Sunday, September 13, 2009

My three oldest are going around the house now with a bucket and three wash clothes cleaning the floors, table, glass doors, and walls....all with the same cloth....we have a dog and a cat and three heads of long hair.....there will be hair over all these surfaces! Do I let them, knowing that when they are done and not watching that I will have to go back and clean everything after them....yes, because they are working together, not fighting, and in the pursuit of a dollar. And who cares if my house is really clean or not, it never is anyways!

Today my baby boy turns 18 months old....and as I have learned in the past, this is precisely the age that the terrible twos start! Although I have never been one to call them terrible but others who observe do. This age is when they really learn they have a voice and a will and they learn to vocalize and protest, all in a step towards independence. Man, does my little boy love me! If he could, he would mesh his body into mine and we would become one. His favorite thing to do with me is for me to lay on the bed or floor, he crawls all over me and just presses his head into my body just trying to get as close as physically possible. Pure love. He is developing a strong attachment now to his dada and calls his name out all day even when John is not here. He wants John to put him down for his afternoon nap since his shoulder seems way more comfy than me. his nursing is down to naptime, bedtime, and once early in the morning and most days, he has been falling asleep for his nap with out needing me...it is all so bittersweet. My last nursling is growing out of his need for me. Madeline was the oldest to wean at 22 months and I have always said that I won't go over age two and I still hold to that. I see that his reliance on it now is for closeness and comfort and I certainly give him a lot of that outside of nursing. Anyways, I know our days of nursing are coming to a peaceful close and I am not as sad as I thought I would be, more excited about what the future holds for him and our family.

There are so many trips and places that we long to travel too that are better suited for not having a baby; plane trips, cruises, hikes, river trips, moutain climbing, etc. Especially because he does not sit still for anything and refuses to be held down! he is in constant motion at full speed! We do so much now but know that as he gets older, our experiences will expand to so much more and I can't wait!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

September


The end of summer left the kids anxious to see their friends at school again and left me very excited to have my work load cut down by not having to entertain them ALL DAY LONG! Johnny and Madeline started on Tuesday and then Ava started school on Wednesday. She has been waiting so long for school and was so giddy with excitement, she couldn't stand it!


And you can never leave Ian out of anything! He has to be a part

Although he was pretty tired of pictures by this point! All that standing still had him frustrated

Madeline started first grade


And Johnny started second grade


And then Ava started preschool


And for some reason, Ian has become fascinated with water....wanting to play with it so bad, he jumped in as I turned around to get towels!


And our $5 purchase at a garage sale has worked out great for the girls to play in.....if I could only keep Ian OUT of it!


Madeline has now embarked on being 6 years old and since she has an obsession with dogs, she once again had a puppy themed party, the first one she had when she turned 4. This is the cake she picked out and my creative hubby made it!



We had a great birthday party for her at Lithia Springs, all the kids could cool off in the frigid waters while the adults sat under the canopy of trees enjoying soda and sandwiches.

Her most favorite present, a new pair of roller skates. She has become a skating fool and they are on her feet the entire time she is at home! We have been to the skating rink a few times and she has done so well and learned so quick! It is great to have finally found something she she likes doing!