Wow, did I get off track or what? But, I do think I have at least a pretty good excuse - three five year kids sure can keep a person busy!
I can't believe how long its been since I last posted on this blog. Crazy how fast time goes by. So much has changed, but so much has stayed the same. The kids turned 5 this summer and started kindergarten a few weeks ago. They amaze me everyday. They also try my patience everyday. I'm not quite the mother I thought I would be because I've realized that there is no ideal way to do this. I do a lot of things I never thought I would (let the kids eat hotdogs) and do other things I never knew I was capable of. But mostly I just try to do the best I can everyday. Some days I get it right, and other days I have to just laugh and let it all go. After all, will it really kill them if I let them have ice cream for dinner tonight?
The kids performed in the Nutcracker on saturday night. That is Lily in the center. They were cast as "Maypole Angels" and while their performance was short, it was really cute. They all loved being on the stage and say that they want to do it again. They will be in another recital in the spring.
When we finally got to Rochester, we split up and I went off to Canada and Season and the kids made the rounds with friends and family. We hooked back up after a few days and had some fun with our friends Laurie and Mary. We crammed a lot of fun stuff into a short time and boy did we wear them out!
I think the boys would say they liked the cupcakes from Aunt Kathi the best. And, we had a fun time getting some good family pictures of all of us! But, once again the visit was all too short and it was time to hit the road again. We really wanted to stay longer, but we thought it would be better to split up the trip back too. So, we left after dinner and just drove as long as we could stand it. Will did get puke one more time, but after that it was smooth sailing. 
The kids have been taking dance classes and they really like it. They especially like having ballet and tap shoes. They don't let parents in to watch and I'm dying to see what class is like. It must be just adorable to see all those little 3 year olds dancing! They do have a few times when parents get to watch and I can't wait. I'll definitely be video taping that (if they let me I guess -- and if not, I'll still try to sneak it!) They are also going to be in the Nutcracker. They are cast in "Maypole - Act II."
Other cute stuff: We've had our first case of faking sick to get out of school. I couldn't believe it. It was Avery and he faked coughing and said, "cough cough...I too sick to go to school....cough cough." Nice try though. I'm in serious trouble with that. I was worst about not wanting to go go school. Karma and all I guess.
We also were having some regression with the potty training. We realized the accidents began right around the same time that the reward incentives stopped. So, we instituted a new "poop in the potty and get a balloon" system. The kids just love balloons and will do most anything to get one. So that has really worked. So far anyway!
We had our first "no accidents at school" day!!! Of course we are still having accidents -- lots of accidents really -- but we were very excited to have all three have an accident free day at school. Will is almost completely potty trained. He rarely has any accidents and sometimes he just runs into the bathroom all on his own. Lily is doing really well too. She doesn't like to go to the potty in public and she has a tendency to hold it as long as she can. Sometimes we just have to convince her she really needs to go! Avery is a bit more wishy-washy. I think its more that he doesn't want to stop whatever he is doing to go. And, it is often hard to get him to come inside to go too. But, he gets really excited and proud of himself when he does do it. They all do. They love to get their stickers put on their charts. When they fill up a card they get a special day out with mom or mommy. Will and Lily have already gone to Tweetsie Railroad with Season and Avery is going to get to go on a hike as he is a total nature boy.
The kids go to soccer twice a week for 45 minutes. The first day we couldn't really get anyone to participate -- they would rather just run around and pick up rocks. The second time they really loved playing a dribbling game version of "green light - red light" and they got a big kick out of freezing when the coach yelled red light. But, soon after that they were dropping like flies. Avery was the first to quit and Lily followed soon after. Will stuck it out for a while longer, but I don't he was all that happy about it! In the end, I love it because they have the kids run up and down the field a few times which works wonders for bedtime! And, of course I love it because of the great photo opps: http://www.flickr.com/photos/weethree/sets/72157601911559511/
Avery's hair was just getting out of control. He was starting to resemble Ellen Degeneres so much that I was thinking about sending in a photo to her website! But, he would not let me cut it. We tried getting his haircut at the place where his dadaw gets his cut, but it didn't really go that well. So, we kept putting if off, hoping I guess that it would just magically stop growing or something.
Then, his dadaw said that he would take Avery with him when he got his haircut on Saturday. Avery really wanted to go on a outing with his dadaw, but still wasn't buying into the whole haircut thing. I quickly resorted to bribery and offered him the prospect of getting a firetruck he had been coveting for weeks. Bingo!!! He was off in a flash. Later that day he came back with his dadaw and memaw and proudly showed off his smartly clipped locks. Here is pic of dadaw and Avery showing off their new haircuts!
I've posted some great shots that Season got the other day while the kids were playing outside. http://www.flickr.com/photos/weethree/sets/72157600841764129/
The trips went to their first dance lesson fri afternoon. We signed them up for a summer session 1 day a week for the month of July. They were the only kids in the class for this first session. Turns out they won't do as much if I'm around. They kept running back to me and not listening to the teacher. I tried to leave the classroom, but then the boys kept leaving the room. So, although they prefer not to have parents in the classroom during the class, Season and I ended up trying to sit quietly on the sideline.
Lily really took to the class and had a great time. She did everything the teacher told her to do with a big smile on her face. Will seemed to take it or leave it. He was interested in some parts but wouldn't always do what the teacher wanted. I think he had fun though. Avery didn't really do well. He spent 1/3 of the time on my lap, 1/3 of the time trying to touch stuff he wasn't supposed to and finally a 1/3 participating in the class. I say "participating" because he mostly just wanted to run around. Could be that it was because I was there...so we will see how it goes next week when I'm not there.
The kids also start music camp next week, which is a program that runs 8-12 mon-fri for one week. It is being held where they will be starting pre-school in August, so it will be a nice introduction to their new teacher and the whole concept of going to school. We signed them up for mon, wed and fri mornings and I think it is going to be really good for them and Season. She really could use a break!
And, to top off the summer activities, the kids also start swimming lessons. They go every night for 45 minutes for 2 weeks. We are pretty excited about that too because its something we can all do together. Lily is the big swimmer of the bunch and I wouldn't be surprised if she does her first solo swim this summer!
I'm playing around with the video part of blogging now. I had the video camera out and the kids started singing so I put together a quick little video. See what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f15TUAXmL5k
