Ethan
Where to start with this kid? Hahaha. Well, there's his endearing propensity to mispronounce almost any word that he's never heard spoken before, along with his unique ability to adopt words and phrases that instantly become part of our family's lexicon -- such as his current word, "splash," which has taken the place of "bop," which I'm pretty sure just means something that is really cool or awesome. Hahaha.
Another fun fact about Ethan is that he has a REALLY hard time spending his money. It sounds ridiculous to say out loud, but I have to heavily encourage him to buy ANYTHING. While working at Sonic, he put almost everything he made into savings for his mission. And anything he kept in checking was only to pay for gas and other essentials he might need. So, when he tagged along with Grace and Sophie and myself last weekend for a Target run, I was thrilled to see him finally settle on his first big purchase -- a hoverboard. And since he's the nicest big brother ever, the other kids have been using it almost as much as he has! It has made my heart happy to see how much joy it has sparked and even gladder for his sake that he hasn't had a shred of buyer's remorse. :)
Grace
Anyone who knows Grace has probably witnessed firsthand her biggest quirk, which is to talk literally non-stop for hours if given the opportunity. Her actual talking is almost matched by her text talking -- or text bombing, which is probably the more accurate phrase to use -- and there's rarely a school day that goes by that I don't receive some kind of lengthy exchange from her. And more often than not it involves her trying to argue her way into convincing me to check her out early from school.
{EXAMPLE --
GRACE: Hey...
ME: What
GRACE: Can you please pick me up for fourth period? I'm just not feeling school today.
ME: No, I have a hair appointment this afternoon.
GRACE: Please
ME: Sorry not sorry
GRACE: Pretty please with cherries on top
ME: Also, you can't just ditch school when you're not feeling it
GRACE: Yeah I can
ME: No
GRACE: I feel drained. Mental health day?
ME: Go to bed earlier
GRACE: Not cause I'm tired
ME: What do you not understand about I literally can't get you
GRACE: I just feel drained
ME: I will be at the hair salon
GRACE: Allegedly. What time is your hair appointment?
ME: 12. But also, just no.
GRACE: You can get me on your way back
ME: I've replied to this request of yours. I'm not going to get you.
GRACE: Orrrrrrr I can go home with Ethan
ME: Stop asking
GRACE: Oh mom
...AND SCENE}
Yesterday, however, just about tickled my fancy more than I can even describe. For the last few weeks, Grace has been reading To Kill A Mockingbird for her ELA class. And to my surprise and delight, she's LOVING it. She knows it's my favorite book of all time, and I don't think she was expecting to like it since -- as she says -- we don't like the same kinds of books. But I think she's been surprised and delighted as well with how much she's enjoying it! {True story -- she's literally watching the movie right now with Sophie for movie night. And her current lock screen picture on her phone is a shot of Scout dressed like a Ham from the movie.} When I got a text from her yesterday afternoon asking what my favorite scene was in the book, it was like all my dreams were finally coming true as I was able to discuss my favorite book with my favorite whack job. Hahahaha. She was only asking because they had to draw a picture in class of their favorite scene, but I was surprised and delighted once again when she got home from school yesterday and still couldn't stop talking about To Kill A Mockingbird! Grace is nothing if not interesting. Hahaha.
She went with the snowman building scene. Obviously. Hahaha.
Sophie
Sophie isn't quirky so much as very particular. She likes things done in exactly the way she wants them done and doesn't appreciate any deviations from that mold. She also doesn't appreciate it when we try to get her to stop practicing her dance routines non-stop in the kitchen and family room. I know she's been practicing for the audition piece for next year's dance team, so I'm trying my hardest to just let it go, but I can honestly say I'd be happy to never hear certain songs ever again. ;)
(Somehow, I don't have any pictures of her dancing. 😬)
Jane
While we're on the topic of dancing, Jane's non-stop TikTok dance moves are also on overdrive in our house. I don't even know if she realizes she's doing it at this point -- it's almost like it's a tic (get it?? a tic?? TiK?) or something -- because she's never not in motion.
Another thing that I've realized in recent months is that Jane (like me) is a Highly Sensitive Person. She not only feels her feelings -- she feels others, too. Whether it's a book she's reading or a movie/show she's watching, I think she gets a small measure of pride over the fact that if anything sad is happening it will make her cry. "The War That Saved My Life"? That made her cry like 6 times she said. She watched "Five Feet Apart" this past week with Sophie and apparently she cried throughout the whole movie. With teen-ager-hood "just around the corner," it should be a fun next few years. Hahaha. ;)
Alex
Here's a quirk for you -- Alex surpasses even Grace with his ability to talk non-stop if given the chance. Like seriously. I have heard more about Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) over the course of the last year than I've ever cared to know. Ever. I've also heard countless trivia bits from whatever else he's reading. And the fact that he has a bit of an obsessive personality ensures that he's going to learn a lot of facts to share with me. Last school year it was R. L. Stine and the Goosebumps series. This year, it's been Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the "I survived" series, and his current favorite -- the "Who Was/IS...?" and "What Was/Is...?" series. All this to say, when he starts talking, you never know which way the conversation (or -- to be more accurate -- the monologue) is going to go.
Case in point -- Here is a text I got from Scott yesterday morning after he dropped Alex and Jane off at school.
SCOTT: A list of things Alex discussed on drive to school...
SCOTT: Gravity for planets
SCOTT: What you can see in space
SCOTT: Jesse Owens and gold medals
SCOTT: Who is faster him or Wilma Rudolph
SCOTT: Usain Bolt speed
SCOTT: How fast lightning is
SCOTT: MLK speech date being Jane's birthday
SCOTT: Segregation
SCOTT: Why the 1st and 2nd graders don't learn about segregation
SCOTT: LEGO
SCOTT: LEGO masters episodes
SCOTT: And 4-5 more
SCOTT: Not kidding
ME: Hahahahahaha
SCOTT: It's staggering
SCOTT: He's the kid from Jerry Maguire
SCOTT: Mixed with the kid from Home Alone in the airport shuttle
ME: 😂😂😂
And then THIS morning, here is the first text I got from Scott --
SCOTT: American graffiti, apocalypse now, George Lucas wanting to make that movie, Luke Skywalkers original name being Luke Starkiller, children's blizzard -48 degrees, dwarf planet called make make, crescent shaped dwarf planet, one day sun will turn into red giant, there's a giant red dwarf called beetle juice, George Lucas being born in 1944, Dr. Seuss having his 116th birthday two days ago
SCOTT: So far. Seriously
ME: What does he know about American graffiti?
SCOTT: Directed by George Lucas
ME: OMWOWZA. Make make?
SCOTT: You think I make this up?
ME: What is the children's blizzard?
SCOTT: I just report the news babe
ME: Did George Lucas direct Apocalypse Now?
SCOTT: No, but he wanted to apparently
ME: 😂😂😂
SCOTT: That list was just from dropping off Sophie
Isaac
This cute little nut job is full of quirks. He says phrases backwards all the time -- e.g. "I want to sit next right to you, mom;" "slate blank" (a game we got for Christmas that's actually called Blank Slate); "cheese cream" instead of cream cheese, and so on and so forth -- and he uses adorable phrases such as "you made my feelings sad!" in place of "you hurt my feelings." He is also very particular about putting the 3 books we read at bedtime into the "right order" and won't ever let me get out of reading at least 3 books every night.
In the last month, we've also discovered that some of his quirks -- such as hating it when his hands get sticky or dirty, freaking out when the noise around him is too loud, and being an extremely picky eater -- can be attributed to having a Sensory Processing Disorder. Alex was actually the first one we had evaluated last fall, and after he qualified for occupational therapy services, I realized that Isaac had a lot of the same sensory issues that Alex had and so we decided to have Isaac evaluated as well. Isaac started his own occupational therapy a few weeks ago, and I'm really hoping that by working with him early on, we can help to manage issues more competently!
(He took this selfie today while waiting for occupational therapy to start.)
And that is that! Today is officially one week away from me turning the big 4-0. As a special treat to all of you, I'm going to spend the next week blogging through my 40 Before 40 list. You're welcome in advance. Hahahaha. :)
(Superfluous shot of this cute little pup.)
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