Updates and Downs

Following a spurt of incredible productivity after Christmas, we are settling into what is known as The Lull Before Birthday Season. The kids are changing so fast--not so much in how they look, but in what they do and say. Here's an update on the last couple of weeks (or more, if you haven't seen them for a long time).



Chase had surgery on Friday the 7th. I took him to the children's hospital at 5:30am, and he was such a trouper. He ran all over the surgery unit in the little yellow hospital gown and white booties, giggling and playing and talking to the nurses (one of them declared him the day's social director). When they wheeled him away for the operation, his caption could have read "bring it on!". After surgery, his caption could have read, "I despise you people", but he is still one tough little guy. He seems to have recovered pretty well.

He is still a study in entropy. If I clean a room, I can turn around for 27 seconds and Chase will tear out 27 toys. He loves to torment his brother by tearing Graham's buildings and play scenes apart. Graham has aptly named him "Tornado Chase" (incidentally, he also refers to him as "Dirt Pile", but we don't know why). Chase LOVES to read and today for the first time, Graham read him a book after lunch.



Graham is becoming more independent and more vocal. He has learned to do the robot during our dance parties, and when he gets dizzy, he says the ground is jumping. The other day, he complimented my hair by saying it looks like a dinosaur. He looked at the sun glinting off the snow and declared that there were Christmas lights on it. His potty training is going well, but we have learned to expect the occasional accident. He loves to paint and play board games and do puzzles and talk on the phone and build with blocks. However, ever since he got the movie Cars for Christmas, his favorite thing to do is play tractor tipping.

Gabriella is... Coy. Determined. Demanding. Carefree. Sneaky. Priceless. The other day Will and I were in the kitchen when we heard the sound of someone beating on the keyboard. We walked into the dining room to see Gabriella gleefully pounding away with a grin on her face. Will pointed to her and said very forcefully, "No!". She slowly grinned, pointed at him, and said, "Yeth." She scoffs at discipline with the air of a teenager, and I break into a sweat when I think of the next 17 years. She is not walking on her own yet and shows no real desire to start, so we do not push it. She has a new-found love of books, and she'll "read" on her own for half an hour or more. Usually upside-down, but who am I to judge?



Today for the first time she stayed in the church nursery for the entire service. She loves to dance using one of her two patented dance moves (no videos yet, unfortunately). And she loves to EAT. For being so small, that girl can Hoover more food than her brothers combined, some days. She also loves to destroy Graham's toys, which prompts him to scream "Gabrizilla!" at her.

We are really enjoying our kids. At some points last year, we felt like we were barely hanging on, but now they are really fun. We're looking forward to 2011.