'Tis the Season

Age three, the age of endless "But why, Mommy? Why, Daddy? WHY?" is in full force this holiday season. Questions, questions and more questions, often from both kids at the same time, run on continuous repeat in our house.

Ryan's questions are often about how things work. He's fascinated by the mechanics of things. Lucie's questions are more literal. She takes everything we say or see at face value, and is quick to point out an inconsistency, or something that simply doesn't seem right. Most often, I can come up with a quick answer and we move on. But sometimes, I'm stumped, and when left to think about it, just as full of questions as my kids.

Lucie asked questions this weekend that stopped me right in my tracks. As we tromped through a Christmas tree lot on Saturday (more on that later), Lucie touched the top of her hat and asked me, "But Mommy, why is there a ball on top of my head?"

Later on Sunday, we were reading a book based on the 12 Days of Christmas song. We've read it several times, each time explaining the new concepts of partridges, golden rings and pipers. But this time, Lucie threw out a new one, asking "Mommy, what's 'true love'?" When we reached the end and all twelve days of gifts were listed, she wondered, "How does 'true love' carry everything?"

Still thinking about the powers of true love, Lucie, Ryan and I made sugar cookies together yesterday. No one held back, and by the time the cookies were in the oven, flour covered t-shirts, hair, noses, fingers and the kitchen floor.

Lucie and Ryan had polar opposite approaches to Christmas cut-out cookies. Ryan was very methodical and predictable. He took the Christmas tree cookie cutter and meticulously made tree after tree after tree, each one more carefully formed than the last. Lucie, on the other hand, was all about experimenting. She used every utensil she could find in the kitchen to make shapes, trying all kinds of approaches. No two of her cookies were the same.

And so, after lots of hard work, we've been enjoying a tray of delicious tree and assorted blob-shaped cookies. No matter the shape, they're quite yummy.

Holiday Hits (and One Miss)

Lucie and Ryan are running and jumping with holiday cheer. Well, they run and jump for just about everything these days, but especially all the Christmas books, lights, decorations and treats they've learned about and indulged in lately.

Unlike last year, Lucie and Ryan seem less afraid of Santa, and instead have lots of interest and questions about his job. Ryan, for one, is very curious about the logistics of a Santa visit. When I explained about Santa coming through the chimney, he piped up, "Mommy, why doesn't he come through the door?" And about Santa's return to the rooftop, "But, mommy, how does he climb up the chimney? Does he have a rope?" All of my lame answers about magic or not wanting to wake sleeping children don't satisfy this guy. It just doesn't make sense to his little engineer's mind in the making.

Advent calendars have been one of the biggest favorites this season. I have fond memories of mine as a child (especially those filled with chocolate), and thought Lucie and Ryan would enjoy their own this year. They love their calendars, and get so excited to open a door each day and discover what lies inside. I did make the mistake of buying the calendars on December 6th, which meant opening six doors at once to get caught up. Now every day since, Ryan and Lucie have not understood why they only get to open one door each day. Surely that's not as fun! It's definitely a lesson in self control, and I keep having to remind them that advent calendar doors, like vitamins, come only one at a time.

Sadly, we have had one Christmas activity that didn't go over so well. Thinking Ryan and Lucie might enjoy it, we taped the 1960's Christmas classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I think we both had much rosier memories of this cartoon than reality, and we should have watched it again before showing it to our kids. We forgot all about the Abominable Snow Monster (not a hit) and the teasing between reindeers (too much for these little guys). Lucie was also very concerned about Rudolph's parents and didn't understand why he had to leave them when he still seemed like a baby. I felt bad for introducing something they just weren't ready for. From now on, we'll stick to Sesame Street and Wonder Pets, though even Cookie Monster has been known to scare Lucie at times.

More holiday adventures to come...

The "Loved Ones" Tour

These days, Ryan and Lucie sleep with a ton of stuffed animal friends or "loved ones" in their cribs. They used to be satisfied with just Bunny and Ducky. But now those furry friends have all sorts of companions, from Dino to Monk Jr. to Michaels (a.k.a. Mother Ducky) to baby aliens. It's quite a zoo.

When we packed for our recent trip to visit family, there was much consternation at the thought of only being able to bring the usual travel mates of Bunny, Ducky, and special blankies. Why couldn't back-up Ducky make the trip? And elephant's mother and father? They've never been on a plane! After much begging and pleading, two additional pals were each allowed in the bags. That is two per child, until Lucie threw herself on the floor screaming, just minutes before we left for the airport, in support of one more animal that just had to make the trip. Needless to say, Dino got quickly stuffed in the bag as we headed out the door. That Lucie and her powers of persuasion.

Once we were at Gigi and Papa's, Lucie and Ryan loved showing all their additional buddies to family and friends. However, Lucie soon got jealous that Ryan had brought his back-up Bunny and alien, while she had left her back-up Ducky and matching alien at home in exchange for two other friends. How unjust! When Chris called to check in (L, R & I traveled a few days early), a tearful request was made, "Daddy, can you PLEASE bring back-up Ducky and alien? PLEASE??"

So, not only did Lucie and Ryan have tons of fun on our trip, so did the eleven additional stow-aways (7 for Lucie and 4 for Ryan). They got to meet family and friends, hang out with cousin Tate and his stuffed entourage, including another Ducky friend, and meet all sorts of other favorite loved ones that live at grandparents' houses. What lucky ducks (and dinos, cats, aliens, etc.).

What were we all thankful for this holiday? Memorable times with family and friends, Uncle AJ's old hot wheels and Playmobil collection, fall leaves and rakes, endless games of hide-and-seek, our healthy, energetic and loveable kids and nephew, and last but not least, expandable suitcases.

Bath Night

The world according to Ryan and Lucie revolves around whether or not they'll have a bath that night. We've never been ambitious enough to get baths going every night, and instead have settled for an every other night schedule, or every three nights when we're feeling really wiped out. Since they know there's a schedule, Ryan, and sometimes Lucie, will often turn to us randomly during the day and ask, "Mommy, iz it baff nite?" He likes to know what to expect.

"Baff nite" and non-bath night both have special treats that accompany them. On bath nights, the bath, of course, is a big treat. They love bath time and happily splash around, practicing their back float and covering every inch of bathroom floor space with water. It's a well-loved ritual. But the extra special part about bath night is that they get to use a different kind of toothpaste (actually a flouride rinse) instead of the usual night of brushing. They're something about dipping their toothbrushes in this rinse that gives them such glee. They love it so much, that bath night has now been renamed "dippers night", or "dippas night!" in Ryan speak.

Lately the treat on non-bath nights has been Daddy's puppet show. It started out as a regular puppet show, but once one tossed puppet got accidently stuck on the ceiling fan, it's now become a game of throwing puppets on the fan and sending up puppet friends to rescue their buddies. This game is talked about all day long -- R & L adore it. They love to get right in on the action, laughing hysterically as Ryan the Rhino or Cherie the Cheetah get stuck once again on that fan. Watching these two giggle so intensely is the most incredible thing. I soon start laughing uncontrollably, and am amazed by the pleasure a handful of puppets can bring.

Though bath night and non-bath night are loved, the true favorite in our house is the night when a bath happens during the day (most often due to an art project gone head-to-toe). On these days, they get all the benefits of both nights -- "dippas" and puppet show. Oh, how exciting life the life of a three year old can be!

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Year 3 Stats

Medical science confirmed what Megan and I have known for a month — Lucie and Ryan are growing, thriving 3 year olds. For the uninitiated, watermelon skewers are a new favorite in our house.

The move to the new house meant finding another pediatrician. Fortunately, we got several positive recommendations for the clinic down the street. As parents of preemies, we're not new to doctor's visits, but we still made the cardinal sin of scheduling a wellness visit on a Monday afternoon. After a lengthy wait, we made it through the appointment with flying colors. And picking a prize from the toy chest was enough to win over L & R despite their first shot in over a year.

	Height (Percentile)	Weight (Percentile)
Lucie	38 inches (75th)	29.5 lbs (25th)
Ryan	38.5 inches (75th)	31.5 lbs (50th)