Catching Up

I can't believe I just went three weeks without posting anything. Usually, I start getting a little antsy if I even get close to the one week mark without writing, but this time those three weeks flew by.

I'd share what we did in that time, but I really don't remember. I will do my best to start catching up. (So you know I'll never catch up. Points for good intentions, right?)

Michael is now fully potty trained. I think the worst of the potty training drama was back in January and February, but I don't know if I ever wrote about it. The thing about potty training that kills me is the TIME. Holy cow. The hours we spent in the bathroom were unreal. When the boys were babies, I once sat down and quantified the amount of time we spent on baby-feeding tasks in a 24 hour period. (In case you are wondering, I spent about 10 hours of every 24 hour cycle feeding babies.) While potty training wasn't quite that bad, the hours still added up. The boys went one at a time, and each time one went, the other also had to try. Each round took about 15 minutes, and they were going about once per hour. They thankfully still nap, but they are still awake about 10 hours a day. That adds up to about 2 1/2 hours of sitting on the bathroom floor waiting for a little boy to tinkle.

Ree is now reading fluently. I have no clue when she started reading (it's been awhile), but last week she sat down and read the boys a real book before bed. And while she wasn't quite the children's librarian, she was definitely reading with emotion. Pretty good stuff. In other news, we found out today she was accepted into the public year-round elementary school in our neighborhood. Now we just have to decide if we are sending her there or a traditional elementary school. More on kindergarten (pseudo) drama to come!

Leon is also reading sight words, which is a bit surprising. Go PBS. I knew Michael could read. I suspected it for awhile, and one day last fall I finally ask him if he knew how to read. He nonchalantly replied,"Yeah," as though I had ask him if the sky was blue or if it was Tuesday. But one day, maybe back in January (?), Leon looked at the faucet in the bathtub and said, "O-N. On. Where's O-F-F 'Off'?" He's pointed out quite a few other words too. And for the record, he is not yet really potty trained. As with everything, he will potty train when HE decides to do it. It didn't help that we told him once he knew how to use the potty, he would get to preschool. So that day he went into the bathroom, peed in the toilet, and declared himself ready to go to preschool right then. He was a little disappointed when I apologized and told him I had been a bit unclear. Preschool doesn't start until September no matter how much he uses the potty. We'll get there.

Then there is Natalia. I don't even know where to start on that crazy girl. OH! Now I know where I have been for the past three weeks. With her. (I promise this isn't sarcasm. I truly didn't put it together til now. I have been out of town this week - WHOLE other story - and so much has gotten lost in the brain.) Anywho, so she spent several weeks being super needy. At the height of her neediness, she would only sleep cuddled up with me, clutching my pajama shirt with both hands. Those were some fun nights. The problem with her is when she's happy, she's so darn cute. It's impossible not to love her. She has no clue that she, Leon, and Michael are not triplets. Natalia fully believes she can do everything they can. She follows them around trying everything they do, and she demands to be treated exactly the same. This can be challenging when, say, they are having pizza and cookies for dinner, or some other insane concoction that we won't give her. But it's also quite helpful at times, like one day when I was putting sunscreen on the kids. The big kids decided to take turns sitting on the step stool in the bathroom while I slathered it on them. After the big three had their turns, Natalia sat down without me asking and she sat relatively still, even while I attacked her face with white goo. I am hoping that at least lasts.