A Few Things

This is the earliest that Danielle has gone to bed, and I find myself with a little free time tonight. Here are a few things on my mind:

1. I've stopped fighting it....Danielle is going to be a thumb-sucker. When I stumble into her room in the mornings, she is often sucking on her thumb. She doesn't like to be held for too long, but instead she prefers to lie on the couch or on a blanket on the floor. She spends her time being entertained by her siblings and target practicing at her mouth. Sometimes she gets her thumb stuck under her fingers, but once she manages to separate it from her fingers and actually get it in her mouth, she sucks with a fury before she accidentally pulls it out again.

Oh, and she's also 2'2" now. Quite a milestone.


2. We have been doing spring cleaning. Now that school is finally over for the year I can attack the dust, streaks, grime, and spills that I have been trying to ignore since the beginning of my pregnancy. I actually have some time, energy and desire to clean all at the same time. I have been on a simplifying kick and have gotten rid of several things including some big items. The house feels so much bigger. Every day the kids help with some big job in the morning. Once they have helped out, done their regular chores and practiced the piano, the day is theirs. They have helped weed, scrub walls, scour windows, and even spent an hour cleaning the food off of their chairs. I've touched up paint, cleaned out cupboards, attacked spider webs and gotten rid of excess "things." Please remind me not to buy anything new. It feels really good!


3. Connor lost his front tooth. I love that stage when my kids can't talk right and have a hard time eating. It felt like he'd been wiggling it for 3 months, but I think it was only 3 weeks. I thought that thing was never going to come out, and then on Monday night when we had some friends over for Memorial Day, he came running in holding the bloody stump. We were all so excited, and I think he looks really cute. Now the next door tooth is loose.


4. It is so nice to finally have summer here. We even felt hot today and the breeze coming in the windows tonight is heaven. Some thunderstorms rolled in this evening and left us with some gorgeous skies.