Bravery

Louise not only did not cry after the three shots she had today - she looked whilst the second two were administered.  (We could be alarmed at our child's high pain threshold, but we're choosing to be proud instead).  Her vision and hearing were fine, and the ped isn't alarmed about her BMI ("she's a strong kid, and athletes tend to be at the high end of the BMI").  He might've been impressed by her arithmetic ("two plus three is five; five plus one is six..."), or concerned about the fact that she was talking about numbers when he was trying to explain the vaccinations - he made no real comment about either.

Her 5 year vitals: weight 48.8 lbs (3.5 stone, or 90th percentile); height 44.75" (90th percentile)

Louise and Charlotte enjoyed the dusting of snow we had last night (Charlotte: "It's Christmas!").  (Claire may have enjoyed it - she removed her finger from her mouth and didn't ask to be carried whilst outside).

Charlotte & Claire napped together for the first time yesterday.  When Mummy checked on them after two hours, they were in the same bed.  Charlotte stirred, and gently patted Claire's hand.

All the kids enjoyed Louise's third party at Pump-it-Up.  They played HARD.







Louise claimed she didn't enjoy the experience because her cake was not served (everyone was full from Katie's ice cream cake).  We're hoping she recovers from the trauma.

Happy birthday, Louise!

Dear Louise,

Happy fifth birthday!  FIVE!  Wow.  How did you become such a big girl?  You can ride a 20" two wheel bike with grace, you learn more words by sight every day, and you are turning into a sensitive, generous, and loving young lady.  One of your favourite phrases now is "Don't agitate her, Daddy," when one of your sisters gets upset, and you can share graciously.  Yes, your sisters sometimes annoy you, but it is often to you that they turn when they wake up or get upset.  You are learning to calm yourself down when you get angry - an impressive, valuable skill and a sign of maturity.  We love you so much and are very proud of you.

Five years ago today, you arrived in this world a large, healthy baby.  You weren't a big fan of sleep, and you spit up a lot.  You informed us yesterday that "I could read as a baby, but I thought you'd be mad if you found out that I was the only baby in the world who could read."  We were clueless parents, but everything we did was done with a great deal of love.  You taught us everything we know about parenting.



Happy birthday, Lulu.  We love you.

Getting gift bags ready for your friends (first of three parties):


Doing experiments with Ms. Meg:


and Alex


Playing games:

Wishlist

"I'm almost three!" Charlotte exclaimed.  "I get purple skateboard!"

Where did that come from? Daddy wondered aloud.

"Target!" Charlotte replied happily.

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Here are some random pics of Claire, who does not have a wish list yet:

Chinese New Year in Durham & Singapore

Louise can be delightful.  Last night, she told Daddy, "Come back in seven minutes.  If I'm sleeping, you can turn off the light.  If I'm awake, you can look at me."  She also informed him, "I don't want presents for my birthday.  People should bring cans of food for the hungry."  No presents?  "I suppose they could bring a little something AND a can."

Claire's classroom has been celebrating Chinese New Year for the past week and a half, and Charlotte and Claire have been trading classrooms this week, so I've posted some pics from CNY in Durham and Singapore:

Norma Jean at the zoo

Nana and Grandad flew all the way from Tenerife to help Daddy whilst Mummy was in Singapore last week.  Mummy who?  Between a trip to the zoo, dinner with Ms. Judy, and a busy week of work and daycare, who really noticed she was gone?

At the zoo, Louise had her Marilyn moment:

It's February, so it's time for viruses.  Mummy brought a nice one home from Singapore to share with the family.  This evening, Mummy was sitting down whilst the rest of the family "ran to the target" (ran up and down the upstairs hallway).  Charlotte: "Mummy, run!"  M: "I'm not feeling well - I'm having trouble breathing.  I'll just watch."  Charlotte: "I'll help you.  I'll hold your hand, and you'll run fast!"  More worryingly, Louise has the worst case of pink eye we've ever seen, but she's a trouper about it.