Since Shawn and I cleaned out the garage, there's been some little ones who just wanna ride in there. They EZ Roller away, having a good ole time. Willie's even figured out his plasma car, so they cruise in a relatively small circle. This morning, I came out to find all the kids and two of their friends, rolling around the garage. Willie was sitting quietly on the clam bags, holding Rosie and looking so adorable, I just HAD to grab my camera. Amazingly, they were still sitting like that when I got back with it.
Katy's surgery went great. This video is her after taking "happy juice" which is meant to relax them so they will accept the anesthesia better. She was drunk. A happy drunk, though.
Last night, Momma insisted on Izzy and Willie taking a shower. Willie is still stuffy, and a hot shower might help loosen that goop up. Three minutes into it, I had just gotten shampoo poured into Izzy's hand, and some into my hand. Willie says, I want some! So I try to flip the cap back open and he comes running toward me. Too fast. He slips, falls face first, and smacks his forehead on the hard slate tile. He screams for Daddy, (that's a new one) and has a big welt. Shawn takes him out and gets him in his jammies. I finish Izzy's hair and get us out and dressed. I take Willie into my arms on my bed, checking his forehead gingerly. I tell him I'm so sorry he hurt his head. He looks at me with a bit of aggravation on his face, rolls his eyes ever so slightly, and says, "Momma. Momma. I falled down in da showa. Iss jus not a big DEAWL." :) Heehee!
All four kids now have hoppers. (I cannot explain to you that they are large bouncy balls because my brothers are sick. Truly sick.) Anyway, they require a bit of coordination and a surprising amount of energy. The favored path in the house is the circle around the kitchen island. All four of them get going on these things, bouncing higher and higher, moving forward at the same time. It is quite a sight. Mr. Sweetness still loves those two fingers. That's a shark stamp on his cheek, leftover from Shark Pride Day.
Buzz Lightyear to the rescue. (Want one for your little one? Dollar General has the cheap kind, like this one. The girls have the more expensive ones 55cm Hoppers from Amazon, which supposedly can take up to 600 pounds. Um, I don't wanna see no 600 pounds on a Hopper. I really, really don't. And I don't think the Hopper wants to see that either.)
While he's bouncing, Willie sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth (must be for balance, heehee) in a very Izzy-esque kind of way. She does the same thing, even when she's running from base to base in Tball! Well, they surely don't get it from me!
Probably our most unique Christmas present, from dear Aunt Twopy. His name is Inside Out (check out his arms if you're wondering why) and he hangs around here, making his way from place to place. He is an adorable sock creature. You can make one, too. But you would have to ask Twopy. I don't sew. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that on this blog, but now you know. I don't sew. I just don't. And I don't want to. So don't try and make me.
January 22, 2010 was William's third birthday. Hard to believe. He had been feeling poorly the two days prior to his birthday, and other family members had other obligations (Shawn clamming and Sarah at a basketball game), so we put it off until Saturday. Of course, as these things tend to go, he awoke from a restless night with a stuffy nose and a barking cough. He sounded rough but was still functional, so we proceeded with the birthday plan. Momma made the usual double layer chocolate cake with fudge frosting. While the cakes were cooling, she whipped up a batch of pizza crust (thanks, Pioneer Woman!) which was super easy (Momma is notoriously bad about bread dough stuff.) She then moved on to homemade Pizza Sauce (thanks Cooks Illustrated!). Thankfully, Boars Head make a lovely pepperoni already sliced (phew!) and we mixed PollyO mozzarella (our fave) with Kraft preshredded cheese (gotta cut corners somewhere.) We made rectangular pizzas in rimmed cookie sheets with very thin crusts and they were BEAU-TEE-ful. And most importantly, they tasted good. Our friends, The Telgens (Doug, Linda, Kira, Patrick, and Phillip) stopped by and partied with us. (They are practically immune to all creeping crud we might give them :) ) It was a simple, simple party, but a lot of fun. Willie works on candle #3 (it was a toughie!) Not sure what happened to the icing, but it sure was thick and not shiny like usual. Hmm. It tasted good though.
Mr. Shy Boy getting his cake delivered in front of him by Daddy.
Wheee! A (mercifully soft) bat with it's own foam-like ball! He swings it like a golf club. Please, don't be a Tiger.
Singing Happy Birthday to Willie, asking if he likes his cake, he says "Yes, I like dat."
His birthday presents were bat and ball, bubble machine (big hit), ScoobyDoo and Ice Age movies, and Stomp Rockets (if you haven't seen those, they make awesome bday presents, there's a junior version and a bigger kids version. No batteries, no noise, just pure fun. All the older kids used it the rest of the afternoon.) The Telgens brought him a little Nerf gun with foam bullets that have suction cups, very handy for shooting the sliding glass doors and having the bullets stick! He tried one out at their house and adored it. Patrick (5th grade) adores Willie and wanted to take money out of his savings account to buy him the present himself. Isn't that sweet? Willie adores all of them as well. He watches for Mr. Doug's big diesel truck (and he used to call him Bug instead of Doug which we always found hilarious) and shouts out, "I see Mr. Doug!" Ms. Linda always lets Willie have treats, he knows to ask her for whatever he wants. When she sees him, she scoops him up in a big hug and he always hugs her right back. Kira carries Willie everywhere he wants to go and he never gets enough! And the boys, well, there's nothing like a little rough-housing to get Willie going. He jumps on their backs and roars right alongside the other two. The older kids ended up spending the night in the new fort (photos coming soon) and had a great time. We all enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. And Willie, sweet Willie, went down for a nap at 4 and woke up the next morning at 9:30! One pooped little fella!
Poor Willie. He is so sad and gooky. He has a stuffy/runny nose and his little nose is just raw from him wiping it so much. He has a horrible cough. I took him to the pediatrician yesterday, waiting in the office for over an hour. Grr. Dr. Carter couldn't hear any crackles in his chest, but he would not take a deep breath, it was all very shallow. Given his cough, she expected to hear some crackles. So she thinks he is borderline pneumonia, and he has a left ear infection, though it's not raging. She prescribed antibiotics (amoxicillin). Unfortunately, he does not eat, and he really does not drink much, which concerns me. I tried to give him his medicine last night, he screamed bloody murder and he threw up most of it once I forced it down (with Shawn's help). I called the pharmacist who said she had to do this with her own three year old. She suggested doing it drop by drop because then they don't have enough to really spit it out. I will try that when Shawn gets home. Currently, William has not left the couch for three days. He drank a grand total of one sippy cup of juice yesterday. We're trying Gatorade today. If he doesn't start getting better by Friday, she said to bring him back. (Or immediately if he gets worse.) Please, I've just had enough hospitals for one month, couldn't he just take the doggone medicine? It really doesn't taste that bad. Guess he hates bubblegum flavor. Maybe I could make my own Hubba Bubba with gooey filling and inject medicine into the middle of a piece of gum... Wow, am I getting desperate or what? Any suggestions are always appreciated. We have tried pudding, ice cream, juice, and yogurt mixins. No go. I'm going to go try M&M bribes. Don't think that'll get me anywhere, but I'll try.
This is after they got her upstairs, I said hello, she said hi and went back to sleep.
The next morning...
Just found out she could go home. Would you LOOK at all that food? She ate like a horse the evening after the surgery and it didn't stop until dinner the next day. She ate things she'd normally never touch (chicken broth, anyone?). She ate everything in sight. The nurse and I couldn't keep up. I must have made three trips down to the deli!
Today is Purple and Gold day at school, which culminates in a school-wide pep rally. (Or as Izzy says, Pepper rally.) Yesterday was Music Star day, Sarah made a most excellent Lady Gaga, complete with "The Fame" written in sparkly letters on her glasses. She looked rockin', but my adorable William hid the camera in the toy basket so no pictures of that. Anyway, Sarah got all three girls duded up in purple and gold. Love dem socks.
Yes, I was up at 0730 painting her beautiful face in these garish colors.
Love dem braids.
Oh, my sweet Isabelle. I just have to smile when I see that little face. She's carrying homemade cake to school for breakfast. Shawn gave a hatchery tour yesterday to our friend Tari Watson's dad, and she baked him a cake. He loves getting paid in baked goods. It was delicious, too, though I couldn't say exactly what kind of cake it was. I let Izzy have it for breakfast because, well, I wanted to not have to say no for a change. She was thrilled, hence, the smile. Sarah shared her beads with Izzy--unasked by me! Woohoo! Sisterly love DOES exist. (Well, except for with MY sisters. heehee)
Oh Willie, you're so cute, you got a little baby body and a butt to boot!(and that may be a small, cute, silky butt, but it can do amazingly awful things! Argh.)
Okay, I'll never be a songwriter. But you should know my joy and sorrow of the day. Joy, Willie's going to be three tomorrow. Wow, three years old. What an adorable little fellow! He is all that is sweet, every time I say I love you Willie, he always responds I love you too Momma in the babyish/boyish voice I love. And I ask him, does my boy know that I love him so much? And he nods his soft, fuzzy head, of course he does. He growls terrible growls, he shows terrible claws, he rolls terrible eyes, and then--what is that? A smile, a sweet playful smile from a wonderful little boy. He adores his sisters, but enjoys a bit of torment for them every now and then. He takes his diaper off most unexpectedly these days. Needs a bit of airing out, I suppose. Some time later, he lets me know when he needs to have it back on again. And no, potty training is nothing but a pipe dream at this time. He has NO and I mean NO desire to have anything to do with that. He eats yogurt, plain vanilla yogurt, by the bucketful. He loves oatmeal, cheese, juice, ham, cheese, noodles, did I mention cheese? He really likes it shredded by the cupful. My kind of guy. He likes his triceratops jammies the best, he never refuses to put those on. He also has an affinity for his ant jammies, the soft brushed cotton kind. Who wouldn't. Wish I had some. He folds into a seemingly boneless heap on the floor at the sound of any chastisement from Momma or Daddy. He sits motionless in timeout at the bottom step, waiting like a statue for his release, always contrite with his bottom lip jutting out like a soft, shiny red cliff. Momma tells him why he is in timeout, he says in a soft baby voice, "I sowwy, Momma" and you just want to BAWL YOUR EYES OUT! Could I possibly have sent this little munchkin to timeout for throwing a giant hard dinosaur at my head? Wouldn't it have been worth it to take the black eye risk and not have to see him suffer so? I always question my own rationale when his soulful eyes peer up at me before he gives me a kiss. He is a snuggler, and I take it whenever possible. Even if that means asking him to snuggle, he hops up, and is gone three seconds later. He loves T Rex stories, and all the adventures that T Rex and his best friend Willie might have every night. He sleeps peacefully, and thankfully all through the night, every night. He loves his crib, and I love that he still makes no attempt to escape (after the stacking of the stuffed animals escape attempt). He adores his Daddy, and follows him wherever he goes. He wears black mullet boots, which works out well given his penchant for puddles, no matter how large. We are so lucky to have a little Willie 'round here. Ah, and the sorrow. Willie's going to be three tomorrow. Wow, three years old. Have I really had the pleasure of seeing his little face for three straight years? How could time pass so quickly and I don't even notice? Each day seems so long, and yet, when you put them together, they are gone in the blink of an eye. Becoming more boy and less baby all the time. His 18 month old pants are FINALLY too short. Good lord, they aren't supposed to be worn for a year! He won't let me cut his hair. I'm going to see if the hairdresser can do it tomorrow downtown, she might have better luck than poor Momma. Don't want Mr. White Hair being Mr. White Afro Hair. He still has moments of terrible twos, but lessening all the time. (Oh, that is a JOY I forgot). But still, how could our baby boy have grown so quickly? I miss him already.
So, here's what we've been doing in the last month since I posted. Sarah and Katy won their class speech competitions, faced off in an elementary school duel, Sarah won 1st, Katy 2nd, Sarah's friend Savannah third. Sarah went to districts and placed second. She had a great speech. I'm still working on getting the video up and working, so I'll let you know.
We have been busy with the clam shop, surprisingly so for this time of year. Sarah has been working the retail, for the princely sum of five dollars a day, plus tips. Five isn't enough you say? Well, she gets tips like you wouldn't believe. Shawn is like, "Hey, we're trying to teach her the value of a buck and if you give her ten dollars tip, she doesn't get it!" She is having lots of fun doing it though. She definitely prefers the busier times, she hates just hanging around.
We missed the Christmas program this year, as it was the same night as the speech competition. Luckily, Aunt Laura was around to take Isabelle for her performance in Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. Antlers and glowing nose and all. I was told by several people that she looked so beautiful up there in her hot pink Mrs Claus dress. Gotta love Izzy and her hot pink!
We have also been attending Gator Softball Hitting Camp for six weeks. Twice a week to Gville (75 minutes each way to the stadium). It has been well worth it, as the girls have improved their hitting so much. They both feel so much more confident about getting up to bat. They are looking forward to softball season in a couple months. One of the great parts has been that they practice right after the Lady Gator team, and so the team walks out of the batting cages and the girls walk in! Very cool for them! They both adore the coach, Coy Adkins, who has been wonderful and very patient. I love the fact that they get real one-on-one coaching from someone who knows how to coach it! Only six girls max at each session, so you really get good time in hitting. Lots of fun...
I have been shopping for Christmas, like everyone else. I managed to almost all of mine online, which I love. It's hard to shop with an almost 3-year-old in the cart!
Speaking of Willie, he's a bit under the weather the last couple days, but he has been so great. We never get enough of his talking, he's a real chatterbox these days. He says "hotaponus" for hippopotamus, we all crack up every time. Unfortunately, he has picked up a naughty one, "I'll smack you!" Which, wouldn't be funny, except that he doesn't say s on the front of words so he subs in 'h' so it sounds more like "I'll Hmack you!" It's hard not to laugh. He even says it to daddy. Better watch out, you'll get your mouth washed out with Hoap! :) Despite his naughtiness, he is such a joy to everyone. Just an all around good little guy. He's very interested in everything around him. What's that, what're they doing momma? What happened? Especially in movies or TV. We say, oh he got a booboo (the guy died), oh she's sad (in UP, the lady is all excited about a baby and then loses it), very generic terms. No matter what we say, he either says, "Oh." or repeats what we said in a question, and then wait for us to say yes. He's definitely pretty predictable. He loves all things dinosaur, especially T Rex and Triceratops. Every night Momma asks Willie where T Rex is today, he tells me (the park, the beach, in the backyard, in an airplane, even one time he said T Rex and the dirty diaper--yup, potty training story came out of that one) and I make up a story where "Once upon a time, there lived a boy named..." and he says Willie (Widdie). "Willie was a good little boy, and he had a very good friend named..." and he says T Rex. "Willie and T Rex were the best of friends, and they did everything together." And then we weave a most incredible story where Willie and T Rex have some kind of adventure, always ended by T Rex having a sleepover, where Willie and T Rex go up the stairs (chchchchch) around the bed (chchchchch)into Willie's room (creeeeak) and jump in the bed (bang!). Usually Momma has to scold T Rex for taking all the covers. At the end, Momma gives T Rex and Willie their goodnight blessing, and then I say, "And T Rex says good night Willie. And Willie says..." and he says goodnight T Rex "And Momma says good night Willie." I close the door and he is asleep in under ten minutes. It works like a charm! Whatever works, right? One of his presents for Christmas is a "Moon in My Room", which is very cool. I'm sure we will be incorporating that in to the story really soon. Like, tonight.
Izzy and Katy have been rollerskating on the sidewalk almost every day. They play with their friends across the street and have such a good time. Katy asked if I could buy her the house two doors down for a clubhouse. Gee, dear, that would only be a $300,000 clubhouse! She explained that both she and Izzy, and probably Sarah :) would give me their money toward it. I said, that's about $200 dollars and that would only pay the electric for one month! Doesn't deter her from dreaming about it. Speaking of dreaming, Katy also wants a horse for Christmas. Hope Santa uses good judgement on that one! Please don't bring her a horse! She doesn't even like to walk the dog anymore! :)
Well, time to get ready to go to Gville. Gill Family is having a big Christmas Eve shindig at Mildred's. With 25 people, none of us felt up to hosting this time around. We're looking forward to seeing everyone, eating out, and then NOT DOING ANY DISHES! Woohoo for restaurants! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year. We'll be on vacation in St Augustine for the 26th-Jan 2nd, nice big fancy house on the beach So I know we'll be having fun! Christmas cards have been done for a while, just waiting till everyone's face is well for pictures. Willie ran into a nail and gouged his cheek pretty good (lucky it didn't get his eye) and then as he is healing, Sarah got hit while swinging by a flying hard bouncy ball (bloody nose and nice yellow-green bruising on both sides, last day of school! Argh) so expect your card in January. It'll just stand out from that crowd that much more, right? Enjoy everyone! See you in 2010!
Last night we trick-or-treated downtown, riding around in the back of Daddy's truck. After a few of our yearly stops, we walked downtown with our friends, the Smiths, and the Howards. It was way too hot for Halloween. We were sweaty and William was fussy, requiring Shawn and I to carry him the entire time. The kids, despite the heat, had a grand time, and loved the attention they all got in their costumes. Willie was an alligator, GO GATORS! (Nice win over the Dogs, yo! Too bad SOMEONE had to schedule it on Halloween, right when we absolutely could not watch it! Oh well, I'm just happy they won--and won big! :) ) Isabelle was Ariel, the Little Mermaid. She's got the hands on hip thing going FO SHO!
Sarah was a blue M&M, idea courtesy of Momma.
Katy was a yellow M&M. We met the OTHER M&M's downtown.
We bought two big pumpkins from the local church pumpkin patch. Katy and Sarah helped poke the holes for the patterns, Momma did most of the carving with a worn out pumpkin carving saw. Next year I'm getting the Dremel pumpkin carver. My hand still wants to cramp up! Sarah's pattern was a witch conjuring up a ghost out of her cauldron, Katy's was a haunted house with tree and two bats.
Having fun...
Poking away...
Concentration...
Finished product to be shown later. We only lit them for about five minutes after we got back from trick or treating. I went to bed, POOPED!
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