bare necessities

As we watched Jungle Book today I was reminded again that Lauren (especially when wearing her little orange undies) looks exactly like Mowgli.

queen for a day

Lauren turns 4 today! Unfortunately, it is not the happiest of birthdays.

She's a sick little girl, with a fever, congestion, and laryngitis that sounds so sad you have to give her a hug every time she utters a sound. Our good friend and physician, Jeff Poulsen, made a much-appreciated house call and told us how to help her get better and stay comfortable. We decided that, since we couldn't go to the Baltimore Aquarium as planned, we would make her "Queen for a Day." She could eat ice cream any time, day or night. She could have the whole couch to herself. She could watch Mary Poppins three times in a row. Whatever.

She went along with it until about 10 o'clock. When I asked a question of Her Royal Highness she frowned and, in her loudest possible whisper, said, "Don't call me 'Queen.'"

The day did have its high points, however. She perked up when she opened her doll house accessories, doctor kit, snazzy new outfit, and her very own, beautiful, extremely purple bike -- all of which we hope will bring her lots of birthday happiness in the days to come.

baby steps

Audrey took her first steps today. Hooray, Audrey!

touche

Lauren didn't want to eat her dinner. To be fair, it was a veggie-stuffed portabella mushroom, but the rest of us thought it was pretty tasty. I told her she didn't have to eat it all, just as much as she thought she would need to last her until breakfast. She barely touched her food and, predictably, two hours later, she shouted down from her bed that she was hungry.

"I'm really sorry," I told her. "Next time remember to eat more at dinner, okay?" Her reply was swift, and her request sincere.

"Next time, remember to make a better dinner."

hello, goodbye!

This morning Audrey introduced us to her wave and said, "Bye, bye!" 

social climber

As I finished the dishes, I thought to myself how nice it was that all three girls could play happily in the basement where they're surrounded by safe toys, and where Audrey can be contained. At about the same time, I glanced through the kitchen doorway and saw Audrey appear at the top of the stairs, quite proud of herself. I wanted to see for myself how she got there, so I put her at the bottom and followed her up the full flight. Took her about 15 seconds. 

The baby gate has been installed. 

sabbath

Today from the backseat, out of nowhere, Ella announced, "Daniel had his birthday party on Sunday because he doesn't go to our church. He's a little bit Jewish."

body language

We arrived home and were piling out of the van when Lauren slipped and fell onto the driveway. I was powerless to help as I watched her fall, but felt better when she immediately cried, "Oh! My body! My cute little body!"

ladies and gentlemen . . .

Tonight I tried a new arts & crafts idea with the girls. I gave them each a few sheets of paper, two ink pads and (drum roll please) permission to put their fingers in the ink to their hearts' content. You should have seen their faces.

I demonstrated how they could press their fingertips into the ink, onto the paper, and then, by drawing on simple ears and a tail, make mice! Oh, they were thrilled. They immediately went to work, pressing and drawing. I joined the fun for a few minutes, and then slipped out to finish the dishes.

About 20 minutes later, Ella came to me and declared, "I GIVE YOU . . . MICE ON A SKATEBOARD!" She flashed another paper, "AND . . . MICE ON A TRAPEZE!" The drawings really were comical, and I complimented her on her creativity. "Thanks, Mom," she said. "All I do is draw something really scary, then put in the little woodland creatures." She disappeared.

A few mintes later, I checked the girls' progress. Ella held up more papers as her voice boomed, "I GIVE YOU . . . MICE ON A TREADMILL! AND . . . MICE SHOOTING OUT OF A CANNON!"
"Very impressive, Ella. Maybe two more, then it's time for bed."
"This is so fun, Mom. I could do 100."
"I think you could, Ella. I do believe you could."

techie

Ella descended the stairs as she announced to me, quite emphatically, "I absolutely love Google."

play kitchen, real technique

I love that when Ella cooks in her play kitchen she browns her memory cards in a saute pan before lining them up on a cookie sheet and baking them off in the oven. 

observation

Ella eyed the cupcakes on the counter left over from Audrey's birthday last night. 

"Can I have one for breakfast?" she asked. Lauren was quick with the answer, 

"Only grown-ups can have cupcakes for breakfast. Right, Mom?" 

what a trip

After tripping and rolling my ankle on the stairs, I limped down to the couch and Kim brought me my usual bag of frozen vegetables. Lauren came to my side and asked, "What happened, Mom?"

"I tripped on the stairs."

"And then you fell on the stairs?"

"Yes."

"The same stairs you tripped on?" She giggled.

"Yes."

"And then you fell down in a knot?" She giggled again.

"Yes."

"Like a pretzel?" 

"Kind of."

She laughed out loud and walked away. 

one year ago today

That's when Audrey was born. Happy birthday, sweet girl. We adore you so. With your happy eyes, drooly smile, grunting little giggle, lovely locks, incredible "Go, go Gadget" arms, and chunky thighs. We think you're the very best baby girl in the whole wide world. xo