Monkey See, Monkey Do

This picture depicts a typical Max and Shari adventure. Max climbed into this space while I was putting linens away. Before I knew it, Shari was climbing in next to him!

Alone, Shari wanders around the house playing and babbling sweetly. But when Max is "exploring" (read: looking for as much trouble as possible), Shari loves to follow him. 

A couple of days ago, Max was busy emptying the bookcase. I lost count how many times this has occurred, so let's just call it daily. Shari stumbled upon the scene and could *not* resist joining him. When I heard tumbling and crashing, interspersed with giggling, I broke up the party. Max was sentenced to time-out (so as not to undo while I redo). I asked Shari Brooke to help me reshelve. While we were working, I thought it might prove beneficial to have a little talk about the state of things. So very professionally, I said, "Shari, it is naughty to take the books off the shelves."

And equally professional, Shari Brooke replied, "Max naughty, too."

Grapefruit Math

*Disclaimer: I am not posting this to brag; I just want to remember Grant's cute computations as we go along.*

If you ask Grant, he will not say that he likes reading.  Yet, he insists on reading by lamp or flashlight every night before going to bed.  If you ask Grant, he will not say that he likes math.  Yet, he will often bring me a piece of paper and say, "Give me a problem, Mom." And almost daily, to the annoyance of his sister, he will peek over at Nicole's math book and mutter the answers before she has a chance to get to it.

So last night, right before reading time/bedtime, Grant asked for a grapefruit.  I sliced it and then sectioned it for him.  He was just starting to eat his first half, when the citrus smell completely consumed me, and I just had to have a bite!  I asked him if he would mind if  I took a few bites.  Being a sweetheart, he graciously consented to sharing.  Half-way through that half, I finally stopped.  I apologized and told him that I had eaten half of his half, and I asked him to tell me how much of the whole I had eaten.  Without hesitating, he answered, "One-quarter."  When I asked him to tell me how to figure that out with a math equation, he said, "It's easy, Mom.  It's just 1/2 x 1/2.  See?"

Since he had only eaten three-quarters of a grapefruit, he asked for another, and this time, he offered to share half right off the bat.  We both happily ate our halves, and then I gave him another fraction problem.  "If you ate 3/4 of a grapefruit the first time and 1/2 of a grapefruit the second time, how much grapefruit did you eat?"  After a second of contemplating, he confidently replied, "One and a quarter grapefruits."

I knelt down in front of Grant so I could see his face right in front of mine.  I laid my hands on his shoulders, and I made him solemnly promise to grow up and use his brain for good in this world.  He replied, "I promise, Mom," and gave me a big squeeze tight.

Don't Forget Today

I was standing in the kitchen and looked into the school room to see how the kids were coming on their art project. The sight of all four of them together captivated me momentarily, and I imagined a nearby future where they are older. I loved the simplicity of this afternoon where we tore paper to pieces to form penguins playing on the ice. And I thought to myself, "Don't forget today."

Just Me and the Babies

We went grocery shopping today while the big kids were at art class. A while back, Scotty taught Shari Brooke about "driving" the shopping cart; and today, Shari taught Max!

She Makes Her Own Fun

Shari Brooke, like Scotty, takes care of herself in every way. She can feed herself, dress herself, and entertain herself. And like Scotty, the reason may be because she is left to her own devices  so much. 

Today, while she had twenty minutes to herself, she put on her rain boots (this is standard attire for Shari -- even with pajamas), found a rain jacket (Grant's), and went outside to fetch a trike.

I guess she didn't want to ride in the rain.

Thursday Outing

Shari collecting rocks and moss for her explorer tray.

Grant and Scotty with their trays. They were supposed to categorize their finds by something ... fuzzy, soft, solid, sharp, smooth, etc. 

Scotty became best friends with our guide and was so happy when he got selected to play catch with one eye closed. It was supposed to simulate a moose's lack of depth perception. 

Shari's Dress Up

Shari Brooke likes to wear Nicole's clothes, in the day and sometimes in the middle of the night as well. 

Overnight Camping

We were blessed with a gorgeous weekend, so we took the kiddos to a nearby campsite called Portage Glacier.

The glaciers were stunning (although they didn't always photograph well).

We also took a short drive to Whittier, which is where many cruise ships port. To get there, you have to take a one-way tunnel that is 2.5 miles long. 

Despite seeing hundreds of spawning salmon (look closely), we saw no bears. 

Out of all the kids, Clint and I agree that Shari Brooke had the most fun. She walked on all of the trails, roasted marshmallows, fished, and followed the big kids on their forest adventures (consisting of eating wild raspberries, identifying poisonous mushrooms, and collecting firewood).  She was just happy to do everything!

 

 

First Day of School

This year's crew 

Here's what we have learned today:
1. Scotty LOVES chalk.  He loves it so much that he practices his letters even when he isn't required.
2. Shari Brooke can simultaneously do school with the big kids.
3. Max is NOT allowed in the school room, except under strict supervision, i.e., in someone's arms.
4. Nicole will always be the first one done with her work.
5. Grant is capable of doing school without whining.

I asked the kids to pick a classroom prop for their individual shots.  Grant, of course, picked geography.

 No surprise, Nicole picked reading (and Harry Potter, at that!).

Max didn't really understand the assignment, but he managed to find a puzzle anyway. 

 Who knew, but Scotty picked drawing!

 

It looks like Shari Brooke is following in Nicole's footsteps because she is constantly reading, asking for a book to be read to her or toting books around in bags or her arms.

Grant gave us all a new school year surprise by building a domino tower for us to watch.  What a FUN start we had!

What the Babies Are Doing

Max moved out of his baby seat. 

Shari had a computer frenzy. 

A Pennsylvania Spring Day

We went fishing!

Oh, does this boy love fishing!!  Scotty fished for hours. And when we ran out of worms, he cast his line in "for practice."

Scotty's catch!

The babies with their drinks. 

Shopping with Babies

Tip Toes

Just Because ...

... they grow up too fast!

Duet

Shari Brooke loves to play the piano, but mostly loves to play duets.  I love to hear Nicole's music every day, even if Shari Brooke accompanies her.

Bedhead Babies

Shari Brooke is starting to play with Max more.  And she's also starting to take toys out of his hands, and not because she wants to play with them, but because she doesn't want him to.  Sometimes she gets down on his level and plays newborn baby with him, though, like this:

He'll laugh, then she'll laugh, then he'll laugh, then ...  You get it.  It's all very silly ... and sweet.

"Worst Winter EVER!"

That's what Nicole has titled our Pittsburgh winter. 

The kids got new snow gear right after Christmas and have only been able to use it two or three times.  There hasn't even been enough snow for a snowman! 

I don't think they'll be disappointed next year, however.

Grandparent Visit

Papa and Max (6 months).  Papa is a baby expert.  He can get any baby to giggle or cry on command.  Grandma's always telling him to leave the babies alone, but I don't think he's capable.   

The kids were so excited for Grandma and Papa to visit!  We played games, spent a day at the science center and rode the Monongahela Incline, among other things.  It doesn't really matter what we do when they visit.  It's just fun to see them!

We took this photo at the airport.  We don't normally get everyone out of the car when we drop them off because it's so much work to get them all back in the car!  We miss them already!

Waiting for the Grandparents

Scotty's "All the Way Five" Birthday

For several months leading up to his birthday, Scotty wouldn't allow anyone to say he was four years old; he was "almost five."  He would show us this by holding up five fingers that were tightly squished together.  On the morning of his birthday, Scotty woke up so happy and proclaimed that now he was "all the way five," demonstrated by five fingers opened wide. 

 

Grant wanted to spend his own money to buy Scotty a gift.  So we took Scotty to the toy store to pick something out.  Grant has such a hard time spending his money, unless it is for someone else.  After the toy store, Scotty asked where his balloons were.  I only rarely buy balloons, but when Scotty said we couldn't have a birthday without balloons, we had to add in a stop at Party City.

 

Scotty helped decorate his cake.  He wanted strawberry cake and strawberry frosting.  I don't think anyone liked it much, except Scotty, which is why we had half of the cake leftover for three days before I threw it out.  Scotty wrote his name on the cake with a backwards "S."  Nicole and Grant wanted to fix it, but I wouldn't let them.

 

After dinner when we started to sing "Happy Birthday" to Scotty, he told us all to pause while he ran to turn out the lights.  He just has his own ideas about how he wants things done.  I had a thought the other day that I shouldn't hover too much over Scotty because it would hamper his spirit.  Scotty has the biggest "can-do" attitude I have ever seen.  He is always very pleased to do things by himself and in his own way.  He also loves to learn new things, even if it's something undesirable to the bigger kids, like scrubbing pots and pans.

 

We had a fun day celebrating Scotty the whole time (just the way he planned it, I'm sure!). 

 

 

All The Way Five

For the past few months, Scotty has told everyone that he was "almost five," as he held up a hand with all of the fingers close together.  He was most explicitly NOT four!  But on the day of his birthday, he proudly proclaimed that he was "ALL THE WAY FIVE!"



We don't normally buy balloons, but Scotty said it couldn't be a birthday without balloons.  So we bought balloons.  We also had a tractor piñata, but sadly have no photo proof of it.  We did video the breaking open of it, however, and you should have heard Shari Brooke giggle!



Scotty wanted to make his own strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for his birthday.  Nobody told him he couldn't have a pink cake, so ...

... we ate this.  He wrote his name (sort of) by himself and placed his candles.  Nicole wrote out the big "5."



Just as we started to sing "Happy Birthday," Scotty held up his hand and said, "Wait! Wait!"  He ran around the first floor and turned off every single light and then placed himself in the seat of honor in front of his burning candles with a giant smile. 

Many months ago, Scotty said a few phrases to me that melted my heart.  I wrote them down, but I don't think I posted them.  So they are not forgotten, I'll share them with you now.  Out of the blue, he approached me and said, "Mom, I not grow up yet.  I still four today." If only he knew how much I love a four-year-old!  They have an unquenchable curiosity about the world around them.  It's the year of the "why's."  They speak absolute truth, and in Scotty's case, it is usually encoded in sentences we can't always interpret. 



I am sure I have previously stated that Scotty is a doer.  He always wants to go, to make, to touch, to see, to do, to climb, to laugh.  He LOVES our babies.  He is always carrying them, playing with them, teasing them.  He and Shari still laugh at nonsense, and Scotty packs Max around like a toy doll (albeit a very heavy one).  He also likes to scare Max by shouting "boo!" really loud in Max's face.  Of course, Max cries about it, so then Scotty quickly apologizes, "Sorry, Max," while rubbing his bald head and giving him a little kiss.



Scotty still loves engines -- trains, trucks, monster trucks, school buses, monster truck school buses (which he ordered on Amazon with a birthday gift card), planes, spaceships, helicopters, tractors ... what am I missing?  He wants to grow up to be a monster truck driver, and I really think he could do it.



Scotty is a fiercely independent boy.  He wants to learn to do everything.  Sometimes he teaches himself (because we take too long to get around to it).  I've said it before, but Scotty has an unusual zeal for life and all of its opportunities.  I hope he gets around to fulfilling all of his dreams -- it would be an amazing and fun life!