Haven't written in almost 6 months! These girls are crazy right now-non stop motion-singing, dancing, laughing, screaming, crying. We had a super summer with trips to zoos and to a Minnesota lake for a week. Girls got to play in lake and spend lots of time with cousins. Favorite part was the front yard of the cabin which was pure sand. They have really become best friends(and sometimes worst enemies). Most of the day is spent putting on new costumes and changing outfits. We have several dance/songs a day. Gretchen is now 4 and we had her first 'friends' b-day party. Lots of kids came to nana's house to exchange white elephant gifts and play dress-up and eat cake. Gretchen has a good friend at school named Maddy who follows her around everywhere.Last week Gretchen didn't want to go to school, but went anyway and afterward insisted that she 'didn't have any fun even if there was a smile on her face.' Fina is almost 2 and speaks in complete sentences already! She is a crazy talker, who recently went through a phase when she wanted to be called 'chicken' but now she prefers 'just Fina'. Well the precious few moments I had to type this are over as I can hear some stirrings in the bedroom. G will be down to snuggle with Eric and watch a kids show. Fina will be out soon asking to watch Kai Lan.

summer 2011

We can measure our growth these days by what we are able to do each summer. Gretchen used to be able to walk under these bike racks with quite a bit of room. Last year she kept bonking her head on the rack and this year she can hang on them like a monkey. So we've been busy busy doing all sorts of summer things this year. We go to the library for storytimes or shows and the girls get princess books and movies to make us proud of them. We take our little red wagon up to Union Park a few times a week. Fina will stand under the sprayer of water just drinking it or letting it get right into her eyes. She runs all over the wading pool and Gretchen jumps repeatedly into the deep end screaming 'watch me' Although Fina says quite a few words these days 'mine, no, milk, shoes, cat, dada, mama..' Gretchen is her number one translator. Of course she's not really translating, but asking for things for herself through Fina. "Fina really wants to eat ice cream in the front yard" "Fina wants to dance around naked" Gretchen also says 'whatever' a lot, which made me realize how much I say it. Her phrase just forget it, whatever is completely from me. She did create 'holy gosh' as a slightly more appropriate form of cussing then what I do. They are starting to play more and more with each other, which I think is partially from having no other kids here this summer and also from Fina just getting bigger. I have such fond memories of crazy things my siblings and I did over the summer time and I'm glad they will have it also. Last week taking the wagon to the park they were cracking each other up making 'fart mouth' noises. Fun times.

measuring up

G is done with her first year of preschool. She had a very easy time with it from the beginning. No tears once she realized how much fun it was. Miss LeAnn and Miss Laurie made those 2 1/2 hours every Wednesday something she would talk about the whole week. Of course one of her favorite parts of school was getting dressed. Eric and I had no say in these choices. Bright pink polka dot tights with a red plaid silky skirt and a t shirt covered with butterflies was the usual outfit. I could get her to wear reasonable shoes by saying that the teachers had a rule about that. Although she doesn't understand the concept of summer vacation the way that most schoolchildren do, it is that time now which means swimming, parks, and all sorts of fun. Here G is with Nana at the last day of school picnic. The children came in wearing sunglasses and sang "Mr Golden Sun" for all the parents or just sat there with shocked looks on their faces while the teachers sang. She came home with all sorts of crazy artwork and stories about the 'boys crying' and Isaac and his baba. Next year she will go for 2 days a week and then...oh don't even want to think about that yet. Just trying to enjoy now.

One Week

As a former English teacher I'm always hard-pressed to make this a fabulous piece of writing. Well I believe I have some superb characters that will drive the story, so I'm not worrying so much about perfect prose or gorgeous grammar. When I think back to last week it's hard to believe that so many of these things actually happened. These things are not necessarily in the order in which they happened. All are basically true though anyone who knows me will tell you I am prone to exaggeration!

Fina stabbing the cupboards with two big knives she got out of the dishwasher. Fina trying to eat a cigarette butt. Gretchen puking in the dining room. Callling 911 while out for a stroller walk after seeing a domestic dispute down the street. Going to library with three kids, double stroller, broken elevator. Gretchen enjoying an under the sea story time and then in the play area using checkers as cookies with her friend Sydney. Gretchen puking in the living room. Fina head-butting Gretchen. Carrying a screaming three year old on my back and pushing double stroller with 2 other kids one of whom was not the same one who we arrived at the library with. Eating sandwiches from DT Jimmy Johns and standing in line with business folk. Seeing skyscrapers. Eric sleeping on Gretchen's floor as she puked some more and insisted she was fine. Going to zoo on a rainy cold day only to discover it was school field trip day. Fina loves the snakes. Gretchen loves observing the school children. Fina saying 'cracker'. Fina puking in car. Fina puking on me while picking up my new glasses. Fina puking in my bed. Fina puking in Gretchen's bed. Laundry. Planting onions and carrots in the garden. Getting nails done with Gretchen-bright pink of course. Lying on clean sheets with everyone reading our ABC book. Gretchen telling me everything she can think of that starts with each letter and Fina 'roaring' each time we wee the lion.

stuck

To us the vacuum cleaner is just as important as the toilet. Although sometimes we 'if it's yellow let it mellow' in the toilet-the vacuum cannot be in that category. We have a literal infestation of raisins throughout the house. Today the bank teller found a raisin in the change jar of Gretchen's that I was putting into her account. They look like little roaches and after living in a college house where this became a problem, this is quite unnerving. + these damn things are stuck to my feet or slippers all of the time. Crumbs, barbie shoes, polly pocket sportswear-it's everywhere. And we have two cats which take a lot of blame, but they are actually hygiene freaks compared to the children. I have taken apart the vacuum too many times to count within the last year. Fina has a tendency to eat everything that she puts in her mouth( I recently discovered a googly eye from a puppet in her diaper), so I'm always vacuuming. The first time I took apart the vacuum I found a Thing One, today I found a full piece of thick sidewalk chalk(of course with some Fina bite marks in it). I have found a barbie wig, a child's sock, a ping pong ball among the detritus in the tubes and filters of our bargain basement vacuum. Someone might say to me 'don't let your kids eat all over the house'-that's beyond laughable. Or watch more carefully what you vacuum-that again is hilarious because vacuuming is a sport at our house called 'vrooming' and Fina follows me screaming with joy attempting to put the cord around her next the entire time. Gretchen holds the cord like a lasso while she pretends that the vacuum is a horse. My eyes are concentrating on making sure I don't have to explain some strange accident to a nurse in the ER. My children are not scared of the vacuum, it is an activity at our house. Sometimes some other child will be here and run screaming to the couch when the vacuum is turned on. I want to scream 'don't teach my child that!' It's just like reading a children's book that shows kids who don't want to go to bed, we don't need those types of ideas promoted-those books should be banned. Banning the vacuum however is not an option. The panic I feel when it's not working is palpable. So the girls and I will continue to 'vroom' through thick and thin.

Our dear Fina

One year old today! Dear jelly bean I am so happy you are here and growing and so so perfect. We had moments of worry before you were born that everything would be ok and now sometimes I look at you and am just speechless and beyond amazed. You want to be just like big sis, you eat as if you enjoy nothing else, you laugh when I tell you no, you fight us like crazy when we try to put a clean diaper on or dress you. Here you are with us full of personality and of course the FEDG charisma! Lately you love to pretend that you are putting your own clothes on. You like to wear a tiara and go 'ah ah ah' around the house. You DEMAND that we read books to you and often pretend to do it on your own. You are a master puker as any of your family will attest to. We thought Gretchen was fearless, but you seem to take it to a whole new level. My blog has had a few lists in it and here are just a few of the things you dear Fina Fina have done to scare us half out of our minds
take knives out of the dishwasher and walk around
hold a fork next to an open electrical outlet next to the cat's watering dish
eaten more cat food then I care to actually estimate
tried to eat a screw
sneezed out an apple sticker
pooped out stickers, tinkerbell's shoe, and a button
sit in the middle of the pile of detritus I have just swept and started eating
got stuck behind the toilet
played in the toilet water
Oh my oh my I could really go on here. You keep us on our toes always. I think it may be your way of making sure that we know you are here. And dear girl, we know you are here. We couldn't feel more happy, lucky, blessed, and honored that you are here:)