My Son the Ballerina

Henry is a trip. This weekend Evelyn thought it would be hilarious, which it totally was, to dress her little brother in a pale blue, velour, ballet leotard with attached skirt. It also sparkled all over. He came running out to show us, and Ev had put it on backwards. His little nipples showed. Robbie and I had just had a conversation about how Robbie did NOT want Henry wearing the old princess and fairies Pull-Ups that I found in the girls' closet. "He wears enough of that kind of thing as it is, and I don't want him wearing those." I was shocked. I thought I was about to win some points for saving money on a box of paper products that Henry would #1 and #2 into, but Robbie would not budge. No fairy Pull-Ups for Henry! Period. Today, after I took Olivia and Evelyn to gymnastics, Henry announced that he wanted to go to Beller for gymnastics and ballet too. Mind you, today he threw a major temper tantrum over not being allowed to wear his Spiderman PJ top all day, and he has the giant Spiderman slippers on in his crib right now. He's all boy, but he understands girls. He'll do well in life. At MOPS today he gave baby Abby (Nada's daughter) about 15 kisses. He heard me enter the nursery to feed Vivian this morning, and he said, "Mommy, that you? You come back? (He was upset last night that I planned to leave the house to go to book club at his bedtime.) YAY!!!! I so happy, Mommy. I love you so much, no matter what. You soooo pretty." He amazes me with his sweetness.

Vivian has been waving, and I LOVE it. The ladies at MOPPETS today told me that they think she is so beautiful. That's music to a mama's ears. Vivian now sits and plays with little toys that I place in front of her in the living room. Henry is very careful around her, and I'm proud of him for it. Baby has been eating her weight in Cheerios. She grabs them with such intention. I love her thighs. I can't get enough of her fat rolls. They are precious and adorable. She's really been making eyes at Robbie lately. She gets excited when she sees him. She makes him light up, then I light up, and we're all smiling.

Evelyn received her first preschool progress report Friday, and we celebrated her success with sausage and pepperoni pizza. We even had Pepsi. Her teachers wrote the most wonderful comments about little Evelyn, and we were so happy for her. Her academic notes were super too.

Olivia had soccer on Saturday, and she got all embarrassed when I tried to kiss her before I sent her off toward the field. I about died of shock. She's only seven. I'm supposed to still be her sun and moon, not mortify her in public. We talked about it at dinner, and she prefers I kiss her in our van. I agreed, and I thanked her for honestly sharing her feelings with me. I told her that allows me to show my respect for her wishes and help her feel comfortable. However, when she pulled back at the parking lot's edge on Saturday I squealed and chased her down, grabbed her, tickled her, and attacked her with kisses all over her pretty little face. We laughed so hard. Evelyn chased after us.

Olivia isn't a milk lover like my other three. She gave me all sorts of trouble at dinner last night when I put her glass before her, and I explained it was my job to keep her healthy. "Milk is good for your bones. Who wants to be a little old lady with a hunched over back who falls and breaks her bones?" Henry raised his hand. We erupted in laughter. You know, as I share these parts of my days with you grandparents and any other readers, it dawns on me in a delightful way that there is a good amount of laughter in our house. I have many crazy moments of frustration too, but I hope my children grow up to remember the love and laughter.