Oh, how fast they are growing...

My how my children are a changin'.

As you can see from my recent attempt at a group shot, Lily is starting to smile on command just as Michael has begun to refuse. Maybe in another 18 months they'll all look into the camera. ;)

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Andrew has been reading for a while. But I am in a bit of denial as to how WELL he reads. I admit that he can read kiddie books and some signs. But I haven't changed anything that I do. Last week I wrote a note to his teacher the day he came back from getting tubes in his ears. Normally I send her an e-mail, but our router was dead, so I was handwriting it. Andrew was hanging around me as I wrote it...so were Lily and Michael...whatev'. I basically wrote that Andrew was doing great but that a) his ears were still oozing a bit, which is totally normal so don't send him to the nurse and b) he was acting kind of annoying because he was trying out sounds of things...like crumpling paper and banging toys. Andrew stops me as I am writing and says, "Why did you call me annoying?"

Oops. I apologized and told him I was just saying that his behavior was irritating, but that it wasn't his fault, etc. And then I threw the note away. It hearkens back to the first days when I realized that Andrew understood I was talking about him to other mothers...suddenly I had to learn not to talk about the "bad" things when he was around. Looks like I'm going to have to broaden that to writing notes as well. A few more years, and I probably won't write about him on the blog anymore either...
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Lily and Michael playing Dog. They were both eating Cheerios in bowls on the floor with no hands. It is so amazing to watch them starting to play with each other. Someday soon I'll bet this 18 month apart thing starts paying off...

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Lily...oh my Lily. She is turning more and more into a little girl every day. Not that she hasn't always been a female...she's just getting further away from the toddler phase. ;)

She is a SPONGE at school...I think I've mentioned how much her teachers love her and are amazed at her memory. It's almost annoying to me...I dropped her off one day and warned the teachers that Lily had eaten NOTHING all morning, so she might start acting punchy as her blood sugar got low. The teacher at the door patted my arm and said, "Oh, no...not LILY. She's always an ANGEL for us." Grrr....although I'm glad it's not the opposite.

Last Monday, her class talked about baby chicks. At dinner Friday night, she started to tell Jeff about it for the first time. She vividly explained, "The chick has an egg tooth on the end of its beak and the chick would tap tap tap and get out of the shell and then it would be a REAL BABY CHICK (said in hushed tones).

This Monday they talked about rabbits. Lily explained at dinner, "Rabbits have VERY LONG EARS so they can hear all the other animals who want to EAT THEM and then they can RUNAWAYREALLYREALLYFAST. And they eat grass and carrots but NOT other animals." She was even quizzing Andrew in the back of the car like a teacher would.

And she speaks so earnestly...it is hard not to just giggle as you listen. Today we took a sidetrip into the school office so we could see the chicks that the school hatched out of eggs. As we walked in, Lily said very seriously, "Now, Mommy, you cannot touch them. You must put your hands way behind your back, just like this."

God, I love her.


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Michael, Mikey, Mike. We still don't know which name this kid will be primarily...we switch around so much.

Michael is going through a language explosion. He is still virtually incomprehensible to people that don't live with him, but for those of us that do...we are amazed. I love this stage. And he continues to act more and more like a kid. Yesterday, Andrew and Lily were playing nicely together (?!?!?), so I got a little one-on-one time with him. We were building and sorting with blocks, and he delighted in ruining all my projects. Then I lay on the floor and put a block on my forehead and instantly pretended to fall asleep. He grabbed it off and I woke up. He delighted in putting me to sleep and waking me for a good 10 minutes. So cute.

He is also becoming BRUTAL towards Lily. He randomly shoves her, hits her with cars, and yells at her. She is devastated by this, because she doesn't understand that she taught him all these things. Oh, how her own cruel behavior is coming back to bite her in the behind. The difference with Mike is that when you tell him NO very sternly, he crumples into pitiful tears. Another sensitive boy. How did I get a girl who is tough as nails and 2 boys gentle as lambs? Very opposite the expected stereotypes.

I am also training Mike proper behavior in parking lots, parks, etc. If we are going to do anything this summer and go anywhere, he has to learn to wait for me, not run away, etc. We've had many tears while out and about as he figures out that I mean business. Timer training has also begun...we're at about 50/50 with it working for him. And if he continues to smack his sister around, time-outs are soon to follow. Oh, terrible twos...you don't scare me anymore. All I can say is...BRING IT.

Michael enjoying a cupcake...well, the icing anyway. A little practice for a birthday just around the corner...

He prefers not to get his hands dirty...