Here's an update of our kiddos...
Vera is loving Kindergarten and has adapted to that routine quite well. She knows the first and last names of everyone in her class. She's also made some new friends who aren't in her class. I've learned, however, that Kindergarteners just play with everyone (makes me happy to hear!) When she comes home from school, she's pretty tired, though she'd never admit it. Brilliant Beginnings also seems to be going well.
I can't believe how much she's growing up and changing. Her little personality makes us laugh and drives us crazy at the same time. She is still sometimes whiny when she's tired. Her ability to play pretend is really out of this world. For the longest time, she had an old Spanish-English dictionary (a discard from my classroom library) in our vehicle. She would "read" stories from it. Often she'd look up "spells" to cast on people, and other times she'd teach from it. Regardless, if we were in the car, she was reading from it.
Vera is also a master at piddling. It would take her an hour to put on a shirt and pants if we didn't keep on her. She is so very easily distracted, talks to herself about all kinds of things, talks to the mirror, or simply forgets what she's supposed to be doing. I created a checklist for her to keep track of what she needs to do each morning so she can be ready for school on time. Honestly, Adam and I wonder how she survives at school. The thought of her carrying a cafeteria tray alone nearly frightens me simply because I don't know how she's able to focus on the task from beginning to end. Last week she reported that she wasn't watching where she was going on the playground, fell really hard, and ripped a hole in her pants and skinned her knee. She said she tried hard to not cry, which made a part of me feel really bad for her.
At her parent-teacher conference, her teachers said that she's pretty quiet, but is very well-behaved. She's doing quite well academically. Surprisingly, her strongest suit is math right now. We've started reading. I can't believe that she sits next to me and reads books on a regular basis. I'm so proud of her sounding out words and genuinely trying to read. Her handwriting has improved so much already, especially forming her numbers. She doesn't seem to get quite as frustrated with herself as she did in preschool.
She's had some pretty hilarious one-liners lately. I have to document them for memory's sake:
*As we are driving by Taco Bell: "Ugh mom, not Hot Bell! I hate Hot Bell."
*"Dad, will you make me some eggs? But please no 'oak.' I don't like the 'oak' part."
*"Jenna won't be at school tomorrow or Friday. She's going on vacation to Florida, I think. Florida is close to North Star."
*After asking her about school lunch. "Walking taco day is awesome. But the brown mashed potatoes are not." "Brown mashed potatoes" that she's referring to are refried beans.
*Vera: "Dad, what does your shirt say?"
Adam: "Adidas"
Vera: "Quesadidas? That's funny!"
*When introducing her "guest reader" Vince to her pretend class: "Everyone, this is Vince. Vince, would you like to introduce yourself? He talks kind of weird, but do the best you can to understand him."
 |
| Vera loves to color and make cards for others. Vince sees to it that he is not left out. |
The second child, Vince, is living up to his reputation. He can be such a sweet and loving little guy, but so temperamental and stubborn in the next breath.
He is talking more and more all the time. Slowly, he's starting to speak in broken sentences. Sometimes, especially when he's tired, he will just say "mom" over and over. Even after I answer him, he just keeps with it. Just recently, he was telling Annie to stay away from the steps. He walked up to her and said, "No, no Nee Nee. No step step." (He does watch out for her from time to time. Mostly he just takes her toy or knocks her down.) Vera is his best buddy. He's lost without her lead.
 |
| His kindness really is heartwarming. |
 |
| They're starting to play and interact together more often. I'm noticing that they have similar interests, which will be the case for quite some time. |
 |
| He can get in, but he can't get out. The disclaimer is that he gets in on his own. This is not a method of detainment by his parents, although maybe it should be! |
 |
| He can be the sweetest! |
I can tell Patty has started working with him on some basic school work. He knows a few colors. He also tries to sing the alphabet. Usually we can make out "E, F, G" Surprisingly, every single time we ask him what A says, he says "aaaa" and B says "B B B." I haven't had a time where I've asked and he didn't know. :)
Sleeping in his bed is going better. We've graduated to just rocking for a few minutes and then putting him to bed awake and leaving the room. He seems to really like the one-on-one time of rocking together. We always have to sing Twinkle Twinkle. He tries to sing along, which is pretty sweet. Sometimes when we rock, he even falls asleep in my arms. We definitely cannot rock unless we have his fuzzy blue bear and blanket. We don't cover up or do anything special with the blanket, but we gotta have it! Lately, he's insisted on sleeping without socks at nap time. And, usually he's pretty resistant to being covered up. I always have to sneak back in and cover him up later.
Mealtime at the Pearson household still leaves much to be desired. There are still too many nights where he refuses to eat all-together. Lately, he insists on sitting in a regular chair rather than his booster seat. As long as he eats, it isn't such a problem. But, he stands on the chair or roams around and comes back for a bite here and there. Vince usually refuses to use silverware at some point. We've had instances of eating yogurt, peanut butter and ranch dressing with fingers. He still will not push his sleeves up to eat or wear a bib, so his clothes are usually destroyed after supper. Speaking of ranch dressing, he must have "dip dip" for everything. He's starting to say "white dip dip" and "red dip dip" referring to ranch and ketchup. He can also tell the difference between mayo and ranch. Don't try to sneak it past him.
Vince loves trains, tractors and trucks right now. He diligently hooks them up and pushes them around. He's sure to get mad when they won't stay hooked up or someone takes part of his ensemble. He reminds me of my brother when I watch him as he diligently pushes his tractors around, loads the animals, and freaks out when something isn't just right.
And then, baby Annie. She is growing up so fast! She is talking and interacting more and more each week. She gets so excited when I pick her up at Patty's or when Adam walks in the door. She squeals loudly, smiles and waves her arms.
Just recently, she's started walking along the furniture. I haven't caught her standing alone yet, but I imagine it will be soon. I really dread the thought of her walking around, only because I know she's going to be knocked over constantly by Vince and the cluttered toys in the house. As long as she isn't walking, she still seems like a baby to me.
Her sleeping habits lately leave much to be desired as well. When she wakes up, it is early, and she is loud. Instead of jabbering sweetly, she cries hard. About 95% of the time, she wakes with a dirty diaper. So, once she gets clean pants and a cup of milk, there is a slight possibility that she'll go back to sleep. In doing all of this, we must be ever-so-quiet. Vince is like a sleeping bear. If we wake the bear, it's over. Everyone is up. I'm hoping their abilities to "sleep in" will improve. We do not enjoy 5:30 and 6am on the weekends.
 |
| One of our early mornings during the week. Annie loves our phones, especially the cameras! |
 |
| Breakfast before school. Vince had a skinned nose for about 2 weeks. He took a tumble, and then re-injured it with another tumble. |
 |
When they wake up too early, we throw them in bed with us.
I love this picture! Bright eyes and sippys all around! |
Annie eats primarily table food. She does really well at self-feeding. We packed away the bottles and are using sippys all the time. Yogurt seems to be the go-to food when she's fussy. It's something we know she will always eat. Ironically, she really dislikes the yogurt melt snacks. She spits them out every time we offer them to her. She's the only one of the 3 that will eat bananas, which has been welcomed.
 |
| Annie is usually very happy. But, if we put her on the floor to play and she doesn't want to be there, she lets us know! |
Things are still pretty nutty around our house. Little by little, things are getting easier. Vince is talking more, Vera is super helpful, and Annie is eating more table food. All are tiny things that help mom and dad keep their sanity! :)
