Pass me a tissue, please!

Makena has a passion for hygiene.

She regularly spends her free time trying to clean around the house. Maybe in part because the rest of the time both she and her sister Karis does a good job helping to ensure there are things to clean!

Makena is pretty vocal when it comes to letting us know when her diapers are soiled. I think she may be hinting at the fact that she wants to be potty trained.

Sometimes a splash of playfulness will mix with her passion for hygiene. Not so much lately, but she did enjoy entering an open bathroom to unravel a toilet paper roll. Lately, she seems keen on pulling out facial tissue to blow her nose like Daddy, Mommy, and Sister.

Tonight, I found these sprawled across Karis' bedroom floor.

Since Makena was in Karis' room at the time, I decided to have a chat with them both but specifically directed the disappointment for wasting tissues toward Makena. She stood before me without moving or crying (she's extra sensitive when it comes to Daddy correcting her) - just looked at me with a blank stare on her face. As I was processing this indifferent reaction, Karis interrupts, "Daddy?"

"Yes, Karis."

She continues, "Daddy, I did it."

"Karis, you did this? Why honey?! Why did you do this? You know better than that."

"For the dance show Daddy."

...PAUSE...

After gathering my thoughts, I break into a smile and reply, "Ah, of course. For a dance show. Next time, let's try to use something other than tissues."

Now I understand Makena's reaction. And, tomorrow, I need to apologize to Makena. I also need to thank Karis for telling the truth that she did it.

Is She Really Happy?

When Karis was a little baby, you just had to look at her to make her smile.  She's been smiling ever since.  She's such a happy kid.

But then... she started drawing faces a few months ago.  Her "happy faces" made me worry a little.  She drew these huge hollow eyes and since she could only draw a straight line, her faces looked so sad.  It made me think of a child who goes to therapy and drawings reveal what the child is going through.  Look how sad this looks:

But over time, the eyes got smaller so her faces didn't look as sad...but still a little solemn.  

But now, she can now draw curved lines so her happy faces actually look happy!

It's fun watching how her drawings develop.  Here is an example of one of her most recent pics:

Now that's more like it.  She is a happy girl!

Karis' first day... of gymnastics

Tomorrow is Karis' first day of gymnastics class. We're all excited about this. We've planned for the monthly expense but moreover knew we wanted Karis to be able to explore this activity as it seems as if it is not only something she enjoys but also something at which she is naturally gifted. Karis loves being active. Jumping. Bouncing. Running. Climbing. Especially climbing. And lately, hanging on things. Here's a link to an earlier post with a video - Karis just under two climbing a rock wall.

I remember being dragged to a large-house building near a McDonald's where my sister Nysha used to practice gymnastics. She was good at it. I can see Karis being good at it as well.

I wouldn't mind if Karis grew up to play softball either. Both my sisters played growing up. I enjoyed going to their games as a little brother. I liked collecting the loose change beneath the bleachers almost as much as I enjoyed watching them compete.

I hope I don't have trouble sleeping tonight as I think about how much fun Karis will have tomorrow!!

My Littles Aren't So Little

Lately I've been enjoying watching Karis grow up.  She is noticeably taller, she is more independent, she's helpful with her little sister, and she is practicing writing her letters and numbers (she really wants to go to school, so she is preparing).  She has also been developing lots of ideas and opinions on her own and for me that's been the most fun to watch -- especially when she's talking a mile a minute trying to verbalize what's running through her mind. 

  

When we used to play together, she would follow my lead as I made up stories or scenarios with her toys or other things.  Now she comes up with her own ideas during our play time.  The other day we were on the floor playing.  I laid out a small blanket and told her that when she ran across it, I would tickle her.  She did it one or two times but then realized she wanted to change the game.  She had about ten of her own rules about when I could tickle her and what else I could and could not do.  I found it pretty amusing. 

Yesterday, she came home with her craft projects from Sunday school.  One was a picture of a Bible and on it, it said, "The Bible Changes Me."  I asked her how it changes her.  She replied, "It just happens.  But I'm still going to be Karis." I laughed it off, but I thought about it a little more and I think there's more truth to that than I first realized...

Makena too is becoming more independent.  She loves to try and put on pants and shoes by herself.  She gets frustrated when she can't do it, but she also gets upset if you try to help her.  She can be quite stubborn!  

I've been enjoying discovering her personality when she is not around Karis.  When she plays alone, I notice she enjoys different things.  She loves playing with small gadgety stuff, small caps to tubes/bottles, and puzzles.  She also loves to play with dolls (something no one in my family or Derek did).  Here is a picture of her reading books to her dolls.

It's such a happy-sad feeling watching your little ones grow up!

Update on the Sisterhood

I wish every moment when the girls are together, they're laughing, sharing, and playing well together...

But they're still young...  Although there are many fun moments, often times the laughing is due to inappropriate behavior like, banging their forks on the table at dinner, climbing in and out of the laundry basket (after they've thrown the folded clothes out of it), or drawing on themselves and each other.  See Exhibit A:

 

It's fun to watch them play more and more with each other.  Makena for the most part just follows Karis' lead.  But when Makena does something to get our attention, Karis does it too.  Even though watching after both of them is tough sometimes, it is nice that they have each other's companionship.  

The other day, Karis and I went to get Makena from her nap.  Karis wanted to go in the crib and asked for some books.  I tossed a bunch in and then ran downstairs to finish making dinner.  

It's fun watching their love for each other grow.  When one cries, the other will go get her sister's lovey for her.  When one gets a snack, they make sure she gets some for her sister too.  My sweet, little girls...

Silly Faces!

Today's Pics

Today we went to Pretend City for the first time.  Pretend City is a children's museum that is a little city with about 15 different exhibits, each representing places you would find in and around a city.  One of my sisters gave us tickets for Christmas.  There was so much to see and do.  The girls loved it all!  Here are a few pictures of some of our stops.  

We watched a boat float through the Marina and then played with the fish in the water.  

Karis and Daddy went fishing:

She caught one!

We stopped at the grocery store and Karis rang up Daddy's purchases:

We stopped at the gas station.  I was going to take a cute pic of Makena sitting in the car, but when she sat down her butt hit the car and she hurt herself.  =(

Karis picked some produce at the farm:

We stopped in at the library and Daddy read a book to Karis while Makena picked a few of her own books to look at.

Afterwards, we picked up some Chik-fil-A and had a picnic lunch outside.  Karis said, "This is the best day ever!"  Thank you Patty Emo!

While at Pretend City, we stopped in to do a developmental assessment of the girls.  We got two free admission tickets to come back another day.  We will definitely be doing that!

Recent Pics

Here are some recent pics from the last couple of weeks.  

The Wednesday after Christmas, we went to the zoo.  The zoo is located inside a large regional park, so afterwards we walked to a playground and then to the pond to feed the ducks.  

After the zoo, we went home and put the girls down for their naps.  We then quickly packed up, made a trip to the grocery store and headed to Grandma's.  We left around 5:30 pm, right in the middle of rush hour!  We arrived after midnight.  The girls were excited when they woke up and found themselves at Grandma's!

We spent a few days there where we rang in the new year.  Here's a pic of grandma sharing her cereal with Hungry Bird.

Last weekend, we went to a friend's birthday party where there was a bounce house and a visit from Tinkerbell!

More amusing conversations with Karis

As we were finishing Karis' bedtime routine, I left Lena, Makena, and Karis to quickly floss something that had become stuck between my teeth. After I flossed, I blew my nose. When I finished, I heard Karis now outside my bathroom door speaking in a soft, sad voice, "Daddy, why you not read book to me?"

I responded, "Karis, Daddy was blowing his nose." purposely not going into the fact that I had to floss because I figured a simple answer would suffice.

To my surprise, Karis retorted, "There's Kleenex in my room Daddy."

"Yes, yes you're right Karis. You do have Kleenex in your room. I guess I could have blown my nose in your room." She's reached a new level of learning. It's neat (and scary / shocking) to see her connecting dots that she previously could not.


Another example...
Over the past two weeks, Karis has asked a couple of times for me to join her when she goes night-night. I try to persuade her that she needs only her buddy Fluffy (see previous post about Fluffy here). It worked the first time.

The other night, she remained a bit more persistent that I stay with her in addition to Fluffy. So I just reached into my arsenal of wisdom to outwit her. I told her that Mommy would be sleeping alone and that she should give Fluffy to Mommy if I were to stay with her. She glanced at Fluffy, and then pulled him in close to give it a face hug. She had a perplexed look on her face. Check! It worked.

Tonight, she again asked me to stay with her. I thought, "Okay, I'll just outwit her again. I'll ask her to give up Fluffy which she will not." So I say, "Karis, Mommy cannot sleep alone. If I stay with you, you need to give Fluffy to Mommy." I smirk.. but only momentarily as almost immediately she responds, "Fluffy's cousin." Check to Daddy! I was impressed that she thought of the ineffective back-up Fluffy to give to Mommy. Not to be outdone, I claim that Fluffy's cousin is too small. Again, Karis pipes up with "Lion!" (a stuffed animal that is quite big). Check mate to Daddy. Game over. I've met my match folks.

Conversing with Karis Happens Best in the Car

Karis helping me re-park the car in the garage

At home, Karis' hearing is quite awful. If the TV is on, it is as if she is deaf. She gets so engrossed in her shows (lately they are: Clifford, Curious George, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas) that she is oblivious to us calling her name... no matter how often or how loud.

HOWEVER...

In the car, we've had some pretty great talks. Here are three bits of a recent chat.

Momma was driving the family home from sister Julie's house. They picked me up from my final seminary class of the semester on the way. Lena packed a to-go meal for me.  As always, Karis didn't eat enough of her dinner with her cousins around, so she immediately asked if she could eat my dinner. I advised her that I would feed her once we stopped the car implying when we reached home. She directed her next comment to her mother saying, "Momma, stop the car please." The adults had a good laugh at her problem solving skills.

As I was eating, Karis asked "You eat it all, Daddy?" I told her that I hadn't yet finished my dinner. She then implored me, "Save a piece for me, Daddy." I did feed her a couple of small bites of the lasagna in the car.

Later during the ride home, Karis received a couple of pieces of gummy fruits. I politely asked if she'd share one with Daddy. She quickly obliged and handed me one piece (apparently she follows in her dad's footsteps being so literal). Although still thankful, I did share with Karis that the piece she shared with me was already half-eaten. Without missing a beat, she very genuinely replied, "It's okay Daddy."

AND FOR TODAY'S HUMBLING CAR CONVERSATION...
The girls were being a handful around noontime today. I thought the promise of going to the "bumpy slide" park would help their spirits (and, in turn, mine). Not so.

After getting them locked into their car seats, Makena started fussing loudly about her right shoe. It was half on her foot. As I tried to push it back onto her foot, she screamed at me. So I went in again to remove it. Again she screamed at me. I put it back on her foot about half-way and she continued to cry hysterically. Frustrated, I left her alone and prepped for the ride. In the process, I shut Karis' door a bit too abruptly.

As I sat down in my seat, Karis calmly said in a soft and gentle voice, "Don't slam door, Daddy. You could hurt my two fingers." [Sister recently had two of her fingers shut in a bedroom door by Karis' friend.] Of course I had to get out of my seat, kneel down so I'd be eye-to-eye with Karis in her car seat, tell her she was absolutely correct, and then apologized for my inappropriate behavior.

Sometimes, kids are the best source of truth for me and reflection of where I need to work on my character.