Super... Smoosh?

Thank goodness the Easter Bunny was able to find our sneaky little superhero last weekend. Clearly, he moves faster than the speed of light to get in and out of this super-uncomfortable-looking doll crib. Sometimes, I don't know what to do with this man of the hour but most of the time, he melts my heart with his super sweet, super heroic little personality. 

Keep The Old Ones

We have met some really, really great people out here and for that, I'm grateful. The community we've developed over the past two-ish years is sustaining and fun and helpful and kind. Still, there is something irreplaceable about old friends and I am really super grateful that there are actually still people out there who put up with us after all these years. And it sure is fun to remember all those old times (those "times" perhaps involving some suspect choices, a little bit of alcohol induced fun, and apparently some really high waistlines). It's very hard to describe how comfortable and hilarious and happy it is to sit back and slip into an old groove with great people that you've known for many, many years. It's even sweeter when you've got little people running around thoroughly enjoying their little buddies as much as you're enjoying your big buddies. So yes, I'm thankful for the Seattle folks but I'm even more thankful for the childhood/college/early adulthood  (I use that term loosely) friends with whom we've seen a lot of thick (we're breeders after all) and thin (ah, sprint-triathlon training) times. It's the girls' weekends, the quick dinners, and the longer trek-out-west visits that nourish the soul and lengthen the evening.

And with that, a heartfelt thank you to the Owens family for coming out to visit for several days this week. Everyone squished into our little house and hopefully (despite some very tired Doyle children), we were the merrier for the more. I know that I had such a great time and I think the little people may have had an even better time at the kids' table and running each other ragged. We were blessed with great temperatures and sunshine, but more importantly, wonderful company and more than a few laughs. 

The seriously good-natured, super-sweet boys (sorry Will, I think Jack is showing off his should-be-patented choking/hugging/tackling embrace)

The saucy ladies: pretty in pink 

All the small folk

Protective big sister #1

Protective big sister #2

Buddies

Interpretation Is Two Tenths Of The Law

THIS is the Statue of Liberty

and THIS is... 

the Statue of Deliveries.

Word Up

Like her buddy Ethan, Molly has been in the midst of a reading explosion. And just like his mama, this mama also loves watching the intense concentration of figuring out new words and the resulting joy from ascertaining their meaning. For awhile, Molly would read and string the words together but didn't always get the joke or a critical plot twist (and you know how kids' books have complex plot twists thrown into the middle of them). Like Emeril, however, BAM! the other week, I realized she was getting the nuances of Backwards for Breakfast or some such thriller. And then last night, she was reading Fat Cat and laughed h-y-s-t-e-r-i-c-a-l-l-y about the witch calling her pet bat "my little brat". Hysterically. For many, many minutes while I sat there in throes of agony wondering what happened next. And then she couldn't even go on because she was laughing too hard and finally had to go to bed. So, once she was asleep, I went back and read the rest of the book myself. Because, seriously, I had to know what happened with the cat and the bat. 

Anyway, this is a really fun milestone for lots of reasons. She reads to her brother (and "teaches" him. Poor guy... although I realized, once again, I don't give him nearly enough credit for what he already knows. Or that she taught him. Either way... he's getting himself some edumacation somewhere, thank goodness), she entertains herself quietly for good chunks of time, she can figure out what I'm talking about if I ask her to look for something in the other room, and I love being read to. The only downside, that I'm sure all parents miss, is that we can't s-p-e-l-l anything in front of her like we used to when we didn't want her virgin ears to hear the bad business of the world. Or where we had stashed her Halloween candy. I'm going to have to pick up pig Latin or something in order to keep that stuff on the DL. Since we all know how stellar I am at learning foreign languages, however, this is likely to never happen. It's a trade-off that I'm willing to make, however, and I'm starting to see the manifestations in not only her receptive language and her reading but how she also narrates her the very, very bountiful artwork that comes home with her from school and is produced in her room. If anyone needs something illustrated, I have your gal -- and she likes getting paid in cookies. 

Her next pupil. This one won't talk back like someone else does...

The sly fox with her slightly drunk looking Daddy (sorry John).

Chairlift signs are kind of scary/creepy, by the way. Not sure they're the best fodder for young minds. 

The Boogie Men

My kids still like to dance. It's pretty funny (except when I'm trying to get out of the house in the morning. Nothing is funny when I'm trying to get out of the house in the morning and I continue to be an epic failure at not losing my mind trying to get out of the house in the morning. Can someone explain to me how people who can remember that I promised them one m&m six months ago cannot remember that shoes AND jackets are required to leave the house in the middle of February? I'm not asking for hats and mittens or even socks, for the love of Pete. I've lowered my expectations to just shoes and jackets. Inexplicably, this ends up causing confusion EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I've digressed on sentence number two...) to watch those little booties wiggling and hands waving and feet hopping. But the outfits? Those make me laugh (when my eyes aren't hurting from some of the color combinations) hardest of all. Molly is the bigger dresser-upper of the two and trends towards ballet-related fare or country music-ish swishy skirts and hats (favorite songs of the week: Cotton Eyed Joe and Thank God I'm A Country Boy. Is that mean that we force John Denver on them? Is it weird that I still love John Denver?). Jack seems to prefer to wear hats and no pants most of the time. He's not picky. His number one requested song is the Thomas theme song but I may poke my eyes out if I hear that jingle again so it's mysteriously been eliminated from the atmosphere recently. Huh, dunno what happened to it... the cloud has failed. Still, I love that they love to dance. 

So, that's it in our world right now -- just the simple pleasures of questionable outfits and little people who like to shake, rattle, and roll. I know there has been some push back (none from my three faithful readers, thank you) these days on people filtering out the tough moments and presenting only the good sides of their happy little lives online. I don't mean to suggest that I've gotten better at not losing my temper or that we always get to bed on time. But, I also like fun times and not getting stuck in the mud of tough times. We all go through rough patches, I hope that is a given, and I think sometimes it's really helpful to write about sticky stuff and sometimes it's good to just feel good about your family and life and appreciate the small things that make our days tick by. Clearly, there is stuff that is unfortunate (see above) but there is also plenty of richness that I want to soak in because, you know, these kids grow up so darn fast. So, while next week I might ramble on about how I can't seem to stop the whining (my own) or why I clean the toilet approximately 450,000 times more often now that a certain little boy stands up when he uses the potty, right now I want to remember all the sights (blinding or not) and sounds of my monkeys dancing to their beats. 

An oldie... raise the roof

Getting the hands juuuust right for Gangam Style is hard. 

She's got it down a little bit better...

Now we're up and run dancing.

Oh right, accessories must be included.

Not sure about the hat and tucked in shirt.

Whoa... tough corner.

With a horse, it's even harder.

No, seriously, this is dancing.

Sometimes, a different hat just adds a little extra spice. 

When you're five, a 2T bathing suit is always appropriate dancing attire.

Dancing is also about partnership, give and take, and cooperation.

\

But, sometimes, when you're wearing things that clash horribly, you get ditched. 

Potty Party

The end of an era came and went without much fanfare in our house. Well, that's not strictly true. There is a very (VERY, VERY) anatomically correct? explicit? drawing that captures the end of the era (well, really, the beginning of the new era) hanging over someone's bed (drawn by a big sister with a surprising grasp of the human body and all its functions) but other than that, we didn't celebrate being (mostly) done with diapers too much. Jack "decided" to choose potty training as his new year's resolution. While there is still some coaxing to take a break from the train tracks every once in awhile, it all has gone pretty smoothly thus far. Jack seems to do everything this way... he waits and waits, not needing to be at the forefront of anything, but then it's just done. No big whoop. Given all that, I don't care two whits about what comes into the bathroom with him to entertain him on his longer stays...

Questions, Questions

OOOOOH BOY. I'm going to be in troooooouble. Ever since I first asked those life-illuminating questions last February and then again at Jack's birthday (to Jack since, you know, it was his birthday and all), Miss "I like to do everything first and sometimes only and please don't let anyone walk too close to me" has been very anxious to put her own two cents in on the state of affairs in her world. I held her off on Sir Talks A Lot's birthday from answering for both of them by promising that she'd get her chance in just a few short months. Well, two months has now gone on to three months and I knew there was a reason I still haven't taught my kids to tell time.

Without further ado, here are the mind-altering answers about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness from my ever-curious, ever-idea-percolating first child.

Molly 5 and a month
Weight: ah crudmuffin, I don't remember. Maybe 42 pounds? 44?
Height: Rigght... maybe about 43 inches?
1. What is your favorite color? Red, orange, green, blue, violet, brown, and black (dark pink)
2. What is your favorite toy? Playmobil (my dolls)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon  (apple)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratts (Olivia)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Yogurt  (pears and cheese and crackers)
6. What is your favorite outfit? My bow dress (a dress)
7. What is your favorite game?  Garden game (knock knock jokes)
8. What is your favorite snack?  Goldfish (Goldfish)
9. What is your favorite animal?  Koala bear (ostriches) ed. note: I don't know what's up with the Australian obsession in these parts
10. What is your favorite song? Any Lori Berkner song ed note: uh, yeah it is... on repeat (Pokerface) 
11. What is your favorite book?  Ramona books (Splat)
12. Who is your best friend?  Sophie and Kingston (Sadie)
13. What is your favorite cereal?  Granola (Oaty Bites)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Make a snowman ed note: not in these parts (Play baseball)
15. What is your favorite drink?  Gatorade ed note: it's fun to have a favorite drink be something you've never had before. That's probably how I felt about beer before my 21st birthday. (Milk)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Valentine's day  ed note: last year someone laughed (nicely) at me for decorating for Valentine's day. Well, can you blame me?! (Christmas)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Rapunzel and Dolly and Pillow (Bunny and Dolly and Pillow)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Oatmeal  (Oatmeal with brown sugar or honey and apples or sometimes raisins and apricots)
19. What would you like to have for a special birthday dinner? Grammy's Macaroni and Cheese (Spaghetti)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A teacher (A mailman)
BONUS QUESTION: What is one wish you have for the year? I wish it was sunny because tomorrow is rainy. I would like to learn all about Spanish.