Thirty-Six Months of Preschooler Chandler

And then there's this kid:

• What is your name? "Chanler."
• How old are you? "Free."
• Who do you live with? "Me, Frances."
• What is your favorite color? "Owls, pink and blue."
• Who do you like to spend time with? "Mimi." [That would be my mom.]
• What do you like to do with your family? "Dada." [Sure.]
• Where do you like to go? "With you." [So sweet.]
• What makes you sad? "Falling down." [She took a serious tumble the other day and rebounded really quickly.  She was a little unsettled by the skin peeling off her hands, but was less upset by it than I would have been.  She's a trooper that way.]
• What is your favorite toy? "My 'puters." [Translation: "my computers," which she doesn't have.]
• What is your favorite fruit?  "Ice cream." [She will eat clementines four at a time, but apparently doesn't know those are fruit.]
• What is your favorite TV show? "Scooby doo doo."
• What is your favorite lunch? "Ice cream." [She's never had ice cream for lunch, or at least never solely ice cream.]
• What are your favorite clothes?  "Thomases." [Her zip-up Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas.]
• What is your favorite game? "George's."  [No idea.]
• What is your favorite snack?  "Pretzels."  [She was eating pretzels at the time.]
• What is your favorite animal?  "Giraffes."
• What is your favorite song?  "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh."  [She sung this, of course.]
• What is your favorite book?  "Charlotte's Web." [We listen to a Charlotte's Web audiobook frequently.  We've all got parts memorized.]
• Who is your best friend?  "Peanut." [The youngest Linfoot.  He has a name, only nobody knows it.]
• What is your favorite sport?  "Blue." [In her defense, we haven't really sat down and taught her what sports are.]
• What is your favorite thing to do outside?  "Play with Ronan." [Upstairs neighbor boy.]
• What is your favorite drink?  "Blue milk and matching blue milk."  [No idea.]
• What is your favorite holiday?  "Eggs."  [We had just been on an Easter egg hunt when I asked.]
• What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  "Some toys and some hamburgers, not hamburgers, forks."
• What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  "Ice cream."  [Oatmeal, the child eats oatmeal for breakfast.]
• What is your favorite dinner?  "Ice cream."  [Just to be clear, when I do serve her ice cream, she eats about two bites.]
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A witch."
• What is daddy's name?  "Mahk."
• What is mommy's name?  "Mogan."
• What is sister's name?  "Frances."
• Where do you live?  "With you and with dada."

Seventy-Five Months of Kindergartener Frances

Auntie Jocelyn was feeling really on top of things, apparently.  For one of the girls' birthdays, Jocelyn sent us a whole project, ready to go out of the box.  So lovely.  Such a good gift for a family living in Boston, land of the snow day, which is when we pulled it out.  (We like to act tough, but many, many of our school children ride the school bus, which translates to standing on curbs, which translates to snow days rather than asking kids to stand in the snow or cold.)  Thank you, Auntie Jocelyn.

Seventy-Five Months Fun Facts

• Academics: Frances is doing great at school.  Her teacher has started giving her extra words to learn.  I've got the extra words posted next to the kids' dining table.  And, because it turns out I'm one of those crazy moms, we also post additional monthly words from the girls' library books which follow a different theme each month.  Frances loves doing her homework (yes, she has homework in kindergarten) and is really disappointed when she's finished.  Hooray for no homework battles!

Chandler Opens Presents (With More Than A Little Help From Frances)

We managed to put off opening presents until the day after the birthday party.  As soon as she was up though, it was time!

Frances helped a lot with the unwrapping.  I told anyone who asked that Chandler was interested in dinosaurs lately.  Many dinosaur presents ensued, like a flashlight that shines dinosaur images on the walls.

We got her silver boots, because this is my last chance to buy a three year old of mine silver boots for her birthday.

This is her "I'm smiling!" face that she whips out for the camera.

Ah, sweet sisterly togetherness.  Chandler was opening a Dr. Seuss book with moveable parts.

It remained intact for over a month before Chandler took it to "nap" with her.  Good-bye, moveable parts.

Chandler is Three, Part II

After the sledding, we retreated to the warmth, where the big girls immediately changed into dress up clothes.

They had to prepare themselves for the festivities.

Chandler had been asking for a strawberry cake for weeks.  I have no idea why; she doesn't particularly like strawberries.  The day before the birthday, she informed me that she wanted chocolate icing.  As you wish, my little overlord.

So, we have Chandler, Frances, Sophia, Michele, Peanut, Cindy, Adler and Darby with a book.  We had pizza, and then...

the cake!

We opened a few presents and then the kids destroyed the living room for a while.

It was a perfect birthday party.

Chandler is Three, Part I

The birthday gods smiled on us; they made it snow right before Chandler's third birthday solving the problem of birthday activities. 

I'll do my best to identify the human bundles; some are easier than others, like Mark and Chandler in this first picture.

Chandler at the top, Cindy and Peanut coming up the hill?

Mark and Chandler coming down; Darby walking up.

Mark and Chandler, clearly.

Adler, pretending to be Sisyphus.

Peanut and Adler's legs.

A little Chandler, Mark and Frances.

Cindy, Adler, Peanut.

Michele in the front, me in the back and Chandler in the middle, I swear.

Adler, solo.

Peanut, Chandler and me.  I'm pretty sure I said, "What could go wrong?"

Somehow we missed Sophia!  But she was there too.  And Chandler had her first solo sled, mostly without being consulted, but she didn't seem to mind.

Then we went home.  Best way to do a February birthday, hands down.

Winter Did Happen

Last winter was a touch traumatizing.  This winter was not.  But it did happen.  Here's proof:

Martin Luther King Day, In These Parts

Frances had MLK Day off school.  We had a very mellow morning outside.  In the afternoon, every thing seemed under control.  I had a heard a rumor that some parents can get projects done when their kids are around the house.  I decided to try some sewing.

Big mistake.

The girls, Chandler still in her cold-weather gear, decided to set up camp around me.  Note the bench Frances built from chairs and a blanket.

Then Frances started taking pictures and Chandler helped me sew.

Then I gave up sewing, but Frances kept taking pictures.

The sewing machine is back in my closet.

Dinosaur On A Sunday Afternoon

Frances received a dinosaur for Christmas - specifically, dinosaur bones that she had to chip out of a "rock."  Chandler volunteered her services, and the girls had a lovely time smashing the rock and constructing the dinosaur.

Dinosaurs/dragons are very popular with the girls right now, and eyewear is always big.  Big hit.

When They Aren't Mawling Each Other

Thirty-Five Months of Toddler Chandler

Thirty-Five Months Fun Facts

• Letter knowledge: Identified the letter F (probably absorbed that from Frances)
• Musical knowledge:  We have a CD of Steve Martin singing a song called "Atheists Don't Have No Songs."  The girls love it, mostly because it includes the word "underpants."  We've been listening to it for about a year and Chandler has learned it almost word for word, though her "atheists" has gone through periods of sounding like "aphids" and "elephants."   Parenting at its finest.

Seventy-Four Months of Kindergartener Frances

We went to the Museum of Science on the girls' month birthdays.  We spent about thirty minutes getting snacks.

Then we spent about fifteen minutes bickering about what we'd go see in the museum.

And finally we spent about fifteen minutes with the dinosaurs.

Groan.  Such a gratifying trip.