Clare-isms

Yesterday for dessert, I gave Clare some lime sherbet. She grabbed her spoon and said, "This is gonna change my life!"

Tonight as I am putting Miss Priss to bed, she says, "Mommy, when I crawl in your bed in the morning, I am going to try not to wake you up."

This Round Goes To Jane!

VBS 2010

We just finished up a fun week of Vacation Bible School. All of us girls participated in some way...Clare was in the four year old class, Jane and Sydney were in the twos, and I taught third grade. This was the first year for the twins to participate; last year they were stuck in the nursery. We all had a very fun, but exhausting week!

Tonight was the big program/family night and the kids were called up on stage to perform the songs they have learned through the week. Clare was eager to show us what she had learned.

Jane and Sydney were thrilled to get the green light to go up on stage and dance. They would stand up there for a bit and then run back down the aisle to us. I am not sure they mastered the motions to the songs! :-)

Following the program, there were snow cones, bounces houses and carnival games. I think this picture of Clare sums up how we all felt after a long, fun week!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

One of my biggest misconceptions about parenting had to do with sleep. I mistakenly thought that once I got my baby sleeping through the night, I was golden. WRONG! Sure, for the time being that was great, but I have learned since Clare was born is that sleep issues are pretty pervasive throughout the preschool years. We have dealt with/are still dealing with stalling at bedtime, waking up in the night, bad dreams (last night about a gorilla), climbing out of cribs, and dropping naps. It is a regular occurrence at our house to be changing bedtimes, changing nap times, and adjusting wake-up times.

Jane and Sydney are currently on a good schedule. They take an afternoon nap for about one and a half to two hours. They go to bed around 8:00 and sleep until around 8:00 in the morning...sometimes later. I can't complain. They are both still in cribs, but while we are enjoying this great sleeping schedule, I am hesitant to move them to beds. Why fix it if it ain't broke?


Clare is giving up her afternoon nap. Granted, she is four years old, so I know it is time. She really does fine without it for a day or two, but after several days, the fatigue sets in. Just today, I set her up for rest time, and when I went to check on her, she had fallen asleep on my bed. I guess she will sleep when she needs to! The beauty of the no-nap day reveals itself at bedtime, when there are no "peeps" from upstairs. Clare is usually so tired, she conks out as soon as her head hits the pillow!

The $1,000,000 question is how to get her take a nap on Sunday afternoon? I must have my Sunday afternoon nap!!!

A Lazy Saturday

Family, Fireworks, and The Fourth!

We enjoyed a great Fourth of July with LoLo, Pop, Nathan, Megan, Brody and Mamma!

My girls have so much fun playing with Brody. For the first few minutes after he had arrived, the kids were literally running laps around the house. It is hard not to smile when you watch them all play together.

Our celebration consisted of grilling, swimming, homemade ice cream, and the kids' first fireworks show!

All of the kids did great staying up past their bedtime to watch fireworks. During the show, Jane said, "It is so pretty!" I love watching my kids do something for the first time, and watching fireworks was no exception!

Making Her Splash

This week, Clare finished up swim lessons, and she did so great! She has made such huge progress. The difference between this year and last year is night and day. Last year, she wouldn't even get her eyes wet, and now, dare I say, she can actually swim?!


These two weeks of swim lessons did so much for her confidence level. She is willing to try more things in the water, and more importantly, she is having so much fun! We have been to the neighborhood pool practically everyday, so she can show me her "skills!"

I am so proud of my little waterbug, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer holds!