Smiley Faces

Scenes from School

The girl's teachers take lots of pictures of their activities during the week, and have started sending us smileboxes (picture shows) that show off their skills. Looks like Hannah and Leah are doing a lot of cooking along with their art projects and and playing. And they've even learned how to vote! We're amazed at all the fun and creative things that all the kids have been exposed to...most of which I would never think to do at home. They've all had fun with different "flannels", which are laminated pictures of things that they are learning for the week or month. Joseph was a huge fan of these, and the girls have had them in their classrooms too. Hannah and Leah have taken a few outings to parks that are in walking distance to school, and Joseph has been taking buses all over the place to go to water parks, plays, the zoo, and next week he gets to take a trip to a farm. On Joseph's field trip last week, he actually managed to loose his sandals. The director called that afternoon to apologize and say that they were doing everything they could do to locate the shoes, but I've already been broken into daycare and realize some things do get lost (though it did take me two years to feel this way) and I was just glad they hadn't lost him! (every phone call should start with "everyone is OK") Besides, for the most part their shoes are all bargains from Kohls clearance rack with coupons and out of coincidence I had just stopped there over lunch and bought him a new pair of perfectly priced sandals. I suspect the old ones that were falling apart were chucked off his feet on the bus ride back to school. He sometimes does this in the minivan too. We can loose shoes....but we absolutely cannot loose our most favorite stuffed animals. Joseph has grover at home, and a tiger at school. Both are key to happiness. And Leah like her brother, has a bear at home and a lion at school. We would be in huge trouble if either were to go missing. Hannah on the other hand, has bunny at home, and just her pacifier at school. The goal is to get rid of the pacifier by the time she turns 2, so we may have to substitute another favorite stuffed friend at some point. Joseph continues to work on his letters and numbers, and writing his name. He even brought home a piece of paper with all of our names that his teacher helped him with. And the girls are learning their colors and shapes, and apparently are each others best friends. They tend to play with each other most of the time and will only hold hands with each other on the playground. But when they are separated into different classrooms they play well with the other kids, so I don't think we need to worry about anything now. Just a big decision for when they go to kindergarten but we have some time to figure that one out. A more recent milestone, is that we are to the point that we can walk all three kids in and out of daycare at the same time? (if parked close enough to the door, in order to avoid any chance sprints out into the street) We used to take multiple trips in and out, and sometimes still do depending on how much stuff there is to carry. By fall we'll be pros.

4th of July Fun

It was a hot one this 4th of July, so we spent at least a little time each day in the pool at Grandma's house. Joseph is still taking swim lessons and as of last week turned a pretty big corner by coming to terms with swimming with his face in the water. It took him a day to get up his courage (he convinced us all to count to 20 for him to jump in and then stood there smiling as he kept on going with 21....22....) but by the last day he was jumping in all on is own (no counting daddy, I don't need it), kicking himself to the ladder, and starting all over again. It was pretty cool....maybe next summer no vest! The girls aren't quite as bold, but they are getting more used to pools and have stopped screaming in the bathtub. Hannah isn't a big fan but she doesn't cling to you for dear life anymore and she can be convinced to splash and squeal while watching her brother have fun. Leah likes to go on her belly and reach for balls and do little kicks, or sit on the stairs and try to climb out (though really she doesn't want out because then she starts to cry if you take her out of the water). Joseph was splashing Jay and apparently Jay asked Joseph to stop and told him that he would pour his drink over his head if he didn't. Joseph said (without pause) "Well then I will pour my apple juice all over your head, and then you will have apple juice in your eyes. Would you like that daddy?" The splashing did stop, and no one poured their drink on anyone. Tonight there were more amusing words from Joseph. He gets out of bed just about every night within the first 20 minutes, either to go potty or get covered up. Tonight it was both, but he needed covered up after going potty. Jay tried to explain that he needs to learn how to cover himself up and that his 5 year old friends can do this, and doesn't he want to be 5? (sounds logical to me, as I frequently use similar tactics). But Joseph said "No daddy, I don't want to be 5, I want to be 13." Where did that come from?!?!??!

Funny Moments

The pictures don't exactly go along with the moments, but we never have the camera out when the truly hilarious stuff is occurring. Yesterday Leah very much wanted to wear Joseph's sunglasses, and after she eventually got hold of them she turned into quite the little ham. Jay kept calling her a "diva" and every time he said it, she'd let the sunglasses go down the tip of her nose and smile as she stared over the rims (if only we had a picture of that!). Today after having baths, the girls were naked in their room playing tug of war over a tube of Vaseline. This also would have made for a cute pic, with their wet hair and big bellies with biceps flexed and serious faces. And then there was Joseph's idea after dinner as we were getting ready to go outside to deliver a piece of mail that was mistakenly put in our mail box, that we should pack up a box of toys and give one toy to each house so that Joseph can make room for new toys. I'm not sure why he thinks that new toys are in his future or where he came up with this genius idea, but we may take him up on his offer. Only instead of going door to door we'll go to Goodwill, and instead of getting new toys perhaps we will have Old McDonald's instead. Tonight we had pasta, and Joseph said he was just too full to eat. A few minutes later he announced that he had to poop, and that when he was done he would have plenty of room for his spaghetti.

A Good Day

Today was a pretty good day for everyone. On the way home we decided to have leftover pizza for dinner, and as everyone was finishing up somehow a cheerful screaming match broke out at the table. Leah was happily screaming as loud as she could, with Hannah chiming in (all smiles of course), and Joseph plugging his ears saying "It's Leah Mommy, It's Leah!". It was cute at first but I did end up giving them more food in hopes that it would get them to stop. Jay usually asks Joseph what his best and worst part of the day was. And today when he asked about the worst part Joseph responded "when I didn't listen", out of habit I guess. Because then he thought about it and said "wait, I didn't have any worst parts today. It was a good day." And while I can still remember this, for Father's Day I took Joseph shopping to pick out a present for Jay, and I whispered in his ear and said "hey let's go shopping for daddy, and keep a secret". A few minutes later, he then said "Daddy we're going to go pick out a gift for you!". And then later he remembered it was supposed to be a secret and was very careful not to tell him what he picked out. But he did want to check several times to make sure it was properly hidden. And finally on Father's Day morning, he told Jay it was time for his present and he said "I'll give you one clue daddy, it's in mommy's room". But before giving Jay a chance to look, Joseph went straight to the closet, pulled out the surprise, and presented his dad with a nice new shiny soccer ball. Both of them were very excited. That was a good day too.

Movin On Up

Last Friday we had Joseph's end of year program at school, and he put on quite the performance. (Notice how he is directing his actions towards the video camera) There were some kids crying, some kids just standing there, others singing but not moving around much.....and then there was Joseph. He was singing with gusto and acting out all the parts of the song, he was announcing to the audience "wait there's more, there's still more" each time they clapped when a song came to an end, and playing MC and lead actor for the entire show. This summer he'll have lots of fun field trips and activities and then in the fall he'll move up to 4K with a new teacher and curriculum. And speaking of moving up, Hannah and Leah move up to the "Almost 2s" room on Monday! They've actually been spending time in that class off and on, and on Friday they were enjoying their cheese and crackers with little plastic glasses of water around the table. This led to the usual incident with cups, which is Hannah splashing her face with water, having a few choking coughs, and crying because she is wet and her water is gone. Poor girl, but that's ok because I prefer the sippy cups anyway! This will be the room where much change happens......not only do sippy cups disappear, but so do pacifiers, and even diapers for some kids. Leah however will still be able to keep her thumb. And it seems the whole Conway family may be on the move soon. We found another house in Tosa that we made an offer on, and now we're just trying to see if we can sell ours. Gone are the days of toys scattered across the floor and messes left behind in the morning for cleanup later that night. Beds are made, half of all of our things that I thought we never used until they were in boxes are all packed up, bathrooms are the cleanest they've ever been, the dog is no longer permitted to go to the bathroom in the yard, and I may very well loose my mind throughout this process (but that was probably going to happen at some point or another anyway). So stay tuned.....and let us know if you are in the market for a bungalow. ;)

Joseph's1st Catch, Leah's 1st Dive, & Hannah's 1st Popcorn!

It's officially summer in Milwaukee! (at least for a few days). All the kids have skinned knees, a slight rosiness to their cheeks, and tank tops and shorts ready to go. Though the day did not start out this warm....as you can see we brought our sweatshirts to go fishing at Greenfield Park today. It was Joseph's first time. In preparation for this event, Jay took Joseph to Cabella's yesterday to pick out a fishing rod. A lovely batman rod was selected, and it didn't take Joseph long to snag his first fish....a tiny ugly catfish! He caught two more after that (Jay 0 Joseph 3) and he was quite pleased with himself. Meanwhile I rolled the girls around the walking path and then we all met up at a playground a few hours later and that's when the heat started kicking in. So we did some swinging and some sliding (real crowd pleasers), loaded everyone back into the minivan (much to the disappointment of the little ladies), kicked up the a/c, popped in sesame street, and headed home. Then we dusted off the old kiddie pool, turned on the sprinkler, and let the kids loose. Leah and Hannah weren't so sure what they thought of the whole water play set out before their eyes, but Joseph tried to show them how to run through the water, and then when they moved on to the pool the girls were much quicker to partake. Leah even got so excited that while trying to drink the pool water she actually ended up taking her first dive! She plunged headfirst into the cold water and flopped to her back right away and was in a pretty good panic when I lifted her up to standing position. But after we asked Joseph to show her that it is ok to get into the pool (that is after all what it is for) and he put his bumper in it and got all wet, she quickly calmed down. Hannah observed the chaos and decided she'd rather stick to playing with cups and buckets. Needless to say everyone was very hungry for lunch and ready for naps by the time the morning was over. We did a little bit more playing outside later but mostly stayed in the cool basement, and after Joseph finished practicing writing his name we let them all sit down to watch Lilo & Stitch together. That is when Joseph came up with the idea to pop some popcorn and asked if he could share it with his sisters. What a surprising request! Not the popcorn....but the suggestion of sharing! Actually his first question was, is Lauren coming over? (That is our babysitter) Usually this means he gets popcorn and they watch a movie together or play games....so we figured the popcorn question was coming next. And so that is how the kids ended their memorial day, and now two are down and one to go as we head into the final hours of the evening. Then Jay and I will sit down to some grilled kabobs, and perhaps a chilled glass of something. Ahhhhh summer.....good to see you.

Girls

We've noticed lately that Hannah and Leah are exhibiting signs of being little girls. We of course already knew they were girls, but now they are starting to act like girls. For example, they are infatuated with shoes. They both get so excited when I bring a new pair out of the closet for them to try on. And each morning one of them gleefully exclaims "shoes? shoes? shoes!!" as we are changing diapers and putting on clothes. They also go over to the dresser and try to pick out clothes, but as we all know I like them to be coordinated so for now I am still in charge of the outfits. (how long do we think this will last?) Sometimes I let them wear my bracelets until I can distract them with something else and get the bracelet back on my own wrist, and the other day Leah even asked for a "pretty" to put in her hair. (translation: barrette. But I tell them how pretty they are when I put something in their hair so I think this has led to an incorrect understanding of words) Both girls are also very into hats, and recently were very disturbed when I would not let them wear their winter hats to school on a 60 degree day. Many tears were shed over this travesty. They run around inside with whatever hats they can get their little hands on, and both of them were very excited to put on sunhats Sunday when it was super nice outside. (our one day of summer and sun so far) Contradictory to this girly behavior, was their reaction to a bubble bath last weekend. I guess I've never put bubbles in their bath before, but I thought it would be a fun activity for them and instead it turned a usually enjoyable experienced filled with much glee and laughter into a torturous washing with many tears and cries of "all done". Seriously, from the minute they entered the tub they were crying and trying to stand up and escape. Very abnormal bathtub behavior for both little ladies. And so, the bubbles shall be reserved for big brother only, who can appreciate the happiness and joy that only a bubble filled bath can bring. Girls, they can be so hard to figure out sometimes. :)

Little Developments, Big Kids!

Seems like we don't have any babies around the house anymore, everyone is getting so big and looking so much older. (though Hannah and Leah are still in cribs and we're keeping them there as long as possible!) Joseph is definitely taller, though not quite tall enough for all of his 4T pants. And for the past few months he's been going to swim lessons every week and is getting more comfortable with floating, and trying to swim. Though he does get cold, and after 20 minutes always asks "how many more minutes are left"? We're hoping to stick with it year round, and then sign him up for soccer in the fall or winter. He loves to kick a ball around the alley. Even Hannah has the kick and run going on. Both girls actually know how to put their coats on all by themselves now. They get it wrong every now and then (note Hannah frustrated with her upside down attempt), but are very proud of themselves when they get it right. And Joseph can even zip up his own coat, and next, we are going to attempt tying shoes. He just got his first pair with shoelaces (we shall see if he ever gets a second pair with shoelaces!) He's had spider man shoes waiting in the wings for quite some time, but his feet aren't quite big enough for them yet. He's been very excited to wear them, but every other month when we get them out to try, we're not quite ready yet and I end up buying another sale pair that aren't nearly as cool. Everyone is still taking the afternoon nap, though everyone wakes up at different times. Usually it's the girls first, and last weekend they had an encore late afternoon nap as emotions were running high. Hannah actually passed out, while Leah just chilled out. When I went in to get them and let Leah out of her crib, she ran straight over to Hannah's crib to try to wake her up! (wondering what it will be like to have them share a room when they are not trapped in cribs????) Leah kept saying "Hannah, Hannah!", and when that didn't work, she started knocking on the crib like a door. Was pretty cute. But it didn't wake her up. She was probably exhausted from all the fun she had with cousin Oliver this weekend! It was great having them all run around the house this weekend....can't wait to see what kinds of trouble they get into when they're older! I recall my cousin Jenny and I doing a few things that our parents didn't enjoy, but it makes for some pretty great memories. I mean who doesn't laugh at wet toilet paper stuck to a bathroom ceiling? ;)

Today's Story

Joseph walks into the kitchen and sees two black garbage bags full of stuff on the floor.

Joseph: "Mommy, are those from the attic?"
(he had seen Jay and I taking things out of the attic last night)
Me: "No Joseph, those are from the bedroom. They are old clothes that Daddy and I are getting rid of."
Joseph: "Are Woody & Buzz in there?"
Me: "No, we're not getting rid of any toys, just clothes. Woody and Buzz are still downstairs."
(now we are walking out to the van with the two bags in hand)
Joseph: "Are you sure? Because at Andy's house, he put all the toys in bags, and they were going to go into the attic, and then got put in the car".

For those of you not familiar with the movie, this is the storyline from Toy Story 3. You can see why Joseph was concerned. :)

Mothers Day with a Hot Mess and the Zoo!

We had what is now becoming our traditional mother's day breakfast at Cafe Hollander down in the village area of Wauwatosa. Popular with the kids because of the river and train tracks right outside the windows, and one of our favorites because of the fabulous hot mess....and they open at 8am. (key factor for Conway breakfast outings) We finished just as the zoo was opening and since it's been so cold this spring we haven't gotten out there as much as we usually do, so it was nice to enjoy the sun even though you can see we were wearing winter coats. The girls and I ended up taking ours off shortly after the photos as it did end up getting above 60 degrees, and hopefully we can actually pack them all away this week (I'm skeptical, as I've thought that for over a month now). Then after naps we had our afternoon snack at Baskin Robbins. They are still my favorite choice for ice cream. How can you resist all the flavors? I went with an old favorite, Pistachio Almond, and a new treat, Gold Rush. I highly recommend both (gold rush is lemon flavored with cookies). Jay was not as impressed as I was, but that's because he is a DQ fanatic. He and the girls did enjoy some soft serve though, and Joseph had a strawberry cone with sprinkles. We then hit a park afterwards and instead of the usual zone defense, this time we played man on man with Hannah and Leah, and searched for Joseph every few minutes when he wasn't near. On a playground he never goes far, but we didn't have him in neon colors so he's harder to spot amongst the jungle gyms of slides and tunnels. (We may end up putting the kids in florescents for state fair this year. Despite my hatred for the colors I'd rather do that then make them wear a harness) Today has been a nice family day doing things that we all enjoy, whereas yesterday I spent most of my time relaxing and shopping with friends while Jay stayed home to entertain those not old enough for facials and wine. Turned out to be quite a nice mother's day weekend, and I'm looking forward to more good weather sometime soon!