Sunshine

Enough whining. In the midst of the chaos that a curious spitfire of a two-year-old brings, I must tell you how much FUN she is! Even when I’m tired and ready for the day to end, I have the hardest time putting her in bed! Especially once the boys are in bed, hanging out with Lola in the quiet of the house is just a blast.

She wasn’t an early talker, but I had a feeling that she wouldn’t stop once she got started. I was right. I love seeing her personality come out even more now that she is talking. Her voice is so sweet and cheerful. She says “Thank you, Mommy” and “Sure, Mommy” all day long. She says “cheese” for pictures. I wish I could bottle up her cheeriness. (I totally didn’t expect that after her oh-so-serious babyhood!)

I mentioned that she writes all over everything, but she does have quite the pencil grip for a toddler (and she has had it for as long as I can remember). She is obsessed with writing her name. She brings us paper and wants to watch us writing her name over and over again while she says, “L – O – L – A, Lola!!” And then she writes little “letters.”

She has constant access to writing utensils, since the boys are constantly drawing and writing.

The boys didn’t enjoy coloring or drawing or writing when they were younger. That made me sad, because I LOVED coloring as a child! Wouldn’t you know it, their imaginations have been fired up in the past couple years, not by the great books they read or any “quality” inspiration I can throw their way, but by Pokemon cards, a random computer game, and Minecraft. Sigh. But it is interesting to see the intricate drawings and plans they create.

The other day Luke came to me and asked me how to spell “leather, iron, gold, diamond, and chain mail.” I’m praying that whatever Luke and Leif were working on counts as writing for the day week. (Levi and I have been going through the torturous experience of writing research essays, and I’m fried when it comes to writing with the other boys.)

Two other boy funnies:

The boys were outside pretending that their house was hit by a nuclear bomb and they were having to camp out. Luke came in and said that they were tired of eating the raw meat of animals they had killed, and they were scavenging for food in this abandoned house...

Levi and I have been struggling with math and writing lessons. He had study hall this week with our distance learning program teacher, and I had to send independent work for him to do. I knew that he would choose any book above writing or math, so I decided to even out his choice a little. The only book I put in his bag was The Last Days of Socrates by Plato. And he still chose to read instead of doing math or writing. Ha! Math and writing are overrated, right?!