The Ballerina and the Bathrobe

Random Funnies

I just heard Luke ask Autry to hand him something in the bedroom.
"Luke. I am NOT a waitress."

The other day Luke was telling me all about this VERY HANDSOME character in his universe. He was going on and on about how handsome he is and how all the girls want to marry him. Even more handsome than you, I asked? He was quiet for a moment. "Of course not. But I'm already married. All the girls gave up."

I can't imagine where they pick these things up...

Autry and I were driving through downtown to get to her ballet lesson.
Mom.
Yes?
You should never bite houses, ok?
Ok.
Because if you bite houses all your teeth might fall out.
Ok.

Autry to Luke: "Luke, you are a delicate hero."

My big girl

Tonight Sierra had gymnastics, and we realized after we got there that it was parent watching day. Brian was home with Luke and Autry, but I watched from the track that circles above the gym floor. Having a solid hour alone just to watch that girl was such a treat. She is suddenly so beautiful and grown up. I loved watching her little mannerisms, hand movements and hops that I am so familiar with. She kept shyly looking up at me the whole time to make sure I was watching. I was. After gymnastics she was really excited and chattered away. It was so much fun, it is usually hard to have a conversation because she is ALWAYS reading. ALWAYS. She gets really antsy if she doesn't have a book with her, like an addict worried about where they will get their next fix. Any time she chooses to take a break from reading and interact is exciting. Now that she has her own bedroom (after sharing with Luke and then both kids for the last three years) I see even less of her. She shuts the door and listens to music, keeps everything extremely tidy, puts away her own laundry basket, gets up in the morning on her own. She has also been much more helpful and cheerful in general lately. She is so funny and clever and geeky in such a terrific way. I think a lot about her as an adult, it's not to hard to imagine, Brian calls her and her friend Mia the little old ladies. They love that. But it's true, she has been an old soul from the moment she was born. Much more intense and serious than either of her siblings. Although she definitely can get worked up, her affection is much more subdued. She will not throw herself at you, like Autry, or talk your ear off, like Luke. So those moments when I have her all to myself are just golden.

In the last couple of months Autry has:

1. Fallen flat on her face in the living room and knocked her two front teeth out of place. At least they are baby teeth, but they are now grey and will remain that way until they fall out, which, if she's anything like the rest of us will probably happen when she is 16.

2. Fallen off the playhouse ladder. Thank God she didn't break anything, but she did manage some pretty good scrapes.

3. Caught her right index finger in a falling hammock, resulting in a rush to the ER, four stitches, and a month of really dramatic and annoying bandage changes. The "dissolvable" stitches she supposedly has are not "dissolving" so the tip of her finger looks likes someone tied it on, even though the wound has healed. Her fingernail is also a lovely shade of black.

4. Fallen flat on her face off of Sierra's bed during prayers and busted her bottom lip wide open.

Also, did you know that it has been proven that red heads have a lower pain tolerance than the general population? Really, there are studies. They require more anesthesia during surgery and react very strongly to pain. If anyone doubts this, please, spend a day with Autry. She WILL hurt herself in some way, and she WILL FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She fell off her trike and refused to straighten her arm for hours. I was really starting to worry until Nikki and I made her reach for a piece of chocolate. As soon as she realized she had to stretch for the candy she was healed!

Who are you again?

We ran into an old friend of Brian's at dinner tonight. After we had been catching up for a few minutes, Autry felt like it was time for a formal introduction. "My mom's name is.... What's your name again?" Jubilee. "My mom's name is Jubilee, and my dad's name is... Uncle Brian?"

Imagination Evolution

It all started with Critter. We think the idea for Critter came from a t-shirt that Luke had with a beaver on it and the words, "Wood you be mine." I truly loved Critter. He was the typical imaginary friend. Both a playmate and a scapegoat, he was always around. He went on trips to the arctic, could fly, lived up in a cloud when he wasn't hanging out with Luke, and had a HUGE family. He slept with Luke and often required some attention at bedtime. He fit in Luke's palm, and loved to be pet. Critter was a big part of our lives for a few years. Once Luke saw Star Wars, however, Critter left for his cloud almost overnight. I miss him.



Star Wars blew Luke's mind. For several months, our gentle, bug loving boy went from snuggling Critter to only wanting to play games with battles, watch movies with battles, and talk about... battles. But the most important effect Star Wars had on his young psyche was the idea of an alternate universe. He quickly adopted his own universe, which closely mirrored Star Wars, with names and places slightly tweaked. He placed himself as the central figure, and began escaping for hours into his own mind.

The Star Wars craze was followed by Harry Potter, which has now been replaced by the Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology. As each obsession is replaced by the next, his immersion into the world of his imagination has become deeper and deeper. At this point Luke will lay on his back for HOURS, feet up in the air, narrating the goings on of his universe. When he doesn't have enough down time during the day, he has to check in with his world before he can go to bed. He updates us on the happenings of his universe constantly, funny things someone has said or done, great battles that have been won, the weather. "Tell you somethin'" is what he says when he's about to let you know what's going on in his world.



So that's Luke - he's a dreamy, obsessive, sensitive, stubborn, independent kid. A kid who's imagination is just as important to him as breathing. His family, with the exception of his amazingly practical and fact-driven sister, finds his universe fascinating. Autry is always willing to play "Luke's universe." His preschool teacher was moved to tears last year talking about how much she loved his imagination, and him. Here's my worry (because there always has to be a worry). He starts public school kindergarten in exactly one month. There will be no time for hours of laying around with his feet up in the air. He will be in a classroom with 18 other kids who are not a part of his universe. He has a hard time not talking about it, he will tell complete strangers if they'll listen. Most kids will probably think he's weird when he waxes poetic about his love for Aphrodite. I really don't know how he's going to do. I know and like his teacher, she is a loving and enthusiastic woman, however she will not have the time to constantly let him "tell her somethin'." I know I'm being dramatic, but the thought of his universe going the way of Critter just breaks my heart.

11 years ago...

I met the love of my life.

He swept me off my feet. Much of what has happened since then is a blur of sleepless nights and diapers, and I wouldn't trade a moment of it, because I have spent all those moments with my very best friend. And, plus, he's cute.

You know you are raising literary children when...

Your daughter's first love interest is Almonzo Wilder, and your son's Aphrodite. Autry is still stuck on the idea of marrying her dad, so we'll just have to see with that one.

Oh, and today Sierra picked out her outfit to match the cover of the book she was reading. Seriously.

Why 3 is my favorite age, part 2

When you are 3, naughtiness is still cute... I honestly don't know what we are in for when she gets older, but right now she is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

Why 3 is my favorite age, part I

Autry: "Let me up on the bed, please."
Me: "One second, just let me finish making it."
Autry: "Just let me up on the bed, ya old lady!"

Luke is going to be an astronaut when he grows up. Sierra is going to be a doctor or a lawyer. Autry is going to be a whale or a dolphin.

Tuna fish = "Tunish"

Autry, fiddling with the keys in the ignition: "I know how to drive."
Me: "Really?"
Autry, with matter of fact shrug: "Yeah, I know how to drive Uncle Star crazy."

Sitting in the bleachers at the soccer game. Autry licks my arm.
Me: "Don't lick me!"
Autry, turning to the dad behind us and rolling her eyes: "She ALWAYS says that."

Happy Valentines Day!

We made our own cards this year, which was really fun... Here is Lukie with his creations, he kept trying to find "boyish" valentines paper. After four and a half years of being perfectly content to let his big sister dress him in tutus, he has suddenly realized that might not fly with his buddies, and is always wanting to do the "boyish" thing.

Luke- "Let's play Voltron, Autry"
Autry - "Let's play princess/baby/fairy/mommy/ballerina"
Luke - "That's DISGUSTING!!"
Autry - "I'll be Angelina Ballerina mommy and you be the daddy."
Luke - "AAAUUUGGHHH! I only like games with battles!"
Autry - "Angelina Ballerina Lukie!! Angelina Ballerina Lukie!! ANGELINA BALLERINA LUKIE!!!"
Luke - Chunks plastic toy at her head.

State of the Union

Luke has gone from having an imaginary friend named Critter to having an entire imaginary universe in which he is the ruler. For some reason, this drives Sierra CRAZY. Everything in his universe mimics Star Wars. In the Star Wars galaxy, for example, there is a planet called Tattoine. In his universe it is the planet Fattoine. And so on. People are only allowed to watch one movie in his universe, guess which one... He pretty much talks about his universe constantly. It is amazingly complicated and full of drama. Luke and Sierra came running to me this morning, super excited because they thought they heard on the radio that there were Storm Troopers in Ohio. Luke said, "I've done it! It's my universe!" He was also very excited today because he thinks Obama said "the force" during his inauguration speech. He, like many of our fellow Americans, is convinced that Obama is a secret Jedi knight. He was trying to get Autry to play, "I'll be Barack Obama and you be his helper." She told him she would only play if she got to be his Mama. Luke also got in his first fist fight this weekend, which was very sad for us. It is so hard to be a boy. It had been a long time coming, and he came out on top (literally). I'm still not sure what exactly started it, but it was definitely instigated by the other kid. Luke managed, in his own words, to "take his power away." Sigh.



Sierra has started gymnastics, she loves it, especially the uneven bars. She is still taking piano lessons, except now her teacher comes to our home, which is great for me. She was recently tested for gifted and talented at school, and passed all four sections of the test, some with 100%. Her guidance counselor was amazed, apparently you only need to pass one section to be considered GT. She is loving school this year, she has another great teacher, Mrs. Martin. She still plays with her best friend, Mia, and also spends a lot of time during the weekend with Cooper playing some sort of rock band video game and building things in the backyard. She is also super into Star Wars, and can tell you anything you ever wanted to know about characters, planets, plots. She also spends a lot of time honing her lawyering skills by arguing with her mother. I'm already getting a lot of, "You are ruining my life!" and that sort of thing.



Autry is busy being hilarious. She is seriously amazingly funny and sweet. She is quirky and smart and very, very loving. She will be three in a few weeks and I find myself wishing almost every day that she would stay this age for just a little bit longer. She loves to dress up, play fairies and princess and Jedi, take three baths a day, snuggle Bogie, is an amazing climber, and gets a delight out of being naughty only rivaled by her father.

Arizona

Thanks to Grandpa, Lydia, Rose, Nikki, and Adam, Brian and I were able to go to Flagstaff for four days last week. We were there to celebrate Vafa and Amanda's wedding and catch up on some rest and alone time. It truly does take a village, thanks guys. It was a wonderful trip! Flagstaff is beautiful, the weather was great. Lots of snow on the ground and blue sky. We didn't have time to ski, but Vafa rented snow shoes for everyone and we went out after the ceremony and hiked all over the woods behind the hotel. Brian made lots of new friends with his enthusiastic snowball fighting... We ran into my Aunt Joanne, Uncle Murphy, and seven of their nine children (and one son-in-law and one three-week old baby Mary Bridget and one friend from South Africa) completely randomly at a restaurant in Flagstaff and it turned out we were staying at the same hotel and all planning on going to the Grand Canyon. They live in Pasadena, California. It was a crazy coincidence, and we had a great time hanging out with all the cousins at the Grand Canyon.




Had to include a picture of our room for the kids - they really appreciate a fine ho-towel. Our room was amazing, lovely fireplace, marble everything, very nice...


Lots of time spent eating yummy food and catching up with friends. We are always so excited to have a leisurely meal. With Meal. Brian will get that.


Proof that we made it to the Grand Canyon. It was grand, and cold. It snowed a little while we were up there.


Anna and Rose Goodwin.




Goodwin men, plus Sam and Brian and someone's friend (Charlie's?) from South Africa.


Goodwin ladies. Check out the look on Rose's face. She's awesome.


And the happy couple... Congratulations! The wedding itself was very nice, everyone seemed relaxed and happy. It was fun watching the families get to know each other over the weekend.


Brian was the master of ceremonies, Amanda's dad sang during the ceremony and Vafa's parents sang a traditional Persian wedding song while Victor played the violin.