Weekend Update

Anna is spending a lot of time in front of the mirror. She goes into the bathroom to do her chores each morning and often sort of forgets to do them because she is occupied moving one little hair into just the right place. I should probably assign her chores in a room without a mirror. The plus side of this new phase is that she is actually putting cuteness over comfort and wearing things like jeans! It makes my motherly vanity very happy. Many of you will remember that we affectionately call Anna our very own Princess and the Pea. She will only sleep in silky jammies and would only wear knit - until recently! In fact one of the most humbling experiences for me was her 2nd grade year when she literally wore the same outfit EVERY day ALL winter long. Winters are really long here. She's also extremely modest and if her shirt or dress is a 1/2 inch below her neck she wears a tank top or t-shirt underneath. I get a kick out of the fact that most Mom's are begging their daughters to cover up and I'm trying to talk mine into showing more skin, like the bottom of her neck! We love Anna.

Abigail got her haircut and I love it. It makes her look like more of a little girl which makes me happy. She had her first "late night" this weekend with her friend Paige. We ordered pizza and watched "Kit Kittridge" and Paige got to stay until 9:00 pm! It was big news. The only problem was that they kept asking me what time it was every 2 minutes so that they could say "We still have 2 hours and 20 minutes til 9:00!" She told me that when she grows up she either wants to be a crossing-guard or an artist. So funny to me that standing out in freezing cold weather walking across the street over and over carrying a big old stop sign is in any way appealing to her. We love Abby.

Nathan has developed a little habit that is probably very indicative of his middle childness. Whenever all the kids are together and he needs to tell me something he'll say, "Mom, Nate wants pasta for dinner." or "Mom, Nate wants to go with you." When I asked him why he says his name he told me because some people think his and Abby's voices sound a like and he wants to make sure I know it's him. I've assured him that I know his voice, but he's going to just make sure. He is such a tender little guy, yesterday Ben didn't get a nap, and later fell asleep on the rocking chair. When I showed Nate he kept walking over to him and kissing Ben's head. The cuteness of a little one sleeping was irresistible to him. We love Nate.

Ben has a new favorite phrase: "What da heck?!" He heard Nate say that one day and then worked in into his own conversation shortly thereafter. We all burst out laughing which sealed it's fate as his favorite. I don't know if you've noticed, but our generation tend to wear pants a little lower than our parents' generation. My brothers have often teased my Dad for wearing his pants at his waist. Evidently, this has not escaped Ben's observation either. The other day he came out with his jammie bottoms pulled way up, a big grin and said, "Mom, look, I Gwampa!" I couldn't believe that's what he meant, but he did it several times. Sorry, Dad. For what it's worth, I think your pants look very nice. We love Ben.