Yeah, I'm a few days late for Melt My Heart Monday but I keep meaning to write about some of the cute, quirky things my three kiddos have been up to recently. And heck, maybe i'll return to this list tomorrow when i'm in all of the chaos and need a small reminder of how cute they all are ;)
Cole melts my heart when he snuggles up to me and asks me to read to him. He has also been interested in math recently. Tonight I sat on the couch with him for about 15 minutes working on subtraction. When i had to stop our math lesson to put Reid to bed, Cole put his head on my lap and told me he wasn't going to let me go. I love spending individual time with him! We've been having a blast at swimming lessons on Sundays. Cole has become an expert at blowing bubbles and has even been going under a little when he jumps to me. He also loves taking a shower after the lesson. I always assumed that he would freak out in the shower but he seems to love it. Also, he enjoys playing Chutes and Ladders. He can amuse himself for hours with library books especially ones about trains, diggers, race cars, and dinosaurs. He has a lot of energy and enjoys running around the backyard playing monster. He is very interested in interacting with his baby brother which usually ends up with Reid crying but Cole is a great apologizer. In fact, he is known for apologizing as he is doing something to his brother or sister. He is still obsessed with his comforter and despite many washes and a haircut or two it is still pretty disgusting but I don't have the heart to take away his favorite lovey. When you ask him who is best friend is he responds "comforter". Cole's teachers say that he is the most enthusiastic student in the class and often jumps up and down with his hands by his mouth with excitement when they switch activities. This does not melt my heart but I think it is too funny not to share-- when cole needs to poop he strips down because he claims that clothing hinders his pooping. We not refer to him as the "naked pooper". On a similar note, he has been blessing us with puddles at the base of the toilet recently. After asking him sevearl times what was going on he finally told me: "Mommy, I try to get my pee pee through the trap door". I think the trap door is the toilet seat...
Gwen is a sweet little girl. She talks a mile a minute and right when i'm ready to tell her i need a break from the "mommy, mommy, mommy", she will say: "Mommy, i love you" and melt my heart. She is a little mommy and a girly girl these days. She is very into being a princess and playing with her dolls. She has an infant carseat next to her carseat in the van where she leaves her baby for me to care for while she is at school. During quiet time (she rarely naps these days) she sets up all kinds of parties for her babies and her stuffed animals. She talks to them as if she is their mommy and is known for stealing baby items for her babies. The other day i was sorting out some infant clothing to give to a friend and I knew it was over when Gwen spotted a few cute baby girl hats, outfits and headbands. After several minutes of negotiation, she ended up with two outfits, a few headbands and a couple of hats for Matilda, her favorite doll. Gwen is very helpful around the house. A few weeks ago she helped Daddy wash carrots from our garden for nearly an hour and she is over the moon excited when we ask her to wash the kitchen table. Gwen is into fashion and switches her outfit at least twice a day. During quiet time she usually tries on a few outfits and almost always decides to wear a dress or a skirt for the remainder of the day. At times she also wants to choose outfits for her brothers and even tries to color coordinate the boys so that they match each other.
At 13 months Reid melts my heart when he gets a book and then backs his little bottom up to sit on my lap. I remember when i worked in daycare how special i felt when the kids used to back up to sit on my lap and it is 1,001 times more fun experiencing this with my own child. Reid is interested in animals and continues to run around the house yelling "duck" and "dog" on a daily basis. He knows a few animal noises (ie. tries to tweet, quack, baaa, and says "uh eh" (monkey) and "pffffffft" (elephant) and loves looking at animals in books. He looks up for airplanes and enjoys pushing toy cars/trains/trucks/diggers around and making car noises. The other day when we were waiting to pick Cole and Gwen up at school he spotted a pond across the parking lot. He immediately started making fish mouth noises and run to the pond. It amazes me that at 13 months he knew that there could be fish in a pond. Recently he has not been putting little things in his mouth. Instead he picks up pieces of food, fuzzies, tissues etc. and brings them to me saying "uh oh". Last night Andy and i got a big kick out of him when Andy asked him to clean up the floor after dinner. Reid picked each bit of food off the floor and put it in the trash can. I have no idea how he learned this skill but I figure it cant' hurt consider the house usually looks like a bomb went off! Oh and the "uh oh" game also applies to when he sees something that is off. For example, if he sees the pantry door left ajar or the gate left open he stands by it yelling "uh oh". Last night I told Reid that it was time for bed. He immediately ran to get his dog and started going towards the steps. Reid loves to toddle around in our backyard by himself. He enjoys playing at the sand table. he usually grabs the wooden spoon and stirs sand in the different jars and pots. Sometimes he places the pots and diggers on the patio or in the grass. He can entertain himself for a little while while Gwen and Cole run around. When music is on he bops around around I swear he is learning how to jump. His feet actually leave the ground!
