March Madness

Not any extraordinary madness, just the run-of-the-mill madness that comes with having 3 children.  Everyone is healthy and happy (for the most part).  Noah started basketball this year and it has tranformed our whole house.  He is now able to go outside (on his own) and shoot hoops (on his own) for up to 30 minutes (on his own).  This is big monumental.  This boy has not shown any proclivity for entertaining himself in the 5 1/2 years he's been walking.  I think the only reason he tolerated solitude prior to walking was due to his limited mobility.  So the boy LOVES basketball.  He even chooses to shoot hoops before playing his Nintendo DS (miracle of all miracles).  And the kid is pretty good.  And he's not afraid to tell you.  He scored 8 points in his second game and he's been offensive minded ever since (I'm now shouting "pass" instead of "shoot it").  Tim and I are having a blast watching him play.  He's also doing swim team which started out tenuous (tears before every practice) and his turning into something really positive.  He just finished Polar Bear Club where the kids are rewarded for swimming at least 3 times per week through the winter months.  And last month he was awarded "Swimmer of the Month".  So, for Noah alone, we have been committed to 4 afternoons a week of practice. 

Then there are Molly's activities.  She is in preschool two mornings a week.  She never wants to go and never wants to leave.  She's also been doing ballet for about a year and she loves it!  It is the perfect activity for her: dressing up, silly music, and lots of mirrors.  She's in heaven.  We've also got her back in swim lessons after a brief hiatus from lessons where she spent the majority of class on the steps.  She's been back at it for about 6 months and what a difference!  She's a fish!  I've been mentally cataloguing her favorite (or as she says "fravorite") sayings so that I don't miss out on recording them for posterity.  One of my fravorites is her use of "whobody", as in, "Whobody wants to play babies".  This girl is a one-of-a-kind!


And, finally, Quinn.  Poor Quinn has gotten very little virtual exposure so his records are going to have some sizable gaps.  Just to get some recordkeeping out of the way: He walked just after his first birthday.  His first word was "uh oh".  His first teeth came just before his first birthday so mama stopped nursing him just after his first birthday... ouch!  His top two teeth just came in a few weeks ago and it was pretty miserable here for most of their descent.  Drool. Snot. Blowouts that have made us shelve the cloth diapers.  Inconsolable night wakings.  That about sums it up for us.  We seem to be getting a reprieve (4 down, 16 to go).  Despite all of this, the boy is pure sunshine.  He's got a bit of separation anxiety but if all of his peeps are in one spot, he's a happy camper.  His favorite thing on the planet is balls.  And he's digging the light sabers.  But he wants to be outside with big brother playing ball.  And he's more into the toilet than Tim and I remember the other kids were.  That kid has a sixth sense for the bathroom door being open.  And Molly has a hard time remembering to flush.  Yeah, ewww!  Here are some pics from the last few months:

Birthday Boy!