Our pretty princesses (and a friend)

Ivy's back in diapers, Kezia's birthday, Nate's birthday, etc.

Sunday, October 7^th

Alooooooooooha!!

I hope everyone that is affected by seasonal change is enjoying the fall weather and the crunch of leaves. The change of weather here means the beginning of the rainy season. It went from no rain to rainy for weeks, at least where we live, which gets a lot more rain than where we used to live.

We had an ultrasound appointment and found out we are having another girl! When the doctor was measuring the baby’s head, I asked the girls what was inside. Kezia said “brain”, and Ivy said, “candy”. The baby is healthy and on track for a Feb.4^th delivery date. She is moving so much, and gets the hic-ups a lot. I have learned that fetal hic-ups and baby vomiting are closely related, and have witnessed the connection with Ivy. Maybe I’ll be going through the same routine of changing her 4 times a day again!!!

Ivy is into "tricks", doing things that call for oohs and ahhs, at least in her opinion. I posted a picture of my favorite trick: She stands on the edge of her mattress with her hands high up in the air, counts to three, and then falls forward onto her head. Then she announces, "And my feet are still standing!" It's a crackup! (Remind anyone of Ghostbusters?)

Ivy's prize for staying dry for 4 days, one of Ivy's tricks

Ivy is anxiously awaiting the new baby. Since her birthday is relatively close to the birth of the new baby, she has been telling people, “after my birthday, then the baby comes out.” Ivy has been going to a music class with a friend and apparently loves it, although I haven’t gone with her. She likes to pretend she is someone else, like a mommy, or a doggy, or Mola (a make-believe friend) or a dinosaur (my personal favorite—she just stands and growls, not realizing that her small size and cuteness completely undermines the fright of the loud noise). We tried potty-training for a while, but surprise, surprise, it didn’t last long before I gave up. (Let’s choose: my own sanity or no more diapers, hmmm…..)

August 21^st was Kezia’s 4^th birthday. Of course, she was soooo excited. She made a pinata (for those with kids, here’s an easy, no mess way to make a pinata: cover paper bags with crepe paper, then fill the bags.) that looked like three fish on a line. Her friends joined us at the beach for pinata bashing, cake, and gifts. Kezia got a Snow White princess dress from a friend who devoted himself to be her “princess guard”. She’s been wearing it so much and causing so much wear and tear that she now looks like a princess-gone-pauper. She wore it when we ran some errands last week and loved the attention she received. Since she doesn’t know about Snow White, though, she gets confused when people ask her, “Are you Snow White?”

She also received card games from a friend. If she takes a nap during the day, she gets to stay up and play a game. It has been a lot of fun playing classic card games with her. I made her bucket boots and a puppet show theater and Nate and I whipped up some puppets for it. Fun, fun, fun. She loves to tell people she is four, and explain everything four-year-olds can do. (Did you know 4yr olds know all the words to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, and know how to put the hard puzzles together, and can read books aloud just by looking at pictures, and teach people hula? Ask Kezia—it’s true, plus other amazing stunts.)

Kezia asked to have a strawberry cake. Once it got time to eat it, though, she didn't eat a bite!! Every year we have a birthday party at the park across from Nate's parents' house. And every year I think the candles will light. And every year I am wrong and disappointed. I must be insane. I love the pic of the cake lined with paper plates to help stop the breeze, and Kezia's friend trying to snake the glory of blowing out the 2 successfully lit candles away from her!!

Kezia also began Joy School again. She loves being away from home and being with friends. I am so glad she can do that. She really needs some socialization. Hula class also started again. After class, all the little girls go out on the grass to play. It has been hard for Kezia to get them to play with her. They either had their own tight group of friends or didn’t want to play Kezia’s games. It made me so sad to see her try to be friends with these girls but not have that friendliness returned. One day, I had a great idea: snacks! So the last couple times I’ve equipped her with a bag of crackers or something and that pulls the other girls’ interest in approaching her. It seems to be working so far and she seems a lot happier.

On Labor Day we got to go to the Family Fun Fest, a festival at the church put on by a guy that owns a business with bouncy castles and carnival rides. Everything is free, and it’s a great time. The kids of course had a blast. They also got to make their own bowl on a pottery wheel. Ivy wasn’t too fond of the slimy feel. Kezia wanted to climb the climbing wall, She climbed so high on her own. She stopped climbing for a while and when we asked her if she wanted to come down, we thought she said yes. When she got down, she was in tears; she wanted to make it all the way to the top!