Friday, March 30, 2012

Several

This morning, Charlotte announced: "Today, I have several fruit snacks."  Mummy was astonished that Charlotte knew the word "several" but remained adamant that the rule is no more than one packet per day.  (Now, if the grammar had been all there...)

We have a busy weekend ahead - next door neighbours Ellen and Thomas are having their first birthday party; t-ball practice; our party; Louise's classmate's party.  Fun stuff.

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Happy Birthday, Charlotte & Claire (part 2)

Grandparents and sisters were very generous with gifts.  The music factory love their "monster feet" (video below), skateboard, gardening tools, balls, dinosaurs, books, puzzle, bubble flashlights, and clothes...and Claire apparently plans to spend the rest of her life wearing knee and elbow pads (ready for anything that comes).  They had a birthday feast at Elmo's yesterday, and they'll celebrate with friends at Gold Park (weather permitting) on Sunday.

C&C did well at the paediatrician's office this morning.  Both are 37.75" tall (66th percentile).  Claire weighs 38 lbs (94th percentile), and Charlotte is 34.2 lbs (80th percentile).  Dr. G wasn't concerned about Claire's hearing, speech, or weight.  She did worry a bit about Claire's reluctance to have her eyes examined, however.  She thought it might be a sign of vision problems; Mummy thinks it's a sign that Claire is Claire (stubborn, three years old).  Mummy and Daddy had great fun helping C&C obtain urine samples (50% success rate).  Claire will have eyes examined and urine sampled in three months' time to follow up.






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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Happy birthday, Charlotte and Claire! (part 1)

Three years ago, you were so eager to see the Tar Heels win the NCAA basketball championship that you tried to push your ways into the world, feet first and seven weeks early.  You were tiny and helpless, and you needed to stay in the hospital for nine days (we feared Claire would have to stay longer).  Worst of all, there was no big screen TV in the Special Care unit, so you didn't get to see the final anyway.

Now look at you!  You race around on scooters and balance bikes.  You drink out of cups without lids, you are both potty trained, and you are very loving to one another, your Big Sister, Mummy, and Daddy.  This morning in the car, you serenaded one another.  Charlotte reported to those of us in the front of the minivan: "Claire singing, 'two little boys have a little master.' " (Alt version: "Baa Baa Black Sheep").   Charlotte then sang the ABC song: "A, B, C...M, O, O, P..."  Finally, you did a duet - an extended version of "Happy birthday."

Charlotte: you speak beautifully.  You have a dirty, delightful laugh.  Causality eludes you ("I made a mess because I made a mess"), but you are curious and often ready to share.

Claire: you recently started saying, "I love you, Mommy" randomly and without prompting.  You love books, as you've always done.  You have a mischievous grin and continually surprise us.

Happy birthday!

 This year, we're walking for the March of Dimes, a charity that working to address the problem of premature birth.  Please feel free to support us!





Monday, March 19, 2012

Winter to Summer...

The conversation in the car this morning:

Charlotte: "Claire is sick."
M: "Why do you say that?"
Charlotte: "She's sucking her finger."
M: (Boring lecture).
Claire: "I need to see a doctor at Duke Hospital!"
Such brand loyalty.

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Louise has bravely been trying new things, despite some initial reluctance.  Two weekends ago, she went ice skating at a birthday party.  She didn't want to let go of the buckets, but she had fun.  "Can we do it again?"

On Saturday, she had her first t-ball practice.  She spent the first 5 minutes clinging to Daddy's leg, and then was quite distractable during batting practice.  ("You want me to hold my arms up like a chicken?!!").  But she eventually got into things and is eager to go back.  Her favourite part of both ice skating and t-ball?  "Falling down!"

(To Mummy's amusement, Daddy helped the coaching staff on Saturday.  Those kids will all throw like cricketers).







Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

'Nastics!

Spring is in the air, and the Atherton clan is getting sporty.  Last weekend, we enjoyed " ' nastics" at Asha's birthday party.  We enjoyed it so much that all three kids will soon be taking lessons.  This weekend, Louise will go ice skating at another friend's party.  The following weekend, Louise has her first t-ball lesson.  We got a glove recently, and she is pretty excited.  Her coach asked us to evaluate her skills, and to let him know if she is afraid of the ball.  She thought that was one of the world's funniest questions.  We then asked if she fears anything.  "Just bad snakes - the ones that have fangs, like rattlesnakes."  Ms. Meg would be very disappointed in her, but Mummy thinks it's reasonable to fear things that can actually harm a person.

Claire was so taken with the "flying" she did at Asha's party that on Sunday, she donned a mask (Louise's 3D glasses) and declared herself to be a superhero.  She's Claire, so she didn't say what her superpowers were, but they seemed to involve running around whilst flapping her arms, and making interesting faces.