Big Girl Bed

  Annah has a big girl bed.  Well, it's a toddler bed, but its not a crib.  I got it on Craigslist for $40, which is a pretty good deal for a bed we will only be using for a year or so.  She had a hard time as Ryan took her crib apart today ("don't break it! I don't want you to break it!) but she is enjoying the excitement of sleeping in a bed she can get out of.  That's a bit of a negotiation.  At nap today, as I left, I asked her "you're not going to get out of bed, right?" "Right. I stay here."  I went downstairs and watched her on the monitor.  For about 10 minutes, she hung out in bed, then one leg dangled over the edge. Then the other.  Then she put her feet on the floor.  Then her butt slipped off the bed.  At which point I ran up to her room, burst in, and yelled "you get back in that bed!" The look on her face, a mixture of shock and horror, was simply priceless, and I will cherish it forever.  It proves that 1.) my daughter is maybe not the sociopath I was almost convinced she was and that 2.) one of my life's goals, to convince my children I have magical powers and I know what they are doing even when I am not there, is 50% complete.

Gavin also has found the joys of parenting his younger sister lately.  Telling her she needs to sit down, not pick her nose, etc, etc.  He now says "let mommy be the parent", so I guess the message is getting through.  He was a bit jealous of the bed, saying that he wanted a bed like that, which is rediculous since his bed has a clubhouse and a slide.  

The kids enjoy pushing each other around in Annah's baby carriage.  Here's a few shots of them wearing random Halloween costumes and a bonus 'stache pic for good measure.

Ooblek!

  Gavin is a skier.  He just finished 6 weeks of downhill ski lessons at our tiny local mountain, and they spent the last class skiing independently down the hill.  Without harnesses.  Without hanging on to support poles.  On their own.  Then we took a few runs with Gav and he skied down all by himself.  The best part of the day was spying on his class from further up the hill, and listening to Ryan go "Oh my gosh!  Watch that tree! Turn, buddy, turn!" And of course he turned every time, and he was just fine.

Picture this, without the harness.

Annah has become much more savvy about manipulating the situation.  Especially when it comes to trying to set her brother off.  In the car, if Gav is hot, "I cold!"  Gavin was sick recently.  She enjoyed walking about the house, stating matter-of-factly "I have a temperature."  My favorite Annah-ism lately was when she opted to wear a summer jumper (in February). She had clothes on over, but during music class, she told everyone "I have a jumper on! Haha! That's funny."  The haha's were quite fake.  It was pretty cute.  Here is a recent self-portrait:

Gavin however has learned to fight back.  He likes to trick her.  He was telling her that the dome light in the car was the sun.  "No, a light." "No, it's the sun." "No, light!" "Nope, that's the sun."  "Mama, light?" She is also pretty bummed that she doesn't get to ski-hockey-golf with him.  He enjoys telling her that she can "stay with mama."  Most of the time, I am usually not a consulation prize.  But occasionally I don't mind.

This is the only use the kitty bed has seen.

Gavin has also become pretty sharp.  We were listening to a song about how parents go to work, but they always come back.  "This is a true story!" We were also playing a Dino computer game.  It stated that T Rex was the largest meat eater that ever lived.  Any Dino enthusiast will disagree.  Gavin just shook his head and said "This is not true."  Wise boy.

These are our pictures from our recent Ooblek party.  The kids had a great time giving themselves Ooblek facials as you can see!