toddlers

It’s football season and Steven, Sammy and Amaya are ready!

It’s getting more and more difficult to take pictures of all 3 kids together. Clearly, Amaya wasn’t having it. It’s possible she’s a Lions fan.

I tried to get a picture with all of my kids and that’s proving even more difficult than getting a photo of just the 3 of them.

At least my boys were cooperating!

We also did our due for the Lions!

We had a really nice weekend at home together. It’s been four weeks since we were all home and it was about as relaxing as a weekend can be when you have 3 toddlers in your house.

After a lazy morning on Saturday, I went to the mall with Sammy and Amaya while Steven and Jason went to Home Depot.

For the first time, we tried out the little play area at the mall. It only has one entrance/exit so I was able to do it on my own. I think it’s even possible with one adult and 3 kids.

It’s so interesting to watch them. Sammy was ready off the bat to run inside and explore. That kid loves to be free! Amaya was more hesitant and hung back for a while. Sammy, however, was very nervous about the slide. We went down twice together but he was not at all interested in trying it on his own. Amaya couldn’t get enough of climbing the stairs and sliding down. I held her hand since she’s still getting the hang of things, but she loved it.

We had some time to try on hats. “Hat. Hat,” Sammy says.

Meanwhile, Steven was living it up at Home Depot! Jason sent a text with this photo that said, “Stevie nearly apoplectic in the lighting section!!!” I just love Steven’s enthusiasm for everything.

The trip to Home Depot was to buy supplies to mount our TV. The kids were enthralled watching Daddy work.

I am NOT a Pinterest mom but I decided to do a craft with SSA for Rosh Hashanah. I “drew” these apples and taped them to construction paper for coloring time. I put “draw” in quotes because they’re really, really terrible. But the kids don’t know that! Coloring is new for us so it was a lot of fun to watch them go for it.

Of course what happens is Amaya starts eating a crayon and I say, “Don’t eat the crayon” so then Steven and Sammy start eating their crayons. Or I say to Amaya, “Don’t put the crayon up your nose” and Steven and Sammy start putting crayons up their noses.

The final projects. Amaya is still working on the concept of drawing lines, rather than dots, on her page. I think they liked it, though!

This weekend we also wore our Team Grace t-shirts. We’re thinking of Grace always, even when we’re not in our gold. Here the kids were baking Cookies for Kids Cancer. Without any ingredients, of course. But who needs anything besides an imagination?

Here in the Land of Cheltenham we love some of our stuffed friends. Moo and Whammy Puppy are particular favorites. When it’s hard to part with them for meals, we invite them to join us at the table.

Or we get to sit with a real live friend, “May may,” as Sammy now calls Megan.

This fall we’re starting some weekly activities and the first was last week. Our early intervention program has a weekly baby class the kids can go to. They’re on the older end of the class but I’m really excited about anything that gets them out and interacting with other people, and this is run by their EI teachers which is a bonus. Megan took them to their first class and, by all reports, it went well! This week we start a music class!

Saturday afternoon was cold and rainy but we ventured out for a family dinner. It was cold enough for sweatshirts and, luckily, I found some of the perfect size in a box from Chase and Charlie. I am not, not, not ready for winter. Not. Ready.

When we were out for dinner, Amaya took one of our to-go boxes and packed up her meal. It was really cute.

Some more shenanigans from the week…

The boys discovered it’s fun to press your face up against glass!

This is from last week but I forgot to share it. In this installment of “why is my toddler crying,” Amaya is first crying because she wants the y-bike that Steven is sitting on. Then Amaya is crying because she has the y-bike that Steven was sitting on. We fight over a lot these days.

Steven!

Steven has a few new words. He says “ball” and “baby” and he even told me “no”. He remains curious about everything. Steven is a tough guy. Right now, while everyone pushes and shoves at times, he’s probably the most aggressive. He also laughs so easily and is still my little mush ball. Steven is so cute that it’s very difficult for me to be upset with him for his aggression but that’s not fair to his brother or sister, so we’re working with him as best we can.

I mean, look at this face!

Sammy!

Sammy is in the middle of a word explosion. Waffle, medicine, cream, lotion, tush, poop, neck, chin, elbow, meat, fruit, NO. I put a hair tie on my wrist and he said “bracelet”. He knows the word “piece” and uses it in context whether it’s a piece of food or a piece of paper that he ripped up. He has new words every day. It’s so much fun to listen to him!

Amaya!

Amaya is as sassy and willful as ever. She has an incredible knack for getting what she wants whether it’s “up” or sitting in my lap or the toy she wants. When she takes something she knows she shouldn’t have, likely because she stole it from one of her brothers, she runs and hides with it. Amaya loves to say “no,” mostly on principle, I think. She’s a great helper. Amaya has a wonderful soft side. If I let her spend all weekend in my arms or in my lap, I think she probably would.