Cousins

xoxoxo

Best Christmas Ever

And we still have one to go!

We are truly blessed.

Snow on Christmas Eve

Well, I guess the world's steepest driveway is good for something.

Dear Santa,

We have been very good this year. See? Pefect angels.

Really, with kids (and a dog) this well-behaved Mom has no excuse for not folding the laundry.

Love,
Cate, Ben, Maggie and Sadie

Christmas Dilemma

Me: I wonder what we should get Uncle Devo for Christmas.

Cate: I know! A shirt! Or maybe...a hoodie.

Ben: I think we should get him a shark.

Little Miss Mess Finds a 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Enough Said.

Hello. My Name is...

(Photo taken: 12/7/10)

Miss Maggie: Eleven Months

Likes: talking (mama, dada, all done, up, ball, uh-oh, apple, brrr, no-no dog, boo), dancing, looking at books, taking 4-5 steps and then dropping into a fast crawl, pretending to talk on the phone, playing at Tot Lot, being chased, hiding under her crib and saying "boo!", eating go-gurt

Dislikes: sleeping past 5:30am, having toys taken away by Cate and Ben

There is probably a lot of truth to this statement.

This afternoon I was very frustrated after listening to Cate yell at Ben for various infractions.

Me (as calmly as possible): Cate, you've got to stop yelling. You can use kind words to talk to Ben. When are you going to stop yelling?

Cate (carefully considers this for a minute and calmly replies): In thirteen years.

(sigh).

When All Else Fails.

The cold winter months produce a weird sort of paradox: If the days are so short, then why do they sometimes seem so long?

Although we are pretty successful at getting out and about in the mornings, Maggie's afternoon nap leaves us stranded at home most afternoons.

Cate would be content to do art projects all day long but Ben has a shorter attention span. However I've learned that the messier the project is the more he likes it.

Specifically, he prefers projects involving fingerpaint, glue or glitter. The more fingerpaint, glue or glitter, the better.

AND if the project involves all three (which I've learned the hard way to avoid) he is in heaven.

Lately Cate and Ben have spent a lot of time playing Santa Claus. Ben pretends to be Santa and delivers toys using Maggie's push toy as his sleigh. Cate rigged up the mini-Radio Flyer wagon to the back using tape and pipe cleaners, and added some homemade holiday decorations for flair.

The only thing missing was a beard. A beard, I thought, would be a good project for Ben. A beard that Ben could make (relatively quickly) using cotton balls and an obscene amount of glue. An obscene amount of glue.

The results are impressive, don't you think?

So I would say that if all else fails on those long winter days you could always grab a bag of cotton balls and manufacture a beard. Or a mustache. Or a goatee. The possibilities are endless.

However I would be remiss if I did not inform you that the focus on facial hair may lead to some unintended consequences.

The morning after he created this beard I came downstairs and found that Ben had surreptiously given himself a mustache.

A blue mustache.

He must have thought I wouldn't notice because when I asked what was on his face he said, "Not anything."

Guess Who?

Tonight at dinner the kids and I played our own simplified version of "Guess Who?"

We took turns giving clues about the identity of another person, usually a friend or family member, or "famous" figure (e.g., Bob the Builder, Barney, Santa, Amelia Bedelia).

My favorite set of clues was given by Cate, and I share them below even though I realize that no one outside of my immediate family might understand why these clues are so damn funny.

Cate gave Ben and I the following clues:

- He drives a silver truck.
- He wears glasses.
- He is very delicate.
- And he has a skinny head.

Ben immediately shouted, "UNCLE DEVO."

And he was right. That is exactly who Cate was describing.

And a Laptop For Cate

(pointing to the "mouth")

It is not unusual for Cate to come home from preschool with an art project (or four...). Yesterday, however, was the first time she came home with a computer.

A laptop, to be exact.

A limited edition, one-of-a-kind laptop with a custom keyboard.

Cate was excited to show me the features.

Cate (pointing to the mouse): Look Mom--it has a mouth!

Me: You made a computer with a mouse?

Cate (voice dripping with sarcasm): NO. Not a mouse like what crawls around on the floor. A MOUTH.

Me (picking my battle): Ah yes. I see. Anyway...What are you going to use your computer for?

Cate: Oh, to play Wii games and to type on diapers.com.

I will let you draw your own conclusions about what these most recent blog posts say about children and technology...and what they about what my children think adults DO with this technology.

(You know, order up the weather, play video games, and buy diapers, of course).

A Blackberry for Ben

The last time Chris got a new phone, his old Blackberry found it's way into our toy box.

Ben fished it out this morning and insisted on bringing his Blackberry into preschool for drop-off. Although I was anxious to get back home so that Maggie could nap, Ben had some important texting to attend to and kept telling me, "Just a minute" as he hunched over his phone typing furiously.

Finally he agreed to put his coat on and we headed for the door. We made it to the end of the hallway before he announced that he had to go potty (a behavior that I like to encourage) so we headed for the nearest bathroom.

He thoughtfully asked me to hold his Blackberry while he did his business. (After all, there is nothing worse than having your phone fall in the toilet).

In an effort to keep Maggie from crawling on the floor, I handed the phone to her, hoping it would provide some distraction.

Ben was not pleased.

Ben: Maggie can NOT play with my Blackberry.

Me: Yes, she can.

Ben: No! It's too dangerous for her.

Me: Um, no. I don't think so...

Ben: Yes it is! One button is for thunder, and one is for lightning.

I could see his point--a phone that could cause lightning to appear out of nowhere at the touch of a button really is not safe for a baby.

Oh Christmas Tree!

On Saturday we headed to Handley's to pick our Christmas tree.

As the pictures suggest, Cate and Maggie had a blast. Cate ran from tree to tree, looking for the perfect one. Maggie kept diving from my arms to crawl through the leaves.

Ben, however, was in a foul mood, refusing to get dressed before we left the house. He even hid behind a tree when he realized I wanted to take his picture. He continued his special brand of holiday cheer after we arrived by throwing himself on the trail and grunting at happy families as they carried their trees down the hill.

He did, however, perk up once we rode on the Frosty Express. And by the time we paid for our tree and he bit into his first candy cane of the season he was, briefly, happy. (Have I mentioned that I find 3 to be a very "challenging" age?)

Above you will find our obligatory family photo at the tree farm. We were staring into the sun so it is not a great photo but it does document that, unlike last year, I can actually button my coat.

And I was happy that we got a good photo of all three kids together. It only took 57 shots to get this one...

Little Miss Mess Strikes Again...

Thanks Giving

As we sit down to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner, each member of my family takes a turn and shares a few things for which they are grateful.

A simple tradition and it always makes me think that our family should make it a point to reflect on how lucky/thankful we are every night, rather than wait for the next Thanksgiving.

Cate and Ben's responses for 2010 are as follows:

Cate: I'm thankful for God and our whole family. And for food. And for Uncle Devin to stay safe in the Army.

Ben: I'm thankful for me, Daddy, and Santa.

That's our boy. Already thinking about Christmas...

My thought for the day...

Whoever coined the phrase the "terrible two's" probably did not yet have a three-year-old.

I'm just sayin'.

Gobble, Gobble

I am constantly searching for interesting (and inexpensive) activities to occupy my children during the cold winter months. While the Tot Lot and the Children's Museum are great fun, by the time February rolls around I am looking for new fun.

Today we went with our neighbors to Renee's Ceramic Cafe, conveniently located in Sycamore Mall on Iowa City's east side.

A "Preschool Pottery" program is offered Tuesday-Friday from 10:00-2:00pm. For only $5 your preschooler can choose from several projects to paint, which will then be fired and can be picked up the following week.

The activies for November are handprint turkeys and turkey napkin rings. Cate and Ben both chose to make handprint turkeys and got a kick out of picking out the glaze and paintbrushes.

Ben's turkey turned out to be a little more abstract (see photo). He told me that it was "a turkey in a thunderstorm." And I could hardly believe that Maggie unclenched her tiny fist long enough for me to actually capture her handprint. Maggie's "turkey" is pictured above as well. (Cate asked me not to take a picture of hers because she wants it to be a surprise).

Cate and Ben have already picked out their next projects and I'm hoping we can get back in the next few weeks to make some Christmas presents.

Gender Differences

Ben received the Imaginext Super Friends Bat Cave for his birthday. It really is very cool---it has a drawbridge, side entrance for the Batcycle, a spinning pad that opens the door, an elevator and a jail.

In addition to Batman and Robin, Ben received some of Batman's notorious adversaries, including the Penguin, the Riddler and the Joker (who Ben constantly refers to as "The Tricker").

Ben has enjoyed launching the characters off the staricase, hammering the "bad guys" with a wooden mallet and racing the Batcycle against the Batmobile. He races them, crashes them and, in his words, "bams" them.

Cate has also enjoyed playing with the toy although her approach to Batman and his crew is slightly different than Ben's.

Yesterday I overheard her playing and realized that she was pretending to be Batman's mom. She gently tucked him into his cozy little Batcave bed and sang him a little lullaby.

I pretended that I was making a grocery list and I jotted down the lyrics to Batman's bedtime song. It went something like this:

Lullaby Batman, sweetest buddy

Batman is the sweetest baby in the world

Wearing the same clothes all day

It's a hard job

Goodnight Batman

I just love you little Batman

I hope you'll still be my little Batman for sure
Shhh...goodnight Batman

And now, after three kids, I firmly believe that gender differences are hard-wired.

One Last Birthday Bash

Miss Maggie: Ten Months

Likes: Daddy, crawling up the stairs, walking along the furniture, "walking" while holding onto someone's fingers, showers, looking at her photo album, books, Gerber yogurt melts

Dislikes: anything that constrains her movement (including, but no limited to, carseat, diaper changes and clothing changes), cutting teeth

Happy Birthday Ben!

To say that Ben entered the world quickly is an understatement.

My water broke at 9:06 in the morning and I was holding him in my arms by 10:09.

He hasn't slowed down since.

And why would he? Why walk when you can run? Why bounce when you can jump? Why whisper when you can yell? Why ask mom to get the sprinkles from the cupboard when you can scale the cabinets with your bare feet and get them yourself?

My brother once described him, accurately I think, as the kind of kid who would go fishing with dynamite.

My sweet, rough-and-tumble, little buddy turned three yesterday. We started the day with a photo scavenger hunt and ended with chips and queso from Pancheros. In between were birthday presents, baseball, soccer, chicken nuggets, bike riding, the library playground, ice cream and special time with his favorite person in the world, Daddy.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

On the move...

The look of satisfaction that spreads across Miss Maggie's face whenever she takes her little push toy for a spin across the living room is priceless.

I think that baby steps are in our future.

Little Miss Mess

Small baby. Big mess.

A Face Painting Party

In honor of Ben's upcoming third birthday we had some friends and neighbors over today to celebrate.

The party included a few of Ben's favorite things: playing at home, eating cake, balloons, and having his face painted.

He bypassed the pirate, the tiger and Spiderman in favor of Sponge Bob. (Ironic since he's never even seen an episode of Sponge Bob but, hey, it's his birthday. And it does complement his swim trunks and Hawkeye tee rather nicely).

He kept looking at himself in the mirror as if he couldn't quite believe that he (Ben!) was hiding beneath the face paint.

Happy boy, happy day.

The (Thanks) Giving Tree

It started as a Halloween tree. Cate and I cut out pumpkins, ghosts, owls, and witches and hung them with yarn from a branch we salvaged when Chris was doing yardwork.

We decided earlier this week to transform our Hallowwen tree into a Thanksgiving tree. We traced everyone's hands and then wrote two things they were thankful for this season. The multicolored "leaves" were hung from the tree with pipe cleaners.

What I loved most about this project was how much Cate enjoyed every step---tracing, cutting, and decorating the hands and then writing the things she was thankful for. I also love how the "leaves" reflect our family at this exact point in time, from the sizes of our hands to the specific things for which we are grateful.

Quote of the Day

Me: Ben, your hair smells really good. Did Daddy put something in it?

Ben: Yeah. Jell-o.

Me: Jell-o?

Ben: Yeah, hair jell-o.

Just a little Halloween shopping...

On Friday afternoon we stopped at Hy-Vee/Drug Town (aka"Little Hy-Vee") on our way home from Cate's preschool Halloween parade.

My kids were thrilled when our good friend, Ms. Mayhem, spotted us from across the store and said, "I didn't know they sold babies at Hy-Vee!"

Happy Halloween!

Tot Lot

We've come a long way since Maggie's first visit to the Tot Lot, at the tender age of 5 days. Snug in her car seat she slept through her entire first visit, oblivious to the shouting, crying, racing of Big Wheels and acrobatic talents of the 5 and under crowd.

Now she crawls after Big Wheels, cries because she can't follow Cate and Ben into the giant inflatable bounce house, and LOVES to go down the slide (with help, of course).

I'm always astonished when I meet someone who lives in Iowa City, has small children, and who has never even heard of the Tot Lot. Seriously. How does a parent, especially one who stays home, make it through the long, cold winter without the Tot Lot? For only $1.50 a kid, it's the best deal in town if you're looking for a cheap and easy way to burn off energy. AND it can keep a 9-month old, a 3-year old and a 4.5-year-old entertained for almost two hours.

I tried to describe Tot Lot to my brother, who had never been there. He smiled and said, "So basically it's like a dog park for kids."

Exactly.