Kate is 6

My cheeky girl is 6!  I love my cheeky girl!  (Okay, enough of the cheek! I don't begin to know where she gets that from!) 

Let's see.  Today Kate: Opened her present - well, read her cards that were leaning against her present.  I didn't wrap the barbie house - it's huge.  I was able to pick it up second hand, in amazing condition, and Kate LOVES it.  Next was breakfast and getting ready for school.  She took cupcakes for her class.  After school she played with her barbie house, we read books, we had subs for dinner, and pilsbury cookies and mini cupcakes.  We had a pretty low-key evening.  There were some minor disagreements, a few tears shed, all in all, a mostly normal evening, but I think Kate had a great day.

What to say about Kate. She is an articulate little person.  She loves to learn.  She loves to play with her sisters, play video games, watch shows on netflix, read books, play piano.  She loves making pizza with her Dad, watching her Dad play games on his phone.  Kate can be so helpful.  She does get frustrated by noise, and noisy sisters, but she is maturing.

She loves to say prayers, and read the Book of Mormon scripture stories.  She loves to draw, colour pictures, and write stories.   She loves singing and dancing.  She's figuring out social things at school, but she still very much enjoys playing on her own at recess. 

Now we gear up for the party on Saturday!

Birthday Questions - Kate 6

1. What is your favourite colour?

            Pink

2. What is your favourite toy?

            The barbie house

3. What is your favourite fruit?

            Apple

4. What is your favourite tv show?

            My Little Pony Equestria Girls

5. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?

            Hot dogs

 6. What is your favourite outfit?

            Birthday outfit - "Today is my favourite day"

7. What is your favourite game?

            Hide 'n' go seek

8. What is your favourite snack?

            Cereal

9. What is your favourite animal?

            Flamingo

10. What is your favourite song?

            On Top of Spaghetti

11. What is your favourite book?

            Alligator Baby

12. Who is your best friend?

            Abby

13. What is your favourite cereal?

            Gorilla Munch

14. What is your favourite thing to do outside?

            Crawl on top of the house and spend some time there.

15. What is your favourite drink?

            Chocolate Milk

16. What is your favourite holiday?

            Valentine's Day.  In a dreamy voice, "Ah, hearts."

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

            Kristina the frog

18. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?

            Eggs and toast

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

            Subs

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

            A ninja

Question #14

 

Question #6

Fiona is 19 Months Old!

This past month... Fiona was really sick.  Well, really sick?  She had a fever that lasted for several days.  This was the first time she'd had a fever for that length of time.  She's still coughing, but otherwise she's generally recovered.  She wouldn't eat anything either.  Bites of things here and there, but nothing really.  I was so glad that I was still nursing.  Having sick kids over Christmas wasn't very much fun, but the girls are generally so healthy, and I am ever so grateful!

I am ready for her language to take off.  She does the "uh, uh, uh" and gestures lots.  I know she can say lots of words, she just doesn't seem to want to.  The past few days, I've been trying to get her to use the word, like up when she wants me to pick her up, instead of the uh uh uh!  Sometimes it works.  Tonight at dinner when we asked the girls if they were ready for prayers, Fiona said "ready", as clear as day.  Who knows when she'll say it again, but there it is.  She can say lots of things if she wants to!

We love you Fifi!

Plumb Fun

It's been a long, somewhat miserable break.  Not completely miserable, lots of bright spots, but some long long days.  ANYWAY!!  The point, last night I decided that I wanted to hang out with a friend, so I sent a message to my buddy Ruth.  She said that she was going bowling with Verity - a friend from Richmond Hill ward that moved away a while back.  I thought, why not.  So, Ken worked a short day and then we all went down to World Bowl in Richmond Hill.  Kate and Alice really do enjoy bowling.  And I did very well bowling with bumper pads!!

After bowling fun, Ruth invited us all up to their place for dinner, more fun!  It was so nice to sit and chat, and chat and chat.  There really is something so wonderfully theraputic and relaxing, and cheerful and essential, about chatting with a friend.

Oh and Dave, Ken and the girls did Rock Band in the basement.  It was pretty cute!

Zoo Time

Happy New Year!  Let's go to the zoo!  We were supposed to leave sooner, but we didn't.  We did see the new giraffe house, and that was cool.  Giraffes are amazing.  It was a quick trip to Africa, but it was fun, and warm, well the part where we were inside. 

Yay to a new year filled with so much possible fun, and joy and adventure!

(Oh, and Kate picked out Shelby, a pink turtle stuffy for her birthday present.)

Funny

What better way to end the year than with funny?!  It's been quite the year.  A whole year of being home.  I whole year of three little girls.  A whole year of being grateful for so many blessings.  My life is abundantly rich, and I am so thankful.

And now... FUNNY! (Oh, and I just checked back... the last time I wrote them all in one place was at the end of January?!  How is that possible!!!)

February
Kate and Alice are playing airplane. I boarded the airplane (I sat on the couch).
Me: Where are you going?
Kate: To Florida.
Me: Why are you going to Florida?
Kate: Because my husband is dead forever.
Me: Why are you going to Florida?
Kate: To find a new husband.

Just turned around to pay attention to Alice and well, she's scratching her back with a toilet cleaner handle. No Alice, that's not a back scratcher. Ew.

Kate: I can't wait until August.
Me: Why?
Kate: I think Dad told me that's when you see a shooting star.
Me: I told you that.
Kate: I really want to make a wish.
Me: What do you want to wish?
Kate: That everyone in the whole world will be friends.

On the way home from school today we caught up to our neighbour as we reached our house. Kate turned to the Mom and said "I know your oldest son from my preschool class." 

March
Alice - wood pecker, aka wood cracker, ritz cracker

Alice - baa baa black sheep lyric - "the little boy who lives down the drain"

I was just filling out the all about me section of Kate's school days book. I was filling out the junior kindergarten page, because she's in junior kindergarten. I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up...
"I want to be a scientist that deals with liquids. I want to be a chemist."

Me: Kate did you just lick the butter off the eggo or did you eat the eggo? I'm going to be mad if you just licked the butter off.
Kate: Well I ate a little.
Me: I'm not going to make you eggos any more if you're just going to lick the butter off.
Kate: Just cold eggos?
Me: I don't know.
Kate: Not ever?
Me: I don't know.
Kate: Maybe when I'm 30 I'll understand.

April
Me: What's going on in here?
Kate: Alice threw a book at me so I threw a book at her. That's the golden rule.

Grandpa, Alice, Fiona, Me all sitting on the porch.  Fiona pulls herself to standing up.
Grandpa: Holy Cow, would you look at that!
Alice: Grandpa, that's not a cow, that's Fiona!

Alice: Don't drop that on me Mom, you don't want to wreck me. I'm a human.

Alice: That's our Mom when she married not our Dad. My Dad has a circle head. That Dad has an oval head.
(I guess Ken looks a little different!)

Alice sitting at the table, Ken sitting on the couch.  Alice has just finished her oreo cookies and has spilled milk on her pants and shirt.  She takes off her shirt.
Alice: I spilled, I need to take my clothes off and put my jammies on.
Ken: You're going to have a bath.
Alice then gets up and starts taking off the rest of her clothes.
Alice: I'm taking my underwear off and my bum's sticking out.  STUPID!

May
Dina the Ostrich, as drawn by Kate

June
Kate: I have a secret crush on someone in my class (at church) whose name starts with G.  When we had another teacher one day we both said toilet.

Kate: If I have three kids I'll name them Elsa, Kristoff and Anna.  And if I have another kid I'll name him Sven.  And if I have another kid I'll name him Olaf.  And if I have another kid I'll name him Prince Hans.  Well, I'll call it Prince Hans but name it Mike.
(Thank you Disney's Frozen for naming all of my future grandchildren!)

Kate: Mom, guess who's birthday is next in our family? It starts with a K. It's me, my birthday is next.
(That's right, we haven't even had Fiona's party, it's still June, but that's right, your birthday in JANUARY of NEXT YEAR, is next! And yes, she's already telling me that she's going to be turning six...)

Alice: When I cost a lot of numbers and Fiona costs a lot of numbers then we can marry each other.
Me: You can't marry Fiona.
Alice: Why?

Me: Because she's your sister.

July

Alice: I want to sit in a green bucket. I want a bandaid on my head. We're a family of hedgehogs!
(Driving with a three year old.)

Alice: I think Uncle Matthew is Auntie Michelle's Mom.
Family can be confusing! ‪#‎bacON14‬

Alice: what if my shoe was a mouth, and it ate my foot. All my blood would come out, and I would die. Hahaha Hahaha, that would be craaaaaaaaazy.

Alice just told me her name was Tweak Bacon Pop Boulevard.

Alice likes to change her name frequently. In addition to what she told her Dad she also told me her name was Tweak Bacon Melissa. (This was during our visit to the boulevard park tonight.)

August
Kate: I wish I was an orphan then I could do whatever I wanted.
Yup, been one of those days.


Alice: Mom, are we having porn chops for dinner.
Me: Alice, say pork chops. We're having pork chops for dinner.

Alice: What's that noise?
Me: An airplane.
Alice: Airplanes scare me.
Me: Why do airplanes scare you?
Alice: Do airplanes have teeth?
Me: No.
Alice: When airplanes shoot their arrows in my stomach it makes me barf. It really hurts me.

Alice: Dad, can we listen to the rock and bowl CD?

Kate, arguing with Alice in the tub: There can be only One! 

Zorana: Kisses and hugs, it's time to say goodbye.
Kate: No kisses, kisses are gross.
(Kate and Ciaran hug.)
Kate: I think I'm going to marry you.
Ciaran: Kisses are part of marriage.

September
Kate and Alice just ran upstairs to their room to scream their heads off.

Boy at the park: I am Iron Man.
Alice: I am Girl Man and I am the boss of you.

Me: Tell Daddy he is blatantly wrong.
Alice: No I won't say that because I love you Daddy. And I won't pee on you Daddy and I won't say rude words.

Part of Alice's prayer today at lunch: Bless Fiona that she can talk. Bless her to say pickles and grapes. Bless her to grow bigger.
Oh and the other week Alice prayed that she wouldn't become a giant?

We have meet the teacher night at Kate's school tonight. Or as Alice called it "poke the teacher night". She will not be bringing the poking stick, she showed me, with her this evening.

Alice (quietly) : Kill em. Kill em.
Ken: what did you say Alice?
Alice :....
Ken: Where did you hear that?
Alice: Jake told me to kill those guys.

It's time we had a talk with her about her imaginary friend.

October
The other day I was playing the piano (it's an electric piano) and I was playing around with the different sounds. When I was trying out the pipe organ setting Kate stopped me. "Mom, that sounds scary. I think we should leave it on that for the whole month of October."

A kick in the face is a good compromise. ~Alice

I was surprised when, after throwing up her Spaghetti and meatballs tonight, Alice asked me to sing "on top of spaghetti" for her bedtime song.

What I like most about our newly updated family goals is that two of Kate's stuffed animals have been given goals. Olivia the ostrich's goal is to run faster. Chloe bear's is no biting.

Me: What does Italy look like?
Alice: A boot. And that country looks like a shoe with water going up and dripping out of it.
Sorry Mexico, I don't know what that means but wet shoes are never good.

November
This morning as Alice was cuddling with her Daddy.
Alice: Are you falling in love with me?
Ken: Yes.
Alice: Ha ha ha. We can't get married, I'm not old enough.

Alice is watching an episode of Dora. Dora is asking for help jumping. The kids are supposed to say salta. Alice is yelling salsa. SALSA!

Alice and a friend are playing fight the monsters. Their weapon of choice? Poop and pee of course.

December
Kate: do you know one of the smartest creatures in the world?
Ken: what?
Kate: Dolphins!
Wendy: that's right, Kate.
Ken: what's the smartest creature in the world?
Kate: What?
Ken: Humans.
Kate: No way.
Ken: It's true!
Alice: I'm not smarter than a dolphin.

My children just fashioned a gas chamber out of little a little people farm silo. Apparently Prince Eric was beyond helping.
Breaking news: there has been a prison break, and he's on the run. He is hiding out in Ariel's basement.

Alice: Grandma isn't a stranger.
Kate: That's right, because she's part of our family. If you're part of a family you aren't a stranger. And if you're a kid you're not a stranger because kids don't know how to kill people.

Kate is currently officiating a wedding of play-doh pots.
After the conclusion of the ceremony she said: And everything was well until they had twins.

Kate wanted to find her notebook that her teacher (Jennifer Broerse) gave her last year. It is called an "I Wonder Book" meant to be filled with her questions and wonderings of all things unknown.
Kate: You need to cross out the title.
Me: Why?
Kate: Because I, a little bit, know everything.

Kate: Dad, you can't taste the future.
Ken: ... Ok... If you could, what would it taste like?
Kate: Zinc. Blech, Zinc tastes gross.

Twelve

It has been a LONG week.  Long.  A few things went according to plan, but so many did not, sick feverish children will do that.  Several weeks ago, I arranged for Makenna and Abigail to come babysit last night, but it wasn't meant to be.  I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel with all the sickness that's been in our home.  It has been a long week.  After it's all said and done, there's no one I would rather have at my side.  I am so grateful for my sweet Ken.  Happy Anniversary!

McCartney Family Christmas

Fiona is still slightly feverish, but advil is our friend.  Ken made his yummy enchiladas.  I went back and forth about going to the gathering several times during the day, but in the end, we went.  In sickness and in health right?!

Laura and Joaquin hosted this year in their new home in Beamsville.  We drove around Beamsville a little bit to get to their place and it looked really sweet.  I'm excited to go back in the summer and see more of the area.

Despite everyone not being 100%, we did have a lovely time visiting with family, eating yummy food, and opening silly presents.  This year the usual cousin gift exchange was exchanged for a white elephant game.  I was very excited to give Ken and Chris the tygs that we had custom made for them.  Chris looked so excited when she opened them.  It was awesome. 

Thank you Joaquin and Laura for a very Merry McCartney Christmas!