Happy Easter!!

 

 

 

our Abby-Girl

While driving today, Abby made a call on her phone ...
"Yes, I wanted to see if you have any emails for me." 

And when we got home she was asking what something was.  Only problem is there are lots of somethings in our garage.  I asked her what she was looking at. 
"It's the thing with the other thing.  Right there on top of it." 
Wow, that really clarified things for me, she's very descriptive and helpful like that.

chomp chomp x2

I just got a good look in Chloe's mouth, and my poor baby is getting both of her bottom teeth, ouch!!

Happy Turtle, visit #2

Happy Turtle’s visit to Ryan’s house, March 2013

 

 

Thank you for picking this weekend for Happy Turtle to come to our house.  Both Ryan’s Grandma and his cousin had birthdays this weekend and Ryan was super excited Happy Turtle got to celebrate with us.

 

 

“On Thursday after preschool, me and Happy Turtle went to Zaxby’s with Grandma and Mommy and Abby and Chloe [Ryan’s sisters].  And we went to the mechanic to pick Daddy up.  On Friday, we had Grandma’s party.  Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner.  On Saturday, we packed up and got ready for to go to Cousin Maxim’s.  And then we played and we ate pizza for dinner and we spent the night at Cousin Maxim’s.  On Sunday we had a party with Cousin Maxim and he’s turning five.”

 

 

Thanks for coming to visit, Happy Turtle!!

 

 

 

chomp chomp

Chloe's getting her first tooth.  She's not very excited about it and was pretty fussy yesterday evening.  She also is not a big fan of me trying to pry open her mouth and peek in.  But it's in there, bottom right.  She's seven and a half months old.  I feel like I should be excited since it's a big milestone and all, but I guess by child number three I know that teething just really isn't all that fun!

the three amigos

Yesterday Ryan read a book to his class!!  He came home talking about it and then his teacher, Ms. Jennifer, confirmed it today.  A classmate had brought in a Bob book with his show and tell stuff, but I guess he didn't know how to read it.  Ryan said he did, and so he read it out loud to the class.  Ms. Jennifer said he did great and didn't miss a word!!  She said it was a very proud moment for her, and you know what?  I'm super proud too!!  Good job, Buddy!!

Chloe has finally decided that rolling has its benefits.  Just like that she's off.  I've known for a long time she can do it, but she has not been interested.  Within the last two days or so everything has changed.  Around and around until she runs into something.  All of a sudden we have to be careful about toys and blokus pieces and other things on the floor - not only does she roll, she puts everything in her mouth.

Over the weekend I sold at a consignment sale with Ms. Shannon - Abby's current 2s teacher and Ryan's former 2s teacher.  I was trying to get the inside scoop on Abby at preschool without being too obvious or annoying :)  She told me that the first day of preschool Abby was playing with an Angelina Ballerina doll and someone tried to take it from her.  Abby apparently hit him/her over the head with it and Ms. Shannon knew then that she'd be fine in preschool.  That's my sweet girl for you!  Shannon did say it wasn't an aggressive hit or anything, just a standing-her-ground type of thing.  She also said Abby follows her around a lot and walks right behind her with her hands in Shannon's pockets, just like she does to me. 

A super cute picture of Thing One and Thing Two, just because.

panda parade, newborn gorilla, and bird poop

On Friday the kids and I went to the zoo with our friend Ms. Christa and her kids.  We had a great time: the weather was nice, schools were in session so it wasn't crowded, I wasn't either a) miserably pregnant or b) caring for an itty bitty baby who wasn't in a good eating routine!  It was our best trip so far :)  Although unfortunately Ms. Alicia and her crew couldn't make it, bummer. 

There were several highlights including the panda parade.  The pandas were super active when we were there and we were able to sit right up at the glass [a nice advantage to there being almost no one there!].  One panda kept circling around and walking right up against the the glass.  Ryan loved it!  The kids had fun saying hi and waving.  Ryan's favorite animal is a panda and he always looks forward to seeing them. 

Chloe rode on the carousel for the first time [for real at least].  Last time she stayed in her car seat carrier.  She didn't like riding initially, but then I thought to turn her backwards on the seat which allowed her to face her brother and sister.  She did much better this way, although she did even better when she sat in Ryan's lap! 

Another exciting thing was running into Colleen and Kevin - our friends from UGA!  We hadn't seen them in waayyy too long.  It was fun seeing them and their little boy & girl and catching up for a couple of minutes.

We enjoyed seeing the rhino take a mudbath, and while I wouldn't say it was a highlight, I did get pooped on by a parakeet in the bird exhibit.  yuck!!

Ryan liked the pandas the best of course and our parrot Abby was quick to agree.  The train was Ryan's favorite ride and Abby liked the carousel.  The naked mole rats were also a hit, presumably because the kids entered the viewing area through a tunnel, just like mole rats live in.  Meerkats are also always fun and we saw them eating this time.

Oh!!  I almost forgot one of the super coolest parts - the baby gorilla.  Not even 24 hrs old!!  I'm honestly not sure if it was a she or he, but either way sooo cute.  Abby was glued to the glass right in front of baby and mama.  [the people that were at the zoo were all in there, lucky Abby was little enough to squeeze her way up to the best spot!]. 

Thanks Ms. Christa for getting us all in on her season's pass!!  the zoo is fun, the zoo for free is really fun :) 



the big four watching the sea otters

 

Abby checking out the newborn gorilla, so sweet!



the panda parade

riding the carousel with Big Brother
[Mommy still held her too though!]

but-it's-not-my-birthday birthday interviews

I've seen these kid questionnaires a lot recently, usually set up as a birthday interview. I liked the idea, but the thought of committing to do it every year seemed overwhelming.  And I didn't want to wait until Ryan's birthday in September to start. And if I do something, I like to do it right, and I didn't know what to do about the fact that I wouldn't be starting Ryan's interviews until he was six. So I decided that doing them sporadically here and there was better than nothing at all. This way I can do them whenever I choose without the pressure or worry of forgetting a year and not doing it just right. I guess what I'm saying is if it can't be perfect, I'd rather it be fun and spontaneous! [I imagine if you are into psychology and whatnot, that last sentence is probably an accurate description of my outlook on life :)]

So here are Ryan and Abby’s first official questionnaires. Enjoy!

PS everything is a direct quote.  Anything I added is in parentheses. 

fire hydrants

This morning Ryan took our fire hydrant spotting game to a new level and we kept track of how many we passed on our way to preschool.  His official count came in at twenty-four although that number may be closer to thirty.  There are so many in our neighborhood and it was especially hard at the cul-de-sac intersections when there would be one on each side of the car.  But either way, we had fun counting them.  And as an added bonus, I've been making him tell me if they are on the left or right; that seems to be a pretty hard concept, but I think he's finally getting it! 

what we're up to

It's been awhile since I posted about the everyday stuff.  So here's a glimpse at the little stuff that's been going on recently :)

Ryan and Abby had firetruck day at preschool on Tuesday.  They loved it!  Freddy the Firetruck came to visit.  For those of you that were at the 4th of July parade in Woodstock a few years ago, I think we've already met Freddy.  Remember the little robot firetruck that scooted around and talked?  We could see the human following a few yards behind him?  Based on Ryan and Abby's descriptions, I think that's what they saw at preschool.  It was a cold and rainy day so they couldn't go outside and Freddy fit in the gym.  Freddy was asleep when all the kids came in and they woke him up.  He talked to them and according to Ryan someone asked him if he could spray water and so he squirted them.  They talked about Freddy all afternoon!  Ryan and Abby also demonstrated stop, drop, and roll for me.  And Ryan explained 9-1-1 and was very surprised that I knew the number too.  Then on Wednesday the big firetruck came and Ryan's class got to go outside to see it [Abby doesn't go on Wednesdays].  Ryan's been very excited about firetrucks all week.  Today he noticed a fire hydrant while we were driving to the doctor.  We had fun pointing out fire hydrants the rest of the way there.  And back.  And to lunch.  And to Publix to fill Chloe's prescription.  And back home.  I had no idea there were so many fire hydrants!  And I suppose it's nice to know that there is one right next door in our neighbor's front yard.

Abby started her sports tykes class on Wednesday morning.  It's the same class that Ryan and his buddy Asher took two years ago with Coach Laura.  She Loved it!!  A few months ago Abby went to a bring a friend day at her friend Olivia's dance class.  She did great and looked so cute in her tutu.  When I asked her if she had fun she said "Yes!"  When I asked her if she wanted to do dance with Olivia she said "No!"  And she has stuck to that.  She's had it in her head that she wants to play soccer, presumably since that's what Ryan does.  So I gave up my dreams of a cute girly girl in a tutu and signed her up for the sports class :)  Instead she's the cute girly girl in pink shorts and pigtails!  Obviously I don't really care what she plays as long as she's having fun.  And realistically I think she's too young for most of the dance classes anyways.  So sports tykes it is!  They started with basketball this week and fortunately Abby didn't skip a beat.  Apparently "soccer" is just any sport.  She did great, she walked right into that gym without any hesitation [Mommys don't go in, we wait in the lobby right outside].  There were three little boys in there with her, although Coach Laura said there were three more kids signed up including another girl.  Abby really enjoyed it and is very excited to go again next week which is good news considering it's a 12week class! 

Chloe's hanging out and doing her thing.  Although at her age, her thing seems to be tagging along to whatever Brother and Sister's thing is :)  She's still practicing her sitting up skills, but she'll get there soon enough.  While she's not an all-star on the physical abilities curve, she's a great eater, best of all three I'd say.  She loves all sorts of food and opens her mouth wide for more bites.  She also has a great laugh.  I can usually get her to laugh by kissing her neck.  And last week she laughed out loud at Auntie Sarah's new dog Eva.  Eva was super sweet and really great with Chloe.  Chloe also laughed at Ryan several times over the weekend.  We went hiking at Sawnee Mountain on Sunday and Ryan was hopping around the trail and jumping off small rocks.  Chloe was so cute laughing at him, I loved it!  Unfortunately I feel like she's been under the weather a lot; I suppose that's what happens when you have older siblings in preschool.  Today she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and ear ache, poor baby :(  But I'm glad to have some antibiotics for her, hopefully that will knock out some of the congestion and junk that's been lingering around for awhile. 

It's cold and overcast today.  I am ready for spring and usually I'm super excited to get to March.  But the highs are hovering around 40 the next few days and that's just not my idea of a nice day!  Guess we'll be hibernating this weekend!  Happy March 1st and here's to spring coming soon :)