Toxic waste.

Posted in Uncategorized by Nikki

Seth made this poster about himself at school. One of the sections was “if I could wish for three things:”.

Here’s what Seth wishes for:

Yes, he wishes his brother was faster (all the better to play with, I guess?) and yes, for a pet dragon. Obviously. But he also wishes for toxic waste?

Neil and I were slightly confused by this, so naturally pressed Seth for clarification. We were relieved to hear that Seth was not, in fact, referring to a waste material that can cause death, injury or birth defects to living creatures, but was actually wishing for a type of very sour candy called Toxic Waste.

Phew.

17Sep2013

Hardly a baby anymore.

Posted in Kids by Nikki

My baby will be 20 months old tomorrow. Closer to two than to one. Hardly a baby anymore.

Part of me is sad about it, because one year olds are the cutest ever, but then part of me is excited, because two year olds are the cutest ever too.

She’s grown a lot lately, jumping from the 10th percentile, where she spent the whole first year of her life, up to the 40th. We missed wearing a whole bunch of shoes, because she went from size three to size five in like five minutes it seems.

She’s learning so much lately. How to get dressed, how to open doors, how to wrap a baby doll in a blanket and give it kisses, how to smile on cue, how to take selfies on the iPhone, and how to find a playlist on Songza. Whenever she’s done a meal, she hands me her bowl, cutlery, placemat, and cup- so careful to always clear her place. She always drinks the milk from her bowl of cereal, usually before she even starts eating the cereal. She’s generous with her smacks and shoves, but also with her hugs and kisses. That girl loves her some kissing.

She’s saying new words every day. Here’s some of her favorite words:

ME!!! (always said with the most enthusiasm possible when there’s something she wants)

buhdies! (birdies)

hot

ham

appy (apple)

nana (banana)

bubbas (bubbles)

off!

naa! (no)

teese (teeth- she loooooves brushing her teeth)

eyes

haaa (hi)

baaa (bye. she’s sorta southern with her greetings)

baby

puhpuh (puppy)

dee (kitty)

teet (treat)

eat

and then of course…

mommy!

daddy!

bubba (brothers)

dotty

i-yee (Ivy)

One of her brothers’ favorite games to play is to ask her who she loves more, mommy or daddy. She always shouts “Daddy!!” with the cheekiest look, and everyone laughs at me because she didn’t pick me. It really is pretty funny.

She’s potty trained, yes, but still breastfeeding. I waiver back and forth between wanting to be done with it and thinking who really cares, she can breastfeed as long as she wants. She only usually nurses first thing in the morning, which buys me a few extra minutes in bed. She calls it “nee nees” and she loves it. It’s actually the sweetest thing nursing a full-on toddler. She switches sides on her own, gives me big smiles and kisses, and if I ask her if she’s happy, she always nods so vigorously. To the haters out there, don’t knock it till you tried it. So I’m not sure when she’ll be done breastfeeding. Maybe next month, when she goes for a sleepover to grammy’s for a few nights, maybe not.

I love my little Ivy and her vivacious personality. She’s so full of life and so much fun. She’s wild and brave, soft-hearted and tender. The perfect combination, and I love watching her grow up.

I have to admit, though, I find myself singing that little song, “don’t you ever grow up, ever grow up, just stay this little…” a lot lately.

Sniff sniff.

ps Ivy’s birth story is featured over on the Freshly Picked blog today!

16Sep2013

Just call me the potty-training ninja.

Posted in Kids by Nikki

I’ve been thinking about potty training Ivy for awhile now. She’s been very interested in all things bathroom related, has been telling me when she’s gone for awhile now, and I’m just ready to be done with diapers.

So last Monday we decided to give it a go. Being that Ivy is very smart and very strong-willed, I was pretty confident that potty training would either go very well or very badly.

I’m so happy to report that it went very well!

We always go full-on potty training, straight to undies, no diapers, no turning back. It’s a big mess for the first day or two but it works. Actually I started training Monday morning and patiently cleaned up many many messes all day. Neil was literally home for like seven minutes when he started saying, “Let’s quit this! I don’t think she’s ready.” Maybe a profanity or two was thrown in for good measure.

But by the next day- much less accidents. She was already at about a 50/50 success rate. By day 3, only 2 accidents! And dry for naps! And some nights!

By the end of the week we even went out running errands, and she stayed dry for FOUR hours. She was just squirming on the way home, but she held it!

Anyway, I’m so proud of her. She’s such a little champ.

And her little buns are so cute in their little undies.

9Sep2013

Kindergarten for Ben.

Posted in Kids by Nikki

I’ve got one more kid in school today. It is Ben’s first day of kindergarten!

It’s been a lot harder for me to think about sending this little sweetie off to school. He’s our gentle peacemaker and I know the babies and I will miss having him around. He’s grown so much in the last year and has so much more confidence than he used to, and I know he’ll do just fine at school. Still, it’s hard!

Not surprisingly, he didn’t want to go this morning. He HAS been excited about school, mostly, off and on, in the last few weeks, but I knew when it came down to it, he wasn’t going to be too pumped to leave us for the day.

But he did so great, walking across the street like he’s done it a hundred times, and getting on the bus like it’s nothing new. Of course, everything is easier if you’ve got your big brother with you, but still, I’m so proud of him.

I, of course, got all choked up, seeing my baby on that big school bus. If our neighbor hadn’t been walking his kid to the bus, too, I’m sure I would have had some tears fall. It’s hard to put a kindergartener on the bus for the first time!

He was so cute sitting up in the front seat with his brother, just barely big enough to peek up out the window and wave at me.

And so here we go onto a new phase in life. I’m not gonna lie, I am SUPER excited about having just TWO kids at home with me a couple days a week! And running errands with just two kids- oh it just sounds dreamy don’t you think?

4Sep2013

2nd grade.

Posted in Family by Nikki

Today is Seth’s first day of grade two. He was surprisingly excited about going back to school. I think he was getting a little bored of hanging out with his younger siblings.

So off he went, like the professional student he is. And the house was immediately so. much. quieter.

Okay, it “helped” that Ivy was sick and basically laying motionless on my lap, where she fell asleep at 9:07 am.

She is is still sleeping an hour later, so the house is still quiet.

Zucchini bread made with zucchinis picked out of my garden yesterday evening is already cooling on the countertop.

Oliver has been playing with a new pack of play-doh for almost an hour and a half, Ben is playing with legos in his room, and I am sitting in a clean kitchen smelling that fresh zucchini bread.

Ahhh what a lovely morning.

Happy first day of school people!

27Aug2013

A boy and his hair.

Posted in Kids by Nikki

Oliver’s hair curls just the right amount, it falls just right, and it’s just too adorable for me to cut. I’ve done it before and may or may not have cried after.

So at this point in time, it stays long and blond and curly.

Even though people may or may not have started referring to Oliver as “she”.

Oliver came up to me at the park yesterday and said,

“That boy said I was a girl. But I’m a boy. I told him girls have ponytails, and I don’t have a ponytail!”

True dat Oliver.

The hair stays.

26Aug2013

Sunday, funday.

Posted in Family by Nikki

We made the most of summer yesterday.

Every Sunday in the summer our church has fun stuff outside, like big bouncers and petting zoos. My kids, especially Ivy, are crazy about petting zoos.

Whenever Ivy sees anyone pick up an animal, she assumes that since they could, so can she. She tried to pick up giant bunnies, ducks, pigs, and goats. (Once, she saw Neil pick up Dotty. When Neil put Dotty down, Ivy walked over and confidently put her arms around Dotty’s 60 pound body, and tried to lift her up. She was sure she was going to be able to do it.)