Making music

Today we were even more true to our blog title. Erin woke up an hour earlier than usual, which throws me off because then I'm not dressed and ready when she starts the day. I think I'm also not used to juggling three (when does that third arm grow in?), and especially when I'm tired I feel more behind than usual.

Vincent and Erin get better at amusing themselves. Sometimes this involves huge messes, but it can also mean several minutes of peace for Mom (I appreciate it!). This morning, Erin stumbled upon the guitar hero controllers, and Vincent soon followed suit. They intuitively put the straps over their heads and delighted in playing the guitars and singing. Twinkle twinkle little star off key and out of sync ensued for several minutes.

Erin loves to climb. Today she pulled a chair up next to the vacuum cleaner and proceeded to dance. When I told her that the chair wasn't a good place to dance (not too stable), she held on to the vacuum while dancing, as if it was more secure. Then she stopped, began to lift her legs as if she would climb the vacuum cleaner. She tilted her head to the side and gave me the most impish smile! How do kids know to do that? Are these universally understood or is that something that is modeled for her?

Erin also decided that she would "wuhrt" today. She found a hammer and has been banging it on all different tables and chairs. When the kids started up the stairs for nap time, Erin says "okay, I'm going to wuhrt on my bed". Once up stairs, Vincent thought this was a good idea too. But, he convinced her that a hanger would make a better hammer and took the play hammer off her hands. After I put the baby down, I find them both banging away on Erin's toddler bed. Vincent also taught her how to use the longer side of the head of the hammer as a paint roller. He later explained to me in great detail how each piece of the pants hanger he was using had a task - some parts painted, some parts pulled off the old paint, some parts collected paint chips.

And even though Vincent went to bed with the hanger and Erin with the hammer, somehow the hammer ended up in Vincent's bed at the end of nap time. Wiley kids...

Overheard in Tomooka Town

Vincent: There's a back hoe loader!
Mommy: That's right, you sure know a lot of different trucks.
Vincent: I know everything.
Mommy: You do? What about 4x4?
Vincent: Oh...well, everything about trucks.
Mommy: Really? What's a hummer?
Vincent: Not singing, Mommy, trucks!
- in the van, going down Mountain Ave

After a few minutes of successfully playing guess a number 1-10:
Vincent: 3
Erin: 48
Mommy: That's too big, try a number 1-10
Erin: purple!
- in the van, going up Euclid

Much of the time it's not what the kids say, but how they say it:
boo-ut = book
pajaminas = pajamas
cin-cint = Vincent
Mary Chair = Mary Clare
wuhrt = work
furfur = Christopher (friend at E's school)
glolondola = gondola

...And their cute, little voices. I need to get those on audio/video more frequently before they are gone forever!

Speaking of how quickly time passes, here's one of my favorite stories from Vincent (about 2 years):
V: Will we see any trash trucks today?
M: I don't know, keep your eyes peeled!
V: Eyes don't peel! (said with genuine joy as he laughed at his mom!)

Overheard in Tomooka Town

Ever heard of the site Overheard in NY? I can't promise to meet the hilarity encountered by thousands of people in New York City, but I will be showcasing the best of Tomooka Town in "Overheard" posts.

Erin was on a roll this week...

Mommy: Erin, do you want mac and cheese for dinner or McDonald's?
Erin: Mac and cheese at McDonald's!
The girl knows what she wants.
- in the van

Vincent: I'm the big brother.
Erin: And I'm the girl brother.
- in the van

All on her own...

Mary had two adventures this week!

My parents watched all three kiddos on Saturday so that we could go to the 12th annual Bishop's dinner. It was the soonest I've ever left a newborn at home, but I knew the kids were in experienced grandparenting hands. We had forgotten to practice with a bottle the day before, but my parents reported that Mary resisted at first (as expected), but quickly adapted to the new form for her supper (unexpected - what a relief!). We enjoyed a very nice night with some interesting couples from our church and for a good cause.

Today, my sister watched Mary while V & E were at school so that I could go to my first job interview as an RN. I received a text message from my sister after I finished my interview that simply said "poop. third outfit. having fun." Thanks, Auntie Julia!

Daily Notes

Yesterday we had fun playing "go fish" and memory with the go fish cards. Erin decided she would count her three cards. All of a sudden, she's up at "20, 21, 22...25, 26...30". Eventually she became a broken record counting "20, 30, 20, 30". Great to hear her count so high! I was glad she had a blast counting three cards over and over and over. At school they are also practicing writing her name and numbers. Go, Erin, go!

This isn't recent, but a story Mark and I were talking about last night. When asked "where did you learn that?" Vincent most often says "I made it up." Often we say "are you sure? who taught you that?" Finally, one time when asked where he learned something he had shared with us, he replied "I learned it up!"

Mary's been sweet and content, rarely crying. Most often, she cries to tell me to put her back to sleep! I can't remember if the other kids slept this much, but it seems like she really needs her sleep and knows it too. Fine by me for now!

Summer in the Spring

Yesterday was my mom's birthday (love you, Mommy!). It was almost 90 degrees here, only ten days after the first day of spring (and Mary's birthday). We got out the slip and slide for some pre-summer fun.



Here's video of the kids last summer on the same slip and slide. Fun to compare the two - the kids both fit into those same swim suits because mommy is the queen of buying clothes too big for just that purpose!



My parents introduced Vincent to badminton sometime back. He can actually return the birdie once in a while. About half way through the video, you can hear him tell me "that's a little too in the plants."



Mary hung out with us outside (in the shade of course). She slept the whole time, which leads me to believe that she enjoys being outside and that the sounds of her active siblings are calming to her. Erin had fun singing to Mary. I think the main words are "I love you so much." It's a relief and a delight to hear that Erin is embracing the changes in our little family.



Casual poll: If pictures are worth 1000 words, how much are videos worth?