Dress up and other things

Today I had the funnest time watching the girls play dress up together. I don't know what made it so cool- the fact that I didn't have sisters to dress up with? Or was it that Paislee & Kailia are finally interacting with Bella, almost as equals? I had fun helping them take on and off their outfits. Bella was a princess, a ballerina, & a karate girl. Kailia and Paislee are obsessed with the princess shoes. They fight over them a ton. Kailia dressed up in a leotard, tutu, and ballet slippers. She kept saying "TU-tu" over and over. Paislee kept trying to steal my camera, as I was trying to snap some pictures of them. I finally was able to get her in a princess dress, crown, necklace, purse, and shoes. I told her how beautiful she looked and she smiled sooo big. My girls are my little princesses and I hope they always remember that!


Princess Paislee is totally into necklaces and earrings...and my camera.


Kailia can now leave the ground when she jumps and does it when she gets excited. She also dances to every song that comes on.


Bella the Ballerina - she told me that she practiced ballet a lot and that's why she is so good. She really really wants to take ballet lessons. This summer after pre-school is out, I plan on putting her in some lessons.

Bella is getting so good with her letters and the sounds they make. I credit this all to the Leap Fr.og Lett.er Fac.tory. It's her favorite movie and she asks to watch it all the time. Her favorite word game to play with me is "Word Roll" from the tv show "Word World". There are round little tokens with each letter of the alphabet on them. You basically spell out each word on the cards by finding the letters. I have her practice sounding out the letters of each word. She is getting pretty good. I have a hard time explaining all the different rules to her though. English really is such a tough language!

I read somewhere that the more senses you incorporate into learning, the easier/better it is learned. The suggested activity was to pour salt into a pan and write with your finger. I wrote down a list of words on a piece of paper for Bella to practice. She loved this and it kept her entertained for at least an hour. She is such an inquisitive little girl. Her questions seem never-ending..."Then what could happen?" "Then what would he/she say?" "Why mommy?" After every answer I give her, she shoots another question at me. After 4 or 5 times, I'll finally ask her what SHE thinks. I am amazed with how quickly she is learning. I usually only have to tell her something a couple times and it just sticks.


"Dog"

"Cat"

Kailia & Paislee are talking a ton more now. Kailia's word for 'water' is 'dagodigodigo'. We think it's from 'here you go' when we hand her the drink. Her word for 'pacifier' is 'fuffy' or 'puffy'. It's such a funny word so we make her say it all the time. She often starts out sentences with "I WANT....." She can be very demanding. She has been so cuddly lately. I love it when she rests her head on my shoulder. We recently tried to ween her off her pacifier. The more we tried the more she clung to it. We decided it wasn't worth it, especially with a new baby coming home soon. It is a nice easy way to "plug" her. She loves to push buttons. She knows how to push Bella's really well. I can't help but laugh at the joy on her face when she is tormenting a sister (or mom and dad). She'll grab whatever it is, and run away giggling. "scattering her sunshine all along the way". She calls me 'mommy'. That's one way I can tell the twins apart. Their voices are different now, and that helps me too.

Paislee is still such a daddy's girl. She will not go to me if dad is home. She clutches on to him when he is home to make sure he doesn't leave. She'll grip his finger or pants and not let go. At times she is very timid, but others she can be such a monkey. At the duck park yesterday, she wanted to get to the ducks! I had to literally hold her back so she didn't end up in the pond. Kailia and Bella were a little more timid and held back away from the ducks. I love the way Paislee says "Mama". She says it in a tone that makes me feel like I am in trouble. Paislee and Kailia are getting their canine teeth in and have been absolute monsters! I thought there might be something wrong with them, but I discovered the little teeth trying to poke through and was relieved there was an actual valid reason. They have such a love-hate relationship. One minute they are hugging and playing, and the next minute they are fighting over a toy or blanket.

Baby boy still doesn't have a name. We have a list of names that I picked through from an online list. I then had Levi rank each name on a scale 1-10. We narrowed that down to all of the 5 and up names. This brought our choices down to 5 or 6. Izabella was our easiest to name. No, we did not name her after the Twilight books! We both just loved the name (and the book came out 6 months later). There was a cute little girl on Levi's mission in Brazil with the name. We agreed easily on it, but I still needed to hold her and see her to make sure it fit. And it did. The twins were a little more difficult. At first I thought we could each pick a name. But when he picked the name 'Aliyah' I said no way. I liked 'Kai' for a boy or 'Kaya' for a girl after the Bob Marley song. He said let's combine them. And that's how we got Kailia. I found Paislee in a childrens' book by Sandra Boynton. It was dedicated to a Paislee. I immediately fell in love with the name. Now I hear it ALL the time at McDonald's or the park! Not so original I guess. But the names fit them well. For Baby Boy we are thinking:

Finn
Hayden
Brighton
Carver
Bryce
Cash
Jamison
Preston
Weston

No, we really don't care what anyone thinks....Okay I guess we do if you LIKE one of them. But if you don't, we don't want to hear it. I hate telling people our name choices for that very reason! But, the countdown is on. We have 25 days until the scheduled C-Section. We thought it might have been sooner. I was in Labor & Delivery last Sunday night with horrible contractions and cramps that weren't letting up. It turns out I had a bladder infection. I guess those can cause pre-mature labor! Who knew?! After the hardcore iv antibiotics, I started to feel better immediately. It's different to have just one in there. I hate not getting an ultrasound view of him every week like I did with Pais & Kai. It was good to be able check in on them and see what they were up to. But, all the nurses that check me say that Baby Boy is a very healthy baby. Strong heart beat & very active. I wonder all the time who he will look like. Will I ever have a child that resembles me? It's okay if I don't. Levi is such a good looking guy! I have gotten the "nesting" bug and can't stop hard-core cleaning- like baseboards, doors, mopping on my hands and knees. It's killing me, but I am driven by this force that is stronger than me and I can't stop! I have also started swelling- hands, feet, face. I am not sure if it's because of the warmer weather or because I am closer. Yuck!

Now that my cousin had her baby yesterday and Levi's cousin will probably have her's today I am starting to get anxious. I am being so paranoid, like every little thing is a sign of labor. This pregnancy has gone by quickly though. I guess I just don't have the time to think about it, read about each week, and count down because I have 3 children aged 3 and under keeping me SUPER busy. I only get to sit down when it's nap time. And even then, I am trying to get caught up with spring cleaning or laundry. But he will come when he comes and God decides it's time.

So we are doing good. Life is good. I am content and we are all healthy and happy. Just thought I'd write a few things before they are long forgotten from my forgetful mind.