4 Months Old

What a happy little man our Matthew is! He is always ready with a smile and loves to laugh. He has a deep belly laugh and conveniently very ticklish armpits! He loves to be worn in his carrier and will fall asleep nearly instantly. He is beginning to sit on his own and can roll easily from stomach to back. He is still working on back to front which is convenient for me because I can lay him down and know he will be in relatively the same spot when I return...but not for long. He is determined to get on the move and keep up with the kids around him! Admittedly and unapologeticly  I  am babying this little boy of mine and plan on keeping it up as long as he will allow it. I am in no hurry for the next milestone this time as it is so easy to do with a baby. While each is exciting I know too well how fast it all passes. Savoring where is at right this minute is an enjoyable way to celebrate him...and celebrated he is! I didn't realize the interest the kids had in each of his new developments, no matter how minor. I learned quickly however when I put him in an excersaucer for the first time to see if he could hold himself up in it. Ben walked in and was appalled that he was not informed. "You are suppose to TELL me!". Whoops! He certainly has a loyal and enthusiastic cheerleader squad.

Big Sister

Oh to be three with your own real live baby doll. Ella has filled her role as big sister just perfectly. I remember her little shaking hand the morning she woke up to find an hours old brother in our bed. She was so scared to touch him but with tears in her eyes I knew she was amazed and overwhelmed at such a sight. She sure loves this little brother of hers. I heard her whispering goodnight to him recently in her little falsetto. "Goodnight little sweetie. I will love you and make you smile again in the morning". She kisses him gently and goes up to bed. He is a lucky boy!

Ella's New Bed

Ella is unwilling to sleep in her bed suddenly. She has been sleeping in a bed since she was a year old and started climbing out of the crib. She has napped for 3 hours each afternoon and slept 11 hours at night with no issue ...until now. She has been sleeping on her floor or ours for the last few weeks and we finally accepted that weather we like it or not this phase is lingering longer than we had hoped. We found a little daycare cot that can fit under her bed when she is not using it and still gives her the sensation of floor sleeping without ACTUALLY being on the floor. 

She was excited to help set up her little cot but she kept calling it a "pot". 

"Ella it is with a C, with a C sound." 

"Oh okay. My C-pot!" 

Jon told her not to jump on it or it would collapse and she ran upstairs to call down Ben and Jake to show them her new "c-pot". 

"I can't jump on it or it will claps!" as she claps her hands. Ha. This girl always keeps us on our toes with a laugh.

September

My favorite time of year always brings a feeling of new beginnings no matter how many years out of school I am. I still have the urge to buy new shoes...and maybe a backpack!

Since we are still enjoying home schooling...we settled for the apple orchard (and the kids all got new shoes anyway:)

We  enjoyed summer temperatures into the end of the month, savoring every moment we can in the sun knowing that the sweaters we carry in the evenings are a sign of the inevitable colder days.

Jacob and Elizabeth are having so much fun at farm school and cooking classes on Saturday mornings while Ben is still an avid soccer player, martial artist and pianist. He is hoping to start trumpet lessons this fall as well. They are all eager to get back to swimming in the springtime.

Ella has started ballet classes during the week and as much as I enrolled her just because she looks adorable in her dance outfit, she really enjoys it and counts down the days until she can go back to "Ms. Casey's dance class". She feels like such a big girl with a class all on her own to attend.

We are also enjoying two home school classes during a moms group that I was lucky enough to find mid week which is something we all can look forward to!

 ***Jacob is wearing is snake shirt on backwards for fear the snake would scare Matthew when he looks at him:)

August

We discovered a little gem this summer. A perfect little beach not a half hour from our house. Why we hadn't gone before baffles us now as we wake up early each Saturday to beat the crowd. Often we are there just as the dew is evaporating and the sand is freshly raked. We find the perfect spot on the grass, and enjoy our private spot only to turn around and discover the small field behind us filling up with blankets and picnic baskets. Matthew and I sit in the shade and watch the kids play. It is hard to think he will be filling a bucket with his own shovel next year! The rest of the month was full of markets and playgrounds, splash pads and even bowling- a first for everyone! As always we blinked and the summer was over...but it was a good one!

Happy 8th Birthday Ben!

Dear Ben,

You are 8. In eight more years you will be ...driving?! No! It can't be.
But I admit that it is becoming more evident with each passing month that you are leaving a little bit of your defining "little" boy traits behind. On to big boy stuff... and big teeth and gangly limbs and more defined facial features, I can see glimpses of the kind of man you will be. Not only in your more defined jaw line and the feet that were actually two sizes bigger than I had estimated when they were measured at the shoe store but in your increasing patience, and insight and initiative and sense of humor and depth of thought. You interact with your little siblings some days with a responsible big brotherly leadership role with eye rolls at their sillyness and the wherewithal to pick up your baby brother and comfort him or give him a bottle. Other days you are the most silly of them all. I take these increasingly rare moments with more sustained perspective now as I see the glimpses at this cusp of changing childhood stages as a mix of who you were and who you are becoming.

You are concerned with doing the right thing, and doing it exactly right. It is no surprise that intricate lego sets with specific instructions and 1000 pieces are your favorite past time. You enjoy your circuit sets, mine craft and really any activity that involves creating anything. You have a list of inventions you will create when you are an inventor/engineer and I have no doubt you will be.

You are passionate about kung fu and practice diligently. It is your favorite night of the week. You are less passionate about the piano and the practicing we force you to do...but once you get playing we can see that it is rewarding to have such seemingly effortless skill. That effortless talent is something that is a blessing to you in most areas, but when you encounter something that offers an unsuspecting challenge you will not stop until you have mastered it. I admire many of these character qualities in you. You are so inquisitive and curious. You have good initiative and as serious as you can be, also love to laugh and have a fun loving side that is so endearing. Just as when you were a baby your face can go so quickly from the most serious of looks to a smile that lights up your whole face.

You have started to drop my hand in public, resist kisses and go limp when I hug you. This is part of growing up I suppose. But it is hard on your mom who remembers a time not so long ago when I couldn't be out of your toddler reach for even a moment. I am comforted though when I find little love notes on my bedside table with a wilted flower saved in a warm pocket all day just for me from my biggest boy.

I told you recently that no one in the whole world could ever love you as much as your mother. You said "really?!". 

Oh yes. Really. 

I love you, and I am so proud of you. 

Happy birthday Benny! 

I love every inch of you and every moment of being your mother. 

Mommy xoxo 

She's Three!

Elizabeth! You are three! And what a three year old you are.

You are such a unique girl. Older than your years in so many ways and so very... three in others. It is hard to imagine that such a big person can fit in such a little package but there you are. In your pink and purple, sparkle and twirl.

You get up each morning knowing exactly what you want to wear and what you plan to do. You love to give orders and have a "job" to do. Helping me cook and bake are you favorite things to as well as help change and feed Matthew. Recently you discovered that you are very good at folding dish cloths into perfect squares and will declare after every feat that you master "Ya Ella!" and slide dramatically forward one on foot with two thumbs up. You are very theatrical in most everything. You are loud and bright with gigantic blue eyes and smile that lights up your face.

 We adore you, so so much. Your brothers think you are just the best, and let you boss them around past the point I think is reasonable but they tend to let you go further. They give up their seats for you, let you go first, give you the last...whatever...help you, play with you and read to you. If they need a reminder you will yell at them "be gentle with your baby sister!!!".
You are lucky to have such love in your siblings. And in turn, you love your "guys" and mother them all. It is a sweet dynamic and one I know will mature as you all grow older but that I hope doesn't change too much.

You are, absolutely adorable. Wherever we go people always stop to notice you. It is hard to miss you, with those wild white curls and ready chatter for whomever will look your way. You are naturally bold and confident and sometimes cross the line. "MOVE IT!" you shouted to a dad at the playground with his young son in your little girl sassy voice that gets you to time out more often then not. "ELIZABETH"! I yelled... you quickly corrected yourself "I mean excuth me please" in your little falsetto...and then proceeded to shove him out of your path. Barely waist high, you don't seem to show much intimidation or caution when you have something (or someone) in your way. I am usually behind you, calling out apologies, met with startled and forgiving laughter from those not used to ...you.

When you are this cute, you get away with a lot...often too much. But really you are sweet and eager to please and desperate to be helpful and be treated like a big girl. When we are somewhere new, or you are outside of your comfort zone you can be very unsure until you have it all figured out. You will hang back with your head low, close to Mommy and fingers in your mouth. Wanting me to hold you but also not letting yourself quite allow it. The first time we went to the beach this year you were unsure of the sand...it took you 20 minutes of watching exactly what everyone else was doing before you took one careful step onto gritty ground. And then ten more to commit to the experience. Sure enough, given the time and patience to do it on your terms you were the most enthusiastic child at the beach. Pushed however...you will not attempt any further but refuse anything more to do with the situation you are unsure of. We have learned to let you go on your own, or you won't go at all.

I love seeing more of you unfold as you grow. I am so proud of you, I am so grateful for you and as your name suggests, you bring an immense amount of Joy to our family.

Happy Birthday our beautiful Ella.

I love you more than you could ever know. Mommy xoxo