Other March pictures

Bathtime fun.  These three love to play in the bath

Elaborate game Keeley devised where all the trucks were going to school.  This is the carpool line.  Killian was not pleased that all his trucks and cars were being used.

The kids helping me mop

Everyone watches tv in a bucket, right?

Fun butterfly craft at Chick Fil A

Carousel fun!

We might have enjoyed the rocks more than the zoo on this day.

Girl Scout meeting at our house involved a tea party.  Killian saw the tables all set up and ran to get his tea party supplies

Tired boy.

Kayden's ballet class had a field trip to see Peter and the Wolf.  It was a a very special date.

She didn't want her picture with the characters but I wanted a picture of them anyway!

Monkey.

7 years old

Every year it surprises me that the kids are a year older.  I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.  Keeley is doing exceptionally well right now.  She has really come into her own lately and has become more assertive and more interested in her own things.  We constantly bump heads about how much technology she is allowed. She loves to be read to but doesn't enjoy reading on her own nearly as much.  She often retreats to her room (or closet) to play for 30 minutes to an hour by herself.  Her room is still covered in all things related to her multiple babies that she cares for.  I've enjoyed watching her become more interested in accessories this year - shoes/purses/hair accessories.  She watches the other kids at school and then decides what she wants for herself.  She is still incredibly unique in that way :)  Her favorite color is still purple.  All 8 of her front teeth are now adult teeth and she's stopped having to wear glasses which makes her seem so much older to me.  At school she is obsessed with research and has done several projects through out the year where she has had to do a significant amount of research.

Her 7 year appointment went well except for her height.  The doctor is concerned that she's not grown as much as most kids do between 6 and 7 (two inches instead of three).  At the appointment the doctor did some labs (one of which was a blood draw....Keeley was not a happy camper because she thought she was all done with "hurting" appointments until 11). All the labs and an x-ray we got came back fine so we are still trying to decide if we'll get into an endocrinologist or wait a few months to see if she hits a growth spurt. Another medical related issue we've been dealing with is asthma.  We've had several bouts of wheezing and now have a couple of different inhalers.

Stats from her visit:
* Weight - 46.5 lbs- 30.8% (She's still bitsy and a selective eater but she did gain 6 lbs this year!)
* Height - 46.5 inches - 26.66%

She is a fantastic big sister and plays well with both her siblings.  This year she has started to want some more distance from them and that has caused a few rough patches but I think that is totally developmentally appropriate.  So frequently I look at her and see me....with her schedules and routines and need for planning.  She is such a sweet kid with a loving spirit.

Oh Killian

We sure love this little guy but man on man does he give us a run for our money!

* Last Wednesday he came home from school and refused to change into a fresh diaper for nap.  He said, "No diaper!  Underwears.  Diaper baby"  Awesome...and terrible timing.  It was days before Kelly went out of town for 5 days so I was going to be doing it alone.  I knew we were getting close but I was going to wait for Spring Break so we could have some time at home instead of all our carpool runs, dance class...He's actually doing pretty well if we can convince him to sit down on the potty.  He never wants to go and when we make him go in there, it frequently takes 5-10 minutes to actually make him sit down.  Good times.  I keep reminding myself that I thought the day would never come when Kayden just went to the bathroom like a normal person (instead of taking off EVERY item of clothing first) and she does just fine now.  Its a season, right.  It will pass...

*  The other day all three of the kids were playing in the living room while I got dinner ready.  Their favorite thing to do is pile up all the cushions into tents/forts/houses...He was in the process of making a big house on the couch and all of the sudden popped his head up and looked at me.  With his arms spread wide and a huge smile on his face, he said, "Mommy, you are my happy."  Totally melts my heart.

* Killian likes to wear his pajamas ALL the time.  Kelly laughs that he instantly strips when he comes inside (not even getting out of the mud room usually) so he can get back into pajamas.  It is not uncommon for him to wear the same pair for 24 straight hours  or to change into "day time pajamas" if some of his favorites get washed during the day.  Even though he is supposed to wear a uniform to school, he usually refuses.  The school encourages us to just bring him as he is pack his clothes so that is what I do most of the time.  We'll pull up to carpool in pajamas about 95% of the time.  Occasionally, I can get parts of his uniform on, but the days where he has all of his uniform on are rare.  Yesterday he was busy playing super hero in his underwear with his "grandma blanket" and his "magic stick" that Oma bought him.  Too busy to be bothered to put on any clothes before we went to school.  My plan was to drop off Kayden and then Keeley and then get Killian dressed.  However, when we got to school, he just laughed and laughed as he ran in with just his underwear on.  Crazy kid.

Daddy's Work Trip

The kids and I are very lucky that Dad doesn't travel very often.  This month he was gone for several days so we had to keep busy and distracted...

Crafts

 Slumber party in my room (I hate them being so far away when I'm home alone)

Making crystals before bed...

More slumber party....note about future slumber parties, the girls cannot share an air mattress well through the entire night...

 Dress up...

 Naked fort building...

Discovery of a permanent marker...good times...

 And more slumber party...

We had fun but were VERY glad when Dad finally got back!

My snuggle bug

Killian in his pjs (mismatched) and pushing all his snuggies in a stroller.  He's "going to stroller strides" with his baby.

Seriously so in love with the sleeping pictures of this little guy.  We take naps together after school and if I get up before him, he comes out with a grumpy face and says, "Why you get out of bed, Mom?"

Today he came home from school and declared, "No diapers.  Diapers baby."  When I asked him to put on a clean diaper for his nap.  I guess we are done with those!

Snuggling with me on the couch in the morning watching cartoons with sisters.

Art room banner

We turned our guest room into an art room for the kids and I wanted to decorate the