Tapping ballet class

Kate just informed me that some of the disciples ("you know, the ones in the Bible, mom") got all dried out and they didn't have any lotion. Did you know that? Me, either.

Yesterday morning, we started a new class. It's actually a tap and ballet class, but Kate calls it the tapping ballet class. "Mom, I love balleting." Claire skipped the ballet part of class, either due to a lack of extra large footwear (can you see how her tap shoes are about a size too big?), or initial shyness. Once Kate came out and put her tap shoes on, however, Claire was suddenly excited to join the class. Also, once they were together, I noticed the annoyance level of the teacher spike dramatically. Sadly, I do not have photographic evidence to show you, but let's just say there wasn't a lot of dancing going on, and that I think Claire was asked to leave the class when the kids started the creative ribbon dance instructional section.

A blur of tap shoes. Notice the extra blurriness of Kate's and Claire's excited feet.

Pink, pink, pink.

Later in the day, Luke had his first ride in the cozy coupe, during which he fell out and hit his head on the concrete approximately 2 times.

Mealtime staredown

I just finished downloading approximately 208 photos from my camera. It's been a long couple of weeks, and I clearly have not been keeping up with my technical obligations, to include (but not limited to): blogging, downloading photos, and email. I have also not finished writing thank you notes to all the wonderful people who sent gifts to Claire for her birthday. I am quite sorry about this last part; I do intend to write to all of you, hopefully soon.

Okay, so an update. I got antibiotics a couple of weeks ago, and took them faithfully. And then I started to get another infection. The doctor called me back before I had to go to the hospital again, thankfully, and prescribed me something stronger. It finally took care of the infection, but also wore me out dreadfully. I am just now starting to feel more like myself, and am trying to catch up on all the things I let slide in recent weeks.

We went back up to the mountain on Friday afternoon, the promise of nearly a foot of new snow incenting us to gather up our 400 items necessary for a hour spent in the white stuff. Claire cried this time again, but less so, likely because we let her wear her beloved princess pants instead of her snowsuit. On Kate and Tim's first trip down the hill on a REAL sledding device, they apparently tipped over, and Kate was disinclined to attempt further tobogganing.

Luke has found a new form of entertainment at meal time: dropping food off the side of his highchair. At some point during his meal, he will stare threateningly at you, and jut his hand out off the side of his tray, his eyes suggesting that he will indeed drop the bit of food in his hand, unless you...well, that's the part we're still trying to figure out. Everyone at the table says, "NO, Luke!" when he does it, and he stares tauntingly back at everyone. Then it's usually "bomb's away" as the food falls to the floor. Sometimes he'll put the food in his mouth and then everyone will clap. And then he'll take the food back OUT of his mouth, and the whole cycle starts again. It's very cute, but I'm starting to tire of the clean-up afterward.

Why he is willing to drop food off his tray is beyond me; the kid eats like he's a teenager, gobbling up nearly everything you put in front of him. Take, for instance, Valentine's day dinner. We took the kids to our local sushi restaurant, Luke in the stroller, Kate on her bike, and Claire walking and/or being carried by Tim. Luke ate what seemed to be 4 pounds of udon noodles, some coated in nori, a tempura shrimp and a tempura carrot, some abura age, half a bag of yogurt melts, and a cup of puffs. Although he wasn't playing his new game, a lot of food did end up on the floor, much to the dismay of the staff. At one point, our waitress asked me if I wanted a plate for him. Trust me, a plate would have been far worse. As a side note, Kate ate a bite of octopus sushi and LIKED it.

Oh yeah. I'll drop it. Watch me. What are you going to do to stop me? Hmmm?

We went bike riding over the weekend. Claire LOVES her new bike.


We also went swimming on Sunday and Monday. It was sunny and in the high 60s, so we took advantage. Luke thinks swimming is the BEST.

Finally, able to upload video

From today:

A day on the mountain

I did not expect to have that much fun. It took what might have been the better part of an hour getting our stuff together, to include gear, snacks and 100% cotton clothing for the children. We weren't entirely sure where we were going, or how long it would take us to get there. But we found Lee Canyon about 45 minutes after we finally left our driveway. Claire sounded so excited: "Snow! Daddy, there's snow!!" We parked and started dressing the kids in their non-snow-appropriate clothing. I did have one snow suit, purchased randomly at Ross for $4.99, which I tugged on over Claire's stretch pants and sweater. Before we left home, I had used approximately half a can of waterproofing spray on it, in hopes of keeping her dry. About 20 seconds after it was on her, though, she started whining about it being too tight, and cried during the entire walk to the sledding hill. We tried to explain to her that the suit was there to keep her warm, but she would have none of it. Kate, meanwhile, was having a blast "sledding" down the mountain. Luke wasn't sure what to make of the experience.

She says it's "too tight". Am not surprised by this declaration. It's not too tight, but it's foreign. She refuses to stop crying until we take it off. Spends rest of time in car eating Chicken in a Biskit crackers and watching Wall-E.

Big sister: extremely happy. Baby brother: indifferent, with a cold tush.

Luke, THIS IS SNOW.


Tasting some.


Father pulls daughter on cardboard sled, with predictable results. Feel free to comment on how this fits in with previous post's topic of Spam.

Are there supposed to be two people in this picture?

There's Luke!

Tim took Claire and Luke back to the car, while I took Kate down the hill, using my ski pants as a sled. We had so much fun. We would stomp up the hill together, Kate telling me, "THIS looks good, Mommy," every 2 feet, while I prodded her on, telling her that sometimes you have to work hard to have fun. After a bit, Tim and I traded out, so he could have some fun with her too. After about an hour and a half on the mountain, we left, sadly, but with knowledge that we would be at In-N-Out Burger for cheeseburgers and shakes soon. Now, at 4:30, the children are vegetables on the sofa, tired out beyond their imaginations.