Kids Update June 2010

Madeline: 21.5 months old, her hair is finally growing in and looking shaggy, still not enough for a pony tail. Madeline is definitely Miss. Independent, preferring to walk on her own, annoyed when we try to carry her in public or hold her hand. Though it is terrible to label your children, we are already pretty sure she is the “smart one”. She knows several shapes and colors and is talking a lot. A few things we have heard her say: “Let’s Go!”, “Ah Man!” (that is what Swiper says), Octopus, Peacock, Where is the baby?, It’s ok, Good Morning and she sings the Dora song and Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star. Sometimes we hear her say something, and it is confusing to hear it come out of her little toddler mouth. She holds her own with Jack, pushing him and yelling at him, but they also play together really well sometimes. We have noticed that on days they are particularly bad, the spend the last 20 minutes before bed playing together and being SUPER cute with each other. Madeline loves to sit and read, loves her baby “Kelly” doll, and her favorite shows are Dora & Blues Clues.

Jack: 21.5 months old, still blonde and already wearing size 2T. Jack is a momma’s boy so far, very nervous about anything new and very quick to show his temper. We had the kids pictures taken a few weeks ago at Mayfield Park. There are peacocks running around and making loud sounds, Jack was terrified. The only way to get him on the ground was to feed him, but as soon as he heard the peacock call, he practically leapt into John’s arms. He does not understand taking turns or sharing, and is kind of a jerk about it. Jack says a few words: “No”, “More”, “DORA!”, “Elmo”, “Up”, “Abre” (Spanish for Open) and this weekend he said “Cry” as he pointed in the other room and told Madeline to cry elsewhere (which is what we tell him all the time). Though he isn’t saying many words, he still gets his point across but gets really frustrated if we don’t react immediately to his whining. He is messy, stinky, and pushy; all boy. When we put anything on TV other than Dora, he yells at us.

Gwendolyn: 3.5 – 4 in July. She has grown a lot this year, but is still a skinny girl. Gwen is very sweet, and tries hard to be nice to her siblings, even though they annoy her a lot. She had her first ballet recital in May. She did NOT want to do it, but though a series of small steps and bribery she did get on stage and made us laugh the whole time. It was my own fault for not pining her tutu on, but she spent more time playing than dancing. That same day she also ran her first kids K, and we were really proud of her. Gwen started taking swim lessons this summer, getting more comfortable in the water. Her new favorite thing to do is sit at Mommy’s craft table, playing with the stamps, ribbon and glue.

We have been spending more time at the local pool, going early on the weekend mornings before it is too crowded. John and I have realized it is essential to our survival to plan activities for the kids over the weekend. Life is MUCH easier than this time last year and the kids are a lot more entertaining and able to do more.