Kid Update on St. Patrick's Day

John is crawling up a storm...and up the stairs. He's a happy, happy boy who loves to play with, follow, and wrestle his big brother and sister. He used to sit, flapping his arms when Adam played monster with the other kids, just dying to get in on the action. Now he crawls on over, yelling all the way in his somewhat gruff boy baby voice, to join in the fun. It's a pretty great stage he's discovered. He eats anything and everything, preferring the rubber tips on doorstops to just about anything else he can scavenge. Needless to say, we are trying to be careful about closing doors since we have removed most of those little rubber things.


Emma continues to prefer skirts and dresses to any other apparel and wears her shiny ruby slippers anytime she can...that or her pink snow boots. She plays almost daily with a friend up the street named Reagan, who is just a few weeks older than her and shares her appreciation for the color pink. It's fun to watch Em as a big sister; she loves her little brother (even listed John as one of her "treasures" in a preschool activity today). She has also become an excellent and imaginative playmate for Spencer. She can play Star Wars and build Lego creations with the best of them. Emma is taking violin, and can play the first phrase of "Twinkle."


Spencer is thriving in kindergarten, loves all things Star Wars, rides his scooter perpetually, and has taken up a recent interest in basketball. We have a spring soccer league starting in a few weeks, which he is also excited about. A few weeks back, Spencer started taking piano lessons, and he is doing SO well; I am really proud of him. It is wonderful to watch him as he tackles a tricky part or a new piece, gets frustrated, comes back to conquer it, and gains a whole new level of confidence as a result. Spencer is my project man, always creating something out of markers, construction paper, tape, staples, and any other supplies he can get his hands on. He is also very handy. We finally (today) moved John out of our room, and as I was setting the crib up, Spencer was the one who noticed I had put one part on backward. I was glad he was there to help since I'd already tried righting the piece once before...I have never, not once, set that crib up correctly on the first try.



A tricky leprechaun visited our house this St. Patrick's Day. He drew a shamrock on the kids' hands while they slept, and they awoke to green toilet water AND green milk! Sneaky little fella. (The kids were thrilled! Anything for a holiday. Spencer has declared that April 2nd is "Spencer Holiday" when we all get to eat sugary treats all day long. Sounds like a good excuse to ingest some delicious Easter candy.)