personalities

Take 5! Birthday Update

Once again, it’s time for the contrasting and comparison between the girls during age four. It’s been quite the busy year, and one that is much more back to normal post COVID, which has been wonderful. Timing wise the girls are much easier to handle, meaning we can do more things and be a bit more “normal”, or at least survive doing normal things without required extra hands. It was very hard to narrow down my favorite “triple photos,” as I call them, over the past 365 days. There are so many! I settled on this collage after unsuccessfully narrowing the count below three, and all are taken with beautiful nature back drops and big smiles; photos that highlight the personalities of my three little ladies during daily life adventures.

I’ve already blocked out half the things we accomplished or attended last year, so here is an overview of the highlights that my mom brain can remember as I write this out.

Age 4 Changes

Age four had less significant changes than age three, but mentionables nevertheless. It was our best year of sleep so far in the journey of parenting, with both Emerie and Harper trading off doing very well sleeping overnight in their toddler beds. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was great sleep, but definitely an improvement from years where the bar to improve started very low. More recently we created a healthy sibling competition, with the current prize whoever sleeps in their bed the most gets to choose their spot in the “big girl bunk beds,” and so far Harper is winning by a landslide, with Emerie in tow, and Reagan only two nights in her bed for the entire month of March.

New Preschool Class

Last August the girls aged up into the four year old preschool class at school. Initially they were quite dismayed at this required change, not wanting to leave their daily routine in beloved Miss Tawni’s class. The transition went quite well and we didn’t lose school naps from it- and over six months later, they still adore their previous teacher, and their current one. It’s very sweet. They are also almost all the way through the alphabet, love show and tell highlighting a letter each week, and getting to do crafts and play in the gym. While they haven’t said it in quite a while, I know they are also looking forward to playground time after the snow melts…whenever that actually happens.

First Remembered Airplane Trip!

As you all know, the whole family packed up and boarded the skies to Juneau for a work trip for Craig and I, and the girls did great during the whole experience. This is actually the second time the girls boarded a plane, with the last time around at fourteen months old, and under way more duress. This time around showed us that a longer trip might be doable this summer and to a farther distance, now that we don’t (usually) have to worry about them darting into traffic or getting completely lost when we blink. It is also wonderful to be out of the stroller phase and not need to lug that everywhere we go; before long we won’t even need to lug the car seats.

The girls are already asking for another trip, and while most this summer will be closer to home overnights, such as Homer, Seward, maybe even Fairbanks; it’s nice to know we can plan for another big adventure and both parents will survive it.

Sickness No Longer Equals the End of the World

This might sound silly to include in this list, but in reality, is a complete game changer. Prior to age four I dreaded every time a cough or sniffle started in the household, knowing that meant a week or two of very little sleep or relaxation was right around the corner. This past year the girls had RSV twice, a number of colds and coughs and ear infections, and while that still sucked, it wasn’t nearly as awful to make it through each one as the toddler stage. You can now tell the level of sickness by their willingness to sit and relax and watch movies, something short lived at younger ages.

Out of Town Sans Dad

This was a milestone for me- when Grandma Sue and I packed up the kiddos and trekked down to Kenai last summer and left Craig at home to finish the work week. This had to happen at some point, and while I was anxious that my tiny humans would freak out and want Craig toward bedtime, they were so worn out by all the excitement that is ultimately went fine!

That was also one of the first times we’ve been in the compromising position of a car breakdown while out of town, and are still so thankful that all of it played out safety and it didn’t ruin the experience, or the car!

Fairs and Festivals

It is a major accomplishment that we can now attend and ENJOY fairs and other outdoor, summer events. We opted out of the busy fair experience until this age, knowing it would be quite a long and stimulating day, and not wanting to be miserable throughout it or missing nap time. The girls loved their first Alaska Fair experience and we will certainly enjoy it again next year. We also accidentally attended the annual fair in Ninilchik and while the weather was cold and rainy, the face painting and fun made up for it.

Earlier in the summer we ventured to the valley for the Scottish Highland Games, and it was the first time we went somewhere unplanned and spent more than six hours exploring, eating and checking out the sights. Harper especially enjoyed watching the dance routines while Emerie and Reagan were more there for the treats. Everyone was quite a hit in their kilts and it was a gorgeous (hot!) day of sun.

Schedule Improvements

Smoother, less routine schedules ended up as one of the biggest and best improvements across the past year. We were so regimented and inflexible from the newborn stage to the middle of age four, simply because it was the only way to survive each day. Even after dropping naps, quiet time in the afternoon was helpful but mornings could play out without as much planning, and being out and about during the day for activities became so much easier. I remember thinking we’d never survive the days once we lost nap time, and looking back, staying on schedule allowed us to make it through the tough toddler phase.

New Life Skills

While accomplishments on the parenting side waned a bit this year, it was huge for the girls. All three continue to improve their handwriting and color skills, which occur daily; all three love glue stick crafts and using kid scissors. Last summer Harper and Reagan learned to pedal bike on big girl bikes (Emerie opted out and continued with her balance bike, her choice!), and can now decently steer their kid four wheelers. All three fight over who gets to use the tv remote and demand Alexa pause the movies for them during potty breaks.

Other skills include dressing themselves, especially in dress up gear, telling detailed stories, and proudly declaring when they unbuckle a car seat without help. They also clear dishes off the table, clean up the room after demands, brush their own teeth.

Animals Galore!

Age four saw a range of new animals joining the family. Craig brought eight baby chickens home last summer, seven who are still with us and providing eggs, and the girls experienced their growth and development throughout. Amazingly we had no accidental casualties from the girls stepping or smashing them, and while they are much less exciting now, the girls do enjoy feeding them upon occasion.

We also experienced death for the first time with Rafi, he received a flower burial that the girls will tell you all about, and don’t forget he now lives in heaven. Then we acquired a new kitten and she later gave us three unplanned kittens! The girls learned to be gentle with them and now walk around and play with lone Winston. That’s a few too many new animals in one year for my taste…

More Cousin Time

I am enjoying the trend of more family moving close by- last fall this meant that cousins Corbin and Elliot returned to the Alaska life after several years in Washington, and now I have a glimmer of insight into what quads are like, with Elliot the same age as the girls. The girls love to play at their house and it’s a nice break for Craig and I to have another hang out location, especially after the years of COVID, when people didn’t open up their houses for visitors, and certainly not for the triplet tornado. I should also say it’s nice to have Aunt Jenny AND my brother here too…but it’s really for the kids, right?

Cousins time on the Douglas side is also welcomed and the girls love Tyler visits, when Jaren and Savaya pop in for a hello, and when Chatum comes up to visit.

About the Girls – Age 4

Harper Anne

This year Harper has really come into her own style. She is a fashionista, rocking all kinds of dresses but especially anything in black or pink, is a swing queen and can tower high above her sisters on the swing set, still has the need for speed on her training wheel bicycle, and knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to demand it. She loves having curly hair from we braids, putting on pretend makeup, and playing “mom and dads” with her sisters.

Height/Weight: 45 pounds, 45″ tall – she gained 7.4 pounds and grew 3″ in a year!

Favorite Activities: playing dress up and getting fancy. Lately she is more into coloring and also greatly enjoys gong to her dance and tap class each week.

Favorite Movie/Music/Show: She is a bit more fluid in her requests for television or movies, opting to pick different princesses that fit her mood, like Aurora, Cinderella, Tiana, then Pan or Leap (ballerina movie) and so on. She moved on from the Frozen music obsession and continues to adore Toward the Sun by Rihanna, from the soundtrack Home.

Favorite Princess/Character: When asked her favorite, she claims it is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. This is likely because she is dressed in pink, as she greatly likes Rapunzel and Elsa also.

Favorite Color: pink, then black, and then orange, are her continued favorites.

Favorite Food: When asked, Harper’s immediate response was “candy.” Considering she liked sweets the least of the three as toddlers, she clearly got over that thought. After more discussion, she agreed she loves black olives, chicken nuggets, tater tots and french fries. I think her favorite food is actually ketchup.

Favorite Animal: Lately she is on a bunny kick, but also adores (all) her stuffed seals and her puppy dogs.

When Harper grows up, she wants to be: A ballerina is her most common answer.

Unique Personality Trait: Harper is our glitter and grease girl. She LOVES to be dressed up and fancy, almost constantly, but isn’t afraid to get dirty outside, in the kitchen, or out and about.

Major Dislikes: Harper’s dislikes are very similar to the list from age three, such as wearing anything other than dresses and that pants in general are the bane of her existence. She also dislikes being patient and slow, wanting to do things fast whenever she can, and getting frustrated when she can’t do something easily.

Of the Three, She is the Most: Social. She is happy to play with other kids the most, and doesn’t seem to love playing independently like either of her sisters. She’s definitely a social butterfly.

Favorite Quotes: I’m NEVER going to ….. or You’re NEVER going to let me …. for the rest of eternity. Dramatic much?

Emerie Faye

Emerie continues to be our ray of sunshine; she loves to learn new skills, collect and carry around tiny things, and spend time at home, which is her happy place. She loves to pretend nap, getting a bed all set up with her stuffies and “sleeping” with all the shades closed. She also enjoys scrolling through books and snuggling up on the couch. Gymnastics is proving to be a great activity for her and she constantly asks what day we go next. She doesn’t let daily patching hold her back from anything and remains a good sport about wearing it each day, which is huge! She had one eye surgery this past year and is now on her longest stint ever between doctor visits.

Height/Weight: 38.2 pounds, 43.5″ tall – she gained 4 pounds and grew 2.25″ in a year!

Favorite Activities: gymnastics, collecting beads and playing restaurant. She often asks how to spell food related words so she can make a menu and deliver you a meal.

Favorite Movie/Music/Show: As I’m sure you guessed, her favorite movie remains both Frozens, and not Encanto! She is also re-upping her love for Pan (Rapunzel) and the corresponding television series, Tangled Adventures. As far as music, Let It Go continues to live on as a daily (sometimes hourly) request, followed by what she calls Bring It In, which is Isabella singing Encanto’s What Else Can I Do.

Favorite Princess/Character: Emerie continues to be an all things Elsa (Frozen) girl, but now has a second character to love, Isabella from Encanto. You might think she’d latch onto the main Encanto character with glasses (Mirabel), but that lasted about five seconds until she saw Isabella’s purple, flowered dress. She is constantly dressed up as one of these two characters when playing at home.

Favorite Color: This remains unchanged from birth- team purple!

Favorite Food: Last year cheese quesadillas topped the list without question, but this year she is completely anti-dilla. Of the three, she has the most opinions about food. She likes macaroni and cheese, or really most pastas, and cheeseburgers (just the patty with cheese) and french fries.

Favorite Animal: Definitely a change from last year, her beloved monkey has retired to live a life confined to her toddler bed, while her “mommy and baby turtle” go to school each day and MUST be in her bed every night. The Mom turtle was a gift from Doctor Winkle before her last surgery, and she picked out the baby turtle at the toy store earlier this winter after a good amount of overnight sleep in her bed.

Unique Personality Trait: Emerie is a great friend. She picks up on other kids feelings and will reach out and offer to play with them. She’s very insightful!

Major Dislikes: Dislikes this year changed a bit from age three. For example, while she strongly dislikes black olives, pizza has grown on her a bit and she enjoys it once a week at school lunch. She also loves her bed compared to last year and is often the first to fall asleep in it each night. Age four dislikes include eye patching, although it’s now a more accepted practice, putting on socks and shoes, and playing outside any time it is cold, which is apparently extreme torture. I think she may just dislike being cold in general.

Of the Three, She is the Most: Stubborn and introverted. If she gets stuck on something, she really gets stuck on it and doesn’t want to back down. She enjoys independent play and will figure out something to do without the need of intervention.

When Emerie grows up, she wants to be: Elsa. This is her answer every single time I’ve asked her this question the past six months, and she is quite set on it.

Favorite Quotes: That’s DIScusting. Another fan favorite is her made up nonsense that one of her sisters kicked me in the face, which she claims quite constantly.

Reagan Jean

Reagan continues growing as our artsy girl. She adores coloring and crafts and will spend hours working on things. She gets grumpy if I forget any of the masterpieces at school each day- mind you sometimes a whole pile is waiting to come home- and loves to display them on the wall. Reagan is the most talkative of the three and into storytelling about her day. Ask her to tell you a princess story sometime- her depictions and the parts she highlights are completely hilarious. She can also put her hair in a ponytail and is so very proud of her new skill!

Height/Weight: 41.4 pounds, 44″ tall – she gained 4 pounds and grew 2.25″ in a year!

Favorite Activities: Definitely anything related to dresses, dressing up and getting fancy. Her younger days were quite the opposite and she disliked dresses; now it’s all she wants to wear. She also enjoys pretend play and is always asking her sisters to play swim girls or moms and dads or some kind of animal.

Favorite Movie/Music/Show: Aladdin is the current favorite, although a few other princess movies are sprinkled into to her random requests. Her favorite songs is unchanged from age three, Pink’s Cover Me In Sunshine, and she added two additional songs, You Can’t Stop the Girl by Bebe Rexha (from Maleficient), and Speechless, Jasmine’s song from the live action Aladdin.

Favorite Princess/Character: Reagan’s favorite princess is currently Jasmine from Aladdin, ever since watching the live action film, and is completely obsessed with her. Coincidentally, she is also dressed teal, her designated color. Another favorite character is Maleficent from the Sleeping Beauty story, which may seem a bit scary, but is very near and dear to her heart.

Favorite Color: Teal most of the time; once in a while blue or white.

Favorite Food: Right now maraschino cherries are her number one request, followed by cucumbers and ranch. She also answered she likes broccoli, chicken nuggets, mayonnaise sandwiches.

Favorite Animal: This is also unchanged from age three, and you will see pandas all over the house, and about six of them in her bed every night, ranging from teenie-tiny to decent size.

Unique Personality Trait: She loves to break out into song at random times throughout the day, and creates a wave sound with her voice as she serenades quietly to herself. She is the most talkative of the three by far, and can tell you some wicked stories about movies she’s seen or experiences she witness and school. If someone else is hurt, you will find her grabbing a random stuffed animal and sharing it with them to make them feel better; she is very empathetic, unless she has caused the issue!

Major Dislikes: While last year’s hair brushing doesn’t make the list for age four, she continues hating to sleep in her own bed the most of the three, ending up in ours about 90% of the time. She also dislikes wearing tights and shirts and only dresses are acceptable anymore.

Of the Three, She is the Most: Emotional. If one kid is randomly crying or pouting in the corner, she’s probably wearing teal.

When Reagan grows up, she wants to be: Her last answer was a teacher like Miss Tawni, or a painter.

Favorite Quotes: Mom. Mom! I want to tell you about my day. Myyyy day I played with Emie and Harper and had a great day….” It almost always starts with that exact phrase and goes into a long spiel detailing all the things she accomplished at school, getting louder as she gets into it.

Four Year Old FAQs

What are the biggest differences between the three? What are their similarities this year? While all three are definitely into the same types of things, such as princess everything, dress up, playing on bikes and swings and pretend, they all maintain attention on different things a bit. Emerie will sit and play with the Barbie dolls downstairs by herself for a while, while Reagan will sit and color and Harper will wander off with her baby doll. Reagan picks up newfound skills the quickest and with the least effort, while Harper gets flustered before putting in much effort. Emerie takes a bit longer to gain a new skill and you can see her kind methodically thinking out how it all works.

What is the biggest personality difference? Emerie loves to be at home more than anywhere we go, even to places she likes. I think she is like me in that way. Reagan is more like Grandma Sue and Craig and is the talker of the three; always with something to say! Harper is a social butterfly and always wants to play with friends, not so much on her own.

Who is now the best sleeper? Who is the worst? While this varied a bit throughout the year, Harper and Emerie traded places on best sleeper for much of the summer and fall, at least until we hit RSV season and coughing stressed them enough to wake them up. Reagan will continue to win the red lantern award for sleep, with no plans to stay in her bed. In fact, she constantly reminds me that she should be allowed to permanently sleep in my bed, and I should relocate to her room. Such fun. Now that I am tracking who stays in their room overnight, Harper leads by a land slide the past month, with Emerie about half her count, and Reagan a slight miracle if we have a whole night with her out of our bed.

Who is Team Mom and who is Team Dad? I mean realistically, everyone is Team Grandma Sue. Whenever the girls are mad at us, they always holler I want Grandma Sue. They also constantly remind us that Grandma Sue is the boss.

Alliances are pretty consistent from age three to age four. Harper is for the most part Team Mom, unless Dad goes to guys’ night, then she wants him every time. Reagan is completely Team Mom and no longer has one foot in each camp like last year, and Emerie is completely Team Dad, as she reminds me every night with a solace of I want my dad; I miss him.

What was my favorite memory of age four? There are a number to choose from, but I would say my favorite thing was getting out and about and finally taking the kids out of town for some fun. It feels like we are almost normal and can start having fun!

I’m sorry this has been a long one with so much to say! My happy five year olds are excelling and keeping every day interesting- Craig and I are constantly on our toes. Luckily that is nothing new from the past five years.

Happy birthday Harper, Emerie and Reagan ❤

Cake & Party Time!

It seems like yesterday that we had the girls fourth birthday, and yet here we are, a full year later already! As expected, Grandma Sue and I attempted to create three masterpieces for the girls’ birthday cake again this year. Considering I believe last year’s accomplishment was quite grand for turning four, we upped our game for age five and added props. This year’s cakes took a lot of time, but it still felt easier than the prior one, simply because the girls are older now and don’t need as much constant attention so we could prep while they played and “helped.”

A couple days prior I started the flower melted icing molds, opting for pink, purple, teal, pink and white and making a number of sets. I ended up not prepping enough ahead of time and making more in the moment, and Craig added another version of teal at the end. Reagan helped me with a few teal sets and did a great job scooping it into the molds, all by herself.

Prior to Sue’s arrival, I quizzed the girls on their preference of princess and questioned their favorites to plan party decorations. Given that they all have their own preferences, it makes it impossible to theme just one doll or one color. I can’t quite tell if they made their choices based on the designated life theme colors, or if Aurora, Rapunzel (Pan) and Jasmine really are the favorites. Either way, by the time we purchased everything to begin the task, Emerie insisted she wanted Elsa and not Rapunzel, which she did not get!

Sue spent a good afternoon making the cake stacks for the main part of each dress. We ended up using a small bunt cake pan and a round cake pan and the girls had the pleasure of jamming, and I mean jamming, the dolls into the partial holes. I volunteered to cut the feet off each to fit better, but Sue wouldn’t let me…you know…that might bring up those traumatic life memories of poor Gecko the chicken last year, when he lost his head and then he lost his feet. No, we didn’t shove him in a cake….but tough times remember by all!

Reagan and Emerie went to school on Friday while Harper stayed home a second day with a high fever that diagnosed as an ear infection. Because of that, only she participated in cake decorating, as you will see by looking at Aurora versus the other two. I worked the morning while Sue prepped everything, rolled out the marshmallow fondant, and together we molded the icing over the cake cutouts. Usually you get better with practice and time right? I would say we progressively did worse throughout the six hour cake extravaganza, but mostly because the fondant seemed stickier with each attempt. Each dress had two overlaid layers and as it dripped or stretched from gravity, we reevaluated which side was the front. We added the doll after cutting out the middle hole of both layers and found we required another layer around her waist, since the dolls were about a half inch too tall (told you we should have chopped feet off!), and then used flowers to cover it.

Aurora turned out the most smoothest, and Rapunzel’s flowers covered her imperfections, which included a few random melts on her backside, to cover up the icing tearing. Jasmine’s fondant was the most difficult and resulted in an entire flower front to cover the dreadful imperfections we couldn’t undo. And those gold outlines? Those are unicorn horn sprinkles and stars, which worked great with Jasmine’s teal look. We initially tried to stick all the decorations using icing, which worked okay, but found it more efficient using a small paint brush and water and painting the dresses to restick to them.

In the end Harper decided Rapunzel was more decked out than Aurora, which was true after I added the pearl beading down the back, so she sat next to me on the table and added the bling for over an hour, while I finished the other two.

We completed the look by adding pink, purple and teal fondant to the chocolate (for Harper) and vanilla (for Emerie and Reagan) cupcakes and used the remaining flowers and leaves to finish each with a treat on top. We also learned our lesson from last year and put icing under the big cakes so they wouldn’t slide during the car ride over. Well, not completely learned our lesson, since we forgot until cake number two to actually secure it down. The cupcakes around the dolls are meant to be the train of the dresses and colors inter-weaved with one another. Overall I think it turned out quite well, even with the random holes and fronts covered in flowers.

5th Birthday Party Success

Big smiles waiting to hit the pinata.

It was a busy two days of preparation for the big day. Prior to having kids, I always looked in disbelief at how much parents went all out for kid birthday parties, thinking I’d never make that much effort for a day. And yet here we are, making six+ hour cakes, ordering party bag goodies, birthday balloon bouqets, ordering party dresses, and going through all the motions. I also believe because the girls have to share their birthday for their entire lives, it’s only fair to at least make some effort to make it fun and everyone feel special. I mean, we only have eighteen birthdays with them in our household and each one should count!

Craig, Grandma Sue and Grandma Anne took all three to get fancy fingernails a couple hours before the party, while I finished up a few last preparations. Everyone returned with flowers on each finger, Grandma Sue a pretty teal color, and Craig completely decked out fingers to toes, very likely with colors chosen by each kid.

Birthday party number five left our previous covid-era parties in the dust. Over the past three years, we slowly increased the attendee list throughout our apocalyptic life experience (not sure if that reference is from covid or raising toddler triplets); age two was a family only party since the city shutdown on their birthday, their third birthday at the jump park allowed everyone to mostly separate but still celebrate, and their fourth birthday at the Alaska Club play center was a complete success of friends and loved ones- the girls still talk about it a year later. My end headcount for this year was 26 kids, plus our three birthday beauties, and a lot of adults and family enjoying fun (and noise?). We opted out of inviting the entire preschool class and let the girls choose the attendee list, snagging a class list after school one day and letting them choose. The list was mostly girls, sprinkled with a couple of boys, and Emerie insisted that my boyfriend Jude HAS to come. Talking to his mom at the party, Jude commented recently that not only are the kiddos dating, but Emerie informed him- not asked- that they would also be getting married. A girl that knows what she wants.

Tyler time for more kids than just ours.
Everyone signing happy birthday and the girls looking shy at the attention.
Chatum & Dorian ball pit wars

I ordered customized twirl dresses specifically for the party, and while they didn’t exactly align with the cakes, they matched the theme of princesses in general. The Sleeping Beauty dress wasn’t up to par, so I went with Harper’s second favorite color black, in the form of Anna from Frozen. Emerie was excited to see hers was Elsa, after wanting the cake changed to her preference and being told no. Reagan’s Jasmine dress is my favorite, with ruffles and super twirly.

Cousins before Chatum hopped on a plane back home.

In true triplet fashion, I held my breath up to the last second that someone would be sick and unable to enjoy the party, or something else would come up to cause issues. Harper was starting to feel better from her ear medicine and we would find out later that Reagan had one too and started feeling crummy. We miss so many things, especially in the winter, that relate to fevers, coughs and colds. On the drive over to the party I realized no one grabbed the candles off the counter and called Papa Cliff to pick some up, and as I unloaded the three at the Alaska Club, on super icy parking lot conditions, I grabbed the balloon bouquet and turned around to Reagan puking all over the ground. Another mom across the lot came over to see if she could help, and we managed to make it into the building. And to Reagan’s credit, she didn’t get a drop on her brand new dress. Great job little girl. After getting cleaned up by Grandma, she seemed to feel just fine and for the most part enjoyed playing at the party.

The kids ran around for a good ninety minutes in the play place, goofed off and played with cousins Tyler and Chatum and started ball pit wars, and snacked on Grandma Sue’s vegetable pizza and vege-platter. I also saw blurs of cousins Corbin and Elliot running and climbing, and finally put faces with names of their classmates and kids the girls talk about on the drive home each day. I caught Reagan snuggling with Aunt Janelle a few times, all three checked in and were thrilled to see Miss Tawni, Isabelle let Emerie borrow her Elsa wig to match her dress, Harper was a blur as she circled the play area over and over with her friends, and everyone lined up for a turn with the pinata, which made it through all the younger kids without breaking.

Cupcake time and singing created three blushing girls; also three girls that really wanted to eat their princess cakes, not a cupcake. Unfortunately for them, those cakes were to be saved for their actual birthday and in Seward. We ended up not making the trek down to the peninsula due to bad road conditions on the way down, so the cakes are still sitting on the counter.

All in all, great turnout. All three had similar answers on their favorite party moments, and all agreed Tyler coming was the biggest highlight, followed by Miss Tawni’s visit and presents. I’m pretty sure if we ask them in a six months what their favorite part of their fifth birthday was, it won’t be their awesome cakes OR presents- it will be the fact that Tyler attended and played with them. It’s sweet how much they love their cousin! The chaos of present opening in the moment meant we have no idea who brought what or for who….so we went through everything in the living room later and the girls especially liked the princess keurig coffee maker, the bath time crayons, Aunt Jenny’s mermaid swimsuits, and the fancy tutu dresses from Aunt Janelle and Paris, that immediately went to Tyler for a dress change mid-party.

I will save the official fifth birthday kid update for the next blog, with all the details of how my girls have grown and matured over the past 365 days.

❤

Preschool Spirit Week

Last week was spirit week at the girls’ preschool. It feels like they are so old to participate in such an event and I could have put a bit more planning into it to make it fun, but here we are! I thought it would be cute to document what they each dressed up as throughout the week. While the concept of allowed dress up was missed by the girls, they definitely had fun getting to wear abnormal outfits to school each day.

Day 1 – Pajama Day

Monday was pajama day, of course, since who wants to actually get dressed and start the work/school week? This was an easy pick for everyone and we opted for cotton sleepers instead of the long, flowy princess styles that are not functional during the day. Stylish isn’t always practical, right? Reagan also insisted on covering her feet with cozy socks, because it was the theme!

Day 2 – Dress Like Your Parents Day

Day two was a bit more of an argument to make a decision. All three agreed they didn’t want to dress up as Dad (he’s not into dresses and that was a deal breaker), but when we suggested jeans (jeggings- they’ve never worn REAL jeans), cute boots and comfy hoodies, they declared a compromise with skirts, boots, and two layered princess t-shirts. Now I am in no way a fancy dresser (obviously), so the insistence to “wear dresses like Mom” made no sense upon request. Everyone also had a high, messy bun, headband, and a coffee cup for their morning photo!

See the resemblance?! They look SO GROWN UP!

DAY 3 – Class Color – Blue Butterflies

The 4-year old preschool class they are in is called the Butterflies and apparently that meant their class was blue. Luckily I found three blue pants and found their blue shirts from the previous daycare class, and we were good to go! The girls didn’t quite get that memo because everyone had to have a colorful tutu and ballet flats.

Craig had the idea to bring the butterfly wings from the fair to wear for the day. He was able to snap a few cute shots of everyone running through the halls at school (or should I say flying?) and repping Mr. Ivan’s class.

DAY 4 – Future Career Day

This was probably the hardest day to pick of the entire week. While I attempted to get cohesive, real life job desires out of each kid; everything always loops back into their love for princesses and fairy tales. After making that comment, another mom reminded me this is the time when reality doesn’t, and shouldn’t, be the driver of the future, and wishing to be a princess isn’t a terrible thing. It means they wish for happiness, love and a fun story; and really, what is wrong with that?

At first each separately asked for Queen Elsa. After more discussion, Harper opted to be a ballerina, with a pink skirt since a sheer, dance skirt wasn’t very warm, and several accessories, including her pink bowed tights. In fact, her outfit was very coordinated as pink and black and she wore those glasses the entire day. Emerie requested her bring-it-in-dress, which is Isabella from Encanto, a sunhat and a flower wand. It took a bit to get any answer from her but Elsa, her go to costume for everything. Reagan requested Jasmine for the day and a mom to the kitten for the picture that morning. She also mentioned she wants to be a teacher, but the impending dress options booted that idea right out the door when she remembered Jasmine (and our current at home Disney theme).

DAY 5 – Heritage Day

Friday’s heritage day meant Craig dug out the Douglas kilts, reminding me the German side of their DNA would not be as cute of an outfit. I will definitely have to find some cute beer maidens in the future, which shouldn’t be a tough sell. And he really wasn’t wrong! They wore those kilts the entire school day and were thrilled that Craig had stopped at Target and sized up their black ballet flats to match. I especially like Harper kept to her style with sparkly tights.

Overall all three had fun with the choices throughout the week; so much so that they now want to wear five different outfits a day and go through all the new size six clothing, since it’s exciting and new!

❤

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!

Back in the day – caged off

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.

❤

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.

It’s like a postcard! Beautiful view.

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.

❤