Harrison Update

Hadley’s “Sweet Luh-in Baby” is a child who will not be contained. If the doors aren’t locked, you can guarantee that he has escaped and is either playing in the back yard, riding a trike in the garage, or once again draining my car battery. He makes a beeline for our neighbor’s playset and fearlessly climbs to the top of the six-foot structure so he can either slide or just climb back down again. He loves to hop on Hadley’s Tinkerbell big wheel and go flying down the driveway and into the cul-de-sac. The child is fearless.

Harrison is measuring almost three feet tall and tips the scales at 29 pounds. He outweighs Hadley at least by a bag of sugar…if not more. Clearly, he still has a love affair with food and often goes into the pantry to find a snack for himself. It doesn’t count unless he has something for each hand. He has recently developed a nasty Starbucks addiction. It gets really ugly really fast f I even think about going through the drive through without ordering him a vanilla milk. The child also has a mild obsession with beer bottles – something which won’t be nearly as cute in 15 years.

When his mouth isn’t full, you’ll find Harrison calling for “That-sur,” “Ad-Eee,” “Daddy,” or “Mom-Me.” He is also quick to say “(ch)eese” for the camera. Ham.

At least the kid sleeps. So what if he only will take naps in the car? A nap is a nap. We might have to put a window A/C unit in the garage this summer, but it’s a small sacrifice for this face.

Hadley at Three

How do I begin to describe Hadley at age three? If you ask her, she will tell you she is "Hadley Cakes Davis." She will tell you that she is three years old...and that when she turns four, she will be a boy and will be able to ride "Thunder Mountain Railroad" at Disney. Ever since she watched the Royal Wedding a few weeks ago, she will tell you that the former Kate Middleton should really be called "Princess Hadley Kate." If the newly minted royal won't go for that, Hadley will tell you that you can go ahead and call HER "Princess Hadley Kate." She will also tell you that her granddaddy calls her a Jack Wagon. She insists, however, that he is, in fact, the jack wagon and that he lives in "Pamby Mamby Land." She has graduated from wanting to watch "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and now wakes up every day asking to watch "Good Luck Charlie" while she sucks down her morning "smoovie." Despite her nudist tendencies (see below), she remains incredibly shy and self conscious. She loves to sing but will immediately stop if she thinks anyone is listening. It is not uncommon for her to verbally regurgitate the four hours worth of words she held in during school.

Hadley continues to hone her already highly developed fashion sense. By choice, her shoes are on the wrong feet at least 90% of the time. She still loves her hats but lately has taken to wanting multiple bows, headbands, etc. in her hair at the same time. It makes for some interesting hair days. If you look closely, you'll note that she has one bow, two headbands, two hair clips, and NINE ponytail holders. They ALL need to be part of the look. That's just the hair. There's a Hello Kitty necklace and bracelet in that lineup, too

Hadley also has some tendencies I can describe only as OCD. She sorted her pull-ups according to which princess adorned each one and lined them up in appropriate rows across her bathroom floor. She lines up her coloring books in a neat row on the train table in the playroom so she can examine her artwork. In the photo, you will see how she put her babies to bed the other night. She didn't like how disorderly they were just tossed in the baby bed, so she created rows of book "beds" and placed a doll on each one. Even the Disney babies are grouped together.

 

Last but not least, this is my sweet girl's sleeping MO. She is tucked into her bed, where she has her story and prayers, then says, "Can I go get in your bed now?" She has night terrors, and after three years of fighting it, she finally just wore us down. At least this way, we can all sleep at night. She sleeps on "mommy's side" of the king size bed, leaving me approximately 18 inches of sleeping space. That's when she is not sleeping horizontally across the bed. Yes, the princess boot slippers are a sleeping staple. The two headbands and necklace don't always make the bedtime wardrobe cut, but clearly they did for this photo.

( . )( . )

Friday night as I was tucking Thatcher in, he lifted his shirt and said, "Mom, what are these little bumpy things right here?" I told him they were his nipples. He seemed satisfied and then said, "Well, mom, what are those really big bumpy things you have?" As I stammered and struggled to stifle my laughter, he quickly answered his own question: "I call them boobies." Great.

Kindergarten Registration

This morning, I took Thatcher to register for kindergarten. Kindergarten in Loudoun County is only three hours long each day, which makes the prospect of sending him off in the fall much easier to bear. Registration consists of the usual - proof of identity, proof of residency, health records, etc. Kindergarten registration, however, requires a "parent input form" for parents to complete, describing their child's strengths, areas of concern, and the type of teacher with whom the parent feels the child will best perform. After consulting with Aunt Leslie (aka 2008 Cobb County Teacher of the Year), I wrote:

"Thatcher will work best with a teacher who is warm, nurturing, and welcoming. He would perform well in a structured classroom setting. He is responsible, sensitive, and responds quickly to verbal cues. Thatcher is excited about learning to read, tell time, and count money."

I felt pretty good about my input...until I caught a glimpse of what Janie's* mom put on her form: “Janie is a smart, charming, and engaging child. She will flower in any classroom setting that challenges her intellect. Any teacher will find her to be an absolute delight in the classroom.”

I don't know Janie; but I'm sure if I meet her during the course of the school year, I'll be absolutely delighted and thoroughly impressed by her intellectual prowess. Needless to say, I can't wait.

*Name has been changed to protect the prodigy.

Mani-Pedi

Dear Hadley,

Thanks so much for finding my top coat nail polish. I was looking for it last night when I was doing my nails. You obviously had better luck finding it when you gave yourself a manicure AND pedicure tonight in my bedroom before going to sleep. For a first attempt, I have to admit you did a great job...and I'm pretty hopeful I can get the love-drops of polish out of my night stand.

Thanks Again,
Your Mom

Thatcher's Vocab Lesson

"I will not 'chit-chat,' dad. That means 'talk.'"

Snack Money

Channeling equal parts June Cleaver and Martha Stewart this morning, I made the children pancakes for breakfast. Making pancakes was never an issue before having children; however, it's not easy when you're flying solo with three kids five and under, all of whom want something at the exact same time...and at just the second you need to flip the flapjacks before your house goes up in flames. Within moments of plating the three sets of pancakes--one cut with butter and syrup (Thatcher), one NOT cut with copious amounts of whipped cream (Hadley), and one cut with a fine layer of jam spread on top (Harrison)--and pouring up three drinks, Thatcher declared he was finished with his half-eaten pancakes. After much discussion, I excused him from the table with the understanding that he would not be having any snacks before lunch and, more importantly, that he was not to ASK for any snacks. To reiterate the importance of the latter, Thatcher agreed that he would pay me $1 each time he asked me for a snack before lunch. Clearly, at this point, June and Martha gave way to my inner Donald Trump.

About an hour later, I found Thatcher searching under the couch and all over the house for something. Finally, I asked what on earth he was doing. He casually replied, "I'm looking for money so I can get a snack."