Independently Particular

Greetings,

The kids know what they want, when they want it and why. Now that they can better articulate what they want, it’s been a comical month are now their active little minds are forming becomes more apparent. Below are some examples mixed in with super cute photos.

Michaela

Fiercely independent. Fiercely Particular.

Will no longer let me help her undo her diaper when it’s time to sit on the potty or help her get on (unless it’s early in the morning and she not awake yet) or off. She pushes my hand away and says “No, I do it”.

Will devour an Uncrustable, but will still leave the outer portion, which already has no crust.

She likes to wear specific accessories with her many wardrobe changes throughout the day. Yes, that includes only certain shoes 👞🤷🏾‍♂️.

She prefers to drink the purple box of Costco apple grape juice. If available, no, it has to be the purple box, and she’s told me so a few time.

When she wants water, she say “Drink of water?” no, unless she asks specifically, she prefers it out of mommy’s big cup. Alrighty!

And let’s not forget, the milk must have the right amount of chocolate Ovaltine mixed in. If not, she will inspect in the light and give me back.

She likes to administer vitamins and medicine herself via the syringe.

When she and/or Emma are going potty and Christopher wanders in, she says “Privacy!” and he leaves. He’s just being nosy, as he’s not really too interested yet.

And in true girly girl fashion, she knows when she wants her finger nails and toe nails painted and which color.

Emma

Emma parades around most days with an enigmatic expression on her face. It’s like she knows something none of us no. We still catch her staring at us and then she will smile and those oddly space dimples high on her cheek will pop out. She is totally content doing her own thing away from the high energy play of Michaela and Christopher. That tends to be a moving danger zone – best to stay clear of that!

She likes her privacy, much like I did growing up. She also likes to hold on to small items. Her latest fascination is this little red plastic key. Now she asks for it specifically (“Where’s my key?”).

She likes, well loves, the new Amazon Echo. She is always wishing Alexa a good morning and asking her to tell a joke. She also likes for us to ask her to play the Trolls soundtrack so she can dance in the kitchen.

She loves vegetables such as green beans, black olives (sliced) and vanilla bean yogurt, which has to be in a bowl, apparently.

Emma can nod yes and no when she wants or doesn’t want something. Lots of nodding no lately to sitting on the potty. So we are in a bit of regression period with her. It happens after they are getting over being sick, and it’s not surprising. At least this cold only lasted a week.

Christopher

Cars. Cars. Cars. He is particular about his cars. He usually carries several around with him and lines them up and piles them in my lap as gift offerings. And he has a lot of them. Michaela has been known to grab one and chuck it behind the couch just to piss him off.

He also is into these troll water toys. He can usually be seen carrying Princess Poppy and Branch around. Guy Diamond is usually missing. I don’t know why he likes to lose that particular troll. He’s currently missing.

One day it is clear that I will be looking up to this little man as he will be tall. I will teach him the finer points of the game of basketball if he’s interested. He has a long torso. He’s got a swimmer’s build currently with the chub long gone. He might be left handed or ambidextrous like me. He’s been eating and throwing stuff with his left hand recently. I’m left handed but eat and write win my right. When I played baseball I threw with my left but batted right. Weird!

Anyway, on to the rest of the recent cute pics.

Lastly, none of them want help brushing their teeth.

The kids really enjoyed my mom’s visit. We all went to a real beach in Pacifica, their first beach experience. The drive is too long though. We will have to wait until they are older to venture that far again.

Hope you enjoyed the read!

M

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Fall may be rapidly approaching, but our kids keep progressing with a spring in their step. Lots of changes to report, although I’m sure I will not capture them all. Angelique and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on 8/12/2017, and we ended up going out to lunch for some sushi. Before we did, we got a family photo.

familypic

Christopher is talking more now. He has his go to words, and continues to build confidence. We are certain that one day he’s just going to take off and start babbling. He’s picking up on his chattier older sisters words and adding them to his arsenal. And now they each demand time standing on the counter to practice saying the letters and the associated objects.

cwletters

They certainly have their moments bickering, but the enjoy playing together.

train

Michaela typically directs the day’s play activities. Michaela and Emma, when they aren’t whining, are usually able to clearly tell us what they want. It’s always something completely unexpected to, like a bottle top on the counter, or a hair scrungie. Michaela’s morning routine includes asking me to turn on the TV, torn off the light in the bathroom, open the door, and give her multiple kisses goodbye. She also insists on having the “Pink Diaper” (training pants) if she sees them. I’m happy to follow her instructions 🙂

Emma continues to amaze us with how she’s able to repeat big words. She has grown fond of the new Amazon Echo and is always telling Alexa “Good Morning” and asking her to tell a joke.

Interest in potty training is growing, especially with the girls. They had their playdate yesterday with KhloeBella, and the girls noticed she had panties on and was going to the potty when she had to go. Obviously they are making the connection now, as they were repeatedly going on the potty the rest of the afternoon. Michaela even went at the church daycare on Sunday when the helpers asked all of the kids. Wow! The timing couldn’t be better as we’ve all but given up buying nighttime diapers from the stores. Get them on Amazon now because I’m tired of them not having the size I’m looking for.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

M.