Have I mentioned...

 ...that Connor is in love with his bike this Spring? Well he is. We absolutely MUST go outside every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. to ride the bike. He's getting so fast that I can no longer "go for a walk" beside him. I have to jog. I'm probably going to run a marathon this summer. To the park and back 26 times.

The girls have to participate, even though they don't have bikes yet. 

We pretty much give them anything we can find. Apparently baby walkers are still fun.

 Or pushing big brother...

 Or wearing hoods...

 Or playing in the dirt...

 Or the bushes...

Once all this fun is over, Connor usually wants to give each sister a little spin in his race car. Technically there is only a seat for 1 child, but when you really love your sis,

 you can make it work. Obviously.

 

Conversations

There are exponentially more conversations around here these days. First, the girls' favorite thing to do is point out the obvious, which of course HAS to be acknowledged by another person. Here are a few examples:

Ashlyn: Mama School bag
Me: Yes, that is my school bag. (must be said or the above will play on repeat until someone confirms).
Ashlyn: Connor school bag.
Me: Yes, that's Connor's bag. 
Ashlyn (super serious/concerned): Connor SCHOOL bag.
Me: Oh right. Yes, that is his SCHOOL bag. Got it. 

Then there is the ever so helpful watchful eye of a sibling:
Kaia (screaming from the other room): NO NO NO, Ashes. Ashes TIME OUT! 
That's never a good sign. I walk into the other room to find this:

Thanks for the tip, sis. Yes, they have achieved tattle tailing. Already. Awesome.

They have some cute little phrases too. One of my favs is, "I did it!" (which also has to be acknowledged, preferably immediately. Obviously).

Last but not least, we recently had a good preschool carpool conversation from Connor & Jake:
Connor: Jake! You'll never believe what we did this weekend!
Jake: What?
Connor: My Uncle had a birthday party! His name is Scott. Everyone was REALLY excited to see me there, especially Lauren. She's my cousin. It was really, really, REALLY fun, until we had to leave. Then it wasn't fun at all.
Jake: Oh. I REALLY love Birthday parties.
Connor: ME TOO!!
(*Note: we are really glad that the party guests are boosting Connor's self-esteem.)

Helpers

What, Mom? Standing on top of the dishwasher door, testing out each sippy cup, bowl, & what not for cleanliness does not meet your definition of "helpful"? We can not imagine being ANY. MORE. HELPFUL. 

Love, 

The Cunningham Kids

Connor's first day on the slopes!

Call Us Crazy...

...or brave, depending on your particular outlook in life. We took the three kids up to the mountain for a sledding day all in the name of "FUN!" Connor was a rock star, climbing up the hill by himself & carrying his own sled, sledding down by himself, and giving me his best sledding "smile."  But then again he basically had to, because his two parents were kinds busy. Dealing with other less self-sufficient kids. 

Kaia & Ashlyn had a rough start to the sledding adventure. We started out expecting them to walk a little bit across the snow to the sledding area. It was a bit icy & slick and Kaia immediately bit the dust, and got a small bloody nose. Awesome. In an attempt to cheer her up, I tried to get her excited about the snow. "Look, at the pretty snow!" to which she replied in her grumpiest voice, "No Snow. ICE!" Well, okay. this is true. We decided that walking wasn't really gonna happen for the two one-year-olds, so we carried them. EVERYWHERE. Up the sledding hills, down the sledding hills, around the little sledding area. I think we were kinda a spectacle, but that is no big deal. We're used to it. (Note to self: If you ever consider taking two one year olds sledding again, try to be in the best shape of your life. It will help.) However, once we got them on sleds, they were much happier. And well, that makes good sense. I know that I would have personally been much happier if someone carried me up the hills, then pushed me gently down; rinse & repeat.

We caught some good sunshine, ate some mostly clean "ice" and wore everyone out!

Conversations...

One morning for breakfast, Ashlyn decided she didn't really like what I had fixed, so she started throwing food off her high chair, screaming/crying "Noooooo!!!!" Connor decides to step in, "Sis. You can stop crying now. This is all that Mom is offering & she won't change her mind. Even if you cry. I already tried that." Although that sounds suspiciously like my voice, I'll go ahead and reiterate that I couldn't have said it better myself. At least one of my children is starting to grasp this concept.

This was reported to me by my friend who helps with preschool carpool, on a day that I am at work & either our Nanny or Grandma is home watching the girls, waiting for Connor to be dropped off:
Robin: Connor, who is watching you today?
Connor: Jesus! (long pause)...oh and Grandma!
We were wondering if Grandma was the back-up or if Jesus was. hum?

Kaia & Ashlyn have learned to say "Kaia." They can both say Kaia, but neither can say Ashlyn. And they both know who Kaia is (so if you get them confused, all you have to do is ask them). Lately, when I ask for a volunteer to do some dreaded chore, Ashlyn has the perfect answer...
Me:Who wants to get their diaper changed?
Ashlyn (pointing to her sister, in a nice strong voice): "Kaia!"
Me:Who wants to help clean up?
Ashlyn: "Kaia!"
Tonight, I asked, "Who is ready to get out of the bath?" (which neither is excited to do)
Ashlyn: "Kaia!"
Poor Kaia just looks around with nothing to say, but hopes if she doesn't make eye contact that I will forget she is there. Maybe I'll learn not to ask such ridiculous questions anymore.

This morning I woke up to two tiny voices singing in unison, "Where wiz binkie? Where wiz binkie?" (to the tune: "Where is Thumbkin?"). Unfortunately no one seemed to be able to actually find the binkie, so I had to get up. I was really, REALLY rooting for them on this one.

New Little Family Member

Meet Mylo! Isn't he just the cutest? He is the best kind of new family member...a cousin:) This means that we can visit him anytime, play together for as long as we like, and then leave before we have to clean up after him. Ahhh...such a perfect type of pet. Someday we will probably take him camping, may do some fishing, definitely some snow sledding (as long as his real parents tag along, that is). The Cunningham's approve! Welcome to the family, super cute little one. xoxo