Just updating

At some point my life went from chasing toddlers around to taking girls to their sporting events and other activities. Where this change happened I am not really sure, it goes by so fast. Taking time out to blog seems almost impossible because the schedule doesn't allow it. I have for some time wanted to update this thing and today is that day. Yes the house is a wreck, I am not showered and there are truly so many other things I should be doing but I am choosing to make the time for this. I have gone back through my blog to read old stuff and if that doesn't motivate me to keep going I don't know what will.

Who wouldn't want to spend New Year's Eve with this crew? Ok I know most of you but we had such a blast and I am glad they were my dates for the night!

Brooke update

Oh this child is going to kill me!! I love her so much and I am so glad I get to be her mom. Brooke is just a big ball of energy. She hasn't taken regular naps in almost a year. A nap for her is a midnight bedtime for me so we try and stay away from naps. I love this picture below because I remember as kid how I would set all of the marshmallows aside and eat them first or last depending on the day.

 Brooke has always been able to sleep anywhere since she was a baby and I guess this is still true to this day!

 Believe or not Brooke is potty trained (daytime only). The only problem is she is still not talking a whole lot so when I take her places she is in a pull-up just because she won't tell anybody she has to go potty. At home we are straight panties and though we have a few accidents here and there it has finally clicked for her. We did go through a week where she was playing hide the poop. One day she emptied out the middle drawer of her dresser and climbed up in it. She then crouched down, took a poop, climbed out and closed the drawer. The next day she found a box, took a poop in it, put the lid on it and put it in Paul's office. That seemed like a lot more work then to just go on the potty but whatever she needed her learning process to be it worked in the end. She officially only poops in the potty now!

 Brooke turned 3 yesterday! It was the mellowest birthday we have ever had. The day before was my FIL retirement party so we were pooped. She got a few more toys to go with her toy story collection. She LOVES these toys!! She even treats Lotso as a bad guy and makes him go to the closet or he has to sit out in the hall while she plays with the other toys. She always really loves little people!

Brooke is such a smart kid. If she wants something she will problem solve until she can figure out a way to get what she wants. While I can't get her to say cow or simple words like that she is however put together small sentences. Like...."who is it", "oh come on" (when she is mad at us), "here you go" and a few others. She really does have her own language. We listen to her jibber jabber and she is using "words" again and again when referring to the same thing. I compare her to the little girl off the movie Monsters INC. When people come over to visit I do get a lot of comments of how much energy she has and believe me people I know. I would like to say I am exhausted but I don't have time for that with Brooke. She has however in the last 6 months had more and more human moments which gives her dad and I hope that we can again sometime soon join the human race and leave the house with her on a regular basis!

Katelyn update

I think this last year was a big year for Katelyn. She learning what it is like to be a middle child. She can't always do the things Natalie can do and doesn't want to do some of the things Brooke likes to do. She has definitely learned this year to find out what she likes and what she is good at.

I absolutely love captured moments like these. There is a whole empty couch and they choose to sit next to each other and get along! They truly are sisters and they are struggling this year to learn boundaries. Kate is such a sweet kid and she teaches Natalie so many things. Kate will tell you how she feels and has no problem showing her emotions. Natalie has not yet figured out the point of having any emotions (haha) Kate is seeing that this her strength and that she has stuff that she can teach Natalie. That has been a big ego boost for Kate. I think for so many years Kate just looked up to Natalie and thought I need to do it like her. Well Kate is taking steps to making her own path and I couldn't be more proud of her! 

 Katelyn is also playing basketball and is on the same team as Natalie. Kate is amazing at defense! I have talked with her coach and he and I both agree it is a rare find to have a kid be such a natural defender. Normally all kids want to do first is make a basket and you really have to work hard at teaching them defense. Her skills with shooting will come but for right now she loves that her coach tells her all the time what a great job at defense she is doing. I figured with my girls height that they would be under the basket and learn the post position but the coach has been teaming Kate up with some of the best ball handlers on the other teams. She is also really fast and light on her feet. I think this is from the years of her as a toddler walking around on her tip toes all the time.

Kate is shooting at the gun range on the weekend with dad and Grandpa which she is loving. I think she will be getting her first gun from Grandpa for her birthday. She is doing great in school and really enjoys the social aspect of it. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of her friends so she is never really lacking in playdates. This summer she is excited to have her tutor come back. We really lucked out with a great tutor and Kate has seemed to really bond with her. They will be seeing her 5 day a week and she will be taking them to all kinds of places. Katelyn sees these as adventures rather then learning experiences so I am happy she is happy.

Natalie Update

Natalie is in basketball for the second year now and she is improving all the time. Yes she does have the advantage of being a full head taller then most of the kids but her skills and aggressiveness are coming into play too. She has made several baskets this year and is getting better about getting in there and getting those rebounds.

At the beginning of the season she was really timid and basically hung back and let everyone else do the work (not really playing). Paul and I have worked with her about being a little more aggressive and her last game she was on fire.....maybe a little too much. I should say first that in basketball at this age there is not a lot of calls made. Generally they can double dribble and it is only traveling after 5 or so steps and getting them to line up for a foul shot is down right hilarious. But Natalie has put her practice to good use and this last game she was all over the place. She was rebounding, going after the ball and even stealing the ball. Then I saw something we are going to have to work on. Natalie got so into the game she started stealing the ball from her own teammates to dribble in and take the shot. Yeah....we can't have that so much! hahaha 

 

In other Natalie news....she tested into the gifted program at school!!! We are so proud of her! I am however a little nervous about homework. I have heard that it will be a lot more then what she has now so she is going to be a busy girl.

She has a membership to a local gun range. Every weekend she goes shooting with Paul and sometimes Grandpa. She will be entering competitions this summer. She really seems to have taken to it and Grandpa bought her her first gun for Christmas. That is just another activity for this girl.