I am loving the new house. I love the space , the floors that I can actually clean, the appliances that work well and I love living close to the lake again. It is such a treat to walk by the "ocean" as the kids call it (I think they know it is a lake but because it bugs Mark - they call it an ocean) . The kids are starting to call our new house "home" and not just "the new house" or at least not protesting loudly when we refer to it as "home" (well everyone except Nathan ...). Nathan has started school. I felt so bad for him. He was so excited and was looking forward to going all year but when he finally did get to go it was too much for him and he shut down (not listening to anyone and eventually falling asleep). Mark has been picking him up on his lunch hour so he gets a few hours in. He has started to like it again but still has difficulty with routine things. I think he is in a class of kids who have all been to day-care programs and junior kindergarten- they are used to routine/different rules and he isn't . Hopefully he will get used to it soon. All day kindergarten isn't good for every kid :(
There has been some unexpected surprises in this house - both good and bad. Apparently we will need a new roof as will everyone in this neighborhood unless they replaced it already. I enjoy the neighborhood but I still miss the older streets - the ones with sidewalks and houses that are all different ...Maybe the lake will make up for it.
Sarah has started potty training. I have pull-ups for her because she is hesitant to dirty her "princess underwear". Apparently Nathan told her that she was allowed to pee /poop in pull-ups and no amount of convincing on my part will prompt her to head to the bathroom if she feels she has to go. Pull- ups are just expensive diapers for her. I have started to put her in underwear for a few hours in the morning but I forget to remind her to try for the bathroom if I don't see her. This morning she was downstairs and informed me (by yelling) that she had peed on the carpet - after I cleaned her up she asked me to clean the carpet so she could finish the puzzle .....
Sarah amuses and exasperates me ....sometimes at the same time. She is a mixture of "sweet manners Sarah" and "shockingly rude Sarah". One day Mark decided to take her to the old house to get some things - I overheard her happily talking and talking and talking :) She started her long conversation with "Thank you so much for choosing me! " She reminded me of a beauty queen making her speech after she won the pageant. And then there is the Sarah who smacks her hand on the table yelling "I WANT a PINK cup! after I give her some lunch.
Abby and Hannah are growing (although Abby refuses to eat anything...she still manages to grow somehow). Hannah has some new teeth and likes to use them as much as she can. She has added to the long list of things she has fallen out of (it was the tub this time and the stairs again). Hannah is like a scavenger looking for garbage to eat. I'm always digging kleenex, paper and play-doh out of her mouth. Abby still likes to sing really loud. The other day she found an attachment for the vacuum cleaner and used it as a megaphone - it was surprisingly effective. The other night Abby told me with a smile that she did a "bum burp " out of her penis. I told her she didn't have one because she was a girl - she appeared to be surprised about this bit of news. She decided to be a boy anyway for a little while and then later on remembered that she was a girl. My silly little Abby - she always makes me laugh at random times during the day :)
I love my family so much :)
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| First ill fated day of school ....poor little monkey ...he looks so nervous |
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| Enjoying Abby's little birthday cupcakes |
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| First birthday in the new house :) |
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| Opening presents |
