Cereal...yum!

Not quite the first time Lyla had cereal -- but the first time she really got any in!

Handy Mandys

In our house, the kids pretty much only watch programs that we record for them on TIVO. They usually watch the same two or three shows in rotation until we get tired of it (mainly, when Brad and I find ourselves humming the catchy little theme song in public places and wondering how on earth it came to be that Noggin preschool tunes are topping the list of our most listened to music). So even though it’s not a new show, my kids have just discovered the fascination of “Handy Manny” … or, as Madelyn calls it, “Handy Mandy.” For some reason, she can’t seem to drop the “D” out of poor Manny’s name – though interestingly enough, Sienna has no problem pronouncing it correctly. But since we have all girls in our house, Handy Mandy seems to suit us just fine.

If you haven’t seen the show, it features a cute little Spanish-speaking handyman with 8 talking tools that accompany him everywhere, fixing whatever problem one of the townspeople call him to assist with him that day. He answers each phone call with a peppy, “Handy Manny’s Repair Shop! You break it, we fix it. This is Manny!” And the tools are all appropriately named… the hammer’s name is Pat, the tape measure is Stretch, the pair of pliers is named Squeeze, etc.

Since becoming huge fans of the show, the girls have taken to becoming their own little versions of Handy Manny. Madelyn has always had a fascination with Brad’s tools (think back to her helping us with the kitchen renovation project in Chicago…) so we had given her a set of plastic tools the Christmas she turned two, so she could help with projects. Well, the tools have now made a huge comeback in our house, and we’re constantly finding Maddie and Sienna (or Handy Mandy and Handy Mandietta, as I’ve now nicknamed the dynamic duo) working together to fix something in “need” of repair. Yesterday, the two of them dismantled the paint tray from the front of their easel. Madelyn is regularly measuring Lyla with Stretch…whether Lyla is interested in the idea or not. And we suddenly discovered that the wheel is missing off the bottom rack of the dishwasher… we’ve got a hunch the Handy Mandys might be behind that effort, too. Even if they’re not quite learning the ins and outs of actual repairs, at least they’re learning some useful Spanish. Sienna can count to 10 in Spanish now just about as well as she counts in English, so that’s something. And watching them with those tools is pretty entertaining!

Back to School

It's been such a busy week with all of the fall/back to school activities! Madelyn had her first week of preschool at her new school, and even though she's been before I still had a hard time thinking about my little baby going off to do her own thing. It's still such a strange thing to get used to - even if only for 3 hours.

She did great on the first day, though she was a bit shy. By the end of the second day, her teacher told me she was "emerging as the group leader" and very chatty with all the other kids, often saying "Let's do this, guys!" or "Come on over here and play, guys!" (At our house, we often remind Maddie not to be a "bossy Gillis," which is a term her Grampy uses a lot. She's got no shortage of self confidence and has no problem herding other kids to go along with her idea of fun. The challenge for us will probably be to make sure that her "leadership" is constructive at preschool, and doesn't turn into something else...)

In other Maddie news this week...she started dance lessons! Very exciting for her, as she absolutely loves to dance and just perform in general. She's doing a one hour combo class of ballet, tap and tumble. I quickly realized though that I may be one of the only moms there that isn't really "into" it as a serious effort, if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine with her doing dance if that's what she's into. But at age 3.5, we're pretty much just letting her try different things and see what she likes. Last year it was gymnastics, this year it's dance, and I think next year will be soccer once she's finally old enough to take soccer lessons like Dora! But all of the other parents there had clearly been coming for a while, and had multiple kids in dance.


And speaking of doing things on her own...the dance instructors won't let parents anywhere near the dance studio, because parents are distracting. I asked (sort of jokingly...maybe with a hint of sarcasm??) if I would ever get a chance to see her and what she was learning, and the instructor told me yes... at the recital in June. I know Maddie is pretty self sufficient and doesn't "need" me for things like this right now, but it just put me so on edge to have her down on another floor, with a teacher she'd never met before, doing something she'd never done formally before...with no parent there by her side, even for the first class. She was a trooper and didn't mind a bit -- it was me who was kind of a mess. I guess we'll just keep trying it as long as Maddie is happy doing it, though. I'm sure I'll get used to it too!

I'm getting sleepy...

There's something so cute and sweet about seeing your kids imitate your behavior towards them (well ok, most of the time...you just have to remember they imitate your not-so-finest moments, too!). Sienna just put me to bed, and it went something like this:

Sienna: "Lay down, lay down, lay down Mommy..." (in her sweet sing-songy voice)

Me: "Ok, I'll lay down."

Sienna: "Want blanket, Mama?"

Me: "Ok, I'd love a blanket. Can you put the blankie over me?"

Sienna: "Ok, here's blanket (throws it over me). Kiss. (Leans over and smacks her lips, giving me a big one.)"

Me: "Want to sing me a song?"

Sienna: "I wuv you, you wuv me...na na na na na na na."

Off she goes, heading to the door. "Bye bye!" and closes her bedroom door, leaving me laying down, covered up, on her bedroom floor.

So, so sweet. What a nice way to end the day. I hope that's the way they feel each night, too.

YAY for videos!

I finally figured out how to make the videos on my camera small enough to put on my blog... hooray! So here's my test video. A little bit of singing, a bit of fighting, a bit of painting...it's all in there, LOL!



(ETA: I've resolved the technical difficulties...I think. For those wondering about Sienna's crazy hair, I'm in the process of growing her bangs out - but it's driving us all crazy so I think we're going to have to cut it!)

Long time, no post...

It's been a while since I've updated. What with the holiday, getting ready for fall activities like preschool, etc., and trying to be better about working out on a regular basis, I feel like I haven't had much time for things like blogging (or scrapbooking for that matter -- man am I behind!). So a quick recap of what's new here...

- Labor Day weekend was fun, but far too short. We went to my parents' for a cookout and got to see family and friends that we don't see all that often, which was really nice. The weather was gorgeous, so we spent lots of time outside. We took the kids to the playground and for a nice bike ride along the canal with the new bike trailer. Maddie loves it, but Sienna is still in that "I won't be confined!" phase where she wants to walk everywhere, never ride.

- We've been transitioning Sienna from two naps to one and it has been PAINFUL. She is a kid who really needs a decent amount of sleep, and it's a little rough getting to one nap. Some days she can do it, and others she's begging for a nap by 9:30 a.m. I'm so ready to just get through this though, so she and Maddie can nap on the same schedule and we can have a little bit more flexibility to do fun stuff during the day (rather than having someone always asleep!).

- Maddie started her second year of preschool, in a new school this year. She only had a short one hour day with parents, but seemed to enjoy it. She's really looking forward to meeting new friends. I hope this school is a good fit for her.

- Lyla is getting super mobile, and it even up on all fours rocking on occasion. She does a bit of army crawling and can get anywhere she wants to go by rolling. Where has my little newborn gone to??

- See post below about sisters. I mean to post this update first, then the pics of the three girls. Can't figure out how to change the order of my posts, so I guess I'm stuck with it!

Sisters

It's pretty obvious that my kids each know they have sisters, but I've noticed that they are really starting to act like three sisters these days, too. Maddie and Sienna love to take turns holding Lyla, and like to put on "concerts" for her in her room before they all go to bed, singing and dancing up a storm. For her part, Lyla rewards each of them with huge smiles and shrieks every time they come anywhere near her, like being next to them is just the highlight of her day. Yes, there are arguments...but so far, they are far outnumbered by the happy times they seem to have just being together. I just love watching them have fun together and love eachother -- I think they're so lucky to have eachother! Some recent pics of bedtime: