Rachel, 5.5 years old
Rachel has been to quite a few dentist appointments trying to make a plan for her teeth this year. She got her first cavity filled, and because of the way her 6 year molars are coming in, she needs to get a couple baby teeth in the back extracted. Then the orthodontist is going to put some space holders in to help the permanent molars grow in correctly and make enough room for all her teeth. We ended up switching dentists for her, and she now goes to Cannon's daddy (a friend from her class at school), and I am totally comfortable with the plan to get her through this year. Then I will be sure to add her and Andrew to our dental insurance during open enrollment!
Rachel has been trying tumbling for the last few months, and she has made a lot of improvements! I don't know how much she loves it though. She is already asking for something new - her next request is swim team, then gymnastics. She wants to do something new every couple months it seems, and I don't blame her! She is loving school and her teacher, and playing with her friends. I can't remember if I recorded this already, but back in December she was complaining about going to school everyday. She said she missed us and wanted to stay home - I was worrying about it and wasn't sure what to do. Christmas break was around the corner, so I held her off until then. In January, her requests to stay home continued, and she got a priesthood blessing from daddy to help her like school again. I also sent her with a picture of us with an encouraging note that she kept in her backpack. I also had a conversation with her teacher about it, and the school counselor helped give me some ideas on helping to express her feelings using art. Doing all of these things helped everything get back to normal, but Rachel says that the priesthood blessing helped her the most (I love seeing her gain her own testimony on things like this). And now she is back to loving school! Yay!
A couple months ago, we decided that Rachel was too young to be riding the bus home from school (after lots of worrying, prayer, and even a little bit of drama). It was just too much freedom for a bunch of 5-6 year old friends. An unsupervised 20 minute ride without assigned seats - and it was just a little too much unpredictability for this mom to handle! Now she walks out to a side parking lot and I wait for her there. This works out better for me because I worry less, but Rachel was VERY disappointed since she loved the freedom and independence she gained by riding the bus. It was hard to come down and make a decision without giving her any input, but she handled the disappointment well. It's still not an ideal situation, since I oftentimes have to wake up Kendall to go pick her up, but it is what is best.
Andrew, 3.5 years old
Andrew enjoys playdates with friends and asks for them daily. He has a group of 5 friends that play on Monday mornings together and we rotate houses - it is his favorite time of the week. His best friend is Maddox Tompkinson, and we signed them up for preschool together next year. They play so well together, and don't usually fight or argue. Andrew is also a good big brother to Kendall and they love to play and fight, and he is teaching her everything he knows about being a boy. :)
Andrew started on a soccer team, and he is liking it (especially compared to swim lessons, which he hates). He is the tallest one on the team, but a gentle giant and not very aggressive. He also gets tired easily and wants to take a break.
He has been in a yelling/tantrum phase that seems to be coming to an end. Thankfully they are short lived for the most part and he's somewhat easy to bring him down from them with a quick timeout or threat and then his always sincere-yet-not-so-sincere, "I'm sorry, mom." The worst consequence for him would be taking away his favorite shirt or his blankies. For a boy, he is super weird about clothes. He changes often, and is very particular about his outfits. He loves jammies and basketball shirts/shorts. He dislikes pants and long sleeves, and don't even think about asking him to wear a yellow mesh jersey for scrimmage purposes at soccer practice - that is an unreasonable request and he won't wear it.
Big news - Rachel and Andrew are completely dry at night now - no more pull ups, which means we only have one kid in diapers (as of February)! They both got the hang of it at the same time (Rachel - age 5.5, Andrew - age 3.5) and I am equally proud of both of them both. Rachel has to get up 1-2 times each night on her own to go potty - the poor thing must have the teeniest bladder.
Kendall, 1.5 years old
I have SO enjoyed Kendall the last few months. She is right on the cusp of toddlerhood, and such a fun little thing to be around. Her tricks include "singing" (her favorite song is "Let It Go" - with hand motions), saying thank you and animal sounds. And I must say that her dance moves are amazing. Andrew is teaching her everything he knows - like making burp sounds, then falling over, and the best way to chew on blankies.
Her little "hi's" and hugs and kisses are my favorite! She is a mamma's girl at heart, but she is so happy to see daddy when he comes home from work. Her smile is so infectious and is what everyone comments on! Perhaps that's because it distracts them from her hair, which is still crazy lengths, but we've got barely enough hair for a small ponytail on top! Such a big deal since she's had a bad hair year. :)
She has been my best sleeper, but also my pickiest eater. Bless her little heart, when I wake her from her nap (almost daily), she the happiest little thing. Her favorites are her pink blankie, pink bear and white kitty, treats/otter pops, cold cereal, minestrone soup, playing hide & go seek, and jumping on the trampoline.
