Cayden's Suggestion

Cayden: Mom, Allie needs to get a hairdo!

Cayden is probably right on this one, but I am at a loss.  She will not leave clips of any kind in her hair, and she loves to put her food in her hair.  Any suggestions??

Saturday at the ARC

Saturday we spent a fun day together at the ARC (Aspen Rec Center) swimming, jumping, climbing, and playing with friends.  We are lucky to have such a fun place to go to, but I guess since there is snow on the ground more than half the year here, we really need the ARC!  Conner, Cayden, and Allie all have very different comfort levels in the water, but they all have a great time!

Conner and Cayden both did a great job climbing, and I predict they will soon be able to climb to the top and ring the bell. 

New words

Allie has said "mom" for a while now, but until recently, this was her only word.  (She also uses the sign for milk regularly when she wants a drink.)  She has expanded her vocabulary and will now say:

• dad
  
• bye (while waving)
  
• Hi (usually with a play telephone up to her ear, with her head  tilted to the side - no joke!)

I hope that her vocabulary continues to increase, and the quicker, the better - she has learned to really use her voice, and is screaming very loud at everything.  She is not crying, in fact, she is usually smiling and laughing while she screams.  I think she just found out how loud she can be and thinks it is fun.  The rest of us however, really hope she learns some more useful words in the very near future.  Cayden and Conner are often found in the car with their hands over their ears, asking to sit farther away from Allison at dinner, and closing their door when they play.  All this, and we still love her to pieces!

Walking...almost!

I will try to get some video tonight when I have assistance, but before I forget, Allison let go of the couch yesterday (with no prompting) and walked 5 or 6 steps all by herself.  She has done it a few times this morning as well, but of course, I did not have the camera in my hand.  Sometimes I think moms should wear headcams so we could catch all the funny/exciting stuff on tape, but then I realize how silly I would look . . . .

Eating Machine!

I began with child number one who wouldn't eat a thing, and was fed through a gastrostomy tube for three years.  I was completely shocked when child number two, tired of baby food very quickly, and began eating whole avocados, baby back ribs, and ANYTHING he could get his hands on.  Well, Allison, child number three, has topped that.  She truly is amazing.  For a few days, the boys have only wanted pb&j for lunch.  The first day, I gave Allison one tiny bite - since we hadn't tried peanuts yet.  She was fine.  Yeah, no allergies so far!  Today, she kept demanding more, and ended up eating an entire pb&j sandwich BY HERSELF!  The boys always share one sandwich, since they only eat half, so this was a complete shocker.  Not to mention the bowl of peaches, cheerios appetizer while making the sandwiches, and big glass of milk....it was probably more than most adults have for lunch - and she is 13 months.  I have never had to cut my children off from food, but maybe I should think about it.  :)

Oh, by the way, her typical breakfast is a yogurt, an entire banana, some cheerios, a glass of milk, and then pancakes/french toast/waffles or whatever I have made for the boys.  AND, she usually cries when I take her tray away and get her down - like she wants more food!  

Weeds or Wildflowers

Today we were out on the front porch waiting for Conner to be dropped off from school. Cayden was riding his bike (which he picked up soooo quickly, and is already trying to do tricks - another post to come...) back and forth in front of the house, and Allie was playing on the grass.  Beautiful day!  Anyway, at one point, Cayden kept looking back and forth at our lawn and the neighbors lawn.  He then asked, "Mom, why do we NOT have pretty flowers like them?"  I had to laugh, because Keir takes great pride in our lawn, and it is always the greenest, healthiest, manicured lawn in the neighborhood - and of course, we do not have any dandelions, because they are weeds, and spread like crazy, and take over the lawn.  Cayden however thought they were pretty, and that we should have some.  I was tempted to tell him how to blow the dandelion puff thingy to make them spread on our lawn, but I didn't.  Keir would have killed me!  :)

On a little side note - we have had this conversation in our neighborhood many times because our neighboring town is Carbondale, and their "town flower" is the dandelion, so getting rid of your weeds or flowers (whichever side you are on) is probably considered a crime.  Good thing we do not live there. 

Neighbors lawn/dandelions

Our lawn

More Fun at the Park

We are really getting used to this beautiful weather, and have been to the park almost every day!  The only negative, is that I have to keep Allie out of the playground - she eats the rocks!

Cayden and Charlie, best buds.  They insisted on sharing shoes and socks this day.  Not sure where the second pair of red crocs went??