- Aaron is the consummate oldest child. He is helpful and reliable and responsible and trustworthy. Already, I am starting to count on him to help out and look after his brother and sister. For example, one day at school Jill inexplicably told her teacher that she was allergic to chocolate (she's not). Concerned, Jill's teacher tried to reach me by phone. When I didn't answer, she walked down the hall to Aaron's classroom to ask him if his sister had an allergy to chocolate. "Of course not!" Aaron said (in my imagination, he was shaking his head knowingly). I love that he was right there to help clear things up.
- We haven't yet finished all of our reading lessons, but I'm not sure we really need to. Aaron can definitely read. He can make his way through simple books almost all by himself, and he can even sound out words to write out messages.
- He is still really into legos. But I've noticed that he loves building with any kind of material: blocks, duplos, magnatiles, etc., whatever is available. He just loves to build!
- One of Jill's favorite characters to play right now is Merida from Brave (which I love, because she's a strong female character). Merida's mantra throughout the movie is that she wants to "change her fate." But due to Merida's heavy Irish accent, it sounds like she's saying "change her feet." So one night Jill was playing Merida and I had to play Merida's mom, who was transformed into a bear by a magic spell. Fully embracing her character, Jill turned to me with innocent eyes and said, "Mom, I didn't know that the witch was going to change you into a bear! I thought she was just going to put slippers on you!" (Get it?)
- Jill has a pretty amazing memory. She knows a number of her favorite books by heart, and the other day she randomly just recited the Lord's Prayer at dinner. She said she learned it at school, but Aaron clarified that they just recite it during chapel once a week so no one taught it to her per se, she just heard it and remembered it.
- Chris and I went to see Hamilton recently, and so we've been playing the soundtrack in the car. I initially thought it was a parenting win to familiarize my kids with the score of one of the best musicals ever. But then I heard Jill singing out some choice words from a song by the king's character: "I will kill your friends and family!" ...So now we just stick with the Frozen soundtrack.
- It's tough for Jill to find someone to play pretend with her as often as she'd like. Aaron is usually disinterested, and Chris and I don't have much stamina. But thankfully, Danny is usually a willing participant. And not only that, he's the only one who will follow all of her instructions (and there are many) without complaint. He'll repeat whatever she tells him to say and go wherever she directs him to go. He even agrees to be her "baby kitty" and lets her drag him around the house by the collar of his shirt. Something tells me that he won't agree to do that for too much longer.
- Danny is growing up so fast! He has changed so much in the past month I almost can't keep up. For example, instead of saying "yes," he used to say "huh" (as in uh-huh). It was super cute and I kept trying to get it on video, but I never got the chance because a few weeks ago he started saying "yas" and now that phase is over. Sniff sniff.
- In fact, he is pretty much speaking in full sentences now. And that's good because he has a lot to say and a lot of opinions! He knows what he wants and he wants it now. We are starting to get a preview of what the terrible twos are going to be like and, like everything else Danny does, we suspect it will be 100th percentile!
- Danny is extraordinarily independent. He wants to (and can) do many things himself, including going up and down stairs and climbing into his carseat. And the other day he figured out how to climb out of his crib. Gulp.
11/20: A beer makes Peppa Pig a little easier to handle
11/24: Jill loved holding sweet baby Kate, who was in town for Thanksgiving
11/29: My little builder
12/3: Danny's silly face
12/4: Catching snowflakes
12/8: Aaron's taking over storytime
12/11: Track suit triplets
12/14: Who replaced my chubby baby with this skinny little boy?
12/16: That's my goofy girl!
12/25: Snow fort!
12/25: First snowman of the season
12/26: At the end of our block is a house that has outdoor cats. The kids always beg to stop and see the kitties whenever we walk past.
12/26: Testing out his new drone on the day after Christmas
12/26: Snuggle time
12/28: This bouncy house was rated PG-13
12/29: Class field trip to the bagel store
12/30: Danny loved the trains at the botanic gardens
12/30: Best seat in the house
1/2: Checking out the window decorations at Macy's
1/2: First visit to the Walnut Room
1/2: Riding the Macy's escalators
1/2: Visiting the fancy conference room in Daddy's office
1/2: The bean!
1/2: Look at those cute beanie babies.
1/4: A sea of lovies
1/5: Aaron and Jill got to see the Little Mermaid show with Nana and Papa
1/7: A whole section of the Children's Museum is dedicated to construction and building: Aaron's dream come true!
1/10: Twinkle Twinkle
1/11: Excited for her first tap dancing class
1/11: Silly snorkeler
1/14: Face painting! Some were more excited about it than others.
1/14: Spending my birthday with my three favorite gifts
1/14: Thankfully, I didn't have to blow out all those candles by myself.
1/15: Start 'em early
1/16: Meeting Dexter, Nate and Alyssa's new puppy
1/20: Danny and his best buddy and fellow train-lover, Sawyer
1/21: Check out Aaron in the background
1/22: This is at the frog exhibit at the Nature Museum. Jill will never miss an opportunity to play pretend.
1/22: And she throws herself into every role with fervor
1/22: Rawr!
1/23: Playing zoo animals
1/24: Princess play date
Quote Wall/Memorable Moments
Jill (at bedtime): "Daddy, I love you as much as....as much as I love Oma!"
Aaron (walking through the food court): "It smells so good in here! I just love that ham smell."
Me: "Aaron, how'd you get so handsome!"
Aaron: (lets out a long, loud fart)
Chris: "It's Mommy's birthday today!
Aaron: "How old is Mommy?"
Chris (deviously): "Good question, want to guess?"
Aaron: "Fifty-two!"
Jill: "Seventy!"
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