Amid the fun of learning to take care of a new animal, we took a break on Good Friday to venture out to Garden of the Gods.
On the way out, we hit Little London Cake Shoppe for some cupcakes. Years ago the owner won on Cupcake Wars, but she sold the shop, so we didn't get to meet her. We bought six different flavors of cupcakes. I don't remember all the flavors, but the vanilla cupcake with lemon filling and lavender frosting was my favorite!
{Katie}
{Dancy}
{Thora}
{Tommy}
Shad and Samson didn't participate in the cupcake party because Shad's body doesn't process butter well, and Samson is allergic to dairy. So they hung out upstairs so Samson wouldn't feel left out.
Since Easter weekend was also General Conference weekend this year, we spent Saturday watching conference and going for walks or to parks in between sessions.
Easter morning the kids enjoyed an egg hunt and some Jelly Bellies before we went to our friends', the Jimenezes, house to have brunch and watch conference.
{Katie, Tommy, Thora}
{Samson and Thora}
{Katie, Dancy, Tommy}
Logan and Brittny gave us toys for Scarlet that they had from their guinea pigs they had to leave behind in Germany. Scarlet enjoys them!
Most people talk about having baby fever. I don't know that I'll ever get there. But starting in January I got the strong urge to get a pet. It became almost unbearable. I grew up always having multiple pets---cats, dogs, mice, fish, frogs, lizards, etc. Shad grew up with none. So it took a LOT of begging and pleading and convincing to get a pet...you know, the stuff parents usually hear from kids. "I promise I'll take care of it! I'll always feed and water it and clean the cage!" He finally gave in after sheer exhaustion of hearing me.
And so we decided on a bunny. The arrival of the cage in the mail was a super exciting day!
{Digression: Thora loves helping me with the blender. We made green ice cream for St. Patrick's Day. Somehow this picture snuck in.}
Getting a bunny proved more difficult than I thought. None of the pet stores in Colorado Springs had one for me. They said they just sometimes get them and they're gone almost immediately. I checked Craigslist, but didn't want to waste time chasing down three-week-old posts. I checked Facebook marketplace and found nothing. I checked with the humane society and animal shelters. Nope. Finally we went up to Denver because two of my sisters reported that their pet stores had bunnies. But then they were $45. So we checked Craigslist again and found bunnies for $10 out in Parker. Went there only to find out they were 4-H bunnies that were going to grow to be 15 pounds and larger than a small dog. No, thank you. Back to the pet store. We met up with Lori and Thora at the pet store in the Aurora Mall after they got Thora's ears pierced. We all picked a black and white bunny together.
Bunny found resting spots off the beaten track at my mom's house. Just needed a little respite from all the kid attention!
When we got home, we brainstormed name ideas: Oreo, Vanessa, Luna, Lucy, Buttons, Scarlet, Fuzzik, Retta, Cookie, Skittles, Skipper, Ivy, Emily, Cookie Dough Dip, Lola, Blossom, Lavender, Clover, Patty, Unicorn, and Squeezer. That's at least where I cut off the brainstorm session. Then we went through several rounds of voting and ended with Luna and Scarlet tied, so Shad said we'd keep both names and she could be Scarlet Luna Kendell. It's so funny hearing the kids call her Scarlet, Scarlet Luna, or Scarlet Luna Kendell if she's being mischievous. Just last night Sam was asking where his sweet bunny is.
Bunny cuddles!
We got creative with bunny proofing, only to have her grow big enough and be able to jump over all the blockades.
This girl weighed little more than a pound when we got her. She was born December 26, 2017.
Samson having a living creature smaller than him to care for was a big reason I wanted a pet. This boy is not going to have a younger sibling, and having a pet has helped immensely in overcoming some of his youngest-child syndrome.
Everyone loves feeding Scarlet Luna her salad!
There were definitely times kids would get a little forceful with the feedings, similar to "Eat the FOOD, Tina!"
Katie discovered that cuddles are more successful with this piece of felt.
"Take a picture of me! CHEEEEEEEESE!" Still potty training at that point, so he's pantless.
Tuckered out bunny! Katie cuddled her to sleep, then successfully transferred Scarlet to her cage when it was time for lunch. She's so tiny in there!
Dancy completed her number writing packet and gave herself a smiley sticker because she feels happy about herself.
So I got my hair cut at the beginning of March and when I came home, two daughters gave memorable reactions: Dancy said I got boy hair, and Thora asked where her Rapunzel haircut was. You know, at the end of the movie Tangled when Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel's hair and it becomes short and brown.
Thora kept up on her need to have Rapunzel hair for a week, so I finally scheduled an appointment. Katie had been talking about getting a Kit haircut (the 1930s character with a bob cut from the American Girl series). I convinced Katie to just get her hair cut at the same time as Thora and NOT wait until she bought the Kit doll.
I wish I had pulled Katie's hair to the front for the picture, but you can still see how long and stringy their hair had become. I was soooo ready for these haircuts!
We went to a hair school and everyone loved these two girls and how well they sat and chatted for their haircuts. Thora and Katie adored all the attention. Tommy was entertained playing Minecraft, Dancy chatted with everyone, and Samson mostly stuck on me.
Looooong hair!
Thora took full advantage of sitting in front of a mirror.
And then when she popped down out of her chair and I asked her to show me her hair, there was no end to her sass! We were all dying laughing!
After I snapped pictures as fast as I could, I switched to video and asked Thora to do some more poses, and she went straight into her yoga poses! Downward facing dog!
Katie is in love with her Kit hair!
The whole experience took about 2 hours with both girls getting their hair cut at the same time! It was a bit much for me, so it's a toss up whether to pay $7 and be there for nearly 2 hours, or just shell out the $12-14 and be done in half an hour. But we love the shorter hair that is much less tangled and much more manageable!
Thora has become obsessed with dancing in front of the fireplace glass.
Sam...just fingers in the mouth.
Such a happy way for this boy to start the morning: finding Mom and Dad's leftover popcorn on the table. "This is soooo good, Mom!"
I started potty training Sam in early March. He had been there every step of the way with me potty training Thora: "Good job, Fowa, you did it!" "Wow, dat's a huge poop! Let's dump it! Now wash yow hands." "Mom, Fowa's calling you! Run! She needs help!" "Yay! Let's get Skittles!" My mom said she trained both of my brothers at the same time and that two wasn't much different than one. So I gave it a try. He mastered pee in a day. Became comfortable sitting on the potty seat, sitting on the toilet with the insert seat, standing to pee like Dad, and letting me hold him up to pee in a public toilet. But the poop readiness never came. I knew he'd have his poops in the morning and I'd have him sit repeatedly and try pushing, only to have to clean his underwear or the floor five minutes later. People suggested just putting a diaper or pullup on him to go out in public so I wouldn't have to worry about accidents, but then he'd pee in those and be confused later as to whether he was wearing underwear or a diaper and I'd have two or three accidents a day to clean up. I tried taking a break, but then he'd be upset at not getting to wear his underwear, or I'd forget that he was wearing a diaper and it'd get so full and fall off him and then I'd still walk out of the library with an accident. But finally, after a long stressful headache of a struggle, I succeeded in getting us backed out of potty training and on a break for the summer. We'll resume in the fall unless Sam suddenly expresses interest in pooping in the toilet. He still loves to pee in the toilet from time to time, so that's nice for me that I won't have to completely start all over.
Sometimes I walk into a room and hear voices but don't see humans. And then they back themselves out from under the bed.
{Sam and Dancy}
This is the face of one who is happy to be sitting on his toilet and has just eaten blueberry pie.
March 14 is Pi Day, and we celebrated by eating circular foods and learning what Pi means. Retention levels may be low at this age, but I think they at least remember why March 14 is Pi Day. Bagels for breakfast, pizza for lunch. I don't remember what they had for dinner because I had to go to Canon City for a work event and to meet my exchange student I'm supervising. Cucumbers were probably involved, though.
Thora with her bagel
Sam with his
There were times when he would actually poop in the toilet, but I can only count 3 times in a month and a half. And we'd praise and celebrate the heck out of it, load him up with treats to eat, clap and cheer, take pictures to send to Grandma, let him call Grandma, and still he wouldn't care to do it again. Ugh!
I read Everyone Poops countless times trying to get this boy to make a movement, and still I got no reward. Except for the very first time I read the book and got to this page and read, "What does whale poop look like?" Without missing a beat, he answered, "A turtle!" So now you know. You're welcome.
During the cold evening months, we started doing movie marathons with the kids. Harry Potter, Christmas movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, then Star Wars. The kids actually understood some of these references on this car. Thora talks a lot about Obi Wan Kenklobi.
