Kiddo Update

Aaron

• Aaron is trying lots of different sports right now.  So far, he says his favorite is soccer.  But he is very excited to try basketball.  Not so crazy about swimming.
• He is an amazing reader.  The other day he picked up our family devotion book and read the entry for the day with out missing a beat, including complicated words like "discouraged."  Now if only I could get him more interested in independent reading!
• I see a lot of myself in Aaron.  We share a love of structure and routine; a deep sense of indignation at injustice or hypocrisy; an appreciation for logic over emotion;...and a tendency to space out.  Aaron often gets lost in his thoughts.  It's great for his burgeoning imagination, but not always so great when the situation calls for focus or haste.  But in his defense, he comes from a long line of daydreamers: my friends used to accuse me of drifting off to the "rayzone"; and Oma's friends joke that she goes to "LuLuLand."  We'll have to come up with an appropriate name for Aaron's dreamspace. 

Jill

• This girl is so smart, it's scary.  She is doing great with her reading, and has started writing us letters and spelling words phonetically ("Mommy, for show and tell I'm going to bring a toy Z-E-B-R-U!").  But that's not the scary part...
• What's scary is that she basically has me figured out.  She knows exactly how to drive me crazy, and she knows when she's pushed it too far and I need a hug.  Basically, it's just her world and we're living in it.  The other day, I was so exasperated by her behavior that I threatened to take her screen privileges away the next day.  She just shrugged, gave me a knowing look, and said in her sweetest voice: "That's ok, Mom.  You'll forget about it tomorrow."  And she was right.

Danny

• I think one of the best words to describe Danny is "independent."  He continues to put a premium on doing things himself.  He is starting to put on his own clothes and shoes, clears his own plate after dinner, and wakes up and goes potty by himself at night (which I very much appreciate).
• But he is also quite sensitive and empathetic.  He gets very upset when he thinks I'm mad at him and needs lots of reassurance that I love him no matter what, even when he's in trouble.  And he seems to be very viscerally affected by certain things.  For example, we recently watched the movie Dumbo.  During the scene when Dumbo gets taken away from his mother, Danny started wailing.  He jumped up, rushed into my lap, and clung to me tightly until the scene was over.  Sweet boy.
• And, like most little brothers, he has gotten pretty good at bugging his older siblings.  His most frequent target is Jill, probably because they spend the most time together.  My favorite move of his is the one I call "the shadow."  It's a simple but effective move.  He just follows Jill around the house while staring at her with a big grin on his face.  He always stays about 6 inches away, so he never actually touches her.  But it drives her crazy and he loves every minute of it. 

1/5: Selfie at the Aquarium

1/5: A rare sighting of the Octopus outside of his cave.

1/12: Friendship roll

1/19: Chatting with their favorite turtle at the Nature Museum

1/20: "I saw a deer in Milwaukee!"

1/21: Buds

1/27: Checking out the house of blues

1/27: Sweet home Chicago

1/27: Little kid in a big city

1/27: For our "special time," Jill and I went to see Mother Goose's Garden at the Emerald City Theater.  And one of the stars of the show was another Jill (of Jack and Jill fame)!

1/27: Rainforest cafe!

1/27: His new balloon buddy

1/28: When Mom and Dad chat with friends after church, the kids get a little bored...and rowdy

1/31: Two balloon buddies!

2/2: Showing off his shoes.

2/3: The best way to nap.

2/10: Whenever we go to Oma and Opa's house, the kids love to play with the Matryoshka dolls!

2/10: Snow seats

2/12: Aaron's 100-day project for school -- 100 selfies!

2/14: BFFs make the best Valentines

2/14: Having fun at his class Valentine's Day party

2/17: Watering the plants at the Garfield Park Conservatory

 2/18: Aaron got a lesson in civic engagement at the march for gun reform.  His favorite part was reading all the naughty words on people's signs!

2/20: He's so independent, he doesn't even need us to tickle him anymore!

2/20: Future heartbreaker

2/20: It never gets old 

2/24: Cousins

2/25: Sleepy during storytime

3/3: W tried to teach the kids about the importance of service by volunteering at the Anti-Cruelty Society, where they got to play with rescue animals, make cat toys, and decorate adoption posters.  When we first arrived, the kids had to practice gentle petting with a stuffed cat.  When they finished, Jill announced loudly, "I hope they don't bring in another fake animal!"  Danny also made sure everyone there knew that we used to have a cat but it pooped on our floor.  Still, the experience was a success...mostly because we (just barely) managed to leave without adopting a pet.

3/4: I heart this boy

3/4: It's probably still too cold to have picnics in the park.

3/7: Little ducklings all in a row

3/10: Watching Coco in the gym at school movie night

3/11: Checking out the greenery at the LP Conservatory

3/13: Lettin' it go

3/14: "Unity Day" at Agassiz.  The kids were too young to join in the walkout, but they wore orange, tied ribbons, and wrote notes to the students in Parkland to show solidarity.

3/14: Protect kids, not guns!

3/16: Beep beep!

3/16: Busy builders at the Children's Museum

3/17: Picked up something cute at Target

3/17: Sleeping bag birthday party!

3/19: Looking good on "Crazy Hair Day" at school

Quote Wall (Lots of good material from Jill this time around)

-Jill: "Mommy, I love you even when you're annoying!"

-Jill: "I just don't know how I can ever buy a house because all I have is five dollars! "

-Aaron (with exasperation): "Jill, I told you!  When you're a teenager you'll have at least $80!  You'll be fine!"

-Danny: "That's how you say 'groundhog' in Spanish!"

-Me: "How?"

-Danny: "I don't know but I just said it.  That's what boys know how to do when they're two!"

-Jill: "The cheese is so good! I wanna keep eating it until it's time for me to die it's so good!"

-Chris: "It's time for bath!"
-Jill: "Good!  Cuz I just peed in my pants!"

-Me: "How did show and tell go today?  Did you show everyone your quilt?"
-Jill: "Yes."
-Me: "Did anyone ask you questions about it?"
-Jill: "Jamilet asked me, 'Why did you get a quilt?'"
-Me: "And what did you say?"
-Jill: "I said that the Native Americans made it for me!" (they didn't)

-Jill: "Mommy, Oscar celebrates Hannekuh."
-Me: "Oh, is he Jewish?"
-Jill (confused): "Well...he lives in Chicago."

-Jill: "Mom, leprechauns have to be real because they give us money.  And how could they give us money if God never even made them?!"