Jake and Maia's awards

Today, Jake and Maia received awards at their school assembly. I am a terrible mother and forgot about it! (Actually, Maia told me about hers, but Jake forgot to tell me, so I didn't know about that one.)

I asked them how I could make it up to them, and Maia said "Five bucks." So now I'm ten dollars poorer and still feel like a bad mom!

"I not silly."

Labels stick, and nobody likes them--even two-year-olds. I found that out, yesterday.

It was a typical Monday morning. We were all sitting at breakfast, eating our cereal before school. Jenny did something funny (as usual), and I said, "Jenny, you're silly."



Jenny stood up on her chair to command attention. With her most solemn face, she said gravely, "I not silly. I not crazy. I not funny."

I suddenly realized that for the past two years, she had been listening to every word we had all said. Jenny, our funny, crazy, silly baby, didn't like the labels we were giving her.

"You're right, Jenny," I said. "You are good and sweet and nice."

"Yes," Jenny responded. "I am a princess."

I couldn't have said it better, myself.

Our Family Photo

After a hundred photos, we chose the very first one. Jenny simply wouldn't sit still!

Maia's Soccer Team Won the Championship!

Today was a monumental day. After five years of playing soccer, Maia team won her league championship soccer game! Here are some of the highlights:

* Maia ran her heart out on a left leg that was still recovering from a pulled muscle. Way to go, Maia!

* Maia's friend Pyper got a ball to the face and a bloody nose but kept on going! Way to go, Pyper!

* Jeff walked onto the field and argued with the ref when Maia was called off-sides. Way to go, Jeff! :)

Headshots for Jake, Maia, Lizzy, and Jenny

I seriously cannot believe it has been so long since I have blogged. Every day I think, "I really need to put that on my blog!" Then, of course, I fall asleep--dead tired--while Jeff and I are watching T.V. (Sometimes I try to wake up and pretend I was watching all along, but Jeff never believes it. Apparently I snore!)

Recently, I enrolled Jake, Maia, and Lizzy in an acting class. My ultimate goal is to try to help them become more confident and conversational around people. They are super sweet but sometimes shy, especially around adults. One thing led to another, and I found myself getting headshots for all of the kids! I think they're pretty cute, so I thought I'd post them here.

We can't decide between two for Jake. Does anyone like one better than another? (Mom and Barb, you're good at this!)

How did she do it?

Jenny . . . or should we say Houdini, has been having trouble staying in her crib. She needs naps--I mean, she really needs naps! But she has trouble settling down and ends up wandering the room and the halls during naptime.

Yesterday, I decided to put up the dreaded Crib Tent. This is a little mesh tent that goes on top of the crib. It's safe, but it prevents children like my Jenny to get out and wander around. Or so I thought.

Today, I put Jenny down for a nap, turned on the white noise, and shut the door. I didn't hear anything, so I put Lizzy down for a nap in my room and fell asleep for a few minutes.

When I woke up, I decided to check on Jenny and see if she was still asleep. She was sleeping peacefully, but she wasn't in the crib tent! Astounded, I inspected the crib tent--and it was still zipped up. I still have no idea how she got out!

Deep Thoughts, by Jake

Two days ago, Jake handed me a book and said, "Read my life skills book, Mom." There are some gems in there that I had to share.

Here's how Jake would communicate with an alien: "I would create a body language you would communicate with your eyes. For example, 4 blinks equals 'hot dog.'"

Here's what Jake would tell his stressed-out teacher to do: "I suggest she makes a schedule to keep track of all her work so she knows when she has free time. Another way I do it is to eat food when my blood sugar is low, because sometimes being hungry makes things seem a lot worse than they are."

Here's what Jake would do with a million dollars: "My mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma would have me save it. My sister Maia would probably try to get her a pie store. My friends would try to get me to buy new video games. I would save some, buy a tiny, and give all the rest away."

Here's what Jake would tell a unicorn with low self-esteem: "It's okay to be different, and actually you're similar to more animals than you know. YOu're super similar to the horse. You're also similar to the donkey. See? You are also very likeable. I bet you could make friends if you tried."

Those are great words of wisdom, Jakie!