Fishcapades

Merlin II didn't make it. I found him floating upside down under the filter yesterday morning. I was a bit worried about him, since like Merlin the First, Merlin II was always hiding in the corner. I did see St. Nicholas bullying Merlin II around even though they were the same size. Well at least, Merlin II died with in the one week warranty program, and I can get a free replacement. More importantly, I am glad that my kids get along (slightly) better in our 2400 square foot house, than 3 fish in a 5 gallon tank. There is still some bullying, stealing of food, and hitting, but no one ends up missing or dead.

The end of an era

As mentioned previously, we have had a lot of birthday parties to attend this month. I think 5 was the final count. We have done rollerskating, bouncy houses, treasures hunts, cake, cake, and more cakes. I wouldn't want to forget to mention ice cream also. Between the two girls I think I counted 15 pieces of cake and 6 cups of ice cream. Our final birthday party was had a "Once a upon a time" theme. Elizabeth was quite worried that she was going to have to suffer through another princess party. But I assured her that a couple of her guy friends were going, there would be pirate ship and a treasure hunt, and that she wouldn't have to dress up like a princess. Elizabeth is still not fond of princesses but she doesn't hate them anymore. I will give all the credit to my sister-in-law, Lauren, who got her the book "The Princess Knight" for Christmas. It is about Princess Violetta who is raised by her father and three brother to joust and fight. When her father holds a jousting tournament to find a groom for his daughter. Princess Violetta enters the contest in disguise and wins, knocking all the men off their horses. She decides that none of the knights are good enough for her, she travels the lands and finally settles down with the gardener's son.Ava on the other hand had no problems with princesses, and has declared herself Pinkalicious after receiving that book from my mom this Christmas. For those of you who don't know the story, it is about a girl who turns pink (then red) from eating to many pink cupcakes, and the only way to return to flesh tone is by eating green veggies. Despite the two girls being polar oppisites there are times that they get along surprisingly well.

I know, it isn't quite as funny as Ava's robot dance.

New Addition

I was waiting to share the news with all of you until the time was right. I wasn't sure they were going to make it, but now enough time has passed that I think things are going to be alright. No, I am not pregnant, but recently, we have adopted 3 fish into our household. One of the kids Christmas presents was a fish tank. Ryan's idea, not mine. I thought we had enough responsibility with three kids and a dog without adding fish to the mix, but he said the girls would enjoy them. He was right, and fortunately they seem to be a pretty hardy group and we haven't had to have any fishy funerals (yet). Due to Ryan's work schedule, I got take the kids fish shopping. Elizabeth picked out a big blue fish which she named St. Nicholas. He is always hanging out at the top of the fish tank looking for his next meal. Ava picked a medium sized pink fish which she calls Pinky. Her fish is a super fast swimmer and never stays still. We tried to get a green fish for Casey (his assigned color), but the pet store was out of green fish, so we took home a little tiny blue and red neon fish home and named Merlin. He is the most timid and hides most of the time. I also let the girls pick out a few decorations for their fish tank. True to form, Elizabeth picked out some blue plants and a pirate skull. Ava picked some pink plants and a pagoda, which she calls a castle. Since Casey couldn't have a green fish, Elizabeth picked out green frog statue for him.The girls were fighting over who got to feed the fish, so we worked out a schedule. Ava in the morning and Elizabeth in the evening, which I think is more than we remember to feed the dog some days. The girls get a kick out of watching their fish eat and swim around their watery play land. Slowly, Ryan is winning me over that the fish tank was a good present. Update: I wrote this entry on 1/19, but hadn't published it because I was slow in uploading some pictures to go with it. Around 1/24 we noticed that Merlin had pulled a vanishing act. After a thorough search of the tank, we came to the conclusion that most likely became dinner for St. Nicholas (aka Fatty Fish). So over the weekend, the girls and I picked out a new fish for Casey. This time they had some green ones, and we chose a slightly larger fish. Merlin II is about the same size at St. Nicholas. We are hoping that Pinkie is not now at the bottom of the food chain. I will keep you updated on how everything turns out in our 5 gallon fish tank.

Social Butterfly

Where as Ava keeps a bit more to herself, Elizabeth is quite the social butterfly. If you ask Elizabeth who her friends are she will rattle off at least a dozen kids she knows from daycare and playgroups. If you ask Ava her her friends are she will respond Casey and Sissy (even though the girls fight like cats and dogs quite often). Ava still has no real inclination to widen her peer social network and can't name any of the kids in her class, but she is fond of her teachers and knows their names. However, Elizabeth has informed me that Ava has a friend named Sara. I haven't been able to confirm this rumor yet. As for Elizabeth, she has been in daycare less than a month, and she has received 5 birthday invitations. Two weeks ago it was roller skating with Mandy. This past weekend was a bouncy house place for Ignacio's party, as well as party for Rylee (Ryan's stepbrother's daughter). Next weekend is filled with parties on both Saturday and Sunday again. Lets not to forget to mention that Elizabeth has her own birthday party coming up in less than a month. I don't think I can stand anymore cake, but the girls are still going strong. The girls think home and school are pretty boring. They still get excited to go to the grocery store, but it is really a special treat for them to go to the birthday parties. I like to make the weekends fun and exciting for them, since now their weeks are relatively routine compared to when I was staying home. On a side note, Elizabeth blurted out her first bad word this weekend. At Rylee's party, her mother was running about snapping pictures. Ryan makes it a point not to smile for pictures, and wasn't about to cave for his sister-in-law, Cyndy. Cyndy's response to his pouty face was, "Smile dammit," which Elizabeth promptly parroted. Cyndy was a ahgast and promtly apologized and gave Elizabeth a lesson on language. Ryan and I were still too busy laughing. Check back next week for more birthday antics. I think Elizabeth needs to survive another princess party, but at least this one involves a bouncy castle and a treasure hunt...much cooler than a tea party. Ava is all about princesses and the colors pink and purple, so she is really looking forward to it. Elizabeth can't quite understand why some girls aren't as excited as she is about pirates and Spiderman.

2024 Olympics: Here we come!

Okay probably not, but Elizabeth did have a good time putting on her gymnastics show. Which is a good thing, because I was pretty worried about her. She didn't have gymnastics class for over a month because of the holidays. Plus, since starting daycare she has had some separation anxiety, and spent 20 minutes of her first gymnastics of the new year crying/sulking, even though I was watching her on the other side of a glass window. Ava on the other hand has not had some of the same fears as Elizabeth and absolutely loves gymnastics and her big sister. She can't wait to turn three and sign up for gymnastics with Elizabeth. Ava being a bit impatient couldn't wait for the summer and put on her leotard in order to sneak into Elizabeth's gymnastics show. It worked for a bit. She was able to participate in the activities on the big red mat, but I did have to corral her for the individual routines. She still probably ended up in many other families' pictures, because I was trying to take pictures myself and entertain Casey.

For the show, the whole family (minus Ryan due to work) got to come into the gym area and participate in some group activities plus watch Elizabeth perform her individual routines. Her routines were a bit rough since she has had such a long break from classes. Plus plenty of distractions with 16 wild kids and all their families in the room. Listening and good manners were hanging on by a loose thread. The instructors were spotting heavily to ensure no one got hurt and trying to encourage the kids to do at least a couple of the skills that they have been working on the last 16 weeks. You have to give the parents their money's worth.

Elizabeth loves the bar and could swing from it all day. The balance beam is a favorite also. Not for walking on, but for jumping off of it. She made it through all of her routines and got a medal at the end of class for a job well done. (Note the Spiderman hands!)

The most important thing is that she had a good class, mostly because Ava was in the room with her and the two of them tumbled around like a couple of little puppies. The next session starts up in two weeks, and even though Ava won't be there to join her. I am hoping she will get back into it like before, because she will be in a class with two of her friends.

Roller Mania

The girls are adjusting to daycare. Elizabeth still cries every morning when I drop her off, but she is making friends. On the other hand, Ava's teachers told me they were worried that Ava wasn't playing with the other kids. I told them that is just who she is. Ava marches to the beat of her own drum. Elizabeth's new best friend, Mandy, invited us to her 4th birthday party held at a local roller rink. This was the 1st time the girls got up on skates and for Ava it didn't last for more than about 3 minutes, but Elizabeth got the hang of it and had a blast hanging out with her new friend Mandy (girl in green in the videos). In fact, both girls proclaimed that it was the best birthday party ever. Ava had a blast dancing, and Casey was mesmerized by the Disco ball. Included are three videos for those of you who have the ability and inclination to further investigate our adventures at the roller rink.

The first is of Elizabeth getting the hang of her roller skates.

The second is of Ava getting her groove on. I think she went the Milo Knight School of Dance. This is a much watch video. Absolutely hilarious! (or maybe that is just her mother's opinion)

The third is of Casey chasing after the disco ball lights. I think these are the first action shots of Casey crawling that I have posted. He is really zipping along now.

Happy New Year!

Greetings to all, as you can see we are ringing in the love this year. The kids promise me that there will be no more fighting, whining, or crying.

Their resolution was broken about 10 minutes into the new year, but it was a nice idea anyway.