Lots to Catch Up On

Hello! I wish there were some fast and easy way to catch up on this blog. Fast, because in life I feel the constant pressure to move on to the next task (being task-oriented does that) and easy, because I'm simply too tired and lazy to put much energy into anything. :)

Well, to sum up. This past week has brought us a few beautiful melty days and then another giant dumpload of snow. The girls have been fairly healthy for the past four days so Dennis and I've managed to be together in class each day this week! That's exciting, and unusual. :)

Squeaky has been working on some of her preschool material (numbers and letters) in our spare time and is wanting to learn faster than I can teach her. I've been casually looking into some preschool type cirriculum since she's shown such an interest. She is loving her craft time at childcare and is pretty disappointed if it doesn't happen.

Earlier this week Squeaky was running around the living room opening her mouth widely and shutting it again over and over. "Mommy," she says in between mouths, "I'm a whale. You be Jonah. I'm going to EAT you!!!" Her mouth snaps shut just shy of my cheek. Large arm motions accompany this whale imitation. I get the mental image of a plump whale swimming around me. "Mummm, Mummm!" she says enthusiastically, pretending to eat my head. A few more swooping circuits of the room, and she is next to Dennis, who is sitting on the couch holding Winnie on his knees. "Mumm mumm, Daddy, I'm a WHALE!" I watch as she opens her mouth wide, but instead of snapping it shut I am surprised to witness the whale's blow-hole, complete with water spraying out. All over the side of Dennis' face. He just looked at me in shock with "water" dripping down over his eyebrow. "Do I look wet to you? Because I feel wet."

Button is talking a lot and the increased communication is really helping us to understand her. For example: she'll be wailing away at the top of her lungs. If I want to interject a comment or correction it must be done during the intake of breath.

Button: "Waaaaaa.. gasp..... Waaa waaaaa... gasp (parental comment interjected here)..."

Me: "What's wrong?"

Button: "Waaaaaaaa....gasp....waaaaa....cryyyyyying."

Me: "Why are you crying?"

Button: "Waaaaaa waaaaaaaaa... because I'm sad!"

Me: "What should we do about this?"

Button: "Waaaaaaaa... gasp... go to stairs!!!"

We have used a tactic with the older girls where if they are crying needlessly they must go sit on the stairs until they have a better attitude. They aren't allowed back at the dinner table until their outlook has improved and they are willing to eat happily (why do these things always happen at the dinner table?). So Button will request to go to the stairs of her own volition. The other night was classic. She was having a little episode. After declaring that she wanted to go to the stairs, we let her out of her seat and she pattered down the hall. Everything was quiet while she made her way to the steps. Pretty soon we heard several long wails and some loud sniffing. Then everything became quiet again. A few moments later we heard a small, contented voice saying perkily, "Happy now!" She came back to the table with a bounce in her step and a twinkle in her eye. "Happy now, Mommy! Happy now, Daddy!"

Winnie is doing well too. Her words now include, "Hi" (upon entering a room) and "Hi Dada", usually used when Mama is entering a room. Also "Uh-oh", to be used whenever something falls, accidentally or otherwise. She crawls all over the place and just recently ventured into the kitchen for the first time.

Sometime I'd really like to talk about what we're learning in our classes, but since this is already so long I'll wait for another post.

The girls were singing some original compositions in these two videos.