Franny is last of the kids to fully recoup from the cold and fever she had this last week.  Although her fever is gone, she is clearly still recovering—her face looks very weary and she tires easily.  Today, she did go outside and rode her bike for a short period, but she retreated back inside pretty quickly.  This was probably the best indicator that she still needs more recovery time, as riding her bike and playing outside are among her favorite things to do.  Hopefully, she will gain more ground tomorrow; I miss the adventurous and laughing Franny!  It’s definitely time to put this bug behind us.

Whenever the sun is out and there is some free time, Rick likes to take the kids to the Zoo.  They don’t go at the peak hours, but opt for the late afternoon.  It works out great to get there right when the gates close and spend an hour or two until the Zoo grounds close down.  With our membership, as well as our close proximity, it really works out to have these short trips, instead of having a big excursion that would take up the whole day.  Today, while Franny opted to stay home and rest, Rick took Cole and Delaney for an afternoon trip.  As always, they had a great time, although they did miss having Franny there.  It’s a much different dynamic when she is absent, as she tends to drive the direction, as well as the tempo of whatever activity they are doing.  But, it gives them a chance to do things their own way, which is always a good thing.  Some things, however, remain the same—Cole saw the lions, they shut the place down, and they came home happy.  Definitely, a good afternoon for these two.

For the many months that Delaney went to watch Cole in his gymnastics class, we sat in the viewing area directly above the long trampoline.  That she loved to watch the students run and jump down it is no surprise, as it is a favorite for all the young gymnasts taking classes.  On the day of Delaney’s first class, she really wanted her turn up on the trampoline, but it wasn’t on their schedule of activities.  This last week, however, she finally got a chance to run down that long stretch of bouncing fun.  She did a great job, even doing some sit-drops, but her favorite thing to do was just run all the way down and crash into the landing mat.  And, she did it smiling all the way—such fun!  Now, if she could just get a turn on the bars, she’d be really happy…maybe next week!

I kept finding pictures of this little guy all over the house, and didn’t quite know what to make of it.  But, Franny draws so many pictures throughout each week, I didn’t give it a lot of thought.  Then, I found this picture while volunteering in Franny’s classroom, so I asked her teacher about it.  Not surprisingly, it is a character in one of the books that they read:  Shall I Knit You A Hat?  It’s a Christmas book, but they read it recently because the illustrator, M. Sarah Klise, was coming to visit the school, speak at assemblies, and sign books for the kids.  I was glad I asked, because although I knew she was coming, when I looked up the books on the list, it seemed like they were for older kids and didn’t talk to Franny about it. I hadn’t looked up this particular book.  This  picture—actually a postage stamp—Franny made to put on an oversized thank you letter for her visit.  Mrs. Nelson said that Franny had really enjoyed this book.  Thankfully, I still had time to order a signed copy for Franny.  It came just before she got sick.  Needless to say, it’s been read a number of times this week!  Now, looking at M. Sarah Klise’s pictures of Little Rabbit, Franny’s pictures no longer seem so curious, but very obvious!  I think he’s really quite adorable!

The nasty cold bug that took Delaney down for a week and then moved on to Cole on Saturday, also got the best of Franny on Monday.  It’s been a long week at our house.  I’ve brought out some things from my secret rainy day box—word searches for Franny and an activity book for Cole, as well as two new books and new markers and glitter glue.  But, spirits are still low as the persistent high fevers (102-104 daily) have pretty much taken everything out of them.  Now at day 6, Cole has finally seemed to have gotten past the worst.  Today, his temperature has been normal, but he is clearly still in need of a lot of recuperation time.  If Franny patterns after Cole and Delaney, she still has a couple more days of fever before she’s through it.  We are all ready for this bug to move on.  I miss their smiles and sweet personalities and it is definitely hard to watch them struggle to battle this out.  But, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and soon we should all be back to our old routines and our new adventures! 

It was a really fun Easter weekend for the kids.  There was lots of activities, even more treats, and even some sunshine to top it all off!  We ended the festivities with Easter dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s.  The kids always have such a wonderful time here, it was the perfect way to end a fun weekend.  They even had another egg hunt—much to Franny’s delight!  Easter bunnies are fun, games are always a hit, and what’s not to love about chocolate and Peeps?  But, spending these times with family and people we love is what really makes holidays special, and I’m so glad this was how Franny and Delaney could spend their Easter afternoon and evening.  It was sad that Cole couldn’t join us, but we kept him in our thoughts and he will surely be there next time.  It doesn’t take a holiday to make me realize how fortunate we are to have a healthy and happy family, but I do think Easter is the perfect time to take a moment to be thankful for that blessing.

This year, I made up an easy scavenger hunt for the kids to find their Easter gifts.  I made the clues simple so that Franny would be able to read them and Cole would be able to help find them.  Unfortunately, due to his fever, Cole wasn’t able to do the hunt.  But, Franny took care of him and found his eggs for him, as well as his scavenger hunt gift.  She was definitely excited about Easter this year, and really had a lot of fun with it.  She did a great job reading and figuring out the clues.  After all the planning, it was fun to see it all play out.  She was so happy with big smiles ear to ear—it was a great morning! 

The girls and their eggs

Gathering eggs                               Scavenger hunt gift!

             Franny gathering up everyone’s gifts               Delaney happy with hers!

We were fortunate that our neighborhood egg hunt was on Saturday, because it was a beautiful day and perfect to be at the park and enjoying the sunshine! This was the first time we’ve attended this event, mainly because of the weather.  Unfortunately, Delaney was still recouping from a week-long cold, and although we didn’t know it at the time, Cole was in the beginning stages of a similar cold, so it wasn’t the ideal experience for them.  Franny, however, ran into a few of her school friends and had fun doing the egg hunt with them.  It was crazy chaos—the egg hunts lasted just a few moments, but because they were split up into age groups, Franny, Cole, and Delaney were all in different areas and going at the same time!  There were so many kids—maybe because of the weather—that kids only got about five eggs each!  But, it really didn’t matter, as it was just fun to come together with our neighbors and celebrate.  It was a great kick-off to the Easter weekend.

Pre-hunt fun with the Easter Bunny

Franny and her school friend Isabelle

The 5-6 year olds

Cole checking out his treats

Trio in the park

It was a beautiful Friday, so Rick decided to take Franny, Cole, and Delaney on an afternoon adventure.  Once Franny was out of school, they headed out to the Zoo.  It was the perfect low key way to spend some time outside in the sunshine—even Delaney could stay bundled up in the stroller and enjoy some fresh air.  They all had a great time and shut the place down!

It’s been a hard week for Delaney.  Today, she did have lower temperatures, but a low-grade fever still persists and her mood is disgruntled, to put it mildly.  By late afternoon today, she had just had enough.  Hopefully, we will see more improvement tomorrow. 

Although rain still seems to be dominating the forecast, we have also had quite a few nice days, lately.  Because the kids love to be outside any chance they get, we’ve pulled a number of the kids outdoor toys out of storage to have them ready.  I don’t know if they weren’t cleaned up before we put them away last Fall, or dirt and dust just accumulated on them during the winter, but they were dirty!  So, yesterday we had a Spring cleaning party and gave the cars, chairs, and wagon a warm, sudsy wash.  The kids had a great time, and everything was given a thorough wash—multiple times!  When they were done, they moved on to Rick’s car, but quickly ran out of water.  Since the kids (and neighbors) play with these quite a bit, it feels good to have them clean and ready for use.  Now, we’re more ready than ever for some more sun!  Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long!

One the hard things about having Delaney sick, is that it confines the Cole and Franny to the house.  After missing his usual activities this week, Rick thought it would fun for Cole to have a ‘playdate’ with Grandma and Grandpa.  Probably due to our recent talk about the different camps Franny will attend this summer, he started calling his day ‘Grandpa Camp’ (although Grandma was definitely a part, too!).  He had a great day!  Although I don’t know everything they did, I know that they read books, did a puzzle, played with legos, went out to the shop, did some swinging, and played some baseball/soccer!  And to top it off, he got to ride home in Grandpa’s big red truck!  I was thrilled that he had such a great day—not only did he have a fun time, but he also had one-on-one time with two of his favorite people.  That is something that is very special when you’re one of three kids! He arrived home very tired, but very happy. 

It always is hard when kids get sick, especially when they are as young as Delaney.  She has been struggling with a nasty fever which has reached as high as 104.  Although she has no other symptoms, I have never seen her so visibly miserable and unhappy.  Her bubbling personality and endless curiosity is only apparent under the influence of Tylenol, and even then she is only a shadow of herself.  She wants to be bundled up in her blankets, read books, and very little else.  Being sick has, however, brought out the very best in her siblings.  They have done their best to help take care of her, and Cole especially has been there to get her whatever she might need or want.  At school, Franny’s class has started writing informational letters.  Yesterday, she wrote a ‘get well’ letter to Delaney.  Her teacher thought it was so sweet, she copied it and sent it home with Franny.  It’s times like these that I get the most endearing look at how much these three love each other.  It’s amazing and wonderful—I love watching their relationships grow!

Delaney getting a little fresh air this afternoon

Franny’s letter to Delaney

Dear Delaney,

I hope you get better soon.  I ‘ve been having fun at school.  I got a treat at school.  I had fun at school.  You are the greatest baby sister.  I hope you can play with me. 

Love, Franny

Franny, Cole, and Delaney love their neighborhood hikes with Rick.  We are fortunate to have a really nice trail system throughout our neighborhood, which gives the kids a lot to see and explore.  They throw rocks into the creek, check out different plants and leaves, as well as frogs, bugs, and worms, and just enjoy being out and about.   They always come back happy.  Today’s adventure took them back to the new trail they’ve explored before, but they extended further into a 1.5 mile hike and finished it off enjoying their favorite drinks in the cozy chairs at Starbucks.  They loved it! 

For the last six months, Delaney has watched with intrigue as Cole attended his gymnastics class.  Although she has been fascinated as the activities have played out from her vantage point, she has also been impatient that she hasn’t been able to join in.  It’s an hour long class, so it has been a challenge to keep her settled and occupied.  More often then not, she has been frustrated to the point of tears—and wailing—when she has been restrained from going down the stairs to the gym floor or jumping into the upstairs pit.  But, today was Delaney’s turn—finally!  It was clear that she understood that she would have class today, because she tried to line up with Cole for the big kid warm-up.  She was clearly distressed when I pulled her out that group, but fortunately it lasted only for a short time before her group was called down for their warm-up.  It took her a little time to settle down once she reached that much-anticipated gym floor—she was very excited and wanted to check everything out—but she got her focus pretty quickly and did a great job.  They did two different obstacle courses, balance beams, and at long last—the pit!!! And, the brave girl did jump in from one of the higher platforms!  Right now, gymnastics just fits Delaney and everything she wants to do.  Unfortunately, she didn’t get to try out the bars this week—I got quite the look for this—but hopefully, next week she’ll get a chance.  Toward the end of class, her teacher asked how old she was, and then said Wow…she’s impressive!  From a teacher that coaches hundreds of kids at all levels, I thought this was quite the complement!  I’m just thrilled that she loved her class and will be able to go back next week.  Since she isn’t quite two years old, yet, she had a trial class to make sure that she could follow directions and participate appropriately.  I can’t imagine what it would have been like had she had to return to the viewing area!  Thankfully, that’s not the case, and we have one young gymnast who will probably have sweet dreams tonight of jumping into the pit!

There is no question that Delaney is her own person.  Even with the two preceding her, she has always been uniquely Delaney, and has done everything they did but in her own way.  There is, however, a very strong desire to do everything that Franny and Cole do, go where they go, eat what they eat, and even talk as they do.  Her little ‘awesome!’ is very cute, but a total mimic of her older siblings.   With all that she does to copy them, it is amazing how she manages to keep her individuality intact.  With her personality developing at such a rapid rate, it is going to be interesting to see the little person that emerges, what traits she may share with her siblings, as well as what about her that will make her unique.  Raising kids is such an amazing journey—we are so fortunate to have such a wonderful and incredible trio.

Delaney, herself…

…but still the little sister

Today, the kids met up with their playgroup at My Masterpiece Art Studio.  I was hoping for some wall art, but Cole opted to paint a bowl, so Delaney joined him.  Delaney paints like she eats—does a few strokes, gets down and runs around, and then comes back and does a little more, and so on.  I was surprised at how long Cole sat and painted his bowl—he covered the whole thing, inside and out, with a very thick coat (the brown will turn green in the kiln) and some of it got several coats—it will be interesting to see how it looks when we pick it up! 

Both Franny and Cole started swim lessons on or just before they turned one.  But, due to logistics and balancing schedules, Delaney hasn’t had the same opportunity.  Now that both Franny and Cole are taking lessons, she is clearly excited about getting her own turn.  Unfortunately, she will probably have to wait until the end of summer, but she will definitely get there.  Until then, her current activities will have to suffice.  Although we do have a little surprise for her this Friday, which I think will make her happy!  We’ll have to wait and see…

This afternoon, we pulled out a bunch of miscellaneous craft supplies for the kids to get creative with.  With all the things they had to work with, the glitter glue was the favorite medium for all three of them.  I guess, what’s not to love about glitter?  Despite the fact that I do hold my breath the entire time they are working with it, I can say, at least once it is cleaned up, glitter glue is up, unlike loose glitter.  Regardless, they had a lot of fun creating their little masterpieces.

Balancing three kids schedules isn’t an easy thing.  There is really no way to make it ‘best’ for everyone.  But, we do our best.  Right now, Monday is a big day for Cole.  He has music in the morning, and then swimming in the evening.  I don’t like to have two things going on the same day, but to coordinate with Franny’s swim schedule, this was the best option.  They aren’t able to go at the same time, but they are back to back, which is a good Plan B.  Needless to say, by the end of each Monday, Cole is tired and done.  Tonight, he fell asleep about 30 seconds into his book…

When our dear friends had a daughter about the same time we did, we hoped they would be friends, but knew there would be no guarantee.  But, from the beginning Franny and M have been good friends and have enjoyed many days, and even a few vacations, together.  It has been awhile since we’ve gotten together, but today, we finally got together and enjoyed an afternoon at the park and a pizza dinner.  These two, however, had a particularly great time together and now have big plans for future playdates and maybe even a sleep over.  Such fun!