Carter - Age 6
As I've mentioned in past posts, he's really into Legos right now....specifically Lego City. He doesn't play with many other toys anymore. That means that all of the Angry Birds, trains, boats, cars, airplanes, and art supplies that we've purchased over the years are sitting around not being played with. I guess that also means that he's growing up. When he's not playing Legos, he likes to play on the iPad, but even that isn't as exciting to him anymore. We practically have to force him to go outside and ride his bike or shoot hoops. Hopefully that will change as the weather gets nicer. He does love to go swimming at the gym and luckily both he and Brynn agree on this activity. We've also noticed that he's less and less interested in playing with Brynn. Just a month or two ago, the two of them would search the house for our cat, build forts or play something together. Right now, he'd just rather do Legos alone (or with Cary or I).
He seems to like school but often tells us that he wishes he didn't have to go. Once he's there, he is always smiling and happy to be with his friends. He mostly plays with Jack, Blake and Calvin. They play Lego Movie or some sort of action-figure-type game on the playground. He's had lots of playdates and is always excited to go see his friends. He also likes playing with some of the girls in his class. I went into his classroom the other day and noticed that he had chosen to go to the Art Center during center time. It was Carter and 4 girls. I don't think he really cares too much what other kids think or what they are doing...he just is in his own little world most times.
His school conference went really well and he's doing great academically. He's reading Level 1 books and can read most signs that we see around town. Both teachers said how impressed they were with his math skills. I said that all comes from his dad who gives him math challenges each night as he puts him to bed. Carter can answer questions like: what is 4, 6 times? In PE they are learning to roller skate and Carter says that he's "not so good." We're not surprised. He's still not the most coordinated kid (aka super-clutsy), but we've noticed that his running form has gotten so much better. He also can throw a baseball pretty well. We'll see how the baseball season goes.
He doesn't like that his bedroom is downstairs and complains about that almost daily. He says that he's scared down there, but he also complains that he has to go down the steps to get there. He hates getting dressed and it takes him forever to do so. I think I could affectionately describe him as a bit lazy. But we're working on that with a sticker chore-chart, which is working wonderfully. He is of course saving up his stickers for more Legos. :)
In general, he's a nice, sweet, innocent, and respectful boy. He's a rule-follower for sure and does not want to be in trouble ever. I truly don't think he has a mean bone in his body and there's not a thing I would change about him. I can already imagine what kind of teenage boy he'll be and it doesn't scare me at all...at least not yet. In fact, I maybe worry that he'll be too much of a rule-follower. We shall see...
Brynn - age 3
Brynn has grown up so much in the past few months. It's hard to remember how challenging she used to be. Although we do see a glimpse of her stubborn nature every now and then, she's more consistently a sweet and delightful little girl. Right now, I think of Brynn as my best little buddy. She follows me everywhere and just likes being with me. Sometimes I find it annoying (especially by the end of the day), but most of the time it's super cute. She is just easy to have around. Yesterday, for example, she helped me make lunch and banana muffins, we painted our nails together, went on a walk together, played babies and Barbies, and snuggled about 10 different times. She likes to sing in the car, get dressed up, pick out clothes that match, wear my jewelry, put on lip gloss, and be a little grown-up. She recently told me "Mom, I saw this phone cover at the mall with grandma and it was purple with an owl on it. You would have LOVED it." Oh man, I just love this girl. Like I said, she's my little buddy. She had a sleepover on Saturday night with Grandma Bobbi and Saylor and it seemed quiet without her around.
Brynn doesn't play with toys as much as she used to. She does occasionally play babies and push them around in their strollers or play house with them, but that is definitely less than it used to be. She has started playing Barbies more and more and she likes to put them in their car, drive them around, and make them talk to each other. I see a Barbie house in our future. She doesn't play on the iPad, although she loves watching Team Umizoomi, Dora and Bubble Guppies. She also likes dance parties or playing pretend gymnastics or dance class. She's also just started getting into drawing. Mostly she just likes to do whatever I'm doing. She's easy to take on errands and is generally happy being out-and-about with me. With the warmer weather, she likes riding her bike, shooting hoops with Dad, or just being outside. And she also loves swimming at the gym pool.
She likes going to Hedy's but cries almost every morning when I drop her off. Hedy says that lasts about 2 minutes and then she's off playing with the kids. At Hedy's, she mostly plays with Cooper, who is 4. I think they play cars and more boy stuff. Hedy also says she's really good help with Hailey (1) and Daniel (6 mos). Brynn loves playing her cousins, especially Claire and Saylor. She talks about both of them daily and is so happy when she's with either one of them. She and Claire play so nicely together and seem to be into the same things. Brynn will often say "I miss Claire. She is my best friend." But she loves Saylor equally and gets so excited when they get to be together. I think Brynn is a bit bossy to Saylor and doesn't like it when Saylor doesn't want to play what Brynn had in mind. For the most part, I'd say that Brynn and Saylor get along like sisters. They love each other 90% of the time.
The biggest thing I can say about Brynn now is that she is responsible. She makes her own bed and does it almost perfectly. She picks out her own clothes and dresses herself without complaint. She can pick up her toys quickly and offers to help Carter pick his up too. At naptime, she gets her sleeping bag out, lays it on our floor (where she likes to sleep), goes potty without being told, and lays down and waits for me to come snuggle her before she falls asleep. She helps in the kitchen and unloads the silverware from the dishwasher. And at the grocery store, she helps put the groceries on the check-out line. She is really just a little helper. Sometimes this can be a bad thing because she thinks she can do some things that she really can't. She also tends to boss Carter around and he complains that she's trying to be his mom. At this point, I'm looking at this like a blessing since I'll love her help with the new baby. I just know that she'll be happy to "babysit" while I shower, feed the baby his/her bottle, and run and get me a diaper.
She'll be in half-day preschool 5 days a week next year. It's so hard to believe that she's this old!
Baby Coppola
Well this baby is a mover and a shaker. He or she seems to be growing as my belly gets larger by the day. We had our ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and decided not to find out the gender, so we're waiting to be surprised. Everything is looking good and on-schedule and so we're excited for a late-July delivery. I'm just over 22 weeks and feeling great. I really have no pregnancy complaints other than maybe being a big hormonal. :) Well I don't love maternity clothes either but that just comes with the territory.
Cary and I have agreed on 2 or 3 girl names although we haven't officially picked one out. We're struggling more with boy names and have a few that we like, but nothing that we love. Carter has suggested the names Issac, Zach, or Jack. He actually is pretty good at coming up with realistic names. Brynn suggested Cool Whip for the baby's name this morning. I think we'll pass on that one.
I haven't really done anything at this point to prepare for the baby's birth. The nursery is still the art room and will probably remain the art room until June. It's painted gray and we're going to leave it that color for now. I did have the rocker reupholstered from green to dark gray. Otherwise, I've purchased nothing and haven't actually given much thought to all of that yet. We have tubs and tubs of boy and girl clothes in the attic. Our carseat is still in good condition and hasn't expired. We have a swing and bouncy seat and toys and bottles and pacis. I will eventually pick out some boy and girl bedding but probably won't buy anything until after the birth. I may need a new diaper bag. Other than that, I think we could be pretty prepared with what we already have. It's funny how different it is the 3rd time around!
My biggest concerns about having a third child right now are not getting sleep, going from having two pretty independent kids to having to be "on" 100% of the time, and managing three different schedules. I know we'll figure it all out though!!!
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