Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Both Jack and Holly Grace have been known to call the singular of "clothes" a "cloe" (rhymes with "toe"). They are so funny. I was packing Holly Grace's things to go to Grammy and PawPaw's house and she asked me to pack "this cloe". Oh they make me laugh.

I put all three of my beloved children on a Cessna 182 with their Grammy and PawPaw today. It's funny that I didn't really think it was a big deal (flying on a small plane) until my friends started freaking out about it. All three of my kids on a small plane? As if I would just pick two of them (and so increase their chances of crashing) because I loved them less than the other one! So then I got kind of ... what's the word? ... somewhere between paranoid and sentimental. Kind of ushy gushy when I was saying goodbye. Made sure I looked each of my babies in the eye and told them how much I loved them and to be GOOD and obey PawPaw and for heaven's sake be quiet and don't distract him during take-off and landing. Well, everyone's safe and sound on the ground in Amarillo.

One day till closing. Three days till MOVING DAY!

A whole month later

We're about to move. !!! In two days, we close on the new house that we've been "growing" for the last seven months. I can hardly believe it's already here! All three kids are going to Grammy's house for the weekend so that we can actually get some work done. Holly Grace can't even believe that Mitchell gets to go, too! Most of the rooms in the house are packed now. Boxes everywhere. Ugh. I can't wait to get settled in and give everything a home.

These kids! Whew! They grow so fast I hardly have time to update. Let's see ... Mitchell. The child still isn't walking (fine with me!). He's a year old now! He nursed for the last time on October 10, and then had his last bottle on October 20. It's whole milk in sippy cups only now. Oh, man, and I am so glad. So, he gets to go on the trip to Amarillo, too. Watch out, Grammy, here they come!

Holly Grace is trying to be every bit as big as Jack. She has a memory verse at school, too, and every time Jack and I are practicing his verses, she pipes up with hers, too. "Tell the good news!" It's pretty cute. We are working on sleeping better at night. For 3 1/2 years, the child has not been a good sleeper. I finally took her to the doctor last week and said, "I'm at my wits' end. I'm exhausted and I don't know what to do." The doctor said no more hugs or cuddles in the middle of the night. Holly Grace should stay in her bed, or at least in her room, until a set time in the morning. And you know what? It's working! We put the baby gate across the bedroom door and across Jack's bathroom door (so that she can get to the potty if she needs to) and set the timer for 7 a.m. We tell her that night-time is for sleeping and she can get up when the timer goes off. Oh, and we put her in bed somewhere between 7 and 7:30 p.m. every night. (An hour earlier than we used to.) And you know what? It's working! She's been sleeping through the night and waking up delightful. It's truly a blessing to NOT have little visitors in my bed at 5:30 in the morning.

Jack is progressing right along in school. He has a memory verse every week. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:11. Mommy, what are 'schemes'?" :) Do you know how many words you can make with H, G, O, L, P, and T? A LOT! We're reading now! And spelling, too! It's really fun. But, man! Can the child ever get bogged down in coloring.

The kids are excited about the new house, too. Jack says his favorite part is going to be his room with all the windows. We've told him he can have his bed wherever he wants it. He wants the top bunk against one wall and the bottom bunk in front of the window. Okay, whatever. Holly Grace says that her favorite room is the gameroom. That makes me happy! I am wanting it to be a tidy, welcoming, kid-friendly room.

We're closing on Thursday, then spending all day Friday painting Mitchell's room (pale, pale blue) and Holly Grace's room (pale, pale pink). The movers come Saturday!!! What a ride!