What the kids have been up to...

SO, it has been awhile since I did a top ten list for the girls.  It has been pretty crazy around here lately!  But things are starting to settle a little bit since Drew is sort of getting on a schedule (meaning he does the same thing for 2 days in a row and then the next 2 days does something different, but you know, he is only 12 weeks old!)

Lauren is really growing up, (and I am sure if I went back to previous posts and looked, I probably say that every month), but I just signed her up fro kindergarten!  Seriously, how is that possible?  She is already big enough to start getting on the bus and going to school ALL day every day!!!  She is such a great big sister, and she is great at getting Drew to smile and getting a burp cloth if he spits up and she is so great with Alison, and they play so well together.  It makes my heart so  happy when I hear them upstairs laughing and playing together.  Sisters!
1. Reading...she is going to be reading books to Alison at bedtime before we know it.  She is starting to figure out how to sound out new words, and the letter cards from school help immmensely!
2. Show and Tell...this year at school, the 4 year olds get to bring home a suitcase to fill with their favorite things to take to school for show and tell.  Lauren is SO excited to take her favorite blankie when it's her turn.  I can't wait to report what else she puts in the suitcase, so many possibilities!
3. Her leap pad..she is loving her leappad, although she still loves to play the iTouch as well, but she is really great at figuring out how to play the games (better than me, that's for sure!)
4. Peppa Pig..still loves Peppa Pig, and hearing her and Alison make the Peppa Pig noise is hysterical!
5. Telling time..she is starting to be able to tell time.  She always wants to know what time it is, and she is getting more of the concept of what happens at what time, and of course, she knows what time Peppa Pig comes on.
6.Wheel of Fortune...she LOVES wheel of fortune, although she hasn't gotten to watch it lately because it comes on at 7:30.  Granny would be so proud!  I can remember always watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy with Granny.  It's funny to watch with Lauren because she always picks one person that she really wants to win (it's usually the person who jumps to the lead first), but I think it will help her with reading, too.
7. Working the TV remote..she has figured out how to work the remote, which is great because she can get the TV all set up for herself and Alison, but not so good because she can get the TV all set up for herself and Alison.  And she calls the DVR, the "DDR".

8. Playing school with the christmas cards...she has gotten so much enjoyment out of the Christmas cards.  She will lay all of the cards out on the floor and then she picks one person to be the star (like at school), so she puts their card up on the bookshelf.  It's so fun to listen to her talking about school and who's turn it is to be the star.


Alison is still my sweet girl, but she can throw a tantrum with the best of them, usually because she wants me to pick her up while I am in the middle of making dinner.  She's a funny girl and she loves her big sister and her baby brother!  She is loving her "new room" and her new bed with her princess sheets.  She is starting to be able to dress herself, just the week, she can put on her socks and shoes all by herself!  Such a big help to me!!!

1. Pigtails, now Braids..she is very particular about how she wants to wear her hair.  The past couple of weeks, she always wanted pigtails, but this week it has been a braid, which is cute, but tough because her hair in the front is almost too short for a braid, so I do a ponytail first and then a braid.  (I think this all started the other day because I had a braid in MY hair!)
2. "Stupid beagle"...oh my goodness, who knew Charlie Brown could create such controversy!  They love to call each other stupid beagle!
3. Barbies...she loves to play with the Barbies, and the Jasmine barbie is her favorite.  It's cute to listen to her playing with them because she makes them talk to each other and stuff, and she makes the little ones cry for their mommy.
4. "How dreadful!"...she got this from Lauren, too.  She says it in the right context and everything.  Hilarious!
5. Dress up..she loves to put on the dress up clothes, but the Ariel dress is her favorite.   She has worn it to bed and to pick up Lauren at school on several occasions.
6. Trying new food...In the past couple months, she has tried mushrooms, red onion, blue cheese, bell peppers and she likes almost all of them.  She is definitely more adventerous than Lauren, but she doesn't really like meat.  I guess maybe she will be a vegetarian.
7. Putting on the doll clothes..she loves to put the doll clothes on herself!
8. Being Ava, Ariel, a mommy...I can never keep track of who she is.  The other day she said she was a mommy, "I'm Kelly," she said!  That would be after my good friend Kelly!
9. Prolly yes...whenever you ask her something like "Alison, can you put on your shoes?"  she will respond with "Probably, yes." (Which is much better than no!)
10. Getting words mixed up...She's pretty funny with what she says, and she gets things mixed up, which I am sure it normal at 2.  When she was going over to Kelly's, she said "Can I pick her up?," meaning, "Can she pick me up?" And the other night, I gave her pork chops and ketchup for dinner and she said  "What should I dip my ketchup in?"instead of "What should I dip in my ketchup?"

11.  Playing babies...her favorite thing to do these days is put all the baby dolls (at least 10 of them at once) in a shopping cart and take them out somewhere, usually into the study.  She's definitely in that packrat stage!

Drew is my sweet baby!!  He is getting so big so fast.  I took him for his two month check-up last week and he is 13 lb, 5 oz and 23 1/2 inches.  The doctor said he looks great and is right where he should be developmentally.  He got three shots and he did really well, but it's so tough hearing them cry like that!
Likes: his sisters talking to him, the bouncy seat, the playmat, being talked to
Dislikes: being tired, the carseat most of the time, the stroller
He is starting to give really big smiles and he loves to talk and coo, which is so sweet.  He still loves to be held and cuddled, but he is starting to sleep best in his crib.  Last night, he slept 8 PM-3 AM!!!  Woo hoo, and we shall see if he does it again tonight.  He is getting almost too big to be swaddled, so it's almost time for fuzzy PJS.  He sucks on his hands a lot, and I am trying to resist giving him the pacifier and he doesn't seem to want it most of the time, which is good.