Triplets Chant

This month is flying.  We are still recovering from Christmas, as we roll uncontrollably into birthday season.

In the meantime.  The girls sometimes sit on the stairs and sing a "sisters" song together, looking into the mirror there.  The song is different every time; I've recorded a few.  More recently, they made up a sisters' chant, and I filmed it on Sunday.  It's a 16-second representation of the unity I hope they always maintain.  Of course we use the term "triplets" loosely; we gloss over the fact that they were all born a few years apart.

Transcript:
I am Triplet One!  I have lots of fun!
I am Triplet Two!  I know what to do!
I am Triplet Three!  I will say, "YIPEE!"

The 6-Year-Old

Just as soon as Poppy turned 11 months, Hazel turned 6. I expect this will happen every year, and many times throughout the year, but I look at her, and am dumbfounded and in love. She is gorgeous. She is smart. She is creative. She is confident. She is curious. She is bold. She is gentle. She is loving. She is fun. She is tender-hearted. She is thoughtful. She is passionate. She is everything I want her to be, and more. She is my firstborn. She is amazing. Hazel loves loves loves to jump rope. That is her thing now, and she does it every spare moment she has. She takes her own rope to school so she doesn't have to wait a turn for the P.E. ropes at recess. She jumps running, or backwards, or on one foot, or eyes closed, or double time. She jumps inside, outside, on the way home from school. Ed and I love this obsession with a cheap, stationary, portable, adaptable form of exercise! If only we could be so inclined...

Hazel also loves school - the learning, the structure, the booming social scene. I have been sure to check with her teachers regarding her social behavior - is she kind to everyone, etc? They say she is. Here she is the morning of "Wacky Friday." It was really "Freaky Friday" on the flyer that came home but she insisted on "wacky" and we did not argue. Ginger was jealous of this occasion so decided to dress "wacky", too, for preschool.Hazel had a gymnastics party at the local gym. I'm going to write another post about our birthday parties this year, but I've got two words for you: body fluids. Luckily, all she remembers is that it was fun. A few weeks ago I chaperoned on the spring kindergarten field trip - "The Men on the Money." We visited the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. It was a gorgeous day, with lots of walking, and crazy flattering that she would rather sit next to me on the bus than her friends. I am cherishing these years of semi-adulation.Here's a picture of Hazel helping unload the dishwasher. Why? Because I want to show you the gosh-darn cutest shirt EVER MADE ON EARTH! You see what it is, right? A pug! My FAVORITE! And I don't know if you can tell but it has a purple tulle flower behind one ear, so you know it's a girl pug. I paid FULL PRICE at Gap Kids for this, something I NEVER do. But it was worth every penny to see Hazel in it. And then Ginger. And then Poppy.
...and grand daughters for generations...

On March 27, we did Hazel's birthday interview. Rather than transcribe it this time, though, I am posting it. I didn't like the lighting where we started so after a few questions we paused and relocated. And I couldn't immediately derive how to put them together so there are two vids.

Please note - I find the answer to the difference between boys and girls possibly most telling of the cognitive differences between ages 4 and 6. Remember Ginger's answer was something about how boys' voices are deep and girls' are high. I love Hazel's answer (remember, we are trying to be frank and forthcoming about birds & bees questions.) I love all her answers. She was so excited about this interview, looking forward to it for months since Ginger's.



And. I didn't ask her about her favorite shows to watch but she is totally obsessed with "The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog." I know, random. But it's a pretty good mystery show, and it's like Diego for the next-up age group. She's picked up his catch phrase: "Serious mysterious!" and both girls sing the theme song, which is pretty catchy. Also she likes the Tinkerbell movie and Madeline.

Poppy is 11 Months

Man, oh man, I have been putting this off because there is so much to tell! But the kid's 1st birthday is in 3 weeks so if I'm gonna record 11 months, this is my chance.

So what is this age like? Darn cute, that's for sure. Also darn busy and darn smart! What she's not doing yet is walking or talking. What she is doing is just about everything else.

Poppy's favorite activities include:

• helping me unload the dishwasher (she hands me one silverware at a time and I put it in the drawer)
• playing with balls and balloons (either alone or with others)
• drawing/writing/coloring (just like a big girl!)
  
• cleaning! It's so cute - give her a paper towel or wash cloth and she will wipe whatever is near - high chair tray, counter, floor, or her own face or body. She knows just what to do.
• feeding herself with a spoon (it's a disaster but the smile on her messy face is worth it!)...or a pie server, whichever the case may be
  
• destroying piles of folded laundry
• taking a bath, especially with her sisters
• getting in the fridge
• putting things in and taking things out (here's a favorite - we call it "Citrus Transfer")
  






• playing chase with her sisters
• climbing anything
• shredding paper
• eating crayons...or markers, if available
• talking, talking, talking "on the phone" or anything small that could be a phone (remote, calculator, glasses case, etc.)
• reading books! She kind of played with them before but she gets down to serious business now, turning pages and narrating with excellent intonation
  
• ANYTHING her sisters are doing
  
Poppy's a great eater and currently loves: cheese, strawberries, pasta with sauce, spicy stuff out of my Chipotle burrito, steak and other meat, applesauce, yogurt, carrots, pretzels, Kix cereal, green beans (the real ones, not baby food), pancakes, pizza, bananas, and of course marshmallows. She did finally get around to rolling and uses it to sabotage herself going to sleep. Awesome. She cruises like crazy and the big new thing is climbing stairs. She is a stair-master, ho ho. Last two times we had babies this age we were in apartments with no stairs so this is new. I'm working on teaching her to go down backwards - the sooner that skill gets learned the better - but it's slow going and for now we do have to use gates and spotters. But wow, does she love to climb. Here's a video from a few weeks ago when the skill was brand new:




She is MUCH faster now and, by the way, that was the only time she's ever gotten hurt, thank goodness. Impressive considering we have a lot of hard wood stairs!


That is it for now though I think I forgot some things and will come back to add them in as I remember. She is a superstar and we love her more and more each day.

Fly to Your Heart (or something like that)

I have taken some CUTE vids lately and have remembered how to upload them. This one is easiest because it doesn't go with a long post like the others, but I will get to them.

Ginger is in a ballet/tap class, and their recital number is to the song from the Tinkerbell movie, "Fly to Your Heart." Whatever that means. The girls have been practicing the number for 3 months. The recital is in 2 months. Some of the other moms and I have realized they're never going to make it, so we have all brought in our video cameras to record the teacher, and see if we can learn it and help out at home a bit. It's a perfect little 4-year-old ballet song, and age-appropriate choreography. I can even probably learn it. But I still don't think they're going to make it. Bless their hearts.

The teacher said the kids usually get to know the songs so well they tend to sing along, which she strictly forbids so they can focus on dancing. But, she said, she thinks this time she will just let it go because they are so darn cute singing along. See for yourself. (Ginger is second from the right, with the criss-cross back.)

New Tricks. As Promised.

As mentioned, the Popster has some new tricks up her sleeve. It's like a trick explosion around here, and they're likely to be old news by her 9-month mark in nine days so here goes.

Trick #1 Clapping - This was her first learned trick a few weeks ago and she is an expert at it. It was her favorite trick for awhile but has been surpassed by #3.

Trick #2 High Five - At first she seemed a bit amazed each time we praised her for touching our hands, but she soon caught on and is a high-fiving maniac. If she likes you.

Trick #3 Saying "Hi" - She picked this one up fast fast fast. When we enter or leave a room, say "hi" with a wave, "bye" with or without a wave, or "goodnight", she waves big with her elbow and/or wrist and says "Aye" or often "Aye Dada" because we model "Hi Mama" or "Hi Dada" a lot. Sometimes we get "Bye." She usually does it unsolicited these days and loves the reactions we give her. It is dang cute to see such a little critter waving "hi."

Here are some videos of the above. (I upload videos to the computer just seldom enough to have to relearn how to do it each time. We have gotten a new main computer since last time, without the software I usually use, so I'd like to give myself props for figuring it out. Note to self: I either need to write myself a tutorial or upload videos more often.)



Now to the BIG TRICK:

Trick #4 Crawling - Poppy was on the verge of crawling for about 6 weeks. She was mobile in an unpredictable way during that time. I would put her down and she would somehow move from one place to another several feet away but I could never exactly nail down how she did it; there was no one maneuver but rather a complex choreography not unlike THIS.

But two days ago she got it. She put it all together and moved those knees and hands in sync and voila, we got this:



The next day (yesterday), she was going the distance. Check it out, that's a workout moving forward along hard wood floors. But she is a genius, you know.



Upcoming Tricks - She is well on her way to signing "more" and "alldone", and pointing on cue to nose, teeth and ears. And she has cut her third tooth. Genius, I tell you!

Old Spice New Spice

Have you seen this? I hadn't. Don't watch TV much. But, AWESOME.


How about this? Also AWESOME.


Thanks, Quinn. I only ever get on YouTube when I'm around you, and it's always sidesplitting.

Daniel and the Lions' Den (in 40 seconds or less)

We've been listening to "Follow the Prophet" a lot lately in the car. If you don't know the song, you can hear it here. If you do, you know it's fun to sing, especially for kids, for the first few verses. And then it's like, "Holy rats, when is this song going to end?" Luckily we have a jazzed-up version by Clive Romney (click here for the CD) that makes the whole thing bearable, even cool.

The girls love it, so we have it on repeat a lot. Which means they are actually learning the verses, each about a different scriptural prophet. And learning leads to questions. Which leads to more learning. So as they ask, I tell the simplified versions of Bible stories, and lately they have asked to retell the stories for Family Home Evening lessons. Adorable. It's always interesting what story parts sink in and what gets left out. Last week Ginger taught us the story of Daniel (her favorite.) A few nights later I got her to retell it again on video. (The dress-ups are incidental, just what she was wearing at the time.)

I never know how understandable my kids are to others, especially on computer video, so here's the transcription:

"In Daniel and the Lion's Den, Daniel...one of the people made a law, and, so none of the people could pray to God, but Daniel did pray to God. So he was in the lions' den, but God was there to send the angels. But the king was crying because his best friend...he thought his best friend was hurt, but he wasn't. So they got rid of the law. (What about Hazel's speech?)"

Is she the cutest thing ever? We'll do Hazel soon. I think her favorite is Jonah but it changes.

So Disco Mom, What's it Really Like Where You Live?

Respect the Van

Seriously.

Never Had One Lesson!

Last night was the ward Primary Talent Show. So cute. I asked Hazel a few weeks ago if or what she wanted to perform and she was very clear: "ballet dancing." I thought she might change her mind each time I asked her so I asked several more times over the next week and it was always the same answer: "ballet dancing."

"Ballet dancing" at our house consists of putting on the Nutcracker cd, putting on dancing skirts, and flitting around. Fair enough. A 3-year-old can get away with anything at a ward talent show, so I put her on the program, not at all sure if she would even go through with it in front of an audience.

Last Sunday I figured we better practice at least once, so I went rummaging through a bag of hand-me-downs from my nieces and came up with a pink leotard that fit, a pair of slightly-small pink ballet slippers, and a pink tutu Grandma Marsha made for Aunt Jenice about 30 years ago.

When we put them on, Hazel was transformed, inside and out, and when the music started she looked and danced like a real ballerina. Ed and I were shocked and spent the next 3 minutes sputtering and laughing to tears at the adorableness.

And sure enough, with poise and grace, she did the same performance for the ward last night. Seriously, I did not choreograph or tell her a single thing to do except to curtsy at the end. The rest is ALL Hazel. (Advance apologies for the distracting auto-focus.)

Behold, my tiny dancer:



...and she is now registered for a summer dance class.

Youtube Bonus Tracks Tribute

Thanks, Dave, for the Lounge Party bonus tracks. The rendition of "Take on Me" reminded me of this awesome video I saw up at Maren & Quinn's.



And hey, since we're doing literal videos, here's another one. Not as funny as "Take on Me" but good for a chuckle.