Flashback Friday

First Halloween: Elaine had a fever.

I don't remember exactly, but I'd bet money Alida didn't sleep well that night.

Even farther back quote of the day:

"Oh how cute, they dressed the baby as the devil!"

His outfit went so well with the arm flapping he was going through at the time.

Time to Make Up Your Mind

King Frankenstein--Halloween is just a few days away now.

You Can Please Some of the People

Veggie Tales Live!

The girls had a blast, sang, danced, made friends with our neighbors.
The boys were enraptured, for about 5 minutes. Then they started to ask to go home.
New rule: take two cars to all events.

What Are You Doing?

"Eating an apple."

What Time is it?

"Nicholas?"
"I'm making a clock mom."
"Oh."
"What comes after 12?"
"Um, 1."
(scoffing) "No, it doesn't."
"Yes, on a clock it does. (drawing a picture) See here is 6: wake up time; 7: school time; 8: breakfast time; 9: school work time; 10: play time; 11: clean up time; 12: lunchtime; 1: nap time; 2: play time; 3: outside time; 4: daddy and I pick you up time; 5: dinner time; 6: clean up and bath time; 7: Batman time; 8: bed time; 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 sleep time. And then it starts again."
"But what comes after 12 mom?"
Breezing through the kitchen comes dad: "Well, actually Susan, in military time it is 13..."
"See mom!"
"Really? You really want your children to be mocked by their classmates?"
"What?
(Mock pre-schooler voice) "Well, ACTUALLY, in the military it's Fifteen-hundred right now, which is play outside time..."
"What? What's wrong with that?"
"Mom! What.Comes.After.12?"
"1."
"NO, it doesn't!"
"Well, that's because you put all your numbers in a quarter of the clock. You have to spread them around, and you'll see that 1 comes after 12." (pointing to the to-scale picture)
"Mom. Just tell me what comes after 12."
"13, Nicholas. 13 Comes after 12."

Alida

Last night before bed, you and I played Transformers together for half an hour.

You, my dear, are at home within and outside this loud family of ours.

I love it when I'm making dinner and you run through the kitchen on a mission, not looking up. About a minute later you'll run back through, perhaps flashing me a smile. With no explanation, you'll run back a minute later. I'll find you when dinner is ready, playing a game with just yourself somewhere.

You have been obsessed with chocolate milk ever since we started giving it to you in the name of weight gain. You will refuse certain kinds and are particular.

You love to play outside, by yourself, with everyone, making up a game with Elaine--doesn't matter as long as it's outside.

You nearly wrote your whole name last night.

Your laughter is from within and infectious.

You are a bright spot in our days.

Elaine

I have a series of about 20 pictures trying to get your attention, then trying to get you to smile for me.

You would hide when you could crawl; you stay behind the camera now.

You are dainty. More dainty than I think I am prepared for.

You hate to be a mess to the point of melting down.

You are the one that will not sleep now.

You will always wear a dress given the option.

You tell on yourself. It's cute. Last night you started chattering and the story was how good you were and how bad your friend Jayce was. Then you started to tell me about your descent on the good apple/bad apple chart. When I looked at you sternly, you laughed.

You go with the flow and join in when you want and don't when you're not in the mood, which is just as often.

Your technical skills are amazing. When my phone started to inexplicably play music in my purse the other day, I threw up my hands and gave it to you to shut off. And you did.

You're beginning to get over the 2's now, and it's fun girl.

Nicholas

Does everything in his own way.

Finishes his homework in about half a second every night.

Takes everything apart; doesn't always get it back together.

Is turning out to be our artist.

Asks questions to the point of either pounding your head on the table or going to google to find the answer.

Stays at the table to finish his dinner every night as long as he can have a second helping of plain broccoli.

Is an overachiever at 4.

Has already written a letter to Santa Claus.

Hoards everything in the house, actually wants nothing.

Talks NONSTOP and LOUD.

Loves to make scrambled eggs with me having overcome his previous allergy to them.

Keeps us on task.

Is amazing.

Good Natured Weekend Award

Goes to Ben.

Hands down.

Smarty Pants

We headed to the zoo Saturday morning, and I think we saw some animals in passing as we wandered and played with everything there except animals.

For example, disappointment set in quickly when the fountains the boys were playing in quit.

Nicholas immediately started monkeying with the drain plate to see if he could fix it. When water suddenly started gushing and spewing in the air, he couldn't have been more proud.

"I fixed it mommy!"

And then we hit the car for a clothing change before heading back in for our carousel ride.

Waiting

There are tactics that can make it fun.

I Love the Internet

Because all those boxes that arrive on my doorstep can be re-purposed to be spaceships. These are complete with tables, chairs, command centers, and windows thanks to some very long work by their daddy, who I suspect enjoyed his trip down memory lane as much as helping his sons build their own toys. I sat reminiscing about my Barbie doll tissue box combo of bed/car myself...

Read This/Not That

Do NOT read this. Patric wants to stab his own eyes out when he has to read this book about the princesses stabbing each other in the back at their fashion show. It is the price you pay for the pleasure of watching your children carefully or not-so-carefully pick out their own books at the fall book fair at school.

DO click on and read this.

This is refreshing, and will never showcase that.

We've Got Options

Cedar Hill Farms

This pretty much sums up our collective behavior Saturday when we met the Kings for an outing at the pumpkin patch. Alida fell down and skinned her knees no less than five times on the trip. This one was particularly dramatic when she overreacted to my nudge and actually wound up face planting in the patch. Oh, the drama; she's as good as any NBA player I've seen.

Elaine was struck with a an unusual day of independence however.

We certainly had some sweet moments on our trip with precious Emily. At least we pulled it together when it came to her.

The we turned around and resumed being uncooperative, and Patric and I resumed being opposite parents.

For comparison.

We have no large hopes any Stuber will ever hit the 6.

And Alida, who was throwing fits before we got out of the car because she saw the horses before we parked, finally got her horseback ride.

Perhaps we were off due to the fact that it was over 90 degrees outside this fine October day. When we got home to the air conditioning, we all seemed to chill out a bit...

Alida

The girl knows how to throw a fit.

We're working on not getting carried everywhere we go these days.

Just Fun People

At a time not long ago, the thought of having four little ones in the front yard was hard to consider, let alone with only one parent while the other got dinner going on a weeknight when evening traffic was racing home through our neighborhood.

The Weekend Daddy Was Getting All Medaled-Up

Grandpa met us in middle Tennessee on a gorgeous fall day.

That happened to be the day of an airshow, so we ditched the meetings for an hour to go visit the airplanes. The boys claimed they saw the guns on this one.

No one was cooperating much with pictures.

Later we swam.

And swam, and swam, and swam until little eyes were red and skin was wrinkly. And this will be the moment that Nicholas declared he got the hang of it and was off not clinging for dear life to anyone that would hold him.

And in an unprecedented feat of sleeping, they didn't budge until after 8:30 the next morning.

They're Three!

Last week, a mere 2 months after-the-fact, the girls had their three-year visit to the doctor. (ahem.)

Elaine

36 1/2 inches tall

A whopping 27 1/2 pounds

A healthy girl.

Alida

36 1/2 inches tall

29 pounds

A healthy girl.

Amazing to think that we are done with visits-by-the-every-couple-of-months for check-ups.

Took A Little Trip This Weekend

3-13. Bronze Star Medal
a. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419, 4 February 1944 (superseded by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962).
b. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy; or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
c. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.

And we're very proud.

And Go