for the past few weeks our tv has been "broken." before it mysteriously "broke," the kids were allowed to watch about an hour a day, though i tried to postpone that as long as possible until the day was completely over, and every few days they would go tv-free entirely. i always would consider that a great success. but they had both managed to get into the habit of asking for tv the minute they walked in the door from some activity. usually they were hot and tired and hungry and needing some down time, and i understood the request, but it was driving me nuts. because if i said no, then i was THE MEANEST MOMMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD! and if i said yes, then i berated myself for being the worst mommy in the whole world. however, i could manage the guilt a lot better than the whining and begging and general decompensation so i usually let them watch something from pbs on demand. but then i just got fed up with the habit that they were in--it became almost like a reflex -- "can we watch something?" was the automatic response to the first hint of boredom. and that distressed me. so, one day, i tried and tried but just could not get the darn thing to work. (here is where i can honestly say i love the complicated cable box scenario). 'oh well...i guess we'll just have to find something else to do!' -- and after a few seconds of disconsolate crying that is exactly what they did.

for the first week, they periodically asked if it was working, but really they have now completely forgotten about it. it is amazing. they don't ask at all. and their play time has become a lot more involved. and collaborative.

however, this has resulted in an exponential increase in messes throughout the house--which is ok--i just keep reminding myself that school is starting soon, but yesterday i almost caved. the kids were playing very nicely and quietly in their playroom, and had not emerged to raid the kitchen for supplies--food or art, so i was figuring at least any mess would be free of organic material, paint, and glue, so no big deal...until i caught a glimpse of carter two rooms away from me. i paused and looked again. something did not look right. he had on a shirt and shorts--standard uniform for him, but his hair...it had a strange aura about it. i approached and that is when it came into focus. that aura was pink. his hair was pink. "carter? what did you do to your hair?" carter only smiled, and ava answered: "it's chalk! i made him into a pixie! i ground up pink chalk and colored his hair!"

"oh." i said.

i would have "fixed" the tv then and there if i could have figured out how to avoid getting pink chalk on the living room chairs. instead, i just walked away and pretended that somewhere in the playroom there was not a small mountain of ground up pink chalk just waiting to be distributed on every concievable surface.

then we went to go pick raspberries. pink hair and all.

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.