Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What do YOU call them?

It happened again and I didn't know what to say.  Tonight I had to give all three a bath at the same time and Kendall was interested in Clark's ummm...you know.  And Troy and I have had a hard time deciding what to call "the parts."  Since we have a mixed bag of two girls and a boy and they are the same age, it's sort of inevitable that they will have moments of curiosity and will have questions.  We've heard arguments about using the correct terminology for various reasons and then we have heard from families that use the "cuter" terms.  I used the correct term and explained to Kendall that Clark has what he has and that it is his and she needs to leave it alone.  That's all that happened with it and we moved on, which was nice.  I was afraid Daddy would get home and she'd tell him "Clark has a penis!" and he might have a coronary.
I'm just curious what "you", my readers, have taught your toddlers about body parts and maybe a "why" here or there, but no lectures please.  I'm just looking for friendly ideas.
Nanny Barb has been with us for a couple of weeks after a very long time away but she has been taking the kids to her house for a change of scenery.  She was able to get a few really cute shots today and I wanted to share those in my post.  She will be leaving us again after this week and we will miss her SO much.  We are so grateful to her as are all of the families who have been touched by her special gift for taking care of and loving our multiples...our babies. 

Monday, August 30, 2010

Our future's so bright, Emma's gotta wear shades.....Smoky too


Emma found her sunglasses amidst the rubble of toys in the playroom this evening.  I got a shot with them correctly placed, but the usual pose is upside-down (as in the other picture and on Smoky).   And, while I intended to just post those, I couldn't resist the others of Clark and Kendall.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Nostalgic Afternoon

We took a super-long bike ride with the kids today in order to get to a pretty cool park.  During a snack break at one stop/park, Daddy got out the point-and-shoot.  I noticed that Emma doesn't appear in any of the pics, but I think it's because she was hanging out with us at the time.  Oops.
They had a blast and we enjoyed the fact that there is so much open space that they have a chance to explore a little before we need to ask them to stop wandering.  It's no fun being stifled by Mommy and Daddy telling you "no" all of the time.  This was an opportunity for them to get out and run, wander, look at pinecones and tree branches, dig up the dirt and sift tiny rocks through their hands.
Troy and I really enjoyed watching them play and explore and it made us kind of feel nostalgic about our own childhoods.  It's crazy how we used to be able to ride our bikes all over the place and today it's not quite as easy to allow kids to do so (of course ours aren't even old enough anyway).  We both remember riding up to a convenience store for Icees (I had Slurpees at 7-11...YUMMY!) and junk food.
When the kids were swinging on the swingset behind an elementary school, the squeaking noise it made reminded me of a neighborhood park (Plant Drive for those of you who know where I grew up).  I would ride up there and hang out for hours to watch games (yes, I could actually sit through an entire baseball game!), swing on the swings or ride on the see-saw, eat Pixie Sticks and drink Coke in those paper cups that were sold from the snack bar.  Aaaahhhh.  Those were the days!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Lots of fun in Oak Ridge


We are officially fans of the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge ( http://childrensmuseumofoakridge.org/).  It gives them a great opportunity to run around, pick up and play with lots of cool things and be around other kids.  Miss Pam and Auntie Karen went with us so we were able to be assigned to just one child at a time.  It can get really challenging trying to keep an eye on them because they always want to go in different directions.  Clark just wants to run anywhere he can get the space.  Emma could stay in the big "dollhouse" all day and Kendall will usually go wherever the adults are headed.  All three of them really enjoyed the gym again and this time they had a bunch of beach balls in there which gave the kids something to kick and throw. 
Once we left the museum, it was lunchtime and we found a nearby park, but decided to sit in the car since they were happy watching a DVD about letters.  They ate VERY well after burning off so much energy and then we jumped out and headed for the big play area with swings, a huge play structure and lots of sand.  This last tidbit is important to mention since Clark loves to throw sand, grass clippings, etc up in the air and get it in his hair and clothes.  Yuck!  But he has a great time, so who am I to argue with that, right?