A Handful

Yikes - I feel like I've let blogging slip by the wayside lately, but it's not because nothing is going on, it's just because I have my hands full! Work is busy, the kids are able to focus more time on school, the house is basically ensconced in disarray, food still takes all day to prepare, and the boys in the house are all struggling to kick a bad bug involving serious congestion and coughing, which means little sleep for the little ones, which means littler sleep for me (the only reason I'm blogging right now instead of sleeping is because Gussie is sleeping in the Ergo and if I sit or lie down he'll wake up, so I'm standing at my computer. Fun.). I'm really trying hard to get everyone well (and find the floors) before Catherine's birthday!

But Catherine isn't waiting until her birthday to grow up. She lost another tooth yesterday, her fifth! She has lost an entire handful of teeth. See the new gap? (Sorry for the terrible picture - I hate the flash, and I hate (the lack of) winter light, and she's tired and has marker on her face and it looks like she tried to brush her hair. But do you see the extra gap?)

Can we just talk about Catherine for a minute? Besides the fact that she can ride a bike and has lost five teeth, she continues to be an incredible help at home, putting away dishes, entertaining Gussie when I'm busy, helping with dinner, and even teaching Michael during school time. Actually, I now have both Catherine and Mary working with Michael on his alphabet, colors, and shapes on their "off" times during school, while I'm working one-on-one with the other. They all love it - the girls love teaching (because everyone likes to show off what they know) and Michael loves them spending time with him. Win. Speaking of school, Catherine is in the final section of her reading book, sounding out four- and five-syllable words. She reads regularly to Mary and Michael. I haven't figured out what her reading "level" is at this point - I'm guessing probably 2nd grade? Maybe 3rd? I'm working on putting together a list of chapter book for her to work through when she finishes her reading book. Crazy. We have a workbook called "Analogies for Beginners" for Grades 1 to 3. She's on the last couple pages, and doesn't let me help her think through them anymore. She's also on the last song in her first piano book. What am I going to do with this girl? Latin. Maybe Latin will keep her busy.

Catherine has also started to think about her future. She currently runs a coffee shop at the house that has two locations, one in the living room, and her "downtown" location in the extra room upstairs, each of which is open on different days. Her shop serves a lot of pastries and candies in addition to drinks. Every time she is helping me make dinner she muses about the restaurant she might open some day. I wouldn't be surprised if she does, but it's a good thing she has a lot of time to prepare still; she and I attempted to make a caramel praline to mix in to the caramel ice cream we were making for Daddy, but when we tasted the caramel praline candy before mixing it in, we both agreed it tasted like seaweed. We'll have to redo that one when I figure out what went awry so she doesn't end up with a restaurant with Seaweed Caramel Ice Cream on the menu.

And (surprise) Catherine isn't the only one that seems to grow months and years in a day. I found Mary reading a Fancy Nancy reader (maybe 1st Grade?) to herself today, and if Catherine doesn't keep up with practicing piano, Mary might just pass her up one of these days. Michael Jr says something new almost every day, which is usually funny, although his new "I can do what I want when I want because I want" attitude makes a lot of what he comes up with a little less funny. And Gussie, more than 5 months already, is rolling both ways and able to get his knees up under him when on his tummy; I even saw him get up on his hands and knees, but only once. Being sick the last few days, he's mostly been snuggling.

I estimate he drools about a gallon a day, and I can just barely see the little bumps that will be teeth on the bottom, hopefully soon so he stops attacking and gnawing everything that comes within his reach, including my wrists and his own poor little hands that are constantly red and chapped. 

But even congested and teething, he has more happy moments than not. For the most part.

And he's the only one who can't run away from my camera, hence the imbalance of kid pictures.