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Gockley Blog archives!
Saturday, 1 November 2008
November 2008 Blog
11/24/08 Again, it's been a while since I posted. Between the asthma attacks (ok, just one, but one is ENOUGH!), recovering from the stomach flu, and the "I want one of everything" syndrome that seems to come with the holidays, I've just been too exhausted to get around to it! So Lucas was questioning me today about vehicles (I swear, why does every question require at least 5 follow up questions???), and frankly, I'm not very educated when it comes to cars. I mean, my dad taught me the basics, I know how to change a tire, drive a stick shift, and check the dipstick, but beyond that, I'm a little lost. Anyway, Lucas asked about 100 questions to which my reply was "I don't know" to about 96 of them. He started rattling off several pieces of car trivia (i'm not even sure where he picked these up) and I told him he sure knew alot about vehicles. He told me, "That's because I'm a mechanical learner." A WHAT??? Must be something that Will taught him :) Sophia's habit of giving her babies bizarre names has officially crossed the line. She ran into the kitchen the other day and exclaimed to me that she had just had a new baby and her name is "Garlic." I said, "Did you just say her name is GARLIC???" "Yeah mom, her name is Garlic" and she looks at me like, why would you even question that, you know that name has been in the top 10 baby names for the last 15 years... it's right up there with Jennifer and Madison.... Bella has finally outgrown the days of just pooping anywhere(I know, seems I can't get through an entire day without mentioning one of my kids' poop :) Anyway, we used to laugh because she would be playing and then just all of the sudden get in squatting position and turn bright red and grunt. Well, yesterday, she "disappeared" for a minute, and Will found her in the corner of her room. He asked her if she was ok and she said, "Go way daddy, it's my Pie-vette time." Finally, I have to tell you, Sophia has always been a "little mommy", meaning that she always likes to imitate me and do mommy things, but she officially topped the cake now. Bella is now into shoving things up her nose (Please explain to me what the thrill is?) and it was lunchtime. The kids were all having spaghettios and I was loading the dishwasher. I overheard from the table the following conversation. Sophia- "Bella, are you shoving spaghettios up your nose?" Bella- "Yes." Sophia- (puts her hand under Bella's nose, palm up), - "Ok, Blow." (spaghettio comes flying out of Bella's nose into her hand) Sophia- " Good job, now no more shoving things up your nose. K, hun?" wow, that's love... Hope y'all have a GREAT Thanksgiving and official start to your holiday season. :) 11/11/08 Ugh! The stomach flu got us! Wow, we've been really sick this past weekend through today, and in the words of Sophia, "It's no fun to be sick!" This one isn't fun either (not that any flu is, but it's never fun to have 3 vomiting kids). Sunday night, I was actually up all night sick, and Will had to take care of sick Lucas all by himself! Will's the only one who hasn't gotten it yet, so I attacked the house today with the Clorox spray, hoping to rid us of this EVIL virus! Sophia's new catchphrase is, "Don't make me say it again!" She caught me so off guard the first time she used it. It went something like, "Mommy, can you make me a sippy? Sure Sophia, when I'm done making lunch. Mommy, Don't make me say it AGAIN!" Say WHAT, little almost-4-year-old????? Lucas has been quite picky with what he eats these days (which,those of you who know him know that he usually is like that kid Mikey... you know - "Give it to Mikey, he'll eat ANYTHING!). I gave him his oatmeal yesterday morning and he said it didn't have enough brown sugar in it (maybe because I forgot to put it in there). I added a little and gave it back to him. He was chatting with Sophia and I said, "Lu. Seriously, can you please at least taste it so I can know if it's better and whether or not I can put the sugar away?" He replied, "I smelled it mommy and it tastes better to my nose." How do you respond to that?? Bella cracks me up daily with her "naming" things. She has gotten everyone's name memorized and likes to ask for them or talk about them by name. Since she hasn't figured out the L sound yet, it's -ya. So it's SoPHEEya, Yucas, and Beya. She was doing a CRAZY little dance the other day and I said, "That's a crazy dance, you're silly." to which she looks at me plainly and says, "No mommy, I Beya." Then just goes on dancing, as if "Duh, YOU named me, crazy lady, now stop interrupting my interpretive dance session with your ignorance." Well little Beya, maybe someday I will learn all you silly kids' names :) In the mean time, here's hoping I exterminated the virus today and that the Gockleys are done with it forever (or at least a year or two). Hope everyone is having a wonderful fall. p.s. here is a list of the questions I've had trouble answering lately. Please be sure to email me if you have any good comebacks that are 4 year old appropriate... 1. Why do people die? 2. Where is heaven? (if clouds, where does heaven go on clear days?) 3. Electricity - in general, the concept is still baffling me 4. How do bones get bigger? 5. If Christmas is Jesus's birthday, when is Santa's birthday? 11/4/08 The final votes are in!!! Lucas and Sophia both think that Obama should win (althugh Sophia still argues that it should be Clinton), and Bella is voting for McCain (keen, she calls him), but I'm pretty sure that's simply because she wants to be different from the other two... As for updates, it's so hard to keep track. Let's see, Bella had her 2 yr. dr. appt. She is 36 1/2 inches tall (still literally off the charts) and weighs 29.6 lbs (somewhere around 85%). She is WAY ahead developmentally (go figure). She drinks from big girl cups now (I say Sippy? She says, NO! CUP!). She knows all of her ABC's and can count to 12. She speaks in full sentences and is FULL into the 2 yr old attitude... Grrr. Oh, and did I mention that for her birthday, she decided to give up naps? I tried to explain that typically, people give things up for Lent, but she wasn't hearin' it. Lucas has to know everything about everything, and he hears EVERYTHING! He repeats things that Will and I SWEAR we said in confidence, and forgets NOTHING! He also has started reading!!!!! Sophia has learned most of her letters now and is still #1 mommy. She takes care of about 5 dolls exclusively, and her new favorite games include 1. pretending Bella is her dog to take care of, 2. pretending Bella is sick and makes her stay in bed and take "medicine" and 3. pretending she is queen of the world and makes Lucas and Bella do whatever she says. I know funny things have happened, but I'll have to come back to it and update later because I am worn out from chasing 3 kids that absolutely refuse naps... Bring on the advil, it's gonna be a long day! **Update on today's post... My family is completely out of control... Lucas refused to take a nap today (again) and proceeded to race around the house naked this afternoon, all the while laughing hysterically. I chased him for a while trying to get him to at least put his underwear on (seriously, who do I think I am, asking him to wear CLOTHES??/), but realized after cornering him and trying once that, even if I did manage to get it on him, he would run away and take it right back off, so the whole endeavor was fairly useless. I sat back and watched him race around the house screaming that he was a "naked buck!" and terrorizing the girls with his boyhood (is it PC to call it manhood if he's only 3?). I'm not sure they actually noticed anything except the fact that he was NAKED and RUNNING WILDLY, but this was enough to produce squeals and shrieks... In all this madness, I managed to see the beauty. My son, my tiny little preemie baby, was running gracefully around the house and laughing the most infectious and melodic laugh (both of pure joy and pure ornery). Oh the freedom and beauty, to be so comfortable and relaxed in one's own body!! As I heard all three of my babies giggling uncontrollably, I closed my eyes (briefly, I know better than to take more than a few seconds - insert here- marker covered walls, an entire container of apple juice spilled on the kitchen floor, children war-painted with butter, etc) and savored the moment of complete happiness, even if it means complete (and short lived) loss of parental control :) p.s. I managed to get underwear on him about 15 minutes later by bribing him with an apple.... :P
Posted by our3babies
at 8:47 PM CDT
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
October 2008 Blg
10/15/08 DANG! The English language is confusing! Within the last 24 hours, I listened to Sophia tell me about "square-crows", Lucas tell me that he was going to stop cars with his whistle, and if they didn't listen, he was going to put them "in jam" (jail), and Bella tell me that she was is a "fence fry", although she also told me she wanted to be a "tickle fry" so I guess it's anyone's guess! Have a great Wednesday! 10/11/08 We went to the "punkin patch" today and had a great time. The kids were allowed to pick any pumpkin, as long as they could carry it, which turned out to be as long as they could lift it :) They really did have a great time though. We went to a farm that had animals, a hay maze, a little train (pulled by a tractor), and of course, a hayride to the pumpkin patch. Check out our fun fall pictures! Sophia has adopted a new habit of shortening everyone's name. She even shortens nicknames and other adjectives. For example, she started by calling me Mom (originally Mommy), and then she started calling Bella, Bell. Then Lucas became Lu, Nana became Nan, and finally, the other day she was talking to me and instead of calling me silly, she called me Sil. Sil? I laughed so hard and now she says it all the time. Lucas got me this week several times. One afternoon, he had been begging me for about an hour to go to the park. I told him no because I had already started cooking dinner, and I told him to find a game to play. He told me he was going to go on a scavenger hunt and promptly grabbed a piece of paper. He then said to me, "Well, it looks like there is only one thing on my list! THE PARK!!" Dang, he's good... Today, I was helping him get undressed for his bath and he tripped over his pants and fell down. He asked me, "Mommy, why'd you do that?" I told him that I didn't do it and that he had lost his balance and fell down. He replied, "Yeah, I lost my balance. Mommy, where is it now?" Ummm..... So I am finally coming to terms with the fact that my youngest daughter has a foot fetish. This seems very strange to me since I HATE feet, but she has definitely taken it to a new level now. I tried for a while to convince myself that it was just a phase she was going through, and that it would pass, but she's going on 2 now and it's still going strong. By foot fetish, I mean that she is obsessed with her feet and feels a need to touch everything with her feet. She LOVES to be barefoot (even when it's cold outside), and would let me rub her feet all day and night (especially with lotion- wait, who doesn't like this??). But aside from those fairly normal activities, she also loves to put her bare feet on the table during meals and rub food on them, especially, it seems, things that are messy and with sauces. I caught her the other day with a chicken nugget between her toes (I took a picture for all you nonbelievers) and I now have decided that she has officially crossed the line of normal. I mean, typically you have to wash a toddler's hands and face after meals, but we also have to wash her FEET! 10/1/08 Happy October! Lucas came running up to me today and told me that there was a huge excavator across the street and it was making loud sounds (He knew this because it's finally cool enough to open the windows). We decided to take a field trip and we walked across the street and sat in the grass abut 25 ft. from the big frontloader. We watched the men break up the sidewalk, and then pick up the pieces with the crane loader thing and drop them into the dumptruck. The kids were absolutely enthralled with the entire experience and had the men laughing because everytime they dropped a load into the truck, the kids jumped up and cheered and clapped. Bet they don't get that very often :)
Posted by our3babies
at 8:45 PM CDT
Monday, 1 September 2008
September 2008 Blog
9/30/08 It's almost October and we're really getting in the fall spirit (although it was still 90 degrees yesterday - only 79 today though!). The kids are camping, eating caramel apples, painting leaf crafts, and making birdfeeders. They still haven't decided on Halloween costumes, but they are at least thinking about it. Bella will be 2 in less than a month!!! I was (unsuccessfully) trying to put Lucas down for a nap the other day and he said to me, "Mommy, I love you so much. Don't ever change, ok?" Dumbfounded me stares blankly at son...He of course then follows up with, "What's change mean? Are we going to change? Am I going to change?" I told him that we would both change and that we would get older, but that I loved him so so much and that THAT would never change. He gave me a big hug and said, "And we'll always give big hugs, that will never change either." Right-O my little snugglebug! Sophia also has taken recently to spontaneously telling me that she loves me so much. She cracks me up when she watches TV. She purposely sits VERY close to whoever else is on the couch so she can rub/twirl their hair while she watches. HAIR OBSESSED! Bella is SO big, and her obsession with pickes has gome completely over the top now. Now this is coming from someone who LOVES pickes and could probably eat an entire jar in one sitting, but my daughter has developed an unhealthy obsession. Not only does she ask for pickes at EVERY meal, including breakfast, but we have plastic food that goes with the play kitchen, and in that food there are pickles. Bella INSISTS on sleeping with the plastic pickles and will NOT go to sleep without them. She will literally lie in the bed screaming, " PICKLES! PICKLES! I NEED MY PICKLES!" Until she gets ahold of her little plastic pickles and then she can settle in to sleep. Yeah, I don't even know what to say about that... 9/21/08 It's Sunday and we spent the night last night "urban camping" in the backyard. We lit the firepit and grilled hotdogs and s'mores. The kids played in the backyard and we all (tried to) slept in the tent. Bella couldn't quite get herself calmed down (she's not used to going to sleep in the same room as the older ones) so she and I ended up inside. But Lucas, Sophia and Will stayed in the tent, making it their first time sleeping outside! They had a great time, check out the pictures in the September album! Our house is filled with new "manipulative" phrases recently. I think both older kids realized that they have the power to manipulate situations and have been practicing. We were at the mall getting the kids new pajamas and the girls' pajamas were right next to the toy dept. Lucas found a car he really liked and told us, "My toys at home are getting old. I think I need some new ones." hmmm.... Sophia asked me if I could draw something like Mrs. Reaman (her preschool teacher) does. I said I didn't think I could and she said to me, "Oh, I guess you aren't big enough." Which is exactly what we've been using to get HER to do stuff. Like, "I guess you aren't big enough to eat your broccoli." Which of course is like double dog daring her to do it, and she always does it! So I guess she figured us out... Bella hit the terrible twos, serious seperation anxiety, and the biting phase all this week. Obviously, she's a joy to be around right now. She fluctuates between hitting and trying to bite me while screaming NO!, to screaming and begging me to pick her up. It's tons of fun. However, right now, she is dancing and playing a drum, and it's WAY adorable, so I guess we'll keep her :) 9/16/08 We're back from the beach and having a hard time readjusting :( I think we all want to be back with our toes in the sand and ocean, and enjoying the beautiful sunsets and palm trees. BUT, we are back and we're back to the daily grind. While we were there, we all had a FANTASTIC time and the kids had a multitude of "firsts." They saw and swam in the ocean for the first time, ate frozen yogurt, found seashells, saw jellyfish, saw the wind effects of the outskirts of a hurricane (Ike, no rain though!), and swam by themselves in the pool (ok, by themselves I mean with floatie suits on and in the 3 foot end of the pool with 1-1 ratio adults nearby- and just the older two, although Bella did lay on the top step in about 3 inches of water and pretended to "float"). Lucas also learned to whistle while we were there! We all had a great time building sandcastles, walking on the beach, outlet shopping (the kids all got new shoes at the Stride Rite outlet- sizes 12, 11, and 8!!!!), and just spending time together. Check out our beach pictures, we saw some beautiful things! Since we've been home, the kids don't really know what to do with themselves. We went from almost 90 degree weather in Destin to 70's here in Memphis. They actually wore sweaters to preschool today (what WHAT?) Quick story of toddler logic to make you smile. We were cleaning up and I asked Bella to put the pirate ship in the top bucket of our stack of storage containers. She went over and couldn't reach. She started yelling, "Help! Help!" Sophia ran to the rescue and I expected her to grab the ship and thrw it in. Instead, she said, "Here Bella, I'll pick you up so you can reach." (Mind you, she's probably only 6 inches or so taller than Bella). It was a sight to see Sophia trying to pick up Bella+pirate ship, especially since Bella is only about 6 or 7 lbs. lighter than Phia! 9/5/08 We've been busy! The kids' preschool has been wonderful. Both have had a chance to "show and tell" and they have brought homem some wonderful crafts and stories. They have made some really great friends too! Bella is doing well in her class too, and I was surprised to find out that two other kids in Lucas and Sophia's preschool class have younger siblings in Bella's class too! Do I hear playgroup?? :) We were eating dinner the other day and Lucas was VERY distracted. I said, " Lucas, you need to focus on eating. You haven't touched anything yet!" To which he looks at his plate and methodically goes around it, literally touching each type of food with his finger. Ok so obviously things are still pretty concrete... Sophia was dancing and she came running toward me. She tripped and fell, and I managed to reach out just in time and catch her before she fell face first onto the floor. She looked up at me, grinning, and said, "Nice Save Mom!" Where did she get that? Bella Boo is talking in complete sentences, and singing in them too. She sang the entire happy birthday song to Uncle Jake (check out the dropshots site). She is also able to tell us how she feels now, which is helpful (when we listen). Take last night for example... I was putting her down to bed and she told me "Mommy, my tummy ouchie!" I rubbed her tummy and sang the "ouchie tummy, go away" song (what? you don't know that one? :) To which she sat up and promptly threw up all over me. Will happened to be in the hall and turned the light on. Bella recovered and said to me, "Ouchie tummy all gone!" Great, thanks kid! We leave tomorrow for Destin, FL!!!! It will be the kids' first time to see a REAL beach and we couldn't be more excited for a REAL family vacation! Beach house, here we come! :)
Posted by our3babies
at 8:42 PM CDT
Friday, 1 August 2008
August 2008 Blog
8/21/08 Lucas and Sophia are officially preschoolers. They are actually at thir first day (orientation) right now, and were so excited. I can't believe I'm a preschool mom, where has the time gone? Bella also walked right in to her mother's day out class without a fuss. I have to say, I am SO proud of my babies :) Now, where have we been? We took a trip to Chicago for the Gockley Family Reunion, and we had a blast. The kids had the greatest time playing with their all their cousins and they didn't want to leave when it was time to go home. They tried new things, met new people, and overall, made us realize that we have some really great kids (well, we knew that already, but it was just re emphasized!). Now, on to the wonderful stories of our days. Let me throw out there what my beautiful daughter said to me, then I'm explain. Sophia was looking for me when we got home (I was all over the house trying to unpack) and she found me in my bathroom. She exclaimed, "Mommy, I was looking for you, and I couldn't find your big old butt anywhere!" SAY WHAT???? I initally fell out laughing to hear such a thing fall out of her mouth, so I had to walk away so she wouldn't see. When I finally got composed, I explained to her that it isn't nice to say things like that, and then reeled in my mind trying to figure out where she picked it up. I realized that earlier that morning, we were packing the rental minivan and I had to climb between the two captains' chairs containing carseats, one of which had a double stroller in front of it. I muttered under my breath, "Let me see if I can get my big ol' butt through here." Hmmm.... again, I need to watch what I say a bit closer (even what i mutter). My mom told me that when she was visiting a few weeks ago, Lucas offered her a tampon. He apparantly asked her if she needed one, and when she declined, Lucas responded with, "Well, ok. But my mom has some in her bathroom and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you needed one." Ok, thoughtful, but RANDOM. The kid doesn't even know what they are for! Bella if full into the terrible 2's. She throws serious tantrums when she doesn't get her way, but she continually cracks us up with her new phrases and activities. She orders the older two around like they are her minions and tries to do the same with Will and me too (although we're a little more hesitant). Bella is also OBSESSED with pickles. She asks for them for breakfast!!!! EW! 8/8/08 Ok so I promise to update again soon, but for now, I'm going to share with you the stories that Lucas and Sophia wrote (dictated) yesterday. We decided that, since we've read every book we own about a million times, they would write their own adventure stories. I tried to write down pretty much exactly what they said, so I apologize for the randomness, but Enjoy! MY Buddy- By Sophia Gockley Once upon a time there was a superhero named Uncle Ryan. He was looking for Sophia. But he got stuck in a net. So the Superhero got some scissors from mama and Sophia walked and listened, and she was looking for her boyfriend, but she didn’t see him. Uncle Ryan cut the net and jumped out and he was FREE! So Uncle Ryan went back to Aunt NeeNee’s shop to get his hair cut. When he got there, it was raining. He said, “Oh No! It’s raining!” He screamed, “AUNT NEENEE!” Aunt Neenee came outside and she got all wet, but Uncle Ryan got in the car to start it, so he only got a little bit wet. Aunt NeeNee couldn’t find her buddy (Uncle Ryan), so she called LuLuMan to help her find him. LuLuMan walked and walked and listened and he heard, “Help me Help me!” so he went to see who it was. SuperSophie came too to save her boyfriend and Aunt Neenee. They followed the sound but the dolphin threw rocks in their path. So LuLuMan and SuperSophie pushed the rocks and they had to call their friend Diego to help them. Diego swang in on a vine, wait I’m sorry, he walked in just like LuLuMan and SuperSophie did. He helped them push the rocks and then they found who was saying, “Help me.” It was Uncle Ryan and Aunt NeeNee. So they said, “What’s the problem Aunt NeeNee?” She said, “I can’t find my buddy.” LuLuMan said, “I will help you.” And SuperSophie said, “I’ll help you too!” Aunt Neenee said, “I can’t find Uncle Ryan and I’m soaking wet.” SuperSophie said, “Look. Uncle Ryan is in the car! And we can go to my house and get a towel to dry you off.” Aunt NeeNee said, “Hooray! Hooray! Thank you so much for helping me!” So they all went to Trent Dog’s house and got towels to dry off. They said hi to Trent dog and they went inside and ate a yummy lunch, where Sophia sat by her buddy. The End Lucas Gockley Once upon a time there was a Giant’s car but the giant wasn’t there to start it. So Diego called the giant and said,”Hi Giant. Can you come over to start your car?” The giant said, “Oh sure.” So the Giant came over and started his car, but since he was inside the car, Diego couldn’t see him. Diego called Alicia because he couldn’t find the giant, but Alicia wasn’t there. Next, Diego called baby jaguar and he ran to Diego. They started chasing after the car because it started moving and they didn’t know who turned it on. When they caught up with the car, they got in the back and sat in the seats, and buckled their seat belts. They saw that it was the giant driving, so they were all together in the car. The giant drove them to McDonald’s and the Giant put socks on and Diego and baby jaguar put socks on too and they all went to play in the playland and they went down the slide. Then they drank soda and they ate eggs. After McDonalds, they hopped in the giant’s car and then they buckled their seat belts and they were on their way to Nana and Papa’s house, but the problem is, they weren’t there. Nana and Papa were getting fish food for the fishies in the pond. They were coming right back though, so Diego and the Giant waited for them. Nana and Papa had gone in Nana’s silver Saab and they came right home and brought fish food. Nana and Papa let the Giant and Diego feed the fishies their new food. Then Nana and Papa, Smoky and Opie, The Giant and Diego and baby jaguar all went in the Giant’s car and they buckled their seatbelts and they came to Lucas’s house. Lucas and Sophia and Bella were waiting for them, and while they waited, they were in the backyard painting. The doorbell rang, but Sadie was in the backyard too, so no one heard it. So they just went ahead and came in, and then everyone was so happy to see them, Then we all sat down and had dinner and then the Giant slept n the floor and Nana and Papa slept in their bed, and Diego slept in Lucas’s room with Lucas, and baby Jaguar slept in Sophia’s room and the monkey (?) slept with Bella. The End 8/1/08 Wow, it's August already! Somehow, in the Gockley household, we've managed to hit the terrible two's (Bella) and a joint 3-yr old decision to protest naptime all the same time(which by the way makes for VERY cranky kids and an even crankier mama). I promise, I'm pulling my hair out... Now that THAT is out of the way, here are some of the funny things we've encountered this last week or so. Nana came to visit for a week and we went to visit the kids' preschool room. We met the preschool director and practiced going potty in the potty there. We got home and were having lunch and Nana was outside filling up the blowup pool. Sophia was staring out the window and remarked, "I'm really glad we met that nice lady." I said, "The lady at preschool?" She said, "No, Nana." That nice lady??? As Nana was getting ready to leave, she was packing up all her stuff. Sophia made sandwich bags of goldfish for everyone in Indy for Nana to take home with her. Apparantly, right before she fell asleep that night, she sat up and asked Nana, " Did you remember the goldfish for Uncle Ryan?" (She calls him her "boyfriend") Always concerned about everyone else... Lucas went #2 in the potty and Sophia came in. She said "Eew, it's stinky in here" to which Lucas replied "That's why I turned the fan on, Sophia!" I wish I could capture the tone, because I realize it's really not all that funny without it, but it was such a "grown up" remark and the annoyed tone just topped the cake for me. Naptime has has been affecting all of us, and I'm not sure if this next scenario was a product of it, or just my sensitive little boy, but we were watching our first full length movie (Finding Nemo) and when it got to the point where Nemo was in the bag and pretended to be dead, Lucas busted out crying... and I mean BAWLING. I said, "Baby, what's wrong????" And he said (amidst sobs), "Nemo isn't alive anymore and now he won't ever find his daddy!" OMG, seriously? To finish that story, when Nemo "woke up" and found his daddy, Lucas cheered (and cheered up!). Bella's language is absolutely out of control. She says things like, "Sippy My Want please!" and "I gonna get you! Tickle tickle tickle!" She also insists on singing the "Good morning" song every night before bed. She knows the words to LOTS of songs, like Itsy Bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle, and Mary had a little lamb, but if I attempt to sing any of those (or anything else) at bedtime, she screams NO NO MOMMY and tries to cover my mouth. I guess she knows what she wants, but seriously? The good morning song at bedtime? Finally, I got sworn in as a CASA last night and we took all 3 kids to juvenile court to "witness" the graduation. They got to sit in the courtroom and see the judge. They got pretty rambunctious, and we started to worry they might start a "toddler unit":) but they made it through. The program played a small video and had a few speakers, which of course the kids had ZERO interest in. Lucas made this clear by asking very LOUDLY over and over again, "Where's the JUDGE? Where's the JUDGE?" And Sophia wanted to know why the judges have to wear "bathrobes." They are going to have a seriously warped sense of the justice system :) HAPPY AUGUST!
Posted by our3babies
at 3:24 PM CDT
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
July 2008 Blog
7/24/08 No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth, it's just been nuts around here lately! As you can see from the pictures, we had Melissa and Steven (the kids' godparents) come down to visit us last weekend! (Thanks again guys!). We had a blast and the kids got to "show off" for them in their true fashion. We finally got around to driving down to Graceland- we've only lived here in Memphis for about 4 years now and have never made it there. The kids got to show them their pool and the park, and Sophia's favorite- RIBS! Then, Nana came to visit for the week and Daddy's out of town, so it's just been pretty crazy. I can't believe how big they are all getting. Bella's language is absolutely out of control. She is speaking in 4 and 5 word sentences and DEFINITELY knows how to get her point across now. Sophia helps her expand her vocabulary, and one of their favorite games in the car is "teacher." Sophia says, Bella, say (fill in any word here)" and Bella repeats it. We had a humerous conversation last weekend that went like this. Sophia- "Bella, say mama" Bella- "Mama" S- "Bella, say Daddy" B- "Daddy" S- "Bella say sour candy" B- "Sowa Candy" S- "Bella, say Columbus Indiana" B- (strange look at Sophia) slowly says"Sowa candy?" ok, so I think that may be a little beyond her 21 month old vocabulary... For those of you who don't know, I've been going to trainings to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster kids. I get a "little" dressed up for the trainings, and Lucas has been really intrigued by this. I tried to explain that I am going to meetings to learn how to help other kids, but he insists on focusing on what I am wearing, so he has decided that I am going to my "high heel meetings" in the evenings. I was getting ready the other night and he was in my bathroom with me. He was talking to me about the meetings (again, which by the way, I'm concerned he is going to get to preschool in a few weeks and tell everyone that his mom has been going to "meetings" everynight...) and as I turned around, he came out of my closet in a pair of my heels,saying "I'm going to my high heel meeting now. I'll see you later. Be good for Daddy while I'm gone!" He has now recruited the girls to attend his high heel meetings too, and I have a great picture of them ALL tromping around the house on the way to their "meeting". I'll get it up soon, I promise! As a sidenote, I don't know how many of you have little girls, but i'm guessing it's pretty common for them to name their dolls. However, Sophia wins the trophy for the oddest named dolls. She has a poppypee, a Teeta, a potato, and just recently told me her new doll is named Ant. I said, "Aunt, like Aunt neenee?" She said, "No, Ant like the bug." Um, ok..... Have a great one! We're officially on "summer break" so I'll do my best to find time to update soon! 7/10/08 We're home and still unwinding from our trip. It was a crazy and busy week in Indy! We went and saw the REAL Thomas the Train, which was pretty exciting and overwhelming for the kids. They got to ride on Thomas, and do all sorts of Thomas crafts and games. By the time we left, they all passed out in the car before we even got on the highway :) We also went to the sprinkle park that I used to play in when I was little. The kids got to see various relatives and friends, play in the GREAT BIG new sandbox that Nana and Papa built for them (3,000 lbs. of sand), and swim in the hot tub and blow up pool. Not to mention they got to see REAL fireworks and some at home ones too. They held sparklers for the first time this year, and they got to be in the 4th of July parade too! Check out the pictures, they are pretty cute! Sophia is cracking us up daily these days with her little phrases and things she says. For example, she said to my mom one night at bedtime, " Nana, I really like,.. no, I really LOVE you, but I think I need Daddy to put me to bed tonight." What a character! Lucas decided he wanted to be a train engineer when he grows up when we saw Thomas, then a Fireman AND a policeman after the parade, he wants to work with furniture like Uncle Ryan, and be in charge of setting off the fireworks too. He's got a busy busy career(s) ahead of him! Bella "created" a new game on the way home. She plays peekaboo, but instead of saying peekaboo (which she DOES know how to say) when she "appears", she has decided to say, "TACO!" She and Sophia randomly play TACO now and it always cracks me up to hear it. Now that we're home, we transitioned Bella to her Toddler/Elmo bed, and she's been doing really well in it! The first night, we got her to sleep, then transitioned Sophia into her bed once she was asleep (they're sharing a room). We heard Bella start fussing a little around 4am, so Will and I went in. He looked in Sophia's bed and she wasn't there, so he started looking around the house for her (sometimes she wanders if she wakes up). He couldn't find her, primarily because when I went to see why Bella was fussing, I found my two little girls cuddled up together in Bella's bed. Bella never really woke up, but I am wondering how much time they spent together in that bed! How SWEET! Ok, I left Will alone to strip wallpaper, so I should probably get back to help so we can get it done before the munchkins are done with school, so have a great day and week!
Posted by our3babies
at 3:22 PM CDT
Sunday, 1 June 2008
June 2008 Blog
6/26/08 We're gearing up for a trip to Indy, and the kids couldn't be more excited. In order to prepare, we let the kids each pick out their own "rolley bag". You know, the backpacks that have wheels and a pull up handle so they can pull it along by themselves? It has been a trip to see what they chose to pack. I told them to put all the things they think they need for the trip in their bags. Sophia picked her babydolls (all that she could cram in there), clothes for them, her pink bunny and then got really upset because she couldn't fit her blanket in there. Lucas packed his safety glasses, his Thomas the train, Keys (of course), and various other random toys. Bella just started stuffing toys in, including her doggies (go figure), paci's, a hairclip, a glasses cleaning cloth, and a golf ball. Obviously, all vital things :) Sophia and I were talking about all the people we were going to see in Indy. She asked if Miss Meliss and Mr. Steven would be at Nana/Papa's house. I told her they would be at their house, but it's close to Indy, and did that count? She said to me, while rolling her eyes, "No mama, that doesn't count. THIS is counting. 1,2,3,4..." Have a great one! I'll update again when we get back! 6/19/08 First of all let me say, I rarely have time to go back and read what I post, and therefore tend to miss all the typos that I make. I actually reread the last posting just now to try to figure out what has happened since then and WOW, I apologize. From now on, I'm going to make a serious effort to reread everything before posting! So ANYWAY, I missed a week because my mom was in town. We LOVE having her in town and we get to do SO many things, but I didn't manage to get a posting in, so I'll do my best to update what we've been doing and our stories for the past 2 weeks. While Nana was here, we went to the waterpark, which is always fun. It's been in the mid 90's, so they loved it. Bella doesn't like to be sprayed, but she had fun playing in the puddles after the sprayers turned off. Obviously from our pictures, Lucas and Sophia had NO reservations about running directly through the sprays. Nana also got the kids their own plants and they have been watering them daily, and kissing them goodnight. Yes, I said kissing them. Lucas has been develping quite a little attitude lately. It's hard to explain exactly, but he's becoming quite a little "smartass" for lack of a better term. For example, we had turned the DVD player on in the car on our 35 minute ride to the eye dr.'s office, and I let Lucas choose the DVD. (I told Sophia she could choose on the way home). Sophia was throwing her patented "I want my way and I want it now" tantrum "I don't want to watch Diego, I want to watch something else!!!!!!!!", when Lucas casually (not even looking at her) says, "Well Sophia, that's what I picked...". I about died. He also likes learning new catchphrases. I taught him "I pity the fool!" from Mr. T. When he repeated it later for my parents, he put on his toughest voice and screamed, "I pity the FOOOO!" which of course brought laughter. When they asked him who says that, he replied, "Mr. Teacup." :) Sophia has become a little mina bird. It cracks me up to hear her repeating verbatim things that I have said to her. Thankfully so far, they have been fairly benign and postive. But it still cracks me up when she asks me a question and before I can even answer, she says, "You can say I don't know and that's ok mama." Another of my favorites is, "You can be different and that's ok." Bella has started talking in short sentences. She said to me the other day, "I WANT IT!" (I was holding her paci). I put the handle of it in my mouth and she grabbed the paci part in her mouth and we had a tug of war. I eventually let go and she exclaimed, "I GOT IT!" She learned the breakfast song that we sing at storytime and can sing it in it's entirety. She also learned "Eeney, meeney, miney, MO!" this morning. They are growing up so fast! 6/4/08 WHY? WHY? WHY? That's all I hear these days, out of 3 little mouths nonetheless. I have explained my way through the seasons, life cycles, meal preparation, and bathrooming, just to name a few. I'm going to spend the remainder of this short naptime to come up with a 3 yr. old appropriate explanation for electricity, but first let me share a few scenarios that I found humorous this week. Sophia and Lucas were outside playing with an umbrella. They were running around under it and putting it up and down. Eventually, I heard Sophia's little voice yelling, "Mommy! Lucas won't put the rainy day back up! I want him to push the button and make the rainy day go back up so I can play under it!" We have a placemat with the United States on it. The kids love to ask what the name of each state is, and the capital is. The kids know about 10-15 states already and are itching for more. We were going through some of them, and Lucas eventually asked about Maine. I told him it was called Maine, and he said, "That's right Mama. And that's where Daddy got his MAIN keys!" (which by the way is what Will calls his primary set of keys- he has several backup sets because Lucas likes to carry/hide them) The kids have fallen in love with the TV show Caillou. Lucas and Sophia talk about it all the time, so it didn't take little Bellaboo long to get in on the act too. I mentioned in the car on the way home from storytime at the library that I was going to give them lunch, then turn on a Caillou for Lu and Phia to watch while I put Bella down for a nap. Bella apparantly understood that she wasn't going to get to watch, so the ENTIRE car ride home, I heard from her, "CAH-YOOOOOU! CAH-YOOOOU! CAH-YOOOOU!" I gotta get that one on video, it's too cute! Wish me luck on my explanation of how plugging the light in to the wall makes it work...
Posted by our3babies
at 3:20 PM CDT
Thursday, 1 May 2008
May 2008 Blog
5/30/08 I have to post quickly again (since Lucas has effectively given up naptime), but I had to share an incident that happened last night. I laughed so hard... my daughter is officially part of her generation- the DVR generation. We were talking to my parents on Skype (webcams- for those of you who are a bit technologically behind) and Sophia decided she had to use the bathroom. We were running back to the bathroom and she turns around and asks me, "Mommy, why didn't you pause Nana?" AWESOME! Welcome to the DVR- immediate gratification generation. Gotta love it! 5/28/08 I don't have a whole lot of time to post (although there are a ton of new pix and videos up), so I'm going to just post a quick list of things I've learned this week. Enjoy! Things I’ve learned this week - that a kid afraid to poop in the potty can hold it for 3+ days, and then when said kid goes (in their big kid underwear), they can clog an adult sized potty
- that 3 toddlers can consume an entire container of (lightly) sautéed mushrooms in one sitting and still beg for more
- When 1 kid has to go to the potty, they truly believe they deserve and need my full, undivided attention, when 2 kids have to go potty at the same time, potty training can be a full contact sport, and when 3 think they should train at the same time, potty training can be a full time job (to the exclusion of other less important tasks, like learning, cleaning, cooking, eating, drinking, napping etc.)
- That, although the most common word in an 18 month old’s vocabulary is typically Mine, it can quickly be changed to Why? at the prompting of two 3 yr. old siblings (and when asked, a true answer is expected)
- that regardless of how much kids want them and beg and plead, popsicles need to freeze overnight before they are actually “popsicles” and not just icy limeade
- that 3 ½ year olds are DEFINITELY old enough to repeat things they have heard even days ago (Ex. Will likes to crank the volume on the TV. Turns out Lucas pays attention when I repeatedly respond with, “Jesus that’s loud!” and has no problem nonchalantly repeating it to me when I turned up the volume a bit to hear Caillou)
- That in 18 month lingo, “mushies”(pronounced muh-shies) and “marshies”(pronounces mah-shies) are actually 2 different things, one being of the vegetable family (mushrooms) and the other in the dessert category (marshmallows)
5/19/08 Ok, so since I last posted, Bella got the same fever virus, and so did Sophia, although she fought it off much better than the other two. I got some bizarre form of it, and still haven't completely gotten my voice back. Having no voice makes it really difficult to be a mom. For example, I can't warn Sophia that her brother is just around the corner swinging a baseball bat (albeit a nerf one) and that she is about to run right into it. I also can't warn Bella that standing on a plastic stool on a hardwood floor and then leaning over to try to grab a table isn't the best of ideas because the stool will slip. Finally, I can't warn Lucas (again) that jumping from couch to couch really isn't the greatest of ideas and will probably end in major ouchies. (all of which happened this week). Oh well, we all survived and are finally on the mend. Today actually felt like a REAL summer day. The kids are on "summer break" from school and it is about 90 degrees outside today. We got up late (EVERYONE- except Will- slept in until after 8am), we got up and had a leisurely breakfast. Then we got dressed, jumped in the car and headed to WalMart to buy a pool for the backyard! We also got hats to help block the sun. We had a picnic lunch outside and played outside until naptime (now) in shorts and tanktops. HELLLLLLOOOO SUMMER! Bella went on the potty again today, and this time, she knew it was coming. Her new phrases are, "Up HIGH!", "Eat it?" - (she asks before she puts things in her mouth now), TWO babies (you know, one for each arm), and various other phrases, both in English and Spanish- thanks to Dora. Sophia insists on dressing herself everyday now, and her newest favorite word is CERTAINLY!She likes to throw b it into conversation like when I ask her if she can set the table. She replies, "yes mommy! I certainly can!" Lucas, I swear, has a photographic memory. He knows so many things, and when he doesn't, he figures them out and makes sure to use them in conversation. He busted out the word stupendous in the car the other day-learned it on Sesame Street, and makes me get out the thesaurus daily. We had a rough trip to the grocery store on Sunday, and I was telling the kids that I didn't like the way they acted. Lucas asked, "what's acted?" I said, " the way you behaved." He said "what's behaved?" I said, "behave is the things you do and the things you say." He got this perplexed look on his face, then said, "well I don't think I like your acting either then." hmm... well at least he learned what "acting" is???\ a few of our other accomplishments recently have been asking to be excused from the table, all 3 carry their plates to the sink, the older two drink from big kid cups all the time, all 3 use "big kid" toothpaste (the older two have dora and diego spinny toothbrushes too), they feed the dog, let her out, help clean their rooms, help load and unload the dishwasher, sweep the floors, wash the table, and various other household chores. SO HELPFUL! We're up from naps now and it's time for me to get ready for my mothers of multiples meeting (tonight's our mom's pamper party- massages and "mom talk" time!) 5/12/08 It's been a crazy week since I updated! First of all, Lucas got sick (REALLY sick) and we ended up taking him to the ER one night because his fever spiked to 104. Turns out it was all viral, but we felt we needed to make sure. He was VERY lethargic last week, which if you know Lucas at all, you know that is NOT like him. His fever finally broke Saturday morning though, and I think we are on the mend. We had a GREAT mother's day, and I got some STELLAR gifts. Lucas and Sophia made candle holders for me at school. The teachers helped them decoupage them with tissue paper and glitter, and they are gorgeous. I put them by my tub. Bella made a handprint flower for me at school with a poem, and I am going to frame it and put in my room. SO CUTE. I also got a subscription to DropShots.... which means that I now have unlimited storage for videos. GET EXCITED. I will be posting tons of videos in the near future, even ones from when Lucas and Sophia were tiny babies, so be sure to check them out! I am so excited to be able to store all our videos in the same place.:) For Mother's Day, the kids (and daddy) made my favorite breakfast (french toast and bacon), then we went to the mall and let the kids ride on the elevators. They have been begging since I took them to the playground in the mall, so we took a trip to JC Penney and let them pick out some new pajamas (they just keep Growing and we can't keep them in clothes that fit!). Daddy grilled ribs for me for dinner, which I was actually outeaten by Sophia. She probably ate 5 bones worth of ribs (1/2 rack almost!) to which she replied, "I love Wibs! I ate ribs a LOT so I must have been hungry!" Overall, a great day, check out our pics too! Bella has fallen in love with a blanket that my mom knitted (actually for Sophia). She has named it "Mungy". I think she is trying to say "blankie" since that is what Sophia calls hers, but it came out as mungy and now that's offically it's name. We're on our last week of school before summer break (2 weeks), and we're looking forward to a summer filled with school (1 day a week), zoo trips (we're becoming members), library story times, and lots of outdoor time (i'm gonna be one tan mama!). Keep checking back for updates, we'll be busy! 5/2/08 I know, it's late and we haven't even gotten the kids to bed yet, but I seeing as how this is the essentially the kids' life stories, I had to get it down tonight to commemorate this event. Here's the news.... BELLA WENT PEEPEE IN THE POTTY FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME TONIGHT! She's been sitting on the potty regularly since the kids are almost completely potty trained during the day, but she's never actually done it before. Tonight, I sat her on the little potty, then went to check on Sophia. When I got back, she stood up and SHE HAD GONE! We'll see the end of diapers before we know it with any luck! Yeah for Bella boo! 5/1/08 Our walk last weekend went REALLY well! We had great weather and the kids didn't get TOO bored because there were SO many people there! We finished the walk, and then the kids get to eat a little lunch, play in a bouncehouse (because honestly, what event is complete without a bouncehouse?), make a build-a-bear with a March of Dimes t-shirt, and the biggest thrill of all, they got see DORA! Overall, the event was a smashing success, and we are so grateful to everyone for contributing and enabling our team to raise over $1765! As the kids say, we got make lots of money for the sick babies at the hospital! :) On to the rest of the week. We have had an interesting time since Lucas has decided lately he doesn't want to take naps. This would be alright, however he feels like no one should take a nap if he doesn't. For example, yesterday, he screamed (not crying, just playing) over and over just so Sophia would wake up, which she did. Then she screamed(crying) because she was tired, which in turn woke Bella up. Neither would go back to sleep, so we had some grouchy kids all afternoon:( Overall though, the kids have been pretty healthy and happy. Last Sunday, it rained and Will took Lucas to the grocery store (during naptime of course, because let me repeat, he refuses to nap). Lucas came home and told me, "Mama, guess what. The rain fell out of the sky and landed on my arm. Then it dried up into the air and that's called EVAPORATION!" Say WHAT kiddo? That's right, daddy taught him about evaporation, and not only can he say the word, he know what it is too. We were racing around to get ready for "school" this morning and i ran into my room and got dressed. Since it's just now finally warm, I pulled out a pair of capri's I haven't worn since last fall and pulled them on. Sophia saw me and said, "Mommy! I really like your pants! They are so nice!" Wow, affirmations always feel good first thing in the morning:) Seriously though, she is really getting into clothes and fashion lately. She insists on dressing herself, she frequently picks out Daddy's outfits in the morning (and I RARELY have to veto them), and she insists on picking out everyones pajamas at night. Bella picked up the words "Aunt Neenee" and "Gockley" this week, among others. She has been very insistent lately that she wants to go "Siiiiiide!" meaning outside. We also went to a dinner at a friends' house last weekend. They had a little girl who turned 2 in December (Hailey) and she and Bella really buddied up! At one point, all the kids were playing outside, and Bella walked up to Hailey with a little baby stroller. She said, "Here, You" and gave Hailey the stroller. Then she walked away and went back to their garage and got another baby stroller. She came back and the two girls went walking down the cul de sac (called a cove in the south) next to eachother pushing the strollers. They were chatting the whole way. I heard Hailey talking and then Bella replied, "No." Then more conversation. How cute! Ok, gotta get back to cleaning up in the few minutes I have, but I wanted to let y'all know that I was wrong last week about the vocabulary testing with the kids. Lucas apparantly made it 1/2 way through the 10 year old words, not the 7 year old words. Sophia made it 1/2 way through the 8 year old words and then fizzled out. The speech therapist said that she believes it was not because Sophia didn't know the words, but that they had gotten a late start and Sophia appeared really tired (hey, it was RIGHT in the middle of naptime). Still though, not bad for 3 year olds!
Posted by our3babies
at 10:13 AM CDT
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
April 2008 Blog
4/22/08 Just a reminder, our March of Dimes March for Babies walk is THIS Saturday. Thanks to all who have supported us, and if you wanted to and haven't, it's NOT too late. There is a link to our March Of Dimes website right by the link to our pictures. Check it out if you still want to donate! THANKS! That being said, It's safe to say that I am not only absolutely in love with my kids, but that they find ways to amaze me and make me laugh daily. Don't get me wrong, they also find way to make me want to scream and pull out my hair, but overall, those times are fewer and farther between than the good ones (that's why we keep them, right?):) Lucas and Sophia are still in speech therapy, mostly because they haven't retested them and been kicked out due to progress yet. Today, the speech therapist tested Lucas's vocabulary. She was hoping to get both Lucas and Sophia done today, but she ran out of time. Let me tell you why... She said that she shows the kids pictures and asks them for the word. They have to get 8 wrong in a row t o stop the testing. Not only did Lucas make it 1/2 way through the 7 year old words, he had a story for most of them. Seriously. For example, she showed him a harmonica. Lucas says (and she wrote it down verbatim to tell me), "That's a harmonica. Uncle Jake plays one of those and he taught me and Sophia to play one too. ALSO, he calls it a harp too. " That was one picture. No wonder it took over a 1/2 hour to get through it. She also said when she showed him pictures of things he didn't know and asked him if he knew what that was, he replied, "No, I don't know that one yet." YET! That's great! He apparantly knew other words like xylophone and trolley too. I swear, he's just like that kid from Jerry McGuire... You know, the little blonde kid with glasses... wait..... He also is full into the "WHY" stage, which I am happy to report that I have yet to resort to "Because I said so." it's only a matter of time though, because I certainly don't know all the answers, and the questioning of my directives (It's time for bed/dinner/baths) gets old quickly. Sophia has really gotten me lately with her newly developed sense of humor and sarcasm. Really? 3 year olds understand sarcasm? It's hard to believe, because sometimes when I get frustrated and I get a wee bit sarcastic, they often take it as real. For example, I say "Thanks Sophia, I REALLY wanted spaghetti sauce in my hair." She replies, "Oh, ok mama, here you go." and adds a bit more. Not quite grasping the sarcasm here kid! BUT, she HAS taken a few choice phrases and slings 'em back at me. Some of my favorites are, " Good to know mommy" (which is used when they get into relentless descriptions of what they are doing or whatever), "OH my goodness, really?" (which is used back at me when I say things like "You should try the asparagus, I like it."), and finally my personal favorite, I ask serious questions, such as "How did this cracker get crushed into the rug?" and I get, "It was the ______" - fill in with the most random plant/animal/vegetable/mineral/object/weather condition/etc. you can imagine. I ask, "Where is your other shoe?" I get " The birdie outside is wearing it." WHAT? I ask, "What do you want for breakfast?" I get, "TORNADOES!" again...WHAT? Bella keeps amazing me with everything. She climbed completely on top of the cozy coupe yesterday. She was sitting on it, and singing about Elmo when I found her. Her new favorite game is CATCH! which she screams and then hurls whatever is closest to her at me (sometimes it is herself). She loves the game, now we just have to explain to her WHY certain things are not really suitable to be tossed without warning, such as full sippy cups (they are HEAVY and hard!), food (especially ones with sauces), and sand (I don't care who throws it, it is UNCATCHABLE and messy to boot). She cracks me up lately at bedtime. She will be rolling around trying to get to sleep, drowsy as can be, and right before she drifts off, she'll sit up completely, wave at the bedroom door and say, "Night night sissy. Night night Bubby." and then fall down and crash into sleep. How flippin adorable is that? She is SO in love with them. Luckily, the feeling is mutual. Now that we are in shorts/capris most days, Bella has discovered and fallen in love with her knees. She has a little dance she does where she hunches down and touches both knees, then wobbles around in circles singing, "Knee, knee, knee, knee, knee, knee, etc." It's always at the most random times and the song has gone on for a record 3 minutes straight that I have heard. Ok, enough rambling. Just wanted to share some of the things that make me laugh, and hopefully they brightened your day too. Keep smiling! 4/14/08 So I know y'all have been on pins and needles wondering how the wedding went....:) They did GREAT! We did a "dry run" on Thursday to just see the aisle and the church. Then Friday they got to meet the other two ring bearers (they all ended up chasing eachother up and down the pew aisles- friends at first glance). Lucas decided he wanted to RUN down the aisle, but we convinced him that if he ran, no one would get to see his special tuxedo shoes, so he changed his mind. At the rehearsal, Bella chased me down the aisle, effectively cutting off the bridesmaid following me, so we decided that she would just walk with me down the aisle, which worked out perfectly. (The smallest ring bearer walked with his aunt- Melissa's sister), so it all worked out. The day of, the kids were pretty buzzed with energy, but when it got to be time they settled down. Bella walked with me down the aisle, and then we found Nana, Papa, and Aunt NeeNee a few pews from the front, and she sat with them. Then the two older ones had their turn. Lucas decided he needed to drop some petals too, in addition to carrying the pillow with the "cruise keys" so the couple could go on their "honey trip". We gave him a few handfuls of petals but at the last minute, he decided to fight Sophia for the basket. They tusselled a little bit for the petals, but the photographer was close and "broke it up" but encouraging them to walk. They both walked perfectly down the aisle after that. Lucas carried the pillow elegantly and Sophia dropped the petals all the way down the aisle! What BIG kids!!!! They too sat with my family during the ceremony and were quiet (WHAT???). They had a BLAST at the reception too. They all actually walked in together when they were announced, and then proceeded to dance the night away (ok, until 8 or so when they all pretty much passed out and we had to go home). I have some GREAT videos and pix of them dancing too! The visit to Indy was great too. We got to feed the ducks, we got haircuts from Aunt Neenee, we got to go to her house and a park in her neighborhood, we got to go in the hottub, and lots of other fun activities too! The kids had a blast and did NOT want to come home. We ARE back though, and slowly recovering. While we were there, Nana got out the "backup monkey" we bought when Lucas originally got so attached to his monkey. He took the new one to bed one night, and while we were getting ready for sleep, he asked me, "Mama, where's my stinky monkey?" He swears now that both monkeys are clean, but he will now forever be known as stinky monkey. Sophia has taken on the role of translator for our family. For example, Bella will be fussing and Soph will say to her, "What do you need Bella?" Bella inevitably says, "Na Na" (nursing). Sophia then says "Mama, Bella says she wants to Na Na." I say, "Not right now, we have to keep our seatbelts on while we're driving." Sophia replies, " Bella, Mama says not right now, We have to wear our seatbelts. Ok?" Bella says, "Kay" and Sophia says "Mama, Bella says ok." Mind you, were are all sitting within 4 feet of eachother and I am pretty sure we all have adequate hearing, but she feels the need to make sure everyone knows what everyone else says. Bella has increased her vocabulary exponentially. She points to the house next door at my parents and said, "dew!" - Mr. Drew lives there. She know their neighborhood cat, Nick and calls him by name. She tells me "Hurt" when she gets hurt, and knows pretty much every body part by name. She knows the true meanings of yes and no, and also ok. There are many more, but we have limited space (and time) here. Ok, I'll try to recall more fun stories and post again soon,but for now, I gotta put away groceries and catch up on laundry before the kids get home from school. Have a great Monday! 4/4/08 I know, I know, I just posted yesterday. But I have a few things to share before we embark on our big journey tomorrow. First of all, ok ready? everyone say AWWWWW, I'm sick. I finally went to the doctor today and found out I have a severe sinus infection and I'm starting double ear infections, hence the intense pain in my face and head, and the dizziness when I stand up or turn around too fast. Lovely. As for the kiddos, I asked Lucas what he talked about in school yesterday, and he replied, "Hot air balloons fly up in the air BUUUUT people ride underneath in big baskets." Sophia then continued with, "Hot air balloons come in lots of colors. They are red, blue, green, pink, yellow..." And in my head, I'm thinking "baked shrimp, boiled shrimp, shrimp scampee, shrimp gumbo, etc." The good news is, it only took about 3 minutes to make it through all the colors and designs she could think of. Bella calls all birds (including ducks) quack quacks. Bunnies are hop hop hops, and cows are muh's. She also tells me "NO mama" and tonight at dinner, she picked up a noodle, tasted and and said, "HOT" then proceeded to blow on it and also on her entire plate. Now, for my list. I have been compiling a list in my head of people/companies who need to be sought out and beaten (or at least reprimanded sternly). I consider myself a fairly laid back person, not one who really hates anyone, but these individuals make me rethink that. I think i've mentioned some of these before, but here goes 1. anyone who creates children's clothes that are dry clean only 2. the makers of pedialyte. I appreciate the thought, but anyone who makes a product for vomiting children, and then proceeds to include a staining dye in it..... enough said 3. Grocery/Retail store designers who put the candy on the bottom shelves by the register 4. People who design the order of commercials, specifically those after Sesame street (PBS i guess?) Ex. The end of Sesame street is fun to watch because there is catchy music and children dancing. THEN, Immediately following, as I am running for the remote/cable box because I know what is coming next (from experience), the TV blares..."Stay tuned for - insert following program here" to which I slow my jog to the beat of screaming children begging to watch the next program. 5. Finally, people who ask me when I'm out with the kids, "Are they ALL yours?" - especially when they are in the triplet stroller. No people, I own a triplet stroller for my health and i picked these kids up on the side of the road... Ok, that's my rant. I know I know, get over it, but seriously, WHY people? why? Have a great week, and check back later for vacation and wedding stories! 4/3/08 We are finally getting healthy... finally. The kids are feeling better and sleeping better, which is good because mama and dada need sleep to get better too. We're all boucing back though (some faster than others), and are gearing up for a trip to indy. We leave Saturday and spend the week in indy (while Will is in Nevada on business) and then next Saturday is..... MELISS AND STEVEN'S WEDDING!!!! We are all very stoked about it :) I may not get to update next week, but rest assured, we'll be back with lots of stories and pictures, and maybe even a video or two from the wedding. :) In the mean time, you can laugh along with us at this week's adventures in the lives of the Gockleys. First of all, Bella's words have exploded. Her newest, which is frickin adorable, is "pippy". She calls her sippy cup a pippy. So all day, I hear, "Mama, My pippy! Pippy!!" Doesn't matter how many times I tell her it's a sippy, like Sissy (which she can say), she continues to call it pippy:) The older two astound me every day too. For example, on Tuesday, we were all reading a book about a bunny. Lucas turns to me and says, (quite clearly) "Bunnies and Chinchillas have big eyes and really big ears to help them see in the dark and also (yes, he said also) to hear if scary animals are close by." WHAT???? I stuttered back, "Yes, that's right, I think." He says "I know, I know so many things now because I'm getting to be a grown up." At that, he walked away and went to play. I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Here are a few of the thoughts that were running though my head. 1. Oh my God, he's getting so big, how many words were in that sentence anyway? Did he really just say Also? 2. THIS is my preemie? 3. Maybe we're watching too much Dora and Diego? 4. What the crap is a chinchilla? aren't they like gerbils or something? Looks like it's time to google it, and get the google image too Sophia is jumping in on the Dora action too. We were walking down the sidewalk and went down and up a wheelchair ramp. I hear a little singsong voice next to the stroller saying "Abajo" when we went down the ramp, and "Arriba!" when we went back up. For real? She's not only repeating Spanish words, she's understanding them and using them appropriately? Wow. Again, too much Dora? She also corrects me all the time, for example, I told her to go get her sneakers and she says, "They're called shoes mommy, not sneakers." We go through similar conversations daily. So much for small vocabularies. They are amazing, and we are truly blessed to have such astute, intelligent, wonderful kids, even if they ARE ornery butts :)
Posted by our3babies
at 11:38 AM CDT
Saturday, 1 March 2008
March 2008 Blog
3/24/08 Well we were on Spring Break last week (from Mother's Day out and therapy services). Of course the kids are all sick THIS week. Lucas is on the tail end of it, and Sophia and Bella are in the thick of it right now. All have/had fevers coughs, congestion and basic days of feeling like crap. We're laying low today, but it certainly didn't stop our Easter antics this weekend! We went to the church where the kids go to "school" for a community Easter egg hunt. The kids got to decorate pictures, make necklaces, and of course, hunt for eggs. Bella was in the baby hunt, so she ruled the pack, but Phia and Lucas were with some older kids (4 yr olds) so they got a little intimidated. Overall, everyone had a great time. we decorated eggs here at home too, and did our own easter egg hunt. The kids got to open easter baskets and the bunny even left them a sand and water table to play with! Besides "bunny time" last week was filled with crafts and several new phrases. One that I keep forgetting to post is from Sophia. When she cries (and I mean CRIES, not fusses) she inevitably stops right in the middle and asks me, "Mommy, what is that coming out of my eyes?" Tears. What a concept:) Sophia also has started calling me Mom, and she calls her baby Pop (short for poppypee). She calls Lucas "Luke" but so far, Bella is still Bellaboo, and daddy is still daddy. Lucas has developed a new negotiating technique. When he wants something like the blue plate at dinner he tells Sophia, "I'm wearing a blue shirt, so I need the blue plate." Or "That doll has blonde hair like me, so I need that doll." Hmm... pretty convincing. Also what is pretty convincing is when he does things he knows he isn't supposed to do and goes to timeout he sits there and says all the things he KNOWS will make me laugh, like "Mommy I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, but please don't eat my monkey." GRRR... He knows my buttons. However one I have yet to find humor in is when he takes things from his sisters (or they are trying to take it from him and he would rather ditch it than have them play with it too) and he throws the toy over the gate to the dining room (the only gated off room in the house). He ALWAYS follows this action up with the commentary "I guess it's too late now!" Bella has figured out how to climb on the roof of Sophia's dollhouse bed, we knew it was only a matter of time. She's pretty proud of herself. She's learning new words everyday. She says tree, shoes, pajamas, eggs, bunny, and her favorite now, MINE! Whaddya gonna do, right? 3/13/08 So I'm back from my trip to indy, and don't worry, everyone survived. I'm completely anti-Northwest Airlines now (thanks to spending a total of 8 hours on planes when I should have spent 2 1/2), but whatever. The kids had a great time playing with daddy, since we recieved 5 inches of snow.. that's right, here in Memphis. There are pictures up in the march album, the kids didn't know what to do with themselves. Then, daddy took them to Chuckie Cheese for a birhtday party (one of Will's friend's kid's birthday) and they got to explore the wonderful world of CC. There's pictures of that too, and Will took a great video of them dancing, but I gotta get it up on dropshots. It appears that their dancing skills are not just limited to the confines of our home.... Lucas has been telling me ever since I got back that he missed me so much when I was at nana and papa's house, and when I was on the plane. He continues to remind me daily that he missed me, which is WAY sweet. I know this sounds crazy, but I swear he is so close to reading. He is recognizing words and letters so well now, and "reads" things that I swear he shouldn't know what it says. He also had us laughing at the doctor's office. The doctor told us that he was going to be the "referee" for Sophia (he said that PT's would recommend Pt and bracing for her leg, neurologists would recommend scans and botox, and surgeons would typically recommend surgery to lengthen the tendon if it gets that tight but that someone has to oversee the best interest for the child.) Lucas, of course, had a comment. He busts out "He's the referee! He needs a whistle!" The doctor just laughed and said "That's classic!" Sophia is doing great, and has really taken to her fuzzy pink blanket. She carries it everywhere and insists that I wrap her up in it all the time. She tries to bring it to the table when we eat, she even wanted to bring it in the tub with her! She continues to ask questions ALL the time, which we're still trying to stifle a bit. I know, kids are inquisitive, but it's WAY beyond that now. She asked me yesterday, "Mommy, what does no mean? Mommy what does Sophia mean?" GRRR... Bella is just seconds away from riding the tricycle. She is Soooo close to getting the footwork, she just always tries to pedal backwards. She'll get it soon though and I'm sure then I will have to be chasing her even more (and faster). she has started getting really confident in climbing. She climbs stairs, beds, sofas, window sills, and I'm sure walls soon. She is still obsessed with babies and anytime she sees one, she HAS to go over and say hi. She requires that we read books about babies at least 25 times a day and is now just like her big sister in that she won't be seen without at least one baby under her arm. Who knew i'd have such little mommies? One more little funny in that same vein, I've taken to telling Sophia all the time, "Let ME do that, you are not the mommy, I'M the mommy" since she insists on doing all the things that are my jobs (ex. changing diapers, getting down from her booster to get things other people dropped from the table, brushing Bella's hair- a true challenge). Now, when Sophia does things that are "my job" or tries to get all bossy and tell Lucas or Bella what to do, Lucas chimes in with, "Sophia, YOU are NOT the mommy!" They keep us laughing!:) 3/6/08 Whew! It's been a week! Will has been out of town since Monday, so it's been me and the kiddos all week. HMMM... Lucas is stuck in a serious ornery streak! He's taken to jumping over the gates, pulling anything and everything he can off the counter, and straight up laughing in my face when I try to discipline.... I know someone said something about terrible two's but this is REDICULOUS! He's so damn cute though that it's hard to stay mad, especially since his newest comeback when he knows he's in trouble is, "Mama, I love you so much!" Uh huh, I love you too BUT... has become one of my catchphrases this week. Sophia is stuck in asking questions ALL the time. She asks about things she knows, she asks about things she doesn't know, she asks about things just to be asking. For example, I asked Bella, " Do you want a bite of broccoli?" Sophia says, "mama, ask me if I want a bite of broccoli." " Ok, Sophia, do YOU want a bite of broccoli?" "No." Just matter of factly- No. GRRRR.... She also has taken to asking me every other second of the day if I want to say hi to her Poppypee (her doll). I am NOT allowed to just say hi, because if I do, she tells me that I have to look at her, then wait until she turns her around so she can see me. She did however, after about 20 times of this the other day, tell me, "I wish poppypee could talk." She's completely into roleplaying and imagination now too. Everyday she tells me she is someone else. She has been Lucy and Molly (my cousins), Lucas, Nana, Dada, and just about everyone else she knows. She also has renamed her dolls about as frequently. To illustrate the randomness of name choices, she told me on Monday that her dolls were named Teetah and BeeBoh. Yeah, ok, whatever... Bella has gone full throttle into hoarding. I'm not sure if this is a response (and a necessary one at that) to the kids dominating the toys, but she carries her most valued toys around with her, clutched to her chest, day and night. She has been known to fall down because she's carrying so much at one time. I've tried to show her the value of bags and purses, but i think she feels they are too capable of being snatch away, and then she loses all at once. She is so funny to watch though, she'll walk up to a toy she likes, and then many times have to decide which toy she's carrying to switch it out for because she can't carry all of them. She has also started putting 2 words together! She started saying "Hi Nana/Dada/Sissy/Bubba/Mama!" this week. It's SO darned cute! On a personal note, I'm flying to Indy this weekend.... ALONE.... It's Meliss's bachelorette party and I'm leaving Friday and returning Sunday.... all by myself. I've NEVER been away from the kids that long, especially all together, and it's gonna be different. Will is also taking an adventure this weekend. He'll be here with all 3 (which he's never done either), and has a trip with the Mothers of Multiples club to the indoor bouncehouse party, as well as a birthday party to Chuckie Cheese planned! I expect to come home to a worn out husband AND children. :)
Posted by our3babies
at 10:58 AM CST
Friday, 1 February 2008
February 2008 Blog
I will put the link over by the links to our photos and videos too! THANKS!!!! :) Well, we're back from New Orleans and TIRED! It was a long weekend! Wwe had a great time though and got to see Chloe and baby Zachary (Will's cousin's kids). We went for their baptism, but also got a chance to experience the "big easy" while we were there. We drove through the French Quarter, saw Bourbon Street, walked around Jackson Square where the kids saw performers, fortune tellers, painters and caricaturists, a giant paddlewheel steamboat, and lots of people. We even saw a couple getting married in Jackson Square! (The kids got to watch the end and cheer when they kissed!) Lucas's favorite part though were the street musicians. He was absolutely enchanted by them and even got a chance to walk up and put money in one of their buckets. We saw all kids of musicians, from kids tap dancing and singing, to acoustic guitars, but the electric violin and bass duo was his absolute favorite. Sophia liked the wedding (she said the bride looked like a princess) and Bella's favorite was all the dogs we saw (of course). We got to spend some quality time with Chloe and Zachary, and then we had to make the long drive home (we didn't get home until after 9pm, so the kids were DONE!). Lucas and Sophia are at school today, and while I was busy unpacking, Bella started running in her socks and slipped and smacked her forehead directly into the corner of the cabinet. She has a GIANT purple bump on her head, but seems to be ok. She even held the frozen corn on her head for me while I changed her diaper! Hope y'all are having a good Monday and I'll get the pictures up soon! 2/21/08 I wanted to update again before these little things get away from me. I forgot to mention that last week, when we were in indy, I was putting Lucas to bed. He had his monkey (a stuffed animal he picked out himself when he and Sophia were about a year old) and we were snuggling into the bed and talking. I told him about what we were doing the next day and then I kissed him and told him I loved him. He replied, "I love you so much mommy, but please don't eat my monkey." WHAT????? That is quite possibly the most random thing he has ever said to me. I stumbled a little, since I have never even jokingly threatened to eat his monkey, and I said, 'What? Lucas, I wouldn 't eat your monkey. Where in the world did that come from?" - (this was all between hysterical laughter). Lucas replied, "That's enough mommy. It's time for bed now. Shush." Wow, what do you say to that? Are you ready for this? Sophia was busy "nursing" her babydoll this morning from her belly button (since that IS where the milk comes from) and she walked up to me and informed me, "Mama, I'm gonna have a baby." Just matter of fact-ly. I, being stunned and this being prior to any caffiene, asked her, "Oh really? When?" She told me today, and then proceeded to talk about having a baby all morning. Yup folks, that's right, my 3 year old is having a baby today. Guess it's a little late for the "birds and the bees" talk? Bella is now absolutely baby crazy. I swear she has started earlier on this than Sophia did. You will never find her anywhere anymore without at least one babydoll under her arm. Typically she has two, and is willing to have all out brawls to keep them (she and Sophia go at it when one tries to take the other's doll). We only have about 25 dolls in this house, but they insist on fighting over about 4 of them. Bella is so proud when she rocks/ feeds/ covers up/ carries her babies, and she says, "BabEEEE!" and then claps for herself. It's way cute. Anyway, wanted to share the madness that is our lives. Have a great one! 2/18/08 We just got back from a week long trip to Indianapolis. The kids had a blast and we got to go to Miss Melissa's wedding shower! The girls had a great time and I even found dresses for the girls that had little dresses for their baby dolls that matched! Sophia was elated, but Bella was less than pleased until we realized that the little dress also fit Elmo perfectly. Problem solved, we just called him Elma for the day:) While we were in Indy, Bella got another ear infection, so sleeping was not so great, but she's finally feeling better now, so hopefully we'll recover some of those missed Z's this week. As for the kids, they say the funniest things. During dinner one night, we were having the bazillionth discussion of what condiments are, when Sophia proclaimed that Uncle Ryan was, in fact, a condiment. Thus started a long discussion of which condiment we would be if we could be one. I'm still sticking with dill pickle relish... We have been talking alot about Melissa and Steven's wedding (the kids are ring bearer and flower girls) and Lucas has always been upset about the idea of Sophia dropping petals. He kept telling us that he did NOT want to step on the petals that Sophia dropped and we couldn't figure out why he was so upset about it. Turns out, he didn't know the word "petal" but does know the word "puddle" and he didn't want to ruin his new black shoes by stepping in the "puddles" that Sophia would be dropping in the aisle. I tell you what, I absolutely fell out when I heard that one :) Bella is talking so clearly now! We picked up dinner on our way home last night and I SWEAR she said Spaghetti. Will and I both looked and eachother and then looked back at her. We couldn't believe our ears. Today, we went to the grocery store, and since there is a Starbucks across the street (my guilty little pleasure), I decided to stop and get my favorite. I ordered and when we got up to the drive thru, Lucas says from the backseat, "Mama, I want a venti white chocolate mocha...." to which Bella chimes is, "VENTI! VENTI!" I couldn't even get my money out I was laughing so hard. I think the people at Starbucks thought I was insane, but there's something about a 3 year old being able to order a $5 coffee that struck me as hysterical. (not to mention his 1 year old sister being able to scream Venti!) Keep checking back for more "daily giggles", and I finally got a February picture folder up! Have a great one! 2/4/08 We've had quite a bit of adventure and change since I last posted. First, last week we found out that Will's grandmother, Beatrice Gockley, passed away. We decided last minute to fly out to Pennsylvania for the funeral this past weekend. We loaded up and flew out last Thursday. The kids really actually enjoyed the flights (layover in Charlotte) and after a little blip with the rental car, we were on our way to the hotel and to Will's dad's house. During the trip, we had one emergency room visit at 3am the first night(Lucas has/had croupe... again), and all three kids have coughs and runny noses, but we were really glad to see most of Will's family and the kids had a GREAT time playing with cousins Maydee and Jeff again. The funeral was very nice, although the explanation was a little more difficult. The kids sort of understand dying and heaven, since we've been talking about Emma their entire lives, however, the concept of heaven being up, and then the plane ride up in the clouds got a little hairy. They also were very curious about the burial, but after running up and NEEDING to look down as the casket was lowered, they blew kisses to Will's grandma and then entertained all the guests at the following luncheon with their antics and playing. On the plus side, Bella slept through the night for the first time while we were away!!! Of course, of all the nights to do it, she managed to get a full nights' sleep when both the older two were in the same room up all night coughing. It's AMAZING! But she IS sleeping better and we're just about ready to move her into Sophia's room for good now. Both girls are really excited about it and Lucas now wants to sleep in there too (go figure). Anyway, I'm running around crazy trying to get unpacked and cleaned while the kids are in school (which by the way, we registered them for preschool today for the fall!!!!! - OMG we're getting old), because we are taking off again this weekend for a week long trip to Indianapolis! Will post again soon!
Posted by our3babies
at 9:45 AM CST
Updated: Monday, 24 March 2008 9:47 AM CDT
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