Oh Ariel!

Who has been showing Ariel to Gabriella in her sleep? I don't know of her watching it for weeks, but she woke up this morning belting out the songs and quoting lines from the movie.

Pantomiming her lost voice by tapping her hand to her throat and shaking her head and mouthing, I can't talk!

"But Daddy, I LOVE him!"

Singing and dancing in circles...."Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they play all day in the sun! Why can't I be part of that world!"

"Ariel's Daddy is very angry, he broke the statue!"

That's all I remember for now, but must go before she starts combing her hair with a fork.

Congratulations to Ben!

Ben auditioned for his first play this weekend at ACTORS called "A Christmas Story." and then had call backs last night to read for a few different roles. He got a phone call last night letting him know he got the part of "Flick," who is one of the comic side kick roles. Apparently Flick gets dared to put his tongue on a frozen pole and does it. Ouch! Kevin and Ben picked up a copy of the movie last light from the library. This household has missed out on this holiday classic, so we are looking forward to watching it and learning more about the story. Performances will be November 26, 27, December 3, 4, 10, 11 at 7:30 and November 28, December 5, 12 at 2:00pm. We are so excited for you Ben!

Bacon

Josiah and Gabriella are playing cars together. Josiah just remarked that "Gabriella just put her cars in a perfect line, like bacon, only thinner." HA!

Sweetness

After working out tonight, my knee was sore. While we were getting the kids ready for bed, Josiah put ice in a bag on my nightstand, along with bee oil, a glass of water and a sticker. He said that way I would have everything I need to take care of my knee when I go to bed. When I put him to bed a few minutes later he grinned from ear to ear and said that he was excited that he finally knew what he wanted to be when he grows up. A doctor.

Whoops!

Josiah, dressed as Batman with full mask and cape, was just collecting all the garbage from around the house to throw out. I came around the corner to find Batman in the hall with a bit of a spill. "Uh-oh, it regurgitated....."

"Pool time"

This morning Ben and Gabriella helped me clean up and set up a very small baby pool that our neighbors gave us. I thought Gabriella and her doll could enjoy some time in it this afternoon before her nap. We filled it, put it in the sun, and filled it with several kettles of hot water. Ben said would be happy to help Gabriella play in it for a little while. Well, it has been an hour now and all three are in it (maybe 5' diameter) with a plastic table and three chairs having a tea party, and now the chairs are thrown out and it is filled with bath toys. Too cute. So thankful for simple pleasures on a sunny summer day.

shoes

I was reading a touch and feel book to Gabriella last night, and it had different objects. On each page we talked about the color and where we find the object, or put it, etc. When we looked at the page with the pink polka dot shoes I asked her where we put shoes, and she replied "We put our shoes away in the closet!"

Friday night

$2.77 to Family Video
$10.00 to Little Caesars
Spending family night in the gym (My "art room") so I can finish cleaning my supply closets and not come back to school again= priceless!

Leave it to the boys.

Josiah started a new club yesterday, the "Brush your teeth club." It meets twice a day in the bathroom. The activity is brushing their teeth. He asked Gabriella to be a member of his club and she can't wait to have club time and brush her teeth! So much excitement over the everyday.

Now they are starting a "Word World Club" writing words, drawing pictures and creating stories. Love it.

Gabriella vs. the hearth

This morning the kids decided to turn our living room into a swimming pool using the couch cushions. They used the seat cushions to make a wall, and the backs to be the water. They boys had just climbed on the couch and dove onto the cushions and I was telling Ruth how glad I was they were being so creative and including their sister. Gabriella climbs up onto the arm of the couch and dives the wrong direction - into the fireplace hearth. I watched it happen from the kitchen and am still not sure if she was trying to turn around or if she was finding a new diving board. She hit the brick in just a way to create a small Y shaped cut with a dented center along her hairline. I was thankful that Ruth was there as she stayed very calm and jumped in to clean the cut and apply pressure.
We were able to get in to see our regular doctor right away. By the time we arrived she was chipper and was sure she was all better and ready to play. They decided just one compound stitch to connect the three sections was all that was needed. The nurse put some numbing medicine on the spot for twenty minutes and wrapped her head in gauze. She colored and looked at the fish and made friends with the kids in the waiting room who all had lots of questions about her "pretty headband". When it was time for the stitches she laid so still for the doctor with a little tear running down her cheek and a whimper until they were done. I am thankful for her braveness and for the sweet nurse and kind doctor who were so amazing with her.
Please keep us in your prayers this week as we try to slow her down a bit and keep her from bonking her head while the stitches are healing.

Are you sure you are only two?

This afternoon Gabriella came out of her room wearing a tank-top and a pull-up. She was in tears crying "I have nothing to wear!" After some looking through her drawer we were able to find an acceptable pair of pants and she was off to play again.

A few minutes later...

I need a "Quaf quaf" (washcloth). She opens the drawer in the kitchen, pulls out a microfiber cloth and heads to the bathroom to wet the cloth. She returns a minute later and starts scrubbing the floor with it while muttering, "This floor is too messy....." After she finishes she rinses it out in the sink and hangs it on the over door to dry.

This afternoon....

The kids are playing on the deck. They use four plastic chairs and a table to create a rocket ship. They all tell me good-bye. When I ask where they are headed, they chime in "to the moon!" When I ask what they are going to do when they get there and Gabriella adds "We are going to the store on the moon to buy trees." "Are you going to bring the trees back for our yard? I asked. "Not trees, TREATS- candy for us!"

Quick Change Artist

Between pajamas and clothing, Gabriella has worn six outfits today. One I put on her this morning and it lasted until 11:00, when we returned home and she decided she needed pajamas, then other pajamas, then each check of her nap resulted in another outfit. She emerged from her nap in peach colored beach outfit and is still wearing it now, but a pair of pajamas in the hours to come. The good news is if you only wear an outfit for an hour or two, they don't get dirty, and therefore results in less laundry, just more folding. While they outfits didn't necessarily match, all were put on the right direction. Three cheers for independence!

As I type this, she is trying to convince Ben to get down one of her dresses to change into.......

Fee- fi-fo-fum!

Gabriella watched a Dora movie this morning that involved an giant ogre. She has been marching around the house saying "Fee-fi-fo-fum!" over and over again. I said something about her being a scary giant and she said. "Don't be scared, I not a giant, just a big girl." I asked why she was saying "fee-fi-fo-fum!" and she said "because I like the way it sounds! I like it all the time!"

Mowing man

We came home from jazz/kid gym/exercising and Kevin was mowing the lawn. Gabriella sees him and shouts "My daddy, he is cutting my grass for me!" She was so excited. "My daddy, he mows under my swing!" He took a little break, said hello to the kids and got a kiss from Gabriella. Then we went in and got ready for bed. Gabriella got her pajamas on and then yelled from the window, "Stop Daddy, you need another kiss!"

Now that's appreciation!

Baby trees and cuddly book time

While Ben was at Memorial for an evening play date with Claire and Lisa and Josiah were attending the final day of Kindermusik for the year, Gabriella and I spent some time together outside. Step one - swinging

"Higher daddy!" she exclaims, her hair tussled gently by the breeze. The evening sun illuminates her wispy curls and toddler cheeks with warm, golden highlights.

"I have my baby pants on. Lookit daddy!" (little green short pants that are longer than shorts but shorter than most pairs of pants)

"Oh! My nose is running. Stop the swing." catch the swing and hold it while wiping her nose with a handy Kleenex... One. Two. Ready, let go! Higher daddy!"

When she tired of swinging (her arms were getting chilly), we set Skipperdee (the painted turtle) in the grass for some free roaming time and I started pulling grass while Gabriella climbed on my back. For 5 or 10 minutes I pulled little tree sprouts while G hung on. Finally, she asked me what I was doing.

"Pulling up baby trees - because there are too many of them in the wrong places."
"Baby trees?! Can I see them?"
"Yes, here they are." as I show her the handful of young trees ranging between 2" and 6".
"Ohhhh! Baby trees! Soooo cuute!"

We returned Skipperdee to the egress pit and spent some time out front edging and sweeping. G was a great helper, lifting the dustpan full of grass and dirt and carefully dumping it in the lawn waste bag.

With Ben gone until late evening, Josiah and I had a wonderful time cuddling on the couch reading a couple of bedtime stories, Baloney (Henry P.) and On Beyond Zebra.

:)