Kid updates

A few bits and pieces about the kids since I've been slacking on my blog lately.

Nathan: Nathan started taking piano lessons.  He begged us to take piano lessons.  So far he loves it and has been practicing most days that he's supposed to.  That's a lot better than he did with his viola.  Not that he doesn't like his viola... he just thinks he doesn't need to practice.  Now he's motivated to practice because if he doesn't practice, he doesn't get piano lessons.  Strange how that works, huh?

Michael: Michael got braces last week (on the 4th).  He has done better with them than I would have!  I hate mouth pain.  His teeth and  mouth have been pretty sore, but he's been tough about it.  He has even been diligent about brushing just like they showed him.  (We'll see how long that lasts.)  I LOVE them on him - I think he looks so handsome and grown up.  Unfortunately he won't let me take a picture of them so you won't get to see what I'm talking about.  (And I'm not even supposed to mention them on my blog so shhhh!  Don't tell!)

Katie: Katie is getting glasses.  Yep, that's the third kid to get glasses in 10 months.  Crazy!  She was so excited when the doctor said she needs glasses.  She and Anna started doing the "happy about glasses" dance - jumping up and down while holding hands and turning in circles.

Anna: Anna is getting her second pair of glasses.  Her prescription has already changed.

Lydia:  Hmmm, nothing new with Lydia.  She's been sleeping better though, so that's good news.  For anyone that doesn't know, she battled with insomnia and anxiety last year.  But she seems to be doing a lot better for now!  (We'll see what happens when she starts school next week.)

Elizabeth:  Sweet and cute as can be... but watch out for that temper.  How can someone so little and cute have such RAGE?  Also she wants to go to school.  She told me "On my birthday, when I turn 5, I'll go to my class and my teacher will be there so I can go to school."  She doesn't start school till next year.  She's so ready and wants to be like her big sisters. But she'll have to wait.  We'll do fun things at home.

Caleb:  His reflux is back.  We had it under control for a long time, but now it's back with a vengeance.  I think he needs a dose change on his medicine.  He has been sleeping horribly.  Fun.  He has an appointment in a few weeks to meet with a feeding team (nutritionist, occupational therapist and behavioral psychologist). I'm rather excited to see if they can help him.  In other Caleb news, he's still talking like crazy... non-stop really.  He  has to repeat everything in a full sentence and it has to end with "mommy".  It's cute (and pretty smart if you ask me), but that means a whole lot of talking.  So if you ask him, "Caleb, do you like trucks?"  He'll answer, "Yeah, I like trucks mommy.  Do you like trucks mommy?"  And I can't just answer him with a yes or no answer either.  Here's an example of a typical conversation with him.  We were in the car and Caleb says, "I see a dump truck mommy.  Do you see a dump truck mommy?"  If I say yes, he'll continue, "There's a dump truck mommy.  That's a white dump truck  mommy.  Do you see the white dump truck mommy?"  So I have to answer, "Yes Caleb, I see the white dump truck." or he'll say it over and over again. And then he moves on to the next vehicle.  Oh and he wants to drive.  Since we have a van he thinks it's big and that normal size cars are "little".  So if he sees a smallish car he'll say, "I want to drive that yellow car mommy.  Can I drive that yellow car mommy?"  I think I tell him at least once a day that he can't drive until he's bigger.  Caleb's favorite day will be the day he turns 16 I'm sure.  And a funny quirk Caleb has... he has to shut EVERY door.  Any door that he sees open, he has to close.  This is very frustrating when he follows me around the house as I clean.  I'll go into a closet to put something away, turn around and there's Caleb closing the door.  Then I move him out of the way, go to get something and there's Caleb closing the door.  My favorite is trying to put clothes in the washer or dryer and he closes it on my.  I don't know why he's so obsessed with closing doors.  Probably because he can. 

And now for some funny kid sayings, since I'm updating.

Elizabeth:
I still have an obsession with Craigslist.  I check it multiple times a day and talk about it way too much, but I'm having fun!  I was discussing something I found on Craigslist with Anna.  Elizabeth joins in and says, "Who is Craig anyway?"

Caleb:
We went to a doctor appointment (big surprise, huh?) and when we got there the waiting room was empty and there was no one at the desk either.  Caleb looks around and says, "Where da people go?" It made me laugh out loud.  Luckily there were no people around to hear me.  Another funny thing is that when he's mad at me he points his finger at me and says, "You not like me mommy."  I have absolutely NO idea where he got this from.  It's so darn cute though, even if it is kinda sad that he thinks that.  I just scoop him up, hug him and say, "I like you AND I love you!"
And one more Caleb funny: he calls graham crackers, "Grandma Crackers".  Makes me laugh every time he says, "I want a grandma cracker mommy."

So now you're updated... a bit.