab a picture. So, weigh in if you'd like. 

Who looks like who (whom?) 

October

Oh, I love October. It's been an absolutely beautiful fall so far, and we have been enjoying every minute of it. It's been awhile since I've posted, and I actually had a friend *request* that I update my blog. And who am I to deny the masses what they want.

Here are some things of note.

Violet took her first several significant steps on September 23. Since then, she has made amazing strides. She can walk on uneven surfaces, stand up in the middle of the room, stop to pick something up and then keep walking... in short, she's a walking pro. 

This means that she can get where she wants to go. Where does she want to go, you might ask? Well, she wants to go wherever Sebastien and Eden are, mostly. Violet more and more prefers to be in the company of her older siblings. There are times, now that she has learned to say her sister's name, that she walks through the house calling "Eeeduh" or what sounds like "Yahhshhh" (which I'm pretty sure means Bash.) Sometimes this is tough on the "big kids," who definitely are used to playing together well, but aren't always sure how to integrate this little person who can't quite do what they are doing and who grabs things from them and is quite inconsistent as well. But sometimes they totally embrace it, and even ask for her to join them. 

I am loving these blossoming relationships. I have always sort of worried that Violet would feel left out; she doesn't have a twin, after all. And she's the 5th member of the family, making it an odd number.  But in the last month I have seen so many tender, sweet, and fun moments between Violet and Sebastien, between Violet and Eden, and between all three, that I just don't worry so much about that anymore.

Violet has discovered that she loves to color. (See picture below.) She also continues to love singing, dancing, babies, and all small stuffed animals (think Beany Baby size.) Violet is discovering her voice as well. Not only using words (which increase daily), but her ability to say "yes" and "no" (through adorable head bobbles) to whatever we suggest. And sometimes it isn't as much adorable as it is clear protesting, clear determination to get what she wants. She is learning to use her voice, which is great.

She is no longer on two naps, but takes morning "rest" time and then a long afternoon nap, anywhere between 2-3 hours. And she sleeps a pretty solid 12-13 hours at night. I'm not really mourning the loss of the morning nap, because it does make us a bit more able to get out of the house.

Sebastien and Eden are loving school. LOVING school. The picture below is on orange day. All week long they count the days until they get to go to school. They come home with new songs an dances and stories and just bursting with new experiences. It's a joy, and it's a blessing. One report that we have now gotten from their teacher - who is fabulous, by the way - is that Eden is very talkative at school and Sebastien is quite quiet. Who knew. But thinking about Sebastien and how content he is to be in his own little world, I shouldn't be surprised. Eden, on the other hand, loves to play with, talk with, be with others. Plus she really likes to figure stuff out and know the answer. So...yes, it makes sense.

At some point I will blog AGAIN about the potty. But I don't want to right now. And truly, I could go on and on about the funny things that Eden and Sebastien say, and the adorable little things that Violet is doing and learning. I could blog for hours about these kids who fill my heart and my life with so much joy. But I think for now, I'll leave well enough alone and go to bed.

More About School

Sebastien and Eden have successfully attended school without a parent twice now. Both have gone without tears and had a fabulous time. Get ready for a long post....

The first day I dropped them off after lot of talk over the previous week, so that by the time we got there, they pretty much understood what was going to happen. I still expected that when I turned to leave, someone (ah-hem Eden?) would be anxious and want me to stay or something. I had all sorts of plans to make this go well. But when the time came, I kissed them good-bye, they turned away and didn't look back. So...that's great! I'll admit I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I may have wandered the hall with Violet a little bit, you know, just to be sure. But it was not necessary for me to linger. They were good.

Did I cry? Well, maybe I teared up a little as Violet and I drove away. But honestly mostly I was just proud, thankful and excited.

When I picked them up, I went a little early and I could see them through the window of the classroom. They were sitting in a circle with the other kids, doing the "Going on a Bear Hunt" song, and fully participating. Bash was bopping his head and doing the motions, and Eden was also doing the motions, watching carefully to make sure she had them right. It was a precious sight.

Mrs. Vos told me that they did great. She said that when she announced that they were going on a bear hunt, Eden looked at her and said, "A bear hunt? That's interesting!" And at one point they were making fuzzy bears, and Bash kept putting on more "fuzz" (paint) and saying, "Is it fuzzy yet?" with every new stroke of paint. She also mentioned that at the very end, with only a few minutes left, Eden got a look on her face, "like she was done with her day here." Mrs. Vos invited her to sit on her lap, which Eden did for a minute or so and then she was all smiles again.

Bash was very sad to leave. He continued to tell me that he wanted to go back to school the whole way home, once we were in the house, and through lunch. Eden was absolutely beat from her busy morning, and did not want to talk about details.

However...when Eden woke up from her nap, I crawled into bed with her for some snuggles. Suddenly, she said, "They had Veggie Tales, and we have Veggie Tales! They were there!" I said, "Veggie Tales? At school...on TV?" And she said, "No.... SONGS!" Well this opened a floodgate of information. She went on about rest time and laying on a mat, and Mrs. Vos turning off the light. She talked about the color of her mat, and the color of Bash's mat, at which point, Sebastien was apparently awake because he said, "yeah...green." She told me about the bear hunt, about the song they did and the craft. She was excited because next week they were going to talk about caterpillars.

Which leads us to this week. Both of the kids have had colds this week, and I was praying that they would not have to stay home from school. Thankfully no fevers and enough improvement meant that they could go today. They were both so excited to go back.

I have not gotten a lot of details about their day today. But they did well again. Neither were sad when I left. Bash brought Bob and Larry for Show and Tell. Eden brought their LeapFrog computer.

Adam picked them up and walked them home. Mrs. Vos reported that Sebastien was a little more subdued, which makes sense since he is still a little under the weather. But later we were asking them about school and Eden told us that they watched a beautiful butterfly on TV, and that "Mrs. Vos had a low TV but Mrs. Alfree had a high TV." I don't know what that means. She also told me that she showed her computer for Show and Tell and said "I teached Mrs. Vos how to use it." And Sebastien spontaneously told us, "A butterfly lays an egg, and the caterpillar comes out and it has so many legs! Then he spins and spins a cocoon and goes inside and stays for two whole weeks. And then he wiggles his body and wiggles his head and POPS out and...it's a beautiful butterfly!"

The other sort of funny thing is that Eden has not peed at school at all. She wears her undies, but she won't pee there. By the time she gets home, she has to GO. So I said, "Why didn't you go pee pee at school, Hon?" And she said, "Oh, our potty is just better."

Can I just say how much I love hearing them talk about school! It just warms my heart. I am so proud of them, they have both taken to this new adventure like total champs. So far the Friday morning preschool experience has been wonderful and I'm just so thankful.