Would you love your brother if he was a 5 foot caterpillar? 
Then, through a typical manipulation pattern that included whining, threats, and exhibits of ill temper, Owen vacated the caterpillar carcass and let Evan have a turn.
Evan's mood quickly swung to the other extreme as he disappeared into the caterpillar.
Mia's favorite gesture, "Where go?"
Hiding out with Baby Bear.
Peek-a-boo!
Owen lost his first tooth on Tuesday. The tooth had been loose for 5 days, but Owen was being so careful. He was worried he would lose it at school. His teacher told him that if he lost it at school, he'd have to give her his money.
Jim's folks head south for the month of January every year. While they are away, we take care of their cat, Oreo. We just assumed we would take Oreo again this year. Then, on January 2nd, we put our house on the market. We were worried, with all of the showings and open houses, (15 people through the house in the 1st 9 days it was listed) that the cats would get locked in the attic. So both cats spent almost 2 weeks camping out at Neil and Connie's condo being cared for by their wonderful neighbors. Things have slowed down now; we actually just got an offer tonight. We brought the cats back this week and they seem happy to be with us again. There's been a lot of cuddling from our usually aloof cat, Ally. We can tell Oreo misses Connie, but she loves napping with Ally.
And the biggest news this evening. The Packers are going to the Superbowl! It was a nerve-wrecking game against the Bears. Mia slept through most of it. Owen cheered with me. Jim and Evan left the room. At the same time that the Packers were celebrating their victory, we got the call from our realtor that there is an offer on our house. I am elated tonight, but my stomach is in knots. Wish us luck, if not for the Packers, at least for a good offer.
The kids immediately paired up. Evan and Mia did some coloring on the easel, while Owen and Ellie sat up in Owen's bunk making "Keep Out!" rules and passwords. I put the kabosh on that as soon as the younger pair wanted to join them. Mean 'ole Auntie Erinn.
Addie didn't seem at all phased by her sister banishing her from the clubhouse and actually seemed to prefer playing with our "mean" toys. I had forgotton how three year olds can get sort of obsessed about things that are scary to them. She immediately asked for our Imaginex Castle that has a roaring dragon and makes crashing and thunder sounds. She also really got into the firehouse and shooting torpedoes from the pirate ship. Guess I know what to get her for her birthday next year, although I hear she really liked the travel dollhouse I gave her this year. Mia enjoyed the time that Addie played downstairs. Addie mostly ignored her, even when Mia gently played with her piggy tails.
Nothing lasts long with a 15 month old. She quickly found something else to fiddle with. She's been dying to get up into the top bunk. I guess she must have felt pretty proud of herself for finally getting her way.
What kind of Letts gathering would it be without Oreo cookies? I tried to get toothy black-teethed smiles, but an empty plate kind of says it all.
Tonight, we met The Yeagers, The Knights, and The Smiths! Owen and his buddies have officially become the "big kids" that use to irritate us when our kids were little and just trying to explore on their new wobbly toddler feet. However, there's always somebody bigger. At the end of the night Owen pulled out a wad of paper from his pocket and asked me what it said. It said, "FIRED!" in all caps. I asked why and he mumbled that some big, mean kid gave it to him in the World Works room. Owen seemed to be feeling kind of bad about getting fired from the pretend factory by a strange kid who was not declared to be his pretend boss, so we had a little talk about how as you get older, different things are funny and how things that use to hurt your feelings, become no big deal. 
Like this. Hiding behind the curtains (on the right) to prevent me from getting a decent photo of the 4 boys was HILARIOUS! But being the smart mom that I am, I enticed them with something even better than irritating me. What could be more fun to a 5 year old than irritating his mom? Posing like surfers .... or maybe they're ninjas. Either way, it's WAY more fun and they held still for a fraction of a second.
Meanwhile, Mia was sitting nicely at this Japanese picnic display. What do the Japanese take in their cooler for a picnic? I'm not sure what it is, but Mia took one look in there and declared, "Mmmm!" Of course, she also says that when she sees cat food.
Other fun events tonight: Evan caught a whopper. He loves fishing, even for pretend fish.
And Mia discovered the hand dryer. Everytime somebody would dry their hands off in the water area, she would immediately fun back to the dryer. Ah, to be so easily entertained. That's why I go to the MCM. I just stand back and click the camera. The kids have a blast and they go right to sleep when we get home.
Owen came home with a homework assignment this weekend to "find or make an aerospace piece to be displayed in the kindergarten hallway. Items can be 2D or 3D... such as birds, planes, stars, weather, planets, rockets, kites, sky, pilots, astronauts etc. Students should be able to talk about their piece." What did Owen want to make?...
It's hard when your best friend goes off to school and you have to stay home. It's hard when your mom and dad decide to buy a new house and so your mom gets really busy packing up all of your belongings. But Evan reminds us to play with him and these magnatiles he got from Ya-ya and Bumpa for Christmas are a great stress-reliever.
Evan has really gotten into building all sorts of things with them: forts, mazes, condos, dance floors, and jails for bad guys.
It's a great thing for them to play together when Owen gets home. Owen is often tired and doesn't have the energy for their own imaginary play and wrestling until after dinner. The magnatiles are quiet, but still meet the imagination factor.
It's hard to build with Magnatiles with babies around. The Mia Monster, as Evan has affectionately coined her, often destroys the magnet cities in a single swipe. Evan doesn't let it bother him and he often finds games that can entertain him and the wee ones. Here he is playing peek-a-boo with Nina's little girl, Thea, while Nina helped me get ready for a showing. This new level of responsibility is nice, but also saddens me that my littlest boy is getting big.
It's been awhile since I've done a Mia update. With Grandma & Grandpa in Mexico for the month, I thought it was a good time for one. Mia had her 15 month check-up today. She is 32" tall which puts her in the 91%ile for height. She is 25 lbs, which is the 87%ile for weight. She fits right in with the rest of us giants. She is learning all of her body parts and is obsessed with elbows (thus the goofy drawing) and belly buttons. Unlike my boys, she really seems to focus on fine motor skills. I tried to get her to draw with me on the easel, but she was more intent on spending a 1/2 hour putting the caps on and off of the markers.
This is the way she gets around. She runs, she waddles, and she climbs. She climbs on chairs, couches, beds, stools, and once even the radiator!
She loves to play peek-a-boo and this reminds me so much of Evan. He use to go behind my sheers and say, "I hide." It was his favorite phrase. Mia doesn't always like to be the subject of peek-a-boo. She likes to find objects. She'll come into the room with only one sock and I'll say, "Where is your socky?" She'll throw her hands up to the side and say, "Where?" Then she'll toddle off and come back with her sock. She keeps very good track of where she puts things. She always seems to know where to look for whatever is missing.
Mia is goofy like Evan in lots of ways. I found her like this one morning. She also likes to stand with her head on the floor and her butt in the air. Yet there's a serious side that is intent on learning and figuring things out. She's such a blend of us all and such a joy to watch grow.
Both boys really enjoyed the dancing this year, each in their own way. Evan bopped along with the music, while Owen watched on completely entranced.
The Karen people are always so eager to welcome us to their ceremony. They find us seats, bring us warm food, hold our babies, touch our hands, and do their best to communicate. This little guy was born the week before Mia. His mom pulled them both on her lap while his dad took their picture. I decided I better snap one too.
One of Jim's patients, who was working at a clothing stand, brought a traditional garment for each of the kids. She would not let us pay for them. The gesture was so touching and the items were some of the best quality and traditional colors. Mia loved toddling around in her dress. Evan was indifferent about his robe. Owen did not want to wear his and was embarrassingly grumpy when it was given to him. Someday they will all appreciate these beautiful items and the sentiment behind them.
Paw Wah, Priscilla, Mia and me.
