3 Very Different Little People

There has been a lot going on at our house. For one, my computer crashed and is trying to get revived. Anyone reading this use a Mac? I think that we are done with Dell and Microsoft and ready for a change.

These kids grow at an alarming rate. I now understand when my parents used to say that watching kids grow really makes you feel old. Today I was able to put pigtails in both of my girls' hair. They looked adorable but because of the way their hair grows and their head shape, I think that piggies favor Lily right now. That may have sounded mean. It isn't meant to be. Ellie has a big round head with a little hair and Lily has a little oval head with a little hair, so when Ellie wears pigtails, her head dwarfs the piggies. She just needs a bit more hair and then the "do" will suit her very well.

Recently, I bought them each a pair of sunglasses from Target. You know how Target has that $1.00 section? What better place to buy sunglasses for 18-month olds than at a $1.00 bin? I bought them because they've learned to say the word "glasses" and are always walking into the room with my sunglasses in hand. No matter where I leave them, they can reach them. So, they now each have their own. Lily took to them immediately! Her glasses are pink with sparkles and look divine on her. She wore them for a better part of an hour, walking around the house with her sunglasses on, collecting valuable items such as: ClearEyes (stolen off Jack's desk), a play cell phone and a rubberband. Liam liked them, but didn't get too attached. Ellie liked hers but was much more concerned that Liam kept dropping his. She walked around the house trying to give Liam back his sunglasses. It went something like this:

Ellie: "Dank u" and handing Liam his glasses.

Liam: "No. Dank u." and refusing to let her put them on him or even hand them to him.

Ellie: "Eeam. Dank u." Following him around holding out his glasses.

Liam: "No."
Ellie: "Eeam Dank you. Aaaah" followed by her whapping him on the head with his sunglasses.

I'm sure that you can guess what ensued...some biting, hitting and tears. All over a pair of sunglasses. They do look mighty cute in them though!

Liam

Lily

Ellie

The babies, well, toddlers are almost 19 months and I've not really listed what their personalities are nor what their likes and dislikes are, so here it is:

Ellie is very similar in personality to her me. She is organized and actually spends a good amount of time in the kitchen stacking bowls and then unstacking them and then restacking and so on. Her favorite activity would be to be left alone with me in the kitchen and have access to the dishwasher, cupboards and silverware. She actually gasps with delight when I open the dishwasher to load or unload. She absolutely adores putting all of the spoons in one container then moving them all one at a time to another silverware holder. She has also developed a mean streak. She enjoys taking blankies and favorite animals belonging to Lily and Liam and then watches in mocked confusion as they cry. When she's told to give them back, she will either run and hide or pretend to give them back only to hold onto them without letting go. She has upwards of 50 words and is beginning to combine them to make 2 words phrases. She is able to walk up and down stairs only holding onto my hand or the railing. She climbs the ladder to the slide by herself adn is able to go down and land on her feet. She loves to climb onto the toychest, walk to the edge and yell out, "Uh, oo, ee!" and jump off. She eats with a spoon and fork and rarely allows anythign to fall off either utensil. She loves drinking from a regular cup and enjoys feeding her food to her brother and sister. She makes me laugh every day and also manages to frustrate me to new levels. She is a frequent visitor to time out but is able to stay in the time out spot until she is calm and completes her sentence. Ellie has 10 teeth and is in the middle of getting her final 2 1-year molars. She loves her pink blankie and her Dog-Dog, a pink poodle from Hanna Andersson (http://www.hannaandersson.com/). To name a few, she loves yogurt, waffles, pancakes, peaches, crackers, chicken, ketchup, BBQ sauce and dislikes veggies, hamburger (except in spaghetti), avocado and blueberries.

Ellie

Lily definitely marches to beat of her own drum. She is a kick in the pants. This child is goofy and loves every minute of it. She reminds me of my sister. Not that my sister is goofy, but my sister was confident in herself and really could care less what anyone thought of her. Lily is similar. She is the most social, initially. When we are out, Lily seeks out people to whom she can say "HI!" She will keep saying "hi" until the person responds or until we are out of view. Lily is content to be on her own and read a book or play by herself while the others are together. She has about 40-50 words and some signs. When we are out in public, Lily is the one I HAVE to watch. She really could care less if I'm around. At the mall, at the park, on the beach, it is Lily who takes off with the wind. She doesn't look back to check where Mommy is, nor does she return to "check in." She just goes. When we were in Hawaii, we usually camped out near the back of the beach and it was a good thing, because it gave us lots of time to catch up to her. She took off for the waves and never looked back. She is a love and gives lots of kisses to her brother and sister. She is gentle, unless a toy is taken from her. I can understand that. Lily hasn't visited time-out but will take toys to Ellie when she is in time out. She loves "Bear" and her pink and brown blankie. Lily has one and a half teeth on the bottom and a half of a tooth on the top. She is getting ready to break through 2 more teeth, which would explain her fussiness recently. She loves to eat blueberries, banana, waffles, pancakes, yogurt, chicken, cheese, , noodles, BBQ sauce and ketchup and dislikes veggies and avocado. Lily may not eat the most, but she definitely eats the most variety.

Liam is a love. No other words to describe him. He is a total sweetheart who loves to roughhouse with Daddy. He is a totaly boy and loves to destroy block towers. He loves to listen to music and flap his hands while dancing. He shows off how he jumps by bending his knees, then straightening them and flinging his head back. He never actually leaves the ground, but in his head he believes he soared. He is hot and cold too. When he's happy, he's definitely happy, but his mood can turn at the frop of a hat, or whenever he doesn't get his way. Instead of just yelling and crying, he goes on a mini tirade. He will quickly turn his back on me and then knocks everything out of his way as he leaves the room to hav a little tantrum. He is the most shy when we are out and about, but will warm up with time. He loves to point out airplanes in the sky and even when we are in the house, he will yell "aaaayyy-pay" if he hears one. he has about 40 words that he uses, although I doubt very much that anyone other than Mommy would know what he was saying. He loves to throw the ball out into the street on our cul-de-sac and watch it roll down the street. He recently began to label each person in our house. He does it when they are in their carseats, during walks, at bedtime or when we are all playing together. He will point at each person and say their name "Momma," "Dadda," "Eyie," "Yeyie." He gets them all right the first time but then starts to mix up his sisters. If he gets too into it or is asked too many questions, he even switches up Momma and Dadda. He loves his "Bay" (bear), Frog and blue blankie. He loves to say prayers at night and yells out "Amen!" throughout the prayer. He loves, loves, loves cheese and likes to eat eggs, waffles, chicken, beans, fruit, crackers, BBQ sauce and ketchup. He dislikes blueberries, veggies and avocado.

I will try to post more stories and pictures, if my computer decides to keep working. As for now, I'm going to go drink some wine and try to catch up on LOST (anyone is welcome to post your thoughts on this very confusing show), unless I decide to use my quiet time to clean the house. I'll let you know what I decide after I finish this glass of "Beaujolais-Villages" Red Burgundy. It is tasty and I highly recommend it.