Now I akchilly (actually) like to smile

For a few months Lexi has been watching her right front tooth. It has been moving for a while. Over the last couple weeks it has been wiggling more and more. We have been getting daily reports followed by requests to wiggle it for her.

About 1 week ago she noticed there was a space between that tooth and the others. That is when the excitement really heated up.

Finally, tonight at dinner we were eating fajitas. Having the wiggly front tooth made it hard to bite into most things. Tonight was no different. After one particularly rough bite, her top tooth knocked her bottom tooth. This was followed by much crying and bleeding.

Juls and Lex went up to get ready for bed. After a bit Julia crept downstairs to tell me that Lex was going to let Joe take out her tooth. She said it under her breath and told me "don't tell Dad". Of course Joe was standing behind her so he heard the whole thing.

A few minutes later Lexi came down with stuffed animals and her blanket in her arms. She timidly requested that Joe take out her tooth. That was followed by a few nervous squeeks and a couple "no, not yets." Finally, after requesting Julia's hand, she let Joe at her tooth. He wiggled once, twice and voila there was Lexi minus one tooth.

She was SO excited! She said "Now I akchilly (actually) like to smile" That all got into how much will the tooth fairy bring. She and Julia ran off chattering about where to put the tooth and what to write in the note.

Julia started a tradition when she lost her first tooth. After each tooth she writes a note to the tooth fairy. She has asked the Tooth Fairie's name and if she knows any of Julia's friends. So now Lexi wrote a note.

So right now, upstairs there is a tooth in a zebra tooth box on top of a note asking the tooth fairies name and if the fairy knows Julia.

So in the morning we will see who the tooth fairy is, if she knows Julia, and of course, how much money the Fairy akchilly left.

Dance and Drama

This is a grainy video of Alexa in her first Summer Camp Dance recital

This is a grainy video of Julia at the summer camp dancing

Can't Sleep

Today was another one of those fun filled, action packed days. I picked the girls up from school and whisked Julia off to dance. While Julia was at dance Lexi and I hung out on the couch looking at homework and snuggling. Once we picked up Julia we headed home for dinner. Joe went to Kevin's game tonight so we decided on a light pancake dinner. They love to make them and I love the ease of clean up.

After dinner Julia showed Lexi and I her dance. We all chatted for a few minutes and then it was time to get ready for bed. Lexi who normally travels at her own pace, was moving like she was in her own time zone. Getting her to bed took a lot of prodding and too much pouting. "Mom where are my pajama bottoms? "In the wash." that was followed with a slow methodical heavy footed walk and LOTS of whining. Then I headed up stairs to round everyone up only to see Lexi sitting in front of her dresser turning the knobs so she could "watch the flowers spin."

"Lexi why are you sitting there?" She said, "I want my pajama shorts that are in the wash." Then a suggestion from me, "You have another pair of the same shorts in a different color." She said, in a whiny needy tone "I want the shorts I got for Easter." So after reading this you are getting the gist of the night and how smoothly bed time went.

After everything was settled she climbed into bed. I went to tuck everyone in. After I kissed Alexa good night and headed over to see Julia, I heard tiny little sniffles. When I looked down at Alexa, she started openly weeping. Then she said through her tears “I miss Daddy!”

That came totally out of the blue. I sat with her and consoled her. Julia came down and gave Lex a big hug. After some snuggling and rocking, Lexi was finally settled. I said goodnight and headed downstairs. While down stairs I heard plastic rustling. “Girls, what’s going on?” Julia said, “I’m getting a garbage bag.” Then quiet. I heard whispering and knew they were chatting, but I figured they would settle each other down. After a short bit I heard little feet going back and forth, up the ladder down the ladder.

When I went upstairs to check on the girls, Lexi was asleep. Julia was leaning over checking on her. I said good night to Julia again. “Juls, have you been taking care of your sister?” She said, “Yes, but Mom she was sad.” Julia then went on to explain how she got more tissues and a bigger garbage bag. She climbed into bed with Lexi to rub her back. She hid all family pictures from Lexi’s sight so Lexi wouldn’t see her dad. She removed everything that started with the letters J or D. Then lastly she moved the guitar because that reminded Lexi of when Joe sings them silly bedtime songs. Julia did all this just because her sister was sad.
Part of my final good night to Julia was “you get to sleep now.” As I walked away Julia said “Mom, but I can’t sleep when someone is sad.” She was saying that she feels so bad for people that she just wants to care for them. Julia is always there to make her sister feel better. She helps her when she needs it and she gives that extra hug. How lucky is this family to have a daughter in our lives that has such a good heart?

Now here they are sleeping like little angels Lexi still has her giant garbage bag and hopefully they are both having sweet dreams.

Easter Egg Hunt

Every Easter the girls know the Easter Bunny leaves colored eggs in our backyard for them to find. On Easter morning they get up and strain to look out into the darkness to see if the Easter Bunny has been here yet. The girls realize that when they first look out the eggs aren't there. We usually go to church and then come home to find the eggs in the yard. Alexa explained this phenomenom by saying the Easter Bunny sprinkles "magic powder" on the eggs so we can't see them until after church. This must be true as today once again we did not see the eggs when we woke up but sure enouogh they were there once we returned from church. The girls were very excited and grabbed their easter baskets running outside to scoop them up. This year the Easter Bunny left two "golden" eggs which had cash in them!! I didn't know this....I'm headed outside now to see if maybe they missed any!! $$$

Easter and the Dying

The girls have been asking for weeks to dye the Easter eggs. Of course we kept saying "sure", "of course", "We'll do it before Easter." Well all of a sudden it was the day before Easter and there were no eggs to dye. Joe went out late Saturday afternoon and purchased white eggs for the kids. They waited and waited and waited. After it had passed 7:00, already past their bed time, they finally got to dye eggs. At 7:30 the coloring was dissolving and the girls were going out of their heads. Sometimes I wonder though, who likes it more the girls or Joe. In the end we had a dozen colorful eggs that no one will eat and I will throw out a in a week. They all had fun though.

Once the dying was over the kids got ready for bed. They were both anxious for the bunny to arrive. Julia decided this is her favorite holiday EVER (which she says every holiday) and Lexi said "I am SO EXCITED to go to bed so the Easter Bunny will come." They were so happy that they drifted off in what felt like minutes. They were most likely dreaming about chocolates, egg hunts, and how many sweets they could slip into their tummies with out getting caught. No matter what they were dreaming about you know they were dying for Easter to arrive.

Some days I wish I could bottle the joy and excitement that the kids show so readily and often. On Tuesday, when Lex got in the car she heard Julia and I talking about April 1st. Lexi immediately perked up and said "That means it's April Fools. How are we going to trick Daddy?" After Lexi asked that, she told the story of April Fools 2008, while Joe was at work, we moved his closet. I was moving his clothes and I was looking for a way to get the girls to help me without making it a chore. So, I told them we could play a trick on him and move his stuff. Of course, they were both all for that and it was a real hit!

So they began planning. Talking about what to do "should we move different clothes", "pretend to not feed him and so on." Finally they came up with pretending they weren't dressed and ready for school. They huddled together to write it down, in case they would forget the idea in the morning. They plotted about where to hide the note so "Daddy wouldn't find it." Things like, "the garbage - what if we throw it out by mistake" Or Julia said "My dresser drawer. No it's too messy, I might not find it." Then the laundry, "Dad won't find it there, he NEVER does laundry." As you can imagine it was all pretty funny and even I was getting excited.

So this morning as soon as they awoke the conspiracy began. Alexa called out, "No one come in our room!" then the door slammed and there was A LOTof giggling, running around "Where's the note?", and planning "I'm not wearing tights because Dad will see those under my bathrobe."

When I left for work I went downstairs and told Joe that I just could not get the kids to put on their clothes and I did not have time to stay and get them to do it. He said he would take care of it and get them ready.

And so the dance began. He would say "Go get dressed" and they would say "We don't feel like it." When I was heading out the door the girls were finding it hard not to giggle each time he asked. It really made for a festive morning mood.

The girls pushed it all the way until they were leaving. Joe finally said they had to go. The girls dropped their robes and between giggles yelled April Fools.

Everyone looks at them and says they look like me. That is great to hear, but what makes me happiest is they both have Joe's great sense of humor and interest in enjoying life.

Hard Work and Determination Pay

Raising children in this day and age, Joe and I wonder how we will raise children who understand the value of a dollar and know that want isn’t the same as need. How do we instill the understanding of earning things?

This past Christmas each girl got a hand held video game. I have been against this for a long time, but the girls wanted them and we got a great deal, so we took the plunge.

Once the girls had the handhelds, they immediately wanted MORE games to play in them. Julia wanted Guitar Hero in the worst way. To get that game you have to purchase the game for $35 and then also purchase the guitar unit in order to play. To purchase everything ran anywhere from $80 to $90 depending on the store. It was more than was appropriate to spend “just because” and more crazy seeing that Christmas had only just passed. From the beginning we told her we weren’t going to purchase that, thinking we would buy it for her birthday or next Christmas, but not just on a whim. At one point I told her that if she could buy it with her own money she could have it. When she heard that she became determined to save her money and own it soon. I suggested that she should watch the sale fliers and see if should could get it for a better price.

So, every Sunday she would pour over every flier looking for Guitar Hero to go on sale. On the weekends she would do extra things to earn money and her allowance. She organized the food pantry without being asked, she would dust, offer to help with jobs that weren’t really her responsibility. It was great to see her have such a focus on a goal. She managed to save up quite a bit of money for an 8 year old. While all this was going on, Lexi got the bug for a new game too. She wanted to get the I Spy, but she wasn’t set on getting it herself. She didn’t really want to put the effort in to earning it.

So the day finally came when the ever elusive game was ON SALE! Best Buy had Guitar Hero as a package deal for the guitar unit and the game for only $60. Julia ran upstairs and brought out her money. She had saved $30. I had not given out her allowance yet for the week and that $5 brought her to $35. She was trying everything to convince Joe and me to kick in the extra cash. She has worked so hard to save this money. It was REALLY hard to just stand our ground and say no. Finally, Julia approached me and said “I have a $25 Target gift card in my dresser. Would you please buy that from me and then I will have enough money.” I thought that was a very creative thought. She had her goal within arms reach and she figured out a way to accomplish it. I think we were prouder about her industriousness than she was happy about getting the game.

Once Lexi realized that Julia was getting a game she was then really determined to get a game today too. She wanted her I Spy game and she wanted it NOW! Again I went with the “if you can pay for it you can have it.” So Lexi was defeated, but Julia came up with the idea that they could count the money in their piggy bank and come up with the $25 Lexi needs to get the game. Off they went to get the bank and count money. They sat on the living room floor for the longest time counting money. Lexi had just learned the value of the smaller coins so she was counting away right beside Julia. About an hour later, the girls had $25 in coins (which mostly Julia counted) and Lexi was grinning from ear to ear with pride that she had figured all this out and she would get a game. Julia was kind enough to let Lexi have the lime light. It was a great day for everyone. We were so impressed with Julia that day. She knew she was going to be happy and she wanted Lexi to be happy too, so she went out of the way to help Lexi.

When the day was over and we had pried the games out of the girl’s hands, they drifted off to sleep with big smiles on their faces. Joe and I started to talk about what Julia had accomplished and how she diligently worked at meeting that goal. On top of that, she didn’t want Lexi to feel left out so she figured out a way to help her too. It was then that we realized we are teaching the girls little by little that not everything comes easy and that hard work and determination do pay off. There will still be times that they get things too quickly and too easily, but we are also teaching them that "want" isn’t the same as "need" and there are times when you will have to work hard before you can reach your goal.