The Carlos Family: March 2014

February is worthy of some individual paragraphs about the trio...much development going on with my precious babies.

Clayton:

SPORTS should have been his middle name. He is obsessed with each and every sport to the point where he "needs" to have every piece of equipment that accompanies the sport. And each sport requires their own stuff according to Clay. It takes lots of reasoning with him to get him to understand that our shorts are athletic shorts. We don't just wear them when we shoot baskets in the backyard. Ryan is in heaven with his little athlete who absolutely idolizes his daddy. Clayton is dying to be on a real team and the answer of your not quite old enough isn't working so well any more.
He is so very analytical. I find us having deeper and deeper conversations. Clayton is such a good communicator. Questions are never ending with him, but they are always purposeful. He's constantly searching for information and understanding of things he's curious about.
Clayton has a sweet and gentle heart (most of the time!). A few friends have recently complimented his kindness, which makes me happy. He loves playing with Easton now. If Clay gets a truck for himself, he gets Easton one too. If Chloe needs help doing something and is getting ready to go "All Chloe" on us, he attempts to help her before it is too late! This morning Easton threw his new basketball directly at my face (we were inches from each other) and when I said, "Oh, that hurt my eye," Clayton said, "It's okay, Mommy. I'll kiss it for you." Heart melting!
He loves preschool and really seems to be thriving. He surprised me the other day when we were driving by reciting the entire Pledge of Allegiance. I am so grateful we chose to send them to Messiah. What a wonderful school. His best friend is Bennett, but he enjoys the other boys in his class too. Mrs. Bardelsik says that he is a leader and talks a lot. I can only imagine!
Oh and he can spell and write his name! So proud of my Clayton Joseph.

Chloe:

Our sweet little dancer is so enamored with tap and ballet. She absolutely loves dance class. I'm so impressed with the skills she's learned. Chloe literally dances throughout the house doing her plie, coupes, and pases. She gets quite frustrated with me when I don't know how to do one of the ballet moves and trust me googling those terms when you don't know how to spell them leads to quite unique images! We will probably start her in gymnastics over the summer and then let her choose which she wants to do in the fall. Right now our rule is one extracurricular. At this point Chloe has no interest in sports. Makes me happy she's a girly girl, but I will encourage whatever passions she has. Right now, it is all about dance.
Chloe loves to learn. She enjoys our "learning time" together practicing writing in workbooks, doing flashcards, and creating art masterpieces. She likes doing things her way, though, so needless to say Chloe and I bump heads A LOT! It can be so frustrating for me because typically she goes "All Chloe" on the simplest of situations. What I think I have learned is that she can't see past the moment, so if I am interrupting something she wants or intends to do in that moment, she doesn't understand that once she puts her shoes away, she can do whatever it is she pleases. She embodies the term "threenager!"
Chloe has a sweet and kind heart. She is so loving to Easton and any child younger than her. She treats them all as if they are her baby, which leads to pretend play. Chloe has a magical imagination. She loves dressing up and is a different princess each day. Chloe also loves taking care of her babies and she does everything so methodically. She really enjoys helping me prepare dinner and is actually quite helpful. I cherish these moments with my darling daughter. She loves carrying around purses or bags filled with random trinkets and especially looks forward to putting on her "lips" as she calls them and I embrace it wholeheartedly. She wants to be like her mommy. I am so totally okay with that. We do butt heads daily, though, with her clothing. I do allow her to explore her creative spirit and pick her clothes on many days, but sometimes Mommy gets to pick. If it's not pink, she doesn't want to wear it. Chloe has to check the rubberband, bow, socks, etc. that I pick for her. And peach, well despite my efforts to explain that it is a combination of pink and orange, doesn't fly as pink for this princess!
She loves preschool and seems to be holding her own. From what I understand from Mrs. Bardelsik Clayton pretty much lets her be, which is perfect. They do typically sit next to each other on their own, though, for carpet and lunch time. Chloe likes playing with all of the "gools" in her class. Her teacher says that she gravitates toward the art stations and pretend play, which sounds like my girl! Chloe can recite the Pledge of Allegiance and always finishes it with "and sit down" since that's what her teacher says.
Oh and she can spell her name (finally!). She's close to being able to write her name, but E's are hard for her.

Easton:

The boy has his gross motor skills down. Dribble and shoot a basketball, no problem. Dribble and kick a soccer ball, no problem. Swing a baseball bat and make contact with the ball, no problem. Ride his balance bike, down steep hills, no problem. Talk, well that's another story! Easton has been a slow mover with his talking. Being the overly paranoid mom I am, I have a whole collection of possible reasons, but I plan to discuss possible speech therapy with his pediatrician when I take him in for his ear recheck this week. Easton does talk. He is great with sounds that things make, but actually clearly saying words is not coming so easily for him. I believe it is a combination of a few factors, but rather than guess think it's best I address my concerns with a professional who then can guide us in the right direction (ENT, speech evaluation, etc.). He understands fine, hears fine (concerned about fluid build-up, which can muffle sound details), and communicates fine. I am super thankful for that.
Easton is an all or nothing kid. He plays hard and sleeps hard. When he's sick, he's sick. When he's happy, he's happy. Luckily, with the exception of some nagging, painful ear infections and one crummy virus, Easton is a pretty healthy boy, which means he's happy almost all of the time! His giggle is grand, his toothy smile, huge, and he is so coordinated. Easton is a total athlete and bruiser, but then the sweetest little baby at the same time.
The little stinker is the only one of my three children who has mastered climbing out of his crib. At this point, his newfound "skill" doesn't affect his going to sleep for his naps or bedtime, so there's no need to "tent" him. I imagine the combination of his daredevil personality and the twins climbing in and out of his crib didn't help much, but needless to say E does his trick with total precision and ease.
Easton is so comforted by his paci and Aden and Anais blankies. The combination of the two soothe him incredibly.

**An additional random note...all three are obsessed with Frozen. Clayton and Chloe know the words to every song. Clayton has hand movements, while Chloe's got the dance moves. Easton doesn't move for the entire movie. He sits still.

Here's some pictures of February...