Newsworthy...at least around this house :)

Jason lost a tooth! He wiggled his first tooth out all by himself. He looks so different with a big hole in his smile! The tooth next to it is already loose, and even more crazy: the new tooth is already growing in! I told him when he turned 5 that his teeth would start to get loose and they'd be replaced by big new teeth but I really didn't think it would happen so fast! His first baby tooth didn't come in until he was 7 months old so I thought he'd keep them longer (there's supposedly some correlation there). Anyway, I'm just thankful he did it all by himself. He wasn't wiggling it much and the new one was already growing in. The dentist wanted to pull it but I kept stalling. I wanted his first tooth to be a happy easy experience. And yea! It was!

In other news...

Adam is talking. Ok, he's been talking for months but now he speaks in sentences and you can understand him! It's so fun! His newest phrase is "Got your nose!" It's so cute. He also gets eyes, ears and hair, and watch out for the infamous belly blow! But his most common phrase is "I want..." It's usually his paci although it can be cracker, hug, arf (his stuffed dog) or shoes (so he can go outside). He'll also parrot just about anything, which is a fun game for Jason and Beth. Daddy's impressed by his two syllable words like Clifford. I love hearing him mumble as I pray. He then always finishes with a charismatic, "Amen!"

I should mention Beth, too. She's always newsworthy! She's still enjoying ballet and still wearing pink. Her newest hobby is cleaning. I really wish I could bottle her drive and save it for when she's 10 and physically able to do all the tasks she insists on doing. She sweeps and does dishes. Actually "washed" a load of dishes wearing my gloves the other day. She went into the kitchen on her own and just started doing them because they needed to be washed! (We waited until she went to bed to rewash those dishes.) She also loves taking care of Adam. She brushes his hair, takes off his pj's in the morning, picks out his clothes, etc...She's going to be quite a mommy someday! In the meantime, I need to find some chores that she can really do successfully on her own because she is willing and ready!

I have a joke to tell you...

Last summer, cousin Caleb told Jason and Beth a joke. It was the end of a longer joke and went something like this...

Why did the plane fall out of the sky? The pilot was a banana! Ha, ha, ha...what? You're not laughing? Jason and Beth thought it was hilarious and so began their own days of joke telling. They started with versions of Caleb's joke with banana and planes often part of the punchline but began to expand their repertoire with anything and everything. And most importantly, I'm pretty sure the jokes never make sense. Here are some recent examples:

Beth: Why didn't Cinderella go to the ball? Because she wanted to go to the ball (Huh? Yes, I know, it is completely contradictory. Her jokes often have this format and almost always involve princesses or the aforementioned banana).

Jason: Why doesn't the tree drive a car? Because it can't! Ha, ha...it tried once and hit a light. (Ok, his jokes are expanding and almost make sense. His main problem is that his jokes are usually just facts like how did the rocket get into outerspace? It used lots of fuel to blast off! We're working on facts v. humor).

Most often these jokes come at me while I'm in the car, and, while I'm trying to be a good audience, I'm not always successful. I'll be focusing on driving (or daydreaming) and Jason will say, "I have a joke to tell you." I try to pay attention but I don't have the best hearing and I'm trying to drive so I'll react with a, "oh, that's interesting" or "how crazy" or something, and he'll ask, "you didn't think it was silly?" I really need to work on my spontaneous fake laugh. Meanwhile, I hope I'm not squashing some future stand-up comic but with the material I've seen so far, I think I'm ok :)

My baby's getting too big...or maybe not

We spent the day at California Adventure. Stephen wanted to go on the big roller coaster so I decided we'd ride the carousel while we waited for him. Jason looks at me and says he's too big for a ride like the carousel. It won't be any fun for a big boy like him. My heart sank. Does he really think he's too big? I realize part of this is coming from him not being big enough for the roller coaster (he's got another 1/2 inch!) but ugh...turning 5 has it's downsides! Ok, I patiently asked him if he wouldn't mind riding with us since Beth and Adam really wanted to ride. And he replies, ok, I guess I can ride the carousel one more time. We get on and follow a very excited Beth who is heading straight for a pink dolphin (this is King Triton's underwater carousel). And what animal is right next to her...a green whale! Jason happily hopped on and we even pretended to hold our breath as the ride began (you know, cuz we're underwater.) Jason enjoyed the ride so much that we stayed on for a second turn at his request! (There was no line, it was a quiet day at California Adventure). He pet his whale and showed us all how cool that the whale even had green eyes! I am so thrilled that he can still find joy on a baby ride like the carousel. Whew!

PS As we leave California Adventure, anyone who wants to usually rides Big Bear Rapids (during the off-season when there's no line because who wants to get soaked in February?) That way if you get wet, it's ok cuz we're heading home anyway. Well, today Stephen said he didn't feel like riding so looking to bond on Valentine's Day with my son who is growing up too fast, I ride with him. It was a cold day, in the 60's here in SoCal so you'd think I would have been wiser but you'd also think Disneyland could afford to heat the water! I seriously felt like ice water was being thrown at me from every angle! I screamed and laughed the whole time and yes, I'm not proud to say it, I used my son as a shield. I have to confess since Stephen caught me on film. Going down the hill he misses but me using Jason as a shield from the erupting water, he catches perfectly! And note in the picture...we're the only ones on the ride!

Her own style

Anyone who sees Beth on a regular basis will confirm what I am about to say: Beth has a unique style. Now all 3 year olds have their own style, they're learning to dress themselves, gaining independence...I know this. But Beth goes the extra step to be just that much more unique. What I find oh so amazing about her style is that she can have uniqueness and yet, still be pink from head to toe! Whether it's the 80's headband, or the winter cap and sunglasses or the 4 shades of pink, she always draws comments. Here are some examples to further demonstrate...

Her pink glasses are a regular part of her attire. I hope she never has to wear glasses but at least I know she'd be pefectly content (as long as they were pink!)

Beth loves wearing headbands but refuses to wear them on top of her head. A friend confessed to me the other day that she'll be sad when the "80 tennis player" look is no more. Yes, as wrong as the look may be, it will be sad when she grows out of it.

Beth attended a princess tea birthday party last week. They dressed the girls up, did their hair, nails and makeup. It was an incredible, almost too cute place, creating a very special evening for a princess like Beth!

Recently we went to Disneyland. Beth had been wanting to attend the Princess Faire so I told her to put on a princess dress and we would go. Much to my surprise, she came out of her room in her sequin flapper dress-up dress. She has a beautiful Cinderella gown and an Ariel dress but regardless of my urging, she wanted to wear her sequin gown. You see, it matches her Minnie Mouse princess hat and she wanted to be a Minnie Mouse princess this particular day. I'm thinking, "great, I'm going to stand in line to take pictures with all the princesses and she's going to be dressed, well, not like a princess!" But I gave up and we headed to Disneyland. While waiting in line with all the other princesses, Beth got more than one, "what a fun dress," and I kept telling myself "it's good to be different." And then when it was our turn, who do you suppose the first princess was? Yes, Minnie Mouse! I could not believe it! And the photographer further validates Beth's clothing choice saying, "Wow, Princess Minnie, I didn't know you had a sister!" Mom learned a lesson that day - let Beth be Beth.

Long Beach Aquarium

We bought passes to the Long Beach Aquarium last Christmas as a family gift. We enjoyed many visits over the year and were sad to see the passes expire last month. (Although this year we have passes to The Discovery Science Center, and there's plenty there to keep us entertained.) Anyway, as a plan to actually start and complete a family scrapbook, I'm working through the major events and happenings of 2007 and then ordering prints through Shutterfly. Result: I will have new slideshows to entertain everyone, the first being the Aquarium. Check it out at http://skellyfamily.shutterfly.com/ You'll see pictures of Beth turning her fear of sharks into a serious love (she doesn't pet the sharks, she tries to pick them up!) Then there's Adam hugging the Nemo tank, and Jason enjoying an ice cream cone (amazing stuff!)

And if you want to know what they're all looking at in this photo, you've gotta go to the slideshow :)

My favorite part...seeing how much they've changed in only one year! Seriously, Beth looks so young in some of the photos!

Elmo Diapers

We've worked to "train" Adam to tell us when he has a dirty diaper. I made a point of talking about his dirty diaper thinking it would help potty train earlier rather than later. So when I saw him doing the deed, I would ask him, "are you going pooh, pooh?" He started responding, "pooh, pooh" and running to the changing table. Ok, maybe not the best word to teach a 1 year old but he was learning and we were proud. At the changing table we often distract him by letting him hold the diaper because thanks to people in marketing diapers have pictures of toddler's friends on them. The diapers we typically buy have Elmo on them. This led to an amusing conclusion. It took a few times of Adam asking before we realized, "I need Elmo" means I need a clean diaper, please. Yes, Adam asks for an Elmo whenever he has a dirty diaper. We bought a different package of diapers the other day (they were on sale and we had a coupon, sorry Elmo!) Now his diapers have Winnie the Pooh on them, and unfortunately, this may mean we'll be back to him saying, "Pooh" very soon. Oh well. Elmo was a fun substitute for awhile :)

Adam really loves Elmo even though he associates him with dirty diapers. He must if he's willing to share his paci...

I had a moment recently where I had to laugh realizing Adam has been trained in other areas. I guess a lot of what we do at this age is condition. You've all heard of cats who come running at the sound of a can opener or Pavlov's dog who drooled at the sound of a bell. Well Adam get's excited and ready to eat one of his favorite foods, apples, at the sound of the vegetable peeler. I was peeling potatoes last night and he came running, "apple, apple, apple." I felt so bad that I grabbed and peeled an apple and fed the conditioning.

My question to you is: what similar pavlov response do you experience in your home? I'm sure we have many if we really think about it. Maybe we haven't trained our kids to drool at the sound of a bell but do they start salivating when you open the refrigerator to get lunch ready? Just curious...

Back to ballet for Beth

We started Ballet classes again for Beth. She's so happy to be back in her class. We toyed with the idea of sending her to a different program but decided that even though it's probably not the best out there to stick with what she knows and so far loves. It was a good decision. She was thrilled to be back, and half the girls are the same as her last class so she'll tell you all her friends are there. This amuses me because she never talks to anyone in class, none of the girls talk to each other. They all talk directly to the teacher (I don't know how she manages to listen to the constant chatter directed at her from 12 three year olds. I have trouble listening to my one!) Beth walked into her first class, went straight to the teacher, and said, "Jason is 5 now. We went to Big Bear. I'm still 3." The teacher happily nodded and then listened to the next random tale directed at her. I'm not sure how they get any dancing done but they do.

I thought I'd take video so you could see her hop across the floor. My first video shows the not-so-brilliant side of me. It's only 2 seconds long because I quickly realized what I was doing was not going to work. I'll admit this is not my first time doing this! I'm sharing it because it's good to be humble and it will hopefully make you smile at my silliness. The second video is much better. She's watching herself in the mirror making sure she has big arms, big hands, and a big smile, and you get a great view of her truly enjoying herself! (P.S. no sound necessary)