Another Easter for the books, in a year without any snow. I’m guessing this year or next is probably my last hurrah in the magical era where all three girls still believe a giant bunny trespasses into our yard, throws random (but common in our household) candy around like confetti, and casually hides eggs like it’s his part-time job. So I’m milking it for all it’s worth—full commitment to the eggs and customized easter bunny notes, the whole production. If the girls have discovered my secret stash this year, they are either humoring me or they haven’t noticed. Either way, they continue to prove they CAN clean up quickly and without complaint…but only for covertly placed plastic eggs. Shocker.
All dressed up to see the creepy Easter bunny
Our in-and-out mission to see the bunny at Cabela’s took a grand total of five minutes- tops! No line, all three kids hopped onto the bench like seasoned professionals, and they even smiled for the first photo. Honestly, it was suspiciously easy compared to the chaos of previous years. Of course, the magic didn’t last long. They immediately tried to peek under the bunny’s head and declared that’s not a real bunny. So, I guess that particular secret is officially out of the basket (basket- get it?? I crack myself up….eggs crack… I’ll stop now…). We also discussed how the real Easter bunny is in high demand with a busy schedule, meaning no time to sit and pose in a store, so we meet the hired help, kind of like Santa Claus. That excuse seems to be reasonably accepted for now; unsure if it will be by next year!
Harper drew a custom letter for the bunny visit and hung it on her bed, as visible as possible for easy spotting. I enjoy seeing what ideas they write on the love notes, and the cute freehand pictures along with it. Emerie also spent some time on a note, but declared the bunny would find it where ever she left it. That sneaky bunny left one egg by each kiddo’s bedside… but Reagan intercepted Harper’s and stashed it under her own pillow, much to Harper’s dramatic dismay she was left out. Meanwhile, Emerie was the first one up and displeased she didn’t get an egg and Reagan had TWO. The irony? Emerie could have easily slipped on her own egg down her stairs and still didn’t even notice it. Yep.
Once I finally found the empty, plastic eggs in our house (freaked a bit when I couldn’t find them the day before!), I stuffed them with a variety of small candy and then figured some minor torture was in order, and stuffed a few with carrots and a few with raw broccoli. The look on their faces from the lack of candy? Absolutely priceless. Craig egged the backyard after bedtime and Grandma Anne and I finished up the baskets, which included new sunglasses, a couple cute outfits in their colors, a mini Lego set of their favorite princess, a “peep” egg to grow in water, and of course the beloved chocolate bunny. The goal of less sugar and more fun went a little easier this year than some in the past, and everyone built their Lego sets first thing.
The egg hunt itself went pretty quickly and with great excitement like past years. They started out sharing the pink, purple, and blues with the kid specific to that color until realizing they don’t have to share. Very kind on their part, and some of the fancier ones were still traded even after my protests- no complaints here. The few eggs on the bird feeder were met with laughs and once knocked over, landed in Reagan’s hood. Seeing opportunity, Emerie snagged one and ran. Sisters…
We survived the wild, sugar filled children by visiting the zoo for a little exercise. Warmer temps and the occasional sunshine peeking out meant no complaints of being cold, and everyone enjoyed the playground and running from exhibit to exhibit. The howling of the wolves brought other zoo visitors over to observe, with four kiddos howling at the two wolves, who were only a few feet away on the other side of the fence. Pretty funny.
Easter dinner was laid back, everyone munched on their chocolate bunnies, ran around chaotically, read books with Grandma Anne, and stayed up late since Monday was another day off from school. We also (mostly) jokingly tormented Emerie all weekend about her outrageously loose front tooth-not the one she wanted to lose to join her sisters’ gap-toothed club, but the one just to the left of her recently departed front tooth. It hung on defiantly, with no root, no purpose, no business still being there—but it stayed a few days until gravity finally finished the job. The tool fairy also dropped the ball on swapping the tooth out for some moolah (oops!). Emerie pointed this out first thing in the morning, and then retracted her irritation after seeing rain outside, commenting that it’s okay, fairies can’t fly in the rain so she’s running late. What a problem solver…and that late fairy added a dividend to that tooth swap that made for one happy, little girl!
The past six weeks have been full of holiday activities, play dates with friends, and school activities. Staying busy pushes us through the dark, winter season, and helps burn the never ending amount of energy three six-year-olds brings to our household. As the sun sets before four in the afternoon, it seems like that darkness turns into kid energy and wildness, all while cooped up indoors in the evenings.
We kicked off the Christmas season with a Samaritans Purse evening, organizing and filling boxes that would arrive all over the world, to share a little Christmas joy with other kids less fortunate. The girls were great helpers, customizing their boxes for girls aged four to six, and begging to do more than one box. They colored pages and wrote notes to include in their boxes and stacked them up in the big pile. Bonus was the cookie decorating table, which included some eating and some donating plates to others- all in all, it was a productive and fun night with their classmates.
Thanksgiving was late in November this year and nicely didn’t coincide with Craig’s birthday. Aunt Jenny purchased blue plaid, kid onesies that were quite the hit at dinner, with the girls wearing them consistently at night and while playing at home the past month, as we continue through our cold season. After a nice dinner at cousins’ house in Eagle River, we headed to the “real” Nutcracker show in Anchorage later that weekend, hosted by the Eugene Ballet group. Last year the show we attended was performed by a local ballet school and a little more kid friendly for noise; this year we watched the fancier one, meeting up with their friend Ava and practically sitting in the auditorium rafters. I had fancy hairstyles planned to match the Christmas dresses, but canned the idea after realizing we had the day wrong and only an hour notice to get everyone ready and downtown.
There were fewer when is it over complaints from Emerie this year; she seemed happy to sit with Ava and watch the show. Reagan also had a nice conversation with Ava’s dad during the show and Harper insisted on sitting with Craig for the whole thing. After a quick cookie snack at intermission -because everyone was apparently starving after an hour- they enjoyed watching the dances and beautiful sets and costumes, but were ready to run by the ending.
The school Christmas show went off marvelously and all three were strategically placed near each other, but with a non sibling in between each. All three sang their hearts out and did the motions to their songs, all smiles. I always enjoy these events, as it makes me feel more like a parent than other days of the year, and gives me a surreal sense of happiness.
A few other noteworthy, funny moments over the past month:
Harper begged for Mrs. Claus dresses this year, which are harder to find than you might think! Grandma Sue ended up sending Santa and Elf themed sweater dresses from Fred Meyer and the girls continue to wear them at least a couple times a week. They are great for photo ops and warm for winter, not to mention cute!
Emerie continues her goofball comments, with so many silly commentaries about Grandma’s baby boy– meaning Craig- and it’s hilarious. She latches on to an idea and then rolls with it for quite a while, accentuating the baby booooooy when talking about him.
Reagan now creates word and spelling games for sisters. You’ll find two of them with heads together and thick as thieves, doing some kind of spelling categorization or asking how to spell a word. It’s very sweet to watch her guide and explain to her sisters; she is definitely our school kid of the three. Maybe there’s a future teacher in there!
On a sweet note, Harper still starts her conversations with can I tell you something?! I love you. and I hope that lasts forever. Normal conversations often start with that question, and then she waits until you agree before starting her tangent. On the other hand, Emerie goes the opposite direction in the morning and often hollers I told you to stop waking me up! I want to wake up myself; go away! when starting off the morning for school. If you walk away she will get herself up like it was her idea in the first place; funny kid.
Harper now requests music in a new way- the girls recently noticed the car screen shows album covers and it is often completely irrelevant to the playing music. I now receive requests such as can you play the song with the girl in the pink dress? and I’m supposed to know what that is. At least with the customized song names from the toddler days I could interpret it; I definitely don’t know album covers! All three also ask what song names are, as written on the screen, and are getting better at sounding them out.
Emerie now tallies our life scores, whether we agree to participate or not. If I can’t answer a question, then my lack of correct response means she gets a point. I am unsure what these points tally toward, but I sure don’t seem to get any on my side. She asked Grandma Sue the other day how was God born? And the lack of “correct” answer earned Emerie a self proclaimed point, because she didn’t know. This is starting to happen more frequently off all her random questions.
Our girls continue to grow like weeds and no longer boast those baby faces and toddler mannerisms. In addition to sailing through an entire clothing size this summer- our quickest yet- we also rearranged their bedroom this month and removed the sofa chair purchased during my pregnancy. This felt like a mental blow to my mom brain, reminding us how rapidly they grow up, and prepared for the oversized beanbag chair arriving from Santa. That chair holds so many memories; used multiple times a day, every single day, for years: triple bottle feedings every three hours around the clock, quick diaper changes, comforting a crying baby in the middle of the night, calming wild toddlers at bedtime, snuggling for naps after Emerie’s many eye surgeries, or reading a gazillion books. I often found Emerie sitting on it with a stuffy, listening to a Tonie story, or Reagan singing along to one under a blanket. I couldn’t bring myself to rehome it, so its new home is downstairs in the family room, ready for more memories and cuddles to come. To this day, I truly believe it was the best purchase we made in preparation for the girls, and the most used piece of furniture those first few years. In other big kid news, the girls slept in the living room by the Christmas tree a couple different nights, which is another age milestone and something I greatly enjoyed and remember doing as a 90s kid.
In addition to moving furniture to make way for new activities, so begins the arguments and deep discussions related to boy crushes. I thought we’d have more time since they are only six, but exactly that occurred at the end of a school day earlier this month. I arrived with Harper in tears and Emerie mad, and Reagan running up to explain they were fighting because Harper told Emerie her secret crush and Emerie didn’t keep the secret. Emerie told her teacher, who responded they are too young for crushes (which is true!) and Harper lost her mind. Ooof, that was such a fun ride home, believe you me! This is a terrifying preview of the teenage years…SO not ready yet. The girls now intermittently discuss their “crushes” and which boys in their class they will marry someday. Reagan still wants to have twin girls and has their names chosen already, Harper wants triplets (ha!) and Emerie is a no go to having any babies in her belly, at least right now.
Christmas break this year was significantly easier than years past, and not only because of the surprise arrival of Grandma Sue (surprise to me) and Auntie Amanda (to the girls). In addition to all the Christmas arts and crafts and goodie cooking, the girls will now wander off to read a book or write something out with a drawing, which they didn’t independently do last year. Lego building, dolls sets, and a variety of slime related activities help keep the sanity too, in addition to the afternoon parkour gymnastics down the street to burn energy and give me a small break. We watched several movies at the theater, including Moana 2 twice, and had several successful ice skating excursions at the mall. Everyone is excited for skating lessons starting in January, and three impatient girls wanting it to start already.
We visited Santa at Cabela’s, and he asked everyone how old they were. When all three answered six in a row, Santa still didn’t catch on. Instead, he asked them what it was like to be twins; they were not impressed and quickly corrected him. Santa should know better!! Christmas morning did bring one Santa present request; a panda, turtle, and seal onesie, specific to each kid’s favorite animal. Good thing Santa was listening…. 🙂
I took two weeks off work for school break, not knowing that Grandma Sue was coming up for some of the fun. I nearly spilled the beans about Amanda’s visit multiple times but managed to keep that one a surprise. Picking them both up at the airport resulted in three very happy girls, who had no idea why we were driving past Mom’s work to Mom’s airport! So many delicious, Christmas goodies were consumed the past few weeks, and the girls helped Grandma with so much baking. All three liked her fruit dip, or should I say vanilla pudding, and were unimpressed with added spices. They sure did eat all the apples and grapes intended for that dip, but without the dip! Everyone helped me make gingerbread cookies and did great this year cutting out the cookies, including three new custom shapes for our set: a turtle, panda and seal (see the theme here?!). In addition to decorating a couple dozen cookies, everyone was thrilled to display the customized gingerbread house on the table and admire it for a couple weeks over the holiday.
Zoo lights in 15 degrees!
We painted and baked Christmas plates this year and watched a new holiday movie for the first time, Home Alone. The girls didn’t want to watch it at first, but once the story line picked up, they were hooked and giggling at all the torturous activities to keep out the house thieves. A few other new Disney movies prompted some distress and bad dreams, on random things they latched onto; an issue that resolved itself after a few nights and much discussion about life, death, and heaven.
After a quick hour of Christmas Eve prepping after bedtime, which included placing out the already wrapped presents from sneaky wrapping sessions over a few weeks, Craig and Amanda built the new vanity and mirror set and I stuffed stockings. I spaced out all the tasks to prep for the big day, making the night before go much quicker. All three left a cookie out for Santa, Emerie leaving hers on a tiny doll plate after adamantly demanding it had to be that way. Everyone slept well and went to bed discussing Santa’s impending visit.
Emerie and Reagan were up by 6:30, but I managed to contain them until about 7:00, when the excitement was just too much to bear. They dragged a sleepy Harper out of bed to demands of presents, and wandered downstairs to see the big, pink beanbag chair on the floor and presents scattered around the room. After a cup of coffee for the adults, presents were opened in sets of three, just like prior years. It is relatively organized and fast paced, with all three opening similar gifts simultaneously and sharing their excitement. They have different answers to their favorite gifts than I do. For example, I made a princess photo album for our Disney World trip that includes pictures of all the princesses with the girls, and of course the “magic” shots courtesy of the park cameras. I wanted the girls to be able to flip through an album and remember the trip whenever they want, like adults do on their phones. Finding three Precious Moments picture frames was a great find too, and filling them with a picture of each kiddo with their favorite princess; now I just need to find them a home to keep them from getting broken.
While Christmas isn’t all about presents, we still endeavor to make sure to have a fun and magical day. It was fun to share it with Sue and Amanda, and allow Craig to make his fancy beef wellington in peace while everyone checked out their new toys. Each kiddo received something to play with customized to their specific desires, since they aren’t all the same, a few clothing items to wear, and doll sets from both Grandma Sue and Grandma Anne. The girls ran around with their new doll pets and carriers from Grandma Anne and danced with light up animal ballerinas that play music from the Nutcracker from Grandma Sue and Papa Lon. Adults helped opened the toy contraptions and enjoyed laying on the floor playing together, mostly nicely!
Craig found dresses for all three in their favorite animals -not an easy feat- and a princess dress for each was also unwrapped. By mid-morning all three had changed outfits at least three times with no end in sight. Another outfit change was prompted later that evening after opening presents from cousins…wait for it…white wedding dresses and vails! This was met with great excitement, immediately running upstairs to change into “wedding girls.” Not going to lie…they look SUPER cute in those outfits, and had so much fun running around in them.
Wedding girls…so fancy & girly!OF course matching pjs…that were sooo itchy but cute.
When asked what their favorite gift was, Emerie responded the turtle costume and really I just like everything. I like my Elsa photo. Harper responded she liked all her presents and opening them and can’t choose a favorite. Reagan’s response was her stuffed panda from Amanda and the pink mirror (vanity) where we can do our hair.
Only one real hiccup on the big day occurred and kept us on our toes for holiday events with family. I left carpet cleaner spray on the stairs, intending to better clean the carpet where the cat left us his own Christmas gift; Emerie picked it up at some point in the evening and chased everyone with it, ultimately spraying those chemicals into cousin Elliot’s hair and eyes and prompting an unplanned shower and face scrubbing and some red eyes. Can’t say we’ve had that happen before…nothing says holiday cheer like spraying dangerous chemicals at your cousins, right?
The week between Christmas and New Years is a type of no-mans land, where you don’t know what day it is and time is spent doing whatever you want to make it through Christmas break with the kids. The gymnastics afternoons greatly assisted giving Amanda and I short kid breaks, and we filled the mornings with other fun activities like cleaning and organizing the house, painting creations at Color Me Mine, playing outside and with the neighbor kid, building Lego sets and watching Star Wars with Amanda, creating slime and play dough creations, and hitting up jump parks and playgrounds. I was hoping for a few sledding adventures while Amanda was here, but the cold temperatures and lack of snow conditions were less than desirable. Build days at Lowe’s and Home Depot were also a hit, as was Zoo Lights one night.
Having family visit during the break was such a much needed treat. I love being in a central location (by Alaska standards) and getting unplanned (and planned!) drop-ins, something I did t have as a kid with no nearby family. Grandma Sue and Auntie Amanda staying with us not only gave Craig and me a chance to recharge (I even got to sit down and read a book one afternoon!) but also created so many fun memories for the girls. Cousin Jaren flew in for a couple hours one afternoon before returning home; Uncle Will stopped over a few times to enjoy dinner and make glittered slime with the girls. Papa Cliff stopped by with a few presents. Cousin Tyler brought Chatum, Dorian, and Beckham over, and the kids had a blast riding the four wheelers in the freezing dark. It’s amazing how much longer they can endure the cold when they’re having fun! The boys were such good sports about it. At one point, Chatum and Harper came speeding down the street, with Harper at the wheel, laughing and shouting, we won! as they zoomed toward the house. Emerie and Dorian’s four wheeler died at one point in the neighborhood and they required rescue, but no upset kiddos from being out that long in the cold.
The cherry on top of all the visits was getting to meet the newest additions to the family- (second) cousin Amber’s identical twin girls, who made the trek all the way from Kenai just to see us. I believe this was the first time the girls have held babies this small and everyone was eager to participate, Reagan really taking her momming skills up to the next level. In fact, baby Kylan took a nap on her and it was so very sweet to watch her tuck her into her blanket and whisper. Elsie took a nice nap on the new beanbag chair and looked so cozy and happy, and they slept through the noise of our house! Spending a few hours with three month olds is a good reminder at how far we’ve come, and how much easier the day to day is now that the girls are more self sufficient and are out of naps and diapers. I am SO excited for next summer when they are mobile and we can get out and about.
It was a wonderful holiday season, and I tried to treasure every moment, knowing how fleeting they are. We only have a few more years to enjoy the magic of childhood at Christmas and I can’t even believe how fast it’s gone. A meme I saw earlier this month summed it up accurately: remember this is the youngest they’ll ever be at Christmas again. Pretty solid thought! Merry Christmas and happy new year…here we go 2025!
This past week, only a week before Christmas, Craig trekked across the country for a three night stay at a conference in Texas and we had a four day “girls day.” For the record, this is a terrible time to host a conference for anyone with kids, getting all the things ready before not only the Christmas holiday, but also for two weeks home over Christmas break, but what can you do! My anxiety was running high leading up to his trip, which started at a balmy 4 AM, which the girls took quite personally that he didn’t wake them up and say bye with a hug. Once we overcame that morning drama, I stepped up my mom game and had a few things planned to keep everyone busy and tired out until his return.
After a busy workday wrapping up tasks before two weeks off, I told the girls if they played nicely while I made dinner they could watch one of the beloved DVDs from the 90s from Grandma Anne, specifically The Swan Princess (which I do not actually remember watching!). In some ultimate universe everyone built cities with Lincoln logs and Emerie did a frozen puzzle, and no one fought for over a full hour!! In that time I successfully made zucchini cookies, grilled veggies, and made Mac and cheese and chicken for the girls. In addition to the movie, everyone enjoyed apple-cranberry sparkle juice in fancy glasses and a gingerbread cookie. Day one of survival, achieved, and everyone went to bed for the last day of school in 2024, which is somehow already here!
I should also mention the girls all excitedly agreed I should do a three night stay at Shiloh’s house so they can have dad time and I can have a break. There was much discussion on this topic after bedtime; I could hear them continue to discuss it once I left the room. Shiloh’s house specifically because he and Craig do guys nights together and so he is associated with kid free time (which is funny since he has 6 kids!). By the end of Craig’s trip their advice morphed into staying at Auntie Janelle’s house instead, a little more realistic 🙂
Sending daddy photos
At bedtime that night everyone wanted to fill in the vacancy on Craig’s side of the bed, which I didn’t cave into. Emerie definitely won that argument, wandering in at some ungodly hour of night, climbing across my sleeping figure, and stretching across more than half the king sized bed. Later that morning she rolled out of MY bed while I’m brushing my teeth, looks at me with a deep brow and says, Mom, before you and dad die you need to teach us how to make breakfast. I’m sorry to say this- I mean I’m really sorry- but we need to know before you dieor we will be really hungry. Wow kid. What kind of dream was she having??
Day two involved heavy complaints from all three for staying in school Child Watch for too long- you know after begging to participate- and we had a quiet evening doing crafts and playing with…wait for it, scented slime. Yes, it is no surprise I dislike slime, and neither does my couch or carpet!! My rational here was purchasing something abnormal and beneffitting from that entertainment for a bit, which worked like a charm. While it’s mostly confined to the kitchen table (Harper’s definitely wanders even after constant reminders), it led to a couple hours of creativity and excitement. Harper made soup with sprinkles and a cherry, Reagan made cute little slime people, and Emerie made every contraption imaginable in a lot of happy squeals and Mom, look at me! comments.
We spent the morning of day three sans Dad just hanging at home and starting the day- and Christmas break- slow and chill. Harper climbed into my bed early that morning, but I managed to soothe her back to sleep until around 8:30; I was definitely not ready to start another solo parent day at 5:00 AM.
Christmas activities were on my mind; first cookie decorating at the mall with other home school kids and later a hot cocoa and gingerbread village stop at Captain Cook Hotel with Aunt Janelle and Paris, and a good photo op! Cookie decorating ended up being a kidless hour for the moms, with adults not required to participate, so we had a nice little mom date in the middle of our Friday. After stopping downtown to check out the tiny gingerbread village and sip a yummy drink, we played at home the rest of the afternoon and exchanged gifts with Aunt Janelle and Paris. The girls are beyond thrilled at their new stuffed animals; a pink seal for Harper, a purple, big eyed turtle for Emerie, and a panda dressed as a green dinosaur for Reagan. All three have carted their new babies around the past few days.
The day ended with a fun trip to the girls’ dance school for an evening of fall session routines. Twenty performances in ninety minutes—whew! The girls did fantastic, performing two routines: one jazz and one ballet. With only one other kid from their class there, all three got adorably distracted at different moments, watching their teachers closely whenever nerves made them forget the steps. But they all finished with proud smiles and bows, which was the best part! I wasn’t sure how they’d handle the evening crowd, but they sat mesmerized, cheering everyone on and loving every second, especially when their teachers took the stage for a few dances. I love how relaxed and supportive this dance school is—it’s all about fostering a love for dance, fun, and staying active. The girls are already impatient with excitement for the spring recital in May on the big stage!
Before one more dance display the following morning with more classmates, we ended the late night with a living room sleepover by the Christmas tree. This is one of my favorite memories as a 90s kid, sleeping out by the twinkling Christmas tree and basking in the excitement of the holiday season. Since Alaska is so dark by solstice, with Anchorage only a little over five hours of daylight a day (and some of that is dusky), holiday lights really make the house feel cozier and less cold and wintry. I pulled out the couch and everyone climbed into their sleeping bags, with a LOT of stuffed animals friends brought down to keep them company- you know- in the midst of the siblings sharing the same pull out couch. It won’t be many more Christmases before all three won’t fit across, but for now it worked perfectly. I settled into the nearby armchair with my iPad, enjoying a quiet movie while the hustle and bustle of the day faded. The girls eventually drifted off to sleep after minimal arguing on their close proximity. And honestly, is there anything better than that moment of calm at the end of a busy day? It was always my favorite part of the day when the girls’ were busy toddlers, and even better with some holiday spirit in the mix. Sitting in a peaceful living room, the glow of the Christmas tree, listening to the gentle rhythm of sleepy breaths. It’s the kind of moment that makes your heart feel full, knowing everyone is safe, content, and dreaming. Not much in life can top that kind of magic. And while Emerie ended up in my bed again at some point, stating she wasn’t comfortable (and therefore wanted to make me less comfortable in my bed from her marathon sleeping!), it remained a quiet night for all.
After dance round two the next morning, with a lot of more classmates participating and only two dances, the girls received their ribbons and the dance session concluded. We cleaned up the house a bit and played, and just like that, Craig returned and we made it! It was few months since I’d had a few solo days with the kids, and realistically, it turned out much easier than the irrational worries my mind led me to dwell on. Sure, all three have their own ways of showing they miss the parent who is away—some pouty moments here, a bit of extra clinginess there—but it didn’t derail the days. They’ve grown and learned to roll with it, and I’m working on accepting the idea everything doesn’t have to go completely smoothly. A couple of FaceTime calls and a steady stream of random photos goes a long way in keeping everyone connected and comforted. Staying busy was the real lifesaver, with fun distractions, little crafts or projects, and keeping our routine. It was a good reminder that sometimes, the worry is worse than the reality, and I need to remember that!
As we start Christmas break and finish the rest of the holiday related activities, I look forward to making more memories and pushing through this dark season and toward 2025.
Life over the past month continues to stay very busy! I started writing small notes to myself of the latest with the girls, knowing I will forget what lovely life tidbits to include as I muse about our daily life. Since I last wrote a blog, 10 new Bluey episodes were released in the United States. This is clearly a worthy milestone to mention, since we marathoned them like an adult would for a new season of their own show, and within a few days the girls were already asking for episodes by name. No, we don’t watch television allll the time and yes, we love that the episodes are only a few minutes long and share good, family values.
It took me a couple rewatches to realize one game in our house emerged from a new episode. One night the girls were running wild -literally, as kids do in January in the winter- and circling the living room over and over again, full on running and screaming. Occasionally one would plop down on the ground randomly and pause a moment, until another caught up and yelled flush! and imitated the flushing of a toilet, and said still child would jump up and return to a sprint. I watched this occur for a few minutes and finally asked what they were playing. All three responded with we are playing toilet tag! and explained when someone stopped, you had to flush them to bring them back in the game. Like what? I’m not sure if I’m impressed at the creativity, or mortified, but now it is a standard kid game in our household. Toilet tag. Yep.
We are now in the age of toy cleanup that all three now understand cleaning up does not mean shoving everything under the bed, or in one toy bin, but to try to put things away correctly. I should probably credit Grandma Sue for this transition, and it’s noticeable when we ask them to put things away where they go. I will often randomly fine one cleaning up a room (never all three at once), looking for a reward treat of course, and putting doll accessories or barbies or stuffed animals in the correct bins. Score!! Now, if we can only convince these kids to change their clothes and put anything removed in a laundry bin or by the washer, instead of everywhere. Baby steps!
School continues to go smoothly and all three claim to enjoy it, likely due to the love for their teacher and seeing her each day. I now respond to being called Miss Tawni in the afternoons, especially from Harper, and wonder how many times a day the three actually call her name. It must be about in the millions. Take a look at the picture above. Being mom makes me biased, but I am seriously impressed at how well and creatively all three copied those pictures. Is it just me and this is normal five year old drawing? I am pretty sure all three are already better than I am at drawing. Look at the enhanced detail on Reagan’s cup, or the fingers on Emerie’s hand, or Harper’s color coordinated bear. I can’t help but be impressed!
In January Craig and I took all three to a mid-year reading assessment at our home-school (it’s in addition to their normal daytime curriculum). Each kiddo went back with the teacher for the same assessment, and all three were evaluated right where they should be. She noted everyone understands the difference between the letter name and the sound of a letter, which is the first step toward reading comprehension. All three are still stumped on combined letter sounds creating words, but she assured us they seem close to getting it. We’ve tried a few different ways to explain the concept and so far the light bulb for all three hasn’t clicked on quite yet. I believe Reagan will be the first to catch on; not sure who will be second! By the end of the kindergarten year, I’m betting all three will have it down and we will be working through level one reading books.
Kindergarten classSome of the girlsFrozen Yogurt!
In January we continued to practice counting by fives and counting to 100. You can see their brains trying to figure out what comes next in the sequence after a 9 (like 39 to 40), and improvement continues. The end of January also prompted the 100 Days in school party, occurring on January 31st, and I swear the girls were more excited the night before than for Christmas. It took forever to calm them down at bedtime, and everyone happily put on their matching t-shirts (with friends) and let me do fancy hair for the occasion. We counted down the last few days until this milestone- or should I say we counted UP- and everyone excitedly yelled it was day 100 the moment eyes opened that morning. When asked their favorite part of the day, because I know several activities were planned, they all answered the same: the fruit loop necklaces! We might have to make some of those at home one of these days. We finished their fun filled day with a trip to frozen yogurt to commemorate, and I can’t believe everyone is so grown up!
Everyone received mid-year report cards in January, with great marks and then need to practice reading and comprehension more, which Craig and I both agree we need to commit more time to at home in the evenings. I hope all three grow up to love books and reading; so far Emerie seems most inclined to grab a book and hang out by herself while looking through pages. Harper prefers stories relating to princesses or ballerinas and asks someone to read to her on those; Reagan loves to carry books around and add notes and drawings in them, rotating through her favorite book each week or so.
As we all wait for spring to arrive, we maintain indoor entertainment through tons of birthday parties (not an exaggeration!); swimming at the nearby YMCA or Alaska Club, build days, hitting up the indoor climbing playground at a local rec center or running at the jump park, and other at-home activities like kid yoga, makeup and hair styling, playing with dolls or legos, making paper crafts and coloring, and can’t forget toilet tag (haha). The girls discovered yoga at school and asked to watch kid videos everyday one week. I came downstairs to find all three actively participating in the activity, yelling Mom we are exercising! They are surprisingly limber and thrilled to check out different yoga themes (Frozen was a particular favorite, not surprisingly!).
Build days continue to be a fun activity, some kits harder than others. We really like that Lowe’s provides stickers instead of paint, although I’m guessing the girls prefer the Home Depot mess because it’s more fun. They are all getting better at hitting nails and I am getting better at building some of the sets…otherwise I just copy however Craig builds it! I often find the girls at home during quiet times, playing salon with their dolls or each other, making a huge makeuppy mess but haven’t fun while doing it. Harper’s doll Babela continue to look like she’s had a rough night and quite the hangover, and then about 20 hair clips to seal the deal. Reagan finally named her doll Moriah, and constantly reminds me she has a name and is beautiful. During much of these events I will find Emerie in the bathroom, giving her doll or stuffed animal a bath, rather than adding to their makeup. Such girlie girls!
After a handful of swimming birthday parties in the past few weeks, one party highlight is certainly the Taylor Swift themed one, which was about as girly as possible and all three were thrilled. Is that Craig in a pink cowgirl hat? Why yes it is, and he definitely bedazzled those hats for the girls while at the party. I found him hanging out upstairs, bedazzling them with TS music in the background and the kids running around, having fun. He’s definitely a girl dad!
In addition to the usual birthday shenanigans, the crafts were on point. Everyone bedazzled a microphone (yes, they were working and charged…it wasn’t loud in there at all…), Emerie opting for all black while Reagan snagged a teal and Harper a light pink. The girls also added gems to their sunglasses and humored me for a couple cute shots. It was quite the afternoon!
And lastly, since this blog is getting a bit long, I have to mention all the Valentine’s day fun. This time last year we were down in Juneau working and harassing family, and I’m really glad this year we stayed for the girls to participate in their school activities. One day after school everyone wrote out their own Valentine’s Day cards; something I did quickly the night before last year! Some grumbling occurred until we got in the groove; overall they did great writing all classmates names and their own. I overbought options, since last year valentines sold out well before the holiday and couldn’t be found, with Reagan selecting Trolls (Band Together), Emerie choosing Frozen over the Bluey option, and Harper claiming Peppa Pig. I always enjoy watching them to a school type activity at home, such as writing classmates names down, and seeing how they react. Emerie struggled a bit fitting the letters into the small cards, writing bottom to top to finish names, but was able to get over that frustration and actually finished first! Harper and Reagan continued fighting over the pen used to cross completely names off the list; Harper also demanded to only use a yellow marker for all the writing, and Reagan took her time writing out the names. Somehow we made it through and were done by the time Craig came home from work!
Before school on V-DayMaking valentinesCuties after dance class
Excluding the winter season we are currently in, it feels though time is passing really quickly and my babies are growing up quickly before my eyes. The girls are growing like weeds and I’m internally struggling a bit at how big and independent they are becoming- it really goes by quick! Life has gotten a lot easier for sure, and we can fit so many more activities and outings into a single day, but I certainly have my moments of missing my little tiny humans. I am learning to enjoy them spreading their wings and learning new things.
Another year down, another successful Christmas weekend with family and first half of Christmas break. Overall things were pretty quiet on activities- not quiet on sound mind you, obviously- and it’s now very evident the girls can entertainment themselves much more than in years past. Other than the massive amount of effort it takes to open toys from their insane packaging; the girls overall enjoyed playing with their new gifts and even let the parents enjoy some down time on the couch. The next sinus cold and cough hit the house a couple days before the big day; luckily it happened after their Christmas show, the Nutcracker event and after school break began.
Knowing the kids would be home this Christmas instead of in preschool child watch, and with Grandma Sue’s arrival after presents were opened and played with, I made a point to wrap a couple boxes every few days before school pickup and stashed them away. It is getting hard to creatively find places for things that won’t be discovered. These preparations made Christmas Eve much more efficient; it only took Craig and I maybe fifteen minutes to set everything out for morning. And it may not look like it, but I definitely have a method to my madness on gift giving procedure. Competition is in full throttle in this household on everything, even more so than in previous years as they mature, so we made a point to get similar gifts for each kiddo to open simultaneously, and one specifically chosen present for each kiddo.
We had a full house on Christmas Eve, with the boys and Keegan and Jenny, Uncle William, and Papa Cliff. Within five minutes of cousins arrival, the living room was a mess of wrapping paper, new toys and clothes, excited children, and general chaos. We all may need hearing aids by the time we are forty at this rate (and that isn’t very far from now for some of us!)! Aunt Jenny’s selections were spot on again this year, gifting everyone cute pink, purple, and blue flower bag clips to signify whose was whose, and lots of girl stuff. The horse set was a hit, as were the Barbies. Everyone paused long enough in the evening to sit and build the Lego Christmas globe ornaments (which are super cool and light up!). Building these is not for the weak, and she did it with all five. The boys were off and running with their Jurassic Park (Corbin) and Minecraft (Elliot) themed slippers and toys. I love that Jenny and I get to swap for Christmas and she can buy all the frilly, girly things while I get to peruse the boys aisle, which I don’t venture down often. Craig made a delicious lamb dish, which the kids even ate (when you call it steak!), and the frozen fruit dessert by Jenny was also a hit. We also forced the children into all matching Christmas pajamas with a less than successful group photo at the end of the night.
The Christmas morning plan involved each kiddo receiving one request from some point over the last month, one big present customized to each, and a few other odds and ends that we knew they would enjoy (or, to be honest, we couldn’t resist buying because they would love it). For the small custom gift, Harper asked for a replacement ballerina jewelry box to replace her broken one, and the new box came with a ballerina necklace she’s worn around the house. Emerie’s small gift was a stuffed turtle notebook I found a while back; and for Reagan, an Ergo-baby doll carrier so she can tote her baby pandas around and be hands free. It’s the cutest thing and a legitimate baby carrier; just in miniature size!
For the big gift, this took more creativity. This is the first year we opted for something specific to each girl’s desires: a doll spa/salon “room” and salon chair for Harper (the chair actually pushes up like at a real hair salon), a gift that remained in the middle of the living room for a week with constant attention. Emerie received a portable Frozen castle set that folds out, and a doll table and chair set, because she kept asking for a doll table and chairs on repeat. Very specific and that was on her mind at least a month, because her answer hasn’t changed. Craig and I found a drivable princess carriage for Reagan and a cute doll bathtub. All three took turns driving their stuffed animals and barbies around the living room and it was one of the more popular choices for the day. They also coordinated a covert op to trash the bathroom and give their dolls baths- you know, or just general drowning of those poor dolls- which resulted in a lovely water mess to clean up. Real life I tell you…at least they were having fun?
Like past years, presents were grouped in threes so similar things were opened at the same time, and then a couple group things to all open together, such as crafts and alphabet magnets. The other highlight was the princess Lego sets, which HAD to be built immediately before opening more. It took us about three days to open everything; we tried to space it out so everything was played with, and that worked pretty well. On day three the kid digital cameras were opened- one green panda, one purple unicorn, and one pink unicorn- and they’ve been running around with them ever since! One can only imagine the images that are saved when we load them on the computer, and Harper figured out how to add mustaches to the screen so we likely all have mustache photos now.
We may be in some hot water with Harper over the lack of her main Santa request, which was apparently a white teddy bear with a pink dress. Either we weren’t listening or I never remotely considered buying more stuffed animals as presents, but I swear I didn’t hear this request until Christmas morning, when she observed several times that Santa didn’t get what she was hoping for. No such luck in making effort on that and I’m hoping she will forget at some point and not be cross with Santa, who doesn’t listen to her. Poor kid.
In the midst of Christmas morning Reagan’s beloved bestie, her “tiny” panda who she calls Pandarina, went missing. After a week of scouring the house, knowing it’s here somewhere, it has not been found. Craig and I -might- have purchased another much cleaner and softer one from the same toy store and replaced it, just to stop hearing the constant stress over its vanishing. I didn’t realize how gross her companion was until I felt the new one…
It’s been a busy week at home since Christmas Day. My house is covered in paper chains, something the girls learned at school this month and forced Papa Cliff to make dozens of. They are now decorating the tree, taped to the toy bins, and hanging from their bunk bed; it’s pretty cute.
The naughtiness remains about the same, with Craig catching all three eating a whole box of apple sauce pouches in the garage one day. We continue to find ground up chalk all over the place too. The cozy pajamas, messy hair buns, dirty aprons, and generally relaxed atmosphere is nice; sometimes I prefer staying home and embracing the kid chaos, knowing in the future I will look back and miss these days. While I may not miss the high volume (or the fighting), I will definitely miss the activities, the coloring together, listening to them sing a song to themselves or focus while decorating cookies, and the requests to help cook.
shopping with Mom & GrandmaChatum & Tyler visit ❤3 v 1
We also received quick visits from cousins Tyler, Jaren, and Chatum, with the girls displaying the usual level of crazy excitement to see them and then breaking out into fantastic coughing fits. Not having grown up with any family living in the same state, I really enjoy that the girls get the chance to see five of their cousins on the regular. During the visit Chatum decided the level of child giggles and harassment was enough, and much like Uncle Will has done this winter, opted to toss the kids straight out into the snow pile. Watching him pry three wildly giggling and screaming children down the stairs without help from the other laughing adults in the room, and making it to the back deck with a bit of help from Grandma Sue, was definitely the highlight of that day. Well it was, until the aftermath of screaming and crying and cold blooded rage re-entered the room, which I couldn’t help but chuckle at. Such memories in the making.
Baking donuts in their aprons & messy buns
Grandma Sue arrived a few days after Christmas to give Craig and I help to be able to work over the school break, and with that comes craft projects, cleaning activities, delicious homemade meals, baked goods and the girls excitedly assisting with everything as much as possible. Everyone spent an hour creating a hand sewing project with Grandma (how she did three different ones at the same time, I don’t know because I certainly couldn’t) and a 3d princess puzzle, the first big kid puzzle we’ve done. They already want to do it again!
Homemade donuts with sprinkles were also must and everyone was thrilled to participate and share them with a beloved Jessie (and Sara!). Of course we also had to have my favorite chicken fried steak for dinner, with all three asking for seconds! I bet other goodies over the next week will be the highlight of the girls’ time off.
The earrings I ordered for Christmas stockings were too hard to screw on, so we took the girls to the mall to find different ones. Amazingly, we found multiple turtle earrings for Emerie, panda faces for Reagan, AND pink eared koala bears for Harper, since seal earrings probably don’t exist. The little girl earrings look so big on them compared to studs and they are so proud to be big girls, now that they believe it’s not the same piercing experience to change them out.
Not much else to report this week, other than I sold our last triplet stroller to a younger set (and I might go cry in the corner when I think that entire phase is completely over for us!). Now we are ready to bring in 2024 and see what adventures this year will bring us!
The Douglets 