State of the Family #36

I seem to really be lacking in the blog entry dept.  Although it has been just 1 day since my last post, it has been 3 weeks since my last SOF!  Something about 3 kids and summer has me away from my computer.  Hmmm. . . wonder what that could be?

Another entry in the 'Successful Blogging' article I was reading the other day said something about keeping paragraphs short, so I will be changing the format of my SOF's.  Instead of 1 long paragraph on each kid, I'll try to break it up a bit so there isn't such a chunk all at once.  You'll have to let me know if this makes it easier to read.

One of her 18 month pics

Miss Thumb Sucker is a talking machine as of late.  She repeats anything and everything you say.  Thankfully, around our house that isn't too dangerous, but if you are around her, please be careful of your vocabulary.  She'll just be listening to your conversation one moment and picking some random word you just said to repeat.  It is completely hilarious to see her brother and sister react to this.  They get so excited for every new word she says, running to me or daddy yelling, "Miss Thumb Sucker just said a new word!"  Half the time it is one she has said numerous times anyway, but it is great to see their enthusiasm for their sister's growing vocabulary.  She is even saying a number of few short sentences as well.  The other day she was stuck in her high chair finishing her lunch while the rest were reading books on the couch.  As soon as she was set free she ran to the living room saying, "I read books."  Then hands me one and says, "Peas, mommy?" (meaning 'please' of course).

Sleeping in my big girl bed.  My blankets
don't match because this is my favorite one.

Our baby girl's other big news lately (along with 4 new eye teeth coming through) is her new bed.  Well, it is new to her anyway.  She is now in the toddler bed.  Sniff, sniff for this mommy.  I was a little leery of trying this out quite so early with her.  Even though Noisy Man and Miss Firecracker were both in the toddler bed by right around 18 months as well, they were pretty much forced there by necessity (another baby needing the crib).  That, and Miss Thumb Sucker seems to be the most ornery (the sneaky kind of ornery, that is) out of all three.  So, I was just sure she wouldn't stay in the bed for anything.  The first night was a little rough, but I don't attribute that to the bed, she had done the exact same thing in her crib the night before.  The next 4 have been smooth sailing.  It is too cute how she knocks on her door when she wakes up and wants out.

A pic I snagged while taking the other ones

Miss Firecracker has been troubling me lately.  Not through her regular avenues, but in a new way.  She seems to be quite the sassy and snobby little friend.  I am not liking how she is playing with other kids lately and I am really struggling with how to teach her the right way to play.  Where does she pick these things up?  When there are more than 2 girls (or even just kids for that matter) she seems to pick one friend to want to play with and is quite seclusive and mean to anyone else who wants to join them.  She is also overly bossy to the friend she is playing with.  I have tried reasoning with her and the 'do unto others' technique as well as a couple of  'friend' Bible verses for her to learn.  I have her recite the verses in times of trouble, but the effects only seem to last a matter of minutes before she slinks back into the old routine.  Help!  I don't want my daughter to be the snobby, mean girl that no one wants to play with.  And again, where does she learn this type of behavior?  On another note, she is the best friend to her baby sister.  She plays so great with her and includes her in all sorts of activities.  She is soft and gentle with her and shares like a pro.  I just need to get her to transfer this behavior over to other kids and situations.

The new bunk beds

New beds also prevail for Miss Firecracker and Noisy Man.  Bunk beds, that is, and they are way excited about them.  So much so, that even after a whole week of having them they are still hard to put to bed at night.  They chat and giggle (which would be very cute if it didn't last half an hour) and take forever to actually go to sleep.  I am sure this will ware off eventually.  Hopefully sooner than later.  Besides just playing in them at bedtime, they are loving playing on the top bunk together during the day.  It has been a struggle keeping Miss Thumb Sucker on the ground and a strict 'closed door' policy has been established since it took a whole 3 hours of having the beds set up before she learned how to climb the ladder.

My fun and silly 5 year old!

Noisy Man will be the death of me by the end of the summer.  I joke.  It is just quite an adjustment to get used to having him here every day for nap time once again.  I am used to having one or two to play with a couple of times a week, but every single day is a change of pace.  I covet my nap time.  Not that I get to nap, but it is quiet and I can usually have at least 1 1/2 hrs to do what I need to do without being interrupted.  This is not the case with Noisy Man around.  He covets his mommy time, which I am very glad for as well, but it makes it hard to get the other things done that need to get done.  We are still learning how to find some quiet time activities (given his well-deserved nickname) that don't involve just sticking him in front of a screen.  I have done simple craft projects, play dough, book corners, and puzzles.  He usually lasts about 10-15 minutes before he is yelling up the stairs for help or something else to do.  Any suggestions on this one, too?

Once again, struggling for note-worthy news on Daddy.  He has a new trainee at work, and his old trainee has been properly trained so he will be taking off for his own office within a week.  He continues to help take care of 'my' garden and is hoping for it to dry off and warm up enough for some good fishing trips.  They went last weekend again without much success, but Noisy Man got to tag along and had a fabulous time. 

A rare pic of all 3 smiling!

Mommy doesn't have much going on either.  Same ol' same ol' here.  Cooking, cleaning, digging out of the depths of my laundry pile without much success.  Running, playing, and trying to get in some good reading time for some personal enjoyment.  I am loving the extra one-on-one time I am getting with Noisy Man since this will be the last chance for it before he starts school.  We have played tons of boards games, car races, baked lots of goodies and colored many pictures in just the 2 short weeks he has been out of school.  I love it.  Even though I do miss my more secluded mommy time as well, I'll take what I get while this awesome time with my oldest lasts. Oh yes, we also made a trek to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo last week with Grandpa G.  We decided to splurge and get a family membership (since it would only take 2 visits to pay for it).  So now we are very excited to get to go to the big zoo lots!