Happy Birthday, dear Chloe!

Chloe turns six today.  SIX!

I can't talk about it I'll just tear up and get my keyboard all wet with my mushy gushiness.

How did she go from this sleeping cheeky peanut to this sweet little young lady so fast?

Praying that God preserves my Chloe's sweetness as she grows another year older and that He roots her sweetness in His love.  I pray that she will learn to love the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind and then give that love away to others.

Super happy birthday to my dear baby girl!   And let the birthday festivities begin!  

The new 6 year old will wear a made-for-her fancy dress to church today (thanks, Abuelita!), receive gifts from family, eat a special dinner (Chloe requested shrimp, pesto noodles, and fried zucchini), and welcome grandma and nana for a week long birthday visit.  This girl sure is blessed (read: spoiled).  :) 

School's out for summer!

Chloe proudly showing off portfolio evaluation.

[WARNING: This post includes excessive use of exclamation points.]

Chloe is officially DONE with kindergarten!

Yahoo and Hallelujah! 

I'm unspeakably proud of all that Chloe's accomplished this year.  She's a fabulous little reader and a true joy to teach. 

We've had many mountain and valley moments through our year of kindergarten.  I pray the valleys will help teach Chloe the value of perseverance and keep her humbly relying on God for strength in her educational journey.

In Ohio, there are at least three different ways you can provide documentation of your homeschooling year.  I chose to compile a portfolio of Chloe's year of schoolwork and then to have the portfolio evaluated by a certified teacher. (Ironically, both Matt and I are teachers but neither of us are certified to teach K-12 here.  I suppose we might be a trifle biased in evaluating our own daughter anyhow.)

I purposely didn't take a photo of the ginormous binder we put together chronicling Chloe's kindergarten year.  It's embarrassingly huge.  I had no clue what to omit.  Nearly everything that was worthy of saving throughout the year made it into the portfolio binder.  Besides dividing out her work by discipline, I also had sections for handwriting, book reports, field trips, enrichment, homeschool co-op group, and unit studies. 

Thankfully, she passed the evaluation with flying colors! 

And now we celebrate, eat chocolate cake and take a much-deserved break from schoolwork!

Though not entirely.  Our family life is so completely infused with books that reading will naturally continue throughout the summer months.  I have a list of chapter books I'd like to read aloud to Chloe and both kids have already completed their first week's chart for our library's summer reading program.

And of course summer is the perfect time to do a few fun outdoor science studies.  I hope to do a unit on stars with the kids and explore the warm summer sky with our telescope for constellations and other celestial objects.

Don't worry, we're not such eggheads that we'll read the summer away.  Bike riding, swimming, visits from family, park playdates and general summer fun-nity is also on the agenda!

Big congratulations to our new little first grader! 

Enjoying the celebratory dessert of chocolate almond cake and ice cream.

 

Clive is happy to partake in the spoils of big sister's hard work! 

Interview

Stole this cute idea from blogger friends Christina and Katie. While "interviewing" Chloe and Clive with the questions below, we were all downstairs together in the basement schoolroom/playroom. Distractions abounded! Not that Clive needs much to distract him as you'll soon discover when you read his *interesting* answers.

By the end of the interview Matt and I were both laughing to the point of tears! Experiences like this remind me yet again of the super fun phase we're in with our precious kiddos. It's draining to have three little ones 5 and under but these are sweet precious days!

Without further ado, here's the interview. Enjoy and try it out on your little people!







1. What is something your mom always says to you?
Chloe: "Um, I love you!"
Clive: "No no, I a baby. Babies not talk, babies cry. WAAAH." (I asked the question again this time addressing it to "baby" instead of "Clive".) "Uh, shhh."

2. What makes mom happy?
Chloe: "When I give you a BIG hug!"
Clive: "Sad!"

3. What makes mom sad?
Chloe: "When I disobey."
Clive: "Uh, no I a baby. Uh, I don't know."

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Chloe: "By tickling me!"
Clive: "Tickle me!"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Chloe: "A gift" (Not sure what she was thinking with this response but she's right on. I WAS a gift to my dear mom when I was a child. Now if I was a lump-of-coal type gift or a bright-shiny-new-bike type gift is up for debate.)
Clive: "I don't know"

6. How old is your mom?
Chloe: "35"
Clive: "3"

7. How tall is your mom?
Chloe: "50 inches"
Clive: "50 inches" (copycat!)

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Chloe: "Take naps" (So true!)
Clive: "Get in a bus"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Chloe: "Sit and cry"
Clive: "Wash the dishes"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Chloe: "For being superman"
Clive: "I need to wash my hands!"

11. What is your mom really good at?
Chloe: "Taking naps"
Clive: "Eating supper"

[At this point in the interview Clive yells out, "Where's my hammer?!? I need my hammer!" For the next several questions of the interview Clive hammers the bookshelf while singing the Bob the Builder theme song.]

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Chloe: "Lifting chairs"
Clive: "Lifting chairs"

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Chloe: "Teach"
Clive: "Lifting chairs" (guess I'm not very good at my job then according to Clive)

[Since Clive kept repeating Chloe's answers, Matt proceeded to conduct a whispering lesson with Chloe. Chloe wasn't getting it and the whole thing spiraled into silliness quickly.]

14. What's your mom's favorite food?
Chloe: "Cheese"
Clive: "Cheerios"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Chloe: "She wins races a lot."
Clive: "She . . . . hammering."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Chloe: "Superman" (Can you tell Chloe's fascinated by superman lately?)
Clive: "Kipper the dog" (HEY, I object!)

[After his last reply, Clive explored the game closet, found the bananagram bag and shouted, "BANANAGRAMS!" while dumping all the letter tiles out.]

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Chloe: "Doing school"
Clive: "Do bananagrams in here"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Chloe: "We both have brown hair and brown eyes"
Clive: "Both 3 years old"

19. How are you and your mom different?
Chloe: "I can't hear" (Huh? Maybe she meant she couldn't hear the questions over her brothers' racket?)
Clive: "I different and mommy's different too"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Chloe: "Because I love her"
Clive: "She told me"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Chloe: "To stores"
Clive: "To Krieger's"

Mommy Hair Salon

Today as I noticed again the heavy mop of hair dampening Chloe's neck with sweat, I was moved to do something drastic. Poor Chloe has inherited my hair to a tee. Thick, slightly wavy, and a dark blond/light brown in color our shared hair color is known as "dishwater blond".

Though I've tried somewhat to keep Chloe's hair off her neck during these sweltering summer days, it's to no avail. Braids, ponytails, and pigtails (with accompanying barrettes) are almost never strong enough to keep her hair away from her face and off her neck. By the end of the day, "scraggly" and "ragamuffin" are apt adjectives for Chloe's appearance.

So, this afternoon we set up an impromptu mommy hair salon on the front porch. I know, I'm impulsive. And you already know I'm cheap. Dishing out $10 for a kid haircut is not even a consideration to me. Sometimes my impulsivity (is that a word?) leads to really stupid decisions and mistakes.

Don't worry, this haircut doesn't fall into the stupid category. :)

Thankfully, the one time I previously cut Chloe's hair was a huge success. Ergo, I went into this haircutting venture with confidence. Ironically, because of Chloe's hair texture, it's very forgiving to the amateur hair cutter. Choppy cuts and slightly jagged lines look good in her hairstyle.

Let me tell you, Chloe LOVED every moment of the home hair salon experience! She set everything up and helped me think of all the tools we needed. We even included the small talk banter typical of a regular hair salon experience.

After much cutting, trimming and fixing the finished product is a hit! I was trying for a nice short bob that would lie above Chloe's neck and keep her cool during our humid midwestern summer.

Whew! Thank the Lord it turned out well! Chloe loves it, I love it and so does Matt. (Before and after pictures posted below).

When Chloe asked if she could have a turn cutting my hair I politely declined. :) Let's hope when she plays hair salon in the future she doesn't do any real cutting. Then I might have to put away my mommy shears and chalk this one up to a "live and learn" mommying moment.

Where do you get your kids' hair cut? Or do you trim their locks at home?

A baby Chloe-ism

As a mama, it seems I get climbed on, stepped on, elbowed and generally man-handled often by my dear offspring. Of course I would never trade the bruises for the bumps and bruises for the preciousness of Chloe and Clive climbing into my lap while we read books. Or the unhindered joy in Clive as I toss him around or wrestle with him on the floor.

Well, now that there's a new life growing inside me I've cautioned Chloe especially to be more gentle with me. When I first explained why she needed to be more careful around my expanding middle, here was her response . . .

Me: (after Chloe tossed herself heavily on me) "Chloe, you have to be more gentle around my tummy now that the baby is growing inside. You can't kick or hurt mommy's tummy or the baby might get hurt."
Chloe: "Right, mommy. We don't want the baby to come out with a bump on her head!"

(Notice that Chloe is already referring to the baby as a girl.)

Hope this Chloe-ism gives you a giggle on your Friday!

Our new answering service

Chloe has become our new in-house phone secretary! She L.O.V.E.S. answering the phone and when it rings she jumps up and runs to answer it first. It's pretty stinking adorable. And she does a fabulous job answering and chatting away with the surprised caller. :)

I'm thrilled that Chloe is fetching our phone calls. We only have 2 phones and both are located downstairs. I'm usually tied up or too far from the phone to answer before the machine picks up anyways. And Matt? Matt admittedly avoids the phone at all costs. He completely ignores the phone when it's ringing and only picks up if it's his folks on the line.

The best and most comical benefit of Chloe's phone answering habit is when she gets a telemarketer on the line. Last night she answered with her super-cute "Hello, this is Chloe" and a confused look came over her face. She kept saying, "Hello? Hellooooo?" as the telemarketer blazed through his schpiel at full speed. We realized what was happening and Matt advised Chloe to hang up. Again, the confused look crossed her face. Chloe was obviously conflicted about hanging up the phone on a live talking person. She sweetly ended the one-sided conversation with an apologetic, "I'm sorry, I have to hang up now."

I'm hoping this helpful phone-answering habit of hers is long-term! Besides being a serious help to me during the day Chloe's cute phone reception is an automatic smile generator. :)

Do your kids dig talking on the phone and/or answering it?

Chloe's idea of contentment

Last week Chloe and I did the book "When I was Young in the Mountains" for her five in a row curriculum. Excellent book. I highly recommend it. Lovely illustrations and great story-telling techniques create an easy platform for introducing new concepts to the preschooler's mind.

The narrator of the story is a little girl growing up in the mountains of West Virginia. She's completely content with her life and surroundings though she doesn't have ANY modern conveniences. (Chloe simply could not comprehend that the little girl in the story didn't get to watch any movies. That was way more devastating to her than the lack of indoor plumbing.)

So, as one of our lessons I defined the word content and we talked about how we should be happy for what we have. We read a Bible verse exhorting contentment and promoting generosity. Then Chloe parroted the definition back to me and drew several pictures of things she's happy she has. Her drawings included (in case you can't decipher them from the photo above) bubble gum, papa teddy, crayons, our house, and her bike.

She was getting it! Or so I thought. :) Just as my teacher-mama pride started to swell I asked Chloe to tell me what it means to be content. Here was her reply . . .

"Content is be happy with what I have but what I really need to be happy is a yo-yo."

Back to the drawing board! :)

Sleeping arrangements

Now that Chloe has reached the ripe old age of 4 she's consistently not napping. Sigh. This is one milestone I'm NOT excited about.

Even though she doesn't nap much lately we still enforce an afternoon quiet time. And after an hour of quiet time she's free to play.

By 7:00 p.m. Chloe is obviously ready for bed. Unfortunately, with all our new schooling routines I don't always get her in bed promptly at 7. As this photo so accurately depicts she was exhausted beyond belief tonight. Or maybe she was trying to keep the light out of her eyes?

Whatever the odd 4-year-old-logic involved, this photo of Chloe sacked out was too cute not to share. Makes me sleepy just looking at her! :)

What weird crazy ways have your kiddos fallen asleep?

FOUR

My sweet baby girl is no longer a baby! (Though in a very real sense she will ALWAYS be a baby in my eyes.)

I am in a slight sense of shock to think that my Chloe is breaching the 4 year milestone today. Obviously I admit that time marches at a constant rate but it doesn't seem so from my mommy perspective.

Watching this child grow from a screaming needy newborn into a functioning reasoning little person has been a true privilege and joy. I treasure my dear Chloe and I fully enjoy spending time with her, observing her personality blossom, and watching her develop.

I'm also super proud of my girl. She's helpful and obedient (most of the time). She can read simple words and she is an expert at imagination play. Chloe draws and sings and makes up her own poems. She's also very sweet with her little brother (again, most of the time) especially now that they're roomies. Clive waits up for her and then they "talk" until one of two things happen 1) they crash on their own or 2) Matt has to go up and give them an ultimatum. (I'm not a good bed-time ultimatum-giver so it's become Matt's job. I walk in the room and can NOT keep from smiling and giggling with them!)

Chloe is in an interesting stage right now because she's articulating her own thoughts and ideas more and more. Just tonight she said, "Tomorrow when I turn 4, will I be a mommy?" And then immediately after that she told me something unintelligible about God's rules for life. And then she started doing demi-plies while giggling. The workings of a 4 year old mind certainly are curious.

Happy 4th birthday, my snuggle bunny. I love you dearly and I am thrilled with how God has grown you thus far!

Picking kay-boos

Since today was a lovely spring day, I packed up the kids in the sit-n-stand stroller and we embarked on a monster walk. We went to the drug store, library, post office, and park before heading home. Quite the outing.

Several times I asked myself, "Why did I do this again?" Like when Clive stunk up the children's dept. at the library (which has NO changing table or baby-friendly changing area) and I decided to change him on the floor amidst the nonfiction stacks. That was fun. Especially when I went to wrap up the diaper and in that millisecond he found the dvds and proceeded to knock 10 of them down in one blow. And while I cleaned that up he went like a homing pigeon for the junior mints in my purse and dumped them all out. Really fun.

On the way home from the park I enjoyed the breeze and as is our usual habit Chloe and I admired and talked about flowers. As we strolled past a vacant office building and noticed several lilac bushes in bloom. We snagged a few to take home and Chloe said to me, "Mommy, are we making a kay boo?" After questioning her repeatedly I finally realized she was trying to say bouquet. Some words must sound so strange to a three year-old brain!

Hope you're enjoying the springy flowers and making your own kay-boos! What flowers are blooming where you live?

Smiles for your Friday

Here's a reason to smile today! Isn't his smile contagious? I took Clive out for a quick grocery outing tonight and almost every person we walked past stopped to smile and coo at him.

I don't have a smiley picture of Chloe to share but I have a few anecdotes that should deliver grins. :)

Yesterday morning I was hurriedly getting clothes out to dress Chloe for the day. I chose her adorable denim overalls with embroidered cherries. This was Chloe's response . . . .

"Mommy, I am not happy right now."

Apparently she doesn't like wearing overalls. In fact she told me this morning that she'd rather wear only a shirt and undies. Hmm.

:: :: :: :: ::

While out for lunch with a friend of mine and her kids, Chloe held Bryan's hand as they walked across the parking lot. Here's a snippet of the conversation I overheard . . .

Bryan: "When I hurt myself, my sister laughs at me."
Chloe: "When I hurt myself I pray. I pray to GOD." (said emphatically)

:: :: :: :: ::

Last night Chloe colored while I prepared dinner and we both waited anxiously for Matt to return home from school. Chloe asked where daddy was and then said sincerely . . .

"Mommy, I want my daddy back."

Awww! It's deeply touching to see the sweet relationship Chloe and Matt have.

Hug and cherish the little ones in your life today!

Bathtub baptism

Chloe has a definite silly streak in her. She cracks up at knock-knock jokes (even if she doesn't get them) and whenever we laugh at something she says or does she proceeds to do it over and over and OVER again.

A few nights ago I was giving her a bath and feeding Clive simultaneously. She's old enough to safely sit and play in the bath for awhile so I try to get other things done while she's soaking. Because my hands were tied up feeding Clive I tried to get Chloe to wet her hair to save me a step in the bathing process. I cajoled her saying, "Can you wear the washcloth as a hat?" and "Do you know how to dump water on your head?". It worked and to my surprise (she's usually pretty wimpy about water on her head) instead of using her cups to dump the water she filled up her bath bucket and doused herself!

Here's the funny part, she looks up at me all wet and dripping and says, "Look mommy, I got baptized!"

What a nut! I have a feeling the three's will be full of funny moments such as these!

Hello, Dad. Goodbye, Daddy.

Some days it seems this girl of mine is growing up at lightning speed!

Tonight Chloee decided to call Matt dad instead of daddy. It felt so strange to hear her little voice tacking dad onto the end of her questions.

"Are you finished with your hot cocoa yet, dad?"

"What's this piece for, dad?"


In one small moment she transitioned from little girl to big girl. Sigh.

I remember clearly going through my own mother phase. And then when I first read the classic Little Women I called my mom, marmee. Marmee? C'mon! My mom sure is one patient lady.

When did you stop with the mommies and daddies and move on to more sophisticated parental name-calling?
(I must admit that I still call my dad daddy.)

It's not easy being gold

As a belated birthday gift, Matt bought Chloe her first goldfish. Her first four goldfish to be exact. They went to Wal-Mart to rescue said goldfish from the sad looking store aquariums (seriously, do they ever clean those tanks?!?). And Matt spent a whopping 28 cents on each new swimmy addition to our family. Could that be foreshadowing of things to come?

This fish thing is a daddy and Chloe project so daily they feed them and change the water. They also collected rocks for the bottom of our old-school-glass-fishbowl and spruced the fish's home with plastic seaweed.

The cutest thing was seeing Chloe watch her goldfish on their first day. She perched on the piano bench to watch them swim and soon I noticed her dipping her finger in the water. I quickly stopped her and asked what she was doing. Chloe's response? "I want to pet my fish, mommy!" Awwww.

I'm sure you all see where this is headed. Despite Matt and Chloe's efforts only one goldfish is still alive and swimming. The good thing is that Chloe doesn't seem too saddened by it. And at 28 cents a pop I think we can afford to get some new fishies.

I'm assuming this whole goldfish experience is a token one for young families. Have you ever gone through a goldfish phase?

I knew this day would come . . .

. . . the day when Chloe would learn the most annoying children's song ever. Yup. Last week she learned the dreaded Father Abraham in her Sunday school class. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was only a matter of time I suppose. I always hated doing Father Abraham with little kids because it's a song that has the potential to never end. And of course they get riled up from moving and shaking all their little body parts while singing.

What's your least favorite kiddie song?

Chloe update

As you can see from her goofy smile, Chloe is feeling much better!

Once I figured out how to be sneakier about getting Chloe to take her antibiotics, we noticed huge improvements in her behavior and spirits. (If you have a toddler who refuses to take all her medicine, try mixing it in a smoothie. It's working like a charm for our smart cookie. After two days of only taking 1/2 a teaspoon full, I tried mixing her antibiotics in with some milk and chocolate syrup. One sip later Chloe said to me, "Mommy, you put chocolate in my medicine!" )

Nana recently made Chloe this doctor's shirt and along with her medical kit, hat, and emergency cart Chloe has been passing much time fixing up sick animals. Thanks, Nana for another activity to pass the time while we're stuck indoors!

I think I'm more ansy than Chloe is for spring to arrive. I can't wait to get outside to walk once the weather gets warmer.

Our Chloe is blooming more and more into her personality these days. Here are a few anecdotes which should give you a glimpse of her funny self . . .

Last night during supper.
Chloe: Mommy, what do we do after this really yummy supper?

While I was preparing for a bath.
Chloe: What you doing mommy?
Me: I'm getting ready to take a bath. Would you like to take a bath with me Chloe?
Chloe: (said with much enthusiasm) That's a great idea, mommy!

Questioning Chloe about the objects she drew in a picture.
Me: What's that, Chloe?
Chloe: Oh, that's kind of like an angel.

:: :: ::

I wish you could hear her intonation during these precious moments! She's so cute and energetic. I love these toddler days!

Chloe-isms

Since I've posted a lot about our oh-so-adorable Clive lately, I thought a Chloe post was in order.

Chloe is becoming quite the silly jokester causing us to giggle often at her cute verbal moments. Here are a few of the latest exchanges that got us laughing. Hope they bring a smile to you as well!

Setting: After reading a Bible story from Chloe's toddler Bible about how God gave manna to the children of Israel.
Matt: What's something good God has given to you, Chloe?
Chloe: Peace . . .
[Matt and I exchange impressed and surprised glances.]
Chloe: (obviously not finished answering the question) . . . a piece of candy!

Setting: Chloe is playing in her kitchen while I sit on her bed feeding baby Clive.
Chloe: I making you some supper, mommy.
Me: What are you making?
Chloe: Blue cheese!
Me: Yum! Blue cheese is my favorite!
Chloe: (sprinkling imaginary cheese on my plate) Here some blue cheese and some white cheese and some purple cheese and some brown cheese . . .

Setting: Chloe is playing by herself in her room upstairs. After hearing many bumps and thuds I go up to investigate. I open her door to find every toy, puzzle and stuffed animal dumped out in a pile in the middle of her room.
Me: Chloe, what are you doing?
Chloe: (enthusiastically) I decorating!

Affection and regression

In answer to your questions, our Chloe has proven to be an affectionate big sis to her new baby brother. She LOVES kissing and hugging on him. I'm sure he'll grow to like it but right now he squirms up his face and usually cries when she plants a big wet kiss on his cheek.

The transition has been a hard one for Chloe. I'm afraid I didn't prep her mentally for all that was to take place with Clive's birth. Sure we read our big sister and make-way-for-baby books but other than that all she knew was that baby Clive would come out of my tummy at the hospital.

With Clive's homecoming, Chloe regressed mainly in the area of whining/crying and potty-training. I'm so thankful that little kids are so malleable! Already Chloe's acting more like herself as we settle into the new routines of a family of four. And potty-training is coming back slowly but surely. I just have to consistently remind her or she forgets and has an accident. And she continues to go #2 on the potty so I feel like we're striding forward!

Toddler animal classification

Chloe has a nature book she enjoys looking at with me and it's been interesting lately to see her limited view of animal classification. To Chloe every animal falls into two categories: animals that will bite you and animals that won't bite you. Not sure where she got that from; my only inkling is from a line in The Cat in the Hat ("these things will not bite, they have come here to play").

Most animals are in the won't-bite-you category according to Chloe. I have taught her though that jellyfish and sharks shouldn't be trifled with. Good thing too, we run across those animals all the time.

Ah, the wonderful workings of the toddler mind. Chloe likes most animals so I can't say she has a favorite. What animals do your kiddos enjoy?

Binky break-up

Tonight we were forced to start the binky break-up process. After a long, disappointing and messy day of potty-training and then a naptime strike with Chloe (Chloe won), I was more than ready for something positive in my mommy world. Matt took Chloe away for some errands to give me some quiet recuperation time. He insisted we have fishsticks and mac-and-cheese for dinner so I'd have no supper prep stress. Then he gave her a bath and she was exhausted by about 7:40 this evening.

I was reading her a bedtime story when she dropped her beloved passy behind the bedrail. It must have been humorous to watch me in my huge pregnant state contorting myself to fish said passy out from behind the bed! I came up empty though and the passy fell irretrievably into a nook that is beyond both Matt and my reaches. So, the passy has been lost for good.

Thankfully we've started talking to Chloe about giving up her passy so she wasn't completely taken aback. But she wasn't happy either. Here was our conversation tonight . . . .

Chloe: Mommy, I want my passy please.
Me: It's lost Chloe, there's no more passy. You don't need it anymore because you're a big girl, remember?
Chloe: Mommy, I want another one passy please.
Me: But sweetheart, it's lost and we don't have any more passies.
Chloe: (after a pause) I not a big girl anymore.
Me: But you ARE a big girl, sweetie. You're so big that you don't need to use a passy to go night-night. Only babies need passies.
Chloe: (rubbing her eyes from exhaustion and having difficulty expressing herself) I . . . I want a birthday cake.
Me: Ok, I think it's time to pray together and go night-night. We'll pray that God helps you fall asleep without your passy.

After only 10 minutes of crying she's sleeping passy-free tonight! Yay! God is His providence kept her from napping so she'd be tired enough not to put up a big fight. Let's hope she deals well with this new transition. Matt was ready to run out to the drug store to buy another passy but I'm fine getting rid of it now. I've heard going cold-turkey and enduring the crying is the way to go. What do you all think?