Christmas!

Why you always Lying?

The big news that happened is that Rosalie weened herself. It was right around Joe's birthday.I was only nursing her at bedtime. She tried for a second, looked up at me and shook her head "no." Well, that's it for breast feeding babies. I am officially done. Luckily, I am not as sad as I thought I might be.

Our little smarty pants also has started humming "Let it Go," at the mere mention of Anna and Elsa. She also hums the Night Night song when she is tired.

She has been very difficult the last few weeks. Between perpetual sickness and the impending teeth that will descend soon, she is clingy and more fussy than usual. She still only has 2 teeth and she is now 17 months old.

Somerset is so creative. She fashions handmade clothes for hers dolls. Tonight she constructed and outfit from paper and fitted her doll with it. Her art continues to impress us. She can accurately draw members of the family, cats, bears, dogs etc. She loves preschool, singing, art and You Tube.

Somerset continues to be a rock star in the pool. She can jump into the pool from the diving board and is getting more confident with her strokes.

She also started taking an acrobatics class that she enjoys. She is strong and flexible and learning bridges, cartwheels and handstands.

Leo has been caught lying a bit and we are trying the stop this behavior. He has been caught lying about showering, eating Halloween candy in his closet. he downloaded an application onto my IPad without asking. etc.

He also accidentally admitted to writing a nasty note in school that he didn't write. he note said B M F. I won't write the real words because they re too offensive. The problem is that Leo had altered some notes in school. He wrote that a girl was a "hippy." nd changed the words "best friend," to "worst friend." He was guilty, but not at the level he was accused of. His teacher had a conference with Joe and we both know that this handwriting was not Leo's, nor do we think he is capable of being so mean. The whole incident really did alarm and sadden me, but I think it was a great teaching moment in Leo's life.

Other than that, Leo seems to like his new school and is starting to understand some Spanish, I still think we made the right choice in having him switch schools, but it frustrates me to know that someone in his class is capable of doing this.

Halloween and Arco Iris!

Our Rosebud, RoRo, has gone through some major changes. She is now a fully proficient walker, she shakes her head yes and no,, she understands simple commands like, "please get me a book," or "bring Somerset her shoes."

She also battled a really nasty virus last week. Her temp was almost  and she went to the doctor 2 days. She was miserable. They had to collect urine to see if it was a UTI, but turns out it was probably just a bad virus.

Rosalie is constantly climbing chairs and tables. She especially likes the kitchen chairs and the computer desk chair. She is so dangerous and it scares Mommy!!!!

She also has a favorite book: I Like It When. It features to 2 penguins, a mommy and a baby. She knows all the pages and and can act our certain parts of the book, so we know she is understanding so much over the last month.

She still only has 2 bottom teeth, but it appears that she is teething like mad and will probably get a bunch of teeth all at once.

This week we discovered that Rosalie is in love with cutie oranges, She would eat them non-stop if we allowed. She will grunt for them and reach and point.

She is going through a difficult stage where she knows what she wants, but doesn't have the words, so instead, she grunts, cries and fusses until we figure it out. It is quite a change from our mellow girl, but she also learned how to really hug back this week, so that was a big plus!

Leo started a new school two weeks ago!!! We got a call on October 22nd letting us know that they had a space available for him. I was excited but sad. We had decided that McKay would be the school we devoted all of out energy into and all of the sudden we were confronted with a choice. Ultimately, we decided to have Leo go to Arco. It was sad to say goodbye to McKay, Leo's friends and his awesome teacher Ms. Douglass, but the opportunity for Leo and his sisters to learn Spanish, be a part of such a vibrant school community and high test scores were just too great of an opportunity to pass up.So far, it has been a great choice. We are settling into out new routine and Leo seems to love his new school.

Somerset continues to be extremely creative. Her problem solving is fantastic and her drawing and crafts are very detailed for her age. She is going through a gymnastics phase and I plan to have her try out a local class at Encore. She also continues to swim at Harman and is in a Level 3 class....by far the youngest kid and so confident in the water. She continuously sings around the house, much to our dismay. I love our happy girl, but her constant falsetto can be a bit much. She loves choir and I see much singing and music in her future. I believe that she has quite the voice.

Halloween was wet!!! The brace big kids wouldn't let the ceaseless rain stop them from their pursuit of candy. The came home drenched and then proceeded to do hours worth of candy swapping. Poor Rosalie barely got her costume on. poor little thing as just a mess, so she stayed home with Daddy.

Somerset Turns 5!

My sweet family is growing up so fast! My Somerset shot up this Summer and not only does she have long, lean legs, can sing like an angel and swim like a fish, she is now 5! She wants to be a pony trainer, is learning to read and loves anything creative! She is an amazing artist and has quite the flair for fashion. She is 5 going on 15 and has really become quite a sweet, good girl. She still has her dramatic moments, but all in all, she has been a very good girl who loves preschool, her friends and baby sister.

Somerset had a great birthday, which is awesome since she has talked about her birthday for the past few months. Her birthday weekend started with a trip to gt her nails done and shopping with grandma, followed by a trip to the circus with Ellie! What fun the girls had!

Her birthday was a My Little Pony event with Rarity taking center stage. We had a pin the tail on the pony game, a pinata (big blue high heel), and a face painter! The kids all seemed to have a good time and Somerset received so many wonderful gifts: A headband kit, a make your own pillows, Beados, clothes etc.

Rosalie is now walking! She walks slow and methodically, but it is walking none the less. The beginning of October marks her adventures on 2 feel. She also loves books now and counts as she turns pages.

She also has started saying "ut-oh," which is one of my favorite baby phrases. She also pants like a dog and loves books. She brings me books all the time to read to her. She can also get a book when we ask her to,  so she is beginning to understand simple command.

Leo has started getting picked on for his height. This breaks my heart!

Oh how we have loved this Summer

 Maybe I was making up for the fact that I had a baby last summer and couldn't get the kids out as much as I would have wanted, but this summer has been one for the books. We have kept so busy with Villa Sport, swim lessons, Mathnasium, summer camps etc. It has been amazingly fun, at times challenging for me, but so worth it!

I owe so much of our fun to Villa Sport. I have cherished every minute there. The childcare staff is amazing, the classes are kicking my butt and the pool has been so fun! I want to stay so badly, but it is not an inexpensive endeavor.

Our Rosalie is changing so much. She laughs and smiles frequently, she also shows when she is unhappy by whining. She got a tooth this week too!! Bottom left front tooth, welcome, we never thought you would come. She also took one step today. She has been standing for a long time, so sh is ready! I am ready for her to get off the floor too, her pants are all so dirty from crawling.

Somerset is an amazing artist. Her drawings have so much detail and I love the style of her art. She is excited to start school, but will miss all the friends she has made at Villa. She is very popular. She will start preschool next week and will continue taking swim lessons.

Leo continues to love Mathnasium and is at the 4th grade level. He is also back into Pokemon. His obsession is deep again and his room is littered with cards....ugh! Leo has also started learning to ride a skateboard.

We also had an amazing visit with Jacob. The kids are in love with him, He spent the day at the Children's Museum with us, went to Villa, spent the night and hung out at the house. He is always a great guest and we love him so much!

I am ready for school, but will really miss the summer. I have loved the heat, the pool and the casual clothes.