Joseph Lost his First Tooth!

Joseph lost his first tooth on Saturday night!  He had his friend Drew over and while they were getting ready for bed I walked into the room to find Joseph in the bathroom with blood pouring out of his mouth.  It took us a minute to realize that his loose tooth was no longer loose....it was gone!  Drew showed us wear they were playing, and in the sea of toys and shaggy carpet we all got on our hands and knees to search for the tooth (and quickly devised a backup plan to write a letter to the tooth fairy in case we couldn't locate said tooth).  Amazingly we found it, and Joseph was quick to place it under his pillow and hop into bed and fall asleep so the tooth fairy would arrive. He asked if it would be like a big black scary thing and I said no, less like a Halloween monster and more like Tinkerbell.  Sunday morning at 5:40am he came running into our room waving a dollar in each hand and very excited to tell us that he now had two more dollars to add to his truck bank to save up for a monster lego set that he has his eye on.  I just like looking at his smile now with that big space, so cute.  Just in time for senior kindergarten and school photos!

Cuz So

Each time the question "Why?" is posed to Hannah or Leah, the response is "Cuz so."  Leah why are you pulling your skirt up to your chest?  Cuz so.  Hannah why did you shove half a burger in your mouth?  Cuz so.  Leah why are you drinking the bath water?  Cuz so.  Hannah why are you sucking your thumb?  Cuz so.  (real question to that should be something having to do with us taking away her pacifier or something to do with the fact that her sister sucks her thumb).  I believe the response Cuz so is derived from the longer response I frequently use "Because I said so".  I will have to find a new response.

Latest Developments

I think it's been a while since I've done a recap of our latest developments and funny things about the kids.  Everyone is a bit on the "emotional" side, and I wouldn't want to call one out in particular, but lately Hannah has been running around screaming and crying each night chanting "I don't want to go to bed, I don't want to go to bed".  We have actually had to catch her and scoop her up and bring her back to her room as she dashed away screaming (we could really use some outside locks on those doors!)  Other things to mention about Hannah, she would prefer not to wear pull ups anymore though we sometimes still put them on at night, and while we have stopped giving her the nuk, she requests it on a regular basis and has been seen sucking her thumb in replacement.  She can count to 9, but then for some reason skips to 14.  Though her favorite number is 5, and Hannah insists she is turning 5 this fall (not 3).  As she watches the Olympics she tells us "I know how to do that" (uttered during diving, swimming, trampoline), and she is quite the dancer.  Leah also enjoys dancing but it's more of a marching style and hip shake approach while Hannah is more on the hip hop side.  Leah it seems is the one most content with playing by herself, but only demonstrates this when not around the other kids.  Everyone stayed at home different days this week with a stomach virus, and since Leah was the last one to fall victim to it she had a whole day at home with me by herself, and I now know, she is the easiest one to have at home while still trying to get other things done.  She just wants to be in the room with you while she plays with blocks or markers or dolls.  (Joseph will only occupy himself for short bursts, unless it's some sort of electronic entertainment)  Leah may actually enjoy going to bed at times, as it allows her the opportunity to hold her Bear and suck her thumb, and she wakes up quietly doing the same.  She is getting quite good at puzzles and has been a master at the tricycle for a while, and every chance she gets she tries to sneak up onto Joseph's bike.  Joseph doesn't ride his bike that much lately, but he has had a great time with t-ball and swimming this summer.  (Hannah insists she can swim just as good as Joseph and both girls cry when he goes to swim lessons).  We have been trying to explain to him that things cost money, and that if he wants something he needs to save up his own money to buy it (as we get  100 requests a day to do something, or buy something), so today when we went to get his feet measured for back to school shoes and he passed by the lego store, he decided to use $7 of his truck bank money to get a green swamp monster lego set.  We told him different things he could do to earn money back into his bank, and 4 hours later after being sent to his room after he calmed down, he took it upon himself to put away his laundry so that he could collect 50 cents!  (I hope this was not a one time deal, as I would LOVE to put away less laundry each week)  Brushing teeth has turned into such the battle that we have offered him 25 cents every time he does it without being asked.  So this morning he woke up, put all the toys and books away in his room, then put all of the toys and books away in Hannah and Leah's room, and brushed his teeth! (all without being asked)  I really really really hope he keeps this up (spoken like Hannah....as in I really really really want to go swimming or I really really really want some ice cream).  And last little bit of news.....Joseph has his first loose tooth! We'll see if he starts elementary school this fall with one missing, he checks each day to see if it is still there.