12 on 12 | march

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1. Thumb-sucking for Anne is a two handed thing. One hand to her mouth, the other hand either in my mouth (if I'm holding her) or her own ear.
2. For months now, Slade has been convinced he can't read. Its been great to watch him slowly make progress. He has had the phonetic skills for a while but just didn't seem to believe that he could put it together. He is still doesn't usually want to read so when he offered to read me Green Eggs and Ham this morning, I was thrilled.
3. I will be in Atlanta next week for a week of kid-free vacationing with my mom and sisters. So excited. I have a very long to-do list though to complete before then.
4. I started having each of the kids choose a breakfast and a lunch for the week. I wrote down the things they generally like to eat on index cards and they take turns choosing. It is working great for us. First of all, I like that I don't have to think of what to make everyday. That is such a pain. Secondly, the kids like choosing and know that even if they don't like something one day then they know their choice will be coming. Emma has picked hot dogs for her lunch two weeks in a row.
5. The weather was just lovely. The kids got on the tramp at the first free moment. I love Sawyer's face in this shot. We also got the backyard all picked up. There were lots of random socks, shoes, toys, and trash out there. Since it rained/snowed all day today, it was good we enjoyed the sunshine yesterday.
6. I came in to put away all the stuff we found outside. When I finished, I wondered where Anne was since she is generally crying at my legs to be picked up. I had left her outside. With the door shut. She was perfectly happy though eating a sucker. She was adding extra flavor by dipping it in dirt.
7. Emma is playing a duet at a string festival this weekend. We went over to the other girl's house today to practice. Emma got to stay afterward and have a play date. She came home full of smiles about how much fun she had.
8. I was able to sneak out by myself and go to the library. I felt a little guilty because when I asked if anyone wanted to come, Sawyer wanted to go. I quickly rethought the offer and bribed him with video games at home instead. So not nice of me.
9. I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time in the library though, I must say. I can't help but get a little giddy when I walk into a library or bookstore. Oh the possibilities!
10. Emma had three kinds of polka dots on for her bedtime ensemble.
11. Slade turned this long balloon into a spiral and said, "Look, Mom. DNA." How does he know this stuff?
12. Dave gave up Warcraft but has instead taking to spending lots and lots of time at the computer working each night. This picture is not entirely accurate because he is usually sitting on the chair with his laptop. We stayed up until 2 am. He was working. I was lying on the couch watching movies and feeling somewhat miserable with a cold. We are all sniffly, sneezy, and coughing thanks to Nathan. Not fun.