12/09/09

Just a quick update today. Although we are pretty busy around here lately, things are really great for us. The girls are doing well and everyone is finally done being sick, I think. Kara had a field trip on monday to the dollar store to go Christmas shopping. She has been so excited about it ever since. She is keeping it a secret what gifts she bought, but she tells me she got one thing for mommy and one thing for daddy. She didn't get anything for Kiersten, but I think I'll take them maybe tomorrow or next week to get Christmas gifts for each other. I think they'll like that. She got an award at school for learning all of her numbers and being able to count from 1-100. Her teacher told me that she is only the third child to get the award. The other two that have gotten it are 6 and 5 years old. I think it's great that Kara really loves to learn, and is always asking questions and learning new things. I know she already knows things that I certainly didn't know until I was 5 or 6. So we are very proud of her doing so well in school. We are thinking of getting her into a more challenging school next year, but it can get pricey, and also, it might be good for her to just have another year of fun preschool before she starts kindergarten. I like being able to pick how many days a week she goes, and having the flexibility to keep her home if we have something else going on. (like visitors). The latest with Kara, is she has become a little mini me. She loves to clean and help with anything she can. She also tries to "mother" poor Kiersten. She asks every night if she can set the table for dinner. If Kiersten spills something, instead of telling me as she used to, she gets a rag from the drawer and cleans the mess and Kiersten if neccesary. Kiersten has definitely had enough of Kara cleaning her face this past week. She has also started trying to take care of me. She'll get a cup and fill it with water and get me one of her special twisty straws, and then she'll bring it to me and say something like, "here you go, mommy. I got a drink for you. If you drink it all gone, you can have a treat". It's very sweet, but I'm not sure why she suddenly started acting this way. It's helpful sometimes, like if Kiersten starts crying, Kara will try to comfort her if she can. She'll tell her it's okay and kiss her boo-boos. It's also nice when she cleans up her toys and even encourages Kiersten to clean up. But it can also be a little annoying and sometimes dangerous. Like when she thinks she ought to clean the toilet, or wants to help me take the cookies out of the oven. I also worry that it is causing issues for Kiersten. She knows Kara is not her mother and is not in charge of her, and she hates it when Kara acts that way. I guess I can understand, but she really has started acting out. If Kara gets to be too much, Kiersten will push her, pull her hair, and scream "go way!". So we'll have to start teaching Kara when to back off, and make sure she knows her boundaries. I wouldn't want this to be a life-long issue between them. Kiersten is growing up so fast. It seems like she didn't stay a baby very long. She is really funny with her baby dolls and stuffed animals. She always has one with her, wherever she goes. There are a few favorites, but she will switch it up a little. Her vocabulary is getting bigger all the time. Sometimes I have no idea where she heard some of the words, or how she learned them. she is using more sentences now. I love to hear her say, "shake yo booty" and "bunny hungry". Another cute thing she does when we are all together, is she will point to each of us and identify us, "dada, mama, Kara," then she'll point to herself and say, "baby!" She rarely says her name, she just thinks of herself as baby.
Ben is working hard as usual. He's working late nights all this week. That's never fun, but I appreciate that he does it because it means I get to be a stay home mom. It's a wonderful thing for me, and even better for the girls. The girls both have apointments for H1N1 vaccinations this afternoon.Our pediatrician ran out early, and has just gotten more. Kara might also get her seasonal flu shot, but I don't know if they'll want to give her both or not. I wasn't sure if they should get it, because it's a newer vaccine and I heard all the horror stories of the vaccine they created for swine flu in the 60's. But medicine now is different than it was then, so we decided we'd rather risk the slight possibility of side effects, than risk them getting the flu. today is our last normal day before a really full and busy weekend, so no big plans for tonight. Just a quiet evening together, and hopefully Ben will get home at a decent hour.