Amaya started the week with fashion flair. Four years old and her sense of style shows no slowing down.

When I dropped the kids off at school on Monday I saw these family portraits posted. I love that Sammy and Steven included Sally Cat. (Steven’s drawing is nearly impossible to see because of the colors he chose but I didn’t want to exclude his drawing.)

Jason was home sick on Monday and SSA asked him to sort his ball cards at the table while they ate lunch.

These poses are SO my kids. I feel like they capture them perfectly.

Steven drew a picture of Morminer! Totally unaided. He’s got her down.

I love his love for his friend.

SSA’s class made collages with loose items this week. Buttons, bottle caps, pine cones – lots of items that can be found around the house or in nature. The letter of the week was Q and we had two leaders this week. On Monday, Sammy brought Quarters. On Tuesday, Amaya brought Q-tips.

Dance this week! Mr. Steven had a difficult time following class directions, as you can see in these photos lol. Sometimes we leave our listening ears at home. It’s a work in progress.

We’ve had a lot of success bribing the kids to stay in bed until wake-up time. I’ll take it. We started with 5 days to earn a prize. Now it’s 7. We’ll go to 8 and keep creeping up to, maybe 10 days, as a max. It really is incredible to see the shift from waking up at 5am, sometimes earlier, to staying in bed and often asleep at 6:30am.

The first rewards were a Storm Trooper doll (Steven), Anna doll (Sammy) and Princess Leia doll (Amaya). Here, the Storm Trooper is giving Anna a medical checkup.

On Friday, Amaya and I set off for New York! “I can push the stroller by myself, Mommy.”

We landed around 9:30pm and it was off to bed once we got to Nana and Papa’s houses.

We had a nice lazy Friday morning at Nana and Papa’s house with visits from Savta, Auntie and Dod Shuki while the Goldberg family was at work & school.

Back in MI, it was a snow day for Steven and Sammy! Jason was home with them and the Cline men made a quick trip to Home Depot and Target.

And came home with light sabers! Chase looked at these photos and said, “this could go one of two ways.” lol Amaya was very excited to hear that there’s a light saber waiting for her at home, too.

Friday afternoon was a reunion for Amaya and her cousins. ♥ ♥ ♥

My first best guy.

Amaya and Charlie got dressed up and put on an show to “Let It Go”. They spent a good 30 minutes in Charlies room with Savta putting the details together.

Friday was our first Cline kid sleepover at the Goldberg’s house! The plan was for Amaya and Charlie to sleep in Chase’s room so all of the kids could be together.

They were ready! And it was short lived. Amaya was excited to sleep with her cousins but not quite ready. She just could not settle down. In the end, Amaya slept in Charlie’s bed and I slept on an air mattress on Charlie’s floor. We can try again when I have my next solo trip in June, with Sammy. April is all of the kids and we’re definitely not ready for that. At least, I’m not! 🙂

The morning plan was Chase’s soccer game and Amaya and Charlie were matching and ready!

We had a casual afternoon with Nana and Papa before everyone came over.

Amaya and Charlie spent the afternoon at a make-shift salon in Nana’s kitchen. It was hot pink hair all around!

This is what I get from my girl when I ask for a smile. She really knows how to through some attitude toward her mo.

This is what happens when she wants to send a picture to her daddy. Small difference, there. 🙄

The finished product! (Amaya insisted they take a selfie together.)

The kids had a treat and watched the Olympics while they ate dinner and then everyone called it a night.

Today is our last day in NY! We were scheduled for a 3pm flight which was intended to get us home before bedtime so everyone could spend time together before bed. The weather thwarted our plans and, after a canceled flight, we were rebooked on a 6pm flight that should get us home around 9pm. Booooo. At least we were scheduled early enough that the cancellation doesn’t get us home too late. I’ll have to wait until the morning to hug my boys.

Back in MI, Rosie brought supplies so the boys could make birthday cupcakes!! So much fun! She even put fruit in them because she knows how much Steven loves fruit.

The finished product. A for Amaya. S for Sammy. M for Morminer. ♥ Thanks Rosie!!

The Goldbergs, Savta and Auntie came over for brunch and the kids had a little more time to play.

Amaya asked me if I packed her nightgown for the trip “because you know I love Charlie.” It’s so cool to see the relationship between my kids and Sara’s. And we’ll all be back in NY in less than two months!

Right now Amaya is napping and I’m finishing up our packing. If all goes as planned, when this post is live Amaya and I will be up in the sky making our way home to MI.

Have a great week! And Happy Birthday, Grandma Sunshine!!!

Our family photos are here and I love them!! I shared some of these on Facebook already but, for anyone who saw those, there are a few more included here. I’m so, so pleased with how it all came together. I love our family. ♥

We took time to get photos of the kids with their special friends.

Steven and Morminer. I think she’s about as real to Steven as the rest of the family is.

Sammy and Puppy.

Amaya and Old Hoppy. She was originally just “Hoppy” but she got a new bunny from Nana and now has New Hoppy and Old Hoppy. Old Hoppy is her forever favorite, though.

It was Daphne’s idea to go outside and I’m so glad we did. It was just warm enough to make it happen.

My favorite people…

These three bears were gifts from Aunt Dale and Uncle Arnie when SSA were born. I love this picture!

And this one! 🙂

Same spot, three years apart. Amazing.

I can’t get over this progression. It’s so cool to have these photos in the same spot year over year.

If anyone wants to see all 250+ pictures, you can check them out here. You don’t need an account but you’ll need to enter your email address to access the site.

A few more photos from the the week.

Lots of hugs on Monday afternoon! I think Amaya was trying to pick Steven up. 🙂

Our gardens are growing!

The boys are definitely leaving their mark on their room decor.

Bedtime stories with Daddy

SSA’s class made a book with a page contributed by each child. It’s for a week of programming centered around Tu B’Shvat and trees.

Of course Steven’s seed would grow into Morminer. Sweetest. He’d want you to know that his drawing is brown just like Morminer.

I’m going to brag for a second and say that Amaya was the only kid in the class to write her own name on the page. Way to go, Little Mama!!

Here again. Amaya’s leaf brand is on the top with the blue leaves. She’s the only one who wrote her own name. Ms. Faith told me Amaya just knows to write her name on any piece of paper she gets.

Paper bag puppets!

Dance class this week! The kids are disappointed that we didn’t sign them up for the tap class after their ballet class. We’ll look into it for the fall, or maybe even the summer. They keep bringing it up!

Nice form, Amaya!

SSA worked with Megan on pop-up books this week! Steven was class leader on Friday and head to bring something that starts with P. I suggested a puzzle, a princess, play pizza. He said, “What about my pop-up book. P-p-p- pop-up.” I love seeing these dots connect.

Look at all these letters!

Steven did an awesome job, too! It didn’t look like he was tracing this, either, but I’ll need Megan to confirm. (Notice the brown paper? Like Morminer. Oh! And Steven told me that Morminer has a May May just like he does.)

Amaya made a card for a little girl named Lindy. We worked together to practice Ns.

And Cline!! Such big kid skills.

Making a tunnel and rainbows.

This morning we watched our first live-action movie – Beauty and the Beast! We had a lot of dialogue throughout, especially about how the Beast’s transformation from “mean” to “nice”. We talked about why he was mean and how Belle was able to help him open his heart and become nice. The talking housewear was a nice touch. It was fun to get away from cartoons for a bit!

Amaya generally fall asleep for nap more easily than her brothers and wakes up more easily. Once she’s up, she like to go help wake The Brothers. Today she did that by crawling into bed with them. ♥

Holding hands.

We had groceries delivered today but it was Steven’s turn to go out with Jason so, instead, he took Steven to Starbucks for a treat. So awesome!

Steven brought home treats for Sammy and Amaya, too.

And, finally, Amaya in the spirit for the Star Spangled Banner. “This is where my heart is.”

Have a great week!

With all of our sleep issues, I’ve been checking our security cameras in the morning to try to get a sense of when the kids are waking up. On Monday morning, the first video of the day showed Steven grabbing his Captain America necklace which promptly went missing and hasn’t been seen since. We have turned his room, their bathroom and Amaya’s room ups die down and it’s gone! Poor Steven spent the early part of the week distressed about how he’d call Captain America if he needs help. Sweet boy.

In Steven’s words, this week we had “a lot of hairstyles”. I’m still a work-in-progress with my braiding. Amaya’s hair is so, so fine it practically falls out of the braids. Sara told me to try wetting it which helped me a little bit on Monday but I still have a lot of work to do. I should practice on their Barbie head!

Steven wanted a braid, too, which was impossible in his hair so he settled on a “monkey pony.”

Now these kind of braids I can do!!

Steven was SO excited to have “three hairstyles” A banana pony, and orange pony and a blueberry pony.

On Friday morning Amaya was insistent I didn’t have her hair in pigtails (two ponies). She cried and cried and I finally convinced her to let me take a photo to show her.

Trying so hard to smile through her tears for the picture. (Surprise! Two ponies.)

This week Steven discovered button downs. It’s so cute. He loves them!

Taco came for a visit this week when her grandfather was sick. Taco loves her Big friends.

This week the kids got busy with a birthday gift from Megan & family – fairy gardens! They’re very cute and it’s a nice chance for Steven, Sammy and Amaya to follow in their father’s footsteps as 6th Grade Gardening Champion. (And Poppy Steven’s footsteps, too.)

Upkeep!

Resourceful Steven wanted to pick out his own cereal.

Wake-up times got earlier and earlier this week until we finally decided we needed a hard reset on Friday night. For two nights Steven slept in a different room and we also took all of the toys out of the kids’ rooms. The new rule is that they have to stay in their beds until the green light goes on on their clock (and Amaya needs to wait until I come in because she doesn’t like the red light). They can play with their sleeping friends but that’s. it. We’ll see how it goes tonight. Sammy struggles staying in bed and seems to be inclined to wake up Jason. Something had to give, though. 4am is waaaaaaaay too early.

On Friday at school the class made oobleck. New to me! Maybe we’ll have to check out the book.

Saturday was family picture day, rescheduled from 1/13 when Sammy looked like he’d been in a prize fight. The kids watched a TON of TV between 6:30am and 10:30am because I wanted to keep the house clean. So much TV. And a movie.

I’m excited to see the photos! This year we took pictures of the kids with their “sleeping friends” which I’m particularly excited about. Morminer is practically a family member and Puppy and Old Hoppy have been with Sammy and Amaya since they turned one.

It was nice enough to try some photos outside. A little too windy for the kids to get comfortable but we tried!

Amaya was tickling over Daphne’s head to get Sammy to smile, just like I do when I’m trying to get her to smile. 🙂

Remember when Sammy sent a card to Anna? He got mail in return from the Princesses! He was really excited. It’s currently hanging on his wall. (It makes me wonder if I missed a post card for Amaya in the midst of holiday junk mail.)

Sammy ended up with a fever and mild cold this weekend. He’s doing fine but had a headache and was just generally under the weather on Saturday night. No school for Sammy tomorrow but hopefully he’ll be fever free when he wakes up.

Puzzles! They’re getting into more complicated puzzles and it’s interesting to see how they all problem solve. Amaya’s patience serves her well.

New leotard for dance because the old one is already too small! “I want one that’s a tank top, please.”

And ball cards. <3 Stevens at putting his cards in little plastic sleeves to protect them. His favorite team is the Steelers – the “bumblebee team”. 🙂

This week the theme has been “cameras”. SSA looooove their new cameras from Savta and have been taking photos like crazy. Video, too!

Here are some of their first ever photos…

Sammy’s!

Steven’s!

A self portrait!

Amaya’s!

She set up an obstacle course with Sammy and then took photos of him completing the course.

That’s it for Steven, Sammy and Amaya’s first week as four year olds!

Steven, Sammy and Amaya are FOUR! I don’t know how it’s possible that we already have 3 four year olds. They’re such special people. It’s amazing to get to be their mom.

Amaya will smile for m&ms. 🙂

For the big birthday celebration, Nana, Papa, Savta, Aunt Sara, Charlie and Uncle Austin all came to spend the weekend. Charlie was able to join Nana for school drop-off on Friday morning. Sara got this picture of everyone showing off their new squishies.

It’s a big deal to turn FOUR in Miss Eugenia and Miss Faith’s class.

At Shabbat at school, everyone came to celebrate with the kids. In addition to the regular service, SSA got to go up front for Happy Birthday songs. One boy said, “Three kids are all four today? That’s crazy!”

Sister-Cousins. ♥

Sammy loves his Savta so much.

Charlie got to go up with her little cousins for Happy Birthday time.

Birthday’s got started early on Friday evening. There’s been a pile of gifts sitting in the library for a week and I think Steven, Sammy and Amaya were ready to get started. I’m impressed with their patience, to be honest! Steven was thrilled to get an R2-D2 plush from Auntie and Dod Shuki. All week he kept picking up one gift saying, “I think this is my R2-D2.” 🙂

SSA also got gifts from Charlie! She picked out Elsa, Anna and Olaf books and rings to give the kids. So sweet.

And the next thing we knew it was Saturday and Steven, Sammy and Amaya were FOUR! They’re still waking up way too early and I heard them a little before 6:30am. I saw Steven first and when I said “happy birthday” I got the biggest, longest hug from my boy.

Here were the cakes for the day! Amaya and Sammy were clear about their cupcakes, especially Amaya who wanted white frosting and colored sprinkles. Sammy picked police officers for his decor and Amaya asked for ballerinas. Steven does not have a taste for cake or ice cream and really wanted a “fruit cake”. I was happy to deliver! As a bonus, they had one with Olaf! It’s so cool to see their unique personalities and tastes.

It was a lazy birthday morning as we tried to stay quiet and avoid waking the whole house. These kids will never say not to lazy tv mornings!

We opened a few gifts including digital cameras from Savta! The boys, in particular, loooooove them.

There were even morning m&ms. It’s a big deal to turn four! This picture was actually Nana’s effort to get a photo for me of Sammy in his Anna shirt. I had this made for him because Amaya had an Elsa shirt and Steven had a Captain America shirt – all very important for their big birthday party.

Becaaaaaaause… our big birthday celebration included Anna, Elsa and Captain America!

I could tear up just writing about this. It was magical – as much for the adults, I think, as it was for the kids. The performers were fantastic. They were totally engaged and in character the entire time. (And the woman who played Anna is a triplet! Two girls and a boy. I met them out at the car and she was so excited to tell me she’s a triplet too and how excited she was to entertain at our party!)

The performers knew who they were there to see (Anna for Sammy, Elsa for Amaya and Captain America for Steven) and they were by each kids’ side the entire time. There was a grand entrance followed by games, songs, balloons and superhero training. Seeing Steven, Sammy and Amaya get into it was incredible. This was the perfect age for a birthday party like this.

We had a photographer come to get some quality shots of the interactions and I’m so glad we did. I can’t wait to see them!

I could just stare at this picture of Steven and Cap for hours. He was in his Captain America shirt when the performers first arrived and very quickly shared that he has a Captain America uniform, too. He was so excited to change into it and said, “Hurry Mommy! Captain America is going to be so excited to see me!”

This was during superhero training. Anna and Elsa were great about helping Amaya and Sammy participate. They were great about everything, really. Elsa remembered to tell Amaya about how they first met in Texas and Anna thanked Sammy for the card he mailed to her.

Amaya was so in her element. She looooooooved talking to Elsa.

Everyone got special gifts from their new friends. After gifts from Anna and Elsa, Sammy turned to Cap and asked, “What did you bring for us?” in his sweet little four year old voice. The gift, by the way, is a Captain America shield necklace that Steven is guarding for the family. He’ll tell you that we can all touch the shield but only he and Captain America can touch the chain.

Steven had a few cases of nerves early on and needed reassuring hugs from his mommy. It was so emotional. The entire experience was so emotional.

But you can see, all Steven needed was a chance at Cap’s shield to get right back in the swing of things.

Here are a few photos of Jason and I (and Aunt Sara) watching the happenings. It was amazing.

Some videos!

You can kind of see Amaya singing along here. (And, yes, Steven could have joined in but he was happy with his lollipop and standing by Captain America’s side.)

Happy birthday!! Honestly, if you’re only going to watch one of the happy birthday song videos watch Sammy’s. His little face is so sweet here.

And that was their party! Besides the gang in from NY and Pittsburgh we had Grandma Sunshine, Aunt Annette, Megan, Mikey and Taco join us! It really was the BEST.

Once the performers left it was time for food and more presents! And then, of course, time to play with the presents.

New puzzles and gardens from May May, Mikey and Taco!

My first board game with one of the kids! Sammy managed to beat me at Chutes & Ladders fair & square.

Steven and this hat. <3 It’s a gift from Aunt Annette and he’s just so cute in it.

Lots of lego sets to build thanks to Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave!

SSA’s big day ended with dinner out.

Sammy wanted to be sure to sit with everyone at the table.

It was a lazy Sunday that started when Steven work up at 4:30am. BRUTAL. And he didn’t nap either so, rest assured, he was a hot mess by bedtime. And asleep in about thirty seconds.

We went to Applebees where I had to take this picture of Amaya eating a cord dog slathered with vanilla yogurt. Sara’s face says it all.

We had time to play in the afternoon and then it was the time for goodbyes – which I hate! And Amaya hates, too! We were sad buddies together.

Steven, the doctor-astronaut.

Amaya and Charlie playing together.

Big goodbyes!

This was packed but I have just a few more updates from earlier in the week. FIRST, on Monday morning Amaya got sick when we got to school. I pretty much spiraled into a panic about the rest of the week and sickness and canceled parties. It turned out Amaya was only sick that one time but it was enough to totally stress me out. So much so, that I pretty much made myself sick on Wednesday night. Or I was sick, too. Who knows. (Sammy got sick on Wednesday morning, too, but – like Amaya – it was just one time. I don’t know what was going on! Doesn’t matter anymore because everyone was fine by Thursday and we had our party!)

I think Amaya looks so old here. I feel like I can see 15 year old Amaya in this photo.

And now she’s a happy girl!

Here’s a quick progression of Sammy’s eye which is almost totally healed.

Holding each other in dance class. <3

All week, these three were lined up read for the “real” deals to arrive.

And finally, me! Four years ago! I still can’t believe it. What an amazing, wild, incredible ride we’re on.

Have a great week!

I didn’t take a great before photo of Amaya’s room but you can see the difference the change makes. The biggest impact may be from moving the blackout shades behind the regular white ones! Such a big kid’s room. In fact, Saturday night Amaya was telling me that she’s a big girl. But there’s still some stuff she can’t do yet – like hop on one foot. 🙂

Amaya isn’t the only Cline kid with a specific sense of style. When Steven really wants to wear his red shorts in the winter, he finds a way!

Previously, I’ve shared Jason getting full service at the SSA Hair Salon. On Monday night it was my turn! Steven told me I had “a lot of beautiful hair styles.”

We reached another big milestone around here. Amaya can fetch me a beer! And she’s happy to do it. The kids’ access to the fridge means they can get food for themselves (and me) and they’re pretty good about only doing it with permission.

Love, love, love getting photos of happy kids after a morning at school.

The story of this week is Sammy’s eye. It was a little swollen on Tuesday night and looked worse on Wednesday morning. His eye, itself, was fine but his eyelid was red and swollen. I made a dr appointment and we decided to make a go/no-go decision based on how it looked after school.

And after school it was looking a lot better so we canceled the appointment!

The kids still had a car picnic for lunch because that had been the plan when we thought they were going right to the dr from school. Which, by the way, I wasn’t excited about because of the tons and tons of germs in dr offices this time of year. As hard as we try it’s really difficult to keep all three kids contained, with their hands to themselves, at an appointment. Why they have toys like legos in the waiting room is beyond me.

After two weeks of winter break, we’re back to dance class! Amaya has a ballet puzzle she got for Hanukkah and there are two male dancers in the scene. Steven and Sammy were excited to see that the men wear the same outfits they wear to dance class – white shirts and black pants!

So bedtime came and, uh oh, Sammy’s eye was swollen again. If it was still swollen in the morning we decided we’d make an appointment and keep it even if it looked better after school

Aaaaaand, the verdict was in. The good news is that Sammy didn’t seem bothered by it at all!

So, here’s how it went down. The kids get out of school at noon and I made an appointment for 1:30pm. The plan was for the kids to eat lunch in the car and then head straight over. At the same time, I had a 12:15pm teacher conference with Ms. Faith, rescheduled twice since November. Since I’m so antsy about germs in advance of their birthday on Saturday, I decided I’d take Steven and Amaya back to my office with me while Megan took Sammy to the dr. I’ve never done that but my schedule allowed for me to stay with them and I’m really anxious about pre-birthday illnesses. It worked out perfectly! Everyone was one with lunch just as I was finishing up.

[Sidebar – The conferences were great. The highlight was related to how Steven, Sammy and Amaya look out for each other. Amaya, in particular, really watches out for her brothers. On Monday, Steven was upset at drop-off. After I left he went to Amaya for a hug and Ms. Faith said she stood there hugging and rocking him for a good three minutes.

The teachers are trying to help SSA branch out and play with other kids. They’re particularly interested in doing this for Amaya because they feel like she’s wary of leaving her brothers to play with the other girls in the class, even though the other girls are interested in playing with Amaya. I’m told they’re seeing Amaya engage more with the other girls now. One of the ways they’re trying to accomplish this is by putting name tags at seats for snack time, and our trio is split over two tables. The other day, Steven and Amaya were together and Sammy was on his own. Steven jumped right into eating but Sammy was sitting at his table looking a little uncomfortable. Ms. Faith told me that Amaya went and stood right by his seat until he started to eat. Once he was settled, she went back to her own table.

I absolutely love hearing stories like this! My sweet girl.]

Back to Wednesday afternoon… Steven and Amaya were awesome at my office. I told them they needed to be quiet and Steven whispered the whole time lol. It was a quick appointment and Megan and Sammy were ready to pick them up within 45 minutes. It’s not something I can do regularly but I’m so glad we did it last week.

The verdict on Sammy’s eye was a sty that looked like the infection might be spreading. Simple enough to attack with eye drops 4x/day. Which is a whole lot simpler when it’s not an almost-4 year olds who needs these drops 4x/day. But we were glad we took him in.

We had family photos scheduled on Saturday and the doctor said it likely wouldn’t be better in time. The do we/don’t we decision was made for us a few hours later when Sammy tripped and fell, eye first, into a coffee table. The same eye was now red, swollen and black and blue. No family photos for us with an eye like that!

My friend Ames said there are youtube tutorials to get a look like that. 🙂

Friday morning… quite the shiner.

Amaya wanted me to look at her red eye, too. lol

Here’s how it looked after work on Friday. Even with a black eyes, his lashes are a stand-out.

And Saturday morning. A little better! (He’s still not loving the eye drops, by the way.)

Saturday was my BIG DAY. A a Hanukkah present, I asked for a WHOLE DAY alone in the house from after breakfast until after dinner. Today was my day!!! The longest I’d been alone in the house in 4 years!!

We started the day with puzzles. This is the ballet puzzle I referenced earlier. It’s 35 pieces and definitely one of our most challenging.

Steven tackled Dora.

A look of accomplishment!

And shortly after that, off they go to Grandma Sunshine’s house for a full day of fun!!!

Sally and I were home alone! She said “meow meow” which is a cat for, “I remember when it was just you and me, mama!”

(Jason would say she was saying, “Hey! Remember how great it was before you brought that boy home?” But Sally loves her Daddy.)

I took a little time to do a few chores and wrap birthday presents for the kids but then I spent hours and hours and hours just sitting on the couch. Sitting, sitting, sitting, sitting, sitting. Parenting is joyous but it’s also relentless. This day to myself was just what I needed.

Just a few more photos to round out the week.

This is me four years ago! Holy crap!! I was very pregnant. I was 32 weeks and had hit my final goal of my pregnancy. I still can’t believe what my body did.

Look at all of these letters Amaya wrote! P S A N T P A It’s fun to see letters that aren’t in her name. I didn’t know she know how to write all of those!

Steven is always very focused when he’s drawing and there’s always intent behind whatever he’s doing. I think this became a dragon.

Steven asked me, “Is this a fox or a cat? I can’t tell because they’re similar.”

Steven, Sammy and Amaya hide (in the exact same place) every day when I get home from work.

“Oh no! Where are Steven, Sammy and Amaya!?! I better lie down on the couch while I figure out how to find them.”

We get weekly class emails from the kids’ school and this week there were photos included. Learning the letter M.

Auntie gave us these cool puzzles where you find the pieces that go in sequence. Like apples, then baking materials, then apple pie. I love a lot of things about them, not the least of which is that everyone can play together.

Finally, Daddy and his sweety girl. <3

Have a great week! When I write next, I’ll have three FOUR year olds. I can’t believe it.

Happy New Year’s Eve!!

It’s been a quiet week in the Land of Cheltenham with Steven, Sammy and Amaya on school break for two weeks. That’s a long time out of routine for little kids, especially when it’s cold, cold, COLD.

On Monday, Christmas Day, the kids really wanted to go out in the snow. It was 20 degrees and sunny so I bucked up and went outside with them. Amaya’s snow boots were too small, enough so that she couldn’t wear them, so Jason improvised with layers of socks, plastic bags, tape and her sneakers. She was happy as a clam out there!

Bobes and a whole lot of snow.

In the afternoon I pulled out some plain white t-shirts that were left over from the boys’ dance shirts and grabbed the puffy paint we used for Jason’s Father’s Day shirt back in June. It was so interesting to see how differently they all approached their shirts. Sammy was everywhere. I think the entire shirt would have been puffy paint if I’d let him. Amaya was somewhat in the middle and, maybe, the least interested in the project. Steven made a point to use each color only once which mean that he only decorated one side of his shirt.

With school out this week, Megan is working mornings with various sitters (Rosie, Anna and Ashley) coming in the afternoon. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Taco joined her!

Everyone ventured out in the cold to get Sammy new sneakers. He wanted high tops!

On Wednesday, Steven got on the pull-up bandwagon. Woo hoo!! One step closer! He started off the week doing even better than over the weekend. We pretty much gave up on the 30 minute timer and he started going whenever he needed to with semi-regular prompts. Yay!!

Since it was a quiet week at work, the whole gang came to visit me for lunch on Wednesay.

Steven: I’m a workplace man.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya decided this was the day they’d rule the roost and explore our entire second floor.

AND! On Wednesday night, Steven got comfortable in underwear. I’m so proud of this guy. He’s killing it.

On Thursday, Steven was ready to spend the day in underwear. I can’t explain how huge this was. He didn’t like any time spent out of a diaper. He was totally insecure. The fact that he was now asking to wear underwear is amazing.

He even left his underwear sitting at the bottom of the stairs to put back on after nap. So damn sweet.

On Friday, Anna spent the afternoon with SSA. They had so much fun playing! Amaya and Sammy were on a rocket ship and came across two bad guys in space – Steven and Anna!

“Go away, mommy. We’re on a rocket ship.”

Saturday, Ashley came over and gave the kids their Hanukkah present – a trip to Build-a-Bear! It was so thoughtful! And Steven, Sammy and Amaya were over the moon to see her.

Ready for a big girl bag. 🙂

Amaya wore this bathing suit over her clothing. Because of course she did. Apparently she rocks it because no one batted an eye.

Build-a-Bear! Sammy and Amaya found the bears they wanted right away. Steven looked at every single option before deciding. He’s his daddy’s son.

It’s really cute that the kids get to step on the pump to stuff their little friends.

Making a wish on their friends’ new hearts.

Giving his bear a heart!

A stop by the bath station was a must.

Happy, happy kids! Thank you, Ashley!

This trip was a huge deal because Steven went in underwear!!! I know I’m like a broken record but I really am so proud. All we need to do now is get him comfortable with #2 and we’ll be set! I’m so excited for him to show up at school on the 8th in underwear.

Loving his Captain America Olaf (who, right now, is also wearing an Olaf band-aid).

Sammy has a renewed interest in the doll house. I can’t get enough out of watching the kids imaginary play. They’re so creative. I need to read more about the differences between child and adult brains and why we lose this as we age.

Day number 2 in the bathing suit. She’s so much fun.

We celebrated New Year’s with the kids at 6pm, along with France, Germany, Italy and many other countries across the globe. We had noise makers, champagne for the adults and sparkling grape juice for the kids. Even now, Amaya is in bed saying, “Happy New Year!” So much fun! And great for me because I plan to be in bed by 10pm tonight.

One last video for this New Year’s Eve. Here’s Yoda-Bobes. 🙂

Happy New Year everyone!

On Sunday night Steven said he wanted to wear this tie dye tank top to school on Monday. We worked hard to pick a shirt that matched well enough to meet his fashion sensibilities. I love kids’ sense of style at this age, and the freedom of it.

We wrapped up Hanukkah on Monday and Tuesday. It’s a long 8 nights of gifts with three 3 year olds in the house! After they got these awesome gifts they started asking about “presents we don’t have to share.” I think they almost like the “getting” and “opening” more than the “having”.

They were in luck, though. All throughout 2017 my triplet mom Secret Sister has been spoiling us and Hanukkah was no different. We opened two different boxes full of treats for the kids, many of which were catered specifically to their interests. It was pretty amazing.

Tuesday night was the last night of Hanukkah. As much as the SSA love the gifts, I think they transitioned out of Hanukkah quite nicely. Better than I expected, actually.

The kids also gave Jason his present. Chief Daddy Man!

My Secret Sister, Ali, got us some new puzzles that are a huge hit. They’re perfectly skill appropriate – real jigsaw puzzles but they have the outline of the puzzle shapes on the board which gives extra clues. The kids love them and played them day after day this week.

How old does Amaya look in these two pictures!?! Tonight I told her that she could finish the puzzle while I sang her brothers songs but only if she put the puzzle on the ground when she was done and got under the covers. She promised and, sure enough, when I came back in the finished puzzle was sitting beside her bed and she was all tucked in. I could swear she was just taking bottles.

At school the kids made books in the vein of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” with colors and shapes. They each got to pick an image for the last page and it was fun to see what they each chose.

Here’s a sample of the standardized pages.

Steven will tell you that the end of his book is “so funny”! He gets such a kick out of having picked a tree with a shark’s tail.

Sammy is loving their new stroller from Megan so this is timely.

Amaya went for a rainbow. 🙂

They’ve been “reading” their books, too, which is amazing for early literacy – just the connection between the words they’re saying and the words on the page. I love these books for that feature. We don’t have any other books that the kids have memorized to read so this was a first for me to see.

The little loves, waiting for dance class.

Check out Sammy in these photos! We were having a dance party yesterday and he was showing us some of his ballet moves. He can also shake his hips like no one’s business.

The Cline household is deep into a Star Wars right now and, on Thursday, Amaya insisted on wearing her Princess Leia dress to school. She decided so after she was already dressed but I suppose she could have ended up with this particular outfit regardless. Seems about her style. 🙂

On Friday, she asked to look like Princess Leia. I did my best!

It was a party hat kind of afternoon.

Crafts, crafts and more crafts.

This is Steven’s camel.

This is my camel. His might be better. Above it are rain clouds. Below is sand, and grass and dirt. Those are strawberries and grapes for the camel to eat. (Also by Steven.)

Another picture that makes me realize how far from babies these kids of our are. Something about them lying on the floor to do their drawing.

Steven showing Daddy his artwork.

Jason’s taking this weekend to do some projects in the house and he has three helpers everywhere he goes. Only slows him down by 200% or so. 😉 Sure is cute to see, though!

Amaya’s pregnant with an armadillo.

At the grocery store with daddy!

Sunday morning cuddles! I was watching this waiting for it to totally devolve lol. The kids really do look out for each other when they’re not fighting and beating each other up.

Holding hands going down the stairs.

Sometimes I can hear Steven and Sammy talking before I go into their room to get them up. Saturday, this was the conversation:

Sammy: Do you feel any skeletons in you.
Steven: Yep
Steven; I’m watching a video on the plane.
Sammy: What’s it called?
Steven: It’s called “cleaning the ground.”

The big news for the week is that Steven is potty training! We started Saturday and, on day two, the only time he peed in his diaper while awake was when we were out for lunch. Amazing, amazing job by this kid!! I’m excited that they’re off from school until 1/8 so he can really have some time to focus on this. Amaya told Steven she’s proud of him.

At bedtime I told him how proud I was for how hard he’s trying to go on the potty. He said, “thank you, mommy” and pulled me in to kiss my forehead. This boy. ♥ ♥ ♥

Every time he goes 30 minutes with a dry diaper he gets to play a Tiggly game on my iPad. I had to rotate Sammy and Amaya into the mix, too, or it would have been (understandable) mutiny in the Land of Cheltenham with how many turns Steven earned. Thanks Nana & Papa for the Hanukkah gift!

We’re enjoying a lazy, long weekend at home. (Well, Jason wouldn’t say it’s lazy because he’s been working his butt off.) We did get out today for lunch so Jason could get some uninterrupted work time. These kids can eat. It’s still not “easy” to take them out to eat alone but bit by bit it’s easier and easier.

Steven said, “This is where we came to eat the day we went back home and got our costumes on for Halloween.” And he’s right! He also told me, “This is the best waffle I ever had.”

We’re all looking forward to one more day home together and wish everyone celebrating a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah to everyone who’s celebrating! Steven, Sammy and Amaya are very much in the Hanukkah spirit. They loooooooove presents this year. I think they’re going to go into shock on Wednesday night when there are no more gifts. (Though Sammy is already telling everyone that their birthday comes after Hanukkah.)

On Monday morning we opened up some early gifts before school since Steven had opened presents in NY. Amaya was so excited to wear her new Elsa hat and sweatshirt.

I took SSA to school and got there after the class had already gathered. Here, Amaya and Steven are saying, “Come on, Sammy!!” They were ready to play!

Grandma Betsy arrived on Saturday night and was in the thick of things when I got home from work on Monday. Very early on she saw how much SSA love to craft.

Steven put on his Captain America costume to “caprise” Daddy. He was jumping-out-of-his-skin excited.

Tuesday night, Hanukkah was here! Steven, Sammy and Amaya all have their own menorahs that Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave got for them when they were born, given as gifts at their baby naming. It’s so special. I had no idea that they were learning the blessings over the candles at school but the boys surprised me but singing along for parts of the prayers. As the week goes on, they’re all getting better and better! It’s awesome. Fills up my heart.

After Hanukkah, presents!

Everyone was very busy working on their new puzzles. (Actually, in this picture, Amaya is working on Sammy’s.) Steven spent a few days highly focused on his puzzle and he’s pretty much mastered it now! He’s already looking at the back of his box to pick puzzles he wants for his birthday.

Everyone wore their new Hanukkah shirts to school on Wednesday.

Wookie!

Cap!

Elsa!

At bedtime the boys were “washing” their stuffed animals. “Don’t worry, Mommy. You can leave. We’re just pretending.”

Gratuitous photo of Sally! There was a major snow storm on Wednesday so I worked form home in the afternoon. Sally was thrilled. <3

Thursday, due to the snow, Steven, Sammy and Amaya stayed home from school. Fortunately, Grandma Betsy was there to hold down the fort until Megan arrived at 11:30am. She did the same the prior afternoon while I worked and Megan left early to beat the worst of the weather. Lucky kids!

Thursday afternoon, the whole gang went to the airport to pick-up Nana!! We have a full house!

Amaya was excited to try some of Nana’s sushi. 🙂

We lit the candles with Daddy, Nana, Grandma Betsy, Megan and, by phone, Savta!

Presents from  Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave. Vacuums! Happy kids!

Before bed, it’s always nice for Daddy to get to visit the SSA Salon.

Friday, it was the Nana and Grandma Betsy show all day long while Megan had a surprise spa day for her THIRTIETH birthday. They joined the kids at school for Shabbat at the JCC.

In the afternoon, everyone baked Hanukkah cookies! Nana even brought two rollers with her from NY so everyone could use one.

Nana and Grandma Betsy even ran the Hanukkah show on their own. Candles and gifts all around!

On Saturday, Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette came and joined the Hanukkah fun! More presents and happy, happy kids!

Saucer sleds were among the gifts from Grandma Sunshine and Steven and Sammy were eager to try them out! There was SO much snow.

Amaya did crafts all weekend long. It really is incredible to see her interest and focus.

Reading “The Monster at the End of the Street” with Grandma Sunshine.

Sammy, testing out one of his new gifts. It’s an interesting age for gifts. There are a lot of gifts that are to share but SSA are starting to get more gifts that are just for them individually. They are starting to walk a nice balance between wanting items for themselves and a willingness to let a sibling use the gift once the immediate novelty wears off. They never forget who owns what, though.

Three grandmothers and one aunt! So much fun!

On Saturday the kids also got their gifts from Savta. Everyone likes this police/fire station but I knew Steven would absolutely love it. I think he played with it for 2 hours straight. He was so cute creating adventures for the fire fighter and police officer – his little voice narrating events.

They also got these wooden semicircles of all different widths. I wasn’t 100% sure what they would do with them but they proved that kids imaginations are boundless.

A motorcycle ramp.

A pool.

A swing set.

They’re loving these new chairs from Grandpa Homey and Grandma Betsy.

We had a very lazy day at home today. I love getting out but it’s also nice to have these really, really lazy days at home. Amaya, Nana and I never even got dressed!

Steven so badly wants to pet Sally. He was just about there today before she got nervous. “But why does she run away if I’m a friend?”

While Sammy was at the grocery store with Jason and Amaya was crafting, Steven set up a train ride for Nana. He was the conductor attending to her every need before taking her on an elaborate trip. So much imagination! When Nana “fell” off her chair, conductor Steven immediately became Doctor Steven, ready to tend to Nana’s injuries.

Tomorrow, Grandma Betsy and Nana both head home. 🙁 It was a wonderful, wonderful week full of family. Steven, Sammy and Amaya are lucky, lucky kids.

I’ll wrap up with happy birthday wishes for Megan! We love you, May May!!

Have a great week!

Last Sunday, the kids told met that May May’s mommy was still sick and they’d see Taco again on Monday. I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case but they were right and I was wrong! Here’s Taco following the Big Kids up the stairs at nap time. Their relationship is so sweet. All weekend Steven has been telling me, “That’s too small for Baby Taco. We shouldn’t have that in our house if Baby Taco is there.” 🙂

Almost every night, when I get home from work, the kids are hiding behind the couch cushions waiting to “caprise” me. I’ve learned to enter slowly because there are meltdowns if they think I saw them before they had a chance to hide, especially from  my Sam Man.

Sammy is building patience with his cutting. I think he has the skills but he tends to run out of patience pretty quickly into the bigger projects.

Sammy asked Amaya to help him with the corners. How cute is that!?!? Leveraging their strengths!

Mommy, make me a crown!

“Don’t take my picture!”

Three kids in crowns, watching a show on the iPad while Sammy poops. I was home alone and they kind of hosed me with this one but Sammy insisted he needed a tv show because he was scared to poop.

Art projects!

Amaya continues to work on her cutting.

And her multi-media.

One from Steven, too.

Dance class Wednesday!

After dance class, Megan came to my office to drop off Steven so we could head to the airport for our trip to NY. Yay!! Amaya had a hard time saying goodbye. She held onto Steven for so long that we finally heard, “Can somebody help me?” 🙂

Our flight was delayed so we had time for a sit-down dinner at the airport. Steven is writing his order on the menu. Mac & cheese, please.

Ready to roll! Heading off for these trips is so much fun. The kids and I are always SO excited.

A late, but easy, flight and then into Nana’s arms.

Fast asleep in mommy’s childhood bed. It still can’t get over the sight of my child sleeping in this same bed I slept in for my entire childhood. Steven saw the fabric on the wall and said, “this is the same as Poppy Steven’s chair!” Yes, it sure is!

When you wake up before mommy and your pants are in her room, Nana improvises with her big, big socks.

On Thursday I had work in West Haven so Nana and Papa took Steven to the Long Island Children’s Museum. I remember going here with Chase way back when!

I even remember a photo of little Chase on this motorcycle. <3

Back at home, Megan took Amaya and Sammy out for lunch after school. A special treat while Steven was away. Sammy looks so old here, almost not even like himself!

Both boys have the same squinty forced smile right now. 🙂

We wrapped up our day with dinner at Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave’s house. Chase, Charlie and Steven were so excited to get to see each other. The big cousins are incredibly engaged and patient. It’s amazing to see.

During Thursday’s visit to the Children’s Museum, Steven saw the Firefighter Museum and was really excited about visiting so we made it our plan for Friday morning. He even had his rescue vehicle shirt to wear for the occasion.

He was a little nervous about the helicopter but worked up the nerve to climb inside. I had to reassure him that it would NOT go.

Talking to a pretend 911 dispatcher. (You should have seen me explaining the telephone to him. 🙂 )

Here he’s showing a real fire fighter the rescue vehicles that Nana and Papa bought for him.

The afternoon and evening was spent at Nana and Papa’s. I really can’t get over how well my kids and Sara’s kids play together. It’s awesome to see.

Back in MI, there were smiles all around!

That is until someone uses his scissors to cut something other than hair. Bound to happen? Right of passage? Hopefully this was the first and last time the Cline kids get creative with their scissors.

Back in NY, we wrapped up the evening showing Steven videos of my pregnancy and his birth and looking at photos in his first year blog book. “Why did I need to wear a helmet on my head when I was a baby?”

Saturday morning started eeeeeeearly for everyone after a sleepover where Chase and I were roommates and Steven and Charlie roomed together. It was so early, in fact, that after Charlie and Chase went home I was able to convince Steven to take a nap before 9am and he slept until just after 11am! He needed it, too, because we were heading to two Hanukkah parties that day.

Drawing stop signs.

The first party was at Aunt Sara’s house with Nana’s side of the family.

The great grandkids and Savta!

Joe, trying to convince Steven that he was an astronaut who walked on the moon.

Steven was very, very excited about his new Hulk action figure. It has a button you can press to make him talk and he walked around to everyone asking, “Would you like to push the button?” I don’t think he missed a single person there.

It snowed in NY on Saturday and all the kids wanted to go outside to play so, thanks to an old pair of Charlie’s snow boots, Steven was able to join the big kids and help build a snowman.

Our 2nd Hanukkah party was at Glori’s house with Poppy Steven’s side of the family.

Captain America!! Steven is so excited about this costume from the Engels. Out of his mind excited. It is amazing to see.

Steven has been talking about getting an ambulance for Hanukkah for months and Spencer and Jamie delivered! “This is just what I wanted!!”

We’re saving the rest of our gifts from our Hanukkah parties to open at home with Sammy and Amaya. <3

On the way home from the party Steven told me, ,”I’m funny but not as funny as Uncle Dave!”

All the cousins – minus Heidi, Sammy and Amaya who weren’t with us for the party. Such a great tradition!

Today was our last day in NY! We spent the morning at Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave’s house and then went out for brunch to celebrate Papa Gene’s birthday. Someone spent the whole morning dressed as Captain America.

In MI, Sammy and Amaya also had a chance to play in the snow!

Sammy showing off a bowl of play doh cookies.

And that’s it for our time in NY! Steven and I are up in the air right now, making our way back toward the Land of Cheltenham. We had the BEST time.

Have a great week!

This week started with the letter I and three days in a row where our kiddos were the class leaders. After a lot of deliberation, Iron Man, a book about Israel and an ice cream container were the items the kids brought for show and tell.

It was a quiet, simple week after sickness and holidays.

This is what Amaya looks like when she’s trying to get one by me. “Don’t look under the table mommy! There’s nothing to see under the table!” (It was glue that she was using to glue her gems to the paper.)

We took a break from cutting to play with play doh. It’s been a while, at least while I was there, and the skill level has definitely improved.

Steven loved making the numbers. It feels like just yesterday that he couldn’t possibly do these by himself.

Tuesday was gorgeous so Megan got Steven, Sammy and Amaya to a park. Every day outside at this time of year feels like a gift.

SSA like to hide from Daddy when he comes home. Where’s Amaya?

“I’m not laundry! I’m Amaya!”

Amaya is so careful with her clothing choices even down to how she lays them out at night. The pants and shirts are always so carefully placed.

Wednesday morning Steven and Amaya were getting ready to go to the car and I caught them holding hands while they were walking to the door. I grabbed my phone and Steven said, “Turn around to take a picture, Amaya!” They sure know their mom, lol.

After two weeks off (illness and Thanksgiving week), it was back to dance class!

I am trying to get Amaya to let me do her hair in the morning and I’m also trying to get better at braids. We’re a work in progress.

May May’s mommy was sick on Thursday so Baby Taco came to spend the afternoon with everyone. It was a bit of musical chairs to ensure that everyone got to sit by Taco. 🙂

Here, Steven is busy tying on his computer. Always imagining…

Friday afternoon, I had an impromptu lunch at Chili’s with Steven, Sammy, Amaya, Megan and Taco. I love the opportunity to meet up for lunch, especially spontaneously. We have a good arrangement where Megan texts me the orders when she picks up the kids and I arrive a few minutes early to put the orders in to cut down on wait time. The restaurant is less than a minute drive from my office so it’s very easy to be there and back in an hour and I think the kids love it as much as I do.

Taco likes Millie!

One day of play doh and back to cutting…

When everyone was sick and I was in Atlanta there was night that Steven and Sammy slept in Jason’s bed. The deal was that Amaya would have a sleepover of her own once everyone was healthy and Friday was the night. This girl was SO excited for a sleepover with her mommy. <3

Not so restful for me, but still 100% worth it.

At bedtime I sit outside the kids’ room for a bit, with Amaya’s door shut but the boys’ door cracked. Steven wanted to rearrange the room so he can see me, so Jason and the kids got to rearranging on Saturday.

This was the initial end result which has since changed because Sammy didn’t feel like he could see me well enough. One could argue that the best solution is for me to not sit outside their doors in the first place but I’m not there yet. That time will come.

Sammy is very excited that Anna (from Frozen) will be coming to see him for his birthday. He made her some art and really wanted to mail it from a post office so he and Jason set out to send some mail to Princess Anna. I love everything about this.

Another story about Sammy… On Tuesday on the way home from school Sammy told Megan that he wanted to have a picnic in a park for lunch. When Megan explained that it wasn’t warm enough yet and that the didn’t have lunch packed, Sammy said, “Don’t argue with me. I’m not here to argue.” Ha!

Saturday night was the annual child development center Hanukkah party at the JCC. Team Cline is ready for 8 Crazy Nights!!

(Someone asked what’s up with Amaya’s sleeves. She would only wear her Hanukkah shirt if she could wear another shirt underneath it with those sleeves showing.)

And here she is rocking a bathing suit bottom hat.

The party had crafts, a DJ with dancing, face painting, cookie decorating and dinner.

Decorating dreidles and making cards for residents of the senior center.

“Like a diamond in the sky”

Sammy and Amaya had cookies loaded with blue frosting. Steven opted for a plain sugar cookie. No surprise there on any front.

Dancing!! Last year, SSA were so shy and tentative on the dance floor. This year they loved it, especially the boys! It was so much fun!

Today was a 50 degree December day so the kids and I went to a playground. Two actually. Steven wanted to go to the playground “with the dead bird” and Amaya and Sammy wanted one with swings. We were able to negotiate going to the dead bird playground first and then walking down the block to the larger one. (We need a better name for the little playground but they saw a dead bird there over the summer and the name stuck like glue.)

Sammy and Amaya are really getting adventurous with their climbing! They wouldn’t have gone near this rock wall over the summer.

Happy, happy kids. <3

Steven was Jason’s shopping partner today and they brought home a pumelo. This fruit was new to me! Steven: “Mommy. It’s puMElo, not puMIlo.” After they ate it, Steven decided the rind was a drawbridge and had an elaborate scenario with cars and boats and the drawbridge.

We wrapped up the week with a haircut for Sammy. Family photos are in 6 weeks so hopefully this means it will be at a nice in-between space.

And that’s it for the week! Next up is a trip to NY for Mommy & Steven! Yay!! Have a great week!