CAR Starts with C

This morning J was writing on his magnadoodle, like he loves to do, and informed me he had written "car". I looked excitedly over at the word and laughed out loud. He had written "COUNTRY", as in Town & Country!!! I thought that was hilarious! Unfortunately, he had erased it by the time I got the camera...I need to keep that thing in a more accessible spot!

We love our Town & Country, by the way, even though it's in the body shop right now as I type, getting some expected and unexpected repairs done on it. The passenger side window's motor died at the end of last week, and we have been driving around with a garbage bag duct-taped to the window! It was fun the first day, you know, a novelty? It was like riding in a helicopter. You could just picture the rotors moving faster and faster as we went from 0 to 60 on 41-A. By the end of the weekend, however, we were ready to take it in!

Way back when we bought it, we named our 2001 silver van Mini-Mobi, as in mini-mobile-home. We've put a lot of miles on our dear vehicle, even though she came to us with over 100,000! She's a good van and responds well to positive encouragement, like "go, Mini-Mobi, you can make it up the slippery slope of Grandma's driveway without snow tires! You go, girl!!!" And up she goes!

Here's a mini photo of Mini-Mobi (I imported this photo from Snapfish; I don't know why I can't make it bigger):

V's 3yr Doctor Visit

All five of us went to the new pediatrician's office yesterday for V's 3yr well-child check-up. Our appt was for 10:15am; we left the office around noon. but long wait aside, it was a great visit!

For J, there was this huge fish tank filled with pink fish that kissed each other and striped fish that dug holes.

For H, there were people to see, corridors to explore (and to be extracted from) and a video to watch.

For V, there was the anticipation of seeing the doctor!!!

She was really excited about going to the doctor's, probably because we borrowed The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor's from the library. She was a little nervous about getting a "shock", but I wasn't even sure she needed one. Indeed, she did - her Hep A booster. But she took it like a champ and got a princess sticker out of the deal!

V is in the 10th percentile for weight and height, which, as the doctor said, is not a big deal because "someone has to be there" and it's not like V has "giants for parents".

:)

I watched her sit trustingly and contentedly on the examining table, swinging her baby legs to a tune in her head and allowing the aide and doctor do whatever they needed to do. My pre-school-aged daughter didn't need Mommy right there, holding her hand, even if she did need me "close by". It felt like she took a miniscule step toward independence - a healthy, necessary part of growing up. It was a bittersweet moment.

Training Time

I've been slacking on our training times, but picked it back up again this morning.

Today I focused on manners with J and V. I gave each a plate with 5 goldfish crackers, 5 chocolate chips, and 5 raisins on it. They sat across from each other at the coffee table. They took turns asking each other for a treat. It was supposed to go something like this:

J: May I have a goldfish, please?
V: Yes, you may!
J holds out his hand.
V gives him the treat.
J: Thank you.
V: You're welcome.

And we did it until all their treats were gone (20-30 minutes).

I had to remind them about each line and action, but I'm not disappointed. It's just something we'll work on for the next week!

I'm glad the kids have each other to practice manners on!

With H, I worked on obeying the simple command: come here.

She did okay, but I'm seeing the need for consistent training and follow-up with her! She's in that very impressionable age (1 1/2), perfect for training!

I set her down somewhere in the living room with a toy and went into the kitchen area. I called her and made eye contact with her, holding out my arms. She came sometimes, with a huge happy grin on her face, which, of course, made me smile. And sometimes, she did an about-face and toddled off in the opposite direction. She's still in that cute-waddling stage, so I giggled as she wandered off, but still went after her, brought her back to the toy and called her again. We did this for about 10 minutes.

Even though the kids didn't do the tasks perfectly, it was good to focus on these skills for the short time we did today. It's an investment in their futures. Thank You, Lord, for my children!

Missed the Boat; Taking the Ferry

Well, I never did get out the Christmas letter/card and traditional family photo! Oops.

So, yesterday morning, I dressed the kids up and took pics of them to get on a Valentine's card. I put the pics on Snapfish and picked up my completed photo cards by 11am at Walgreens! I love online and one-hour photo services!!!

Here are some pics that didn't make the cut:

I thought it'd be cool if the action shot would work out. It didn't. Still cute, though!

For obvious reasons, I did not choose this photo.

Isn't this a darling photo? We borrowed The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight from the library last night, but from this photo, it's hard to imagine why we'd need to read it! If you were here 24/7, though, you'd see why.

:)

And here are the photos that made it on the card:

What, Where, When?

We'll be moving after 5 good years in Tennessee. I'm excited for the move, but it is such a weird feeling not knowing what my husband's new job will be (cross-training), where we will be moving or when.

Even though we don't have a set time-frame, I'm working on decluttering and reorganizing the house, so that when we do have to put it up for sale, it'll be (more) ready to show.

Something I've realized about the kids' toys: they just empty the toy boxes (esp. J) for no reason and make huge messes on the floor. It is super annoying to have to pick up block upon block and lego upon lego. It's even more annoying to train and supervise the kids to do it! The worst part is that they don't even play with the blocks or legos. They just use them to make messes! If the toys were being used in a creative fashion in play, then the messes would be tolerated and training the kids to pick them up would be less annoying. But since they are not used, I find no reason why not to store them in a bin when not in use. That way, if the kids want to make messes, at least it will be with toys they play with!!! I've already stored away the puzzles (pieces, pieces, everywhere!) and books that are for when they are older.

I will still get the blocks/legos or puzzles out when we all want to play with them and then I'll make sure we all help clean up. But for unsupervised play, they'll be out of sight, out of mind.

In this way, I'm decluttering/reorganizing and I'm saving a wee bit of sanity (which will be sorely needed coming moving time, I'm sure!)

Back to thoughts on the move: I've begun to think about not only the how's and what's of moving, but also about closure. My friendships will change, not end, necessarily, just change; I've seen this already with friends who've moved before us. I want to take time with my friends to think through what we've experienced together, what we've learned from one another, etc.

Also, I want to remember all the events that took place while here and consider the significance of each. Where does this time in Tennnessee fit in the timeline of my life?

What was God teaching me through these times? Did I learn? Did I grow? How?

Closure not only includes considering the past, but also looking forward to the future. What do I expect things to be like in our new place? What are my goals? Have they changed at all?

I don't think closure is a process that ends when we leave Tennessee; I think it continues for a while (it took me a few years to make closure on our time in Korea)...but it all starts now.

Exciting, huh?

V is Three

This was the first kid birthday we didn't celebrate with a huge party with five thousand of our best friends. I had a baby shower to help coordinate and attend 4 days after getting back from NY. V's birthday was 2 days later. So, no party. But it was a precious family time, for sure.

V was tickled pink by her birthday cupcakes with sprinkles!!! She also enjoyed the strawberries we bought at the commissary earlier that evening.

The whole evening was relaxed and fun. Is there any kind of evening that can't be bettered by family, chocolate cupcakes, and a video camera?

V received a Peter Rabbit book, which I got on clearance; a Disney princess camera that had those little movie still frames (or whatever you call them) when you looked in it, which I got for free from a friend having a yard sale; and an aquarium purse, with wee sea creatures inside, which we bought at the aquarium in South Carolina.

She was pleased as punch with her three little gifts and carried them everywhere for the next week. It's amazing how happy children are, even (especially?) in the absence of excess.

V, my firstborn girl, my drama queen...articulate, surprisingly gentle and kind (at unexpected times), a beautiful little girl.

I'm so thankful for her!

Christmas in Northern New York

Highlights of Christmas

(I believe they are okay to recount until the end of January; after that, I would've missed the boat.)

1. V called my mom "my mom" or "mom-mom". This is because I told her that grandma is my mom. It was the cutest thing ever!






2. H learned to navigate stairs and it was (of course) very difficult to keep her away from them. (We don't have stairs in our house.) Also, she was intensely interested in the cats and would pursue them even after being swiped by them.







3. J loves to go to Grandma's house because she makes waffles with butter. He also likes her home-made bread with butter. Any complex carb with butter is appreciated, in fact!!!



(No pic, bummer!)


4. We had a visit by my dear friend and her hubby. I call her Master Chef because she directed all us sous-chefs in making a delicious Korean meal. More friends from our time in Korea joined us for the meal.





5. My sis and her boyfriend came to visit, too! He made an absolutely delightful buche de noel. We used it as a birthday cake for Grandma, V, and Grandpa, all with January birthdays!





6. and, of course, there was the playing in snow!!!






7. Then there was the flight back home with the girls...another story completely...ha!!!



Hope your Christmasses were just as bright!!!