I Have Created A Monster - Elementary Hair Styles

 I have created a monster. For years I have lamented that my girls would not let me braid their hair. Eve is my only daughter who will let me do whatever I want in her hair. Well, she used to let me do whatever I wanted. Now - her standards a higher.

The other day, she was having waffles for breakfast, and she asked me to put her hair in a pony tail so she didn't get syrup in it. I did " a nice pony tail straight out the back." Later that morning she freaked out because I hadn't done her hair for school. I said,

Me: I did your hair already, it is in a cute pony tail
Eve: Mom, anyone can wear their hair in a pony tail. I wear mine in braids.

Apparently she likes the compliments she gets on her hair styles.

I am glad she likes her hair and that she gets compliments - though I don't know how I feel about her feeling like she needs braids - like her hair style is important to her self image. She is only 7!  But then I tell myself not to over think it. The fact of the matter is I like to braid and we have 20 minute after the big girls leave in the morning, so what else are we going to do? ( Ok we could read, or clean her room, or any number of things - but what we do it sit on my bed and watch Clifford or Daily Planet and braid her hair. The braids keep her hair out of her eyes and hopefully safe from lice ( then neighbour kid she plays with had lice but Eve's hair was safe - dodged a bullet).  I think I am getting better at braiding but then I my braids to the pictures on instagram that I try to copy - like the one below of sheerbraidedbliss (who we know) and I am humbled. Also, it wasn't a good idea to show Eve the instagram hair accounts - because many of those hair styles are way out of our reach.

What to wear to Grade 2

 

This year Eve is in Grade 2 - her little body doesn't always show it, but she is one of the big kids now. Eve loves back to school shopping a lot more than she likes actually going to school . She does well in school but does not get excited about pleasing the teacher or learning new things the way her sisters do. She lives for recess and loves seeing all her friends. This is Eve's back to school photo shoot. 



This outfit came from the Gap Factory Store. She  wanted the leopard jeans so badly but I wouldn't buy them for her until she proved she could move in them ( because otherwise I knew they would not get worn).  She did this by doing the splits in the store. I also didn't approve of the shirt -  the graphics on the shirt are articles of clothing. I explained to her that shopping isn't really the thing that most describes her and wouldn't she rather have a different picture - one that doesn't glamourize materialism?  She retorted that she just cared about the colour and the comfort and it was on sale - so I relented.  Eve's biggest win are the twinkle toe shoes. I was completely against these -  I think they are hideous AND over priced.  But - again I relented. (Did I mention eve was persistent.) She pointed out that these shoes will be her but they are her inside shoes at school so I never have to see them, all the bright colours mean they match EVERYTHING, and they were on sale ( which she means they were only twice as much as shoes at Wal-Mart instead of three times as much. She made up the price difference by forfeiting a new back pack. She is using one of Alice's old back packs instead.

 Jeggins from Gap Factory Store, T-shirt and cardigan from H&M. Unlike the first outfit, this one was totally mom approved. The jeggings have been worn a lot.

 The yay shirt and leggings from Joe Fresh. A few days after we bought this, we watched Cityline fashion Friday and Joe Fresh was high lighted and they modeled this shirt. Proves we have great taste.

 Here is Eve on the first day of school. Bow shirt from Gap factory store. Cardigan, runners ( that she can tie herself) and giant bag are all hand me downs. Head band was a party favor from a birthday party. Incidentally, she used this shoulder bag for a few days then opted for a back pack that is easier to carry.

And this is how Eve looked when she found out the these three great friends are in her glass. It is the old crew from kindergarten. She was so happy she had to do the angry squinty eyes for this picture.


 It is sure to be an awesome year.

Eve is growing up!!!

Today I registered Eve for kindergarten. Wait - that didn't do it justice. I'll try again.TODAY I REGISTERED EVE VANESSA RASMUSSEN, MY YOUNGEST CHILD, IN PUBLIC SCHOOL!!! Yes, that is better.

As you might have guessed, we both were REALLY excited about it. And why shouldn't we be? I have often felt that being the youngest must be hard. No matter how old you get, you are still the youngest. Eve may be hazy on some of the details, but she KNOWS that in turning 5 and starting school she is officially in the club that her big sisters are in - and for Miss" don't call me baby" that is super exciting. And it's everyday - so that is 2 days better than preschool. And how do I feel about my baby starting school? SO EXCITED - she will LOVE it!! She is my most adventurous child and I can't wait to watch her adventures. And I'll have every morning free. WIN WIN!

Eve is maybe a little too excited about her 5 birthday, which is still a little over 5 months away. If you ask her how old she is she will tell you that she is "almost five". It was so warm over Christmas, she kept saying, " It is warm, so it is spring and almost my birthday - and then I can go to school." Don't worry, we talk a lot about all the things that will happen before then. We talk about it so often that she can list them... Mom's birthday, Alice's birthday, Soccer, Then her birthday, then summer and the beach then School. She has already picked her birthday party theme " Who dunnit" ( though that may change - since her obsession with the Who Dunnit Backyardigans episode as recently been replaced with an undying love of Ruby Gloom (thanks to Netflicks)

Anyway - we are enjoying Eve. Five will be great but four and half is pretty awesome too. Four and a half is an age when sometimes she just seems so grown up to me and other times her little body still looks so small - too small for the unstoppable spirit that is in her. Here is a bit about her now:

1. Favourite person in the Family: Jackie. hands down. She loves wearing Jackie's old clothes and loves it when we tell her she looks like a little Jackie.

2. Favourite person in the world: her friend Chelsa. Can't wait to see what those two will get into as they get older.

2. Favourite game: Playing Barbies with Jackie. She asked Jackie so nicely today, "Do you want to play Barbies with me?" And Jackie is basically a barbie playing SAINT. She will go to heaven for being SUCH a patient sister.

3. New Skill: Skating and something I thought she would never learn: PLAYING IMAGINATION GAMES BY HERSELF!!!! Jackie has finally rubbed off on her.

4. New Interest: Chapter books. Once during Christmas my dad came up from the basement and said, "Eve's reading "Dress for Success" and I wasn't surprised at all. She has the bookshelf in her room and all the kids chapter books are stored there and she is always taking them ALL off the shelf to "read" them. Tonight she choose one for her bed time story and sat through three chapters. I think it is all about being grown up.

5. Favourite food: Toss up between Vanilla yogourt or Honey Nut Cheerios. Or maybe Nutella toast - no it couldn't be that, who would buy such an unhealthy item? Not me.

6.Worst part of her life: Chronic constipation. We are still battling this very rasmussen of problems. She is getting better at drinking her water and "special juice" but still basically births a baby each time she goes. Which is what I thought of she said the other day, " When I grow up I will be a mom, but I am scared to push a baby out". I read too much into her fears though. Yesterday she said, " Mom, when you had me did your stomach burst open?" The, "No, you came out my vagina, remember" answer calmed her fears, then confused her.

7. Things that always surprise me: How good she is at sports. Not that it should surprise me. It just that I learn things so differently than she does. She just knows how to move her body. So whether it's soccer, or dribbling a basketball or learning to skate - it just comes easy for her. Her Daddy's girl.

8.Favourite Christmas present this year: Playdough ice cream maker. ( not Andrew's favourite thing to clean up.

Anyway - we all love Eve!!! I am super lucky to be her mom. She is so much fun. And she gets to go to Kindergaten next year!! Woo woo!!

Update on the girls

Here is a selection from some family pictures. It may not be the best picture seeing as I am sporting a double chin, Andrew has a red infected eye, Eve looks belligerent, Jackie has hair in her face, only Alice looks great, albeit uncharacteristically sweet. Anyway - I love any picture that has all these people in it. They are my favourite.

Here is section of an email I sent my family this week. Since it contains an update of all of us, I thought I would use it for the blog - that's just the way I roll.

Alice continues to be obsessed with basketball. It is her happy place. She was devastated last week because she did really poorly on a spelling test. Her teacher wrote on her sheet that it was not acceptable. Alice cried and cried and cried, and didn’t really recover until we were home and she was able to shoot some hoops. I am happy she has that “happy place” but I also suggested perhaps studying a little more? She did better this week so I guess I shouldn’t worry. Unfortunately in regards to spelling and attention to details in her school work she takes after me. I have told her if she figures out how to not make those kind of mistakes then she should let me know.

Jackie is doing well. She loves piano and creating things with recyclables so sometimes her bedroom looks like she’s a hoarder. I have heard her say that she hates garbage day because there is no recycling in the house and therefore nothing to do. She had so much fun at Elise birthday party this weekend, but agonized over what she was going to wear. She was crying for half an hour before we left the house. It was crazy, but once she finally decided what dress to wear ( she was supposed to dress like a movie star) and got over the fact that no matter what we did, her hair was still going to be short – I convinced her to wear it up) she was pleased with her look and super happy. And Andrew and I managed it all without losing it ourselves so that was a plus. She has since talked and talked about how fun the party was and how funny uncle Sam was, she especially liked the game where they all pretended to speak German.

Eve is getting bigger every day, but we have noticed that she enjoys more and more being the “baby” and getting helped with her clothes, the bathroom eating etc. She also enjoys playing baby with Jackie or Alice where one of them is the mom and the other the grandma. Andrew and I are concerned about her “baby” obsession and try to make her do things on her own, and when we do that she either cries or convinces Alice or Jackie to help her out. I think she would be better if there was another baby around, so Erin is you get tired of Charlie, send him over here!. Last week I suggested to the girls when they were all playing house together that instead of having Eve be the baby that she could be the mom in the game. Eve just started whining that she was too small to be the mom and needed a smaller kid to be the baby. The girls went from happily playing to arguing so next time I will either keep my mouth shut or suggest that Eve play the kitty in the game. A responsible Kitty that cleans up after herself. In other news, Eve has developed a love of eating her boogers. We have to fight to get her to eat supper, unless of course it is pizza, but green boogers from her nose are apparently delicious.

Andrew is starting basketball this week .....we will miss him.

Our weekend

Eve: (with a happy face) When I grow up I'll be a mom! (face turns sad) But I'll have to live away from you and have babies in my tummy.

I'm glad she isn't moving away any time soon. She is my sweet little best friend, always wanting to read books or dance together or snuggle and watch a show.

Last Friday the girls and I celebrated the first snow fall of the year my all snuggling together on my bed and watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol (my favourite holiday movie).

Jackie: " This is the movie night I have been praying for since Halloween" (jackie was excited because Andrew let the girls eat the popcorn twists and drink pop they got while trick or treating).

We were all having a great time until the end of the movie, when Eve said she had a tummy ache. Just as Ebeneezer was sending the boy off to buy the prize turkey, Eve threw up all over me and Andrew's side of the bed! Yuck!!

That started "The night of vomit" for Eve, who puked about 12 times. I stayed with her till 11:00, then Andrew took over until 3:00, then I stayed up with her until Alice woke up at 7:00. Needless to say, the weekend didn't go as we had planned, but we made it through and Alice still made her basketball game ( they won 40 to 0 - but turned off the scoreboard for the last quarter) and Jackie made it to her cooking birthday party and she and I went to most of the RS Creative Saturday - just no date for Andrew and I, no working out for me and a lot of extra laundry.

But really Eve was a trooper. She didn't complain at all. She would just say ," my tummy hurts" right before she would throw up, and she was good a aiming in the bucket. She watched hours and hours of backyardagains and laid on the couch all night.

The next morning at breakfast, I told the older girls how good Eve was.

Me: Eve threw up so many times, but she was so good, she never cried or complained.

Alice: Really, she didn't complain at all?

Me: Not at all, she was so brave.

Alice: Maybe she should be sick all the time then.

Me: Alice! that's not nice.

Alice: I'm just saying, that girl complains A LOT - so if being sick helps her not complain...

I could see her point, but the not complaining might have had something to so with the fact that she had a 24 hour dedicated attendant to get her things AND she got to watch her best friends, the Backyardigans all night.

I have to say, the Backyardigans has to be the best preschool show of all time. She has good taste at least. Sunday night, Andrew got sick. He also threw up a lot and tried not to complain. He stayed home from work yesterday. He didn't however, watch as much Backyardagains.

Another first

I am not very good at recording the "firsts"of childhood, especially when it comes to Eve. She's number 3 and it's a cliche, but really I wasn't very good at it with Alice or Jackie, I just felt more guilt over it then. Now, I have made peace and so rather than feeling guilty over all the dates I have forgotten and not recorded I instead:

1. focus on giving sooo much love now that they will not require a report of all their significant dates to prove that I love them.

2. Tell them funny stories of what they did when they were babies, over and over, untill they become the stuff legends

3. Encourage them to keep their own journal, even before they can write (delegation: a life saver) and

4. When all else fails, make something up! The Lord blessed me with creativity for a reason , right?

But completely out of character, I am going to record a milestone that Eve reached today. Are you excited? Of course you are!

It is hereby recorded, that on this, the 23 day of June, 2011 that Eve Rasmussen, 2 days shy of her 4th birthday, demonstrated the ability to relentlessly tease a sibling. Yes, today she successfully teased her older sister until she cried. ( without the tears, it doesn't really count)

The tormented sister: a very tired Jackie

The method of teasing: a classic yet effective copy cat. A strategy that is really elegant in it's simplicity.

A yes, this is the first of my children to successfully complete the difficult feat of teasing an older sibling without the experience of teasing a younger sibling, yet even without that valuable experience she still managed to dethrone Jackie, who was in kindergarten when she finally found success with the phras: "I will call up all your friends and tell them not to come to your birthday party".(Obviously, Alice made it hard on Jackie. She had to work for months before she found success, You don't come up with a phrase like that on your first try. )

I didn't hear the whole conversation, but what I heard went something like this:

Jackie: That's annoying

Eve: That's annoying

Jackie: Eve stop it

Eve: Eve stop it

Jackie: Eve, this is so dumb

Eve: Eve, this is so dumb

And, BLAMMO - Jackie burst into tears. (it is fun to say blammo - go ahead and say it out loud - blammo - SEE!)

What was my response? Like any good mother, I gave Jackie a hug and told Eve that she should be nice and not try to be annoying on purpose to upset Jackie. I had to smile at the look of utter satisfaction on Eve's face though. She definitely got what she wanted and I had to say,

"My baby's all grown up and teasing her sister, (sniff sniff)."

So that's the story. Sorry, no pictures. But what would you like, a picture of Jackie crying? Or Eve looking smug?

And now that I think of it, I do not remember ever successfully teasing my older sister. I remember getting teased and then hitting her and then getting in trouble ( that happened a lot). However, I do remember relentlessly teasing my youngest brother with the " you're adopted, we found you on our doorstep when you were a baby". It used to get him every time. Children can be so cruel. Let's hope that Eve sticks with being a copy cat.

My daughter - myself

Alice made brownies for her Dad and her Grandpa today. They are in the oven baking as we speak. She asked me to put them in the oven for her. When I walked into the kitchen I found Eve, sitting on the table beside the bowl - completely "brown handed". Before I could say anything she guiltily said,

Mom, This is really bad for me, but I LOVE it".

Don't I know how that goes. Anyway, I put the batter in the pan and ( because I know how it is) I gave Eve the spoon to lick and put the pan in the oven. Eve, having finished the spoon, asked for the bowl. She was already covered in chocolate and had dropped a bunch of chocolate on the floor. I didn't know how much she had eaten before I got there ( there was a little less brownie batter that usual) so I said, " No, honey, you've had enough, and look at all the chocolate you dropped on the floor. What a mess".

I put the bowl in the sink and filled it with water and got a rag to clean the floor and turned around to find Eve in downward facing dog, licking the floor.

I should have known really. You all saw that coming, didn't you?

Update on the kids

Remember when I used to blog more than once a month? It was so long ago, I can hardly remember? Not sure what is up with my creativity lately,but it is a shame, because life keeps rolling on and I should be recording things. The kids have a PD day today and so we are all still in our PJs - they are trying to catchup on some TV watching that they " just never have time for" - a good time to post something.
Eve:

• Is taking swimming lessons for the first time. Words can not express how excited she was to "be big now". She likes it as long as she has Miss Kayla. When the boy substitute is there, it takes some getting used to.
  
• She plays on a soccer team and just as I thought, she LOVES it. I am the assistant coach for her team. It is really the highlight of my week. U4 soccer is the BEST!!!At this age they just play 3 on 3 and they don't have positions, but she has figured out that the other team can't score if she tends goals, so if she can 't get the ball from the kid that has a breakaway she will high tail it to the goal and looks all ferocious as she kicks the ball away.
• She has finished her preschool and misses it. And keeps asking about going again.
• She can almost do the monkey bars by herself, which both impresses me and freaks me out in equal proportions.
• Her talking is getting more and more clear, but she still pronounces flower, "flowler". I should probably help her learn to say it right, but it is so cute.
• She used to cry when the girls left for school, but now just says every morning, " Mom, now it is just me and you!" She is getting kind of stuck on me. We do a lot of book reading, dancing, puzzles, bike riding, library going and talking about what we will do next. This girls seems to like living by a schedule. If we don't get to do something I have said we will do, she will remind me about it over and over. "Mom, we didn't pull weeds yesterday like you said we would do". As if the weeds weren't reminders enough.
  
• She is obsessed with this "Meet the letters" DVD we got from the library. She always wants to watch it and wants to watch it with me. If I leave during the show to get something, she says things like:" but if you leave you will miss the S that is coming." And when I come back she fills me in on the letters I missed. I am glad that she is so excited about learning her letters, but wonder when she will realize that this DVD is DEAD BORING.
  

News from Jackie:

• She is growing out her bangs and we all think it makes her look older, though once she grows them out and cuts them again, we will all think that her bangs make her look older. Basically any change in hairstyle results in us noticing how grown up she is getting. I have to remind myself she is only 6.
• She has decided that she prefers to be called "Jacqueline" and has learned to spell it. This is of course a hard switch for everyone.
  
• She loves her swimming lessons and is getting better at swimming, though I'm sure it would be easier if she gained a little weight. She is a sinker.
  
• She is doing soccer, and likes it way better then basketball because a) it is outside and you get to run in the spring air and never get hot ( we live in the north) and b) she doesn't worry all the time about the ball hitting her in the head. So far no goals, but she has had some pretty decent breakaways and kicks on goal and has some great coaches.
• She finally, FINALLY got to take home her classes stuffed penguin for the weekend. She was the last kid to take it home, which meant she had to wait 18 agonizing weeks, but it was worth it. She showed that penguin a good time.
• Always the socialite, she is petitioning me to throw a welcome to summer party with all of her class because they all won't be in her class next year ( there are 5 grade 1 classes at her school)
  
• She is going to be moving into Alice's room in the next few weeks, as soon as we can get it all painted. She really wants her own room and even considered moving downstairs, but cried as she thought of how far she would be to Eve. She has been telling Eve all different ways they can still be close even when she is sleeping in a different room. She asked if we could cut a cubby hole for secret messages.
  

Alice:

• Is obsessed with riding her bike, it warms my heart that the bike I was excited to buy her 2 years ago is finally getting used.
• She is writing her provincial achievement tests at school, and thinks it is great because they are pretty easy and because of them they don't have any homework
• She did her first talk in primary the other week even though she (of course) really didn't want to. She did a great job and was super glad when it was over.
• Helped me find a great dress for the Grecole wedding. She is a great little shopper. Luvky is the mother that has daughters.
• She can now make chocolate chip cookies, corn meal muffins and waffles all by herself. Her new found baking ability is a terrific help. She is giving the girls breakfast while I type this.
  
• Is loving soccer, even though she also hasn't scored this year. I love watching her play and practice. Her best friend Chloe is on the team and the two of them look so happy all the time to be playing together.
  
• Thinks her swimming lessons are so boring, but at least she is learning how to do a handstand in the water, the only thing that prevented her from passing swimmer three last time.
• Is the proud owner of her own deodorant ( my little girls is growing up and getting sticky, sniff, sniff). She was not embarrassed at all, just excited. She totally does not feel the way I did about the whole maturing thing. A while back we were at Value Village trying on some shoes. There were these slip on high heels that completely fit her. I said we could buy them for the dress up clothes. She was all, "Can't I wear them to church?" I was surprised she would want to and told her when I was her age and didn't ever want to look any older than I (tragically) already did. She just said to me, "Mom, I am practically an adult already".
• Has discovered the joy of brushing her hair. I told her that if she didn't get better at brushing the knots out of her hair she would have to cut it. She has since upgraded to a brush that actually works and can frequently be seen brushing and admiring her hair in the mirror. I am glad that her hair looks better, but am not sure how I feel about the new found vanity about the beautifully brushed hair.
  
• Has decided to move downstairs to the guest bedroom. The thought that Jackie might just move down into that room, instead of waiting for her to do it was just the incentive she needed. Let the decorating begin.
  
• Can't wait for school to be done and for fun cousins to arrive. I'm totally with her on that.
  

Predictions.

Alice excitedly came out of the bathroom one morning and said,

" I FINALLY know what I will be when I grow up. I was sitting on the toilet, going poo, and thinking that I really am interested in how the human body works, but I DON'T want to be doctor - too much blood. GROSS.

Then I thought I would be a scientist, but then I thoughtthere might be explosions and I don't want that. Too dangerous.

SO - I am going to a physics teacher. "

She looked so relieved. I believe this life decision has been weighing on her. She used to want to be an artist but then realized that she would only get paid when she sold a painting, and that didn't sound very practical. We have since taught her that physics doesn't have much to do with the human body, so she wants to be a bio teacher. Andrew suggested bio chemistry because that is what he did. There is a lot of her dad in her, so I wouldn't rule it out.

Also - just to keep you updated :

Jackie informed me this morning that when she is older she is going to cut her hair short and dye it black. Mary - does that sound good?

Alice is going to dye her hair blond - Erin?

Eve is going to wear lots of makeup all the time. Which is exactly what she does already. Thanks Audrey.

Our Sweet little Evie - I mean Evil

This past Saturday was Creative Saturday in our Relief Society. I almost wasn't going to sign up, but at the last minute decided it would be fun - and it was. I made chocolate cake balls in the morning and hair bows in the afternoon. Fun conversation with the ladies and my girls were very pleased with the results. The best thing about the day of course - no Evie.

Andrew was excited to give me a day off and looking forward to a relaxing day at home with the kids. I knew he would be tired when I got home, so we made plans for me to take the girls swimming as soon as I got home.

I called before I left the church, so he would know I was coming home. I came home to three happy children outside in there coats with their swimming bag outside already. I thought," Dad's a little anxious to get them going". They came inside to sample my cake balls while I was getting my swimsuit. It became apparent to me that Andrew was not in the best mood.

We were on the road soon enough and I asked the girls how the day went. They said,"

Girls: Fine

Me: Really? Dad seems like he is in a bit of a mood.

Jackie: Oh yeah - Dad's in a bad mood. He was all like this ,

Alice hits Jackie's arm.

Jackie: What was that for?

Alice: I don't want you making fun of Dad for being in a bad mood.

Jackie: I wasn't going to make fun of Dad, I was just going to show that he was in a bad mood because of Evie.

Alice: Oh, yeah that's kinda true.

And I wasn't surprised - seeing as I must have said three different times to the ladies, "It is so nice to not have Evie". Now let me be clear - WE LOVE EVIE. She is hilarious. She is clever. She is fast. She likes to have fun, and she .......likes to have her own way. Her persistence is exhausting. I tell myself over and over that she will be delightful when she is able to run her own life, (as I myself am delightful). As I give her timeout after timeout for hitting her friends or whining relentlessly, or when I carry her screaming kicking body out of sacrament meeting because she doesn't like the snack I brought, I remind myself that in a few years I will look at pictures of her three year old self and miss her littleness. I will use blog postings like this one and pictures like the one below - to remind me..

In the meantime, I will enjoy her great qualities - how she loves to tell you that she is , " so big, so strong and so fast". I will enjoy teaching her things she feels like learning and will thoroughly enjoy when she has decided to be a puppy all day, even when she has decided that she wants to be a bad puppy. And when the whining and the tantrums come I will endeavor to be patient and remind myself that:
1. She will not always be like this
2. She is the child I deserve.
But I also will be patient with my husband - who from all accounts was a perfect child and does not deserve our little Evil, I mean Evie.

Birthday Catch up

So yesterday, at 3:50 in the morning, Jackie turned 6. Seems like she's been six forever, but actually it has only been a day. Last weekend was her Halloween themed party, and it was A BLAST ( can you tell how excited I was to not have to plan another princess party). I am planning a post with pictures from all the excitement, but realized I could not in good conscience post about it until I had posted about Eve's 3rd birthday (and first ever friend) birthday party way back on June 25th. So here is a belated birthday post for my baby girl ( don't tell her I called her that - she hates it).

At first she wanted a green party, then a red party, then a yellow party - so of course we settled on a rainbow party. My camera died half way through, so these are the only pictures we have. The face painting was the biggest hit with everyone and Eve absolutely loved the parachute we borrowed. There were tons of kids there, well - because I am the nursery leader and I love all her little friends, and then you can't leave out older siblings, and then the moms come to help out, and you get the picture. It was insanity when the presents were being opened, but all in all, it was worth it, because Eve really knew that THIS was HER party. FINALLY.

And really, life begins a three.

How bout a green one?

Eve's favourite colour is green. Isn't that great? Not pink or purple or sparkly - but green. It is probably her favourite because she cares so much about the environment, or because it reminds her of her mothers beautiful eyes - or because of her green blankie. Whatever the reason - you ask Eve what colour something should be and she'll answer green. Actually, "How bout a green one," is my favourite Eveism. I hear it a lot. Here are some recent examples:

Me: Eve, do you want to help me make a cake?

Eve: Yeah, how bout a green one?

Me: What kind of birthday party do you want,

Eve: How about a green one?

Eve: (Looking sad)This lamp is broken. You need buy a new one. ( then suddenly looks happy) How bout a green one?

Me: Eve do you want a chocolate?

Eve: Yeah, how bout a green one?

Me: They are just chocolate - so they aren't green, they are brown.

Eve: I like green. You like brown

Me: I know, do you want a chocolate anyway - ( I gave her one)

Eve: I like green - she gave it back. ( 10 seconds later she reconsidered)

And this is my favourite:

Eve: You can't wear that - you too big

Me: Yes, my butt is too big for that

Eve: You need a new one. How bout a green one?

If this green obsession continues, when she grows up she will either a) join greenpeace, b) move to Ireland, or c) try out for a green alien role of Star Trek.

Operation big girl - close call

Day 9 without Eve's pacifier. Yesterday she finally had a nap without it. Progress.

I must confess that on day 7 I almost caved. It had been 1 week without her pacifier, and sleep had been elusive for both of us, especially for me, since due to her cough, I had spend the majority of nights rocking her. I felt like I had a newborn again. That night I tried to go to bed at 8:00 - but my internal clock wouldn't cooperate, so I got up and spent some time with my husband her I don't see that often. Later that night, as I began to drift off to sleep, Eve cired out. She wasn't really awake, just really loud and incoherent and definately on her way to waking the other girls up again. I quieted her by rocking her, then put her back in her bed. Then as soon as I was almost asleep, she would cry out again. We did this for an hou and it was torture. I told Andrew, "I can't take this anymore, I don't care about the sousou addiction - I need sleep". There was no response from him, he was asleep ( see - everyone gets to sleep except me!). I could feel the volcano of frustration gaining pressure inside me, threatening to erupt. But what form would the eruption take - violence, tears, screaming. I didn't want to find out. Eve's wailing began to get even louder - my whole body cringed and I cracked. I went directly for the pacifier on the top shelf of the bathroom. "Just try and stop me" I said to my sleeping husband, "this is the only answer, I can't take it anymore". I walked into Eve's room, she was still crying. The sousou felt cold in my hand - like a revolver that is to shoot a silver bullet - the silver bullet of sleep.

Just as I got near Eve's bed, she stopped wailing. She is quiet. I am shaking. I whisper" Do you need your sousou". No response. She is asleep.

She slept for the rest of the night.
That is as close as they come.

Overheard

Me: Why is the floor all wet?
Alice: Eve spilled a cup of water
Eve: No, Chelsa did it?
We all laughed - since Chelsa wasn't here. Eve thought for a bit then said,
Eve: Not me, Not Chelsa, Terry did it. (Terry was over yesterday)
Me: are you blaming Terry for something you did?
Eve: Yup.

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Alice (after I did her hair for church): This ponytail is as tight as Professor McGonagal's bun.

We are in the middle of Harry Potter, and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She is really into it.

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Jackie: I am so tired of reading the scripture EVERY NIGHT. Why do we have to do it every night.

I am getting a lot of eye rolling from Jackie and Alice lately. I makes me smile, because I think it is good practice for me for when they are teenagers. She mostly enjoys reading the scriptures, she just wishes she would get to read more picture books. We are working on that.

Eve's first overheard.

Eve looked out the window at the snow.

Eve: uh ohh. no. no.

I think that is how all of us feel. Don't think our pretty spring flowers will pull through, though Andre covered them all last night with tupperwear.

Whack you head Wednesday - a "day in the life" story.

Here is a bit of sweet girl drama. It is quite long, but bear with me.

Yesterday, Jackie was back to her regular "cry for no good reason until I've eaten breakfast" self. The no good reason selected: she couldn't remember me giving her "fresh water" in her sippy cup the night before.

She wasn't thirsty. She wasn't worried she would get an incurable illness from drinking day old water. She was just offended that I had forgotten to perform an important part of her bed time ritual. Her offense was real, even if it took her 12 hours to notice. The irony of the story is that - yes - you guessed it- I HAD given her fresh water the night before. What's more, knowing she would be upset if she was unsure of the freshness of her water, I had made a big point of showing her the ice and telling her that her water was new. (As I write this, I am beginning to understand my husbands hostility towards the "fresh water fetish" the older girls have - they really aren't that diva about other things).

Like a fool, I broke one of my cardinal rules for parenting: NEVER ARGUE WITH A HUNGRY CHILD UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. ( This also is my rule for my husband, and one I think should be applied to everyone on my side of the family - especially me. How can anyone be expected to act rationally on an empty stomach?) I reminded her that I did get her the water. What was worse, her sister Alice corroborated my story. Not only was she offended, now she was betrayed. I will not describe her reaction, for I can not do justice to the combination of screaming and tears, but I will say that it landed her in her room - without the all important breakfast that might bring out better spirits. Now, do not judge me too soon, I did try to get her to take her sippy cup of milk with her - but she refused. I don't know where she gets her stubbornness from.

Alice, always the peace maker, decided that she would try to help her sister be happy. The best way was to make her laugh. But how to go about this? Clearly any verbal humour would be difficult to hear over the racket of the tantrum. Alice opted to follow the example of her favourite comic Mr. Bean, and tried some physical humour. She started pretending to bang her head against the door frame. I was reminded of my brother Greg, who when he was ten couldn't walk down Bonnie Doon Mall without pretending to bang his head on every pillar. Alice's performance was great, and Jackie was soon laughing through her tears. Another victory for comedy.

It looked like so much fun,in fact, that Evie wanted to try. That's were the story gets a little sad. I can still see her running full tilt at that door frame. I could see what was going to happen, but could not get to her in time. She rammed the door frame with everything she had. Ouch. A hard way to learn the difference between pretending to bump you head, and actually bumping your head. Here she is standing beside a door frame like the one she hit,during happier times.

But these head hurting escapades were but foreshadowing for some all too real noggin nocking. We went to Value Village last night to try to find some pants for Alice and some Christmas decorations for the basement. While I was chasing Evie (who is no longer fond of the cart) Jackie was uncontrollably drawn to the bars corralling the shopping carts. She had been warned to stay off, but like Princess Aurora drawn to the spindle, she couldn't stop herself. While she was playing on the bars, she fell backward and hit her head on the floor, causing a very minor, yet still very bloody, head wound. It is always so hard when your child get's hurt. It sure was not fun to have it happen in a store full of unhelpful stangers, and trying to help her while keeping tabs on your two other children. After some time in the bathroom washing up, signing an accident incident report, and buying a Christmas candle holder for Jackie and a Christmas dress for Alice we made it home. Jackie had a bath to calm her nerves and wash the blood out of her hair (though we didn't tell her about that). While she was in the tub, Alice and I, who were both able to keep it together at the store and on the way home, almost starting crying and began feeling queasy again as we talked about how upsetting it was. We agreed that it was lucky that Jackie hurt the back of her head, instead of the front, because, "at least she didn't have to see all that blood". I am making a prediction now: Alice will not become a nurse.

Since I didn't see how hard Jackie bumped her head, I woke her up every four hours just in case she had a concussion. It is not the first time I have had to do that for Jackie. I imagine it won't be the last.

This morning she was fine. She had no headache, minimal mood issues, and was still clearly in love with the Christmas candle holder. She brought it to school for show and tell.

So, that is the tale of Head Whacking Wednesday. Just another day in the life.

A real toddler

Still missing our camera. These pictures are from my phone. It is hard to get a good picture of Eve with the phone because no matter what she is doing, when she sees the phone - she wants it.

We worked hard to get this picture because I just really wanted to capture the cute curls her hair does after a bath. It is quite a cute little do.

She has grown up so much in the last few weeks. I think she is a real toddler now, because she:

1. She toddles and shuffle around, and loves to take on and off her shoes. She kind of marches when she is wearing her boots, and will take her shoes and got to the door.
2. She wants to be like her big sisters. At Ikea last week, she refused to sit in a high chair. She has become obsessed with crayons and crafts, and will sit and try hard to colour when her sisters are colouring.
3. She has developed some wicked dance moves. She loves to dance with her sisters, though she turns into "jealous baby" if Andrew and I come to dance with Alice or Jackie.
4. She says "no". Ok - she is not a talker, but she emphatically shakes her head
5. She asserts her own opinions. Last night she refused to wear her Fairy princess Halloween costume. We were all shocked. Alice and Jackie both LOVED dressing up as a fairy princess when they were toddlers but Eve flat out refused. How silly of me to think I could pick her outfits for her. After I struggled to get her into the dress ( which she wore without problem at Jackie's birthday) she cried and tugged at it until I relented and took it off. Sp we went as a cat (me) Bat girl (Alice), Ariel ( Jackie) and a toddler.
   
   
   

Important firsts

Eve had an important first the other day. No, she didn't take her first step, or stand on her own, but it was her first time wearing pigtails.












I think we may have been pushing it a bit, but she seemed to like them. In regards to other firsts, I do think she now is saying mama and dada for real and she has some baby signs too ( Hungry, buy, pick me up). She is obsessed with using spoons and feeding herself. She gets really dirty.

Schools out for summer!

I'm a little late with this post since we went write on vacation before I had time. We are back now and I will be playing catch up for a while. I didn't want to miss posting about Alice finishing kindergarden. She had an amazing year and had such a great teacher and has made some great friends. She is all ready for grade 1! Kindergarden is a magical year, and though I did not get teary eyed at the kindergarden graduation, I must say I did well up a little when I saw the DVD scrapbook the teacher's aide put together, with pictures, music and the poem "everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarden". If you come visit us, you can watch it!

We hope everyone has a fantastic summer and enjoys the time off school. I love having everyone home - especially Andrew. He took this picture of Eve. Doesn't it make you want to go enjoy some summer swimming?

Happy Birthday Eve!

Our little Evie is one this week. Thanks to grandma and grandpa for the great dinner and party last night. We'll post pictures as soon as I get them. Here is a picture of Eve that Alice took. For those who are far away and don't know, Eve is the sweetest, most easy going baby around. We love love love her to pieces. She smiles and claps, even when her sisters are carrying her around and dressing her up and generally treating her like their own personal doll. She hardly ever cries, she is so patient and she blesses our life everyday. We are sooo glad she is in our family and we love watching her grow up.

Here is some info about Eve.

Nicknames: Evie, Baby baduba (jackie) dabadu ( Alice), or bubba(me) Muffin ( dad)

Jackie full nickname for her is "baby baduba, the queen of babies!" because as Jackie said, "she is the queen of babies, but I am the queen of Eve".

Favourite past-times: pulling things out of bags, purses or drawers, nursing, snuggling with fuzzy green blanket and splashing like a crazy person in the bath.

Favourite toys: books, magnets, cups and she has a love hate relationship with her train

favourite food: cheerios and raisins. She still loves baby food squash.

Fears: the elevator at the library

What we love most about her: Her smile, her blue eyes, how ticklish she is, her little hands waving goodbye.

Happy birthday Evie!