Quick Takes (62)

I can't technically link up since I'm private, no one would be able to click on it anyway.  But it's an easy format for updates, so here goes!  I'm going to update by person :-).  And it's a long one... just forewarning you.  But there are pictures!

--- 1 ---

AGNES

Right now, she's absolutely loving preschool.  Her teacher is amazing and Agnes is doing great in her class.  She's been complimented for her direction following multiple times lately!

She also love Ballet!  She's great at listening and following directions in structured settings like school and ballet.  It's wonderful to see her excelling there!  

We've been working majorly on manners with her lately.  Apparently no one's every taught her such things...  So using kind words, not starting every sentence with "I want...", saying "May I please..." and "yes Mommy" when asked to do something.  I'd say 90% of Agnes' challenges stem from her overactive mouth.  She does get sassy and talk back and we're really working on that.  I keep telling Jeremy, if the worst challenge we're having with her is talking all the time and manners, I think she's doing alright!  The child talks nonstop during all waking hours!  So volume control is another thing we're really working on right now!

Reading and snuggling.  They're best friends.

Dance class!

She got to bring home her class "Take Home Teddy".  She thought it would be funny to feed him teddy grahams.

Take home teddy playing basketball at the gym.

We went to Monkey Joes for Anna's birthday.  Agnes absolutely loves it.  She could spend all day climbing and sliding.  Check out that smile!

One of my favorite sister pictures.  I just love her smile!

 

--- 2 ---

ANNA

She had a big birthday last week!  Anna turned 3!  I can hardly believe she's 3 already.  I was just looking at pictures even from 6 months ago and she has grown up so much lately.  It was like turning 3 hit a switch and she went from being a toddler to a little girl.  We had fun celebrating her birthday and look forward to her (and Anthony's) party next week!

Anna also loves ballet class.  She has great beat and really moves well to the music.  It'll be interesting to see if she is into music later in life, she's really into it now!  She also really loves our preschool we do one day a week at home.  She love to learn and knows so much already!  She really can't wait to go to "Agnes' preschool" and every time we pick Agnes up, Anna has to go in the classroom for a little bit to "pretend" and then she gives Mrs. G a hug, just like the preschoolers.  

The challenges we've had with Anna lately aren't entirely new.  She's so dramatic about things.  We never know what will set her off, but she meltsdown with the best of them.  She throws some crazy tantrums and there's really no talking her down.  She's just got to work it out.  She also did her usual "pre-birthday sleep regression".  We were ready to ship her to her grandparents' for a week if she didn't stop that nonsense!  She was taking 2+ hours to go to bed every night and waking up 3-4 times a night.  It was exhausting but she's back to normal.  She always takes a while to fall asleep, but she's staying in her bed quietly now which is all we ask.  And she's not getting up except to go potty now.

My parents took her to get some 3 year old pictures taken.

She's so beautiful!

She's having a "Tiana" party, so my parents got her this beautiful Tiana dress.  She wears it all day everyday.  It's like pulling teeth to get it off of her!!

Anna and her Tiana cake!

The bike we got her for her birthday

Cheesing at Monkey Joes.  She picked going there for her birthday!  She had a blast!!!

Such a big girl.  Learning about the letter P. 

--- 3 ---

ANTHONY

Anthony turns 2 in a month.  I can hardly believe that either!  He's still a tiny little thing, but he's holding his own now!  He's still as social as ever and pretty much loves everyone!

 

Anthony is particularly fond of Agnes.  For whatever reason, when she's around, he follows her around and can't stop saying "I love you, Agnes".  She eats it up of course.  

 

He's still a great sleeper and a huge eater.  He's picky sometimes but he's sneaky and just throws it on the floor instead of making a stink about it like his sisters.  He's becoming ornery, though.  He's starting to hit once in a while and throw "tantrums" (nothing even close to what the girls throw, but still a tantrum for him).  Luckily he's still sweet through all of it.  He's so darn cute, it's hard to get frustrated with him!  One smile and you're toast!  He bats his huge eyelashes and could get away with anything!

 

He's talking up a storm and his favorite things to say right now are, "I love you... merry much!" and "Anthony Head!" and "Hi, how are you?" and "No" to any question, regardless of what his answer should be.

 

He's also obsessed with trains, cars, buses and any other vehicles.  He also LOVES books, he'll ask you to "read it" over and over and over again.  He's also totally a Mama's boy right now.  He doesn't handle it well if I leave his sight.  When I drop him off at the gym nursery (only 1-2 times a week), he cries for me most of the time.  It's hard, but he's almost 2 and I know he'll be okay, especially with his sisters there.  One of the ladies has a knack for calming him down and he really likes her, so that makes me feel better. 

 

Playing in the never ending snow

At the discovery museum trying to figure out this engineering thing

Mama's boy!

His biggest sister.  He just loves his sisters, Agnes in particular!

  

--- 4 ---

MYA

Last, but certainly not least, my Mya.  This little lady is my handful.  She is adorable and funny and totally sassy.  She's smart as can be and completely set on making me work for my title as "mom" each and every day.  She loves to climb, tear things up, touch EVERYTHING, open doors, read/rip up books, eat, and dance.

She spends a lot of time strapped to me, on my back when we're out somewhere.  She spends some time in the pack n play at home when I have to get something done.  She's curious and that's the biggest understatement ever.  But it's not always safe...  

Mya basically potty trained herself.  She's totally trained, and I hardly had to do a thing.  She tells me when she needs to go and she's dry at naptime and most bedtimes too.  She only wears a diaper to bed and we never worry about her having accidents.  She makes Anna's potty training experience look horrible, even though I thought she was pretty easy!  

Her verbal skills have exploded since living with us.  When we got her 5 months ago, she was hardly talking.  She grunted a lot and pretty much only said her sister's name.  Now she never stops talking and is clear as can be.  She certainly can communicate what she wants and sometimes I almost wish she'd go back to her silent days for a few minutes :-).  

 

 We also took the side rail off her crib recently, so she's now in a toddler bed.  She's done great and hasn't tried to get out.  She was starting to climb out of the crib and so to ensure her safety, we just bit the bullet.  It's been pretty smooth and I hope it stays that way!  

My beautiful youngest child, snot and all.

Always wants to be like her sisters.  Dressed up like princesses!

Not a fan of the snow...

Discovery museum!  She loves this car!

All pictures of Mya are blurry.  She never stops moving.

Her own creation.  She's wearing a pirate outfit with a leopard print skirt and butterfly antennas on her head... And proud of it.

Moneky joes was made for this climber.  She can climb even the tallest of inflatables.  We were impressed that no tower was to tall and she has no fear at all.

 

--- 5 ---

JEREMY

He's the best husband and daddy ever.  What more do I need to say?

He's also been working hard at getting in shape and he's lost a lot of weight (I'm jealous). 

 

--- 6 ---

ME

I've also been working at getting in shape.  We joined a gym recently and I've gone every day for two weeks now.  It's actually nice quiet time for me now.  I used to hate exercising but with 4 toddlers, I now look forward to the peace and quiet to work out my frustrations. 3-4 days a week my sisters, mom, and MIL take a day and come watch the kids for me and the other day or two I just drop them off at the childcare at the gym.  I don't know if I've lost any weight or not, although my clothes are fitting better.  We don't have a scale, so I'm not even sure.  

 

Along those lines, when I went for my yearly exam, I had high cholesterol.  The doctor was a little surprised, because I actually eat a very low cholesterol diet and I'm pretty active with 4 toddlers.  But I'm going to work on getting it down with more exercise and I'm taking her recommended 2 Tablespoons of fish oil daily (YUCK!).  Hopefully my recheck in April goes well.  Hopefully I'll shed some weight and that will help. 

And as embarrassing as it is, I'm going to post my "before" picture to keep myself accountable and for my own personal "records".

 

--- 7 ---

 And finally, if you read all that, I'll treat you to some fun pictures :-).

Dinner and a movie!

Doing puzzles with my big girls

Taking a water break at Monkey Joes

Everyone in the tractor at the discovery museum!

They orchestrated this all on their own.  Anthony climbed right in Agnes' lap, as he often does, and Mya followed suit.  I couldn't resist the picture :-)

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