Dominic has become quite a little boy full of activity, expression and personality. Although the words are slow to come, he understands everything. He loves to run, play and get into cabinets and drawers. He has learned how to assert himself and hold his own with his sisters. Hitting and screaming have become part of his repetoire as well as tantrums. He has learned from the best. Time outs have had to be used as a simple no is not very effective anymore. I am thankful he still loves to cuddle and his clearest words are "mama" and "dada." Check out one of the many dings he has suffered from his many adventures. Actually, this one was at the hand of his sister Chloe who shut a door in his face. She didn't want him to follow her anymore and thought the best way to keep him out her stuff was to but something between them.
Dominic isn't the only one growing. Chloe continues to be active and a bundle of energy. We jokingly call her our cross between Dash from the Incredibles and Tigger. She never sits still. They call her the "Powerhouse" at gymnastics. She can hang from the rings in position twice as long as the other 3&4 year olds and just blows them away with whatever challenge they are doing: bars, trampoline or climbing activities. Although her fourth birthday is over a month away, we need to break out the size 4 pants as she is starting to look like the flood is coming. Her hair has finally reached a length that many cute styles can be done. She, however, doesn't leave them in for long. At least I was able to snap this picture of her.
Renee too is changing fast. With baby teeth falling out and new ones growing in, it is easy to see how big she is becoming. She continues to make great progress at school and is reading well beyond her age level. She is however struggling with attention issues. Renee simply finds other students' work and business much more interesting than her own. Some nights we have more homework than others because she didn't finish it at school. She often has to miss part of recess to finish other tasks and the bus driver has had to speak to her often as well. Recently Renee's class put on an "opera" version of the short story "Tiki Tiki Tembo." Renee was an "aunt" and had a speaking part at the end. She was quite proud of herself and so were we. It was simply adorable!
Easter came upon us quickly. I was lucky enough to find matching outfits for the kids. They looked adorable. After our rough attempts at church this year, we knew that our previous mishaps were not an excuse to miss Easter morning mass. We arrived 15 minutes early to make sure we got a seat only to find we were stuck in the back of the Narthex. The place was "hopin'" Even though there was a lot of people, father called all the children to the front. In charge of Chloe, Renee led them up to the altar. We couldn't see them. However, we did hear Chloe get reprimanded. When they returned Renee told us that Chloe got in trouble "on stage." Apparently Chloe found one of her pre-school chums and they excitedly hugged and jumped interrupting Father's blessing of the Eucharist to tell him they go to school together. He had to separate them. Well, at least we made it, survived and they looked cute!
