Just some thoughts on kids these days...

Here are some thoughts on what the kiddos are like these days....

Mariel these days is alternately funny, inappropriate, and surprisingly thoughtful.  She is a model first grader.  She is missing odd teeth, thinks saying the word "booty" is hysterical, and interjects some of her many new pieces of odd knowledge randomly throughout the day.  Mariel is still fascinated by fashion and the idea of clothing, and she really does sit down with Vogue and go through each magazine several times, carefully identifying which things she likes and does not like.  Needless to say, she and I have some very different tastes in clothing!

Noella remains her spunky little self.  She is an excellent middle child and a very amusing preschooler.  Noella puts so much energy into wanting to help and wanting to take care of others that it can be overwhelming (both to her and to those targeted others).  She is also increasing in her love of singing (see the future Christmas hits below) and has somehow managed to learn most of the lyrics to "Call Me Maybe" and "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which she enjoys belting out repeatedly.  If you don't know those particular songs, you may consider yourself very lucky.

Holden continues to embrace life as a toddler.  He does not walk so much as run/gallop/dance his way around... often while throwing anything resembling a ball so that he can immediately chase after it.  He has been struggling a bit due to molars that are taking their slooooooow time coming in, torturing everyone in the family and at school.  When he is not a grumpy monster he is a warm, snuggly, sweet boy who loves to give (snotty) kisses and yell "Thank you" to everyone he can think of.

Language Lesson

The girls take great pride in helping their brother learn to say new words or to improve his pronunciation.  It is always quite interesting to hear where the lessons go.  Today, on the car ride home, it sounded like this:
N: Holden, say Grandma!
H: Pampy.
N: No, not Grampy.  Say GRANDMA!
H: Pampy.
N: (sigh) Ok.  Say Papa.
H: Papa!
N: Say Babci.
H: Babci!
N: Say Grampy.
H: Pampy.
N: Mom.
H: Mama!
N: Dad.
H: Daddy!
N: Grandma.
H. PAMPY.
(Noella emits a loud sigh of despair.  I myself was a big sister once with a brother who did not always follow my lessons, so I totally understood her sentiments there.) 
N: Fine.  Holden, say onion peel.
H: Nun un pee?
N: Good! Now say driveway!

Then, sadly, we arrived home so I did not get to hear where this new train of thought would go.

Future Christmas Hits

It was a lovely and exhausting Christmas break.  One of the most amusing parts has been listening to Noella's exhuberant renditions of what are sure to be Christmas classics.  At times our house sounds like one of the Saturday Night Live spoofs of commercials for must-have holiday albums.

Jack the Holly  (aka Deck the Halls)
Jack the holly for the season, fa la la la la, la la la la...

Thomas the Snowman (aka Frosty the Snowman)
Thomas the Snowman, had a folly jolly nose...

Rudolph Knows (aka Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer)
Rudolph knows the reindeer...

Happy Birthday Noella!

The big party was this weekend, and Noella had a great time.  She insists that now that she has had the party, she is already four.  "It works like that, Mom!" she insists.  We will still celebrate on the 23rd though.  Even she can't say no to another cake.

 She also insisted on a very tall cake.  I convinced that three layers was tall enough; she had been hoping for five.  The official party theme was "circus" but luckily there were no requests for turning the cake into anything more complicated.

 A shot of party balloons AND the new porch.  Thanks Daddy and Papa!

 In case you could not tell, she is turning FOUR.

 Mariel crafted a "pin the tail on the cat" game for the kids.

 There were also assorted coloring pages.

 Happy Birthday to Noella!

 She very deliberately blew each candle out one by one :)

 The cake was declared delicious.

 Post-cake, more activities.  This was our bean bag toss.  For a few minutes, children actually threw bean bags into the game, as opposed to "juggling," throwing them in the air or at the wall, or pretending that the holes in the board were potties.  There is nothing like pre-school humor.

A successful party!

18 months (almost)

On the 10th Holden will officially be a year and a half.  We will celebrate him, of course, but I think that Patrick and I deserve some sort of victory celebration for having survived thus far.   Our little man is quite a funny guy, full of words and too many opinions.  He loves bicycles, his sisters (most of the time), trucks, throwing things, blueberries, feeding the dogs, and having Mommy carry him around.  He does not care for sleeping, limits, outlet plugs, being in his carseat, or having his diaper changed.