Monkey see

Gemma doesn't miss a thing. None of the kids do. Grandma came to stay a few weeks ago and now every time Gemma sees a Popsicle stick, she does this. Do you know what she is doing?





Answer: filing her fingernails. Just like grandma does.

Gemma dances

My breakfast companion

Here is what Gemma wore to breakfast last week. We find it necessary to don our finest attire for the breakfast table at our house.

Note: the glasses are a pair that came with a doll. They are not prescription and do not have any correction.

Note the third photo. She is wearing a pair of pink tights over her pajamas. She found this pair of tights a few weeks ago. She knows that Amelia wears tights to go to ballet class. Gemma is desperate to go to ballet class. So, she has taken to carrying this pair of tights everywhere. That day, she agreed to take off the tights. But, we still had to take them with us. We brought the tights to the library, grocery store and to the park. Kids are so weird.

Overdue

This is terrible! Amelia lost her second tooth almost 2 weeks ago! She went in for her regular dentist appointment and the left side bottom front tooth was just hanging on by a thread. The dentist asked her if she wanted some help pulling it out or if she wanted it left alone. When she heard she would get to pick 2 toys from the toy chest, the deal was sealed.

Here she is modeling her new crown and new slinky toy after the tooth was removed (gently, without trauma).


Sent from my iPhone

Gemma

We were at our usual Saturday morning soccer game.  William was with a gaggle of boys playing electronics and Gemma found a set of small people to play with.  This Saturday, there was only 1 other little guy to play with.  This did not stop her one bit.

She would play for awhile and then run back for a few moments to check in with us.  Then she was off again to play.  One one trip back to us, I asked Gemma who she was playing with (I already knew the answer was a friend named Cole).

Gemma's response: I playing with my boyfriend.

I have to tell you.  My heart stopped for a just a moment. I was not ready to compute a child of mine having a boyfriend.

Just to be sure I was understanding, I asked again: Who are you playing with, Gemma?  Is it a boy who is a friend?

She looked at me with a puzzled expression. 

"Yes, mom.  I playing with my boyfriend."

And then she was off running again.

Whistle Blower

Gemma does not know how to whistle.  It is one of those things that is hard about being the youngest.  You see all the neat stuff your older siblings are doing and then want to do it all now.  Right now.

The big kids can whistle, although it isn't something they do ALL THE TIME as they did when they first learned.

I suspect the preschool Gemma attends a few days a week has a whistle they use on the playground.  I'm assuming they use it like a life guard does- when someone is doing something wrong, they blow their whistle.

Gemma has taken to "whistling" herself.  She makes her lips into an "O" shape and she says "hooo".  She sounds sort of like a cute owl.

There are multiple occasions Gemma will whistle:

1. When she hears anyone else whistling at all.
2. When someone else is doing something dangerous.  Examples of this are: William jumping off the couch, Amelia dangling herself off the top bunk of her bunk bed, and Daddy climbing a ladder.  Interestingly enough, the whistle does not apply to herself ever.  Not even when she herself is jumping off the bunk bed or climbing onto the counter top.
3. When she doesn't like something or when something hurts.  Most often this happens when I am (trying) to brush her hair in the morning.  Or evening.  Really anything happening with her hair.  I start brushing and she will starting hooting away.

Silly things

1.  Amelia was snuggled up in bed with me this morning.  It was early - somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45am.  I heard Gemma stirring in her room.  Half awake, I asked Amelia if she wanted to go and play with Gemma for a few minutes.

Amelia replied that she didn't need to go and play with Gemma.  "William is on Gemma patrol right now."


2.  We went to Culver's for lunch this weekend.  With a kids' meal, you get a ticket for a free scoop of ice cream.  William picked mint chip ice cream and Amelia picked chocolate with M&M's.  Gemma didn't get one as I make the 3 kids split the 2 meals.  Gemma just picked at her food and I assumed she wouldn't want much ice cream.  William and Amelia both shared a few little bites with Gemma.  When William put a taste of his flavor into her mouth, Gemma got a funny look on her face. 

I asked her, "What flavor is that in your mouth?  What does it taste like?"

"TOOTHPASTE!" is what she replied.

From then on, when she wanted another bite of ice cream from William, she would request the toothpaste kind.

3. Amelia had a soccer game this evening.

John and I watched the game and kept one eye on Gemma and William.

William entertained himself by chasing around 2 four year old boys in a game of modified tag.  Gemma did her best to get in the way of the boys and when that didn't work, she would roll down a small hill or pull up hunks of grass.

I turned to see Gemma dump a huge handful of grass on one of the smaller boys playing with William. It was a huge handful.  She giggled and ran away.  The boy looked at William.  William just shrugged.  The boy leaned over and pulled a tiny handful of grass.  He walked toward Gemma.  William turned to see this boy dump 3-4 blades of grass on Gemma's arm.  William was not pleased.

He walked over to the boy and informed him that he needed to leave alone his little sister.  He told the boy he shouldn't put grass on Gemma again.

It is good to know that while the kids terrorize each other, they still care about each other.