Jun 15

First Trip of Summer

Summer in Anchorage is slowly rolling in, or at least I will continue to whisper that to myself until actual sunny days and seventy degree temperatures appear. With this season continuing the cold snap and dreary, rainy weather, the girls are still asking when summer will get here. And it’s a fair question.

The weather confirms my decision to not pursue kid soccer this summer and opting to wait until they are older with better participation. It also means we don’t have to sit outside and be cold and wet while watching! Instead we opted to do parkour gymnastics once a week for summer session with all three in class together. Two weeks in and so far so good on behavior. The teachers have everything handled by splitting them out into separate subgroups for each activity and while they push limits a bit, overall they are doing much better than a year ago. One difference between the weeknight and Saturday morning class is the level of kid whining from the group in general. You can easily tell everyone is far more tired into their day than when it’s the first thing on the weekend. So far we seem fine and are home by about seven for a quick dinner. Harper will also say she’s sad that Miss Jess, her dance teacher, doesn’t work on Tuesday nights, and is already asking for dance to start again.

Even without sunshine yet, we kicked off our first weekend of June with a birthday party in the valley, random face painting and shaved ice treats, and a multiples barbecue with a ton of twin sets and us! By the time we made it to the final event of the day the girls were in rarer form, grumpy and disobedient, but we survived! A year ago that much activity in a single day would have ended in disaster, and we have to remember how much easier it continues to be each day. It’s not only a relief, but also a little sad, knowing the girls are growing up into bigger, more independent kiddos.

It was a nice change to attend an event and the girls found ways to entertain themselves, something that never used to happen without adult containment and constant attention. When they were smaller I always felt like I missed socializing at every event, because they needed constant attention to stay out of the disaster stage while we were out and about. So for a solid hour my tiny humans climbed and played in the mayday tree next to the birthday party, and it was amazing. By the time we loaded up to the next event, probably more than half of the tree’s flowers were either discarded on the ground or in massive bouquets intended for soup and other child creations once at home.

I believe that instigated the next stage of our non-summer weather, with a straight kick of pollen to the face. The handfuls of mayday flowers, which smell amazing to those of us that don’t have allergies, likely spurred the coughing that we are still seeing a week later. Surprisingly enough, Emerie is the least affected so far, and not the one with a runny nose or coughing fits. This year seems worse than prior ones- even with all three on daily kid-Clariton medicine- and Reagan and Harper are stuck in the midst of it, with continuous coughing fits for the last several days but no fevers.

So much coloring with Mom’s fancy markers and new coloring books!

Grandma Sue arrived middle of last week and together we trekked with the girls down to the Kenai Peninsula for my work trip. We left midday on Friday while Craig was still at work and spent two nights enjoying life outside of our hometown after a long winter without much travel. At one point on the drive down all three girls and Grandma were snoozing and I enjoyed the quiet drive listening to music and seeing the beautiful Alaskan landscape. Everyone snuggled in the new blankets Grandma brought up from Juneau and Emerie slept a solid hour with the blanket completely encompassing her head. At one point I tried to smoothly pull it off so she wouldn’t suffocate and she fought back in her sleep with an angry groan and wouldn’t release it.

The rental outside of town had two bedrooms and a main living area. Upon arrival the girls immediately chose their own twin bed and proceeded to spread out their blankets and stuffed animals until they were set up for bed. It was the cutest thing and completely inspired by them. Grandma and I brought in the gear and then we headed back to the car to more adventure.

Looking out at the river for a brief moment

The first night we walked around the Kenai River festival in Soldotna and the girls played at the amazing playground. The sun vanished and turned to rain and wind as soon as we went to the first booth- sidetracked by mermaid themed goodies and a mermaid treasure chest full of treasures the girls HAD to have- and it turned very cold for the next hour. We managed to hide under merchandise tents and order some food truck food for dinner, the girls sharing a big hotdog and the adults enjoying gyros on white rice (super delicious by the way!) under the overhang. We met up with Cousin Jamie, Steve and Maddie and walked around and caught up a bit. The girls did great and settled pretty easily for the night at the rental. At one point they danced to the live music and caused some chuckles from folks sitting nearby.

The next morning I headed off to the Kenai Municipal Airport for the annual air fair. It was my first time attending the event or having a booth at it, and the girls adventured around town with Grandma Sue and Cousin Jamie. Everyone stopped by about halfway through the afternoon and I took a break to walk through the planes out on the apron, something the girls really wanted to do last year at the aviation festival in Palmer. The sun returned and momentarily eased up the rain long enough for us to enjoy the helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, especially the old Everts cargo plane. We had to pry the girls out of that plane; they quite enjoyed sitting in the cockpit and asking Hayden twenty questions he couldn’t answer because he’s not a pilot and doesn’t fly the skies of bush Alaska.

We might have a pilot in the making, in addition to my painter/artsy girl, because Reagan asked a million questions at both helicopters, one LifeMed and one Guardian. The poor flight medic tried to answer all her inquiries on the buttons and how to make the plane go forward and fly, and it took some convincing to move on so others in line could have a turn. Everyone took a turn getting strapped into the critical patient spot and laying down on the stretcher. Everyone also asked a ton of questions on the gear, pointing to the ventilator, the oxygen mask, the blood pressure cuff, and excitedly wanting an answer so they could point at something else.

At one point a plane did some tricks in the air above us- the funny thing being I couldn’t get the girls to look up for the life of me, as they were all focused on the beautiful color of the hanging pilot’s helmet in the helicopter, and the fact it was an hombre teal color. Priorities folks.

The first trip of the summer was definitely a success and simpler than last year. I am proud to say that no one asked for any screen time on the drive down or back, everyone went to bed pretty easily at night and in their own designated bed, no specific schedule needed following, and no massive destruction occurred at the rental (well no kid destruction- sometimes you can’t take Grandma Sue anywhere without a little destruction and she will kill me for writing this!). We are dancing on the edge of a major growth spurt, with everyone hungry and filling a big appetite. For example, Emerie ate three half sandwiches, two servings of fresh peaches, a cucumber, and half of Grandma’s potato chip bag on the drive down. The remainder of snacks were devoured on the way back by all three! We also collected massive kid allergies for Harper and Reagan, who both still have a dry, unproductive cough, and could see the layer of pollen on the car each morning. They were both good sports about it for the most part and it was nice to see Emerie escape the crud and go about her day, business as usual.

One brief stop to the beach equaled a massive amount of “pretty” rocks in the back of the car, fancy rocks that are now a part of the family and sitting on the back deck. Hopefully our next beach adventure will be slightly warmer temperatures and seashells, at the girls’ request. We also enjoyed a pancake breakfast with cousins and the girls lasted a solid two hours at the cafe, coloring at least five pictures each and staying chill longer than they do at most our food outings.

The mosquitoes weren’t too bad for all our time spent outside, likely because of the level of wind; but at the end of the weekend, Reagan woke up with one eye swollen shut, from a bite right underneath her eyebrow. Funny enough she told me a story, claiming a mosquito followed her into the house that night, waited until she fell asleep, and then BIT her on the eyeball. It was very descriptive and told ever-so seriously.

I also noticed the girls are now referring to themselves in third person. So when one answers an adult question or comment and we respond asking who said that, because we aren’t looking that direction in the moment, they’ve taken that to heart and now simply answer with Reagan said that or Harper wants milk or no, I’m Emerie. Apparently us adults need to pay better attention now so that we don’t spend our lives hearing third person responses!

I look forward to next weekend’s adventure, which should be fishing but with counts so low and gil netting canceled, we are still determined to simply get out of town and enjoy this summer, however that will look and however cold it may be!

❤

May 26

Dance, Dance, Baby

This spring part of Harper’s dance class included an official recital, with a big stage, a custom leotard, and about 120 other kids ages three and up. Since Craig ordered the costume, each week she runs up to her teacher, Miss Jess, and asks if the order was in yet. She was so excited to not only see it but wear it.

The last day of spring session everyone had a mini performance during the standard class time, with parents invited in to watch each kiddo perform skill routines. Because the girls are split out into two separate classes across the hall from each other, with Harper dancing and Reagan and Emerie tumbling in gymnastics, Craig and I knew we had to split to accommodate everyone, with performances offset by about fifteen minutes. Luckily Aurora Kids has a great setup and suggested Emerie and Reagan go first so I could sneak out to Harper’s class, after their floor and beam routines.

Both girls were somewhat shy to go first in their group, but overall committed to showing off newfound skills. Reagan did her first tumble and mini cartwheel without teacher assistance and her last backwards roll with a little help. She then immediately darted back to her spot and away from the crowd. Emerie also did her first tumble on her own but with a dramatic landing, her arms and legs flailed out on the mat with a silly laugh. She was also all smiles at the end. It wouldn’t be a floor performance without both of them picking a wedgie from their leotards, in case you were curious! Both did their beam routines with the help of one of the teachers and Emerie added a touch of personality with the goofy faces and tongue out.

Craig stayed to watch the bar performances while I watched Harper’s class perform a ballet and tap routine. Both Emerie and Reagan followed their teacher’s instructions well on different bar skills, and if I had to pick a favorite routine for Emerie, it is definitely this one. She again showed off some of her skills completely unassisted after class when we were all back together. Harper made sure to be front and center for both dances and right next to her teacher; pretty consistently to how she’s acted throughout the whole session.

All three were thrilled to go up front and receive their participation medals and played with them at home ever since now that they are jewelry and decoration. All in all, the entire session went much smoother than a year ago, and everyone is asking when they get to go back, which is only another week away. On the behavioral side, Harper going to solo made a huge difference on her listening, while we still have to intervene with Emerie from time to time, who can easily distract Reagan from listening.

The girls were excited at early school pickup on the big day; it was the first time I’ve picked them up during regular school pickup and right after nap time. Harper was thrilled to get dressed up and wear her outfit, have fancy eye shadow and her hair slicked back into a “ballerina bun” with a matching ribbon. After claiming to want orange eye shadow all week, she opted for a pink and teal that meshed together to look like colorful sparkles. Who knew finding kid makeup would be so difficult to find and we ended up with a big set that included every color imaginable.

Craig and I took only Harper to the fancy recital at the local college and left Emerie and Reagan home for an evening with Uncle Will. Emerie could care less that Harper dressed up and went solo with her parents, while Reagan stood at the front window and cried as we loaded up in the car; she wanted to go. Little did we know it would be a three hour performance, so thank goodness we didn’t bring everyone or we never would have made it through the whole thing.

After checking in and finding seats at the show, Harper was content looking around the full auditorium and finding her classmates, who all sat on the left side with us. The room was filled with so many sparkles and colorful dance leotards. I would guess about six dances occurred before Harper went back with her fellow Tiny Tappers to queue up for their ballet performance. After every single dance she asked is it my turn yet? When is it my turn?! She was also offended any time her favorite teacher, Miss Jess, wasn’t on stage dancing, which cracks me up. She did enjoy watching the routines once she got over that part, and was thrilled each time a princess related song came on.

Unsurprisingly for her routine, Harper confidentially walked out on stage and showed absolutely no fear in front of a crowd, pointedly going to the front both times. The amount of people in the room and the cheering didn’t phase her at all; I’m guessing she will be a crowd pleaser in the future and I can’t wait to see! For ballet she was placed right behind the teacher, and of course at the perfect angle to be difficult for filming, but moved around enough we could see her smiling face. At one point she lost focus and appeared to try to find us out in the dark crowd. Afterward she went backstage and came back to her seat for a few more performances, changing into tap shoes for the last routine. About halfway through the whole show she went backstage once more and stayed until her dance and the show finale.

Her tap performance to Aladdin’s Friend Like Me was super cute, and hilariously and in true Harper style, she turned at one point and shook her butt at the whole crowd and laughed. Being the oldest one in class, she also refused to let any one else stand on her front row tape spot, scolding the littles that tried to. So funny! Overall she followed this routine a bit better- I think the whole group did following Miss Mary- and everyone was all smiles at the end.

At the end all classes went on stage for the finale bow, showing how many kids and how well coordinated it was. It’s impressive to coordinate one-hundred plus kids and twenty-nine dance routines back to back and it was well done. You could also tell it was getting late and kids around the auditorium feeling it. We quickly headed to the car ahead of the crowd, but Harper made us turn around for a picture with Miss Jess on stage. She also cried the ENTIRE way home that her teacher couldn’t come home with her, not that it has ever happened, showing how overtired she really was after three hours of solid stimulation.

It was a good evening overall and enjoyable with only one kiddo! Emerie and Reagan would never sit that long and instead enjoyed a fun evening with pizza and a movie. Both were awake when we arrived home at almost nine. While they immediately fell asleep in their beds, Harper whined for a while longer about her teacher and fought sleep hard.

It was a new feeling for me, enjoying watching my little have fun in a new environment and getting to enjoy it without pestering the other two to be quiet. I never considered the thought I could be a dance mom- clearly if you’ve seen me dance- but who knows! Miss Jess noted at the end of the performance that Harper really enjoys class time and has improved greatly from a year ago. She continues to claim she’d rather dance than go to gymnastics so it will be interesting to see if she sticks to that decision for fall session. And she’s already asking when the next performance is and when we can order another fancy outfit. Bring on next year!

❤

Jan 23

Winter, Dance and Those Wild Children

So far 2023 started off without anything too significant or exciting happening. Lots of winter, snow, working hours and wild children. The kittens continue to grow and change each day, and it’s prompting a lot of old memories for this mom on life “back in the day” with three rambunctious babies. That day was only a few years ago, but it feels like a whole lifetime with how much things have changed!

For example, the girls’ unique personalities became evident even before they were speaking, and each had a slightly different attitude on things throughout development, and it’s still true today. Harper refused to roll over, adamantly indicating that was a skill not worthy of her time, and yet she was the first of the three to walk, with Reagan right behind her. The similarities are pretty funny in the kittens, because one kitten slowly started walking forward, with the second observing closely, and the third less interested at first. Within an hour, the first was walking, the second was mimicking the first at a slower pace, and the following day number three gained the skill and joined the club. In our case, Harper was the first to take her steps forward unassisted, with Reagan carefully watching and learning immediately after, and then Emerie not long after that.

When it comes to containment, you might remember the full “cage” that spanned our entire living room for quite a long time, from crawling to climbing to walking and until escaping. And the baby gates, which blocked off each level of the house and the loft. One kitten (named Wallace) was the first to figure out how to escape out of totes and boxes if he used a sibling as a step stool. The girls did this exact thing, figuring out how to boost one another out of their fenced in play area and into freedom, before mom and dad fully baby proofed the rest of the house and blocked off the stairs. Persistence is key!

Personalities are also similar. One kitten is the “wild child” of the three, has a need for speed, was the first to take steps, and always instigates the troublemaking with the siblings. Doesn’t that sound like one Miss Harper? Another kitten (named Wesley although it might be Winston now?) is far more timid than his brother, but will pay close attention to the activities at hand, holding out the longest before participating. He’s a sweet soul. Does that sound like Miss Reagan, especially when she was smaller and more shy? The smallest kitten (Winnifred, i.e. Winnie Rose- because the girls insisted she had to have a middle name!), is also shy, needs one of her eyes scrubbed off occasionally so it’s not shut with goobers (i.e. eye issues), her siblings gang up on her a bit because they are bigger than her, and she loves to cuddle and be rescued from the chaos. Sounds like Miss Emerie to me!

It is also funny to watch Molly and her obvious annoyance and frustration at her three littles running in three directions. I greatly understand her sentiments and still live in that today, although nothing like it was two years ago. She will take naps up high on her climber, where she can keep an eye on the crowd, knowing they can’t reach her!

For the most part the girls are pretty aware of the kittens wandering the house, and if not there is my constant “don’t step on the kitten!” reminders. I’ve only caught them a couple times with compromised kittens. The first time all three were downstairs in the bathroom, with a paper shoebox full of water in the sink, trying to give Winnie a bath. As you would guess, she was not impressed; and luckily I caught them before she was fully submerged. The second time all the kids were jumping on Grandma Sue’s bed (I.e. the guest room bed) with two very terrified kittens trying not to die. No kittens were harmed in either incident!

On the non-kitten front- you may all be shocked to learn the love for the song Shake It Off has finally depleted. In fact, I now get demands to NOT play it, after several years of constant replaying more than any one person wants to hear it. We definitely had some really cute memories (and videos) of the littles shaking their bald heads and tiny butts to it. Uncle William is now educating everyone on other songs by the songstress and pushing us into a new era of music. Different music videos are also quite the hit; of course they don’t follow the intricate meanings behind the scripts and scenes, but they all excitedly love her outfits, shoes, and sparkling wonders. Some of the most exciting parts are the funniest things, such as her dress changing from white into red and her fancy shoe choices!

A new session of dance started last weekend. Since age three’s dance class was so very miserable for us parents, with the tantrums, not listening, and times dragging all three out kicking and screaming in front of throngs of disbelieving singleton parents, we held off for a full year before trying again, and this time with a new tactic: dividing them up. This is the first time we’ve tried this method for any activity, although we talked about it when transitioning into the four year old daycare class, and ended up keeping them together, which has worked out so far. In efforts to maintain some parental sanity, Emerie and Reagan are in gymnastics at 11:15 on Saturdays while Harper starts dance class at 11:30, with the younger group until she turns five in March. The parent area is in between the two rooms, so we can see both sides easily and provide stern looks through the window when they act out.

Last year Harper did the best by far, in terms of listening and behavior and actual participation,while Emerie and Reagan fed off each other and missed half the classes due to needed intervention to minimize disruptions. All three strongly desired to climb all the mats and swing on the equipment when everyone else was listening and out on the dance floor. It was a disaster and the most money I’ve probably ever spent to be so miserable!

The first week of round two went much better. There was discussion on who was in gymnastics and who was in dance, and of course major disagreement with our plan, but once class started, it went well! Emerie is definitely meant to tumble and climb on things, and it greatly impresses me when she runs across the balance beam, knowing she has a a bifocal and weaker eye sight than her peers. Reagan also seemed to enjoy the class, only having one moment of the pure pouty face, which I did not help with by taking photos and saying I sent them to Grandma Sue. Harper, across the hall, had a wonderful first class and didn’t need any intervention. She wore her princess heels as her tap shoes, and seemed to really enjoy herself. The roughest part of the whole activity was when Reagan and Emerie were done and waiting for Harper’s class to wrap up. Reagan threw down to go into the room to “watch” her sister, and managed to throw a fit in front of everyone when she didn’t get her way.

Every day in between the two classes the girls asked what day it was and what day dance and gymnastics falls on. What’s funny is how they define the days of the week at this point in their lives:

Sunday – means no school and some fun activity with cousins or the boys
Monday – ugh school. I’m tiiiiiired!
Tuesday – no one ever asks about this day
Wednesday – this is school pizza day
Thursday – no one ever asks about this day or “is it the weekend yet?”
Friday – chocolate milk and show-and-tell day at school!
Saturday – the weekend and now dance day

Week two went well also, and I’m hoping the trend will continue. The gymnastics teacher told me after class that she split Reagan and Emerie into separate groups for their breakout activities after she heard one encouraging the other not listen. Emerie started the class out a bit feisty and not wanting to be there, but pretty quickly started having fun. She’s great at tumbling and always pops up with a big smile. Reagan constantly comes over to ensure our eyes are glued to her body as she participates. She proudly flipped over one of the bars (assisted) and after a few tries could almost do it by herself. Harper happily tapped around in her new tap shoes and black sheer sleeved leotard. It cracked me up she was in black from head to toe- black leotard, black tights, black ballet slippers, and a black sheer skirt. Oh and don’t forget the black scrunchie, accessories!

Speaking of accessories, the last week or so Harper is constantly wearing her Mirabel glasses. They have no glass so they don’t get smudged and dirty; she seems to think she looks like Emerie in them. The funniest part is that I constantly call her Emerie when looking out the of the corner of my eye, even tho she doesn’t have green glasses!

I swear the last few days must have a full moon, because the crazy cabin fever from the kids is ROUGH. They’ve impressively trashed the house several times, drowned the downstairs bathroom with toilet water (and who knows what else), worn a dozen outfits a day, gone through clothing drawers and closets they’ve never opened before and dumping things out, and been wildly crazy with the back talking, fighting and not listening. Guys- we are so tired. I’m not sure if this shift can be attributed to the dead of winter, an impending development shift or sickness, my working longer hours than normal at work, or something else, but they are wild. New name calling popped up as well; Reagan’s insult of choice is now you spit-head. That, and you-toilet-water-poop-spit. I’m pretty sure she’s not going for “shit head”, since I have no idea where she would have heard that from (yeah yeah but really we don’t say that), so I believe she really means spit. And reminds us spit is gross, so she thinks it’s quite the insult. Such fun.

This month’s theme songs are from the live action Aladdin film, where Disney added a new song by Jasmine that the girls adore called Speechless. It’s girl empowerment and she takes down her enemies in song and the girls think it’s just amazing. It’s a pretty song in my opinion too! Every drive includes it and all three love singing along. Harper has her own lyrics to the melody and it’s hilarious, with SPEECHLEEEEESS three times louder at the end of each relevant line. They also like the songs by the genie guy and when Aladdin and Jasmine are running (first seen). It’s really nice to be able to watch another live action movie besides Maleficent, which is much darker! And little do they know one of their birthday presents is fancy Jasmine dresses that I bought during after Christmas sales. You ain’t never had a friend like meeee!

I can’t believe we are almost a month into the new year, but here we are. Kittens are growing everyday and so are my little ladies. While I look forward to spring just around the corner (quite optimistically I might add), I’m also excited for them to celebrate my birthday this year and Valentine’s Day. After that they’ll be turning half a decade, which I am NOT ready for.

❤

Jan 01

Wonders of Christmas

This is a little late, but better than never. I’m happy to report our December went off without a hitch heath wise! The girls counted down to the big day, asking how many sleeps remain each afternoon and over and over when Christmas will arrive. That, and when summer will get here, which is a bit farther away considering we just had winter solstice.

The preschool class had a Christmas party the Friday before the big day and cookie decorating was quite the hit, according to the teacher. Emerie decorated her one, completely covered cookie while Harper and Reagan had platefuls of beauties to bring home and display. After a two weeks, they are still sitting on the counter in all their glory, as we attempt to keep sugar to a minimum (since we have sooo many cookies!).

Much of the month, with the crazy shift in weather, was spent staying busy doing all kinds of activities inside. By crazy weather, I mean the close to 70 mile per hour winds in town, to crazy snow drifts blasting off the massive snow piles, and then a dip into negative temperatures; all this equals the girls not wanting to play outside (and who can blame them?!). Since sledding was off the table until conditions improved, we continued to hit up the jump park, visited the play coffeehouse and created coloring masterpieces and art projects at home, almost daily. A number of ornaments were painted, hung on the tree by yours truly, then removed from the tree to become play toys. We attempted Color Me Mine for the first time since last winter and it was a completely different experience than going when they were all three years old. Everyone picked out the same llama planter to decorate and instructed Craig on their color choices. Everyone wanted at least one stamp to spruce up their look. Overall it went quite well; even Emerie took her time and had fun! They finished off the activity with candy cane ornaments- Harper’s became a mesh of green and red, Emerie created a design and Reagan attempt red, white and green stripes. I can’t wait to remake them next year and see what they look like! And, for the next few days, everyone asked me several times a day if their creations were ready for pick up. Silly kids.

Auntie Megan brought over a “pie in the face” whip cream game that was quite the hit with all five kiddos one afternoon. By the end everyone wanted to lose and put far less effort into the battle, knowing the result produced delicious whip cream to sample and spread everywhere. We will definitely have to get another game and continue the kid torture in the future. I’m certain everyone will want to push some whip cream into the faces of several grandparents and uncles!

We spent much of December dressing up, with all three strongly demanding that shirts and pants are unacceptable forms of clothing. At this point in their lives, I’m not exactly sure why I even have a drawer full of shirts, as it becomes a huge task to even suggest they wear anything other than a dress. Luckily it worked out with my overspending on the Christmas outfits, so they had tutu dresses, their fancy “concert dresses” (as they say), princess themed ones and all the normal twirlies to choose from, as well as the festive boots and red ballet slipper flats. Their teachers were told we have HUNDREDS of Christmas jammies to wear, at least according to Harper, after their pajama party at school. It’s not really hundreds, but more than I should probably admit….

The girls visited Santa at Cabela’s and he took time to individually talk to each kiddo, answering questions and smiling for photos. I may have mentioned they needed instruction to sleep overnight in their beds, which he helped me out with! The girls questioned why presents were under the tree mid month- yes, because I’m THAT mom that wants things prepped ahead of time, especially knowing sickness hits our house so quickly- so they learned that only some presents come from Santa on Christmas Eve and others come from mom, dad and grandparents. My theory panned out last year when we wouldn’t have opened any presents otherwise, due to the pneumonia that ran through the adults in the house. Next year I plan to take each kid shopping individually to choose a gift for each sibling. I didn’t try this year, assuming they would pick something they wanted and then lose their minds when it went to someone else.

It doesn’t seem like many kid Christmas shows and movies are a hit in our household, with the exception of the Muppet Christmas, Polar Express and one random Netflix hit that hey, has three tiny kittens in it. We did a week of watching one of the three each night; and the girls were seriously annoyed that the kids in Polar Express don’t actually have names. It’s funny how much this irritates them.

We swapped presents with Auntie Megan and crew on Christmas Eve and as usual, Megan outdid herself for each kiddo. The hit of the afternoon was certainly the color changing barbies, that dunk into water and turn from solid teal to a typical barbie, with skin tones and hair colors. They were thoroughly excited to check them out; Reagan so much she peeled much of the paint off with her nails while sitting at the table.

The girls were wired on Christmas Eve night, especially after opening stockings (stuffed to the brim with randoms I collected over the past few months) and one present. It took a bit to coax them into sleeping, especially so Craig and I could finish the final touches of Santa’s visit and put out a few more of the big presents. Craig spent the afternoon locked in the garage, building the Barbie dream house (Costco!) that had sooo many pieces and I had the presents hidden and waiting for their morning debut. We then filled the dreamhouse with princesses and accessories from when I was a kid (barbie sets from the 90s are way better than now!) and enjoyed a quiet house for a little while, basking in the Christmas ambiance that I truly enjoy every winter.

The girls woke up at a decent hour on Christmas and we somehow convinced the early risers to wait until everyone was up to start. They were thrilled to see bites out of the three cookies, courtesy of Santa. This year presents were far more fun to watch, as less intervention was needed to help open presents. Except when taking apart doll packaging, which takes an army of scissors and patience to pry everything open while excited preschoolers oversee in excitement and demand you to go faster. The girls did quite well playing most of the day, with new toys and with each other, and didn’t even notice the dollhouse downstairs until after lunch. This year’s theme was very girly (shocking), and included mermaids, (pretend) makeup, dance lessons and leotards and new 18″ dolls, with a few other goodies in between. Each kiddo received their own custom music box: Harper a pink ballerina one, Emerie a purple unicorn one, and Reagan a pink and teal mermaid one. This gift might have backfired a bit, as the three separate tunes played allllll afternoon on repeat, and they even managed to remove the windup pins in record time. The boxes now reside in their bedrooms and are not yet filled with treasures, because the music was by the far the most exciting attribute to watch. As soon as presents were opened for the morning, the questions on when is it going to be our birthday and when will summer be here started again, since they know both things occur post Christmas time. I will also say, the kitten (Molly) very much enjoyed the girls opening presents and jumping through all the paper.

This year we ate Christmas dinner instead of throwing it into the freezer for when everyone was healthy again; and Craig’s beef wellington was delicious as usual! Jenny, Keegan and the boy cousins as well as Uncle William brought other goodies and it was a really nice day. The cousins exchanged presents and ran around wild, enjoying the day. The pink, purple and blue sequined stockings were put to work as mermaid tails and are still randomly around the house. It’s wonderful to have cousins close in age that now live close by!

At bedtime that night I asked everyone to share their favorite thing(s) about the day and their most beloved gift. I will point out by this time everyone was way overstimulated and tired, and definitely a bit on the grumpier side of the happy scale.

Reagan (who is definitely long winded like her Grandmother and had all kinds of thoughts about the day- so this is paraphrased…): My favorite thing was opening presents and doing Mom and Dad’s hair and makeup. My favorite present was my mermaid music box, makeup, the dollhouse and new dress shoes from Grandma Sue.

PS. If you allow your “hair and makeup” to be done by your local preschool professional, you can sometimes receive a head massage and nice hair brushing. Not too tough on the sanity and they demand you sit still and not get off the couch. Well played…right?

Emerie (who was extremely ready to go to sleep, covered in her stuff animals and wanting to listen to Elsa on my phone): My favorite thing was opening presents and listening to my music box. AND wearing Pan’s hair headband (a long, flowered braid headband). AND playing with my mom and dad and sisters. My favorite present was the big turtle from Papa Cliff and the big, barbie dollhouse.

Harper (who was past any form of cooperation and crazy raged over still being awake): My favorite thing is nothing! (after further mother harassment she answered better). My favorite thing was playing with the flowers from Aunt Jenny, playing with my new music box and just opening presents. My favorite present was the high heels from Grandma Sue and wearing the black dance leotard.

If I had to choose their favorite items over the past week, the flower set from Aunt Jenny is definitely the winner. They all continue to build custom gardens (and fight over them) and make flower food, flower decor, and anything else they can dream up. The dollhouse has a few visits a day and everyone continues to stomp around the house in their new dress heels (you can guess how thrilled Craig is about that!) while rocking their princess braided headbands. Everyone has already worn the new sparkle pants from Grandma Anne in the next size (sob!). Harper adores her new doll, named Babela (like her last one) and insists on carting her around everywhere and sleeping with her at night. Emerie is now a flower garden queen and always toting a few around. Reagan often wanders downstairs for an hour and pretend plays with the barbie set up.

However busy and dark the dead of winter is, I enjoyed the Christmas season this year. While I am excited for the light on the horizon (for a few more seconds each day!), I find a special place in my heart and mind for the cold, snowy season full of Christmas lights, goodies, friends and family. Maybe that’s the Alaskan in my blood, but who knows. Cheers to a new year!

❤

Oct 14

Back to School Big Girls

I am way behind on providing updates on our current every day lives and I fully blame the crazy work deadlines that the last month have held for the job I’m covering. So let’s go backwards a little, to the end of August, when I started writing this blog right after the girls’ shift to the pre-K classroom at school.

We started out the school year in typical fashion- the first week meant the stomach flu for all three kiddos, each about a day apart, and an ear infection for Harper. On Friday Emerie made it a whole 20 minutes at school before getting the phone call that she was throwing up again. While the puking derailed our plans to visit the fair later that day, the decent weather the following day ultimately worked out for a better overall visit. And I’m happy to say that both parents managed to avoid the stomach flu, which was greatly appreciated!

After sitting in the eternal, never moving line of cars waiting to park at the fair, we opted to bring the rolling wagon with us and stop at a few of the easy booths right inside the door. The girls sat on top of the big, stuffed moose and took a photo with it, munched on some fancy donuts on a stick, and didn’t immediately run off into the abyss of people. We went to the rides pretty early into our visit, presuming the excitement might make grumpy preschoolers appear before we were ready to be done for the day.

I wasn’t sure what rides everyone would like to go on, since Reagan and Emerie are often timid on a lot of things, while Harper usually sticks to her wild side and the great need for speed. The first ride of the day was a roller coaster, because why not go big to start. We hadn’t walked over to the younger kid rights at that point, and just went for it. Craig and I both went on with them; side note- I definitely forgot how hard it is to fit my knees behind a kid roller coaster seat! Emerie insistently opted to ride behind me and all by herself, while Harper and Reagan each plopped down with an adult. All three shrieked in excitement and actually loved it; even Miss Independent Em. But I will say, the second roller coaster did not meet that same sentiment for Reagan, who hid in Papa Cliff’s lap for all the loops and refused to go on any more coasters for the rest of the day. The favorite rides for the day turned out to be the airplane spinning rides and the construction truck driving; all went multiple times. We finished out all the rides with the big slide in the sky, and then did everyone really wants to do at the fair…EAT. So much food, and in usual fashion the girls wanted french fries. I enjoyed a delicious turkey leg with Grandma Sue, since the girls wouldn’t touch it. Surprisingly enough, they all liked William’s crab fritters and wanted more of that!

The favorite purchase of the day for me was the girls getting Alaska Chick hoodies in their colors (which are huge and put away for this winter). If you asked them what their favorite thing was, I imagine everyone would respond the super cool butterfly wings they wore the rest of the visit. They attached to their shoulders and wrists and resulted in three, happy girls running through the crowd as butterflies. Did I mention this made them so much easier to spot as well? And of course, adorable. I’m happy to say the day sits in the good memories and successful activities side of my brain, and I’m glad we made the effort to go.

We finished out the busy weekend by going berry picking in Whittier, which is now going to be an annual family event, or so I hope. Anchorage weather was very crummy this year; once we trekked through the tunnel and into Whittier, the sun was out and the weather just gorgeous. We spent the afternoon picking blueberries and playing along the water, the kids heaping and hollering about the dead fish in the water. It turned out to be a great day.

Later in the month we went on a family hike to Thunderbird Falls, which is maaaaaybe a mile total, and ends on an overlook to the waterfall. Reagan and Harper took to it much better than their sister, who kept asking when we were going to turn back and go home, insisted on holding an adult’s hand pretty much the entire length of the trip. In fact, she seemed quite nervous to explore and walk through the mud or up or down the hills, but some of this is likely attributed to her post surgery eye situation. We climbed down to the water on the way back and all the kids enjoyed throwing sticks and rocks into the water and trying to climb up and explore steep hills. It was another unusually beautiful day, but we had to leave Anchorage to see the actual sunlight.

Another fall favorite activity, something we’ve missed since the girls were 18 months old, is the annual Trick or Treat in the Heat event. The past two years canceled due to COVID, meaning this year’s event was met with excitement and a ton of people, and on a decent weather day! I stashed a few new costumes in the closet in anticipation of an outdoor event that wasn’t freezing cold and luckily this year only required long sleeves and pants underneath- I don’t think I heard one complaint about being cold. Mind you, there were about five million complaints of being tired, feet hurting, wanting to eat a snack or piece of candy, but not for being cold.

The fighting was minimal on who wore which costume, and just like last year, everyone switched out on colors (for the most part). Harper was Tinkerbell, including fancy wings, a headband and a butterfly wand; Reagan was a flamingo, which included an adorable flamingo head hat and polka dots; and Emerie was…any guesses?? Of course, Emerie opted to be Elsa for the third year in a row. A new style of dress, but still Elsa (thanks Costco!).

We did a LOT of walking that evening, and eventually made it home with bags of candy and picked up some pizza to sit down and eat. Excluding the whininess, I think it went pretty well, but next year we should definitely bring the wagon to avoid the overly tired, woah-is-me attitudes that were shared the second half of the evening. Luckily neighborhood trick-or-treat is not quite so extensive, and the dark usually helps push the kiddos to wanting to head back home.

After a little over a month of new pre-kindergarden school activities and crafts, I already see incredible improvement in the girls coloring and writing skills. In fact, Reagan has already written her own name, without tracing any letters, and it proudly displays on the wall at school that shows the classroom lettering crafts. All three really enjoy tracing books now and do a great job following the lettering. They also constantly ask for white paper, meaning paper with nothing to color, so they can expand their ideas without any distractions. Needless to say, we go through a lot of paper. The other day Reagan looked at me and said, “do I look like a crazy maniac?! No! I draw within the lines!” when I asked her about her coloring. Silly girl. We’ve also seen the first little people drawings from Reagan, which I am SO excited about. They are all head and legs and it’s adorably cute- now she is starting to tell you which people they are and draw scenery around them. We definitely have an artist in the family! Harper continues to draw rainbows on everything and Emerie is more willing to sit and color now, than in previous months.

Many discussions now center around, what letter does this word start with? What letter does THIS word start with? And you pretty much have to explain every letter start in the English alphabet. And we are only on letter “e” at school so far! All three know what their names start with, what Craig and my name starts with- Reagan keeps asking me why both our names start with an “r”. Such questions. They are also very defensive about sharing “their” letter with others, and seem to think they own it, similar to how they act with their pink, purple and teal color associations. For letter “e” show and tell, Emerie informed me her sisters didn’t need to attend the day, since it was her letter and her day.

Each day brings a new randomly taught skill. One Friday they came home and quoted me the entire pledge of allegiance, all three of them! They informed us afterwards that they do it at school a lot; it’s cute to see them repeat words that have absolutely no meaning to them yet. Other days they are questioning which side is right and which is left, and can now pick up the correct foot or arm if you ask.

In addition to letters and writing, basic math is just around the corner. Many car rides home from school involve how many fingers is this and then this? What is this hand and this hand…is it ten? These types of questions are the very foundation of math and I can’t believe it’s already starting. They seem to pick it up pretty quickly too, as you talk through the answers.

One morning I caved into the requests and let everyone use the glass markers to create intricate and wild creations on the backdoor. Reagan drew the first people I have seen her attempt and they are completely adorable, with the big heads and bodies and tiny legs and arms. The wild hair seems to indicate that maybe they are drawing Grandma Sue, but that has not been confirmed to date. Harper continues to enjoy making dozens of rainbows on everything she draws. This also reminds me she had a little too much creativity when one of our mountain art designs from the wall was set down on a table and within reach. I fully planned to blame one of the visiting boys for the writing on it, until I discovered the red letter “H” across the middle…and I don’t think she can deny that one and get away with it…

One night after school we took the girls to get fancy nails. In normal color fashion, all three selected shades of their colors (after talking Harper out of the sparkle one that wouldn’t show very well) and proceeded to entertain much of the salon as their hands and feet were beautified. Harper was last to go and did a great job waiting patiently, while Reagan and Emerie could barely contain themselves sitting for their turn and wiggled all over the place. Emerie continues to be the wiggle worm of the three for these types of activities, and hilariously laughed when they filed her toe nails, as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Harper sat like a statue for her turn, watching the beautification process with appreciation. It’s fun to start doing these types of things now, as long as you bring lots of snacks and don’t wait too long to go.

And to round out our busy lives and much overdue update, is Harper’s latest life quote, with the words… this is difficult! Everything is difficult! It’s difficult! And there you have it folks, an accurate, one phrase depiction of current life events in the Douglas household. Good thing they are so adorably cute… here is one of my favorite photos from this fall, captured by yours truly on an afternoon excursion (ahem photo op) to the park by our house.

❤

The Douglets

Triplets in Alaska

activities