in the past week or two, ava won freaky friday (a fun skating competition) with her cancan routine while simultaneously turning 6, anna figured out how to splash in the bath--SO FUN!, the ironman was amazing and inspiring as usual, and carter told me that he would be finished on the computer in "two shakes of a ham's tail..."

anna's hair just went through a growth spurt. she went from practically nothing -- and that which she had was so fair, it was impossible to really see it-- to a little whorl of blond hair on the top of her head. it has completely changed her face.

she is so content. she just sits next to me looking around, happy to just be. now i see how people can do things (other than read a novel while he or she nurses) with a baby.

not that i have any objection to forced reading of novels, but it is nice to have 2 hands occasionally.

toady, ava announced that her new favorite colors were pink and gold--not pink and white. this is because her dress for her routine is pink and gold (well, it will be, if i can actually sew it).

in response, i told her "well, always remember that a little gold goes a long way. too much and it is not good."

to which she replied "oh, i know. sort of like soy sauce."

yes. precisely.

carter saw a picture of himself when he was 1.5 years old, and he stared at it for a long time, then finally turned to me and said "why am i so LITTLE in this picture?"

i told him he was only one, and he just stared at it again and said nothing else, but you could just see him processing the information that he was that little once. i am not sure if he found it upsetting or not, because it could have been interpreted 2 ways--one: look how big i am now, or two: i have not always been big and strong and was once small and weak. the former conveys a sense of accomplishment, the latter a sense of imperfection.

interestingly, he has no issue looking at pictures of himself as a baby. it is that "small person" stage that he dislikes.

anna went to the doctor this morning for her 4-mo check up. all is well, and as suspected she is huge. nearly 16 pbs, so that is 88th %ile, which is not mind bogggling or anything, but she is 27 inches long, which puts her in the 99th %ile. head circumference is big too-not sure of the measurement, but it was 95th %ile. her length is the part that keeps amazing me, mostly because she was the smallest of the 3. she also got a shot, and did not make a sound. not a single sound, not a tear, not a gulp--nothing. the only way you would have known something happened was that she sat up a bit straighter (she was in my lap), and her eyes sprung wide open for a moment -- then she just stared at poor nurse lisa with an expression of "i know you did this to me, and i am going to remember you -- trust me. i will not let you pick me up ever again."

on july 1, anna rolled over--from back to front, and then the next day she went from front to back. now she won't stop. as soon as i put her down for a diaper change she arches her back and starts to flip over. the other morning she was awake before me, and lying there in bed cooing at everything, poking me in the face, yammering on and on. i finally woke up and opened my eyes to be greeted by her face about inches from mine. when she saw me open my eyes she immediately grinned and made a happy sigh, almost like "hooray! you are awake!"

i told her to whisper and we headed out to the living room where i was able to play alone with her for a little bit. she loves big smooches on her cheeks and laughs her ridiculous low-pitched "aaaahhhh" laugh. sometimes she squeals, but that is usually when she is in her bouncy seat and sees me from across the room. when tickled or otherwise made to laugh up close her laugh is less a laugh than a guffaw. her other favorite thing to do is blow bubbles. all day long. with sound. the best part is that when i do it back to her, she thinks it is hysterical, and she does it even more. she definitely gets the "Most Verbal Baby" award in this family.