Calvin - 9

All about Calvin:

College Football! Calvin loves Michigan! He loves going to the SDSU games with Grandpa Bob! He watches the games on TV and keeps up with the scores on ESPN.com.  Watching college football is a fun hobby to share with Dave and many other men/boys. He always says hi to anyone he sees wearing a Michigan jersey or t-shirt.

Food: Calvin still loves bananas. He eats banana burritos (a banana wrapped in a tortilla). He loves cereal.  I pack a corn dog in his lunch every day and he heats it up in the microwave at school. Even though Calvin would be happy to eat only the junk listed above, he is actually my most cooperative in terms of trying something new.  His favorite food is in-n-out.

Activities: Calvin is in gymnastics like his sisters. It is so nice to have all 3 kids going to class at the same time. It saves me tons of driving time and also tons of hassle to have one kid in an activity while all of the rest of us wait. Calvin especially is tough to wait with so it is nice ot have him in class with the girls (they are all in different classes, just meeting at the same time). Calvin will probably want to try something like soccer with friends again for next season.

Calvin is a pretty social kid. He loves his friends and really looks forward to activites with them.

TV and video games: Calvin would be happy to do nothing but watch TV and play video games. Now that summer is over, we've gone to a no TV during the week rule. It is so much better! The kids usually get along better and are more creative during their play time if there is no TV option. Calvin and Dave like to play wii super mario bros on the weekend together. They use you tube to find secrets and where the extra coins are and they are working together to beat the entire game.  Calvin gets the Kindle or DS on the bus so he has plenty of screen time. His school uses screen time as rewards for on task behavior as well.


personal hygene:  Calvin is the best teeth brusher in the family. He does a very thorough job and is very cooperative. He is not as cooperative when it comes to shower time.  In the summer we count swimming as his shower so he pretty much gets washed off every day. In the fall/winter/spring we struggle a little more.  We aim for once a week as a minimum but twice a week is more tolerable. BOYS! yuck!


We went to the cemetary to say happy brithday to Mom. Calvin stopped to see the other friends we know at the cemetary. He is very sweet in remembering everyone.

 

 

We sat and watched the sunset while the girls rode bikes around lake Mirmar.

lots of self- pictures of Calvin every time I empty the camera.

 Great family picture at the temple.

 Dan and Calvin had such a special relationship. we  really miss having dan in the house. We used to  call him "the Calvin whisperer." He really had such a way with him. They were great friends.

Calvin also really loves his buddy and cousin Lance. Lance is Clare's age but Lance and Calvin like to stick together as boys and have a common love of video games.

 Calvin loves Shi! They have been buddies since Shi was 5 and Calvin was first born. She has always been really good with him.  We went to Sea World, just the 3 of us, to go try out the new ride MANTA! It was a fun roller coaster!

 Calvin and Mom!

 

Clare bear - almost 7

Clare is great. She is so sweet and great. I am always amazed at how great she is (99% of the time) and how sweet and smart she is.  She's a treat to have around.

Life for Clare is going really well. She has a lot going on.

Clare recently started 1st grade. She has a great teacher - Mrs. Patterson - she was previously Calvin's K teacher and also Uncle Dan's K teacher!!!  She is one of the best teachers in the school.  Clare's class is very boy heavy again. Must be a boy heavy birth year. There are 22 boys and 9 girls in her class.  Last year Clare was in a with tough group of girls. Her two best friends were both bossy and bullies to other girls. Clare got along with both of them but to each other they were "frenimies"  - a word they made up but I think means they were competing to be the boss of all the girls and couldn't get along all of the time. The K teacher split them all up so this year Clare has had the chance to make new friends this year.  Clare is having a good time and has indeed been making new friends.  Clare has a November birthday so she is one of the older kids in the class. School is very easy for her.  She is good at reading/writing and great at math. Last week she learned multiplication with Dave at home and studies the multiplication tables each night before bed. Dave was always a math wiz so he has been teaching her. It is a fun age so she soaks it up.   It makes the simple math at school a breeze for her.

We had an FHE lesson about being kind and including others. I told the kids I'd follow up each night at dinner and ask them what they did to help out someone else. Each night Clare told a story about how she was playing on the playground and someone wanted to join in. While other girls said, no you can't play with us now, Clare either convinced them all to let the new friend join in, or clare offered to play with the new friend at the next recess time.  I am proud of Clare for being able to stand up to the bossy bullies and for being able to get along with everyone.  I hope she doesn't let her confidence go to her head and always remembers to be kind.

Piano - Clare has been taking piano lessons for 7 months. She recently finished her first set of books. In an effort to show her that this is a big deal and we are proud of her and support her piano accomplishments we are letting her plan a family outing. We went to the mall in Mission Valley to see the Lego Store and the Disney store to window shop. At the mall there is a fun game the kids like to play -- it is projector that projects images onto the ground and the kids play games with their feet (similar to the kinds of games kids play on the ipad with their fingers).It is fun, special and free family activity.

Piano practice goes in phases for Clare. Sometimes she does it without much fuss, she concentrates and gets through her music quickly and efficiently. other times she has a huge fit and we fight over it. And then even when she does it she is pouty and ridiculous.  I am always trying to think of ways to motivate her to play and small rewards to give her for getting practice done. For example, I bought a pack of gum and told her when she practiced she could have a piece of gum...for about a week she would do her piano happily and right away just so she could get a piece of gum. Then that didn't work as well anymore.  Lately it seems to work best for her to do 1/2 of her practice before school and then finish up after school.  That way she isn't overwhelmed by having to spend a long time at the piano. She can easily do a 10-15 minute block of piano.  Things are always changing, but she is learning and improving and even though she says she doesn't want to practice I know she does like it!  She loves her teacher and loves to know that she is learning something worthwhile.

Kids Sing - Clare is in the K-3 kids sing group. She is having a great time and is so happy to have Jessica as a teacher!  

gymnastics - this year Clare decided she wanted to try gymnastics. At the end of the dance season last year, she  said she didn't want to continue. At this age, I think it is great for the kids to try different things and see what they like. Since I make her do piano I told her she could have her choice of one other activity. This was her choice.  She likes it.

I am trying to figure out where Clare's talents will be. She is not super competitive and I don't see her loving sports like soccer. She is a super fast runner. She is not amazingly coordinated for hand/eye or even for dance. She is a great swimmer. She loves to ride her bike.  I don't care if she is an Olympic anything but I want her to find something that she enjoys and can develop in the athletic area of life- for fun and for fitness. She has started coming with me on my morning walks. She is pretty amazing. She brings her scooter so I have to run to keep up with her down hill. Uphill she walks with me, but I'm always impressed she goes as far as she does. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for her in this area of her life!

Now that Clare rides her bike we try to take her pretty often. Most of her daddy daughter dates lately are riding bikes around Lake Mirimar (with a treat afterwards).

This is called the bridge. 

Clare is a great big sister.  She and Lexey are still great playmates. They really love each other and get along very well (most of the time)! Clare is also great with little Jo. She makes sure she is safe and will help her stay happy in the car since they sit next to each other.

 Clare is super organized and likes things to be just right. We were going to the temple one day with dan to pick up a few things and she got herself all ready in a nice (white) dress, a necklace and shoes. She wanted her picture taken in front of the temple.

 Clare loves sweets.  She knows how to get sweets too and will work real hard to be in just the right place at the right time so that she can get sweet things and other junk.  She cracks us up! She was eating ice cream and some dripped on her chest so she was trying to lick it off. It was quite a sight!

 Clare loves dan/elder dahlquist!

This is totally Clare. Prim and proper and totally serious. She is amazing.  She is very determined and capable. I'm looking forward to seeing what she decides to do with herself. She can do whatever she puts her mind to!

Oh. one other change for Clare- she recently moved into her own room. She has been sharing with Lexey for years. It has worked very well in the past since Lexey went to bed at 7 and then Clare would go to bed a little later. As Lexey has gotten older and gone to bed later it has been harder for the girls to share. It takes them forever to go to sleep at night and Clare likes to have her stuff organized and just so. Lexey likes to get into Clare's stuff and bounce off the walls all night.  While I realize we totally could have made it work, when Dan left I decided the time was right to move Clare.  Clare may end up sharing with Jo...I still need to get her a real room one of these days.  Bed time routine has improved a lot now that Clare can go to bed and have time to herself to read and write and do whatever else she does in her room when she's alone.  

Alexey - exactly 4 1/2

 

It is hard to believe how quickly lex is growing up. She is such a fun little person. I love having her home with me.


Lex is a great age! She is obedient, easy going and playful. She is old enough to be a good helper and a good example. 

 

She loves babies. She wants to play with Austin when he is here and any other baby she can get her hands on.

She is also a good playmate for Clare. They love to put on shows and do other activites together.   I love watching the girls play together. They are so great.

 That being said, she is the least forgiving of Calvin. When he is throwing a fit/having a bad day, she will tease him and make it worse. If he is in a bad mood and calls her a name, she will call him a name back. If he teases her, she will hit him.  When Calvin is having a bad day and I'm trying to get him to settle down I will sometimes bribe lex to go read a book in her room or watch a movie on my laptop or something just to get her out of his way so he can cool down.  She cracks me up!

Lexey can entertain herself very well. If I am busy at home, cooking, cleaning, reading, doing other things...she will play with herself so nicely. Sometimes I feel like I need to pay more attention to her because she can honestly play for hours by herself.

Lexey is beautiful! She has gorgeous blue eyes and curly hair! 


Lex loves to wear dresses. She rotates between a few clothes that she loves and even though she has a drawer full of clothes if she can't find what she likes she insists she has nothing to wear.

Lex loves music. She loves to sing and she loves the piano. She plays piano every day. She is not taking lessons- she is too young - but she mimics clare's scales and some other simple songs.  I often wonder if she will love it even after we start lessons and make her practice every day. I hope so!

Lex has a few things going on her life this year.

Monday - Wee sing - the preschool group of Kids Sing. I teach the class at our home. There are 10 kids in the class. She is the oldest and enjoys being a leader.

Monday - speech. Towards the end of last year I had lexey tested through the school district and she qualified for speech. She does this at our local elementary school right at the end of the school day so that I dont' have to make an extra trip down to school to pick up Clare.

Tues/Thrusday- "joy school" This year lexey is in a preschool swap. It is T/Th 9-noon. There are 7 kids (6 moms). and we each take turns teaching for a week. Our curriculum is from Funshine express. Lex is the oldest in this class also.  There are a couple of kids who just turned three this month who are pretty young and one pretty busy boy so it makes for a busy group. I'm sure they will settle down as the months go by.

Friday - gymnastics.  Lexey has a darling teacher  named YuFei who was a gymnast in China and moved her about a year ago.  Her english is tough to understand but she is really darling with the kids.  She is enrolled through November.  I am not sure if I am going to be willing to pay for her to continue!  At age 4 I don't mind her practicing rolling and bouncing around at home and on the playground!


Lexey loves Jo. She likes to entertain her and play with her and be silly and make her laugh. She is a good helper too. Sometimes Lex is a little too hands on and she will push Jo to the point that she screams and wants to be left alone. Overall though Lex is great.  I took a bunch of pics one afternoon of the two of them playing on the skateboard.  It is sweet to see lexey push jo, help her on, help her off and be such a great playmate! She has such a good heart.

 

 

 

 

Another evening .. .giving Jo hugs!

 

Jo says thanks so much now stop touching me!

lots of posts coming

I have been behind on my blogging lately, but have been catching up! More posts soon.

An update on each member of the family and some other catching up to do!

jo - 14 months

Jo is so sweet! She is also becoming quite a handful.  No longer is she the sweet, easy quiet baby who I can take anywhere and hardly know she is even with me. No longer is she the sweet, easy, quiet baby who sits in the living room and plays for hours and watches her sisters play.  She is a real person now!  It is fun to watch her transform from baby to toddler.

Now Jo talks NON - STOP!! She knows only a few words:
"hi"
"uh" "uh" "uh"
"yah"
"again"
"food/drink" (sign language)
"uh-oh"
"oooohhhhhhh" (name for tressel, other babies, or anything else she thinks is cute)
"night-night"
"all done" (sign and word)
She also thinks she is starving and thirsty every second of the day, even if she did just eat!  She loves most food.  She loves her bottle with milk. She loves all fruit. She loves ice cream :)
Jo loves Dave's spaghetti. I have been married to dave 12 years and he recently told me he knows how to make spaghetti. 

 

Jo loves her cousin Austin.

Just waking up from a nap on a super hot day. (here in SD it is in the 90's all through september- YUCK!)

 

 

Jo really loves Tressel. She also loves to feed him. He thinks this is great and always comes around when she is eating knowing that she is pretty good at sharing with him.

She uses these words in combination to make sentences/demands. For example, "ooooohhhhhh, uh" means where is tressel, or where is the baby (if we have one playing at our house).

All day she points at things and says uh,uh.uh,uh...and then you say, "oh, do you want to see that?" and she says "yah".  Super cute. Very demanding.


Jo crawls like a maniac, goes up and down the stairs like a pro and wanders all around. She can do a front roll. She can stand up without holding on to anything. She puts her head down on the ground with her cute little bottom in the air and then stands up in the middle of the room.  Jo has taken a few steps but isn't walking yet.  She could take off any day!

Jo sleeps a lot still. She sleeps 7pm-7am at night. Naps from 9:15-11:30 and again from 1-3.  She still sleeps in my closet. She has a noise machine in there on ocean noise. She also has a special blanket she uses to sleep.  I have learned a few things over the years and one which is when your child has a favorite lovie for sleep it is wise to have more than one. So, for Jo, before she was born we made her 8 mini blankets for her to sleep with.  one of her blue mini-blankets is behind her in this picture.




She is delightful. We all love her.

She is starting to really love Dave.  When he comes home she says hi...hi.....hi....hi....hi over and over again until he comes in and acknowledges her and picks her up and says hi back.

She loves to laugh at Lexey. Lex will make silly faces or do silly dances to entertain her. I can also put Jo in Lexey's room and she'll babysit her for me.

Jo sometimes gets really frustrated and throws a fit. She will either tense up and remain sitting, or if she is completely upset will through herself on the ground face down! It is really funny.  This is jo being frustrated. (She is flexing her legs)



Jo is into everything. She empties cupboards and dumps out stuff that is left out and about.  She likes to put things away too so it is easy to entertain her during mess up time and clean up time!