Tortillas and Jesus

Our little Kiki turns 17 months old today! She grows cuter and sweeter every day and I am amazed at just how beautiful and wonderful she is.

She's a daredevil and a sweetheart, diving headfirst down slides and helping her brothers stand up when they fall. She's curious and silly, eating dirt and standing on her head. Her newest words? Tortilla and Jesus. Her favorite past-time? Plastering Daddy's face with kisses.

Kiki's case worker visited today and told us the paperwork was finally turned in, and the adoption worker should be contacting us soon. We've heard all this before, but this time I think we really are close!

Fun in the Country

Saturday afternoon we took a drive out to the country for a birthday party. Olivia and her family attend Mt. Calvary with us and we were thrilled to celebrate her 5th birthday with them.

I didn't take any pictures, but Jamie did and you can see them here along with a very cute felt pizza she made.

Hooray for Spring!

Friday afternoon we celebrated the first day of spring by heading out to the park. Actually, it was two parks because the first one closed before we could eat. Turns out the second park had more toddler-friendly equipment so it all worked out pretty great!

Thoughts on Potty Training

I felt a little twinge of both guilt and jealousy the other day when I learned a friend is beginning to potty train her 18-month-old daughter. I assumed I wouldn't begin with Kiki until Joe has mastered it himself. Granted, this friend's little girl has been taking off her pajamas and diaper at night and wetting the bed, and I am SO GRATEFUL we are not having those kinds of issues (yet). But these types of things always make me wonder if any one of my children would be better off if I could give them more individual attention. Attention they aren't getting because there are 500 of them and only one of me.

Anyway, Joe is making progress. At 10:30 every morning he visits the potty and does his thing. But allow me to illustrate a typical session so you can see why I don't think I will survive this with two more children:

I begin by suggesting to Joe that he go sit on the potty. He eagerly complies and we go into the bathroom, followed by Dan and Kiki who begin grabbing the urine guard off the potty chair. I distract them by asking them to go get some books for Joe to read. While they toddle off, I get Joe situated on the potty. Dan and Kiki return and hand their books to Joe. I then announce that Joe needs privacy and try to shoo the little ones out. Kiki attempts to close the door herself and Dan sits on the floor, blocking her from being able to shut it. Screeching and protesting ensue. I finally get both of them out. A few minutes later Joe calls out "Poop! Poop! Wee-Wee!" so I go back to help him. I then dispose of the contents of the potty, clean the potty, clean Joe, put a new diaper on him, help him wash his hands, dry his hands, and help him put a sticker on his potty chart, all the while fending off Dan and Kiki who are grabbing the potty chair, holding onto the toilet set, playing with the toilet paper, falling into the bathtub, or ripping Joe's sticker chart off the wall.

It. Is. Maddening.

And it is entirely possible that in a few months all three kids will be training at the same time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May you never have to supervise an art project involving glue, green rice, and 3 toddlers.

Little Green Guy

A leprechaun arrived early at our house this morning. I'm going to try to keep him around until tomorrow. He's kinda slippery, though.

Drama at the Dentist

Over Spring Break all three kids had check-ups at the dentist. (Thanks to Aunt Kellie and Melissa, I stayed home and enjoyed some quiet time alone.) From what I understand, Joe was very cooperative during his examination, which didn't surprise me because he always earns praise from his doctor during medical visits. Dan was a little frightened, but followed directions and did a great job as well.

Then it was Kiki's turn. Dear little Kiki. Apparently she clamped her mouth shut and refused to open it. After the dentist pried it open, Kiki used her tongue to block the dentist from getting her fingers into her mouth.

The dentist said she had never seen a child do that before. And that doesn't really surprise me.

Waiting for Daddy to Come Home

500 Babies Spring Break Edition

Spring Break got started early, with a visit last week from Aunt Kellie and her friend Melissa from Michigan. We warned them ahead of time that our home is overrun with little kids and we couldn't guarantee a peaceful night's sleep, but they didn't seem to mind. We had a great time with them and the girls were so wonderful with the kids. For once, adults outnumbered the children and we were able to do a lot of sightseeing including a couple of trips downtown and a visit to the zoo. I felt like I was on vacation and felt more rested and relaxed than I have in a very long time.

So far this week has been filled with vet appointments and doctor's visits and now it looks like both of our vehicles need to be taken in for repairs. I'm just thankful it happened when Billy has a week off, kind of like when two weeks after we got the boys I got a kidney stone and had to drive myself to the hospital at 6 AM but didn't have to worry about the kids because Billy had already planned on taking the day off to take them to their own doctor's appointment. God is certainly taking care good care of us!